R&R - Rest and Relaxation - FLASHBACK (Beta12)

[Bippwatt]

Name:Nikolai Jovanovich
Rank: Lance Corporal
Location: Epsilon Eridanus, Reach, New Alexandria Spaceport
Mission: None (On leave)
Time: 1440 hours, March 9th, 2536

The sound was, well, loud was a good way to put it. Not surprising, given that, for one, he was right next to a Pelican's whining engines, and for two, there were a few hundred other craft whining about.

He looked over his shoulder at his friend and squadmate, Idina Fallks. "Come on, girl! We're gonna be late for the first stop on our R&R time!"

"You know, I thought R&R meant Rest and Relaxation, not Run and Run some more.", the spotter said.

"It does. Doesn't mean we can't have fun. See, it should be R&R&F....the F being Fun."

He turned around again and began walking, nearly running into someone. He stepped back. The face summoned a memory....

Landcaster, his mind supplied. He shook himself inside. If he didn't cut this memorization of people's faces and name out, he'd have a commission in his hands before he knew it. Which he did not want.

He liked his sniper squad. All one other members of it.

"Ah, sorry, Landcaster. Wasn't watch were I was walking." At least neither of them were in uniform. Otherwise, they'd have to be all "Lance Corporal this" and "Lance Corporal that".

He didn't mind it usually, but the thing with Lance Corporal's was that to just all them a Corporal was kinda a diss to both Corporals and Lance Corporals everywhere. So ya had to make sure you used that 'Lance' there....

He shook his head a bit. Then he suddenly wondered what Landcaster was doing down here.

"Hey, Landcaster, you get some R&R and nobody told us?", Idina said, voicing his question before he could.

[Daenerys Targaryen]

((Remember to put this as a flashback Bipp!!!))

Lance Corporal Victoria Landcaster
New Alexandria Spaceport
R&R

Victoria Landcaster's first time without chase by her side had been different time indeed. Victoria grew up here, so naturally she came back to visit family and friends. Chase, being born and raised on Earth, was back on that planet visiting his family and friends that he had left behind when he went off to war as well.

The trip back home from her previous mission was a long and boring one and she was ready to emerse herself back into the culture of the planet she grew up on. After what seemed like years, her pelican finally landed at the New Alexandria space port. Her trip home was finally over, and it was about damn time too.
She had walked half of the space port from her pelican by the time she saw another. She gathered that more Marines must of gotten some R&R time too and where left out from the attack on Kholo.

Then she saw them, some people she hadn't seen since they walked off into the marshy woods outside of glassglow The two sniper Nikolai and Idina.

"What a place for you two to show up." She stated after Nikolai apologized for almost running into her and Idina asking her question. "Oh and I managed to get some time before everyone was shipped out to Kholo." She replied, looking around the port.

[Bippwatt]

Nikolai nodded. That made sense.

"Say, we were just about to go on down to the docks. I've got a shiny 20 foot sailing yacht that I'm banking up for. Too bad a Lance Corporal's pay grade isn't that great!"

He laughed. "Seems my only choices are to get it when I'm 80 or find a way to get on the fast track to commissioned rank...and neither of those really appeals to me!"

"Anyway, would you want to come with us?", Nikolai asked hopefully. Idina was great, but her sea legs....not the best.

Inwardly, Nikolai wondered what Victoria would make of a Marine having a passion for sea-craft. Not precisely the kind of thing a Marine covets....A navy puke, sure. But not a Marine.

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Victoria let out a small laugh at his comment on him having to be 80 to get a boat or hurry up and become an officer. "Yes, they don't sound appealing to me either. I am happy where I am at, sniping at Covenant from far away. It has it's benefits. Besides. You will have plenty of time to sail once this war is over. If you live into your 100's and get your boat at eighty, you may be looking at at least 50 to sixty some more years to be on you boat." She mentioned, knowing the since the 21st century, life expectancy had increased. In the inner colonies you could be expected to live to a ripe old age of 150 years old.

That was something Victoria planned to do anyway.

"And as for your invitation, I will take you up on it. I haven't been on a boat period, never had the time. Hopefully I don't fall over board." She replied, being slightly comical but serious at the end as well.

[Bippwatt]

Nikolai flashed a smile. "That's quite alright. I'll make sure you get the hang of it."

Idina sighed a breath of relief. "Well, in that case, I'll go so something more...umm...keep-my-breakfast-downable."

"Oh, come on! Don't chicken out!"

"Nah. I've been on those things, remember? Three is a crowd on them.....", Idina came back.

"Alright then. Your loss."

"No....my gain. I get to spend my leave NOT hurling into a bucket."

Nikolai scoffed and waved a hand at her. "Go. Have fun."

Idina walked away, smiling slightly. As Nikolai and Victoria walked in the other direction, she surreptitiously looked over her shoulder at them.

Nikolai's smile was unmistakable, even from this distance. Over time, even his "Joyride" mentality had taken it's knocks, and the last few months, ever since they had slipped into the forest around Glasglow, lost most of their equipment, including compass and GPS when they had encountered a scout of Grunts.

They had of course killed the Grunts, but not before one of them managed to stick a grenade on the pack with all their extra stuff, like Idina's Spotter's scope, food, water, compass, extra ammo, so on...

The pack had been on Idina's back at the time, but quick reflexes and a strong arm had flung the pack back at the Grunts before it exploded.

Idina remembered it well....and she still ached from the red burns it had given her....she hadn't been able to throw it quite far enough and had gotten what many would have mistaken for bad sun burn.....

She shook herself back to the present and smiled herself. It was nice to see Niko breaking out of his shell of somberness.

---

Nikolai walked next to Victoria and smiled the whole way. When they came down to the docks, he pointed at a white hulled ship with it's sails furled.

When they came up to it, a man turned, saw Nikolai and visibly brightened.

"Ah, Niko! You've come again! Finally get enough to buy her?"

"Nah....just want another run about the bay, if you don't mind, Willem?"

"Not at all. Oh, who's this? I hope that's not Idina, cause if it is, I need my glasses checked!", the man Nikolai had identified as Willem said cheerfully.

"This is Victoria Landcaster. Victoria, Willem Stratos. He's the current owner of the ship I've got my on. Also a fairly long time friend..."

"By friend, he means someone he can cheat, swindle and bribe!", Willem said with a booming laugh.

"He jokes...I only ever cheat at cards, only swindle a swindler and I only bribe when no other method works. Alas, as long as I have known this man, I have had chance to do all these things....but the bribery was his own fault! Not my fault you got yourself into jail and I had to bail you out!"

He swung his head over to Victoria. "Anyway....shall we?" He gestured to the boat and Willem backed away, still chuckling.

[Daenerys Targaryen]

Victoria watched Nikolai and Idina as the two argued about her coming on board. Idina seemed to not like boats because she probably got sea sick, that or she just really did not want to go with Victoria around. She prefered to think it was the former though.

As the two walked, she thought about her days back on Reach. A Military brat is what she was, it was how she grew up, always aspiring to be like her Dad and what her mom use to be, a hero. The damned Covenant though, their attack has left all of humanity in danger, and even her mom and dad could be in danger one day, she hated that feeling.

She did come here for a reason, to visit family, but there was an underlying reason as well, she wanted her family to move to Earth. The main priority of the cole protocol was to ensure Earth's safty, hidden among the stars with her colonies. Now her colonies where in danger, and so was Reach.

She had been walking with Nikolai all this way when she finally shook herself from her thoughts. They were down at one of the verious Docks in New Alexandria, the deep green waters infront of her churned and dipped and rose, it was big and vast and beautiful. She was excited, but also scared to go on the boat now infront of her. Back in the 21st century the largest unexplored parts of the Earth was her oceans, it still is like it today. Probably because humanity was so focused on the stars. If Earths oceans haven't been fully explored, what of Reach's? She knew large animals resided on the world.. and strange things came around from time to time, washed up on beaches, but something could be hiding down there, something big..

"Anyway....shall we?" Asked Nikolai with the same smile on his face he had at the space port.

"Of course." Victoria replied, with only a moments hesitation, waiting to be led onto the boat.

[Bippwatt]

Nikolai smiled and stepped lightly from the dock onto the gangplank. With a quick, light stride, he hopped down onto the boat.

He smiled at the name on the side of the hull. Seachance. When he bought it, he planned on changing the name. "Humanity's Hope", he muttered. It seemed fitting.

He turned back to the dock side and pulled out a pair of lifejackets.

"Here. Put this on and then just come on over."

When Victoria strode across onto the boat as well, he smiled again. He thought it felt odd, to be smiling so much. Why was he so happy?

Was it because he was out on his boat - which he still thought of his even though he hadn't bought it yet -, or was it that he was showing someone else the lure of the sea?

Or maybe....maybe it was none of these....

He turned back to the dock again and pulled away the ropes holding them to the dock.

It was low tide right now and there was a stiff breeze, so he just sat for a few minutes to let the ship fall away from the docks.

Then, he began to move, talking to Victoria and showing her how to haul up the sail and use the rudder.

"So, just haul this line through the block and tackle, make it fast here..." He went on, correcting a few things as he saw problems developing. "Whoa, easy there. Don't pull too hard. Too taught and it will be like putting a wall in the way of the wind...until the sail rips."

When they finally had the sail secured, he sat at the aft, tending the rudder, while he watched Victoria haul the sail around with growing proficiency.

Once again he smiled, but this was a very different smile. Rather than the joyful, happy-go-lucky smiles before, this was a slow, creeping one that seemed to radiate from his core.

He was content...sailing the seas in his dream boat with-

He broke off as he realized where he thoughts had been headed. Now wasn't that odd....he swallowed hard and directed his attention to the sails again. Like a pro, he thought.

Victoria seemed to have a knack for this.....

He turned to the rudder. Good. Cutting the water perfectly.

Now, to step it up a bit.

"Victoria, take her within 40 degrees of the wind, port side! I'll teach you how to tack a small boat like this." He had already explained how the degree system worked. They weren't compass degrees, but rather degrees of a circle.

And he had clearly explained that the last thing you wanted to do was point your boat within 10 or 20 degrees of the wind or you might be "caught in irons", ie: not moving, or you could flip back around downwind so hard as to cause damage to the boat or it's occupants.

Nikolai had confidence that she would learn quickly and be an expert at most common maneuvers that the boat could make before they headed for dock later.

[Daenerys Targaryen]

After she walked on the gangplank, adjusting to the churn and movement of the boat was different, it was odd to move around on something that was already moving, especially on water. As soon as she got on though, she was happy to see that Nikolai took a particular interest in teaching her the ways to run the boat.

He had taught her how to work the sails, which she enjoyed more than anything. It was as if she was on the bridge of a spacecraft and she as helping run things.

During his small lessons, she would listen attentively and try to to interrupt him. He seemed almost over joyed to be teaching her such things, his smile, sweet and tender, and his eyes focused on her and her work.

"Victoria, take her within 40 degrees of the wind, port side! I'll teach you how to tack a small boat like this." Captain Nikolai ordered.

"Aye Aye Captain." She responded, turning the sail forty degrees to her left. ((I believe that is right lol, if I messed up just pretend I did it right and correct me in pms.))

The sea beneath them was getting deeper and darker and a question nagged at her. So she turned her head back to Nikolai and asked, "How deep is it, I mean, how deep is the water under us?"

[Bippwatt]

Nikolai smiled as she shifted the sail almost all the way around and they cut a beautiful path in the waters below. The sail had caught the new direction of the wind perfectly.

They had slowed some, but that was to be expected.

He realized Victoria had asked him a question and thought for a moment. "Um...I think it's about 10 fathoms. That's about 18.2 meters." He moved a hand to the depthfinder. "Here, let me bounce a sonar ping off the bottom and I can tell you."

A moment later. "9 and a half fathoms." He smiled. "That answer your question?"