This is a little short I wrote a while back. Lara often complains that I often mention celebrations, downtime, and parties, but never actually have them in a scene...so I decided to do a quick vignette about the hunting trip La'ra mentioned in the last part of Strange Harvest. Captain Krenn had also told me about an optional SFB rule regarding ph-2's, and this little tidbit was spawned...
This takes place very close after the end of 'Strange Harvest'.
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Starry Night
Millions of stars littered the night sky. Commander La’ra studied them happily.
He lay on a defensible hillside, amongst the sleeping forms of his command crew. A large creature, brought down by Leral’s well-aimed crossbow, roasted in the firepit. There was little noise, save for Grimbek’s deep snores and the whistle of a light breeze.
“I have an idea.” Someone said. La’ra grumbled.
“I thought you were sleeping.”
“I cannot.” L’dar rumbled quietly. “I keep thinking about the aft phasers, they trouble me.”
“Are we not supposed to be on liberty?” La’ra asked. His brother preferred more raucous entertainment, and the idea that La’ra might be enjoying the stillness and the stars would not occur to the big engineer.
“They’re just as powerful as the forward battery, you know.” L’dar said, ignoring the question.
“I know.” La’ra sighed.
“Yet in battle they never have the same kind of impact.”
“It’s the targeting system.” La’ra mentioned, dryly. He’d heard this complaint many times before. He didn’t know why he was listening now, didn’t know why he bothered to respond. He tried to concentrate on the stars.
“Yes. Were it as precise as the main battery’s, they could attain direct hits more often. Fewer glancing blows, fewer strikes to useless areas…”
“The aft sensors cannot achieve that kind of precision.” La’ra reminded. The stars were not helping. He cast his gaze around the campsite. Leral lay nearby, sleeping, and barely clothed under her rough blanket. Her chest rose and fell with each slow breath. La’ra felt his loins stir.
“Yes, but again, it’s not a problem with the equipment. It’s the...programming. I discussed this with the Leth’ka’s engineer. He believe that we could improve the sensor protocols…sharpen the targeting.”
“So do so.” La’ra said. Leral stirred in her bedroll, rolling onto her side and giving her Commander a view of her bare, well-muscled back. The Commander was used to hiding his reactions to his science officer. Only his brother was watching now, and he indulged in a giant, lusty, grin.
“You are not paying attention.” L’dar accused.
La’ra sighed.
“Not really. No.”
“Making your ship more effective in battle does not interest you?”
“It interests me. Just not at this particular moment.”
“You have always been undisciplined.”
“And you think of nothing but starships” La’ra growled. “How long has it been since we’ve slept in the wild?”
“Sleeping is sleeping.”
“You see no difference between sleeping under the stars with a cool wind blowing and the scent of a fresh kill roasting in the fire and sleeping inside of a pressurized metal box?”
“Not really.” L’dar admitted.
“I may be undisciplined but you lack imagination.”
“I’m imagining better phasers.” L’dar chuckled.
La’ra cursed quietly.
“Very well.” His brother sounded disappointed. “Enjoy your sleep.”
“Thank you.” The Commander settled back down into his blankets. He glanced at Leral again. She’d moved, resting on her back with one arm crossed over her stomach. Overhead the stars glittered.
“I suppose you don’t want to hear about the engines.” L’dar asked.
La’ra seethed.
“No, I do not.”
“I was simply thinking of when we took the Sulakai…running the warp drive so hard exposed weaknesses that I could bolster with the right supplies…we would be faster, sustain higher speeds for longer periods.”
La’ra’s eyes shifted around. More speed was always good.
He shook his head. Tonight was not the night for such things, nor was tomorrow or the rest of his liberty.
“I wish to enjoy being outside, brother.”
L’dar nodded. “I…apologize.”
The big engineer closed his eyes and fell silent.
La’ra exhaled. Tomorrow would be a good day. He was anxious to try his newest weapon, a crossbow identical to Leral’s. The previous day’s hunt had been a group effort; his crew had harried the beast until an opportunity arose. When one had, his science officer had taken advantage. Tomorrow he would go off on his own. He wasn’t the most skilled hunter in the Empire, but he could enjoy the chase, though perhaps not as much as simple solitude.
Insects sang in the grass. Grimbek continued to snore.
“How much faster?” He asked.
L’dar opened his eyes and grinned.
End
Topic: Starry Night (Read 4610 times)