A night beneath the stars

Posted on Saturday 3 December 2022 @ 12:45 by

Mission: Revelations
Location: Baku
Timeline: Sometime during shoreleave
1942 words - 3.9 OF Standard Post Measure

A place was found, that Pearl liked very much for where she and Jack would be camping. She had a tent that was set up for gear and two people, but she fully intended on sleeping under the stars. However, it never hurt to have something just in case there was a possible rainstorm. Not that there was any word for a possible chance of precipitation. If there was though, Pearl wouldn't mind that at all. The campsite wasn't too too far from a river, where she saw signs of fish and had caught some earlier. The fish were on spits made from wood and they were cooking over the open flame. She could tell that they were almost ready. She looked over to where Jack was at, the flames of the fire bathing his features in its soft light.

"What do you think of our campsite?" Pearl asked.

Sitting a little back from the campfire, Jack was lost in thought as he held a small pad of paper in one hand and spun a pencil around in his other. Hearing Pearl say something to him, he looked up at her and tried to remember what she’d just said with no luck, “hmm? Sorry I was thinking, what did you say?”

Moving over towards Jack, "I was asking, what do you think of our campsite?" trying to see what he was working on. " She caught the scent of the fish being done and moved away to retrieve the plates, and also get the potatoes she had cooking out of the fire as well. "Hot, hot, hot potatoes" she exclaimed and managed to get the potatoes to the small tray that was there.

Standing up, Jack walked over to stand next to Pearl, “the camp is fine. Don’t worry do much, we’re here to relax remember” he said, as he lent over an took in the pleasant smell of the cooked fish, “hmm, you’d think after all these years we would’ve figured out how to replicate this smell onboard a ship, but it seems nothing can beat the real thing”

"I totally agree, and fresh cooked potatoes, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. And with fresh butter. Oooh that is heaven to me. Well at least where food is concerned." Setting three of the skewered fish on the plate for Jack, and the same for herself. She sat down on the ground her legs crossed, sitting her plate in her lap and picked up one of the fish and began to eat, blowing on the first fish to cool. She was hungry and she loved the taste of the fish. It may have singed her fingers just a small amount but Pearl didn't care.

Carefully picking up one of the fish using the stake it had been cooked on, Jack happily took in the scent before biting into it. It was delicious, though his second thought was hmm, could use some lemon. "well your cooking hasn't killed me yet, so I guess it must be passable as food" he said before taking another bite.

Right now, his mind was racing with a mix of thoughts. The more time he spent with Pearl, the more affection he felt towards her, and however much he wanted to show her how he felt, Jack figured it would be better for her if he waited for things to settle down a little. Transfering between departments was never an easy process. Tho other thoughts he was having were of a little project he'd been working on for the past few months and although he was eager to get back to it while his mind was on the task, he also just wanted to relax down here for at least one night.

"how you holding up over there?" he asked, looking over at her.

Pearl looked over at Jack, her mouth still full of fish, gave a nod and held up a thumb. When her mouth was empty she answered. "I'm doing great. Can't beat this, camping with a good looking guy and eating fresh food. Almost paradise, how could I ask for more." going back to eating. Pearl washed down the food with some tea she had made, from mint she had picked out of the woods. And she knew it was mint, as Pearl had checked it out before picking it. Being around Jack made Pearl feel great. She was glad he was there when she received the news of her transfer of departments. She did notice that Jack had been keeping himself sort of at a distance. Part of her respected that, but another part of her just wanted, something more. It probably was too soon though. Her way of thinking though at times things disappear way too quickly in just a blink of an eye.

“That’s good, enjoy your rest time before we jump back into the grind” Jack said as he pulled out a small pad of paper little bigger then the palm of his hand, took out the pencil that had been fed through the rings binding the paper together, and started writing. His brow became furrowed as he half concentrated on what he was doing, “does your message say anything about where your new quarters will be?”

Pearl pulled out her PaDD and checked, "hmnnn, at the moment its not saying due to the ship being fixed and refitted. Guess I will have to find out when the time comes." she replied. "What are you working on there, Jack?" moving to see if she could get a peek at what he was doing.

"It's nothing special. I came up with the idea of a system of transporters that could be used to transport anything across not just the whole Federation but even out into the rest of the Galaxy" Jack explained, flipping though the pages of mathematics until he reached a few pages of concept drawings, "The idea came when I read about the Iconians and how they had the ability to appear practically anywhere without starships, which is when it hit me that we kind of have that ability now with transporters. Our current problem is range. So I figured if we could create a subspace connection between two points in space, we could send a transporter pattern between them. Does that make sense?"

"I'm not too familiar with the essence of engineering and operations but, that does sound really intriguing. I wonder if that could be done." Pearl mused, gazing at the sketches Jack had drawn. "It could work, there would have to be some experiments in the holosuite maybe?" looking up from his notepad into Jack's eyes. "You're pretty smart there, Jack." giving soft smile. She reached up and ran her fingers along his cheek, "Have I told you how much I appreciate you and just the fact that you are willing to spend time with me just makes me giddy." giving a quiet laugh. "Giddy in a good way. I feel rather tingly, and so energized." And then, Pearl pulled Jack in for a kiss. She just couldn't help herself, she's been wanting one since they had gotten to Baku.

Caught off guard by the sudden turn their conversation had taken, Jack paused for a moment before pulling away a little, “I’m sorry, but I just want to be sure. Are you certain you want to do this? Believe me I’m all for it if you are, but I just want to make sure you’re not going to regret this. I mean, you’ve just had a lot thrown at you”

Pearl gave a pause herself, thinking for a brief moment, she didn't pull back from him though. "I will be okay, Jack." she then moved to where she was just seated next to him leaning her head upon his shoulder. "I am for it. I know that I got a bit of news which shook me to the core, but its still not on the scale of a father saying, 'Pearl we gotta leave but you're not coming with us. You're going to your adopted uncle. Its the only way I can keep you safe.'

Pearl pulled up her knees against her chest wrapping her arms about her knees. Not leaning her head against Jack's shoulder anymore. Pearl looked out towards the distant stars, as she spoke some more. "I hope you have contact with your family, I don't have contact with mine, well except for my uncle, the one who helped me out. I've been looking for my family for a few years now. Still no word on them. Dad had to disappear as he had debts to pay." Pearl looked back to Jack, "Sorry, too much coming from me." giving a lopsided smile. "I know everyone has some sort of baggage, they carry around. I feel maybe mine is a bit much, for anyone, so I am glad you are someone who can push the stop button. I wasn't going to do so. Which maybe it is a good thing then." Pearl going silent after that, just listening to the crackling of the fire and watching as some sparks drift into the air.

Looking at the woman beside him curled up into a ball, Jack took a deep breath in before sliding over a little to be right next to her. Giving it a moment to see her reaction, Jack extended his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, "well then, if we're going to do this, there are a few things you should know. First off, my actual first name, Johnathan, or John for short. But only my mother called me that, and hopefully one day the woman I care for" he said, as he rested his head on hers, "second, I have no family, they're all gone. and one day I'll tell you their stories" leaving another pause between statements. "and third, did you know an old grunt like me can count to three? Pretty amazing isn't it?"

Pearl's pensiveness, drifted away at John's closeness, and she giggled at his joke. "Nah you're not old and I know you can count to twenty." giving a wink. Her smiled faded slightly when Pearl heard of John not having any family. "I am sorry to hear about them not being around." Her voice was quiet, and Pearl lowered her legs to sitting cross legged, one arm sliding about his waist. "I would like to be the woman you care for, but I may have a long way to go, to be that someone. Truth is, I do care about you. You make me feel at ease, I feel valued. I know its only been a short time since we've met its just that-" Pearl was struggling to find the words to convey just how she was feeling. Then just gave a bit of a sigh, and slight shrug.

Seeing Pearl start to relax, Jack gave a smile, “don’t force it. If it’s meant to be, it will. For now Petty Officer Bijoux, just enjoy the view” he said, motioning towards the clear skies.

"Okay, and it is a lovely view of the stars, and the best night I've had in a long while, thanks to you." Pearl murmured softly, feeling contented just to be near him and listen to the music of the night, and feel the warmth of him and the fire.

END:

Petty Officer Second Class Pearl Bijoux
Security
USS Merlin

Chief Petty Officer Johnathan 'Jack' MacGyver
Operations Specialist/Emotional Support Monkey
USS Merlin