Surefoot 03: Field Trip Ch. 05

Sasha glowered. "Didn't stay for firsts. I... changed my mind. I know I could have gotten away with it, I know no one would have told, I know it's a stupid regulation. But I didn't." She looked to Kit. "I guess you were right: a tree that falls in the forest and no one hears it still makes a noise."

Kit nodded, looking pleased with her decision.

Then Jonas blurted out, "I'm glad." When Sasha looked at him, he looked back, both hesitant at being the centre of attention and emboldened. "I'm sorry, Sash, I know you wanted to be with him, and I know it's selfish of me, but... I like having you as our leader. I don't want you to risk being kicked off the program for a... a bit of fun. Especially with Mister Galactic Gigolo. You deserve better."

Eydiir, sitting beside him, patted him on the shoulder. "Well said, Jonas!" She looked at Sasha. "He is right; it is honourable that have kept your word."

"How did Jared take it?" Neraxis asked. "Leaving him like that?"

Sasha stared into the fire. "We had a fight. He... compared my Dad to an animal."

The group went quiet.

Until Giles asked, "Is Jared still alive? Do we need to pack up and run for the border?"

"He's still alive. I only punched him."

"He deserved worse," Jonas said.

"No argument there."

"If you desire," Eydiir suggested. "I can creep into their camp and secretly infect him with a local fungus I identified that will cause extreme and lingering scrotal irritation."

"What? You can't do that!"

"Yes I can," the Capellan insisted. "I am very stealthy."

"And if you're on the rebound," Neraxis offered, nudging Jonas' other side. "You can date Scrappy here. He hasn't stopped talking about touching your boob since you left."

Russet-faced, Jonas started to protest, before just giving up.

"How about we all just sit here, have our terrible food and tell stupid jokes?" Sasha decided, looking down at the remains of her ration bar on the ground, where the local insects were giving it a wide berth. "I hope Dad is happy making us eat this- Dad!"

"What is it?" Giles asked.

She didn't answer, rising and heading for the shuttle, suddenly remembering the bag her father had given her before they left the Surefoot, but she had been too busy making an absolute balls-up of their Away Mission to remember it until now. She found it and returned to the camp, noting its weight for the first time. "What the hell did he pack in here for me?"

She set it down before them, opened it and rummaged through the contents, removing a series of foil packets and holding them up to the light to read their labels. "Hey! There's wasabi nuts, licorice, Jelly Novae, Crunchicles, Betazoid chocolate! All kinds of snacks!"

The others leaned in longingly, as she started handing them out, her mouth watering. "Seven Hells, we've got Potato Rods, gumdrops, Honey Hortas- wait, are these... sugar-coated locusts?"

Kit held up his hand. "Respected Squad Leader, if no one else would like those-"

She threw the bag at him as she continued removing the contents of the satchel. "Self-popping popcorn, Mugatu Chews..." She drew out a bottle in a refrigerated sheath. "Aldebaran Whiskey?"

Giles reached out and took it. "You guys can keep the rest, I'll manage this." Then his smiled dropped as he read the label further. "Wait, 'Non-Alcoholic'? Son of a..."

Neraxis guffawed, spitting wasabi nuts out of her mouth before collecting them from the ground again. "At least it's chilled."

"Speaking of which," Sasha murmured, withdrawing another refrigerated container. "Chocolate Wobble ice cream! It even has spoons." She passed that along, laughing with delight, immediately taking back everything she said and thought about her father since their departure. What a wonderful way to end the Away Mission- "What the-"

"If it is more insects-" Kit started.

"No, it's..." Sasha replied absently, withdrawing a plush toy, soft, furry... and intimately familiar. "It's... Captain Fuzzybutt."

The Squad looked up at her, Giles asking, "What?"

She held it up carefully to the light. It was indeed her old Starfleet Huggable. It even had the latinum dot and authentication number; she knew that number by heart, what with all the times she had shown it off to her fiercely envious friends. She was stunned. "It's Captain Fuzzybutt. Dad got him for me when I was seven. It was early on in his relationship with Mom. I was so mean to him back then." She was overcome; tears poured down her cheeks, in a way that didn't when she fought with Jared.

Eydiir leaned closer, concerned. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, wiping her face but still staring at her old toy. "I couldn't find it after the attack on Salem Four. After my Mom was killed and Dad went missing. I thought it must have got lost when they packed away all our things and I was shipped to Earth to live with my grandparents. Dad must have found it again when he got access to her possessions." She hugged it tightly, remembering the feel of it against her cheek, the smell of it. "I never kept it with the others in my collection; it always slept with me when Dad was off on a mission. I'd talk to him through it and- and-" She sniffed and looked up. "Sorry, guys. Some Squad Leader you ended up with, huh?"

"No one's complaining," Jonas assured her, smiling.

Eydiir stuck out her jaw. "And if anyone does complain, I will chastise them." She glared at Giles as she declared this.

Giles had been drinking the fake whiskey, but now stopped and stared back. "Why are you looking at me while you say that?"

"Based on past experience I am assuming that you will be the one to say something foolish."

"Oh, go polish your kligat, you barbarian."

Sasha was grinning at them. "You know, I think you two really like each other."

Both of them looked at her, Eydiir declaring sharply, "A woman embracing a stuffed effigy is in no position to judge others."

Sasha brought the doll closer, whispering in its ear loudly enough for them to hear, "Don't listen to them, they're just jealous."

Everyone continued munching and drinking away, no one arguing with her.

TO BE CONTINUED