A Trip Down Memory Lane Part 1

Post of the Month - July 2006

Joint Post by Daniel Butterworth & Connie Morgan

OFF: Okay guys here's that first Joint Post that Daniel and I promised on the forums. It covers when our characters first met. Be warned that this a long post clocking in at over 4000 words, it's nearly as long as the engagement one we done. Anyway we hope that you enjoy it, we'll aim to bring you the next one next friday. So until then please enjoy!

ON:

--Annual Tasmanian Starfleet Festival--

A large smile spread across Connie's face, as she arrived at the 102nd Tasmanian Starfleet Festival, which was being held on the grounds at the beautiful Cascade Gardens in Southern Tasmania under a starry night's sky. It was a wonderful sight for the eager young sixteen year old, with the crowded grounds all lit up and full of activity and music as the people of Tasmania got together to celebrate the newest batch of locals who had become Star Fleet cadets. They were also gathered to honour and celebrate those who had been in the fleet past and present. This was the fifth time that Connie had attended the annual event, however this one held special significance for her as it was her first time attending as a member of Star Fleet.

It was two weeks ago to this day that Connie had first found out that she had been accepted into the academy fulfilling a dream of hers from that she had held from childhood. This began a whirlwind fortnight for the young cadet that was accumulated with tonight's festivities as she prepared herself to make the transition to Star Fleet Academy. Connie had found the process some what daunting as she was going to be moving away from her family and friends in the sleeping hollow of Tasmania to the bustling city of San Francisco, home of Star Fleet Academy. She did however feel ready to make the move, even though she had started to dread it, as she wasn't going to let her fears stand in the way of making one of her lifelong dreams come true.

Elizabeth: Well we're here.

Connie turned around to face her mother and father who were standing a few meters behind her on the edge of the road. Both of her parents were no strangers to this event as they both had been associated with Star Fleet in one form or another. Her father Patrick was a retired Star Fleet Officer and her mother Elizabeth was a former Starfleet Diplomat they had both been attending the annual event ever since they moved to Tasmania back when Connie was two years old. Both her parents had proud smiles spread across their faces that Connie had seen a lot of over the past couple of weeks and her father was carrying his new holocamera that was giving to him at his last birthday party. Connie nodded her head as her father looked back over his shoulder for Kelly who was dragging along behind the rest of the group.

Patrick: Kelly come and get a picture with your sister before we go in.

Kelly crossed her arms in front of her chest and quickly shook her head at her father's request. Kelly was two years younger then Connie and was an unwilling attendee at this years festival. Her younger sister normally avoided attending such events like this, as she had never been too keen on getting herself dressed up for an event. She was naturally a very sport person and their mother often referred to Kelly as being a tomboy, which was a fairly accurate assessment as Kelly was rarely caught dead in anything close to resembling a dress. This night it was different though as Kelly was making some effort after their Mother had coaxed her into attending this year's ball and she was dressed for the occasion to. Her light brown hair was done up in a neat bun and she was wearing a red dress, which was quite suitable for the evening as it was pretty warm. It was a rarity to see Kelly dressed like she was and it was a shame too as she had a certain look and presence about her when she was.

Kelly: You don't have to take pictures every five minutes Dad!

Patrick: Why not?

Kelly: Because it's not really necessary.

Elizabeth: Come on Kelly it is a special night after all.

Kelly studied both her father and mother closely for a couple of seconds before letting out a loud sigh as she dropped her arms back to her side in a sign of protest.

Kelly: Alright ok, but you better not keep this up all night.

Connie allowed a small smile to spread across her face as Kelly reluctantly trudged across to where she was standing by the main entrance. She looked back up at her father to find him fiddling with the camera as he was still getting use to using it, he had only had it for a couple weeks. Kelly joined Connie where she was standing and spun back around to face their Dad who was now lining them up with camera.

Patrick: ;;waves with his hand;; Get a bit closer together.

Kelly mumbled something under her breath, but compiled with her father's request and moved closer to Connie.

Patrick: That's good now give us a smile.

He waited a few moments for everything to be right before he took the picture causing the camera to beep as the image was instantly developed and stored in the camera's memory unit. Elizabeth took a look over her husbands shoulder at picture as it was displayed on the camera's screen.

Patrick: That's perfect thanks.

Connie looked across to Kelly and quietly thanked her before she jogged across to join her parents so she could take peak at the picture as well.

Connie: Can I have a look?

Patrick: Of course.

Her father passed her the camera and Connie took a quick look at the picture as it was stored on the camera bring a smile to her face. The picture had turned out better then she had expected to, in fact it was pretty good, which was saying something as her father appeared to be finally getting the hang of using the camera. She really liked the photo and she was definitely going to get herself a copy of it to take to Starfleet Academy with her.

Connie: ;;still smiling;; Hey that's pretty good Dad,

Kelly walked across to join her family and poked a look at the picture over her sister's shoulder.

Kelly: Looks like mum might finally get some competition.

Patrick: We'll just have to wait and see.

Connie glanced to her sister to see that her mood was starting to become a bit more pleasant, which was a welcome change from earlier in the day. She continued to hold the camera still for a few more moments before she passed it back to her father.

Elizabeth: Come on we should go, otherwise we'll be late.

Connie exchanged glances with her sister before nodding her head in agreement with her mother, as they had spent some time now lingering around outside the main entrance. Her father also nodded his head as he put the camera back around his neck before he followed Elizabeth as she started off towards the entrance. Connie took one more look towards the gate before she and Kelly started to follow their parents who were navigating their way through the small crowd that had gathered outside the main gate.

--Elsewhere Inside the Festival--

Butterworth had arrived at the festival pretty early to avoid the main crowd, and waiting lines that would soon gather at the main gate. It had been a couple of years since Butterworth had last attended the event, but he pleased to see that nothing much had changed from his last experience here. He always enjoyed attending the festival but it hadn't been possible for him over the past couple of years, as his studies at Star Fleet Academy had been keeping him very busy. The last time he had attended the festival was exactly three years after getting accepted into Star Fleet Academy.

Not much was much different about this visit from his last as being a member of Star Fleet meant that he was still one of the honoured guests, the only difference was that he was attending on his own this time. His parents were busy back at the restaurant and his sister Rebecca was settling into her new position with Star Fleet's Recruitment core. He didn't mind it too much though as it gave him an opportunity to catch up with some old familiar faces, including a good friend Jason Adams. Butterworth had known Jason since childhood and was one of his best friends when he was growing up. Jason shared a similar dream to Butterworth in that he wanted to a part of Star Fleet but he had followed a different path from Daniel by joining Star Fleet as an enlisted officer. He had undergone the basic training process and was posted to the USS Regal where he was still serving today.

Butterworth was surprised to stumble across his friend at one of the outdoors bars that had been set up as he wasn't aware that the Regal was in the system. It didn't take him to long to learn from Jason that the Regal wasn't in the system at all and that Jason was just on leave for a couple of weeks. Butterworth ended up joining him at the bar for a while, and the two of them spent close to an hour catching up on old times.

Butterworth: ;;finishes off his drink;; So your telling me that Starfleet isn't all that it's cracked up to be?

Adams: ;;shakes his head;; Don't get it wrong it's good, but I just don't know if it's for me.

Butterworth: Yeah?

Adams: Hmm I just find the work to be too repetitive. All I really want to do is explore the stars.

Butterworth: I see your point.

Barman: Can I get you anything else.

Butterworth: ;;shakes his head;; No I'm right thanks.

Adams: ;;nods;; Yeah a refill please.

Barman: Coming up.

Butterworth watched the barman go before he looked back to Jason, who was also watching the barman closely. After a few moments Jason smiled and looked back to Butterworth.

Adams: You know I could see myself doing something like that.

Butterworth: What bartending?

Adams: Sure what's not to like about it.

Butterworth: I don't know. ;;shrugs;; Maybe you should consider or something.

Adams: It's kind of hard to explore the stars when your serving drinks.

Butterworth: I wouldn't say it's pretty easy these days to get a posting on a vessel as a barman.

Adams: I might look into it, not sure yet though.

They talked for a few more minutes about how things were going at the academy for Butterworth, before they started to draw their conversation to a close as Butterworth wanted to wander around the rest of the grounds for a little while and see who else he could bump into.

Adams: You heading off.

Butterworth: Yeah I want to wander around the rest of the grounds, you can come along if you want.

Adams: ;;shakes his head;; Nah I'll be right.

Butterworth: Alright, pop around the restaurant this week if you can and I'll give you a game or darts, I'm not due back at the academy until next Monday.

Adams: I'll do that.

Butterworth: I'll see you around then.

Adams: Yeah Bye.

--A Few Hours Later--

Connie had been at the festival now for well over an hour and she was becoming overwhelmed by all of the attention that she was receiving. She had expected to receive some attention as she was one of the state's new cadets and the only one for the year, but she hadn�t been expecting to receive so much of it and she wasn't use to it either. She had eventually parted company from her parents with a promise to meet back up later on in an attempt to find a quiet place to hang out for a while. Kelly had tagged along as well, but Connie had eventually lost her after they came across some of Kelly's friends from school. Connie didn't mind though that as she was after some time to herself anyway.

She had been wandering around the grounds now for a while and she had yet to come across a quiet place, as the gardens were absolutely crowded. The further she went the more people she had come up to her to congratulate her on her achievement. She was surprised that she hadn't managed to find a quiet place yet as the gardens were quite large, but there were a lot of people around. Right now she was following one of the paths around the back of the gardens when a woman passed by her.

Person: Hey congratulations on getting into the Academy.

Connie spun around as she continued down the path and put on her best smile, which was becoming more and more forced with each thank you.

Morgan: Thank you.

Connie went to turn around but she accidentally bumped into someone coming from the opposite direction, causing her to stager slightly as she momentarily lost her balance. She regained her balance and quickly spun around to apologise to whomever she had bumped into.

Morgan: I'm so sorry I wasn't watching where I was going.

Butterworth: It's fine, it's fine I wasn't paying much attention either.

She looked up at the person who she had crashed into to find much to her surprise that he was also a cadet, and a fairly cute cadet as well. She stood there silently for a couple of moments as she got over her embarrassment of bumping into a stranger, it took her a little bit longer to realise that she was staring at him.

Morgan: Hey you're a cadet right?

Butterworth: Yeah that's what the uniform says.

Morgan: ;;shakes her head;; Oh sorry, I should introduce myself, I'm Connie.

extends her hand;;

Butterworth: Ah yes your this year's cadet ;;shakes her hand;; It's nice to meet you the names Daniel.

Morgan: ;;smiles;; Thanks.

Butterworth: I should also say congrat..

Connie quickly waved her hand and shook her head in protest, bringing Butterworth to a stop mid-sentence, as she didn't think that she could here that word congratulations one more time.

Morgan: Sorry but I think that I'm going to scream if I hear that word one more time.

Butterworth: ;;chuckles;; I know the feeling, I went through it myself a couple of years ago.

Morgan: So are you third or forth year?

Butterworth: Third I'm starting my forth year next semester.

Morgan: Oh okay.

Connie nodded her and smiled as she had finally found someone to talk to that wasn't just wishing her congratulations. She had known him for a couple of minutes, but he seemed like a nice enough guy and she was interested in learning a little bit more about him. It would also give her a little bit of an opportunity to learn some information about Star Fleet Academy.

Morgan: Are you doing anything at the moment?

Butterworth: ;;shrugs;; Not really I'm just doing laps of the gardens.

Morgan: Mind if I tag along?

Butterworth: ;;smiles;; Sure I'm always up for the company.

Morgan: Thanks.

Butterworth stepped off to the side of the path and gestured with his hands towards the direction that he had been taking on his warp. Connie quickly accepted his invitation and started to make her way down the path, locking her hands together behind her back as she went. Butterworth waited until she passed him by before catching back up with her. They walked together following the path for close to fifteen minutes talking about a number of things ranging from Star Fleet Academy to their respective families. Their pleasant conversation was often interrupted by the people they passed as each of them passed on their congratulations to Connie on getting into the academy.

Person: All the best at the academy.

Morgan: Thanks.

Butterworth: ;;quietly;; I think that I've counted 10 congratulations for you since we first met.

Morgan: Well I'vee lost count.

She came to stop in the middle of the path and turned around to face Daniel who had stopped with her, as she wanted to ask him a question.

Morgan: How did you manage with all of this?

Butterworth: You want the honest answer?

Morgan: ;;nods;; Yes please.

Butterworth: I hid.

Morgan: ;;giggles;; You hid?

Butterworth: Well I wouldn't say that it was exactly hiding, let's just say that I know a really quiet place here in the gardens and that I spent a fair bit of time there.

Connie couldn't believe what she was hearing as she had originally been seeking a place where she could have a quiet moment after from everything, but she had given up that hope after her own fruitless search of the gardens. She now had a chance to change that and get away from all of the activity for a while, that was of course it her fellow cadet would be good enough to show her where it was.

Morgan: Can you show me?

Butterworth: Ahh It's kind of a secret, I only stumbled across it by accident.

Morgan: Pretty please.

Butterworth: Okay, you just have to promise that you will keep it to yourself.

Morgan: I promise.

Butterworth: I'll hold you that.

Morgan: You have my word.

Butterworth: Alright this way, it�s actually not to far away from here.

She followed him as he lead her to a fork in the path where they turned left and followed the path as it went up a hill. Connie had been this way before and she hadn't come across anything resembling a quiet area in that trip other then a number of thick trees that blocked what would have been a beautiful view of the city of Hobart. Nevertheless she followed him as he continued on his way up the hill and they picked up their conversation from where they had left off before.

Butterworth: So you have a sister?

Morgan: ;;nods;; Yeah, Kelly she's pretty much a tomboy.

Butterworth: ;;glances across to her;; How so?

Morgan: She loves her sport.

Butterworth: Yeah? Does that include cricket?

Morgan: Yes, both she and my father are keen followers of cricket.

Butterworth: And what about you?

Morgan: What with cricket?

Butterworth: ;;nods;; Yeah.

Morgan: ;;shrugs;; It's okay I guess, I like to watch it.

Butterworth: Played it?

Morgan: A little bit yes, but I'm no good at it, Kelly's got all the sporting talent in our family.

Butterworth: We're just about there.

Butterworth came to a stop as they arrived at the top of the hill. Connie came to a stop to and took a look around. This area of the gardens didn't appear to be any crowded then the area that they had just left as there was a small BBQ hut that was occupied near by that was being used by a fairly large family.

Morgan: You sure?

Butterworth nodded his head and quietly stepped across to one of the large trees that was obscuring the view of Hobart along the right side of the paved path. Once by the tree he reached out and grabbed a fairly large leafy branch which he pulled back to reveal a small opening that lead to the other side of the tree.

Morgan: Well I'll be.

Butterworth: It's a little bit of a tight fit but it's well worth it.

She looked up at Butterworth and smiled grateful for his assistance before she slowly stepped into through the gap and carefully made her way through to the other side. She came to a stop as she emerged from the tree like in total awe of now unobstructed view of the Derwent river and city of Hobart which was all let up with the it's surroundings suburbs.

Morgan: This view is beautiful.

Butterworth: I told you that it was worth it.

Connie nodded her head as she studied the stunning view from her vantage point, before she started to look at the rest of her surroundings. Daniel had been right in that this area was pretty isolated as the trees to the rear effectively cut it off from the rest of gardens. She eventually turned back around to face Butterworth.

Morgan: Thanks for bringing me here.

Butterworth: ;;nods;; Your welcome, if you want I can give you some time to yourself?

Morgan: ;;shakes her head;; No I'm fine thanks.

Butterworth: You sure?

Morgan: Yeah I just wanted to get away from the crowd, that's all.

Connie turned around and made slightly made her way down the embankment before she sat herself down on the grass. She looked up at Daniel and patted the turf on the right of her, inviting her to sit down beside her. He sat down beside her and there was silence between them for a couple of minutes as Connie relished the peacefulness of the secret hideaway. She was the one to first break the silence as she turned her attention to the dark starlight sky that hung above them.

Morgan: So tell me about your sister.

Butterworth: ;;glances to Connie;; Rebecca?

Morgan: ;;nods;; Yeah, what does she do?

Butterworth: She's in Star Fleet, she recently took up a position with the recruitment core.

Morgan: Sounds interesting.

Butterworth: She likes it.

Morgan: That's all that really matters I suppose.

Butterworth: What about you? What are you planning on studying at Academy?

Morgan: ;;leans back and rests her elbows on the grass;; Medicine.

Butterworth: Medicine huh?

Morgan: ;;nods;; Yeah I want to become a Doctor, you?

They spent close to an hour carrying on their conversation this time focusing mostly on the academy and what Connie could expect when she got there next semester. Connie was surprised by how well that she was getting along with Daniel as they had only really just met, but she could see that there was potential there to develop a friendship of sorts between them. Their conversation eventually moved back on to their family and friends and Connie learned about Butterworth's parents restaurant on the Hobart waterfront. They talked for so long that Connie eventually lost track of time, it wasn't until she checked the time that she realised that she was late meeting back up with her parents.

Morgan: ;;sits up straight;; Well it's getting pretty late, I should probably go and meet back up with my parents.

Butterworth: Yeah I should start thinking about making my way home as well.

Butterworth stood up from the grass and brushed himself off before he offered her his hand, which Connie accepted and then he pulled her up onto her feet. Connie brushed her hair and back over shoulder as she pulled an errant blade of grass out of the collar of her cadet uniform.

Morgan: ;;smiles;; Listen I had a good time tonight.

Butterworth: ;;nods;; Yeah same here.

Morgan: And thanks again for showing me this place.

Butterworth: No problem, just remember to keep it secret.

Morgan: You have my word. ;;smiles;; Night Daniel.

Butterworth: ;;nods;; Goodnight Connie.

Connie took one last around the clearing before she waved goodbye to Daniel. She then turned around and walked across to the gap in the trees that lead out of this little sanctuary.

Butterworth: Hey Connie!

Connie came to a quick stop at the trees and turned back around to face Daniel.

Morgan: Yeah?

Butterworth: Look me up at the academy if you want, I'll be more then happy to show you around.

Morgan: ;;smiles and nods;; I will. That I promise.

OFF: This was a JP by:

==========
Doctor Connie Morgan
Chief Medical Officer
USS Pacifica
==========
Commodore Daniel Butterworth
Commanding Officer
USS Pacifica NCC-72545
"Join the Adventure Today!"
http://www.usspacifica.com