Pursuit and Capture

Posted on Mon Feb 5th, 2024 @ 9:39pm by Commander Kevin Lance

Mission: Guilty Pleasures
Location: Risa
Timeline: Current

on:
{Risa}

Kevin walked along the arcade of shops, restaurants and bars extending out from the central hub that housed Risa’s arrival control. He was dressed in civilian clothing, a loose-fitting shirt, pants that would allow for freedom of movement and boots. He was more completely clothed than many of the other visitors and much more so than the Risan’s themselves. He had several hours before he needed to meet with Lieutenant Walker and was considering how he should spend his time.

This was only his second official visit to Risa as the time that Q abducted him didn’t count in his mind. His first visit had been nearly a decade and a half before when he was a crewman aboard the Dorcas James. He had been a teenager then, restricted from some of the more “adult” activities but he still remembered the Risan girl that had made the visit special for him. Thara was likely an administrator now as attendants tended to skew younger and he doubted that he would meet her again. I was just as well. He wasn’t interested in a resumption of that acquaintance for reasons of anonymity.

Lieutenant Walker had given him a list of equipment to purchase for their expedition but it wouldn’t take long to procure those items. It was too early to eat and after his experience in Quark’s he wasn’t interested in drinking. He didn’t feel like swimming or sunbathing but there were holosuites available. He did have time for some parkour practice but first, he turned into a shop that specialized in outdoor recreational gear.

After purchasing the supplies and equipment, Kevin headed towards the holosuites. As he turned down a street, he noticed a Risan on a podium giving a sales pitch.

“Friends and Visitors!” the man announced, “Come and participate in a traditional game of Risan tag! Oh I know what you are thinking. That tag is a game for children. It is an import from Earth over two centuries ago but it has evolved into a much more mature experience!”

“You Friend!” the man called out and pointed to Kevin, “You look like the type of gentleman that appreciates a physical challenge. Come and test yourself against the best that Risa has to offer!”

Kevin was on the verge of ignoring the Risan but considered that competition against a live opponent would give him a much different experience than competing has computer generated foes. What “a much more mature experience” meant gave him some pause but then decided that it was Risa. How dangerous could it really be?

“Alright,” Kevin said as he turned towards the Risan salesman, “What do we do?”

===============

Participants were divided into two teams, a red team and a blue team. There was an equal distribution of Risans and non-Risans on each. Kevin was assigned to the blue team, denoted by an armband with a blue light around his bicep. Risans and non-Risans could tag each other out but you could only be untagged by the someone of the same “race” on your own team. In Kevin’s case, that meant another non-Risan on the blue team. Play continued until all of the players on one team were tagged out. A bit like a force-on-force exercise from his Academy days but without weapons.

The terrain that composed the field of play was a mixture of building and open spaces. The open spaces contained trees and tall structures that might have been art installations. Regardless, the area seems ideal for his parkour talents.

The starting gong rang and Kevin began sprinting towards one of the buildings. Using a nearby bench, he vaulted up the wall to a balcony on the second floor. As he pulled himself up, one of the other competitors shouted, “Hey! We’re supposed to stick together!”

“No way,” Kevin called back, “I’m doing this on my own.”

===============

Almost thirty minutes into the competition, Kevin was the only player on blue team that was still untagged. He had been successful in avoiding the red team despite having to change hiding spots several times but now they were executing an effective cordon and search technique that had flushed him from his final hiding spot.

After a brief chase, he was now surrounded by three Risans, two male and one female. They were evenly spaced around him cutting off all possible escape routes. As Kevin feinted towards the space between the two males, the red-headed female tagged him out from behind. In the distance, he heard the gong that announced the end of the game.

The Risans immediately relaxed and one of the males complemented Kevin on having lasted so long without being tagged. Kevin was irritated that he hadn’t been able to escape but accepted the complement with as much good graces as he could muster.

“Since I tagged you out,” the woman stated, “you owe me a reward.”

“What reward would you have?” Kevin asked.

“A kiss,” she approached him expectantly.

Kevin shook his head. He knew a kiss had implications that were beyond mortal control, even on Risa. Especially on Risa. “I don’t think so,” he replied as the red-head pouted, “Thank you for a rousing game.”

As he climbed down off the building, his communicator chirped. Lieutenant Walker’s voice hailed him through the communicator.

=/\= “I am finished up with that engineering repair. I’ll be beaming down in about 15 minutes.” =/\=

“I will meet you at Arrival Control,” Kevin replied, “Lance, out.”

:off

Lieutenant Commander Kevin Lance
Chief Flight Control Officer/Second Officer
USS Chuck Norris