Road Trip [for losthunter]

[boldygoing]

It's a beautiful spring day in Riverside, Iowa. The skies are clear and the weather is pleasantly mild, and across the endless fields that stretch out into vast distances, automated farm machinery is hard at work planting corn for the season.

There's no such machinery around the Kirk farm, though someone has bothered to zap away some of the weeds threatening to devour the foundation. The old homestead still sits disturbingly empty, all but abandoned if not for a few small signs that someone has been there recently. One of those signs sits just outside the house, leaning up against his motorbike as he waits for another rider to come join him, a set of riding goggles resting against his forehead.

The motorcycle has clearly seen better days, but it's nothing like twenty-first century bikes. There are no spokes in the wheels, for one thing - indeed, the wheels don't even seem attached by anything visible, held in place by some invisible force. It's keeping itself upright without a kickstand, as well, even though the young man in question is leaning most of his weight against it.

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[losthunter]

Slightly away from the house, a PINpoint door opens and Hunter arrives, riding his Harley Davidson towards where Jim is waiting for him. The sound of the bike echoes across the flat plains of Iowa. And Hunter is wearing a stylized bike helmet too. He stops the bike, balances it before letting the engine shut off.

"Going my way?" He smiled.

[boldygoing]

The engine noise gets his attention right away, such a foreign sound in this century. Jim smiles a little and snaps his communicator closed, clipping it to his belt. "Depends on where you're headed, stranger," he answers as he looks over the bike and its rider. It's all very twenty-first century. No safety features but leather and a helmet made from incredibly basic materials, by this century's reckoning. Not to mention the very peculiar scent of gasoline fumes it brings along with it. It's an antique, from where Jim's sitting. But he's always had a fondness for old things.

"Nice wheels."

[losthunter]

"Thank you." Hunter will have to use a kickstand to steady the bike, once it is turned off, and he gets off it. He takes off his helmet, so he can look at Jim's bike a little closer.

"Yours is so futuristic!"

[boldygoing]

It's a bit funny to Jim to hear such a relatively old bike described as futuristic. "It's older than the one I used to have. 2219 Monoceros Sport." He reaches back and pats the bike fondly. "Bones may not like it, but I've gotta have some way to get around."

[losthunter]

"Well, he is not here." Hunter pulls Jim into a warm embrace. He is a little more padded than normal, due to the motorcycle jacket and chaps.

[boldygoing]

"Damn straight he isn't." Jim hugs Hunter back, and gives him a kiss on the cheek. His own jacket is more for style than for safety, but it'll do in a pinch. He's also sporting a pair of fingerless gloves to guard his hands, and there's a small flat black square stuck to the back of his neck.

"I haven't planned out the whole day, but I did look up some other stuff we can do while we're out," the captain says, with a small grin. "Lunch included."

[losthunter]

Hunter affectionately ruffles Jim's hair when he kisses him on the cheek. He takes a moment to admire the stylish jacket (and the man inside of it).

"Sounds great."

"So, tell me about your bike."

[boldygoing]

Like bike riders of Hunter's time, Jim is more than happy to expound upon his ride's virtues. "Five hundred brake horsepower, twin fuel cell frictionless engine, plus it's got the solar panel body option so I can recharge on the road. Top speed's about four hundred kilometers per hour but the cops don't like it when you do that on the open road, so we've got to keep it down to one-sixty, max."


[Apologies if anything is super wrong, I know nothing about vehicles and did a lot of googling, lol. :P I had Jim use kph because Starfleet usually deals in kilometers in canon instead of miles.]

[losthunter]

"Wow... solar panels..." Hunter is very impressed. And moves closer to the bike so he can check it out.

[I know nothing about vehicles either. So it is all good]

[boldygoing]

Jim's bike is deceptively light but sturdy, built out of polymers and alloys that Hunter won't recognize, as they didn't originate on Earth. The style and design is close enough to twenty-first century motorcycles, however, that it can't be mistaken for anything else.

There are storage compartments built into the underside of the bike, and Jim has made sure it's stocked with water and snacks, as well as a first aid kit, just in case. The controls seem fairly similar to the ones on the Harley, but there's no spot for an ignition key, just a thin slot about an inch wide.

Jim, in turn, is checking out Hunter's bike. It's been a while since he's seen one this old in design, and he does love his antiques. "This is pretty solidly built."

pretend I know stuff...

[losthunter]

In contrast, Hunter's bike is a heavyweight cruiser-style motorcycle, with the classic V-Twin engines. The high-torque engine can be seen, placed into a relatively small space in the body of the bike. Hunter's Harley Davidson is a Twin Cam, which is designed to comply with noise regulations.

"Harleys have that distinction of being solidly built."

[boldygoing]

Jim chuckles. "Don't take this the wrong way, but the last time I saw a bike like this, it was in a museum."

[losthunter]

"Well, if you feel up to it, you could take her for a spin." Hunter winks. "I won't tell McCoy."

[boldygoing]

"Thanks, but I'm trying to be good this time." Jim does appreciate the offer though, and he just might take him up on it at a future date.

[losthunter]

"No naughtiness... shame." Hunter smirks slightly.

"So I hope your road trip plans include a lot of back roads and scenery." The back roads will be the best way for Hunter to avoid being spotted on his 21st bike.

[boldygoing]

Jim laughs a little. "This is Iowa. There's plenty of scenery, don't worry." Jim straddles his bike, and produces a little square chip that he inserts into the slot before pressing the button next to it. His engine doesn't quite have the same deep, gas-burning rumble as Hunter's combustion engine, more of an electric purr that fits in well with the other future technologies Hunter has seen so far.

"We're going to swing by the shipyards on our way out of town, if that's okay."

[losthunter]

"That is more than okay. How are repairs doing on the Enterprise?" Hunter asks. He hasn't started his bike yet, wanting to actually hear Jim's answer first.

[boldygoing]

"It's slow going," Jim admits. "She won't be space-worthy for at least four months, and then she'll have to be retested and recertified before she's ready to go back on duty." Much like himself, as it happens.

[losthunter]

"Well, let's get your mind off the waiting... at least for today." Hunter smiles. Then starts up his bike, revving it to life.

[boldygoing]

Jim pulls the goggles over his eyes and revs his own engine, still quieter than the roar of Hunter's Harley but still powerful. His back tire kicks out as he wheels the Monoceros around, aiming down the long dirt road that leads out towards the main paved roadway, and guns it. The bike glides gracefully over the small bumps in the road, eager to eat up the miles, but Jim holds it back a bit, making sure he isn't outpacing Hunter.

Out ahead, the terrain stretches put to the horizon, mostly flat and green with seedling crops, and Jim angles their path in the direction of the massive hazy structures off in the distance.

[losthunter]

It is a good thing that Jim is holding back on how fast he is going, since his bike can hit a higher top speed than Hunter's bike can. His bike rumbles as he drives behind Jim, a constant reminder of the person taking this adventure with him.

[boldygoing]

Jim positions himself so he can still see Hunter without turning his head too much, leading the way without being too far ahead. There are no other vehicles on the road at the moment, emphasizing how very middle-of-nowhere the small town of Riverside is. A small collection of buildings sits off to the west, marking the main center of town, but Jim barely glances its way, focused on the wide open road and the warm spring breeze in his hair.

As they close the distance between Jim's childhood home and the large structures in the distance, the haze begins to fade until their shape becomes clear. It's an enormous series of scaffolds, permanent in nature, built to cradle the shape of a starship under construction, or under repair. And as they get closer, it becomes obvious that the starship held in the dry dock is familiar.

There's a fence around the shipyard, keeping out unauthorized personnel, but they don't need to enter the fence to get a good look. Jim leads the way to a hill overlooking the dry dock, his path assured like he's been there before.

[losthunter]

Hunter is amazed by the sight of the structure. And he can immediately tell why this location was a great one for the shipyard. With acres and acres of flat space, it makes for a perfect place for the shipyard.

Following Jim up the path to the hill overlooking the dry dock, Hunter slows down enough so he can place his foot on the ground, and pause in an idle position looking down on the Enterprise.

Jim's ship looks like it had gone through Hell, and is still recovering. It is a sombre reminder of the battle that Jim's crew had endured. Of the people who lost their lives. Of Jim himself laying in a comatose state. His heart is still fragile after saying goodbye to Kendra, so the sight of the ship reminds Hunter of what he almost lost.

[boldygoing]

Jim comes to a stop too, looking down the hill - though still up at the Enterprise. Seeing her on the ground makes her look so much larger somehow, yet the scorched holes in her hull are a sobering reminder of what she's been through. Parts of the interior are open and exposed to atmosphere, some from torpedo hits, others simply burned away when the starship fell into the atmosphere of Earth.

But all around her, workmen are hard at work removing the damaged sections, replacing them with newly forged hull plating, or repairing what can be salvaged. It's sort of like watching a doctor do surgery on a patient, slowly nursing the wounded ship back to life. Jim's back twinges in sympathy, and he reaches back to idly rub at the small of his back, easing the momentary glitch of recovering muscles and nerves.

They're both on the road to recovery. And while Jim himself is far better off, he knows that the Enterprise will get there too, in time.

The captain glances over at Hunter, trying to gauge his thoughts.

[losthunter]

In a fashion, seeing the Enterprise in this fashion is even more interesting than seeing it floating in space. Hunter gets a better idea of the perspective of the ship.

He turns, sensing that Jim is glancing at him. Removing his helmet, Hunter wipes away a stray tear. "I am one of those sensitive souls."