Calabraxos IV

She just lay for a moment, letting her muscles relax and breathing the scented air, the smell of flowers and grass filling her nostrils. Then she stretched, yawned and sat up.

Astra was sitting near to her. She was wearing a simple white tunic, completely open-sided, with a string tied around her waist as a belt. She was carefully tying together a chain of daisies. Were they actually daisies like they had on Earth? This was Calabraxis IV. So were they alien-daisies?Calabraxian Daisies? Or maybe colonists had brought daisies with them and now they were growing here, hundreds of light years from Earth. But if you were a colonist, why would you bring daisies? Wouldn't you focus on important things like wheat or potatoes or carrots, genetically modified to be able to grow in Calabraxian soil? There had to be so many important things you'd need to worry about. Daisies just wouldn't come into it. So that settled it. Astra was making a Calabraxian-daisy chain.

Stacy looked down into the valley below at the crystal blue lake. In the distance were pale purple mountains and the faint glint from the spires of a city nestled in the green rolling hills.

Astra held up the completed daisy chain, smiling triumphantly. She got up and stood over Stacy, her smooth, athletic legs straddling Stacy. She delicately placed the daisy chain over Stacy's head and then sat down in her lap.

"There you go." Astra arranged Stacy's curly hair over the back of the daisy necklace. "Beautiful."

Stacy smiled and rested her hands on Astra's knees, feeling her soft skin. Astra crossed her arms over the top, forming a bridge between her knees and rested her head on her hands.

"Astra! Where's your bracelet!"

"'Twas uncomfortable," said Astra dreamily, "so I took it off."

"Astra, we need to be more careful. Without the bracelet..."

"We'll be stranded here. I know. Would that be so bad?"

"Well, no" Stacy looked into Astra's emerald green eyes. "I suppose not. But I'd rather be careful. I like to be able to contact the ship."

"Surely the whole point of shore leave is not to contact the ship." Astra slipped off Stacy's teleport bracelet and tossed it into the grass. "There that's better."

Stacy opened her mouth to protest but Astra put finger on her lips.

"Shhh. Be at peace." She stroked Stacy's forearms. "Enjoy the moment. For once let's not fret about ships or teleporters or blasters."

1. Stacy relaxed and they went for a swim.
2. Stacy relaxed and they went for a walk.
3. Stacy insisted they contact the ship anyway.

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