Meanwhile, Back At The Farm

Posted on Thu Apr 2nd, 2026 @ 2:42am by Lieutenant JG Katie Kellerman & Lieutenant JG Jenna Jade

Mission: Lower Decks
Location: Holodeck

Jenna stood at the doors and inhaled deeply as she looked out over the pastures that stretched off into the distance. The smell was that of home, certainly there was the whiff of cow manure, the sweeter smell of the horses and the hay. On the barn to the right was a logo of a small R with a large J atop it and she toed the ground in front of her with one boot before she smiled and took the hat off to let the sun shine down on her.

Katie looked around and smiled as well. The colors and arrangements were somewhat different from her farm back home, but the smells of soil and farmlife were very familiar. She looked around approvingly, loving the look of the place. "It's beautiful," she said.

"There ain't no place like home." Jenna said out loud, crouching down to pick up some of the dirt to rub it between her hands before wiping them on her jeans. "So, Katie, Ah don't think Ah ever asked you, but do you ride horses at all? If you don't, we've got a couplea four-wheelers in a shed somewhere, but the trail is so much better on horseback."

"I love horses," Katie said, grinning. "Papa and I would ride them through the fields back home all the time when we had to go inspect all the irrigation stations. Kally and I would go riding sometimes together as well when we had some free time, especially when we were kids."

"Ah could probably show you the fields if you really wanted to," Jenna said with a slight laugh. "But we really don't grow much more than corn and soybeans to make our own feed for the cattle. Cotton, for sure, but those fields aren't any fun in any case, besides, there's a small peach grove down by where Ah'm going to take you today." She beamed at Katie, "And Ah've got a wonderful gelding that Ah think you'll like, a dappled grey named Zephyr, Jess's baby, but fast and responsive to the reins and legs. Ah've got a mare Ah call Sunshine, she's a palomino, raised her from a foal." She gestured towards the barn, "Ah presume you'll wanna saddle him yourself?"

"Sure," Katie said, brightly, following Jenna to the stable. "And I'm absolutely down for peaches. We grow mostly gourds, but our neighbor has orchards that produce all kinds of goodies. We'd snuck in more than once to grab something."

After Jenna swung the barn door open, she reached into a covered bin just inside and grabbed a handful of small round half-inch disks and handed a trio of them to Katie, "All of them love these things, a mix of alfalfa, molasses and three grains then baked." The barn was suddenly full of throaty nickering as heads began to poke out of the stall doors and Jenna giggled, making her way towards the golden head with the white mane that looked at her with bright eyes. One of the disks vanished with a crunch and she wrapped the neck in her arms to hug the horse who whuffled at her pockets in search of more before she made a move to the halter that was hung by the stall door, feeding her another disk before slipping the halter on.

A few moments later the palomino was being led out and Jenna watched to make sure Katie wasn't having any issues with the grey.

Katie walked up to the large, dappled face looking at her, looked him square in the eye and smiled. "Hello, handsome," she said. "You must be Zephyr." She handed the horse one of the disks and stroked his head gently as he ate, letting him get her scent and learn to trust her. She reached for a nearby halter as well, slipping it on him and giving him quiet praise the whole time, keeping him calm. She grabbed a brush and began brushing the horse's back gently.

Jenna whispered to Sunshine as she just draped the lead rope over the post in the level of trust that years of working with the mare had built up. Ears flicking around, a turn of the head as the mare briefly investigated the sight of the new person before shaking her head and lowering it as the brush began to run over her in short firm strokes. Even Jenna seemed to be relaxing even more from the familiar setting and motions. She ran fingers down the legs to pick up the horse’s feet to check them for obstruction or small stone, flicking one pebble off got her side.

Katie half watched her horse and half watched Jenna, smiling as she saw Jenna's shoulders drop and her posture loosen. She finished brushing and went back to stroking the horse's forehead, giving it another treat.

Vanishing into the tack room for a few moments, Jenna returned with a western-style saddle and a hackamore bridle over her shoulder and in a few moments had the palomino saddle up, coaxing the mare to exhale to cinch the saddle down snugly before sliding the halter off and bridle on before planting a a kiss on the silky smooth skin over the nostrils, “That’s a pretty girl, yeah..” She whispered.

Katie grabbed a saddle and mat as well and prepped her ride. When she was done, she gave him a gentle pat on the flank and led him out of the stall. "Here we go," she said. "Try not to get too excited.

Jenna gave the gray a quick once over with her eyes only, nodding with a smile as she all but verified everything was snugged down, "Need a hand gettin' on?" She asked Katie, "We've got me or a mountin' block over there." With the shake of Katie's head in the negative, Jenna gave a slight laugh before sticking one foot into a stirrup, hopping twice before committing and hauling herself up into the saddle with practiced ease.

Katie stepped up to her horse's left and, with a smoothness she hadn't quite forgotten from the old days, stuck one foot in and vaulted up, swinging her leg over and landed in her saddle. She adjusted her position, sat up and held the reigns tightly. "Ready to go!" she said, grinning. "How far is it?"

"It's just a short little ride to where we're goin', about twenty minutes if Ah remember right." Jenna held the reins in her left hand and with a slight movement of the hand and one knee, the palomino mare turned and started off at a walk, ears flitting around. "So this is where Ah call home, Katie; that barn over by the big house is where Ah had my own little engineerin' lab, which Ah spent all my copious free time in between tennis and all the social events Ah was participatin' in."

Katie grinned. "Kally told me I wasn't allowed to have a lab in our room, so Papa built me a shed. Every time we had to order replacement parts for something on the farm, I'd beg for an extra piece, or sneak off the broken bits to work on."

Jenna gave a laugh, shaking her head, “Ah never really worked with the broken pieces, but then again Ah didn’t really give myself enough time to really deal with it, only at the Academy when we were goin’ through all those repair procedures. Ah think my daddy thought the whole engineerin’ thing was just a phase Ah was goin’ through, that Ah’d never actually up and leave home for the stars. Didn’t stop him from supportin’ my decision, though, and they even came out to visit before we left to come out this way. That’s why Ah’ve been thinkin’ about goin’ home again, just staying there after we get back.”

"Papa hated losing me from the farm," Katie said. "He had to hire two extra--" she stopped as she realized what Jenna said. "Wait...stay as in stay? For good? Resign? Why?" Her voice went up in pitch with each question.

The grey had broken into a trot until it was up next to Jenna and the face glanced down before turning to look at Katie, "This isn't just a kneejerk reaction anymore, Ah've been puttin' serious thought to it." Jenna gave a sad smile, "No matter what else happens, what Ah did is goin' to stay with me the rest of my career in Starfleet. Ah know that the Cap'n has faith in me, or at least that's what she says, but Ah'm most likely not gonna be on Chimera or under her command the rest of my career. Eventually Ah'll be off to another assignment and if that CO or Chief Engineer looks at my record, they're goin' to see a few things: First that Ah was promoted way too quickly, which can be forgiven with the circumstances, but when they see how Ah responded to it, with the drugs, they'll never trust me on my own. Ah did it to myself and while Ah know all of y'all are behind me and supportin' me, Ah don't know if Ah could stand everyone else lookin' over my shoulder for thirty years or so."

Katie sat frozen, staring at Jenna, mouth hanging open. "The WHAT?" she shouted, her voice shooting through air like a cannon, a flock of birds rising in the distance from the disturbance.

"Stims." Jenna flinched at the shout, but the worst had to be over about that, still, the surprise that was in the voice. "Ah thought y'all knew? Ah mean, Ah was bein' treated by Kally for a few days and Ah didn't return to Engineerin' in that time, just went to work in the shuttlebay."

"NO I didn't know about that!" she said, looking both horrified for Jenna and sad for her at the same time. "No one knows! Kally didn't tell anyone what happened...we all just thought you kinda...had a bit of a meltdown."

With a slight tug of the reins, Sunshine came to a halt, "Ah've been usin' for a long time, Katie. Off and on since Trarim, but over the last three-four months, it's been a daily thing, first to just get some energy goin', but over the last month? Since just before we hit that ambush? It's been more and more. Ah couldn't tell your sister, Ah even forged a prescription, got young Tessa to fill it for me, she didn't know any better."

Katie stopped as well, coming up beside Jenna. Her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head. "Aw Jenna," she said. "I guess that's why Kally couldn't tell us about it. Confidentiality." She sighed, then looked back at Jenna. "Are you still...is this still an issue? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Sometimes all Ah wanna do is go and take another stim, or maybe go and get drunk or the like and Ah don't drink." Jenna remarked, "But if Ah did, Ah'd be givin' in to the demons and Kally would sink me for sure. Really all Ah can do is just try to muddle on for now. Just... If Ah look like Ah'm about to break, make sure Ah don't do nothin' stupid, all right?"

"Promise," Katie said. "And any time you feel shaky, you come find me and I'll give you a hug and we'll ride it out together, okay? I'm here any time you need someone to talk to."

"Ah will." Jenna confirmed, kneeing the mare over to stand next to the gelding and leaned over for one of those aforementioned hug, "Now, you did wear your swimsuit under your clothes, right?" She quirked a smile, "Ah'll admit Ah did make some changes when Ah built this program, but Ah'm not sure Ah'd be all that comfortable gettin' naked with you?"

"Aw, shame. Back home, skinny dipping was pretty common. Besides, I'm the respectable sister, remember? You think I'm just gonna jump out of my clothes for you just because I'm a Kellerman?"

Jenna got a laugh out of that and she nudged her horse onwards, "Sometimes you never know. Ah've heard a story or two about how you and Kally had some sort of a competition back in the when and Ah know that you've gone at least a lot more legitimate since you and the Senior Chief decided you're right for each other."

"I have always been the more legitimate one, thank you very much," Katie said, loftily trotting along beside her. "Besides, i was single then." She stuck a tongue out at Jenna and grinned. "But yes, I have my swimsuit. I could use a dip. Haven't been swimming in a couple weeks."

"Then you're in luck, which is why Ah recommended the swimsuit, because Ah've got a swimmin' hole that Ah used to go to often with my siblin's, pretty decent size, but unlike the one back home, there aren't any bugs in this one. And Ah kinda arranged for reclined seatin' in the water, plus a bit of heating in case the sun hasn't heated it properly." Jenna grinned, "Plenty big enough for swimmin' in, that's for sure."

"Excellent," Katie said, spurring her horse on faster. "Let's not waste time, then!" she called behind her.

It was just a motion of booted feet and a release of reins and the palomino went into a rapid lope to chase after the pair and Jenna laughed as she settled into it, letting the mare catch up to the gray and pass to take the lead, but only because she knew where they were going. They kept the pace for a while before Jenna slowed to more of a walk and finally to a halt before dismounting smoothly and beginning the process of unsaddling her mount, pulling a halter out of the saddlebag and replacing the hackamore.

She sighed as she finally released the mare with another nuzzle on the muzzle and Sunshine went off to graze on the lush grass that was abundant, a small little lake only a couple of dozen feet away. Jenna grinned at Katie while she kicked off the boots and jeans, then unbuttoned the shirt to reveal a bandeau bikini that resembled just a tied off neckerchief, placing the broad-brimmed hat on the pile of clothes, “It may be a bit chilly at first, but we can up the temperature if you prefer.”

"I'm good!" Katie said as she dismounted. She removed her saddle and gave her ride a kiss on the head before sending him off. She saw the lake and squealed happily, quickly shucking her clothing as well, revealing a modest two-piece. She eyed Jenna and raised an eyebrow. "You've been replicating some really cute stuff to wear, lately," she said. "And I know it isn't for me..."

Jenna blushed furiously and looked away from Katie, but dragged her gaze back towards the blonde, “It ain’t for anyone… Yet.” She managed to get out into words, picking her way down to the water’s edge and dipping a toe into the sub-drenched water, “But whether Ah ask Quinn out or not may depend on my final decision. If Ah stay, there’s a chance, but Ah ain’t gonna start something Ah won’t drag someone else into things.” She paused a moment longer, “Of course, that’s also if he doesn’t ask me out first, but Ah doubt he will.”

"Oh I knew you were full of it!" Katie said, throwing her shirt on the ground. "'Petty Officer Sullivan and Ah are just co-workers who have a current work location in common,'" she said, mimicking Jenna's accent. "Just co-workers, my foot!" She grinned ear-to-ear. "You've got the hots for The Ghost," she said, poking Jenna in the sternum. "Admit it."

“Ah do not!” Jenna argued, stepping back, one foot fully in the water, “He and Ah have only ever been coworkers!” The Southern woman turned and dove into the relatively shallow water at a similarly shallow angle, slicing into the water and coming up within a couple seconds, shaking her head to clear her face of water. “We’ve had a couplea workin' lunches, goin’ over the plans for the shuttles. Ah’ve even been workin’ to optimize the warp drives a bit and showin’ him how to fully service them!”” She looked back to Katie, “Don’t get me wrong, he’s kinda cute…”

"Oh he's very much cute," Katie said, walking in after her. "And I want to hear all about how you've been 'fully servicing his warp drive.' How long does it take him to break the tachyon threshold, hm? Got an impressive warp core?" She watched Jenna turn redder and broke out into a fit of giggles. "C'mon, Jenna! It's okay to have a crush on someone! I bet he's into you too!"

“Ah wouldn’t know.” Jenna mumbled as she remained a bright red like a tomato, “He and Ah have only ever talked about work and our families.” She sank back into the water, “And Ah know it’s okay, but Ah’m not gonna be the first one to say somethin’! Not yet at least, Ah only just met him a couplea weeks ago, at least officially and all that. He’s really quiet most of the time, lets me do most of the talkin’, sometimes he’ll do some talkin’, but he had a buncha sisters. Of course, sometimes we just work in silence, too. Ah’m actually likin’ the shuttlebay, but we’re startin’ to run outta repairs and upgrades.”

"Well of course you are," Katie said, coming over to her. "He's constantly working, and now he's got one of the best engineers on the ship working with him. No wonder you're catching up with things! But, hey, that just gives you time to chat him up and ask him out. Why wait for the immovable object? Why not open up the topic yourself?"

“Efficient, Ah’m efficient.” Jenna corrected her as she pushed off backwards towards the middle of the water, treading water effortlessly, “And Ah couldn’t! It ain’t proper, you know!” She gave a mock snub of her nose in the air, “Ah am a Lady, the gentlemen are supposed to ask!” She burst into a laugh to show that she wasn’t serious, “As Ah said, Ah’m not about to make a move if Ah ain’t stayin’ aboard, Ah’m not like… him to make someone make a choice of career or relationship.” She refused to say the name at this point.

"Yes of course, wouldn't be proper," Katie said, rolling her eyes as she stood up in the water. "And I'm not saying offer to marry the guy! I'm saying, if you're going to be here for a short time, why not enjoy that short time? Why not go have coffee with him? Or dinner? Or...." she let out a dramatic gasp, "spend some social time on the holodeck!" She covered her mouth in mock horror. "Imagine! Spendin' time with a beau in some harlot-appropriate setting!" she said, teasingly in Jenna's accent again, then went back to her own. "Not because you're going to marry the walking statue, but because you just enjoy his company! And who knows? Maybe he'll sweet talk you into sticking around for another month, or two months! Maybe...he'll be so charming you stay long enough to...." she looked around the empty clearing dramatically, "...kiss him! Oh heavens! I'm overcome with how hot this is getting! I must cool down!" She fanned herself dramatically and fell backwards into the water, giggling.

Jenna snrked in amusement with a wide grin on her face as she shook her head while Katie went under. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t thought about the possibility of going out on a date with Quinn, she’d wondered a time or two wha it would be like, but the prospect of dating wasn’t all that truly familiar to her. Back at home, there was a basic formula among the upper crust, even if it were only marginally kept to after so many centuries. With her tennis competitions and thoughts of making it a career, she’d never had the time and the way she’d thrown herself into her time as a cadet had precluded all but a couple of social outings there, but that was basically all they were and she remembered just how awkward she’d felt with the men her friends had set her up with.

As Katie swam under the surface towards Jenna and finally broke back up into the open air, she wiped her eyes and looked at Jenna. "You can't base every decision on something happening 'sometime' in the future. And if you make decisions deliberately to avoid being like him" she made quotation fingers, "then you're still making decisions based on him. Stop that. Do what makes you happy! You deserve happiness! You are worthy of happiness!" She moved over and gave Jenna a hug.

Jenna accepted the hug, giving one in return before they necessarily had to break apart to keep afloat, “Ah know, but-“ She cut herself off at the finger Katie pointed at her, “Look, Katie, Ah get what you’re sayin’, but Ah can’t just up and say it and then ask him out for dinner or some randomish Holodeck program, it just ain’t that easy!” She gave a sheepish smile, “Ah don’t know how… What to say, what to do, Ah’ve never really had the experiences. Rene? That happened so fast Ah don’t even know what we all did aside from his Musketeers themed programs. Whirlwind romance is an understatement. And then, as fast as it had started, he was gone. There wasn’t more than maybe a date or two, and they were more formal and everything.” She started a lazy backstroke, barely making any speed at all.

"Well then, we need to teach you how to get back into the dating world," Katie said, diving back under and shooting back above the surface before turning onto her back to float. "Teach you how to interface with the rest of us crazy people."

"Interface with that amount of craziness?" Jenna asked with a giggle, "Ah'm not sure anyone's really ready for that, much less myself!" She dove under the water and came up on the other side of Katie, clearing her own eyes now, "Ah've got the idea on makin' myself up, that's a weapon Ah've had for a long time and for the most part, Ah'm good on the fashion front, even if Ah don't have Minerva here anymore to design anythin' for me."

"Oh I've seen your fashion," Katie teased. "I've no doubt Quinn would appreciate it. After all, he's mute, not blind." She let them drift for a moment. "Ask him to dinner," she said. "Just finish a shift, and tell him you want him to join you. If he says no, then you know not to ask again and you finish your time on board. If he says yes..." She gave a small shrug. "Enjoy the quiet meal. If I can ask Jadizon out, you can ask Quinn out."

“And Ah’ll not want to overdress for it, otherwise he might get the wrong idea, or the right one, Ah don’t know!” Jenna splashed one hand violently in the water at her frustration, “And what’ll Ah talk about, if he feels all loquacious or somethin’? Ah don’t think work stuff would be the most appropriate and there ain’t that much about me that’s all that interestin’, really.”

"Jenna, don't take this the wrong way, but I've never known you to not have something to say," Katie said. "Just go right after your shift. You'll both be in work clothes and just talk about anything. A book you read, or ask him about his hobbies outside of the shuttlebay, something. You two barely know each other; there's plenty to talk about."

"But then how could it be a date?" Jenna stopped and thought about what she was saying, seeing Katie stare at her, arms folded. "Ah'm bein' difficult, aren't Ah?" She laughed after stating it. "You know, they say we're not supposed to get nervous as officers, but here ah am. Ah could talk about the farm, Ah'm sure, or even yeah, about some books that aren't manuals for engineerin'."

"There ya go," Katie said. "Problem solved." She splashed Jenna and swam away quickly.

Jenna's mouth dropped open after the water splashed over her and grinned, dropping into a chase after Katie. About ten minutes later they were lounging on the submerged chairs with their heads above water, both a bit worn out, "All right, so Ah'll ask him to dinner. If he feels more comfortable in uniform, all the better, but if he wants something a bit more casual, Ah'll get prettied up a little bit, but not too much, right?"

Katie sighed. "Jenna, stop thinking about it. This isn't an engineering problem that can be solved by mapping out pathways. This is getting over your fear. If you two get along in the shuttlebay, it's not because you 'prettied up' it's because he likes you as you are. Run with that. I was nervous as hell when I asked Jadizon for a proper date, and I was just in uniform and not made up. Granted, I had my legs wrapped around him, but still, not looking my prettiest." She looked at Jenna. "Just be you. You're great."

“But if Ah wanna make a good first impression, personal impression, not work related, Ah should-“ Jenna cut her own self off at the roll of Katie’s eyes and the glare, “Fahn, FAHN, I’ll go in uniform for the first dinner, see if it’s just the coworker that he likes workin’ with, or if it may be a personal likin’ that it may be! But don’t you tell me that if it’s all personal-like, that he thinks Ah’m pretty or somethin’ like that, that Ah won’t go get all gussied up for him! Ah am from The South! It’s almost a religion to us gals from there to get made up for the guys!”

Katie looked at her and grinned. "So you do like him."