A Warm Welcome (Anna, Ollie, Kiri)

[~ ADMIN]

Order: Anna, Oliver, Kiri

---------------------

Anna had arranged for a group of the crew members to spend some time at Sunset Resort, a resort run by the UGAP - some might see that as a downside, but for anyone working for UGAP, which they were, the use of the resort and its facilities was absolutely free. So, why not take the chance to use it and have a free holiday? That's what she'd figured anyway.

She led the gang Kiri Brooks, Natalie Fairholm, Oliver Platt, William Blake to their villa which was sat with the ocean practically on their doorstep. It was big enough for the five of them, each had their own room, and maybe more, if anyone ended up coming back and crashing on the sofas or whatever. She had a feeling she was going to enjoy this week, what with all the activities she'd never done before, and she hoped the other guys would as well.

"Here we are," she said, walking into the living area through the patio doors, her bag slung over her shoulder. Removing her sunglasses, she grinned, the place looked exactly as it had in the brochure, complete with their own infinity pool. Looking round at everyone, she smiled, "everyone has a double bed room to themselves, it was too awkward to figure out who should share. There's a brochure on the table with a map of the complex and a list of all the activities. You can chill or do whatever you want, it's up to you."

[somerandomhippie2]

Ollie had raised his eyebrows appreciatively as their gaggle had walked through the door. This was a proper beach house, meant for the tropics. No little cabins or huts, the building stretched far off on either side of him, probably holding bedrooms, living rooms, a kitchen... This was way better than his house.
As Anna mentioned a brochure, he leaned over to the table and flipped it open. This place had everything. Skiing, biking, food everywhere-- but best of all, an ocean. A real, proper ocean, all the salt water and everything.
He inhaled, just barely smelling the salt drifting in from the tide. "Smells like a resort," he grinned. Hoisting his small bag of clothes, and his even larger surfboard bag over his shoulder, he turned to the others. "Mind if I set this down in a room?" he asked the assembly. "The ocean awaits, after all."

[kiri]

Kiri spun around in a circle, taking in every inch of the beach house with wide, appreciative eyes. Never had she dared imagine life working for the government could be this... luxurious. It was beautiful, perfect, and far fancier than anywhere she'd ever vacationed before. Not that life as a medical student allowed for much vacationing. She quickly stowed her bag in one of the rooms before scampering back out to the main room to join Oliver at the table, peeking over his shoulder at the brochure.

"You're kidding... they have surfing and skiing? How long are we here for again? Kiri was already making plans. There was no way they'd have enough time for her to everything she wanted to, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try. She glanced at Oliver's surfboard bag with a grin. "Wow... first, how did you fit that on board? Second, we clearly need to go surfing together." It had been almost six months since she'd gotten to hit the waves, and that had been the surf coming off a tropical storm moving in to the bay back home. Nothing compared to where she'd learned off the coast of California. One could only hope the waves here were decent.

[William Blake]

Apart from taking a road trip to Wales with some of his Uni friends, Will hadn't actually ever on a vacation, so this was a completely new experience for him. He thought that places like this were reserved for TV programmes and cheesy movies, but apparently it was real, so very real, and so very astounding. He found himself staring completely agog at the view out over the infinity pool to the ocean, watching it sparkle in the bright sunlight. A small 'wow' broke his speechlessness, and he blinked hard. Yep, it was still there, it was real.

Turning back into the room, he looked at the merry band of crewmates that he agreed to come on this venture of Anna's. He couldn't have imagined this group together in any other circumstance, he didn't really know Oliver or Kiri, but hey, it could be fun. Dumping his bag on the floor, he walked over, peering over the top of Kiri - good thing she was short - at the brochure. Rocking climbing, hiking and the mountain biking all sounded great, but he'd be open to what the others wanted to do as well. He looked over at Natalie and smiled, before looking back at the brochure, saying, "I could definitely go for some scuba diving." He could only imagine the types of fish and other sea life they'd have here. "Or sailing." Anything that would take him out on the water.

[Natalie Blake]

Natalie could hardly breathe at the gorgeous sight of the beach house. Growing up in a saloon hadn't gotten her out much, and so this was a completely new experience for her. The place was just so big. The whole experience promised to be full of excitement and adventure.

The group that Annabelle had gotten together for the trip was an odd one, but that didn't matter much. They'd all have fun anyway, and making friends with other members of the crew would be a good plan. Each of them had their own personalities and quirks, and getting to know them, even if it wasn't really her thing, could prove to be fun.

Seeing as she was gaping at the building, it took Natalie a moment to notice that Annabelle had spoken, but she noticed that everyone had gone over to the table and she followed. She returned the smile Will offered her before peering around Oliver's shoulder to see what they were looking at. It turned out to be a multitude of brochures of activities they could pursue.

It sounded as though Kiri and Oliver had already established that they were probably going to go surfing, and Will commented that he wanted to go scuba diving or sailing. "I've never been on a boat," Natalie mused in response. "Sailing sounds like it could be fun. I think I'll go with you, if that's what you plan to do."

[~ ADMIN]

It definitely sounded like people were already making plans, some surfing, some sailing, it wasn't every day that they got to go out on the ocean, so it sounded like they were going to make the best of it. Now she had to choose what she wanted to do.

"Sure thing, Ollie, go for it," all the rooms were identical, so it didn't matter which ones they chose particularly. "I think I'm going to crash on the beach just out there and see if I can make myself just a little less pasty," she said with a smile, deciding it was probably the easiest option. She had the rest of the week to do all the other stuff she wanted to do. "You guys have fun though," she said with a grin, heading off to find a room and get changed.

[somerandomhippie2]

Ollie glanced over at Kiri. "You board?" he asked, slightly surprised. He didn't know Kiri very well at all, but hey, you learned something new every day. He grinned maniacally. "Sounds like a deal! And I don't know, Annabelle, why did you let me on the ship with a unidentified bag--" He turned, and stopped. Oh. She wasn't there anymore. "Your nickname sound like Rollie Polly Ollie, by the way!" he yelled down the hallway, where he assumed she was going. Not that it wasn't a bad cartoon, he just wasn't made out of spheres and wire.
He heard Will mention something about scuba diving. "If you don't feel like sailing all day, I'll put up an offer on the scuba," he mentioned. He had done a little diving back in university, but nothing like the ocean. That would be something to remember.
"Well, the ocean calls!" he grinned, setting off down the hallway for a room. He found one, got in some swim gear, and pulled his surfboard out of his bag. Ah, he missed the sea. Good thing it was right outside his window. He carried his board out, having waxed it on the shuttle in excitement, and waved at Annabelle as he dashed for the waves. The sea salt was making him a little giddy.
Seeing as Kiri wasn't out yet, as far as he could see, he paddled his board out to calm waters, just off the beach, and plopped down on his board, closing his eyes. He smiled as his arms trailed in the water, letting the sun beat down on his back. This was starting to feel like home already.

[kiri]

"Oliver, right? I've been surfing since I was a kid! Nothing like the California waves..." She sighed wistfully at the memory, but brushed it aside easily. This was so much better than sleeping on the floor of a shoddy little apartment in the bad part of town in Malibu. This whole place was custom designed for relaxation and pleasure, and she planned to take full advantage of it. Still, she was tired and stiff from the shuttle ride down, and surfing was best in the morning anyways. "But I think I'll wait till morning," she sighed. "I think Anna has the right idea for now."

She ducked into the room she'd already claimed and made short work of changing into her swimsuit. For surfing she had a proper wetsuit, but a bikini top and shorts would be perfect for just lounging around. Changing took less than five minutes, and after a quick once-over with some suntan lotion to keep from ending up utterly miserable for the rest of the week, she grabbed a towel and headed out to join Annabelle in lounging on the beach.

[William Blake]

Will watched as everyone made their decisions, Oliver choosing to go out and catch some waves, the girls choosing to sun bathe, in typical femine style. Then he heard Natalie say about having never been on a boat. "Well, if you've never been on a boat, then we have to change that. Sailing it is."

"I'll take you up on the scuba diving soon though," he said, nodding towards Oliver. Hanging out with another guy wouldn't be too hard, especially if they were going to do something like that. It wasn't like they could talk and dive at the same time.

He looked back at Natalie with a smile. "Let me dump my bag then we can go out and find the marina," he said. He assumed they could just hire the boats out, they wouldn't need an instructor as Will knew how to sail already. He did what he said he was going to do, waiting for Natalie before heading out.

((Annnnnd, that's Will gone from this thread xD))

[Natalie Blake]

Natalie smiled at Will and nodded before glancing over at the girls. "Maybe I'll catch up with you two later," she offered. Both of them were a couple of years younger than her, but that didn't mean she couldn't get to know them. It would probably be good for her, actually.

"Yeah, claiming a room first would be good," she agreed with the others, who had all commented along the same lines.

She then went down the hall and pushed open one of the first doors she came across, ditching her bags on the bed. She then quickly stripped down and traded out her underclothes for a bikini before yanking her clothes back on. Hey, if she got shucked into the water she wanted to be ready. She then dashed back out into the hall and went with Will down to the beach.

((And now Natalie's gone too))

[~ ADMIN]

Anna hooted with laughter as she entered her room, hearing Ollie call after her. She poked her head back around the door, "I thought it suited you," she shouted back, "you bare a certain resemblence," she teased, before walking into her room, putting her bag at the end of the bed. She didn't mean it, but she loved winding people up, it was so much fun. Especially guys.

She rooted around in her back, searching for her bikini, eventually finding it buried in among her other clothes, then she removed her dress and slipped into the bikini. After seizing a towel from her bathroom, she grabbed her shades and headed back outside, laying the towel on the floor. Ollie was already out on the water with his board in his wet suit. She grinned and whistled from the beach before taking a seat, beginning the task of applying sun lotion. That was when Kiri came to join her. She was a pretty young woman, and seemed all right, as far as she could tell. "Hey," Anna said with a smile, "decided against the surfing?"

[kiri]

Kiri shook her towel out straight and laid it on the ground next to Anna, adding the several pillows she'd snagged from one of the couches inside. She settled down and began the rather lengthy process of arranging towel and pillows into such a configuration to allow her to lounge both attractively and comfortably. While sprawling in an undignified heap might work in the background back home, well, there were boys around. Even if Penn had decided against coming down to the resort, it wouldn't do to look like a slob.

Once she'd finally managed to settle in to her satisfaction, she turned and returned Anna's smile. "Oh, I'm sure I'll make it out there tomorrow. Relaxing just sounds... really, really nice right now. Especially after being cramped onboard a sunless space ship for weeks." She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes for a moment, basking in the feeling of warm sunshine on her skin. "It really is beautiful down here. Thanks, by the way, for setting all this up."

[somerandomhippie2]

Ollie relaxed in the sun for a while, then relaxed some more. Then he flipped over and relaxed again. He sounded like a barbeque. After a minute of deducing that the wind simply wasn't enough for any good waves, he paddled back in and plopped his board lovingly down in an assigned shack. These people thought of everything.
That's when it hit him... That smell... Was that real food? It was! His mouth watered, and he wandered over to a little hut. Upon his wistful sigh, the bartender gave him a look, and said that all food was provided with any reservation. So, he ordered a nice medley of seafood and meandered off down the beach, a bit of a spring in his step. Oh, this was real, good food. Like a treat after the ship's attempt at copying nutrients. Better than candy.
Spotting Anna and Kiri, he waved, and came over. "Look!" he insisted. "It's food, real, actual food! It actually tastes like it was cooked! Here, try some!" He exuberantly passed the plate down, then plopped down on the sand.

[~ ADMIN]

((Lol, change in posting order... Anna, Kiri, Ollie.)

As Anna lay back, now lotioned up, she looked across as Kiri arranged herself and her pillows in a specific and attractive way. Mildly amused, she was just laying there, on the towel in the sand, not even trying to look attractive. She either was or she wasn't at this moment, she was more concerned with getting a tan and not being burned. The aim was a subtle glow, not to look like a lobster.

Anna propped herself up on her elbows when Kiri began speaking. "You're right about that," Anna said with a nod, they were all about as pale as each other having spent so much time in space or in a lab, or anything else that didn't involve direct sunlight, "I'm surprised we haven't all wilted," she said with a slight smile. "And it's no problem, I wanted this just as much as everyone else, and now I have company."

Ollie came bounding over all excited, the smell of the food exciting Anna's taste buds. Her stomach grumbled. "It looks so good," she said, pulling her sunglasses down her nose so she could see what she was actually picking up, choosing one of the prawns. "Oh gosh," she said as she ate it, "real food!" It was so much better than the stuff they'd been eating on the Venia. "Where did you find this?"

[William Blake]

((Hey guys, keep going with the thread while I'm gone! Or start a new one, I don't mind. Just pretend Anna fell asleep or something xD))