"Finally" exclaimed Joanna McCoy.
She was excited because the Enterprise had arrived at the the famed "Pleasure Planet". She had only heard rumours about it through the ranks of Starfleet. So when she found out she had a bit of shore leave saved up, she jumped at the oppurtunity.
"What's all the ruckus about?" said Leonard McCoy as he walked into Rec Room 6.
"We've arrived at the Pleasure Planet and I have a bit of shore leave saved up. How about a day trip?" asked Joanna.
Ever since childhood, Joanna had always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie and enjoyed riding old style roller coasters. When she was about 10 years old, Centaurus had opened up an old fashioned amusement park and, as a birthday gift, her father took her to it. Since then, she had always dreamed of being able to just hang out with him and with both of them in Starfleet, it seemed to be coming true.
"Well, I don't see any reason not to, I could use a little leave myself." said Leonard with a beaming smile.
A few hours later, Joanna and Leonard were among the first few teams to beam down. While they were waiting to transport, Joanna was practically going through the roof with excitement.
"This is going to be SO awesome!" she said happily, bouncing slightly.
Leonard looked at his daughter with happiness. The last time he had seen her this excited about anything had been far too long ago. It was little moments like these that made him remember how much he had missed being a father and also how much he enjoyed it. Even though his little girl was all grown up, he could still see the energectic young child in her.
They arrived on the surface and Joanna immiditely started jumping up and down and laughing.
"Hahhahaa, it's beautiful here! Man, whoever owns this place picked a hell of a vacation spot."
"Okay, okay, calm down" said Leonard, laughing.
"Sorry, hahah. I still get excited when I touch down on a new planet. No matter how many times I do it, it never gets old." said Joanna
"So what do you want to do first? You can do absolutely anything you want here. All you have to do is think about it." said Leonard.
He was debating about what he wanted to do. Normally, he would've just taken a simple, calming walk in the woods. But that's because he didn't usually have anyone, apart form Jim and Spock, to spend leave with. Now, he had someone who wanted to be with him.
"I can't decide if I want to take a walk on the beach or ride some roller coasters." said Joanna
"How about both? If I remember correctly, Old New York had a park sitting right on the beach with roller coasters" said Leonard
"Perfect! I've seen pictures from that period and always wondered what it would've been like." said Joanna.
They started walking through a wood and when they came out of the other side, they were greeted with a sight. An exact replica of Coney Island, circa 1911, had appeared out of nowhere. Joanna couldn't believe her eyes and Leonard was a bit taken aback himself. He still couldn't believe the skill of the engineers on the Pleasure Planet.
"How did they... Oh wow! I am utterly speechless, this is great!" said Joanna with a wide grin.
"I don't know how they do it, but there's lots of cool stuff we can do." said Leonard.
As they got closer, they noticed the park was devoid of people but the attractions seemed to be running themselves.
"Be nice if there were some people around. Wouldn't feel natural if we didn't have to wait in line at least once" said Leonard.
"Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing." said Joanna
As they were just about to turn a corner, the loud rumble of voices suddenly appeared. Then, they were surrounded by people dressed in 1910's kit.
"Woah! I really need to meet the owners of this place. I'll bet Scotty would have a field day trying to figure out the engineering process." said Joanna
As they walked down the main street of the park, Joanna decided to choose the largest roller coaster as the first ride. While they were waiting in line, Joanna noticed Leonard being a ,ittle more quiet then usual.
"Hey, what's wrong?" said Joanna as Leonard began to look up at the track.
"I don't know, I guess I'm a little nervous. It's been a while since I've been on one of these and I hate heights." said Leonard, anxiously. "Plus since my little 'accident' last time I was here, my trust in the builders is slightly thin."
"Yeah, I heard about that. But didn't they fix you up right after it happpened?" said Joanna
"Yes, but once you've taken a lance through the chest at a so-called "amusement park", you tend to be a little weary of the owners." siad Leonard.
"Well, look at it this way, if the car flys off the track, at least we'll go out in style. Only to be brought back to do it all over again!" said Joanna, teasing.
"Nice way to encourage your old man, kid. When the hell did you get so morbid?" said Leonard, sarcastically.
"Hahahah, the Academy does things to you. No, but, honestly, we'll be fine. I don't think they would deliberately sabotage their own business venture. Not when they can seriously turn a profit with this place." said Joanna
After about 10 minutes, the two of them managed to get back row seats. Everybody thinks the front is the place to be but it's really the back. Joanna noticed that by sitting in the back, you got the full effect of the drop G-forces, whereas the front barely gets any. Plus, Leonard wouldn't have lasted sitting in the front. Joanna was buzzing with excitement as the car trumbled up the hill. Leonard grit his teeth and held on to the handlebar as tightly as he could. As they got tot he top, Joanna started laughing heartily and Leonard clenched his eyes shut. Then, they finally went over and down.
"WOOOOOHHOOOO! YEAAHAHAHAHAHAHHA! AWESOME!" shouted Joanna, while holding her arms up in the air.
"GODDAMNIT! WHY THE HELL DID I LET YOU TALK ME INTO THIS?! HOLY SH*T!" shouted Leonard.
As they got back into the station, Leonard was staring straight ahead, eyes wide open, clutching the handlebar with white knuckles, and muttering to himself, "Never again". Joanna was laughing so hard, tears were streaming down her face.
"Oh hahahaha my god hahahha, too bad they didn't have a camera set up cause I guarentee that picture would've been priceless, hahahahaha."
When the car finally stopped, Leonard jumped out of his seat and rushed toward the exit.
"Dear god, don't make do that again, please" he pleaded.
"Nah, I'm good for a while, just wanted to do it once with you. You'll never live it down though, hahah. How about that walk now?" said Joanna as she took Leonard's arm
"I am more than happy doing just that." said Leonard, with relief.
They walked the entire length of the boardwalk and make the journey back walking on the beach near the water. Joanna had taken off her boots and was enjoying the feel of the sand beneath her feet. They just talked and talked the entire time and as the sun began to set, Joanna found a piece of beachwood to sit on and watch the sun go down. Leonard sat next to her and put an arm around her.
"I've always loved sunsets. No matter what planet we go too." said Joanna as she leaned into Leonard.
"So have I, sweetheart." said Leonard as he kissed Joanna on the head and hugged her.
That night they deciced to have an old fashioned camp out on the beach. Just as they were setting up the tent and got the fire rolling, they were joined by Sulu, Uhura, Chekov, Scotty, Kirk and Spock.
"Well, I'll be... Spock, I though you didn't take shore leave." said Leonard, going into a teasing mood.
"Normally, you would be correct in assuming, Doctor. I was asked to come to an informal gathering by the Captain." quipped Spock.
"So informal, that I brought a stash of Saurian Brandy along." said Kirk while holding two bottles of the amber liquid.
"No offense to ya, sir, but I brought along something a wee bit more potent." said Scotty, brandishing a bottle of clear liquid.
At first, Joanna though it was water, but then qucikly relized it was something quite a bit stronger.
'Uh-oh, hahaha, Scotty, tell me that's exactly what I'm thinking it is. This is going to be an interesting night." exclaimed Joanna.
"Yep, I just might know what it is too and I probably don't want to know where he got it either. White Lightning, Scotty?" said Leonard with a mischevious grin.
"Aye, you know your drinks, Doctor. And don't worry about the source, it's quite safe to drink" said Scotty with a smile.
"And exactly how do you know about that stuff, young lady?" said Leonard, raising an eyebrow at Joanna.
"My 18th birthday party at the academy, don't ask, Hahahhaha. We'll need few more seats and tents though".
6 more chairs and tent gear appeared behind the group along with an old style acoustic guitar.
"Hahah, I'll never get used to that." chuckled Joanna.
They stayed up for hours, drinking and swapping stories until Scotty picked up the guitar and began singing an ancient Scottish rhyme. Leonard then took the reins and began a duet of "Another Girl" by the Beatles with Joanna. It proved to be the best shore leave they all had had in a long time.