EVERYBODY NEEDS A HOLIDAY
The usual disclaimer applies … I have no rights to the original series or characters
Marvellous things, holidays.
Especially if you're tired of
being chased all over the galaxy
... or tired of doing the chasing.
1 905 words
From space, the planet appeared green and verdant. An oasis in the blackness through which they had passed. A haven, declared Vila, a perfect haven.
"Too perfect," Avon snapped and Vila regarded him tiredly.
"You know your problem, Avon? You're just too damn suspicious. I'll bet you check under your bed at night for Federation spies. You probably don't even trust your own self." Which, he reflected, would go a long way towards explaining Avon's obsession with computers. They had their faults, but generally lying wasn't one of them. Speaking of computers, he had a few questions about the planet below them that he wanted to put to Zen.
"We are all tired...under strain. A rest on that planet may do us all a lot of good," Cally said gently, moving up behind Avon. He turned to look at her and then shrugged.
"Well. If you are all so determined. May I at least suggest you go armed?"
Tarrant chuckled, clapping Avon on the shoulder in a comradely gesture that made the computer expert shudder inwardly.
"You have our welfare at heart, don't you, Avon?"
"No. Not really." Avon's cold brown gaze rested on him. "But I have become...accustomed to having you all around. You...have your uses. Minimal though they may be."
"You'd miss us then, would you?" Dayna mocked gently, and they all strained to hear his muttered rejoinder.
"I suppose so. But watch yourselves. Last ditch rescues are not to my taste."
/Horizon./ Cally smiled at him. /Don't panic, Avon. We'll be careful./
"Aren't you coming, too?" Vila asked, his expression drooping a little. "Come on, Avon, you need rest and recreation just as much as the rest of us, whether you admit it or not. Orac can looked after things up here and operate the teleport."
"Yes, come on, do!"
"Zen's checked it out thoroughly. It's quite safe, Avon."
Making a show of reluctance, he allowed the others to shepherd him towards the teleport room. It would never do for them to realise just how keen he was to feel grass beneath his feet and see blue sky above his head. But he still didn't forget to grab a gun on the way. It might be perfectly safe, but if it weren't, he'd prefer to make the discovery with a gun in his hand.
The surface of the planet was, as Zen had reported, remarkably like an ancient Earth park. Trees, shrubs, flowers, the scent of which filled the air, abounded. Birds sang and small furry creatures that Vila identified as squirrels provided a background chirrup and chattering. Bright winged butterflies hovered above the sweetly inviting blossoms on shrubs and trees.
Among the green swathes ran a trickling stream and as Vila bent to it he could see himself reflected in the crystal clear waters. Tiny bright coloured fish swam backwards and forwards and the bottom of the stream appeared to be composed of a mixture of white sand and multicoloured shaped pebbles. He scooped up a handful of icy water and sipped at it appreciatively.
"Delicious. Almost as good as wine."
Avon stared at him stonily.
"It could also contain elements toxic to your system, you realise?"
Vila laughed slightly.
"If so, I couldn't think of a better way to go. Relax, Avon, I'm not the fool you take me for."
"Fortunate."
Vila ignored the sarcasm.
"I had Zen and Orac run a full check before we came down. Air, water, bacterial content. They analysed everything. Quite safe. Everything's safe. try for yourself."
"No, thank you."
More or less together the five wandered through the woodlands. Cally had picked flowers as she walked, fashioning a floral coronet which she had placed upon her curls. Dayna and Tarrant had found a brilliant hibiscus bush and were deliberating behind which ear they should wear the bright blossoms. Laughingly, they settled for both. Cally plucked a bright yellow flower and handed it to Vila, who tucked it into the front of his jacket. He and Cally exchanged mischievous grins and she advanced upon Avon, a vivid and unusual orange-red hibiscus in her hand.
"Here, Avon. Brighten up that drab gear a little."
He stared at her as if she had offered him a deadly snake.
"Cally - "
But she laughed as she bent forwards to tuck it into his jacket, silencing his protests in the most effective way she could imagine. He grabbed at her but she pushed forwards and they both landed on the grass. When he finally let her go he raised his eyebrows interrogatively.
"Hmm. Maybe this place does have its good points."
Vila glanced momentarily skywards and left them to it, sighing a little. Dayna and Tarrant, he noticed, had wandered off in a different direction. He was temporarily disappointed at Cally's clear lack of taste, then he brightened and gurgled to himself, recalling the expression on Avon's face as Cally had advanced on him, flower in hand. Oh well, who was he to deny them a little relaxation?
He wandered along, following the course of the trickling stream up a slight slope until he came to a wide inviting looking pool, on the opposite side of which a waterfall splashed and glittered in the sunshine.
The sunshine...yes, it was warm. And the others were occupied. He might as well...
Vila stripped off, leaving his clothes and gear, teleport bracelet and gun included, scattered on the grass, as he splashed into the oh so inviting water. He struck out across it, dived into its lucid depths and came up blowing like a dolphin. He hadn't had so much fun in years!
The waterfall splashed over flat stones and he sang to himself as he stood under it. After a while he dived back in, priding himself on his half forgotten ability to swim beneath the sparkling surface, raising his head not far from the shore where he had left his clothes.
Then his mouth dropped open and he blinked. He dived back below the surface and then looked up again. No, it hadn't - unfortunately - been imagination.
He was no longer alone.
She had collected his clothes and put them into a neat pile and she now sat by them, surveying him with that malicious, half amused smile, her elegantly manicured hand supporting her chin.
"Why, Vila, fancy meeting you here."
"Er - ah - you've got my clothes, Servalan."
"Why, so I have," she agreed sweetly. "If you want them you'll have to come out and get them."
Vila grunted.
"Huh. Where are all your guards, Madam President? Rounding up the others? So it was a trap after all. And we fell into it." The bitterness was clear in his voice and she raised her perfectly curved eyebrows as she regarded him.
"By no means, Vila. You misjudge me." He snorted in derision. "Truly, I didn't set up any of this." She smiled, her predatory gaze still on him, or what she could see of him. "This is - a truce planet, Vila. A holiday resort." She met his gaze and smiled again. "After all, we all need a break now and then. It does get rather tedious, you know, chasing you lot around the galaxy...especially with the morons I have to put up with. Bungling fools, the lot of them." Her expression changed. "How's the water?"
"Wet." He grimaced, momentarily tempted to splash her, then he thought better of it.
"Where are the others?"
"Don't you know?" He couldn't keep the note of resentment out of his voice and she laughed, a mocking sound.
"Oh yes, I know. I know where they are, and what they are doing." She stood up, her fingers to the clasp on her long red gown. "They were...all...so occupied, they never even noticed me passing by." She let her gaze drift into the distance, losing focus slightly. "Not even Avon noticed me." She dropped the gown to the grass, smiling as she stepped over the pile of silk. "Red really is not my colour."
"No. No, it's not."
Red was, however, very close to the colour of Vila's face. Then Servalan cleaved the water in a near perfect dive and came up ten feet past him.
"Oh, do stop goggling, Vila." She splashed him. "I'll race you to the waterfall." He continued to stare at her, almost dumbstruck. "I'll even give you a head start if you want it."
Vila pulled himself together and smiled, then chortled. A holiday planet...Dayna and Tarrant...Cally and Avon... Servalan and...himself. He grinned broadly and duck dived suddenly.
Servalan spluttered as he grabbed her ankles and they both plunged into the cool emerald depths of the pool.
Giggles and laughter punctuated the splashing in the green pool under the hot afternoon sun.
The day passed, the shadows lengthened and the birds started seeking their nests.
Servalan, reattired in her clinging red gown, and Vila, dressed and armed again, the teleport bracelet on his wrist, sat by the pool. Finally, and reluctantly, they rose.
"It's been - a pleasant - and unexpected - interlude, Madam President."
"My pleasure." She touched his cheek briefly and then turned to leave. "Goodbye."
"Servalan - " She touched a finger to his lips.
"No, don't say it, Vila. It's - too bad we're enemies." He tensed and she shook her head gently. "No, I don't intend to take advantage of the situation." She chuckled. "No more than I have already. This is after all, a truce planet. Besides - " She smiled in her feline manner. "You would find, as I found, that weapons do not work on this planet. We cannot fight here. Goodbye."
He stood for a long time and watched her go, walking through the leafy forest, upwards and away from the pool. Then he shook his head slightly to himself, taking out his gun and regarding it thoughtfully. He raised it and aimed at a spot half way up a tree trunk and pressed the trigger.
Nothing happened. He grinned to himself and put it away, then went to find the others. Whatever they'd been doing, they ought to be finished by now...
Back on the Liberator they split up again, Avon and Vila going to the flight deck and the others returning to their cabins. Orac blinked and whirred and Zen reported status clear. There had been another ship in the vicinity, but only briefly. No hostile activity had resulted. Vila smiled slightly as Avon stretched and then settled himself on the lounger. Well, it had been a much needed break. He would never admit it to anyone, except to Cally, from whom he could not conceal the fact, that he had enjoyed himself. In fact, he decided rather wryly, it would be indeed a big mistake even to consider implying to Cally that he had not enjoyed himself. He had mellowed sufficiently to make a polite request, uninterested though he was in the reply.
"Well, Vila, and how did you spend your afternoon?"
Vila stood up and smiled reflectively.
"Oh, nothing startling. I went for a swim... and lay around in the sunshine...you know the sort of thing..."
Avon blinked and looked at him sideways. Was there, or was there not, a peculiar expression on Vila's face?
Almost...a satisfied smirk.