A Perfect Vacation
"Are you ready, Hikaru?" Chekov called to his friend.
"Give me a minute," Sulu responded, chuckling at the younger man's impatience. "The transporter isn't going anywhere!"
"No, but Lieutenant Kyle is, so if ve vant to beam down, ve must do it before Kyle goes on leave!" Chekov retaliated. "Also, Pappy isn't going to wait for us forever!"
"Pappy would come up here and drag us off the ship himself," Sulu laughed as he realized this.
"Vell, zat's true." Chekov conceded. "But you don't vant him to do zat!" Sulu grabbed the last of what he needed and the two men raced down the hall to the Transporter Room just in time to catch Kyle. "Lieutenant Kyle!" Chekov said.
The Lieutenant had been about to leave for off-duty. He grinned at the two and said: "Let me guess, alcohol and pretty girls?"
"Nope." Chekov replied.
"We're going to see Pavel's great-grandfather," Sulu explained. "Then, maybe we'll slip in a few bars after."
"Well, have fun," Kyle said. "Are the coordinates fed through?"
"They should be," Chekov replied, "I fed them through this morning." He watched as the Transporter Chief energized the board and he felt himself shimmer onto the Earth. He took a deep breath. "Ah, nothing like fresh air."
"Pavel, you're in the Starfleet Command Training Centre's transporter room." Sulu turned to the technician. "Moscow, Russia, please." The technician nodded and reenergized the transporter. This time, they arrived in Russia.
"Pappy!" Chekov called out as they stepped off the pad. The older Russian's eyes lit up as he saw his great-grandson run towards him.
"Pavel! It's good to see you, my boy. And who's this?" Pappy asked.
"Pappy, you remember my friend, Hikaru." Chekov responded.
Pappy grinned. "Of course I do. Now, to celebrate your shore leave, I've booked us a table at a special restaurant. Been saving some credits for this for a while now, so the two of you had better enjoy it."
"We will, Pappy," Sulu reassured him. "We're just glad we were able to get shore leave before we left orbit."
The old man's eyes crinkled in a smile. "You two been taking care of each other, right?" He said sternly.
"Of course, Pappy," Chekov sounded insulted, though he never was by his great-grandfather. "On ze ship, ve're like hot glue. Never vun vithout ze other." Sulu suddenly wondered how he had never noticed that Pavel's accent was stronger than his great-grandfather's.
"Is this true, Hikaru?" Pappy asked. "Are the two of you as tight as my great-grandson says?"
"Tighter," Sulu said solemnly, causing the Russians to laugh. He had to grin at the scene the three of them were making. They walked along to a fancy restaurant. "Let me guess, a traditional Russian dinner?"
Pappy shook his head. "We're having the works of a Milky Way Tour. A sample of everything from here to Orion and back!"
"Pappy…"
"Yes, Hikaru? Speak up, boy!" Pappy grinned.
"Don't say the word 'sample' around Pavel. I'll explain later," Sulu said, taunting the younger man.
"Sulu," Pavel whined, "you don't need to tell everything zat happens on ze ship. Besides, I like zis kind of sample!"
"I can't wait for this story," Pappy said, clapping his hands together.
"Pavel has tyranophobia." Sulu said mockingly.
"Sulu, shut up!" Pavel snapped. He instantly recomposed himself. "Sorry, but still. Sulu doesn't need to use that vord all ze time!"
"All right, settle down boys! We're here and ready for the fun to start. Waiter!" Pappy called.
"Yes, sir?" A young Andorian came to take their orders.
"Reservation for Chekov."
"Right this way, sirs." She said kindly. They followed her to a table in a private suite. Pavel unconsciously raised an eyebrow curiously at the arrangements. "Please, sirs, ring the bell when you are ready to order." She bowed to them and then backed out.
"And that's why you should never use the 's' word around Pavel Andreievich Chekov," Sulu finished grandly. He smirked across the table at Pavel, who was watching Pappy who was trying not to laugh. Finally, Sulu said: "Pappy, we both know you want to laugh. You may as well get it out!" And then Pappy burst into full belly guffaws at the story. Even Pavel had to laugh at his great-grandfather's reaction.
"Vell, it vasn't funny at ze time," Pavel protested half-heartedly. He stabbed at his lamb pelmeni1 (of course there were Russian foods, as well as Orion, Saurian, Vulcan, and a variety of Earth dishes, among others).
"But it is now!" Pappy chewed his kreila2 thoughtfully. "We should do this again sometime, boys."
"Of course Pappy," Sulu agreed, savouring the last of his hari3. He took a cautious sip of Saurian brandy, unconsciously smiling.
"Well, I think this wraps up the evening," Pappy said. "I know you two probably have some bars to hit, girls to pick up…" He winked knowingly at Pavel and Sulu. "It was nice to see you again. Until next time," Pappy waved and walked down the street to the civilian transporter system.
"Vell, who are ve to disobey my great-grandfather?" Pavel asked his friend rhetorically. Sulu grinned and the two waltzed down the street until they found a dingy old bar on the outskirts of town.
"This is the best bar on this side of San Fran!" Sulu declared. "Let's get some drinks."
Three hours later, two drunk Starfleet officers made their way to Starfleet Headquarters. They had had various beers, brandy, coolers, rums, vodkas, whiskey, and wines.
Needless to say, Doctor McCoy was not very happy when he was told to deal with them.
Pelmeni1 – Russian dumplings
Kreila2 – a Vulcan flatbread, similar to a scone
Hari3 – Andorian bread eaten at mealtime