24.) Whales*
After shore-leave had been denied for the third time, Jim took matters into his own hands. As Captain it was his duty to look after his crew's well-being, which included scheduling shore-leave when stress and fatigue ran too high. Unfortunately, Nero had all but crippled the Federation, resulting in the remaining ships being pushed hard.
Jim understood this, so instead of picking a fight he wouldn't win, he took a more creative approach. Just because he couldn't give his crew official shore-leave, it didn't mean he couldn't give them a well deserved break.
Coming across a planet that seemed to be one giant ocean with islands sprinkled throughout, Jim grinned, especially when he discovered that whales inhabited the water.
Deciding that the science division couldn't possibly gather all the data they needed by themselves, he asked for 'volunteers' to help them with their whale watching. Needless to say, that week the entire crew managed to 'volunteer' to go down to the planet at least once. It wasn't exactly shore-leave, but it would do.
Written: 7-11-2011
Word Count: 173