Sumiko closed the lid on the cylindrical case that held the items she was going to need while Atlantia was docked. The crew had been ordered to take leave while the ship was having her warp coils replaced. She opted to pack light as they were only expected to be docked for a few days at the station, but made sure to bring enough to get her through a conference on subspace field harmonics and deflector shield modulations that she had heard was taking place on Earth later that afternoon.

Maybe I can take the time to visit mom in Okinawa while I’m here. She thought to herself.

Tossing the case’s strap over her shoulder, she took one final look around her quarters to make sure she hadn’t missed anything before leaving and then instructed the computer to turn out the lights.

With more than a hundred people both incoming and outgoing all trying to funnel through a narrow corridor at the same time, Sumiko began to think that perhaps today was the wrong day to take the catwalk rather than transport off the ship. She was however already committed and bore the frustration as she waited impatiently for her turn.

Ruvok had been anticipating a change of scenery from the Tesla, though he liked the ship it was nice to have a change. He had been asked to take part in a conference at Earth Spacedock. The Tesla had been tasked with a small mission to Vulcan and Michael had approved Ruvok for a slight leave from the ship.

He had arrived at the Spacedock only hours earlier and wasn’t quite sure where he would be staying, but he beamed down to Earth and looked for a place to stay near the conference location. He decided on a small condo for the week-long conference.

After settling in he went and grabbed a bite to eat wondering what he would run into during the conference.

Finally making it through the crowded mess, Sumiko found herself standing in the arrivals and departures lounge. This was the first time she had actually been to Earth Spacedock. All of her tours of duty, she’d either beamed directly to the ship, or was escorted by runabout.

She found herself an isolated location to sit and pulled out a PADD from her carry case to refresh her memory of the event location. The conference was to be held at a conference hall between Golden Gate Park and the Presidio. She scanned a list of hotels, apartments and condos within a five kilometer radius that had listed vacancies and settled on a condo a mere couple of blocks away.

Registering the coordinates in her PADD, she located the nearest station directory to guide her to the closest transporter room.

When she materialized in the streets of San Francisco, she could feel the warmth of the mid-morning sun caressing her face, and the smell of the salty sea waters penetrating her nostrils. A sensation she had not experienced since she was a cadet. The life of a Starfleet officer was not easy, especially when one could spend years in deep space before even the remote possibility of leave to return home.

Masking the sun from her eyes with her hand, Sumiko glanced around to orient herself and located the condo. It took her a few minutes to settle the arrangements with the management, but ended up with a small unit on the third floor.

Once she was settled into her unit, she still had some time to kill before the conference, and decided that lunch was in order and proceeded back to the open streets to search for a nearby cafe to eat.

Ruvok had settled into the condo and was getting bored in the room. He decided to go for a run. He hadn’t run in quite a while, but it was always something he loved doing. He put on his running shoes and changed into something a bit more comfortable and headed out. He had been to San Francisco when he was a Cadet, but he hadn’t returned since. The sun was blinding and added heat to the run, which was relaxing and rewarding all the same.

After a decent run Ruvok headed back to the condo to clean up and grab lunch. It was still rather early. He had arrived earlier than he had expected too. He made it back to the condo and was heading for the stairs when he ran into an unexpected object.

Sumiko went tumbling to the ground from the sudden impact of being run into. She had clearly not been paying attention to where she was going, allowing her stomach to dictate where she had been watching.

Ruvok glanced down at the girl now half seated on the ground before him. She was beautiful, he had to admit, but he wasn’t quite sure what happened.

“I apologize I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” He said embarrassed.

“Forget about it.” She began as she stared at the moderately attractive Vulcan that stood before her while flirtatiously brushing her hair behind her ear, “It’s as much my fault as it is yours.”

He helped her to her feet and looked her over to make sure nothing was broken all while she attempted to brush any dirt from her uniform.

“Again, my apologies. I need to be more careful.” He said, wondering if he should just walk away or see if she had anything to say.

She had honestly not expected a response from her actions, knowing full well that Vulcans suppressed their emotions. Therefore, thinking nothing of it, she let out a polite smile and bid him a good day and continued in pursuit of nourishment.