Chapter 8

"Where are you going?" a sleepy voice asked.

Lonnie looked up from the bag she was packing. Kali was leaning against the closet door, wearing an ankle length nightgown with long sleeves. Kali liked her small sleeping area cold Lonnie found. Silently Lonnie sighed, remembering the first time she had seen her in bed. She shook her head to get that image out of her mind. Closing her bag she smiled at Kali.

"Hiking up to the top of the river Mirach and then rafting down to the lake." Not expecting her to accept she asked, "Want to come along?"

"Sure. What do I need?" a suddenly wide awake Kali asked.

"A bathing suit, camping clothes, warm clothing for the night…you only have a bathing suit," Lonnie pointed out.

"Surely they have clothing stores there." Kali was already in the closet rummaging for a change of clothes and her bathing suit.

"I'm sure they do," Lonnie said slowly. Sighing silently she added. "We can call ahead your sizes for clothes and equipment and add you to the list," Lonnie went on. I am in trouble. She lifted the phone and began to make the arrangements. She also let Crackle know they had an addition to their excursion party.

Lonnie with an excited Kali at her side hurried to the shuttle. Timu and Crackle from Earl Gray and friends of Lonnie's met them on the shuttle.

"Hey, you sure you want to try this rugged stuff?" Timu teased the diva.

"Sure. Why not?" Kali responded with more boldness then she felt.

"I brought along some old shoes of mine. We have the same sized feet." Crackle pulled out a well-worn pair of hiking boots. "Try them on. If they fit, that's good. You don't want new shoes when you're on a hike."

"Thanks," Kali gave her one of her smiles that could melt anyone's heart, or so Lonnie thought. She wondered why Kali had to put out so much charm. They were just going on a hike and rafting trip.

"I hear this is your second hike…where did you go on your first?" Ensign Timu Rau asked politely.

"Up a mountain with Lonnie and her friends," she answered.

"That wasn't a hike…it was a climb," Lonnie clarified. "Horizontal is a hike," she flattened her hand, "perpendicular is a climb," she raised her hand and gave her a mocking look. "Totally different directions."

"What difference does it make whether I'm moving horizontally or perpendicularly? I'm still working, getting dirty and halfway through, wishing I was at the end already," she commented.

"You're not a whiner are you," Timu teased. "'Cause we have ways of dealing with whiners." His bushy eyebrows wiggled up and down.

Kali made a face at him.

"Hey, are you going to take pictures?" Crackle asked. Leaning over she looked at the cap Lonnie was attaching the small camera on. "Nice gadget. Hm. That the one you program what to photo?"

"Yeah. It should take us all. It's Kali's second trip and may be her last. I thought she could use a memento. It has a small bot that will hover over us and get the big picture."

The others whooped.

"What!? What!?" Kali demanded as she looked at the three, wondering what it meant. "You're not letting anyone see those unless I say it's okay," she warned, mockingly shaking a finger at Lonnie.

"I wouldn't think of catching you taking care of your business behind a tree," she teased. "This is for when you're at the top of your world, looking back, wondering what it was like before 'adventurous' meant having fans follow you into restrooms with recording devices."

"Oh, right," she laughed with the others.

The shuttle dropped the hiking party at their start point. It was cold and Kali was shivering from the lack of a warm coat. Lonnie would have taken hers off and given it to her, but the tour director, CaMo De was prepared for Kali with a pack and proper clothing. By her welcoming of Kali, Lonnie suspected she was a fan of hers.

"Good you have shoes already. It's not good to break a pair in on a hike, Diva…errr, Kali," the older leader told her. "Alright, folks, lets get to the trail. The sun's coming up and we need to be up to the first point before it gets to Eagle's Nest."

The other campers rose and hefted their packs onto their backs. Lonnie found a lot of people around Kali, helping her with her pack and showing her how to adjust it. No one dared to offer to carry it…that would have broken the hiker's etiquette. Only children could get away with not carrying their weight.

The pace was fast, but Kali's dancing stamina helped her survive the first hour of the walk.

Two hours later they were on a slight incline and Kali began to fade. Timu, Crackle and Lonnie stayed with her. Crackle and Timu did not seem to mind. Timu was entertaining them as usual with an assortment of travel stories. By the time they reached the river, the three groups ahead of them were already off, riding down the river. Their guide was waiting patiently for them, talking with another hiker who appeared not to mind the wait.

"Can I ride in the front?" Kali asked excitedly.

Lonnie grinned. That's why she had the camera. Whoever was facing forward usually received the brunt of the wash from the foaming river.

The guide first reviewed standard rafting techniques and basic life saving methods. Then he tested each life jacketed passenger and positioned them on the raft. He showed Kali how to hold on with her legs and clear herself from the raft if it should stall and tip. Lonnie made sure her hat was secured to capture great pictures, and positioned herself where she could get a good view of Kali.

"Okay, let's go catch up with the others," Kerner, the guide, encouraged his group.

They were less than an hour into the ride when Kali's enthusiasm infected the others to scream with her as the river tossed their raft right and left, drenching them all in the cold water as the current rushed them along.

"I see the others!" Kali shrieked. "Come on, we can beat them to the camp site!" She dipped her paddle deeper into the churning water and nearly lost it, but gamely held on to it and managed not to fall over the side.

Their guide shouted 'pull' in rhythm, moving them to a faster pace. Lonnie's head was bowed as she pulled with all her strength, her arms burning from the effort and her lungs gulping for air between the cold splashes of water over the edges of the raft. They all strained to get the raft back to the center of the river where the current was the fastest. Kali screamed as the front end of the raft suddenly lifted perpendicularly. Intuitively everyone leaned forward and Kali's end dipped into the swell. Kali shrieked again from the shock of the cold water that washed over her, but then determinedly resumed paddling as Kerner urged them on. He angled their raft over the surface of a flat slippery rock which hurled them past the third raft and just to the left of the second. Then they pulled ahead. The first raft had an able bodied team. Kali's voice rang out for her raftmates to paddle faster.

"Where are they going?" Kali shouted disappointedly, pausing in her paddling.

"That's where we're setting up camp for the night," Kerner explained. "Pull left side, right paddles rest, nice and easy. You all did yourselves proud!"

Kali was shivering as she jumped into the water with the others and pulled the raft up the river bank.

"You need to change out of those wet clothes," Lonnie informed her in an undertone. She was worried when she saw Kali's lips were blue with cold. The others quickly set up the tents so those that were wet could change.

"Lonnie?" Kali called softly from their tent.

Lonnie ducked her head under the flap. "Yeah. T…that's to keep you warm." She moved her eyes to the long underwear and away from Kali's naked form. "Remember Cora gave you a pair on our climbing trip?"

"Yeah, but I have to relive myself. They're a pain to pull down along with my pants. Did they set up the…"

"No porta potties on this trip," she smiled. "You'll have to wiggle out of those clothes and struggle to put them back on like the rest of us," she chuckled. "Don't forget the thicker socks since we won't be doing any climbing tonight. I'll walk with you to a place we can safely go to relieve ourselves. I've got a shovel."

"I can't believe people actually like being this primitive," Kali muttered as she pulled out her new shoes from her backpack.

"Actually, there are excursions where there is no tent, camping stove or food carried in." Lonnie made a face. "I'm not really into killing a bug for a snack or grubbing for food."

Kali ducked out of the tent and followed Lonnie into the woods. "Have you ever slept under the stars without a tent?"

"Yeah. I slept in a hammock."

"Really? You didn't worry about the bugs or whatever was in the tree?"

"Nope. I was rock face climbing and pounded a spike in the face and set up my bed. It was cold, and scary. I haven't done it since but that one time made me appreciate what an eagle feels like nesting up on the cliffs."

Kali took the shovel from Lonnie and shook her head at her. "I saw pictures of that in a sports journal. You must have been nuts."

"Just young and curious. Do you know what to do with that shovel?" Lonnie asked.

"Of course! If a strange animal looks like he's going to attack I whop him on the head. Then scream and you come running to my rescue. Lonnie, I'm kidding. I dig a hole, relive myself and cover it up. Crackle told me." She moved to hide behind a tree.

"Then why did you ask…" Lonnie started.

"I just wanted to see what you were going to say."

"Hm."

Back at the camp, Kerner gave lessons to Kali on camping, from how to pick out a campsite to how to clean it. By dinner time, Kali was tired from practicing Kerner's lessons on building a fire, putting one out, and identifying poisonous and edible plants. She ate a light dinner and fell asleep right away.

The others sat around the campfire and told stories. Later Lonnie played her harmonica while some of the others danced, mostly to keep warm as the night was cold.