Back to the Grind
Posted on Tue Nov 7th, 2023 @ 5:46pm by Major Cornelius Tremble & Lieutenant JG Mira Jayna
Edited on on Tue Nov 7th, 2023 @ 8:11pm
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 15 - The Evil That Lies Beneath
Location: USS Pioneer Various
Timeline: MD001 0500 hrs
Neil awoke and his eyes fluttered before he remembered to keep them closed. He listened with his senses, trying to determine if the environment of his quarters had changed at all. He wasn’t hearing or smelling anything so he opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling, then let his eyes rove around without moving.
Being on leave had aboard the Pioneer in general had given him some bad habits over the years and his brain grabbed a hold of that sometimes and it led to disturbing dreams if he let it. Helping Jayna get through her latest trauma had made him mindful of his own foibles and so he was attempting to wake up without appearing to wake up just in case something was lurking.
Satisfied that he was alone and only willing to baby his brain a short time before the needs of the day would take ahold. His contact told him it was 0505 and he began stretching as he officially came off of leave. Looking at his IN box he winced.
It was going to be a long day.
Finally getting up, Neil climbed into PT togs and sent a message to Jayna, letting her know he was awake and going for a run. Other thoughts crept into his head and he sighed. And he headed for Marine country and the holo-tanks.
Jayna woke early. After spending so much time with Neil over shore leave, her quarters felt...empty. They'd never felt that way before. In fact, she generally preferred being alone. Or she had. Past tense. Now...how could she miss someone so soon? She shook her head and silently slipped out of bed, keenly aware of the silence. She went from her bedroom to the bathroom and then the kitchen, reminding herself that this was her home. But the familiar sounds didn't make her feel the way they used to.
Her combadge chimed a message and she smiled, immediately feeling better. "Good morning! Do you want company?" she replied. Whether he did or not, a run sounded like a good idea. She changed into shorts and a tank top and grabbed a granola bar.
Riding the lift down, Neil keyed the imbedded comm in his ear and said, "Always. Then maybe food before work so cruelly calls us away?" Queries through his contact assured him that two holo-tanks were reserved. "You pick where we're running at. There's a couple of holo-tanks with our names on them."
"Perfect. I'll be right there." She smiled as she headed out the door. The question was, where to run? She liked Bajor, but she wanted something new and different. When she arrived at the holo tanks, she'd decided on a midnight run on Triparthan, a colony world with two moons. "Hi." She kissed him good morning and programmed in the planet with one moon at zenith and the other rising. It would give them plenty of light to see by.
Neil enjoyed her kiss. He had to keep himself from enjoying it more and turned, linking the two tanks to run simultaneous programs. He watched as the systems ran through testing cycles, then the tanks cracked open with a hiss of escaping air. Neil said. "You've used the tanks before, but you'll be using them even more while acclimating into the suits full program. To those ends, while running the tank will increase gravities on us, to one standard gravity."
He ran his eyes over her, letting them linger briefly before meeting her eyes and winked. "We probably should get after it before I lobby for us both to retire and run off and go native someplace."
She chuckled softly. "That would definitely be tempting." She hesitated for a moment. It would be far too tempting. They needed to exercise, and they needed to be on time for their shifts. "But running nude has some definite drawbacks." Jayna reminded herself that she needed to focus on the tank. "Okay. I'm ready."
Neil nodded and waived her in, watching it clamshell around her, then stepped down into his own tank and counted to ten as the chamber sealed and the programs came up. Looking to his left, he noted Jayna's presence then looked the program over. "Beautiful," he said, his eyes lingering on her as he said it.
Then he set off, with a starting pace to get them warmed up. "Ever spend any time on Vulcan? We can run the specs to pretty much any setting we want. I thought we'd start easy today, since we're coming off leave.
"Yes, but only for stopovers." She had no trouble keeping up with Neil, although she felt a little stiffness in her muscles due to shore leave. "I met my mother's parents once. They live on one of the smaller continents." Jayna hadn't mentioned this to anyone before--except her sister. "They weren't happy that my mother chose to stay on Bajor with my father after the occupation. When I told them my parents died, they blamed my father. Then they blamed me and my sister for not coming to them after." She shook her head, surprised that the mention of Vulcan brought up a memory she'd buried away years ago. She quickly turned the conversation back to running. "I think I'd like to run on Vulcan if we can keep to Shi'Kahr and the area around it. I think it would be good to get familiar with the climate and terrain."
Neil absorbed her revelation and said, "Disappointed Vulcan grandparents. Sounds like about the worst," he commented. "Do they still have poles up their back-sides? I know they're Vulcans but still."
"Probably. I haven't heard anything from them since." She shrugged. "I'll never live up to what they expect of me anyway. I embrace my emotions and I'm in Starfleet." She grinned at Neil. "I prefer the life I have." Perhaps she'd see what they were up to, but she had no interest in meeting them again. "However, maybe thinking of them while I run on Vulcan will make me move faster?"
"Well then, we can keep the scenery you chose, but we'll dial in Vulcan conditions. One point four standard gravities and thin atmosphere. That'll bring the suck our first day back." Neil grinned as he made adjustments. "I do like fast women..."
"Ha!" She picked up her pace a bit. "I thought you preferred endurance to speed." The thinner atmosphere made it more of a workout, which she appreciated. She should do some climbing on a simulated Vulcan as well. She grinned at Neil. "How far are we going today?"
Neil had to give it a few paces as the grade started to build and he felt it harder to get enough air to answer. Sweat started to prickle his skin as they ran on in the semi-darkness. The cool night air was a saving grace for him and he finally said, "Buy me dinner and maybe a movie and we'll see..."
"You're on!" Jayna was doing a little better than Neil, but only because of her physiology--but only for a while. She should have paced herself better. What was it she was taught about reaching a state of semi-meditation? She hadn't paid much attention because she was more of a climber than a runner.
Talking became more difficult as she focused on her breathing. She would definitely need to run more often. When the tank signaled that they were done, she paused to catch her breath, then began a cooldown walk. I think I'm the one that needs to work on endurance--after a hot shower."
Neil bent at the waist, catching his breath as the tanks systems reset and he moved to do more stretches and joined Jayna in walking. "Nice thing about the tanks is you can individualize the workout, while still doing it together," he said, having gotten his breathing under control. "You know I run most mornings so you're welcome to join. There's usually a group run just before lunch too if you want to double up on that. We've twelve of the tanks. Each Element does some form of PT together daily and the HQ elements join in where they can. And vice versa. When I can figure out how to shoehorn in more pods, we'll do better at running full on detachment scenarios that individualize and optimize the training better than the full size holo-decks do."
After a few minutes, the tanks cracked open and Neil climbed out, smiling at Jayna. "Something you might not have known about them, is that they allow us to train against other units in live time, when we've the bandwidth for it. Makes for some entertaining capture the flag and even sports activities."
"That does sound interesting. I definitely need to spend more time here." She smiled up at him. "I'll run with you in the mornings, but afternoons depend on what else I have to do." The extra training would be good when she had the time, or when she wasn't off doing something else for intel, but she would love to spent time every morning with Neil. "How about some breakfast after we both shower?"
Neil let his eyes widen mischievously, "Breakfast and a shower sound very enticing. He double checked the time and said, "Officially, I don't start duty for about an hour. Need someone to get your back?"
An impish smile spread across her face. "If it's you, always." She knew he would have a lot on his plate today, and she was happy to spend what time she could with him. "I can think of a few other things that sound enticing and an hour sounds just about perfect."
"And we can eat on the clock," Neil commented as he they started for the entrance. "Your shower or mine?"
"Yours," she decided. She did like his quarters better. Mostly because they were his.
As they entered the lift, Neil gave her a rueful smile. "I can't think of a better way to start the day. R&R seems to have knocked me out of routine."
"Well..." She wouldn't exactly say that shore leave had knocked her out of her routine, but it didn't feel the same as before. "I know that my day is definitely looking better." She cupped his cheek with her hand and smiled softly. "And I'm all for changing up routines for the better."
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Junior Grade Mira Jayna
Assistant Chief Intelligence Officer, USS Pioneer
Intelligence Liaison, The Cure
Major Cornelius Tremble
Executive Officer, USS Pioneer
Commanding Officer, The Cure
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