A Little Exercise (Paz & Aaryn JP)

[Astrophysics Lab, USS Endeavour]
[2 August 2368]
[1658 Hours]

"Hey Parker, I've got to get to packing, can you keep an eye on my experiment for me?"

"Give it a rest, Paz! You're leaving in a few days, are you still gonna be checking on us after you're gone?"

The Bajoran woman made a dismissive sound over her shoulder as she headed for the exit. "Love you too, James. Just make sure the particle density stays below point five per, okay?"

The blue-clad ensign folded his arms across his chest. "Whatever you say, boss." He turned back to the bench and sighed resignedly as the lab doors hissed to a close.

As she walked down the hall to the turbolift, Paz reviewed her plans for the evening. Quick stop at the holodeck for a run, evening prayers, and then begins the packing...

When she arrived at the turbolift its doors slid open and a Bolian officer who worked in the xenobotany lab stepped out. "Ah, Lieutenant Kirek. I hear that you've been transferred!" he said, a bit too pleasantly.

"Yes, that's right. I've been assigned to the USS Normandie. We won't be meeting them for a few days though, so I'm not out of your hair yet." Shooting a glance at his bald, blue scalp, she smiled and quickly added, "...so to speak."

The addendum didn't seem to mollify him, if his souring expression were any indication. "I see. Well, I wish you safety in your travels. Hopefully your new post will be a bit more... er, a bit more suitable to your preference."

She knitted her thick eyebrows, and her smile faded in turn. "Hopefully that will be the case, Lieutenant Harat. Although contrary to your opinion, I do like it here. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really must be going."

As she squeezed past him into the turbolift, he clumsily tottered out of her way. Tugging on his uniform and harumphing, the Bolian strode off down the hall.

A few minutes later, Paz entered her quarters and looked around. Six years had turned this bare living space into a genuine home away from home. Considering the events of her youth on Bajor, a stable home was something to be treasured. Now she'd have to reverse the process, loading her belongings into containers to be shuttled off to her new assignment. Most of the decor had been fabricated by the replicators and would just be recycled, but Paz had a fair number of personal possessions. Most of them were religious paraphernalia and mementos of her various foster homes; things that couldn't be replicated, but she'd worry about that later this evening. First, she had an appointment to keep.

((Part 1 of a joint post by Dr. Aaryn McClain and Dr. Kirek Paz.))

[Holodeck 2]
[1730 Hours]

Dr. Aaryn McClain was already in the holodeck, engaging in what she hoped would be appropriate stretches for a good run. The psychologist didn’t like to exercise, but when she had to do something to keep in shape, she usually preferred to swim. Now that she was due to arrive on the Normandie soon, swimming just didn’t seem...active enough. Aaryn wanted an activity that would help chase away her racing thoughts as fast as she had them, and when her friend and fellow scientist suggested a run, it seemed like a good idea. Now, however, she was wondering if she was about to reveal herself as being too out of shape to handle it.

Paz had changed into a red and black fleece running suit before making her way to the holodeck. When the doors hissed open to allow her entry, Aaryn smiled, but remained silent, lost in her thoughts.

"Good afternoon! Do you want to pick the program today or shall I?" the Bajoran asked, taking hold of her instep and stretching out her quadriceps.

Aaryn looked over and attempted to mimic the other woman’s current stretch, trying to also hide the wince as she did so. “Be my guest. Just don’t try to kill me. Keep in mind the farthest I’ve ever run up to this point was to make it to the bathroom after too many lemonades.”

The astrophysicist broke into a lopsided grin, and replied, “Fair enough. We’ll start with something that’s pretty to look at, and take it easy.” She glanced around at the black room crisscrossed with yellow gridlines and took hold of her narrow chin. “Something pretty...” she murmured. “Ah! Computer, new program: Kirek lambda-two-four. Turn-of-the-century Bajor, Musilla Province. Simulate a footpath alongside the Holana River. Early autumn, ambient temperature 22 degrees.”

The computer chimed in acknowledgment, and the bare yellow and black room was supplanted by a lovely rural landscape. The illusory skies above the two women were nearly overcast, yet the picturesque river seemed to glitter with a light of its own. In one direction the landscape headed uphill, toward the source of the river. Toward the river’s mouth, the ground was pitched slightly downhill, although the angle of the grade was less pronounced. Tiny birds chirped pleasantly as they flitted in and out of the trees, a few of which showed the barest hint of yellowing leaves, although most were still a vibrant green.

Paz surveyed their surroundings and rubbed her palms together with a look of satisfaction on her face that bordered on smugness, as if she’d just personally created all of this from twigs and dirt. Fishing for a compliment, she asked, “Well, what do you think?”

Aaryn took it all in and smiled. “It’s beautiful. I can’t believe you’re going to make me run in this,” she added with a chuckle. “If I wasn’t going to exercise here, I’d just as soon hang out here with a good book.”

McClain was honest, but she didn’t want to leave Paz with the impression she was backing out of their run. She finished her stretches and assumed what she hoped was a good starting position. “Shall we take a brisk constitutional, my friend?”

“Ready if you are,” Dr. Kirek replied. Squinting up at the steeper slope, she shook her head and faced the opposite direction. “Let’s head this way. We can always pick up the pace if we’re not breaking a sweat.”

The two women started off down the footpath. The breeze coming off of the river was nice and cool as their feet thudded in unison upon the dirt. The trail weaved back and forth, paralleling the curvatures of the river. The current was gentle and the surface of the water was smooth, as the river was quite old and had a wide meander. In some places, oxbow lakes had formed as channels had been eroded between the river’s loops.

“I wish I had have been born early enough to see Bajor like this,” said Paz. “If someone had told me that this was my homeworld when I was a little girl, I wouldn’t have believed them.” She jogged a bit faster, using her arms to add momentum to her strides. “Many of these forests were cut down or just burned to the ground.”

“That’s in-interesting,” Aaryn replied, impressed that Paz could talk and jog. “I love how the holodeck can take a person to places she could only dream of.”

The pair jogged along for some time, enjoying the scenery and chatting about their time spent on the Endeavour and their new posting on the Normandie. After a time, the session was interrupted by a voice over the comm channel.

</\> “Parker to Lt. Kirek.” </\>

Paz sighed and pulled up to a stop. “Kirek here, what is it, Parker?”

</\> “I’ve been monitoring your experiment, Lieutenant. I just detected a small phase variance in the containment field that caused the particle density to reach .54 for a few milliseconds.” </\>

The Bajoran’s hand flew to her forehead as if to keep her brain from exploding out. Words began to flow forth at a breakneck pace. “How did that phase variance get past you, Parker? Weren’t you running a simultaneous reference diagnostic? You know what, never mind, it doesn’t even matter anymore. Three days of work just went right out the window. Three days, Parker! I have a lot of things to take care of between now and the reassignment, but now I’m going to have to clean up the mess you made too. Evacuate the lab. If any radiation escaped then those of you who actually own a pair may never get to have children. Kirek out!”

From beside Kirek, a more relaxed McClain offered, “So much for the endorphins.”

Paz let out a deep sigh and rubbed at her temples. “I’m sorry, I have to go take care of this. Feel free to use this program later if you like.” She shifted her weight and folded her arms. “Hopefully the crew of the Normandie will be better at performing their assigned duties. If I don’t see you again in the next few days, then I’ll see you there.” She patted the counselor on the arm in lieu of farewell and then said aloud, “Computer, arch.”

The holographically-projected landscape near the water shimmered out of existence to reveal the structural arch that served as the holodeck doorway. The flustered Bajoran woman jogged toward it and the doors parted to allow her to exit. They closed behind her a few moments later before being replaced by the gently-flowing surface of the river.

Aaryn inhaled deeply and then exhaled, not sure whether she should kiss Parker or strangle him.

((Part 2 of a joint post by Dr. Aaryn McClain and Dr. Kirek Paz.))