Scottish Hiking

Posted on Thu Dec 31st, 2020 @ 3:05pm by Lieutenant Anna S. Thesia M.D. & Lieutenant Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell
Edited on on Thu Dec 31st, 2020 @ 3:35pm

Mission: Healing of Minds
Location: Holodeck

Despite the stress induced by the telepathic attacks on their fellow crewmates, Anna hadn’t forgotten about the plan she’d made with Bonnie to go hiking. And after a long day of focusing her brain on scans of other brains, she was just glad to get away from it all.

She arrived at the doors leading into the holodeck dressed in classic running gear, which meant a skin-tight suit similar to Sapphire’s thermal suit, designed to channel any excess body temperature off into the void around her without the need to sweat profusely. But Anna wouldn’t be Anna if this suit was a boring, one-colour affair. No, her running gear was painted like an eider, a duck native to the place they were going, but which Anna knew only from having looked it up in the computer’s database. But it mattered not, a duck was a duck, so that was perfect as far as she was concerned.

If it could go wrong that morning, it did. For Bonnie this was nothing out of the ordinary, however this day was supposed to be different. This was the day she was going to start anew, turn over a new leaf as it were. From the moment her sheets tripped her as she slid out of bed, to her uniform pants getting caught on her foot causing her to face plant into the rug covered floor, her day was starting out on the rough side of things.

Half an hour later, gold running shirt tucked into her black thigh high running shorts with the gold diagonal stripe, hair tucked back best she could and tissue shoved into her right nostril to stop the bleeding, she marched confidently into the holodeck. With a half smile she waved at Anna and then made her way over, hoping the good doc wouldn't give her too much flak about the bruise forming on her cheek. "Hey, sorry if I held you up?" She began stretching.

Anna walked over and took a careful look at Bonnie’s face. “Did you have a run-in with a certain angry Andorian on your way here?” she wondered. Anna’s medkit was always with her, sitting in the doorway, so it would be only one call away even while the programme was running. “Tell me what happened, and I’ll fix it?” No matter how small an injury it was, anything that happened to the head should always be looked at.

She motioned to her face and in a nonchalant manner responded, "Oh this? This is… well the floor and I don't always get along. This morning my bed sheets and pants acted as accomplices. I'm okay, really." She indicated to the terrain, "looks like you chose a beautiful location for an early morning hike."

“Why don’t you let me take care of those bruises?” she asked, retrieving her medkit and getting out the regenerator. “You’re not a morning person, yes?”

She presented her face so the doc could do her job. Who was she to deny someone the right to perform a service? "How could you tell? And who is this Andorian you mentioned? I don't believe I've had the pleasure." She wanted to continue her stretching, a loyal adherence to her papa’s teachings, instead she stood perfectly still for Anna, neck outstretched.

She ran the regenerator over Bonnie’s face. “The new master-at-arms, who dishes out nasty kicks. Just ask the guy we apprehended. He was not happy.” But Anna couldn’t say it had been undeserved. “There, better now?” She put the regenerator back. “I strongly recommend a cup of tea or two every morning, before you try to do anything of note.”

Bonnie checked her cheek, it did feel better, less pain. "So, what is this Andorian’s name?" She was watching Anna closely even as she bent over and reached for her toes, her mass of curly hair falling to the ground. The first time Anna mentioned the Andorian her face grew a shade darker and Bonnie was checking to see if it was the light in the moor or a possible blush.

“Ruby, I think”, Anna smirked. Of course she knew this wasn’t the case, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t pull Bonnie’s leg a little. “You’re making a list of who to be careful around?”

There was no obvious blush this time but the smirk seemed odd, like she was hiding something or being untruthful. Bonnie eyed her questioningly, "That would be a long list, but yes, how did you guess?" She indeed had a list, categorized and color shaded by incident of times and situations for when things had not gone her way. The category of sheet attacks were high on that list, almost as high as getting something caught in her hair or tripping on nothing.

“Because I warned you about her just now?” Anna laughed. “No, she’s probably alright. I’m not going on a holodeck adventure with her, though. I don’t like freezing.” Anna put everything back into her medkit, and then her hand on Bonnie’s shoulder. “So, shall we follow the paved trail, or go cross country? How secure are you about staying on your feet, and not twisting your ankles?”

The immediate frown was heavy as Bonnie looked to her feet and then to Anna and rocked her outstretched hand back and forth, “Mehhh… I’ve already had a rough start, I mean how much worse can it get right?” She saw the look in Anna’s understanding eyes and they both laughed, then at the same time said, “Paved. Yeah.” Acknowledging and agreeing it was the safest way to travel.

“If you must fall, try to fall on me. I’m soft, I can make sure you won’t break your nose”, Anna grinned. Besides, making sure someone didn’t get hurt was even better than patching them up afterwards. “Ready?”

Having never been offered a soft body to land on before, she was mentally distracted at the idea, but only for a moment. She finished her stretch and nodded, “After you.” She understood her own limitations, and her shortcomings. She wasn’t always a danger to herself or others, only sometimes. This run promised to be relaxing and hopefully an enjoyable bonding experience.

Anna started with a light jog. She wasn’t much of a speed runner, she always enjoyed taking things at a comfortable, leisury speed. “Did you grow up in this beautiful country?” she asked.

Bonnie maintained pace, her hair bouncing back and forth like when she was in the academy. It had not been all that long ago when she last ran with her friends. But as she paid attention to the path she answered, “Unfortunately no. I’ve only been here once or twice with my papa. He works as a curator for the Smithsonian Archives just outside of Washington D.C. on Earth. It’s like a museum of artifacts from all over the world and the galaxy now, actually. And as curator he would travel a lot and that meant traveling with him. On the bright side, I got to get out and see the world, quite literally, at a young age.”

“I thought that growing up on the same planet, places like this would only be one transporter ride away?” Anna wondered. That was how she had grown up on Risa. Was Earth different?

"We did travel, mostly for work, but rarely to the same place twice. Then after 369, well, we traveled a lot less I suppose." As her heart thumped and her legs burned she thought about her mother and the places she had missed seeing over the years. "Did you get around much, growing up?" The path began to rise over a hill.

Going uphill, Anna was struggling harder. Her legs were beginning to question the wisdom of going on a jog in the first place. She had only agreed to this because it was something Bonnie enjoyed, would never have gone on a run of her own accord. “Everyone comes to Risa”, she started, keeping her sentences short to be able to draw enough breath. “I saw my world. I met lots of people. It was fun.”

This was also more exercise than Bonnie normally endured, and she noticed the shortness of breath in Anna. “Can, can we slow down a bit? Maybe rest at the top of this hill?” She was curious about a number of things, and Anna seemed fun. But if Bonnie was going to pursue making friends she needed to dig deeper. Her recent trust issue was snake like in rearing its ugly head and getting to know someone on a personal level would take time, she understood this. And she was…

“Whoa! What was that?” Out of nowhere a flock of water foul bombarded them, one of them smacking Bonnine in the head with its webbed feet and retreating to the sky. Bonnie lost her balance and fell into Anna knocking them both off the path and tumbling into the grassy knoll.

Anna was as surprised as Bonnie, she hadn’t programmed this into the setting. But it did look like one of her jokes, as these were ducks scaring them, so she knew she’d have a hard time denying having any hand in this.

As they tumbled, Anna held on to Bonnie and wrapped her arms around her, shielding Bonnie’s head and neck from any unfortunate encounters with boulders. She’d surely have broken some bones, had Anna not smacked right into a large rock with her backside, the holodeck safeties turning the hard stone into soft goo to have them brake softly, only to push them back out and have them rest against a rock, solid again, as if nothing had happened.

With Bonnie’s head still pressed against Anna’s chest, Anna carefully released her hold. “Are you okay?” she asked.

"Merderfur fa mur." Bonnie mumbled before lifting her head and taking a breath. She then pushed off and rolled over onto her back in a clear bout of giggles and tears. As she regained the ability to breathe, she said through her laughter "Didn't expect that to happen twice in my lifetime. Well I mean the first time they were pigeons and my landing wasn't so soft, but.. Was that supposed to happen?"

Anna laughed. “No. I did not put that into the programme, I swear.” She looked at Bonnie and wondered whether she was just easily spooked. “Though, it is always good to respect the duck.” She struggled to her feet and extended her hand to Bonnie to help her up. “You’re going to check, right?”

“Noted.” Bonnie said while taking Anna’s hand and hopping up to her feet. She then brushed off her clothes and fixed her bushy hair before calling for the arch. The computer responded by tone and by showing the arch right in front of her.

She spent a minute looking through the code before turning to Anna. “Looks like we just spooked the wildlife. There is nothing here to indicate an error or anything planted in the code. Just a random flock of ducks out for a morning attack on runners.” She smiled and deactivated the arch. So, an average Tuesday for Bonnie.

Anna shook her head. “Nuts.” But she was glad that it had been proven beyond doubt that she had, indeed, not put that into the programme. Trust issues, and all that, which Anna knew might plague Bonnie after the experience she had narrated during their last meeting. “How about we walk a little, or sit in the grass somewhere for a bit?” she suggested. “I’m not used to running, especially not uphill.”

After that random encounter Bonnie was okay with the notion of not running any more. "Sure, I am okay with that. And where there are ducks there is likely to be a pond or a loch nearby. As long as you can promise no more attack ducks." The look of concern on her face was that of genuine concern.

“I can’t”, Anna said. “But I wouldn’t mind a swim. I swear, I’m much better in the water than I am at running.” She pointed downhill. “Going down should be easier.” Though it would require a different group of muscles being exercised, and she knew that once back in the valley, some parts of her would be hurting. But she didn’t mind, it was part of the deal.

Her arms immediately became folded, clutched tight to her chest. "S...swimming. No that's not a good idea. I don't really swim, I mean I can, if I had to, but I don't and probably shouldn't." She was defensive almost to the point of distraught. "Besides I didn't bring a suitable suit, you know, goggles and such." She knew very well the holodeck could provide everything she needed but if ducks were spooking her on land could you imagine her surrounded by water?

“You don’t like to go swimming?” Anna wondered. “Okay, I mean, we don’t have to. It was just an idea.” She couldn’t imagine why anyone would dislike swimming, but she wasn’t about to push her.

Anna didn't appear upset but that didn't stop Bonnie from feeling like she hurt her new friends' feelings. She gestured for them to walk towards the loch. Who knew, maybe they could just chat and find something else to do they would both enjoy. After a minute of walking Bonnie spoke from deep inside her shell, "There was a time when I loved swimming, and playing, and animals of all kinds. Somewhere along the way I lost that I think. Whether it's my single father upbringing in a world of antiques or when I lost my mom at 359, I don't know. And I am truly sorry if I am ruining your outing."

“Don’t worry about me”, Anna said. “Anyway, I’ve been ‘out’ for a long time, as the humans say. But it saddens me that you’ve lost a part of your life that could bring so much joy. No artist can come close to the beauty of the natural world, nothing we do can reflect the splendour of mother nature. Savour the fruit of life, as my Klingon friends say.” She intentionally left out the part about the taste turning bitter with time, as she did not believe that.

Puzzled by Anna’s words, but enthralled by her outlook on nature, Bonnie was open to spending some time by the water. She was curious, however, and so asked “Klingon friends huh? You must be pretty important to have gained their trust. I sense a story there.”

Anna grinned. “I’m good in bed.” She winked at Bonnie. “Had a Klingon girlfriend during the war, for a few months. She was fun.”

Bonnie blushed, not expecting such an intimate detail. "Fun? Their… um they tend to be, um, hurtful?" She asked, unable to fully articulate the stories she had heard about the imaginative nature of Klingon coupling.

“I’m sturdy”, Anna said, not entirely without boast. “It was a wild time, but entirely enjoyable. Except for when the sonic showers weren’t working, but that’s an entirely different thing altogether.”

“Sturdy huh?” She half rolled her eyes. “I wish I were sturdy. I mean, considering the amount of shit I’ve been through in my life I guess I’m lucky to be alive. But then, that’s why people like yourself exist, to keep people like me from killing themselves out of sheer stupidity.” As they strolled down the hill, the blue stillness of the loch rose to greet them, a patch of sand to the right catching Bonnie’s attention.

She pointed, “That looks like a good spot to sit and relax.” There was a singular shade tree with lots of green overgrown vegetation nearby that appealed to Bonnie’s inner reader self. She imagined sitting there and soaking up a good book on her time off. “And if you still want to go for a swim, I could watch from under that tree, perhaps.”

“You wouldn’t be bored?” Anna asked. Truth be told, she could use the refreshment, and maybe some sunbathing afterwards. It was beautiful. “Computer, set water temperature to twenty-five degrees.”

Anna started undressing, hanging her clothes over a branch as she didn’t want any sand in it, not even the holographic kind. “I won’t be long. Sure you don’t want to cool off a bit as well?”

"I won't be bored." Bonnie admitted as she sat down under the tree in a position where she was able to watch the water as it crashed upon the shore. While watching Anna she quickly realized Anna had no intentions of using a bathing suit which made her blush. She averted her eyes mostly though it could not be helped noting what a nice figure Anna had. Her round backside was especially bouncy as Anna made for the water. All she could do was think about how crazy liberating it must be to swim nude in foreign waters.

Anna jumped into the water, diving under the surface for a moment before coming back up, standing and shouting. “It’s very comfortable in here, if you want to change your mind!”

As she pulled her legs in tight to her chest Bonnie contemplated the idea of swimming with the fish. She also studied Anna with an inquisitive eye. While looking through the code she had discovered a shoddy written algorithm designed to create a random flock of ducks. The question in Bonnie's mind was whether or not it was an intentional prank to get them closer.

That question was up in the air as Anna's personality leaned towards the cooky and the fun so the ducks could have been a prank, something Bonnie was familiar with from her academy days. This was the sole reason she had not said anything as she didn't want to spoil the surprise payback she had in store. It had only taken her a moment to program the code and now that Anna was in the water all she had to do was activate and wait.

"Computer, activate Waterhorse Bonnie1." She whispered into her chest. All she had to do now was sit back and wait for the prank to unfold.

Anna shrugged. She didn’t know why Bonnie didn’t want to join her, but it couldn’t be helped. She wasn’t going to try to persuade her the Orion way. Not that it would work either, since she had no pheromone glands to assist her in it.

Anna swam around a little when she suddenly saw movement in the water. Believing it to be a big fish, she moved closer to take a better look. That was when the shape of a horse became apparent above the water, but it looked like the water around it, only defying gravity and forming the appearance of a horse. Only the saddle seemed solid, but that was enough to entice Anna to climb on top of it.

Pressing her thighs into the horse’s sides, she found them to be solid enough. Only on a holodeck could someone put these silly ideas into action, and Anna loved it. Laughing, she steered the horse across the surface of the water as though it was a jetski, only not as loud and obnoxious. “Bonnie! Look! I found a horse!”

Bonnie couldn’t help but laugh, not at the horse, but at Anna’s enjoyment. It was good to see a smile and to know she helped create it. Anna’s laughter was infectious and within moments of watching a naked Anna bounce up and down on a mythical waterhorse, many had come to call the Lochness Monster, Bonnie burst out laughing. “Whoooo! Ride that horse Anna!” She yelled from her shade spot next to the beach, safe in the knowledge that what happens on the holodeck stays on the holodeck, except that whole Moriarty thing.

Happily waving, Anna almost fell off the horse. She wasn’t exactly an experienced rider. But she wasn’t worried, the water would make for a soft landing. She splashed about with the horse, and the waves they made came dangerously high up the sandy stretch Bonnie called a beach. “This is fun. And don’t you dare be a neigh-sayer”, she called.

"I see." She could clearly see the smile and hear the laughter emanating from Anna and inside that made her happy. If only she could get past her mental block which limited her internal joy from expressing itself. As a child she would not hesitate to run and explore. Now she clung to her books and her quiet little server farm.

Suddenly the computer chirped and everything disappeared, depositing a nude Anna a few feet away on the floor with a small thud. "Scheduled session has expired." The computer announced. Had it been an hour already? Bonnie thought as she rose and moved to Anna to offer her a hand up.

“Ooof...” Anna looked up at Bonnie, taking her hand and pulling herself up to her feet. “I expected the horse to throw me off eventually, but not like this.” She smirked. Then she looked down on herself to check herself for any injuries, but was satisfied that the fall hadn’t done any damage. “But it was fun”, she added with a smile.

“Maybe next time we can reserve more time, or start with Nessie and skip the duck attack.” She was amused by the whole situation even as she bent over and handed Anna her clothes.

“I swear, it wasn’t me!” Anna said, taking the jumpsuit from Bonnie’s hands and stepping back into it. “I know it looks bad, since I’m the duck person here. But I honestly didn’t put that code in, or asked the computer to do it for me. I’m innocent.”

Bonnie gave her the 'whatever girl' eyes which read you're crazy and I know you're lying but whatever we're cool. She then flipped her bushy hair back and proclaimed, "It's okay. Once I got past the initial scare I was fine. I had a fun time and the run wasn't bad either." She shrugged. "Any ideas for next time?" She added as she began heading for the doors.

“Bajor, the Keloba wetlands”, Anna suggested. They were going there, and she was hoping they’d get some time down on the planet, especially since shore leave on Vulcan had been cancelled. Anna would really love going down to Bajor again. She’d spent years there, and had people to meet and places to see, curious how they’d changed since the rebuilding after the occupation was proceeding ahead of schedule.

"Sorry no waterhorses there I'm afraid." Bonnie said, making a joke. "But a hike through the wetlands sounds, well, interesting I suppose." She didn't think she would enjoy slogging through the marsh lands but if Anna wanted to do something, she was willing to broaden her horizons.

“They’re beautiful, you’ll love it, I promise”, Anna said. “There’s just one drawback, and... well, it’s a serious issue, but it can’t be helped. We’ll just have to enjoy the place in spite of that. But it’s Bajor, so you can’t expect it to be perfect. Thing is, there are no ducks.”

As the doors parted revealing an inpatient couple who looked like they were on a date Bonnie chuckled, "For shame." She didn't normally mind ducks and if they kept their distance she was even happier. "Thanks again for the run. And the soft landing. And the Lady Godiva moment." She added while blushing slightly.

Anna leaned over and gave Bonnie a kiss in the cheek. “Until next time.”