Just working out.

Posted on Sat Apr 24th, 2021 @ 5:53am by Lieutenant Dean House & Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Lieutenant Commander Tyroh Vantic & Lieutenant Commander Shylow Vitari & Lieutenant Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell & Lieutenant Thriss Kla'ren & Lieutenant Aurora Vali & Lieutenant Allison Haldeman & Lieutenant Thomas Haldeman & Lieutenant Jessica Holland & Chief Petty Officer Ronson Mitchell & Chief Petty Officer Remal Kajun & Crewman Jon Perriwinkle

Mission: *CD*
Location: Gym
Timeline: Prior to events on the station

Dean had a little bit of time. There were the holo targets he could spar with. There was holo targets he would use his bow on. The guns he wasn't going to, those rounds were hard to come by real crafted. Even though replicated would still work.

He started with the sparing session using holo-arrows. A combination of the two. Starting off slow with two. Moving it up to three. Working on the first and not bothering really. Just shoulder block shoves. Switching over to the second and third that were coming at him from behind.

Blindly shoving back with a kick to one knee dropping them down. A sickening snap. Spinning around to tap the side of his waist to micro-transport the compound bow out. Using it to sweep the leg and slam it down on the throat of the third. Quickly twisting at the waist to aim and drop the first one as it got up with a shot to the throat.

The chime beeped signally that was over. "Computer, time."

The familiar female voice spoke up, "36.8 seconds."

Aurora was watching from across the gym, she was impressed at Dean’s technique. “Good technique but I’ve no doubt Academy instructors would demand you shave off a few seconds from your time.”

Dean gave a glance over to the voice, "Hey there." Walking over towards her. "I'm sure they probably would."

“Plenty good enough for here though I’d say, a lot quicker than I’d manage that’s for sure!” Aurora grinned. “I would volunteer to spar with you but I daren’t in case I upset my side again. It’s all healed but still tender.”

"Just because we're all different doesn't mean you can't get there." He smiled at her. Giving a look to her side a moment then back to her fully. "I'm sorry to hear it's still tender"

“It’s to be expected, it’ll be better soon.” She smiled warmly at Dean. “So how have you been since we got back?”

"I've been alright. Light, how are you going with things. Getting used to it back on the ship, considering I was only on it for like...five minutes before the Game."

Aurora nodded. “Well we’ve gained a few crew since then, I can only imagine how strange it must be for them after being stranded down there for so long.”

"Well, I can actually feel the sentiment after all." Shifting a little, "It is a little different."

“That’s true” Aurora nodded. “Life down there seemed a whole world away from up here.”

He reached for a towel, "Actually, in an odd way, if you look at it that way. It was more real. A reminder of how things used to be for multiple planets. Multiple cultures. Some still are that way."

Aurora nodded. “That’s true, we tend to forget that, being here aboard the ship.”

"Mmhmm." Dean gave a light nod. "Maybe a spar later when you're feeling better. After all it's just a spar, one is suppose to hold back some. It's not a fight to the death."

“True, sparring would do me good. I need to brush up on my skills anyway” Aurora smiled warmly.

Meanwhile, the Andorian Chief Engineer was against the wall repairing a few broken circuits. Suddenly, he heard a loud spark and saw a few sparks fall, resulting in a small burn on his finger. He cursed under his breath and got back to work.

Aurora had felt the emotional shock and looked towards the Andorian. “Are you alright Chief?”

"Yeah, I'm alright, just a small burn that's all. However, these damned circuits are a different story. They will probably need some more fixing." Thriss replied.

Dean glanced over having noticed as well. Aurora had it covered though. A little curious what the Chief was working on.

“Let us know if you need any help” Aurora smiled at the Andorian.

"What are you fixing, Chief?" Dean asked.

"A few of the conduits in here suffered a few ruptures from when the Liberty was in distress right before the jungle. Most of them have already been repaired, and I'm just now getting to the ones in here. However, these two wires don't seem to want to work" replied the Lieutenant. "Unless...". Thriss threaded the first wire to one that was already working. Then, he threaded the next one to another separate wire. He saw the screen above blink on with the usual LCARS operating system. He stood up and tapped on the screen, confirming that the conduits in that area were repaired. "There, all fixed" Thriss said confidently.

"Well then, there you go," Dean gave a light smile.

Savar entered a few minutes later. He had no intention of working out in public. Unless he was helping the Captain with her self defense training. Otherwise his exercise and meditation was done in private. However he was curious as to what others called exercise.

“Savar” Aurora smiled warmly as she looked towards her husband. “What brings you here?”

And now another one, this of whom Dean also knew. Though not interrupting except to nod, "Commander."

"Mr. House." Savar acknowledged.

"Aurora." Savar greeted his wife. "I confess to a certain curiosity as to what others consider exercise." He answered as he looked about the gym.

“Ahh I see” Aurora nodded. “Well if you hang around long enough you’ll no doubt find out.” She grinned. “There’s plenty of exercise equipment here.”

"Indeed, there is a wide variety." Savar agreed as he again looked at the various pieces of gym equipment. "How were you planning to exercise Aurora?"

“I was just going to take a gentle jog on the treadmill” Aurora smiled. “My side is still tender, I don’t want to overdo it.”

"A wise precaution Arora." Savar agreed.

“Would you like to try anything? I’m sure Lieutenant House could advise you on what’s good to use.”

Dean lifted his head after taking a drink of water. "I just finished a sparring program, there's that if you want to try it out. Also, yes, I don't mind. It just depends on what you want to work on."

"That is not necessary Aurora." Savar replied. To House he spoke next. "Thank you no."

Aurora nodded in response.

There was a little nod given, "As you wish."

Aurora offered Dean an apologetic smile then looked at Savar. “Would you like to see any of the equipment demonstrated?”

Savar walked over to the stationary bikes, "What is the purpose of running if you are not going anywhere?" He asked Aurora.

“For starters, fitness” Aurora smiled. “Other times, it’s just something relaxing to do, even though it wares you out doing it. Have you never used the gym?”

"I have not. I see no need for the gym when I accomplish my needs either in our cabin or the holodeck Aurora."

“I can see your point” Aurora smiled playfully. “There are better ways of working out.”

"Indeed. I am sure you can Aurora." Savar answered, arching an eyebrow at her.

Aurora grinned. “I always understand your point my dear husband.”

"Yes. You are remarkably insightful and intuitive Aurora." Savar remarked.

Aurora smiled as she looked at Savar, “Would you like to continue our tour, or would you like to head home?”

"If you are to be my guide, then we may continue the tour Aurora." Savar replied evenly.

Having completed her rounds for the morning, Bonnie was dressed for a run. hair pulled back, tight top, and capri style bicycle pants. She carried a personal towel over her shoulder and a water bottle in her hand. The doors slid open and she popped through with a bubbly smile, which amost faded instantly as she saw how many people were already in the gym. The more people, the bigger the audience when something would go wrong.

She caught sight of Dean, her arm raised instinctively in a wave. "Hey, do you know where I can find a good running track? I would run the halls, but, well... anyway do you?"

"Hey there!" Smiling widely and coming over to her. Leaning to give a peck on the cheek. "Well there's the perimeter of the gym," Dean gave a motion to it, "There's also the holodecks."

Slightly caught off guard by the sudden intrusion into her personal space she just stared at him for a moment. When her moment passed she blinked, then looked around, frowning at the idea of running around in the gym in full view for everyone to see. She started to back away, "I, uh, I prefer the holodeck actually. Thanks anyway." She took another step backward, her brain fighting her on leaving.

Dean blinked a little also, having thought they had at least that friendly of a rapport. Evidently, he was wrong. It wasn't like he was trying to actually kiss her like that after all. "Isn't it going to be pretty much the same thing, regardless of where you do it? I'll run it with you."

"Um, it's slightly different. I mean trees, water, landscape in general all by far better than walls and..." she looked at the number of people. "...and eyes, lots of eyes." she sighed knowing she didn't want to pass on this opportunity to be a part of the team. This is one of the main reasons she crawled out of her shell and back into space afterall. "You'll run with me? Promise?" She asked earnestly.

"What's wrong with eyes?" Giving a look around a moment before Dean looked back to her. "We all have them, and they are beautiful. Some more than others for what they show about a person." Giving a nod, and offering his hand, to affirm the promise, "I said I will, so I promise, and I never break a promise."

She gave a little giggle, "Nothing wrong with eyes per say, just the judgmentally of who they are attached to." She looked around again. "Alright, you talked me into it." She caved, allowing the doors to her escape route to close.

Dean smiled a little bit, "Alright, well then, just how long distance-wise do you want to go with?"

She tossed her towel and water bottle onto a nearby bench, then looked around at the size of the track before spreading her legs and bending in half, her hair grazing the floor. "I don't know, we could go all the way. It's not that big, so we could go a couple of times. What do you think about that?" She asked through her legs, her butt on full display, as well as her innocent mind.

Considering that Dean had already done all that, he didn't need to. Giving a glance over the distance, which was maybe a quarter-mile the whole way round once. "Hmm...I don't know, perhaps a mile if you want. Roughly four times around." Of course, he looked, but she did it. It didn't have to mean anything necessarily, either. Was nice to look at though.

She continued to stretch both directions, then stood up. "I can do a mile. I'm ready if you are." She double-checked her shoes for trip hazards and then began moving towards the track area at a light jog.

"By all means," once she started, Dean moved and to catch up, next to her. "Why haven't you come here before to do it? I'm the new one on board."

"Well, like I told you before, I'm relatively new here too. And I prefer my morning warmups in private, usually in a holodeck. Running along a riverbank or up a scenic incline helps my mind, as well as my body, wake up. Gets the imagination churning, you know?" She allowed her tense nature to soften and her light jog to turn into a comfortable pace they could both run at. As long as she maintained focus on what she was doing and who she was talking to, the rest of the gym seemed to fall away.

"I see, is there a particular reason you don't like to do so in public?" Just keeping up with whatever pace that Bonnie had wanted to set.

She smiled as he had not yet been privy to her 'moments'. "You haven't known me very long but you should know I am a bit of a klutz. Until recently I called it bad luck but someone I met on the way to the Liberty helped me see that my bad luck is often someone else's good luck, so. Well a girl can only handle so much of others laughing at her, you know? So I keep to myself. For the benefit of others really." They began their third lap around. She admitted it was nice to have someone to chat with while she ran.

Dean shook his head, "I did not know that." Giving a frown for a moment, but it dropped. Giving a glance to her a moment. "Well if you want, I can make sure they don't laugh at you again. Anyone on this crew shouldn't be laughing to start with for someone's quirks." He did notice the visible change from before she just walked in there and now.

She couldn't hide her grin, "Thanks. That is sweet. I don't know that this crew has laughed at me per se, but through the years there have been many. And not just in my head, you know? Oh and by the way, I'm not sure I thanked you properly for the cream. It helped." As they entered their fourth lap she was feeling the burn in her legs beginning and so dialed back her pace slightly.

"You're welcome, on both accounts." Dean gave a glance when she started to dial it down, not that it mattered to him. Nor was he going to belittle her for it and push her.

They continued to run until they surpassed the end of the fourth lap, where she stopped running but continued to bounce in place, a habit. She would often do it thinking she was helping maintain the elastic nature of the muscles in her legs by continuing to move, while she checked her pulse. "Thanks again for the run. I don't want to keep you if you have other things to do." She bounced of to her towel and water bottle.

It was also good she did that as well, as one is supposed to not immediately stop. Short cool down slowly, then stop. He had to follow her as his items were over there as well. "You're welcome. I don't think I have anything else for the day, and I don't want to keep you from anything as well. So maybe again next time?"

She finally stopped running long enough to sip her water, some of which dribbled down her chin and onto her shirt. "Next time," she replied. Then she flipped the towel over her shoulder, turned quickly and ran her shin into the bench. Grimacing, she winced, stood tall, and limped away. Just another bruise to add to the collection.

Taking his towel he was rubbing off the back of his neck. Making a little bit of a face a moment when she did that. "You know there's a bench there." Dean gave a little bit of a smirk.