Leaving Sigma Iota II

[Melissa Richards]

[Azaria]

Regan nodded as Mary gave Gary [damn them and their annoyingly adorable, rhyming names!] the brush off and marched out of the opening doors onto the bridge.

That could've gone better, in multiple ways. It put a scowl on his face, which was never far off, and he stalked towards the Security & Tactical station.

The door to the turbo lift opened before Aoife could reply to Keith, and she turned towards it to see who was arriving. You never knew. At the look on Reagan's face, she shifted slightly, suddenly ready for anything that may be about to happen. "Sir?" She called across the bridge to him. "Look like you had a bit of a barney. All's well on the lower decks, or did I miss out on a bit o' fun?"

"Oh, lots of fun, kiddo, lots of fun," He grunted. "I'll regale you with the juicy details some other time, though, when we don't have work to do."

She glanced at the expressions on the faces of the Captain and the XO. Interesting how determined they were not to look at each other as they walked onto the bridge. She grinned slightly, figuring that she'd chat to Keith more later about what her observations were.

"Whats going on up here?"

Tag Aoife

[Amanda Rose]

[Melissa Richards]

Commander Mary Wells
Executive Officer

"Yes, we're doing so now." Mary commented as she moved to each station, her eyes excited and almost shining like a kid in a candy store. "It's the most amazing thing I've seen in a long time. I want complete readings on it people, but keep our distance, helm. We're not sure what it is, so let's not get too close. Just stay at the range I ordered." She smiled and turned back to the captain. "This will take awhile. And, there will be a lot of data to sift through. We'll need to stay in this area for a little bit.."

tags

[KendleRJ]

It was a very uneventful walk through the corridor from her quarters to the Gym. It might have disappointed Shelly, but it was really more of a relief to Kat. Perhaps she was intimidating enough with her red boxing gloves tied together and twisted around the handles of her bag. Or maybe it was the way she moved: with purpose and conviction. She clearly wasn't on duty by the way she was dressed. Perhaps it was her run in Down Below that had already been whispered around the ship... tough broad with no concerns about busting balls. Maybe they had even said that she had no provocation, but not using such fancy language.

As she reached the door, she watched it slide open and took a deep breath. Here was where her worries and concerns would melt away in sweat and muscular aches, and thought, that pesky logical process, could be gratefully suspended. The room had been repurposed again; returned to its former glory as a gymnasium for people who needed to unwind, and exhaust the body so that the mind could shut. Up. She had purposely not bothered refilling her prescription. Not to avoid Sickbay... in fact, she had hoped that she and the CMO had found a new level of understanding. This was a personal challenge she would need to overcome. Like her aching hand. Or the bruise that was going to make it hard for her to move her shoulder if she didn't push through the pain this session.

Her workout wear did little to cover the bruise, but she wasn't self-conscious. There was no one here as she began tugging out the punching bag and jump rope. Stretching first would loosen her muscles and at least lessen the possibility of injury, and she bit her lip, grunting with the stifled pain that shot through her shoulder. Closing her eyes, she slowly stretched, face pressing against her knees, full body stretch as her shoulder screamed. It still didn't click, but the bruise might be nasty and tender when it finally emerged. Twisting slightly, she tried to catch sight of her injury in the mirror, but it only looked red and a bit swollen. Rolling up to full standing, she exhaled slowly, inhaling again as she leaned forward as far as she could and repeated the process to clear her mind and thoughts.

Her hand reached out for the jump rope, closed her eyes, and started turning, feet barely raising above the deck as the tick of the rope and the tap of her feet took up a synchopated rhythm she began singing to in a low and steady voice. She would feel the burn, let it travel through her legs, into her arms, and become a part of its intoxicating and familiar pain. Tick-tap, tick-tap, tick-tap, tick-tap... tempo steadily increasing along with her heartbeat and breathing. Pushing herself harder, farther, longer... endurance, cardio, lean muscle... it might make good physical sense, but what mattered most was the impending suspension of thought, where mind and body surpassed the physical and became surreal. If only she could find that place when she was sleeping...

But a beggar couldn't be a chooser. She continued jumping rope until her arms and legs felt like jelly, and her fingers threatened to let go of the rope. Sweat streaming, hair matted to her head, and there... nestled in the back of her mind like a teasing lover... nothing. Blessed silence with no concern for the next synaptic firing. Now, if she could only overcome Newton's Law of Momentum without simply letting go.

Tags (or not)

USS Horizon
Katarina Alicia "KAT" Tell, Captain's Yeoman, 1st Class

[Amanda Rose]

[Melissa Richards]

[Aoife]

"Whats going on up here?" asked Reagan.

"Not a whole lot. Which is both lovely and odd. And I'll be adding in unsettlin' for good measure." Aoife said, moving to one side, so that Reagan could check the scans and such on her console. If he wanted. That part wasn't always clear. "Nowt on sensors thus far."

TAGs

[Amanda Rose]

(This occurs after shift. Feel free to continue on the during shift stuff, Regan and Aofie. Soon going to be starting another thread for Day After Leaving Sigma Iota II, as well.)

Gary allowed himself to be relieved from the bridge when the night shift arrived. He stretched a bit when he returned to his quarters, taking a quick sonic shower to freshen up for Mary. He took a bottle of wine, a 2010 Beaujolais Nouveau. Grinning, he thought, a celebratory wine.... It had better be.... He then got a couple of glasses and headed to the meeting place at the Arboretum.

Mary had taken the time to shower and fix her hair so it was a little more feminine and less duty-like. She painted her nails, and chose a dress that looked appropriate, though in actuality she had only brought two on the voyage figuring there wouldn't be much call for them. Looking at herself in the mirror, she sighed, slipped on some sandals, then made the walk from her quarters to the arboretum. Entering she looked around, then seeing Gary spoke. "Looks very nice here," she commented. "I've only been here a few times, usually to make sure the plants are healthy."

Gary beamed when Mary arrived. He got up and gave her a welcoming hug. "You look beautiful. You should wear more dresses, Mary. Truly stunning." He then looked at the plants and said, "Without the plants, we are dead ducks. It is rather amazing. This ship can take a beating from phaser fire or maybe a few torpedos but if we lose these plants and our food, we would not stand much of a chance out here. But they are beautiful."

"They are, yes," she agreed, then bent over a little to smell some flowers. "I hope we can lessen the beatings and do more exploration. That's the start of colonization which is the hope and future of Earth."

"Indeed, which, of course, is why I concentrate on the M class worlds," Gary said with a smile and picking a bit at the scab from their conversation earlier. "Are you enjoying your anomaly?" he asked trying to cover up.

"Oh gods yes. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen. The readings are very infantile so far, but I believe it's moving between our dimension and maybe another?" she seemed to question her own idea. "But it could also be a wormhole through time. Very intriguing and a little frightening when you think about it."

"Exactly how are you going to prove any of this, Mary? Seems rather improbable."

"By the readings, Gary, and using math as a basis." She began to go into an explanation of how it all fit together using math and science to prove her theory. "A lot of it is based off what Einstein was proposing and later Steven Hawkings."

"Math only goes so far. It is theory. In order to prove it, you would have to get something from the other side, whatever or wherever that is. Is this anomaly stable?"

"So far. If it stayed that way, do you know what this means?" Her eyes shone with excitement once more. "A gateway to another galaxy...or universe...or who knows?"

"That could be very exciting. But is it only a one way trip? Could anyone survive the gravity that it exerts without getting ripped apart? And how many of these are there out there?"

"That we don't know. It would likely involve intense study, then maybe sending a probe through and see if we can see the readings from the other side."

"I'm almost surprised that you have not done that yet!" Gary said with a laugh. He then brought out some glasses and his wine bottle and sat on a bench and motioned Mary to do the same. "Well, I would say that this deserves some sort of toast."

"It does. And I haven't done that yet because the preliminaries must be done first. It's why I wanted time to study this rather then fly off to the next M class world we find."

"Now, now, now, Mary," Gary said in a mock scolding tone as he poured a couple of glasses of wine. "There is no better time than the present to celebrate. I have a beautiful and brilliant woman here with me in a beautiful location in the beautiful perfection of space. I would have to say that is as perfect as anything can be." He handed Mary a glass of the wine.

"Thank you." She took the glass and smiled brilliantly, the light catching her eyes. "So far, other then some expected in-ship restlessness, things are going very well I think."

Gary put his glass down for a moment, before raising a toast, "That does remind me. What did you do with regard to Kat? Regan was purposely vague."

"I need to talk to her about the alleged incident. So far, I am going off Regan's report and giving the idiots involved time to cool off and and think about their actions. They will obviously be seeing more discipline, but the level will be determined once I know the full story."

"I'll talk to Kat," Gary answered. "She's my yeoman. I am responsible."

"Well, the fight wasn't your fault. And Gary," she sighed, "if you go by the chain of command, Regan is correct. It's supposed to go through him to me and then to you if needed."

"I sent her there with Arkady and I could tell she did not want to go. And Engineering is still my department, even if I am not there. I should have known something was going on. I should have personally gone."

"It's a ship, Gary! You're the captain, you can't be everyplace at once. That's why you have me and department heads. And, you sure as hell can't look like you're playing favorites." _Is he seeing her?_

"You know that I like to involve myself in everything. That's why people respect me. I'm not aloof. I get my hands dirty. I don't pawn things off on everyone. I don't like being kept out of it." He sighed a bit.

"Yeeees," she drew out the word. "But, it would also be considered as micro-managing. Some departments have huge issues with that."

"Have you heard complaints?" he asked concerned.

"Nothing serious. But, you might want to be more of a captain and less of a mother hen." She giggled.

Gary moved closer into Mary and said, "I thought you might appreciate me acting as your Mother Hen." He raised his wine glass again and said, "So what shall we toast to?"

"Uhhmm how about a nice quiet evening with no interruptions or distractions?" She looked up at him smiling.

"I could not ask for anything better," Gary replied with a very pleased grin. Finally! I have gotten through. Tonight will be amazing! "Shall we finish our drinks here or in one of our quarters?"

"Here is fine." She looked at all the flowers. "I can imagine this a private garden on some as yet undiscovered world."

Oh, there is at least one undiscovered garden in here and it is not outside Mary's dress. "It would be a world that would still pale to you."

"Gary stop." She leaned against him. "This ship is a small place. I need to know that we can be...close but also professional when on duty." Looking up at him she met his eyes. "Otherwise, this could get complicated."

Gary switched his wine into his other hand and put his free arm around Mary and said, "Life is complicated. We are not the only people on this ship engaging in non-business relationships on the ship. It is natural."

"Yes, but you do know if a relationship goes south, it can affect work as well? I think that's my biggest concern when considering this with you, Gary. Will we be an effective team if...well...things fall apart and thre's bitterness?"

Gary laughed. "Planning for the worst, Mary? Why not enjoy the best? The future is unwritten."

"I know. Let's just say relationships and I, in the past, are foreign territory. I've always had my look being forward and not as much on the present. It got me where I am, but now that I'm here, I'm finding I want to slow down and smell the roses a bit."

Gary closed his eyes to keep calm. Don't you dare back out on me, Mary. Let's close the deal tonight. He opened them and looked into her eyes. "I understand that. Been there and done that, Mary. Remember, I was married before. Brilliant, but psychotic, she was."

"Why did it go wrong?" she asked sitting closer to him.

"She was crazy. Incurable mental illness. Brilliant mind. She actually helped design this ship."

"How..what drove her crazy?" Mary asked genuinely concerned.

"It was a rare genetic condition. I rode through a lot of highs and lows with her...." He shook his head sadly. "But I don't want to talk about her. Tonight is about us."

Mary went silent then nodded hesitantly. "Okay." She looked up at him. "Thank you for sharing that."

Gary looked at Mary a bit confused but said, "You're welcome." He straightened up and asked, "Now where were we?" with a large grin.

"Here." She put her arms around his neck. "Talking about us. What it can lead to."

Gary leaned in and kissed Mary, unconcerned about whether they would be spotted.

Mary returned the kiss holding it and then pulled back. "This feels nice," she whispered. "Very...peaceful."

Gary gave a shushing noise at Mary and brought his mouth against hers again, kissing her more deeply. So much better when she leaves her concerns at the doorstep.

She relaxed and leaned into the kiss breathing in his scent. She was slowly admitting to herself how wonderful he felt and that this might actually work.

Gary realized that his hand still had a glass of wine in it and therefore he broke away. "Perhaps we should take this to one of our quarters. Would be a shame to spill wine accidentally on your lovely dress."

"That's probably a good idea," Mary agreed softly, looking past him at the door. Nobody had come in yet, and perhaps if this was going to go someplace, quarters were best. _I want to take this slowly._ she thought.

Gary broke away from Mary, stood up, and gave her her glass of wine. Took the bottle of wine, tucked it under and arm and put his glass of wine in the hand opposite of the one that he put around Mary's shoulder as he asked, "Your place or mine?"

"Yours," she said without hesitation. It seemed that if this was going over the edge tonight, it should be in his quarters.

"Wonderful," Gary answered with a warm smile. That means we're going all the way tonight, unless my guess is inaccurate. Women are confusing but I think I have finally solved Mary. He gave her another kiss and led Mary to the turbolift.

tag - Mary and anyone who might want to spot the Captain and Mary
stuartcollis:

[Azaria]