Star Trek: Theurgy

Day 02 [1945 hrs.] Back to the Grind

May 26, 2019, 05:46:58 AM

[ Lt. Cmdr. Kai Akoni | Upper Gymnasium | Deck 06 | USS Theurgy ] @Auctor Lucan

STARDATE 57562.16
March 12, 2381
1945 hrs.

Kai was so thankful that his long day was over, at least officially. He’d finished most of the paperwork, met with some of his staff personally, managed to grab a bite to eat and now was able to come to the gym. Even though the last week or so had been physically exhaustive, he was happy to be back in the gym, hopefully settling into his routine again.

The large man had been on the treadmill for around twenty-five minutes at this point. He was running at a slower pace than normal, only covering just over five kilometres according to the display in front of him. He purposely decided to ease back into the gym rather than go all out at first, lest he injure himself and not be able to come here for even longer.

He reached forward while maintaining his stride and grabbed his water bottle. He unscrewed the cap and took a mouthful of the cold water. That parched his thirst for the time being, as he screwed the cap back on and replaced the bottle in its holder.

The treadmill started slowing down as Kai realized that he was done the preprogrammed time. He wondered what to do now, as he looked around the gym. When he had first entered, there were three other people, but now it was empty. He thought about basketball…nope. Not fun by yourself. He thought about weights, but couldn’t quite bring himself to that today. Then he saw the heavy bag and thought he’d do that. Hitting an inanimate bag sounded boring to some, but Kai found it quite relaxing.

He stepped off the treadmill, grabbed his water bottle and headed for the small bench positioned near the heavy bag. His legs ached a bit, but he welcomed that feeling. Hell, he enjoyed that feeling. The large man stretched his legs as he walked over to the bench and sat down on it. The bench groaned a little when he lowered his weight onto it, but it ultimately held Kai up. He was immensely thankful for that as he sat his water bottle beside him.

He reached into the container on the floor and grabbed out the hand wrap and started wrapping his left hand first. He always found this the most important part of heavy bag training.

Nothing worse for a workout than a visit to sickbay in the middle of it. he mused to himself as he continued wrapping his hand, making sure it was tight. He had heard the door to the gym open and thought nothing of it. As he finished wrapping his hand, he looked up, out of pure curiosity, to see who was in the gym with him.

He saw the rather attractive woman, with her red hair standing out, from about ten metres away. She had looked familiar to Kai, as in, she had been one of the faces he had seen when trying to familiarize himself with the crew. He couldn’t quite remember her name, but he remembered her rank.

”Evening Commander. How are ya?”

Re: SD 57562.16: Back to the Grind

Reply #1 – June 02, 2019, 01:50:04 AM

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Upper Gymnasium | Deck 06 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @trevorvw
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At the evening of the second day at Aldea, Jennifer Dewitt was ready for a demotion rather than haggling with arrogant Aldeans who seemed to know some things well enough but were completely useless in matters of diplomacy. Perhaps it was the Klingons that had rubbed off on them, relying on the Empire to protect them and not caring to learn more about other cultures. Perhaps it was just old grudges against the Federation, after Starfleet's withdrawal from the sector during the Dominion War - which had allowed for pirates and criminals to set up operations in the ghost cities. Either way, Dewitt was getting all of that - being the liaison officer dealing with the Aldean Defence Committee.

She'd been so busy that she'd barely had any time for herself, but when she finally gave up hope on a deal regarding access to a refinery that might speed up the repairs of the Theurgy - the place occupied with Aldea Prime's needs for the population - she'd decided to hit the gym on the Theurgy. She'd shoved the things she needed in a bag and changed in the communal locker room, never having been one of those who preferred the archaic ones that were divided between male and female crewmembers. Off with the Aldean chamlys and on with the black sports bra and the white yoga pants she tended to work out in. With some proper footwear on, she'd entered the gym with her frustrations on her sleeve, foregoing warming up and just dropping her bag next to a rowing machine.

She'd just dropped down on the seat when she heard the greeting, and her green eyes turned to spot Commander Akoni - the new Chief Security officer on the Theurgy after the late Wenn Cinn. He looked to be in the process of giving the punching bags a round, and given the man's size, she'd pitied them if they weren't inanimate objects.

"Commander Akoni," she greeted with a smile, oblivious to the fact that he didn't know her. Since he got her name right, she figured he'd know she was the Mission Liaison. If nothing else, he'd likely heard about how she'd deposed Trent from command. Before she began her exercise, she undid her pony tail and braided her hair where she sat, her deft motions making her square her shoulders and straighten her back while she looked at him. "Is Aldea giving your officers any headaches? Have you had to send guards into the shipyards of down on the planet to get our people out of trouble?"

Re: SD 57562.16: Back to the Grind

Reply #2 – June 17, 2019, 09:38:05 PM

[ Lt. Cmdr. Kai Akoni | Upper Gym | Deck 06 | USS Theurgy ]

@Auctor Lucan

Kai continued to transfer some frustration from himself to the punching bag via his fists. The bag kept swaying slightly with each contact of a fist, making a rhythmic noise that kept his senses sharply focused. He hadn't been able to strap some boxing gloves on in some time, dating back to even his final weeks aboard the Endeavour. He rather enjoyed it, however, he had grown weary of punching a heavy bag or a holographic opponent.

The large man landed a few more jabs followed by an uppercut just as Commander Dewitt had finished asking if the Aldeans were keeping Security busy. He punched the bag in front of him once more before he turned to face the woman seated on the rowing machine.

He raised his right forearm to his forehead in an attempt to wipe the sweat away so it would stay out of his eyes.

"No, no headaches yet. Everything has been pretty calm so far. A few run ins and misunderstandings, nothing major enough to warrant a full team as of yet." He suddenly realized he was parched and picked up his water bottle clumsily between the two boxing gloves and took a large gulp of water before continuing. Kai was a little bit less than graceful when he took a drink, causing most of the water to splash down his face and onto his chest. The cold water felt nice on his chest post workout, so he wasn't too upset about it.

"Although I expect that to change, we've had some inquiries from the Aldeans to explore some of their so called ghost cities, but nothing concrete." Kai said before setting his water bottle back down almost as clumsily as he had picked it up.

Kai then started to take his right glove off with his teeth undoing the the velcro on the glove and him managing to slide it off. He then started to make his way over to where Commander Dewitt was sitting as he was slowly taking off the wrapping on his wrist. He made conversation as he closed to her position.

"And what about you? Keeping busy? Well...less busy than lately at least?" he inquired, not really sure what to talk to her about. Kai didn't foresee their paths crossing all that often, but he had learned to expect the unexpected, especially aboard the Theurgy.

Just as Kai finished unwrapping his hand, he reached the rowing machine where Dewitt was sitting. Kai, being the nice guy he usually was, extended his right hand towards her. He couldn't help but glance at the Lieutenant Commander's tall, thin, admirable physique. She clearly worked out regularly and it showed. The large man felt a little self conscious for a brief moment, realizing his own physique needed a little more work than usual. The circumstances they faced as of late attributed to the fact that he had been in the gym far less than he would have liked.

"I actually don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm Kai," he said as he waited for her to return the handshake if she so chose.

Re: SD 57562.16: Back to the Grind

Reply #3 – June 23, 2019, 02:21:34 AM

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Upper Gymnasium | Deck 06 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @trevorvw
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Dewitt had yet to begin her exercise on the rowing machine by the time she was finished with her braid and Wenn Cinn came over to shake her hand. She didn't quite follow at first, until she realised that the man didn't know of her that well, or he was merely being polite and wished to introduce himself properly.

Etiquette would have a man rise to his feet to greet a woman, traditionally, and she used that old custom to her advantage in not having to get up from the rowing machine when she raised her hand to shake Akoni's. "Jennifer," she returned, having been given the man's first name and letting him have the same in return. The male specimen before her was quite impressive on the physical side, certainly a lot to feat the eye on, Dewitt was in no mood to appreciate it after such a wearisome day. It was only the second day at the planet, with the problems spreading like bushfires, but she hoped to return fighting those flames on the morrow.

"Glad to hear Security is able to keep things in order, with the new crewmembers aboard and the bad blood between the Theurgy and the Bellerophon since that ship was in Admiral Sankolov's fleet." Jennifer started to row while she talked, dismissing the notion to look at the wet pectoral muscularity before her any further. "How about you personally, how do you like serving as Chief of Security on Captain Ives' ship instead of Amasov's?"

She would just warm up, taking a bit over a minute to finish the distance she'd assigned to herself in the rowing machine.

Re: Day 02 [1945 hrs.] Back to the Grind

Reply #4 – June 27, 2019, 07:56:22 PM

[ Lt. Cmdr. Kai Akoni | Upper Gym | Deck 6 | USS Theurgy ] @Auctor Lucan

Lieutenant Commander Dewitt now had a first name, Jennifer. The woman had asked Kai how he liked serving as Chief of Security under Captain Ives.

Kai slightly chuckled in immediate response to that question. Considering he had been only Chief for less than thirty-six hours, it hadn't given him time to make a sound decision on that.

He also wondered if this were some sort of test, to see what Kai would say about Captain Ives with his guard down. He dismissed that thought about as quickly as it had entered his head. For him, he wasn't at home aboard the Theurgy, however, he knew he had to take a leap of faith. He had to trust his fellow crew members until given a reason not to.

"Well...that's tough to answer. I haven't really had the time to form an opinion one way or another, but so far so good. Captain Ives seems a bit more strict than Amasov, but that's not a bad thing." he said as Jennifer was rowing on the rowing machine.

Kai had to wonder just how Captain Ives would truly compare to Captain Amasov, but he looked forward to finding out. He had seen and heard that Captain Ives had proven himself to be very capable. Kai took this at face value and had no reason to not trust the Captain, despite the negative information fed to all Starfleet crews by Starfleet Command.

He looked at Commander Dewitt and saw that she was rowing and didn't seem to be breaking a sweat, which kind of made Kai jealous. Kai lamented the fact that that he always seemed to sweat like he had just ran a marathon, no matter what he did.

Sweat is just fat crying, he remembered being told in high school from his gym teacher. He had taken that to heart throughout his life, which is one of the reasons he pushed himself so hard in the gym.

He looked at Jennifer rowing as he asked his next question.

"And you..how are you adapting to all the newcomers to the Theurgy?"

Re: SD 57562.16: Back to the Grind

Reply #5 – July 04, 2019, 09:29:39 AM

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Upper Gymnasium | Deck 06 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @trevorvw
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The question was a wide one in scope, but Jennifer chuckled a little while she rowed, the overhead lights running over her body while she warmed up.

"Depending on who aboard you may ask, I am newcomer myself," she said baring her teeth momentarily as she gradually pulled harder on the handles, covering her calculated distance more quickly. "I came aboard from the Black Opal, a hidden weapon research facility and waritime depot. Classified, so you've likely not heard of it. I was the Commanding Officer of that station before the Theurgy came along. A story for another time perhaps, involving both shifting loyalties and the Theurgy showing its true colours by protecting us from a Romulan ship."

With three hundred meters to go, or at least that's what the display said, Dewitt put some more back into her motions, and sweat slowly began to bead her chest and her brow. "As for how I am adapting to those that have come aboard after I did, I guess a few needs some getting used to, while others are definitely a good fit for this crew. I have little in terms of complaints in that regard."

Rather, the question was likely being passed around in her regard - given what she'd done to Carrigan Trent. Had she done the right thing? Was deposing a Commanding Officer ever an option, and if it was, had the circumstances qualified on the Helmet that fateful early morning that the third Rendezvous? She didn't overly care as much as she'd done at first, having been completely transparent about her actions and her motivations from the start. It appeared that in the majority, the crew had faith in Captain Ives' verdict on the matter, and the gossip was dying out.

Lieutenant Trent and her had yet to speak again after what had happened, his demotion and reprimand likely a sore matter - their words restricted to matters of duty and Aldean officials she met. 'Frosty' might be a fair word to describe it. That, and the rumours about her, was a small price to pay for the survival of the Helmet's crew and those from the Bellerophon. She had done the right thing, not the easy thing, and she would do it all over again if she had to. Let them call me Miss 6-1-9. I consider it a badge of honour.

"Doesn't all those muscles slow you down?" she asked and glanced up at the big guy next to her through the damp tresses of her red hair. Her green eyes were creased in the corners with a smile. "Can you even fit through a jefferies tube?"

Re: Day 02 [1945 hrs.] Back to the Grind

Reply #6 – July 14, 2019, 07:27:52 PM

[ Lt. Cmdr. Kai Akoni | Upper Gym | Deck 06 | USS Theurgy ]
@Auctor Lucan

Kai had learned a little bit about where Dewitt had come from. Something about a classified weapon research facility. She was right though, Kai definitely hadn't heard about it before just now. This didn't really bother Kai as he knew there were a lot of projects within the Federation that were 'need to know' and he really had no need to know.

Jennifer had then asked him something that caught him off guard but caused him to laugh out loud. She had asked a question that he was sure a lot of people had probably wondered.

After Kai had laughed at the question, he smiled and decided he should probably give her an equally witty retort.

"Depends on your definition of fitting. That's why I never leave home without my tube of grease," he finished, adding a wink at the end of it.

Kai knew he was a large man and it never fazed him when people commented on his size. Usually they were valid questions, like fitting in Jeffries Tubes. The tubes were built with the average Starfleet Officer size in mind, and well, Kai was definitely above average size in everything.

The large man noticed that Dewitt was coming to the end of her set distance on the rowing machine. He knew how it was when someone tried talking to him when he was working out, so he decided he should try to bow out gracefully.

Kai walked over to the sink and splashed some water on his face, droplets flying everywhere with the amount he had thrown at himself. The cold water felt so good he actually considered shoving his whole head under the tap, but didn't want to appear too strange in front of his fellow Lieutenant Commander. He washed his head and neck, and promptly grabbed his towel and started to dry himself off a bit. He started with his face, finishing with his head and neck. He threw the towel over one shoulder, letting it rest gracefully. Good enough to make it to my quarters.

"Well, I'll let you get at it. Enjoy your workout," he said before pausing and then adding as almost an afterthought, "It was good to meet you Commander."

Re: SD 57562.16: Back to the Grind

Reply #7 – July 18, 2019, 09:35:25 AM

[ Lieutenant Commander Jennifer Dewitt | Upper Gymnasium | Deck 06 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @trevorvw
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When the Chief of Security made his joke, Dewitt couldn't stop the short laugh that came bubbling up her throat, making her loose her pace on the rowing machine. She had ten meters to go, but she quit and wiped her brow with the back of her hand. "Now that's one way to do it, for sure."

The large man walked away to drink, and Dewitt got up from the machine so that she could take a swig from her own water bottle. Looking at the man, she hoped that non-Theurgy new blood, such as them, would be able to lend resolve and fortitude to the harried original crew. Those from the Endeavour had lost a lot to the Borg, however, so she could but hope that their defeat and loss of Captain Amasov wouldn't affect the mission too much.

At least they had a familiar leader in Commander Ducote, who now stood at Ives' side, and gave further credence to the mission as a whole. Regardless if there were any doubters aboard, Dewitt was certain. The Infested were real, and the threat they represented to the Federation and beyond something that couldn't be shrugged off. With Starfleet Command itself compromised, the protection of the truth was paramount, and the fight to reclaim Starfleets identity due - with the Klingon Empire at their side.

Her rumination was broken when the new Chief of Security excused himseld, and Dewitt smiled and gave him a cursory wave. "Likewise, big guy. I'll be at the yoga mats if you care to join me."

A jest, that outcome doubtful. The tank of a man was more likely destined for the free weights and the bench press area.

- FIN