Post by janedoe on Apr 13, 2014 8:10:47 GMT -5
Mara
Her attitude was not much better the next day after beginning her shift but that didn't concern her much. She never quite grew out of trying to piss off mommy and daddy in SFA, so most of the time she did not notice. Until she was disciplined by someone that outranked her, then she noticed, but it wasn't usually her fault. And Mara pretty much squeaked by when it came to any long lasting marks on her record. She did her job and daddy smudged out the black marks.
Most of the issue today was working with her commander. She had no issues with Barjorans in general, but this one has a temper that can get set off faster than you can get the first half of a sentence out. Never occurred to her that she was getting nails spit at her the same as she did to others. She just never looks that closely in that mirror. People come and go. If they don't like her, they can move on.
But this ops chief is a pregnant dog, plain and simple and she is tired of her after one shift. She finishes her last run of the diagnostics that Dorland wanted and then took off for the gym for a workout. It is the best, easiest way of keeping her out of the brig.
.......
Sh'aow
The gym was a good place to clear your mind. Sh'aow had learned to fight with his claws and teeth while growing up, but while stationed on the Wasp, a Klingon in his squadron had taught Mok'bara to the pilots. Sh'aow had liked the fluid style, and it fit well with his physiology. Now, he stood by himself on a mat in the gym, going through the motions, slowly and fluently. The movements could be accelerated into a deadly flurry of blocks and counterattacks against multiple assailants, but first they had to become second nature. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.
The gym was mostly empty at this hour. That was one of the reasons that Sh'aow was there. He had gotten used to being mostly by himself. It was part of the deal when you were among humans. If you weren't like them, they called you 'alien'. Some of them were different, of course. The door opened and he half-expected it to close again without anyone coming in once they saw him in there.
...............
Mara steps into the gym. She was surprised, and happy to find out they had a place to work out. The holosuites are alright, but fake. They bug her in a way she can't explain but she goes there rarely, even though it is part of life and most of her friends used them as a place for kicks of various sorts. She had stretched out in the corridor and now she puts her towel on a bench and starts running on the track, an easy jog first, then picking up to a good pace. In the center are several exercise mats and various types of apparatus. She watches with interest when she spots what the Caitian is doing. She'd only seen Klingons do that. The truth is, she's never met a Caitian before, but she knows of them. Mara's no slouch and reads up on everything and everyone, a perpetual learner. Maybe that's why she's so impatient. Her new commander comes to mind and she punches it out, running a sprint up one side of the track, then slowing down a bit as she comes around the curve again. Her body starts to build up a nice sheen. This is just what she needed. Let the others sit in ten forward after work. Not that she minds a drink now and then, but her body is fine tuned, and she doesn't wreck it with too much booze.
................
Someone at the academy had tried to tell her about an occasional Caitian joining SF and comparing them to the Kzinti, which she knew to be, well what they are. You don't just throw a beast in with food and say, do not eat, you are no longer a carnivore. But from what she understood the Caitians were 'tame' and 'safe'. She smiles at her own thoughts. Okay they could be dangerous, but they were allowed into the fleet weren't they? It must be alright to interact with them. Maybe he would show her some of those moves.
She continues her run around the track. She notices how empty it is and wonders about it but she doesn't think much of it. There was some prejudice with her friends even anger about some of the new races in the fleet but she was pretty pragmatic about it. There must be a reason why they were welcomed in, which means they are useful and not dangerous. Hell there was a time when the Klingons weren't welcome either.
She catches his eye once on her way around the track but doesn't say anything or acknowledge beyond that. It's her work out time. For her that means she is pretty much alone, anywhere.
.............
He finished the last sequence and stood up straight. As he stretched, his spine was moved in ways that would be excruciating for a human, making the joints pop. He took a deep breath as he stretched, then exhaled slowly, a soft rumbling purr accompanying the relaxation. He felt ready to take on the world now. He breathed in slowly again, holding his breath for a few seconds before exhaling slowly and holding his breath a few seconds. The slow steady breathing brought his mind and body back under control. His people was considered tame by some, but somewhere underneath the fur and gentleness lurked the predator. Most of the time, it came to the surface as curiosity and attention to details, but if it wasn't kept in check, it could come out in other ways. Only once in his life had he let completely go of that control. Anger and a thirst for vengeance made for a dangerous combination in the hands of the predator. He hadn't enjoyed what it made him do, but getting it done had been good. It conflicted him somewhat, but the conflict was pushed away, to hide along with the predator.
He caught the runner's eye as she passed him again. The instinct pushed to the forefront, to chase after her. The only way it became expressed was a small twitch of his tail.
....
On her last lap around, Mara made up her mind. She would speak to him. She would ask him to show her some of those Mok'bara moves. But something gave her pause as she passes the Caitian one more time. She can't put her finger on it. Nah, it must be all in her head. But when she slowed down and walked off the track, reaching for her towel, she couldn't help but think he looked rather....hungry? She smiles to herself. Dumb. She's been listening to her idiot friends too much. But they were a lot of fun.
She dabs her chest and neck and walks in place, cooling down, stretching out her legs.
..........
He glanced over at her as she stretched out her legs. His ears flicked a little at the memory of some of the things Ryu had done with her flexibility. He debated speaking to her, and then came to a conclusion. It would probably taken in the wrong way if he approached her in a situation like this, and he didn't want to be mistaken for having interests of that nature.
Curiosity was a double-edged blade, even for a predator. His eyes narrowed slightly with his amusement as he headed for the door. He could use a shower, and something to drink. Something stronger than coffee.
...........
Mara turned around to speak to him, but he was gone. She shrugged and walked out, going to her quarters for a shower.
Her attitude was not much better the next day after beginning her shift but that didn't concern her much. She never quite grew out of trying to piss off mommy and daddy in SFA, so most of the time she did not notice. Until she was disciplined by someone that outranked her, then she noticed, but it wasn't usually her fault. And Mara pretty much squeaked by when it came to any long lasting marks on her record. She did her job and daddy smudged out the black marks.
Most of the issue today was working with her commander. She had no issues with Barjorans in general, but this one has a temper that can get set off faster than you can get the first half of a sentence out. Never occurred to her that she was getting nails spit at her the same as she did to others. She just never looks that closely in that mirror. People come and go. If they don't like her, they can move on.
But this ops chief is a pregnant dog, plain and simple and she is tired of her after one shift. She finishes her last run of the diagnostics that Dorland wanted and then took off for the gym for a workout. It is the best, easiest way of keeping her out of the brig.
.......
Sh'aow
The gym was a good place to clear your mind. Sh'aow had learned to fight with his claws and teeth while growing up, but while stationed on the Wasp, a Klingon in his squadron had taught Mok'bara to the pilots. Sh'aow had liked the fluid style, and it fit well with his physiology. Now, he stood by himself on a mat in the gym, going through the motions, slowly and fluently. The movements could be accelerated into a deadly flurry of blocks and counterattacks against multiple assailants, but first they had to become second nature. Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.
The gym was mostly empty at this hour. That was one of the reasons that Sh'aow was there. He had gotten used to being mostly by himself. It was part of the deal when you were among humans. If you weren't like them, they called you 'alien'. Some of them were different, of course. The door opened and he half-expected it to close again without anyone coming in once they saw him in there.
...............
Mara steps into the gym. She was surprised, and happy to find out they had a place to work out. The holosuites are alright, but fake. They bug her in a way she can't explain but she goes there rarely, even though it is part of life and most of her friends used them as a place for kicks of various sorts. She had stretched out in the corridor and now she puts her towel on a bench and starts running on the track, an easy jog first, then picking up to a good pace. In the center are several exercise mats and various types of apparatus. She watches with interest when she spots what the Caitian is doing. She'd only seen Klingons do that. The truth is, she's never met a Caitian before, but she knows of them. Mara's no slouch and reads up on everything and everyone, a perpetual learner. Maybe that's why she's so impatient. Her new commander comes to mind and she punches it out, running a sprint up one side of the track, then slowing down a bit as she comes around the curve again. Her body starts to build up a nice sheen. This is just what she needed. Let the others sit in ten forward after work. Not that she minds a drink now and then, but her body is fine tuned, and she doesn't wreck it with too much booze.
................
Someone at the academy had tried to tell her about an occasional Caitian joining SF and comparing them to the Kzinti, which she knew to be, well what they are. You don't just throw a beast in with food and say, do not eat, you are no longer a carnivore. But from what she understood the Caitians were 'tame' and 'safe'. She smiles at her own thoughts. Okay they could be dangerous, but they were allowed into the fleet weren't they? It must be alright to interact with them. Maybe he would show her some of those moves.
She continues her run around the track. She notices how empty it is and wonders about it but she doesn't think much of it. There was some prejudice with her friends even anger about some of the new races in the fleet but she was pretty pragmatic about it. There must be a reason why they were welcomed in, which means they are useful and not dangerous. Hell there was a time when the Klingons weren't welcome either.
She catches his eye once on her way around the track but doesn't say anything or acknowledge beyond that. It's her work out time. For her that means she is pretty much alone, anywhere.
.............
He finished the last sequence and stood up straight. As he stretched, his spine was moved in ways that would be excruciating for a human, making the joints pop. He took a deep breath as he stretched, then exhaled slowly, a soft rumbling purr accompanying the relaxation. He felt ready to take on the world now. He breathed in slowly again, holding his breath for a few seconds before exhaling slowly and holding his breath a few seconds. The slow steady breathing brought his mind and body back under control. His people was considered tame by some, but somewhere underneath the fur and gentleness lurked the predator. Most of the time, it came to the surface as curiosity and attention to details, but if it wasn't kept in check, it could come out in other ways. Only once in his life had he let completely go of that control. Anger and a thirst for vengeance made for a dangerous combination in the hands of the predator. He hadn't enjoyed what it made him do, but getting it done had been good. It conflicted him somewhat, but the conflict was pushed away, to hide along with the predator.
He caught the runner's eye as she passed him again. The instinct pushed to the forefront, to chase after her. The only way it became expressed was a small twitch of his tail.
....
On her last lap around, Mara made up her mind. She would speak to him. She would ask him to show her some of those Mok'bara moves. But something gave her pause as she passes the Caitian one more time. She can't put her finger on it. Nah, it must be all in her head. But when she slowed down and walked off the track, reaching for her towel, she couldn't help but think he looked rather....hungry? She smiles to herself. Dumb. She's been listening to her idiot friends too much. But they were a lot of fun.
She dabs her chest and neck and walks in place, cooling down, stretching out her legs.
..........
He glanced over at her as she stretched out her legs. His ears flicked a little at the memory of some of the things Ryu had done with her flexibility. He debated speaking to her, and then came to a conclusion. It would probably taken in the wrong way if he approached her in a situation like this, and he didn't want to be mistaken for having interests of that nature.
Curiosity was a double-edged blade, even for a predator. His eyes narrowed slightly with his amusement as he headed for the door. He could use a shower, and something to drink. Something stronger than coffee.
...........
Mara turned around to speak to him, but he was gone. She shrugged and walked out, going to her quarters for a shower.