Lt. Robin Hopper: Open Invitational
Robin Hopper
((Amity Outpost – Counselor Carter’s Office))
Thus far, Robin was enjoying her conversation with Carter. The Chief Counselor seemed well-suited for the role. His manner was personable, calming, and straightforward. She never felt as though she were being analyzed – it felt more like a conversation. oO In fact… Oo she mused, oO This wouldn’t feel that out of place over a plate of nachos and a hard lemonade… Oo
Carter: Tell me some of your hobbies? How do you like to wind down off duty?
Robin crossed her arms as she thought. Honestly, she had a lot of hobbies. She tried to keep herself busy – finding that, when she had down time, without anything to keep her mind preoccupied she quickly got antsy… The downside to the wellspring of energy which seemed to sustain her.
Hopper: Well, I worked my way through a mountain of books I’d been meaning to read during my trip out here from the Alpha Quadrant. I’ve always loved a good book; My favorites are old Victorian and Edwardian-era adventure stories – the pulpier the better! It’s a genre I always find myself going back to. Doyle, Wells, Burroughs…
Carter::nodding:: Very nice selection. What in particular drew you to those authors?
That was a question that could have taken several days to answer. Robin did her best to distill her lifelong love of whimsical science fantasy into one, relatively concise, answer…
Hopper: ::Smiling:: There’s an earnest ridiculousness about them. They weren’t afraid to just blend fact with preposterous fiction to tell an interesting story. Take your namesake, for example. John Carter of Mars – an American Civil War soldier who becomes a hero of the Martian people. Have you read it?
Carter shook his head, but it seemed to ring a bell all the same.
Carter: No, I haven't read it, or seen the film. Should I?
Hopper: It’s a good one. ::Leaning back in her seat:: Near the end of high school I managed to win myself an ‘internship’ at a publishing house. I worked on transliterating old works to holonovel script – which is how I discovered my love of programming. I still dabble for fun now and then.
Carter: That is a beautiful thing that you do, challenging as it must be, but fun all the same. How about sports? How do you physically blow off steam when you need to?
Hopper: I do also try to stay active. Aerobics, dancing, tennis… Oh, I haven’t played in ::gritting her teeth:: oof, almost five years, but I used to play volleyball on my College team.
Carter: Really? I was lousy as it, beach volleyball. Played it a few time on Risa and on the beach near a place called Padre Island on Earth.
Robin couldn’t help but smile at the image of the six-foot man sitting across from her playing beach volleyball in a tiny bathing suit on Risa. The thought did make her curious though, since he clearly kept in shape.
She was aware that Amity had a gym and swimming pool at the Talaxi Palms Hotel in addition to Peace Park, which housed outdoor Yoga Classes and plenty of room to jog… not to mention the holodecks. There were plenty of ways to stay active (something which she had certainly let slide during her years completing her PhD studies and the subsequent two years aboard the Wall Street…)
Hopper: What about you, Sir? I know that’s not normally how these sessions go – but I am trying to get to know all the senior staff. What sort of things are you interested in? What do you like to do around Amity?
Carter smiled. Robin raised an eyebrow inquisitively.
Carter: Well...I do love to read. Generally I read everything I can get my hands on. I also love languages, learning them, deciphering them. It's a challenge, and I love unraveling the mystery of the spoken word.
Hopper: I’ll have to loan you some from my collection, then, once I get them out of replicator storage… ::Explaining:: I’m still ‘moving in’. oO Perhaps Myths of Velestus, written in the original Old Centauran… Oo How about sports? ::A mischievous smirk:: How do you blow off steam when you need to?
Carter: Turnabout huh? Well, it's only fair. I like to box, been doing it since I was thirteen. Was on the Starfleet boxing team for awhile. I was pretty good. I still like to spar on occasion.
Hopper: Oh, yeah? With a bag or do you spar with someone?
Robin was hardly a boxer. In fact, she was pretty sure that Carter could knock her over with a ‘practice punch’ – if that was a thing. Nonetheless, her inquisitive manner and the casual atmosphere of this ‘appointment’ had her asking questions.
Carter: Well, I haven't had anybody to spar with recently. Mostly I work now with a speed bag and heavy bag, plus run and lift weights. Not too bad...
Hopper: ::Smiling earnestly:: I… Don’t know what that all means, to be totally honest. ::Chuckling:: Like I said, I like to dance and do, umm, vigorous stretching. ::Shrugging:: I’ll bet you could put together a match though! That’d be fun. I’ve never seen an actual regulation boxing match. Surely there’s someone else here who you could convince to, uhh.. oO What’s the word? Oo ..play?
Carter: Well there are roughly fourteen hundred people on the station, maybe I'll put the word out I am looking for a sparring partner.
Hopper: Sounds fun. ::Sighing:: I really ought to get to the gym now that I have access to one here on Amity. I’ve had my hands full juggling the SRC and getting my personal affairs sorted out. I was thinking of having a housewarming party once I get my furniture sorted out – you should come!
Carter: Response
Hopper: Oh, it’ll be fun. I’ve met so many interesting people on Amit already. I’ll be inviting some junior officers, some senior officers, even the Vataixs! Mixer style. I mean, no guarantees on who will be there – I haven’t even put paint on the walls yet.
Carter: Response
Hopper: Consider yourself invited. ::A sudden realization:: Oh, it just occurred to me that this has not been the most focused session… I’m not really sure if you have ‘set questions’ or anything you need to ask – I’m just having a good time over here.
Carter: Response
TBC
