Lt. Robin Hopper: Incident Reports
Robin Hopper
((OOC – Pushing the scene forward a bit more than I usually would given impending end of shore leave!))
((Amity Outpost – Gym))
Robin dove towards the floor, arms outstretched, hands clasped together, in a desperate attempt to intercept the volleyball with her forearms. She let out a grunt as she collided with the gym floor, bouncing the ball back upwards for one of her teammates – Ensign Premkumar – to spike it over the net. Nash flopped on his back trying to block it, but the ball still struck the floor. Winded, Robin still did her best to holler in excitement.
Hopper: Alright!!!
Her team had just made a successful comeback from being one point down in the final set. Now they led by one point. One more and they’d win the set and win the match. Premkumar stuck out a hand, which Robin accepted, and the junior Stellar Cartographer helped lift the Chief Science Officer to her feet once more.
Hopper: ::Letting out a big breath:: Whooo… Nice spike, Sunita!
Premkumar: ::Sheepishly:: If you’re going to sacrifice your body making dives like that, we need to make it worthwhile.
Hopper: ::Smile, nod:: How’re you doing, Chris?
She looked across the court as the Planetary Scientist was lifted to his feet by his teammates, rubbing his lower back.
Nash: Remembering why I got into studying space rocks instead of sports… ::Chuckling:: I’ll be fine. Thanks, boss.
With over 250 serving in the Science Division under her – including officers, enlisted crew, and civilian personnel, Robin had encountered little trouble in putting together a couple of amateur volleyball teams as part of her ongoing mission to help make the Basement a little ‘cozier’. It was an opportunity for them to work together, as a team, outside of the work environment – and, even better, an opportunity for Robin to get out of the lab, out of the office, and back into her old sport of choice… oO I’m going to be ready for that eventual Post-Ball match if it kills me… Oo
She turned to her teammates: Sunita, Jachike, Neda, Okassias, and Crewman Jadanir Helqun – whom she was currently favouring to recommend for the position of her administrative assistant, once she’d had a chance to speak with Rivi and Wil about it. Placing her hands on her hips, Robin gave them a quick word of encouragement.
Hopper: Okay, this is it. ::Grinning:: One more point and we can all go get ice cream!
The team cheered collectively.
As they began resetting for the next serve, Robin’s combadge chirped – she held up a hand, pausing play for a second, and ran to her gym bag – the badge currently clipped to the handle straps.
S'Raga: =/\= S'Raga to Hopper. =/\=
Hopper: =/\= S’RAGA!!! ::Quiet:: Oops, sorry for shouting! Where are you? =/\=
S'Raga: =/\= Well, I was gonna say "guess who's back on Amity", but I suppose comms protocols spoiled the surprise, didn't it? =/\=
Hopper: =/\= Aw, no, I was still surprised – pleasantly surprised. =/\=
S'Raga: =/\= Anyway, I think we're overdue for a coffee, what do you think? =/\=
Hopper: =/\= You bet! ::Glancing over her shoulder:: Just, give me a second. I’ve got a game to win first. I can meet you in… let’s say twenty minutes? =/\=
S'Raga: =/\= Wonderful! I'll meet you at Brew Continuum! =/\=
As she ran back to the court, a bounce in her step, Robin pointed a finger at her opposing team’s captain, squinting at him menacingly.
Hopper: You’re going down, Nash!
Nash: Yeah, yeah. We’ll see! You ready?
Hopper: ::Grinning:: Serve.
((About Twenty Minutes Later - Brew Continuum))
Robin walked up the Mezzanine stairs, gym bag in hand, and a broad smile on her face. Her shoulder was beginning to show the signs of a developing bruise – but it felt good to be doing something active again, and with purpose.
Since arriving on Amity, she’d spent a lot of time exploring the station’s restaurants and bars… New Years Eve had been a not-so-gentle reminder that she needed to take better care of herself – and in a strange way, she was grateful that most of her friends had taken their shore leaves off-station. It had motivated her to start making more connections with her colleagues and had already led to the formation of a little volleyball league within the department.
As she approached S’Raga, still wearing her game gear (a UC Berkeley tank top and black skorts), she waved with her free hand.
Hopper: Look who it is!
S'Raga: Hey!!
Robin dropped her gym bag next to the table S’Raga was sitting at as the Caitian stood up and gave her a big fuzzy hug. Leaning back, she ruffled the scruff on the side of his head a little.
S'Raga: You know what? I really missed you.
Hopper: ::Chuckling:: You have no idea! I honestly thought I might never see any of you guys again. ::Rolling her eyes:: But that’s a whole story that we probably can’t get into right now… Anyways, how was Betazed? I’ve heard good things!
She placed her hands on her hips and looked up at him with an expectant smile.
S'Raga: Ah, well, Betazed was interesting... But I'll get into all that later. What I want to know is what in Sura's name happened here on the station that involved the DTI??
Robin’s eyes widened a little, and she tilted her head towards him with a conspiratorial expression.
Hopper: Oh! So you’ve heard about that, hmm? ::Squinting:: Alright, fine, I’ll give you the bullet points – the ones that aren’t classified, anyways. But I skipped ice cream to come get coffee with you, so…
She picked up her gym bag again, throwing it over her unbruised shoulder.
S'Raga: Well, then! Let's get ourselves some coffee and we can swap stories!
Robin nodded cheerily and they walked into the coffee shop. Robin had never been much of a coffee drinker – at least, not before coming to Amity. She’d been developing more appreciation for the ‘jitter juice’, as some of the old miners on Theta VII typically called it, since coming to the station – particularly during her days working with Nathan on the Targhee. It had become a bit of a ritual for them, in fact. Now that the work on the shuttle was done, and Nathan was just awaiting final permissions to take it for a test flight, she was beginning to miss it.
Hopper: ::To Barista:: Caramel macchiato, please. ::A glance to S’Raga:: Latté?
S’Raga: Response
Robin nodded to the Barista as she and S’Raga moved their way down towards the end of the counter.
Hopper: Thanks! ::To S’Raga:: Alright, so – without getting into the stuff that’ll get me court-martialed, the gist is that Rivi and I found ourselves in an alternate timeline – for a day or so – on account of some meddling from down the time stream.
S’Raga: Response
Hopper: Oh, it’s very serious. But, fortunately, the damage was reversible. We’re coordinating with staff on the Kitty Hawk and Excalibur already, looking into options. As you know, the DTI is involved, and I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about it from Federation HQ in the future… That’s about all I’m at liberty to say though.
At that point, their drinks were placed on the counter, Robin picked up her caramel macchiato and gave it a quick sniff – it smelled heavenly.
Hopper: Want to walk while we talk? I need to do a bit of a warm-down after my match.
S’Raga: Response
They carried their beverages out of the cafe and out into the bustling Mezzanine. If it was possible, it almost seemed busier than usual – perhaps on account of the starliners carrying people out to the Delta Quadrant after the terran new year.
Hopper: I guess this may be needless to say, but the experience definitely shook me a little… ::Thinking back on it:: …I took a few weeks off, swung by the Beta Quadrant for a conference… It was good to clear my head a bit.
S’Raga: Response
Hopper: Yeah, yeah, I’m fine now. Though I guess my mind’s been permanently expanded a little bit on how unavoidable temporal ripple effects can be. ::Shaking her head, breaking into a smile again:: On the upside, I got to see the new uniforms they’re rolling out for 2400! They’re adorable.
S’Raga: Response
Hopper: So, tell me all about Betazed! I know some of it, from what Nathan told me, but to be honest he seemed sort of confused about a lot of it. ::Smirking:: I don’t think interstellar politics is his forté… ::Teasingly:: Did you guys start any diplomatic incidents?
S’Raga: Response
TBC
