PNPC Ens Kliss'lai - The Comfort Level Ebbs and Flows

[notyourfrog]

(( Holodeck 2, Deck 2, USS Artemis-A ))

Kliss' arms arced powerfully yet gracefully one after the other. Her hands pierced the frigid water in a practiced, measured rhythm. Occasionally, a small chunk of the glacier would glide by her face as she turned to inhale. Not a problem, most of them were too small to impede her stroke. The larger ones she could just avoid. Her powerful legs kicked in a determined flutter, using the full length of her legs.

Stroke, kick, stroke, kick, stroke, kick, breathe.

This was her meditation. The currently-running program was a custom one she'd been refining for the last two years. Loosely based on an image she'd seen of a region of Earth called "The Arctic Circle," there were massive icebergs surrounding her - descendants of the much larger glacial ice formation to the northeast. The effect was that she felt like she was swimming through a slot canyon made of ice. It was glorious.

Now however, she was reaching her favorite part. The canyon came to an end, opening out into open water. Here, there were large black and white mammals called orcas that would swim around hunting various smaller creatures. They never messed with Kliss though. She'd made sure the program knew these features were to be added scenery and ambience, and not something she wished to encounter up close and personal. At a distance though, they were magnificent.

Another kilometer beyond this point, if she swam close to the westernmost iceberg, she would reach a black pebble beach. Big brownish-gray, whiskery, tusked creatures lounged on the rocks (again paying her no mind), monitored by the opportunistic birds that soared overhead. The area was often considered an inhospitable or barren "wasteland" by some people, but Kliss was comfortable here. Not just because the temperature was refreshingly cool, but because the life that called it home lived so contentedly in harmony. There was some violence owing to the various predator/prey relationships, but it was never wanton or superfluous.

She walked from the water, feeling the wave-smoothed rocks underfoot, stooped to retrieve her towel, and began patting herself dry. Her skin was a healthy azure after her swim, but she'd kept her pace slow and steady. Her heart rate was barely above resting already. Looking around at her animal friends, she suddenly felt the need for company that could talk back.

Kliss'lai: Computer, end program.

The arctic, the glacier, icebergs, orcas, walruses, and gulls all vanished. The black pebbles vanished, leaving her dripping onto the black and yellow grid of the holodeck. She never understood why the programmers decided it was a good idea to replicate som aspects of a simulation while the rest remained holographic. It made walking back to ones quarters rather awkward. Ah well.

She wrapped the towel around herself, slipped into her sandals, and walked from the room. Stepping into the turbolift at the end of the corridor, she began thinking about dinner. She'd worked up quite an appetite from her swim, and her stomach was already growling.

A couple decks down (not her stop), the turbolift slowed to a stop to admit another passenger. It was the crewman Kliss had shot to stop her murdering Commander Dakora during the exercise. She wracked her brain for the girl's name, but drew a blank.

Kliss'lai: Hello again.

Renirs: Response

Kliss'lai: I just hope you're not packing a spanner this time.

Renirs: Response

Kliss was suddenly keenly aware of her outfit. Off-duty casual was one thing, but one rarely encountered someone on the lift dressed in sandals, bathing suit, and towel - let alone still dripping saline onto the decking.

Kliss'lai: I uh ... was swimming.

Renirs: Response

TAG/TBC

Ensign Kliss'lai, PNPC

Security Officer, USS Artemis-A

Simmed by Hiro Jones, E239510KD0