Zero G

Posted on Mon Sep 6th, 2021 @ 12:33am by Ensign Kateyo Fenn & Lieutenant Commander Finnley Keating VII

Mission: Character Development
Location: USS Athena - Dionysus Bar/Holodeck 2
3405 words - 6.8 OF Standard Post Measure

The calendar invite from Fenn had popped up with a request to meet at the bar at 1900 hours. At 1850 Finnley tore herself from the latest engineering related research she was reading and walked to her closet. She would be late, which was typically against one of her core values, but she couldn't bring herself to be on time after Fenn's cheeky comment as he walked out of her office earlier that day.

Finn threw on a pair of jeans, her favorite shirt from a local surf shop in Santa Barbara, and slipped her chucks on before heading out the door. She casually walked towards the turbolift and then towards the bar after it deposited her on the appropriate deck. It was 1910 by the time she walked through the doors and looked for the Ensign.

For once Teyo was on time and because he hadn't spotted the Lieutenant anywhere in the room, he had decided to get a drink from the bar, coincidentally right next to where a cute crewman was currently stood. When Finn did eventually arrive, ten minutes late, Teyo turned around to the young human. "Gotta go, my date is here."

"I thought you was going to buy me a drink?"

"Let's see how my date goes first, if it's a bust, then you're luck might be in."

The crewman looked offended but before he could retort, Teyo was already making his way over to the beautiful, blonde engineer. "Wait," the crewman called. "Your date is with Lieutenant Keating?" Teyo smiled and winked. "Good luck with that," the man said before bursting into fits of giggles.

Teyo was nonplussed and greeted Finn by the door. He was in dark jeans and a crisp white, open collar shirt. The top few buttons were undone so that you could just see his Trill spots, running down his collarbone. "Shall we grab a seat?" He asked politely.

"Sure," Finn responded. "So, I see you have the capability of showing up for some things on time?" She chuckled as they sat at a corner table close to the window. The server came by just as they were seated and Finn ordered her usual rum and coke. "I'm at least pleased to say that I didn't get any misconduct reports with your name on them the remainder of the afternoon once you left my office," she joked.

"I'm always on time for drinks," Teyo said in mock disgust. "The first of many things you'll learn about me tonight." The Trill ordered himself a pint of Bolian beer and watched as the server went off to collect their drinks. "Me? Misconduct? I feel you have the wrong impression of me Lieutenant," he said with a glint in his dark eyes.

"Is that so, Ensign?" Finn raised an eyebrow. She considered for a moment telling him that he could call her Finn off duty. However, the Ensign took plenty of liberties as it was, perhaps she should hold off on that leeway for a while, she thought. "Ok then, give me the right impression. Tell me why I'm all wrong." She challenged with a smirk.

Teyo smiled, she was testing him. Okay, he hadn't yet met a test he didn't know how to pass, or cheat his way through. "Well, unlike all the other dulls around here, work isn't my life. I like being in Starfleet, and I love engineering... most of the time," he added, remember his conversation with her earlier. "However, I can't be judged solely on the uniform I wear or the rank insignia on my collar. I'm way more than that, I'm much deeper than that. I have passion, and warmth, and depth. Basically, I'm not a drone."

The server dropped off their drinks and Finn took a gulp before responding. "I could say that about practically every engineer in the department. They may seem pretty straightforward when they're on duty, but they all have passion and good personalities. You just have to get to know them." Finn shrugged, his explanation wasn't much of one she thought. Everyone had a more personable inside once you got to know them and most of them didn't have a problem with that. They regularly got together for drinks and went on adventures on the holodeck every now and then too. "George for example seems pretty reserved and dedicated to his job. However, it only takes one night out with drinks to know the more entertaining part of his personality. He has some pretty interesting stories to tell actually."

"It seems to me that you're saying you're different because you lack the ability to separate work from fun. So your whole personality just shines through at all times," Finn goaded him with a smile.

Teyo smiled, damn she was good. If her eyes weren't so piercing he would have sworn she was a Betazoid. He picked up his stein and took in a long drink. "You got me Lieutenant, I am just too personable to hide. So what makes you different? What are your passions?"

She tilted her head in thought for a second. "My biggest passion is engineering. Call me unoriginal, but it's been a bit of family tradition so I was kind of born into it. I love It though," Finn shrugged. "Outside of that? Earth history, exploring new planets, any sort of thrill-seeking activity. I think that covers the basics. What about you?"

"People," Teyo said simply. "I like people, all people. I like getting to know them, seeing what makes them tick. This galaxy, damn the whole universe is full of so many different races, and species, and genders, and sub-genders, cultures, histories, traditions, customs, religions, myths, ethos, ethics, honour, motivation, and everything in between. I love out of the trillions of entities in just this universe, that no two people are quite the same. We're so unique, I dunno I just find that fascinating. At the end of my life I will only ever meet the tiniest of fractions of those souls, so making connections is all the more important to me. Some of them are good, some amazing, some not so great, but leaving a lasting impression on someone is everything to me. Stupid right?"

"Nah, I think it makes sense. Most Starfleet officers want to make an impact through their job, you want to make an impact on a more personal level. Doesn't sound stupid to me," Finn swirled the glass in her hand for a moment. It seemed like all she had done this week was work and then went out for drinks. Not that she didn't enjoy that, but she was itching for something more fun. Perhaps the skidding program on the holodeck had reignited her sense of adventure. "What do you in your free time? Other than 'getting to know' everyone on board?" Finn chuckled as she air quoted the 'getting to know' portion of her statement. She had gotten a distinct impression that Fenn spent a good amount of time chasing after those he was interested in.

"Well, when I'm not pranking people I really get a kick out of extreme sports, any type of extreme sports," he said with a half smile. "Have you ever tried Zero-G Surfing?" He asked.

"Surfing on an ocean is one of my favorite pastimes, but I can't say I've tried Zero-G surfing. Tell me about it," Finn said, suddenly slightly more interested in what Fenn had to offer. A relationship was still off the table, but they could certainly get into some adventurous trouble on the holodeck.

"Ocean surfing?" Teyo repeated in an almost mocking tone. "You haven't lived Lieutenant. There are various forms of Zero-G surfing, but I'm more of a traditionalist, if you can believe? You need a pilot, a small craft, no bigger than 10 metres in length, yourself, and an EV suit. You attach yourself to the craft and then the pilot, slowly, accelerates using thrusters first, and then, if you're brave enough, low impulse, dragging you along for the ride." Teyo stopped to take a sip of his drink and to let the craziness of the "sport" sink in.

"You need a crazy good pilot who's adaptable and smart. It's also best to have the shields up and the deflector dish on maximum, space debris can be catastrophic to an EV suit. But it's completely insane, pretty fun on the holodeck but such a rush in real life. It's hard to do though cause it's banned throughout the Federation and a lot of the neighbouring systems."

Keating leaned back in her chair sat in silent thought for a moment, debating her next move. Then she leaned forward and spoke with her voice slightly lowered. "I happen to know that holodeck two is down for standard maintenance. Maintenance was completed at the end of our shift and it's just awaiting my sign off to go back online. I think we could sneak in some time right now if you're interested. You can show me this Zero-G surfing." She smirked before downing the rest of her drink. "Are you in?"

Teyo's eyes widened in a mix of shock, surprise and pure glee. He finished the rest of his drink and slammed the tankard down on the table. It made a loud 'booming' noise that seemed to reverberate around the room. "Oh just try and stop me!"

Finn chuckled at the seemingly pure excitement that Fenn displayed. Xavier was right, he did remind her of Tavin. Maybe that was a good thing, but maybe it wasn't. Tavin always made her feel stress-free and their time together was full of adventure, but it wasn't without trouble either.

They arrived at holodeck two a few minutes later and Finn signed off on the maintenance that was done, bringing the full holodeck controls online. "Alright, this is your thing. What program should we load?" She asked her holodecking partner.

Teyo pondered this for a second. Finnley definitely looked as though she could handle herself, but Zero-G Surfing wasn't as easy as other extreme sports, it took a while to get into it. It was probably best to start at the beginning. "Computer, access my private database. Run programme Fenn-Zero-G-Alpha-One. No pilot."

The computer bleeped and a few seconds later, the geometric design of the holodeck shimmered and dissolved to be replaced by the interior of a type-9 shuttlecraft. It was humming away softly but the stars outside of the window were fixed in place, indicating that the shuttle was stationary, waiting for the pilot to input their commands. It was slightly bigger than the crafts Teyo normally liked to use, but being a Starfleet designed ship, it was much easier to pilot and had a lot of fail safes; perfect for beginners in this extreme exercise.

"Computer, create an EV suit made for Lieutenant Keating's specifications. Remove all hardware and controls except life support and comms," Teyo ordered. He turned to face her, "suit up."

Finn raised an eyebrow at the suit before shrugging and putting all of the gear on. After she got comfortable in the suit, Finn looked at the Ensign. "Two questions, what other hardware typically comes on this thing? And you said no pilot, so who's flying the shuttle that we're surfing behind?"

"Wait, what?" Teyo said looking at her in surprise. "You call yourself an engineer? Thruster controls, interlocking gravity boots, back up stabilisers, secondary life support systems, emergency transmitters, do you need me to continue?" He asked with a wink. "If you ever want to step down and let me take over engineering, just say the word. And to answer your second question, I will. Double surfing is MUCH harder, you need to get the basics down. Don't worry," he added seeing the look on her face, "I'm only a comm-link away."

"Okay okay," Finn laughed at his response. "I meant what other hardware specific to zero G surfing. I know what comes standard on an EV suit. Are there no modifications made to these for surfing? You'd think they'd at least add some sort of modified thruster controls. The ones that come standard don't allow for much finesse movement across multiple axes, and if zero g surfing is anything like the real version of surfing, then it's more about finesse than power. And no I won't be stepping down from engineering anytime soon. Nice try though." She smirked. "Also, I assume the safeties are on...right?" Finn added as the realization that he would be driving the shuttle and she had never done this hit. Not that she didn't like the thrill when some level of danger was involved, but she wasn't sure how much she trusted Fenn in this instance yet.

"Modified thrusters?" Teyo repeated in mock disgust. "Inertia is all you need Lieutenant, trust me." He moved around her as he checked out her EV suit and made sure it was on securely. She was an experienced officer so the idea that she couldn't do this herself was ludicrous, but he wasn't taking any chances. "Safeties?" He asked, as though he had never heard of the word. "I 'think' I remembered to turn them on, we'll find out."

Teyo moved his way over to the cockpit and took the seat. He activated the controls and the console lit up like a type four nebula. He pressed the controls and checked the readout for the engine power, deflector control, and thruster output. He pressed a few buttons for a few seconds before he turned back to the Lieutenant. "I'm going to transport you out now, a dry 'jump' is always better for the first time. You'll be about 20 metres from the stern, I'll extend the teather, attach it and signal when you're ready. While you're setting up, I'll try to remember what all of these bright buttons do," he said. Before she could reply, he activated the transporter and she disappeared in a blue shimmering light.

"Wa..." Was all Finn got out before she suddenly rematerialized outside of the shuttle. He was joking about the safeties and the controls, right? She wondered, but her concerns disappeared as the peacefulness of floating around in space consumed her. It was beautiful and freeing. Some people hated to be in open space in nothing but an EV suit, but it was a feeling that Finn had always enjoyed.

The tether caught the corner of her eye a moment later and she snapped into action, grabbing the device and hooking it to her EV suit. She did one final check of all the systems on her suit. Everything seemed good to go. Wondering if this was a wise choice and if perhaps they should have stayed at the bar, Finn gave the ready signal.

Teyo received the signal and checked the tether was secure on his end. He activated the shields and made sure that Finn was inside of the shield perimeter. He then brought the deflector dish up to full power and reconfigured the inertial dampener field to exist within the shields too. "All good my end," he said over the conn. "Activating the thrusters now." Teyo pressed a button and the aft thrusters powered on, one solid slow burn for 5 seconds was all he needed. The ship accelerated to 100 KPH within a few seconds, he knew from his experience that this was enough to get the heart pumping and for Finn to set the pace of the ship. "Still alive out there?"

"Alive? This is awesome!" Finn replied with excitement in her voice. She couldn't remember the last time she had hit the holodeck for some surfing and she had missed the rush of the water propelling you forward, but this. Well, this was even more thrilling. "What's the easiest first maneuver I should learn?" She asked, feeling ready to move to the next step in difficulty.

Teyo laughed. Finnley Keating was definitely his type of person. She was smart, daring, and extremely gorgeous. He wondered for the millionth time that night, what it would take for her to take him seriously, in the 'I want to date you' kind of way. Maybe he would get Xav to pu in a good word, or a good thought, so to speak.

"Erm, I don't know," Teyo said honestly over the comm. "I normally just do what feel right in the moment, I never thought about any kind of choreographed kind of moves. You're the surfer so you might actually have the advantage here?" He tapped a few more controls and increased the shuttles speed. "Since you're having so much fun, I'm going to ramp up speed. Don't get lost out there."

The shuttle kicked up a notch and Finn adjusted her positioning to keep stable with the increased speed. "Okay if you don't typically use any thrusters for maneuvers in the suit, what about the shuttle? Ever try any aerobatics maneuvers in the shuttle with someone tethered back here? Or do you literally just sit back here and hang on for the ride?" Zero G surfing itself was a rush for sure, but she'd had a taste of the adrenaline and now she wanted more.

"You're definitely a wild one Lieutenant," Teyo said with a huge grin on his face. "You might regret asking that, hold on." He pressed a few of the buttons on the console and took the shuttle out of steady cruise mode. He wasn't the best pilot he knew but he had a few tricks and he wasn't going to make it easy on the pretty blonde. As he handled the controls the craft started to speed up, it was definitely rockier than it had been a moment or so before. He pressed a few more buttons and the ship performed the perfect loop-de-loop. Teyo didn't feel a thing inside of the cockpit, the inertial dampeners where on full and the craft was going relatively slow, compared to the usual faster than light speed, however he was sure that outside of the ship, even inside of the shield perimeter, Finnley was feeling the effects.

Finn felt everything as the ship went up and curved back. She was barely able to hold it together through the movement. "Ooookay, maybe I regret that just a little. I think I just need more practice before we attempt maneuvers like that again," she half chuckled, catching her breath. "Do you want to switch out or join me out here? I shouldn't be the only one having fun!"

"Oh believe me I'm having plenty of fun Lieutenant," Teyo said with a smirk on his face. "But maybe we should call it for tonight, you did really well for your first attempt, I'm impressed."

"Oh? You? Impressed? Wow, I suppose I'm flattered," Finn sarcastically replied with a grin. "I suppose you're right though. We should call it a night. I have some reports to catch up on before hitting the hay. Thanks for showing me the world of Zero G Surfing, though I still don't think it quite holds a candle to real surfing," she chuckled.

Teyo pressed a few buttons on the panel in front of him, slowing the shuttle to an eventual full stop. He powered down the shield, inertial dampener field and finally the deflector dish; this wasn't the type of programme you wanted to just end, abruptly, safeties or not. "Don't get cocky," he said with a grin. "This was barely level one. Next time we'll get a really good pilot and I'll show you some tricks that'll make your stomach flip, way better than ocean surfing," he added with a scoff.

"We'll see about that. Have a good night Fenn. See you tomorrow in engineering...on time!" Finn chuckled as she walked out of the holodeck.

Teyo rolled his eyes but happily watched as she walked away. He was hoping he could end the night with a kiss from the blonde engineer, but in reality he was lucky to get away with not having a drink thrown on him, so all in all a good evening. He started thinking of how he could improve the programme, he wanted his next 'encounter' with Keating to be wild and rememberable. He was sure Xavier would have some ideas, he was a telepath after all. All's fair in love and war, he thought to himself as he left the holodeck whistling to himself.