When Words Fail, Use Your Fists, Part 2

Posted on Tue Jun 27th, 2023 @ 11:18am by Lieutenant Commander Savin & Lieutenant Didrea Zade

Mission: Character Development
Location: Holodeck 2
Timeline: MD6 :: When Words Fail, Use Your Fists Part 1
1438 words - 2.9 OF Standard Post Measure

"One meter, and with ledges to sit," the counselor suggested. "I have tried to swim and I am able to float but due to my disability I get disoriented under water." Despite the question not being asked, he still felt a need to clarify. "And in our current conditions, it is too much exertion."

The computer chirped as it processed the request, and a moment later the scenery changed. The mat was replaced by dirt paths, pieces of dark volcanic rocks scattered around. A short distance away were the hot springs, circles of steaming water of varying sizes and blue-green shades, their presence partially hidden by multi-colored shrubs, which transitioned into strong mountain trees as one looked away from the springs. It was late afternoon, when the sun was low enough to bring out the purple tint of the atmosphere. The default program settings included people, mostly Trill but a handful of other species also present.

Zade got herself to her feet, unable to avoid the mild wince as her body complained about the movement, before offering a hand to the counselor. "I used to visit this place on Trill," she began, as if she needed to justify her taste in holodeck programs.

"It is beautiful, and very soothing," Savin answered as he accepted the hand up. "I assume there are rooms where we can change? I doubt we should go in like this." He gestured at their attire. "This is your homeworld, what are the customs in regards to this?"

"Yeah, they're around the corner. We can put the rest of our things there, as well," Zade nodded. Briefly turning, she picked up their boots and jackets, tucking her locket into one of her boots, before handing Savin's items to him. "If you see Guardians, it's custom to acknowledge their presence. They're easy to identify: red or beige dress robes. A bow is traditional, but they will accept a bow of the head as enough."

Accepting his footwear, Savin walked off to get changed. As he did, he caught the abundance of bruises on his upper body when he spotted a mirror in the change room. Within a few minutes, after having secured his clothes, he emerged and walked up to the nearest pool, slowly easing himself in.

Shortly after he submerged himself into the pool, Zade came out of her own changing room. Her body had its own decoration of bruises, most of them varying shades of red with hints of purple to emphasize their freshness. Spotting Savin, she approached the pool he was in and got in. She chose a green top that vaguely resembled a sports bra and matching high-waisted swimming shorts. Her spots peeked out at her midsection, then disappeared under her shorts to trail down the outer sides of her legs. As she was acclimating to the water temperature, she saw the bruises on Savin's chest and felt a small pang of guilt. "How's your breathing?" She asked.

"Laboured," he answered, taking a brief moment to watch her get in as soon as additional ripples in the pond alerted him to her presence. "But better, the warm water is helping. And you?"

"Stiff," the Trill answered, knowing it was pointless to try and keep insisting that she was fine. After a moment in the water, she felt her muscles start to relax, and she closed her eyes to savor the feeling. She could feel her stress about the trial start to fade as well, being sucked out of her by the warmth of the water. "But better." She meant it for her emotional well-being as much as she meant it for her physical well-being.

"The question remains...did it work?" Savin asked, lowering himself a fraction further into the hot water. He turned his head to look at her, seeing her spots stand out even more against the setting sun. "I am... pleased you feel better though," he added slowly.

The question that their entire holodeck endeavor aimed to answer. Looking back, Zade could still feel her annoyance with Babanin, but this time it was far more contained. Her annoyance was more like a fly buzzing around compared to earlier, when it felt like she was being chased by bears. With the Commodore not occupying the forefront of her mind, she was back to her normal level of work-related stress. "Yeah, I think it did work," Zade finally responded. "My frustration is a lot more manageable."

"But not gone..." He arched an eyebrow at her. "You need to relax more," he told her, and it obviously wasn't a suggestion. "Need to find a way to rid yourself of daily frustrations."

"Normally, I can." Zade followed suit and sunk a little further into the water a minute after Savin did. "This particular instance caught me off guard." The guilt that she took her anger out on his desk returned, forming a knot in her stomach. "I apologize for hitting your desk, counselor. That was incredibly unprofessional of me."

He waved it off. "Material items can be replaced...better my desk than something you adhere value to." He allowed a brief silence to fall before splashing her with water without warning. "Now, you need to relax and unwind," he 'ordered'.

The feeling of hot water suddenly on her face made her flinch. Thankfully the holodeck safety protocols were enabled, because the springs in real life were a lot hotter and that would have burned her. Instead, it felt like momentary stinging before the safeties kicked in and prevented injury. Was he going to splash her every time he thought she wasn't relaxing? "Careful, the safeties may be on but it's still hot water," she said. Looking up, she could see a couple planets start to appear as tiny dots in the purple sky. She tried to do as he said and relax, but it was never easy for her to do so. There was always a part of her mind that was focused on work, be it some report to write or looking out for her peers. "Do... you have any pointers?" She asked hesitantly. "On how to actually unwind, I mean."

With darkness setting in,it was becoming difficult to make out what she was saying. He had not perceived the temperature as uncomfortably hot, but then he had been raised in a hot climate and he did prefer higher temperatures. "Have you tried meditation? Or...a punching bag in your quarters?"

As the sun went down, some lamps around the hot springs began to flicker to life, giving the clearing a warm orange glow. The pools began to glimmer from the light dancing off the gentle current of the springs carrying hot water to the surface. "I usually just come to the holodeck if I want to punch something," Zade responded. "For meditation... aside from what you recommended for my nightmares a while ago, I haven't really gotten into it. I might not be trying the right..." A brief pause as she tried to find the right word, then, "...instructions? Guidance?"

"That is correct." Savin cast her a genuine smile. "You could have come to me, or perhaps any other Vulcan on board. And if you had continued to practice, you would be more adept now. A skill to meditate does not happen overnight, it takes months of practice."

"I know. I'll try to keep it up." Being left to her own thoughts was something Zade never particularly enjoyed. She knew she was prone to overthinking, so she preferred to do activities that simply avoided it. She couldn't overthink if she had to act fast, for example. "It's also only been what, a couple of weeks?"

"Indeed. And my offer to assist still stands," Savin answered, "it takes practice not to let overpowering feelings rule you as you meditate. And patience."

The Trill only gave a slow nod in response. Perhaps it was worth exploring, if anything to make it harder for her to slip up whenever she was frustrated. A thought then occurred to her. "You have to testify too, right? Do you have enough time?"

"I do, yes," the counselor confirmed as he leaned back in the warm water. "Though I am not certain I understand what you mean with having enough time."

"We've been in here for a while. You're not going to be late to testify, are you?" Zade clarified.

"Negative. I will be summoned when I am needed. And my duties must be tended to as well. My being here with you, ascribes to tending to my duties as chief counselor, does it not?"

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