Bet

Posted on Mon Oct 30th, 2023 @ 3:05pm by Lieutenant Commander Finnley Keating VII & NVeid tr'Rehu

Mission: Character Development
Location: Holodeck
1343 words - 2.7 OF Standard Post Measure

The water on the pool was so still that Finn could see her own reflection standing there at the edge, ready to jump in. Something was different. Her eyes somehow had more depth and her shoulders didn't stand quite as proud as they once did, but that was ok. She'd get used to this new Finn, in time. There was no sense in dwelling on it right now, there was limited time before she needed to return to engineering to work on more repairs. She dove into the water, letting it surround her with comfort and familiarity before breaking into a stroke. Her arms moved through the water as if in a dance, propelling her from one end of the pool to the other with impressive speed.

From a small distance away, NVeid studied her for a moment. He'd seen her stood at the edge and had watched her dive in. There was something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He was actually surprised to see her as he had walked in, but as she'd not seen him he had opted to wait.

Finally he walked up to the edge just as she came up. "I'm glad you're back Finn," he spoke softly as he sat himself down on the edge of the pool. "You are back, yes?"

"Oh, hi NVeid," Finn paddled up to the edge and put one elbow out as if leaning against the side of the pool. "I wasn't expecting anyone else to drop by the pool at this hour, but yes, I am back."

Easing himself into the water, he smiled as he faced her. "I'm pleased to hear that," he told her, "I was concerned we'd never see you again. Did your father get through to you then?"

"Yes, sort of. It's complicated," she thought about it for a moment before speaking again. "He made me see what I needed to see, even though I didn't enjoy it and didn't want to hear it. He has a way of doing that, in his own way." Finn chuckled lightly. "He can be a force to be reckoned with when he wants to be, though I guess you've already seen that side of him," she looked up at NVeid. "I'm sorry for what happened when you visited. It was pretty rude of me to run off like that and I'm sure my dad didn't respond well to you either after I left."

"I'm a Romulan and a telepath, I'm used to not getting reacted well to," NVeid all but chuckled, "but yes I agree, you were rude." He held up his hand, accidentally splattering her with tiny droplets of water. "But you were well within your right," he continued, "I was the intruder, I called in unannounced. Now .. since you are back, are you going to continue to avoid me?"

"I haven't been avoiding anyone. Admittedly, I've been reluctant to seek out certain people, you might have been in the last, but I'm not purposely avoiding people either," she confessed. Although it had been hard to an extent to reintegrate with the people she had left, Finn knew there was no true way to avoid it. "So how have you been?"

"Working," NVeid answered simply, "and you do kind of avoid me." It was a simple statement. "Beyond these accidental meetings, we never really meet up. And I don't really want to discuss work when I am here to unwind." He nodded across the pool. "Would you care for a race?"

"Maybe we should change that. Dinner. Tomorrow. Loser cooks, or replicates, whatever your preference. Deal?". Finn asked .

"Deal," he said as he hoisted himself from the water and walked over to one of the starting blocks. "Diving start," he announced as he waited for her to join him.

"Let's make it a bit more challenging though, shall we? We've already raced before in the pool, shouldn't we change it up a bit?" Finn commanded the computer to change the scene and suddenly the pool turned into the Atlantic ocean mid day with three to five foot swells. "Finish line one hundred yards from here. Still up for the challenge?" She asked with a smirk. The pool may have been his territory, but the ocean was hers.

The Romulan hybrid staggered at the sudden change of scenery, eyeing the tall waves. "I have never been swimming in an ocean before," he admitted slowly, as he turned to face her. "I am up for a challenge if you tell me how to get through that without drowning."

"NVeid...it's the holodeck and the safeties are on. If you wipe out it might knock the wind out of you but you won't drown," Finn chuckled. "But there are options. You can swim over them, not always recommended, or you can dive through them. Don't overthink it." Finn smirked and readied herself to run into the water. "Ready?"

NVeid nodded as he studied the waves. He waited for her count-down, then sprinted forward, his speed hindered by the soft sand. He raced into the water then dove in, propelling himself forward under water in exactly the same fashion as he would have in the pool. He went as far as he could before a need to breathe forced him towards the surface. As he did he continued to move forward, not taking the chance to see how far she was. Yes, this was her turf, but his advantage was decades of practice and competition swimming in his younger years.

Finn glided through the water almost as if it was still, expertly navigating which waves to swim over and which to dive through. There was no sense in looking for NVeid, turning your back for one second out here could get you pummeled easily. So instead, she hoped he would yell out for help if he got caught.

The rip tide started to kick in about half way through the wave break and Finn adjusted her direction to swim in parallel to the shore until she could break free. There hadn't been a thought that the computer would replicate a rip tide, she just hoped that NVeid was still doing ok and didn't get stuck though she was sure he could hold his own until the race ended at least. Ten yards later and Finn felt the current change. She shifted direction and headed straight for the one hundred yard finish, hoping that the waves and rip tide had slowed down her competition enough for a fair chance at winning.

Not even knowing what a rip was, NVeid had been swimming under the waves as much as possible. He did feel a bit of drag but only worked harder to move forward. When he surfaced near their mark, he found Finn only half a body's length ahead of him, reaching it just before he did. The exertion did show on his face as he breathed hard. "Excellent swimming," he managed between breaths.

"Thanks," Finn smiled. ""You did well yourself, especially considering your lack of experience in the ocean. You might have beat me if you'd changed your direction when we hit the mild rip tide. Did you notice about half way out that the current shifted?"

"I did feel something," NVeid acknowledged, "perhaps we should get back to shore, then we can discuss dinner arrangements."

"Computer, transition this program to the previous," Finn said and the scene changed back to the calm pool that had been present before. "Easy. I figured there's no sense in fighting the currents back. So, dinner tomorrow then?" She smirked and cocked a curious brow. A bet was a bet but she was very curious as to how that dinner would go. After all, their relationship as friends had always been a difficult one to navigate.

"Dinner tomorrow," he confirmed with a nod. "As winner, do you have a preference towards the type of food?"

"I think I'll let you surprise me," Finn smiled a hint a mirth. "I'll see you tomorrow, NVeid."