Letting Off Steam
Posted on Tue Apr 22nd, 2025 @ 12:26am by Lieutenant Alexis Ryan & Commander N'Garzi Zora
Mission:
Pandora's Box
Location: Gym, USS Athena
Timeline: MD4 - Evening
2439 words - 4.9 OF Standard Post Measure
"Lieutenant, a word."
There had been a brief time, prior to introductions, where Alexis might have taken the implied brevity of the pseudo-request at face value. Now, a full day into navigating Kozlov's mood, Athena's Chief Science Officer was only successful in holding back from sarcastic rebuttal through sheer obstinance and the visible clenching of her jaw. She turned to face the other woman, eyebrows elevated slightly to convey an openness to her silent acknowledgement, though the headache that sat just behind over-worked eyes failed to permit any attempt at graciousness.
Kozlov didn't seem to notice.
"I have read the proposal to secure a sample of neutronium." Without any effort, the Lieutenant managed to convey dissatisfaction and derision with a mere statement of fact. "You have allocated containment to the Valiant."
"That's correct."
Alex watched the ripple of irritation result in the twitching of Kozlov's left eye, a reaction she was coming to anticipate with unbridled satisfaction.
"Might I ask why."
Could always say no. "You might. Their itinerary places them at a starbase sooner than the rest of us, and since StarFleet's priority will be to offload a sample for proper scrutiny sooner rather than later, to choice was an easy one."
Kozlov scoffed. "Diversions are not difficult to authorise, particularly for such a valuable delivery. Consideration should favour the best vessel for the task."
Ryan feigned consideration. "There's no technical reason the Valiant might under-perform, transportation shouldn't take them long."
"I hardly think that a Defiant-class vessel is the optimal choice for a containment system with this projected power requirement. Success would be far too contingent on them not requiring full use of their weapon's array."
An arched eyebrow was promptly followed by the recollection, from a moment's private investigation, of Milena Kozlov's last assignment. Alex hadn't gone as far as to dig into why the Lieutenant had then been absent from duty for six months, nor why she had accepted the relative downgrade of her current position, but knowing Lance's own history, Alex could only assume the Edison was slowly turning into a refuge for lost souls.
"Captain Travers has yet to indicate a concern. The last upgrade for the Defiants significantly decreased the power-drain from the cannon sequencing, I doubt they'd stall even under duress."
Twitch, twitch.
Someone's forgotten who they're talking to.
"I'll include your feedback in the final report."
Pushing away from the console, Alex prepared to make good with her initial intent to take a break, inspired by the opportunity to avoid a conversation that would only descend into Kozlov arguing until she got her own way. "We haven't been given the all-clear yet, and coordination will take time to set-up in any case. I'll have Lieutenant Kyan keep you updated," Alexis continued, backing towards the doors. By this point, the veiled implication that the young Andorian was higher in the communication chain than Kozlov was intentionally antagonistic but Ryan struggled to muster enough energy to care. She turned, and as the doors closed behind her, Alexis rolled her eyes.
Forget food; she needed to hit something.
Maintaining physical condition was a habit Alex had never really lost. Whilst conditions were arguably not as arduous as they had been when she'd first starting building muscle, the need for focus and discipline had never really been reliant on her occupation. It had been a while since she had sparred, however, favouring the more docile nature of the treadmill and weights. Fronting up to the bag had been a novelty, homage to days gone by without any expectation that she'd last for more than five minutes.
That had been fifteen minutes ago.
The pummel of gloves against leather was cathartic, however, and the rise in temperature had matched the elevated adrenaline that spiked as soon as the Lieutenant grew accustomed enough to her solitude to let fly. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Alex registered the burn in her shoulders but, for once, she leaned into the tension as inspiration rather than something that needed to be squashed before it got out of hand. Somewhere in the distant past, a younger Alex knew no other way to be, and for a brief moment, it was as if no time had passed. Caution, usually coveted, was no where to be seen.
When Zora asked the computer where Ryan was she had expected the science officer to be either in one of the labs or in her quarters. Alex came across as someone who preferred her own company and Zora could count on one hand how often she had seen the Lieutenant in some of the more social areas of the ship. She had been surprised to be told that the woman was in the gym, not that she should have been. Alex was in great shape and that didn't happen without some level of dedication and discipline. What she had not expected to see was the level of intensity in which Alex was training as she stepped through the doors.
"What, or rather who, are you envisioning on that punching bag?" Zora asked as she approached the science chief.
Some time later, it might occur to Alexis to be somewhat concerned that she hadn't heard the Commander's arrival prior to Zora's question. In the moment, she took the invitation to catch her breath with at least some small measure of gratitude. Lifting her glove to rub the heel of her palm against her cheek, Alex pushed aside damp wisps of hair and huffed as she raised her eyebrows in amusement. "No comment."
It took several steps to swipe up a towel, which lay draped around her shoulders after she'd wiped the perspiration from her face. It wasn't quite code for addressing a superior officer but it would have to do. Turning to face Zora again, the Lieutenant rode the residual wave of adrenaline with enough presence of mind to at least ask, "What can I do for you, Commander?"
Not one to accept someone's first answer, especially when one was as stubborn as Ryan, Zora raised a questioning eyebrow. It wasn't unusual to find someone in the gym pushing the limits of their own existence, but she didn't need to have extra perception senses to know that the first given answer wasn't exactly the most truthful one. She shifted her stance and placed her arms behind her back. Whether consciously or subconsciously she was appearing more open; inviting Ryan in. "Are you sure?" She asked, her head slightly tilting to one side.
Much to her ongoing displeasure, Alexis found herself fighting back the niggle of irritation. Her first instinct wasn't unfamiliar but it had been the kind of impulsive defensiveness that years of dedicated self-regulation had targeted. Despite its resemblance to the prickly stubbornness of her youth, Alexis squared her shoulders and pushed back, albeit slightly more eloquently than her younger counterpart had typically managed. "Sure that I don't want to comment or that I can be of any assistance?"
Zora couldn't help the smile that broke out on her face. Ryan's ability to turn a phrase and deflect a question was almost legendary at this point but somehow she still managed to catch the El-Aurian by surprise. She knew better than to push the subject; a good leader knew which battles to fight and which ones to walk away from. "I just wanted a progress report from your meeting with the other science heads? I hope you played nice," she added a smirk.
Guarded humour evaporated into a deadpan smirk, which was arguably far more amiable. It was certainly more honest. "I'm starting to think my superiors are genuinely surprised by the lack of legal proceedings." Kane sent her.
No, he didn't.
Begrudgingly accepting that the situation was simply that transparent, Alex's expression conveyed a shrug without need for her shoulders to budge. "I'm proud of my team, they're adapting well to the sudden influx of fresh perspective." The twinkle in her eyes this time acknowledged the intentional diplomacy.
It didn't take a genius, or a being nearly a century-and-a-half years old, to read in between Ryan's intentional word choice, or the look on her face. "And you?" Zora asked.
The initial response, aside from the over-extension of her eyebrows to convey the intended devilment, was a pointed glance towards the now-still punching bag. It was promptly followed by a failed attempt to suppress a smile, which at least suggested the Science Chief hadn't entirely lost her sense of humour. Yet. "It's a small space for so many large personalities," Alex admitted. "I don't think you'll need to clear me a bunk in the brig though."
"I'm glad," Zora said as she relaxed her shoulders. She did not doubt that Ryan would play nice and not cause her any issues, but the mere idea that this was a possibility was causing her more strain than she cared to admit. She rocked gently back and forth between her heel and the balls of her feet. It had been a long day, and she wanted nothing more than to take off her boots and sink into a hot bath. "Do you think them capable of getting the job done?"
A moment's silence passed, just long enough to make obvious the shrewd scrutiny of Ryan's gaze. It struck her as odd that Zora would seek out a fairly standard productivity update in person, though Alex was the first to admit she didn't know the El-Aurian well enough to call it out of character. Nevertheless, this didn't feel like it, whatever it was that had prompted the Executive Officer to chase down a senior officer during a recreational break. "We're still in the process of determining what the job is from a scientific perspective," she eventually pointed out. "There's a good range of expertise involved though, we should be able to dig up something for StarFleet to play with."
Alex hesitated then, unsure of whether she had the headspace for yet another person's calamity. Curiosity bolstered by a degree of empathy got the better of her. "Is everything all right, Commander?" She raised her eyebrows as she gave voice to private observation. "Is there a problem I should know about?"
"No, no, everything is fine," Zora said as she held out her hand. She tried to pull her mouth into a smile but even without seeing her face, she knew she hadn't managed a convincing one. "It's just this mission, the Pandora Protocols, the threat...all of it. It feels off somehow." She rubbed at her eyes with the heels of her hands. "I think I'm just more tired than I realised and craving some R&R."
It took a moment for Alex to process the implied confidence. Then, giving the matter a moment's thought, she dipped her head as if to acknowledge a point. "I suppose your birthday did turn out a little more..." Alexis screwed up her nose in search of an appropriate word and bit back a smirk to settle for, "...boisterous than anticipated."
"That is one way to put it," Zora chuckled. She hadn't realised before now how easy Ryan was to talk to. That was a failing on her part, both as the XO and as a person living on a relatively small ship. "But would you believe that wasn't even in the top ten of my worst birthdays? One day, I'll fill you in on my 71st and the Mirror Mind - though I don't know if non-El Aurians can even perceive that dimension," she added more to herself.
The change in topic relaxed Ryan's posture enough that she lifted the towel from her neck once more to rub down her arms. The tattoo that stretched along her inner-arm was nothing like the Commander's decorative collection but it served as a reminder, at least, of several birthdays she could strike off the nomination form for best memories. "I hope you won't take it as a slight," she joked, "if I refrain from offering to find out." She didn't know what Zora was talking about but Alex had enough to contend with in her current dimension without adding additional problems to the mix.
"Maybe that should be my new punishment tactic. Anyone who steps out of line gets to listen to each of my birthday disasters in great detail," Zora replied in the same jovial manner. She felt her shoulders droop slightly, a clear sign that she was more relaxed than when she had entered the gym. "Maybe you can be my test subject. How long do you think you would last?"
It took Alex nodding towards the door to indicate the lack of need to stand around in the middle of the gym for much longer. Much like Zora, she was sufficiently more relaxed than when she'd arrived, which was about the best she could hope for, all things considered. Falling into step beside the El-Aurian, Alexis blanched at the prospect, though managed to look immediately circumspect as she realised, "I suppose only one of them forced me to play princess, how bad can it get?"
Zora walked with Ryan without knowing where they were heading, but that was okay. It was the journey, not the destination that mattered, or some other clichéd earthism. Those people really had a saying for everything; each more obvious than the next. "You think that being forced to dress as a princess is as bad as it gets?" She let out a short bark of a laugh. "Do I need to bring up the Mirror Mind again?" She stopped dead in her tracks, like an invisible wall had hit her. "What would you like to dress up as then?" She asked, her eyes wide with inspiration.
The question startled Ryan, enough to push through her composed veneer to produce a series of rapid blinks. It wasn't that the topic was shocking or that the Commander's sudden interest was entirely without context, it was simply that there was a distinct answer that Alexis hadn't really connected to for quite a while. With Zora's sudden reduction in pace, the Science Chief found herself standing between open doors, rapidly calculating every excuse for having avoided a recreational pursuit she enjoyed immensely, and slowly succumbed to the temptation of an emerging impulse.
Alex didn't grin much these days but, when she did, it wasn't quite as hard to imagine her misspent youth.
"Have you ever heard of steampunk?"
