Run Aways

Posted on Wed Sep 10th, 2025 @ 12:34pm by Lieutenant JG Asmar Veshun & Lieutenant Irynya

Mission: Mean Green Queen
Location: Deck 5, Gymnasium
Timeline: Mission Day 14 at 0800

[Deck 5, Gymnasium]
[MD 14, 0800 Hours]

Irynya stepped through the doors of the gymnasium with the single-minded focus of someone who needed to tick something off a to do list before they could do something they wanted to do. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy exercise. She definitely did. She just preferred the kind of exercise that was hard to come by on a small starship. Running on the beach. Swimming in the ocean. Hiking. Of course, any of those could be simulated in the holodeck next door, but the holodeck was already booked and she preferred to keep her holodeck time for relaxing adventures. Stars knew she was overdue for one of those.

So, instead, she stepped into the gym, nodding to a few crewmen and officers she knew before making a beeline for one of the running machines. She wondered at these contraptions. It seemed, to her at least, that the type of equipment one would use to simulate running probably hadn't changed much in decades... maybe even centuries. With a flick of her fingers she brought up the interface at the far end of the machine, and scrolled through her options before settling on something that would resemble the type of workout she'd get if she were running on the beach. Sure, not the same as actual sand, but at least she'd get the same benefit out of the exercise.

Pausing she checked that her water bottle was within reach if she wanted it, and then straightened and gestured at the holo to start her run.

On the next machine over, Veshun continued at a steady pace. Part of him was annoyed that he'd gotten such a late start that morning. Normally, he would have been up and moving well ahead of the rush, but one thing had led to another, and suddenly he was ninety minutes behind. Thankfully, he'd arrived at the gym to discover it wasn't as bad as he'd feared. Even as time went on (and more folks trickled in), he'd managed not to let it disrupt him. The audio that he was listening to automatically adjusted to tune out the additional noise, and that freed him to focus (as best he could) on clearing his head and preparing himself (mentally) for the day.

When she'd run for 5 minutes, Irynya shifted, mid stride, to pick up her water bottle, tossing back a few mouthfuls of water without breaking stride before setting it back down. She tilted her head left and then right, knowing that the pace increase wasn't too far ahead and then glanced over to the machine beside her. The dark curls and olive toned skin of Asmar Veshun bobbed along beside her. His own pace, slightly faster than hers, was drummed out like a cadence as his feet hit the track beneath him.

She didn't know Asmar terribly well, beyond awareness that he was one of the candidates she would need to evaluate to step into the role she had recently vacated and she also knew that not everyone liked to talk during a workout. But, when else was she likely to get the chance. Pressing her lips together she twisted her torso slightly, the move making her running awkward for a moment while she got his attention. For a moment she almost lost her footing, but turned back and this time only turned her head, nodding in the direction of his machine's controls. "Which program are you using?" she asked, a bit louder than necessary as she realized he had ear buds tucked into his ears.

The lieutenant's voice cut through Veshun's audio track, drawing him out of his thoughts. He turned to see the woman running next to him and, realizing that it was she who'd asked the question, reached up to remove the device in his ear closest to her. "Sorry, what?"

A flash of recognition lit the Risian's features at the removal of the small device from Veshun's ear. She'd seen Noah use ear buds like these plenty of times and had watched them fish them from his own ears on several occasions. "Sorry," she echoed back. "I didn't realize." She pointed at her own ears as if to explain. "I asked you which program you are using."

"Oh," Veshun replied, "...uhh...urban variable." It was either that or the forest trails, though he tended to enjoy those more when he had the environs to match. All those ups and downs, twists and turns, weren't very interesting when you couldn't take in the scenery along with them. So, on a morning run like this, the urban suited him just fine. At least with the variability, it was never the same from one visit to the next, and that was enough to keep him engaged.

Iry nodded. "Any particular city?" she inquired, curious as she shifted into a different gait to keep up with her own program.

Veshun shook his head from side to side. "Sometimes I pick one," he said, "but it's all the computer, today."

Nodding, Iry glanced back at her own machine, noting the time and an upcoming incline. "Ever use San Francisco?" she asked belatedly. She wondered if perhaps she should just let the man be, but also somehow felt as if she should at least try to make conversation. "The hills will destroy your calves, but it gets at some different back muscles." She glanced over at Veshun to see what he'd do with that and wondered again if she should just stop talking and get on with her run.

"You aren't kidding," Veshun replied, laughing a little. He remembered what it was like, during his Academy days, being on the ground in San Francisco for real. Unlike what he had grown up with back home, the landscape around the Bay Area was anything but flat. It didn't matter whether you stuck to the city streets or ventured out into more wilderness trails, hilly terrain was pretty much guaranteed. "Ever get out to Land's End?"

The Risian's hazel eyes lit with recognition and no small amount of fondness. "Yes! Not for running, though. Visited a few times with friends though. It's a beautiful spot." While San Francisco Bay had afforded her ready access to water, Land's End had made her homesick with the long stretches of water and the park around the lookout. A roommate had first suggested their visit when she was just a first year cadet. They'd taken a picnic along with the two girls in the room next door and spent the afternoon exploring and exclaiming about how different or similar the place was to their own homes. "Good running spot?" She added, the view of the Golden Gate Bridge from the lookout playing across her mind's eye as she spoke.

Veshun nodded in the affirmative. "I figure, if I'm going to have to be running up and down hills anyway," he said, "might as well be somewhere I can at least enjoy the view."

"Makes sense," she said, finding herself forced to return to her workout as the machine shifted its difficult level and demanded greater attention. For a while she lost herself in the movement of the run. At home the feel of sand stinging the backs of her legs as she worked her way down the shoreline would have been a visceral reminder of where she was. Here, the sensation was missing even though the resistance and shifting footing of a sand-based run were well approximated. Finally, sweat dripping down her back and coating her forehead, the program wound down and Irynya found herself shifting into a job and then, finally, a stop before she stepped off the machine, grabbing her water bottle as she went. She took a long pull of the water, throat bobbing as she swallowed, and then looked for the small towel she'd set aside to wipe her brow.

Nearby, Veshun shifted back and forth where he stood next to the unit he had been using. Even though the device was programmed to build a 'cool down' cycle into the run, those almost never seemed to be enough, and they often left him with a slight restless feeling that he had to shake off himself. As he did so, he took another drink from his water bottle. Then, he looked over toward where Irynya appeared to be doing the same. He had no way of knowing if she'd planned their little encounter or if it had simply been a coincidence that they came in around the same time. Either way, he was starting to feel rather glad that they'd had this chance to chat a little (outside of work) - another sign that things were coming together.

"I don't know about you," he said, pausing to take another drink, "but I think I'm going to hit the showers, then see if I can't find something for breakfast."

Veshun screwed the cap back onto his water bottle, then checked that he had his towel and earbuds. Satisfied that he'd remembered everything, he gave Irynya a quick parting nod, before heading off toward the changing rooms.