TEST DRIVE #5 - Low Gravity Gymnasium and Ten Forward

[tenforward_m]

Option 01. Ten Forward: The first thing you see is a bar. A large, lively bar filled with many different faces and many different smells, sights and sounds. This is Ten Forward, the Enterprises' off-duty lounge; feel free to get acquainted with your fellow travelers and try to find somebody who's in charge: this is your new home now, after all...



Option 02. Aboard the Enterprise, The Low-Gravity Gymnasium: The gym is a large room with several alcove-like sections housing the aerobics and martial arts areas, a parrises squares area, an anbo-jyutsu court, and a separate fencing room. While there is normally a zero-gravity area as well, today all of the gym is in zero-gravity conditions.

Zero-gravity can be, well, kind of weird, because it's not like a gradual loss of the pressure holding you to the floor--you may have taken the turbolifts, just expecting to take a leisurely run, or maybe work out with a treadmill to get in some cardio, but the minute you step into the gym you're floating, as is anything you might have been holding or bringing with you.

Do you freak out, start flailing and trying to swim through the air back to where you can escape? Do you make the best of it and tough it out to get your exercise in, or do you start having fun with the sudden game of weightlessness? Pick your personal scenario and have fun with all the other weightless people.

Comments

[asklepian]

Julian looks momentarily confused--he might act scatterbrained, but it is just that, an act. His mind is incapable of forgetting, and matching names to faces is simple for him. The puzzlement shows in the briefest ways, furrowed eyebrows, thoughtful frown...

But he realizes quickly enough. It's exactly the same with the Chief and Worf, in reverse--it must be. He can't remember her because they haven't yet met.

Oh, Temporal Investigations is going to have a field day. His expression turns apologetic, even though it's neither of their faults.

"I'm afraid not."

[pronounsarehard]

Ezri shook her head, smiling. "I figured. It's okay. You'll just have to get to know me all over again then."

Julian might act scatterbrained it was true, but Ezri knew his secret. And just how much of an act it was. It must hurt him to have to hide who he was again. That's probably so hard. Harder than hiding Dax.--if she even could. The moment someone gave her a medical exam that cat would be out of the metaphorical bag. And she'd probably be questioned by Temporal Investigations until she went grey. At least it wasn't Dax's first time with time travel. Or Julian's.

"Before you ask, yes, I'm a counselor. For some reason everyone seems so surprised about that."

[asklepian]

"Well, we'll just have to get started then." He's still friendly at least. "Temporal Investigations is already going to want to have Words with us, we might as well go all in."

It wasn't easy for him to go back, it was true--even so, he wasn't completely in the closet, so to speak. He'd been sussed out by Trance, and had confessed to Dylan. That made it already infinitely easier than over 15 years hiding in plain sight had been.

"Well, I could already tell, you're either Sciences or Medical, so counselor isn't particularly surprising, from what I can see."

[pronounsarehard]

"Ugh, I know. I'm getting a headache just thinking about it." Ezri made to rub her temples and made an irritated grin. Headache and nausea. Good thing Julian was here.

"The blue uniform kind of makes it obvious huh. And....kind of makes you wonder why Starfleet color-coded us to begin with. And why they change uniforms so often." Ezri made the mistake of thinking out loud. At least this time the thoughts weren't Dax related. She was sure that mistake would come eventually. And awkward and uncomfortable it would be. Julian probably didn't even know Jadzia had died. It all happened in such a short period of time. Ezri was curious what year he was from, but she didn't want to ask. Then he'd ask 'gee,what time are you from' and things would get complicated again.

Naturally the only thing to do was stare uncomfortably at him and the table.

[asklepian]

Erm. This was incredibly awkward. Julian hoped the reason she felt so nervous wasn't because he'd slept with her and he didn't recall--it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. He wanted to ask how they'd met, but wasn't sure it would be a good idea. Starfleet Academy hadn't exactly had any training on this situation.

"I suppose I shouldn't ask you how we met, or even really much of anything, but that wouldn't make for good conversation."

Maybe she was another Trill initiate that Jadzia was looking after, or they could have met at a medical conference. Really, it was a big galaxy--it could be anything.

No, not yet Julian

[pronounsarehard]

"I--I was stationed on Deep Space Nine," she said helpfully. Ezri tried to think of things they could talk about. Things that seemed innocuous and wouldn't blow things out of control. Really, there was only so much a girl could take.

"I'm still getting to know people." Again. "I'm kind of going through so things, and you were very helpful. I used to be on the Destiny, and then something happened and I got a transfer. I met you on the station." True, very true, no matter which Dax she was talking about.

he knows he's a bit of a problem child and it isn't outside the realm of possibility ;3

[asklepian]

"I see, well, it's probably very overdue we got a counselor...I just hope things haven't been too...difficult for you." A somewhat tactful way of obliquely referring to the war--he hopes she grasps his meaning.

Of course he has no idea just how complicated her situation is, but he's earnest about the well wishing all the same.

"I suppose I should fill you in on some pertinent information then. Gul Dukat is here, but from far earlier than anyone else--he seems to be mostly in line with this time period, and is still on Terok Nor normally." Slipped in there was that it was still Terok Nor, not exactly subtle but he didn't know how else to beat around that particular bush. "There's also his daughter, Ziyal, Quark, and Jadzia Dax."

[pronounsarehard]

"No, I think everyone's managing the best they can. Morale's been low, but it's not as if we can take a vacation, is it?" She laughed a little, trying to keep it light despite the subject.

And then, the subject changed. It changed so much it made her sick. Was she looking green again? Dying was hard. No matter how many times you experienced it, it never really got better.

"That's....not good news."She really had done her best to avoid Dukat. Him being completely crazy really helped.He thankfully had stopped making those random trips to the station to annoy Benjamin in hopes of gaining his friendship.

"Dukat, Ziyal, Quark...and Jadzia Dax?" How was she going to avoid herself? "This could get complicated, couldn't it?" Ezri gave a sigh, and sipped her tea again.

[asklepian]

"Just slightly." That was a curious reaction, even given Julian's not...fantastic skill at reading people. He had gotten much better, but he found books and hard data easier to understand. Not as many variables. "Especially considering that Worf and the Chief are also serving aboard the Enterprise at this point. They're both...well, I wouldn't say completely unaware of us, since Worf is Chief of Security, but they're certainly not familiar with us."

Julian is watching her closer now, gears turning in his head. The shock over Dukat is more than understandable, if she'd been on DS9 for any length of time she had to know he was terribly dangerous. The hesitation at repeating Jadzia's name, though, struck him wrong.

"Best to know what you're getting into, I suppose."

[pronounsarehard]

Ezri bit her lower lip in slight anxiety. She knew Julian. Very well in fact, two life times will do that. And he was thinking. A thinking Julian was a dangerous Julian. Especially to one Ezri Dax who really wasn't supposed to let him know she was Dax.

This time travel stuff sucked.

"Worf too huh? Great." Just great. Could this get any better? Maybe she should just suck herself out the airlock now and save Temporal Investigations some trouble. Why'd it have to be Worf? The Chief she could handle, she hadn't slept with him. Or married him. How was she supposed to disguise the fact that she knew him so well?

"Think maybe I could just hide till Captain Picard sorts this all out?" She let out a sigh, and had to stop herself from reaching for his hand.

[asklepian]

"It would be rather lonely if you tried," Julian said, not at all hesitating to complete the aborted motion--he was rather free with physical affection, and it didn't bother him in the slightest.

Further doubts began to crowd his mind--why, too, would Worf be such a source of discomfort? Perhaps they simply didn't get along...

"It'll all get sorted out in the end. And if we're lucky, Q will be so kind as to make it all seem like some kind of dream, and we'll have nothing to say to Temporal Investigations at all."

[pronounsarehard]

Who could get lonely with 8 other selves? Probably normal people who didn't have to worry about mistakenly ordering gagh or blood wine instead of a nice salad or souffle. People who didn't know what it was like to die in a shuttle explosion. Or kill people. Oh dear, was that peppermint tea coming up the wrong way again?

Ezri heaved a little, gagging and looking green at the thought. Nothing like Joran and Torias to really bring out the nausea.

"I think I might have to take you up on that anti-emetic. Think I could get you to escort a girl to sickbay before I vomit all over the floor?I can't believe I'm space sick. I'm a space sick starfleet officer." It was pretty pathetic.

[asklepian]

"Remind me to introduce you to Lieutenant Barclay," Julian jokes, pushing his chair away from the table, offering his arm. You were the one who phrased it as an escort, Ezri.

"Come on, you look like you're about to pop." And Julian really didn't want to have to clean it up--he wouldn't put it past Guinan.

[pronounsarehard]

At least there wasn't actually in a shuttle. Ezri was sure the sight of Dax throwing up all over the pilots console was the highlight of Benjamin's day. Probably Jake's too.

Giving Julian a green smile, she took his arm, and motioned for him to lead the way. "Lieutenant Barclay?"

[asklepian]

"He's a bit of a hypochondriac. Very nice, but nervous man. At any rate, we can't all be model officers with stomachs of steel all the time." Hopefully the turbolifts wouldn't be the last straw. It wasn't a particularly long ride from Ten Forward to Sickbay, but...

"Are the turbolifts going to be alright, or should I call for a medical transport?" Julian asks good-naturedly, teasing a bit.

[pronounsarehard]

Ezri gave a laugh at her own expense, hoping the self depricating laughter would qwell the nausea a little. "Don't joke. I threw up all over the pilot's console once. In front of Captain Sisko." It just wouldn't do to call him Benjamin. That was a dead giveaway.

"That was fun. And it sounds like this Mr. Barclay could use a good counselor. Probably one that doesn't get space sick though. Although I'm sure we could bond over our mutual failings."

[asklepian]

"I've done loads of embarrassing things in front of Captain Sisko, honestly," Julian says soothingly. If points were being awarded for being a twit in front of one's commanding officer, Julian would surely take home some kind of prize between the Captain and Kira--who may not have been Starfleet, but as second in command, still held rank over him and therefore counted.

"There's no failing involved. As I said, we all have our off days." He guided them into the turbolift, and turned his head up slightly to address the computer. "Sickbay. Please," he adds, shooting an amused look at Ezri.