Up the Wall
Posted on Tue Dec 3rd, 2024 @ 6:51pm by Captain Edmund Merrick & Sergeant Audie Fitch & Sergeant Azure Thompson
Edited on on Wed Dec 4th, 2024 @ 12:07am
2,622 words; about a 13 minute read
Mission:
Episode 16 - Silent Cries
Location: Empok Nor - Various
Timeline: MD002 1600 hrs
So far, the few hours she'd been on Empok Nor had been nice, a good change of pace for Audie, and good interlude before getting on the Pioneer.
The accommodations here were fairly Spartan, but this was just a layover, and even the gear she'd brought here was basic, enough for a couple days. Most of her kit had been sent directly to the Pioneer.
She'd found her assigned bunk, dropped off her things, then changed into loose pants and a khaki tee shirt before heading for the gym. Sitting on a shuttle for several hours and a good meal had left her in the mood for a work-out, something to 'get the blood flowing', to work up some cardio and give her a chance to move.
As she worked the mechanics of a rowing machine, she had her eye on a rock-climbing wall across the room. Not exactly 'her thing', but a change of pace at least.
"What do you think?" she asked the ginger cat that sat contentedly beside her, almost as if acting as a coxswain, to keep her in line. "Try the wall next?"
"Well, you do seem to have the upper body strength required." Azure told the auburn haired human. "Sorry, you were asking your cat weren't you?" The Andorian-human hybrid blushed in embarrassment. Her cheeks becoming a darker blue than the rest of her skin. "I'm Azure, by the way. Do you work on the station?" She asked extending her hand to shake.
Slowing her pace, Audie looked up from the rower and grinned. "Yeah, I was asking Buster, but sometimes his opinions lean more toward the lazy -- basking someplace soft and warm!" She chuckled, then stopped and stood.
"Sergeant Audie Fitch. I was just transferred from Poseidon Station to the Pioneer." She held out her hand. "It's good to meet you."
"I'm a Corpsman and fellow Sergeant on the Pioneer, so welcome to the Cure." Azure said with a smile.
"Ah, I'm a Corpsman, too! And thanks for the welcome. I'm looking forward to getting on the ship." Audie nodded to the ginger cat. "And that's Buster, he's the one who's really in charge!" The cat just blinked his only eye.
"Let's hope he and Mr Tumnus get along." Azure said. "Mr Tumnus is the Pioneer's cat."
"He's pretty easy-going," Audie explained, "he was a feral on Poseidon until tuna won him over! But I do hope they get along." Buster might look tough, but he usually wasn't fussy of confrontational.
The doors opened to the gym and in walked a tall man, with tousled blonde hair, piercing blue eyes. His physique well toned. A pair of sweats, colored grey and a tank top of the same hue were his clothing. He had a five o clock shadow which he scratched at. Slung over his shoulders was a towel. Taking a glance around the gym his gaze paused on an unfamiliar redhead, a ginger colored cat and a familiar marine.
"Hey Azure, who are your two friends there?" Edmund making his way over towards them.
"Hey Skipper, let me introduce to Sergeant Audie Fitch Marine Corpsman, and Buster, I'll leave it to you to workout which is which." Azure said with a grin.
"Hmmnnn..." rubbing his chin as Merrick looked thoughtfully from Audie to Buster. "Well now...I will hazard a guess. You must be Audie, and that handsome fellow there, is Buster." Edmund crouching down to get a good view of the one eyed cat.
"Very perceptive!" Audie laughed. "Most people get that mixed up!" Skipper Did that mean the man was her commander? At least the gym was relaxed territory, so formalities weren't as...well, formal.
"And be careful flattering that cat, it'll go to his head!" She laughed as Buster went right up to the man to get scritches. "It's good to meet you, sir. We just got in from Poseidon...I'm looking forward to the Pioneer." She wouldn't mention how much she was missing her brothers and sisters of the Kingsmen, not to mention Annie.
Edmund obligingly scritched Buster in the sweet spots that cats love the most, then looked up at Audie. "Poseidon Station. Did you know Captain Cara Letsul?" he slowly rose up from his crouched position. He thought he heard something in Audie's voice. It was difficult to separate from those who a person had formed connections with. "And nice to meet you as well. Since we are on shoreleave, just call me Ed or Edmund or Merrick whichever you are most comfortable with." giving her a gentle smile.
"Sure, I know Cara. She's a great officer." And friend, but that didn't need to be said, nor that Audie had even rubbed shoulders with Cara-But-Not-Cara! "Looks like you've made a friend for life there!" Buster was purring loudly, enjoying the attention.
"We were both looking for a workout." Audie looked at the other two Marines. "Any suggestions?"
"That depends on whether you like anti-grav or not." Azure said.
"Sure, anything that's fun!" Audie shrugged. "Parkour, if there's a course..." Nothing like jumping from obstacle to obstacle! "I'm game for anything!"
"How about you, Skipper?" Azure asked. "Want to join us in some parkour?" Not waiting for his answer, Azure took Edmund by the hand and started leading them both to the Zero-G chamber at one end of the Gym. "See, that Zero-G chamber over there, I think we can program it for our needs." She said.
"Parkour sounds great." Edmund breaking his silence as he listened to the exchange of the ladies. He cracked a smile after giving Buster a final scritch. He rose from his crouched position. "I'm game for some activity."
"Sorry, Skipper, you're not my type." Azure said as they reached the Zero-G chamber. The Andorian Human hybrid began to program it. "I've put it to half normal grav, so it doesn't hurt so much if we slip and fall. Its just setting up the obstacles now."
Audie laughed. "Well, if Buster likes him, he must be all right!" She followed the others over to the chamber, looking forward to the course. It would be good exercise, and not the same old thing. "We'll be like Ninjas!" She was curious to see how Buster would react to the lower gravity.
Azure smiled. "Its ready." She said. As the door opened. Inside was a obstacle course consisting of platforms and ramps at different heights.
Edmund chuckled at Azure's comment. "I may not be your type but, i will say, your rum is definitely on my top types of drinks, Azure." giving a huge smile toward her. He then turned to Audie, "Azure has created her own rum and it is fantastic. I had the priviledge of drinking some when I first arrived to Empok Nor, as well as the USS Pioneer. It was fantastic!"
"Sounds interesting," Audie admitted, "and an interesting hobby...do you have a way to do that on the ship?" It wouldn't be bad to have a source of real alcohol around, and Audie was sure it would be regulated.
"I just dabble in sleight-of-hand and simple magic," she told them as she stepped into the chamber, feeling a little giddy at the change of gravity. Buster followed her in, and after a few paces he paused, back arched and tail fluffed, and when he started walking again, it was with high steps, as if he was walking across snow.
"It's called Rashi, its more a whiskey make from fermented millet, a Tibetan Marine named Jampa taught me how to make it. I have a still in my quarters. And yes, I'm only allowed to use it for special occasions." Azure explained.
"Oh, well, there are those who consider waking up alive to be a special occasion. Don't you think, Ed?" Audie gave the man a playful wink, although, in truth, she really wasn't much of a drinker -- anymore.
"Waking up alive is a special occasion. I did get a little bit drunk when I arrived on Empok Nor during shoreleave of the USS Pioneer, and the whisky that Azure had made was quite good. I wouldn't want to drink it on a regular basis would mess with my health. I prefer tea at any rate." giving a grin towards Audie. His attention was caught by Buster, watching the way the feline walked. "As it is, lets get to climing, I don't want to get shown up by Buster."
Azure laughed and jumped on to the first obstacle.
"It's on!" Audie called with a laugh as she followed after Azure, vaulting over a wall, then finding her path through through the obstacles in the room. While still exercise, it was fun swinging, jumping, hanging, running...a lot better than just jogging around a track!
Edmund at the moment, seemed to have his attention caught by Buster, cats seemed to have the skill for parkour including using humans as a way to vault to a much higher spot. "Okay Buster lets see what you've got." following after the cat.
While Buster didn't understand the words, he did understand the energy, and that they were playing, and he didn't mind that one bit! He arched his back and danced a few steps away from the man, then broke into a sprint, charging straight for a tall brick wall. That didn't stop him, he just launched at the wall, already at close to half its height, then used a combination of momentum, the irregularities in the wall surface, and cat magic to make it to the top!
Catching the antics, Audie laughed and shouted to Edmund, "Try that!"
Edmund glanced back towards Audie, giving a wink then turned his attention back towards Buster and the wall. This was turning out to be rather fun already. He went into a crouched position, like getting ready to race, then he ran forward, and once at a certain point he leaped towards the wall grasping at the top, where Ed pulled himself up, moving his legs to where he was straddling the wall, he gave out a laugh and looked at Buster then towards Audie and Azure, "Care to join us?"
"Catch me?" Grinning, Audie ran at the wall full-tilt, then bounding up at the last instant, stretching a hand up toward Edmund, hoping for a little assistance.
Edmund quickly obliged, giving Audie a hand up instinctlvely gripping the wall with his leg muscles in order to keep himself secure as he pulled her up. "Up you go" he commented, making certain Audie had her balance. "That was a great jump, you must have been practicing with Buster." giving a laugh. "Wonder where he will lead us next. And I wonder where Azure is at."
He looked about to see where Azure was, then bellowed out, "Yo Azure where are you?"
"Up here!" Azure called from near the top, after kicking at one of the walls and using the momentum to carry her over an obstacle and on to a higher platform.
"Oh, she's the crafty one, isn't she?" Audie laughed, quickly studying the possibilities to get up to where Azure was. Buster, however, didn't need that analysis, the cat just leapt from perch to perch effortlessly, then rubbed against Azure's legs.
"See, easy-peasy!" Audie declared, at least for the cat! For Humans, it was a bit more complicated, and she glanced at Edmund and shrugged. "Looks like we climb!"
Jumping up to grab a hand-hold on what was essentially a rock climbing wall, then started to hoist herself up toward the next level.
Edmund had tilted his head back when he heard Azure's call. He grinned as he watched Audie take off after Buster. Not wanting to be left behind, Edmund started his climb once more, his feet and fingers finding holds as he scaled the wall behind Audie, then moved to the other side. "This is definitely some fun training." he puffed out as he climbed alongside Audie.
Azure reached down and stroked Buster while she watched the other two scale the climbing wall. She then sat next to the cat to take a small break.
"More fun than jumping jacks!" Audie declared, glancing over her shoulder at Edmund, who was catching up. "Better skills, too, right? I mean, when is the last time you needed to do jumping jacks to save a mission?"
Laughing, she pulled herself up the last few feet, then scrambled out of Edmund's way, sitting beside Azure. "We need a coffee maker up here!"
Edmund made it the rest of the way, taking a seat near Audie. "Jumping jacks help to give more spring to you step." giving a playful wink, then he rubbed his chin, "A coffee maker? Hmmnn... " as if he were contemplating that. "We'll need to get the coffee elsewhere." coming to that decision. "But that got me tempted." giving a laugh. "OKay shall we head on down? I'll buy you two a coffee. And what does Buster like to drink?" leaning over to glance at the one eyed ginger cat. "Buster what do you want to drink?"
"Be plain wrong to turn down an offer of coffee!" Audie agreed, then laughed. "Buster likes tuna juice...well, cream, too, but that plays havoc with his tummy, so you'd have to keep him for the night!"
"Well then we'll keep with the Tuna juice and stay away from the cream." Edmund giving a chuckle. He rose from where he was seated and walked over to where a rope hung down. "C'mon lets get some coffee." grasping the rope and sliding down to the floor.
Finding another rope, Azure abseiled her way to the deck. "I think I'll have an iced coffee." She said after reaching the bottom.
"Ready to head on out?" Edmund called up to Audie. "How about you Buster, I'll get you some tuna for a treat. You gave me a run for my money so I owe you." giving a laugh.
Buster didn't much hesitate once Audie had slid to the deck, quickly following by running down the wall and trotting over to the small group.
"So, tuna for Buster and a latte for me!" This was a good chance to get to know her crew-mates, and she liked that.
"Indeed, have you met any of the other crew members who are part of the Evac teams? I am thinking of inviting Sergeant Adélaïde Moreau and Staff Sergeant Shayla Kunadt to Coffee or Tea as well. Its time to get better acquainted with them." Edmund giving a bit of a smile. "Sound good to you?"
"I'm sure Warrant Officer Mercy Ryan and Sergeant Sina Ravenna wouldn't say no." Azure added.
"I want to keep it in small doses." Edmund giving a chuckle. "Fitch here will get to know the others as time goes on."glancing over towards Audie. "What do you think Magic Hands" giving her a wink. Addressing the two women, "Right now I feel it is best to limit it to those who are in EVA, corpsmen, search & rescue, for starters."
"Agreed, Mercy can be a bit full on." Azure said.
"Got to know your team mates," Audie commented with a smile, "and coffee's a good place to start!"
A Joint Post By
Captain Edmund Merrick
Company Commanding Officer Officer, The Cure
USS Pioneer
Sergeant Azure Thompson;
Corpsman, Team 1, The Cure;
USS Pioneer;
Sergeant Audie Fitch
Corpsman Team 2, The Cure
USS Pioneer
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