Quiver

Posted on Mon Aug 9th, 2021 @ 10:18am by Commander Christopher Mitchell & Commander Alexis Agrax (*)

Mission: Cosmos
Location: Cosmos Holodeck
Timeline: Day before arrival at starbase
2248 words - 4.5 OF Standard Post Measure

It had been a strange few days of organising shore leave, meeting various counsellors, and of course, the mystery project the Commodore had snuck him. Christopher was feeling ready for the leave himself, despite not being totally sure what he was going to do once they docked at the starbase. Maybe find a quiet spot to let it all settle down.

In the meantime, he had been long overdue for some holodeck time. A number of ideas had run through his mind, including icesurfing on Andor, any number of historical events he might enjoy. He'd settled on a round of golf, something to stimulate his brain while taking his mind off the data - or lack thereof - covering a certain Commander Agrax.

Arriving at the entrance, he realised that he was probably a few minutes ahead of schedule, and the holodeck was already in use by someone else. He was about to leave when he noticed the name on the program owner. Agrax, A. Maybe this was some sort of providence; an opportunity to discuss the questions he had. Perhaps she would feel as though he was prying where he shouldn't, but he was under orders from Ledeya and he knew that he needed to follow-through with that.

He was about to turn away when the door opened and there she stood.

Alexis stopped dead as she was faced with the executive officer. They had not really talked much over the last couple of days since their adventure so she was surprised to see him stood there. She was stood there in black leggings and a vest top carrying a bow in her hands and a quiver of arrows was slung over her shoulder.

The ornate longbow has been appropriately constructed of amazingly strong maple. It had been decorated with flower petals and end in rounded curves ornamented with crafted wings and looked completely out of place. The quiver is made from a thick material with the outside had been decorated with seemingly growing vines, which at least make it look more special than normal quivers. “Um… Hi? Sir?” She greeted.

"Commander Agrax..." he mumbled back. It was strange; normally they had a very friendly disposition towards one another, and the back-and-forth was natural. He scrambled quickly for a way out. "Nice bow. I didn't know you were interested in archery."

The woman looked at him dumbstruck for a moment before looking down at the weapon. In the hands of an expert archer, the bow was capable of firing arrows up to 240 meters while still retaining lethal power but in her hands, she was hitting 100 meters which suited her. "Yeah. It is a hobby of mine." She admitted blushing a little. "No matter the species we all share something similar in a bow and arrow."

"Funny how so many races can develop separately, yet the basic tools are still the same," he agreed. He fell awkwardly silent for a second, then motioned past her. "I was coming to use the holodeck to unwind. Perhaps you'd like to continue your session a little longer? I'm probably a long way behind you when it comes to the archery. Show me a thing or two?"

Alexis looked up at him and then back to the blank holodeck and where she had come from. She was there to rebuild her life and she had been doing so well until the empathic virus to put Liam, what she had learned about the shatter verse and every wrong mistake she had taken on Cassiopea behind her. "Um... Sure Sir." She said spinning on her heels to head back inside. She put the quiver down and tugged her top back down in a nervous gesture. "What setting would you like?" She wondered.

"Whatever level you'd give to a novice," he replied with a sheepish grin. "And stop calling me 'sir' for a while. We're not really on duty right now and we know each other well enough." He followed her into the holodeck, which shifted into a vaguely wooded area. A basic set of bow and arrows appeared on the ground by his feet, which he picked up and tested a little.

Alexis nodded. “Sure Christopher.” She said softly for a moment the shield around her breaking before she nodded firmly and led him back inside pulling up a training program, She looked down at the bow that the computer had generate and tutted. “You need something bigger. It is set for me. Sorry. Computer increase requested bow by 10%.” She asked and the arrow changed shape and became a lot more specific for the man who towered over her.

He thanked her quickly and got to grips with the refined version the computer had given him. Although unfamiliar with the exact technique and specifications he knew that it was a recurve variant and that it would probably need a good amount of upper body strength to work effectively.

Alexis spent a few moments explaining how to properly handle the bow and the safest method for arrow retrieval. It was like a security briefing in her head or a training exercise, the only difference was the executive officer was a lot easier on the eyes and actually listened to her unlike the last group of cadets she had. They had not listened until she had beaten them all sparring and shown them all up. She hated having to do it to cadets but they all came thinking they were the best of the best and needed a hard knock into real life. “So, nock the arrow until you hear the ‘click’” She finally said holding up her bow and arrow to show him.

He tried to match her motion, half an eye on her, the other on the distant target. As expected, it was a strain on his core muscles that he wasn't used to. He managed to hold it there for a few seconds, feeling the click she was referring to. He took a slow intake of breath, then exhaled as he released the arrow. It shot off from the bow in the rough direction he was aiming, though fell short of the target by several feet.

"Huh. Harder than it looks..." he muttered.

"It is but it is Betazoid thing to do this or at least my mother believed so. The human legends of Amazon's and Valkyries are very similar to some that we have in Betazoid Mythology." She smiled up at him before shaking her head. "Relax it is just me. You do not need to be perfect."

After a moment he relaxed and loosened up his posture. "Can I ask you something? You don't have to answer, but...I think I would prefer it if you did." He leaned on the bow, face a little pensive. "I heard that there was some sort of grievance filed. About your recent performance. Thing is...I don't know where it came from."

Alexis frowned thinking to herself whatever she had thought he was going to say that had not been it and it made her look away and move slowly to retrieve the arrow. Holding it out to him she shrugged. "Neither do I. I thought... I had hoped I was moving past my past and..." She shrugged again it was dismissive body language but it was easy to see the personal weight it was having on her. "My past is very full of mistakes that I have made whilst drunk, or angry or just bitter at the world or in some cases all three but Ehestri gave me a chance to make up for it and it seems that my atonement is not enough." She looked and sounded vulnerable for a moment before she turned so she did not have to see the pity or questions on the man's face.

"You're a Starfleet Officer. You deserve better than to be held accountable for a past that is long behind you," he replied, his frown deepening as she spoke. "Is it really that bad?"

Alexis shrugged. "I do not know you tell me. I had a glittering career as a Starbase Security Officer, husband, pregnancy and then boom husband missing in action, not pregnant. I started drinking too much and sleeping with whoever I could for just a fleeting moment of whatever I was finding with them." She sighed just a little as she thought about before she had ended up at the Starbase but there was no way that could be involved in whoever was trying to take her down that path of self-hate. "I was offered an Executive Officer position from someone who knew I could be more than what I was being. I thrived and then I found Liam again and he was a pirate and he tried to kill me, so I tried to stop him and things just went wrong in this void, me and the commanding officer both got in trouble for it despite the crew arguing but examples need to be made. Once he became Liam again, we just could not make it work and I was given a chance by Ehestri to come here and start over." She looked at the arrow in her hand not looking at the man. She had left out a few bits but it was bad enough all ready for her to admit what she had.

It was a lot of information for him to absorb. He took a minute of silence to ponder it. There was plenty of reason why someone might find her past unusual and maybe want her kept a little off-the-radar, but what the Commodore had shared with him felt like it ran deeper; beyond simply pushing her out of the way. There was an active movement to suppress and detriment her career, which went against everything he stood for.

"Sounds like someone doesn't even want you to 'start over'," he responded finally. If they were so willing to deliberately slow down her chances of progression or promotion, would they go even further? Would her life be at risk? He couldn't imagine anyone at Headquarters would knowingly agree to that. "Thank you for being honest. I don't imagine it's been an easy ride for you all this time. For what it's worth I think you're an excellent officer with a lot of experience and talent. Their loss is our gain."

"It has not been an easy ride but I am trying to... heal." She hated that term as when someones emotional pain healed, they were meant to feel normal and happy again - Alexis was sure that she would never feel like that again. "I hate that term as I do not think anyone can ever truly heal but I want a second chance. This ship has given me a want to second chance. I know I am not everyone's ideal, I have a blatant lack of respect for some people but I would risk everything for everyone on the ship in an instant even whoever it is that in the spy." She sighed softly and pulled the arrow back in the bow shooting it off into the distance.

He watched the arrow arc away, comfortably hitting the target.

"I'm trying to remember what it was you said when we were in that cave on New Rixx. 'Someone who had to prove themselves even if she was as good as everyone else'?" He smiled slightly. "Seems like you've been trying really hard at that, for a very long time. The Commodore and I trust you. So far as I understand it, most of the senior staff would say so too. What I'm trying to say is...we've got your back."

"I am tired." She admitted softly glancing back to look at him as he watched the arrow. She was tired of fighting, tired of struggling to dam the wildness inside of her, tired of feeling guilty and worst of all tired of wanting to prove everyone wrong when someone out there did not care but did not have the guts to confront her.

"Yeah. Shore leave coming up, though. Time for a break, right?" he tried to be as encouraging as possible. "What are your plans?"

Alexis closed her eyes for a moment feeling the weight of her world on her before she shook her head. "I have not put much thought into it. Cannot say I have planned shore leaves in a while. Yourself?" She wondered thinking about her usual plan - find a man or woman, get drunk, sleep with them, repeat the cycle.

"A good book and a view is all I usually need," he smiled. "I hear the starbase has a good aquatics and cetacean ops setup. If swimming with alien sea creatures strikes your fancy?"

"Is that you asking me for a swim or suggesting it?" Alexis wondered quietly as she picked up the bow and arrow again and lined up a shot before changing her mind. The secret was to know when to stop, as archery should be something you enjoy doing and her mind just was not with it there and then.

"Oh, not me. I've never been much of a swimmer. Just doing my job as First Officer and making sure you take the requisite amount of leave," he replied, maintaining his smile. "Swim. Rest. Whatever it is you need - that's an order."

Alexis just nodded. She just needed to figure out what she needed first.