Exercise your demons

Posted on Friday February 8th, 2019 @ 22:55 hours by Colt McCormick & Ares Onasis & Mayterial Droz
Edited on on Wednesday February 20th, 2019 @ 12:24 hours

Mission: Pixie Dust
Location: Cargo Bay 23, Deck 7, S.S. Fawkes
Timeline: MD01 - 1930 hours
2292 words - 4.6 OF Standard Post Measure

The slight turbulence they had already encountered was tossing some of the smaller stores they had around. She knew that some of the crew had created a small gym with weights and a couple of fitness machines in an unused corner of Cargo Bay 23 and she thought it would be a good idea to get rid of some pent up energy and make sure everything was still in place. The doors parted and she could immediately hear that someone was already inside, probably working off some steam themselves.

Ares let out a heavy breath with each bench press. She had hit a new high of 200 pounds thanks to the multiple unwelcomed trips down memory lane. The woman couldn’t get his blue eyes and curled up lips out of her head. Him looking at her, his eyes sparkling and his mouth laughing as they sit next to each other at the counter of her parents’ restaurant in Mykonos… Or was she imagining Adam on the barstool? Colt was Adam reincarnated - at this point her mind couldn’t tell the difference. Everything that had been buried deep inside her gut was coming up her throat like sour bile. The only thing that seemed to help push it all out was hitting the weights. She gave one last slow push, feeling the air seeping out of her mouth, as she finished her last rep and racked the bar with a loud clank. Her thoughts continued to drift off as she stared at the ceiling for a brief moment before hearing the door open and taking a look at a familiar face. “Oh, hi, Captain,” Ares stated blandly as she wiped off her forehead with the back of her hand.

The moment Mayterial walked into the room she was hit with some unrestrained emotions. It was normal that when people did physical exercise some emotions came leaking out but this was one step beyond. Something really triggered Ares, and in combination with the bench presses, she was really not keeping that in. A feeling of sadness came over May. "Evening. How are you doing miss Onasis?"

Ares sat up, sitting on the edge of the bench and placing her hands on her thighs as she steadied her breath. She looked up at May and gave her a slightly sarcastic smirk. It was ironic for a Betazoid to be asking that question. “Are you the type of Betazoid who accepts, ‘I’m fine’ as an answer? Though I’m quite curious: how far into people’s thoughts can you get? Like, word for word, or just the emotions someone is feeling?”

This was the second time Ares had commented on her Betazoid heritage, Mayterial strongly considered picking up a new set of coloured contacts from the replicator unit next time she passed by it, she felt it helped her keep an advantage with strangers. "It really depends on how well people shield their thoughts and emotions from me. If allowed access I could read your every thought. Anything beyond surface thoughts and emotions requires touch though, for me. I'm not a strong telepath by any measure." She got on the cross-trainer and started up her programme, which was aimed at interval cardio training. "I talked to M'erah earlier today. What happened in the mess hall?"

Letting out a deep sigh, Ares looked down to the floor beneath her. She could feel her heartbeat pounding against her chest as she fought the internal battle of telling the truth and just running away from it all. Her life’s mission for the past year had been to escape from her pain and it had been thrown right back in her face. She realized at that moment that she just couldn’t afford, both literally and figuratively, to keep running. After a long and tense silence, she finally moved her large brown eyes back up to May. “Had a visit from a couple of ghosts, Droz.”

Mayterial stopped the exercise and stepped away from the machine in the direction of Ares. She didn't know much but she knew people and she realised that what Ares had just told her was a terribly difficult thing for her to share, "We all have a lot of ghosts in our past. Which one visited you?"

At this point Ares was almost embarrassed to be feeling like this, and being so obvious in front of total strangers. She had to give Mayterial just enough to satisfy her curiosity without being pushed over the edge of a total emotional breakdown. She placed her left hand in her pocket to keep the ring from out of view. "Just someone who's a spitting image of someone I lost a while back. He's one of the passengers you just picked up. Met him in the Mess Hall, which is quite similar to a place back home in Greece. The double whammy probably piqued M'erah's interest."

"There's no shame in being rattled," Mayterial felt some of the surface feelings flow from Ares, she made an effort not to focus on the emotions coming from the Quartermaster. She reached out and squeezed her shoulder to try and give her a bit of reassurance, "If you ever feel like you need to face your ghosts, don't hesitate. I have some skill in ghost busting." She made her way back to the machine. She didn't want to press the matter, even though it was obvious that Ares was holding back a lot. She wasn't going to get anywhere to press the matter of the ring on her hand she had tried to hide but had only drawn attention to.

Ares looked up at Mayterial and, with her lips curled up in a smirk, nodded her head. She had never really had friends even growing up. This was the first time since the loss of Adam that someone had extended out a helping hand. "This one is quite a doozy, Droz." She meant that both literally and figuratively. Part of what had been causing her torment was the fact that since Colt was practically Adam's twin he was incredibly charming and very very good looking. Ares was still quite young though she had matured rather quickly during her short life, she couldn't help but feel that initial attraction, that thunderbolt she had felt when she first saw Adam five years before. Those feelings couldn't be real... could they? Or were they leftover feelings from Adam?

Mayterial started her exercise up again, "I live for doozies." She didn't quite recognise the expression but from the context she could gather that it was going to be more difficult than she was used to. "I have a great many clichés at the ready for you, when you're ready. And if those don't help I'm sure we can coax the replicator into making a pint of ice cream for us."

Raising her eyebrows in slight surprise at the suggestion, Ares couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the suggestion. "Droz, I'm not a pint-of-ice-cream kind of woman. Whiskey and rifles. And so are you." She stood up from the bench and looked around the room. Though I appreciate the sentiment. I'll just avoid him for the next two months, or however long he'll be traveling with us for..." Her voice trailed off as Colt stared at her from the open door.

So much for that idea.

Colt, seeing the same reaction from Ares as that morning, couldn't help but feel incredibly awkward at the tension that had suddenly thickened in the room. On a normal basis the man simply ignored and moved on from seemingly bad encounters with women, but there was just that certain something from Ares that he wanted, and needed, to figure out. He had caught the last bit of their conversation and gave Ares a slightly tilted smirk. "I'm sorry," he put his hands up slightly in defense, his smooth and gentle Scottish accent only made the man even more appealing. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything..."

Ares stood motionless, unable to form words to react to what Colt was even saying. It was like she was stepping back through time where she and Adam found their secretive moments together away from prying eyes. The good time...

A wave of emotions washed over May, apparently, Ares was too overwhelmed by them to properly shield them off. She looked up at the man that just entered. "I'm sorry, there must be some misunderstanding, mister McCormick." She said recognising the man from the passenger manifest, "There's no passengers allowed without escort outside of the upper decks." She slowed the machine again, at this rate she wouldn't get a good exercise in, but there were more important things to worry about right now, "Allow me to escort you back to your quarters." She made a mental note to talk to the Master-at-Arms so that they could keep a closer eye on the passengers. She didn't really like roaming strangers on her ship.

Colt furrowed his eyebrows at Mayterial. “Ma’am, I’m sorry,” he gestured towards the hallway though he kept his eyes solely on the women, “I didn’t realize…” He then focused his efforts on Ares. “I just wanted to see you, Ares. I wanted to know if there was something that I did…”

Ares remained tight-lipped, feeling a very strong fight-or-flight response building inside of her. “I just met you,” was all she could muster quietly out of her dry mouth.

“Yeah and yet you act like you’ve…. seen a ghost or something.” He dropped his hand defeatedly and in slight frustration that for the first time in the 36 years of his life he wasn’t able to get a girl to talk to him.

A chill shook up her spine at his mention of the word ‘ghost’. But it also pushed her to try to understand the why of her whole situation. Colt had been brought to her for some reason and everything was just becoming too big of a coincidence for her to be able to handle. Or had she officially gone insane? After a moment of quick analysis, she turned to Mayterial. “I’ll walk him back, Droz,” she stated dryly.

May stepped towards Ares again, she pushed her thoughts towards the Quartermaster. She didn't like doing it but it was usefull in a bind and she didn't really want Colt to know what they were discussing, ~"Ares, this is May. Sorry to intrude your thoughts like this. Don't do anything you'll regret. There's a bottle of Saurian Brandy with our names on it in my quarters, whenever you feel like it."~ She then looked at Colt with a stern look, if she had to be the bad cop here she was more than happy to play it, "I would ask you to stay within the assigned areas, I cannot guarantee your safety if you stray from those areas without escort."

Ares looked over at Mayterial and locked eyes with her. ~”I’ll be fine, Droz. Save the bottle for later. I owe you an explanation.”~

“I promise,” Colt placed his hand over his heart and gave Mayterial a sweet smile. It was obvious he was laying it on thick but he wasn’t coming out here as a bad guy. He was actually putting himself out there for a woman he didn’t even know. “I won’t do it again.”

~"Yes, you do."~ Mayterial her stern look dissipated into a warm smile, "The ship can be a bit of a labyrinth for the uninitiated. Wouldn't want you to get lost. Losing passengers is bad for business. I'm sure you understand." She figured it would be a good idea to get someone to look into his background. The initial screenings for passengers were relatively mild, if there wasn't an open arrest warrant on them they'd be welcomed with open arms.

Colt let off an easy chuckle. “Very much so, ma’am. I appreciate you not detaining me or anything.” He looked at Ares with a look filled with both curiosity with just a hint of passion. He was definitely looking forward to getting to know Ares. A woman with eyes as dark as hers and an arm covered completely in a haunting tattoo had quite a story to tell.

Ares still kept herself closed off from the man and his prying eyes. “I’ll see you later, Droz,” she threw over her shoulder nonchalantly as she moved past Colt, getting so close to him that she felt the warmth and the slightly musky cologne beaming off of him. He was a ladies man, that’s for certain. She very well could be just an opportunity for him just as much as he was an opportunity for her. Her eyes locked onto his as she walked past him and into the hallway, “This way, Colt.”

Mayterial slowly made her way back to the exercise machine. This is definitely something she had to follow up on with Ares, all she could hope for is that she was making the right decision, that and making sure the brandy was ready if it came out to be the wrong decision in the end. It wasn't up to her to make those decisions for anyone in her crew anyway. The programme started back up and she started to move, the mechanical sounds of the machine drowning out the worries in her head. Those would be for other times. She remembered why she loved to exercise.

[OFF]

Mayterial Droz
Captain

&

Ares Onasis
Quartermaster

Also starring:
Colt McCormick (NPC)
Passenger
As written by Ares Onasis

S.S. Fawkes

"Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart."