Posted by Commander Amelia Manning (Executive Officer) in Thursday, 0600 - Holodeck 3: Rowing practice (tag Renveer)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Renveer (Counselor) in Thursday, 0600 - Holodeck 3: Rowing practice (tag Renveer)

Posted by Commander Amelia Manning (Executive Officer) in Thursday, 0600 - Holodeck 3: Rowing practice (tag Renveer)
Ever since she had left the Counselor’s office earlier that week, Amelia had been excited about introducing the newest member of the Dresden’s crew to her favorite sport. That was why she had been at the Holodeck’s doors thirty minutes later, making some last minute adjustments to her regular program.

Sporting a pair of black leggings, black flip flops, and a dark blue tank top with the words ‘Oxford University’ in white letters printed in the front, Amelia finished tweaking her own programming at 0550. Clearly she had gotten there too early. Laying against the bulkhead beside the doors, she took a small sip from the water bottle she had brought with her and waited.

Cmdr. Manning, XO

Renveer arrived almost exactly at 0600, which seemed to be cutting it a little close for someone accustomed to keeping appointments. As he rounded the bend in the corridor, Renveer quickly turned his head to the side and did his best to stifle a yawn before Amelia noticed him. He was dressed in a fitted purple t-shirt and standard black cloth workout shorts. A backpack sat on his shoulders over a thin grey sweatshirt. The counselor’s hair was a little less well-kept than it had been in his office, and his body language, likewise, was more casual.

“Good morning, Amelia,” Renveer said with a warm smile. “I watched a couple vids on rowing to get myself acquainted, but I didn’t think the, uh… typical spandex leotard men seem to wear would be very flattering on me. I hope it’s alright if I’m not perfectly aerodynamic.” He chuckled lightly to himself, which turned into another swallowed yawn.

(Lt. Comm. Renveer, Counselor)

Amelia’s face lit up in a smile when Renveer rounded the corner. “Good morning, Commander. I hope I didn’t rob you too much of your sleep.” She chuckled. “By the way, I don’t think I have ever asked… how to you prefer me to address you? I… I am not sure what Trill customs are… is Renveer okay? Mr. Renveer? Ren?” Manning smirked with the latter. It was clear that she was running and revving to go.

Renveer chuckled. “You’re free to call me whatever you like. Renveer is perfectly fine. I don’t think I’ve ever known someone who habitually called me ‘Ren’… but there’s a first time for everything, I suppose.” He smiled sheepishly, apparently not having a strong feeling about one moniker or another.

A hearty laugh escaped Amelia’s lips at the spandex remark. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t expect you to wear them. As you can see, I don’t wear them either. Aerodynamics won’t be a problem, trust me.” She smiled. “Now, first things first. Have you eaten? As a medical professional I would assume you are familiar with the damage that practicing any kind of sport without the right fuel can make. So, if you haven’t I would encourage you to replicate something small and energetic, like an energy bar.” Manning turned to the keypad next to the door and pressed a few buttons. “I am also hoping you didn’t have a full three course meal for breakfast, or you’ll be throwing up in the river in no time. I can tell you from personal experience that that’s not something you’ll want to go through.”

“I appreiciate the concern,” Renveer said with a grin, “but yes, I have. I think it was of a reasonable size, but then again I guess I haven’t ever eaten with the intention of rowing afterwards so this’ll be a trial run.” The counselor’s face drained a little bit at the mention of vomiting, hoping that he hadn’t gotten himself in over his head. He gulped subconsciously, thinking ‘I hope she knew I wasn’t joking when I said she should go easy on me’. Renveer was in shape, but his exercise was usually on the… less intense side.

With a final tap, the holodeck’s doors slid open, revealing a wide river surrounded by green grass and trees. It was a peaceful scene. The sun was rising in the east and the light was the gold shade of an early summer morning. The birds chirped happily and the flat waters moved lazily with the soft breeze. There was a wooden pontoon and in the distance an old stone bridge crossed the river.

Kicking herself mentally for forgetting her jacket in her quarters, Manning walked through the holodeck doors, gesturing for Renveer to follow her inside. As the doors closed behind them, they faded into another door, this time giving access to a concrete building.

“This is it!” Amelia said with a smile. “I thought about taking you to my old boathouse in Oxford, but I decided it was more appropriate to invite you into my own private rowing facilities.” She chuckled. “This is the simulation I use. I tweaked it this morning so that we could have a rowing tank inside the boathouse. I thought we could start there, as forcing you into the water unprepared is not something that should be done.”

“In case you’re curious though, this is my own upgraded version of the rowing facilities at Oxford University. For as many good times as I spent there, I wanted my own private river that reminded me enough of one of my favorite places, but was not exactly like it. I have actually been thinking of changing my program to randomly generate the river and landscape every time I use it, but that will be a side project for another time.”

Manning was quite a talkative person, and even more so when outside her working hours. It was clear she took great pride in her program and she was happy to finally be showing it to another member of the crew. It was also very clear that she was used to get up early in the morning. Not to mention, her enthusiasm caused her already thick British accent to become even more pronounced.

“I’m sorry…” It finally dawned on Amelia that her constant blabbering might be seen as rude. “… I can go on about it for hours.” She gave the Counselor an apologetic smile. “Have you ever rowed at all? Even if in those little wooden boats that you can find in certain lakes?”

Cmdr. Manning, XO

Renveer stood with his hands on his hips, looking around and taking in the scenery. He nodded along as she talked, enjoying the chipper attitude. Amelia’s enthusiasm was waking him up and getting him ready to dive in. “I’ve never been to Oxford, so this might not mean much, but I like what you’ve done with the place! And no need to apologize.” He shrugged his backpack off his shoulders and pulled out his water bottle, taking a swig.

“Well…” he said with a nervous laugh, “I mean I’ve used the rowing machines in the gym every once in a while, if that counts. But other than that, no…” Renveer stretched his arms casually as he considered. “I appreciate that you’re giving me the full training experience, but I wouldn’t want to take up your time using a rowing tank if that means you wouldn’t be able to get your workout in. I’m sure I’ll be fine out in the river.” Renveer wasn’t completely sure that he believed that, but he was also maybe a little too excited to do the ‘real’ thing.

(Lt. Comm. Renveer, Counselor)