Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Aaron Calder (Security Officer) in Gym- Night Time Movement

Posted by Lieutenant Corinne Dalton (Scientist) in Gym- Night Time Movement

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Aaron Calder (Security Officer) in Gym- Night Time Movement
Posted by… suppressed (5) by the Post Ghost! 👻
She had waited till the other person had left before she took out her earbuds and set them aside. Cori put on a piece of instrumental music with piano and violin and stepped into the middle of the open floor area. It was matted, but not heavily. Enough for protection, but not thick enough that it would hinder her movement.

Talking about dance again recently had struck something deep within her. All this talk about what new things she could do was important, but dance was something that she felt desperate to claim back, if only to find out if and how it could be a part of her life again. The reality was that dance carried baggage for her as much as some of the other major events in her life. It was important to test out more than just some simple barre work for conditioning. It was time to see if she could once again fly.

She straightened the mesh skirt that fell mid-shin and made sure the straps of her low-backed leotard were flat against her skin. Pushing her right toes out and sweeping them to the side, pulled her foot back in so her feet were in third position. Holding her arms out to the sides, she waited till the music hit a note that felt right. Then Cori moved.

What her body felt compelled to do was half ballet, half contemporary. She was physically so much stronger than when she had come to the gym that first time to do barre work. Now she was back to full duty and feeling as good as she ever had, if not better! Her turnout might not be ideal, but she didn’t care. She was dancing for her, letting grace flow through her, but also emotion. There was energy to her movements, intention. She punctuated staccato beats with force.

Little by little, Cori allowed herself to become lost in the music, in the movement. It felt wonderful.

~Corinne Dalton

Calder steped quietly into the gym, he found space off the mat and along the wall. Calder was in a tank to and shorts that hugged his legs. His muscles were not large but his strength was clear if not deceptive. His brown blond hair was high and tight with a little wave. He smiled at the woman on the floor as he sat and streched out his muscles. Today was a core day, so he would be using is own weight today. He did not speak, her movement was almost hypnotic..

For his first exercise he placed his palms on the ground, slowly lifting his legs open and into a hand stand, each cord in the muscles in his arms rippled at the new tension, cords appearing throughout his exposed skin. His back arched a little as he dipped into his palms pushing his weight from floor to extended. His leges soon flattened out behind him as he held a suspended plank for thirty seconds then rotated into the splits setting him self on the floor.

Aaron Calder
USS Ogawa Security

She was aware of the new entrant, but it was like her mind had decided to not worry about it. Strange. Was this Cori feeling more at ease, about existing, about being seen? Perhaps. It was something for her to ponder later.

His precise motions caught her eye as she came out of spin. Breathing hard, Cori watched him for a moment and then her pale cheeks flushed. “I’m sorry. I can turn the overhead music off and just listen to it myself. I don’t want to disturb your workout.”

~Corinne Dalton

He smiled warmly at her, “No, no need, I like it, and it helps my timing” he said, looking up at her from the floor. “Besides you are a great dancer, ” he noted, “Aaron” he said his name . “And?” he asked.

Aaron Calder
USS Ogawa Security

She smiled, even as her stomach twisted with the compliment. “I’m Cori. Thank you for the compliment, though I’m having a hard time not hearing my old instructor critiquing everything I’m doing,” she said with a laugh. She was all too aware of how unpracticed and sloppy some of moves had been.

“What about you? That looked like gymnastics floor work.” Her dance journey had been varied and included lots of side venturing, even if she had been set on ballet most of her adolescence.

~Corinne Dalton

“Oh well I know those voices, our mentors and teachers often guide us long after we arn’t with them anymore” he said rolling his back. “It, is indeed” he sat up still in the splits. “I have never been able to shake it, and it’s great for actual strength not just big muscles. ” he noted. “My line of work I need all I can get” he said with a grin. He did not want to be rude, so he paused his work out and just sat there talking.

Aaron Calder
USS Ogawa Security

Cori eyed him for a moment, chewing on her lower lip. “Line of work around here could be a lot of things that need strength, but I’d guess Security?”

She took up a spot on the floor again and let the music play. When she was ready, she balanced on one leg and carefully kicked her leg out behind her. “I did acro dance at one point in my training. The dance school thought it was important for us to have a breadth of experience.”

Reaching down with one arm, her body shifted so that rather than being horizontal, she was now balancing on leg vertically with her head pointing to the floor. It lasted a solid couple of seconds before the tension in her leg made her have to reach out and throw herself into a gentle roll so she didn’t just fall over unceremoniously. She sat there and chuckled. “I’m in the Science Department,” she said, casting the comment back at him over her shoulder.

~Corinne Dalton

He watched her a moment as she danced and layed his palms flat between his legs and pushed up, his legs still in the splits. “Lot a core work” he noted in while she was in the pose. “I’m security” he said holding his pose, “But I’m also a field trama surgeon, I was stationed with the 511 fleet angels, 7th MEU” he said rotating his legs forward and then slowly back and back up into a hand stand. “SAR requires a load of core strength, especially combat medivac,” he noted. “What drew you to Science?”

Aaron Calder
USS Ogawa Security

That was a very good question, and one that had a much different answer now than it had when she had been a teenager plotting her future. “Ahh, so you are the ones that often bring the Ogawa new patients. Cool. Well, not for them of course.” The ship responded to disasters and a lot of different scenarios where a flying hospital had value, but it was pretty common for them to be sent crew that needed more care than their ship could provide and would not make it back to Earth.

“Science… hmm, well, when I was younger I would have told you that I hav always had an analytical mind and growing up on a farm on a colony meant that I was predisposed to science every day. It felt natural. But now that I am older and can think about those years with a different sort of clarity, I think I’d say that science feels orderly even when you are looking at the unknown, the seemingly impossible. There’s a sense of comfort in the process, even if sometimes the execution is unpredictable and bizarre.”

Sitting on the floor, Cori took a moment to stretch her legs.

~Corinne Dalton