Rain Check

Posted on Sun Jun 21st, 2020 @ 3:33am by Lieutenant Kalin Brennan-Griffin PhD & Cailus Griffin
Edited on on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 6:42am

Mission: New Moon Rising
Location: Holodeck 1
Timeline: Before "Sail Away"

If there was any one mantra to life as a Security officer, it was three words: practice, practice, practice. It didn't matter what time of the day it was, or if the officer in question had just worked a hard double shift; when a drill was scheduled, that officer was required to perform at their utmost regardless of the circumstances.

Including, Cailus thought to himself ruefully, the man organising those drills. It was a simple computation of the least optimal time and day that the department operated. Unfortunately, it also clashed with prior plans. Those plans had Cailus with resignation towards one of the ship's holodecks in the early evening. He paused outside the door, momentarily considering holodeck etiquette (if it even existed), before shaking off the question. Shae wouldn't mind.

The large doors opened to reveal what looked like an Earth forest, with wildlife chirping away merrily around them. The fresh, overpowering scent was almost perfectly faithful to reality. Cailus couldn't help but be distracted as he stepped into the holodeck, not seeing Shae anywhere...until an arrow missed his nose by mere millimetres, impacting a tree behind him with a satisfying thunk.

Staying very still, Cailus slowly raised his eyebrows. "Shae?" he asked loudly, somewhat unnerved by the near miss.

"Shite!" he heard Shae's voice call out, then she was running towards him, bow in hand and a quiver full of arrows at her hip. "Stars above, you came out of nowhere! I didn't clip you, did I?" Shae asked as she came running up to Cailus. As soon as she came near him, she knew she had missed him for she didn't smell any blood.

Tapping his nose gingerly with his left hand, Cailus regarded her with a dry look. "I think we can call that a near miss," he said, his voice utterly deadpan. "Whatever I did to upset you, you have my most sincere apology," Cailus added in a theatrically ironic tone.

"I swear, you didn't do anything, except maybe walk into my archery lane after I let go of the arrow," Shae said sheepishly, only realizing afterwards that he was messing with her. But then she grew serious. "I'm sorry I almost hit you, but you need to be careful in the holodeck. There are safeties in here to protect unsuspecting bystanders, but some people turn the safeties off; like this program, it's designed to mimic arrow flight trajectories as realistically as possible and something about that programming demands that the safeties be turned off. If that arrow had hit you, it could have been fatal!" she explained as calmly as she could knowing he didn't have as good an understanding about holotechnology as someone born in this era, but this really had frightened her and she looked scared at the prospect of losing him.

"Yes ma'am," Cailus acknowledged with a wince. "If anyone should know about safety, it's the Chief of Security. Warning noted for the future." Glancing at her bow, he asked "Did you bring that from home?"

Shae held up the bow, a hand carved takedown bow made of a single piece of osage orange. "Oh, yes," she replied, handing the bow to him, her hand trembling slightly, indicating just how frightening this close call had been for her. "My grandfather made it for me. I brought my laminated recurve as well, but this one is my favorite. You can give it a try if you wish, but my bows have a very heavy draw weight, you may not be able to pull back the bowstring," she cautioned him in a subdued tone.

"That sounds like a challenge," Cailus said with a teasing look in his eye. As he took the bow, however, he noticed her trembling. "Shae," he said softly, taking her hand in his own, "I'm perfectly fine. I've survived much worse than stray arrows. Now, shall we try this? Safely, of course."

"I know, I know," Shae replied with a nod, then began walking down the lane of trees to collect her arrows from a target set up at the end. "Have you ever tried archery before?" she asked as they began the walk back up to where she had been shooting from. Nearby on the grass was a colorful blanket upon which Aoife sat with a few toys strewn about. She was chewing on one of her toys and her eyes lit up when she saw Cailus. She still wasn't smiling too much since the day at the beach, but it was clear that she was excited to see Cailus.

"I've never tried it," Cailus replied as they walked. He waved cheerily at Aoife, smiling at the girl in greeting. "They did offer archery at the Academy, but I opted for swords and staffs instead." Balancing the weight of the bow on his left hand, he made a low sound of surprise. "Heavier than I expected."

"I told you it was!" Shae said with a laugh. "I've never measured the draw strength of this bow, but the tension on it is easily upwards of 175 pounds. My other bow is 150 pounds. Maybe we should start you with something lighter, about 25 pounds? In terms of strength, you could probably handle more, but if you want to learn, it's important to get the form right and that's easier to learn when you aren't fighting the strength of a bow. That is if you have the time? By the way, what brings you here tonight?"

Handing back the bow, Cailus sighed inaudibly. "I came by to tell you that I can't make dinner later on. I can only do a certain drill at the time of least shipboard preparedness, which naturally happens to be at 2004 tonight. That said...I'm all yours until 1930." Considering the bow in Shae's hands he raised an amused eyebrow, his habitual half smile forming. "Given that this is effectively additional combat training, I'm still on duty. Consider me your eager and willing pupil, lieutenant."

"Well, duty calls, I guess; you do what you have to do, no getting out of it," Shae offered with a downtrodden sigh. Well, at least she had him now for a little while. "Computer, I need another bow, a recurve, 25 pounds, and arrows, all sized to match Ensign Griffin's arm length," she said as she took back the bow. The computer gave an affirmative chirp, and a new bow and quiver materialized on the grass. "It's not like firing a phaser, as easy as a press of a button; archery requires focus and discipline," she said as she picked up the quiver from the ground and showed him how to wear it on his hip. Then, once he had retrieved the new bow, she showed him how to set an arrow on the bowstring and drew back with her own bow to show him how, then relaxed her bow so she could watch him do give it a try.

Pulling the arrow back on the string repeatedly and drawing it back, Cailus frowned as he raised the arrow to eye level. "You make it look natural," he grumbled. The arrowhead slipped off the bow and he brought it back. "And you just...release the tension? Or do you make a motion...?"

"Well of course it's easy for me, I've been doing this since I was a wee little thing," Shae said, laughing softly. "Use your thumb to hold the arrowhead end against the riser. Only target archers sight down the arrow, which makes it useless in practical archery so don't do it. Instead, keep your eyes on the target and aim with your body. Then when you're ready, just let it go, no silly motions, just let it go."

"Hmph. Okay." Cailus glanced around self-consciously, clearing the angle of fire and making certain that Aoife and Shae were quite safe. Drawing the arrow, he followed Shae's advice, noting just how much exertion it was taking to pull it the string back to its maximum extent. He had always known Shae was very strong from...other...activities, but he couldn't fathom how even she could manage a weight six times the one he was hefting. Remembering a tidbit from a century-old marksmanship lesson and Shae's seconds-old tip, he pointed his body at the nearest target, breathed in, breathed out...and fired.

It all felt very fine and excellent for a grand total of two seconds. The arrow, far from striking the target dead-center as he'd visualised, instead took a detour two meters to the left, hitting another tree entirely. Far from the satisfying thunk that Shae's arrow had made, his arrow barely penetrated before flopping pathetically to the ground.

Shae giggled at the disappointed look on his face as the arrow sailed unspectacularly through the air and failed to stick into the tree he hadn't even been aiming for. "Well, that was something..." she said with a grin. "Don't worry so much about hitting the target. At this point, it's all about learning good form and building muscle memory. As you get better, you'll learn to get a feel for where the arrow will go and will know how to aim from there," she assured him.

"I'd certainly hope so," Cailus said with a frown. He gave the bow a somewhat skeptical look, considering for a moment before switching hands. Glancing at Shae, he quirked his head slightly. "Out of curiosity: what are your limits with that bow? You must get plenty of range out of it."

"Oh, 250 yards, easily," Shae replied. "Under the right conditions, going just for distance I've been able to approach 400 yards, but at that range accuracy isn't realistically a viable concept, not to mention it's been a while since I've done any shooting so I'm a little out of shape, so maybe my range isn't that good anymore."

"250 yards," Cailus repeated, plainly impressed. He nocked another arrow, this time with his left hand holding the bowstring. He raised it once more to eye level, pointed at the nearest target and held it there, simply focusing on the sensation of keeping the arrow ready. "How do I look?"

"Constipated," Shae said with a giggle. "You're trying too hard. As adults, we approach new tasks with a sense that we should be able to pick things up quickly because we already have so much experience, and if we don't then we're somehow failures. But failures and mistakes are all part of the learning process. Ask me again once you've shot that bow a hundred times." As he finally let go of the arrow and let it fly, faster than he could see Shae drew her own arrow and fired, knocking his arrow out of the air and shattering it before it could reach its destination, just to show him how good she was.

Turning to give Shae a sardonic look, Cailus drew another arrow from the quiver. "Point taken. Although the showing off is a bit unnecessary." He turned back to the targets before pausing and glancing back over his shoulder, his brow furrowed in thought. "You competed in tournaments, right?"

"All through school and the Academy and University," Shae confirmed with a nod. "And that trick is one of the hardest skills to master in archery, if that helps to give you any context for my skill level," she added as she watched him fire another arrow, enjoying the breeze the whistled through the trees. If Cailus was observant enough, he would notice the field nearby was the same field they had played rugby in with her brothers, meaning this location was a recreation of her Wicklow home. She placed an arrow on her bow and began to shoot down the lanes at her own target, enjoying the feel of the tension in the bow and her body just before releasing; for Shae, archery was therapeutic, almost meditative in the level of focus she attained while shooting.

Shot by shot, arrow by arrow, Cailus began to match her motion, his rate of fire increasing along with his confidence. One arrow skimmed the target tree, while another struck the target neatly but bounced off as it failed to penetrate. "There are a few archers in my department," Cailus said conversationally as he nocked another arrow. "One of them is even an interstellar tournament winner, which is pretty impressive given that he has tentacles instead of limbs. Ever considered a Pandora archery club? Or starting a shipboard tournament?"

"Honestly, not really," Shae replied as she continued to shoot, keeping an eye on his form in between shots. "I never really cared for the competition, never really cared about winning; don't get me wrong, I won a lot, but for me the tournaments were about meeting other archers and being social with people with shared interests. And I know I should be more social now that I am free to make new friends, but I'm not sure I'm ready for something like that, not yet..."

Poised to take another shot, Cailus stopped again, considering Shae out of the corner of his eye. "Shae, it's ultimately up to you. From where I stand, however, you're absolutely ready whenever you decide to try." With that he released the string. The arrow, as if sensing the need to make a point, struck the intended target perfectly, penetrating just next to the bullseye. Cailus made a low sound of approval as he lowered the bow, scratching his beard idly. "You just have to make the shot."

Lucky newbie shot... "I'm still new to running a department, and with Aoife taking up so much of what little free time I have, I'm just not ready to organize something like this. Maybe once we settle in and get underway; really, I kind of feel like I haven't found my feet, I have no idea what I'm doing half the time," Shae admitted, lowering her bow to look at him, then motioned for him to join her as she walked back down the lane to collect their arrows.

"Fair enough," Cailus admitted as he picked up one of the ground. The contrast between his and Shae's arrows was obvious; it took a good yank to pull Shae's shots out of the trees. "This is a pretty hectic time for all of us, I think, settling into a new ship."

"Well, even more than that, I haven't been a department head for that long. I was promoted not long before we left Tornado," Shae reminded him. She was used to pulling her arrows and worked them free of their targets with little effort.

Putting the last arrow back in the quiver, Cailus gave her a sideways glance. "How is that going, by the way? Being CSO and in charge of so many people?"

"Back on the Tornado it was tough," Shae admitted with a sigh, then started walking back up to the firing line with Cailus. "No one trusted me, very few were even willing to work directly with me, it was impossible to get comfortable in my position there. It's tough here too, but only because I never realized how much work goes into getting a refit! But I'm getting to know my staff as they board and so far it's not so bad. I guess the real test for me will be when we leave spacedock."

As they reached the firing line, Cailus turned back to the targets and nocked another arrow. "You know, that's a first for me. I've never been on a ship launching like this, with a major rebuild and a new crew. It's a lot more work than a usual launch." Firing, Cailus frowned as his first arrow struck a good meter below the target. "It's...different, though. Reminds me of when I graduated from the Academy, that same kind of rush. Know what I mean?"

"My Cadet cruise was on a newly refit ship, but its crew was was still fairly well established long term crew, so I guess this is new for me as well," Shae replied, taking a moment to simply watch him shoot. In between one arrow and the next, she shouldered her bow so she could put a hand on his back and one on his shoulder to correct his posture ever so slightly, then raised the elbow of his draw arm. He was really picking this up quite quickly and she was surprised, but then again maybe she shouldn't be for she knew he had a sharp mind and a keen eye. "It does feel like being back at the Academy; it's a bit like cramming for finals..."

With Shae guiding him, Cailus' next arrow struck the outer ring of the target with a heartening thrum. He turned around to thank her, smiling faintly...until his comnbadge beeped. =/\=Ensign Sloor to Ensign Griffin. The aft torpedo bay crew are reporting ready, sir.=/\=

Giving Shae a wry look, Cailus tapped his comnbadge. "Acknowledged, I'll be there in a few minutes. Griffin out." Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he sighed. "Sorry, Shae, that should've taken them at least another forty minutes. Someone on that team is bucking for a promotion."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Shae reminded him with her warm smile. "We could easily retire and live in comfort, but we chose this life, and this life has the occasional interruptions. Will I see you after drills or will it be a late night?" she asked in return.

"Very late," Cailus confirmed grimly. "The last time I did this drill on the Churchill, we were at it for three hours straight. That was with people I actually knew. I'd be surprised if we're done before 0100."

With that, he squeezed Shae's shoulder lightly and walked over to Aoife, crouching down in front of the child. "Take care of mommy, Aoife. I'll see you both tomorrow, okay?"

Shae simply nodded in replay, watching with a smile as Cailus crouched down to offer a few words to Aoife. Aoife was still having trouble understanding the words the adults were using, but she liked Cailus' voice and liked that he was talking directly to her, so she smiled as well, causing Shae's heart to melt into a rapid flutter of beats. He really had a way of getting her out of her shell...

"We'll see you tomorrow," Shae echoed and took his bow so he could leave. "Don't work too hard!"

"Yes ma'am," Cailus replied with faux seriousness, kissing her lightly on the forehead before striding out of the holodeck. As he left them, it took a good minute or so to shake off the irritation of leaving Shae and Aoife early; the two girls were rapidly making inroads where Cailus had thought nobody would enter again. The torpedo specialists didn't deserve his wrath, especially for apparently working so hard.