A Little Exercise Can't Hurt

Posted on Wed Jun 24th, 2020 @ 3:23am by Lieutenant Alexandra Alves MD & Ensign Emmanuelle Larose
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:49pm

Mission: Death in Paradise
Location: Gym
Timeline: current

ON:

'One more... just one more...' Alexandra thought, as she stopped for a moment and cleaned the sweat off her face. She felt her lungs were falling out of her mouth, and her whole body, including her dark, ponytailed hair, and her tight fitness outfit, was swamped in sweat. A 'little' exercise, right? She took a deep breath, and then jumped on the stretching board, doing another round of body weight stretching. At least, she finally had time to do some exercising. After the affair with the Breen was over, the ship went back into a slow routine, allowing her to spend some more time on herself and Veronica. She was glad for it. So, the doctor jumped at the chance to hit the gym, and do some of her usual workout routines. However, she had a bad habit of overexercising herself, and she felt that was happening right now. 'Just one more round...'

Emmanuelle was eager to get back into her usual exercise routine. When the Breen guard and Lieutenant Vicuno had been killed, she had pulled double shifts with Lieutenant Griffin in security while still working with Lieutenant Sandoval to improve relations with the Irokari and get the orphaned station’s children home. During the battle, she was proud to be able to step up and man the tactical station, hopefully impressing Commander Nash and her two Lieutenant supervisors.

But all of this had interfered greatly with her health. She hadn’t been to the gym in days.

She came into the gym wearing black gym shorts and a diplomatic department purple sports bra; her hands were wrapped in boxing tape. The diminutive security officer walked directly to a punching bag, ready to get back into a physical routine. She saw Alexandra on a stretching board and smiled. “Bonsoir, Doctor Alves!”

Alexandra suddenly stopped when she heard the door open, and then some footsteps, took a few quick breaths, and turned around to see who the newcomer might be. "Hello, Ensign." she said, breathing heavily, pulling herself up once more. "Came to put off steam?" she asked with a faint smile, finishing the final round. She has met Ensign Larose before, but only slightly and on duty. She didn't know anything about the Ensign as a person. Well, maybe that's gonna change now.

Emmanuelle nodded. “It’s also been too long since I worked out. A few rounds against the bag feel nice. And the bag doesn’t punch back.” She remembered her last fight against Lieutenant Griffin. She wore the black eye as a source of pride, but preferred not to be knocked out today. She got herself into a boxing pose and began striking the bag. “Do you know how to fight, Doctor?”

"I received basic self-defense training at the Academy." the doctor explained, as she picked up a towel, and soaked the sweat off of her. "Comes handy with difficult patients." she joked. "But no, I'm not really into fighting sports. I prefer football."

Emmanuelle smiled as she bounced and hit the bag. "I played soccer as a teen. I was a pretty good defender. But I didn't stick with it after I enlisted. But then I got into self defense, and learned a few different fighting styles." Her smile turned into a grin. "I know you and Lieutenant Sandoval have become friends. Did he tell you about the time he and I first met?"

"Awesome." Alexandra smiled, as she watched the Ensign hitting the bag. "I played striker my whole life." she grinned. "But what's a good offensive, without an equally good defense?" She shook her head when the Ensign mentioned her boss, Lieutenant Sandoval. "No, he didn't."

"Well, we actually crossed paths when I was in the Academy," Emmanuelle recalled as she continued her workout, "but just before the Paradise mission he asked Lieutenant Griffin for someone to be his permanent security attaché. He wanted someone small and assuming, and he got me. We met in the training room over there." She pointed to one of the small rooms off the gym, where classes were sometimes held. "We spoke a bit, but then he asked me to knock him down! He was all 'I'm bigger than you and was trained by the marines'." She deepened her voice as she sarcastically imitated her boss. "We fought for a minute or so, but then I went for his weak leg and took him down!"

"Hahaha. That's very much like John... Lieutenant Sandoval." the doctor grinned. "So you showed him. Good!" she praised her crewmate. "Some people need a friendly reminder not to put you down."

Emmanuelle grinned widely. "I get the feeling he won in the long run. The next evening we were doing some escape exercises. I knocked out the leg again and we exercised getting out of a firefight. His pain medication wore off as I walked him back to his quarters." She kept punching the bag and looked to Alexandra. "I had to call sickbay. Doctor Jameson made a house call." She gave her new doctor friend a wink.

"I'm sure. That's the life of a doctor." Alex smiled, obviously not getting what the Ensign was referring to. "So, how does this thing work exactly?" she looked at the punching bag with a grin.

"Think of it like an opponent who can take almost anything you give it," Emmanuelle explained as she moved and punched. "I'm supposed to do everything I normally do when fighting. I'm keeping my distance, I'm moving around, and not giving my opponent much time between strikes."

"Interesting." the doctor nodded. "I'm used to the method of outsmarting my opponent instead of beating them, but I can certainly see the advantages here." she smiled. "Can I try?"

“Bien sûr!” Emmanuelle replied. “Un moment.” She stepped aside and went to an equipment locker. She returned a few seconds later with a pair of small fighting gloves. “Not full boxing gloves like you see in the holo matches, but you don’t want to hurt your knuckles.” She helped Alexandra put the gloves on.

"Sure, sure." Alex nodded with an excited face, as she put on the gloves. "The last time I've done something like this, was way back at the Academy."

Emmanuelle smiled. She stood off to the side and stood in her previous fighting stance. “Now stand like this, and punch like so.” She demonstrated in the air next to the bag.

"I'm left-handed." the doctor quickly explained. "So, I guess, I should stand the opposite way?"

“Yes, just mirror me then,” Emmanuelle answered. “If you’re left handed then you want your right foot forward. Your strong hand is further away from the bag, which means it can make more powerful strikes.” She demonstrated how her body twisted when she made a one-two punch, putting more force behind the hits.

"Ah, yes, that what I meant." Alex nodded, as she watched the Ensign demonstrating her the technique. "Let me try it." She tried to immitate Emmanuelle's position and movements, only mirrored, and threw a punch at the bag.

“Très bien,” Emmanuelle said. “Really twist your body when you make those punches. The force doesn’t come from your arms, but from your torso.” She demonstrated again, but more slowly, emphasizing her torso’s movement.

"Merci." the doctor smiled back at the compliment. She then tried what Emmanuelle suggested, moving her torso the way shown. "It's like samba." she joked with a cheerful giggle. "Okay. Let's see." She threw another punch at the bag.

"You're doing well," Emmanuelle complimented again. "And it does feel like dance sometimes. It's all about stance, footwork, and keeping moving. You know, I teach the self-defence class here on Thursday afternoons. You should come one day."

"Thanks!" Alex smiled. "That sounds fun. I should certainly visit your class." she said. "Do you teach boxing? Or another kinds of self-defense techniques?"

“Mostly it’s more practical things,” Emmanuelle explained. “On Tuesdays, Warrant Officer Harding teaches different martial arts techniques. This month it’s Krav Maga. Next month, I think it’s Andorian Vershaan. But on Thursdays, I teach mixed martial arts and train in real life situations. Someone tries to kidnap you. You need to escape from imprisonment by terrorists.” She looked Alexandra in the eye and grinned like a madwoman. “You have no idea how satisfying it is to take a new crewmember who sees a five-foot-two instructor and makes assumptions, and make him eat his words. And the safety mat.”

"Awesome." she grinned, seeing Emanuelle's huge enthusiasm about the subject. "So, next time a drunk warp field engineer from Dublin tries to kidnap me, I won't end up marrying him." she laughed with tons of sarcasm in her voice. "People often make judgements based on one's appearance. Sometimes they truly deserve to be taught a lesson."

"Have you ever thought about teaching something?" Emmanuelle asked. "Promoting good exercise or healthy eating?" She gestured for Alexandra to move over so she could resume her workout and began moving and punching the bag again.

"Well, I actually gave a pregnant aerobics lesson to Lieutenant Kaleri recently." Alex said, as she moved over, letting Emmanuelle to punch the bag. "But that was just a one-time thing."

"Yeah, there aren't too many pregnant people on board, are there?" Emmanuelle mused. "Probably just Counselor Kaleri-Smith and Madame Temple?"

"Believe me, two pregancies at the same time are well enough for a doctor." she grinned.

"I can imagine!" Emmanuelle said, returning the doctor's grin as she kept punching the bag. "Well, you don't have to worry about me becoming a third. I like kids fine, but I don't want any for myself." She stopped punching to catch her breath and take a drink of water from a bottle she left nearby. "But seriously, you might consider getting involved in leading some gym activities. It could be fun."

"Maybe. I'm not really the teacher type." Alex shook her head, as she turned to give a few punches to the bag.

"Well, think about it," Emmanuelle said, happy to be refreshed from the water. "It could be fun. And I'd be happy to help. I find the teaching to be very rewarding."

"I can understand that." the doctor nodded. She imagined herself giving a lecture to multiple people, and felt a bit shy. Showing aerobics exercises to Krysia was one thing, standing in front of a crowd, was completely different. "Thank you for offer. I'd certainly need some help, at least in the beginning."

"Of course," Emmanuelle replied. "I've been enjoying talking with you, Alexandra. And I had a great time with you when we went to that night club on Paradise. We should spend more time together off-duty. What do you like to do for fun?"

The doctor raised an eyebrow, as Emmanuelle's sudden bubblish 'confession' took her by surprise. "It's been a pleasure." she smiled. "And, well... I'm in for that idea." The only thing which still lived vividly in her memory regarding that night on the station was her accidental run-in with Nicholas, and their little fun together afterwards. She remembered something vaguely about that night club, but couldn't really recall Emmanuelle being there. Neverthless, she didn't want to hurt the Ensign's friendly feelings. "Well, off duty, I spend most of my time with Veronica, of course. But I also like exercising, cooking, reading... meeting new people, hanging out with friends, getting together for a drink or two."

“I love to exercise,” Emmanuelle said in agreement. “And hang out with friends, in the holodeck or playing games or having drinks. And I love to dance.” She gestured to Alexandra to take a break and give Emmanuelle another turn at the bag. “I saw Veronica at Mr. Smith and Ms. Kaleri’s wedding. She’s adorable.”

"I forgot to mention dancing! I like that too." Alex nodded. "Thank you." she blushed. "She is. Sometimes she can be a true rascal. Stubborn and just can't listen to anything I say. Just like me in her age."

Emmanuelle smiled and nodded. “Like so many of us. A good sign, I think. Independence is as much of a strength as discipline. Both together can make some of the best people I’ve ever known. Is she interested in Starfleet?”

Alexandra nodded with a smile, in complete agreement with the Ensign's opinion. "I don't know." she admitted. "To be honest, she's mostly interested in becoming a soccer superstar."

"Ha!" Emmanuelle exclaimed. "That sounds about right. I hope she's able to follow that dream. It's a shame we don't have a team on board. But I bet there's a few people who played in the Academy who could coach her if she wanted?"

It took a moment for Alex to realize Emmanuelle was talking about her. "Well... A certain former Academy player is coaching her alright." she nodded. "I'm actually trying to organize a team or at least some more kids from the school to play together with Veronica. I think they'd enjoy soccer."

"That would be fun! There's enough kids on board to fill two teams, right?" Emmanuelle stopped punching the bag. "I also hear that Veronica has become an asset to the diplomatic department. Did she tell you how that happened? I wasn't there, but Mr. Sandoval told me about it the other day over lunch. It was precious."

"Honestly, I don't know much about the details." the doctor admitted. "I know that my daughter is now an unofficial Ensign and an aide of Mr. Sandoval." she explained. "But she loves to keep me in the dark. However, I can see that she certainly enjoys it." she smiled. "She feels she has an obligation, and enjoys the fact that she can be useful to such an important grown-up person as John." she elaborated. "She is desperately looking for father figures, which is completely understandable."

Emmanuelle nodded. "And he's enjoying it, too. And who knows? Maybe this will inspire in her an interest in something like galactic politics. Or she'll learn to hate it. At her age it's good to figure out what she likes and what she hates." She let out a laugh as she found her water again. "Anyway, apparently she told him that you said he was cool and Aeryn said he was cute. He said that it was grounds for a promotion and replicated her an Ensign rank plate from back when uniforms were those red jackets."

"Ah, yes, Veronica showed me that rank plate." Alex nodded, remembering how proud her daughter was when she could boast with her 'promotion'. "I think Mr. Sandoval could be a better role model and father figure to her than Mr. Mindo." she then said. She liked the chief engineer's easy-going demeanour and could see why her daughter took a liking to him, but she wasn't sure Mindo would show a good example to her.

"They're probably both helpful, for different things," Emmanuelle said. "Mr. Mindo's a good guy, and he understands responsibility. I don't think he would do anything that would be truly awful for her. And Mr. Sandoval isn't entirely the perfect role model either." She wouldn't violate his trust by mentioning how he had lied during the murder investigation to try to keep conduct-unbecoming off the record, but it definitely entered her mind. "Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. I hope she's able to learn a bit from many on this ship. Just like I'm trying to do."

"Right.Right." Alex agreed. "I like both of them. Mr. Sandoval just seems... more like a responsible person." she smiled. "And of course, nobody's perfrect." she agreed. She didn't know if Emmanuelle knew about John and Aeryn's little 'adventure' in sickbay, so she decided not to disclose it. She was sure the whole ship knew about it by now, but still. "We can all learn a lot from each other. I guess, that's the best thing about being like a big family out here." she nodded in agreement.

"Well said, Alex," Emmanuelle replied. She gestured to the door with her head. "Have you been to the lap pool? It's a nice workout, and it's not usually busy at this time of day. Want to check it out?"

The doctor was a bit surprised that her new-found training partner called her 'Alex', but she just shrugged it off. Just a friendly notion from her part, which is nice. "A pool?" she looked at Emmanuelle with an eager smile. She enjoyed swimming ocassionally, although she didn't have much time to do it lately. "Surely! Let's do it."

OFF.