From the Sound of Sirens

Posted on Wed Jun 14th, 2023 @ 12:39pm by Warrant Officer Samual Johnson

1,734 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Mission 4 - Like a Thunderbolt
Location: Promenade
Timeline: MD 04

Rook let the door shut behind him as he placed his duffel on the bed. He did a quick look around, scanning the small room he'd been assigned as temporary quarters. It consisted of a twin sized bed covered in generically depressing gray bedding, a small table, a short closet area with two low shelves and one above a bar with hangers attached. Next to that was a small sink and on the wall opposite the foot of the bed was a small holoviewer. Outside was a common room with a small table, a limited replicator, a refresher and a bathroom shared by the occupants of the two other rooms attached. He knew they would be similar to his own. Typically these quarters would be reserved for the crew of ships attached to the station for repair and very junior enlisted. However, while the station was in flux and in chaos because of the ramped up construction schedule and unfinished status, this would be the best he could be assigned at this time. Per the quartermaster NCO that assigned him the room, he was even lucky to get this.

On the way to the room, he saw how he was lucky. The outer wall of the corridor hadn't been put in place yet. Instead it was replaced by the soft humming that indicated a structural force field in place. Just beyond it, in the cold dark of space, he saw the module that would eventually be a set of the same type of rooms on the other side. They weren't fully built yet. When they were, they would be inserted into place and secured. It was the same as he saw of much of the rest of the station - the modular, building block style of construction being used to speed up the process.

It made Rook nervous to find his way down the corridor to the outer door to the 'dorm' style rooms and then inside. Yet, it was not as nerve wracking than his encounter with the newly minted Caitain ensign. That she was going to drag him to Medical still haunted him. Not as much, though, as the mistake he made about her intentions. Which led to the misunderstanding all around.

Rook sighed. He still had a day to go before he could become 'official' and wasn't sure how to spend it. He glanced at his chrono and frowned. The call home was scheduled for two hours from now. He'd expected that he'd still be on the transport at that time so made the scheduling then. When he transferred off the transport, his communications time transferred with him. Fortunately, that wasn't tied to his duty station otherwise he'd not be able to access the comms at that time either.

Still, he had a few hours. He began stripping off his uniform in favor of the athletic attire he kept in the bag. Fortunately, they passed the 'sniff' test. He'd not been able to get to the refresher since his last workout and didn't want to waste the time using the one in the common area. It didn't take that long to change and make his way back up the turbolifts and toward the Promenade area. He didn't like the idea of going for a jog next to half finished corridors where the only that that saved him from the freezing vacuum of space just meters away was a structural field that could - and considering the Karma of Starfleet would - fail.

Instead, he knew he'd have room. Perhaps later, when the station was fully built and operable, the foot traffic here would be too thick to enjoy a good run. But then the connected arboretums should be in full operation and so would the pathways that would make a good jogging path. He took a moment to stop and look out the large, durable and transparent plasteel windows. Once again, the view would be better later, after the station was completed. Now it was full of crews working on constructing the various parts of the shell of the station. Once the framework and exterior was completed, they would finish on the interior. The view was littered with crews and material floating around the station. Rook shook his head. He never regretted that he was able to become a security officer, never regretted that he was able to follow a more law enforcement trajectory rather than just shipboard tactical. But, looking at those in the deep black of space, spending twelve to fourteen hours a day in EVA suits and welding together parts of the station's structure, he was very glad he wasn't assigned to engineering or Ops or construction.

With a shake of his head he inserted the personal audio system into his ears. Immediately the background noise of the Promenade with the first opening shops and businesses and those who had the luxury of time was muted as a selected mixture of Twilight's body of work began to play. This particular selection was of her more upbeat tracks, with a good bpm to match an easy stride rate. The opening beats of "Lover's World" started and Rook began at an easy pace. As the lyrics started and the beat seemed to increase, so did his pace. He made sure to start cutting into the flow of foot traffic. If he was going to be up here jogging, he might as well make it a multi-purpose training exercise. Not just cardio but working on getting a feel for chasing suspects as they ran through what would become larger crowds.

The goal for him now was to not have to slow his pace and not make contact with those around him. As he scanned for openings to weave through the slight crowds, he also began looking for low overhangs, stanchions or fixtures he could use to help get around quickly. He couldn't wait for the holodecks to open up officially so that he could try to book two or three weekly personal recreational sections and keep working on his obstacle courses. But for now he had to work with what he had.

Such as now. Two groups, each heading the opposite of the other, would cause his first slow down as they approached each other and took up the whole of the available space. But - as he scanned - he ran to the edge of the walking space and where there was a section of bulkhead between an opening bar/lounge and a women's fashion boutique. He side hopped, bounced off the bulkhead and grabbed the edge of what would be an overhang if this were a planetary installation. He went hand over hand, keeping his knees up and around his torso as he made his way over the slower moving group. Their buzzing conversation didn't skip a beat, causing Rook to briefly wonder if they were even aware of him just inches above their heads. As he came to the end of the awning, he pulled up so and put the balls of his feet on the awning. From there he pushed off, grabbed a hold of a slim conduit and used it to slide back toward the deck. With practiced ease he pushed away from the conduit and landed lightly, returning to his jog. He smiled. It'd been too long it seemed since he allowed himself the luxury of full on parkour running. Months at least. Not once since he started Warrant school and then there was the transport which was too small to get in a good run, much less the more fun exercises.

He remembered how much the security teams on the stations where he was previously assigned hated the idea of people 'climbing' on and using the Promenade areas for stuff like this. Secretly he hated enforcing those rules because he wanted to do it himself. But orders from higher up were orders from higher up. Though he didn't take as harsh of enforcement actions as he was probably supposed to. With a grin, however, he decided he could cut a bit loose. He was about to complete his third circuit of the Promenade anyway and well, since he had three more planned, why not have a bit of fun?

All I see is red now, just can't dream nothing else was the start of a new Twilight tune. It was, like much of her work, based on old Terran songs and well, it was upbeat and anthemic and...he again sidejumped up the side of the bulkhead, leapt to the top of a business sign and bounced off to grab the railing above. Once again he went hand over hand until he took a back leap. His fingers almost slipped as he went to grab the railing across the aisle but he managed to grab it. He had to plant the toes of his feet and push himself up so that he could get a better grip and then worked his way forward from there until he found a business that had old fashioned light fixtures outside the entrance. He used one of those to again slide back to the deck proper and looked for the next opportunity to leap around. He hoped that as the Promenade began filling with businesses he'd have more opportunity to move above the general throng.

"You! Stop!" he heard the shout and looked behind him. He put his hands on his waist to allow his breathing to come down, his heart rate to come down. Two uniformed security officers were making their way through the crowd, obviously after him. He considered making a run for it, to led the two officers on a merry chase and see how many obstacles he could clear and get away with but it was a fleeting and momentary fantasy. His sense of duty, propriety and that he was along the elite ranks of NCO leadership meant he had to set the example he expected from the rank and file security crew.

But, his gaze flicked to the awning with a very tempting edge and next to it several conduits that he knew he could easily leap from one to the other and then back down. Instead, he raised his hands slightly to show they were empty and prepared for the lecturing he was sure to receive in just moments.

Still...

 

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