The Pool

Posted on Sun Jan 27th, 2019 @ 1:22pm by Lieutenant Jane Sinclair MD, DVM & Lieutenant Zoe Cayce

2,575 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Mission 0 - Christening of Legacy and Crew Arrival
Location: Ship's Pool
Timeline: 2261.186 1900

Jane was exceedingly pleased to learn a few things over the previous few days. First, that there was in fact a swimming pool on board. She and Zoe had found it two days earlier after they left the gym and went exploring. It was similar in size to something found on a starbase or in a community centre. Not Olympic-size, but that's not necessary for the crew. Changing rooms were off to the side. A hot tub also featured prominently in the corner.

The second thing Jane discovered was that she, as Chief Medical Officer, had some limited oversight over fitness and entertainment aboard the ship, inasmuch as it affected crew health. She used that authority to implement a rule. Two days per week, for four hours, 1800 to 2200, the pool will be gender restricted, women on one day, men on the other. Jane knew that many men and women felt self-conscious around their other-gender counterparts in settings like pools or beaches, and that some cultures would oppose mixed-gender swimming.

Knowing that the first women-only day was on 186, Jane invited Zoe to join her for a swim at 1900. She arrived a bit early, went into the changeroom, and put on her favourite swimsuit, a red two-piece that wasn't particularly well designed for athletics, but she wasn't trying to win any races.

Zoe, for her part, had been looking forward to getting in the water. She arrived on time carrying a simple black one-piece that covered the essentials and smiled as she saw Jane already dressed and ready to go in a red two-piece that looked as though it were intended to be appreciated (which she did, no question). She stripped out of her clothes with the ease that comes with years of living in close quarters with others. She was lean and well-muscled and, thanks to medical prowess, she showed only a few of the many scar-worthy things she'd been involved in on her body. She changed into her suit and was busy braiding her hair as she said, "Been looking forward to this since we found it."

Jane was tying up her own hair as Zoe undressed. She was lying to herself if she said she didn't steal a glance, but the whole point of temporarily gender-segregating the swimming area was to make sure people were comfortable in these settings. She was pretty sure a glance wouldn't make Zoe uncomfortable though.

"Me, too!" agreed Jane. "My lead nurse was harping on me when I told her I skipped the gym to explore the ship with you. But we found a few fun things to do, swimming included!" She grabbed a pair of towels from a wall dispenser and, when Zoe was ready, tossed one to her swimming mate. "There are hooks in the pool area, near the hot tubs. Shall we?"

Zoe nodded and followed Jane out of the dressing room and left her towel on a hook by the door to the hot tubs then headed down to the deep end. With a smile at Jane, she dove in cleanly and swam a few lengths before surfacing. Having grown up in a beach house with an oceanographer parent, she loved the water. Always had. And while this wasn't as good as free diving on the coral reefs of her home world, it sure did feel good. As she surfaced, she looked over to where Jane still stood on the side and swam over to her.

"Having fun?" Jane asked with a laugh, having watched Zoe take to the water like she was born to it.

Jane loved to swim; her home on Vega Colony wasn't along a coast, but the town itself was, and beach trips were common. Unfortunately, she rarely got to swim in recent years. Her last assignment didn't have anything like this pool, and her temporary assignment on Earth before being sent to Legacy was well in-land. Really, she hadn't had a great swim since her Academy days.

Jane sat on the edge and pushed herself in, allowing herself to descend into the water. She was shocked at the temperature difference, not anticipating it to be this cold. "Goodness!" she exclaimed as she came up for air.

Zoe laughed and then swam over to the wall; after a moment, she dove to the bottom and did a somersault underwater then came back up. "I heard tell, that on Earth they have stories of women who live forever in the sea. Have you heard them? Those stories?"

Jane smiled before plunging herself to the bottom and launching herself back up. “I have,” she told Zoe. “Mermaids. There are different versions, of course. Some were seductresses. Others lured men to their deaths. But they were usually beautiful with the loveliest of singing voices.” Jane swam closer to Zoe. “We actually brought one of the legends to Vega with us. It was said a divine maiden lived in the coral reefs many kilometres from the settlement, whose song would make you fall in love with her instantly.”

"I wonder," Zoe said, "why all the legends talk about seduction. You would think that a mermaid would want to spend time with others of her own kind ... and the whole, seduction of men or leading men to their deaths, is just ... annoying." She laughed lightly. "Forgive me. I still have trouble with the whole notion that women somehow need men to complete themselves." She cocked her head slightly to one side. "Did you ever go looking for this ... divine ... maiden?"

Jane blushed. "Maybe," she said with a smile. "The legend was adapted when it was brought to our colony. She was could draw to her men and women both, and did so for pleasure, not to complete herself or to murder. As a teen, I became intrigued. I was just starting to feel attraction towards women. I may have convinced some friends to go on a diving expedition to look for her."

Her smile faded away a moment as she got serious. "I agree with you, though. It's a shame that so much of Earth's mythology frames women that way. I'm glad the prevailing attitude has ignored that notion. If we end up finding someone, regardless of sex or gender, who complement us, then excellent, but we're no less whole for not having a man in our lives."

Treading water near Zoe, she said "I read about your planet since we first met. Your community was composed entirely of women? I'd love to learn more about it."

"Be happy to tell you," Zoe said and then grinned, "but first, how about a few laps?"

"Sure!" Jane agreed. "Then we can talk and have a soak later." Jane paddled into a separate lane and began properly swimming to the other side, where she kicked off and returned the way she came. It felt good to be swimming like this again, and to be honest she felt good being active like this. She wouldn't give her nurse the satisfaction of knowing that, of course.

Zoe nodded and slipped into her lane and before long had fallen into a rhythm that carried her back and forth along the length of the pool. Hard, physical exercise tended to burn off the minor aggravations of the day and almost never failed to elevate her mood. She did a few laps and then stopped on the side of the pool to check on Jane. Left on her own, she would continue, but she knew that Jane wasn't all that athletic.

Jane caught up with Zoe at the pool's edge and held on. She felt great, but was definitely out of breath. "I'm going to need to come back!" she exclaimed between breaths. "But for now, I need a rest. Want to take a soak in one of the hot tubs? They look mighty comfy."

"Sure," Zoe said as she grabbed the edge of the pool and pulled herself up smoothly. Once up, she waited for Jane to join her. "But ... what's 'comfy'?"

Jane struggled a moment, more for reasons of height than strength, and started walking to the hot tub. She smiled at Zoe. "Comfortable, I mean. Hot water. Little jets of pressurized water against your muscles. I can fall asleep in one of these things if I'm not careful."

"Delightful," Zoe murmured as she followed Jane out of the pool area and into a small side area where sat several hot tubs. She moved around to Jane's side and then climbed into the hot tub set farthest from the door. The warmth enveloped her and she sighed softly from the shear pleasure of it. "As though tiny little masseuses were working every muscle in my body." She sat down on a submerged bench and stretched out her lengths even as she stretched out her arms along the back then looked at Jane. "This is part the you like best, right ...?"

Jane settles into a seat 90 degrees around the tub from Zoe. She smiled and closed her eyes, feeling the bliss as she sank into the heat. “Absolutely right,” she said. “There were hot springs close to the farm where I grew up. Grandfather piped the naturally hot water into an outdoor tub for us. We went to the beach to swim a few times a month, but the hot tub was almost nightly.” The jets applied pressure to her arms, legs, and back just right.

"I grew up on the beach," Zoe said as her memories took her back in time. "If I wasn't on the ocean with one parent, I was collecting driftwood for the other." She shrugged slightly. "Suited me. I've always been the active one in the family ... needed to be doing something." She chuckled as she caught one lip between her teeth. "When I was a young, that usually meant getting into trouble. My parents both thought I had a gift for it."

Jane laughed at that. “I can imagine! My older sister Tori was the troublemaker in our family. She had a little girl of her own now, and we’re all deeply entertained by how she’s getting paid back in full for everything she did to mum and dad!” Jane looked into her friend’s eyes. “So what kind of trouble was young Zoe getting into?”

"More of the adventure out on my own sort of trouble. I'd be the one to go hunting through the old house or the cave. Especially the caves," she said with a cheerful smile. "Even as a child, I didn't scare easily. Though both my parents sure did."

“That sounds fun!” Jane said. “I’ll admit I do scare more easily, and don’t like the adrenaline rush you get from a dangerous situation, real or simulated. But a fun outdoor adventure, searching a cave or a reef...next time we find ourselves on-planet, we should find a cave to explore!”

Zoe smiled as she dropped on hand into the water, letting the warmth slide through her splayed fingers. "Sounds good," she said. "I do love a good exploration ... so, what do you do when you aren't being forced to ..." and here she mock-shuddered, "... exercise?"

Jane started laughing, and found she liked Zoe’s sense of humour. “I have a few hobbies. I like to read, especially things like mysteries, or anything where I’m kept guessing as to what’s happening until the end. Medicine is a lot like that, actually. Also, I love to cook. I try to reprovision fresh ingredients at different ports of call and experiment with them, combining different spices from different worlds.”

She shifted in her seat in the hot tub, having found herself sliding a bit too deep. Her legs got out from under her and she brushed against Zoe. “Sorry about that,” she said sheepishly. “I also really love music. I’ve become very good at the piano and I love to sing.”

Zoe slid her leg closer on purpose and waggled her eyebrows, "I'm not ... sorry, that is. Have you read Hightown Ridge? Its about a female Ferengi who has to figure out who killed her brother and recover an important shipment of goods all while keeping the idiot males around her from figuring out what she's doing. Its funny."

Hearing — and feeling — Zoe’s reaction to their leg touch, Jane took a chance and slid into a seat next to Zoe, letting her legs go where they may. “I’ve not come across Hightown Ridge. Sounds like an interesting read though! Have you tried any of the Juliet O’Hare books? They’re from Earth in the 2030s. She’s a private investigator who’s incredibly skilled and observant, but pretends to be a psychic. It’s the only way local police and clients take her observation skills seriously.”

"I'll have to look for them," Zoe said, smiling in welcome as Jane drew closer, "though I admit, the whole male superiority that plagued Earth for so long makes little sense to me. For that matter, the Ferengi are much the same way, aren't they? Maybe more so, since the role of women is so restricted. I do love a good mystery though. Trying to figure out who did it from the clues presented."

“Me too!” Jane agreed. “And I agree. That was such a backwards time on Earth. But I love how these characters go against society’s grain. They resist the sexist attitudes of their peers and succeed despite them. They’re so strong and inspiring. Oh!” Jane exclaimed, sitting up straighter a moment. “Let’s find a mystery book that neither of us have read, and read and discuss it! Read a chapter or two and discuss it over coffee, or a meal! How does that sound?” She held out her hand above the waterline, inviting Zoe to take it in agreement.

Zoe accepted the handshake and said, her expressive mouth curving upward as her eyes lit with pleasure, "as long as you don't expect me to cook anything, I'm in. Unless its chopping things ..." She leaned forward slightly as she added, "I'm fearsome with a knife." She leaned back again and sighed with pleasure. "What book did you have in mind?"

“Hmm.” Jane looked to the sky, hand on her chin as she tried to think. “I think Isabelle O’Ryan just released a new mystery novel. First in what’s supposed to be an ongoing series. I’ve read some of her other books and they’ve been good. I’m just trying to remember the title...”

"One of Us is Lying, I think. A good friend on the Vanguard told me to look out for it," Zoe said. They'd been sitting in the hot tub for about twenty minutes now and her stomach was starting to make its own recommendations. Workout before shift, the shift itself, and then this time with Jane and in all of that, she couldn't remember the last time she ate. "I," she said after a moment's pause, "am hungry. How about you?"

“Yeah, me too,” Jane replied. “Let’s get dressed and head to the Mess Hall, yeah?” She got out of the hot tub and grabbed both towels off the nearby hooks, handing Zoe hers as she got out behind her. All in all, this was a nice bit of time spent exercising and relaxing with someone Jane felt she was growing increasingly close to.

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