Morning Swim
Posted on Fri Nov 20th, 2020 @ 1:26am by Lieutenant Lynsi Mason & Commander Cale Llewellyn DSci
Mission:
A Day in the Life
Location: Natatorium
Today started out as any other on the base and thought he hadn't been on this base very long, he had amassed enough time to come into his own form of a routine. So when he woke up at 0400, it was time for his usual workout which included time in the gym and a swim in the natatorium. He always wondered who came up with that word when pool sounded so much better.
Early morning on the station always felt like a strange time. Even though Three-Three-Two never really slept, 0400 was the only time of day when the degenerates and the tryhards seemed to be out at the same time. Which camp Lynsi Mason fell into seemed to depend on the day. She still had a few hours before her shift started, and a couple more hours before she'd see any flight time. But she always found an early morning workout to be a good way to wake up. Yesterday had been leg day in the weight room. This morning: swimming. But this morning she was surprised to see another swimmer challenging the lanes. "Good morning," she called out to the newcomer.
"Good morning, how are you? I didn't think anyone else would be up at this hour. I'm Commander Cale Llewellyn, the new Strat Ops guy and you are?" Cale asked.
"Nice to meet you, Commander. Lieutenant Lynsi Mason, deputy commander of our air group and Claymores squadron leader," the blonde woman replied. She laid her towel on a bench along the side of the natatorium and carried her goggles and water bottle over near the edge of the pool. "Have you been able to get settled in yet?"
"A pleasure, Lieutenant Lynsi Mason. Why yes. Yes, I have, Lieutenant. Thank you for asking," Cale said as he slipped out of his pants to show a black bikini he wore to obviously show off his lean physique. He didn't do this on purpose as he wasn't used to swimming with anyone. He looked over the Lieutenant Mason who was staring at him and he then began to feel self-conscious and more than a little uncomfortable.
Lynsi giggled to herself at the display, though probably more so at his discomfort than anything else. "Don't worry, Commander. I've showered around marines. You're not showing me anything I've never seen before." She laid her goggles and water bottle down before removing her own t-shirt and shorts. Though unlike the commander's briefs, she was wearing a more modest one-piece. She hopped into the nearest lane, dropping to make sure she was fully submerged. Then coming back up to lift her head above water, she reached for her goggles and slipped them on over her head.
Cale walked over to the other end of the pool where the diving area was located. He did a few stretches before climbing to ladder and performing an absolutely unexpected cannonball into the pool. Once he had breached the surface, he laughed uncontrollably at himself wondering what his mother would say to his acting like a child. Oh wait! She wouldn't have given him a second thought. Since she had left him with her husband for days even weeks on end while she was who knows where. And Colin was nearly always, OK ALWAYS drunk and/or passed out somewhere.
"I don't recall that being one of the dives we used on the Academy swim team," Mason called out before starting her laps.
"You were on the Academy swim team too? I was on it for my last three years. But, then again, we didn't do much 'diving' on the swim team, am I right?" Cale laughed when he thought about his senior year on the swim team. What a blast that was!
"I swam for a couple of years," Lynsi said with a shrug. "I didn't stay with it the entire time I was in the Academy. It cut into my stick time. Once I knew how it felt to fly, that was really all I cared about. But, swimming is still good exercise, and it's nice for clearing my head, even if I don't swim competitively anymore."
"I understand that. Once you find your footing, you should stick with it, no pun intended. But, I've always enjoyed swimming as a form of thought and feeling," Cale said. "I loved swimming on the Academy team the entire time I was on it and I even thought that about not going into science as a profession. But, I decided not to do and went on to get my doctorate and became a good science officer. Then when I switched to command, I tried to stay with it. When I left the Meridian, I switched back to science and then I went back to my old ship, it was in Strategic Operations. It was an odd position but it was my stepping stone back into command. And here I am; back in Strat Ops, feeling quite out of place."
"I'm sure you'll find your element again soon. Life on a station can be different, especially if you're used to going to new places. But it has its perks. And it's not a bad place to learn how to be a better commander." Lynsi gave him a reassuring smile before kicking off the wall for another lap.
Commander Cale Llewellyn
Chief, Strategic Operations
Starbase 332
Lieutenant Lynsi Mason
Squadron Leader, V/F-37 "Claymores"
Starbase Air Wing Seventeen (SVW-17)
