Posted by Cadet Catt Beñnet (Scientist) in Side sim The Holodeck. Personal fitness program.

Posted by Cadet Catt Beñnet (Scientist) in The Holodeck. Personal fitness program.
How one spends off duty hours is as important as what you do while on duty. Catt thought as she arrived at the door to the holodeck. She was two minutes early for her booked time and the controls indicated the holodeck was in use. She was not in u iform having somehow managed to get into a streatchy leotard. It had been a feat as fur tebded to clump under such fabric. Her Caitan vanity would not allow her to be seen with such clumps. The leotard was embarrassing enough as the thin rainbow colored cloth was snug enough to highlight her total lack of the usual feminine curves. It made her feel and look like sombodies lost child.

She started streaching there in the corridor as being a cadet she hadn’t been eligable fot more than ten minutes holodeck time and she wanted to use every moment of that time for her program. Her start time came and the door remained closed. The occupied indicator continued to read in use. She checked to see if anyone was inside. They could of left early and forgotten the holodeck on . She started to read the names of the occupants but got no farther than the ranks. She sighed. At the academy senior cadets would often occupy labs, mess tables or recreational facilities just to deny them to junior cadets. Two minutes into her time she started to suspect this was the case only this time it was actual ranking officers.

She wasn’t going to get her workout. She couldn’t confront them about it, and reporting it to someone would only cause her trouble. Sbe was self aware enough to know that socially she was a outsider. The ship had it’s crew compliment then there were the cadets. Technically a cadet was a ensign. But in reality even crewmen ignored a cadet. Catt couldn’t even socialize with the other cadets as she was the only Caitan onboard. Oh she took meals with them spoke with them and joked with them but not once had she felt like she connected with them.

She sighed then she laughed. She turned and skipped back to her quarters. If she was upset she refuse to let it be seen. She wouldn’t get to dance today. Maybe not anyday soon. But having people look at her seeming happiness was easier than having them try to comfort a sad child. She wasn’t a child. She had a child like body but she was mentally mature.

Her door closed behind her and she threw herself onto the bean bag chair she used as a bed. Her roomate looked her way then looked away. Her r room mate had come to terms with the idea that no matter what was wrong the usual contact would make it worse. If she just left Catt alone Catt would bounce back into her normal overeager enthusiasm in under a hour.

Cadet Catt Bennet. Sciences.( Portraiture of a lonely Catt.)

The next day Catt again arrived at the holodeck early. Dressed in the same leotard and looked at the holodeck controls. She had looked up the holodecks user specifications
With it’s guidelines. The holodeck controls were configured to that the scheduled user recieved xommand priority once their time started. So she programmed in a fairly basic flat plain with no features and a open exit command. She set up a narrator disembodied voice to intone a your time has expired message. And of course she chose and set the music she would dance to.to start playing.
She sighed as it wasn’t exactly polite to so jarringly change the holodecks landscape. But yesterdays missed exercise had been a distraction during her work shift.

The program set up she streached while she waited for her time to start. Once again getting strange looks from passing crew. That she pretended didn’t make her feel self concious. There was a chime the door to the holodeck slid open and Catt piroetted into the room. She had a hope that by dancing her way in she might distract whoever was inside from scolding her for being rude. Ballet wasn’t really something Caitzns had embraced. She had of course never been to Czit. And she had only a childs understanding that of her own species customs. A small cat dancing ballet cause the two men with tennis rackets to laugh rather than vacrate the holodeck. She did her best to ignore them as she danced. They just stood there the entire time as she danced watching her. It wasn’t exactly ballet as her movements were not scripted but rather she used ballet moves and poses to follow the music in her own interpretation.
She was young and limber, more flexable and more graceful than most humans but admittedly she was a four foot tall feline not a tall human woman and she suspected she looked rediculous.
It wasn’t till the music ended and she stopped dancing that she noticed she had not ordered the holodeck door to close. Some crew had stopped to watch and a small crowd vhad gathered. Her ears blushed bright pink and she slid into a curtsey to the audiance. And straightened up again. Wishing the audiance that had formed was not blocking the exit so she could flee. There was silence. For a full minute as the crowd absorbed the fact that the performance was over. Catt had never danced before an audiance so had no idea what to expect.

Cadet Catt Bennet. Sciences .

A slow clapping began from the back, just a single individual. Slowly, the gathered crew followed suit and began applauding. After a few moments they began to trickle away, going about their various routines and duties after the pause to see something not the norm, until just a single individual remained… the one that had apparently started the ripple effect of clapping.

The ship’s Counselor, Lieutenant Commander Korczak.

To say their previous engagement had not gone terribly smooth would have been an understatement. But yet here he stood, all unremarkable and plain figure that he was, with a slight smile on his face.

“Very impressive, Cadet. I was pleasantly surprised to see you in such a public display. But you are quite a good dancer, if I may so. Such movement and grace is not a strong point for me, but I do enjoy a well-done performance of the dancing art. Well done, indeed.” he said in a friendly tone, the slight smile not leaving his features.

Korczak, CNS