Time to Remember

Posted on Mon Feb 16th, 2026 @ 9:57pm by Lieutenant JG Olivia Voight & Lieutenant JG Rowan Hale

2,877 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Beholder
Location: Holodeck/Sickbay

Olivia had finally gotten a bit of down time from the different shifts she had been working over the last several days. She had booked a little time in one of the holodecks to unwind a little for a change of pace. It had been a while since she had been on the ice due to either her work schedule or training. Going over to the small trunk that she had placed in the corner of quarters, Olivia knelt down in front of it. She keyed in the code to the lock and opening up the trunk, and looked over the items inside that she hadn’t used in a little over a year.

Pulling out the ice skates that were laying on top of her training clothes, Olivia placed them on the floor to pull out other items she needed. Searching through the clothes, Olivia pulls out a pair black leggings, teal top, and a pair of socks. Items in hand, Olivia closed the trunk, locking it once more before getting back up. Olivia went over to her bed, so she could sit down long enough to pull on the leggings and the socks. Once she had them on, Olivia stood up and pulled her leggings up the rest of the way and then she grabbed the top she had chosen to wear and pulled it on as well. Once she was dressed in her training clothes, Olivia slid her feet into a pair of her shoes that were easy on and off.

Picking up her ice skates, Olivia headed out of her quarters and towards the holodeck she reserved. As she walked along the corridor, Olivia was thinking on the songs she wanted to have playing while she was out on the ice. There were several different songs that she had used over the years during her competitive days before attending the Academy and serving in Starfleet. Many of the songs that Olivia loved to use when ice skating, she had found going through the database and from either the 20th or 21st centuries. Many of the songs were fun ones to use even when doing exhibition shows.

Olivia found the holodeck she had reserved, tapped a couple of buttons on the panel and she entered when the doors slid open for her. Once inside, she looked around a bit before heading over to the bench to put on her ice skates. Sitting down, Olivia slid off her shoes, pulled on one skate at the time and laced them up. Slowly standing up, she walked towards the ice, lifted one foot at the time to remove the blade covers before stepping onto the ice. Once standing on the ice, Olivia placed the blade covers on the wall ledge that separated the ice rink from the bench and warm up area.

Gliding out to center ice, Olivia felt as though she had come home in away being back on the ice, even if only for a short period of time. Arching her back slightly, Olivia raised her arms up above her head and lightly touched her fingers together. Once she was in position, the first song in her play list for this session started. The song I Wanna Dance With Somebody done as a duet had become one of Olivia’s favorites to skate to during competition and exhibitions. It was one of those songs that was fast paced to a degree and yet had a bit of romance to it at the same time. Olivia’s arms gracefully started moving as her feet moved of their own accord as if by memory to the music being played. From one end of the ice rink to the other, Olivia skated over and over doing different combinations her normal routine of triple axel’s and going right into a camel spin right in the center of the ice rink. There were times where she would do some footwork where she added in a combination spin with it depending on her location on the ice. Out of habit from previous years of practice, Olivia had always set several songs to play while out on the ice to skate to depending on her mood at the time. Today though she mainly picked some songs at random just to change things up and see what would come of it since it had been awhile to actually be out on the ice. Other songs she had in the list for this round ranged from: Lady in Red, Drops of Jupiter, Sounds of Silence, Fix You, and ended with the Wellerman.

When the last song in her list finish, Olivia skated back over to where she had left the blade covers for her ice skates. Lifting one foot at a time, Olivia slid the covers onto the blades of her skates and carefully walked over to bench and sat down. Olivia took a moment before she leaned forward, untied the laces around the top of her boots. Once the laces had been untied and loosened a bit, Olivia pulled off her skates and slid her feet back into her shoes.

Olivia grabbed her skates and tied the laces together for easier carrying back towards her quarters. Once the laces where tied on her skates, Olivia stood up and headed towards the holodeck doors. She hoped to get more time in the holodeck at some point in the future. Olivia would have to think things over for when it came what she would want to do for her next holodeck visit.

As she walked down the corridor, Olivia slung her skates over her shoulder and she was holding onto the laces when she felt the cover to one of the blades come loose and fall to the floor. The blade tip of her skate sliced through a section of her top and dug into shoulder. Olivia knelt down to pick the cover to her skate blade and as she stood back up, Olivia felt the sting in her shoulder and a trickle of blood on her shoulder. She knew that with the location of the wound that it would be a challenge for her to treat, so Olivia headed towards Sickbay.

---

Sickbay was dimmer than it had been earlier. The monitors hummed at a lower volume, harmonic fields steady and unobtrusive. Rowan remained at the central console reviewing Batel’s neural trend line when the doors parted.

“Report.”

His eyes tracked automatically to the thin line of blood along Olivia’s shoulder.

“Blade?” he asked, already stepping closer.

It wasn’t a reprimand. Just pattern recognition.

He set the PADD aside and crossed the distance without urgency.

“Sit,” he stated efficiently.

He activated the dermal scanner and ran it along the wound margin. “Two centimetres. Clean cut. Superficial.” He paused briefly as the scan resolved. “You were fortunate.”

His gaze flicked briefly to the skates looped over her shoulder, then back to the wound. “Carrying them that way increases leverage if a cover slips.”

He reached for the dermal regenerator and activated it. A soft hum filled the quiet space as tissue re-knit beneath the beam.

“Holodeck?” he asked lightly.

Olivia nodded slightly. “It has been awhile since I got to do anything on the holodeck,” Olivia said. “Plus, it one place I could get a little practice in without complaint of music selection. A few of the songs were new for me to try skating to and others I've skated to before.”

Olivia absently ran one of her hands over the blade cover that had come off of her ice skate. She had already put the cover back onto the blade so that she wouldn't cut herself any more. “I had forgotten that this pair of skates, that the blade covers like to come off a little more easily at times depending on how I care for them,” Olivia spoke once more.

Rowan kept the regenerator steady as she spoke, the faint glow sealing the final line of tissue.

“I gathered,” he said, a hint of dry observation in his tone. “Figure skaters rarely travel with blades unless they intend to use them.”

He powered down the device and ran the scanner once more to confirm closure.

“No structural damage. You’ll have mild tenderness for a few hours. Avoid overhead strain tonight.”

He stepped back half a pace, folding his hands loosely behind his back.

“You compete seriously?” he asked, not as small talk—as data gathering. “Or was that something you left behind when you chose medicine?”

A beat.

“I’m asking because precision disciplines don’t usually disappear,” he added calmly. “They redirect.”

His gaze shifted briefly toward the dimmed biobed area where Batel rested before turning back to Olivia. “Balance, control, repetition under pressure. Those translate.” He tilted his head slightly. “Do you find it clears your mind,” he asked, “or sharpens it?”

Olivia thought for a moment before replying. “It helps me with both clearing my mind in some ways and sharpens it in other ways,” Olivia replied honestly. “I found that it was one of the few things that helped me keep my focus at times while at the Academy.”

Tilting her head slightly, she looked up at Rowan. “Last time I competed while at the Academy. I've done a few exhibition shows since then, but not many,” Olivia continued. “This past year though, I had to redirect my focus temporarily.”

Rowan didn't respond immediately. He watched her the way he watched monitors—not searching for weakness, but for pattern.

“Redirect,” he repeated, not pressing, just marking the word.

His gaze shifted briefly to the skates in her hand. “Medicine doesn’t usually tolerate divided focus,” he said evenly. “Neither does elite competition.”

He stepped aside, giving her physical space rather than crowding it.

“Temporary implies intention to return.”

It wasn’t a challenge. Just a quiet calibration.

“In my experience,” he continued, measuring his tone, “people who train at that level don’t do it casually. They do it because something in them requires it.”

He paused momentarily. “Does skating give you control,” he asked, “or release?”

He let the question settle without pushing further.

Behind them, Batel’s neural readings remained steady—the low, rhythmic trace of restorative sleep. Rowan’s attention flicked once to the monitor, confirming stability, then back to Olivia.

“If you’re redirecting,” he finished quietly, “I’d prefer to know whether that’s strategic… or reactive.”

Olivia smiled slightly as she thought for a moment before replying. “It is true that for a long time, my main focus was the training for the different competitions. Ice skating for a long time was about control and release,” she said. “It was one of the few things that I had complete control over in my younger days, for it was one thing that I knew I could do better than my brothers.”

“I kept up with my skating while at the Academy just to help me keep my focus at times,” Olivia continued. “It helped keep me grounded in a different way from all the self-defense classes I took. Plus, I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep up with all the different competitions and exhibition shows in the long run if I still wanted to be considered for the Initiate program after graduation from the Academy.”

Olivia lightly ran her hands over her upper legs as she thought for another moment. “Now getting the chance to have some time out on the ice, it is a chance to release in ways that aren't violent or harmful to myself or others.”

Rowan didn’t react to the mention of brothers. He did register the word violent.

“Control,” he repeated quietly. “And release without damage.”

His gaze held hers, not clinical now but analytical.

“That’s not a trivial distinction.”

He moved to the central console, inputting a brief notation into her treatment log before continuing.

“Starfleet doesn’t always offer non-destructive outlets,” he said evenly. “Especially in medical. Or in security-adjacent roles.”

He paused again.

“The Initiate program,” he added, tone shifting slightly toward professional curiosity rather than personal probing. “Did that redirect your focus… or intensify it?”

He glanced toward Batel’s biobed again, confirming stable vitals. Then back to Olivia.

“I’m not asking as your CMO conducting a wellness assessment,” he clarified calmly. “I’m asking as someone responsible for building a department that can withstand sustained pressure.”

He rested one hand lightly on the edge of the console.

“If skating is what recalibrates you, I’d prefer you keep it.” He almost smiled. “Preferably without lacerations.”

“Finding non-destructive outlets can be challenging at times,” Olivia said. “I think it is why my parents kept my brothers and me busy when we were younger to help us find what would work best for us in keeping us focused. Some things worked better than others.”

“I knew that my focus had to be redirected when it came to the Initiate program,” Olivia replied. “It was one goal that I had set for myself long before the Academy.” Her hands stopped and rested briefly on her legs.

“When one goes through the Initiate program, there are times where one has to deal with either physical or mental stressors. Many who start the program don't complete it for various reasons. Those that do make it through the program get placed on a waiting list to be paired with a symbiont. Some can wait years before joining, and then there are those that don't get selected even though they made it through the program.”

Olivia smiled slightly once more. “I will do my best to keep the lacerations to a minimum, but can't promise that it won't stop completely. I didn't plan for it to happen this time around.”

Rowan listened without interrupting.

“The Initiate program isn’t casual,” he said at last. Not impressed but informed. “Deferred outcome. High attrition. Identity restructuring before confirmation.”

He didn’t say I’ve read the files. He didn’t need to.

“You trained for something you might never receive,” he continued evenly. “That requires a particular tolerance for uncertainty. And you completed it.”

There was a short silence with neither of them rushing to fill it.

“Did the waiting feel like control,” he asked quietly, “or surrender?”

A small beat.

“Departments fracture under sustained ambiguity,” he added. “So do individuals.”

His tone remained calm.

“I prefer to know which side of that equation my officers fall on.”

“I ended up not having to wait long before getting selected for joining,” Olivia said. “I knew ahead of time that there was a chance of not being selected for joining with a symbiont. The longest wait for me was getting matched with my field trainer.”

“So while I was waiting,” Olivia continued, “I focused on finding ways to relax. Plus, finding different outlets to cope with stress that don't involve violence can be challenging at times. Having options helps out not only for oneself, but for others as well.”

Rowan regarded her for a moment longer. He wasn't scrutinizing, just assessing.

“Options,” he repeated quietly.

His gaze drifted briefly toward Batel’s biobed again before returning to Olivia. “That’s usually the difference,” he said. “People who fracture under uncertainty believe they have none.”

He shifted his weight slightly, one hand resting against the edge of the console. “You didn’t eliminate stress,” he continued evenly. “You distributed it.”

He nodded subtly. “That’s sustainable.”

He let a short pause settle between them before adding,

“Keep the outlets,” he said. “Deliberately. Not reactively.”

Not an order. Not quite advice, but a calibration.

“And if you ever find yourself narrowing down to only one,” he added, his tone calm but firm, “I’d prefer to know before it becomes a liability.”

He didn’t elaborate on whether he meant skating or something else.

Behind them, Batel’s neural trace remained steady. Sickbay held its quiet rhythm.

Rowan stepped back toward the central console, returning to his previous posture without dismissing her. “You’re cleared for duty,” he said evenly. “Try not to add ice-related trauma to my workload.”

Olivia softly chuckled a little. “I make no promises when it comes to the ice-related traumas,” Olivia replied. “Plus, I've several different options for relieving stress.”

“Is there anything specific you want me to work on in between shifts?” Olivia asked.

Rowan inclined his head once. “That’s all.”

He moved back toward the monitors, the hum of Sickbay settling around them again.

“Get some rest. We’ll have enough complexity waiting for us in the morning.”

A faint beat.

“And try to keep the ice where it belongs.”

Olivia smiled a little as she stood up and picked up her ice skates. "The ice isn't the problem, when it comes to keeping it where it belongs," Olivia softly said. "It the blades that tend to misbehave on me at times."

Olivia headed towards the doors to go get some rest before her next duty shift. "You get some rest also. Can't have you falling asleep on us should a crisis crop up."

"Or wakes up." Rowan mused glancing at Batel, who was still sleeping peacefully.

TBC

 

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