Fly-Girls ptI

Posted on Fri Aug 28th, 2026 @ 8:11pm by Commander Rosa Coy & Commander Jenna Ramthorne

2,461 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Character Development
Location: DS9 Gymnasium
Timeline: Current-ish

The gym aboard Deep Space Nine had never been designed to be beautiful. It was functional, compact, and old enough that nearly every piece of equipment carried some evidence of having survived several previous owners. The Cardassian architecture showed through in the walls and ceiling, but Starfleet had gradually filled the room with equipment that made it feel less like a station facility and more like a place where people could work themselves back into shape.

Jenna had claimed one corner near the resistance machines. She was already warm by the time Rosa arrived, having spent several minutes working through a slow series of stretches before moving into light resistance exercises. Nothing ambitious. Nothing that would make a medical officer raise an eyebrow. Her ribs still complained when she moved too quickly, and the bruise along her temple had faded into an ugly yellow at the edges, but she had reached the point where remaining still felt worse than moving.

She was halfway through another controlled repetition when the door opened. Jenna glanced over.

Rosa stepped inside wearing exercise clothes and carrying the expression of someone who had already decided that whatever conversation might happen in this room would happen on her terms.

Jenna returned her attention to the resistance unit, "You're late."

Rosa looked at the chronometer on the wall. "I'm three minutes early."

"Well, I've been here longer."

Rosa glanced toward the chronometer, then back at Jenna as she crossed the room. "That's generally how time works."

Jenna's mouth curved as she completed the repetition, holding the resistance for a moment before allowing the handles to return with a controlled hiss. She rubbed the heel of one hand briefly against the side of her ribs before reaching for her water bottle. "Good. At least you're functional."

Rosa slipped the elastic from her wrist and gathered her hair back, before dropping her towel beside the mat. She then rolled one shoulder, testing the range of motion before giving Jenna a sidelong look. "Disappointing, isn't it?"

"A little, yeah."

Rosa shook her head, but the corner of her mouth lifted as she began loosening her arms. Jenna took another drink, watching Rosa over the rim of the bottle for just long enough to notice the care she was taking with her shoulder.

Neither woman mentioned the battle. They didn't need to. The damaged Sunfire was still sitting in pieces at the station's repair facilities, surrounded by engineers, technicians, tractor beams, replacement components, and enough paperwork to bury the ship twice over. The crew had been scattered among temporary quarters and borrowed facilities. Some were recovering in the station's infirmary. Others had gone home to families or friends while they waited for the ship to become something recognizable again.

There was nothing either of them could do about the repair schedule. But that didn't stop them from talking about it.

"Engineering says the secondary power grid is going to take at least another three days," Rosa said.

Jenna shifted her grip on the resistance handles and glanced over at Rosa. "Three days according to whom?"

"Leo." Rosa had moved onto the mat and was easing carefully into a stretch, one leg extended while she worked the stiffness out of her hip. She looked toward Jenna with an expression that suggested neither of them believed the estimate.

Jenna gave the handles another controlled pull. "Then it might as well be six."

"That's what I thought."

Jenna let the resistance return slowly before reaching down to increase the setting by another small increment. "What about Bonnie?"

"Still buried in the engineering section."

"Of course she is."

Rosa rolled her eyes as she shifted into the next stretch. "She says she's fine though."

Jenna paused with her hand still resting on the adjustment control and raised an eyebrow.

Rosa caught the expression and gave her a faint, knowing smile. "I know."

"Uh huh." Jenna returned her hand to the handles and resumed the exercise, while Rosa shook her head and continued stretching. For a few seconds, the only sound between them was the quiet mechanical pull of the resistance unit and the faint squeak of Rosa's boot against the mat.

Rosa rotated her left shoulder slowly, testing the range of motion before letting her arm fall back to her side.

Jenna watched the movement from the resistance machine, her attention lingering just a moment before she returned to her own exercise. "How's the shoulder?"

Rosa flexed her fingers and rolled the shoulder once more. "Better."

Jenna eased the resistance back into place and gave her a sidelong look. "'Better' is not a valid measurement."

Rosa glanced down at the shoulder as though considering whether it might offer a more useful answer. "It's functional."

Jenna pulled the handles toward her again, holding the resistance for a controlled count before releasing it. "That's not a measurement either."

Rosa looked over, one eyebrow lifting as the corner of her mouth began to turn upward. "Are you always this charming during training?"

Jenna completed the repetition and let the handles settle with a quiet mechanical click. She met Rosa's eyes, her expression deliberately innocent. "Only with the people I like."

Rosa shifted her weight and carefully rotated her left shoulder again, this time extending the arm a little farther before stopping. Jenna watched her for a moment, her hands resting on the resistance handles. "It's still sore," Rosa admitted. She drew a breath and touched two fingers lightly to her ribs. "My ribs are worse."

Jenna nodded, her expression softening as she looked down at her own side. "Mine too."

Rosa's eyes moved to her. "Your ribs?"

"Among other things."

Rosa studied her for a moment, then let her gaze travel down to the resistance machine. Jenna's hands were already back on the handles. "You're probably not supposed to be doing that."

Jenna adjusted her stance, settling her feet more firmly against the floor. "You're one to talk, besides I'm only using forty kilos."

Rosa's eyebrows rose. "You're supposed to be recovering."

"I am recovering." Jenna drew the handles toward her, slower this time, keeping the movement controlled despite the discomfort that tightened briefly across her ribs.

"While lifting forty kilos."

Jenna held the resistance for a second before easing it back. "That's generally how training works."

Rosa gave her a long sideways look. Jenna glanced back at her, the smallest smile appearing at the corner of her mouth. Rosa shook her head and returned to her stretching.

Jenna turned back to the machine, still smiling as she began another repetition. The silence that followed was comfortable enough to be genuine. They had both learned, in different ways, that silence did not always mean something was wrong.

Rosa moved toward one of the mats and began stretching her legs. Jenna eyed her for a solid minute before returning to her own exercise. After a few repetitions, Jenna said, "So...?"

Rosa glanced up. "So?"

"You don't need a counselor."

Rosa's expression changed slightly, "I know."

"Good." Jenna adjusted the resistance by another small increment. "Because I'm terrible at offering advice."

That earned a quiet laugh. "You're worse at taking it," Rosa said.

Jenna side-eyed her, Rosa's smile remained. That was the first real crack in the careful normalcy they had brought into the room. Jenna exhaled through her nose and looked back toward the machine. "Fair."

Rosa continued stretching. For another few minutes they talked about ordinary things. The station's food was terrible. The temporary quarters were worse. Someone had apparently managed to requisition a holodeck program that simulated mountain climbing and was now insisting it counted as physical rehabilitation. Jenna had opinions about that. The conversation wandered without purpose, which was precisely why it worked.

Neither woman asked whether the other had been sleeping. Neither asked whether she was remembering the battle. Neither asked whether she had seen the same things in the dark when she closed her eyes. They simply kept moving.

Jenna increased the resistance slightly. Rosa began a set of controlled squats. The room grew warmer around them. The quiet mechanical rhythm of the equipment settled into the background, mixed with the faint hum of the station's environmental systems and the occasional sound of someone else moving through the gym.

Sweat began to gather along Jenna's hairline. Rosa wiped her forehead with the back of her wrist and looked over. "You know," she said, "for someone who claims this isn't counseling, you're doing a remarkable amount of observing."

Jenna kept her hands on the resistance handles, "I'm a pilot."

"So?"

"So... We observe things."

Rosa smiled. Jenna returned the smile, but neither of them looked away quite as quickly this time. Then Rosa resumed her exercise and Jenna did the same. For the moment, that was enough.

---

The jogging track occupied the upper level of the station gym, a narrow loop overlooking the exercise floor below. Its surface was slightly springy beneath their feet, and the curved walls carried every sound farther than seemed necessary. Footsteps became echoes. Breathing became part of the room. Even the soft hum of the station seemed to disappear beneath the rhythm of movement.

Jenna stepped onto the track first, rolling her shoulders as she settled into an easy pace. Rosa joined her a few seconds later. For the first half-lap neither said anything.

Jenna controlled her breathing carefully, keeping each inhale measured and each exhale smooth. The effort itself was manageable. Her ribs were another matter. Every deeper breath pulled against the bruising along her side with a sharpness that bordered on unbearable, but she had learned how to compartmentalize pain long before she learned how to fly a starship.

Rosa ran beside her, her stride initially easy enough. "You realize," Rosa said after a moment, "that most people don't use jogging as a means to recovery."

Jenna glanced sideways at her. "Most people aren't me."

"I noticed."

Jenna smiled faintly and increased her pace by a fraction. Rosa matched it. Their footsteps settled into the same rhythm. By the second lap, neither was talking much. By the third, Jenna could hear Rosa's breathing beginning to change. It was subtle at first, just a little deeper and less controlled than it had been when they started.

Jenna noticed though she said nothing. Rosa noticed that Jenna had noticed. She said nothing either. They completed another half-lap before Rosa finally spoke.

"How many laps did you say?"

"Four."

"We're only doing four?"

"To start."

Rosa breathed out a laugh that lacked some of its earlier amusement. "Generous."

"You look like you need some generosity."

Rosa gave her a sideways glance. "Sometimes I really dislike you."

"No, you don't."

"No, I don't."

The answer came quietly enough that Jenna looked at her again. Rosa kept her eyes forward. They finished the fourth lap and slowed together, transitioning from a run to a walk without either woman having to suggest it. Rosa bent slightly at the waist for a moment, hands resting against her thighs while she worked to regain her breathing.

Jenna stopped beside her. "You okay?"

Rosa nodded, still breathing heavily. "Just tired."

Jenna took another slow breath, then reached out and rested her hand briefly against Rosa's upper back. "Take your time."

Rosa straightened gradually. Jenna's hand remained there for another second before falling away. "Thanks."

Jenna nodded and they began walking. The station continued its endless mechanical life around them. Somewhere below, a weight machine clanked. Someone laughed near the far side of the gym. The ordinary sounds seemed almost strange after everything that had happened aboard the Sunfire.

Rosa looked through the open railing toward the exercise floor. "You know, there are twelve of us staying together," she said.

Jenna glanced toward her.

"The survivors from the bay," Rosa clarified. "The ones I helped get out."

"Ah."

Rosa nodded. Her fingers curled loosely as she walked. "Some of them are doing better than others."

"They will get there," Jenna shrugged slightly, "Eventually."

"That's optimistic." Rosa looked at her.

"It's practical."

That brought the faintest smile back to Rosa's face. They walked another few steps.

"I keep thinking about the ones who aren't here." Jenna's expression changed.

Rosa stared ahead as they rounded the curve of the track.

"I knew most of them," Jenna said. "Not well. Some of them I'd only spoken to a handful of times. But I knew them." Jenna's pace slowed slightly.

"So did I." Rosa swallowed and looked out over the gym. "There was this one mechanic in the bay," she said. "I saw him get pulled toward the breach."

Jenna didn't interrupt.

"He was trying to grab the railing, and... he almost made it." Rosa's voice tightened slightly. "I could see his hands." Her breathing had steadied, but Jenna could hear the difference in it now. "I couldn't reach him."

Jenna looked down at the track for a moment. "Patrick Basehore," she said quietly.

This announcement caused Rosa turned toward her.

"His name was on the list of those who were unaccounted for. The computer recorded that his combadge reached a sudden escape velocity and he was later recovered by the Bristol."

Rosa's expression softened. "So, he didn't make it?"

Jenna shook her head. "No."

Their footsteps continued. Rosa rubbed the heel of her hand against her forehead, wiping away a line of sweat. "I keep thinking I should have gone back." Rosa's jaw tightened as she fought for the words. "I should have tried to save more."

"There was nothing you could have done." Jenna looked at her.

"I could have tried."

The words landed between them with almost no volume, and Jenna's stride faltered. For a moment she simply walked beside Rosa, staring at the track ahead. She knew that sentence. Because she had been carrying it herself. Her hand tightened slightly at her side. "That's what I keep telling myself."

Rosa stopped.

Jenna took another step before realizing Rosa wasn't beside her anymore. She stopped as well and turned. Neither woman spoke. The station hummed around them. Rosa's breathing was still uneven from the run. Jenna could hear it clearly now, along with the quieter rhythm of her own heart and the ache beneath her ribs.

She is speaking truth. The thought came from somewhere inside Rosa, familiar enough that she didn't need to ask which voice had offered it. Rosa lowered her eyes. We should listen. Coy's voice was quieter. Rosa looked back at Jenna.

Jenna had one hand resting against her injured side, but she didn't seem to realize she was doing it.

Rosa's expression softened. Neither woman moved toward the other. Neither of them seemed to know what exercise came next.

TBC

 

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