Trekkies United: Going Boldly

Matrix dodged or batted away each ball in turn, though he was a bit concerned that, if two or more projectiles flew at him any closer together, he wouldn't be able to pinpoint both noises at once. The sound was very subtle, after all, even to his ears.

it did finally happen, two balls just less than a second apart, but luckily from complementary angles. one directly at his right shoulder, and one just a little more forward than that.

Matrix ducked the first ball as he had with the others, but wasn't quite able to detect the sound of the second. As he rose back up, the second skimmed his head, and he jumped a little in surprise, flinching to the side and turning toward where the assailant ball had come from.

"five more!" she warned him as he narrowly avoided the second ball. it was clearly a fluke he'd avoided both. the last five were all at least ten seconds apart. when it was over, she informed him and reached out to remove his blindfold, smiling at him. "that was great!"

Matrix nodded quickly, straightening up once more and focusing. He had no trouble with the remaining balls, and, once the fifth had been batted away, he walked to the edge of the ring once more, leaning down a little so she could easily access the blindfold. He smiled at her congratulations, though looked a little sheepish. "I really shouldn't have dodged that one as well as I did," he admitted. "It was luck, really. I didn't hear it over the sound of the first."

"I could tell by the way I saw you flinch when it went over your head," she agreed. "that makes for some invaluable data for my research, don't worry. but I think we're done for now. let me set it to the forest and we can start my mental exercises."

Matrix nodded, though he tilted his head a little at the notion that his mistake could provide such invaluable information. "That sounds good," he agreed, stepping out of the ring.

she quickly had the holodeck reprogrammed for them and took a deep breath, enjoying the quiet life of the forest around them. it wasn't as good as the real forests back home, but it would certainly do, and was better than the man-made structures she was constantly surrounded by. she could easily be seen to visibly relax as she breathed out once more

Matrix looked around in happy curiosity as the scene changed into a quiet but still vibrant wooded area. Certainly, it couldn't compare to the real thing, but still, he always found it fascinating. The birdsong, the fluttering leaves, the dancing patterns of light on the forest floor - everything captured his attention, and he, too, settled into a calmly relaxed state, just enjoying his surroundings.

brianna reopened her eyes and gave a bright, genuine smile to Matrix, enjoying the feeling of his calm alongside her own. "come here, I got you a rock to sit on. the stump is mine. come on, cross legged is best." she walked a few feet and patted a large, flat stone, warmed by a ray of sunshine, as was a well-worn and nearly soft with how smooth it was stump.

Matrix returned her smile with a small smile of his own, then looked over at her beckoning to see the stone. He walked over, sitting down gingerly and crossing his legs, pleased by the feel of the sun and giving a soft sigh. "Am I to do anything in particular?" he asked curiously after a moment, referring to her exercises. He didn't know if she would want him to be an active participant, or just some quiet company.

"not right now. just sit there, deep breaths, and try to empty your mind of conscious thoughts. focus on your emotions instead. I need you to stay calm, no matter what you might sense me doing. you're going to be my anchor so I can delve deeper than I normally do, and stretch myself and my abilities." she sat herself cross legged on the stump and closed her eyes, arms flat along thighs and taking deep meditative breaths.

(I have no idea if an android even can "empty their mind". xD It could either be very simple, or completely (or very nearly) impossible.)

Emptying one's mind of conscious thoughts wasn't exactly easy when you were an android, but Matrix nodded, closing his eyes and pouring all the focus he possibly could into breathing and just existing. A few times, he caught his mind beginning to wander onto solving some puzzle or medical problem he was studying, but he quickly shoved the thoughts away again. It was practically impossible to keep his mind from lapsing into conscious thought at all, but he did the best he could, and was fairly successful.

it felt as if she reached out and grabbed his forearm with her hand fairly tightly, but he certainly hadn't heard her move? her breathing sped up slightly and seemed to become slightly labored with stress. keep yourself calm, Mat. I need you to anchor me. if I pull on your arm, you have to pull me back to the surface, you understand? was she speaking aloud, or only in his mind? it seemed impossible to tell, even for him.

Matrix was puzzled and slightly alarmed when he felt her grab his arm, even though he hadn't heard her move, which he would have, easily, if she had. His eyes very nearly flew open to look, when her voice stopped him. The fact that he couldn't seem to tell where her voice was coming from served to confuse him further, but, after a moment, he pushed it aside and responded; again, somehow, he couldn't seem to tell if he'd spoken aloud or just mentally. Yes. I understand. I've got you - don't worry.

the hand remained firmly on his arm, but the rest of her consciousness seemed somewhat distant for several minutes. soon, though, his arm was suddenly squeezed quite tightly and a panicked voice was calling from a distance. out out get mE OUT!

Matrix managed to remain calm and relatively thoughtless for the next few minutes, but as he felt his arm squeezed and heard her distant voice, he came to the sudden, alarming realization that he had no real idea how to 'pull her out'. He hung there, somewhat panicked, for no more than a fraction of a second (but what, to him, felt like nearly an eternity) before latching onto her consciousness with everything he had and struggling to haul her from the depths she'd slipped into. He had no real idea what he was doing; he just hoped it worked.

there was a clear and very distinct feeling of a hand in his as he managed to pull her out, and when she opened her eyes, Brianna was startled to find that she was, in fact, actually holding his hand now, though they'd been far enough away that they would have to stretch to brush fingers before. "g-good job, mat. you did great." she seemed a bit shaken by whatever she had just been doing. "sorry, I just...that was my first time with that exercise..."

Matrix's eyes flew open at nearly the same moment as Brianna's, and he gave a soft gasp, unnerved at the entire experience and shocked to find that her hand actually was holding his - a fact which would seem unlikely at best, given the proximity they'd been to one another. He looked around a little, confused. Had the holodeck program changed so they were closer together than they had been before? As she spoke, however, he managed to push the weirdness from his mind and focus more on her. He immediately noticed how shaken she seemed to be, and frowned, studying her face. "Are... are you alright?" he asked, his voice quavering slightly, as well. "That was... strange... I can honestly say that I've never experienced anything even remotely like that before..."

"I'm...I will be, fine. but I think we're done for today, Mat." she gently squeezed his hands, both to reassure him and herself, before shifting to let him go, rising to her full height. "um, why don't you show me what you've been working on while I put the new data into my tables and models?" she suggested. "or, um, would you rather have a break?" her voice sounded a bit different, with a hint of a burr that hadn't been present before, but was characteristic of the manner of speech from her home region.

(But we just haaaaad him talk about what he was doing, and I don't know how to explain it any more than I already have! *pouts* xD)

Matrix frowned a little in concern, but nodded, squeezing her hands in turn and standing up as she did. "I'm fine either way, but..." his frown deepened a little further. "Perhaps, for your sake, we should take a bit of a break..." He did, of course, notice her slight change of accent, but wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Could she have awakened something within her that she'd been suppressing before?

she looked at him for a second, rather blankly, then nodded, rubbing her head. "a break sounds nice, aye. I've been pushing myself for too long, and I need a rest that isn't sleep." she reached a hand out to him again, needing something physical to ground her in the moment, in reality. it didn't seem as real as it had before she took her deep dive...her fingers were faintly trembling. "whose room should we go to?"

Matrix nodded again, his frown deepening further still. He could sense something was a little off with her - almost like... she wasn't quite all there... and it concerned him. He wondered if perhaps they shouldn't stop by the counselor's, just to make sure something hadn't gone wrong with the exercise. "We can go to mine," he offered, then, after a brief hesitation, asked, "Are you sure everything is alright? You seem a little... 'off'..."

"I...I'm fine. at least I think so. but you're the doctor here. do you think we should go to medical?" she looked at him, swallowing thickly. she was normally fine after her exercises, but that had shaken her deeply today. what she wasn't aware of was the creeping onset of psychogenic shock through her mind...

Matrix studied her face with a look of concern, hesitating for a moment longer before nodding. "Yes... I think perhaps we should," he said softly, beginning to lead her carefully out of the holodeck and toward Medical. "And I think we should also have the nurse call your counselor once we get there, just to be sure."