Kyle/Varinity checkup idea

Posted on Sat Apr 18th, 2026 @ 5:23pm by Commander Kyle Reece & Lieutenant JG Varinity Atoro

Mission: Interlude
Timeline: A week before arrival to Niea IV
1182 words - 2.4 OF Standard Post Measure

Varinity hated being useless. That's all she was for the last couple weeks. After the surgery to repair her shoulder, she went through some physical therapy to help get the torn muscles back into shape. 24th century medicine could certainly patch a harpoon's trip through her shoulder and re-map every muscle fibre and nerve, but it couldn't repair any changes to strength or coordination.

That, unfortunately, required being monitored as she did arm exercises that reminded her of the Academy's physicals.

She muttered something in Italian as she left the Physical Therapy unit on deck 13, towel draped around her neck and her uniform jacket in one hand. The main concern was the loss to her range of motion. 92% of what she had before was still well within the acceptable margin, but she would have preferred to not lose any mobility. Fortunately, this was the last visit, and the light duty order had finally been lifted, which meant she could actually contribute to the ongoing physical labour instead of watching people sweat their asses off from the security suite.

Down in one of the many gymnasium aboard ship, Kyle had just finished his daily workout. Today had been upper body day, so his chest and arm muscles were swollen with blood as he started to make his way back to his quarters to get cleaned up. He had a date later that night with Harper, and he had used the workout to clear his mind.

As he pressed the call button for the turbolift, he saw Varinity approach, seemingly coming from her own workout. When she got close enough, he nodded towards her in greeting. "How's the shoulder healing?"

Spotting Kyle, Varinity gave him a friendly smile. She had only seen him without a uniform maybe three times since she had come aboard, and each time was a reminder that this dude was massive. She had to respect the grind. "Medical finally lifted the light duty order. We might be able to get a little more mobility out of the shoulder, but 92% is where it wants to be for now. Don't worry, I can still shoot." She glanced at his shoulder, the one that had been fractured and was now coated in a decent sheen of sweat. "Your shoulder seems to be doing fine."

He chuckled slightly at her comment. "If i told you how many bones I've had broken, while assigned to this ship alone, you'd probably run back to Earth from here." He rotated the joint, and there was a slightly audible clicking to the motion. "I'd say I'm probably down to ninety-eight percent flexibility on it after the last break. But, bones heal as time goes. Just got to keep moving."

The turbolift finally arrived and the doors slid open. Kyle stepped aside, to allow Varinity to enter first.

With a chuckle of her own, Varinity entered the lift and turned around to watch him enter. She also took the opportunity to wipe the back of her neck with the towel. "I would take the fracture any day," she commented. "The guy who patched me up counted at least thirty six bone fragments."

Stepping into the lift car, Kyle gave Varinity room, out of good manners. The doors slid shut and he allowed her to give her destination first. As the car started moving through the lift tube system, he asked, "I know its been a rough year so far, but how are you handling things,"

Varinity took her time to mull over her response. "It's been... a lot," she eventually said. The Academy certainly didn't prepare her for this. If someone had told her that bring stuck in another galaxy would be her future, she would have laughed them off. "I've... kind of just been taking things one day at a time, to be honest."

Kyle nodded in understanding as he listened. "That's all any of us can do." He let out a thoughtful breath as he continued. "Personally, I find what helps most, is to have something that you can focus on during your off hours. I used to use martial arts training to clean my head. Now, I focus on my two adopted kids, Zhavna and Jasric. Everything I do now is to ensure they remain safe and cared for."

Varinity gave a slow nod in response. "I used to do walks in the holodeck, and turned it into walks around the ship to help conserve energy. I do owe Gus- er, Lieutenant Blackford a sparring match, so maybe we can help each other stay busy." She paused, then a heavy sigh made her shoulders drop a little. "I can't wait to arrive at Mister Dosivi's planet. I think a change of scenery, even for just a couple hours, is what I really need."

Kyle nodded and smiled a gentle grin. "See? That's what im talking about. Doing things to take your mind off of work when you are off-duty."

The turbo lift suddenly stopped and the doors slid open, revealing that they had arrived at Varinity's destination.

"Whatever it is that you enjoy doing, you should make sure you have time to do it at least a few times a week. More if you can."

Varinity nodded again as she stepped out of the lift. She had tried going for walks around the ship instead of the holodeck, but it just wasn't the same. It didn't do much to distract her from the destruction she was trying to get a break from. "I'll try, Commander. I probably need a few gym sessions to make sure I didn't lose any strength, so if you have recommendations..." she intentionally eyed his exposed arms with a little grin.

Kyle chuckled, not catching her wandering eyes as he replied. "I'd start with cardio and stretches. Once you get you flexibility back up, then you could switch to weights."

With a faintly disappointment huff, Varinity gave Kyle a nod. "Aye, sir. I'm just antsy after not being able to help or do much." A small part of her blamed Bashalan, because if he hadn't drawn attention to himself, he wouldn't have been speared, and by extension, she never would have gotten hurt. But, she couldn’t really chew him out for it.

Kyle gave her a gentle look as he responded to her statement. "The worse thing you can do is start to doubt or second-guess yourself. It was a shit situation, perpetrated by a species we never experienced before, and had no training against. All we can do is pick up the pieces and train with the new information we have, to strive to keep it from happen8ng again." He gave her another gentle grin then allowed the turbolift doors to close and continue to his destination. As one who once felt very much as she did now, he knew that there was only so much he could say to her...the real work would come from her.

Only time would tell as to whether she would succeed.

~END~