Jilleen Adel Simmons (absolutelysheba) wrote in kobols_legacies, @ 2008-05-05 23:53:00 |
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Entry tags: | (c) jilleen simmons |
Morning Run
From the terrace of the Sertorius’ suite, Jilleen in a dark red sweat jacket and gray shorts stretched for her morning exercises. Her first meeting with her therapist was not scheduled until later in the day. She had arrived on the Shangri-la last night after the shuttle had made stops at the Pacifica, Ark Royal, and then Babylonia, which a majority of single men and some women had disembarked for a night of recreation.
Jilleen’s unexpected leave of duty left her no desire to remain aboard the Avalon, especially in the midst of preparations for the impending operation. Her written orders from Sinclair had made allowances for off ship sessions and were non-specific about the length of time. On the Shangri-la, Councilman Sertorius and his wife allowed her to stay with them and shared their luxurious residential suite, giving her a private room all to herself. It afforded them the privilege to boast of hosting a daughter of a former Aerilan Governor among those of their social circle. In return, Jilleen enjoyed all the amenities of first class accommodations and membership.
Completed the last of her stretches, Jilleen took a moment to take in the view of the landscape of the main bio-dome from her vantage point from the high terrace. In the distance horizon on the dome wall the shape of islands upon a sea that was not there could been seen, all part of an elaborate man made mirage. Nearer by, rows of orchards trees were starting to change to their autumn colors induced by an artificial season. Along trails and artificial waterways were large pockets of planted chrysanthemums coming into bloom of varying colors and sizes.
Most plants grown after the exodus inside the star ships were cultivated not only for food, but for what other benefits they could produce or for their by-product. What fruit and nut tree orchards provide were obvious. Chrysanthemums were not just flower plants, they had an amazing ability to remove toxicants from indoor air. They were natural air purifiers found inside a lot of the ships. They were also used to produce a natural insecticide called pyrethrin. Rare, but on modern ships with large populations they were not totally free of disguising insects, the cockroach still manage to find a place aboard space ships. They had learned to adapt.
Still the bio-dome could never replace the real thing but it gave one the peace of mind. It allowed those under it a moment to forget they were inside a large space ship. It was equivalent to a large park inside one of the Colonies’ huge cities. The fleet and the population size was like for all purposes a small city. Each ship a different borough. Made up of different colonial cultures, societies, classes, young and old. All with a common bond, they were all that was left of Kobol’s children. So they think.
Jilleen took the stairs down to the main level of the bio-dome to start her jog. She started down one of the paved trails that cut down the center of the dome. The center of the dome gave the most convincing illusion of being down on the surface of one of the home worlds. The off-colored beams that made up the structure of the dome were almost unrecognizable from the center, they blended into the skyscape.
The Center was an open field of green grass with a few brightly colored canvas lounge chairs for relaxation. In those chairs the full effect of the dome above can be appreciated. She veered off the pavement and onto the soft turf , past people in chairs, and up toward the crest of a low mound. Her mind free from recent events, relieved of stress as she continued onto another trail that led her through the rows of orchards. Laborers were working on the drip irrigation system for the orchard not so far off the trail. Here and there a few scathered leaves had already begun to change into vibrant hues of fall colors.
There were others on the trail, walking and admiring nature’s work aboard a space ship. She would guide around them, keeping up with her pace. As the dome sky open up once again above her she neared a large corridor which continued on to the next dome. Under air blowers used to control the climate in the interior of the ship, she stepped on the metal grate below her and the blowers, only making the slightest clanking noise. This main access corridor intersected with restaurant row and the entertainment area.
Her progress was uninterrupted, as she approached another one of the domes. Once past under the air blowers this side of the corridor, she entered into a more humid and warmer climate. In mid stride she unzipped her training jacket and then continued down the running trail.
About a quarter of the way, she diverted to another path that took her into a small bamboo forest, where the natural circulation of the air would cause the bamboo trees to knock against each other higher up the stalks. The curvy trail here was made of wood planks that was elevated a foot or so off the ground, like a real trail could be back in a tropical forest. Every step echoed louder the further she got into the tight confines of the bamboo forest. The green and dark world of bamboo on either side of her narrowed overhead blocking out site of the dome above. This could be a jungle on Virgon, if one did not know they were traveling our in space.
She reached the end of that trail, that brought her close to the great artificial rock water fall, that formed one of the larger pools found aboard the ship. The roar of falling water into the pool added to the realism. A light mist fell on her face as she came nearest to the white water crashing against man made rock.
Jilleen greeted other runners with a smile as she past opposite them. Once near a shower station for swimmers, she again changed her course and proceeded to take a set of stairs to the top of a long overhang that overlooked the tropical landscape of the this dome. The sweat began to soak her shirt. Her hair which was tied back in a tail began to wet around the edges.
This overhang extended for a great length of the bio-dome. It was a great empty space, once used for a local marketplace for when the resort liner made a port of call. Now it went unused mostly but still served as an important bridge that connected one living area to another. At the end of this bridge, she came to another set of stairs. She had to jog in place and wait as workers, housekeepers mostly, came up the stairs together, perhaps going to a morning meeting. The stairs were then cleared and she started down them to once again continue her run .
Once at the ground level of the dome, she headed down another paved path that led her back in the direction toward the main dome. This path took her down rows of tropical fruit trees, and past large gardens of orchid and other tropical plants. Along the course at one point, off to one side of the trail there was a small pond with lily pads. Koi swam freely in the cool water. The fish were the only ones of their kind known in existence now. Picon’s colony symbol, the koi carp were considered good luck.
She was back in the wide corridor that she had come through earlier that connected the two environments under separate artificial skies. It was part of the runner’s path, that wind through all three bio-domes. Her heart beat in cadence with her breathing and with every step she took. No thoughts of the troubled day before had crossed her mind, she was in the present, ever conscious of the sounds of her foot falls as the echoed off the walls of this tunnel hall.
The light inside became brighter as she approached the end of the corridor. Out in the temperate environment under this dome again, she started the last leg of her run. The runner’s path that circled around this dome could take her to another interior corridor that connected to the third dome, but at this time it would have been in twilight. A cold one at that as its artificial climate was much colder in that dome compared to the other two. She would only need to go half the distance to reach where she had begun the run to finish it.
Finally at the end, she slowed to a walk and took her pulse to track her heart rate, a habit she had adopted since her Gladius Cross days. She counted the beats of her pulse and calculated a formula in her mind. After a good half hour of running, she had achieve and maintained her target heart rate.
She came to a drinking fountain, and took a cool sip of water from it. Shangri-la’s water tasted differently from that of Avalon’s treated water, less metallic and softer. The fountain water refreshed and rewarded her for the good morning run.