Polar Opposites

Posted on Tue Feb 26, 2019 @ 12:19am by Lieutenant Nicole Anderson & Lieutenant JG Camille Lévesque PhD

4,467 words; about a 22 minute read

Mission: Plaga Navis
Location: Crew Lounge / Holodeck
Timeline: Continuation from Dichotomy

"We had no idea where they were," Nicole said, fork in hand. "The Orion pirates that grabbed them had immediately sold them off to an auction for Providence knows what. Starfleet had to get a plant into the auction, and then we enlisted a privateer into buying them all. Thankfully, she came through and both our counselor, CMO and plant got out in one piece. There were some lasting scars, but we got them out alive."

“Mon Dieu,” Camille replied, a bite of chicken on its way to being finished. She swallowed it before following up. “That must have been terrifying! I’ve never come across Orion pirates or the Syndicate. My stories will seem tame by comparison!” She smiled at Nicole before taking another bite.

Nicole smiled. "Well, it wasn't all doom-and-gloom," she said. "I had good times too, both on the Ommadawn and on the Nazareth and Castelnaudary." She chewed thoughtfully and snickered. "I remember one time, on the Nazareth, Cass and I were set and determined to play a prank on the CMO. We spent over a week coming up with a plan to subject her to a prank. We were going to alter one of her holodeck programs of this lake she used to frequent, so that when she dove off the dock, the water would suddenly change into pudding."

Camille began to giggle. “Sounds like a good prank! So what happened next?”

"Well, despite our best efforts to never bring it up near her or think about it, she must have realized we were thinking about it. Probably should have realized it's hard to plan a surprise around a telepath. We suddenly get a comm signal and it's her screaming in anger and saying she was stuck and having trouble breathing. We panic and go rushing to the holodeck to save her, we get three steps in, and the dock disappears and we go down into the pudding."

Camille put her hand to her mouth as she began to laugh, food still in her mouth. She put her fork down and tried to quickly chew and swallow before laughing to hard or choking on her food. When she was finally fit to speak, she said “Oh, that’s amazing. I can just picture you two covered in pudding, annoyed at the reversal.”

"I wouldn't say annoyed, so much as bloody humiliated and seething with rage," Nicole said. "But I'm guessing you've been involved in a prank or two, hm?"

“I’ll admit we could get a bit...rambunctious,” said Camille. “Back in grad school, in Paris, my labmates and I would try to outdo each other. There were five of us. It started small and tame, but we got better. This one time, we got a rock sample from the geology department and convinced my friend Lesley that there was evidence it was a sentient organism. We even forged a communiqué from her professor, asking her to study it, but not be too invasive, and to keep it calm. She spent four days gently talking to it, doing any number of scans!” Camille sighed. “She got us back though. Her boyfriend installed holo-emitters outside the building. That weekend two of us went in, and they simulated an attack by rock monsters because one of us killed its young.”

Nicole laughed loudly, clapping her hands. "We used holo-emitters to create a hedge maze in the shuttle bay for one of the engineers. He spent four hours trying to find a control panel, not realizing that the maze was shifting as he moved."

“Holograms have made pranking a lot more fun!” Camille agreed. “On Jupiter Station, we sometimes messed with each other’s programs. Never permanently, but it gave a good laugh. My friend Jennifer has a romantic holonovel that we sometimes played with. We’d replace the dashing gentleman with a Ferengi, or change his voice so that he sounded like her mother.” She sat back in her chair. “We never did replace the water in the lake scene with pudding though.”

"Well I can say with total confidence," Nicole said, "standing in a giant vat of pudding is not as fun as it may sound." She chewed thoughtfully. "What's Montreal like?"

“It’s beautiful,” answered Camille wistfully. “Eclectic. Modern buildings next to structures built over 600 years ago.” She smiled. “There are these places built in the mid-twentieth century that resemble what they thought the future would look like. I spent so much time in the museums, especially the biodome.” She laughed a bit. “I’m sounding like a tourism advertisement! It’s hard to describe otherwise though. I grew up on the outskirts but I think of it as home.” She took another bite of food, this time of pan-fried broccoli. “Next time we’re in the AQ I’ll give you a tour!”

"Something to look forward to," Nicole said. She put down her empty bowl and smiled. "You know, we could--" she paused, the thought dying as soon as it began to leave her lips. Nicole had the perfect program to introduce her friend to her world, but a looming shadow was lurking in the background. She wasn't sure she was ready to shine a light on it, even with Camille by her side...or especially with Camille there.

She cleared her throat. "We could always see if the holodeck has a program for touring Montreal, if it's close to the real thing."

Camille’s eyes lit up. “Bien sur!” she said. “On Jupiter Station, my best friend was in the holography labs and was contracted by the Federation Tourism Board to update holodeck programs of major cities. She let me test it, and it feels close to the real thing.” She reached over and put her hand over Nicole’s on the table. “Let me take you snowshoeing on Mont Royale.”

Nicole took Camille's hand and opened her mouth, then closed it, looking confused. "I know what snow is...there are shoes for it?"

Camille grinned. She looked up at the ceiling and said "Computer, are any holodecks available?"

The computer chimed and replied. "Main holodeck is presently unoccupied."

"Super," Camille said. "Activate program Federation Tourism Board: Montreal. Location: interior Mont Royale lower cabin. Late February. Temperature: minus five Celsius." The computer chimed in acknowledgement. Camille stood from her seat, still holding Nicole's hand. "It's hard to describe snow shoeing. Easiest to show you. Shall we, ma jolie dame?"

"I should change then. Rigellians don't do well in the cold," Nicole said, following her friend out to who-knew-what.

“Don’t worry,” Camille assured her. “The program will let us select cold weather clothing and snow shoes from the cabin. You’ll be perfectly fine.” The main holodeck was on their same deck. Camille touched the console outside the holodeck door. “Computer, have ready for us boots, warm pants, a warm jacket, scarf, gloves, a hat and a pair of snowshoes tailored for Dr. Anderson and Lieutenant Lévesque.”

“Program complete. Enter when ready.”

“Après vous,” said Camille, gesturing to the door.

Nicole stepped inside of a wooden structure that looked both quaint and yet solid and warm. *Looks like one of Markus' safe houses,* she thought. It wasn't quite built like one of the cabins on Rigel favored in some of the communes, but it appeared sturdy and spacious. She rubbed her arms self-consciously, already feeling the chill. "So where are we, exactly?" she said.

"We're in a small chalet just outside le Lac aux Castors," Camille explained. "Beaver Lake, though in the winter they're all transplanted to more pleasant habitat. The lake is very small, and when it freezes it's used for skating." She took off her uniform boots and began to put on her winter wear. She saw Nicole feeling the cold. "You'll be plenty warm enough once you get these on, ma chère. And you need to experience this in below freezing! It's part of the fun!"

"Taking your word for it," Nicole said, sitting down and also beginning to change. "Not often the phrase 'below freezing' and 'fun' go together for me."

Camille finished getting her warm clothes on and picked up the snow shoes, black, wide, and made of a very light composite material. “These are modern snow shoes. Your feet clip into these parts here,” she pointed to the foot brace. “There are little spikes underneath for added traction. The large pad helps distribute your weight across the snow, so you won’t sink into it. We’ll put them on outside.”

Once she saw that Nicole was fully dressed, Camille opened the door to the cabin. Outside it was a winter wonderland. Families with children were skating on the frozen lake. Friends and lovers sipped hot drinks in an adjacent cafe. Hikers and cross country skiers went along the trails. “Parfait,” said Camille. She took a deep breath in, loving the cold air in her lungs.

Nicole stepped out and felt the cold assault her nostrils. She inhaled and coughed hard, her lungs rejecting the icy air on contact. Back home she hated going out for house calls in the winter. This was worse, however; the air here was considerably more cold. She stumbled into the snow behind her friend.

Camille put both pairs of snow shoes on the ground, and motioned for Nicole to step into hers. “I’ll help you put them on.”

Nicole wobbled but held on tight as she got her shoes on, then felt at least steadier. "All right," she said, putting on a brave smile. "Where does the fun begin?"

When Camille finished buckling Nicole in, she stood and looked at her friend. Seeing how clearly uncomfortable she was, Camille said “Computer, increase temperature to positive eight Celsius. Keep environment as is in every other respect.” She felt the air start to warm, though the holographic snow and ice remained unchanged. She took off her hat and gloves. “Glad to know there exists at least one situations where I’m the more durable one!” Camille said with a smile.

Nicole frowned, guilt creeping in. It was not an overly familiar feeling with her, but she knew it when she felt it. She put a hand out and stopped Camille from further disrobing. "Computer," Nicole said, "undo previous request." The wind picked up and the chill air came again. Nicole coughed once, then braced herself and breathed normally. "You shouldn't change your home for me," she said. "I can deal with some cold air." When Camille looked like she was about to protest, Nicole leaned in and kissed her to silence her. "I insist," she said. "This place is beautiful and I won't let you change a thing." She smiled and felt her cheeks flush a bit and sighed. "When did I become this sappy?" she scolded herself. "I'm going soft."

Camille giggled. “You just chose obvious discomfort to make me happy. You might be sappy, but you’re also a hard as nails badass.” She put her hat and gloves back on. “The trail is this way,” she said, gesturing to an obvious path between the trees and up the mountain. “Lift your legs higher than you normally would when you walk. I promise when we get to the top it will be worth it. And there’s a nice warm chalet up there too.”

"Thank Providence," she said under the wind as she awkwardly began walking towards the trees, holding Camille's hand. "Do this often?"

“As a little girl, we did this all the time,” answered Camille. “Both here in the city and in our hometown, once we moved away. There’s also a village one hundred and fifty kilometres from here where we would downhill ski.” She looked at Nicole and gave her hand a squeeze. “It has been a while though. Thank you for sharing this with me.”

"You're welcome," Nicole said, sincerely as they made their way into the trees. "Starting to look like my home now," she observed.

“You told me it’s heavily forested,” Camille said, looking at the mix of green conifer trees and bare deciduous ones lining the path. A remarkably diverse forest in the middle of a metropolitan area. “Your home, I mean. Back when we first met in my lab. But I’m guessing it doesn’t get this cold?”

"Its position makes it fairly temperate," Nicole said as they walked. "We get a short winter, but it's not quite this cold. Snow happens somewhat intensely for about a week, then melts, which is needed for the spring crops in many areas."

“In this part of Earth,” Camille started to explain, “it gets cold enough for long enough that the sap from the trees concentrates. In March, they harvest the sap from trees like these here,” she pointed to a leafless sugar maple. “When it’s just warm enough for it to be liquid. Excess water is boiled off and it becomes a staple of my culture. We’ll be able to taste some in the chalet.” She smiled as a thought crossed her mind. “Just be glad I’m from Québec, Nicole. This time of year, much of Canada is significantly colder. Maybe minus fifty, with the wind making it feel worse.”

Nicole shook with a chill just from the thought. "I'll count my blessings," she said. "We have a similar concoction from tree sap. We brew it into an alcoholic drink."

“Mmm!” Camille replied. “You’ll have to let me try that sometime.” They approached a fork in the path. “This way,” Camille directed. They went right. They walked in comfortable silence for a few more minutes.

“So are there any fun activities unique to Rigel that you enjoy?” Camille asked. “Something we could do in the holodeck, or when we’re back in AQ?”

"I don't know how unique they are," Nicole said, following along. "Trees to climb, children's games we played growing up, a version of baseball that humans introduced and caught on, fek dukal, a game with balls and pins, archery and...well...every Rigellian's favorite pastime," she said, grinning mischievously.

“You’ve shown me that one a few times!” Camille said with a big smile. “But if you and I were visiting your home right now, what would we be doing? Aside from that, of course.” She was tempted to stick her tongue out at the doctor, but remembered her lesson at the poker game.

Nicole thought. "Sitting on the shores of the lakes near the Soul Clan, swimming, eating fruit off the tree and soaking up the sun," Nicole said. "And when we had enough of that, we could explore the canopy. And when we had enough of that..." she grinned back.

Camille giggled. “Sounds like fun! Maybe we can find a Rigel holoprogram next.”

Nicole's smile faltered a bit and she covered it up by rubbing some warmth back into her face. "Yeah...maybe."

They continued to walk until they saw their destination. A stone platform lay ahead to their right. A wooden cabin with stone steps to the entrance was to their left. “Here, let me take off your snowshoes and we’ll go out to the observation deck.”

"Sounds good," Nicole said, stepping out of them. She looked around and caught her breath. Lampposts dotted the area as well as rectangular sections that would eventually be flowerbeds in the spring. In the distance was a low wall and beyond that were glittering towers and spires of the city surrounding them. "It's beautiful," she said, looking around.

"Computer," Camille said as she finished getting out of her own snow shoes. "Adjust simulation time to 2100 hours. Eliminate cloud cover." She came up the low wall behind Nicole and wrapped her arms around the doctor's waist and night rapidly fell and clouds dissipated from the sky. The buildings lit up brilliantly and beautifully before them. Light pollution was sufficient to drown out the stars ahead of them, but behind, the night sky started to twinkle, a crescent moon partially lighting it.

"This is one of my favourite views anywhere," she said softly.

"I can see why," Nicole said. She'd seen cities before on various planets, but hadn't been able to stop and appreciate what it looked like lit up at night. "Ancient Grace is nothing like this," she said softly.

They stood for a moment in peace and tranquility, gazing out at the bright cityscape. The moment was only disrupted when a particularly strong blast of wind pushed cold air and snow into their faces. Camille smiled and laughed gaily at the feeling of snowflakes blown onto her face and her glasses. "Shall we go inside? There's a warm fire we can sit by."

"I think that'd be best," Nicole said, wiping her face off. She turned and followed Camille towards the new cabin and was rewarded with a glow of warm air on her cheeks as she stepped inside. It was like slipping into a hot bath after a long day. Suddenly the layers felt constricting, cold and clammy, and she couldn't wait to divest herself of them, hanging them on nearby hooks.

Camille removed her excess layers as well, leaving her in her uniform, minus any sort of footwear. But the floor wasn't too cold, so it didn't bother her.

The cabin was open, with a few fireplaces and dedicated sitting arrangements near of them. A small cafe to one side offered coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. One wall was festooned with brochures for different nearby tourist attractions, as well as a large map of the park.

"Computer," Camille said. "Remove all holographic persons." Suddenly, the groups of friends, the families, and the lovers, including the employees at the cafe, vanished. "I thought a bit of privacy would be nice," she said to Nicole with a smile. She grabbed a pair of cups from the unoccupied cafe area. "I'm having a hot chocolate. Would you like one? We can replicate something else if you like."

"A small one," Nicole said. "I don't want it to go to my head too quickly."

Camille passed one cup to Nicole before taking her first sip. The flavour was perfect; the right amount of sweetness and creaminess. She guided Nicole to a sofa pushed close to a roaring fireplace. It was the perfect temperature to relax with someone after a day in the cold. She sat down first and set her drink on a side table. "Come sit with me. I see how you're protective of me sometimes. Let me protect you from the cold."

Nicole smiled and sat next to her, leaning back. "I'm sorry," she said. "Only child though I am, I tend to get protective of those who seem to be a bit more...innocent." She smiled. "Of course, appearances can be deceiving."

Camille smiled. "I take it as a compliment," she said. "We always ended our trips to Mont Royale here. Chocolat chaud, fire, the décor. It's a special place that I'm glad I can share with you. Are you still cold? Do you want to sit...closer? For warmth?"

The hot chocolate must have been going to her head. She snuggled in and kissed Camille's neck. "I appreciate the offer to keep me from freezing," she said. "I've always been a bit cold-blooded, in and out of Sickbay. You're quite brave growing up in this arctic environment."

She rested herself against Camille and sighed contentedly. She hadn't planned on things progressing this far, but she had to admit, it was nice to have someone to snuggle with again. *You need to discuss this with Victor,* her mind reminded her, but she shoved it away. She was determined to stay in the moment.

"I suppose we're all hard as nails in our own specialized ways," Camille said. She wrapped Nicole in her arms and held her close. The fire and shared body heat got them to a nice temperature. Then an idea crossed her mind.

"You're the doctor," Camille began, "so I hope you can confirm something for me. I understood that body heat sharing works best when it's skin to skin." She smiled a bit wickedly.

Nicole sat up and stared at her, mouth open in shock. "Oh, that's the plan, is it? Drag me through the tundra, ply me with chocolate, then an innocent snog by the fire so you can get into my uniform? " She folded her arms and scowled, but a moment later broke out into a grin. "A damn good idea."

She pounced and kissed Camille deep.

~~Some time later~~

Camille lay on the rug in front of the fire, head on Nicole’s arm. Her uniform was...somewhere, though she knew her glasses were on the small table next to her now-not-so-hot chocolate. She smiled in contentment as she ran a finger along Nicole’s leg.

Nicole felt the warmth of the fire washing over her and sighed, stretching. "I have to ask," she said. "Am I your first non-terran?"

Camille thought a moment. “I think so,” she replied. “To be honest there were some one night stands in my younger days where I didn’t ask where they were from. But I think so. Pourquoi?”

"Curiosity," Nicole said. "I'll admit my experience with humans is not as extensive as it probably could be." She kept staring at the ceiling, then looked over. "You're pretty good for a human," she said, grinning cheekily and kissing her.

Camille giggled. “I try!” she said when the kiss broke. “I like it when you teach me about the Rigelian way of life.” She kissed Nicole again, harder this time.

Nicole kissed her back and rested a hand on her cheek. "We haven't even scratched the surface there," she said, smiling, then turned back to her view above. "Who...have you been involved with past a one night stand?" she said.

“I’ve had some serious relationships,” Camille replied. “Back in graduate school in Paris, there was Liane Griffon. We were together for two years. It ended only when I graduated and went to the Academy. She wanted to stay on Earth, and I wanted to leave.” She rolled onto her side. “Then there was James Richardson. Another junior officer on Jupiter Station. We were together six months. I broke it off. He, ah, seemed to think that ‘bisexual’ meant the same thing as ‘promiscuous.’ Some days he’d insist I was cheating. Other days he did his utmost to bring another woman into our bedroom. So one day I told him, I think my exact words were ‘crisser mon câlisse de camp mon osti de tabernack’.” She smiled. “That was a good decision. It was about four months ago. You’re my first since. Is everything alright?” she asked, a bit concerned by the questions.

Nicole's eyes were pretty far away by that point. "His name was Michael," she said slowly. "He was the helmsman on the Ommadawn and I was the ACMO. I...I loved him so much. It ended...it had to end. I broke. I've been pulling myself together since then. I met someone else...he was, to put it mildly, evil. I tried twice to get close to someone here, and both of them left me. Every time, my mind went back to Michael and I realized how I was just trying to find someone to compare to him." She wiped her eyes.

Finally she turned and looked Camille in the eye. "You...when I met you it struck me so unexpectedly. You have the same charm, the same sweetness, the same affection. Talking to you is so easy, and fluid and I haven't had to think or worry...and the other night I realized, I like being with you for the same reasons I loved him...and it terrified the hell out of me that I was just trying to fill that void again, but the odd thing is, I have barely thought about him since we met. Maybe I'm finally moving on, maybe I'm healing, I don't know, and if I just killed the mood I'm sorry but I really had to get that out."

Camille quietly wrapped her arms around Nicole and pulled her in for a tight embrace. “Thank you for telling me. It means a lot to me. And it’s never a mistake to say what you need to say.” She rolled onto her back and pulled Nicole with her, encouraging the doctor to rest her head on Camille’s shoulder, holding her close.

Nicole hugged her hard and kissed her neck. She stayed that way for several minutes, appreciating just having her there. Finally sigh let out a long sigh. "So....no threesomes, hm?" she said, trying to hold back a snicker.

“Oh I’ve had them, and would again,” Camille replied with a nod and a smile. “Just not with that jerk.”

"Well we'll have to find us a better quality of jerk," Nicole giggled. She sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees. "Our holodeck time's about up. You'll forgive me if I ask to skip the hike back down and go straight for the exit."

Camille smiled and nodded again. She slid to the couch, pulled herself up, and grabbed her glasses. Naked but for her eyewear, she moved towards Nicole and offered her hand to pull her up. “We should probably find our uniforms before the next person comes in. I think we only have five minutes.”

"Well, let's make it easy then," Nicole said. "Computer: end program." The chalet, the snow, and Montreal in the window disappeared, leaving them alone with each other, their clothes scattered around and nothing left between them but that which was still unsaid.

“The other day, when we confirmed the nature of the virus,” Camille said as she started to dress. “I woke up resting on your thigh. And you tried to protect me from Captain Kennit. That’s when I first realized I’d started feeling something for you. We had agreed it would be casual, so I tried to ignore it. That was selfish of me.”

Nicole adjusted her top and smoothed her uniform. She draped her hands behind her back, her brows knitted in thought. "It wasn't selfish," she said. "And I suppose at some point we should discuss what comes after 'casual.'"

“Yes we should,” Camille agreed. “At some point. For now...let’s see what happens.” She finished putting on her boots and approached the exit. She put on a friendly smile. “After you, ma jolie dame.”

Nicole smiled and walked out back into the real world.

 

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