<USS Avalon> Cleaning up

Josh waited impatiently for a chance to board the Avalon. Everything around him 
here on the station felt wrong. Unsettled. 
   
  Messy.
   
  Josh got himself a cabin through the evacuee's liason. He needed to shower. 
He couldn't go home. 
   
  Did he even have a home anymore? 
   
  No, something inside him answered in flat, muted tones. You never really did.
   
  He replicated what he needed. Three bars of soap. Three toothbrushes and 
tubes of toothpaste. Three washcloths. Three towels. A fresh uniform, layered 
carefully for warmth, boots. He laid everything out carefully, just so, so 
nothing touched anything else, then stripped down and stepped in. 
   
  He unwrapped one bar of soap, lathered up a washcloth and scrubbed until his 
skin was pink. Then, after carefully wrapping the bar in the washcloth, he 
dropped it into the reclamator unit. He picked up a second bar of soap and 
washcloth and repeated the procedure, scouring from head to toe until his skin 
was scrubbed red. Ever so carefully he wrapped the second bar of soap in the 
washcloth and disposed of it. Unwrapping the third bar, he lathered the final 
washcloth and scrubbed head to toe yet again, until his skin was raw. After 
standing still and allowing the scalding hot water to wash over him for several 
long moments more, he did as he'd done with the first two bars, wrapping the 
third int he washcloth and throwing it away. Stepping out of the shower, he 
towel dried from head to toe once...twice....three time...disposing of each 
towel after it had touched his feet. 
   
  Finally, some semblance of clean. 
   
  He unwrapped a toothbrush, opened the tube of toothpaste, and carefully 
applied the gel, squeezing the tube from the bottom as the instructions 
directed, brushed  just the front surfaces of his teeth carefully for two 
minutes, then threw them away. Opening a second set, he repeated the procedure, 
this time brushing the back surfaces, then threw them away as well. The third 
set was for the chewing surfaces. Sighing as he finished cleaning the mess, he 
dressed, disposed of his dirty clothing and exited the cabin. 
   
  Time to find more work to do.


                            I am wounded but I am not dead
  I will lay me down and bleed awhile
  then I will rise up and fight again















                
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