<USS Avalon> "For Better or Worse"

"For Better or Worse"
Josh and Annabelle Garrity



Josh loaded the program, entered the holodeck and encrypted the door behind 
him, barring unexpected guests. He'd rather not have Annabelle come in here 
looking for him. He entered, sighing as the warmth and heaviness settled over 
him, far more comfortable despite the horrible smell of death and decay than 
the ships standard environment, which even his quarters now maintained unless 
he was alone for Annabelle's sake. Disengaging safety protocols, he ducked 
quickly into an alcove to his left, reaching back as he did so for a large bone 
from behind him that he could use as a weapon.  It didn't take long for things 
to get interesting. Keepers and Carriers appeared from both directions, passing 
each other without a sound. Those from the North carried a struggling young 
apparently Andorian boy. Those from the South walked empty handed, though the 
Carriers were covered with bright green blood. Josh shuddered as those from the 
south walked on then came up behind those from the North, ramming the bone 
through one carriers skull kicking the other hard between the shoulder blades, 
sending him sprawling into the keeper as he grabbed the small boy and thrust 
him back toward alcove he'd just left. "N'rae" He hissed as the Carrier was 
shoved unceremoniously from atop the angry Keeper. Kicking the Carrier on the 
point of the chin, Josh sent him sprawling again then dove for the staff the 
Keeper had dropped, trying to retrieve it before the Keeper could, but the 
keeper was surprisingly fast for his size and build. The creature used it's 
greater size to throw Josh off balance, wresting the staff from him as he did 
so, then quickly bringing it down hard, aiming for Josh's head. Adrenaline and 
quick reflexes worked together and he rolled to the side, getting one foot 
under him as the other leg swept out, catching the keeper in the back of the 
knees, sending him sprawling as Josh retrieved the staff and stabbed it through 
the Keepers throat, preventing him from yelling before he died, then turning 
back into the alcove into which he'd placed the boy even before his mind fully 
registered it all. 

Annabelle pulled her hair free from it's ponytail as she walked into their 
quarters after her shift. A hot shower, a small meal, and Josh. It's all she 
wanted or needed. "Josh?" She called out as she headed for their bedroom. He 
wasn't there, nor was he in the bath. In fact he wasn't even home. "Computer 
location of Joshua Garrity." 

"Joshua Garrity is on holodeck three." 

Tossing her jacket into their bedroll, Annabelle sighed as she headed back out 
the door. When she reached the holodeck the damn thing wouldn't let her in. 
"Garrity to Garrity, Josh what are you doing?"

Josh crept up behind the Northward bound Keeper and his Carriers, but frowned 
as his comm chirped near silently - near but not quite. The keepers and 
Carriers turned as a unit, attacking together at the unfamiliar sound. The 
carriers moved to pin Josh to the cave wall, where young vr'tai lived and 
seeking food and refuge. Josh thrust toward the one to his left, dislocating 
his right shoulder as he attempted to throw the carrier to his left off 
balance. His success proved painful as the one to the left went down but didn't 
let go, instead dragging both him and the other down with him. Struggling free 
and running swiftly, Carriers and Keeper in hot pursuit, he tapped his combadge 
with his left hand, his right hanging limply at his side. "I'm ...uh...working 
out. Can't talk now." 

"Your suppose to be relaxing." Annabelle replied as she leaned against the wall 
next to the door. ""And what kinda of work out makes you seal and encrypt the 
doors?"

"I am relaxing," Josh huffed as he rounded another corner, pursuers closing in, 
"...just...the kind you ...don't want...interrupted." He ducked into a tunnel 
only just large enough for his thin frame, knowing the carriers and keepers 
wouldn't fit, and crawled to the back, into the darkness, where he wouldn't be 
seen. Nearly out of breath, his shoulder screaming, he whispered breathlessly, 
"See you at home, okay?"

The kind you don't want interrupted? Annabelle blinked. If he were any other 
man she'd have jumped right to the vucan love slave programs, but she knew Josh 
wouldn't do that. So what was he up too? "Home, right. See you soon." She 
answered as she headed back to their cabin. She had no plans on staying, just 
picking something up, but he didn't need to know that. 

Josh sighed in relief as she indicated her exit then looked about in the 
darkness for someplace to put his shoulder back in place, hoping her pursuers 
had moved on as well. 

As soon as she walked into their cabin, Annabelle went right to Josh's desk. 
She plopped down into the chair and opened the bottom drawer. She knew what she 
was looking for she just had to find where he hid it. Reaching way into the 
back she felt around until the tips of her fingers found it. She smirked as she 
pulled the chip out of it's hiding place and then slipped it into her pocket 
before heading back to the holodeck.

Josh bit back a cry as he slammed his shoulder back into place and crept back 
out of the whole he'd hidden in carefully, looking about for another weapon as 
heavy footfalls approached at a run. They'd passed indeed, and called for help. 
This was about to get ugly.

Back outside the holodeck, Annabelle removed the panel just below the 
holodeck's outside control display. She slipped Josh's chip into the right hole 
and waited until the screen on the display showed her that it had bypassed all 
of Josh's encryptions, then she paused the program and unlocked the doors 
before tapping in a few codes of her own. Once she was done she slipped the 
chip back into her pocket and walked over to the doors. They swished open and 
she stepped inside. 

Josh stepped over the dead body of the third, wiping blood from his eyes and 
holding back the fourth Carrier as the second Keeper lunged. He arched back, 
hoping to put enough space between them to render the blow nothing more than a 
nuisance rather than the significant and painful injury it promised to be, when 
everything around him stopped. 

The program paused. "Computer, reengage safety protocols and initiate 
subroutine one one zero." He called out just loud enough for the computer to 
register.

"Josh?" Annabelle called out as she stepped into the frozen program. What is 
this pla... Oh god.

The heavy gravity suddenly lightened, the oppressive heat broken by a gentle 
ocean breeze. The caves changed slightly in shape, the smell of death and decay 
replaced with the crisp light scent of the ocean, which could be heard, 
crashing in.

Josh stepped out onto the rocks and sat, quickly cleaning his wounds with the 
salty water as he drew items from his medkit and made use of them one by one, 
hoping to have the worst of the damage repaired before the intruder found him.

Annabelle watched as the program changed and frowned. She headed towards the 
sound of the ocean, wondering why Josh had changed it, why he wanted to hide 
it. She wasn't stupid, she knew what the place was. When she saw him sitting on 
the rocks she stopped just a few feet behind him. "Joshua." 

He finished healing the large gash across his forehead as she approached, 
tucking the medkit quickly away before looking back over his shoulder at her. 
"Yeah?"

Closing the distance between them, Annabelle reached up and caressed her 
husband's face. "Those were your..." She paused when she noted the blood on 
Josh's uniform. "Your hurt!"

He shook his head quickly. "No...I'm ...I'm fine. It's...okay." He brushed 
absently at his blood soaked tunic. "I just..need a shower. Okay?"

"That's your blood." She said as she reached out to touch it. "If it had been 
holographic it would have disappeared when you changed the program." She looked 
up into his eyes before looking him over for wounds. 

He shrugged and repeated, "I'm okay," again quietly, though he shivered in the 
cool ocean breeze.

"Computer increase temperature 10 degrees." Annabelle called out before moving 
around the rock so that she was standing in front of Josh. Concern filled eyes 
locked with Josh's as Annabelle grabbed his hands and wrapped herself in his 
arms. "You were in the caves you grew up in, why did you change it?"

"It paused." he answered simply,though he knew full well it wasn't that simple.

Annabelle wrapped her arms around Josh and rested her head on his chest. "Why 
hide it from me?" She asked. "You knew it was me didn't you."

He nodded. He knew. 

"Show me?" She asked softly. She wanted to see it, she wanted to share it with 
him in some off way. They shared a life now and she wanted to understand his 
half. 

Josh looked at her as if she'd just asked him to cut off his own head. "I...you 
don't...no..I can't." He looked at her, his eyes pleading with her not to 
insist. "It's...I'm sorry...I can't."

She didn't know wither to feel safe cause he wanted to protect her or angry 
because he'd hide this from her. "Mac showed Anna."

Josh lowered his gaze, shaking his head. "Shouldn't have..." He looked at her 
sadly. "It's...You sleep now. You dream...good...peaceful dreams. Please...."

"But this is apart of who you are." She said as she looked up into his eyes. "I 
want to share this with you, I want to understand all of you. I want to know 
why you have nightmares and why you get out of our bed when you think I'm 
alseep."

He sighed,searching her eyes for understanding. At long last, he nodded 
slightly and called out, only just audibly. "Computer, disengage subroutine one 
one zero. Run program in survey mode only." 

The computer resumed the original program, the caves reforming around them, 
temperature and gravity readjusting, the smell of the sea replaced by the 
nauseating stench of Taursus. The program ran around them as if they were 
invisible. He attempted to guide her back toward the exit then, seemingly 
steering her away from the sounds of strange, rough, gutteral voices, and the 
terrified cries of children that seemed to come from somewhere deeper within.
Annabelle stopped, stood there, and fought off the sick feeling from the smell. 
She watched as boys were hauled back and forth by monsters, she listened to 
distance screaming, she watched a small boy working the mine as if he were a 
mark one. Tears welled in her eyes and still she watched, still she listened, 
and the more deeply she loved him.

Josh held her close, drying her tears. "It's okay." he told her quietly. "It's 
over. For me, anyway...."

"You mean this is all still happening?" She asked in shock. "They didn't stop 
it when they got you and Zachary out?"

Josh shook his head. "I got out...then ...we got Zack out..." he looked away, 
ashamed. "I...we...they...the others. They're still there. We haven't...." He 
shook his head again. They hadn't gone back. Starfleet had just left them...and 
so had he.

Annabelle's eyes burned with anger and compassion as she looked up at Josh. "We 
have to do something, Josh. We have to help them."

"I know," he answered, near-silent, the slight accent more apparent in his 
quiet tones for the emotion carried there. "not we, though." He fixed her with 
a steady gaze. "You...can't ever...ever...go there. This is...me...mine to do. 
Alone."

Taking his left hand in her own, Annabelle lefted them both and pointed at 
their wedding bands. "Do you see these? These mean that your not alone, that 
you don't have to do things alone. Don't you dare thing I'm going to just let 
you up and leave like you did this last time. We do things together from now 
on, Joshua Garrity. Got it bud?" She told him before kissing him.  

Josh kissed her and held her close to him, considering her words silently.

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