<USS Avalon> Seeking Counsel

Seeking Counsel
by, Jr Lt's Patrick McEntire and Li Vilya
 
Mac entered Engineering looking a little lost. He was so used to partnering up 
with Josh that continuing to work alone had become awkward and foreign. 
 
Hearing the doors slide open, Vilya poked her head from under the console she 
was looking over.  She smiled when she was Mac and waved him over.  "If it 
isn't the other Patrick!" she said brightly.  "I'd ask where your very tall 
shadow is but I think I'm glad he's taking a break." 
 
Mac nodded. "Me too. Doubt he is, but he needs it." Moving over to where she 
was working, he sat down next to her and asked, "Do you think Ming might be up 
to coming by later?"

Vilya frowned, knowing he was right.  Even in the short amount of time that 
she'd known Josh, she realized that 'rest' was very rarely in his vocabulary. 
"I'm sure he would.  You know he loves visiting."   

Mac sighed. "Good. I think I could use his help."

"Mind if I ask how?  I didn't think Josh was the sort that went for the sort of 
cousel that Ming's trained to provide,"  Vilya said carefully. 
 
Mac shook his head. "He's not. He's not much for anyone in his space, but he 
needs something right now and I'm not sure that any of us trying to give it to 
him are reaching him, know what I mean? Even Marksbury tried, as messed up as 
things are for her right now. He went, he listened, he left, he went right back 
to what he was doing." He looked at her then, realizing she had no idea what he 
was talking about. "His little brother was killed while we were on Deck 13. 
Last family he had. He's taking it ..well...about as well as you could expect 
him to, I guess." 

"Oh, Sweet Prophets...I didn't know," she replied, her warm brown eyes tearing 
in sympathy.  "I am so sorry to hear that.  Mac, if Commander Marksbury can't 
get through to him...if you, who's almost another brother to him..." 
 
"See, I don't know if I finally got to him or not...he's been...so damned 
distant..pushing himself so hard. He almost dropped. Got himself in a situation 
he couldn't have got out of if Anna hadn't shown up there. It would have killed 
him." He looked at her earnestly, "I kind of think he wanted it to." He 
swallowed hard, not willing to let his thoughts linger too long there. "I 
logged him out on bereavement leave and we're taking turns, Chase, Jameson and 
me, watching him, but see I'm not sure that's enough, especially when he gives 
us the slip. He's not thinking right just now. I just wondered. I mean, Ming's 
dealt with stuff like that before, right?" 

Vilya nodded slowly in understanding then.  "That he definitely has.  I still 
have trouble quite understanding the ins and outs of his beliefs but I do know 
he has definite thoughts about death and dying.  It seems to be a rather large 
part of it actually.  What did you want to do?  I can ask him to come down here 
now if you want or maybe have him meet us?"  

"I'm meeting Nikki for lunch, if I don't run back home for it. Do you think 
Ming would mind coming down here for a few?" 

"He's very easy about these things.  He told me that he once had a good long 
talk with a teenager while they were both surfing.  It's the content to 
him...not the place," Vilya replied, smiling slightly at the mental picture.  

Mac grinned at that in spite of himself. Having grown up in California's 
central valley region, he'd missed his opportunity to learn to surf until after 
he'd entered the Academy in San Francisco. Even on his best day, he couldn't 
imagine trying to carry on a conversation while doing it. 

"Mac, do we know what happened to the poor boy?  The circumstances?" Vilya 
asked. 

Mac's teeth clenched a moment as he nodded. "Yes...we do...Zachary Garrity, a 
comm tech and trained linguistics engineer, somehow ended up in a fighter...and 
'accidently' taken down by friendly fire." 

"Oh...my..." She brushed away the tear she felt at the corner of her eye.  "It 
sounds like something's terribly wrong there, Mac.  If it could happen once, it 
could happen again." 
 
"I know. So does he." Mac looked at her as though dying to tell her something. 
"That's part of the problem here. There's so much more to it than just that. 
Goes back to how they ended up in the Fleet in the first place. I'm thinking if 
Ming can get him talking...dealing with it all... in a way that doesn't 
involved killing himself in nightmare holoprograms without safeties or even 
working himself to death..." 

"I know he'll certainly try.  He's rather patient in that respect," she said 
with a tiny hint of pride in her voice. "And he likes Josh.  We both do." 
 
Mac smiled. "Yeah, he kind of grows on you if your not careful. Kind of in 
spite of himself, if you know what I mean. That's what I'm trying to make him 
understand. He's not as alone as he thinks he is right now. Not even close." 
His heart seemed heavy as he added. "I'm just not sure he's getting it, or that 
it matters compared to what he lost." 

"It's the age old question of what makes family.  It isn't always just blood.  
If it were just blood, I couldn'tthink of Mullabok as a grandfather or even the 
Emissary himself as an uncle. I understand what you mean exactly," Vilya said, 
nodding carefully. "So far away from home, we create diffrent types of family 
and thgey are just as important." 
 
"Except I'm not sure Josh feels that way. It's hard to say how he feels. He's 
not talking." Mac sounded more than a little frustrated as he told her this.

"I might have to ask Ming not to wear his usual attire then," Vilya said 
musingly.  "Some people find it rather intimidating." 
 
"Maybe. It's hard to say what Josh won't find intimidating. He's not very 
comfortable with people, but I keep thinking somebody has to reach him. I 
wouldn't be bothering you with this except I can't go to the counseler and I 
don't know who else to talk to." 

"I understand completely and I know he'll be glad to help." 


                
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