<USS Avalon> "The Final Piece to the Puzzle" By Maturin and Marksbury

"The Final Piece to the Puzzle"
By Junior Lieutenant Elissabeth Marksbury and Senior Lieutenant James Maturin
 
 
James was nervous as he sat down in front of his comm unit.  He had finally 
made a decision - he was going to tell Lyryn everything and let her make up her 
own mind as to what to do about it.  He had decided to support that decision no 
matter what the cost.  Starfleet can hang my career, he thought.  I'm not 
putting her through this again if she doesn't want to go through it.   
 
He gave the computer his commands and password and waited for contact on the 
other side.  He had heard that the Avalon was headed back to Earth and he was 
hoping to see her, but that would come later.  Especially if she still wanted 
to talk to him after all this.
 
Lissi had just finished dressing after her shower when she heard the comm unit 
beep.  "Right on time," she said, having hoped he would be late enough to allow 
time to dry her hair.  She slid into the consol chair and told the computer to 
open the channel.
 
"Junior Lieutenant," he said professionally.
 
"I'm still not clear exactly on how you came to outrank me," she smiled.
 
The surprise at her familiarity showed on his face.  
 
"What?  We can't be friends anymore, James?"
 
"It's not that, I just -"
 
"Didn't expect me to remember?  Me neither.  There for awhile I was really 
starting to lose patience.  And it's all still really confusing.  It's almost 
like I have two sets of memories in my head and they aren't meshing properly.  
I thought maybe you could help me sort it out."
 
"God it's good to have you back, Lyryn.  Mostly, anyway.  I missed you," he 
told her, looking at her with a great deal of emotion in his eyes.
 
She choked back a lump in her throat, remembering how much she cared for him 
though they were just friends.  "It's good to see you too.  So, James, what in 
the hell has happened to me?"
 
The fact that she already knew who she was took a lot of the stress and guilt 
away.  Now he was just helping her sort out the things that she already 
remembered.
 
"Well, you remember our life, right?  In the future?"  he asked.
 
"I do.  I remember growing up and I remember being a higher rank than you," she 
smiled, "And I remember how we came to be on the Avalon - I was a traitor."  
Her confession caused her features to cloud.
 
"Not a traitor.  Yes, you disobeyed orders, but I think you did what you 
thought was right.  You helped save many people's lives, including Commander 
Skyler's.  Do you miss the Tempest?"
 
"No, not really."
 
"Surprisingly enough, neither do I.  I don't even miss the future, though it's 
so hard sometimes when I hear people talking about certain areas of the galaxy 
being unexplored and...well, I know what's there, y'know?"
 
"Actually, I don't," she said quietly.  "I think I had my memory altered, 
didn't I?  I seem to remember, though those parts are cloudier than anything 
else."
 
"Yes, you were offered a choice.  You could stay on Earth working with Intel or 
you could have your memory erased and serve aboard the Avalon.  You chose the 
Avalon," he said sadly.
 
"You think I chose the Avalon over you," her tone wasn't accusatory, it was 
more a revelation.
 
He sighed.  "At first, yes.  But now I realise that you chose your career just 
like you always have and if you had changed that just to be with me, you 
wouldn't have been the same person that I fell in love with."
 
She didn't know what to say.  She wished that they could see each other in 
person.
 
"Now," James said, changing the subject, "I have a bit of a problem.  I'm 
supposed to contact Dr. Brookman with any changes in your memory.  If I do 
this, Lyryn, you're going to have to undergo the procedure again and this 
worries me.  Look what happened the first time..."
 
When she didn't respond, he continued, "So, if you need me to, I'll keep this 
all quiet if you want to pretend that you don't remember Lyryn Cate.  All you 
have to do is say the word."
 
"You're going to disobey orders for me?  But...why?"
 
"Because sometimes doing what is right means disobeying orders.  You proved 
that by not killing Skyler, and not helping to destroy the Avalon.  I'll let 
you think about it.  Let me know."  He stared at her another moment before 
turning off the comm link.  Not for the first time he wondered if he were 
making the right choices.


                
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