<USS Avalon> The Trip Back To Avalon

                                     "The Trip Back to Avalon" 

                         written by: Ensign Manson & Cmdr Skyler 

Ensign Anthony Manson entered the runabout, where Cmdr Skyler was already 
beginning the procedures for takeoff. She ran through all the systems to make 
sure everything was in perfect running condition. It was a good three days at 
maximum impulse or warp 4 to catch up to the Avalon. 

At least Skyler was going to get to know all about the new Operations officer 
rather well. 

"You can store you gear in back Ensign. We will be taking off shortly so you 
might want to buckle your self in. If you want you can sit up front hear in the 
copilots seat and keep me company. That's not an order. It's entirely up to 
you. But I wouldn't mind the company. It's going to be a few days before we 
reach the Avalon" All systems were in good condition so they were ready for 
take off. 

"Blackwell, this is RA Genevieve-NCC-27936-B/2 requesting permission for take 
off. " 

"RA Genevieve - NCC-27936-B/2 permission granted and have a safe trip back." 

The shuttle bay depressurized and the bay doors opened and the runabout eased 
out at 1/4 impulse until it was clear of the Blackwell. Once they were clear of 
the Blackwell, Skyler increased the speed to maximum impulse and set a course 
for the Avalon and then put the runabout on auto pilot. 

Anthony placed his bag at the back. And stood there. Pondering weather to take 
up her offer, or to sit in here like a big bag of anti-socialism he was so full 
of. He fidgeted a little, but then decided to go to the front where he took the 
copilot seat and transferred the operation commands to his console. 

"So Ensign," she began as she looked over at the controls to recheck the 
systems, "how long have you been on the Blackwell?" 

"Two years." Anthony replied. His eyes blazed through the subroutines of the 
systems that swarmed the viewer on his console. 

"Leaving any friends behind?" Skyler inquired. She noticed his answers were 
short and thought that there had to be a way to get more out of him. 

"No...I never had a friend on the Blackwell...things were more on 
the...solitary side for me." Anthony explained. 

"Must be lonely...not to have anyone to talk to or anything." Skyler looked at 
Anthony who- in turn- was looking at the console, but relaxed, he shook his 
head, getting a few strands of hair away from his face. 

"Actually, I kind of liked it. Oh, there were times when the quietness was 
unbearable, but most of the time its nice." 

"So you don?t care much for friends?" 

"No, its not that. I?d like to have friends..." He sighed a little and turned 
to look at Skyler, "I just never had one for a while. Actually, for a long 
while." He corrected himself, remembering his time at the Institute; he sort of 
figured that all that quietness that had grown in him had originated there. 
How, he wasn?t so sure. And changing what he was accustomed to was going to 
take longer than he thought. Unlike switches, this personality change was not 
an "on" or "off" matter. 

"Well, Ensign, I don?t know. You?re gonna be part of a crew that depends on 
each other heavily. Especially how we run things on the Avalon. The crew is 
going to have to find confidence and trust with the people they work with. If 
this was what you were hoping not to be involved, you chose the wrong time to 
transfer." Skyler pointed out. Suddenly she felt like the therapist. Strange 
reversals, Skyler thought. 

"Actually, Im here for exactly that. I need a change. The Blackwell wasn't the 
ship I needed to be on." He said. 

"Then consider me your first friend, Ensign." Skyler smiled. The kid was going 
to have to start somewhere, this was better then any. 

"So tell me about yourself." 

"Well, I?d rather not." 

"Why?" 

Thinking of an excuse Anthony replied, "It would bore you?" 

Skyler chuckled, "you?re gonna have to do better." 

"Um...okay...where to begin," thinking quickly, "ah, here goes." 

The ship slipped through space as Anthony told his story to Skyler. Yet telling 
the story seemed inaccurate. It wasn?t so much as a story as it was a jumble of 
memories Anthony had manage to compress and articulate into a story. And Skyler 
listened to him. He wasn?t much of a talker at all, she had noticed as he told 
her about himself, but she noticed he had potential, and that his change had 
already begun.



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