<USS Avalon> Prelude to a meeting
- From: Debra Mosqueda <mightymidgie@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: avalon@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2005 12:50:47 -0800 (PST)
Mac watched and wondered. What the hell was going on? The kid was definitely
more uptight than usual today, and that was saying something. Eleven cups of
coffee, fourteen work orders, three full systems diagnostics on shift without
so much as a breath, seven PADDs worth of reports, then the start of what
looked to be the mother of all cleaning sprees in their already immaculate
quarters once they got home. Mac couldn't take it. He had to know what was
going on before Josh drove him as nuts as he was. Snagging the damp cloth from
his roommate's hands, he demanded,"Spill it."
Joshua shrugged and tried to step past him.
"Oh, no, not this time, kid. Sorry. You been like this all week and just
getting worse." Mac pushed, blocking the way to the replicator so that Josh
couldn't just avoid him."Someones gonna sick the counselor on you if you stay
keyed up like this much longer. It's bad, even for you, now what's going on?"
Josh backed up, frowning. After a moment, he turned to his friend, his eyes
filled with panic. Paling slightly, he held out the PADD with his message to
Annabelle, her response, and his final answer all on it.
Mac looked at it and grinned broadly. " Okay, so you're supposed to meet her
today. What's the problem?"
Josh paled further as he sat crosslegged next to the couch, studiously
examining the floor.
"You're looking for an out," Mac sighed, stating what should have been obvious.
"You're seriously considering not going."
Josh nodded without looking up.
Mac plopped unceremoniously down to the floor next to him. "Why?" He asked
quietly. "Seriously, man, what are you so damned afraid of?"
Josh shrugged. He began to fidget slightly, and took back his PADD, calling up
the navigation schematics he'd been working on.
Mac grabbed the PADD back from him, frustrated. "Josh, she likes you. She went
to a lot of trouble to get your attention, right? So obviously she must really
want to get to know you. Don't you think you should at least show up and say
hi?"
Josh stood up and began to pace again. Quietly, the near-panic in his voice
clear, he tried to explain, "I can't...I have...I mean...there's....work...and
things...I have...things...that...I...I...I just...can't.."
"Josh, stop." Mac demanded quietly. "Just stop a sec, okay. Breathe. Think.
That's your strong suit, usually. You're a problem solver, so solve this one.
Think about it a minute, like you would if it was...the ship...a problem with
her..."
"I can't." Josh admitted, sounding ashamed.
Mac looked surprised. He'd never seen the kid admit defeat so quickly before.
"Why not?"
"I...understand...the ship." Josh began quietly. "I don't...I mean...she's ...I
...I don't know ...don't understand...anything ..."
Mac roared with laughter. "Hell, kid, nobody understands them! That's half the
fun!"
Josh looked at him, completely baffled. "Then how...why..."
"Because they're girls," Mac answered as though it should have been obvious.
"Look. Is she pretty enough to look at?"
Josh nodded, blushing. She was beautiful.
"Is she smart enough to talk to?"
He nodded again. She'd been one of the smartest people in almost all of his
classes at the academy.
"Do you have anything in common with her? Anything at all?"
Josh had to think about that one. They were both engineers. He supposed that
counted. And they'd graduated in the same class. Again, he nodded.
"When you sent her that message, did you want to meet with her?"
Josh nodded again, looking away. He was surprised how much he really did.
"Has she been horribly disfigured since then?"
Josh looked startled as he shook his head. What kind of question was that?
"Has she become a complete blithering idiot?"
Confusion was clear in his features as he again shook his head.
"So then, what about her suddenly makes her less worth meeting?"
Josh shook his head again, looking ashamed once more. Nothing. It wasn't her.
Mac knew that.
"That's what I thought. That's it, then. Time to suck it up, man. Stop being a
chickenshit and go meet her, before I call the captain and explain it all to
him in great detail. I'm betting I could even talk him into making this meeting
an order if I had to, but I'd rather not bother the big guy if we can avoid it,
okay?"
Josh shot him a wide-eyed look. He wouldn't dare. Would he? Mac allowed a slow
wolfish grin to cross his features. He would. He hadn't ever so much as passed
the captain in the galley yet so he had no idea if he could talk him into
anything, but he would definitely go as far as to try if he had to and Josh
knew it. Was there even really a doubt?
Sighing, Josh shook his head. That wouldn't be necessary. Solemnly he laid out
a fresh uniform and headed to the shower like a man walking the green mile,
with at least as much terror over what awaited him at the end of the journey
and as little hope of a pardon.
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