[ussbansheec] Quad Mates
- From: Andy Maluhia <CaptainAndy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ussbansheec@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 13 Sep 2005 09:21:33 -0400
David didn't know who to expect as quad mates but he didn't really
care. He was just reasonably glad his mother was not prone to wearing
makeup like so many other women her age. /Mum's still gorgeous /and/
she didn't leave any lipstick on me/. His mother loved to tease him
that he had his father's attention to detail when it came to his
clothing but it still would have been embarrassing to have the other
cadets catch traces of Mum's lipstick from her goodbye kiss and even
worse if it had been seen by senior cadets or officer-instructors.
The first thing he noticed when he stepped into the quad's common room
was a very pretty girl in a cadet's uniform. She had green eyes that
were so bright that they seemed to almost glow against her fair
complexion and raven black hair hung in a single braid over her shoulder.
"Hello there!" came a voice tinged with the light lilt of a Scots
accent. She stood up and held a hand out to him. "Coaimhe Ecitsuj.
Welcome to here, such as it is." Coaimhe loved meeting new people.
They made Stories more interesting. At least, that's the way it seemed
whenever they appeared in her father's Stories. He described people so
well. This one, now, seemed Human and he was definitely nice to look
at. "I got here first but I haven't moved in yet."
"David Lynley," he said, smiling automatically at such an obviously
bright spirit. "Have we got two others coming then?"
"Oh, a Londoner!" Coaimhe remarked. She grinned up at him and up it was
because he was almost as tall as her father. "So far, there's only
three of us who've checked in. T'Cerys is on her way over."
David put his carryall bag down and joined her at the table. "I'm from
Bromley, if you're familiar with London," he told her. Dark eyes looked
at her curiously. "I do beg your pardon if I cause offense y asking,
but may I ask if you're Human? You've got that lovely Scots accent but
that doesn't mean much."
Coaimhe's smile, as bright as her eyes, never dimmed and her laugh was
as light as her accent. "Oh, aren't you charming? You have perfectly
lovely manners," she said brightly. "To answer the question, I'm half
Human. My mum's Human, from Scotland obviously, and my dad's
Ninitchik. They met on one of their postings but we live in Scotland
now, since Ninitchik's too cold for Mum. Mum's retired but Daddy said
he wasn't quite ready to just tell Stories. He teaches classes in
Engineering."
"We're in common but in reverse then," David told her. "It's my dad
who's retired and my mum who's teaching Engineering."
"Ah, I see you've found one of our quad mates."
Both David and Coaimhe turned at the sound of the voice . The newcomer
was a tall, slender, young Vulcan woman, her hair braided in the same
manner as Coaimhe's. To David's surprise, Coaimhe was smiling at her.
They know each other, he realized. As good manners dictated, David
stood to greet the lady.
"T'Cerys, this is one of our quad mates, David Lynley. David, this is
T'Cerys Menkara."
T'Cerys didn't quite smile at him but her eyes were friendly enough as
he said, "Pleased to meet you as well."
"He's another Fleet brat, T'Cerys: both parents," Coaimhe reported as
the Vulcan joined them.
"I maintain that I am not a brat, Coaimhe. I do not believe my father
would have tolerated one of those though Grandfather would have."
T'Cerys said pertly. She looked at David and added, "Father is the
Fleet rep to Vulcan now but my mother has always been a civilian."
David grinned. Obviously, she was at least partly not Vulcan and that
part had a wicked sense of humor. "I do believe I'm going to like this
quad."
~~~~~~~~~~
David walked into the bedroom Coaimhe and T'Cerys shared and said, "I
hate the other half of this quad. Do you mind if I stay here?"
Two weeks. He'd been rooming with John 'JJ' Butler for two weeks and
that was enough. He was going to kill the guy if he had to stay there
any longer. There was no use in getting an ulcer by putting up with the
jerk but he also knew that there was no asking for a quad transfer. He
liked T'Cerys and Coaimhe and he knew that cadet adviser would say he'd
have to learn to deal with all sorts of difficult people in his career
so get used to it.
Without a word, T'Cerys, who'd been sitting on Coaimhe's bunk, folded
her legs under her to make more room for David. He dropped back onto
the bed, leaning his head against the wall. "Bloody stupid prat," he
muttered. He winced at his company. "I'm sorry, ladies, that was quite
rude of me but the bloke's impossible."
Coaimhe reached over to pat his shoulder. "It's alright, we
understand. I suppose that if you continue being the gentleman you've
been so far then there's no problem with you staying here."
"Indeed, perhaps it would put you in a better mood than you've been in,"
T'Cerys added. She looked around the room. "I don't know that there is
enough room here, though."
"Sure there is!" Coaimhe exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. "Well,
assuming David doesn't mind doing what my dad used to do when he and Mum
lived on their first assignment together. Mum didn't have any furniture
but a desk and chair in her quarters so Daddy had his pillows and
blankets along a wall."
"Like camping out in Hyde Park," David mused. He waved his hand and
said, "That's fine with me. I truly don't care so long as I'm away from
that dimwitted blow hard."
"David, if it is agreeable to you, I will trade off with you upon
occasion so that your back is not thrown out of alignment," T'Cerys told
him.
"I can't ask that of you," David protested. "I'm the one asking the
favor. You shouldn't have to do that."
"Me, too," Coaimhe piped up. She plopped down on David's other side.
"We want you to stay and we don't mind sharing."
David let out a sigh of relief, a breath he didn't know he'd been
holding. "Ladies, I do believe I've found myself a new place to stay."
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