"Frustrations, part II " (previous post my “Frustrations”)
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Stardate: 60309.1100
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Deck 7, Corridor
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He had walked up to the doors leading to sickbay 3 times and 3 times he had walked away. If someone had been watching they would have thought he needed to be at the door to the Counselor’s office instead of sickbay with the way he was acting.
He had bandaged his hands crudely that morning after finding them looking even worse when he woke up. They were still swollen and the wounds kept re-opening every time he used his hands. It had become painfully apparent that as much as he really didn’t want to, he needed to have someone in sickbay take care of them.
He walked up to the doors for the fourth time but as he stood there, all he could hear in his head were the voices of Maya and Lea. Deciding the pain and discomfort were better then any kind of lecture or disapproving glare he turned from the doors for the last time and headed back down the corridor to the turbolift.
The last person he had expected to see standing there was the Chief Science Officer. It was too late to turn around again as she had heard him coming and turned to see who it was.
The door to the turbolift opened as he arrived.
“Hello Lieutenant,” Maya said cheerfully, amazed at the timing of the Marine’s appearance.
He nodded, “Lieutenant,” he replied, trying not to make eye contact and keeping his hands behind his back.
There were a few moments of awkward silence as the lift doors close and then they both spoke at once.
“About yesterday,” they both said in unison.
Smiles crept across both there faces and for a moment the awkwardness was gone. “You go first,” Prav said to the Shillian woman.
Maya smiled gently and shook her head knowing that what she needed to tell him would take much longer then a turbolift ride to deck 14. “No, please, you go.”
Prav swallowed hard and then began. “I’ve been thinking about what you said and I think I’ve been rather, I don’t know, naïve,” he said, as he reached up and rubbed his chin.
What Prav had said became secondary for Maya when she saw his bloodied, swollen hand.
“What happened?” she exclaimed as the lift doors opened.
“Nothing, nothing” he tried to assure her. “Just a little over zealous workout,” he said flippantly.
She could feel a little bit of the anger she had felt in sickbay the day before and before she could rein it back she blurted, “What is with you? Don’t you care about anyone else or can’t you see past your own sense of bravado?”
Prav’s face hardened. “I think this is your stop Lieutenant,” he said icily.
As she stepped out of the lift she shook her head. **Doesn’t he realize that there are other people who care about him and that don’t want to see anything happen to him. He just doesn’t understand,** she thought to herself as she walked to her lab.
As the turbolift continued on, Prav knew he had a choice to make; either get the hell out of the game or toss the rule book and play according to their rules. When the lift stopped at deck 20, he had made his decision; his next stop would be NEW ALEXANDRIA and General Alverez’s office
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Matt Kelly (downwitmal@yahoo.com)
Writing for:
2nd Lt. Pravat 2005 post #103
MCO
USS ANUBIS
