"Open Mouth, Insert Combat Boot"
(previous post "Information")
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Stardate: 60322.2255
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Corridor
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Prav watched as the back of the Science Officer disappeared around a corner. Shaking his head with a combination of amusement and confusion he noticed a PADD that had been forgotten in all the commotion. He glanced at it quickly, wondering if it could tell him exactly why the Shillian was tearing through the corridors in the middle of the night carry a handful of PADDs.
Unfortunately, all that he saw on the PADD was data from an experiment in the zoology lab. He couldn't figure out why that would have Maya in such a dither and figured that it must be something else. He also figured that whatever she was working on, missing some data could create frustration at the least or skew her results at the worse, so he decided that it would probably be prudent to return the PADD to her as soon as possible.
Really any excuse to get his mind off of what he had been contemplating since they returned from the scrubbed mission. He had already taken a step that would be very difficult to reverse and would probably result in some kind of disciplinary action if he did change his mind. The walk through the corridors was to give him time to convince himself that he was doing the right thing. Too bad it wasn't working.
He found himself outside Maya quarters but before he could ring the chime the door swooshed open and he found Maya standing on the other side looking at him, quite befuddled.
A look of relief washed over her features as she reached out and plucked the PADD out of the Marine's hand.
"Oh there it is! I thought I had lost this one!" she said before the door swooshed shut again.
Prav just stood outside the closed door and pondered if what just happened, really just happened. Thinking that something must really be going on to cause the Science Officer to act in such a manner, he reached out to ring the chime. But once again, before his hand got within a centimeter of the chime, the door swooshed open again.
He was sure the look of surprise on his face was quite comical but Maya gave no indication that she noticed. Before he could say anything she grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.
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"I'm sorry," she said as she moved back to her desk, PADDS strewn from one end to the other. "That was very rude of me. Thank you for returning this," she said, indicating the PADD she had just snagged out of his hands.
"It was nothing," he said, pausing to take in the flustered appearance of the Shillian. "Really, it wasn't, but now maybe you can tell me what's got you all on edge. This doesn't have anything to do with the mission, does it?"
She looked up from her desk, the serious look still etched into her features. "No, it does not have anything to do with the TANGIERS ORBITAL. Though that entire thing was a mess, and I would not even know where to begin with that. No this is about a certain Zoology technician stationed on NEW ALEXANDRIA. A person that I thought I knew from when we were assigned on the AVALON but evidently I don’t, since the person I knew, or rather I thought I knew could never be capable of doing what it appears he is doing," she spit out, more rage in her voice then Prav had ever heard before.
Prav did his best to follow her stream of thought. "So what did the guy do?" he asked, thinking it had to be something pretty horrendous to get the normally passive Science Officer into such a fury.
"This," she said, pointing at all the PADDs. Prav gave her a look that indicated he was not following her now. "On these PADDs is evidence that proves that Crewman Barrington has been using torture on a defenseless creature and calling it science!"
Prav's brow furrowed as he leaned forward toward her desk. "That doesn't sound right," he said, picking up one of the PADDs. "What exactly is this guy up to?"
"Well, it appears that he has been conducting a sequence of experiments testing the monkey's responsiveness to humanoid speech patterns and her ability to respond back with hand patterns," she began. Prav was going to say that it didn't sound like torture, but Maya didn't give him a chance to respond as she continued. "I know, it all sounds fine," she said waving her hand at his muted comments. "But that was not the extent of the experimentation. Had that been, I would have been completely, well mostly okay with it but of course that is not all. When poor Capi would not cooperate with him, he decided to change the parameters and in order to invoke compliance; he used torture by stimulating the pain receptors. What kind of monster would do that to a poor defenseless monkey?"
Prav stared at her. She was getting this worked up over a monkey? He bit his lip, gauging his response. He didn't want to ignore her feelings but still, it certainly wasn't something to call the Calvary up for. "Um, is the monkey okay?" was all he could come up with.
She looked at him with disbelief. "Of course the monkey is not okay. Would you be if someone tortured you?"
His thoughts bounced over to Ensign Summers. Of course you wouldn't be okay if you had just been tortured but one was pointless and the other, well it was in the pursuit of science. "Maya, calm down a bit and put this all into perspective okay?"
Her eyes widened at his comment. "Calm down?" she practically shouted at the 2nd Lieutenant. It appeared as if she were going to start a tirade at the Enaran but a second later her features hardened and she snatched back the PADD that was still in his hand. "What else would I expect from someone who sees killing as just one of the perks of the job," she said harshly, though inside she regretted saying it.
He scoffed and shook his head. "Back to this again huh?" He looked at her and she could see the hurt in his eyes. "The fact that you would even *think* that I like killing…" his voice trailed off and he took a deep breath and look at her. "We are talking about a stupid monkey here, Maya. I mean, you are a scientist and as a scientist I would think that any experiment that would aid sentient beings would take precedence over… well over some stupid monkey's feelings. You know, the ends *do* sometimes justify the means." As the words left his mouth he knew they were to himself and not to her.
Maya stood up from her desk and walked over to the window. All she could see was the myriad of docking clamps and maintenance conduits but as long as she wasn't looking at him she was fine with the view. "And that is why I *am* a scientist and you are a marine," she stated and let the words hang there in the air.
After a few deafening moments of silence Prav spoke. He wanted to walk over to her and put his hand on her shoulder and tell her he was sorry but he couldn't. Why he couldn't he didn't know, all he knew was that he needed to go. "Well, I guess I should say goodbye."
She didn't say anything.
"Yeah," he mumbled as he turned and exited her quarters.
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Writing for:
2nd Lt. Pravat 2005 post #245
Stardate: 60322.2300
Setting: USS ANUBIS, Maya’s Quarters
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Matt Kelly (downwitmal@yahoo.com)
MCO
USS ANUBIS
