Updated – December 5, 1998
BEHIND LINES
Chapter 1 - Part F
Moore charged into the Primary Team’s barracks in a grand rush. Her commander, Major Lark, jolted around from his desk at the flurry. “Lieutenant. What’s the rush?”
She paused at his alert and spoke, “Sorry sir. Did you know the Admiral was planning to meet us in route?”
Lark frowned, “You’ve heard. No, it wasn’t in the information he sent me. Commander Dunnedy just informed me.”
“Well, he didn’t tell me either. This isn’t good.” She threw out a rhetorical question, “What’s he up to?!”
None of them had an answer.
With that, she looked over to the set of bunks and the two men sitting in them. Doctor Aaron Grace, the team’s medic, sat in a top bunk writing, most likely another letter to his wife and daughter. In the other bunk, on the lower bed, Sergeant Gatrinis, the weapons specialist, sat looking over a datapad.
Gatrinis was the first to talk again, “Kate? Why are you in such a huff over this.”
She strode over to the dark skinned Rigellian and sternly met his gaze, “Its…none of your…business.”
To that, he grinned and shook his head as she walked over to her chest.
Gatrinis spoke again and chuckled, “It’s about the new orders, right? You were hoping to spend some more time with your sweetheart and now the Admiral’s screwed that up for you, right? Right?”
She kneeled by her large chest and opened it.
“Shut up Gatri. Or I’ll stop letting you win at zero-g handball.”
“Oh. I must have got it right.”
Major Lark decided to try to step in now, saying, “Well you were bound to do that someday. Might as well pullback while you are ahead.”
Gatrinis shrugged the comment off and looked back to Moore. “I could never see what you see in him. He’s a geeky bureaucrat. He’s a scientist, a pacifist, and…a Klingon lover. I…”
Lark and Grace held their breaths with that. Moore slowly turned around and narrowed her eyes as she peered at Gatrinis.
“I’ve told you to not push those buttons with me.”
She stood now.
“I’ve got my problems and opinions and he’s got his.”
She now strode over to the bunks.
“I’ve tried to make it clear that I don’t care what your opinion is about him.”
She now stood over the large muscular man. He pressed himself backed against the wall behind him and looked at her semi uncomfortably.
She continued and her voice escalated and an Irish inflection became very clear, “So what do I do now? You don’t seem to get my message. I mean I’ve lost count of the number of battles we’ve been in or the bars we’ve been kicked out of or the number of fights we got into once we got kicked out of those bars. But you just don’t get this. You’re my friend, but don’t mess with me, especially not today!” Finishing, she stepped back, took a breath and went back to her open chest.
Trying to recover ground he apologized, “I’m sorry Kate. I’m just protective of you.”
She looked away for a moment and gave him a slight grin. With a slightly hurt, yet affectionate tone she countered, “You’re an idiot to.”
Everyone got a short chuckle, partly from her remark, but mostly from the de-escalation of tensions.
Gatrinis drooped his head and said, “True.”
“I shouldn’t have lost it though. I’m just caught off guard by the admiral and I’ve been trying to play catch up.” She quietly muttered to herself, saying, "I'm just running out of time."
Moore went back into her chest and came up with a flat rectangular box. She took it with her to her bunk and sat down.
Grace put his letter down and dropped down from his bunk. “I have to tell you I understand how you feel. I’ve been trying to do my usual letter to Andrea and Lana before the mission.”
She gave him a smile, “The usual epic length one?”
He grinned and sat beside her, “Yeah. I imagine I’ll have to cut it short once the admiral arrives and starts barking orders. The point is we all have at least a small idea of what you’re going through. We all have people we'd like to see and be with, rituals and things we’d like to do, especially before a mission like this.”
Lark stepped in saying, “Exactly, you aren’t alone in that respect. You don’t have to justify anything to us.”
She nodded in understanding and peeked into the box a quickly examined something within.
Grace put a hand on her shoulder, “What are you going to do?”
“I was hoping to just rest and talk tonight and then…make a dinner tomorrow and show off.” Spying Gatrinis, she said, “You want to comment, Gatri?”
Gatrinis waved his hands in front of him, “No, no. I’ve learned my lesson.”
Moore continued, “Now I’ll just have to figure a way to do it all in three hours.”
Grace furled his brow. “That’s not a lot of time. Why in three hours?”
Moore drew in a breath. “Well, it sort of popped out of my mouth when I was talking to him.”
Gatrinis chuckled lightly and went silent.
Grace gave her a smile, “I’ll tell you what. I’ll help you.”
Lark added his input from his desk. “Me to.”
Lastly, Gatrinis spoke, “Ugh! This is getting too warm and cuddly for me. I’m waiting for the kittens and puppies now. But Kate, I’m not going to turn my back on a friend now, especially one on the verge of kicking my ass already. I’m in.”
Gatrinis moved forward to Moore and they slapped their hands together.
Lark pulled a chair over and sat down. “Okay let’s get started then. I figure we have two and a half hours to be safe. First we need to know your plan and then we need to determine our resource base.” Lark bolted up and was about to turn around when he curiously looked back to Moore. “I know I shouldn’t ask, but I’m curious.”
Moore nodded and waited for him to continue.
“Well, what’s in the box, Katherine?”
Moore sighed and looked over to Gatrinis, “Well, if Gatri will hold off with the remarks I’ll show you.”
The two men also looked to the Rigellian sergeant.
Gatrinis sat up tall, “You can cut my tongue out if I do.”
Grace rolled his eyes.
Moore nodded reluctantly and said, “Okay.”
*****
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