Lieutenant Mulligan (Backpost)

Posted on Mon Mar 25, 2019 @ 9:06am by Lieutenant Penelope Naroot

1,949 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Plaga Navis
Location: Armory/Mess Hall

Zack was in the armory area, inspecting the weapons. Since the "incident" with the women shunning him, he spent most of his time here, unless he was needed elsewhere.

Penny came inside and hopped up onto a counter, crossing her legs and looking at him, head tilted in her "thinking pose."

"Hey," she said. "Are you busy?"

Zack looked up when she spoke. "What are you doing here? I thought all the women were boycotting me."

Penny's brow furrowed. "I didn't get a memo on that," she said, sounding serious. "What do you mean a boycott?"

"A boycott is where a group of people don't socialize with other people for various reasons."

"Ohhh...." Penny said. "I guess someone overheard me crying to Nicole and Camille...or one of the other crewmen you asked to join you. I'm sorry," she said, frowning. "I didn't think I was going to get upset, but after I found out you were 'making rounds' about it, I felt....hurt." She jumped back down and clasped her hands in front of her. "Do you want me to tell women on board they should sleep with you? Would that help?"

Zack didn't look at her. "I owe you an apology. I never realized that you took our coupling seriously. I never meant to make you cry. Your friends are right, I'm not worth the bother."

"Well..." she said. "That's the thing. I kinda didn't take it seriously at first...but I took the offer seriously. I'm not sure how to explain it. Emotions have been kinda hard for me lately," she said. She walked over and stood next to him, smiling. "But thank you for the apology," she said. "That was nice of you. I'll make sure to get the word out." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and smiled sweetly.

"And don't be too hard on yourself," she said. "So you flubbed your first impression with a few people. It'll be okay. Ensign Delacroix did say you were cute," she said, grinning. "And, if we're going to be partners on the bridge, I'd like to at least be friends. Maybe get to know each other a bit? Like we say back home, Mai iloko mai."

"I'm not the kind of person who makes friends, I mean real friends, easily. I'm probably better off down here where I can't cause any problems. And you might not like the "real" me." He looked at her.

"Well maybe you won't like me either," Penny said, shrugging. "We won't know until we get to know each other. I'll go first." She hopped up on the table he'd been standing at and crossed her legs. "I was found on the shores of Hawai'i, my adoptive parents were born in India, and I love the water." She smiled at him. "Your turn."

"I was orphaned at age 1. Don't remember my parents. Relatives took me in an raised me as one of their other children. Even though they loved me, I never really felt like I belonged there. By the time I reached 15, I was already chasing women, girls my age and older. Bedded a few senior girls in the school." He smiled at her. "Probably explains my behavior today. I wasn't looking for love....just the momentary feeling of conquest, that's probably the best word I can describe it."

She kissed his cheek again. "Thanks for being honest," she said. "And there we are. Three things and I'm not hating you yet." She smiled at him. "I didn't remember anything when I was found. Total amnesia they said. All I knew was my name and that I was very, very scared. But, now I'm not alone, and I have a place to belong, and so do you. Simple."

Zack looked at her. "After what I did, why are you wanting to be my friend?"

Penny's head tilted and her eyes got a distant look. "I don't know," she finally said, looking back at him. "You're interesting. I like interesting. Humans are weird, and I like that about them. Plus, I know that I hurt your feelings too, so I guess being a friend is the least I can do to make up for it. Fair, right?"

"Makes sense," Zack replied.

Penny frowned. "Unless I'm overstepping and you want me to just go away. Sorry, if I'm being pushy." She jumped down off the table.

"If you were being pushy, I would have said something." Zack looked at her. "Please stay."

Penny tilted her head, processing what he said and running it past her theories. "All right," she said, smiling. "So, what do we do now?"

He looked at her. "Well the old me would have picked you up and sat you on the edge of the table and made love to you....but that's the old me." He paused. "What do you want to do now?"

She grinned. "Well, for now why don't we go to the mess hall and grab a bite? We can decide what to do from there."

Zack stood up. "About end of shift for me anyway, so a bite sounds okay."

"Great," Penny said, skipping to the door. "Davenport told me about these things called 'nachos'. They're kinda gross, but weirdly good, you have to try some." She beamed and stood in the doorway.

"Nachos are good....we used to eat them all the time in Tuscon."

"Oh cool!" Penny said, happily. "So, what's Tuscon like? I don't think I've been there."

Zack headed out the door. "If you like the air hot and dry, then it's your kind of place."

"Well hot I can definitely relate to," Penny said. "Hawaii is definitely warmer than most places. Although it's rather nice after a good rain. In the winter it can get pretty chilly if you are far enough inland." The turbolift whisked them to the mess hall's deck, as Penny intricately described the weather. As they left and headed into the mess hall she grinned. "--and one time I even got so far up the mountain I saw snow!"

She stopped and tilted her head. "You're a good listener. Usually someone says 'beep, beep' by now when I ramble like this." She pulled him to the replicators, got a drink and then to a table and sat down. "So, Tuscon. Tell me everything." She put her chin in her hands and smiled, batting her blue eyes.

Zack looked around the room. People were starring at him. "Tuscon is Arizona's 2nd largest city, after Phoenix. Located in Maricopa county. Population of about 1.5 million. There's a national park. The Sonora desert. The Botanical gardens. Lot's of cacti."

Penny swiveled her head and caught his eye. "I'm over here," she said, sticking her tongue out. "I know you are feeling self-conscious, but seriously, relax. Let them see us having fun and if they have a problem, that's their business. So c'mon...really tell me about Tuscon. Look into my eyes and tell me about your home and what makes it special."

He looked into her eyes. "It wasn't my home, but the family home. It was a ranch. They had horses, chickens, pigs, cattle, dogs and cats running around. I spent most of my days doing chores and on my free time, I rode into the high land and starred at the stars. Their was a neighboring ranch a few miles away. That family had an older daughter....slightly older then me. She followed me one day and when we were alone, she seduced me. That was my first sexual experience."

Penny tilted her head, listening. "It must have been really important," Penny said, finally, "to have stayed with you so long." She put a hand out and patted his. "Why did you look at the stars?"

"Because I knew that one day, I'd be among them," he said.

"I used to dream I was from the stars," Penny said. "I would sit on the beach all night and try to figure out which one I came from, convinced my parents were out there searching for me, wondering which planet I'd landed on."

"Did you do any DNA searches? Maybe there's something in the computer to tell you what planet your people are from."

Penny shrugged. "My Mom and Dad checked when they found me," she said. "I was a blank slate. Local superstitions didn't really approve of that, but I did my best to fit in."

Zack sipped his chilled green tea drink. "Maybe in our travels, you'll find a planet where they know your people."

"Humans are all over the galaxy," Penny said, nodding. "Who knows who's out there?" She looked at him and frowned. "You don't look happy," she observed. "What can I do to help?"

Zack smiled at her. "You've already helped....you talked to me."

Penny smiled back. "Now you need to talk to me. Tell me a story. Something fun. Tell me where you found your favorite food, or your favorite subject in school."

Zack leaned back in his chair. "Astronomy was my favorite subject. Using telescopes to view the other planet's in our system, or seeing a long distant constellation took my breath away." Zack laughed. "I must have known that my future was to travel those stars."

"I guess so," Penny said, chuckling. "And now you're here, among them. That's so cool!"

"Now it's your turn to tell me something." Zack looked at her.

Penny thought a moment. "Okay," she said after an instant. "A week before I left for the Academy, I sailed from my island to the mainland in a sailboat. Scared the hell out of my parents. But...I figured if I couldn't even handle exploring the ocean, how could I explore space? Thankfully I managed to make it, but port authorities were waiting for me, and less than pleased."

"I was going to head over to the holodeck and run some bridge simulation drills. Feel like keeping me company?" Zack looked at her.

"Sounds...well I don't know if it sounds fun, but sure." Penny said, standing up. She took his hand and followed him out of the mess hall.

Zack looked around after she took his hand and they started to leave. People were starring....probably figuring he's back to his old ways and they were going to his quarters to have sex.

As they walked down the corridor, Penny squeezed his hand. "You really need to relax," she said. They approached the holodeck and Penny lit up at a familiar face. "Hey Ash!"

Ashley Delacroix smiled at her friend, then frowned at the company. "Hello," she said. "Where are you two off to?"

"We're going to the holodeck to run some bridge ops simulations." Zack responded.

"Apparently it's 'fun'," Penny said. "Then again, having pirates attack could be kinda cool." She smiled at him.

"Wait...you're seriously going to run simulations?" she said.

"Yeah," Penny said. "Wanna join?"

"I can't, I'm on break then back on duty tonight," Ashley said. "But, everything's good?"

"Yup," Penny said. "We were just in the lounge talking. Turns out Zack's a star gazer too. I had no idea." She beamed at him. "Guess there's more to him than we figured."

"I guess so," Ashley said, sizing him up. "Well, you two have fun. Penny, I'll see you Thursday. Zack, nice to see you." She smiled at them both and went on her way.

Penny watched her go and, when Ashley was out of earshot, gave Zack a nudge. "She thinks you're cute," she said, opening the holodeck doors. She stepped inside and leaned on the arch.

Zack tapped the console. "Computer, load Logan-1 Bridge Simulation."

 

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