The Ship also known as Brad

Posted on 24 Jan 2011 @ 11:41am by Colonel Stadi Andrus

1,820 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: M7: Shore Leave - Mercer Colony

Stadi had been wandering through the corridors. She was finally starting to feel at peace with Logan's death and that of Melanie. Of course, she knew Logan a lot better than she had Melanie...but Melanie was still a friend. She hugged herself as she walked down the corridor feeling cold when she came across the conference room, the door was open and she peaked in.

A woman sat in a chair sleeping, Stadi opened her mind carefully not wanting to be bombarded once again with emotion. It was dark and she didn't want to startle the woman, she sent waves of warmth and comfort to the woman's troubled mind. Stadi lightly touched her shoulder in an effort to wake her up. "Are you alright?" She asked quietly.

"Huh?" Wandella grunted as she came back towards consciousness, looking at the blurry image of a woman who had apparently touched her, "Oh, sorry, I must have fallen asleep looking at the Brad Pi...cture of Achilles."

Stadi lifted an eyebrow, "The ship is named Brad?"

"No, no." Wandella laughed, her vision beginning to clear and just in time, the woman across from her was far from hard to look at, "The picture, it was painted by someone who did not know who Achilles was, and it seems they used image of Brad Pitt as Achilles in old movie called 'Troy.' Is funny no?"

"Brad Pitt..." Stadi let the name sit in her mouth for a moment, she remember her days in the Academy when the girls would 'drool' over him. He had been dead for more than 300 years. "Once a classic...always a classic?"

"I suppose." Wandella giggled, "Am Wandella Kristere, I fly ship. No, I fly the hell out of this ship! Who is pretty woman who wake Wandella up?"

Stadi laughed and then proceeded to blush, she never thought of herself as pretty before. She worked in the dirt, worked with fossilized remains and old dead cultures. "My name is Stadi Andrus, I am an archaeologist and anthropologist."

"Oh, that is interesting." Wandella smiled, "I guess laying there like I was Wandella looked like one of the old dead things you like to dust. Is okay, was best sleep I had had for many days. So, is Stadi Andrus hungry? Wandella is famished!" She didn't know why, but her appetite had indeed returned it seemed.

"I am Betazoid, I can tell you were not one of those 'old dead things'." She laughed. "I sensed your mind in turmoil though...I could use a cup of tea."

"Turmoil is not the word, Stadi Andrus." Wandella sighed, adding, "And a cup of tea will not fill Wandella, Wandella needs an omelette with like six eggs, a wheel of cheese, and half a pig, but we can find tea for you. Come on, let's go!"

"You can eat all that Wandella? When was the last time you ate anything?" She asked as they made their way to the Lounge. Stadi seemed to be spending more and more time there. She hoped people didn't think she was a slacker.

~I wonder if I should tell her I don't remember last time I ate? Frack, she's Betazoid, she knows now!~ "Wandella is pretty hungry, has high metabolism." She answered, it was entirely true, even if it wasn't the entire truth.

"I will not read your thoughts unless you give me permission." She felt the woman's anxiety. "In that case we will get you something to eat. " They walked in silence, Stadi kept her mind closed enough so she couldn't read Wandella's thoughts but open enough to feel Wandella's emotions. "What is wrong? Besides being hungry?" She asked quietly.

"Has not been good times here lately." Wandella sighed, "Many bad things."

Stadi nodded, "Yes, I know. I mourn Melanie's loss as well."

~Yeah, well, you didn't kill her.~ Wandella thought, cursing herself internally but only saying, "It has been so bad for us all."

Stadi grabbed Wandella by the shoulders when she heard her thought in her mind. Stadi forced Wandella to look at her. "In no way shape or form did you kill Melanie, is that clear? The man that killed her is in custody. People here have to stop feeling responsible for something they had no control over. I was her friend, I keenly feel her loss, but I also feel for those who think that they are responsible. I knew Melanie and she would be saddened if she knew people felt guilty about what happened to her, or felt some sort of responsibility for her death." Stadi once again sent waves of comfort and peace to the younger woman, in hope of calming the turmoil.

"I wish that was the case, Stadi, but it isn't." Wandella replied, too overwhelmed by her guilt to even care that Stadi had read her mind without permission, "If I had been able to keep my hormones in check we'd have been there before they had a chance to kill poor Melanie. But I was wrapped up in some stupid spy fantasy and kept us from getting there in time to save her!"

"He would of killed her anyway, Wandella. It is not your fault. In your heart I know you know that. Stop blaming yourself in a 'what if' scenario. Remember that she is with Talar now and she is at peace." Stadi hugged Wandella. "Please don't feel guilty, no one holds you responsible."

~Nobody but me.~ Wandella thought as she lay there almost limp in Stadi's arms, ~But I will fix the situation. I kill son of bitch who kill Melanie, then is better.~

"You will do no such thing! Melanie would not want it that way." It was hard not to hear Wandella's thoughts, she was projecting them rather loudly. "Look at me Wandella, promise me you will not seek justice like that for Melanie."

"Why not?" Wandella asked, to her it all made perfect sense, he killed Melanie, Wandella would kill him, "Is tradition amongst my people to get our revenge, goes all the way back to before Vlad Dracula. Some people just need to die for what they've done."

"I know, believe me, I wish him dead too...but I do not wish to see you go for prison because of that 'thing' that killed our friend. Please don't do it. He will get his just reward."

"Wandella has been to prison before. Plenty of times." Wandella laughed, "Prison doesn't scare Wandella." For some reason, though she desperately wanted to go end this guy, something about Stadi made it nearly impossible for her to focus on bringing about his death, "But...."

"But?..." Stadi kept her gaze on Wandella, she needed her to promise that she wouldn't go after the man that had killed Melanie.

"Maybe Stadi is right." Wandella sighed, maybe more death really wasn't the answer this time, "Maybe we've all seen enough killing."

"I think we have." She replied and put an arm over Wandella's shoulder, ushering her towards the lounge, "Now let's get some food into you before you waste away to nothing."

"Is good idea." Wandella nodded, completely at ease with Stadi already in a way she'd never been with many, "That omelette is on Wandella's mind like a tattoo!"

Stadi laughed out loud. "I can also hear your stomach growling and demanding food." They walked in and soon found a table. "Feeling better?" She asked sipping her tea and watching Wandella dive into her plate.

Wandella nodded in reply, her mouth entirely too full to talk at that moment. Once she pushed the half pound of eggs, meat, and cheese in her mouth into her stomach with a big gulp of orange juice she managed, "A little, yes."

"I'm glad to hear it." Stadi replied sipping more of her tea. She sat back in her chair and watched the people around her converse, walk pass. It was the anthropologist in her, she was always called 'a people watcher' and sometimes it would annoy those around her but Wandella was busy eating and didn't seem to mind that Stadi's attention was directed on her.

Wandella, about halfway through her gargantuan meal, had to pause for air, noticing Stadi as she did, "My Uncle Vladimir is a people watcher, too. He sits for hours in cafes in Bucharest watching people, watching the world, waiting for something to strike his fancy so he gets up to participate."

"I just find it fascinating, I don't have to get up and participate, I would rather just sit here with my tea or my coffee and watch." She smiled.

"Oh, no!" Wandella gasped, "You are missing so much, Stadi! You just have to join in is all! You know, find the beat and dance to it."

A flash of sadness crossed Stadi's eyes but just as it came...it was gone again. She smiled at Wandella. "Maybe one day I will dance again Wandella, but for now I will sit and watch."

"Oh, jeez." Wandella sighed, "We're still working on fixing Wandella, you can't be broken too! Come on, only one of us can be broken at a time. What will it take to make Stadi Andrus happy again? Come on, tell Wandella, we'll go do it right now! Wandella has all day!"

"Just call me Stadi ok? And I'm fine, I'm not broken." She said reassurring her.

"Then if you are not broken we can go do what it is that makes Stadi happy!" Wandella laughed, "Come on, it will be fun! Trust Wandella!"

"And what exactly do you have in mind?" She laughed.

"I don't know." Wandella laughed, polishing off her breakfast and downing the last of her juice, "But I think it should involve water. I have the feeling Stadi does not get to swim enough!"

"You can't swim for an hour after you have eaten." Stadi pointed out.

"In real water, no." Wandella smiled, "But this is nice, safe holodeck water we're going to use, where if things get too rough we just turn off. Come on, we get Stadi nice swimsuit to look pretty in."

"That is," Wandella said slyly, "unless Stadi has something else in mind."

"Wandella, you are going to get me into trouble if you are not careful...and I am a good little archaeologist."

"Is okay, Wandella can be bad for both of us." She giggled, "Now come on, is fun time!"

"Yes! Yes! Alrigh!" She laughed. They headed out of the Lounge and towards Stadi's quarters. "I have a swimsuit...I think I know where it is...otherwise I will just have replicate a new one." She smiled. Stadi was actually looking forward to going to the holodeck and having some fun. It was better than the alternative.

"See, Stadi's life is better already!" Wandella smiled, not saying but thinking that her's was as well.

-OFF

 

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