One Ritual for Another

Posted on Sun Aug 22nd, 2010 @ 3:45pm by Commander Michael Evans M.D. & Lieutenant JG Hannah Andeti

Mission: Episode 1.2 - "A House Divided"
Location: Evans' Quarters
Timeline: MD16, 0700 hours

==BACKPOST==

ON: [[Michael Evans' Quarters, MD16, 0700 hours]]

Everything was ordered and in its place... A couple of flute-like instruments were on a table in a corner, artfully displayed with carefully-disarrayed sheet music. Shelves contained odd bits that looked like stone which had been poured, rolled, or extruded into various beautiful forms, as well as some mineral samples. A hefty, carved wooden case against one wall contained a few dozen books and some other carven artifacts. An image-frame on the desk shifted the display occasionally, showing Michael at various ages along with a white-haired old man, who didn't seem to look older or younger in any of the images, and a woman with shoulder-length red hair.

On the table were neat settings for two, a couple of small platters, and a carafe containing dark liquid that steamed warmly. The pungent, stimulating scent of hot coffee pervaded the air. Michael had just flung some swim wear into the contrastingly messy bedroom, hoping to hide it, when the door chimed. "Come in," he called.

Hannah entered with a smile already present and offered it to the Doctor. "Morning." She gave a sniff and looked suspicious, hearing the door slide closed behind her. "Is that . . ." she grinned and this time it was more than just a pleasantry. "You didn't fall off the wagon did you?" She pretended not to notice the mess in the room behind him as that door slid closed as well.

Michael grinned broadly. "Oh, no," he said. "I've a little more discipline than that. But this is the first day after the ritual fast. I was hoping to share my reintroduction to that sweet elixir that is coffee with a good friend." He indicated a chair at the table where Hannah might sit.

The counselor grinned and nodded in acceptence of the compliment, before coming down in the chair.

As she sat, Michael moved to his own chair, placed his napkin in his lap, and settled himself with anticipation. He removed the covers to the platters. Beneath was a heap of crisp, applewood-smoked bacon, skillet-fried potatoes and onions with the occasional mushroom and specks of black pepper, and a scramble of herbed eggs with tomatoes. He dipped a serving of each onto Hannah's plate, then laded his own.

Before they began however, he filled both mugs with the hot coffee and raised his own in a sort of toast. "To vices," he said. "To the happiness that they bring, and to the temperence that comes from denying them."

Hannah continued to grin and the metallic mugs clunked to gather with a finality that seemed to mark the end of Michael's fast.

Michael closed his eyes, lifted the mug to his nose, inhaled most deeply, then sipped. He held the liquid in his mouth a few moments before swallowing, sighing with a deep exhalation of content, then opening his eyes as he took another sip. "Delightful," he said.

She nodded, enjoying the flavour herself in a short silence. At last she nodded and offered a small smile. "Well? Was it worth the wait?"

"Always," Michael mumbled into his mug. After a pause he said, "It's gonna' be a good day," as he crunched through a strip of stripey bacon, "I can feel it. We just might find out what's wrong with those colonists." There was a sparkle in his eye and he looked quite happy. Maybe it was the caffeine?

Hannah chuckled, wondering exactly that but she didn't mention it. "Well you would make everybody very happy if that were to happen." She wanted to ask something further about the doctor's work, medicine had always seem mysteriously fascinating to the counselor, the brain in particular, but her eye was caught by the woman's photo and she had to repress a smile even as she nodded to it. "May I ask about her?" She swallowed another sip of the wonderful brew before finally picking up a fork. "I've never seen any pictures in here before."

Michael querried with an eyebrow and followed Hannah's gaze to the image frame on his desk that had flicked to the red-haired woman. "Oh," he smiled, "yeah, I just got it out of storage during our last layover. That's my mother, Nicole." The image flicked again, showing her with a long wooden cylinder in her hand and white powder scattered about on her clothes, face, and just about everywhere else. Sunlight might have been shining through a window in the picture and her green eyes were crinkled in a laugh.

Michael stretched over in a long reach, grabbed the frame, and touched a few controls on the back. "See," he said scooting his chair over next to Hannah, "here we are baking at home on Earth. We always made a sort of game out of throwing pinches of flour at each other when the other wasn't looking. Silly really," he chuckled. He flicked to the next image where an auburn-haired, green-eyed boy of about fifteen with pointed ears and flour all over him was grinning in a side-armed hug next to Nicole. Both had a dusting of freckles across their noses to compliment the dusting of flour.

Hannah smiled as she watched the photo change and put down her fork. "You've never told me much about your mother." She offered, hoping he would say more.

"She's selfless and thoughful ...in a quiet martyr sort of way," he said, his nose crinkled with remembered irritation. "Glad to help, but also not afraid to use her past helpfulness as a bludgeon if you're not willing to return the unsought favor," he smirked, explaining to Hannah.

"She was particularly bad when I first left home; always wanting me to come help her with some little thing. I realized later of course that she missed me, and it was her way of seeking to spend time with me. But instead of just telling me so, she manipulated me. I had to hurt her feelings eventually and we had a falling out. We're on good terms now, but it will never be quite like it was," he said, nodding at the picture. "But maybe that's a good thing... part of a natural order or something philosophicial like that." He grinned and put the frame back on the desk. "Despite that, we've always had a pretty close relationship and try to stay in touch. Been a while since I've seen her though."

He turned back to his eggs, took an appreciative swig of coffee, and continued his breakfast. It was so good to have a warm mug in his hands again. And it was nice to share breakfast with someone. He should do it more often.

OFF

A Joint Post by:

Lt. Cmdr. Michael Evans
CMO/2XO
USS Pandora

and

Lt. (jg) Hannah Andeti
Chief Counselor
USS Pandora