The Good News - Or Is It?

Posted on Wed Jan 2nd, 2019 @ 2:47pm by Lieutenant Danica Kovitz

Mission: Season 2: Episode 3: Determination is not always a good thing
Location: Anya's Cabin
Timeline: shortly before beaming down
1576 words - 3.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Anya rubbed her eyes when she woke up the next morning. She saw Dani still sleeping beside her and attempted to sneak out of bed quietly without waking her. She wanted a minute or two in the bathroom first.

Danica was frequently a heavy sleeper, and this morning was no different. She simply shifted, filling the rest of the mattress and scrunching the blanket up around her tightly. She muttered some nonsense and continued her slumber.

This suited Anya just fine, and she made a dash for the bathroom to freshen up. She didn’t want to risk bad breath or stickiness first thing in the morning, and she had been rather sweaty the night before. She looked at her bruises in the mirror, testing them by poking them with her fingertips. Not too bad. She’d live. A quick sonic shower later and she returned to the room. She set the table for breakfast, then gave Dani a kiss on the cheek to wake her up. “Good morning, beautiful.” Cliche, but still.

Dani stirred slowly, a slightly pouty expression on her face. “Ugh, is it morning already?” She lifted herself up, looking around her and processing the scene. Anya was there, already prepped, with breakfast on the table. “Though this is a pretty decent morning to wake up to,” Dani said with a smile.

“I was hoping the smell of coffee would rouse you to your feet”, Anya smiled. “I know, we haven’t had the longest of night, but sadly, duty calls in a little while.” They were almost at the planet and would have to find a way to help these people.

“I think coffee might be my best friend today,” she said, throwing aside the blanket and making her way to the table. “The people on the surface have it pretty rough. And if my previous tests on it are any indication, finding a way to help them won’t be easy.” She had run a variety of regression analyses and none of her models seemed to show gravitational conditions that would cause the earthquakes and storms. So she’d be at it for a while.

“I get to do the easy part”, Anya grinned. “I only need to shoot at those who don’t behave themselves. I’m sure it’s much harder to actually find a solution.” She sat down at right angles from Dani. “By the way, these aren’t tectonic plates, but they’re still good for a continental breakfast.”

Dani rolled her eyes as she laughed. “Always with the quippy response,” she said. She took a few bites. “By the way, I’ll be checking with the Quartermaster, so there’s a chance I’ll be getting my new room.”

“I’m not in a hurry for you to do that”, Anya said. “You can stay here as long as Liorga won’t mind.”

“It doesn’t mean I have to stop staying over,” Dani said, smiling at her. “It’ll just mean we’ll also have access to my place.”

“That sounds better”, Anya smiled. She was quickly growing very fond of Dani, beyond the mere physical attraction. Between bites, she added, “I certainly won’t mind spending some time in officer country.”

“I think you’ll find the amenities quite nice,” Dani said. She wasn’t positive what it’d be like. But she’d had a taste of what the Elysium had to offer in her temp quarters and it was far more than the Bozeman. She wondered if she was rushing into things, after her recent traumatic events. But the thought passed quickly. The companionship was nice and it distracted her in her alone times. “Did you see where I put my hair tie? I hate always replicating a new one.”

“I think it all ended up in the replicator, along with all the other things we dropped last night”, Anya said. “I did feel the urge to clean up, you know?” She made a gesture that encompassed the room, where everything was in perfect order again.

“A new one it is then,” Dani said, cleaning her plate. She picked it up and began her trip to the replicator, but stopped to kiss the top of Anya’s head. “Thank you for breakfast.” She then continued her trip over, hopping in the sonic shower once it was disposed of.

This time, Anya didn’t wait until Dani was done. She didn’t see the point now. She joined her in the shower and enjoyed the view, too. “So I’ll be going down to the planet for a few days”, she said. “Don’t go anywhere until I come back, okay?”

Danica laughed. “I think I’m likely to end up down there myself, if our investigation so far is any indication. But I’ll make sure to come back too.” She finished up, returning to the replicator to retrieve a fresh uniform. “You think you’ll be in much danger down there?”

Anya shook her head. “No. There are going to be some scared people doing stupid things, as people do if they want to survive. I don’t expect any serious trouble. I’ll try to come back with all my limbs still attached this time.”

“This time?” Dani looked startled. She’d seen no signs of a serious injury like that, but with modern medicine, she supposed that was expected. Still, she wasn’t sure if Anya was joking or not.

“Heh, long story”, Anya said. “I guess it can’t be avoided in my line of work. I like fighting, yes, but I prefer not getting hurt in the process. Not seriously, anyway.”

Dani approached Anya, as she finished putting her uniform on. “I prefer you not to be seriously hurt too. What...what happened?”

“I lost a leg”, Anya said. “But I got a new one, cloned implant. You can’t spot the difference. So I’m good.” She indicated about halfway up her left thigh. “Below here isn’t original parts. But the spare is great.”

Dani found herself surprisingly upset by the idea. She didn’t like the thought of anyone hurt like that, but she felt a particular protective stirring at the thought of Anya like that. “How did it happen?” Dani asked, not certain she wanted to know, but unable to avoid the question.

“I was part of a security team accompanying the Captain”, Anya said. “We were ambushed, there was a firefight. I did pretty well for a while, even if I say so myself, but one of the tossers decided to collapse a rock formation right next to me. One of the rocks fell on me, and the next thing I know, I woke up in sickbay. The doctor said, the good news was, my brain was functioning normally after the treatment, but now my legs were of unequal length. I looked down, and there it was… well, or wasn’t. But you want to know the worst thing about all this? I had to ask for a transfer to a different ship because I couldn’t get the bloody counsellor to believe me when I said I was fine and didn’t need therapy, outside of the physical stuff.”

Danica cringed at the description, her eyes instinctively going to Anya’s leg. She honestly agreed with the counselor’s assessment, but arguing the point was the last thing on her mind. “Oh god, Anya...I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have made you bring that up.”

Anya smiled at Dani. “You’re cute, worrying about me.” She replicated a fresh set of clothes and started putting it on. “I’m tougher than I look, though. I got this new leg, went through the physical therapy, and all is good.”

“Ok,” Dani said in a relaxed tone. “But try to avoid that kind of injury again. For both of us. I’m through with losing people I care about for a while.” The comedic tone only half landed. She wasn’t entirely able to divorce the emotions behind the sentiment from her delivery.

Anya gave her a hug and a kiss. “I do try to avoid it. I’ll be careful.” Yes, giving her a fright so soon after being the only survivor of her ship, that had probably been a bad move, Anya realised now, a bit too late. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m kinda glad I know,” she said, successfully pulling off the comedic tone this time. “I’ll just keep a few clone limbs on file in case. Hope you didn’t need that extra closet space.”

That was better, Anya thought, but now she wasn’t sure how much of it was trying to play cool. She decided better not to risk it. “We’re going to need that space for our holodeck adventure outfits, though.”

“Hmm, I suppose you’re right. Maybe I’ll keep my creepy limb collection somewhere else,” Dani said feeling a little relieved. “Alright, it’s that time again. I’m off to my post.” Dani headed towards the door. “See you later,” she said with a wink and a blown kiss.

'I think I've got a girlfriend now', Anya thought. 'Gotta tell Sami, she'll be thrilled.' Little did Anya know that wasn't going to happen as she planned.