Subject: Grail: "Last Look Back"- The Morning After (Brinn)
Athalya Anne cringed before she even opened her eyes. She had no idea where
she was. She could have been in her quarters or in 10-Forward, for all she
knew. And to top it off, she could feel the hang over from hell coming on.
Her mouth tasted like wet cigars and someone was pounding on her head with
the butt of a phazer rifle. Athalya Anne marshaled the courage to open her
eyes and immedantly wished she hadn't. The light. "Computer," she
whispered, "dim lights by 75%." Much better.
Ignoring the wave of nausea that was threatening, Athalya Anne looked
around. She had only seen her quarters a once, but she had a pretty good
memory of what they looked like. This wasn't them. *Where...* Athalya
Anne looked beside her. Dr. Miranda St. Claire was occupying a bit of
carpet to the left of Athalya Anne.
*Ooohh....* Bits of memory came back to Athalya Anne. The petite woman
with quite the figure had been too much for the drunk soldier to resist.
Athalya Anne eased herself out of bed, strapped her peg leg on, dressed and
exited as quietly as possible. With any luck, St. Claire would have about
as much memory of the last night as Athalya Anne did. The last thing she
needed was to have trouble with the person who kept her boys (the Marines)
alive and well on her bad side.
In the corridor, light brutally assaulted Athalya Anne's senses. She would
have screamed, but the noise would have put her in more pain. Athalya Anne
stopped by her quarters to shower and empty her stomach before she realized
that she had a job to do. *Speaking of which, what does that job entail?*
Damned if she knew. Athalya Anne didn't exactly have the time to read her
job description.
Then memory struck her. She remembered everything that had transpired the
night before. *Oh, my God.* she thought. "That poor kid." Athalya Anne
mumbled. She had nearly raped the poor dear.
"Computer?" Athalya Anne asked as she towel dried her hair. It chimed in
response. She wondered if it was her imagination or if the volume on the
damned thing had been turned up a notch or two. No matter.
"Begin message. Hello, Fionn. First off, I would like to state, for the
record, that I would have slept with you no matter how much I had to drink.
I know myslef well enough to be aware of a few simple facts such as these.
However, don't let this become an obstacle to us developing a relationship.
Don't get your panties in a wad, it dosen't have to be romantic. Also,
don't let my rank hold you hostage with fear. Only fools can't see past it,
and cowards hide behind it.
Second off, if you're still willing, we owe eachother a demonstration of our
capeabilities. Just say when." Athalya Anne paused, realizing she had said
more than she intended. *Quit while you're ahead.*
"I am, as always, at your service." She picked a rather antiquated form of
closing. Athalya Anne debated whether or not to send it. "Send message."
And then another thought struck Athalya Anne. There were still some loose
ends to take care of. "Computer, have Francois DeMontigny report to my...
belay that. Computer, do I have an office?"
*That's pathetic.* Athalya Anne thought, *I don't even know if I have an
office or not.*
"Affirmative." the computer kindly told her. *Thank heavens for
technology.*
"Have Francois DeMontigny report to my office now." The computer chimed in
response, but Athalya Anne had all ready gone in search of her office.
LMaj Athalya Anne Brinn