I should have failed you...

Posted on 04 Nov 2012 @ 3:51pm by Chief Warrant Officer 4 Cyrus Kiwosk

2,323 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: USS Galileo, Deck 2; Mess Hall
Timeline: MD 03, 1045 hours

[ON]

Maenad walked out of sickbay with her lips turned upward for the first time in her life. She was actually looking forward to Mister Kohl's invitation to the colony, and was amazed that she had asked him to try some wine. Both her acceptance and invitation were entirely out of character for her. She never asked people over, much less to share her oh-so-precious beaujolais. It's better than drinking alone? she repeated in her head, incredulously. No it wasn't; she always drank alone. That's what she did. What the hell was she thinking?

She pushed the button for the turbolift, then let her hands fall behind her back, still grinning to herself. When the lift arrived and the doors opened, she was surprised to see someone else standing in there, a security-type by the looks of him. She suppressed her pleasantness and stepped inside, not looking at his face. "Deck two," was all she said, business-like.

Cyrus just stared.

It couldn't be, there had to be some mistake. He looked quickly away and let the older woman into the lift. Oh, for the love of all things holy...why did it have to be her?! He screamed inside his head. He thought he had escaped her when he had graduated there was no way, that Maenad Panne was on board the ship that he had just transferred to.

He coughed awkwardly as he readjusted his already straight uniform. He should probably say something, but what? "Um, good morning doctor."

"Good morning," she replied, still looking at the floor.

Good to see that she's still a charmer. Kiwosk looked up at the ceiling as he waited for the Science officer to leave the lift. All he wanted as breakfast...what did he do to deserve this nightmare?

Maenad's lips were pressed tightly together, she was picking at the cuticle around a thumb behind her back and still staring at the floor, trying to figure out why she had warmed up to the doctor, nurse she corrected. The lift came to a halt and the doors opened. She looked up to see whether the man accompanying her was chivalrous, but her wondering was shut out by the sight of him.

She couldn't believe what, who she saw staring at the ceiling. Even though the doors had opened and more than enough time had passed, he could have left, but he was still there. The pain around her thumbnail was very real, so she knew it was no dream. "Cyrus?" She asked, finally.

He hid a grimace and turned with a large smile on his face. "Doctor Panne, I didn't see you there." Damn it, damn it, damn it... "What a pleasant surprise..."

Cyrus Kiwosk was probably the single most difficult student she had ever had the displeasure of teaching. Teaching was hardly the right word, tolerating was more like it. There were times when she found Cyrus Kiwosk a hundred times more difficult than both her master and doctoral theses combined. One semester with him gave her more wrinkles than seven years of graduate work.

She didn't smile at him, but rather opened her lips to reveal her teeth. Although it had been many years since she had taught him, and his face was plenty more scarred than it had been then, she recognised the cockiness in his voice, his nonchalant swag even when he stood there motionless. And his eyes, they just didn't give a damn about anything. That's what she remembered. That he wore the rank of an NCO surprised her not in the least; giving this man authority, giving him anything requiring intellectual capacity in the slightest, would be his superior's mistake.

"Tell me, you're in security now." Maenad said, her voice stern. If he were in operations or engineering, she might have gone back on her word to Kohl of not fainting in years.

Cyrus swallowed. Maenad was by far the most stuck up, pompous professor that had ever walked the universe. Having taken her Intro to Genetics course had been agony. It was bad enough that it was the only course that was available, but then he had concocted copious amounts of fallacy in order to convince the professor to take him into the course.

After two classes, he decided that D's get degrees.

"Yes, but I'm double traded in the Marine Corps as well Maenad." Using her first name. "I transferred only recently. I hope your time here has been adequate Doctor, I would hate to think that anyone had made your life difficult." He knew he shouldn't, but old habits died hard.

"Are you coming to breakfast? I would enjoy your company." He said sweetly. He might as well play nice since they were in the lift together. He was half tempted to say he wasn't hungry anyways.

Her memory was impeccable, she thought, but then again remembering Cyrus' natural charm was no 3D puzzle. He was still the cocky little bastard that she had known. Calling him little hardly applied, though; the man was probably triple her weight in muscle alone. Maenad let his lack of formality slide, and decided to take the initiative of being the first out of the lift. Getting some breakfast was what she had had in mind, but not in the mess hall, and certainly not with him.

"I'm sure you would, but I've already eaten," she lied.

He stepped out of the lift behind her. "But I insist, for old times sake!" He smiled, but in all actuality her smug upturned face made him want to scream. "How have you been?"

Maenad had a sudden urge to slap him. "I've been fine," she snapped. She really didn't want to be there anymore, but sometimes the easiest way to get things over with was just to go along with it. She'd get a single slice of toast, be done eating in less than a few minutes, and be on her way. "Lead the way," she gestured with one hand for him to get moving.

"Oh, but ladies first Doctor." He knew she was having as much fun as he was, but she didn't need to be so rude. "Are you still teaching Chemistry?" He asked innocently, realizing that she wasn't his Chem prof...his chem professor had been a man. Well, at the right angle....she would make a very convincing Dr. Chisholm. He pipped back up. "I meant biology. It's been so long since I was in our class." All 8 courses that I went to. He thought with evil glee.

Not wanting to humour him, he was a bully after all, she reluctantly turned around started walking. The mess hall was literally steps away. Before she led the way through the entrance she paused, turning around to him. She held a long finger up near her face and her authoritative voice took over. She was absolutely furious, but she spoke evenly and steadily - her words planned, clear, and precise.

"Mister Kiwosk, before we go in there I'm going to give you the respect to address you privately. No, I'm not still teaching chemistry. I've never taught chemistry, and you know that. I'm not teaching biology, either, or I'd be at the Academy - not standing in a Nova's corridor outside a mess hall on Vega IX, weathering your abrasive attitude. I'm an advanced genetics and micropaleontology professor when not on assignment. I'm the chief science officer and I'm a junior lieutenant. Frankly, I don't know or care what your position is, but given that you're a chief warrant officer, I doubt that you would be so cordial with any other senior officer on this ship. It is discomforting to know that you haven't evolved, even marginally, since I mistakenly trusted your word that you would take an active interest for learning in one of my privileged classes." She clenched her jaw, her face as severe as ever. "I will still share breakfast with you, if that's what you really want, but you will behave as a member of this crew is expected to behave. You're not at the Academy anymore, warrant officer. Act the way that uniform commands you to."

Cyrus blinked, once...twice. Then nodded. "What can I say Lieutenant, I guess Darwin wasn't always right about the throwbacks eh?" She was right though, she was his superior, and as unfortunate as that may be, he did have to respect the old hag. He chuckled. "And yes Professor-Lieutenant, I still would like to have breakfast with you." He had to say, the snap she gave him was funny, and was long overdue, he knew. "Though I do have to say, it took you almost 5 years to finally snap at me. I thought you would have failed me after I stopped going to class."

She didn't reply, but held his eyes with a twinge of incredulousness in her own. There was something to be said for squaring people off. She turned her body before turning her head along with it and stepped into the mess hall, walking to the nearest replicator. "One slice of buttered toast and a glass of orange juice," she said. "And I want the bread slightly burned." The tray appeared with her food and she took it with both hands, stepping back for Kiwosk to get his own.

Kiwosk got his usual order of bacon, eggs and toast with a pancake and sat down to eat with the good professor. "I always meant to ask you, but never had the chance. What got you interested in genetics anyhow?" He began eating his bacon as Panne spoke.

Maenad led him to a table with four chairs near the window, sitting diagonally across from him. A table for two just didn't have the amount of room she wanted. "I don't know," she said with a sigh. "Religion, I think." She raised the glass of juice to her lips, seeing she had forgotten to ask for no pulp. She drank it anyway, watching him stuff mounds of bacon into his face. She wondered whether he did this every single day. "This isn't an every day thing, I hope," she nodded to his trough, still holding the glass by her mouth, hung in disbelief.

Cyrus swallowed hard, finishing the entire pancake that he had fit in his mouth. "What this?" He shrugged. "I like food." He said simply. He drained his cup coffee in a single gulp. "Religion, you say?" As he popped an egg into his mouth and swallowed. "Seems odd that religion would motivate a scientist."

Maenad watched him with a blend of astonished disgust. She could hardly think, let alone eat her toast with him eating like that. She set her drink down. "No," she began, "Religion inspired me to prove it wrong." As she picked up her toast, Kiwosk went for a second pancake and Maenad just couldn't take it anymore. "Can you stop that? For the love of god."

Pancake halfway to his mouth he paused. "What?" He asked, then looked at the plate, devoid of everything but his pancake and a piece of toast. "Um, oh..." He looked down at his plate. "Sorry." He answered apologetically. "They aren't bad for replicated crap..." He insisted. "It's no surprise then you are the top of your field then Professor-Lieutenant." He added. "It's proving people wrong that keeps most of us going."

Maenad took a crunch out of her near-burnt toast and swallowed. "I guess so." She washed the crumbs down with a swig of her juice, her eyes watching him. "Cut it up," she ordered him. "Use your fork." But before he could, Maenad reached impatiently for his plate. His knife was sitting beside it, still untouched, and she use her fork with his knife to cut into fours. She pushed the plate back to him without saying a word, then looked at him again. "I'm not a medical doctor, but I know that eating like that isn't good for you."

Cyrus stared absent minded at his mutilated pancake. "You've ruined him..." he whispered mournfully. Looking up at the Lieutenant-Professor he narrowed his eyes. "Thanks Mom . Mind cutting the crust off my toast too?" He stabbed the four pieces onto his fork and shoved them into his mouth before rinsing it down with a glass of water. He finished the last egg on his plate before setting down the fork, almost in fear that she would destroy the yellow and white delicacy. "You know, that's rude." he pointed out.

With her toast gone and half a glass of juice left, Maenad downed the rest. That was enough for her. "Well, that was fun. We'll have to do it again some time, maybe in another five years?" She stood, pushed her chair in, lifted her tray, and gave him a fake smile.

He did the same, taking the tray with the same forced grin he had started with. "Oh, why wait...you're wonderful company Lieutenant-Professor Panne." He barked a sour laugh. "We really should stay in touch."

Maenad flashed her eyebrows and walked away, recycling her tray in one of the replicators, and left the mess hall.

He watched her leave and chuckled. Setting his tray down in the nearby replicator he left through the same doors.

The woman infuriated him, drove him to the brink of insanity...

How he had missed her.

He choked down another chuckle and made for his quarters. He had to get ready for the gym before work.

"How the times have changed." Or in Panne's case, not at all.

Yes, he had missed the old hag.


OFF:

CWO Kiwosk
Security/Tactical
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Maenad Panne
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

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