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Post by Hollie Clarke on Sept 18, 2010 17:25:18 GMT -5
Hollie's arms fell to her side as they came to a halt, and she cringed for him as he patted her hand. It had been unintentional, she was sure, but it had also been sort of... comforting? She wasn't sure. She hadn't had anyone treat her with this much care in a while, she wasn't quite sure what to make of it.
"I'm sorry," she said, apologising for her sickly state mostly, and him feeling obligated to take her to the medical bay. "I can go the rest of the way on my own, I'll be fine," she reassured him, not wanting to make him feel more uncomfortable. She'd stop cracking jokes about the situation as well if that would help.
"Seriously," Hollie said, "if I can rescue a toddler in a jungle gym, I'm fairly sure I can get to the Medical Bay on my own." |
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Post by m on Sept 18, 2010 17:36:37 GMT -5
"No no no. Don't be silly. I just need to.." Finally he got the container open and wipes his hands off vigorously. He then went on to drape a new wipe over his arm as he tossed the others into a nearby incinerator. He smiled again at her, instantly feeling calmer. If anything could be said about Mike it was that he had pretty good reflexes.
"There." He said with a smile, offering his arm again. "No harm done at all. With that he resumed walking.
"You got a toddler out of a jungle gym? That's a story i'd like to here." He was genuinely interested. Little children stories were something he liked because he hadn't ever really gotten to be around little children. And he liked kids and they seemed to like him.
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Post by Hollie Clarke on Sept 18, 2010 18:03:28 GMT -5
"Well, you're certainly not a quitter, I'll give you that," she said with a smile, taking his arm again as they moved off, finding it quite easy to move with his support, a lot easier than if she'd made the journey by herself.
Hollie chuckled, "you think war is bad? Trying fighting your way through hordes of giggling acne ridden children. Especially adolescent boys! They're the worst if you're a teenage girl half way to good looking. Their hormones, ugh!" One particular foster boy had tried his luck many a time, only to be rebuffed each time and punished at her hand for his insolence.
"I eventually found him in the ball pit, head down, wailing at the top of his lungs," she said, "and when I got him back to his parents, I promptly asked for a reward for my troubles. Something to get the spit off my shirt." A grin found it's way onto her face, enjoying retelling the story.
"How about you?" she asked, seeing as he had taken an interest in her story, she assumed he had an interest in children, "any funny stories to do with kids that you feel like sharing?" |
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Post by m on Sept 18, 2010 19:57:23 GMT -5
Mike listened with interest, walking casually and occasionally pausing to acknowledge the respect given him by those passing. He understood the whole young man thing. He’d been a young man once with hormones and he’d done a few things he was non too proud of. Even so hearing about something happening to Hollie mad him a little upset. He was rather protective of the people close to him. Especially the women close to him.
Hearing her ask if he had any kid stories he thought for a moment. “Well. My daughter Sandra, Sandy for short, has always been a little monkey. She climbed all over the house back in Salt Lake, and one day when she was four we got up in the morning to find her window open and her bed empty. Of course my wife at the time, Halley, and I were upset and calling for her. I called the police and about a half hour later everyone was outside trying not to get too hysterical.
Then we heard her. She’d gotten herself stuck up in a tree in our yard. When I asked her why she’d gone up there she said she wanted to see the baby birds. Apparently her preschool had told her baby birds lived high up in a tree...” He chuckled at the memory, but the smile turned into a frown as he remembered how much he missed his little Sandy…
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Post by Hollie Clarke on Sept 18, 2010 20:13:50 GMT -5
"Aww," Hollie said. She'd known that the Captain was a fair amount older than her, and it was probable that he'd had a wife and kids. Seems like he wasn't with his wife anymore though, and the tone of his voice suggested that he didn't get to see his daughter either. It would be hard being on a ship like this when you knew you had family at home. Even she could admit that. She didn't know if she could do it.
"How old is Sandy now? Does she live with her Mom?" she didn't know whether asking these sorts of questions were going to help his mood at all, but it was a natural direction for the conversation to take. Come to think of it, his authorative tone and attitude spoke volumes, of course he was a father. A good one, she could imagine. |
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Post by m on Sept 18, 2010 20:23:14 GMT -5
Mike sighed, not an impatient sigh but a sort of listless sigh as he thought back to the last time he saw Sandy. "Oh, she'd be almost ten now. The last time I saw her was on her ninth birthday last year. She's the cutest little girl ever, with dark hair and eyes and..." He stopped then, realizing she probably didn't want to hear about how his daughter looked, especially since she was blind.
"She lives with her mother and step-father." He finished, trying not to feel sad now. He missed his little girl.
Clearing his throat a bit he realized he was being a downer and tried to change the conversation over a little, "So where did you study? Have you left someone behind? A boyfriend maybe?" He smirked a little and chuckled at the thought. All pretty young girls has admirers he was sure.
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Post by Hollie Clarke on Sept 18, 2010 20:31:06 GMT -5
"She sounds gorgeous," Hollie told him, squeezing his wipe clad arm gently, although she could only rely on her imagination to sum up what she must look like. From touching people and braille drawings, she'd got the general gist of the human anatomy, so people didn't seem completely weird and out of shape to her mind, like an impressionist painting or something.
When he changed the topic, she was happy to oblige, figuring her topic hadn't exactly been the best one. "I studied at specialist school in San Francisco, one which caters to people like me, as well as people with other disabilties. They had such great tutors and professors there, some of the best in the country." Her intelligence and good grades had earned her a scholarship there, otherwise she probably wouldn't have got to go to college at all.
Hollie let out a chuckle, "no boyfriend," she said, "and no family. Completely free to do as I choose," she smiled. She liked it that way, she preferred not to be controlled. |
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Post by m on Sept 18, 2010 20:40:14 GMT -5
Smiling now, Mike felt completely at ease, forgetting all together that she was sick. He turned a corner, careful to guide her small frame carefully. He was the captain of a ship and had been a pilot for a solid ten years, he figured he could maneuver a blind young woman.
”This is probably the best place to advance a carrier. But the worst place to uphold a relationship.” He said with a sigh. ”You’re very lucky to have no strings attached.” He didn’t add that in a way it was also a very lonely kind of life. He didn’t regret meeting his wife and having a family, even if he suffered through the loss of loosing them every day.
They were drawing close to the Medical Bay and Mike felt his feet turning to lead. He avoided going in there was much as possible since there might be someone inside who was sick. But he didn’t want to abruptly end the conversation he had with Hollie either, so he merely slowed their pace.
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Post by Hollie Clarke on Sept 19, 2010 3:39:41 GMT -5
The Captain was doing well in his role of guide, Hollie was barely paying attention to where they going at all as they walked, and the conversation had her distracted enough to forget that they even had a destination.
"I know, that was one of the selling points when the UGAP approached me," she said with a smile, "they know how to get what they want." Truth was, the UGAP probably had all sorts of ways of convincing the people that they wanted to be aboard this vessel. They needed this team to take care of these attacks, or at least provide the shining beacon of hope that they couldn't. The Venia was doing fairly well at that so far.
Hollie felt them slow, and rememeber where they were supposed to be going. Apparently he didn't to let her go so soon. "Why did they pick you to be Captain then?" It'd be interesting to see how he saw himself, and how modest he was. |
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Post by m on Sept 19, 2010 11:35:40 GMT -5
Mikes face turned into a grin. He loved telling this story. "You know that's actually an interesting story. They first asked the best qualified man in the fleet. But he said no. And then they asked the bravest, and he said no. So then they decided to go for looks and asked the most good looking guy. And I just couldn't tell them no for a third time so I finally said yes."
He waited for her to get the joke before he laughed. He loved telling people that. "Actually, I worked with the Captain of the Hondurence as hi First Mate and he was offered the position, but he'd decided to retire and suggested my name. Being Captain is something i've aspired for since I started space travel..."
Reaching the Medical bay he could smell that strange smell that always came with places of complete sanitation, mostly rubbing alcohol. "Well. We are here Miss Sampson."
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Post by Hollie Clarke on Sept 19, 2010 11:50:15 GMT -5
Hollie hadn't expected something like that to actually come out of his mouth, but it made her laugh out loud. So he had a sense of humour as well, that instantly earned him a whole new level of respect. "Good one," she grinned, letting him have this moment. His proper answer was fair enough as well. A Captain would be the one best qualified to decide who should take over his job.
They drew to a halt, and Hollie was overwhelmed by the smell, so they had arrived. "Thank you," she said, "for escorting me. I won't make you come inside, dealing with one ill person is enough for one lifetime probably." She patted his arm gently, on top of the wipe, and released him from her grasp.
"It was nice talking with you, Captain," she gave him one last smile, before pushing her way towards the Medical Bay door. |
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Post by m on Sept 19, 2010 15:46:17 GMT -5
"Oh... yes. Of course Miss Sampson. Anytime. It was a pleasure." He smiled and lowered his arm to his side, then quickly caught the wipe as it fell off. He held onto it in his fist as he watched her turn to go.
His smile turned a little sad as he watched her walk away. He's really enjoyed the time with her, feeling like he was talking with a friend instead of someone who was under his watch. Sure Hollie was still a part of the crew, but for a moment there he felt much like how he did on Earth with friends and family. Mike hadn't realized until then how lonely space really got even if one was constantly surrounded by others.
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