It went on that way for a few days. The Black Sheep would practice, so would the Andorian MACO team, and Hobie would ask Mack out, repeatedly. She would politely yet firmly rebuff him, careful to never be completely alone with him.
It was the ninth of August, the night before the big game. It had been a rest day for the athletes on the Cookie. Mack was sitting in the garden, absently picking dead leaves off various plants. There was a communicator chime. She hit a key on her wrist unit. “Yeah?”
It was Majira. “I have examined all of the bench players, and all of the alternates. I have also examined all but one of the starters. Everyone who required any sort of treatment has already received it.”
“Who’s the holdout?” Mack asked.
“You are.”
“Oh, I see,” Mack sighed. “I’ll be right there.”
Sick Bay was clean and bright and very well-organized. There were two Derellian bats in adjoining cages, occasionally squawking at each other. Perhaps it was a primitive form of communication.
“Please sit down.” Majira indicated an examination bed.
“I, uh, I don’t wanna be fixed.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Just, please,” Mack looked ill, “it’s evidence that it all happened.”
“What happened to you, Dana?”
Mack looked around furtively, even though they were the only two sentient beings in Sick Bay. “I need full privacy, and full confidentiality. And I mean full.”
“Of course.” Majira drew a curtain.
Mack stripped down to nothing and stood there. Majira looked at her and then began to walk around her, brandishing a medical scanner. “You have a healed fracture in your left leg; it’s making your foot pronate. There are healed ligaments in your right shoulder. Then there is the matter of the scars and healed burns all over your breasts, including a missing left nipple.”
“Yeah,” Mack acknowledged.
“You were in prison for, what, twenty years?”
“Nineteen.”
“Yes, and,” Majira cast about for the right words to say, “There were atrocities committed on your person, am I right?”
Mack just nodded. “This proves it happened.”
“I can take pictures,” Majira offered, “and then you won’t need to be so, so damaged any more. I will testify in any court of your choosing that you were hurt. Dana,” she took Mack’s hand briefly, “you do not have to live like this.”
“I, I, but I do,” Mack stated, “I need to look at it. I need to own it.”
“What will you do if you wish to marry? I can’t imagine any man or woman will want you to never, ever take off your top.”
Mack reached for her sports bra and quickly put it back on. “I don’t think I’ll be marrying.”
“Then a relationship, all right?” The Ikaaran watched as Mack put on the remainder of her clothes.
“I don’t think I’ll be in any sort of long-term stuff.” Mack was sitting down, about to put on her socks. “I need to have this right now. if anyone, if anybody dares to love me, or at least to want to see me naked more than once, they, uh, they’ll need to be able to take it.”
“So this will be a litmus test? You will use your ordeal, and your scarring, to filter out the undesirables?” Majira’s tone was not reproachful; it was more like pleading. “Will you use acceptance of your damage as a means of justifying someone’s love for you?”
Mack concentrated on tying her sneaker laces. When she was done, she finally looked up. “I can’t answer those questions, not yet at least. All I can tell you is that the Major has asked me out – repeatedly. I just; it’s hard to know what to do, y’know?”
“Dinner, right?”
“Yeah, it’s for dinner in his private mess.”
“Dana, it doesn’t have to be anything but dinner.”
“I know. But, well,” Mack sighed, “it’s just, I haven’t had a guy interested in me in the last twenty years who didn’t also want something from me. This is why I’ve been putting him off. I want the game to be done with.”
“Then will you accept his invitation?”
“I don’t know,” Mack admitted, looking away.”
“Dana, I would like for you to do something for me.”
“Hmm?”
“It doesn’t have to be today, or even this year. But at some point, I want you to talk to me. Or someone, anyone, really. Just, talk about what happened. Unburden yourself a bit. I think you’ll find that it will help, more than if I were to erase your burns or better knit together the old fracture in your leg.”
“I dunno.”
“I will prepare a prescription for this talking cure. But there will be no time limit on filling it. You will just do as you wish, when you wish. But please, do not dismiss this out of hand. I am only suggesting this because, in the short time I have been working for you, I must tell you something.”
“I’m listening.”
“You inspire confidence, Dana. There are other commanders who are, I am certain, better leaders or tacticians. They might be more versatile or have any of a number of other virtues. But you inspire loyalty, too. I know I am not the only person who believes in you.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll take care of yourself, and in all ways – physically, professionally, spiritually, emotionally. Just, your role is to, I feel, not only mentor but also make it so that the odds are more in favor of winning.”
“Well, yeah.”
“So I hope you will work to increase your own odds, Dana.”
=/=
“Listen up!” Hobie bellowed to his players. They skated over to where he was standing, just outside of the rink. “Tomorrow, I wanna see a clean game. No fighting.”
“Major,” said his goalie, “it’s their player-coach, eh? You don’t want anybody knocking her teeth out, I bet.”
Hobie glared at him. “Just don’t fight.”
=/=
Admiral Nechayev looked over the reports from the Enterprise-E’s team. “This is most troubling,” she murmured. She was alone in her office. “I’ll need a face to face on this.” She tapped out a message.
To all flag officers –
There will be a general meeting, at Starbase 23, on the eleventh, at 0700 hours. In-person attendance is strongly preferred.
She marked the matter as urgent and sent it along. “Good thing you’re close by. This meeting will be a nice front. The only person I really want to see is you.”
=/=
“Mister Madden?”
“Yes, Captain?” They were on the Bridge, during regular shift, which was coming to its end.
“You seem a bit distracted. Care to discuss it in my Ready Room?”
“I’m all right, sir,” Marty said, “it’s nothing a little rest won’t cure.”
“Then by all means take your leave. Alpha shift is about over anyway. Oh, and Mister Madden?”
“Sir?”
“Would you care to join me and the doctor in Ten Forward, for supper this evening?”
“I, uh ….” Marty blinked a few times, partly in surprise, and partly in fatigue.
Captain Picard peered more closely at his First Officer. “You do look tired. Perhaps another time. Dismissed.”
Marty got into the turbolift and shook his head. Just as quickly as the dinner invitation had come, it had vanished. He sighed in frustration.
Back in his quarters, he requested an old menu program item, something called a Harvest Salad. He then punched up communications. “I’d like to speak to Dana MacKenzie, on the Cookie.”
“Connecting you now,” replied the relayer.
Mack was walking to her quarters when she heard the chime. “Yeah?”
“Mystic, hey!”
“Oh my gosh, Marty! Hang on, I’ll get to quarters and we can go visual.”
“Sure, I’ll wait.” He could hear the thumping of her feet hitting the floor as she turned on the speed. There were then a few clicks, and he got a visual, of her a little sweaty and winded. “You did not have to run for me,” he pointed out. “But I admit I’m a little pleased.” He smiled, edges of his eyes crinkling a little bit. “Ready for the big game tomorrow?”
“I suppose so. We’re as ready as we’ll ever be. What’s the news by you?”
“Nothing much. Captain invited me to dine with him and your engineer’s mother.”
“Oh?” She checked a wall chronometer. “So why aren’t you there, Marty? Not that I don’t like you calling or anything, y’know.”
“Picard did a one-eighty and decided I was too beat so he rescinded the invite.”
“Well, I’m sure he’ll invite you again soon. Speaking of dinner invitations, I’ve gotten several.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, the head of the defense unit here, he’s asked me out every night this week.”
That made Marty sit up and take notice, fatigue forgotten. “What’d you say?”
“I’ve been putting him off. But I think I’ll go tomorrow, after the game. I can’t help but to feel maybe overly cautious, y’know?” she said, “But I figure I should just, I guess, get on that horse.”
“Horse?”
“You know, where you get back on the horse that threw you.”
“Right.”
“Listen,” she said, “I gotta go. I gotta be rested for tomorrow. I’ll get it taped, like you asked.” She smiled at him. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. Just tired. Talk to you soon. Madden out.” He cut the connection before she could respond. He sighed. “I can’t catch a break, eh? Still, well, it’s not like I own you, or could. I have no claims.” He grabbed his PADD and clicked around, and interfaced it with his desktop unit. “Computer, pull up crew complement, USS Talos. Find all single women on board, ranked at Ensign level or higher. Show the list.”
He scanned the list and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I would be okay with it, with you getting a fellow, and with being snubbed by most of the Enterprise, if I wasn’t so damned lonely.”