Cleaning Floors
Bill and Mark have made their way to the Promenade to begin a deep cleaning of the flooring panels.
"Alright, son," Bill says, "if you thought scrubbing windows was boring, I've got some bad news for you."
"Oh, it wasn't so bad. I got to see the wormhole like never before," Mark replies.
Mark recalls how, though he may have caught a slight reflection of the wormhole, he had really been focusing on the most beautiful woman he's ever laid eyes on while completing their window scrubbing task. He maintains to Bill that he saw the wormhole in all its glory and only got 'distracted' by an unknown noise at the last minute. He still doesn't know the Trill's name, but he'll never forget the vision of her graceful stride, her mesmerizing spots, and those radiant blue eyes. He frowns as he remembers the start he gave her when she saw him outside her window and spilled her hot drink.
Bill snaps his fingers in front of Mark's face, "You in there, son?"
"Uh, yeah… sorry. Just remembering a dream."
"Well then, I guess I'll start back at the top." Bill shakes his head and points to some contraption in front of them. "Like I just got done sayin', this here is a floor scrubber, not to be confused with the scrubber we used on the windows the other day. It may not look like much, but this'll vibrantize these floors like you wouldn't believe."
"The floors look fine, Bill, and I don't think 'vibrantize' is a word."
"Are you correcting me, son?" Bill says with a slight scowl.
"No, sir, I…"
Bill nudges Mark's shoulder and laughs. "I'm just playin' with you, son. That must've been some dream you had. It's got you all outta kilter."
"No, I'm fine, really. But seriously… are we dealing with more ionized particles, or some alien microbes or something?"
Bill takes off his hat, revealing his thinning silver hair, and scratches his head while looking at the machine. "Well, I reckon it could be doin' some kind of sterilizin', but its main purpose is just simple… cleanin'."
Bill grabs the handle of the device and presses a button on the controls. Though the device makes no sound save for a subtle hum, a soft glow emanates from the bottom of it.
"The most important thing is to watch your speed, you hear me?" Bill checks to make sure Mark is paying attention. "You gotta take it slow. The display keeps track of where you've been and what you've missed. Go too fast and it won't count, so you'll have to hit that spot again. Don't ask me why it works that way. I never questioned it, so I won't have an answer for you. Well… there ain't much to it so I'm gonna to let you at it. I'm gonna to go see if Phil's done fixin' the other one so I can help you knock this out."
Bill hands the machine over to Mark and walks off. Mark gets a feel for the weight of the machine, and a quick push draws his attention to the color-coded speed indicator. He looks up from the controls, and suddenly the floor of the Promenade looks ten times bigger than it used to.
This is going to take a while, he thinks as his spirits sink.
At first, Mark has a hard time adjusting to the snail's pace he has to maintain to keep the speed indicator out of the red. More than a few times, he has to back up a few paces to retrace his steps. He's thankful that the Promenade traffic is sparse for the time being as, after getting a hang of the proper speed, he still finds himself staring at the tracking map excessively.
While passing in front of the Bajoran Temple, Mark is still staring at the device intently when someone walking across his path trips over the machine and wipes out on the floor. He looks up from the machine's display and freezes in terror.
Oh shit, that's Major Kira!
He remembers seeing this woman yell in the face of a burly Klingon and then turn her angry expression at him and Bill outside the station, just for gawking. Before she even turns to see him, Mark impulsively speaks.
"Oh God, please don't kill me," he mutters quickly and quietly, more to God Himself than to Kira.
"Kill you?" Kira laughs as she picks up a PADD and brushes herself off. "That was my own fault. That's what I get for trying to read and walk at the same time." Kira's expression turns inquisitive. "Hey, do I know you?"
"No ma'am, you've never seen me before in my life. I mean, I don't know you, err… ma'am."
She smiles as Mark continues to stammer, "It's OK. I just hope I didn't break your… thing there. Good day."
As Kira turns to walk away, Mark is flabbergasted that this is the same woman that appeared to be possessed by pure hatred just a few days ago.
Is this woman bipolar? he wonders to himself.
Then Mark sees her: the angel of his dreams. The dark-haired Trill is walking on the upper level of the Promenade.
Mark speaks again without thinking. "Major Kira?"
Kira stops dead in her tracks and spins around, squinting deeply at Mark. "I thought you didn't know me?"
His flub frustrates him but his opportunity is waning. He points to the upper level. "Sorry, ma'am. What's her name?"
Kira's eyes follow Mark's point towards Ezri who is walking above them. She looks back at Mark with an expression that makes him feel small and afraid.
"It was you, wasn't it?" Kira says angrily. "She told me about someone peeping in her window not long ago. I wanted to file a report! Lucky for you, she said you looked too pitiful and told me not to." She glares at him a bit longer. "And that means you must have been one of the two men outside when I had to put an ill-tempered Klingon in his place."
Mark looks down with shame for his deceit. "Yes, ma'am. You were mighty angry that day. We were just doing our jobs, we meant nothing by it. And… and I wasn't really watching where I was going just a minute ago either. I'm sorry."
Kira observes the genuine regret this man has for, like he says, just doing his job. She can see why Ezri refused to file a report against him. She can also sense the fear in this man. She remembers the Klingon from the other day and how she had been so worked up, she'd actually hoped the Klingon had swung at her. Without the therapeutic beat down she'd hoped would follow, she had lashed out at everyone on the Promenade, even saying some choice words at two men outside a window who couldn't possibly have heard a thing. No wonder this man didn't want to admit fault for her stumble. The realization diffuses her attitude.
"Her name is Ezri," Kira says as a reward for his honesty and apology.
With the expression on his face, Kira would have thought she'd just told this man he'd won a two week trip to Risa.
"Thank you, ma'am!"
Kira shakes her head with a grin and walks off.
"Ezri… what a beautiful name," he whispers to himself.
Mark scans the upper level of the Promenade but she's gone. Nevertheless, he is walking on air and repeating the name "Ezri" in his mind with a grin on his face. He doesn't seem to notice or care about the red speed indicator constantly blinking on the machine as he pushes it around the Promenade.
Later on, Bill finds Mark taking a break at the replimat. He's holding a cup of coffee and has a silly grin on his face.
"If I'da known you'd get this much satisfaction out of scrubbin' floors, I wouldn't have rushed Phil to get this other machine fixed."
"It's been going great, Bill. It's been a great day." Mark just smiles.
"Well, let me see how you've been doin'."
Bill looks at the machine's tracking map then back at Mark. He looks back at the map again, then back at Mark.
"Son, what in God's name have you been doin' up here?"
"Huh?" Mark just looks at Bill with a grin and a distant stare.
"This here makes it look you got off to a good start, but then somewhere around… here," Bill points at the display, "someone lit your britches on fire."
Mark starts to realize that Bill is disappointed with him, but then he sees her again. "Ezri," is all he says.
"Ez-yer-what?! Son, I thought you were doing mighty fine here, but sumthin's got your mind and soul in a tangle."
Mark just stares across the Promenade, watching Kira and Ezri talking together. Suddenly, Kira points in his direction and those amazing blue eyes he worships follow. Mark's jaw drops and he emits a nervous squeak as he feels the spotlight of attention draw a bead on him.
"Son? Is it drugs, son?" Bill smacks the side of Mark's head, forcing his attention to shift. "So help me God if I find out it's drugs…"
Mark's gaze immediately turns back to see if he's lost sight of his angel. Bill follows Mark's stare and spots the Trill across the Promenade.
"Oh Dear Lord…" Bill puts his hand on Mark's shoulder as if he had just been diagnosed with a terminal disease. "This is worse than drugs, son. God help you."
Mark can only stare as Kira and Ezri disappear on a turbolift. Bill's muted reprimand—given the distance—combined with a smack to the head and Mark's blank stare must have been comical to her. Her smile as she giggles at his expense draws a long sigh.
"Isn't she amazing?" Mark asks the empty space in front of him.
Bill watches as Kira shakes her head and this Ezri gal laughs at his naïve protégé. Bill sighs as well once the pair of women have left their sight completely. "Snap out of it, son. Let's try and salvage this job. Then we need to have a serious talk about your state of mind. We might need to find you a counselor."
