SPACE: 1999 YEAR 2
JOURNEY BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
SECTION TWENTY-THREE: THE LESSONS SHE NEVER WANTED
Their shift was winding down as the incoming Command Center night crew began arriving and settling in. Maya was still deeply engrossed in reviewing the data from the nearing system that hung tantalizingly in the distance, her focus unwavering. Her blue eyes focused on the information and Tony could tell she was oblivious to anything going on around her in the room. No doubt her mind was racing through possibilities and hypotheses.
He pushed away from his desk and strolled over to her, leaning on the edge to catch her attention.
"Hey," he interrupted softly.
She glanced up, her expression both distracted and intrigued.
"Time to call it a day," he said, his tone gentle but firm.
"But there's still so much data to analyze," she protested, her voice carrying that earnest eagerness he had grown to admire and occasionally, wrestle with.
"Maya, we move closer, we get more data." He tapped her forehead lightly with his finger. "Trust me, your little brain will have even more to analyze," he teased.
Her lips parted for another protest, but he cut her off with a hand extended toward her. "Come on. Besides, there's something I need to show you before dinner."
"What is it?"
"John wants you to join the survey team, if we determine that planet out there is hospitable enough to visit, right?"
She nodded, excitement at an adventure off the moon flickered in her smile.
"Then there's something I need to show you before you go down there. But first…" His gaze dropped pointedly to her skirt. "You'll need to change. Pants and a jacket. It's cooler where we're going."
Her brows knitted in confusion, but she followed him out of Command Center, her curiosity now thoroughly piqued.
Later, after changing, a travel tube trek and a ride down another lift, she found herself in a dim corridor with a door labeled TRAINING in bold, functional letters.
Maya glanced at Tony. "What is this," she asked him, her voice tinged with uncertainty.
"Hold on," he said as he punched in a sequence on the panel before the door slide open with a soft hiss.
This was a room within Moonbase Alpha that Maya had not known existed. A cavernous room, carved out deep beneath the surface of the moon. It was cooler down here than she was used to and now she understood why Tony had instructed her to change clothes and bring her jacket. Instinctively she wrapped her arms around herself as she followed Tony inside.
Dim lighting flickered off the uneven rock walls, casting shadows that remained somewhat eerie until Tony flipped another light switch. Now she saw a communications panel near the entrance and a black cabinet that looked sturdy, well-secured and very possibly built directly into the rock wall.
The room became wider as it went further out in front of them. Close to the far rock wall, but not quite, was another much larger chuck of rock. She estimated it to be about thirty feet in height and it was covered with different colored symbols. Squares, circles, triangles. They varied in size from inches to a few feet.
And they bore scorch marks.
"Tony," she said softly, turning toward him, her eyes more wary than curious. "What is this place?"
Tony didn't answer her immediately. Instead, he had stepped forward and was punching in another code to unlock the cabinet. Metal clicked, and he retrieved a black box from an upper shelf.
"You're going to an alien planet, Maya."
His voice was calm but firm, his focus fixed on opening the box. "So far, we haven't detected any life signs. That doesn't mean it isn't hostile."
He set the box down on a metal table and flipped it open. Inside, neatly arranged in foam cutouts, were four stun guns.
Maya's hands curled instinctively at her sides. "I don't understand, Tony."
He picked up one of the weapons, inspecting it with a critical eye before glancing over at her. "Maya, have you ever fired a weapon before?"
"No," she shook her head, unease creeping into her voice. She didn't like where she thought this was headed.
Tony exhaled, rubbing a hand over his face as if already exhausted by the lesson that hadn't even begun. "Well," he muttered, "you're about to."
Maya immediately stiffened.
No. No, she did not like this.
Her entire life had been built around learning, knowledge, science and understanding. Weapons had never been part of that equation. Instinctively, she took a step back, her arms crossing protectively in front of her.
Tony saw her hesitation. He'd expected it. Hell, he respected it.
But it didn't change the reality that all of them now lived in.
She needed to learn, because like or not, Maya was no longer just the girl from Psychon. She was one of them now.
She was an Alphan. And being an Alphan meant living with one unspoken truth. Every single one of them had been trained to use the stun gun.
Just in case.
None of them wanted to fire the little weapon. That had never been their prime goal.
But, if the time came, if that moment ever slammed into them without warning, it meant that Moonbase Alpha had run into something serious. Something dangerous. And in that moment, hesitation could get someone killed. Including yourself.
Tony needed to know that if that time ever came, Maya wouldn't freeze. He didn't doubt her intelligence or her capability. Hell, he suspected she could easily lay one of these out on the table, rip it apart and probably put it back together in no time. Probably with improvements.
But that wasn't the point. The point was making sure that she could aim and fire, in case everything ever went to hell.
Tony's voice softened slightly. "I'm not saying you'll ever have to use one. But John wants you to go down to that planet. And this probably won't be the last time."
He said probably because they were still wandering the universe. Obviously, the fantasy of finding a habitable planet was still that. A fantasy.
He hesitated, his eyes flickering toward her before settling once again on the laser. "If it ever comes down to it," he paused. "I need to know you can protect yourself."
Maya bit her lip, her mind racing.
Could she refuse Tony?
Could she just inform Commander Koenig that she had changed her mind? That she suddenly would rather stay locked in her quarters, that she had no interest in exploration or gaining knowledge on an alien surface and that she really would much rather bury herself in research?
Nice, safe research that consisted of only pouring through Alpha's reference materials and making notes.
No. Of course not.
Slowly, she exhaled. "I have to?"
Tony nodded.
She scraped her teeth over her bottom lip as she considered Tony's expression. "I have to."
Tony nodded again, this time a little less serious as his lips twitched into something resembling a smirk. "I guess you could say I'm going to corrupt you a little bit."
Maya shook her head, recalling the conversation a little differently. "Tony, I believe that the Commander was referring to music. Not lasers."
Tony shrugged, utterly unapologetic. "Close enough."
He took her hand, tugging her toward the table.
"Now these don't have the same strength as regular ones. Training mode only, set for minimal impact. Even the 'kill' setting is merely the intensity of," he tilted his head, thinking of how to describe it best it to her. "Maybe just a really angry shove. But, other than that, they are identical in functionality."
He placed his hand on her arm. "And I need to know that you can protect yourself. Or someone else, if it comes to that."
Maya scrunched her nose at him. "You make it sound as though you want me to join Security, Tony."
He laughed at her. "Promise me you won't sleep on the job?"
Her blue eyes widened in shock. "I would never sleep on the job," she quipped, giving him a look that dared him to explain why he would even think such a thought.
He smiled. "You're hired. Seriously Maya, this isn't hard," he continued, flipping the setting and demonstrating the grip to her.
"Just hold it steady, aim and fire. Very simple."
Then he held the small gun out to her. She hesitated before finally taking it from him, the cold weight of it foreign in her hand. Her life was supposed to be about discovery and learning. Not about firing at targets, with weapons.
She watched him as he picked up one for himself before turning to her.
"That type of rock," he pointed at the large hunk in front of them. "Will actually absorb the energy from the laser," he explained to her. "No chance of it ricocheting back to us. Keep that in mind. Just in case."
He raised his weapon and fired at one of the colorful square targets high on the rock wall. The laser bolt hit dead center, leaving a small, precise scorch mark.
Maya shook her head. "You want me to do that?"
He nodded at her. "Yeah, as reasonably close as you can get."
He stepped behind her, adjusting the way she held the weapon, gently raising her arm. His fingers brushed lightly against her, the warmth of his touch a stark contrast to the cool metal in her grip. It was barely a whisper of contact, fleeting and casual, but her pulse quickened anyway, an involuntary reaction she chose to ignore. Or at least, she tried to.
"Same target," he instructed.
Maya exhaled sharply and shook her head again, a little too forcefully this time. Not just in doubt, but in an attempt to clear something else away.
"I can't do that, Tony," she protested.
"Yes, you can," he said, his voice unwavering. "Go ahead. Fire."
A few long moments passed but, eventually she fired. Her laser bolt hit nowhere near the target. Instead, it had landed far to the left.
Silence filled the air.
Maya's grip tightened around the weapon as she stared at her scorch mark. Far from the target, nowhere close. Her shoulders stiffened. A quiet rush of heat crept up her neck, embarrassment pressing down like an unseen weight.
Silence, and then, a chuckle. Low at first, barely restrained. Then deeper, richer. Tony Verdeschi, struggling not to outright laugh at her. He'd seen this reaction from people many times and with actual guns. He wasn't sure he'd seen it with a person and a stun gun though.
"Maya," his voice was filled with restrained amusement. "You have to keep your eyes open. Don't just point and fire, hoping for the best."
Maya muttered something under her breath.
Not English.
Based on the tone, Tony was fairly certain it was a Psychon curse so ancient that Maya's mother would have been mortified to hear it spoken - let alone spoken by her own daughter.
He began laughing harder. "Oh, do I have my work cut out for me."
Maya shot him a glare, an almost dangerous glare.
Then, with a huff, she turned back toward the rock wall, exhaled and adjusted her grip and fired again. Not just once, but several times.
And when the dust settled, a roughly drawn but very obvious, very questionable piece of artwork was visible.
A scorch-mark smiley face was now staring back at them.
Tony Verdeschi staggered back a step, laughter bursting out of him before he could stop it. He braced his hand on the table, shaking his head, utterly defeated.
"A damn smiley face," he groaned.
Maya simply smiled at him. All wide-eyed, all innocence. As if she had no idea why he was laughing. She even tilted her head just slightly, the perfect picture of feigned curiosity, as if she hadn't just vandalized a training target with a laser gun.
Tony ran a hand down his face, shaking his head, still laughing. "You... are... impossible."
But, dammit, it wasn't just the laser practice. It was her. The way she looked at him, those blue eyes full of mischief, that too-perfect, too-innocent smile that made it impossible to be mad at her, impossible to think straight for half a second.
Maya crossed her arms, her smile deepening, the picture of pure, sweet goodness. And then, as if the sheer act of mischief had never once crossed her mind, she tapped a finger to her chin, thoughtful.
"I have no idea what you mean," she said sweetly.
Tony exhaled, shaking his head before finally directing a look at her. Half amusement. Half surrender.
Yeah, Tony Verdeschi was in trouble. Not just the usual Red Alert kind of trouble. No, this was definitely something else entirely. She was impossible and she was something else.
And Maya, with those wide blue eyes and that all too-innocent smile, had no idea.
Or did she?