For the person who left the review about the smiley face, I have never seen Lethal Weapon. Is it worth a watch? Let me know and thanks for the review. Hopefully someone is enjoying this little doodah of a story.
SPACE: 1999 YEAR 2
JOURNEY BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
SECTION TWENTY-FOUR: Coffee, Cats and Sneezes
The Mysterious Sneeze
Tony Verdeschi sniffled, wiped his watery eyes and then sneezed. Again. He groaned as he looked at Doctor Russell, impatiently waiting for her medical intervention to banish away his misery.
Helena shook her head in mild exasperation. "You're having an allergic reaction to something."
Verdeschi gave her a glowering look that suggested this was not the time for vague diagnoses. He wanted relief and he wanted it yesterday, not at a distant point in the future.
He sniffled again before sneezing.
Again.
"To what," he grumbled with a congested voice.
"I'm not sure," she admitted, a hint of confusion in her tone as she scanned him.
Tony swiped a hanky across his nose, his voice tinged with a nasal edge that made him sound both pitiful and slightly comical.
"Well, can you make it go away, please?" he asked, shooting her a pleading look.
Helena turned away briefly, hiding the amused expression on her face while she began going through one of her medical drawers. When she turned back to Verdeschi, her professional face was once again firmly in place.
She was almost ready to administer the injection when her eyes dropped to Tony's jacket sleeve. She saw something that she was sure she should not be seeing.
With practiced precision, she plucked a long white hair from the sleeve, holding it up between her fingers and looking at it suspiciously.
"What is this?"
Tony chuckled, though his voice was still nasally. "Maya."
Helena raised an eyebrow, looking between the Chief of Security and then the Psychon, who had been silently standing there, watching with growing concern. Before Helena could ask any more questions, Maya suddenly perked up, as if struck by inspiration.
"Tony, give me your jacket."
He blinked, his mouth opening slightly in disbelief. "Come again?"
She extended her hand, her expression firm and unyielding. "Give me your jacket."
Tony glanced between her and Helena, then sighed dramatically. "What Maya wants, Maya gets," he muttered, pulling off the jacket and handing it to her with a thoroughly confused look.
Maya took it from him and practically marched away from them, over towards the door.
Tony glanced at Helena, then back at Maya, silently wondering what thoughts were going through her pretty little mind now.
They watched as she stopped and, with exaggerated care, she laid the jacket down on the floor. Then she walked back to them, all while brushing her hands as if she'd just dealt with something hazardous. Then she stopped, crossed her arms in front of her and waited. Silently.
Tony blinked at her, confused at first, but then his nose twitched. He sniffled experimentally.
"Huh. I don't feel quite as stuffy."
Maya clasped her hands together apologetically, her head tilting slightly. "I'm sorry, Tony. I didn't know that you were allergic to cats."
"I didn't know I was, either."
She gave him an apologetic smile. Tony could have sworn there was a trace of scientific triumph behind her guilt.
Helena's expression brightened with sudden understanding. "Oh!"
She gave him the injection anyway, her movements brisk but gentle. "You're going to have to have that jacket laundered, though."
Tony nodded, sniffling again, this time with far less intensity. Then he turned to Maya, his tone turning mock serious as he pointed a finger at her.
"My quarters are now officially off-limits to all stray cats. Do I make myself clear?"
Maya's lips quirked upward in a shy smile. "Yes, Tony" she said softly, her voice tinged with guilt. "I didn't know. I really am sorry."
Helena patted Tony's arm in reassurance. "You're good to go, should totally clear up by this evening. Let me know if anything else flares up."
"Thanks, Doc," he said as he rose from the chair.
Helena watched and listened to the two of them as they turned to leave Medical Center, their steps falling into rhythm immediately.
"You know," Tony began, his tone shifting to playful, "that could actually be handy… if we ever run into a hostile with allergies."
"Oh, Tony," Maya exclaimed, rolling her eyes as she groaned dramatically. "That's…" She hesitated before they reached the door before a smile crossed her face.
"You really should have Doctor Russell examine your head while we're here."
"Nothing wrong with my head, Maya," Tony replied breezily. "If there were,"
Maya instantly cut him off with a mock-grumble, mimicking his tone. "I know, I know. She'd have you grounded, relieved of duty and confined to Medical Center."
She stopped just long enough to stoop down, pick up his jacket, before holding it out at arm's length as though it were contaminated, her nose scrunching up in mock disgust.
The door slid open just as Tony sneezed again. Alpha's Chief of Security groaned as he turned to give Maya a very stern look. She backed away from him for just a moment and then smiled a very innocent smile before holding the offending jacket up in front of him.
"Maya," he grumbled.
As they walked through the door, the two of them broke out into hysterical laughter and Helena couldn't help but giggle herself as she listened to the sound of their amusement echoing down the corridor before the door swished shut.
Just moments after they had left, Bob Mathias and Ben Vincent strolled into Medical. Their bemused expressions mirrored each other, eyebrows raised in mutual curiosity.
"What are those two laughing about?" Bob asked, gesturing vaguely toward the corridor where the pair had disappeared.
Helena didn't bother looking up, her pen gliding steadily across the paper in front of her.
"Oh, Tony's allergic to cats," she replied casually.
The two doctors froze mid-step, their shared bafflement mirrored in their matching frowns. Silent questions were darting between them as they exchanged curious glances.
"Helena," Mathias began cautiously, as though dreading the explanation, "we don't have any cats on Alpha."
"I know," Helena replied evenly, her pen not pausing as she scribbled another note.
Their frowns deepened. Once again, their eyes met in mutual confusion. Had Doctor Russell finally snapped?
Ben tilted his head, his voice hesitant but insistent. "Helena, just where did the cat come from, for us to learn this about Verdeschi?"
Helena tucked the paper neatly into a folder, her movements calm and precise. She finally looked up at them, her face as composed as if she were discussing routine bloodwork.
"Psychon," she said as she put the piece of paper in a folder.
Bob and Ben's heads swiveled toward each other in perfect unison. Their eyes widened in disbelief and their incredulous stares were practically shouting, did you hear what I just heard?
Bob cleared his throat, his tone measured but tinged with wariness.
"Helena… Maya is the only thing brought back from Psychon, right?"
He was fairly certain that he only remembered the Psychon being brought into Medical Center that night. He was also fairly certain that if there had also been a cat, he would have most definitely remembered that.
"Mm-hmm," Helena murmured her confirmation, barely sparing either physician a glance as she reached for another paper.
Ben's hands shot up in exasperation, gesturing as though trying to pluck invisible answers from the air.
"So where did the Psychon cat come from?"
Helena finally paused, her pen poised mid-air.
"You'd have to ask Maya," she said.
With that, she rose from her chair, turned on her heel and strode past them to file her folder away, leaving Mathias and Vincent rooted in place. Their mouths opened and closed like fish gasping for air, their confusion and disbelief radiating off them in waves.
Bob was the first to recover, turning to Vincent with an expression somewhere between shock and resignation. "Did we or did we not…just learn… that a Psychon cat is roaming Moonbase Alpha?"
Ben was shaking his head very slowly before he finally spoke.
"I don't know man. But Tony's apparently allergic to it."
"Apparently so," Mathias muttered.
They stood there for another moment, neither of them too sure of what exactly was going on.
Finally, Bob broke the silence. "I need another cup of coffee." He turned around and began heading for the door.
"Make it two cups," Ben added, following him out, their heads shaking in unison as they left the room.
All I Wanted Was Coffee…Not a Cat
Tony Verdeschi was restless, and he couldn't quite put his finger on why. A vague, unsettled energy had been nagging him all evening. Not fear, not exactly. Just a low hum of tension that would not let up.
He was headed to grab one last cup of coffee before calling it a night. Maybe a moment of stillness before their early start in the morning would help. Maybe just sitting for a while, letting the quiet settle around him. Maybe, if he was lucky, that would ease whatever the hell this feeling was.
He had just turned down the corridor toward the cafeteria when he ran into Alan Carter.
"Where you headed?" Alan asked, his voice casual.
Tony gave a small shrug. "Thought I'd get a cup of coffee before turning in."
Alan nodded, his easy grin spreading as he held up the small coffee carafe in his hand.
"Yeah, same here. Figured I'd sit down, have a cup, and call it a night since we've got an early start tomorrow. Care to join me? Unlike you, I have multiple clean mugs in my place," he finished with his usual Carter grin.
It didn't take much thought for Tony to accept the invitation.
"Sure," he said, grateful for an opportunity to just kick back and relax a little before going to bed.
The two of them made their way down the corridor toward Alan's quarters. Once inside, Carter went straight for the collection of clean mugs he had neatly stacked on the table. Then he poured two cups, handing one to Tony before pouring his own. Then he collapsed into the other chair with a low sigh, stretched his legs out and rubbed a hand along the back of his neck to work out the kinks that had settled there.
"Well," Alan said, taking a sip of his beverage before continuing. "Eagle 4's ready to go. Fraser and I just finished prepping everything for the morning. She's purring like a kitten."
Tony nodded, his posture relaxing as he shifted in his chair. "I'm actually looking forward to getting out of here for a bit. Might prove interesting, even if it's just a quick trip to hunt for milgonite."
Alan raised an eyebrow, leaning back with an amused smirk.
"Interesting, huh? A hunt for milgonite? You must be bored outta your mind, mate."
Tony shrugged again. "Maybe."
Alan tilted his head, studying Tony for a moment, a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. "You're missing something, you know."
Tony frowned in confusion. "Huh?" He paused lifting his drink as he looked at the Australian for explanation.
Alan's smirk widened as he gestured with his mug. "Your little sidekick. Think this might be the first time I've seen you two apart since she got here."
Verdeschi shook his head as he let out a small laugh.
"Well, she said she wanted to read a little before bed. Probably wanted to calm her nerves before tomorrow. This is a first, for her."
Then, with amusement in his voice, he added. "And, let's be honest, she's probably sick of my face by now."
Alan laughed loudly, his shoulders shaking as he set his mug down. "Somehow I don't think so Verdeschi."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tony grumbled, leaning forward slightly, one elbow resting on his knee as he studied the Australian's face. He already knew he would have to try to gauge where Pilot was going with this and then attempt to steer this conversation. Redirection might be necessary.
Alan grinned knowingly, leaning back and crossing one leg over the other. "I've seen the way the two of you get on."
Tony scoffed, sitting back with a dramatic wave of his hand. "When's the last time Dr. Russell checked your vision?"
"Nothing wrong with my vision," Alan replied, pointing at Tony with his mug. "Doc would have…"
"Yeah, yeah." Tony quickly cut Alan off, rolling his eyes. "
And if there was something wrong, she'd have you grounded. I know, I know," he finished with a little more dramatic emphasis than needed.
Alan snorted, chuckling as he swirled the coffee in his cup. "Sounds like you've had this conversation before."
"Yeah, something like that," Tony told him with a faint smile. He took a long sip of his drink, his eyes thoughtful as he considered his next words. Finally, he set the mug down and leaned forward, his tone turning more serious.
"Speaking of our little alien," he said, his voice dropping slightly, "there's something I'm going to tell you, but you cannot - and I mean cannot- let it outside this room. At least not yet."
Alan raised an eyebrow, his grin fading as he noticed the shift in Tony's expression. He set his cup down and leaned forward with genuine interest.
"Alright," he said, very eager to hear what Alpha's Chief of Security was going to reveal.
Tony hesitated, his fingers drumming lightly on the armrest as he searched for the right words.
"Remember how Maya's father was able to transform his ship into that ball of light?"
Alan's brow furrowed as he tilted his head, thinking for a moment before nodding.
"Yeah. On Psychon, we saw this sentry turned into stone after John fired his laser at it. Apparently, the bloke was never real. I think Lew had called it molecular transformation."
Tony pointed at him, his eyebrows lifting slightly as he nodded his head. "Well, guess what little girl has the same ability?"
Carter frowned, his face a mixture of confusion and intrigue. "What are you on about?"
Tony spread his hands in a vague gesture, exhaling through his nose before speaking again.
"When John first met Maya, she wasn't… well, she wasn't Maya."
Alan blinked, leaning back slightly. "What do you mean?"
"Apparently, he saw a lion," Tony said, his tone deliberately slow, as though giving Carter time to process his words.
"A lion," Carter repeated skeptically, his voice heavy with disbelief. He blinked and leaned back, his chair creaking slightly under him.
"A lion," he repeated, slower this time, as though testing the word to see if it now possessed some new mysterious, previously hidden meaning.
Tony nodded, a half-smile tugging at his lips. Even to him, it sounded absurd.
"And not just that. John saw her shift into a few other… animals."
Alan's eyes widened as he rubbed the back of his neck, shaking his head. "That's… that's bloody bonkers."
Carter reached for his coffee and took a long sip from his mug, as if the drink might somehow clarify things.
Had Tony Verdeschi finally gone daft?
"Verdeschi, are you sure she can do that," he asked, his voice very skeptical. "I mean, have you actually seen it?"
Tony nodded again, slower this time, the expression on his face steady and deadly serious.
"Yeah, I have. And yeah, she can."
"You and John haven't both been drinking that experimental brew of yours, have you?"
Tony ignored the jab. "She has to be in the right mental state. Apparently, it's still a relatively new skill for her."
He took another slow sip of his coffee before continuing.
"I don't normally have a cat lounging around in my quarters," he said with a chuckle. "The other day, I did."
Alan straightened up in his chair, his face an odd blend of fascination and unease.
"You're telling me you had a cat," he paused for a moment, waving his hand in a vague, circling gesture as if he were trying to physically pull the right words from the air. "A cat, just hanging out?"
Tony lifted his mug, taking a deliberately slow sip before setting it down with a dull thud. "Fluffy. White. Cute kitty cat." He leaned back and exhaled. "Cute, if you're not allergic. Which, apparently, I am."
Alan blinked. Once. Twice. Then he squinted, looking at Tony like he was trying to confirm the man hadn't finally lost the last marble rolling around in his head. Was Verdeschi messing with him? His mouth opened, as if he had something to say, then he shut it before rubbing a hand down his face.
"How the hell is that even possible?"
Tony shrugged, one hand lazily gesturing in the air. "Helena's the expert on allergies; you'll have to ask her."
"No," Alan retorted back, waving his mug theatrically, the liquid sloshing dangerously close to the rim. "I mean Maya, the cat. Hell, at this point, I guess I don't know what I mean."
Then he pointed at Tony with his mug. "That's bloody bonkers, you know."
Tony gave a half-smirk, rubbing his temples like this entire conversation had already driven him past the point of exhaustion.
"Yeah, well, welcome to life on Moonbase Alpha."
"You're damn serious," Carter said as he set his mug down.
Tony nodded. "Dead serious."
Alan leaned back, now rubbing both hands together.
"So, let me get this straight." He inhaled before continuing.
"She's super intelligent, cute and she shapeshifts. Anything else we need to know before we leave in the morning?" Carter shook her head, still not quite convinced.
"She doesn't levitate, does she?"
Tony arched an eyebrow. "She hasn't pulled a rabbit out of a hat yet, if that's what you're asking."
Alan let out a half-snort, half-chuckle and his quarters soon filled with the sound of laughter as both men gave up the attempt to find anything rationale. At this point, they both merely had to give up comprehending the absurd impossibility of it all.