Companionship - beyond flesh

Epilogue C: The Parsifal

Captain Ven Verde walked down the dimly lit corridor to the Parsifal's infirmary. Since their return to the refitted ship, she was struck by how quiet everything seemed -- losing over half crew in the battle with the Merry Crabbe had changed everything. She stared forward and imagined the auger, Hoops in the corridor ahead; he would pass her with a salute followed by a playful wink. She looked behind and imagined the engineer, Xiang following behind, always so thoughtful and kind -- Xiang and Ken Harris, her late petty officer, had an embryo set in stasis that had also been lost -- it would have been their first child -- Ven thought, three lives and centuries of memories and unfulfilled experience gone forever. She sniffled and wiped sudden wetness from the corner of her eyes. Then her mind shot to the fact that she had almost lost C-Buck; she didn't know why, and didn't want to analyse the feeling, but if he had died, she didn't know if she could go on.

She stopped short of the infirmary door, needing a moment to compose herself before entering. She leaned on the wall and rubbed her temple feeling suddenly very tired. Well Ven, here goes nothing, she said aloud as she straightened and walked to the hatch that irised open at her command. She moved through with her most captain-like stride, but any attempt to maintain formality failed as soon as she saw the wounded C-Buck lying on a recovery bed at the far wall of the large square room. He was asleep.

Evenjevy was in the room too; at his bench, deep in concentration studying the schematics of his refurbished infirmary.

Ven whispered to her medical officer, "Is he able to talk?"

But before Evenjevy could answer, C-Buck himself called out from the bed, "Yes, he can talk." He opened his eyes and looked to Ven, their eyes met, and he smiled with an incredibly handsome crooked grin.

On hearing his voice, her heart lifted, but she was not giving anything away with her body language as she acknowledged the skyean with a slight nod and moved around the primary operating table in the center of the room to C-Buck's bedside. As she neared she could clearly see his left shoulder and arm missing; Ven had never seen anyone without a shoulder before, and it looked disturbing.

C-Buck noticed her attention on his wound, "Yeah when the monster threw me into that hill, it completely shattered the clavicle and scapula. The doc says it's gonna take a while for him to work out how to synthesise the missing pieces with all this new gear." He patted the side of the bed with his remaining hand, he dropped his usual cocky tone and instead said softly, "here, sit by me."

Ven hesitated.

"Please."

The earnestness in his voice melted Ven's facade, and she sat on the side of the bed She took his hand with hers. His skin was clammy and cold to the touch.

"Don't worry," he said noticing the concern on her face, "I'm gonna be okay."

They revelled in the honest intensity of their silent company for a moment. Then C-Buck asked hopefully, "So, do you think a bit of sympathy sex for the patient is out of the question?"

"Hmmm," answered Ven pretending to consider the request, "I think we could arrange something."

Shocked by the unexpected response, C-Buck turned bright red and, for the first time in his life, was speechless.

"Ya see, in my home we have a say'n:  ya no buy puss inna bag. I know you and I know too that life is short -- we should make the most of it while we can." She squeezed his hand tight and sat forward. Their lips met in a long first kiss of passion and love.

When Ven broke away, C-Buck pondered, "You know, it's strange how, for twelve years we spent on this ship -- well, you know -- it's amazing how we saved ourselves for each other."

Ven's eyes widened at C-Buck's assumption, "Whoa there cowboy!" and instantly realised that she had overacted at C-Buck's heartfelt admission. In an attempt to recover, she added shaking her head, "I mean -- It's just that I'm surprised that the great lover C-Buck, didn't have relations with anyone else on board for twelve whole years. I don't believe it!"

But C-Buck wasn't fooled by her cover-up, he tried to sit up and winced at the pain. "Na, na, na. Take a step back. Are you telling me that you've done the deed on this ship with someone else? Someone else besides me!?"

Ven sat stunned and tight-lipped, but her eyes answered for her. Suddenly C-Buck felt truly wounded, "So who was it?"

Still unable to talk, but only because now she was trying hard to hold back an explosion of laughter. She had no idea how much of a joy that, after all this time, it would be discovering the sensitive side of the galaxy's number one flirting rouge.

"Wait a minute," C-Buck chewed his bottom lip as he quickly reviewed the last twelve years from his memory. Finally, he pointed accusingly over to Evenjevy who, while clearly in earshot, had been politely ignoring the private discussion between his Captain and patient, "It's him, isn't it?"

Like a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, Evenjevy turned to face his accuser bearing the slightest of guilty grins before making a v-line to the door and leaving the room as fast as he could.

Ven Verde burst into a fit of laughter and buried her face into the good side of a fuming C-Buck.