Disappointing Day

Month 9 Day 11

Shore Leave Day 12

1725 Hours

Bugalu

Bugalu followed Mac as she trudged into the pub. Then she stopped right inside the door and he almost ran into her. “Something wrong?” Her mood’s been deteriorating all day. Even though I let her pick what we did today.

“It’s an English pub,” she observed softly.

Why is that important? Thought she gave up that old notion long ago. “You want to go somewhere else?

“No,” she decided, and sighed. “I guess I was just hoping for something a little more like home.” She moved forward, toward the large table where several of their friends were studying menus.

Okay. We’ve been on Ulseess a week and a half, with its weak gravity. Especially weak for her. And she loves her time in the gym - on the Fireball - because it gives her a chance to experience what she sees as ‘normal’ gravity. Cheer up, sis, our return to the Fireball is only 4 days away.

“You look tired,” Capac stated as Mac approached the group.

“No wonder you don’t get dates,” Ryan smirked at him from across the table.

“I prefer Capac’s truth to a bunch of malarky,” Mac muttered.

Bugalu chose to ignore Ryan. “It’s been a long day,” he said and sat down next to Capac while Mac took the seat next to Tall Bear.

“I suppose you took her to a biological garden?” Ryan asked.

“No,” Bugalu answered as he opened a spare menu. We did that our first day here. “We went to a museum. Mac chose which one. It was a long day, but... interesting.”

“No it wasn’t,” Mac denied, and sighed again.

“Which museum did you go to?” Beth asked. “I usually choose history, or paleontology.”

“Technology history,” Mac answered.

Abdulla blinked. “Unusual choice, but what was wrong with it?”

Mac grimaced and turned her attention to the server. “I’ll have shepherd’s pie, a berry tart and lemonade to drink.”

“Lemonade!” Ryan sounded surprised. “Not a pint?”

Mac gave the man a cold look. “What and when I choose to drink is none of your business.”

“Quite right,” Abdulla agreed.

The server took the rest of the orders, and then Mac decided to answer the question that had been left hanging. “The museum wasn’t what I expected. I mean, if you went to a museum to look at dinosaur bones or caveman artifacts, you’d expect actual fossilized bones and pieces of artifacts, right? But this technology museum seemed like a cheat. To me, at least. They didn’t have actual machines, they had mock-ups. I bet there weren’t even anything resembling a working piece on the insides. And the little signs that supposedly explained what we were looking at were devoid of any useful facts! The name of the mocked-up item, the name of who invented it, the date it was invented... In local time; I didn’t bother to convert it to a galactic date. And then 1 short sentence. Something like, ‘made fabric weaving faster by 10%! Yellow Pits of Zort!”

Almost everyone at the table blinked at this unknown swear phrase. “Zort?” Beth queried.

“Oh, that’s an ancient god on Yukosk,” Mac explained. “I don’t think Kolla understood the actual reference, as nobody has believed in him... it... for generations, but the phrase is still a form of swearing, apparently.”

“But... why did you use it?” Bugalu asked. She’s not getting herself confused with Kolla again, is she?

“Because Pa doesn’t approve of women who swear,” she answered simply. “Even though I find that knowing how a people swear helps me understand their culture.”

“I should have known,” he responded, rolling his eyes. Having Ryan here brought Pa to the forefront, I suppose. A disappointing museum visit probably started her thinking that her pa wouldn’t approve of that activity, and once he’s got a toehold in her mind, it doesn’t take much to let him come back in full force. “In any case, since your day today was disappointing, what do you want to do tomorrow?”

She hesitated before answering. She waited so long, in fact, that the food and drinks arrived. Everybody started eating, and comparing notes on how their shore leave had gone so far. Bugalu let her non-answer slide. Maybe she doesn’t want to let Ryan know where she plans to be tomorrow. Or maybe she hasn’t decided yet. We can decide later. There’s no real hurry.

As the meal and conversation progressed, Mac’s mood seemed to improve, and she was soon joining the conversation, teasing her friends and telling outrageous anecdotes of her brothers’ escapades as she grew up.

She hasn’t said anything more directly to Ryan. After that statement that her drinking was none of his business, she’s completely ignored him. Wonder if he’ll take the hint?

Hard to believe this is the same girl who arrived at the Academy with Matt. She was so skittish and uptight. When Matt introduced us and I held out my hand, she stared at it like it was an octopus tentacle or something. Well, with her father’s brain-washing, that’s probably how she saw a man’s hand.

But look at her now, laughing and participating, just like a normal person. When Capac said something mildly stupid - because he’s Capac, and not used to being part of a group - she tossed an ice cube at him, which Dog backed up by throwing a napkin. Bear briefly touched her hand to get her attention, and she simply turned to see what he wanted, without tensing up or balling a fist. She’s made a lot of progress.

The server finished cleaning their empty plates off the table, and most of the group ordered themselves another drink. Those arrived fairly quickly, and only one person at the table took notice when an unopened bottle and empty glass were set before Mac. “If I’d known you were ready to drink, Mac, I would have bought yours,” Ryan stated.

And with that simple offer, the entire tone of the evening changed.