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"Strike Three"
Rating: PG Homesick (2) Doctor Phlox looked up when he heard the mess hall door open, watching an Ensign get a sandwich from the cabinet. The young man walked over to the opposite counter and poured himself a glass of water and then walked over to a table near the window. Doctor Phlox turned back to his meal. He glanced at the young man, noticing he’d sat both his sandwich and glass down without touching either one. The door opened again and Sherie and another ensign walked in. They also got sandwiches and glasses of tea before joining the first ensign. Doctor Phlox thoughtfully chewed his food as he watched the three. None of them appeared very interested in eating. “Any word from you mom, Zyg?” the woman at the table asked. “Yeah. All’s well. Dad’s out of the hospital and Sarah went back to school.” “That’s good.” “What about you, Sherie?” Zyg asked her. “My long distance relationship just crashed into the wall at warp ten.” “Oh Sherie,” the other man said. She shrugged. “Oh well, ya know?” “I don’t know if I’m lucky or not that Nancy left me before we left port,” the man said, smiling. “Probably lucky, Mike,” Sherie said. The three were silent again. Doctor Phlox looked down at his plate. “Did you see it?” Sherie asked. “What?” Mike asked. “That planet yesterday. Did you see it?” “Yeah. It looked like home right down to the hurricane off the coast,” Zyg said. Doctor Phlox looked up at the three, waiting and watching. Sherie looked up, right at Doctor Phlox and smiled. He returned her smile. “Did you get homesick on Earth, Doctor?” she asked. “On occasion,” Doctor Phlox responded. Sherie looked back at her sandwich. Doctor Phlox picked up his tray and approached the table. He sat down, noticing that the three looked at him, but none of them said anything or appeared to want him to leave. “You all appear quite upset this afternoon,” Doctor Phlox commented “I’m homesick,” Sherie said. “We all are. If it hadn’t looked so much like earth…” Zyg trailed off. Doctor Phlox nodded, eating a bite of food. “What I miss,” Mike leaned forward. “My parents owned this ranch out in Montana. I’d go for Christmas and during the summer to help with the cattle drive. I haven’t seen a horse in three years now. I miss mine.” “You had a pet horse?” Doctor Phlox asked Mike. “Yes. Skank is what I called him, but his registered name was Sapphire Williams.” “Registered what?” Sherie asked. “Quarter horse. Perfect chestnut colors too.” “I miss my cat,” Sherie said. “I had to send her home with my mother when I found out I was leaving.” “What was her name?” Doctor Phlox asked. “His name was Hank.” Sherie smiled, her nose wrinkling a little. “I was never real inventive with pet names.” “Did you have a pet, Tony?” Mike asked the third ensign. “Yeah. I had Lefty, a hamster and Opus, a guinea pig.” “Lefty the hamster and Opus the guinea pig?” Zyg asked. “Opus and Lefty were really sweet,” Tony protested. “And I had a gold fish. I gave him to a friend’s kid before I left. You know what I miss?” “What?” the three asked. “Chocolate almond candy bars.” Sherie and Mike laughed. “Have you ever had a chocolate candy bar?” Sherie asked Doctor Phlox. “I can’t say that I have.” “Well, if you have a sweet tooth, then you’ll have to have one when you get back,” Zyg told Doctor Phlox. Sherie leaned on the table, “Beside my cat, the two things I miss the most is the sun rising and setting and hearing it rain during the summer.” Zyg laughed. “I miss snow. Weird as it sounds, but I do. I miss picking up and going skiing on a day off. Hell, I miss days off sometimes.” “You do get days off,” Doctor Phlox corrected him. “Naw, naw, naw. Not 'no work' days off. Days off like leaving base and going somewhere different, meeting new people. Days off.” “Oh,” Doctor Phlox nodded. “I understand now.” “This community living concept has taken some getting used to it. It’s weird, you know,” Mike said. He sipped some of his drink before continuing. “I started life off in the Navy and had a one year and then a two year post on two ships. But for some reason, this is just different.” “Well, the differences I noticed between a ship on Earth compared to being out here in space are that more than six or twelve people get ta have shore, and while you may not speak the language at every port, the translator at least knows all the languages, and you occasionally get television and radio stations too,” Sherie said. “All of which you don’t get out here roaming around space.” “Yeah. Television was nice. Radio too. I’ll be glued to the screen for hours when we get back.” “If we get back,” Sherie said. “Why if, Ensign?” Doctor Phlox asked. She shrugged, smiling. “As much as I miss home, I’m not all that anxious to turn around and head back. There have been some really interesting things out here.” “When I chose to be a die and cast operator,” Mike started, “everyone said I’d want out because no ship on earth has much use for a die and cast operator. I tell you what; I have made some things since we left port that I don’t even know what they are.” The group laughed. “It has been fun,” Zyg said. He lifted his tea glass. “To missing home and looking at the future.” The three lifted their glass to toast. Doctor Phlox smiled, feeling the tone of the conversation change as they began talking about other things. Human resilience never failed to amaze him and this afternoon was no different. |
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