After sending the email, she noticed a great silence had befallen the apartment. Mike, however, wasn't quite as quiet. She couldn't hear him speak, yet could tell he was doing something. Standing, she moved towards where she felt Mike.
She rapped lightly on the door. "Mike?"
Through the Force, she could feel Mike hesitate, and then slowly move towards the door. It eased open slightly, and Mike peered around the edge, through the gap. He stared at Vickie for a second, and then stepped back, pulling the door open just wide enough for Vickie to squeeze through, twisting as she did so. When she turned to face her friend, she found herself standing at gunpoint, Mike's blaster pointing steadily at her stomach. She grimaced as they stood facing one another, Mike unblinkingly staring at her face.
Mike stood with one hand in the pocket of his jeans, fingering the communicator he'd just used to send his report to Thayer. He toyed with the device, turning over in his mind the idea of activating it and having a permanent record of what was about to be discussed.
Eventually, he pulled his hand clear of his pocket, and gestured for Vickie to sit on one of the beds. Vickie, who knew better than to argue with a loaded gun, complied. Mike pulled a chair over, and set it down backwards, so that he could lean forward on the padded backrest.
Then he set his blaster down at the foot of the bed, exactly halfway between himself and Vickie.
The two team-mates sat facing one another for several minutes. Vickie's gaze flickered between the gun and her friend. Just the fact that he had laid it down gave her a slight sense of trust from him. Finally, Mike spoke.
"Why?" he said, simply. Vickie looked into her friend's eyes, and shivered. She leant back against the headboard, and ran her fingers unconsciously through her hair.
"Because," she began. And stopped. She tried to reach out to Mike through the Force, to find her friend, to seek reassurance. But the well was dry. As her probe touched Mike, she felt it being shoved aside. When did he learn that? Why is he using it on me? She blinked, and then took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
"So?" Mike said, calmly. His arms rested lightly on the backrest, hands dangling loosely, fingers still.
"So..."
"So, why are you doing it? Your little chat with Llessur Atner didn't make you decide on relationship counseling as a new career, did it? 'But you could steer her away, perhaps towards Lieutenant Cochran. I'm sure given the time away, Thayer will have developed more of a fondness for Lady Lenka.' 'I'll do what I can.' Sound familiar at all?"
Vickie sat stock still, her mouth slightly open, the shock evident on her face. "How did you..? When were you..?"
"When you were unconscious, you reached out to me," Mike said, curtly. "Perhaps you felt guilty about what you've been doing."
"Perhaps," Vickie said quietly. "I haven't done anything, not really."
"How am I supposed to believe that, Captain?" Mike asked.
Vickie winced at the formality. "You know me," she said, after taking a shuddering breath. "You know me better than anyone else in the group. Would I do anything to hurt the people I care for?"
"I don't know you, at least, I don't seem to. Your actions, your way of approaching this mission, they don't speak of a person I can easily trust. And given that I can't trust Josh either, I'm beginning to wonder what I'm doing here."
"Do you really think you can't trust Josh?" Vickie said, grateful for the change of subject.
"No," he said simply. "I can't. He's quick to anger, he's stuck in his fighter pilot mentality, and he's spent half this mission making eyes at another man's fiancee. Again, not signs of a person I can easily trust. In both your cases, you've enough strength in the Force to blank my memory of any and all suspicious incidents. That's the only thing, the only thing, that's stopping me from calling Sci and having you ordered back to Mendellia."
"Do you really think I would even go into your mind and do that?" she asked defensively. "You're my friend, Mike. Or at least I thought we were friends." Vickie bowed her head, her arms crossed over her chest. She looked up, and said simply, "Then let me show you I can be trusted."
Opening herself to the Force, she tapped the memories of her meetings with Llessur Atner, and the lack of action she'd taken in her supposed quest to separate Becki and Thayer. She felt the thoughts swirling around her, a maelstrom of emotion and imagery, and then she focussed, projecting them towards her friend, seeking to reaffirm his trust in her.
It was a tactic that probably would have worked, had Mike not been utterly unreceptive to Vickie's telepathic projection. She tried again, and again met with no response. A sickening feeling began to take root in Vickie's stomach as she tried to touch the unique bond she shared with her friend. But...
"Why?" she asked. "This one little thing has completely lost your faith in me? I'VE DONE NOTHING!" Her voice raised unintentionally. "Ok, maybe I just didn't stop it, but they are the ones getting together."
He wanted to reply, but she held up a hand to stop him. "Wait. Let me finish. This relationship is one of convenience. You should remember what that is like. Working with someone so close and developing a relationship with them." She glared at him.
His eyes narrowed as he knew of what she was speaking. "She has nothing to do with this."
"Oh no? I think so. You were working closely with her. You cannot deny the attraction from BOTH of you. That's what's happening here. Don't you see it?"
Faster than she thought possible, he stood and picked up the blaster. "Out."
She stood and bowed slightly. "As you wish. But think long and hard about what I said. I may be involved in one way, but I am not actively trying to get them together." Turning, she walked from the room.