<strong>Alex Macauley</strong><br/><strong>Location:</strong>Stateroom<br/><strong>Tag:</strong>Mari<br/><br/>"You look about done in."  God knows Mac felt that way himself, but there was a lot still to do.  Plan their infiltration into hostile waters, check the ship for noise, and somehow deal with the good third of the crew that was probably even now plotting his bloody demise.  Oh, and he was due for a major ass chewing the next time he ran into Mack the Knife.  Good times.  He managed to roust himself out of his self pity, though, because no matter how bad a day he was having, he knew Mari's had to be thousands of times worse.<br/><br/>Standing, he dug around in his footlocker, coming up with a set of officer's khakis.  Several sizes too big for Mari, but they were adjustable and they'd have to do.  Slinging them wordlessly on the bed, Mac turned his back.  He might already have gotten an eyefull- and his body might be sending messages that were getting harder and harder to ignore, about what this girl was and what she probably liked- but damn if he wasn't going to give her some privacy.  Without turning around he spoke, voice carefully calm.<br/><br/>"After this we should probably get you back to your bunk.  The other girls will be worried.  And I know you want to be there for them."  No trace of the anger now.  It was locked away again, behind watertight doors as thick as any aboard<em>Triton</em>, and Alex Macauley was...functional again.  Sometimes he worried about what the price might be for stepping on his emotions one time too many, a voice warning him he was killing his soul by inches.<br/><br/>But so far he'd managed to step on that, too.