Bojay's Revenge...

by Seanchaidh
October 10, 1998

	Bojay didn't feel like hanging out in the Officer's Club with the
rest of the squadron.  He was stiff from yet another deep probe, with its
imposed two or three sleep periods to preserve the Viper's resources
during the exploration period.  Bojay equated those as naps, both lacking
the restful deep sleep that the six or seven or -- if they were lucky
enough -- eight centars of dreaming could give.  He never did like taking
naps, only a few times out of necessity.  He'd fall asleep in one
position, and wake up a centar or less later, not having moved a micron.
	Walking through the decks to Beta deck, Bojay stretched his arms
out, first in front of him, then over his head.  It helped ease the
tension in his shoulders, leaving him to then concentrate on other aches. 
His legs were stiff from a lack of movement, and the muscles in his
thighs, hips and rear were stiff.  One wrong move, and they just might
spasm.  Bojay grimaced at the thought of that, knowing how unpleasant
that could be.
	There was only one thing that could help, and that would be a hot
shower.  All water on the GALACTICA was recycled, meaning that even if
you used it as many times as you want, it could never be "wasted."  There
were few things  in the fleet, other than necessities like soap and other
items, that could only be used once.
	Almost eagerly once he entered the barracks, he reached for his
shower supplies, robe and towel.  He glanced at the bunks as he passed
them, not surprised to see that they were empty.  That meant that the
showers would be free of other warriors, and that meant that he could
indulge in keeping his shower occupied as long as he needed.
	He stripped off his uniform and shorts, leaving them in a pile
outside his stall, then quickly entered to turn on the hot water.  He had
a tradition of standing underneath the nozzle, waiting for the heated
water to descend on his bare skin.  It all came from when he was a child,
and he remembered being scolded by his mother, saying that he'd end up
with some nasty burns if he weren't careful.
	He'd guessed correctly.  The water began as a hot, almost burning,
touch, then he acclimatized to it, and it started to wash away the aches
in his body.  For what felt like the first time in sectars, he relaxed. 
Yahrens, perhaps? he mused.  He sighed, circling underneath the spray,
letting it caress the tensed muscles.
	When he started to wash a few microns later, he decided to humor
himself with the old habit of singing.  It was something he'd always done
as a child, but he'd been forced to drop it back at the Academy, where
high-strung and pressured cadets didn't always appreciate the music
talents of others.
	He started thinking of a song that Giles had taught him when they'd
first met at the Academy.  The little Virgo was fluent in several
languages, including his native Frances, and he knew several songs that
he eagerly shared with his fellow cadet.  Bojay was surprised that some
of those were easier to remember than others from his own childhood.
	"V'la bon vent," he began, after clearing his throat and trying a
few notes to make sure his voice was clear, "v'la joli vent.  V'la bon
vent, ma mie m'appelle.  V'la bon vent, v'la joli vent, v'la bon vent ma
mie m'attend."
	That was the refrain, and it was all right, he supposed.  It was
just talking about the wind, but it was the verses he liked better -- or
rather, he liked Giles' explanation of what they meant.
	"Derriere chez nous y'a un etang."  He then repeated the verse, and
noticed idly that there was an echo.  "Trois beaux canards s'en vont
bagnant."
	Bojay suspected that the song, which Giles had called a folk song,
had its origins as a drinking song, or something that involved speed. 
Dancing, even.  The song got progressively faster as it went on, much
like some of the songs that Jolly had translated for him.
	He continued through the song, slurring through the words.  It got
more and more pronounced as the song progressed, but by the time he was
in the middle, with, "Le fils du roy s'en va chassant.  Il tue le noir et
blesse le blanc," he was even more blurred.  He finished with a flourish,
then tilted his face up to the water.  He found that he'd enjoyed his
little serenade, and decided to continue with it.
	"There's a sweet little lass and her name is Mari-mac, make no
mistake she's the girl I want to 'tract.  Lots of other guys are trying
to get her on her back, but I think I'm going to have to get up early. 
Mari-mac's mother wants Mari-mac to marry me."  He then yelled out with,
"My mother wants me to marry Mari-mac!" before continuing.  In the same
tradition as the first song, it sped up until he was positively dancing
under the water.
	For the next few centons, he ran through more songs, from all the
different colonies.  Mournful ones with lyrics like, "I am shielded in my
armor, hiding in my room, safe within my tomb, I touch no one and no one
touches me."  Happier ones like, "I used to fly when I was a pup, going
down the Nile in a paper cup, with a recipe for a happy day sticking out
of my back pocket."  Romantic ones like, "Something in the way she moves,
that moves me like no other woman."  Or just plain silly ones like,
"They're coming to take me away - who-ah!"
	Bojay laughed as he sang, and he even found himself accompanying
himself, by singing the instrumental solos that he knew belonged in each
section.  He was in his own little world, and he was enjoying it
immensely...
	...Until the door to shower jerked open, and he fell back with a
fell, reaching for the washcloth to quickly hide.  He was greeted with a
second yell, and the surprised and worried eyes of Starbuck.  Behind him,
Boomer and Jolly could be seen.
	"Holy frak!" Starbuck said, shaking his head.  "It's only you!"
	"Huh?" Bojay asked, thoroughly confused.
	"We decided to come back early to catch some extra sleep," Boomer
explained.  "We came into the barracks, and we heard --"
	"What sounded like a dying felino," Jolly piped up, grinning.
	"Very much like a dying felino," Starbuck confirmed, a solemn look
on his face.  "A tortured and agonized felino, that needed to be put out
of its misery."
	Bojay felt his face redden, and he knew that it would be spreading
from there to colour the rest of his body a light pink.  Still
embarrassed, he grabbed the door handle from Starbuck's grasp, beginning
to pull it shut.  "Shut up," he said, knowing that _technically_ he could
achieve that, since he was a captain and all three were subordinate to
him.  It would be impossible now, with the upper hand they held.  "Can't
a man wash in privacy?"
	"Not when someone is dying," Jolly told him.
	With a grimace, Bojay shut the door, then quickly rinsed off. 
Before long, he was back in the barracks, in his pajamas.  One glance
around the room told him that all three of his antagonists were in the
showers themselves.  That meant he had at least five centons to wreak
some havoc.  So help him if Apollo, as the flight commander, caught him
-- or even worse, the Colonel on one of his "flash" inspections...
	But Bojay was going to have his revenge, and it would be something
to sing about in the sectars, even yahrens to come.  And it was going to
be _good_...

- The End -