Bartender Whispers?

Posted on 01 May 2016 @ 9:45am by

897 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Location: Starbase Unity
Timeline: MD7

ON:

| Quarters
| Starbase Unity

Samantha sorted her things out. She didn't know how long she was going to be there for and what the CMC had in store for her up at ops. She has had a tough time and put through the mill or mental torture as court marshals and investigations have been an hindrance like a spoiled process child. A child that is a pain in the rear, taxing on the brain but isn't a child but a process that takes place; worded on a PADD as if you owe them goods and services. In Samantha's younger years, there would be many of that but nothing to do with her but she's seen the communiques. Samantha finished her unpacking as there wasn't much to pack; when she left the marine barracks, she literally gave her quarters away to the next officer, leaving everything in it. It was the rule of thumb, why burden yourself with things you'll never use and pointless clutter when you can offload your crap to someone else. So all Samantha had was the bare essentials and knowing that she was departing for a starbase first. Carrying just the bare essentials was the thing to do; so she's finished unpacking and went to sit down.

*Door chimes*

Samantha walks up to the door and pushes the button to open; a civilian stood there and handed her a PADD, "Oh thank you." Samantha closes the door and walks away tapping the buttons.

"Oh crew reports......status USS Blackhawk......arrivals and departures.....security. Usual tosh." As she read the information on the PADD, She read about the symptoms that her enlisted subordinates were suffering but she thought that the moment she gets aboard that they'll be no one to be a COB too. Then her optimism kicked in. Everyone will be there and it'll all be hunky dory. She didn't want the ship to be quarantined as off limits or labelled as a diseased ship and she definitely didn't want to stay on a starbase with that MCPO CMC over her. She read on and gone through the list of arriving enlisted personnel and departures which seems to have increased over the past 24 hours. Samantha assumed that the word is getting around the ship that people are getting ill so there is a minority that want off the ship. She hopes that's going to get quashed and the middle ranks get amongst them and reassure them all. Samantha felt that she needed to be there to visit all the departments to check up on everyone. The ships medical staff and counselors have their work cut out for this one and this may not be a quick fix either. Samantha figured that if it did turn into an epidemic, they'll be some emotional effects after they've been cured.

As Samantha thought on, it was making her saddened even though nothing serious or ship wide has happened so she read through the reports on her subordinates and decided to recommend that no one is granted leave requests. She read some more reports and morale from the majority was holding and they do trust their commanding officer to do the right thing. They have a seasoned captain rather than a rookie lieutenant commander. Samantha felt that she's read enough, finished getting dressed and headed off to the enlisted mess.

|Enlisted Mess

Samantha walked in and looked around. The mess wasn't very busy but it was very late and most people had turned in for the night. She headed for the bar and pulled up a chair, the bartender approached and nodded, "One Katarian lemonade."

The bartender looked around "Errr none here. Would Talarite Rum do? Well they call it that but might have got lost in translation, I think it's juice. It was smuggled in here by the ferengi, we've been replicating it ever since."

"Fleet regs?"

"Bar regs." Samantha laughed.

"Well I won't tell."

"You won't be here long enough to find out."

"I was right. Woman's instinct is always go to the bar for Intel. Come on, what they have on me?" Samantha enquired.

"Well it's not much. You have to sift though what is the truth and what is false. People round here come up with things on their own and feed it to the next alien."

"And the CMC?"

"Don't be too bothered but he knew you were coming. The rumours of a someone coming to the base arrived about two weeks ago. So naturally various personnel were making their enquiries."

"Enquiries like what?"

"Officer type inquiries, JAG inquiries but it's all information that isn't available using the official channels."

"So you implying that there's a leak in marine JAG?" Samantha wasn't happy that people knew more than she would have liked. It'd mean that she'll need to spend time explaining herself.

"I'm just a bartender, what could I know?" The bartender replied as he was selective with what he could say but not let you run with the information he's let on.

"So how do you come across this information?" Samantha asked.

"It's interesting what aliens tell a bartender. The positive is we're impartial *leans forward* and it's no more than you already know......even if you didn't know it." Samantha knew he was right, there's always someone that will have their opinion on you that wouldn't mind divulging info.

TBC
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