Greeting the marine

Posted on 01 Aug 2021 @ 5:58pm by Lieutenant Paul Winchester & Captain Mazal Falk
Edited on on 06 Aug 2021 @ 11:58am

2,074 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: General Sim Postings
Location: Aurora Lounge
Timeline: 3 Days after docking at Starbase 51

[ON]

A few days after the awards ceremony had finished and the Tomcat had arrived at Starbase 51. Paul had found the Aurora Lounge which was somewhat a hangout for his Sister and Niece, Having scanned the room for a table, Paul noticed someone from his files and that she was a Marine that was due to join the Tomcat. As he made his way over to the Lieutenant; Paul remembered that he and Marines were not a good mix after all he had called Colonel Somers out on her Honour as a Marine. He said “Lieutenant Falk I presume?" to greet her, this being the first time to relax before he had started prepping for the next mission. Then Serina Donovan had come to see him in a hysterical fit; as he came to a halt next to the table he continued "I am Lieutenant Paul Winchester, Chief Security, USS Tomcat" as he introduced himself.

Falk had been sitting there eating lunch and checking her padd, she looked up towards the person who had greeted her. "Hi... Lieutenant Winchester. Ah, another fellow crewmate. Care to have a seat?" giving Winchester a once over before taking another look at her padd. She had been answering a message from her mother. "Let me finish sending this message to my mother then we can chat. Care for a drink?" waving one of the wait staff to come over. Falk had a sparkling lemonade in front of her, and the remnants of a sandwich on a plate.

The wait staff would come over, take Winchester's order and then leave once the order was given.

As he waited for her to finish the message Paul said to the waitress as he didn't feel hungry at that moment in time; "I'll have a pint of lager please," as he watched the waitress leave the table to go fetch his order. He turned to face the Marine, he said," I thought it would be nice to meet you outside of work" as he knew that in a relaxed setting this might work for both of them.

Falk sent the message and put the Padd away. "Well, that is a good thing, especially since I've just gotten done eating. This way I would be in a more receptive mood." Mazal giving a bit of a smile and a chuckle. "I'm not one to be amenable to talk with anyone if I've not eaten. Fair warning?"

"I know how you feel, if I do not get a good lunch then I'm grumpy for the rest of the day," replied Paul as he could understand that without a good meal things didn't go so well; he said "so why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?" posing the question to the Marine as he knew that if he was to be working with her then he needed to know something about her.

Falk nodded, "Well there we have an understanding. Now as for what you want to know, are there any specifics you are wanting to find out? Combat wise I know how to use all manner of weapons, including some that seem rather odd. Such as a Blowgun, a sling. I do know a mix of martial arts so I can adjust accordingly to the situations I may come across."

"That's major cool as the Colonel trained me in the use of swords, handguns and I am used to using a bow myself," replied Paul looking back at the Lieutenant; he continued "Maybe we can spar sometime," as the lounge began to fill up with people entering the facility.

"I am sure we can do some sparring, I can also use those weapons. How are you with Klingon weapons? I know how to use those very well." Falk replied, then taking a sip of her lemonade.

"yeah I could use some training with Klingon blades," replied Paul as he knew that wanting to get more used to using the sword or any Sword for that matter; as he knew that this would be better for him in case he came up in front of a Klingon and was challenged to a sword fight then he could hold his own.

"How about other blades, do you need more training with them as well?" Falk asked, she had remembered Somers speaking of Winchester and the training Somers had put him through.

"Well, I have only used the sword once and that was with the Colonel," replied Paul looking back at her as he still wanted to get permission to keep the weapon in the Armoury as well as his handguns, "So, any more training you can give me I am happy to take," Paul finished as the waitress arrived with Paul's drink. Paul looked up and said, "Thank you," as she placed the chilled glass upon the table and left them to talk.

"Okay so we'll need to schedule time, also, I will tell you this, Captain Jackson is really good with weapons as well and hand to hand combat," Falk stated, then picked up her lemonade once more, taking a drink then sets the glass down once more.

"How are you at hand to hand skills?" Falk asked, getting a read on him. Something she does when talking with others and especially if they are going to train together.

"Well, during my training run with the Colonel," Paul said as he took a sip of the cold liquid; he continued," I never got the chance due to my arm getting severely damaged due to the safeties of the holodeck being set Very low," as he wiggled the fingers of his prosthetic. he finished " In fact, I had to get a new arm fitted."

"Oh my! Sounds like she had put you through a trial by fire. Glad you survived." Falk giving a slight smile. "Well when I or Jackson do some training with you, we'll not do that to you, not until you are more familiar with fighting styles."

"It was my own fault actually," replied Paul taking a sip of his drink; "you see I called her out on her honour," placing the glass down again; as he remembered the argument in the briefing room. "and in front of all the senior staff as well," he finished picking up the glass again as he noticed a few others taking tables near them.

Mazal had just picked up her glass to take another drink almost choking on it. "You did what?" setting the glass down just a bit firmer than what she intended on, some of the contents splashing on the table. "What possessed you to do that, to call out on her honour, that was a very stupid manoeuvre on your part, Winchester. And don't you dare do something like that with me or you will find yourself either with this lemonade in your face or be on the floor rather quickly." her dark brown eyes flashing with fire, and a rather grim expression on her face.

Those at the nearby table was starting to take some keen interest, as Mazal's voice rose just a small decibel or two. "Explain yourself, Winchester."

"It was the first mission briefing that was held with the Colonel" Paul stated picking up his own glass off larger; he continued "and her last name is Somers, it looked to me like she was cashing in on the Fleet Captain's reputation," as he took a sip of the liquid again. he finished "So, I called her out on it," as he knew that he was damn lucky enough not to have spent a few months with the Marines for his trouble.

Falk did a facepalm at that. "Oy you certainly know how to make friends really fast don't you. And definitely too quick to jump to conclusions. You are going to have to learn to not say anything like that before you know the full facts. I have met Somers and she isn't one to mess with. Plus, I do know she worked hard to be where she is at. The very idea that you assumed she got where she was at by riding on the coattails of her sister, wow... stupid. Just how long did it take for you to be your rank. An LTJG, how would you like it if I said you must have bribed someone to be that rank. However, I won't, as someone must have thought you worthy of that rank and that you worked hard to get to this point." He was still a bit peeved at what he had said to Somers.

"Actually I was a full Lieutenant but got demoted due to not giving the new intel chief codes that she needed" Replied Paul looking back at the Marine; he continued "when she was also the counsellor" as he knew that being a team player was part and parcel of ship life as they all had to rely on each other.

"And why didn't you give her the codes? And did someone order you to do so? Tell me the details as to what led to your demotion. If you don't mind." Mazal's countenance going rather calm and picking up her drink to sip at what was left in it.

"From a security standpoint, I believed that Lieutenant Walon was not qualified to do the job" replied Paul looking back at the Marine; he continued," Also I was the former intelligence Chief after my crash," once more picking up his drink. "and as for who ordered me to give her the codes was the fleet Captain," Paul stated looking at her " and all these codes were a Hackers pack that could break any firewall," as he knew that she was not going to be happy with that news.

"You didn't think that the Fleet Captain knew what she was doing, and also didn't trust the counsellor with the codes? You do know, that the counsellor has clearance which can bring down a high ranking official. You are certainly showing that you have a winning personality, Winchester." wondering if he would note her sarcasm. "What was it about Walon that you felt she couldn't be trusted with the codes? Didn't it occur to you that, Counselors have to go through stringent security checks? And to see if they can keep what they learn in confidential settings what makes a person tick? Did you have a...bias against Walon?" Mazal's voice was still calm and quiet. "Or were you upset that you were removed from your position as intelligence, and struck out against her in a form of revenge?"

"Yes I was," replied Paul looking back at the Marine," you see I was still recovering from my crash and adjusting to my new arm at the time," taking another sip of his drink as the bar started to get louder; he finished "So, I wasn't given a full chance at the role and then the Captain moved me to Security," as he knew that maybe the Captain was right to move him or maybe not.

"As far as you are concerned it may not have been a full chance. However looking at things from a command stance, Commanding officers tend to know what would be the best suit the crew, as in, not allowing personal feelings get in the way of making a ship's crew work as a team." draining the rest of her drink, Falk set her glass down and looked once more at Winchester. "And it seems that you were not wanting to work as part of a team and instead of being a bit of a maverick." Falk noticed the rise of noise in the lounge, "I think I must be going out of here, starting to get too busy for my liking." shrugging. "if you want to continue this conversation you can follow me out of here. Or stay, doesn't matter to me."

"it's getting a bit too loud for my taste as well," replied Paul finishing up his drink; He said, "I think I'll join you," as he rose from his chair and walked around the other side of the table and held the chair for the marine as he wanted to show her that he was not a jerk that she most probably thought he was. He finished "Shall we go?"

[OFF]

Lieutenant JG Paul Winchester
Chief Security/Tactical officer

&

2nd Lieutenant Mazal Falk
Marine XO

 

RSS Feed