From: felldoh_at_voyager.net
Date: Sat Aug 16 2008 - 20:04:14 PDT
"Social Call" continued from "Home Again, Home Again" Location: GATEWAY STATION Stardate: 2.80816.2254 Scene: O'Shaughnessy's Irish Pub Ben and Mav sat alone at the bar, nursing their drinks and not talking. Kyle and his family were supposed to be there too, but a communique from the ensign a few minutes ago had informed them that they would be delayed without explanation, so the unlikely drinking companions were left to themselves for the time being. Ben supposed it didn’t matter much. If their presence made it any less awkward it would only be because he was the only one not speaking. Despite serving together for four years this was the first time they’d ever really interacted socially, and with good reason. When the marine first came aboard they had participated in a training exercise together. When they were led to believe the lives of the participants were actually in danger, Mav wanted to follow his gut but Ben chose to follow orders. They argued, and so began a power struggle that would repeat itself many times over the next two years. Mav thought Ben was too concerned with protocol to get the job done, and Ben thought the marine was undisciplined and insubordinate. Eventually they settled into an unspoken policy of avoidance, which lasted until Ben’s promotion to CO. Since then they’d managed an effective working relationship based on mutual respect for each other’s ability, but that didn’t mean they had to like each other. To be honest, Ben wasn’t entirely sure why he’d even responded to the invitation. He didn’t often go out even with his close friends, and Maverick certainly wasn’t one of those, let alone his son’s family. Maybe it was the shock of being asked, or maybe he just really felt the need to celebrate a mission gone well. Whatever it was, he decided he needed to make a little more effort. “I read your unit’s casualty report.” He began, “I was happy to see them so much lower than expected.” The marine squads had been a back-up plan. Mav had gone into the mission knowing that if they were called up they’d be taking a heavy beating. “Yeah, the new armor they gave us really made a difference.” Mav replied. “Even so Catherine’s team got pretty lucky.” “Cheers to that.” Ben said, lifting his glass. “Cheers to Marathon.” Mav added, following suit. “If it shortens the war by even a couple months it’s worth a lot more than we paid.” Ben nodded and the two drank. Shortly before docking the PATRIOT had received a signal announcing that Marathon was a success, but the full extent of its effect wouldn’t be clear for a few days. They drank in silence for a few more moments. “You fought in the first war against the Dominion before the HELLESPONT incident.” Ben spoke again, signaling the bartender for another round. “What was it like?” “Worse.” Mav replied without hesitation. “That time we were fighting in our space. It was our planets being bombarded, our stations being trashed.” He took a long drink. “Plus we were losing right up until the last minute. If the Cardassians hadn’t rebelled we probably wouldn’t have made it.” ‘I’ve been studying the history.” Military history had always been a hobby of Ben’s, but since the battle of GATEWAY he spent most of his free time studying the Dominion. “Last time the Dominion waited years until the moment to attack was perfect before taking action. They infiltrated our government, learned out tactics, tested our strength, destabilized the political equilibrium of the entire quadrant, and got themselves an ally on our side of the wormhole. Only after all that did they let it come to war.” “That’s why it was so hard,” Mav answered. “They had us reeling from the first punch.” “It has me worried though.” Ben continued. “I mean, they made their grab at GATEWAY at the worst possible time. Not the first time, they didn’t know we were going to show up, but if they were willing to go to war for the station, why didn’t they attack again immediately?” he asked. “Why give us time to make repairs and prepare for them to come again?” “They didn’t expect us to come back.” Mav Countered. ” When we did it took the Founders some time to figure out whether or not they were willing to risk a war. Besides, if the wormhole hadn’t reopened the repairs wouldn’t have mattered. GATEWAY would have been taken or destroyed, and we would have had a hard time waging a war in another quadrant. The Federation probably would have let them have it.” “It just seems like a big gamble for them. Especially since it’s clear they don’t have the ships to stand up to us right now, we’ve been steadily advancing since the war started.” Ben took another drink. “You’re probably right, but it gives me a bad feeling.” “Well, I’m not going to be the one to look a gift horse in the mouth.” Maverick answered. “So, how long before our next mission?” “Hard to say.” The CO replied. “Maybe a week.” “You planning on visiting Moo? I hear she’s taken her brood to BAJOR. I’m taking a shuttle in the morning.” Thanks to his friendship with Daisy, Maverick was one of the few on the PATRIOT who knew about her relationship with the CO. Ben wasn’t sure if he knew how strained they were, but he wouldn’t be surprised if Daisy had told him about it. He shook his head. “Not tomorrow. Some admiral will want a report on Eon, and I’d like to stick around until we have a full report on Marathon.” Ben helped plan parts of the massive operation, and felt a sense of responsibility over the results. “I’ll try to get over later in the week.” Mav looked over his shoulder at the entrance. “The boys are certainly taking their time.” Ben turned his eyes to the Dom-Jot table across the pub. “Do you play?” Mav followed his gaze. “Not in years.” Ben smiled. “Come on, I’ll try to take it easy on you.” NRPG: Update on the computer situation: The problem was my motherboard, and it was old enough that replacing it means replacing several other parts as well, and now I'm havig some hard drive compatibility issues. I've got most everything backed-up, so it shouldn't be too big of a deal, but I'm trying to get it working without replacing the drives, so I might be down for another week. I do have access to other computers though, so if I'm not up and running by the end of next week. I'll write up an opener anyway. Erik Walz Captain Benjamin Kenta CO USS PATRIOT From HyperNews_at_youth.net
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