"Life of a Lieutenant"
Lieutenant Rongside
JMC Blue Dwarf, Science offices
Space date 3/9/2100
1300 hours
Perhaps this new position as Chief science officer WASN'T all it was cracked
up to be. So far, there is no local coffee machine, no comfortable bed in
the office, and a whole lot of over-enthusiastic science personnel. It
didn't matter, though. Between Marlene the overachiever and Phil the rubber
band slinger, Larry wouldn't have time to enjoy his routine caffeine buzzes
and hibernation-like sleeping.
Marlene flew through the door just as Larry began to doze off to sleep.
Rongside groaned with disgust and pulled his head off the headrest of the
chair. What could she possibly want this time? If this discussion didn't
involve her success in securing a fountain of java, Larry was going to
seriously consider promoting this woman to chief EXECUTIVE science officer,
thus putting her in charge of assigning and carrying out... whatever this
science crew was supposed to do and leaving him to sleep.
"Lieutenant," Marlene said boldly, "I have located chief engineer Lieutenant
Smegg. It seems that he..."
Marlene's eyes have drifted lower than Larry's face. She arches a
questioning eyebrow.
"What..." Marlene asks, pausing awkwardly, "... is that?"
Larry looks at her then down at himself. He lifts the ice pack, compliments
of Phil, off his groin and tosses it on his desk. Marlene takes a moment to
re-collect her thoughts, her mind having been scattered by this brutish
display, and continues.
"It seems he has spent the past few hours in garbage bay ten."
"Then go get him," Larry stated, resuming his relaxed sleeping position.
"Oddly, though," Marlene continued, "There is a trace of element 118 in this
same garbage bay."
Marlene waits for an answer but soon realize it's like waiting for time to
rewind.
"Do you realize what this could mean?" she asks.
Larry, without opening his eyes, shakes his head no.
"Lieutenant," Marlene said in a rather authorative voice, "I would suggest a
science team be sent to investigate Smegg's actions in this docking bay and
the detection of the rare and deadly element 118."
Larry gives Marlene a big thumbs up. If this is what it took to get her out
of his hair, so be it. Was she really THIS desperate to do something?
"Unfortunately," she continued, "most of the science team is on leave and
you are the only one qualified to lead this team."
Larry sat up with a groan and collapsed onto his desk. Would this not end?
As he hit the table, a gust of air created by his moving mass kicked the
envelope Phil left off the desk to land at Cauty's feet.
"What's this?" she asked, plucking the envelope from the floor.
Larry lifted his eyes to see her holding the envelope. Nothing of
importance came to mind save for the severe pain in his groin. "Throw it
away."
-----------------------
[Garbage bay ten]
Smegg examined the happy bomb, rolling it over in his hands. Suddenly, out
of no where, something smacked him in the side of the head. He turned to
see an envelope fall to the ground beside him.
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