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Chapter 3 - The Advisor[]
LCN Brig
Durna Naval Shipyard
Durna System
Lyran Commonwealth
3155
[...0600 Saturday Morning...]
"Merde, my heaaad..." Commander Francois LaFayette groaned. "How much did we drink?"
The Girl from last night was sitting on the bunk across from him, looking somewhat peeved, and silent.
"You really are real." he said.
She nodded, watching him.
"What...happened?"
She snorted, and rolled her eyes.
"Was...was I that bad?"
She sighed heavily, ending with a snort, and shook her head, then raised her left hand, pointed a finger out, and drooped it. "Y'drenk y'sef stuppit." she muttered in heavily accented english. "Lef' me drah, thin y'alls couldn' puh-foahm, an pessed aht."
Her accent was horrific. Commoner, thick...her delivery, on the other hand, was almost imperial in its condemnation, a senior officer berating a junior Lieutenant for a critical failure.
"How...did we end up in here?"
"Ah cuddn' fahn yo' room, an ah war drenk 's well." she said. "We's inna drenk tenk, wait'n fo ter be sprang'd by sommon senyah."
His fuzzy brain sorted it out, "Drunk tank? and you have to wait to be released by a senior officer?"
She nodded, and raised her right hand, "Losn' Three Days Leave 'crual jes bein' in heah, gon' lose moah efn' th' Commodoah d'sides ah screwed it bad 'nough, an' y'alls couldn' even git it up. Wasta' dem tahm onna sheep-herder."
"Sheep herder?"
"y'all heard me, Baaaa-Baaaa." she snapped at him.
At about that moment, Captain Gracie showed up. "Jesus, Frank! we've been looking all over this damn place for you! They sent MP's down to the city to see if you got lost in the red-light districts!"
"I never left post, sir...and could you please shout a little softer?" Francois asked.
He noticed the girl from last night rolling her eyes again. A gesture he sometimes consciously linked to his mother's disdain when his father would come home from a night in the low-boroughs.
"Drunk and disorderly, Frank. I can't take you anywhere, can I?" and at this point, Captain Nelson Gracie happened to notice his cell-mate..and more importantly, her rank.
"Oh jesus...you had to stick it in an officer."
"Sir-"
"s'fahn, he all din' stek nuthin'." she said, "Perfec' ginnelmin." she said it quietly. "Jes got a lil' lost, an' cuddin' hang hes akkyhol."
"Commander, are you willing to sign a statement to that effect?" Gracie asked.
She nodded.
"oh...well, that's alright then. Come on Frank, you're being released."
"What about-" he looked at her.
"Aneh." She said. "Ah'm fahn. git yo'sef squarred up. Ell-Tee, nex' tahm, eff'in it's green, don' drink it, lahtweht. yo fucha wahf'll thankee."
Francois left her in the cell, and followed his commanding officer.
Once out of the Brig deck, Gracie spoke again. "Arlunan. You did stick it in the wrong hole, Frankie. They're tough bastards by our standards. What the ****** possessed you to hit on an Arlunan with Lt. Commander's pins?"
"She was hot." Francois said. "Exotic, you know? Join the Navy, experience interesting new cultures, meet hot, exotic women, and bang them?"
"She didn't look like you banged her."
"I didn't." Francois confessed, "I had to drink so much to get my nerve up I think I flatlined myself."
"Seriously? she looks like a zombie. That's not body-paint, boyo, those are plague marks, birthmarks from parents probably."
"I kinda wanted to see where they went." Francois said, "In my defense, she's hot. You have to admit it, sir. Fit, strawberry blonde hair, exotic skin tone..."
"Outranks you, if she were in the AFFS she'd be able to nail you for harassment, if she were in your chain of command, it would be fraternization..." said Gracie
"There going to be trouble for this?" asked Frank
"Not from me." Gracie told him. "Our hosts probably won't kick up a fuss if she doesn't decide to lodge a complaint but, you have got to be more careful, Frank. This isn't the Fedcom anymore, she's not FSN, you can't count on your family ties to get you out of trouble out here. These guys, they don't care about your noble status and it won't protect you if you stick it where it doesn't belong with these folks. We're here as guests of a neutral power, not an ally, not an enemy-a neutral power, and you just landed in the drunk tank with one of their naval officers."
"I wonder what kind of trouble she's really in, then." Francois said.
"Well, did she say anything?"
"She has to wait for a superior officer in her chain of command. On a Weekend to come bail her out, she's losing three days leave-and I remember the briefing-they don't get a lot to begin with. Just for winding up in there, with more punishments if her CO thinks it merits."
He thought a moment, then said, "Yep, she's screwed...and not in the fun way."