Fact, Fiction or Fantasy?

Posted on Sat Aug 17th, 2019 @ 10:28pm by Captain Abigail Laurens & Lieutenant Commander William Rogers & K'Lok Maarg

"Guess Rainbow Brite ain't working today." Bill remarked, sliding three drinks on the table: two pints of beer and a vodka and orange. "Kinda surprised its open at all, what with everyone throwing hands last night."

Lilah took the vodka and orange, shaking her head before taking a sip. "I don't think even the Captain would be game to shut down the lounge completely," she replied. "I mean, it's bad enough the mess is closed so this place is always crowded, but if they close the lounge as well then it's not just the Trions who are going to start war."

Bill took a hefty draft from one of his beers. "You know, I still can't figure out why we had to be the ones to pick them up. They were sent on separate ships for a reason."

"Don't you think it's funny?" Lilah asked, wrapping her hands around her glass as she looked across the table. "I mean, there was such a big song and dance made out of how they had to be on different ships, and as soon as we're far enough out that it's not viable to get another ship to come, the Zendaya suddenly has a systems failure?" Lilah shook her head quickly, glancing around before she leaned forward. "My room mate's older sister's ex boyfriend is an engineer on Starbase 357, he told Yaretzi that there's no way the Zendaya could have had that kind of an engine failure and that it had to be sabotage. He was on the team that cleared it for relaunch!" she said, her voice becoming more hushed, edged with a hint of excitement.

"Exactly!" Bill gave a small air punch and grinned with satisfaction. "And what about that systems failure? How can it be that it was so serious that the TLF needed to be evacuated and yet it's not bad enough for us to need to render Zendaya any assistance? Surely, if the problem could be fixed without additional help, there's no need to offload the rebels. Unless...." He trailed off.

"Unless what?" Lilah asked, widening her eyes as she looked at him. "Do you think there's more to it?"

He gave a shallow nod. "Gotta be. Too many things have gone wrong."

"All the reports said Zendaya was a standard systems failure," Lilah replied in a hushed tone before taking a gulp of her vodka and orange. "If there really is more to it, then is Zendaya helping to cover it up do you think?"

"Dunno. Probably not." His eyes darted about the room as he drank from his mug. He leant forward. Matched her tone. "I reckon it goes higher than that. The transfer orders came from Starfleet, right? Someone in the Admiralty wants the TLF to win the war."

"Nuh uh," Lilah replied, shaking her head. "Seriously? You think someone in Command is helping the TLF?" She exhaled, giving a low whistle. "I mean... I guess it'd make sense... but really? Someone in Starfleet? Doesn't that kind of go against everything Starfleet stands for?"

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be the first time that's happened." He shook his head and shrugged. "We did it all the time in my day. Claimed most of the Federation's values while we did it, too."

"Did what?" Lilah asked, taking a sip of her drink and looking at him wide eyed. "You mean Governments helping terrorists?"

The Klingon chef moved through from the back. Having been told that Ashe wasn't manning the bar, he decided to take it upon himself to ensure that the bar was properly cared for. Just for appearances, he placed a stand at the back of the bar and placed his bat'leth on it, "just like old times," he muttered quietly to himself. There would be no more shenanigans on his watch.

He watched teh crew discussing things around the room and started listening. The reason he'd become a bar tender all those years ago? People talked. Often it was utter useless drivel but sometimes, just occasionally, a true gemm of information would be presented. With things happening on board, Kaarg fell into his old ways and watched, listened and absorbed.

"Didn't call them terrorists when we did it." Bill laughed, relaxing into his chair. "But yes. Sometimes the help was money. Sometimes weapons. Training. Goal was always the same though: Replace a government we didn't like with one we did."

"And no one had a problem with that?" Lilah asked incredulously. "I mean, doesn't that defy the point of the government in the first place?"

"Oh! No, no." Bill shook his head quickly. "We weren't doing it to our government. Our government was doing to the government's of other countries."

"But why? I mean, isn't that an awful thing to do? To encourage war in another country?" Lilah seemed completely shocked by the statement Bill had made.

The Klingon bartender moved over with another round of drinks. "It wouldn't be the first time one government has subverted another through bankrolling the preferred element of a civilisation or country." He placed the drinks on the table, "It's dishonourable but I understand the tactical advantage to getting someone else to fight that fight for you and, if they win, they are usually grateful for your assistance. The problem is in making sure they win."

Bill was somewhat grateful for the Klingon's interjection seeing as he was struggling to come up with a satisfactory answer to a question the rational for which he could not understand. "In the countries we used to do that sort of thing if the first choice didn't pan out you generally didn't have to wait long before another one popped up." He replied looking up at the bar tender.

"That way lies dishonour and damnation in the eyes of the ancestors," the Klingon said. "If you're going to fight someone, just get on and do it. All this sneaking around and knives in the dark upsets my sensibilities."

"It was a pretty standard tactic well before my time, so I'm inclined to believe that humanity's ancestors are cool with it." Something puzzled Bill though. "How does the dislike of sneaking fit up against the Klingon Empire's widespread use of cloaking technology?"

Kaarg grinned, "We're doing our own fighting. We're not getting someone else to fight for us!" He spoke as though it was the most logical thing in the world.

Lilah shook her head quickly, finishing her drink. "Well, I think the whole concept of encouraging war is dispicable," she said firmly, her voice rising ever so slightly. "I refuse to believe that Starfleet would ever engage in such shenanigans!"

Bill looked back to Lilah with a curious look on his face. "If that's the case, wouldn't that mean all the things that don't add up are down to Starfleet incompetence?"

Opening her mouth to reply, Lilah closed it again and shook her head. "You're right," she said quietly. "I don't like it, but you do have a point."

"Whether incompetence or a deliberate act, this puts all of us in a bad place. We have both sides of a bloody civil war on one ship. If security isn't up to snuff, bodies are going to start to drop. Especially if what I saw in the bar fight is any indication." He paused for effect. "If that starts happening, fingers will be pointed and anyone involved will be in the crosshairs."

"Well, lets hope security is up to snuff," Lilah replied with a grimace. "So much for this being a nice, easy mission." She shook her head and finished the vodka in her glass. "Time for one more?"