Tis the season to be... Captain?

Posted on Sun 11th Dec, 2016 @ 1:24pm by

695 words; about a 3 minute read

Mission: Murder on the Silent Night Express
Location: SS Silent Night

Rudolph was on his fourth pint of ale and second whisky chaser... his mood was starting to lighten, but only ever so slightly. He was sitting at a large table, second from the corner, in a seemingly hospitable bar he had stumbled across. The servers were too friendly and the music as far from dulcet as Klingon Opera. But the golden ale was good and they kept on coming... his sort of bar. His Marine escort had decided to sit at another table, with a glass of water, covering the exit... so predictable.

He was angry... no, he was raging. Someone from the crew had murdered Captain Kringle and all eyes were on him... after all when the Federation took over the route he should have been rightly made Captain. With Kringle's history and service record in the Doperatian Defence Force there was no way he should have passed their vetting procedures or position requirements... but, somehow, he did and that made Rudolph inflamed with anger.

Presenté was allowed out of his confined quarters for the time being, a Marine observing him all the time, never letting him out of his site. It didn't bother Presenté, he knew why they had to do it, but it wasn't feasible to keep the whole crew locked up on the ship whilst they were investigating. Most were allowed out on the Promenade as long as there was a watchful eye over them. He looked at a bar he was standing outside of, it looked cosy to him and welcoming. He glanced towards the Marine, who gave an icy glare back. The Dopterian nodded his head slightly and walked into the bar. It was pleasant in side with music in the background. He glanced across, noticing servers busy with customers before noticing a fellow Dopterian. He skipped out of being sat down and walked over to the table, "Rudolph, fancy seeing you here. May I join?" He asked politely. He had always enjoyed Rudolph's company, a lot more than Kringle anyhow. He would have made a far better Captain in his opinion.

The last thing Rudolph wanted was company... least of all someone from the Silent Night. The murder of Kringle meant he could finally be free to the damned Silent Night or run the thing himself. Either of those meant detaching himself from the old crew - it was time to cut ties.

"Of course, take a seat. The beer here isn't half bad." He tried to sound upbeat but failed miserably.

Presenté smiled and sat down, "Can't believe the bastard has gone now, some peace and quiet I suppose. What's your thoughts over it? I've not really caught up with anyone else to actually ask what they all think!"

Picking up what was left of his current glass of whisky, Rudolph brought it up to eye level... the liquid slid around the glass, leaving a fine trace upon the glass itself bringing the aromas to life. He brought the glass to his nose, smelled and pulled away... repeating the process three or four times. Madeira and Sandalwood were the top notes for this particular blend... the lady at the bar hadn't been lying about this not being good stuff.

"I think that the Silent Night isn't going anywhere for a long time. After this investigation is over, the Federation will want to get involved and launch an administrative cluster fuck our way. We won't be space borne again for months... meaning we won't get paid for months. I don't anyone has realised that yet".

He brought the glass up to his mouth and, instead of slowly taking it in and savouring it for a few second before swallowing... he necked it. Today wasn't about enjoying the alcohol, it was about enjoying the effects of it.

Presenté had thought about the pay side of things, he was well off though so the pay didn't really bother him. "You have a point my friend. Still, it's gonna be a long ride to get this all sorted. Marines following us all around, ridiculous! Want another drink? This one can be on me!"

"I'll not pass up on that!"

 

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