From: 96906700afk@nene.ac.uk
Date: Sat, 07 Jun 1997 23:49:44 +0000 (GMT)
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: Poker Night ?
NRPG:
Given the Poker Night and O'Graeachs expected appearance I decided to
change the time of my last post 'Low Road to the Next Planet' to 20:01,
not 23:01.
RPG:
MD 8.2004
Scene: Ten-Forward
Clarissa hurried out, leaving Oz shaking in shock. The ship was
without pilot ! Anything could happen ! What if the Chesapeake was
attacked by mad, slimy aliens ? What if they ran into a black hole ?
What if - what if he had to spend the evening alone, without Clarissa ?
And whose fault was it ? Who had just managed to ruin a perfectly perfect
evening ?
Oz glared at Ensign Unit. "Why ?", he complained. "Why did you
have to do this ? Your shift ends at 2300 hours, remember ?"
"I informed you of my need to recharge.", the robot replied.
"When ?", Oz demanded.
"I sent you a message, together with the forwarding of the
invitation to something called 'Poker Night'."
"I didn't get any messages.", Oz said, recalling what he had done
with the PADD. Perhaps the garbage chute had not been the best place to
put it, but it had been pretty disrupting, all this beeping and bopping.
Then his face lit up. "Did you say 'poker' ?"
"Indeed I did. I understand it is a game of chance, which is
played to -", the robot began
"I know what poker is. You know who else is attending ?", the FCO
asked curious, reaching in his pocket and withdrawing a deck of cards.
"I presume that several officers will be attending. You wish me
to calculate the odds ? Given the mental abilities of some of the command
staff, I am afraid the odds of you winning are marginal, if not slim.",
Unit replied.
Oz's face split in a boyish grin. He shuffled the cards and
picked four, seemingly at random. He overturned them, revealing all four
aces. "Hey, I may not be a genius, but my dad taught me how to hold a
deck of cards when I was three. And I've been learning ever since."
He spread the aces across the table and moved them very quickly
around. "Okay, wanna make a bet ? You tell me where which the
Ace of Hearts is and you get next shift off. Otherwise you take mine.
Deal ?"
"I cannot fathom how you expect to win ? This body has an
excellent memory and will remember every single move.", the robot said
puzzled.
"You scared ?", Oz teased.
"I do not wish to abuse the fact that my memory is perfect. But
as you offered - deal. This is the ace of hearts.", it reached out and
overturned the card, revealing the Queen of Spades.
"Sorry, but the card you were looking for is here.", Oz grinned,
pulling a card from his sleeve.
"But - that is cheating !", Unit protested. "I assumed the card
would be on the table !"
"Never assume, my dear friend, never assume.", Oz chuckled,
dropping the cards back into his pocket. Maybe the evening would not be
lost at all. "At least when dealing with an Irish Gypsy. So, where is
this poker event ?"
NRPG:
Well, he *has* skills in gambling and sleigh of hand, as the Bio states...
Masako: What do you mean - *two* competent pilots ? Both Po'rom and
Darling are trained combat pilots, which does not spell excellence in
peacetime. As we'll see :)
Of course Oz is a competent pilot. He got 62% in piloting. Which is
better than most of his other subjects. Although not *that* great. I
mean, it's just above a lower second. You don't want to have to rely on
it in an emergency :) So, the only truly competent pilot is currently on
a trip someplace to ferry 'Stevie'. Let's just hope nothing bad
happens...
Love,
Fabian
(who now finished all of his exams)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
'People who believe absurdities will commit atrocities.' - H.J. Eysenck
'Nothing is more fearful than ignorance in action.'- H.J. Eysenck
'The reasonable man adapts himself to his environment. Only the
unreasonable man insists of adapting his environment to himself.
Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man' - G.B.Shaw
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Go to messages for
June 1997 or latest