From: Gershon <jrbowman@london2.skn.net>
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 08:02:09 -0500
Subject: USS CHESAPEAKE: Liquor in the Front, Part II
****************************************************************************
MD 7.2215
The mystery of the computer's message was solved. Stavay had commandeered
a game room using her rank as a LTJG. However, this gameroom had already
been programmed for a session of strip poker by some of the more
adventurous yeomen. When the senior officers entered, the computer had
no reason to assume that the programming had to be changed.
Stavay was forgiven...well, forgiven by a few. Aelyria was shooting
daggers at the Counselor. th'Tellan laughed, the first time she had ever seen
him do so. "The best half-of-a-hand of poker I've ever played! Maybe
next time, we can play a full hand." This game would go into th'Tellan's
bank of stories. Oddly, the Romulan didn't seem offended at all. Would
he have kept playing?
"I could have lost *my* shirt!", cried Keyrin.
"You would have indeed," smiled th'Tellan as he walked out of the hall.
"My hole card was another Ace."
Aelyria was now left completely puzzled. "What do you mean, another
ace?" Forgetting her rank, she shouted, "I'd like to see you come back to
the same table and try that again! Another ace, my ----"
"----*Mr. Keyrin*!", shouted Brennan. The Exec turned to Stavay and smiled.
"Sorry Poker night didn't go the way you wanted it. Who knows, we might
try this again...of course, next time, *I'll* decide where we play. I
don't think anyone's going to ever trust you with making the arrangements
again."
"Uh...sorry...."
"Good night, Counselor."
Aelyria left to find th'Tellan. As Brennan left, he hit his comm-pin. "ENS
O'Graeach? ENS O'Graeach? Where did you go?"
This left Murray and Tats-Marush in the crowd. "Well, Counselor, it seems
that you have the same gift for Poker that you do with golf...."
"...uh, Lieutenant, I was *not* the one who programmed the computer for
Strip Poker!"
"Never mind. Next time, I'll play golf. It's a good thing the Captain wasn't
here," replied Anne. *It's a good thing I wasn't sitting where O'Graeach
was, either*, she thought. *And like it or not, I wasn't going to fold.*
That comforted her. She was going to play out her hand to the bitter end.
Stavay was reminded that of all the people who went wild during the computer's
electronic striptease, Murray was **not** one of them. Stavay was embarrassed.
Aelyria was furious. O'Graeach was probably hiding in a Jeffries tube.
Brennan looked extremely unhappy. th'Tellan couldn't hide his amusement.
But Anne just sat there, holding her cards and analyzing the situation.
Clearly, that personal cool helped Murray. Murray had gone wild with
her emotions most of the time, thought Stavay, but had never done so in
a crisis. And probably, would never do so. Stavay could tell, that like
it or not, Anne Murray was an excellent poker player.
**************************************************************************
Respectfully submitted,
James Bowman
LTJG Stavay Tats-Marush, COUNS
USS CHESAPEAKE
jrbowman@london2.skn.net AND JBowman489@aol.com
All: Well, before you give me credit for an original story, let me remind
you that this story isn't original. I wrote it about a year ago, for
the SUFFOLK, as a non-continuity story. It happened outside the SUFFOLK
mission, but events happened during that mission that removed it from the
continuity. It was also written during a bad time for the SUFFOLK, and
I don't think it was appreciated.
On the other hand, it seemed quite fitting for the CHESAPEAKE. Furthermore,
it was a helluva lot easier to write using CHESAPEAKE characters.
Since these stories are being archived, I hereby donate this story to the
CHESAPEAKE, as the SUFFOLK story not only never happened, but never went
to the newsgroup.
Amy: Hopefully, the Captain's actions made sense. I didn't see her as the
kind of person who would take part in the game.
Takako: The discussion with the Assistant Engineer could be used as a hint
to set up a "why the Chief Engineer is missing" explanation, even if that
explanation is only a few lines long.
Melvin: Of all the characters in the story, I think yours was done the
least justice, for the simple reason that I can't write th'Tellan
posts.
<Of course you can. You just don't try to....>
Shut up! Anyway, as I was saying, we'll have to leave th'Tellan's take on
the whole poker game to you.
Lynnaea: Well, you were the one who wanted so bad to play poker....
Masako: I didn't see Anne as the type of person who would go crazy. The
conclusion of the story did not come to me until I got around to writing it.
Hopefully, Stavay's conclusions about Anne are true. In any event, they
will go into the FITREP.
Fabian: Ozwald's such an easy character to write. So many awful things can
happen to him.
Naomi, Chris: Sorry you didn't get to join in. Hopefully, there will be
other games in the future :) Of course, I don't know how Shachor would
have handled that turn of events at the table....
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