The mess was the best place to catch up on gossip. You could share your news and hear everyone
else’s in under twenty minutes while debating whether
to eat the not-quite-chicken. Thus a
casual observer could learn everything there was to know about comings and
goings in the city just by sitting back and blending into the metaphorical
woodwork.
Had said casual observer been present in October of 2010
they would have heard some very interesting things indeed.
Doctor A. “Did you
hear that Colonel Sheppard’s dad came in with the last data-burst?”
Technician B. “Wait a minute, the colonel has a father?”
Dr. A. “Yeah, that was my reaction. But Karen Stevens came through with him, and
she doesn’t exaggerate. Well, except for
that incident with Novak, but there were extenuating circumstances.”
Technician B snickered.
“Yeah, I remember. The lesson of
that little endeavor was never ever take McKay’s chocolate.
Or at least, don’t get caught.”
Dr. A. “In the
interests of self preservation, a little white lie is perfectly
acceptable. So, what did she say about General Sheppard? Is he really as bad as Sergeant Adams said? Because I heard that they got into a fight in
the mess the day he got here and he’s been hiding out ever since.”
Doctor C. “I heard it was a slugging match, and
that the colonel gave him a black eye.
The only reason the colonel’s not up on charges is because it’s his old
man.”
A fourth voice chimed in, Lieutenant D. “I
heard they got along perfectly well until he found out the colonel was sleeping
with McKay, then he went ballistic.
Started tearing up the colonel’s quarters, had to be sedated.”
Dr. A. “Who told you
that?”
Lt. D. “One of the corpsmen.
New guy, just arrived this week. I got drafted into helping out with inventory
in the infirmary.”
Dr. C glanced at his watch.
“I’ve got to go; I need to check on my growth lamp experiment.” He looked significantly at Dr. A. “Fill me in later.”
Dr. A nodded. “Of course.”
Sergeant F took Dr. C’s place at the table. “Huh.
I heard the fight in the mess was just for show, that there was this big
emotional reunion behind closed doors.”
Technician B. “Can you imagine the colonel getting
emotional? I mean, he gets mad, but I wouldn’t think he’d go in for
the whole weepy reunion thing. He’s more
the strong silent type.” She sighed
dreamily.
Sgt. F. “So has
anyone actually talked to General Sheppard?
I hear he’s mostly been kicking around the science labs – asking about
research, being generally noisy.”
Teyla’s voice cut in from behind them as she sat down at a
nearby table. “If that is true, it is
certainly a trait he shares with many.”
They looked up, guilty expressions all around, then began talking over each other.
Dr. A. “Well, I’ve
got to go check on those power consumption calculations.”
Tech B. “I think Sgt. Campbell will want to take his
lunch break now, got to run!”
Sgt. F. “Shoot, I’m late for patrol.”
Lt. D. “I have
inventory!”
In less than thirty seconds, the table was empty. Teyla smiled – Earth people were so easy to
manipulate.
~ Finis ~