Like a Rolling Stone.
Even though Toby's call last night had killed the mood for Mouse, he still slept over. He fell asleep pretty soon after that, and I stayed up a little longer to write my musings about Toby. When I woke up this morning, he was already borrowing my computer terminal, cat and replicator to make himself at home. Delilah was purring along and sitting in his lap, he had a cup of coffee, and he was checking his messages. The kid just can't switch off. He almost jumped out of his skin as I walked up behind him, unintentionally quiet in doing so, and put a hand on his shoulder.
After I apologized, I looked at the screen and saw my name. Apparently the promised transfer orders had arrived while Mouse and I had been at dinner last night. He made a comment about how he was both happy for me, and would miss me, so I assured him once again that I would keep in touch. I also pointed out that the ship was here for repairs, and while I was expected to report within two weeks, they were still here for at least another three, and I'd probably still be able to slip away if he wanted to have a little more time together.
When he finished his coffee and checking messages, he excused himself because he had another early shift today. I started packing up my stuff once he was out the door, and Delilah found every excuse to sit in the middle of whatever thing I was packing. Being the sort who didn't put down roots very easily, I had most of my stuff packed within the day. Of course, once the cat carrier came out of the closet, Delilah made for under the bed, but I elected to leave her there as I had some rounds I needed to do before I was ready to haul everything over to my new posting.
I stopped by So Long and Thanks For All the Fish, keeping an eye out for Lothar as I'd heard he'd stopped by the station again, and cornered Wade to settle up my tab and collect any alcohol I'd already bought and they were simply keeping for me. I got support for my suspicions as to which Storvik Ryan had bedded down the other night, as Wade had seen Ryan and the bearded Storvik leave together that night. When she found out that I had a recording, partial though it was, she gave me a generous discount on my tab in exchange for sending her a copy.
While gossiping, she brought up that in the excitement following my arrest that night, the Andorian I'd been drinking with didn't pay his tab. Even though the bastard had shot me in the back, I did not believe this was an intentional slight on his part, so I told Wade to just add it to my tab, and took possession of what was left of the bottle of Romulan Ale from that night. Since I'm pretty sure that bastard is also posted on the ship I've been transferred to, I figure I can settle that debt with him when I sort out the backstabbing issue. His bar tab was minor, as I'd already agreed to pay for half of what crossed the table between he, Storvik and I, so it would be nothing compared to the dishonor he did me shooting me in the back. Besides, I didn't want to see Wade and Ryan have to pay it out of their own wages for extending credit to someone who didn't pay.
I returned to my soon to be former quarters with the Romulan Ale, and a barrel of Blood Wine before I went to settle my debts at the other bar. Being the intrepid booze hound I was, and having a half Klingon metabolism, it had just turned out practical to have an open tab in each bar. The other bar proved quicker to handle, as I hadn't made friends with the staff there, so it was just a matter of paying off what I owed. I was in and out in no time, and wasn't bothered by any activity going on there at the time. I did detour past Tumor's stool, and gave him a departing "kiss". Probably broke his nose as my fist kissed his face. He looked love struck even as he clutched at his nose to try to stop the bleeding.
On my way back to my quarters, I came across Ensign Timmy. His current orders were to "go enthusiastically help out someone else", as the lieutenant he'd been partnered with in the hydropnics bay had his fill of enthusiasm. Timmy did confirm my suspicions that all they grew in hydroponics was the earth plant, cannabis, though I figured it out from his description of the plants grown. He was happy to help me in attempting to round up Delilah into her cat carrier, and to help me carry my belongings to the Takeda Shingen.
My transfer orders were so fresh that they didn't actually have quarters assigned for me yet, but refreshingly enough there was a competent crewman on duty who quickly sorted the problem out. As he guided me and Timmy to my new quarters, and even made friends with Delilah on the way, he warned me that replicators were currently down for repair in officers quarters. I usually liked to eat in the Mess, even if I still ate alone, but it would prove annoying on keeping Delilah fed. I figured the engineers were probably just trying to keep officers out of their hair by making it less comfortable on the ship, remembering some of the secrets of the trade that Spiegel had mentioned previously. I added to my mental check list to make some engineer friends on the ship, and I thanked the crewman for the warning without tipping him off that I suspected the secret.
Delilah's taken up vigil under my new bed, and I've looked into the Intership BBS. I'll have to set up a profile and start posting there soon. They don't let you into much unless you're a moderator or have a profile. I did promise Mouse I'd meet him for dinner again tonight, and then I believe I get to report into my new department head tomorrow. It'll be weird not being a department head, as on 668 I'd been highest ranking person in my department, Terra Nova had just exchanged me for another officer who wanted to stay on assignment in the Delta Quadrant, and I'd been hand picked for my skills by Kharaza for the Remington. It's been a while since I wasn't department head, but given that it gets me off Milliways, I'm not about to argue. Besides, sometimes the authority gets a little weighty, especially on a ship that's run correctly, so I might as well take the break handed to me.
I'm just going to hit the Mess for Delilah's food, before I go meet Mouse for dinner. He'll probably want me to stay the night, but since I don't have an actual appointment for reporting in, I should be fine.