Free Rule of Evidence by John G. Hemry Page B

day! Just be glad we don't have duty tonight."
    "I am. I just hope Jen doesn't have duty, either."
    "Good luck."
    Paul was just leaving the bridge when Kris Denaldo appeared in the passageway and held up her data pad. "Got a brief transmission in comms on the back channel."
    Paul read "P— Fogarty's – J." Jen wanted to meet him tonight at the bar where the officers usually hung out. "Thanks, Kris."
    "Thanks, he says. Me, I've got duty. I pass romantic messages for people even though I'm stuck on the ship tonight while certain other officers go gallivanting off to suck face with certain other officers."
    "Not that you envy Jen and me or anything."
    "Not at all. Come back one second late from liberty and I'll make sure your butt's hung out to dry." She paused. "I think I'm joking. You probably shouldn't test it, though."
    "Understood. Can I bring you back anything in the morning?"
    "Not unless it's a male willing to devote his life to satisfying my every desire." Kris paused again. "A halfway decent-looking male. Of the human species."
    "You shouldn't be so picky."
    "I know. I should just settle for whatever comes along like Jen did."
    "Hey!"
    "Kidding! Kidding! You two have fun tonight. Just don't tell me about it in the morning."
    "Thanks, Kris." Of course, he couldn't just waltz off of the ship. Not until the ship's workday ended, and not until liberty call went down. I could ask Garcia for early liberty. . .nah. Who am I kidding? And I couldn't take off early anyway while my sailors have to stay aboard and work. But I don't feel like really working at the moment, not right after coming off watch . He headed for the wardroom, thinking of coffee and maybe conversation.
    Lieutenant Mike Bristol, the assistant supply officer, was there along with another officer Paul didn't recognize. "Hey, Paul. Any word on when liberty's going down?"
    "You tell me. Supply always knocks off work the earliest."
    Bristol grinned. "That's just a rumor we encourage to ensure a steady stream of new recruits. Have you met Lieutenant Isakov?"
    "No." He extended his hand. "Paul Sinclair. CIC officer."
    Her shake was firm enough. "Val Isakov. I'm Lieutenant Sindh's relief."
    "Oh. She'll be very happy to see you."
    "I bet." Isakov smiled, a very quick quirk of her lips, then focused back on Mike Bristol. "Right now I need to get check-in done."
    "Sure." Paul got some coffee and left. Not the friendliest soul, but I've had my share of bad days, too .
    Colleen Kilgary was outside her stateroom and flagged Paul down. "Hey, you seeing Jen tonight?"
    "I'm planning on it."
    "Good. The Maury had that SEERS thingee installed during their last overhaul. Can you ask Jen how it's working out? We're supposed to get it, too."
    "SEERS?"
    "Ships Engineering something something System. Some sort of unified power management gizmo."
    "Uh, okay."
    Paul entered his stateroom in the aptly nicknamed ensign locker and sat down at his desk. Sam Yarrow, the only other occupant at the moment, glanced over at him. "Garcia's looking for you."
    Garcia's always looking for me. Garcia won't know what to do with his life when he can't look for me anymore . "What about?"
    "Ask him yourself."
    "Thanks, Sam." Paul tried to sound sincere, knowing that kind of reaction always threw Yarrow off. He stood up again and headed for Combat. Even if Garcia wasn't in Combat, Paul could catch up on paperwork at his console there.
    * * *
    Fogarty's tried to look like a comfortable neighborhood pub. The fact that it was located inside an orbiting naval facility made the illusion a bit hard to sustain, but the bar's wood-grain painted steel bulkheads were close enough to the real thing to be a welcome oasis for sailors tired of staring at gray steel bulkheads. Paul took a seat at one of the small tables just outside of the door, watching humanity stream past in one of the wide main "streets" on the station while he waited for Jen to show up.
    "Hey, sailor, looking for a good time?"
    Paul shook his