An Unlikely Visitor

Posted on Thu Feb 14th, 2019 @ 11:17pm by Candy Templeton
Edited on on Mon Mar 11th, 2019 @ 2:10pm

1,376 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 2: Into The Breach
Location: Sickbay
Timeline: MD04 1800

Sam laid in the biobed, squirming at the lack of activity that he was being subjected to. Apparently, losing multiple liters of blood and trying to leave the hospital was frowned upon by most doctors. His escape attempts had been thwarted every time by the unusually observant charge nurse- a surly looking Bijani that was on him like a hawk every time he so much as twitched.

Candy had gotten her fill of the initial scene. However, like any good news reporter, she wanted to get the opinions and facts from anyone that was in the blast firsthand. With nurses and doctors scattering about during this emergency, she did not even have to show her credentials and she was largely ignored. She started scanning the rooms and looking for someone that might be conscious. A name on a wall caught her attention: Major Sam Braddock. Curiosity and a tingling sense that something may be interesting here, she walked in the room. "Hello?" she called softly and cautiously. "Is anyone awake in here?" Her voice was simultaneously polite and alluring, as if her own soft Siren call would wake the dead.

Sitting up in the biobed, Sam turned toward the source of the visit. "Well if it isn't the reporter. What can I do for you?" he asked, sitting up a little straighter. Any company at this point was good company, even if it was a journalist.

"If only I had a credit for each time that I was asked that," she replied laughing. "I hate to state the obvious, but it does seem to me that you have had better days."

Sam smirked a bit. “You can tell, huh?” He said before he winced at a sharp stinging sensation in his belly. “Off the record, explosions tend to do that to you. I’ve even got a nifty scar out of the deal.” He said, his smirk curving into a genuine smile.

"Is this where I'm supposed to say, 'Oh, really? Does it hurt? Can I see it? Kiss it and make it better?'" she replied laughing. "And, I am sorry to see you got the brunt of the explosion. I suppose this will put a damper on that flight you promised me."

"Give me a week and I'll be as good as new. I’ll take up- you have my word.” He said slyly.

"I doubt I'll be here a week or two, Sam. It isn't my nature. Besides, I'm pretty sure that I won't be welcome here much longer."

Raising his eyebrow, he looked at her with a sense of apprehension. "I haven't had a chance to read the paper-" "What did you do?" he said, narrowing his eyes in Candy's direction.

"Me?" Candy asked innocently. "My job. I reported on the goings on at the station."

Sam swung his legs so that he was properly sitting up. "There has to be more to it if they're revoking your access. Let me see the story. Now." he said.

Candy handed Sam a PADD and sweetly said, "Here you go. Don't hurt yourself reading it."


Sam read over the article, his eyes narrowing into an angry glare as he scrolled through the text. Phrases like 'Marines are ground pounders' and 'ignored his Security Chief's warnings' jumped out at him. As the indignation welled up in him like lava in a volcano, he found the strength to stand upright and slammed the PADD on the bedside table with a sharp snap. "Damn it, Candy! On top of misquoting me and deliberately distorting facts, you've crucified us in the court of public opinion!" Sitting down on the bed, his gaze never wavered from Candy's face. "Doesn't this make you feel any gram of remorse that you lied? Seriously, I want to know how you manage to sleep at night." he said, gritting his teeth.

"I sleep very well, thank you. I appreciate your concern. However, I do not lie. Now, if there's something that was misconstrued or misunderstood, well, it can be corrected. However, it would have been a lot easier to get things right if people were forthright with me. It really is a shame that people think the worst of someone in my field and then try to make themselves look better by not revealing things. It often makes me work harder and causes more problems than it solves." She shrugged. "So, would you like to clear the record?"

"I told you that the Marines were here as a humanitarian response force, not for an invasion. Second, that ship didn't crash land- it exploded on the landing pad. But the most egregious thing? The fact that you took every opportunity to denigrate the skill and personal lives of my fellow officers. Off the record- We may not be the best of friends but I'll be damned if I'll allow you to tear them down. They're doing their job and unfortunately, that doesn't always involve making people happy. Understood?" he asked her, his lip curled.

Candy agreed with the first part of Braddock's statement somewhat. "Oh, you did tell me that the Marines were here as a humanitarian response force, which is really an oxymoron in terms, if you think about it. Peace doesn't involve force. But, that aside, hang on, let me get the recording...." She stumbled with her purse and Braddock's voice came across clearly, "Marines are more than glorified ground pounders." Candy smiled. "See, you agreed that you are a glorified ground pounder. Now, the fact that you perceive that there is more, is another matter completely. However, you stated the premise and I reported it." She gave Sam a satisfied smile. "Honestly, if you meant something else, you should have spoken properly. It is not my fault if you do not have a basic command of Federation standard."

"As to whether the ship crash landed or exploded on the launch pad, that is a minor difference. The point was that there was a disaster on the dock. The minor error can be corrected with a post-edit. It is not a major deal. Now, as to your 'fellow officers,' I do find it interesting that you care about the StarFleet side. That's rather unique amongst marines and Fleet. However, there is not a word that I published that does not have basis in fact. I left conclusions up to the reader and came up with my own theories. If StarFleet, nor the Marines wish to be open and there is something wrong, then perhaps the military needs to be more open with the media. The people have a right to know what is going on with their representatives."

Sam stood to his full height and lowered his voice. "I see it as a huge deal you needed a tasty quote for your story and you decided to twist words and omit details when it was convenient for you. If you wanted us to try being open about what we're doing out here, this was definitely NOT the way to do it. Every day, every person on this base gets up and puts on a uniform that symbolizes a life defending something. It symbolizes the countless numbers of people who have given the last full measure of devotion to protect this Federation and it's ideals, one of which is integrity. You might know a little something about that if you didn't spend time writing articles that I could find in a commissary tabloid." he fired back, letting out a puff of air through his nose.

"Oh! Look! You're not as injured as you thought! You can stand!" Candy replied excitedly in her ditzy voice. "I knew I was good for you!" She called out for a nurse. "Nurse! Nurse! I think you might want to take a look at this patient. He seems to have been healed!" She then lowered her voice and said, "I was very straight forward on what I was doing here. The Captain sent for me. He knew. And I always find it amusing when something is written that someone doesn't like, they call it a tabloid. I'm not here for PR. I'm here to report. I'm sorry you don't like it, Sam. It could have been fun."

 

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