Meeting again

Posted on 27 Mar 2016 @ 6:41pm by Command Master Chief Markum Quinn

1,797 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - Symposium
Location: USS Galileo
Timeline: MD80, 1300

ON]

Quinn had finally been allowed out of a sickbay and was glad for it. He was getting a serious case of cabin fever from it and was about to lose what mind he had left. The symposium was going to start soon, and he had no desire to miss it, this was going to be a gathering of some of the brightest scientific and medical minds of the Federation.

Wintrow on the other hand wasn't looking forward to sitting still an listen to lectures for hours. When he rounded the corner and saw Quinn however, his young face lit up. "Chief!" he called out, drawing the CoB's attention. "I'm so glad you're alright and back on your feet..."

Quinn turned and smiled at the young man. "Hey, kid!" he replied excitedly. It hadn't been that long since he had seen him, at least, nit in Markum's mind. "Yeah, I'm okay. Can't kill this old war horse, I keep bouncing back, but the bouncing is starting to ache a little longer than it used to." Quinn gave the lad a playful nudge. "How are you these days? You look great, rested and bright-eyes."

Wintrow beamed at him. "Oh yes...I'm well chief, feeling good too. I went to Akkadia with Doctor Warraquim and I got to fly one of their air ships...I had so much fun!" He looked the old man over. "And you chief? Did you go anywhere on leave?"

"Nah, not really." replied Quinn. "I've been doing therapy and stuff ever since I woke up from a coma I was in. Damn doctors are impossible to bribe these days, it took me forever to just to get a double bacon cheeseburger from them." he added with a smile.

"Can I treat you to one?" the youth asked, "I wouldn't mind having one for myself either. It's been a while since I had a good and decent cheeseburger." He cast the CoB a sly smile. "Maybe two?" he suggested, "to make up for lost times? I've found a decent place on starbase which has them on the menu."

Quinn chuckled and nodded approvingly. "Sounds great, Cadet. Lead on, maybe we can grab a beer or two as well."

"You yes, me no," WIntrow smiled as he lead the way to a large burger restaurant. "If you find us a table, I'll get the orders," he suggested with a large smile on his face.

Quinn smiled and wandered through the area until he found a small booth that sat against a window that held a remarkable view. Markum sat down and waited for Wintrow to come back.

It took a few minutes but when Wintrow finally got back he carried a tray with two very large burgers, a beer and a large rootbeer. He easily balanced the tray as he weaved himself through the other customers before sliding down onto the opposite bench. "I got the largest I could find on the menu," he said, gesturing towards the triple burger which had sauce and cheese dripping down from the sides. "All real beef too!"

Quinn smiled broadly, his mouth watering from anticipation. "Real beef?" the seasoned NCO asked with pure jubilation. "You area great and wonderful young man, son." Quinn took a long draw from the beer and then set the half empty glass down onto the table. "Now that is good beer, not as good as my homebrew, but good."

"I wouldn't know chief," Wintrow replied quizzically, "I don't drink. Rather, I'm not allowed to as I'm still under age. What does it taste like?"

Quinn thought about that question briefly, as his family had always had stills while he was growing up, and thinks he probably was bottle fed as infant, and not a milk bottle. "Well, this one is a pretty basic beer, and is more watered down than what I make. Tell ya what, if we can sometime swing by my ranch in Idaho, I'll let you sample of of the Quinn Family Brew. "

"It'd have to wait until I'm of age chief," Wintrow repeated soberly, "I don't think it's a good idea for either of us for me to be caught with alcohol. I'm not yet twenty-one..."

Quinn chuckled as he stuffed his face with his meal. "Son, if I'm handing you a beer, it'll be at my ranch or in my quarters on the Galileo. I wouldn't worry about Federation drinking ages. How is your burger?"

"It's delicious," the cadet answered, while taking a big bite. "And wouldn't that just get you in trouble chief?"

"Nah," responded Quinn with a chuckle "only if I get caught, Cadet. Still, even then I'm not too worried about it. I figure after thirty-five years of Starfleet service, I could be afforded a few favors." Quinn stopped suddenly and thought about what he just said. "Huh, did I just say, thirty-five years? Man, where has the time gone?"

"Thirty five?" Tilting his head a fraction, Wintrow stared openly at him. "How old were you when you enlisted?" His surprise turned to shock as he slapped his hand over his mouth. "Oh...that was rude...I'm sorry, you don't have to answer..."

Quinn chuckled at Wintrow's innocence. "It's okay, I was twenty-four. I had finished college with my Structural Engineering degree on Andoria, then went to work at the family engineering firm. After a couple years, well it got old working with my family, seeing them all the damn time. So, I joined Starfleet and never looked back. It was the best decision I ever made."

"So you're....fifty-nine?" Staring in open amazement, Wintrow shook his head. "Wow....you've been in service a looooooong time."

Quinn almost choked on his beer from Wintrow's comment. He swallowed down the contents within his mouth before responding. "Look, Son, I have seen more than most, and I was probably out gallivanting the cosmos before your father was out of primary school. Still, I have been around for a long time doing what I do. Moat of it was all engineering assignments, in both peacetime and war. I have truly seen the best and worst in people."

"My dad would've been about fifty this year," Wintrow replied softly, returning his attention to his food. "He was killed two years ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Quinn replied softly. "May I ask what happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure....from what I'm told, his vehicle failed and he died in a crash... but somehow I'm not believing that." Wintrow shook his head. "I got a message one day telling me that my father had been killed, and I couldn't attend his funeral. You see if I had gone back, I'm pretty sure I would've joined him soon after. It was too dangerous, which is why I doubt the accident story. But I have no proof and I can't prove it."

Quinn took a swig of his beer and listened carefully to the young man's story. "Sounds fishy to me too, sometime things happen and the powers-that-be feel covering up the truth is better than letting someone know they screwed up and almost started a galactic war. I'm sorry though. It's hard to lose a father, no matter how old you are."

"Not the powers that be chief...I strongly believe my stepmother killed him somehow. And my half brother was involved."

Quinn was taking a bite out of burger when he suddenly stopped upon hearing that. He took another sip of his beer to help swallow his mouthful of greasy and fat filled goodness. "I'm sorry, what? Murdered? Wasn't an investigation done?"

"From what I'm told it was classified as an accident," Wintrow explained, "no investigation was ever done." He shook his head. "I don't need an investigation to know my stepmother had something to do with it. I'll never understand why she acted the way she did. She married my dad when I was a baby and she's never been a mom for me." He sighed. "Frankly, given what she and my halfbrother did...I'm lucky to be alive."

"I take it you don't have contact with them very much?" asked Quinn. He finished off his burger in a couple more bites, savoring the deliciousness of the burger.

"None," Wintrow answered. "My brother is dead, my stepmother is by court order not allowed to come anywhere near me. Doesn't mean she hasn't tried... and obviously she's pissed that I moved my half sister out of her range too. She tried to kill us both, because she thinks I'm responsible for my half brother's death. All I know is he died in a holodeck accident, in which I was severely injured. The only memory I have of that is him visiting and having nowhere to go. After that, my memory is blank and I have to go on what security and medical told me."

"I'm sorry, son." Quinn answered in a softer voice. "Well, Karma has a way of coming around and biting people in the ass. She'll get hers one, I can pretty much promise that."

"She's served some time for assault along with her new partner, and she's got a restraining order. She's not allowed anywhere near me or Seline." Wintrow shrugged. "As long as she doesn't bother me, it's all good. But it's one of the reasons I don't go to Earth unless I really have to."

"Well, tell ya what." Quinn swished down the last of his beer as he stared at an empty plate. "I have a ranch back in Utah. You and your sister are always welcome there. If you, or she, ever need a place to stay, you will always be welcomed there. Besides, the horses and cattle could always use extra looking after."

"I'll consider it chief," Wintrow replied slowly, obviously not very keen on staying anywhere on Earth for a prolonged period of time. Nor was he going to reveal where his sister was currently residing. Finishing his own mean he stood. "I should probably get back to work."

"Yeah, I need to get going, too." said Quinn, "Thanks for the burger, and the company. Let's get together once we are underway, again."

Wintrow nodded. "We probably need to talk about my studies at some point....there's no real direction at the moment so I'm just grabbing stuff left and right to keep my scores up and my studies going." He paused. "I'm not even sure when I'm supposed to move to third year."

"Well, I imagine someone has to know. I'll ask around." Quinn patted the lad on the back. "I need to run, take care."


OFF]

CMCPO Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

Cadet SO Wintrow Paragon
Support Craft Pilot
USS Galileo
pnpc Tyrion

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