"Sergeant Page now then?"She asked, her left eyebrow creeping up. Tyler had no doubt that he deserved it. He was a good kid. Stars, had she just thought of him as a kid? The man was practically her age. She really needed to get off the Ravenswood more."Congratulations! Sounds like I should be the one buying tea."
Coffee was fairly common on-ship, but most of what the Logistics Corps provided them with was of the shake and bake variety. Suffice to say, it was great for the kitchens, if only because the crew preferred something, anything, else. As X.O, she could have ordered personal supplies in fairly easily, but she'd heard that General Winters had refused to eat better then the crew and it was a trait she thought was worth developing. She stared at the cup before her for a moment, savoring the smell. Actual honest-to-god coffee. Melanie raised the cup, taking a sip of the bitter liquid. "Thanks." It didn't seem to quite express her gratitude, but it would have to do. Little luxuries went a long way. She watched Page take a sip of his tea, noting the insignia on the cup.
"You went to Cambridge? What did you do to end up here? I always thought Cambridge students were more..."She paused for a moment, trying to think of a polite way to word the sentence. There was a divide between civilian desk jobs and military roles that just didn't seem to want to be filled, no matter how much the politicians pushed it."Inclined to other pursuits." Spoken like a true politician. Perhaps she should reconsider her career. Then Page said something that bought her mind crashing back to the present.
The message. That little device that contained - Well, who knew what? It was sealed with a high-level military encryption, which was enough to make Tyler cautious in itself. Not to mention the fact that it had come by courier, rather then through the usual channels. Data stores like the one it was stored on were in routine, but irregular use. They typically carried strategic orders or some other form of high-level data that command couldn't afford falling into enemy hands. She briefly wondered if she were mad for bringing it to Christy's. Then again, the place had more BPA Officers then New Scotland Yard, and if she couldn't trust the Bretonians then there weren't a great many people she could. Besides, she and Page had been shot at enough times to have at least a basic understanding. Without a word, she tugged the device from a pocket in her flight suit, depositing it on the table.
"It came in around 1100 hours Leeds time yesterday. I've been putting off opening it. With the noises Congress've been making..."She let the sentence hang. With the losses the Air Force had been taking, there was the very real possibility that the projector contained the details of her retirement."I don't want to open it Thomas. I don't want to have to leave them here."
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