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Colonel Nia Stone walked into the Security Personnel Break Room and looked around. It was mostly empty, as would be expected mid-afternoon, but there were a few tables with people at them. She walked to the refreshment area and poured herself a cup of red Fizzup. She maintained it was supposed to be strawberry flavored. Her husband insisted that it was supposed to be raspberry flavored. Since it didn’t taste like either one the disagreement had gone on for a long time. She expected it would go on for a long time in the future, too.
“I bet Colonel Leveque has never been on report in his entire life,” said a Captain that Nia didn’t recognize. There were a lot of people on the base now, and despite her best efforts she hadn’t made the time to greet all of them. This one must be one of the new Security staff that had arrived on the first of the month.
“I bet he entered the Academy as a Colonel and never even had to do any of the boring work he is assigning to us,” replied another Captain. She was probably in the new batch, too.
“That is a bet you would lose,” Nia interjected.
“But he knows everything and never makes a mistake,” said the first Captain. He and his friend turned to look at where Nia was sitting.
Their expressions confirmed her guess that neither of them knew who they were talking to. She continued, “Once upon a time, he was a Captain who most definitely didn’t know everything. Especially the maintenance schedule for field command vehicles.”
“What?” asked the woman.
“He took one out one night and didn’t get it back before it was reported missing,” replied Nia.
“What would he want with a field command vehicle at night?” asked the man.
The door to Colonel Leveque’s office opened and he walked out still talking to his deputy, Major Sands.
Nia looked at the two Captains. “Privacy.” She got up from her seat, dumped the rest of the Fizzup down the drain and put the cup in the recycler. She continued walking over to where her husband was discussing the best restaurants within a portal jump with his deputy. Their anniversary was in about a month.
Nia overheard the two Captains continuing the conversation.
“How would she know?” asked the man.
“I suspect she was there,” said the woman. “I think that is Colonel Stone, his wife.”
“Oh,” said the man, quietly.