A Jail Cell Memoir

[2nd Lt JacobD 0]

The first few days of confinement after the brawl at the bar were pure hell.  2ndLt Jacob Duncan sat in his cell with 2ndLt McHale and quietly continued nursing his wounds and not tending to his own.  He had to scream several times at the ungrateful Lodi guardsman to bring him a clean cloth and a fresh bowl of water to be able to keep the wounds free from infection.

 

As far as I know, my shoulder is dislocated and that was really all I could tell.  The pain had numbed the rest of the body to almost a euphoric state without the pleasurable highs that go along with it.  As I sat by McHale's side, he had nothing else to do except think about what happened.  My mind dwelled upon the fact that I was possibly led into a place where it was known ahead of time that something would happen and would cause a problem.  

 

To me, the nausican didn't have any right talking about the female crewmembers of the Arcadia like that...and I may have only been on the ship for only a few weeks, but I feel a bond that was quickly forming with a lot of the crew.  Each and every crewmember would make sure that you were taken care of and that you felt a part of the group, and I will be damned if someone would go around and speak anything but praise about anyone aboard that vessel.

 

Things would have been ok if McHale would have just put down a few coins to pay for his drink.  Even though they were replicated coins, the bartender didn't know that and it would have been all for the best.  The klingons were clearly out of line when they decided to step in and it was the klingons who decided to cause a problem for all of us.  From the klingon to the nausican, that night just spelled trouble in capital letters.

 

I don't guess that I really hold anyone responsible for the brawl except for the klingons and the nausican.  This wasn't Ziggy's fault and it will probably come down to him and Quest taking a severe tongue lashing from Captain Moose.  I don't know if Captain Moose understands what happened.  I'm more willing to bet that if he were stuck in the same situation and didn't have the reputation above him, the captain probably would have done the same.

 

The days dragged on until I finally hear a commotion besides what the Klingons were carrying on about.  Some officer walked in through the door in a crisp, pressed uniform.  You could almost feel the temperature in the steamy jail drop 40 degrees as the cold presence that she presented filled the entire police station.

 

From what I could understand through the state of pain that I was in at the moment, she was barking something about money and a diplomatic "incident."  I looked at Quest across the way who just gave me a look as if the world was about to end and this woman was going to ride the wave of destruction.

 

Two medical officers who came in with the woman started to attend to me until I physically took one of the officers off of me and forced him to a wall.  I told the crewman flat out that I was fine and I can make it until we get home.  McHale is the one that needs the attention.  They don't seem to get it and they probably wouldn't have if I hadn't put one of them in check for not listening.  That really hurt having to do it with one good arm and sharp stabbing pains are coming back just like right after the bar.

 

I know that the next few days are probably going to be some of my hardest aboard the Arcadia and this pain in my arm will go away as soon as I'm back on board, but right now, the place for me to be is in a place that is far away from here....to prepare for what's to come.  I'm worried about what is going to happen to me, especially after my short time on board the Arcadia and the fact that I am supposed to be setting some sort of example for my subordinates in the platoon.

 

A saying that I was taught in my Academy years keeps coming back to haunt me.  "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few...or even the one."  That day, in the bar, I felt like the needs and respect of the people I serve with outweigh anything that I would ever need.