Behind the Scenes - Part 2 - Manky By Petty Officers Travis Summers, Shylicia Nitey, and Sybel Reinaulds "Ew, well that was just manky! Totally minging! YUCK!" Sybel Reinaulds flung herself into a seat in the Support Services lounge. "Some disgusting, foul ensign just left the most disgusting foul mess in the dining hall. I'm just not going to describe it to you. Manky, that's all I'm going to say." "Yeah, Syb, we heard you, okay?" Travis Summers said, sighing into his coffee. "Well, what do they think we are? Bloody civvies? It's just manky! That's what it is!" "Yeah Syb, manky, we get it. Honest," he said, trying to placate her. They always got this tyrade, every time she came back from her shift, she'd found something new to complain about the officers. "That's exactly it!" cried Shylicia. "They got no respect. If it weren't for us, the ship wouldn't run at all." Oh God, thought Travis, please don't start her off. We won't here the end of it now. "And all this goings on! I was minding my own business, vacuuming the hall and there was this banging and crashing from one of the rooms. When I asked if there was something wrong I got screamed at that their door wouldn't open," Syb said as she settled into her chair and pulled out a packet of squashed cigarettes. "I mean, what could I do? I just said that he might like to try pressing the open button." She tapped the end of her cigarette on the side of its box. "He wasn't happy with that at all, but, I mean, these officers, they've not the sense they were born with." She tutted and lifted the lighter to the end of her ciggy. Travis squirmed in his seat and pointed a finger at Sybel. "You can't light that in here!" "Eh?" "It's a non-smoking zone. You can't light that in here. You'll have to wait till you get to your room and smoke it there." "Well bloody hell!" she swore but slid the cigarette back in its box and the box back in her pocket. She blew out a violent breath and thrust to her feet. Slumping over to the replicator, she ordered coffee and then threw herself back in her seat. "Anybody seen Christina today?" Stertis asked. "Sick leave," Shylicia tutted. "That girl, I swear. She gets knocked up moreâ n any gal I ever did see. This is like her third kid in five years. What she doing joining the âFleet if she jusâ gonna take all the time in maternity leave, leavinâ her work for us to do?" Her braids rattled as she shook her head. Absently, Sybel reached for her packet of cigarettes again. "Well, you know what I say on that particular subject," she said, leering slightly. "If she can't keep her legs closed..." "Yes," cried Travis, "thanks Syb, we don't want to know." "Law law, I know 'xactly what you mean," Shylicia chimed in. "C'mon girl, let's take us a break - go back ta our room. These men ain't no good for gossipinâ . Did you hear what happened to that Commander Manson? This yeoman was tellin' me all 'bout it earlier. I wondered what happened in that turbolift we had to clean up." She stood and gestured for Sybel to follow. "Mm-hmm, I could kill for a ciggy." Sybel slipped one out of its packet as she rose and poked it into the corner of her mouth. "I had to used a gallon of that orange cleaner on that lift, y'know. Cor, it can right remove the stains. All that blood, if you'd asked me before hand if it could get that much blood out I'd have bet my life that it wouldn't..." Her voice trailed away as the two women wandered out of the lounge.