"Agreed." Leon had a few drinks by now, but he knew his limits quite well, so he was still think with a reasonable level of clarity. Tactically, the Chief was correct.

Leon took another sip of his drink.

"That being said, everyone walking around, paranoid as all hell isn't healthy either. Everyone is having trouble dealing with the reality of the situation. Just look at how much time the crew spends in the sensoriums, trying to find ways to forget the rest of the ship is there.

"They need to learn how to deal with things here, and they need to learn how to deal with each other. I've only been to a handful of meetings, but every time there's more than a handful of people in a room, a fight or three is guaranteed to break out. At the rate we're going, its only a matter of time before someone snaps and things get ugly.

"Alcohol will lessen their abilities, yes, but it can also ease attitudes and loosen tongues. It'll get the crew to relax and talk to each other. In the short term, this could be a disaster. In the long term, though, this could pay huge dividends and help build a stronger, more united group.

"Seeing as how we're going to be here for a while anyway, you might want to start looking more than one or two steps ahead, soldier."