Play@YSDC

As the office door closed behind Major Parker and Father O’Toole, William was left alone. In front of him, the Major’s desk was just a disorganised heap of paperwork, some of which appeared to have been there for some time.

William sets to work organizing the paperwork by category in chronological order, glancing at them as he does so to see if he notices anything of interest, though he won't let it slow him down.

The reports that littered Major Parker’s desk were mainly casualty reports and inventories of supplies. Whether there was a war on or not, British bureaucracy was obviously in rude health.

Can I have a library use roll, please?

William has no difficulty in organizing the Major's papers.

Library Use roll (56% skill) sorting through the reports:
d%

The reports detailed casualty figures at half a dozen field hospitals at this sector of the front. Half an hour of sorting and William was able to assemble them in chronological order, albeit one or two were missing. Reading through, William can’t help but he horrified by the numbers of sick and injured young men. The reports detail those who are returned to their units, those sent for further convalescence and recovery and those who don’t survive.

From reading the reports, it was noticeable that the death toll at Field Hospital No.5 was higher than the other hospitals in the sector, although up until around a month ago, they were the same as the others. From then, the death rate had risen markedly. It had obviously not gone unnoticed as there was a memorandum from a Colonel Jenks at the Royal Army Medical Corps headquarters asking for an explanation. It wasn’t clear whether or not Major Parker had replied.

I’ll take another Library Use roll for some further information.

William notices further details.

Library Use roll (56% skill) to find more information:
d%

Buried among the paperwork, William found another memorandum. Written by someone obviously familiar with Major Parker - whom the writer addresses as ‘Alexander’ - it queried a recent increase in requests for morphia and other analgesics and asked him to make some informal enquiries. The writer stated that the matter “hasn’t gone up the chain as yet” but it could only be a matter of time before someone higher up started to ask questions. The memorandum was dated Monday 3rd June 1918.

William makes a mental note of what he has found, including the name of the writer of the memo, and finishes sorting out the paperwork.

The Major’s desk was certainly in better order for William’s efforts, with the reports stacked neatly and held together with a bulldog clip. Next to his in-tray there was a roughly-made pipe holder, a photograph of a woman and two children, and a field telephone.

Other than the desk, there was the Major’s chair, a chair for visitors and what looked to be a wardrobe in the corner of the room.

William doesn't want to be caught poking around if the Major returns unexpectedly while he's doing so, and he probably saw everything he needed to know in the reports, so he will wait for him to return.

William could hear raised voices approaching in the corridor before Major Parker pushed open the office door, trailed by Mrs Ogilvy, who was stridently berating him for all to hear.

“Orderlies?!Major Parker, I have no need of orderlies!” she shrilled. “Getting in the way of my nursing staff! I need nurses, supplies…”

“As ranking officer, I think you’ll find it’s my nursing sta…” interrupted Major Parker, who was interrupted in turn, before he could finish.

“I’ll be taking this up with headquarters, then you’ll see who is responsible for the nursing staff around here,” snapped Mrs Ogilvy, waving an admonishing finger. “See if I don’t!” and with a ‘harrumph’ and a stamp of her foot, she marched out of the office, slamming the door behind her.

Major Parker walked behind his desk on shaky legs and sat down heavily. Pulling open the drawer of his desk, he lifted out a bottle of whiskey and a glass, poured himself a large measure, which he drank in one go. He looked from the door to William and then to his now-tidy desk. “Thank you,” he said, simply.

"You're welcome, Major," says William. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Major Parker just shook his head, looking up at the ceiling.

"Something's wrong, isn't it?" asks William. "I can tell. Whatever it is, you'll be able to handle it better with help. I can do more than just sort out paperwork. So can my friends."

Major Parker looked at William sharply. “Thank you,” he said, stiffly. “But I’m not sure unburdening myself to an American journalist is the answer.”

If you want to try one of your social skills, I’m happy for you to describe what you do and make the roll.

"I promise you that anything you tell me is strictly off the record, and I won't report on it," says William. "I've helped you once, and I can do it again. Also, my being an American is an advantage. I'm an outsider, and I won't be here long. You can tell me things that you wouldn't be able to tell your own staff."

Persuade roll (65% skill) to convince Major Parker to open up to me:
d%

“Thank you for your offer,” replied Major Parker. “But I think my superiors would prefer that I dealt with it in-house, if you understand my meaning.”

He stood up. “I’ll ask an orderly to take you back to your ward.”

"Very well," says William, "and thank you. I understand, Major. If you ever change your mind, my offer stands."