Star Trek: Starbase 777

In popped Ziegler, one hand nestled in the other, both behind her back. She slowly approached the counter, and seemed to spend an unnecessary amount of time blankly staring up at the menu as she waited to be addressed.

"Why, welcome to my bar, miss! How may I be of service to you?" He asked as he walked alongside the bar to stand opposite of her, cleaning his hands with a towel as a warm smile resided on his face.

“Hm, yes, thank you,” Shannon nodded, turning to face the barista and bowing her head lightly in greeting. Her arms crossed as she gave the response a moment’s thought. “Well, a drink would be good, no? Your choices are numerous, but dare I ask for your specialties?”

"Depends on what you like, miss. I've got sweet coffee, bitter coffee, soft taste, strong taste. It really depends on what you prefer and how well-known you are with the taste of coffee." He said with a smile, leaning on the counter as he tossed the towel in the back.

"Not very, I'm afraid. Coffee is coffee, on most ships one would be hard pressed to find more than replicated coffee," she explained, shrugging, "a soft taste, bitter - hold the sugar. I'm not as much an addict as many of my colleagues, you see."

"Sounds like a cappuccino to me!" He said with a grin before getting up and walking to his coffee machine, whistling for a moment as he started to work on the coffee. "So tell me, miss. What brings you to this fine station?"

“An assignment by Command. You don’t really have a chance to ask ‘why here’ once the decision is made,” she responded, her head turning to follow Xander as he moved away. A moment of silence was noted as she focused on sound of the coffee machine at work, before she continued, “I could ask you the same question, couldn’t I? The other stores don’t look nearly as... hm, fresh, shall we say, as this one - you are a new arrival as well.”

"My mother was an interior designer, she taught me how to make a shop look fresh and then also make it keep that look." He said with a chuckle as he started to work on the milk. "But I got here because my shop back on Earth finally got a proper replacement owner, so I decided to open a second establishment over here."

"Mm," Ziegler hummed, shifting her arms slightly against one another, mostly in an act of uncharacteristic idle fidgeting. "Planetside too boring for you? Safer, definitely, than here. Might I ask why this Starbase of all others? What were your other options?"

"My other option was America! So that was a hard pass. So I simply settled for this one. A lot more people transit through here anyways, it's good for business." He said with a smile as he picked up the cup of coffee and handed it to the lieutenant by putting it down in front of her alongside a small coffee cookie. He had standards, after all. "And one cappuccino for the miss. Enjoy."

“Perhaps best not to ask why, hm?” Shannon said, lightly, as a half-joke. She was curious, but apparently afraid of where that line of conversation may go. Taking the cup with both hands, she took a cursory sip from it and nodded with approval. “Well, it certainly does taste like coffee. How much am I being set back?” At that, she sat the drink down and moved one hand down to her pockets to fish for latinum.

"A cappuccino is 2 strips. Quality has a price after all." He said with a smile, cleaning one of the cups with a towel to make it shine just a tad more.

“I wasn’t about to complain,” Shannon reassured with a coy smile, and a tilt of her chin towards the left. Eventually discovering her stash of latinum, she retrieved two strips and left them on the countertop, hands exchanging them for her cup. “I don’t suppose you’ve happened across anything interesting customers yet?” she asked, offhand, taking another sip.

"Truth be told, you're my first one. Everyone - for some odd reason - decides to go to Gliqqigug's instead. They don't even give new shops a chance these days anymore!" He said as he threw his hands in the air before picking up the two slips with a nod and smile, putting them in the small cash register he had behind his bar. "Like, seriously. Back in my old town we gave everyone a fair chance. Owners from other bars visited my place and I visited theirs and we all had a laugh. Here? Looks like pure competition to me."

"Strange. Starfleet seems to run on caffeine. Though I would not surprised if most have simply gotten too used to the more convenient option," she commented, taking another sip. "I'll be sure to recommend this over the replicators should the opportunity arise. In the meantime, perhaps a foray in marketing could be beneficial?"

"Marketing? Do you have any idea how expensive that is?" He said with a laugh, shaking his head. "No, no. I'm not marketing anything. I simply have a poster on my window saying I use actual coffee beans that I import from Earth and that's that." He looked at the woman with a soft smile.

"Understandable. Perhaps you could charge three strips instead to afford it," Shannon offered, mostly in jest. Accepting now that the cup of coffee was sufficiently cooled down, she took a long sip from her drink until the cup was emptied. She placed the cup back on the countertop between them. "Mm, very good. I suppose I should provide Gliqqigug's a fair chance as well. Would you care for a report the next time?"

"No, it's fine. I'll visit it myself one day and see what they're all about." He said with a smile as he picked up the empty cup and put it in a dishwasher tray.

"Be sure to wear a disguise. Wouldn't want your drink poisoned by the competition, now would we? Safe trading, now," she finished with a greeting, already starting for the exit. A wave in Xander's general direction was given as she trailed out, hands withdrawing into her pockets.

1

he entered the bar and took a seat

Namika entered. She was a relatively short, slim woman. As she looked around for a free seat, her narrow eyes swept over the nice interior design of the place. She spotted a Catian not so far away on an otherwise free table, and she approached. “Hello. Would it be impolite to ask if I can take a seat?”, she said. Her voice was slightly raspy, as though she had a sore throat. Speaking of, the girl was still procrastinating on her physical. Don’t tell Mo. Or the medical staff.

1

he looked up to the Women. Just slightly anoyed by the fact, that she didn't just take one of the free tables. One fast look at her uniform told him the rank of this person"Sure"he gestured her to take a seat on the Chair, that stand next to him

She pulled the chair out and sat down. She’d only come to sit because she desperately needed to be friends with people who weren’t her old roomie or the literal Station Commander. And thus, she needed new social contacts. “Thanks. I’m Namika Grey by the way, nice to meet you Ensign…?” She looked at him expectantly.

he scanned her with his blue eyes."My name is T'kata",he introduced himself."I only saw you on the corridors. What is your position in your Division?" *the Caitian asked quitly.

Xander spotted the two new customers and walked over to them with a bright smile on his face, honouring that "All Dutch people are polite" stereotype. He had an image to keep after all. "Welcome to the Barista Bar! How can I help you this fine afternoon?"

Before responding to the barista, Namika answered T’kata’s question. “I’m a pilot. Helmsman aboard the Eventide, but I just do shuttle runs at the moment.” Unfortunately. She didn’t add that though. She looked up at the barista with a bit of a smile. Very small, practically unnoticeable. “Hello, yeah, I think I’d like a cup of coffee. Black. With sugar.” The she looked at T’kata, for she was sure that the Ensign would like to order as well.

he answered the barista first "Hello, I would love a cup of apple tea" he overheard some other peoples on the way in, that this tea was tasting really good, so he did wanted to give that tea a chance. After that he turned back to Namika. "Oh, this sounds so interessting!" he admitted "I am an Investigations Officer."

“That also sounds quite interesting,” she said to the Catian. Then, she looked at the barista again before the man went away. “Oh, and, I saw your certificate,” she said to Xander. “Is it possible to get some hash cookies? For takeaway. I don’t wanna get high in uniform.”

"How many do you want?" He asked with a warm smile as he wrote down the order in a small notebook. "I sell them by the dozen, but I can give a smaller package if you'd prefer that?"

“I’ll use them up eventually, give me a regular package,” she responded with a smile that exposed her dimples.

he just looked around. After all the Barista had a licence to sell hash, right?. He thought, just a little unsure. He waited his turn to talk "Mind if I ask, what are those hash cookies for? In general I mean"

“They’re either to take my mind off of my ex boyfriend, or they’re for when I need to relax, or they’re for when my old roomie visits and I need her to stop talking so much,” she said bluntly, returning her attention to him.

"Alright, but that isn't exactly Medical use!" he claimed. "Though I understand your reasoning" he said, looking to the barista "Could I see that Licence of yours, please?" the Caitian asked politly. He just wanted to back check on that.

"It's on the wall if you're interested." He said, nodding towards the picture frame on the wall, and within it was a license. And with that, he walked off to get their orders ready.

"My bad, didn't saw it there" T'kata claimed.

“Yes, it’s not medical use. I’m very aware. However, I think it’s fine as long as you know your limits. Same with alcohol,” replied Namika to T’kata as the barista left.

"If you think so, suit yourself" answered T'kata "Mind if I ask, why ex boyfriend?" he said in his cold tone.

Namika waved him off. “We broke up. No hard feelings.” Except for an immense amount of guilt and confusion and fear of being alone. “It happened very recently, so I’m still a bit shaken up, but whatever.” She tried to change the subject. “You’re Catian, aren’t you? I think you’re the first Catian I’ve met on this station. What brings you here to 777?” Probably not some ex boyfriend, that was for sure.

he listened to every word. "Sorry to hear that"his voice was still cold. He was a little surprised by the sudden change of the subject. "Well yes, I am. Oh, I can a sure you, there is at least one more apart from me"he said, a little smile was seen. But the next question let it fade really fast. "Before I was deployed on the Station, I served on an Spaceship" that is all he said for now. If she wanted to know more she had to ask.

She sensed that he didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about his previous posting. So she didn’t ask. “There’s more Catians on the station? You’ve met some?”, she asked with interest.

he smiled. "It is hard to not meet a roommate. Her name is Ensign S'tera"He claimed "How did you came to 777?" he asked the question, she had just ask him.

“Because of… a friend,” she said. God, that was pathetic, but she really didn’t want to go into detail. “You said you were intelligence, right? Is your division busy currently?”

the Caitian ears twitched, by that answer. "Close enough, Security" He corrected her "No, we are currantly not that busy. Just have a meeting with my mentor scheduled"the Caitian answered

“Ah, you signed up for the mentor program? Who is mentoring you?”, she asked — as if she knew people on this station. Pffft.

he looked at her "Yes, I thought I give it a try." he said, looking around "My mentor is the Chief of Security, Lieutenant Voxelus"

“So, you’ve not met her yet, if you’ve got a meeting scheduled?”, Namika guessed. She wasn’t opposed to learning more about the crew.

"We actually did ones, on the constabulary corridor!" he said calmly "We just have to get started" he meant. "Didn't you sign up for the program? " he asked the most interessted he could.

“No. In hindsight, maybe I should have, but…” But? But she still thought about leaving the station and filing for a transfer every second day or so, and it was therefore unwise to get attached to any mentoring programs. However, that was just a subconscious reason for why she hadn’t signed up. “I saw it and then I kind of forgot about it, and then it was already wrapped up.” She shrugged.

"Alrighty then." He said as he walked back over to the table. "One coffee with sugar for the lady." He said as he put the cup down alongside a small cup of sugar so that she could dose it to her liking. "And an apple tea." He said as he put the cup down in front of the Caitian. "Your cookies are behind the bar, I'll hand them to you after payment."

“Thank you, that’s perfect,” said Namika with the smile and took some sugar. Not all the sugar. She was a caffeine junkie, but she didn’t have a sweet tooth.

he was elsewhere with his thoughts. He only heard the last part of what the person next to him said. The time he was about to answer, the barista joined them once more. "Thank you",the Caitian said politely."That is somewhat sad!",he answered Namika.

“Yeah, I guess. But I have a feeling I’ll get to talk to enough senior officers to pick up some advice and experience anyways; even without the mentoring programme,” she told him, sipping on her coffee. She closed her eyes for a moment, savouring the taste. Hm. Perfect. So much better than replicated coffee. Sometimes Namika thought that if she could marry coffee, she would. “After all,” she continued her sentence, looking at T’kata again, “I’ve already met the Station commander and the XO of the Eventide.”

The Caitian took a sip of the tea. It tasted sweet, not like the usual drinks he would drink. However he just loved it the same. "That probably comes with your position",he looked up from his cup and into the others eyes."Oh, really?",his ears turned to her direction, the Caitian wanted to make sure he heard every single word."I wished I did",he sights exhausted.

“He’s nice. The Station Commander, I mean. He’s pretty cool. And Commander Styre is… well, Vulcan I guess.” She shrugged. “But definitely also an interesting person to talk to. And hey, you might still meet a lot of them! I think Captain Mo tries to be present and around a lot, meeting people. He’s not a social teddy bear, but he does try not to be an invisible entity in the background.” She noticed that she was talking as if she really knew him. Which was ridiculous. They had met like… four times? “Anyways, it’s not like I know either of them very well. But I’ve crossed their paths. Did you just transfer recently or have you been here awhile, T’kata?”

2

The Caitian was listening to every single word"I'm never sure how to react around Vulcans",he claimed, listening to her description of, said Vulcan. He wasn't sure what he should think of it. The greyish brown Caitian made himself a little more comfortable in that chair."Depends, I would say a short while. I just like to hold myself in the background",he admitted.

“Understandable,” said Mika, answering to both of his statements. “Vulcans are tricky, but I’ve always gotten along quite well with them actually. As long as you stay professional, it’s no trouble. And awkward silences aren’t a thing because they don’t have the emotional range to find silences awkward, or so they claim.” She smiled a little.

T'kata laughed a little. "Mhh, then the awkwardness of that silence would just be one sided. That would make it even weirder!",he laughed at his own comment. After a few seconds he drank from his tea. "To be honest, I never actually talked to a Vulcan."

“You should do it then,” said Namika with a shrug, taking another blissful sip of coffee. “It can be fun, and it’s usually educational.”

the Caitian took a sip as well"I will try that.",the Caitian took another sip."This apple Tea actually tastes good, you should try that next time, you are here," he looked around, trying to find a reason to expand their conversation. He liked the company."Mhh, if you still want to know the story how I was deployed on the station, I think I am ready to tell you about it," he just said a little too cold for his own liking.

She raised her eyebrows and made a mental note to try the tea soon before she said, “If you’d like to share, go ahead.”

He just had the feeling he should share that story with someone, who could be everyone at the time being. He wasn't sure were to begin, so he decided to start at the importent point. "I served on the USS. Sol, as an Investigations Officer,"the Caitian took one last sip out of his cup, a painfully long one. "The Crew was great, we had our fair share of adventures, discoveries and friendships. The usual business actually,"he clearly tried to stay strong. Tryed to stay behind his facade, he build up in those few moths. "But as always the good things never stay for long." the Caitian took a long breath. After a few seconds which felt like a few minutes for him, he continued. "So that one day we got attacked by an enemy ship. I don't remember, which one. Anyway the attack caused our ship to explode."another long pause, before he was able to continue. "Most of our crew was saved, my only best friend.." suddenly he stopped sopping, unable to continue the story.

Namika’s brain finished the sentence for her: ‘my only best friend died.’ She had listened carefully with a small frown. Now she gently put down her cup of coffee and carefully considered her words, “It’s terrible to loose people. Even though the risk is part of the job, it’s still… It’s still terrible. I hope for you that you can eventually let go of that pain, T’kata.”

T'kata heard her voice as some kind of echo in his head. Prisoner of his own thoughts once more. After a few minutes he was listening again. "I try my best, but it is hard to actually do so",he admitted.

“Maybe you should seek out counselling,” she suggested. Because really, she wasn’t qualified to give life advice. She was currently wrecked by a breakup that she’d partially initiated and she was avoiding her physical and she was clearly not in the position to tell him how to deal with his issues.

2

"I probably should," he seemed slightly annoyed. "again." he wasn't sure if that would help, the last time on earth it did not at all. "Who is the counselor on board?" the Caitian asked, maybe just a little bit to harsh. He didn't planned on sounding like that, but he did anyway.

Namika didn’t take any offence in the harsh tone. “I have to admit, I don’t know,” she said, “I try to avoid any kinds of doctors. But I’m sure they’re alright.”

The left ear of the Caitian slightly twitched. "Mhh, I try to ask one of the Medical staff if I see them," he shrugged it off. "probably they are," he meant. The caitian looked around. "What is your opinion about the station and the working staff?" *,he asked, to reviev that conversation once more.

“I haven’t met too many people yet,” she admitted, “Since I haven’t been on here for very long now. I’ve found most of the crew to be pretty reliable and efficient and rather nice, though.” She hesitated. What did she think of the station? This posting wasn’t at all to her taste in many aspects, truth be told. However, was she ended up saying was, “And as to the station, I don’t really have an opinion yet.”

"the same with me." he yawned a little. "I think I should take a nap ",he looked tired. "see you around" with those words, leaving the bar.

1

Ava smiled. It was great to find someone who could match her own enthusiasm. “What kind of milkshake do you want, Elwyn?” She checked out the menu.

Elwyn looked around as she entered the bar, her eyes filled with quizzical joy, before looking back at Ava with a smile. "Oooh.... What about cookies and cream? What kind do you want?" She asked enthusiastically.

“I think I’ll pick banana and chocolate,” said Ava after a moment of consideration. She looked around the room. “You wanna pick out a table for us? I’ll order in the meantime,” she said and got in line to order.

"Okay!" Came Elwyn's cheerful-as-ever reply, before heading off to go find a place to sit. It wasn't long before she found a nice table for two with a view for people watching. It was perfect!

Ava stood in line and then ordered and paid for both of them. Elwyn didn’t have to wait for very long. The half-Vulcan was soon coming up to the table, setting down the two glasses. “There you go.” She sat down opposite from Elwyn and pulled her own glass towards herself. “I’ve never been to this bar before, but Mika says it’s good. Then again, she’s probably not tried the milkshakes, she runs on coffee exclusively.” Seriously, ungodly amounts of coffee.

"Thank you!" Elwyn said as she took her glass and immediately took a sip, her eyes sparkling with yet more joy at the flavours she was experiencing. "Who's Mika?" She asked curiously. She hadn't met many people yet, and that name was unfamiliar.

“Oh, just an old friend of mine. The one I visited today,” explained Ava, “Namika Grey used to be my roommate on my old posting. She’s a shuttle pilot on this station now.” She took a sip as well. “Hmmm! This is great!”

"It really is! I've always liked milkshakes! I have one on my creation day every year. Me and my Pa always got one on that day, and we've kept that tradition going even when we're not together!" Elwyn said with a smile, before having a bit more of her shake.

“Oh, that sounds very nice!” Ava took another sip of the sweet drink. Yum. “Does he visit sometimes?”

"He hasn't yet, but I'm visiting him tomorrow! I haven't seen him since I graduated! Aaaah, I'm so excited!" Elwyn exclaimed, practically bouncing out of her seat with excitement.

“Ah, that’s great to hear! I hope you have fun,” said Ava and grinned warmly. “Where does he live?”

"Wales, on Earth! I'm Welsh!" Elwyn said with a grin. What had neglected to have been mentioned earlier was she spoke with a Welsh accent. "It's really nice there! We have sheep!"

Ah, so that’s where the accent was from. Ava hadn’t been able to place it. “Oh, how cute. I like animals,” said Ava with a smile and sipped on her drink. “Elwyn, can I… ask you another question? A question about being an android?” She raised her eyebrows curiously.

"Oh, sure! I don't mind questions! You're nice anyway, and I especially don't mind questions from nice people!" Elwyn responded with a smile, before taking another sip of her milkshake.

Ava’s smile was soft and she nodded, grateful that Elwyn thought of her as a nice person. “I’m glad. You’re nice, too. I’ve been wondering… you’re so cheerful and expressive. How do… how do your emotions work?” Her brown eyes narrowed a little with interest. Since she herself sometimes still struggled with her high emotionality, emotions fascinated her.

As Elwyn thought about Ava's question her smile slowly faded, her mind focussed on trying to find a good answer. In truth, she had no idea. "I... don't really know, to be honest. They just sort of exist, like anyone else's, really!"

Ava found that somehow even more interesting than if she had explained anything about the tech behind her emotions. “Oh, so you also get feelings that overwhelm you sometimes?”, she asked excitedly.

"Yeah! Joy, excitement, anxiety, sadness, anger, everything!" Elwyn responded, her level of excitement matching Ava's perfectly. "I'm basically like anyone else! The only difference is that I'm not made of biological flesh parts!" (edited)

Ava nodded. “Makes sense.” Then she took another sip and smiled, “You know, I find this really fascinating, actually. Can I ask how old you are?”

"I'm 20! I turned 20 last month, actually! I got a little fast-tracked through the Academy because I could basically memorise anything they told me. They sort of let me go through at a speed that suited me more, so I ended up only being there for three years instead of four. Not to brag or anything, of course! - I would've been quite happy going through at the same speed as everyone else! I found the training very fun, so I really wouldn't have minded! I think the people in charge just sort of wanted me to complete my training as soon as possible without cutting corners because Starfleet has had struggles with recruitment recently." Elwyn responded with a smile. She genuinely didn't want to seem like she was bragging. She had no idea why she was fast-tracked, but she sort of assumed it was because she was an android, and that Starfleet wanted to have another in the fleet to either prove a point, or to just have another useful officer that (hopefully) wouldn't make many mistakes. (edited)

Ava nodded. “I understand. Must be practical to get so much knowledge in your brain at such a fast pace. Then again, I totally agree, the Academy is great! Especially for making friends and such. I really enjoyed my time there,” she said. “What made you join Starfleet in the first place?”

“Oh, a recruitment officer saw me playing sports at my highschool and thought I’d be a good candidate! He wanted to get me into the Academy early when I was fifteen but I decided to wait until I was sixteen like everyone else before joining!” Elwyn explained with a smile.

“Interesting,” said Ava and tilted her head slightly. She wouldn’t have thought that she’d be in security. She didn’t seem the type, as funny as that sounded. And yet, here she was. Curious. It made Ava curious. “I think if I had an android brain, I’d download all the fish facts there are,” she joked, “And then I’d become the queen of fish knowledge.” She laughed. It was a melodic and giddy sound. “I don’t know if that’s how it works.”

“I can download information! I just rarely do. I prefer learning it and memorising it naturally!” Elwyn responded with a grin, before taking another sip of her milkshake.

Ava listened and sipped her milkshake as well. “I see. What made you go into security?” (edited)

“Well, I wanted to help people and keep people safe, so Security sort of made sense for that! The other divisions sounded fun, but when I heard about the Health and Safety Inspector position I knew Security was right for me!” Elwyn said with a smile.

“I see.” A warm smile settled on Ava’s face. Austin was a bit like that, too, always wanting to look out for people. A noble goal. “It’s good to know we’ve got people like you keeping an eye on us,” she said.

“Aww, thank you! But if it’s reassuring, I haven’t found anything concerning so far! This place was well looked after even before I got here!” Elwyn said with a smile.

4

“That’s good to hear.” Especially after what Austin had told her. Honestly, Ava had her doubts about there being ‘nothing concerning’. She knew about the sec 31 thing. But she supposed that they wanted to keep that low key and probably the Ensigns, such as Elwyn, didn’t know about it anyway. Yeah, that had to be it - or Elwyn was a very good liar. In any case, Ava nodded. “It is a nice station, isn’t it? Very big.”

“Big? It’s huge! It’s amazing! Have you been to the Environmental Ring? There are so many plants here! In space!” Elwyn exclaimed excitedly. “There are so many things to see and do, and so many people to meet!”

Ava chuckled. So, this was how people felt like when she was having one of her bursts of enthusiasm, was it? Yeah, Ava could imagine now. “You’re right. I have been on the environmental ring, it’s very impressive. Soothing place. I like to meditate there, and pray.”

“I like watching the animals go about their day!” Elwyn said with a smile. “Especially the birds! They’re cute! All animals are cute! The people too! Watching them, that is. Not to say people aren’t cute! People are cute!” They added with a grin, before drinking some more of their milkshake.

“Eh. Some are,” said Ava with a smirk and sipped her shake. It was already half empty. “Fish are cute.”

“They are! Have you seen the koi pond? It’s amazing!” Elwyn asked with a smile, her milkshake now officially half gone as well now. At this rate she’d want another.

“I haven’t! But now I need to check it out,” said Ava decisively. “Where is it?”

“The Environmental Ring! It’s one of the ponds there!” Elwyn replied with a grin.

“Oh, I haven’t visited the lakes and ponds yet,” said Ava. At least her roleplayer couldn’t recall doing any rp in those channels… Ava then drank a large gulp of yummy milkshake, leaving her glass almost empty it left a bit of milkshake on her upper lip, like a mustache.

As she saw the milkshake moustache Elwyn couldn't help but giggle "You've got a moustache!" She exclaimed happily, before taking another sip of her milkshake. Unfortunately, it didn't give her a moustache as well.

“Does it suit me?”, asked Ava and wiggled her eyebrows.

"You look very dapper!" Elwyn replied in what was an attempt at a posh voice, trying to keep a straight face as she did, before ultimately bursting out with laughter again.

Ava laughed as well and then wiped away the moustache with a napkin. “You know, you’re really funny!”

"Am I? Thank you!" Elwyn responded happily and appreciatively. "You are too!"

“I try,” said Ava and chuckled. She drank the last of her milkshake. And the roleplayer lost all capacity to think of things to ask Elwyn.

It was around this time that Elwyn ran out of milkshake as well, feeling a tad disappointed about that fact, but said disappointment being completely cancelled out by the fact that she had, as far as she was concerned, made a new friend! But were they? After a brief moment of silence the young Ensign thought it best to ask. "So... Are we friends? Do you want to be friends? It's okay if you don't, but I'd like to be!" Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes.

“Oh, sure we’re friends! You’re funny and interesting and you like fish, I don’t see why we shouldn’t be friends,” said Ava with a grin. She was quick to call people her friends usually, unless they really gave her Bad Vibes. “I enjoyed this! We should meet up again sometime. I could show you my fish!”

"I enjoyed this, too! And I'd love to see your fish, and to hang out more!" Elwyn exclaimed happily. "Thank you for this. This was nice. Really nice! I didn't expect to do this today, and I like unexpected nice things! I'm really happy we're friends!" They added with a warm, happy smile.

“It was a pleasant surprise for me as well! Here, let me give you my PADD info, so you can contact me,” said Ava and then she did just that.

"Oooooh, thank you! Here's mine as well!" Elwyn did the same. She 100% guarantee had a friend! She had a milkshake with a new friend! This was amazing!

4

Ava was happy as well. Maybe a tiny bit less enthusiastic than Elwyn. Which was funny. She’d rarely met someone with emotions stronger than her own. This was really nice, actually! “I’ll make sure to contact you, or you me,” she said and then after bidding her goodbye, the two new friends went on their separate ways.

3

Elwyn waved off Ava with a big smile, feeling very, very happy about everything right now. This was exactly what she needed, and exactly what she wanted. She soon headed off to go back to people watching, but not before saving the staff at the bar some time by bringing both milkshake glasses back to the counter! Perhaps she'll make another new friend in this big starbase! It was definitely not impossible!

1

3

"Not yet, how does it compare to Romulan Ale?"

"Spicy." Rinne replied. "And very strong indeed."

“We’ll see.” She muttered a bit cheekily.

"Someone seems eager to try it. Think you can handle it?" Rinne teased, walking up to the bar counter and leaning on it with a smirk on her lips. "Two glasses of bloodwine, please and thank you, sugar. Have a seat, Am'el, I'll be with you shortly..."

She took a seat, grabbing her cup as she looked at it for a while, taking a small little sip.

"Well?" Rinne sat down next to her, peering at her Romulan friend over the lip of her own cup.

She hissed after a sip, almost wincing her face. She cursed in Romulan, before replying. “It’s great.”

"You don't have to continue drinking if you don't like it." She quipped, sipping from the cup with a content sigh. By comparison the spiciness and kick of the drink didn't seem to bother her. Hmm. "Do you?"

“Just not used to the initial sting, but it’s very exciting.” She chuckled to herself, before looking back to her colleague. “And people told me I was a good drinker.”

"Is that so." Rinne smirked. "Well. In that case. Maybe we could have a little contest. Not too much of one of course, I don't want to ruin our heads too much with booze."

“No money’s on the table, right?” She chuckled, she was enjoying this.

"No money, just getting you to relax, girlie. You up for it?"

“Yeah, I’ve got nothing better on my mind anyways.”

"Wonderful. Bartender, one more glass for each of us, thank you so very much." Rinne grinned and sat back in her seat. "So tell me more about yourself. I feel like I still don't know you at all, which is kinda sad."

“What’s there to say? Um, I was born on Tirivant, colony world, I later joined the Imperial Navy for a time. I was visiting home when the Tal Shiar…” She trailed off, not really finishing the sentence.

"Attacked it?" Rinne finished for her. It wasn't hard to guess from context - or her friend's discomfort over the topic.

“Yeah.” She drank another sip from her drink. She decided to open up a bit more, even if it would be very uncomfortable. “Remember that hologram you saw me watching?”

"Yeah." She replied. "What was it about?"

“It was a friend. She.. went out several hours before the attack and- I never saw her again.” She took another drink, this time taking much more of it.

"Oh. Oh, god." Rinne surged forward, taking the Romulan's hands in hers. "I'm- I'm sorry. I know what it's like to lose friends..." The Bajoran looked away, towards the ground. "...especially when it happens right in front of you."

“It wasn’t that I saw it. It’s that I never got to say goodbye. I mean- she could still be alive but- I doubt it.” She weakly smiled at the nice gesture. “I guess you know that feeling too.”

"I do, actually." She replied. "I really, fucking do." She let go to sip from her drink and raise her glass with a wan smile. "To lost friends?"

“To lost friends.” She bumped her glass, taking a sip afterwards.

"Atta gitl. Now you're relaxed, eh?" Rinne laughed and clapped her on the shoulder before adding, "So whaddaya do for fun?"

“Walk, that and playing the flute.” She looked back at the Rinne, who seemed to be quite jolly. “What do you do?”

"Spar on the holodeck. Drink. Socialize. Get around a bit." Rinne declined to elaborate on the meaning of that last bit. "But I'm working on a new wood carving of late. It's in my side of the room if you ever wanna look..."

“Sure, I’ll have a look. My uncle used to a carpenter.” *She took another sip again, however her face was more noticeably flushed this time. *

"Yeah. It's of this little ship my mother owned." Rinne's face became sour for a few moments, which didn't seem to be caused by the bloodwine she'd been sipping at the same time. "I liked it, but my mother never let me touch it. I tried once and she hit me for it."

“Christ. Did they do that a lot?” She continued sipping, though it seemed she didn’t get more red.

"For everything." She muttered. "Fucking everything. Every small mistake got me something."

“Well, how have you been doing without them?” She showed some concern for her, and while she was never hit, she understood the feeling.

"Bluntly?" Rinne smirked. "Fuck 'em. Don't care for them at all, haven't cared since I ran away from home and they stopped trying to get me back. Never looked back since."

“Hmm.” She had nothing further to say, but seemed to nod in agreement with the Bajoran.

"Lemme guess." Rinne downed her first cup of bloodwine, pushed it away and picked up the second one. They were still competing after all. "Your parents were shit too.'

“We have a lot in common, it seems.” She chuckled at this, still drinking her first cup.

"Hell yeah. To being rid of shitty parents!" Rinne beamed and held up her second glass of bloodwine.

She got a new cup, raising it and bumping it into her cup. She rather quickly drank this new one, it seemed she was starting to get tipsy.

Rinne drank a quarter of her second cup in a go before setting it down with a satisfying clink. "Woo! Good stuff." She drawled. "So. Why don't we, uh, play a game! What's that human game, two truths and a lie?"

“I’m all ears.” She chuckled, as she pointed to her uh, ears

"Wonderful. I'll start.' She set down her cup and loudly cleared her throat. "I have three siblings, I know how to cook a mean hasperat soufflé, and I know how to sharpshoot with a phaser pistol..."

“Three siblings.”

"Ding ding ding! Bingo." Rinne laughed drunkenly, head lolling on her shoulders a little bit. "I'll make you a hasperat souffle one day, promise. Think you can handle the heat?"

“As long as it’s not as hot as Hobus.” She chuckled drunkenly, her face was really red by now. “So uh- I’m straight, I have official citizenship on Vulcan, and I get around a lot.”

Rinne smirked and leaned on the bar counter. "Gonna guess the lie's which way you swing..."

“Which way do I swing?” She said with a rather smirked expression.

"Yeah. Just a wild guess.' Rinne giggled. "So am I right or wrong?"

“Bingo.” She said, as a cheeky grin grew on her face. She never really admitted her uh, preferences in public, but right now, damn if anyone care.

"So someone gets around." Rinne cooed. "Any particularly interesting encounters so far?" She reached over, nudging her roommate in the side.

“Oh shit, I put two lies.” Her face grew redder out of embarrassment, she made a fool of herself.

"It's fine, sweetie. You're fine..." Ri patted her friend's arm. "Uhhh. Perhaps we should head back? Before we do something silly?"

“I’m already fucking silly.” She blurted out.

"Before we do something stupid or something we'll regret, I mean." She laughed, looping an arm through the Romulan's. "Okie dokie, no more bloodwine. Ready to go?"

“Ready!” She giggled, following Rinne closely.

Rinne's gait was unsteady - it was a wonder that she managed to get herself and her roommate out the bar and onto the corridor.

1

Day went to a close for his work. He went to his quarters earlier but the boredom soon took over as his roommate wasn't there to talk with, probably was still on duty or went on to do some other things, Rudy couldn't possibly know that. He was then reminded by his PADD's dialogue that he was not on Quasar anymore, but on a Starbase, which had a whole commercial centre full of places to explore. He could use this time to get to know the starbase and the people living on it, and it would be good for them to know his face, even if it was just a few. So there he was, about to walk into the Barista Bar, a great place to mingle as he had learned back in his academy days. Rudy was wearing a casual look, a grey unzipped hoodie over a plain white shirt, a tan-coloured pants coupled with a pair of sneakers. Very 'earthly' look but what was interesting with his look was a small beaded bracelet with shining round beads all around. The colours were a mix of dark green and dark greys, it almost looked like the cracked surface of a planet. That was the only thing that stood out of him, like it was something that didn't come from his culture and how he usually looked. In fact it wasn't, it was a gift from a friend of his that he met just the day before. Anyways, came through the door he went straight for the bar and sat at one of the bar stools. The bartender came and he ordered a whiskey, iced. The walk was not that bad but he first refrained from looking around the bar for now so that he could enjoy the drink he had ordered.

Jayrehi sat down nearby, a cup in her hand as she sipped from a straw, her legs swinging like a little child. Despite the innocent appearance, she was heavily focused on her her PADD, which had some shuttle plans. It seemed like she was making hypothetical modifications.

The drink came, it was a shot of whiskey but iced, a single round-shaped ice that fit perfectly inside the glass, leaving no room for it to bounce around inside but enough to make it spin or go up and down. A single sip from the drink, the ice touched his lips and the whiskey gave it a sweet sense but the alcohol was there to give it a little punch. Rudy chose this time he would look around the place from where he sat. The bar was packed with people of all sorts, some were part of Starfleet, made apparent with their uniform buttoned or unbuttoned. Most of them here were crewmen, a few officers were present but it was mostly crewmen. Some were trying to mingle, some had brought their luck with them but some forgot to or just didn't have one to begin with. The sight made Rudy smiled in amusement, they were the young ones. His head came right back around where he sat, went past the person sitting right by Rudy but only a stool away, which wasn't really far. She was a trill, apparent by her features, but she was a Starfleet officer, the unbuttoned uniform and the rank on her collar gave it away. She was of Engineering, so to him she was an engineer. His sights came down to what she was doing, a PADD, but on it was some sort of technical documents. Rudy caught only glimpses of it but it seemed it was about a shuttle. Science fields was one thing he was good on, but mechanical was all the way off his understanding. "Are you working on a shuttle?" Rudy asked the Starfleet officer with a clear and casual tone. With the look he had on right then, he couldn't pass on the look of a Starfleet Officer or a Starfleet personnel.

Jayrehi stopped, as if a ghost had called her, before looking towards where she heard the sound. She laid eyes on Rudy, then realized the question he asked. “Oh!- um, yeah? Kind of…” she nervously giggled, it was clearly obvious she wasn’t expecting a social interaction, judging by her fidgeting leg. “I’m just working out some modifications, mainly to speed ‘n stuff, y’know?” She spoke with a quick, sing-song like tone, her northern english accent very much at the for front, you could even mistake her for a human!

It was quite an interesting accent she had, but he brushed it off completely since it wasn't really a point of interest, for now at least. While it was casual for him, it was not really casual for her, her way of presenting was a little off so it was absolutely her mind that got her where she was now. One wouldn't really need to communicate to do their duty well, after all. It certainly gave him something for him to say to her, something he had learn through his experience in handling cadets or those newly graduated ensigns. "If I may ask ma'am, how are you going to do that?" He probed, "I'm honestly quite intrigued by the way it works, you see." Intrigued to listen to and maybe intrigued gain a little insight, he had a very nasty experience with his shuttle in one of his away missions back on Quasar after all.

“Well um, right now I’m looking at what systems and components should be removed, and so I can make it faster. Truthfully, it’s a niche thing and these plans are just thought exercises for me. I find it helps a lot!” In her mind, she was hesitant on admitting she was doing a highly nerd-like project, but it was basically like drawing for her, and oddly nice. And despite her hesitance, Jayrehi liked to open up and talk, making friends was always exciting!

"Usually taking the heavy stuff out of the shuttle should, in a good amount of possibility, be enough to make it faster, like let's say the platings." Rudy was catching onto her positive attitude just because he thought it would be nicer if he was expressive, "But in a scenario where you need those platings, it would be bad for the crew inside.... I think." He genuinely thought of it that way, he had no experience in taking a whole shuttle apart and putting it back together. He did have experience in calculating trajectory of a shuttle though but that would be a far fetch from the inner workings of a shuttle.

“Yeah, that’s why I opted not to remove them, platings protect against a lot of things, greatly help with resisting space debris and I think some particles. I was actually thinking of reducing the amount of space at the front, and then heavily reducing the space at the back to only two beds and a small table. leaving more room for more complex impulse drive systems and a slightly larger warp core.” She hadn’t double checked her work, but she was somewhat sure she got it right. She did believe that many Starfleet vessels in the modern era had too wide and too tall corridors and rooms, even some senior officers quarters were more like houses than quarters. It wasn’t a big issue, but in a shuttle design for speed, she didn’t think much about free space.

"Those would indeed give it a quite a bit of boost," Rudy could barely if not at all speak engineering. He could not offer her advices nor could he offer her any arguement over her proposed redesign. If it was about science, he would shine even if it was a just a little, but he would definitely shine. Nevertheless, he could say this: "You mentioned, you're doing this only to train your mind on these technical thoughts. But why this specific type of shuttle? Why not make a way on formulating a completely new engine? It doesn't have to be revolutionary, it could be old technology put together to create something that was made for a specific set of events," he stood up as he was saying and sat down at the empty stool that was between them, making them closer, "say.... Emergency situations, being stuck inside a nebula, for an example." He said it as casual he could, taking another sip of his whiskey as he finished.

“Yeah! That’s part of what I’m doing, that’s why I’m focusing on what to remove first. Maybe it’s not how other engineers would do it, but it’s only a fun exercise.” she took another sip at her drink, was just chocolate milk really.

"Aye that's true, but in the sense of what I said, what if you create a workable solution for an emergency-" Suddenly, there was that distinctive sound of a commbadge, the little chirp sound coming from inside Rudy's inner hoodie pocket, "excuse me for one moment," he said to the Engineer. He took it out and wore it on his left chest over the hoodie. Rudy then tapped it as if answering a call from someone, "Lieutenant Hartley here, go ahead!" From came an answer shortly after, a woman's voice with a casual yet hesitant tone to it like the person was reluctant to bother her superior, Ah yes, it was the experiment he had, it was just a little bit of fun, he thought he wasn't going to take a good long walk after his shift but there he was. "Oh yes, Ensign, thank you, I will come to you shortly," Rudy replied with the casualness that he had from earlier yet was mixed with a serious intonation. He left the commbadge on his left chest, he took another sip before looking back to the Engineer with a wry slime across his face. "I'm sorry, where was I again?" He said, scratching the back of his hair with the wry smile. (edited)

“Something about a workable solution for an emergency.” she said. “Perhaps I should. Though It is already quite fast, in theory of course, I have no intentions to build anything yet.”

The last sip, the cold feeling of the whiskey mixed with the alcohol itself gave quite an interesting taste. He heard what she said, it reminded him of a project that did not really catch wind a few years ago on the Quasar. "Use the bussard principle if you are thinking about it, it's not really great if you wanted speed but it's going to help you by a significant scale if you're in an emergency." He then stood up from the stool, he gave the engineer a slight friendly smile before saying, "I'm sorry I've got to go, it's been nice talking to you, Ensign." With that he bid farewell to the young officer, he couldn't stay there much longer after that call from the lab.

[D] Aoife had spent most of the day moving into her new quarters. After hours of moving furniture, putting up pictures and unpacking her clothes she had decided to go and get a drink to celebrate her promotion. She wandered into the busy bar and snagged a stool at a quieter end of the bar. It took Aoife a couple minutes to flag down one of the busy bartenders but eventually she got her order in, a glass of Andorian Ale, the real stuff not the replicated kind (she could tell the difference). While she waited for her drink she began to reflect on her career so far.

[D] After he had finished the final touches to his new quarters, he decided to head over top the bar and reward himself with a couple of drinks to celebrate his promotion as well. After everything that had happened so far since he arrived to the station, he felt like it was all worth it. He took a deep breath as he arrived to the bar, letting the feeling of the new rank sit in before he entered and approached one of the stools in the quieter end as well. "Good Evening, Sir. Mind if I sit with you?" He greeted Aoife politely with a warm smile, still thinking of what exactly to get for himself.

Aoife was mid way through reflecting on her career when Paco broke her train of thought, something she was kind of grateful for as she was just getting to the worst part of her memories, Cestus III. "Pull up a chair Lieutenant." Aoife said, going with their rank since she didn't know this person's name. A moment after she spoke her drink arrived. She picked it up and took a small sip to start enjoying it's flavour.

'Lieutenant'... the first time he has actually been called that by anyone else besides the Captain which got him beaming with a grin. "Thank you, Sir!" Paco nodded before he sat down, deciding to request for a cold pint of Guinness from the bartender, a classic Human dry-stout beer. He never really drank that often anyway, so he had no preference if it was replicated or not... but this was a special occasion to ask for the real thing. "I'm Paco Umali by the way, how was your day so far?" He asked after introducing himself, hoping to get in some small talk while waiting for his drink.

Aoife gave a nod that said 'that's a good choice of drink' to Paco. "Nice to meet you Paco. My day's been pretty good all things considered, I got promoted earlier. What about you?" She said taking a sip of her drink, enjoying the cold burn and following warm feeling. She had really developed a taste for the stuff during her survival training on Andoria.

Paco gave a 'thank you' nod back to Aoife, his expression brightening up she mentioned her promotion. "Congrats to you, sir! I just got promoted as well! From Ensign to Lieutenant JG!" He said as his drink arrived, a cold black beer with its contrasting light-cream bubbles sinking from top to bottom. "To our new careers." he smiled as he raised his glass, offering cheers for their promotions.

Aoife accepted and cheersed with him! "Sláinte!" Aoife said before taking a gulp of her ale, sláinte the Irish word for health was often used when making a toast or taking a shot by Irish speakers, Aoife decided to break it out considering Paco was drinking a quintessential Irish drink, a good ol' pint of the black stuff. "How are your new quarters? I was only in the senior crew quarters for around a week but I thought they were pretty good. But I'm upstairs in the senior staff quarters now." Aoife for one was happy with the room to herself and extra space, however after so much time in the field and so many nights in tents, makeshift shelters and just sleeping under the stars she wasn't picky at all with sleeping arrangements. She remembered vividly using a smooth ish hunk of limestone as a pillow when she was marooned after escaping her Klingon captors in the wake of Cestus III.

"Tagay!" he happily said as he cheersed with her. It was the Filipino equivalent to 'Sláinte', meaning 'Shot' when translated. Paco took a good gulp of the black stuff and took in its flavor. Aspects of different cultures always surprised him, even human ones. "In all honesty, they're alright. The Senior Crew quarters are pretty much the same as the Junior ones, but with better common rooms." Paco said as he took another sip, he was glad he got a bigger work station as well. Other than that, it was mostly a roommate change. "But the replicators-" Paco paused as he took a sip of his drink "I've been at the senior mess hall for a week, and I feel there was a good shift in the quality of the food from there. Still doesn't beat the real stuff though." He placed his glass down. Paco never really was one for replicator food, something always seemed a bit off for him. But now, didn't know if higher ranking officers got better replicators or if he actually got used to replicated meals. He thought back to the Bajoran Pizza's and coca-cola he had during the whole Science Fair incident. It was really good Pizza.

"You can never beat real food, eat field rations for 15 days and you'll really start to appreciate a proper meal." Aoife mentally cringed at the thought of field rations. She hated those dry, foul smelling, tasteless excuses for a meal. She took another sip of her Andorian Ale, enjoying the alcoholic burn, they must have had a good bottle behind the bar. "So, what do you do around here?" Aoife asked, she had guessed science judging by his uniform stripe, but science was so broad you could never know what someone's specialty was.

Paco took a breath as he took in the flavors of the classic dark stout, very smooth with some hints of bitter and sweet notes. He couldn't imagine what kind of field rations she must've had for them to sound so horrible and just generally glad he wouldn't have to go through that. Yet again, he was planning to try Klingon cuisine at some point in the future for a cultural study, mentally cringing as well as he remembered that little thought to himself. Another sip from the Guinness helped him drown that thought down before he answered her question. "I am an anthropologist, I study cultures and how societies evolve essentially. How about you?" He asked, his best guesses being around command or tactical due to the red stripe. Maybe Command since they get a lot of promotion opportunities in general. (edited)

"Anthropology, neat. It's not really my kinda field but cool in its own way." Aoife said genuinely, science was cool but she never had a head for all of the theoretical work and paper writing. "Me? I'm the new ACTO. So second highest person in tactical, but by training in a field tactition, boots on the ground land engagements that kinda stuff."

"Oh wow! That's a big badass promotion right there!" Paco said with a surprised look and a smile. Aoife's line of work sounds pretty awesome, but Paco knew he wasn't the right type for it himself. His own experience trying to 'wrestle' Renakir would tell him so. "The captain must be feeling generous recently... how did you get the promotion?"

"The captain summoned and offered me the job, I said yes. The spot was open and I was the most experienced officer on the roster. I've seen my share of action over the years." Unconsciously her hand wandered to the scar on the back of her neck, Paco would be able to see it if he wanted to ask about it. "Being honest I thought he was going to court martial me for an incident during that whole ghost thing." Aoife was still surprised she was offered a promotion after assaulting a superior officer only days prior.

"Oh God, same! I thought I was going to get a straight reprimand for eating in the labs after the ghost thing was over. A summon from the Captain is a good scare, even if he says you're not in any trouble." Paco let out a light chuckle before he took another good sip of his Guinness when he noted the scar on the back of her head, which made him curious as he placed the drink down. "Say... If it's okay with you, I want to ask about that scar over there. How did you get it?" Paco asked out of curiosity, gesturing to the back of his neck as a way to be more subtle in pointing out what he was talking about. Trading stories sounded like fun, especially over drinks. (edited)

Aoife suddenly became aware of her wandering hand, she did it so often she had stopped noticing when it wandered. "You know, I've been aboard for like three weeks now and you're the first person to ask." Aoife was somewhat impressed that Paco had the balls to ask her point blanc. Aoife downed her drink, needing to loosen her tongue a bit before getting into war stories. She held her glass up high signalling to the barkeep she wanted another, an affirmative nod coming a moment later. "This was, around five years ago. I was a lieutenant junior grade on the USS Lir. This was during the Klingon war. We were ordered to Cestus III, it's a horrible, bleak planet with some federation colonies. There were one hundred fifty of us deployed planet side we had to defend a town while the civilians evacuated." Aoife's new drink arrived and she took another long sip. We held out for fifteen days. You have to understand, the Klingons they aren't just fighting. They revel in combat. They stop at nothing mercy isn't a part of their vocabulary, neither are the laws of war. There were twenty of us left on the last day, finally we got the order to pull back." She finished her second drink off in one large gulp, steadying her nerves. Her tone of voice was beginning to sound strained. The emotions of Cestus III were still raw, even after five years. "But, someone had to cover the withdrawal. I volunteered along with two others. We held our ground while the others went to the evac point. Our weapons had ran out of power packs at that point, we were fighting hand to hand. Brutal bloody work, the two who were with me, they were cut down by the Klingons. One of the warriors managed to get behind me and land a hit on my back, I passed out and woke up on a prison ship." Aoife stopped there, the horrors she endured on the prison ship were too brutal to say to anyone. "So, that's how I got my scar. Fifteen days of fighting. And they say I was one of the lucky ones."

7

6

Paco himself was surprised he didn't get slapped in the face for asking, but more so that she was able to hide it for that long during her time in the station. Guess it would be brought up at some point. When he watched Aoife down the rest of her drink, he mentally prepared himself for a good tale. However, when she mentioned the Klingon war, his eyes widened with surprise as he listened more closely to her story, taking a good few sips before emptying his glass while Aoife was telling it. He had heard stories of the Klingon war from very few of his relatives in the past, very few were willing to talk about the events they experienced. Those were mostly set in a Starships perspective either in direct combat against the Klingon vessels or in the Medical Bays were the most injured were wheeled off to after evacuations; this was the first time Paco heard of the events from someone actually in the ground fighting them. From the strain in Aoife's voice and her stopping at just regaining consciousness in a Klingon Prison Ship, he didn't need to be a telepath in order to know that this brought back a lot of strong feelings on her, almost regretting having even asked about it in the first place. As Aoife finished her story, Paco simply nodded, staying silent as he gave himself a moment to process his own feelings before he downed the last of his Guinness and requested a refill by act of raising his glass slightly to the bartender. "Well... you're here, and I'm glad for that." Paco said after taking a deep breath before his drink arrived, giving a nod of thanks to the bartender. "I knew some close family who died during the Klingon War, very few were willing to talk about it, so all I could say is thank you..." Paco tried as much as possible to choose his words carefully, the thought that a few years separated him from experiencing any part of that conflict for himself amazed him. Hell, he was still studying in the Academy during the war.

Aoife tried to avoid talking about the war whenever she could, but with captain Mo bringing up Cestus III earlier the memories were closer to the surface than normal. It felt good to get it off her chest. "Yeah, some of the things people saw during the war, they're hard to talk about." Aoife considered getting another drink but decided against it, not wanting to get shitfaced right after getting promoted. "I'd say you missed the war by what a year? Two?" Aoife asked, wondering when Paco was in the academy.

"I graduated from the Academy at around 2412, so yeah I guess 2 years sounds about right. For some of my cousins, their first postings were during the Klingon War." Paco answered after giving himself a pause to give himself time to do some mental maths before he took a sip of his freshly refilled Guinness as it arrived. The black stuff may be good, but it ought to be lighter compared to the Andorian Ale. Yet again, he rarely drank so he was a bit of a lightweight when it came to drinks, so maybe after one more round he would be good for the night without being shitface in the morning shift. Damn it to what the clocks call 'Alpha Shift'. "I've been here for like... 6-7 months now I think, I'm surprised that you've only been posted in here for 3 weeks. I assumed you were here longer than that honestly."

"Such is the way of things. My old ship, the Strasbourg was decommissioned a while back and they scattered the crew all over the place. You'll probably find you stay in a posting just long enough to start thinking of it as home and then you get new orders." Aoife shrugged, that was the life of an officer, always on the move between ships never really settling down. "I've got a feeling I'll be here for a good stretch though, considering the promotion to ACTO. It doesn't happen often that you just get handed a senior staff position. Senior officers tend to stick around for the long haul unless a promotion comes their way, but who turns down a promotion."

"I guess you have a point. Honestly, I would also take up a new posting if it had a promotion with it as well." Paco shrugged and nodded in agreement before taking a good swig of his drink. He took a deep breath as more of the alcohol settled in with him. Considering that 777 was established with the purpose of being a point of cultural exchange, Paco knew that he would be staying in the station for quite some time as well, being an anthropologist. Although, the thought of being reassigned had crossed his mind every now and then, looking back at how much of Starfleet was advertised as 'Explore the Stars!' and all that. "Wars aside, I would imagine it was so cool being in a Starship! out there exploring the... stuff?? I guess... With all the Starfleet adverts, shows, and holonovels, I thought I would be in one, but I was plopped here instead; It's just part of Starfleet I guess. Not complaining though, I love 777 and everything here..." He said with a soft smile with a light red across his face, letting out a quiet chuckle. "...Even if I nearly died twice..." He audibly said to himself, before he took up his good 'ol pint until it was at around half empty; the beer was very good.

Aoife shrugged. "I was never on an exploratory ship. I wouldn't say no if I was offered a posting on one though." Everyday life on a starship was relatively boring in Aoife's experience, not that things would be too different on a station. "You should pace yourself there bud." Aoife said noticing Paco was a bit drunk. "You should get some soakage into you, when did you last eat?"

"Hmm... like... this morning? I skipped lunch I think." It took Paco a little bit for him to piece the words together, finally figuring out what was that one thing he forgot to do after his shift other than keep hydrated. "Time is weird when you're in space..." Paco said, thinking back at his few accidental overtimes in the past. "So... you basically got trained to do the uhh - the army stuff, right? What was that like?"

Aoife hailed the barman and ordered a big bowl of chicken wings for the two of them, along with pints of water with ice in them. She thought some finger food would be best as to not make Paco feel extremely full on top of a belly full of Guinness, a notoriously heavy drink.* "You need some food Paco, drinking on an empty stomach, rookie mistake." Aoife said with a chuckle, she was no intent on making sure Paco didn't become totally sloshed. After seeing to food and drink, Aoife turned to answer his question. "Pretty much yeah, my specialist tactical training was based around ground combat and boarding actions, so close quarters phaser fighting, command and control, small unit tactics, advanced hand to hand combat, that kinda thing. I took all the survival courses I could in the academy too, those were probaly the most fun, and where I picked up a taste for Vulcan food and Andorian Ale. " She rattled off her academy training, since Paco took an interest. "That being said I'm still bridge trained fully qualified to serve at the tactical station on a ships bridge or up on the command deck. I wouldn't have been offered ACTO if I wasn't, why do you ask?" She asked curious.

"I don't drink often, so that tracks, thanks..." Once the chicken wings and water arrived, Paco let out a small 'woo' and a sigh of relief before he took a sip from the water and ate a wing the genius way whatever that may be. As Aoife rattled off about the things she trained in, Paco had a look of amazement a she took part of a few more wing. "Wow... That all sounds totally badass!" He said while pretty much drenching a wing in hot sauce, he took it without too much of a reaction. Even replicator hot sauce doesn't hit right, sadly; he also had good spice tolerance, so theres that. He took a few moments to compose himself, cleaning himself up a little and taking a good drink of water, before he answered. "I asked... 'cause there be a lot more fighting in Starfleet than I expected... and I wanna get better at it, I guess," He answered, pausing for a moment to request a refill on the water and a addition of Chicharon and spiced vinegar (Filipino fried pork rinds basically, but it includes the fat part of the pork belly.) "Like, we all had basic survival and self defense training in the Academy right? But none of that prepped me for squaring up against a Section 31 Rigellian Monster... and a shitty Hobus Pocus Ghost possessing my Reman Best Friend-Dinam-Bro - That shit's scary!" He paused for a bit, he would've grabbed the beer again but the bartender moved his new water so Paco would grab that instead - Paco didn't notice. "I-I'm 5'4; I'm short. And then one day, I had to stop my Dinam from marching to the Brig during the science fair while he was possessed. My brain thought 'Ooga Booga! Time for some Wrestle Mania Smack Downs!' and that went to shit, but I decided to continue that all the way to the turbolift. He's 6'5 and had a Romulan Water Disruptor Squirter Thingy! If the ghost fought back, I would've had my neck Vulcan-slammed! Thank Prophets that didn't happen..." Paco took a moment to breathe for a bit. "Sorry if thats a lot..."

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Aoife listened to Paco's story intently, she was more than somewhat impressed with how he seemed to hold up under pressure. "You definitely sound like you can hold your own in a pinch, the most important thing when you're in a fight is to believe in yourself. It doesn't matter who your fighting as long as you believe." Aoife grabbed a wing and dipped it in a buffalo dip, she never had much of a spice tolerance and didn't want to end up burning her whole mouth off. "Like look at me I'm five eleven on a good day and I've bested Klingon warriors in hand to hand combat. I didn't manage to do that because of my training alone it's because I believed in myself. Willpower can get you through anything, and I see a lot of willpower in you." Aoife paused to try a Chicharron, she enjoyed the salty and fatty taste from the pork belly, oddly enough it paired really well with the Andoiran ale. "If you want to learn more advanced self defence and survival skills I'd be happy to teach you, I've got a black belt in Karate and Judo and I'm fairly experienced in Vulcan Martial arts, as much as a human can be."

"Yeah... I believe..." He paused as he looked around the bar in semi-deep thought. "I believe I won't die! Starfleet strong!" Paco cheered out as he quickly leaned forward and back to grab his beer again, nearly falling over from his seat as he leaned back after he had the half empty pint of the black stuff on hand. He let out a 'Shit!' and a couple other curse words in his native tongue from under his breath as he steadied himself back on his seat before taking another good swig of his pint. The imortal words of 'I won't die!' would be stuck in his head, getting back that good vision of the rest of his future career in Starfleet, for now at least. Though hearing Aoife's height did make him feel that he was one of the shortest people on board, but he didn't really feel bad for it since it was kinda funny in retrospect. "W-wait, you're serious? You wanna train me in fighting shit? That sounds awesome! Hell yeah!" Paco grabbed a chicharon and dipped it in the spiced vinegar, enjoying the hard crunch as his mind partially felt like soup. "T-the next time shit goes down here, they gon' be slammed down harder than my ass in the cap'n's chair!" Paco laughed at the probably drunken image of him beating up Romulan Hobus Ghosts like he was the Mythbusters. After a bit, he eventually settled down to eat a couple more wings and chicharon for a good minute or so. He enjoyed having a drinking buddy. "I'mma blow up the Turbolift."

"Don't, don't do that. Last time I checked blowing up a turbolift is, uh, not ok." Aoife said bursting out laughing. Blowing up things was generally bad. It certainly wasn't a good way to make friends with the ops staff. Aoife gnawed on another couple wings. Aoife decided it was about time to turn in, she had her first shift as a senior officer soon! "When we're both sober, we should get together to train. But uh, I should sleep and you need to sleep the guiness off. You think you can make it to the turbolift on your own or do you want me to go with you?" Aoife asked considering Paco was more sauced then her. She didn't want him to end up getting lost or something.

"B-but thats where the the ghost lives!" Paco answered back as he laughed along with Aoife. If Turbolift 2 did blow up suddenly, it would definitely be a great day for Drunk Paco but a bad one for his Dinam and all of Ops. No regrets though. "Ahh... yeah cos we're promoted now... senior officers! a-and I'm-I'm in... Alpha shift... fuck..." Amongst the sauce of strong Guinness, hot wings, and fried salty pork fat, Paco finally realized that drinking had consequences as those two words came out of his lip. He was able to stand upright for a brief moment, suddenly feeling lightheaded and dizzy when he took a couple of steps and nearly stumbled over himself. "Umm... Go with Paco, please?" Paco both answered and asked her politely, reaching an arm out towards Aofie. He would definitely get lost wandering around the Delta module/section of the station; furthermore, Paco didn't want to be alone in the turbolift on the way back to Quarters.

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[D] With that Aoife took Paco's arm and led him back toward his quarters, signaling the end of a successful session!

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