Barmaid, Bring a Pitcher

Posted on Mon Mar 4th, 2013 @ 4:06pm by Lieutenant Nick Marcinko & Commander Dae Nalas & Jono

Mission: The Struggle Within
Location: SB900 - The Wormhole Bar
Timeline: Current

* * * The Wormhole Bar * * *

Dae’s ten more hours had come and gone and upon his arrival, he’d been shown to his quarters. Upon inquiry, he was told that Admiral Hawke was unavailable, which was alright with Dae. It gave him time to see a little of the station, eat something non-replicated (which turned out to be a thick juicy steak), and then find his way to the resident den of rowdiness - The Wormhole.

The noise level was high as he strolled through the crowd, mostly laughter, good-natured arguing, not-so-good-natured arguing, some singing, a few wolf whistles at passing women. He claimed a seat at the bar and ordered Aldebaran whisky straight up, then turned to watch as a breathtaking brunette strolled by several feet away. She had curly dark hair and her tan skin and exotic looks got a whistle from Dae as well.

“I have been out of the loop too long if that’s what’s growing wild on the station.”

“That’s Marla.” Jono set a glass before Dae. “Wild but not free, mon.” He rubbed his fingers together, the universal sign of ‘pay as you go’. “

Dae smiled back at the man behind the bar. “Gotcha. Sometimes renting them for an hour or two is the best way to go.”

Jono laughed out loud as he moved on down the bar and Dae reached for his drink.

Nick paid the newcomer to the bar no mind at all as he continued drinking. He’d appreciated Leto’s offer for her extra room and used it, all the time wondering how a junior officer got a spare bedroom in her quarters, but shrugged it off for a later time. And, true to her word, she let him be without any bother. When he left he wasn’t sure if she was staying in her bedroom or if she had already gone out on her own, but either way, it was a decent night for him. But he didn’t feel right hanging around her quarters.

He’d gone back to his own but, since there had been several of these such sightings in the past day, science had taken over his quarters and wouldn’t allow him back in for a while. So, he’d gone directly to the Wormhole to drown his sorrows and had been there for over four hours. Contrary to his regular nature, he’d turned down several offers from the women for hire and just watched the shows, drank his drink and occasionally had a small snack.

“Jono!” he called. “What the hell, man? You said you’d keep the gin coming!” He slid the empty, blue Bombay Sapphire gin bottle down the bar, it stopping about six inches from the new guy, where Jono removed it and slid another one down. “Saurian brandy after this bottle, Jono. And don’t keep me waiting.”

Dae eyed the bottle, then the man, a slight smile passing over his face. He recognized the face from his service records, of course, but he seemed like a man on a mission and Dae was off-duty. He nodded to Jono. “This one’s on me, whatever he decides to have.”

Nick slitted his eyes toward the man as he looked at the bottle in his hand. “I have decided, fella’.” He read from the label. “Bombay Sapphire, distilled London dry gin. Best gin in the universe.” He didn’t like making new acquaintances, but the man did say he was gonna’ pay. “Jono, another glass. If he’s buying he’s tryin’ it as well.”

The tumbler came with two decent chunks of ice already in it and Nick poured both his glass and the new guy’s. “Okay, guy, have at it. If you don’t like it, don’t be a pussy. Drink it anyway.” He then lifted his own glass in thanks.

Dae raised his glass to Nick and drained the gin down. “Best part of a martini without all the fuss. saves time.” He set the glass down with a happy sigh. “Oh yeah, I’ve been out in the woods way too long. The swill on Cestus III kills your tastebuds after a while. Hit me again.”

“Dammit,” Nick thought, “he bought it for me to drink but now he wants to share.” He curled a lip as he poured a bit more for him. “The only thing worth eating on Cestus III is Gorn liver. The rest of the planet is worthless as fuck.” He poured his own tumbler up and downed it all in one gulp, quickly filling it again.

“You can say that again.” Dae took a sip and nodded. “Even Gorn liver gets old after a while. And they have that one vegetable they put in damn near everything that tastes like sawdust and has about the same texture. I swore it off before it cemented my insides shut.”

It was rare to meet someone that had actually spent any time on Cestus III. Since it was one of those frontier planets in between Federation and Gorn space it could be a bit too rough and tumble for most folks. Suddenly, Nick had just a smidgen of respect for this guy. “So what the hell were you doing there?”

“Besides covering my ass and staying alive?” Dae grinned and finished off his gin. “That’s about all one does there, at least till they can find a way off that hell hole. It was a layover that lasted too long.”

Nick looked at him a moment, trying to figure him out then nodded once. “So, what do you do when you’re all up and dressed?”

Dae waved at Jono for the next bottle, but then his attention was caught by Marla, who’d stopped at a nearby table to talk. “I was debating a brunette with legs to die for on the trip out here. Other than that, I’m just going to see what I can dig up on the DQ frontier. It certainly will be a change of pace from the rest of the been there done that quadrants.”

“It’s definitely that,” Nick replied, uncorking the Saurian Brandy he’d instructed Jono to have as the next bottle. “So you just arrived out here, then. Have your own shuttle or planning on hiring someone on?”

“A friend gave me a lift on his way to take a vacation. I am betting that he’ll have his ass stretched out on a beach inside of a week and drinking out of glasses with those pansy ass umbrellas in them. What about you?”

“I don’t like the umbrellas,” Nick said, avoiding the question. “I prefer a more manly drink. Sounds like you might want to change friends.”

Dae shrugged. “He’s pulled my ass out of the fire more than once so I ignore some of his habits. Good guy, really. You can consider yourself lucky if there’s someone around who’ll do that once in a while.” Jono brought another whisky and Dae had a drink of it. “So what’s life like out here really?”

Nick was quiet for a few moments before he answered. “It can be exciting,” he said. “There’s quite a bit to do, I guess. But it can also rip your heart out and set the fucker on fire. So, be careful what you wish for out here.”

“Assuming one has a heart. Should feel like home then, I’m used to that.” Dae chuckled and set his glass down. He’d done his best to keep his thoughts locked down but he didn’t need to be a telepath to pick up on the angst and anger coming off Nick in waves. “I heard a rumour there’s been some excitement here lately.”

“Oh yeah? What rumor?” Nick asked him, still not sure of how he felt about him. He was growing on him, though.

“Regarding the CO and XO vanishing in a puff of smoke....or a puff of something. Some people at the next table were discussing it while I was having dinner.” Dae left it at that. For now, he saw no reason to reveal he knew one of those in question.

By now it had been common knowledge to everyone on the station that Rick and Li had vanished mysteriously. What many didn’t know was how or with whom. So Nick didn’t add anything to it. “Yeah, I heard about that one. Kinda’ strange how that happened. Seems like the whole station’s been working on finding a way to get ‘em back.”

“All depends on how they poofed, doesn’t it? Finding needles in haystacks can be a real pain in the ass, and tricky.” Dae passed his glass back across the bar. “Hit me again Jono. Figuratively speaking of course. Last time I said that, the guy took me literally. I got a new nose out of the deal though. What do you think?” The question was directed at Nick.

“Of your new nose? You got robbed.” Nick finally showed a miniscule smile.

“You think so? Then you should’ve seen my other one. Before that is. This is a miracle considering what was done to it. You’ve gotta love modern medicine.” Dae drained his glass and set it down for more.

“Yeah,” Nick said. “It can make you an entirely new person.” He looked at the glass in his hand, thinking back over the past month and what all had happened in that time. Emptying the glass and slamming it on the counter, he stood. “It’s been great, fella’. But, uh, I just remembered that I have to be somewhere.” And then he did something he hadn’t done in ages. He put his hand out. “Nice making your acquaintance. The name’s Nick. I’m usually around if you want to have a few drinks after your find your beach buddy.”

“Nick.” Dae shook his hand firmly. “He’s gonna be gone a couple of months at least. And I’m Dae, pleased to meet you. You can likely find me here anytime.”

A brief shake and Nick turned to go, but stopped. “Here ya’ go,” he said as he handed the bottle of brandy over. “You can finish this off.”

Not waiting for a thanks or even a nod, he turned to leave, thoughts of last night, the night before, the future and, in general, just his life swimming through his mind. He didn’t want to be around anyone, much less some fuckin’ new guy, thinking about his relationship with Leto. What he needed to do now was shoo the science nerds out of his room and get some more sleep.

After watching Nick depart, Dae turned back to Jono and handed over the bottle. “Why don’t you save this for him for next time? And leave that tab open. He gets to the point he is wobbly, you call me and i’ll come take care of it.”

Jono stashed the bottle away, then turned back to Dae. “And who might you be, mon? Why should I call you?”

Dae’s smile returned. “Because I’m his new department chief. Lt. Commander Dae Nalas.” He shook Jono’s hand. “And I want to make sure this doesn’t get out of hand. I also want to make sure you keep this to yourself. I’ll make it worth your while.”

Now it was Jono’s turn to smile, a smile that was blinding white in his dark face. “You got it. Welcome to 900.”

“Thanks. Now....tell me about her.” He nodded in Marla’s direction, then leaned in close as Jono began to talk.

*******************
Lt. Commander Dae Nalas
Flying Under The Radar For Now

MCPO Nick Marcinko
Drinking the Blues Away

Jono
Co-Conspirator