Chat Over Drinks

Posted on Thu Apr 25th, 2024 @ 1:55pm by Lieutenant JG Thivi & Civillian Samuel Wynters

2,427 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Mission Interlude Starbase 76 & Serenity
Location: Patty's Loft

ON:

Between taking care of her staff, the ship's crew and the new arrival in sickbay, Thivi knew she had to take care of herself as well - without which she would be of no use to anyone. That was an inalienable fact. Therefore, after her shift for the day, the head nurse had handed over her shift to her deputy and told her to only comm if things were on fire - which she knew they understood well, of course. She'd been only too happy to strip off her uniform and flop onto her bed half dressed for a few minutes (not that Thisbe was around to see it, mind, the poor young thing was probably overwhelmed) to enjoy the cold air against her skin, and would've been content to stay like that for the rest of the day... but of course, Thivi wasn't that kind of person. So, she'd dressed up in something comfortable and gone out to make use of her night.

The Loft was rather crowded - not surprising given recent events. Thivi made straight for the bar and smiled at the handsome young man tending it. She had no idea when the ship had taken him on, but she wasn't about to complain at all. "I'll have one whiskey sour, please." She requested. She wanted something with a little more kick tonight.

Samuel had just finished helping another customer, when the young Kelpian female sat down at his bar. After hearing her request, he took a moment to consider her. Then, a soft grin in his face, he shook his head. "No. That's not the drink you really want." He paused his right index finger. "Hold on, I know just the thing." He then got to work behind his bar, grabbing bottles and mixing different colored fluids with the grace of a expert showman. He'd flip one bottle in front of him, then toss another up behind his back, catching it in front and pouring the fluid he wanted.

Thivi smiled as he got to work. "It must be hard, listening to the woes of everyone who sits at these stools." She commented. "Whether you're the listener or overhearing by accident."

"Not really, listening to people is second nature to me. You could say, it's what my people are known for." He grinned again, as he grabbed a glass, lifted it above his head with his right hand, released it to roll down his arm, behind his head, down his lowered left arm and into his hand. Spinning the glass in his palm, he dipped the rim in some clear liquid, then in a dish that contained a pink, gritty powder. Lacing the glass on the bar, he tossed the mixer the had been filling, cracked it open and poured the golden liquid inside. Sliding it over, he smiled. "Try that."

Thivi watched the display with great amusement. "How long have you practised that, dear? A few centuries?" She joked as she picked up the glass of golden liquid. "Though, of course, knowing your people, you probably have. I would expect no less." She lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip - and a rich taste almost akin to a high-quality caramel instantly assaulted her tongue. It warmed as it hit her throat. "Oh, my goodness. This is delicious." She noted. "What is this drink?"

"I've done a few different things over the years." He grinned as he watched the Kelpian enjoyed the drink he had just made for her. "It's had a couple different names, depending on where it's made. Back on Earth, at this little bar I visited in Michigan, it was called a Detroit Dart. Farther south, around Dallas, Texas, they called it a Poison Dart."

"I'll have another, right after I've finished this one. Thank you, sweety. I think you've made me my favorite drink so far!" Thivi placed the glass on the counter. "I've not caught your name, actually. You probably already know who I am - there is really only one of me on board, and quite frankly I am the only one of my species on board as well. Surely some of your customers have talked to you about the Kelpien head nurse?"

Samuel nodded slightly. "While I have only been here a short while, I have heard some things that the crew talk about when they come in for a drink. As for you, Miss Thivi, I have heard about you. And my name is Samuel. It's a pleasure to meet you." He extended his right hand in friendship.

"What do people say about me, pray tell." Thuvi shook the offered hand. As far as she knew she was friendly and welcoming to sickbay and did her best to make her patients feel comfortable whenever they came in - she knew that there would always be naysayers, of course, but as to what they might say about her in that regard... now that was interesting.

After releasing her hand, Samuel shook his head sadly. "Sorry, young lady. What I hear stays with me. Bartender's Code of Honor. If I were to blab about what people tell me when they are having a bad day, that would ruin the trust that everyone deserves when they walk through my door. However," he smiled softly. "I can at least say that I have not heard anything negative."

"Well, that's a relief!" Thivi chuckled. "Not that I mistreat my staff or patients in any way, of course. Tell me, Samuel - how long have you been at this specifically? Bartending, I mean."

"Total, or recently?" He asked as he finished cleaning the tumbler he used to mix the cocktail in.

"In total. You must be centuries old - the fact that you've learned to put on a show with such flair for your customers suggests a great deal of practice." Thivi suggested. "Twenty years, I'd wager? Or more?" He could've said one hundred and she wouldn't have found it strange - bartending was an art centuries old, after all.

After taking a moment to think of his answer, Samuel finally replied. "I'd say, off and on. About a hundred years, plus or minus a decade or two. And as for my age, I like to use the Human saying: I'm old enough to know better, but still too young to care."

"So you have had practice. Plenty of practice. Enough to put on that perfectly curated little show for your customers. You must've been quite popular before coming to Starfleet, I'll bet." Thivi commented. "Do they also comment on your looks? Surely some must have. I wouldn't pin you for older than... oh, twenty-five? Human terms?"

Samuel nodded as he replied, being playfully vague. "I've kicked around a few places in my time." He then chuckled softly, revealing perfectly straight teeth. "I'm not gonna lie, I've had my fair share of compliments over the years." He then made a face of approval as he continued, "Mmmm, that's probably a fair assessment. At 468 years, by the human calendar, I'm not even middle aged yet for my people."

"You and your people are so fascinating, you know. Your long lifespans and wealth of life experiences, far more than most of us will ever possess in our own lifetimes." Thivi placed her glass down on the bar with a clink. "I'd love to hear some of what you've experienced. And hopefully have another drink while you're at it." She added with a playful wink.

Samuel chuckled softly as he grabbed the mixer and a bottle. While he still gave a show, it wasn't quite as elaborate as the first one. As he started to build the cocktail, he said, "Pick a year."

"2374. The height of the Dominion War." Thivi responded. "Were you bartending for Starfleet even then? Those times were dangerous, far more than you and I live in at the moment."

Taking a moment to think back, Samuel finally replied. "Twenty-three-seventy-four...ahh!" Be chuckled softly. "That was during one of my traveling phases. During the war, I was part of the crew on an old Bradford Class cargo tug, the SS Bora Bora. I was actually her Chief Engineer. As we were a civilian vessel, we were part of the emergency relief fleet. We teanpieted foodstuffs and medical supplies to the planets and colonies that ended up caught in the middle of the fighting." His smile faded as he remembered the war.

"The worst one was Betazed. Those poor people were hit hard by the Dominion, their beautiful world heavily scarred. I can still hear their cries of pain when we were helping them." He shook his head sadly. "I think the worst part was how they had been forced to dig up buried abilities, that they had been evolving away from, to fight back against the Dominion. Many of them succumbed to the stress caused to their minds and bodies by the use of their ancient mental war skills."

"And what happened to them?" Thivi could only guess. Insanity, extreme mental strain and a few other types of medical backlash she couldn't name off the top of her head, surely.

Shaking his head slowly, Samuel seemed to be haunted by what he had seen. "The lucky ones? They died quickly, painlessly. Most from massive aneurysms. The ones that were a little stronger," he sighed sadly. "Their minds were destroyed. Some became vegetables, others raving lunatics. Those poor people and their world that was once so beautiful...." he simply shook his head again, as if not wishing to discuss the subject any further.

Thivi's lip curled sharply as Samuel told his story. When he was done she looked a bit like a cat that wanted to spring up and run away, but she stayed in her seat nonetheless. "It must have been a nightmare." She murmured. "For them. And for you. A beautiful people ruined by what they had to do out of necessity."

He nodded slowly, then took in a deep breath and exhaled. "Thankfully, they are rebuilding, both their home and their way of life. I imagine, in probably the next hundred years, the scars will be well on the road to recovery."

"Betazoids are a resilient and extremely adaptable people. I'm sure they might just surprise you." Thivi replied. "Well. Perhaps it might be time for us to move on from this topic, do you reckon. Tell me, mister Samuel - have you met anyone who particularly grabs your interest? In any manner, of course."

That question caused Samuel to grin knowingly. "Oh, there have been a few over the years, possibly even closer to today."

"Tell me more?" Thivi leaned in closer. "Surely you must have encountered a great number of peoples - which I'm sure even Starfleet itself has not come across even now. Have you?"

Samuel searched his memories to see if he had. "Possibly. I did once meet the Ruspollians. They were a sentient gaseous group of lifeforms. They communicated through mathematical computations, transmitted in a form of Morse code through flashes of light that they generated inside their forms."

"Wow. I wonder if the Federation has made first contact with them yet - or Starfleet, rather. I can only imagine how interesting it must be to communicate with them, if a bit tiring." Thivi chuckled. "Imagine having to do complex mathematics in your head to interpret what they're saying. Was that what you needed to do?"

Samuel shook his head as he replied. "I doubt it, as it occurred when I was young, around eighty years old. They were on the verge of evolving and leaving this dimension of existence for another one."

"Ascending? Wow," Thivi smiled. "That must have been quite an honor, to see them before their great change. I'd like to meet one someday - assume it's possible of course."

Samuel nodded as he replied. "It really was. Even as old as my species is, they were older. As far as meeting one, I don't think it'll be a possibility, as each member of their race has left this plane of existence."

"Oh, well. I can only hope, I suppose! What else have you seen?" Thivi asked. "Anything else interesting?"

Samuel grinned. "Enough about me for now! Tell me, what have you seen that has changed how you see the universe?"

"Well. Several things. Some of them not so pleasant." Thivi replied. "Some of the things I see in sickbay, for example - it seems that even after centuries of development men of all species still like to stick their... well, you know... into places they shouldn't." She added with a chuckle. "Or there are the few humans - yes, humans - who wilfully survive on coffee and nutrition cubes and nothing else because they want to finish something so badly it consumes their entire being. It makes me wonder if there's an element of underlying psychological issues there, you know?"

Samuel nodded thoughtfully, then replied. "If I may speak for the male gender as a whole this one time...I think it's just our deep-down, instinctual drive to, well, propagate." He grinned slightly as he continued. "I know I've certainly had my fair share of women, who were not the same species as I am." He took Thivi's empty glass and cleaned it as he continued. "As far as the humans go, I agree that they are an interesting species. They have come a long way in a very short time. Did you know that they are the youngest species to achieve warp power? It definitely speaks to their inner strengths. But of course, that same drive also tends to burn them out very quickly. Perhaps someone could write a paper on it one day?"

"There are many, many papers out there, I'm sure, by anthropologists from all races and affiliations." Thivi replied. "I read one when I was in the Academy. Though none of them posited that men in general work themselves to the bone to seem more attractive to women." She added with a grin. "Perhaps there should be an actual clinical study on that, hm?"

Samuel dipped his head and grinned. "That certainly sounds like it could be an interesting study to perform."

For the next hour or so, the two discussed one topic after another, until finally, Samuel convinced Thivi that it was time to head home.



~OFF~

Lt. JG Thivi
Head Nurse
USS Astrea

&

Samuel Wynters
Proprietor, Paddy's Loft
(NPC - Spello)

RSS Feed