I do Mind, Actually

Posted on Sun Jan 3rd, 2021 @ 8:43am by Crewman Apprentice Talee Malena & Lieutenant Commander Yivliph Ra-Gruvloveii

1,189 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Into the Unknown
Location: Starbase Unity

=/= Begin Log =/=

...still in her simple yellow jumpsuit as she walked out of the airlock and back onto the station. Going left she was heading for a bar frequented by the stations dock crew; cargo handlers, shipwrights and even security officers that are assigned that patrol, it was just the right amount of dingy that felt like home for Talee.

Letting out a sigh of relief when she stepped into the dimly lit dive, "welcome back crewmen," the bartender called with a small smirk on his face, "what can I get you," the bartender asked finishing up making a drink. Shaking his head as he started making another drink, a Boomer speciality a Corpsegrindah, "...here you go, your usual Boomer swirl," he said chuckling.

"...damn pinché Earther," she muttered as she grabbed her drink, and moved to a small booth, making sure that she could see the entrance. {...is this my life, looking over my shoulder, the inability to trust anyone that's not a Boomer or hell a Martian,} Talee thought, as she took a sip of the extremely bitter drink.

Dressed in the bright colours of Efrosian fashion, Yiv luxuriated in the feeling of being out of uniform, if even for a short time. With the Ontario docked, he had every intention of making the most out of their short layover. Finding a dark and dingy bar that seemed to be popular with other spacers from the station, he stepped inside, walking into a wall of smell. Sweat, beer, and what he could swear was a sour undercurrent of despair.

This was a real place he decided. Walking to the bar, he held up a hand, 'a beer!' The barkeep looked him up and down, then nodded. Yiv probably oozed Starfleet to these people. Not that he was trying to hide it. Not this time anyway. Having received the signal that his credit was good, the bartender drew him a pint that looked more froth than liquid, and was probably watered down.

Yiv was delighted. He nodded his thanks, picked up the pint, and turned to face the room, looking to see if he could find someone interesting to jaw with for the evening. Never drink alone, he thought, one of the cardinal rules.

{Great, Efrosians,} Talee thought, thought not as bad as a Vulcan, but still a dull species, at least in her eyes, but for some reason he looked familiar, and the oddest thing was the beer he had chosen to drink.

Scanning the bar he saw a pale-skinned human woman who seemed slightly familiar. He racked his brain. Logically speaking, anyone who's passing familiar must be from the Ontario. Yiv decided to try his luck, and approached the long-limbed lady's table. He flashed a smile and raised his free hand in greeting, "I hope I'm not being impertinent, but you seem familiar - you serve aboard the Ontario by any chance?"

{Fake, cheerful or...,} Talee thought, {god, I am a bitch,} she thought which brought a small smirk to her face, "...was just transferred," Talee said as she realized she was just not in the mood to play with anyone, "you?" Now that was surprising she usually never followed up with any kind of question or anything.

"Just finished my first tour with her - glad to get into port," Yiv was quite happy to admit that, "nothing like stretching your legs during some shoreleave, eh?" He pointed at the seat opposite to her, "may I sit down?"

Talee just nodded, {does this Efrosian think he is a cowboy or from the old-south on Earth?} Talee thought finding him very odd indeed, but she knew she couldn't alienate everyone, thought she wished she could sometimes. "Crewmen Malena, engineering specialist," she said keeping the introduction simple.

'Lieutenant Yivliph Ra-Gruvloveii,' he smiled at the younger woman and taking his seat, 'but you can call me Yiv if you'd like.' He raised his pint glass and mock saluted her, 'engineers are the backbone of the fleet, but don't let anyone from Ops hear me say it.'

The Efrosian was unsure of the woman. Her short answers indicated that she wasn't really in the mood for company. But in for a penny, in for a pound, as my old Cee-Oh used to say, he thought to himself. He'd spent enough time sulking on his maiden tour of the Ontario, and he'd not made enough of an effort to connect with people. That would have to change, he had decided.

"You are not a typical Efrosian, are you?" Talee said bluntly luckily she was gonna be able to blame it on the drink, though she was not drunk, not even close.

He blinked at the blurted question. Momentarily lost for words, he covered it up by taking a long sip of his awful pint. 'I, well I,' he stopped and took a deep breath, 'I'm typical of mostEfrosians.' He shrugged, 'I took the Starfleet cultural classes, and not everyone appreciates the more, uh, unique aspects of Efrosian society, so I try to be sensible about it.'

Talee shrugged realizing that it was just gonna be awkward dealing with the Efrosian mannerisms, and speech patterns, "didn't say you needed to be sensible about it, I don't know...you shouldn't need to be sensible or hide your true-self," she added simply.

'It's necessary for harmony, you might say,' replied Yiv with a grin, 'traditionally in Efrosian society the male of the species is expected to produce as many children as possible. Therefore it's considered an insult if we're not actively flirting with a female of our species.' He shrugged and concluded dryly, 'it seems humans, and many other species, don't quite enjoy the same sensibilities when it comes to attached partners In the main, however, you're right. Not being able to express one's essential characteristics can damage oneself. Now you said you'd just transferred?'

"Yeah, I was a crewmen on the USS Ganymede, a old trawler, had a spat of trouble, that got me demoted to crewmen apprentice and transferred here," Talee said finishing her drink.

'Oh,' replied Yiv, taken aback for the second time this evening. He took a swallow of beer, 'what was the trouble, if you don't mind me asking?'

"Well seeing as it is my business, I do mind," Talee asked with a snarl, and without warning she got up and left, {...really, really this is how you are gonna start this off,} her inner voice said in her head.

Nonplussed at the reaction Yiv drained his pint. Curious, he thought. The Efrosian sat back a moment and considered the interaction. Perhaps I should look into this trouble myself. Never know when it could come in handy. He got to his feet and made his way back to the bar. On the other hand... 'Another pint, please?'

=/= End Log =/=

Lieutenant Yivliph Ra-Gruvloveii
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Ontario

Crewmen Apprentice Talee Malena
Structural/Environmental Specialist
USS Ontario

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