The Tipple Trifecta

Posted on Thu Nov 16th, 2023 @ 4:52am by Lieutenant JG Nayisa Wrea & Dominic Lowell

Mission: Character Development
Location: The Lounge, USS Athena
Timeline: Before "Liar Liar, Part 1"
3074 words - 6.1 OF Standard Post Measure

Some things never changed.

Whether it was the mound of red-tape required to secure something as simple as a one-way passage to civilised space or the more complex documentation and interrogation that occurred once you attempted to convert the first request into something a little more permanent, if there was one consistent it was that everyone needed someone to clean glasses. Forget the necessity of having staff to pour things into the glasses in the first place; that aspect was considerably more glamourous if you didn't have the experience to realise how much it wasn't. What was really lacking were applicants for the lowest rung, the guy that collected the empty glasses and then squirreled them away to the back room to emerge sparkling for the next round. The proverbial foot-in-the-door.

Nic had used it time and time again to get his entire backside through the door.

He had been surprised, when first setting out from passenger quarters in search of food and company, to find the main bar manned by what conversation eventually revealed to be commissioned personnel. Apparently it had become a bit of a thing, something about the Command Team being a little reluctant to involve too many civilians in a warship's daily shenanigans. As with any instance where the initial response was likely to be 'no', Nic had very quickly formulated a spontaneous desire to transfer his official status from freeloading deadweight to contributing citizen with no real explanation for why working on a starship suddenly seemed so appealing. A chaotic trajectory, like a piece of tumbleweed caught in a draught, seemed mostly a conscious choice, however, and at the very least the man couldn't be accused of lack of tenacity. Even if it was only for a few months, they clearly needed him. He was currently restacking glasses into the shelves.

They could thank him later.

Ugh. Nayisa ran her hands through her hair as she approached the lounge. After the ship got reassembled, she spent the better part of the afternoon helping round up pirates before retreating to the office to do all the debriefing work. It was so mind numbing that she was practically out the office door by the time the report saved to the computer. As she got closer to the lounge, she spotted some burn marks on the wall, lingering confirmation that pirates had been rampant in this area at one point.

The doors to the lounge hissed open. It wasn't that occupied just yet, surprising since it was the prime time for off-hours activity. Perhaps everyone was option for some time in the quiet confines of their quarters, where they didn't have to worry about other people. As Nayisa's eyes scanned the room, they paused at the bar as she recognized the worker there. So as not to disturb the current atmosphere, she silently walked over to the bar and took a seat. "What strings did you have to pull to get this job?" she asked in jest.

It appeared to be fate's cruel sense of humour that destined Nic to lose all sense of coordination in the presence of a single, solitary Intel officer. Certainly his first impression hadn't been the most graceful and now, caught unawares whilst over-extended to reach some of the lesser-used glasses pushed right to the back, her arrival created the perfect opportunity to further solidify opinions regarding his poise. Nic didn't drop anything other than the cloth he'd been using to dust off the shelf, but he did stumble off the rung of the ladder just enough that his efforts to mask it came off as pantomime. Pausing where he'd landed, his weight leaning against both hands propped against the edge of the bar, the journalist-cum-bartender exuded nonchalance, an easy grin somewhat hiding the fact that he was a little out of breath from the sudden adrenaline spike.

"Your Ex-Oh is a reasonable woman." There was nothing about his tone that hinted sarcasm. "The vacancy was clearly present and I have experience out the whazoo."

Nayisa gave him a smile as she watched him save his face from a potential date with the floor. "I didn't know reporters also indulged in..." Her eyes briefly went to the glasses on the shelf and the cloth that had fallen. "... bar cleaning? How did you convince her that this was more worthwhile than putting the glasses in the replicator?"

A glance in both directions, which was entirely unnecessary given the lounge was empty enough to guarantee there was absolutely nobody within earshot, saw Nic leaned forward with conspiratorial glee. "Do you know how few people actually stop to question it though? It's like it's programmed into some primitive mass consciousness. As long as you look busy, patrons don't seem to give a damn what their bar staff actually do in between pouring drinks."

A huff of air passing as a brief laugh came from the silver-haired woman. "Fair enough. And what can I say, you fit the part. So," she rest her elbows on the counter and watched him. Her gaze was curious, trying to gather what she could about the man she met what, a day ago? "Why here? We could have dropped you off anywhere, so what's keeping you on the Athena?"

"Got bored." It was such a flippant admission that it almost seemed like a diversionary tactic, except that the amateur journalist seemed armed and ready with a follow-up justification. "That was the start of it anyway, your boss lady said it could be a week before we docked anywhere that might be a useful launchpad and, since I figured that would mean I'd spend most of my time in here anyway, wasn't any point staring at walls. Might as well pitch in." Comfortable where he was for the moment, Nic propped his chin up in his hand and continued. "Then it became blatantly obvious that you just don't have the personnel to run this place and I got to thinking, Starfleet. Warship. Not likely to get dull."

Nayisa knew he wasn't wrong. In her experience on the Athena, it seemed like it was one wild circumstance after another. "Yeah, the 'warship' component is likely why the civilian compliment is so minimal. Did the Commander ask of you anything in return? Like, I don't know, to not play Sasha or whatever you called that guitar in the middle of the night?"

An open mouth soon became a closed mouth, though whether Nic was actually affronted or just playing the part wasn't easy to tell. "We have an understanding," was all he would provide, which was enigmatic as hell and entirely misrepresentative to the arrangement he had nutted out with Zora. Interim employment, subject to review and not likely to extend past a few months. Nic had agreed under the assumption that he might not even want to be here beyond that and, should that not be the case, he had plenty of time to curry favour to avert it.

That was... vague. But vague seemed to be this guy's whole personality. Nayisa was still surprised at how incredibly non-responsive he was on the station, and she was pretty convinced by now that he was hiding something, or at the very least, only sharing part of the truth. But nailing him with questions wasn't the way to get answers. "She let you keep the guitar, right?" She asked, her brows raised in apparent surprise.

"Don't think the topic came up." An expression of partial innocence didn't even try to pass as sincere. A disarming smile followed, its capacity to rearrange his face into an expression that conveyed genuine warmth and humour more an unconscious blessing than an intentionally wielded weapon. Possibly. The jury was still out on whether or not Nic was capable of being that manipulative. "There wasn't a lot of opportunity for serenading, I'll have to rectify that."

Nayisa couldn't keep the sly little smirk off her face if she tried. "Most women like being taken to dinner first, before the serenading. It helps set the mood." She gave him a wink before looking behind him at the numerous options of alcohol. "Since this is now your domain, what drinks do you recommend for someone tired of writing reports all afternoon?"

"She'd probably eat me alive."

This flare of pragmatic realism arrived just in time to be a complete deviation, the derailment of his initial tangent towards an almost confidential invitation. So far, Nic had shown a capacity for turbulence in this way, which suggested at a surface level that he simply knew when to abandon a joke. Held up against his tendency to be completely evasive, however, it created a contradiction in behaviour that had no immediately explanation. He rose without further ceremony, however, and turned to face the selection of options.

"Are we talking 'by the regs' synthehol or 'Nic can you find me the secret stash and make it look like lemonade' contraband? Which there definitely isn't any of," he turned back with a wink. "On this fine, upstanding vessel with enough firepower to dent a small moon? Perish the thought. Some of it," he added, "looks kind of niche."

Nayisa gave him a brief smirk at his comment, believing with some confidence that Zora wouldn't be the one to accept an invitation to dinner, especially when the invite included anything not inherently professional. Executive officers were like that. "If you give me synthehol, we will definitely have a talk about your employment," she teased. "What options do you have in the 'not a secret stash'?"

Dragging over one of the stools, Nic climbed up onto it without a second thought and yanked opened one of the overhead cupboards. "Let's see; blue stuff, green stuff, reddish-stuff, probably call that brown, maybe puce..." A grimace matched his indecision. "On second thoughts, I'm not sure that's digestible. Some more blue stuff. Oh hey."

Reaching right back, he dragged out a half-empty bottle of no particular appeal. Pulling off the cap, he wafted it beneath his nose and immediately scrunched up his face.

"Ugh, that's a lot of aniseed." He wobbled the bottle at Nayisa. "Do my recommendations have to come with prior experience, because I have no idea what this is but I definitely think you should try it."

"Prior experience is boring. I like to live in the moment," Nayisa joked, watching him poke around in the cupboards. "Besides, if you do end up poisoning me, at least sickbay is nearby."

"Music to my ears," Nic declared, pulling down a shot glass as some sort of indication that moderation was not entirely missing from his vocabulary. "I would consider it a personal favour if you committed to living beyond the moment too, unless you have any tips for sweet talking the security department."

Nayisa gave him a wide --and not entirely joking-- grin. "I would love to see you explain to the chief of security why you poisoned her best friend." Accepting the shot glass from him, she inspected the innocuous liquid before giving it a sniff. The anise was rather strong, but it also had a vaguely sweet scent to it, so she brought it to her lips and drank it. "Wow, that's a strong flavor..." She blinked a little as the aniseed attacked her tongue, almost giving the sensation that it went numb for about a second. Pausing for a moment, Nayisa set the glass back onto the counter and gave him a smile. "Well, you seem to be in the clear, for now."

If there was anything more worthy of wearing the rest of the glass as an angered douse to the face than Nic's look of eager anticipation, it was the immediate frown of faint disappointment that followed. He was in no hurry to hurt anyone but the reaction was still decidedly unexciting for a bottle of non-descript black-stuff with no visible best-buy date. Picking up the bottle, he examined the half-worn label again and then shook the remaining contents. "Doesn't seem worth the bother trying to hide it."

A swig of his own, poured from a grandiose distance to avoid contamination, became a fine example of personal investigation for approximately three seconds. The bulge of his eyes, followed by the slam of the bottle back onto the bar as he doubled over to avoid spitting what was left of the mouthful all over his nicely cleaned bar, became the immediate precursor for several accusations regarding misleading information.

"That..." His voice was hoarse. "...is vile."

It took all of Nayisa's willpower to not reveal how revolting the shot was, and she burst out laughing when he nearly choked on it. "It is quite vile. I like anise, but not that much." The aftertaste was still burning her tongue, so she added, "it might be a good idea to have water on standby, if we're going to play roulette with the stash."

Still struggling to control competing reflexes, trapped somewhere between the necessity to breathe and impulse to cough, Nic tapped his hand several times against the bar as the only available means of agreement. Two hastily poured glasses of water appeared, though one very promptly disappeared as the bartender downed it in several gulps and then added minor drowning to his list of current complications.

Stretching prostrate, his open palms creating a pitter patter against the wooden polish, Nic buried his torment doubled over until a sudden rush of adrenaline born of a mixture of oxygen deprivation and pure alcohol saw him whip upright suddenly and pose unintentionally, a slightly swaying paragon of beleaguered triumph. He whirled suddenly back towards the open cupboard and clambered up again, returning this time with a bottle in each hand.

"Red stuff," he set down the one in his left hand, "and green stuff." A thoroughly energized gaze met Nayisa's. "Dealer's choice."

Nayisa drank a few gulps of the water set in front of her, using one of the mouthfuls to dilute the aggressive anise flavor in her mouth before swallowing. The two bottles in front of her, Nayisa looked between them as she played a mental round of 'eenie meenie miney moe' before pointing to the green stuff. "I won't tell, but how did you get these aboard?" She asked with a little grin.

"I didn't." An increasingly familiar grin of disarming confidence made short work of any attack of conscience that might have been derived from that admission. "There was very much an entire cupboard of what I assume is forgotten trouble. Or it could be your captain's private stash," he added, still unperturbed. "Though why he'd keep it in the lounge, I don't know. Worried someone might raid his quarters and get the wrong idea, perhaps."

There was nothing but absolutely radiating innocence about the man's jovial speculation.

For a moment, Nayisa studied the man carefully. There was no way his words were a coincidence. It sent a shiver down the back of her neck to consider how he had learned of the break-in. He wasn't around when it happened, so he certainly couldn't have spied on her, and unless Didrea was talking about it with others, the only other person who vaguely knew of the assignment was Sam. The moment's hesitation was enough time for a hint of tension to reach her shoulders, and she nudged her glass a little closer toward the green bottle to draw his attention away from her before he would notice. "Anyone who decided to raid Kane's quarters would have to be a fool for trying," she said, ignoring the self-burn her response came with.

Every aspect of the bartender's reaction seemed intent on taking that on board as a reasonable point. Circumspect, his features crumpled in concession, Nic nodded as a bob to either side and then hunched his shoulders with hands spread in exaggerated defeat. "Then, I don't have a working theory. I guess someone on board is employing the hide-in-plain-sight mentality. As far as I can tell, that cupboard is basically functionless otherwise."

Pouring the green stuff came with a little more caution and a skerrick of mistrust that coaxed an eye-level examination of the way it swirled independently for a moment even after the glass was full. Rising slowly, Nic used an index finger to nudge one of the glasses towards his drinking buddy. "Ladies first."

"Aw, come on, I went first last time," Nayisa complained jokingly. Grabbing her glass, she did a thorough inspection of this one as well before gesturing for Nic to take the first sacrifice to the taste buds. She was relieved that, if he did notice her tension, chose to not question it. "Whoever hid these in plain sight is losing out on one hell of a tasting flight, if the first one was as... unique as it was."

An exaggerated grimace didn't improve Nic's looks, and the dip of a pinky finger into the liquid didn't elevate his bravery rating either, not with it dangled over his expectant tongue as if the anticipation of even a single drop was unparalleled torment. Impatience saw him wiggle the finger, which scattered several droplets and provoked such a dramatic back-and-forth waggling of his tongue that the resulting pantomime seemed surely orchestrated. Seconds later, sudden introspection forced a reconsideration.

He paused, circumspect, and then picked up the glass to take a sip.

"Nope, nope, nope. Still awful. It's mint. It's minty. That's minty."

Nayisa boo'ed him for his reaction. "Come on, if I could handle a full shot of liquified anise, you can handle a full shot of liquified mint." She gave him a grin and held up her own glass. "On three, unless you're a coward," she joked, absolutely trying to egg him on.

Suddenly the epitome of regal disdain, Nic pulled himself up to full height, stared at his adversary for a moment of scowling resentment, and then mustered the last of his dignity to lift the shot glass to his lips.

"At least, when I die, my breath will smell amazing."

A chuckle came from Nayisa as she mimicked him with her own shot glass. The minty scent burned her nose, and for a fleeting moment, she regretted challenging him to this drink, but she wasn't going to back down now. "Three, two, one!"