Stronger still

Posted on Tue Sep 17th, 2019 @ 12:33am by Lieutenant Mica Rue & Ashe Zachariah

Mission: If You Like Pina Coladas
Location: Rotunda bar

The bartender approached the bar, brushing his rag across the shiny wooden counter. Before he could speak, the patron spoke up.

"Just give me something strong."

The man looked defeated. The barkeep put on a smile, putting both hands on the counter and leaning into them. "artificial or real?"

Selin raised his head and sighed. "Don't care. Just something that will give me a good headache in the morning."

The barkeep glanced at the open window. "Sir, it is morning."

Ashe had been sitting at the bar waiting for Aleksi when she found herself listening to the conversation between the two. She shook her head slightly, it was one she knew well, she'd had it a great many times, from both sides of the bar. "Give him a Spirytus Stawski," she said with a grin. "Straight up, no rocks," she suggested helpfully. "It'll either give him the headache he wants, or it will kill him. Either way, he won't be your problem any more," she finished with a wink.

Selin raised his eyebrows and looked over at the woman. "I appreciate the suggestion, though death may be a bit too far for this situation." he chuckled.

Ashe leaned forward, offering him a conspiratorial grin as she brushed rainbow coloured hair back from her face. "Then sip it slowly. VERY slowly," she replied with a light laugh before turning her attention back to the bartender. "Give me a Sumarian Sunrise, seems like a perfectly perfect morning drink," she said with a wink at her bar companion.

"Sure, you get the sunrise, I get the one no one can pronounce." he grinned, taking the drink from the bartender. "So," he turned to his companion. "I'm guessing you aren't here with starfleet."

"Well, I guess that depends on your definition of 'with'," she countered easily as she picked up the drink that had been placed in front of her. I'm Ashe," she said holding out one hand. "I run the Raging Deity on the Astraea."

Selin hesitated before shaking her hand, unsure of how to interpret the job title, though he recognized the name of the ship as his sisters new appointment. "Selin Rue." he lifted his drink to his lips, his eyes watering from the vapours. Still, he sipped a small amount, hissing at the bite of it. "Good." he nodded, putting the drink down. "So, what exactly does a 'raging deity' do on a ship?"

She held up her glass, took a sip and gave him a wink. "This," she said with an easy grin. "Raging Deity is the lounge, I run the bar."

"Ahhh," he chuckled to himself and lifted his glass again, taking a better gulp this time. "I hope that if I ever visit, you'll recommend something better than this." laughing, he put the glass down. "Tastes like something that my classmates and I would dig up before our parent's said we were allowed to drink."

Ashe laughed brightly and shook her head. "Ah, don't blame the bar tender for your poor choices," she said with a grin. "You were the one that asked for something to give you a headache this morning, and with how you're knocking that back, I suspect the headache is going to start aaaaaaany minute now!"

Selin wanted to laugh again, but in truth, his head was beginning to ache. He settled for a grin instead and asked the bartender for a glass of water.

"I suppose I should have been a little wiser in how I said it." Sipping from the water next, Selin noticed his tongue was either a bit numb, or the drink had literally killed every taste bud available. "I should probably sober up a bit before I leave - they'd kill me if they knew what I was doing."

"You want a headache cure?" Ashe asked with a smile before turning to the bartender. "Do you mind if I borrow your bar for a moment?"

Moving behind the bar, Ashe searched around for a few moments before grabbing a cocktail shaker and started adding ingredients. A shot of this, a scoop of that, a splash of something else and then two suspicious looking white pills that fizzed violently as they hit the liquid. Giving it a really good shake, she poured it a stream of dark liquid into a coffee mug and slid the half full mug across to him, followed by a glass of water. "That'll have you up and running a marathon within about ten minutes... unless of course you have a heart attack first..." She gave him a wink before she headed back to her seat and her existing drink, picking it up and holding it toward him. "Cheers Big Ears."

Selin looked suspiciously at the drink, tugging at one earlobe. "Big Ears?" he mumbled, nodding to the drink. "Is this gong to kill me?"

The bartender grinned, obviously enjoying his few patrons interactions. He grabbed the rag on his shoulder and started drying a glass. "Not today. It's safe."

Realizing his attention on his ear, the poor excuse for a drinking partner coughed, moving his fingers to his hairline, scratching. "I suppose if it does its job, I could always get drunk again later?"

He grasped the glass firm, downing the contents. Somehow he needed the strength to deal with his sister, but right now he suspected the level of drunk he had been heading toward was not it. "Big ears," he grunted again.

"Well, if the shoe fits," Ashe replied with a grin as she finished her drink. "So what is it that drives you to drink so early in the morning? Scorned lover? Boss from hell? Let me guess, you're with Starfleet?"

Selin dropped his hand back to his water, amazed at the growing number of glasses around him. Not that many were alcoholic but... "None of the above, actually." he took a sip and crinkled his nose. "Especially starfleet. I don't think I would be a great fit for that." he gulped down half the glass this time, his head clearing now, as promised, though his thirst was prodigious. "Sister."

"Ah..." Ashe shook her head slightly. "You have my sympathies. "I only have one, but I'd gladly trade her to a pack of space travelling gypsies for a decent bottle of moonshine!"

He nodded and drank the rest of his glass. "You know, my brothers were never this much trouble. But my baby sister is a pain in my..." He stopped himself, wishing that he were on his way to getting drunk again. "I love her so much. She's like a ray of sunshine when she comes into a room, she's got such a big personality. But she moved so far away, with joining starfleet, and now refuses to find someone to make her happy. I mean, if I just knew she had someone to have her back, it'd make my job so much easier..."

Ashe raised an eyebrow slightly. "So... you really don't know all that much about Starfleet do you?" she queried, an amused tone to her voice.

He flushed, enough that he figured his spots would have darkened as well if they could. "No, not a lot. Just what I learn from the fleeters when they visit the homeworld, which is rare." he shrugged. "And what my sister has told me. That's not much."

"Mica tells me that having a partner isn't a good fit for starfleet."

"It can work out, sometimes, if you manage to end up with a partner who's either a civilian or assigned to the same ship, but, there's only one thing that's guaranteed up there," she said, motioning upward with a hand briefly. "Every single person on that ship is going to have your sister's back. Right down to the civilians who are helping out. It's just the way it is." She shrugged slightly. "Have you ever been up on a Starfleet ship?"

Again he shook his head, looking the woman in the eyes now. "No. I mean, I visited Mica on a starbase she served on once, but it was quite...overwhelming. Between the hustle and bustle of the fleeters, the shops in such a confined space, the civilians milling around...It was too much for me, honestly."

"You should ask your sister to take you onto her ship," Ashe replied with a shrug. "They're actually really rather interesting, and when they're in orbit of planets like this they're usually pretty quiet too."

Selin sighed. “I suppose I should, after she settles in. She hasn’t even been on it yet, from what I know.” He stood slowly, his feet more sure than he would have figured after the rollercoaster of emotion and strange drinks his body had been through. “I need to find Mica, and apologize to her. Maybe it’s too late though, uhhhggg” he turned, seeing the woman watching him with amusement. He paused. “Thank you, my rainbow haired barkeep.” On the risk of being too brash, he dipped in quickly, kissing her on the cheek. “Be careful with the drinks and who you prescribe them to.”

Ashe grinned and shook her head. "Be careful what you wish for," she replied easily. "Good luck with your sister!"