Barflying

Posted on Wed Oct 2nd, 2024 @ 11:41am by Richard Hale & Mykaia Kylo-Zahn

Mission: Shackles
Location: SS Mary Rose - Bar
Timeline: MD-01
2350 words - 4.7 OF Standard Post Measure

"What, no customers again?" Rick slid onto the barstool with a faint hop, tapping the bar itself with both palms. He gave the Risian behind the counter a winning grin. "Never understood why this place wasn't bustling with people at all hours." The grin remained as he quickly scanned the array of bottles on display. "What's good?"

In all fairness, Kaia had not been given a lot of time between emergency situations to really find her feet with the small space dedicated to housing the bar and several small tables, as well as a two-seater sofa that fit exactly where it was currently situated and tended to dominate how the rest of the space was utilised. The previous bartender had been mostly responsible for the overhaul, she'd heard, and so Kaia had more or less inherited a ready-made and highly functional workspace that didn't really need redesigning. It made it difficult to feel like it was her space, however, and that had impacted how integrated she felt with the crew in general. So far, it didn't feel remarkably different to the temporary work she'd picked up on Hysperia, but that was fine. Kaia was getting used to the cost of freedom by now.

A cheerful face was still a welcome sight. As she'd emerged from the back at the sound of opening doors, Kaia had relaxed in recognition of her incoming patron and met him at his usual seat, already leaning her weight against folded arms. "The same list of options as yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that." She knew Rick was likely teasing her but that felt comforting in its own way. At least he was one of the few people on board she could rely upon to know her name.

"No, no - you're supposed to offer me the most expensive thing on the menu, and then encourage me to tip well." Rick chuckled. "Got any of that Hysperian stuff left? I can't be the only one that's draining your stock," he said. Chatting up the local waitress felt like a bit of a tradition by this point; no matter where he was or what he was doing, there was always a girl in a bar just waiting for a charming guy to come along and treat her right. At least, that was the philosophy he'd leaned into for the last few years.

"You're not the only crewmember with exotic tastes, no." Even as she spoke, Kaia was already pouring the same drink the security officer had ordered every time they'd had the same discussion over the past week. The collection of Hysperian liquors were her own addition to the already-extensive stocks, which made Rick's appreciation for them a welcome boon. It wasn't that she didn't know what to do with the rest of the stock, she just didn't feel like a lot of it matched her style when it came to the creative elements of her job.

"Ah, but it's an eclectic crew, this one. Misfits and miscreants." He reached out to take the drink, deliberately making that 'accidental' brush of her hand with his fingers as he took it. "What about your tastes? You like exotic? Wait - don't tell me...you strike me as a sweet wine sort of girl..."

So far, none of Rick's little liberties had really strayed over into what Kaia would have interpreted as an actual attempt to instigate anything. He was a flirt and she'd dealt with plenty of those, though she did suspect that her experience in that regard was half of his motivation, adhering to stereotypes more as a way of making fun of them than to intentionally perpetuate them. Leaning forward, her weight rested on her bent arms yet again, she gave his question a slight mockery of consideration before confessing, "I'm actually not much of a drinker. The last thing I tried was the mead back on Hysperia, and that was more medicinal than anything in that weather."

"That why you scooped up so much stock?" he smirked, leaning back. "A barkeep that doesn't drink their own product. Interesting. See, I thought it was practically a requirement. Part of the job description, you know. A prospective customer comes in and asks for help ordering, you gotta know what the drinks actually taste like, right?" His challenge was accompanied by a broad grin, one that belied the good-natured element of his questioning.

"I didn't say I've never partaken. I am Risian, after all." Comfortable enough in her stance, Kaia remained hunched over and lifted both shoulders in a casual shrug. "We generally don't drink whilst working, at least not if we're working a bar, and I suppose I've just never been in a situation since leaving where I haven't been trying to earn my keep. That and drinking on Risa is usually tied to very obvious social events and I don't know if sitting alone in a bar on a starship really counts." Not that long ago, she would have been reluctant to be quite so bold, typically cautious of not allowing her practised gregariousness to take liberties. Kaia had learned that it was practically a requirement for keeping up with Rick, however, unless you wanted to be pummelled into submission by sauce.

"Still thinking of it as 'earning your keep'?" Rick glance around. "Manning a silent bar." He chuckled. "Take it from me, I don't think anyone will mind if you wanted to put your feet up for a couple of hours. And in the nicest possible way, this is hardly a 'Quarks'. Relax. That's what Risians are good at, right? Relaxing?"

It was what they were meant to be good at. Mykaia wasn't altogether convinced she'd got the hang of it and fought against a natural tendency to flush at being reminded she was less than what expectations offered when it came to her people and their cultural tendencies. "I think part of my role is to keep it from being so empty. You could always make yourself useful and offer some suggestions, you spend more time with some of these people than I do."

"Hmm, let's see..." He spun on the chair and glanced around. "Well, we could get a darts board. Maybe a pool table..." He spun back to her, leaning a little further forward as he continued with an altogether too-charming grin. "A couple of dancers maybe. I know some twin sisters that would be perfect."

The first couple of suggestions had warranted dubiousness only from the optimism of being able to fit anything like a pool table into the remaining space. The last suggestion, however, made it altogether too likely that Rick had only started foolish to take some of the burden from his ultimate goal. The tilt of a head sideways, coupled with a deadpan expression, left Kaia looking less than convinced. "And are they willing to work for free? Because I don't see the Captain agreeing to put your personal harem on the payroll."

"They practically pay for themselves..." he lauded, keeping that grin on his face that kind-of said 'I'm not serious but maybe I am'. "See, you need to think of the business benefits. Spend to accumulate...or pick some other Ferengi rule, I dunno." He chuckled, dropping the bravado just fractionally. "Anyway: you're assuming I need a personal harem..."

"Am I?" Kaia did very little but shift arms so that she could prop her chin up again without completely losing blood-flow to her hand. "I don't think necessity came into it, actually. More like wishful thinking on your part." Glancing over his shoulder to the intimate space beyond, Kaia screwed up her nose and added, "This place is honestly just a bit small to be more than a place to sit and drink, which is a shame." She was hardly in a position to petition for a relocation, however, even if she did suspect a proper recreation space would probably do the crew some good.

Rick followed her eyes, twisting to peer over his shoulder. "If people want open spaces then we have a holodeck for that. I prefer this. It's closer. A little more...intimate." He let the word hang, not entirely subtly, then shrugged and took another sip of his drink as though nonchalantly brushing it off. "At least one of your patrons appreciates it."

A faint half-smile acknowledged that much, and Kaia had to concede that, for all his bravado, Rick was at least reliable. It might only have counted when there was a good beer on tap but at least that made him pretty easy to please. She pushed upright finally, stretching her arms out to full length to brace against the bar and held the pose until she felt her shoulders pop. "Well, given that you're my only consistent source of information, maybe you can tell me what the current mission is. I asked Curtis but he was panicking over a data leak and I think I wound up knowing less than what I started with."

"Ah just some supply-and-deliver job. I'm not really that involved in things. Pick up from planet A and deliver to planet B sort of thing." He shrugged, almost disinterested. A short pause later, his eyebrow crept up. "So you and Curtis...?"

A genuinely quizzical expression crossed Kaia's face as she attempted to figure out where the rest of the sentence was going. Realisation dawned eventually but not before it was made blatantly obvious that she had taken several detours to get there. "Engaged in monogamous courtship? Two Risians?" It was easier to make fun of the stereotype than to reveal just how far she deviated from in in certain respects. In sensibilities, Kaia was the product of her people, but when it came to aspiration, she just didn't see the appeal of actively trying to bed the entire quadrant. "He helped me get this position, but I think he may be more interested in other members of the crew."

"Hmm." Rick paused, a faint smile on his lips as he let that little grunt of acknowledgement linger in the air. "His loss, I guess." He winked in her direction before placing the empty glass down on the bar. "It is a very pretty crew. Plenty of attractive, young, single prospects. But I'm sure you're not at all concerned about that, are you?"

More quizzical than anything else, Kaia tilted her head in confusion and sought clarification. "What do you mean?" There were any number of reasons for why she felt out of place and questioned her value as part of the crew but, whilst unique in some respects when it came to her native culture, Mykaia was still a product of Risian philosophy and hadn't really considered feeling inferior based on appearances. That, at least as far as she could fathom, seemed overly arbitrary.

"The distractions. The hookups. The dashingly handsome rogues that frequent your establishment..." He chuckled. "Okay, okay. What about gossip? You must see some of the looks and the flirtations that happen around the rest of the crew, right?" It was a gentle, subtle bit of fishing for information, while not appearing to be so obvious.

"The question is not whether I see them, it's whether or not you deserve to know about them." A pair of raised eyebrows teased back, though the banter was also a partial bluff because this crew hadn't been particularly forthcoming with its unintentional disclosures. Usually, as Rick was expecting, the bar was the first place dirty laundry came out to air but the only thing resembling tryst-like behaviour seemed to be occurring between already-established couples, and that wasn't likely to satiate the man's curiosity. "Kali hasn't been in for a couple of days, if that's what you're worried about." The faintest smirk was happy to declare the intention behind the remark, even if the only reference she had to draw on came from the handful of times the three of them had been the last left standing.

"Hiding somewhere. Or sneaking around. She'd probably be proud of herself if she heard that." He shrugged, brushing off the reference to the Romulan helmswoman who had seemingly absorbed most of his time up to that point. "I'm not worried. She can handle being alone and mysterious. You, on the other hand..."

"What use would I have for being mysterious? A bartender's role is to be present but not intrusive," Kaia corrected him. "It might make us seem secretive but I think it's probably closer to the truth to accuse us of being dull." She rapped her knuckles atop the bar. "Standing on this side of things lets you watch a lot of life's adventures, but it doesn't always involve you in them. At least not before the clean-up stage."

"What a lonely sort of life; looking but not getting to enjoy it yourself." He pushed himself up. "The offer's there, don't say I didn't offer," he added with a wink.

For a moment, Kaia looked genuinely incredulous. "Which offer are we talking about?" As far as she could tell, he'd gone out of his way not to make anything explicit.

"You know what I mean," Rick flashed his teeth in a pearly-white grin as he stood away from the bar. "Think about it..."

Did she? It wasn't until the doors had closed behind him, and Kaia had spent several minutes trying to figure out what to make of the various vague insinuations Rick had dangled as one might present a toy to a pet, that she realised it wasn't a matter of her being too dense to pick up on his intent but rather an intentional, and rather liberally-applied, sense of intrigue that the man seemed proud to perpetuate. Rolling her eyes, amused despite herself, the Risian glanced once more at the door and shook her head before turning back to continue her work in the storage space. Whatever roguish devilment motivated Rick, his visit had lifted her spirits. Maybe one day she'd tell him that.