Downtime

Posted on Sat Nov 9th, 2024 @ 4:31pm by Commander Jenna Ramthorne & Lieutenant Commander Bonnie "Bon-Bon" Durnell & Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen & Commander Dean House & Lieutenant Commander Thriss Kla'ren & Lieutenant Commander Aurora Vali & 1st Lieutenant Freya Score & Ensign Aubrie Fox & Ensign Eiren Readil & Ensign Kitiuas Thenis & 2nd Lieutenant Connor McQueen & Commander Jennifer Baldric & Lieutenant Sarah Wilson & Senior Chief Petty Officer Ronson Mitchell

Mission: Character Development
Location: Quarks - DS9

There was rumours of a gathering in Quarks as the Sunfire once again pulled into the stations docking pylons, battered and bruised as they always seemed to be. Being stationed in this region meant rhe crew frequented DS9 as their base, and thus the establishment of said base began to know the routine.

'Brolk, they're coming' Quark could heard the platinum in his lobes as the Sunfire's engines shut down. Who would be first to his bar this time?

Thriss Kla'ren sauntered into the bar with haste. He had wanted to get off the Sunfire as soon as possible. He was anxious. The Andorian was terrified that he'd be assimilated again, or that he was still a Borg in disguise and he wanted to be as far away from the Sunfire as possible. In reality he was inside his own head and in some ways DS9 was a more dangerous place to be for others if he was assimilated again.

He felt he needed a drink. However what he needed desperately was a counselor but the only counselor aboard was Aurora, and he literally tried to kill her husband. In reality he was being too damned stubborn and his attempt at Savar's life was due to being assimilated. The Andorian had no control over it.

By the time Kla'ren snapped out of his own thoughts he found himself sitting at the bar and Quark looking at him rather peeved. He must've space out.

It had been a joke, mostly, that which Jenna had made on the bridge. More like an effort at team bonding. True she had her route planned and mapped, but she also needed a change out of her uniform into more of a civi-look.

Currently sporting a tight cut pair of jeans and a low cropped shirt that both, hung off one shoulder as well as hung low on the opposite side, she walked into Quark's and was surprised to see someone had beaten her there.

She saddled up to the bar, placing one elbow upon it and leaning in, she waited for her turn to order from the large lobbed Ferengi behind the counter.

Aubrie walked into the bar and quickly found a seat away from everyone, she just wanted alone time, last mission was not always the best. She was gonna enjoy her free time.

Freya entered the Bar, Ready for some live entertainment, She didn't exactly know what that mean't yet, but she knew she would by the end of the night.

Quark looked up as the Sunfire crowd began to rapidly grow. "Well it didn't take you guys long to find your way back to my bar. What was it this time? No crash landing I see....got a few scorch marks on the hull?" He prattled on to whoever was listening.

Ronson arrived next, followed by the ships CMO. Both in civvies and ready to kick back a bit. Quark rubbed his lobes with the thought of so much profit from one afternoon.

"Assimilation" Thriss said coldly to the Ferengi, in reference to himself.

"Assimiation ale? Glass or pint?" Quark asked innocently, not realising where Thriss was coming from.

Thriss gave Quark a death stare. God he just wanted to punch that Ferengi's stupid face. No that wasn't him. Quark didn't know better and there were people around. "You think this is a j-" he was about to tell the bartender off when he had a muse. One that hopefully would help distract the Chief Engineer. "Wait assimilation ale is a real thing?"

"Sure is, finest Ale this side of the wormhole. My supplier says they use Borg nanoprobes in the fermentation process to provide the perfect flavor. Care to try it for yourself?" Quark said proudly, mentally adding a zero to the price of the beer.

Well the idea of distraction went straight out of the wormhole. He gave Quark an eerie stink eye. "And you think that is a good idea my friend?" Thriss sneered.

Jenna, while checking the menu for a drink she had not tried yet, was acutely aware of the conversation between Quark and Thriss. She readied herself to step in just in case things went sideways. Quark was often a timid thing, but Thriss exuded aggression that was abnormal to his usual profile.

Freya moved to the bar and opened a menu. There were tons of ideas for her to have, but his wanted to eat and then meet with Conner.

Jenna lowered her menu and gave the people a glance around the bar, always a watcher. She then settled on Quark and gave him a devilish grin as she wondered if he remembered the events that had happened the last time she was on the station. It really wasn't her fault that a quarter of the outer ring exploded, yet still. She waited for her turn to order.

"All I'm saying is that it's a good beer. My supplier assured me of that. Now do you want to try it or not?' Quark pulled at his collar a little.

Thriss sighed and looked at Quark apologetically. It wasn't worth it. "I'm sorry Quark. It's just been a rough few days. If there's no-one ahead of me, I'll take a plain Andorian Vodka" He requested. He did feel uncomfortable though, primarily due to his own actions, but also for the fact that there was a drink at Quarks with Borg Nanites. He'd probably have to bring that up to Captain Kira while he was here or at least Commander Baldric.

"One Andorian Vodka coming right up. You and Captain Shran on the Washington have similar taste" Quark prattled as the fussed around making the drink. "Now, some food to go with it? Perhaps some share platters for your team?' Quark could feel the potential up-sell.

Meanwhile Commander Baldric had made her way to the bar, more to observe the crew at leisure than to partake.

Quark nodded at the new arrival, made note of the pips on her collar and sent a waitress over pronto.

Thriss shrugged. "Why not?" he set some currency down on the table. "Should be enough for the team. Please just keep it quiet. I feel like I owe them..." he trailed off. "You probably shouldn't sell that assimilation drink by the way" he warned. The nanites made him nervous.

Another bar hand made their way over to Jenna and gave her a nod, a tender way of asking what she wanted. "Uh, can't decide between the Rastafari or the Hard Root Beer? What would you suggest?" She asked the woman in the skimpy clothing.

The Rastafari would be more complicated to make, but would also cost more money. Carrying more alcohol content insured the customer would drink more. A normal customer would get drunk on 5. Jenna was not normal though. Not even close.

Freya just settled for a basic burger and fry's a simple root beer, nothing too complicated, She also noticed a Commander in red, Maybe DS9 Staff? Or Sunfire? She was now wanting to find out. "Freya Score, You Sunfire or DS9?" Freya asked.

Jenna turned and took in a quick image of the pale blonde haired woman next to her. "Sunfire. And yourself?" Jenna asked curtly, trying to be straight forward without coming off as too abrupt. She was in her civies and was surprised someone was talking to her.

"Yea, Marine CO, The Latest mission has to beat the other to be honest" Freya told Jenna. "It was something I'm Not gonna forget"

Jenna could not help but to chuckle at the idea. As a member of the former Sunfire crew under the same Captain, Jenna had seen many missions and each one felt like they would one-up the next. "Pleasure to meet you MCO Freya Score. Life on the Sunfire, always a roller coaster. Stick around and you'll have one helluva ride."

Jenna turned and extended her hand, "Name's Jenna Ramthorne, by the way, Mission Advisor and Flight Commander."

"Well Commander, We marines tend to know what a helluva ride things can be, sometimes we are the causers of the ride, Well nice talking, I need to find out if someone arrived or not" Freya politely nodded and stood after grabbing her food and then walked off.

Jenna turned back to her Rastafari, now sitting on the counter, and her people watching. "Good to know." She commented to herself. She also made a mental note to get better acquainted with the Marine contingent on the Sunfire. As a pilot Commander she would be working along side the fighter squads quite a bit.

Dean had some things to do, so he was just now showing up at Quarks. Since that seemed to be where everyone was going.

"It's a party!" Quark exclaimed loudly as his bar filled up "A round on the house!" He nodded to his bar staff to use the most watered down almost unsellable beverages that they needed to get rid of. "Everybody's welcome!"

“Looks like we arrived just in time then” Aurora smiled as she, & Savar arrived with baby Sidak in his pushchair.

Latinum signs all but lit up in Quarks eyeballs. The round of house drinks were quickly poured and served, along with the share platters the Andorian had ordered. Today would be very profitable indeed.

"it appears you are right Aurora. Shall we go and intermix with the others? (He means mingle)

“We shall indeed” Aurora smiled and nodded.

Baldric noticed Thriss somewhat by himself and pulled up a barstool next to him. She had read the reports and knew of his ordeal.

"You OK?" She asked cautiously in a quiet voice.

Thriss turned to look at Baldric before looking forward again. "On or off the record?" He returned, at the same volume.

Jennifer looked around to make sure they weren't overheard. " Off the record, this stays between us"

Thriss sighed. "I'm not doing great. Granted I'm still in shock from everything" he began quietly. "But the fact of the matter is I tried to kill Savar, and I tried to assimilate the ship. I feel like I can't go to Aurora because she's his wife and Remal is off ship. I feel like I should be thrown in a Federation Black-site for treason or at the very least court-martialed for sabotage."

The Andorian continued. "I know I didn't have control of my own body, but it hurts."

Jennifer mused over this for a few moments. She had read post mission reports from those who had been assimilated and recovered and they were never pretty.

"Be kind to yourself. No-one's gonna haul your ass over the coals for what happened whilst you were assimilated. Your mind and your body were not your own. Picard never got court-martialed for Wolf 359 when he was Locutus, Seven of Nine never was reprimanded for her actions as a drone. It wasn't you Thriss, it was someone using you" Jennifer's words were kind and full of compassion.

"I know. Being self aware of your actions, but unable to do anything about it hurts" he said. "I can't even begin to imagine what Picard or Seven of Nine went through. I only got a glimpse" he rambled.

He took a sip of the Andorian Vodka Quark had brought him before setting it down. "How long are we on shore leave?" He asked. He primarily wanted to know if he had time to go to Earth or even Andoria, but deep down he was trying to change the subject.

"I've requested another 3 weeks from Command. The ship will take that long to repair anyway so we're not going anywhere anytime soon. Got any plans?" She noted the change of subject but rolled with it.

"My family still lives on Earth. Might go back since I haven't seen them in years" he shrugged. "I might take advantage of Starfleet Counseling services while I'm there."

Baldric nodded in agreement. "Take all the time you need. We'll be here when you get back. Get yourself sorted, see family and do whatever it takes to find yourself again"

Thriss nodded. "Thanks Commander" he nodded before downing the rest of his drink and setting the empty glass on the bar. "I'm gonna go get some fresh air now" he said as he rose up. "Thanks for the chat ma'am, I think I needed that" he said.

"Anytime Chief, and we're off duty, call me Jen" Baldric replied with a smile as Thriss turned to leave.

The Andorian stopped and gave another nod before turning and leaving Quark's to find that fresh air.

Baldric went back to people watching, noticing how the crew interacted with each other. Who were the loners, like herself, who was drawn to company and the established couples and groups. If she was going to take on this command for the long term, as was her dream, she needed to know these nuances.

Aurora had noted Jennifer was now sitting alone, making her way over she offered a smile. “Watching the comings and goings Commander?”

"You learn about people by watching how and who they interact with" Jennifer replied with a wry smile. "Counselors would do a lot of that I guess?" She looked towards the kind hearted officer.

"Indeed that is quite true in both cases. Counselors make excellent observers just as commanding officers do." Savar interjected as he stood beside Aurora as he addressed both her and Baldric.

"Indeed" Baldric echoed the comment and motioned for them to join her at the bar. She noticed Dean had also arrived.

TBC