Dark Spiral - The Bar and the Bottle

Posted on Thu Oct 2nd, 2025 @ 6:00pm by Commander Rosa Coy

889 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Character Development
Location: DS9

The hum of Deep Space Nine always pressed in like a heartbeat—steady, relentless, a reminder that the station never slept. Rosa Coy needed it quiet, but instead she got the opposite: the clatter of Quark’s bar, the shrill laughter of patrons, the hum of Dabo wheels spinning in reckless circles.

Her boots carried her in before she’d decided if she even wanted to be here. A drink. That was what she needed. Something to dull the ache that still burned in her chest from earlier. Something to silence the voice.

Or someone. A woman, maybe that one—look at the way her hips fill that chair. She’s begging for a dance.

Rosa’s jaw tightened. She cut straight for the bar, sliding onto a stool without waiting for a Ferengi to notice her. “Whiskey. Neat.”

The glass clinked against the surface, the amber liquid catching the light as she downed it in a single burn. The alcohol spread across her chest, but it wasn’t enough. Not tonight. She shoved the glass back. “Again.”

Her reflection caught the mirrored glass behind the bar. She hated it. Hated the flush in her cheeks, the faint tremble in her hand, and most of all the memory that would not leave her alone.

The cadet bay earlier that day. Six fresh-faced pilots, eager, nervous, hanging on her every word. Rosa had been in her rhythm, cool, sharp, commanding, drilling them through maneuvers on the holodeck. And then...

Nice moves. Too bad the brunette would be better spread over the console than behind it.

She’d snapped. Her voice had come out sharp, loud, impossible to cover. “Shut up!”

Six heads had turned, wide-eyed. No one had said anything. They didn’t need to. Her authority had crumbled in that instant, replaced by their unspoken questions. Who was she talking to? Was she losing her mind?

Now, in Quark’s, she buried the shame with another shot of whiskey.

You overreacted. You always do. It was just an observation, Rosa. Nothing to be ashamed of.

Her knuckles whitened around the glass. “You humiliated me.”

You humiliated yourself. Don’t pin this on me. They’ll forget it—hell, they’ll respect you more if you loosen up. You’ve got them all so tense they’re going to snap a control stick. One night with that brunette and—

“Enough.” The word hissed from her lips before she realized she’d spoken aloud. A Bolian two stools away gave her a sideways look. Rosa shifted on her stool, tapping the bar with two fingers for another drink.

Coy wasn’t wrong about one thing. Her cadets would remember. They always remembered. And for all her polished mask of control, she was cracking.

She turned slightly, letting her eyes sweep the room. A pair of Bajoran women laughed near the Dabo table, one brushing the other’s arm with a coy glance. Rosa felt Coy perk up inside her chest.

Now that is promising. The one with the earring—see how it catches the light? You know she’d scream our name. Or hers, if you’d let me...

“No.” She tossed back her drink. The burn barely registered anymore. “Not tonight.”

What else are you here for? You don’t come to Quark’s for the décor. Look around. Look at the lonely one in the corner. She’s practically giftwrapped. We could have her out of here before the Dabo wheel makes another spin.

Rosa pressed her palms into the edge of the bar, grounding herself. The pressure kept her from shaking, from slamming her fist into the mirror, from screaming at him until the entire room went silent. She would not give him the satisfaction.

And yet—everywhere she looked, Coy saw prey. The curve of a neckline, the flash of a smile, the way someone shifted in their chair. He narrated it all, his voice low and slick, twisting each detail into innuendo until Rosa felt her skin crawling.

“Shut. Up.” Her voice was steadier this time, but her hand trembled as she lifted the next glass. She swallowed hard, choking back both the liquor and the heat of anger rising in her throat.

Coy laughed, soft and mocking.

You’re going to drink me into silence? Good luck, Rosa. You know better. When the buzz wears off, I’ll still be here. I’ll always be here. And the more you resist, the louder I’ll get.

She slammed the empty glass down. Her reflection blurred in the bar’s mirror, doubled, fractured. She hated the sight of it—the duality she could never escape. Her, and him, twisted together in the same skin.

Her stool screeched as she shoved back from the bar. A Ferengi waiter started forward, eager to sell another round, but Rosa’s glare stopped him cold. She shoved past the crowd, boots pounding against the deck, her chest tight with rage.

Coy’s laughter followed her as she stormed toward the promenade.

Run all you like, Rosa. But you know what waits for you in the mirror.

TBC

 

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