Pull Up a Stool

Posted on Sun Feb 27th, 2022 @ 10:27pm by Captain Etan Kaz & Lieutenant Tequila Dreik

Mission: 00 -Life on the Line
Location: Surgical Theatre 3
Timeline: MD00

For a while now, Etan had been storing his contraband in one of the abandoned surgical theatres. He made a habit of slipping into the room, trying to not draw attention so his crew wouldn’t know what he had hoarded.

Today was no different. He had no need for excuses as no one really took much notice of anyone skulking about the corridors. That said, there wasn’t much of medical staff to evade either.

‘Why do you always drink alone?’ The voice of Neema rang in Etan’s head. The former Host was always critical of his drinking. Typically he ignored her.

He slipped into the surgical theatre and made his way to his stash before he realized he wasn’t alone. “Who’s there?” He demanded squinting to see his companion in more detail. “

It had been some time since Tiki had initially found the stash. She hadn't been snooping, she'd been looking for somewhere to hide from that bitch of a head nurse that seemed to be constantly on her back about everything. At first she wondered why it had been stored somewhere as obvious as medical, but then it made perfect sense. An unused, ramshackle theater suite that had been condemned from use pending complete overhaul.

The stash itself was surprisingly diverse. It definitely raised Tiki's eyebrows as she rummaged through the crates, conveniently marked as medical supplies.

It wasn't the first time she'd been there, and it certainly wasn't the first time she'd helped herself, but it was the first time she'd been caught.

"That depends on who's asking," she finally countered, taking another sip from the medical beaker of dark liquid in her hand.

Kaz wasn't in any mood to play games. "The goddamn Captain." He replied. He searched a crate for a bottle of Uttaberry Liqueur popped the cork and took a long swig. With the bottle in hand he began a slow walk towards the dark figure.

"Watch your Goddamn mouth in front of a Goddamn lady," Tiki shot back from her corner shrouded in darkness. This had indeed become her space. A quiet sanctuary away from sickbay, and sharing it with it's original owner was not part of her plan. She took another sip from her medical beaker before turning the glass vessel in her hand. "Do you want a beaker to swig from or do you intend to be a heathen and guzzle straight from the bottle?"

Kaz stifled a laugh. “Please.” He continued his stride towards the woman. “So when did you stumble upon my erm… collection?”

Tiki shrugged in the darkness. "I don't know, seven, maybe eight bottles ago? But who's counting." There was a tone of amusement to her voice. "Do you want me to draw you a map or something?"

Grunting, Kaz took a spot near where the Doctor was already seated. "You owe me for those. They aren't cheap." He looked around for another beaker.

"You owe me for keeping this a secret," Tiki shot back. "Do you have any idea how much latinum I could have made by selling this on the black market? I could be on Risa right now, getting hot and sweaty with a naked Risan male and having the time of my life."

Etan laughed . Quickly, his laugh transformed into a throaty cough as he settled into seat properly. "Risa is overrated and crowded. You want to go to Pacifica. The beaches are covered in diamond sand, and the water looks like pools of Ceylon sapphires." This was a more poetic description than how Etan would typical speak. Perhaps it was Neema Kaz poking in with her dramatics.

Tiki took a sip of her drink, allowing the liquid to linger on her tongue a moment so she could savour the taste before she swallowed. "Sure, you know, sand and water is all well and good, but hot's the hanky panky? There's no fun in it if you can't, well, have fun!"

"That what landed you here?" The Captain asked, reaching for a beaker. It was cracked but it would do. He poured a healthy portion of the thick purple drink from his bottle and swirled it a bit. "It's gotta be one hell of a story." He lifted his glass and took a long swig.

Tiki took another swallow and leaned back against the wall, sitting on the mattress from a broken biobed. "Not my fault people don't like fun," she said with a shrug. "So which Admiral's daughter did you knock up to end up with this for a command?" she asked, using her hand to motion vaguely around them.

Etan laughed a deep, low laugh. "If only that were my transgression." He said, bringing his drink to his lips once again. "Starfleet Command didn't like that I was a risk taker. They certainly didn't appreciate my views on acceptable loss in the line of duty." He laughed again.

"Ah, so you're just a general all around bad boy." She raised her glass toward him. "Here's to pain in the assery and may it continue to drive command to the brink."

Etan blushed slightly and raise his glass. Throwing his head back he finished the drink. "Hear hear." He said, refilling the glass.

Tiki followed suit, finishing her drink and refilling the beaker that served for a glass. "So you took a bunch of risks, got a bunch of people killed and now you're stuck in purgatory until some schmuck behind a desk in command decides you've served your penance and you're allowed to be around nice civilised folk again?" She raised the beaker to her lips, allowing it to rest a moment before she took a mouthful of the drink and swallowed. "Sounds very Starfleet."

"I don't know that day will come." He took a long sip and closed his eyes. He brought two fingers to his temple and tapped . "Gohod and Enjima think differently. Their expecting a formal apology from Command any day now."

Tiki laughed. "Yeah, so are the Romulans," she responded tartly, finishing the drink again and reaching for the bottle to refill. "Hey, Captain? Before you get too schnockered, you should know your head nurse is a crazy bitch that needs to be spaced out an airlock. If her lifeless body is found floating in space, it totally wasn't me. Okay?"

Etan wet his lips, but didn't speak immediately. After a beat, "I didn't quite catch that. Sorry. Plausible deniability and all that." He smiled.

Tiki smiled, enjoying a moment of silent companionship as she sipped her drink. "I suppose I should get back to sickbay soon," she finally mused quietly. "That miserable bitch probably has me lojacked and if she discovers your stash she's not going to enjoy it the way I have."

Kaz scoffed. "Wish you hadn't enjoyed either."

"Admit it," Tiki grinned as she finished the drink and climbed to her feet. "You're glad you found me here."

"Beats drinking alone I guess." He conceded, downing the rest of his drink and setting his glass aside. 'Alone!?' Jarem Kaz's laugh resided in Etan's head. "Send me a message if you're planning to get into my things again."

"Same time tomorrow, I'll bring the snacks." Tiki cleaned the beaker and left it sitting on the counter as she headed for the door. "And FYI, you may want to avoid deck twenty two, section J nineteen. I hear there's a faulty airlock."