Three Starfleet Officers Walk into a Bar.... (part 2)

Posted on Thu Jul 2nd, 2026 @ 3:59am by Commander Rin & Lonian Royal Sovereignty

Mission: Season 6: Episode 7: Crossroads of Destiny
Location: Niea IV :: Klevor's
Timeline: MD3 evening
2083 words - 4.2 OF Standard Post Measure

From part 1:

Sam looked mildly horrified at himself for about half a second before he broke into another low laugh. “Well hell,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “That sounded a whole lot less cannibalistic in my head.” The warmth in his voice carried easy embarrassment rather than defensiveness. He leaned back in the chair and glanced between Rin and Damien.

“Good save, Commander. Appreciate you keeping us from becoming an interstellar incident.”
=====

"I'm just glad she didn't think I was talking down to her when I mimed what we meant," Rin said.

The ocean breeze shifted through the balcony again carrying music, salt air, and the smell of grilled seafood from somewhere below. Sam rested one forearm against the table and looked toward the sampler menu again. “Alright then. Spicy wing things, those look good, mystery sea stuff, chippers, and whatever how about some dipping sauce?” Then he added to make it very, very clear, "For dipping our food into and then eating it. The food. And the sauce. Together...by dipping. You know...the more I explain it the worse it gets." He nodded once toward Darei. “Dealer’s choice after that. Figure if we’re stranded halfway across creation, might as well eat somethin’ interesting.”

Darei nodded along until the phrase 'dealer's choice.' She certainly wasn't a dealer. What did that even mean? A dealer of hot sauces? The brief confusion on her face them shifted into a chuckle, the kind where one was willing to risk simply smiling and nodding. "You're funny," she said through her chuckle. "I'll get the drinks out, and the food should be ready in a few minutes." With that, she left to go place the orders.

Then he looked toward Damien’s loudly floral shirt again and grinned crookedly. “Though I gotta say, Lieutenant? Between Commander Rin talkin’ about pirate hats and that shirt you’re wearin’, I feel severely underdressed for whatever this evening’s turnin’ into.”

"What *is* the purpose of a Hawaiian shirt?" Rin asked. "My understanding is that isn't part of their traditional culture."

Damien glanced down at the shirt he was wearing, then back up at Rin, letting out a soft chuckle. "I wouldn't exactly say there is a purpose to wearing a Hawaiian shirt, Commander. They're just... fun. Bright, colourful. I suppose most people view them as 'holiday attire.'" He shrugged, leaning back in his chair slightly. "I figured, we're on shore leave, why not dress appropriately."

Sam nodded and added, "Yeah. To blend in. We're doing an amazing job of that" he winked playfully and then took a moment to appreciate where they were and who he was with. The bar, 'Klevors' was in a prime spot and was surrounded by natural sunlight and beauty. It was in such a pretty spot and Sam was having a good time. He paused to reflect on the last time he had done anything with either Rin or Damien. he realized that it had been too long and savored the moment.

"Damien Blackford, man of mystery and infiltrator extraordinaire," Rin quipped. She raised her glass for another sip and realized - again - that it was empty.

Darei returned with a tray of drinks and distributed them. She also put a small cup in front of Rin. It had a rich tangy scent, but also that capsaicin undertone that served as a warning that the sauce was not friendly. "The house special, to try it first."

Woolheater raised his glass too in admiration. "Who ever said cops were no fun? Still never a cop around when you need one though." He winked playfully and took a healthy drink.

Damien laughed, picking up his drink, taking a sip. "Now that's a tasty drink." He said, placing it back on the table, before turning to look at Woolheater, grinning slightly. "If you think cops are no fun, then I'm afraid, sir, that you've simply been hanging around the wrong cops."

Sam eyed the little cup set before Rin suspiciously. "Well, that's either food or a chemical weapon." He dipped the very tip of a chip into the sauce. "For science."

Crunch.

Chew.

Pause.

Another pause.

His eyes narrowed. "Huh." Another beat. "That's not so ba—" The heat arrived. Sam took a long drink and emptied his beverage. Then he whistled, "Yeeoww! Man! That'll strip all the taste buds off your tongue." He lifted his glass and signalled for another round.

Rin picked up a chip and looked to Darei. "If these require utensils we're clearly going to need instruction." Then she dipped the chip into the sauce and popped the whole thing into her mouth. She chewed thoughtfully, swallowed, and paused, considering the experience.

The she looked at Sam, keeping eye contact as she picked up another chip, dipped it, and tossed it in her mouth.

She looked back to Darei. "That's delicious. Thank you."

"Alright. One rule." Sam pointed at Rin and Damien. "Most ridiculous thing you've bought on shoreleave."

"Never been one for souvenirs," Rin said, reaching beneath the table for her bag and pulling out a metallic, flute-like instrument. She looked to Darei. "Not saying this is ridiculous. Just a slightly ridiculous purchase. I have no idea how to play it, but it did come with instructions. It might also be intended for children, but it seems overly sophisticated for that. Or maybe they just have more sophisticated children."

"Now, most ridiculous thing I've acquired on shoreleave would be... godchildren. but I didn't buy those."

Darei looked at the instrument and nodded. "That is a good quality one!" She then chuckled at the mention of acquiring godchildren.

Sam pointed at Rin immediately. Shook his head as the lava on his tongue cooled - ah well - the ability to taste was overrated. "Nope." He took another long drink and was eyeing Damien's drink next. "Hold on." One finger went up. "You don't get to just casually say you acquired godchildren and then move on like that ain't the most alarming thing anybody's said all night."

He leaned forward slightly. "How does a person accidentally acquire godchildren?" The grin widened. "Because from where I'm sittin', Commander, that sounds an awful lot like the opening sentence of a court martial."

He took another drink. "Closest I ever got was acquiring a dog." A beat. "Which, now that I think about it, happened under circumstances that also would've sounded suspicious in a deposition."

Rin attempted a straight face. That was her usual flavor of humor. Deadpan. Partly because people didn't expect her to be funny, so part of the joke became trying to figure out if she was being funny. So she'd say something and see of anyone bit.

But Sam's fake outrage was a better response than she could have hoped for. The finger wave caused her to drop her head down to "hide" the grin and bit of chortle. And by the time he got to "court martial" she had pretty much lost it completely. Sam and Damien had probably never seen more than a smirk. By now she had scrunched up her face and was laughing out loud. The fact that he had addressed her by rank and then "threatened" with court martial was particularly hilarious to her.

Was she embarrassed? A little. But, honestly, that kind of felt good. The kind of embarrassment you feel precisely because people are being lighthearted, not the kind you feel when someone is dressing you down or you feel like a failure.

“Well, when you put it like that,” she sampled her new drink, mostly as an excuse to not talk until she reined in her mirth a little more.

“And I didn’t accidentally acquire them,” she protested. ”A very long time ago, I apparently promised before God and Jesus Christ to help raise my friends’ children. And then I forgot, and then I came back, and the kids came back - they are adult xBs - and I was reminded of this promise. Thus…godchildren.”

The explanation involved some exaggerated facial expressions and hand gestures: pointing upward on “God,” toward her face on “forgot,” splaying her hands out like performing a magic trick on “godchildren.” She hoped to communicate that this was supposed to be a sort of endearing comedy of circumstance. She just hoped Damien and Sam recognized she was glossing over the ghoulish part in the middle because it well and truly was not the point of the story.

“In all seriousness, I didn’t agree out of some sense of obligation. I was just…caught off guard. I think it’s positive for all three of us. I have some very complicated feelings about them, and working through them has been…enlightening? They feel…alienated a lot. Meeting someone from their past has been important to them.”

Rin looked at her glass. “Wow, that’s a lot of sharing. This is going to be an interesting night.”

Sam laughed quietly into his glass. "It's all good! Well, first off, Commander, I think that's a much better explanation than I was expecting." He pointed at her. "Second, if somebody starts a sentence with 'I accidentally acquired godchildren,' they really oughta lead with the follow-up."

The Marine took another drink and settled back in his chair while the music drifted in from inside the restaurant. "Though I think... you've got me beat." His eyes wandered briefly toward the ocean. A warm breeze came through. Smelling of salt air and frgrances that were pleasant and foreign to him. It was relaxing and disarming. The ocean reminded him of home. Of Pacifica.

"Most ridiculous thing I ever acquired?" He thought about it. His eyes were closed as he savored the smells and the sounds. "Dog." The answer came immediately. "German Shepherd." A pause. "Found him by accident." Another pause. "Or maybe he found me." Sam shrugged. "Long story short, I was supposed to be helping solve a problem and somehow came home with a seventy-pound furry responsibility that sheds enough hair to build a second dog." A grin tugged at one corner of his mouth. "Best bad decision I ever made." A beat. "I miss that dog. I hope he's good. I hope he's safe. I dropped him off at my parents home on Pacifica. A week before I was deployed to Elysium. Another beat and he opened his eyes. The memory faded. He pointed his glass toward Damien.

"You're still up, Lieutenant." Then he looked between the two of them. "Actually, hold on." His expression brightened slightly. "Let's improve the game." The glass settled back onto the table. "Most ridiculous thing you've acquired." A beat. "And the best thing." He nodded once. "Those ain't always the same answer."

Damien watched with interest as Rin explained her 'accidental acquisition of godchildren, a small grin cracking his lips as she spoke. He had, in all honesty, never seen her this... relaxed before. Granted, most of their interactions had been professional in nature. But still, even on the odd occasion that they had happened to be around each other off-duty, she had still always seemed to keep her professional nature. It was... nice to see her comfortable and relaxed.

Damien chuckled at Sam's description of his dog. He'd never had such a pet himself, having grown up surrounded by cats instead. He took another sip, just as Sam pointed a finger at him, and he choked on the drink slightly, before putting the glass down, clearing his throat. "Me?" He said, before shaking his head. "I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong tree there, sir. Elysium is my first posting, and I haven't really had the chance to acquire anything ridiculous." He trailed off, reaching over for the chips, dipping it into the sauce and popping it into his mouth, his eyes beginning to water a few seconds later. He let out another cough, reaching for his drink, taking a deep sip. "Slap me thrice and hand me to me mama." He exclaimed. "That... certainly does have a bit of a kick to it."

"I didn't say accidentally," Rin protested. "It's just not something one normally acquires in that matter. And I dare say the godchildren are also the best thing I've acquired."

Rin grabbed another chip, dipped it into the sauce, and popped it into her mouth. "You two are weak," she concluded.