Beer and a talk with a friend.

Posted on Tue Nov 10th, 2020 @ 6:35am by Commander Sthilg & Commodore Phoenix Lalor-Richardson

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Holodeck. Sthilgs cabin
1131 words - 2.3 OF Standard Post Measure

North America 1700


Sthilg smiled slightly as he lifted the lid from the barrel. His spruce beer had come out rather well if he said so. Not bad for a first batch especially with his total lack of experience in making alcohol.

Hearing the holodeck doors open the lizard returned the lid before stepped outside of the small cabin giving a warm smile to the ship's captain. " Hello Lalor glad you could join me." he said walking over to his captain.

"Doc." She said with a smile of her own. "How are you doing?" she asked looking around the area. "Nice place."

" Ssseventeen century north America. Jussst needed a place to get away from everything. " The gorn said sighing slightly as one would after the boat load he'd had to deal with." Would you like a drink captain?" he said giving his friend a smile.

"Ah... can't remember" She smiled "But if there is drinkable water, i will be happy with that."

" I have sssome water." The gorn said as he lead her into the cabin. The small room was smokey from the small fire, but in a very pleasant way. ladling out some fresh clear water into a goblet he handed it to his captain. " Hope you don't mind the ssstate of this place. " He said as he took a seat on a log he was using as a chair only having one stool.

"It is a nice place" She replied. "And I have seen rustic before." She added with a smile. "I thought I would check in to see how you are going after that last... episode, mission, run in, its hard to define it."

" Nightmare." The gorn replied quietly. " How about you captain how are you holding up?" He said cracking open one of the beer bottles.

"Am ok. Not brilliant. But ok." She smiled. "Counsellors really hate the word Okay. But its the best summation of my feelings that I can come up with. I am more concerned about the crew than myself. Some went through some extreme stuff."

"I know i've had to fix large amountsss of it. the gorn said as he took a sip of his drink. " Having to de Orion sssome of are crew is sssomething i will be happy to never do again."

Phoenix nodded "I have had to accept nearly 50 transfer requests, all from long time crew, and yet another 30 have requested extended leave. Its totally understandable."

" I don't know how I'm going to look at sssome of the crew after what my mirror did to them." the gorn said letting out a sigh. " i haven't even been able to sssleep in my room after they trassshed it. It jussst feelsss wrong and unclean."

"Do you want to change quarters?" Phoenix asked. "I know Lieutenant Morgan changed her's after the last mission. Something about finding some weird stuff in it."

The gorn shock his head. " No that won't work. I've had sssome of the booksss and picturesss they vandalized and destroyed longer than they'd lived combined. Yet they vandalized them just for a sssmall burst of pleasssure. " he said before pasuhing as he though through his next thought. " Isss it wrong that I pity them, captain? Ssso lossst and alone in a dark universsse that they'll do anything to ssstop the pain even for just a moment."

"no, it shows who you really are." She smiled "I pity them too. I pity the mirror who tried to fake being me. She was in the end, a pawn, and pathetic at that."

" Why didn't ssshe come to me. I could have removed the bomb and we could have sssaved you without any of thisss." The gorn replied quietly.

"I do not know." Phoenix said softly. "Maybe she wanted to prove herself?" She sighed "When I was 15, my life was planned out for me. I would be the dutiful wife to Mikhail and we would live in his family's estate. I would bear children, would have had an heir to his line by the age of 19, and lived in seclusion and away from my brother's eyes, though if he thought i or Mikhail were threats he could have killed us at any stage. Which he did on our 16th birthday, he killed my betrothed. Even then I was still trying to show my family, my father that I could be what they wanted and protected the family. But betrayal is a harsh drink to swallow and I took that to the extremes. Threw that life away and joined the federation. I guess she never had to face those things, or maybe she had been so down trodden she could not see the path."

" And the federation gained one of her greatessst captainsss on that day." the gorn said giving his friend a reassuring friendly hug. " Who'sss going to be a great mother."

"Well I plan on not dying before they are ten like my counterpart in the micro universe." Phoenix laughed. "And I think growing up on this ship will be good for them."

" They'll have a family of hundredsss and before you know it they'll be off captaining there own ssstarssship." The lizard replied with a grin.

"may whoever people worship protect Starfleet from that" Phoenix laughed.

" I'll drink to that." The gorn said raising his bottle of beer.

She touched her cup of water to his bottle with a grin.

The gorn took a long swig from his bottle with a smile on his face. " Have you had the chance to sssee the new crew list. I'm getting an exocomp on my team"

"Yes, I saw that. An interesting crew member. But then, the ship is filled with interesting crew." Phoenix smiled.

" Indeed we are captain and in my many yearsss in this galaxy, i couldn't feel more at home." the old doctor said as a slight bumbling came from a pot on the fire. " Would you care for sssome wild boar ssstew captain?" he asked as he lifted the pot lid and allowed the delicious smell to fill the cabain.

"Sure smells very nice." She smiled. "Better than Gagh for sure"

The gorn picked up a ladel annd gave the captain a big bowl of the warm stew. " How isss it?" he said as he handed er a slice of cornbread.

Phoenix smiled. "If we need a ship Chef, i am assigning you."

The gorn smiled as he helped himself to a bowl himself. " Good to know i ssstill have a possssssible new career path even at my age."

Phoenix laughed at that, enjoying the company of one of the longest serving officers, and as they ate they discussed the program and the reasons behind it.

Captain Phoenix Lalor
Commanding Officer
USS Elysium

Lieutenant Commander Sthilg
Chief Medical Officer
USS Elysium