Sic itur ad Astra

Posted on 27 Dec 2021 @ 9:45pm by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Lieutenant Aria Rice

3,969 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: Regula I - Level 16, Mess Hall
Timeline: MD 04, 2000 hrs

[ON]

Aria Rice smiled to herself as she walked into the mess hall. Off duty, she had opted for her hair free with green streaks, a short skirt with thick tights and her knee high boots. For her top she had gone for a simple tee shirt with net sleeves underneath and a waist clincher. She looked around as she walked in, stopping when she saw a familiar form. Lamar. It had been awhile since she had talked to him, so she almost ran over to him, moving to sit across from him, her eyes shining. "Hello there, Chief. Seems to me like it's been forever since we had a chance to talk!" she then stopped and looked around, as if realising something. "Is this a bad time? Are you waiting for someone?" she suddenly asked and met his eyes, her own slightly wide.

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius was currently seated alone at a table in one of Regula I's two galleys. It was four days into shore leave and he'd finally found himself elbow deep in some original Earth barbecue cuisine courtesy of the station's civilian chefs. It wasn't quite the real thing, of course - the pork ribs on his plate were obviously replicated since deep space Federation research stations didn't requisition livestock. But the sauce and spices...they tantalized his palate more than sufficiently.

He was dressed in casual loose black pants and wore a long-sleeved beige t-shirt. His sleeves were rolled up which revealed strong forearms and wrists splattered with traces of barbecue sauce. A muffled slurp sounded when he took his teeth to one of the ribs and tore the tender meat from the bone. It was then when he noticed someone near him and heard a familiar female voice. Looking up with wide eyes as if he'd been caught stealing, he froze - rib in hand - and took in the sight of the security chief standing before him.

Aria looked at him, smiling quickly before she looked at the food. "Looks good," she said before she chuckled and looked down. "So...bad time? Is this a bad time, Darius?" she held his eyes, sitting comfortably in the chair across from him. She hadn't guessed it would feel awkward. But in this moment, with him staring at her, she felt awkward. "Yeah...must be a bad time...sorry, Darius," she said and pushed herself up from the seat. "I'll leave you be."

"..sho'keay -a'am.." he tried to talk with a mouthful of steaming food. He inhaled sharply then chewed and shook his head while waving the stripped bone in his fingers towards the empty seat next to him. Now conscious of his appearance, he used his free hand to grab his napkin and wiped the sticky residue from his lips and goatee.

Aria smiled weakly and sat down again, looking at the ribs. "It's still Aria you know," she countered before she chuckled. "Now, how many of my fingers would you break if I took one of the ribs..."

Lamar finished swallowing and wiping his face then licked his fingertips clean of sauce. He shook his head. "You can have as many as you want, L-T. Aria," he corrected himself at her preference. "Just make sure to get me another plate," he grinned while pushing his tray of remaining ribs towards her. "I've been waiting six months for this shit. For some real Earth food. Starfleet can't take this away from me."

Aria reached out and took one, moaning as she bit into it, not caring if she got messy. "Mmm...you know what I missed while we were away? Veklava. There's this café in Tycho City on Luna, the owners are Bajoran and they make the best Veklava ever..." she sighed and took another bite. "This is pretty good. Not had ribs before."

"Haven't had vek-lava before," he said. "Sounds spicy." The chief warrant officer observed the lieutenant's appearance. She was petite in form and very attractive with striking black hair and pale blue eyes. Her net sleeves revealed a good amount of skin. He'd seen the lieutenant around the ship over the past several years but rarely out of uniform. "So what are you doing tonight? Here to hang out with me and eat barbecue?"

"Well..." Aria looked at her, thoughtful even as she finished off the rib. "When I first came to the Gally, we...hit it decently off. I've missed talking to you...was hoping we could start again?" she phrased it as a question, her eyes going down to the table before she looked at him again, meeting his eyes.

"Been a long time." He returned her gaze. "Yeah. We can hang out again." In fact, that sounded like the best idea anyone had proposed to him in the past year. His life on board Galileo had been monotonous and full of routine duty shifts. He didn't have many friends on the ship aside from his boss, Lieutenant JG Shizn. And...the more Lamar thought about it, the Andorian was more of an acquaintance. "I heard the captain put a new pip on your collar," he added.

"Yeah...gave me the cursed chair as well to go with it," Aria said with a sigh, shaking her head. "I mean, it is a great honour! Seriously...but that chair is cursed. I got a new one though in case it is a chair-only scenario and not a position. Do you know how badly it has gone with the health of anyone who has been in the chair? I feel like I need to get my affairs in order..."

Lamar frowned then cocked his head. "Wait. You actually replaced a real chair because you think it's bad luck?" He chuckled. "C'mon, Aria." It felt a little strange to speak her first name again but it rolled effortlessly off his tongue. "Are you one of those superstitious people?"

"Of course I am, I'm from Luna. Bad luck gets you rolling across the dust," Aria said, her face serious as she held his eyes. "You sure you don't have something...lucky? Like...a lucky ancient coin, or a knife or something? Something you feel better when you have it with you?"

He thought about her question for a while. Maybe when he was younger he'd had a few favorite possessions. Some trinkets from his parents which he'd brought along with him to various deployments and training programs. But nothing that could be considered a luck charm. "No," he shook his head plainly, then glanced around while an awkward silence start to brew. "So...you want to go somewhere? I mean, somewhere not the mess hall."

"How about the bar?" Aria suggested, curious what he'd say. "Or somewhere we can sit and drink and talk? Might be nice...also, I need a drink. Been spending today looking over the duty shifts and my head is exploding."

"Okay." He couldn't complain at an invitation for synthehol. There was also the prospect that there might be a real version of it. Lamar stood up from his chair then unrolled his sleeves. "Show me the way, moon lady," he teased.

She nodded and stood as well, motioning him to follow her. "You know, only Terrans call it the Moon," she teased, her eyes warm as she turned her head towards him. "Saying that, I don't even know where you're from."

He followed in tow slightly behind her. "Philly. Earth," he answered colloquially. "Best cheese steak sandwiches in the galaxy, you best believe." There was a strong tone of pride evident in his voice when he spoke of his hometown.

Aria's eyes widened at the mention and she sighed softly. "Mm...sounds delicious. I like my American sandwiches 'dipped'....first time I tried it, it was so messy but also so delicious. But I love food."

Lamar laughed. "You just saw me eating ribs - if it ain't messy, it ain't real food. That's what the Klingons say." He frowned then tilted his head up to contemplate. Was it the Klingons? Or the Ferengi? Or his aunt? He dismissed it with a light shake of his head then changed the subject. "Did you spend a lot of time on Earth? Not at the Academy, but before that?"

"No..." Aria shook her head, smiling gently as she considered it. "Dad thought Luna was the safest place for me...it was also home. Mother wanted to go there, but he kept putting his foot down. And when the Breen attacked Earth they left Luna be. So he was right. I did spend two weeks on Earth though, for summer camp, when I was 16."

He listened to the story of her youth and her parents' influence. It wasn't his business to promote the Federation homeworld over one of its colonies, nor was it his place to question the seemingly-good judgement of her guardians. Lamar had fought in the Dominion War against the Jem'Hadar as a young man. The mention of the Breen attack on Earth was sombering. His facial features slacked for a brief moment then returned to normal. "Yeah. Earth is a vibrant place. Did you have fun?" he asked, hiding his feelings.

"Sort of...it was strange to walk everywhere without a suit," Aria said softly, looking ahead as she led him with her to the bar. "I got used to it, but the stars looked...different. Also, sunrise! So much sunrise!"

"There's a lot of that, yeah," he grinned to her. "Nice to have an atmosphere." They continued to walk down the long corridors of Regula I during which Lamar sized her up. Aria was smaller than most security officers he'd encountered but the way she walked revealed a subtle confidence behind her friendliness. "So you have a boyfriend?" he casually asked. "Husband?"

"Me? God no..." Aria laughed and shook her head, smiling to herself. "Not finished growing up yet, so got no time for that. Besides, I am the proud badgeholder of the title of sidekick. I set people up, get them together, attend a wedding...that sort."

Lamar squinted at the revelation. "Hm," he mumbled, "a girl like you running support?" He wouldn't have believed it if it hadn't come from the horse's mouth. Without a second thought, he complimented her. "Aria, you're sexy as hell." He looked at her short skirt, tights and knee-high boots. Her style was certainly attractive to any sane heterosexual man. "You're telling me you can't get a date? Or you don't want one?"

Aria looked at him with surprise and shook her head. "Oh, 50/50 before. Problem is, I talk, and you'd be surprised how often it becomes 'you're like the little sister I never had!' and boom! No hanky panky ever. I mean, there's been affairs, sure. Had this on and off thing going on with this Halanan civilian pilot, but that just was a bit of a dead end for both of us. But truth is where I am at my life right now? Don't want one. Want to focus on this brand new shiny position I got!"

"I hear that. Eyes on the prize." His instructors in both the Marine Academy and Enlisted Academy had emphasized the importance of avoiding personal relationships within units. Too often those relationships eventually turned sour. In the confines of a starship or orbital drop battalion, it would become impossible to avoid interacting with the other party which often exacerbated negative personal feelings. Sometimes to the detriment of the entire unit. "The drama usually ain't worth it. Never seen a couple last in the Corps longer than a year."

"That's what Dad said," she said and looked over at him, smiling. "I get it in the Corps. I mean, general Starfleet is different, but I sort of...just want to focus right now. And I like my own company and I got the stuffed animals if I need something to hug..." she led him to the bar...well, it was what the station had going as a bar. "Here we are! They do decent cocktails!"

Lamar stopped when they entered the small room to take a look around. He wasn't sure what to make of it. At first glance it looked like the makeshift work of some bored eggheads who'd constructed a few stills. There was a countertop and a civilian behind it who appeared to be tending bar. "Do they have beer?" he asked with a frown.

"Yeah, they do..." Aria laughed and patted his arm, walking to the bar. "Can we have one beer and...oh, can I have an amaretto sour?" she turned to face Lamar, holding his eyes. "I got a theory that the scientists here cook up their own moonshine, you know. Just a theory."

He gave her a knowing look then leaned down close to her ear in order to keep his voice down. "I'd bet my all my personal leave days on it. I don't know a thing about chemistry but if this whole station is scientists, they got to be cooking up some shit. Like, real alcohol. That stuff from the twentieth century that used to make people blind by accident."

"You know, when Luna had its first colony, four people went blind on moonshine. One person died..." Aria smiled weakly before she looked thoughtful. "In all fairness, he was so drunk he left the dome without securing his helmet. That is why."

Lamar smirked at the thought. From his limited research into Earth's history, he'd come to the conclusion that Humans used to be much stupider than they were now in the 2390s. "Let's drink one to that man," he said, taking the beer which was poured from him and raising it to Aria. "Rest in peace, drunk moon guy."

She took her own drink and raised raised it as well. "To Jamie Waterman, who walked where no one had walked before without a suit..." she took a sip and moaned, closing her eyes. "Oh wow, this is a good drink. I don't know what people here do but I think they're researching yumminess!"

The chief warrant officer started to drink his beer. He held it to his lips then tilted both his head and glass back in tandem. It started with a few long sips but those swiftly turned into prominent swallows followed by several final gulps. He semi-slammed his glass back down on the bar and looked to Rice with swollen cheeks containing the remnants of his beer. He swallowed again then put a hand to his mouth to suppress a burp - futily.

She looked at him before she laughed, unable to stop it, moving her hand to hit his shoulder. "Oh please, you can let it out...better out and in as they say at the Academy." She motioned for another for him and drank hers down...a bit of a waste but she might as well. "Mm...okay, can I now have a shot of vodka?" she asked the man tending the bar before she considered it. "Make it a double."

He burped again as ordered. "Shots, right now?" Lamar looked at her with wide eyes. "Can I at least get a kiss before I black out?" he complained. The L-T partied hard apparently. Like most former Marines, he enjoyed the occasion drink, but he didn't have much tolerance for hard liquor. The real stuff.

"Shot's for me, not you, given how quickly you drained that beer," she said and smiled, watching him closely. "And if you're really nice, I can ask one of the lovely sciency girls to kiss you and tuck you into bed tonight..." she winked and took the shotglass that was put down.

Lamar felt relieved he wouldn't have to drink the liquid potion. But also a bit sad and embarrassed. He didn't realize she was hording the concoction for herself instead of sharing. And her offer of lady eggheads was.. He shuddered at the thought. "Well, if you're doing one...can you get me one too?" The CWO didn't want to feel left out after his bluff had been called.

She looked at him for a moment before she nodded. "Another one for my friend," she said and nodded to the bartender before she met Lamar's eyes. "Don't want to force you. Neat liquor isn't everyone's deal but...I don't know, I suppose I got used to it. Not much I can do with my size but I can hold my drink...to a certain point. And then I wake up and it feels like a wet dog moved into my mouth and had puppies..." she made a face, her blue eyes wide before she laughed.

"Yeah, I hear that," he half-fake-laughed in return. Wet dog in the mouth...with puppies?? He felt confused trying to visualize such a happening. The more he got to know the lieutenant, the more he realized the rumors about Lunans he'd heard on Earth was true. They were borderline crazy. A clear shot was placed in front of him by the bartender which resembled Rice's but with only half the volume. "What are we toasting to this time?"

She held his eyes for a moment before lifting her glass to his. "How about...Starfleet?" she suggested softly. "And what we stand for. Explorers. Helpers. Adventurers. And the great adventure of space exploration?"

"And the Jem'Hadar we took out along the way," he added, somewhat solemnly. The rush of real alcohol from the beer he'd chugged was now permeating through his veins. He couldn't help think about his time in the Marine Corps during the Dominion War when his colleague mentioned the Fleet. "Yeah. To Starfleet. And new worlds and everyone on Latari..." he raised his glass.

She nodded, holding his eyes before she winked and knocked her drink back easily, closing her eyes. "Mm...okay, that is...real...stuff..." she cleared her throat before she chuckled. "Warming!"

Lamar downed his shot in one gulp in an attempt to emulate the younger security chief. Instantly his gag reflex kicked in and his facial features creased. They turned to mild distress while he tried to control himself. He grimaced as he re-swallowed the shot, then looked to Aria with watery, judgemental eyes. "People drink this?" he coughed. "For fun?"

"Some like the taste...I like good quality stuff," she said and put her glass down. "Most drink it for the fuzzy warm after effects. Don't forget...it's technically a poison. And your body will react to it." She shifted in her chair, taking a deeper breath. "I like it because it usually...lets me relax a bit. Makes me less nervous! Dutch courage and that sort."

He jabbed her lightly on her arm then smirked. "Yeah I know what liquor is." He pointed to the empty shot glass then shook his head. "That's more like combustible fuel. What happened to good 'ol brandy and whiskey? That stuff actually has flavor."

"Oh, that is still around," Aria said with a warm smile and shook her head. "Vodka is a decent go to for being out. Tequila is if you want to really get...messy...I never understood brandy though. A good single malt is wasted on someone like me. Vodka, to me, reminds me of the stuff we get on Luna, or colonies...that sort you know once would have been able to fuel a shuttle except now we have better tech."

Lamar folded his arms on the bar's countertop while his stomach digested the hard booze. He listened to her deduce the different spirits. It made sense, he supposed. He didn't know much about distilling but from what he'd heard growing up, vodka and its grain derivatives were the easiest to manufacture with minimal infrastructure. That led his curiosity down another path. "Tell me about the moon. We did low-G training there in the Corps when I was young. But...what's it really like?"

She looked at him for a moment before she gave a small shrug. "For me, no different to anyone else. Under the dome you just...live and breathe like anywhere else. But I suppose it was a bit like being on a ship. You donned a suit and went outside and...the shift there, it was like a...a weight of you. The view was beautiful too, just seeing Earth there with all the colours," she looked down, thinking about it. "The cities are beautiful but fragile. You never see those that work so hard to make sure that everything works, that there are no cracks or leaks. We had drills when I grew up, about the nearest shelters and nearest suits and how quickly you can get transported to safety. Truth is...you knew there was no point. If it really happened, the people who would be saved were the ones that mattered to the Federation."

The way she described the lunar lifestyle seemed foreign to him. In many ways it sounded like the opposite of his experience growing up on Earth in a major urban center. Yet he could appreciate the colony's charm which obviously stuck with her through her life so far. When she talked about disaster preparation, however, he frowned with perplexity at her last statement. "What does that mean? 'The ones that mattered to the Federation'?"

Aria looked at him before she warmed her shot glass in her hand for a moment before lifting it and tipping it, to drink the last few drops. It was an excuse to be quiet as she considered it. "Scientists, leaders..." she finally said and met his eyes. "It would be a priority beaming situation. Order of import. Do you think Henry the man who raves about Luna being hollow whilst holding up a holosign would be the first to be beamed to safety?"

He thought about her question. It was still hard to understand from his Earth perspective. "Maybe. But didn't people once think the moon was made of cheese?" He leaned back on his bar stool. "That's not a reason to leave someone behind."

"Luna has a history of hard choices," Aria said softly as she watched him, with a small smile. "Not as much as some other colonies out there, but...we're pragmatic about some stuff. Me? Oh, I just go where the stars take me. And right now it is here, next to you! Good drinking friends and shoreleave, what is there not to love?"

"Yeah yeah, stars and dreams," he poked fun at her. "Out here in the ass-end of the quadrant with a bunch of eggheads. Never thought I'd see the day. Shit, never thought I'd end up piloting starships." He gestured for another beer to the bartender. "You're right, though. Fleet isn't so different than the Corps was. It's all about the people around you."

Aria nodded and nudged him, glad to see him smiling as she motioned for a refill of her shot. "The spirit of it lives on," she said softly before she bit her lip, clearly trying to think. And then she cleared her throat, straightened and added: "Sic itur ad astra."

"So we go to the stars," he translated with a wink. He'd always wondered why latin language was a required course at the Marine Academy. Now he finally understood. "To our ship and to you," he raised his new beer for a final toast.

She raised her glass, holding his eyes with a small smile. "And to you, my friend," she said softly and knocked her drink back.

[OFF]

--

Lieutenant Aria Rice
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo-A

CWO3 Lamar Darius
Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Saalm]

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