Drinks on New Risa

Posted on 05 Apr 2016 @ 12:27am by Lieutenant Commander Temerant Bast & Lieutenant Commander Camila Di Pasquale

3,407 words; about a 17 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Location: New Risa
Timeline: MD 4 - 5

The sound of the waves was peaceful as they walked up to the bar. The sun was just starting its descent in the violet-colored sky. Birds were flying overhead, their playful chatter cutting short when one of them decided to suddenly make a dive into the ocean, only to come up a few seconds later with a large fish in its beak. A few people were swimming in the ocean, and a couple of joggers were running along on the sand.

The bar area consisted of a dozen or so tables, grouped around a central bar, and surrounded by planters filled with various exotic-looking flowers and plants. Only two or three tables were vacant, while the others were occupied by small groups of people, mostly from species indigenous to the Gamma Quadrant. Bast saw a group of faces that he recognized from the Black Hawk, without being able to put a name on the faces.

He was a bit taken aback by the level of noise coming from the place - or rather, by the lack of it. He would have expected a bar to be a lot noisier, filled with people talking, cheerful and laughing, but everyone seemed almost subdued. He spotted a few people yawning, and exchanging tired smiles with their companions. But at least everyone tried to look like they were having a good time. Bast wrote it off to exhaustion following a day spent in the warm sun.

"What's your pleasure?" He asked Camila, as he walked up to the barman.

Camila walked in behind him and her trained eye immediately took in the patrons of the bar and the mood, which seemed unusual. Still, she was tired herself after the rock climb and had gone back to the hotel to change into a pair of black loose fitting jeans, a white t-shirt that said "You Don't Want to Know" on the front and "I Don't Either" on the back and a comfortable pair of shoes. "I'll have a Risan Mai-Tai," she said. "Double everything."

Bast had similarly changed into casual clothing. He wore an amber tunic of Trill design that brought out his hazel eyes, tight-fitting linen shorts that fell just short of his knees, and open sandals. His combadge was concealed inside his tunic sleeve.

He pulled out a chair for Camila, and once she had seated herself, he walked over to the bar. He found himself standing next to a short, burly Wadi man, who seemed to be mumbling to himself.

Camila gave him a smile. "Thank you, Temerant," she said as she sat down and continued to look around the room subtly. There seemed to be an atmosphere of gloom hanging over the place and she began to feel as if they had picked the wrong bar.

"What'll it be?" asked the bartender, a Karemma female with a thick nasal cartilage and a mount of jet-black hair pulled into a tight bun.

"I'll have one double Risan Mai-Tai, and a Black Hole," he said. Black holes had been Lamorra Bast's favorite drink, and he could remember many a night spent drinking those.

Once the drinks were made and served the bartender turned her attention to another customer who had laid his head on the bar. "No sleeping," she said. "This is a bar, not a bed and breakfast."

The man, a Paradan blearily looked up and gave a half nod which almost resulted in him falling face first to the counter again, but he pushed himself up. "Give me something with a stimulating kick," he mumbled.

The bartender grumbled under her breath. She walked around the bar, and gave the barstool a solid kick, knocking it from under the man.

"How's that for a stimulating kick?" she asked.

Camila watched and looked towards Temerant to see if he had the drinks. She reminded herself that she wasn't on a Federation planet and the man who had just been assaulted wasn't a Federation citizen, but she still had to resist the urge to interfere.

The Paradan went unconscious again when he hit the floor and laid there.

Temerant looked at the unconscious man on the floor, and raised an eyebrow. He picked up the two glasses, and stepped over the man, heading back to his table.

"Here we are," he said, handing the Risan Mai-Tai to Camila. "Now the way I see it, the only thing that would make this place more romantic is if an actual bar fight broke out," he added, with more than a touch of sarcasm in his voice.

"I'd say that we picked a very...interesting..bar to come to," she said as she accepted her drink. "People look like they lost their best friends in this place."

Temerant looked at the haggard faces that surrounded them. People didn't look so much depressed, as outright exhausted. "I don't think so," he said. "It's more like they'll all fall asleep the moment you start singing a lullaby."

"I wonder why," Camila asked as she took a drink. "Is this the melancholy hour for tired workers?"

"You've got me," said Temerant, downing his drink in one swallow. This place was making him nervous.

Suddenly the Paradan who had passed out woke up and began to scream as he clawed at himself and kicked away from the bar. He lunged over the bar and grabbed at bottles of liquor and began to douse himself with them while screaming and clawed at something on his body.

Camila's eyes went big and she missed her drink entirely as she watched the Paradan. "I'd fight a Nausicaan for a phaser right now," she said as the Paradan freaked out behind the bar. "I think this would be a good time to exit."

"I agree," said Temerant. He could also feel anxiety about the situation coming from Bast.

She got up and motioned towards the door as the bartender began to beat the Paradan with a large cudgel while bellowing for him to get out of her bar. "Now."

Temerant followed Camila out of the bar. Once they were back on the beach and a safe distance from the unsettling experience of the bar, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "So what now?" he asked.

He looked at the setting sun, and a sudden growling in his stomach reminded him that they hadn't eaten in quite some time. He remembered passing by a small market on his way from his hotel. "My room came with a small kitchen," he said. "We can stop by the market and pick up some food. There's a nice balcony with an ocean view."

"Hopefully they'll have some liquor as well," Camila said as she looked around. "I could really use a good buzz."

Temerant laughed. "I hear you."

At the market, they picked up fruits and vegetables, most of which were indigenous to New Risa, and some items that seemed to be imported from Federation worlds. They also managed to buy two bottles of liquor, with which they were going to try to make a few cocktails.

"Lead the way," she said as she picked up a few things as well which she immediately put into a small bag after she paid.

It was a short walk to Temerant's hotel. He had rented a small suite, with a small kitchen with dining area, a couch, and adjacent bedroom. The room was sparsely decorated, and had a certain Earth retro feel to it. Beige walls, terra cotta floor tiles, and white gauzy drapes constituted the main color palette, with holographic art displayed on the walls. With the sun setting, the temperature started to cool, and the humidity level started to rise. It was getting a bit stuffy in the hotel room, so Temerant opened the doors and windows to allow for a cooling breeze to aerate the room. He laid out the supplies they'd bought on the kitchen counter, and started chopping and dicing the vegetables.

While Temerant made the food, Camila opened the bottles of booze and inspected each before she scanned them with her tricorder. Satisfied that it wouldn't poison either of them, she used a bit of juice from the fruits they had gotten at the market and proceeded to experiment with various amounts and finally reached a blend which was only a little fruity with a bit of tang to it, and a generous amount of liquor in each one. She watched him work and smiled; it was good to find someone who knew their way around a kitchen.

After a few minutes, Temerant produced two dishes filled with a warm salad made up of the local fruits and vegetables that they'd purchased at the market. A tricorder scan had confirmed that everything on the plate was edible for their respective physiologies. He had minced the leaves of one of the larger green vegetables that seemed to be closest to a head of lettuce, and grilled what looked like an avocado – if an avocado were purple, and had spikes. Local nuts were used for crunch, and some of the fruits he had reduced to a purée and combined with the local equivalent of olive oil for a sweet vinaigrette, which he served warm.

He set the dish down in front of Camila, and took a seat at the table across from her.

She came over with the mixed drinks she had made and offered him one before taking a seat herself. "It smells wonderful, Temerant," she said. "Where did you learn to cook like this?"

"My little sister's a top chef on Trill," he explained. "I picked up a few things while watching her. And I also have two other lifetimes of preparing food..."

"It must be very nice having a chef in the family," Camila said as she took a bite of her salad. "This is really good. Not to mention having two lifetimes yourself. I'm not bad in the kitchen, but odds are good you'll find me at the replicator more than actually preparing food. I just don't have enough time."

Temerant took a bite of the salad, making sure he got a little bit of everything on his fork. The minced lettuce tasted bitter, but the sweetness of the purple avocado offered a nice contrast. The vinaigrette offered a good level of acidity, and there was just enough salt in the nuts to strike a perfect balance.

"Thank you. They do have wonderful produce on this planet," he said. "I like cooking, actually. It relaxes me. And there is something to be said about preparing something with care, and with love, to feed your family and your children."

He was suddenly filled with images of children he didn't know - except he did know them, they were his children. Or rather, his previous hosts' children. Images from decades ago, before he'd even been born - before Temerant had even been born, actually. He smiled, and carefully tucked away the images, knowing he had moved on.

He took a sip of the cocktail that Camila had prepared. The drinks were tasty, with a light fruity touch that wasn't too sweet, and a few seconds later the heat from the alcohol hit his palate. "Now this is good," he added.

Camila smiled. "If it's one thing I do know how to do, it's mix a good drink," she said after she took another bite of the delicious salad. She looked up at him. "I've never had children, but I have thought about the possibility of having one or two when I get out of Starfleet. I just couldn't see myself raising a child while serving, though. There's far too many dangers among the stars to put new lift at risk."

She took a drink, then snorted. "Then again, with the way my luck has run the past two years, I wouldn't be in danger of having children even if I didn't go to medical to get a contraception injection." Camila stopped, realizing what she had just said and hoped that he would think the alcohol would cover the flush that rose to her cheeks with her admission. "What I mean to say it, I've been focused on my career more than anything." Shut up! she told herself. You're not helping.

Temerant nodded. "I've never had children either," he said. "Or rather, Temerant never had children. But my previous hosts did." He rolled his eyes. "It gets confusing at times for me, too. But I agree, I don't think a starship, with all its inherent dangers, is a good place to raise a family. I have great respect for those who choose to do so, but I don't think I ever could." He took another sip of his drink, and could already feel the effects of the alcohol running through his veins.

Camila was grateful that he hadn't decided to help her put her foot deeper into her mouth and smiled. She knew that when a Trill symbiont went to a new host, all connections to the previous host were severed, so she made it a point not to ask about the previous hosts children. "As do I," she said after she took another drink and enjoyed the alcoholic rush it provided. "I just couldn't see myself as being a good mother with me being in Security. My kids would mutiny the moment they understood what I did and then I'd have to design a special brig just for them and hope no one found out what I did."

Temerant laughed. He raised his glass, and looked into Camila's eyes. "My injections are all up to date," he declared with a wink. As he raised his glass, part of his mind took note of the fact that his movements were becoming sluggish, almost approximate. The stuff in these cocktails had to be pretty powerful.

"Is that slow...show...so?" She tried to ask as the alcohol decided her tongue and ability to speak weren't relevant to the conversation. She burst into a fit of laughter and nearly knocked her drink over but caught it in time. "No...nope. You aren't going to escape that easily." She glanced up at him while almost level with the table. "Did anyone ever tell you that you have really cute spots?"

Temerant could feel himself blushing - only he wasn't sure if it was because of Camila's compliment, or because of the alcohol. "Once or twice," he conceded. "But usually what people want to know is how far down they go."

He took another sip, but realized his glass was empty. He got up from his seat, lost his balance, and caught himself on the table before making his way back to the kitchen. He grabbed the two bottles, and brought them back to the table. He then turned around, steadied himself on the table again, and went back for the fruit juice.

"Do you need a hand with that?" Camila asked as she got up a bit unsteadily and made her way to where he was, using the table as a guide. Once she was behind him, she used him for support and looked at the drinks. "Okay...one blue...then two juice, a shot of red and some of the green stuff." She looked up at him. "So do they?"

Temerant gave a crooksided smile. "Wouldn't you like to know." The touch of her hand on the bare skin of his arm felt good. She had unusually warm hands - at least compared to a Trill, who were notorious for having cold hands.

He grabbed the bottles, and tried to pick the first one up without knocking the others over.

* * * * * * *

Camila opened her eyes and groaned as bright sunlight filtered in through the curtains. She looked around through blurry eyes and a foggy mind and realized that she was in a room that wasn't hers. Putting a hand up to shield her eyes from the glare, she pushed the covers aside and sat up. She felt a breeze and shivered, then looked down; her eyes went wide when she saw that she wasn't wearing a thing under the blanket. "What....did we?"

She looked back at the bed, but saw no sign of Temerant and wondered if he had gotten up before her. Standing up, she looked for her clothes but didn't see them and headed for the living room. "Temerant?" she asked before she groaned at the sound of her own voice echoing like an explosion in her head.

She found the Trill sound asleep on the couch, gently snoring, in a similar state of undress. He was lying on his back, one arm draped over his eyes to shield them from the morning sun. The shuffle of her feet on the carpet, as well as a sudden snore that was louder than usual, woke him with a start. He sat upright on the couch, and was immediately hit with the sound of a thousand drums beating in his head.

He looked around the room, uncertain for a moment where he was. His eyes went to the pile of clothes on the floor, to the empty bottles on the table, to Camila who was standing naked before him. And finally to himself, as he finally noticed that he was also completely naked.

"Wha..." was all he could manage to say.

"You...they...do go all the way," Camila managed as she let her eyes drift over him, her eyes going wide a moment before she forced them closed. She let them slit open a little a moment later and looked at him. "Did we....?" she asked softly.

Temerant rubbed at his face with his palms to clear the sleep from his head, and winced at the brightness of the sunlight, all the while wishing for more blood to go to his brain - though not too much, as his head felt very much hung over. He searched his memory for the previous night's events, but everything was a blank after the salad.

"I don't remember," he mumbled finally.

Camila sat down beside him and reached to lay a hand on his leg. "Nor do I," she said quietly as her own head throbbed. "Whatever liquor that was did a number on us." She paused and looked at him. "But if we did...I would not regret it."

Temerant smiled, and reached out to place his hand on top of hers. "Neither would I," he said softly. He reached up, and held her shoulders, drawing her closer.

She went to him willingly and softly pressed her lips against his as she leaned into him, one hand slipping behind his back to lightly tease the hair at the base of his neck.

He returned her kiss, and the passion in their embrace grew as he pulled her tighter. And in that moment he felt the relief of months of pressure and stress lifted from his shoulders. The fear and isolation he had lived when he'd been under the Consortium's control, cut off from his symbiont, distrusting of everyone, and later the isolation he'd been subjected to by his crewmates, once he'd been exposed as an enemy agent, all of that faded away as he held the person who had been among the first to trust him, and the first to forgive him, despite being the one that he'd fired upon.

He ran his hands over the smoothness of her skin, caressed the back of her neck, and the small of her back.

A while later, Camila stirred from where she was curled up against the Trill and smiled as she looked at the handsome man. "You may have cold hands," she said softly. "But I'll be the first to say that everything else about you is smoking hot. If we did anything last night or not, today is the one that is going to stay in my memory, Temerant."

Temerant smiled, and drew her closer, stroking her back, running his hand through her silky blonde hair, nibbling on her earlobe and kissing her neck. "We've got about twelve hours left on this shore leave," he said. "I don't know if you have plans or not, but I plan on spending every minute of it naked in this room, with you."

"That sounds like a plan to me," Camila agreed with a smile.

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