Put It On My Tab

Posted on Wed May 14th, 2025 @ 11:15am by Commander Calvin 'Cal' Maraj & Lieutenant Dashku Zhevou

2,020 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Year One: Strange Bedfellows
Location: The DMZ, USS Moore
Timeline: MD032 - 2309 hours

Riotous laughter could be heard even from outside The DMZ, some old songs from the war floated through the air, all sung out but still the buzz they created had lit the lounge alive.

The news of a new CO sends scuttlebutt into overdrive and whilst it was sad what happened to Captain Stryvek Cal could do nothing about it. His job now was to boost the crew, get to know them and them he. Cal was always a larger than life kind of guy, never shy and always game for a laugh.

Don't get him wrong, he knew his stuff and would turn on the professionalism when he needed too, but after 2300 hours there was no need for airs to be had.

"Another round for the table!" he yelled to the bartender who looked quite weary at the very suggestion.

Dash was sitting at the bar, she was nursing her usual rye whiskey on the rocks and idly watching the crew and the broadcast that was coming across. It seemed the news about the deal with the Orions was finally breaking, but it was being spun as a great thing for the Federation. She had her reservations, but it was putting her in a sour mood and the rowdy table behind her wasn't helping the situation.

She glanced back at the table, glaring at it, when one of the people shouted about getting another round. She looked at Char with an apologetic look. She finally turned on her stool and looked at the table again.

"Do you really need to be so damn loud?" She asked. "Some of us would like a nice quiet drink after a long shift."

"Then go to your quarters!" Cal shouted back. "No-one comes for a quiet drink in a bar that doesn't want their mood changed, or for the quiet." Cal moved from his table and eyed Char to get another round going for the table. Char knew who he was and gave their own apologetic look to the new CO.

As he got closed the Zhevou he plopped himself down at the bar and eyed the young woman, his large frame taking up a fair amount of space. "So, Lieutenant Zhevou, what has got you so blue?" he asked before one, realizing he'd rhymed that without meaning it, and two, that calling someone who is green blue might be confusing. "Well, down in the dumps as my grandmother says." he shed some light on the blue saying for those not from Earth.

Dashku turned to look at the man who'd sat down, she didn't immediately recognize him and the only new person she knew of being on board was the captain. It was a safe deduction that this was indeed the new Captain. She arched one of her brows for a moment, almost Vulcan like. The man was sure of himself, a lot more like what she'd expect from an executive officer, not someone being given command.

"I am, in fact, green," She replied, a smirk hinted at the corner of her lip for only a second before she continued. "I like drinking in a bar, it's even more depressing to drink alone in my quarters. Captain Maraj I presume."

"That you are." Cal nodded in agreement with the Orion woman. "Caught me." he placed his arm across his chest and gripped his other arm to simulate being caught. "Commander Calvin Maraj." he then looked at her drained drink glass. "And I guess you're right. Alone drinking is much better done in company. At least here you don't need to listen to yourself think, right?" he smirked.

"Welcome aboard Captain," Dashku replied with a half smile, the man already finished another drink and she felt like she was starting to get a read on him. She finished the last little bit of whiskey in her glass and took a second to get Char's attention for another one. When he finally came over she smirked, "I'll have another and it's on his tab. In fact I think he's picking up the rest of my drinks tonight, isn't that right?"

"I may offer this next drink on my tab." Calvin conceded with raised eyebrows at the ballsy assumption of the young woman. "What makes you think I have the latinum to keep up with you for more drinks? Starfleet doesn't pay you a penny you know." he smirked.

"Oh, so you're not the type to buy the exotic Orion drinks just to get a chance to flirt with her? That's surprising," Dashku asked with a mild hint of playfulness. "You were just offering to buy your entire table another round, I just figured you'd be able to handle my tiny little bar tab on top of it."

"I can be whatever kind of guy you need me to be. You don't have to be an exotic Orion for me to buy you a drink so I can flirt with you. Although, exotic, beautiful and Orion, do work in your favour tonight." he returned the playfulness. "Me picking up your 'tiny' little bar tab would have to be worth my while."

"Oh that works into my favor every night," Dashku pointed out with a smirk. She looked over at him for a moment before she gave him a shrug. "I would think letting you sit next to me and talk to me would be enough to make it worth your while."

"I'm sure that it does." Cal agreed with her own modest statement. "But maybe the privilege is yours to sit next to me. That may be more worth your while than me sitting by you." he shrugged back in return. "But I'll bite, what makes you being your drinking partner so special?" he asked with a glint in his eye.

"Oh my very large...," She paused for a moment to take a sip of her whiskey. "...eyes. I've also been told I have a wonderful personality but I honestly think it's because the people drinking with me want to get a glimpse of my rather impressive chest. You strike me as a fly boy, arrogant and as full of himself as they come."

"My supposed arrogance is confidence in myself, I don't think I'm better than anyone so not quite reached the arrogance stage yet, but that may change." Cal shrugged his broad shoulders. "You do have what we'd call a spitfire of a personality, not afraid to say what you mean and I like that in my officers. I'll let you in on a not so secret fact, I am a flyboy and proud of it. As to your 'impressive chest', I'm sure your personality is far more exciting." he smirked.

"Confidence and arrogance can often be confused for one another," Dashku replied with a slight shrug of her own, before taking another sip of her whiskey. "I'm very direct, I don't like wasting time with a lot of the fluff in a conversation. I've met enough flyboys to be able to pick one out. Very adult of you to be more interested in my personality, maybe I misjudged you."

"You wouldn't be the first, lieutenant." Cal referred to those in his past that misjudged him far too quickly. They'd all thought his cavalier attitude, his playing fast and loose with the rules would be his downfall. Yet here he stood, now in command of a starship.

"I get the feeling it would be different if I was some random Orion in a bar rather than a member of your crew," Dashku smirked at him, it was a pleasant surprise he wasn't that type of officer. "I guess only time will tell."

"Time sneaks up on us all," Cal smirked in return. "but I like a little danger. Though you may possibly be right. Outside of the crew I command I do like to have a little fun. I'd rather do something I enjoy than sit staring at the walls of my quarters and ready room."

"I would like to ignore time for as long as possible," Dashku shrugged one of her shoulders and let out a soft sigh before taking a sip of her whiskey. "Danger can be fun, nothing wrong with a little thrill. It is why I chose ship side service instead of something more safe. What kind of fun do you like to have?"

"You put me at the helm of a fighter, or shuttle, point me to a fight or path no-one else thinks they can navigate and I'm in heaven." Cal smirked as he swirled his own drink in his glass. "Outside of that I will keep to myself. Captain's got to have a little mystery." he chuckled. "What about you, lieutenant? What excites you?"

"Not loud, drunk guys in bars who might only pay for one drink," Dash said with a chuckle. She didn't want to tell him exactly what it was that excited her, and like most things in life there wasn't just one thing. "The truth is, that's a complicated question. I do enjoy a good thrill ride, and there's nothing quite like a good fight to get the blood pumping."

"Yeah, those guys are the worst." Calvin very much knew where that comment was aimed but he liked that she was willing to have some fun. "It's true, you can't beat a good fight. I used to box a lot when I was a little younger and there's nothing like looking someone in the eye right before you land a right hook on them."

"I've always found human boxing to be an interesting sport. Limiting oneself to only striking an opponent rather than having plenty of grapples or submissions seems rather boring," Dash shrugged one of her shoulders, she'd never been in a boxing ring but she'd known a few and had watched the sport. "But I've never boxed before, only more MMA style fighting."

"Boxing is not just about striking an opponent with your hands. By doing that is forces the fighter to strategize the best way to beat their opponent. It's about using your head as much as your fists. An attacking strategy has to be matched with a defensive mind too. Going gung-ho and attacking an opponent will be the shortest fight of your life and the quickest way to end up face down on the mat. It's a battle to see who comes out on top and I love it. Two people, toe-to-toe. One winner at the end left standing." Cal spoke passionately as shivers of excitement travelled down his spine. "Although I do like MMA style fighting too." he admitted.

"If you treat every match like a straight up slug fest, you're sure to lose as your opponents can plan for it, but there are times when the strategy to go right on the attack is the best course of action. It can put your opponent on their back foot and keep them off balance. I said it was boring, not that I didn't understand it," Dash smirked at Cal, a bit of glint in her eyes. "Besides, everyone has a plan until they're punched in the mouth."

"You're not wrong." Cal conceded as smirk grew on his face. Flashing through his mind were a few fights he'd gotten into in the past and a quick clip by someone's hand often led to a heart over head response to fighting back, but he often came out on top.

As if all of a sudden he downed his drink and slapped his paw of a hand off the bar lightly." Well, Lieutenant I've taken up enough of your time, and everyone else." he signalled Char over and gave him some latinum, enough to cover the rest of the night for all those in the lounge should they request drinks that needed payment. "See you on the bridge."

"Of course, enjoy your evening Captain. I'm looking forward to working with you," Dashku gave him a friendly nod. "And thank you for the drink."

Cal nodded as if to say 'my pleasure' before taking his leave from the DMZ.

 

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