Shore Leave: The Bar

Day 1, 1700 hours

After some time to get settled in, Zephyr and Moira meet up outside their cottages and walk towards the plaza by the beach. There are some shops and bars around there that you can see.
You walk past a place that catches Moira's eye. A rustic building made from dark wood that looks like it was not made by professionals. There are some fishing decorations hanging in front of the entrance and a large sign painted on an exotic looking fish from wood that reads "Stoneshell Pub"
You decide to enter and find yourselves in a cramped looking little room. There are a few tables and some stairs that lead to a second level. The house looks much smaller on the inside than it did from the outside with a low ceiling that you can just very barely stand upright in without hitting your heads.
The bar is almost completely empty. The only guest is a man, sand colored hair, a light tan, doesn't look like spacefleet, sitting at the counter. He has a few empty glasses next to him but doesn't seem drunk. He's having an animated conversation with the barkeeper, a short alien man who reminds you of a humanoid turtle with a long neck, deep black eyes and a huge, hard shell on his back.
He looks up at you when you come in and very slowly welcomes you before turning his attention back to the man in front of him. He doesn't seem to recognize you right away but Moira immediately does, even though it's been a while since she's last seen her old friend...

The turtle man lets out a deep, slow laugh as he recognizes Moira. "RC, good to see you, old house. Who would have guessed you would show up here."
He turns his attention to Zephyr and says: "Any friend of my friends - or of good alcohol - is my friend. Now, what can I bring you?"
Before you can reply, Alira comes up to the bar and orders a drink. Stone pours her a clear drink and she takes it to a table. The sandy haired man watches her closely. He nods at Zephyr and Moira as a greeting but then gets up and follows Alira, taking his pint with him. Standing at her table, he gestures towards another chair and asks: "May I?"
Stone pours you whatever you're ordering and then leans down, resting his arms on his shell in a gesture Moira has seen many times before. "So, RC, what brings you here? Just on vacation?"

"Good, good", Stone replies. "I heard about that ship. You did something that got people talking. You'll have to tell me all about it. And you look good, too. Not a day over 250, I would say." He laughs again

The man sits down at your table, Alira. "I appreciate the candor, though it wasn't the answer I was hoping for." He smiles and looks you up and down for a second Then he says: "Let me guess: You're spacefleet, junior officer, working your way up the career ladder. Yes or now? The name's Nic, by the way. What can I call you?"

Stone serves your drinks and when Zephyr asks for a refill, he gives one to him as well. The refilled glass is not quite as full as the first one was and Zephyr feels Stone's eyes on him as he checks out how well he can handle his alcohol.
He laughs at Zephyr's joke, although Moira is certain he must have heard it before more than once.
"Celebrating, eh?", he asks. "If you tell me the story and it impresses me, I'll give you one of my specials on the house."

Nic takes a swig from his glass and replies: "Not bad, Alira. Except for the down on my luck part. I'm actually here to look for someone, not hide from someone." After a short pause, he adds "And Cadets really aren't my type, too young and boring. Bedding people with some space experience is far more interesting. You should try it some time."

Nic gestures to the bar and Stone, after quickly excusing himself from Moira and Zephyr, brings Alira a refill. He then returns to the bar and nods at Zephyr to indicate that he's back and listening again.
"Harsh but fair", Nic replies with a smile. "What exactly is it that you're doing in spacefleet. No, let me guess, you're command branch, red uniform, hoping to become a captain?"

"Security, eh? Wouldn't have guessed that. You're full of surprises." He finishes his own drink and waves to the bar for another one. Stone sees him and grumbles in response. He looks like he's going to take his time with this order.
"Is that the kind of person you think I am? Full of honor and self-sacrifice?" He lets out a short laugh. "No, I left for the money. There's things only latinum can get you and as you know, you don't get rich in the fleet."
After Alira's next question, he replies: "Just an old friend that I have some business to discuss with."

Nic looks like he is about to protest but then smirks. "I do hope you'll give me an opportunity to repay my debt." He leans forward, resting his elbows on the table. "Any special reason why you came to this planet for your leave?"

"She shouldn't be too difficult to find, but thanks for the offer." He glances over to Stone, who is still talking to Moira and Zephyr. "You're new on the island, right? Did you arrive with these guys?"

"They look familiar. I might have seen them before but I don't remember their names. They must be from the Potential."
He turns back to Alira. "What ship are you assigned to? Any interesting stories?"

Stone is listening closely, apparently captivated by the recounting of the adventure. He makes sure to keep refilling your drinks while Zephyr is talking.
He also refills Alira and Nic's glasses at one point but hurries back faster than you would expect from a tortoise man to hear the rest of the story. "Fascinating", he finally says. "And very dangerous. I'm happy you made it out in one piece, both of you."
He fills up three flashes with a clear liquid, puts one in front of each of you and takes the third one. "Don't try to drink this in one go. Slow sips unless you want to meet the doctor on site." He laughs, making it unclear whether he was completely serious or joking, then raises his glass and says "To adventure. I do miss the excitement sometimes, although I was only ever an observer on the Bull."

"If you want coffee, there's a better place at the entrance of the guest village. I heard they're actually getting real coffee beans shipped from Menur-2 instead of replicating them."
Nic takes another big swig from his new pint. He smiles at Alira's last statement but doesn't reply to it.

Nic shakes her hand and holds on a little bit longer than necessary before letting go. "If you're looking for company while you're here, I'm staying in cottage number 14. Or you can just find me around the bars here."
Stone thanks you for the tip and invites you to come back again soon.

"Of everything, of little RC here.", Stone replies. "I was a barkeeper on the Bull, so I got to watch all the excitement but never actually had to solve it. Although I believe that my advice saved the day more than once."

He looks at Alira. "She hasn't been in here yet, or at least hasn't given her name. If she comes in, I can give her a message if you want."

Thank you all. I am sure I will run into her. I won't interrupt your conversation any further. Have a great day all.

Alira waves and with a smile heads to the door.

I wonder what the chances are of running into potential shipmates. Small universe.

Stone takes a small sip from his own glass before replying. "Apparently it's called Fleetwine. That Farredan captain, Theliak I think, has gifted it to me. I'm currently trying to have the replicator analyze it but it's having some difficulties. It's good, though, isn't it?"

"Im doing well, little one. As it turns out people on shore leave are much better tippers than on a spaceship. Auber Spirit Wine? I haven't had any of that in years. It's pretty hard to get."
The front door opens and a small group of officers talking amongst each other enter. They sit down at a table and Stone excuses himself from the conversation to serve them.

Day 1, 2230 hours

Some hours pass. Moira and Zephyr sit down at a table and talk, steadily getting their drinks refilled by Stone who at first sits with them for a while but as the bar fills up more and more, spends less time at their table. From time to time, others join them at their table and leave again. At one point, they notice that the man that was already in there when they arrived, Nic, leaves, but he gets replaced by a steady stream of new guests.

Cass and Alex go from bar to bar, getting progressively more drunk in each of them. The alcohol is significantly better than it was at the beach and by the time it's dark, they are both wasted. They spot another bar they haven't been in yet and enter. It's small and crowded but it looks like fun. The barkeeper is a large, tortoise-like alien with a friendly face who sees you and waves you in right away. As you come inside, you notice Moira and Zephyr sitting at a small table close to the bar, both with a drink in front of them

Alira decides that she should be well rested for the talk with Lt. Comm. Darcy the next day so you head into your cottage early to get some sleep. You can hear partying noises from the direction of the plaza but they're not loud enough to be annoying.

As Cass and Moira are struggling to get down from the table, both of them find a hand in front of them, held out to help them down.
Before they can get off the table with the offered help, the front door of the bar opens and a group of four people enters.
They are obviously spacefleet, even though none of them are wearing uniform. Three out of the four are human, the last one is an alien with a bone ridge from his forehead to the back of his neck where it disappears under his shirt. They all seem to be in their thirties, except for a young woman with dark hair and a complexion that looks Mediterranean or maybe Arabic, who is in her early twenties. They enter without looking around much, looking like they know the place well, and find a spot at the bar where they order some drinks.
Alex recognizes the young woman who seems to have not spotted her in the crowd yet.

Julia spins around and pushes Alex away instinctively. She's never liked physical displays of affection, especially in public, and she definitely didnt expect it here. Her face shows confusion. "Mom? What are you doing here?"
She steps back and looks Alex up and down for a bit.
As you look at her up close, you notice that her appearance has changed since the last time you saw her. Her hair is shorter than you remember and she has switched from contacts to glasses apparently.

When she speaks up again, she doesn't look quite as confused anymore. "Oh, I get it. You heard about it and you're here to talk me out of it, aren't you? Well, you're out of luck."

Julia looks at Cass, her expression turning back to slight confusion. She shakes Cass' hand quickly and just introduces herself as "Julia"
She then turns back to Alex and says "You're both drunk." It's not a question or an accusation, just a factual statement.

Julia raises an eyebrow at the hug and then narrows her eyes at her mother. It looks as if she's checking out Alex for injuries or signs that something is wrong.
"Why? What happened? Are you okay?"

Stone comes by and hands her a drink that she hasn't even ordered yet. She nods a thank you without taking her eyes off Alex.

"Can we focus on this matter first?" Julia seems annoyed, but also genuinely worried about her mother. "I got a message saying you're MIA, then suddenly that you've been found and reassigned to a different ship. I was busy, your message must have slipped through the cracks. What exactly happened to you?"

Julia watches the weird display of drunkenness in front of her, barely able to comprehend what is going on or what everyone is talking about. When Alex addresses her and draws her attention away from Cass' emotional outburst, she asks: "So you're saying you're not here because of me? It's just a coincidence?"
Her eyes wander over to Cass again and she adds: "I'm sorry I missed your message. I was under a lot of stress with my assignment here and confused by those spacefleet updates on you and I guess Maen distracted me when I wasn't busy... I should have checked in with you after what happened to you"

Julia looks to the ground, then to her companions who have ordered drinks and removed themselves form this conversation by now. Then she turns her attention back to Alex.
"He is..." She hesitates for a moment. You get the distinct impression that she has been dreading this conversation. "He's my fiance. Look, can we talk about this when you're sober?"

Alira enters the bar and has to struggle to move through the crowd. It's only a small place and it seems to be very popular. Stone, the tortoise like barkeeper is mixing drinks behind the bar, in front of the bar she spots Lt. Comm. Bruce, who had already been there earlier, talking with some other women. Lt. Comm. Borealis, who had also been there earlier is half sitting, half lying face down on a table, seemingly dozed off. She doesn't spot anyone who looks like a cadet right now but the place is very crowded, so it's impossible to be sure

Julia looks between Cass and Alira. "I don't know who it is you're looking for but it's not us. I'm an ensign."
Then, focusing again on Alex: "I thought you heard about it and that's why you came here."

Julia looks taken aback by Alex' sudden anger. She wants to say something to it but before she manages, Alex apologizes for it herself so Julia doesn't say anything about it.
Julia lets her mother take her hand without resisting. "He does. He really does", she says. She pulls her hand back after a moment.
Her eyes wander back to Cass and she's quiet for a moment. Then she asks Alex: "And, you two, are you together now?"

Julia laughs politely whenever Moira is laughing but you all get the distinct feeling she didn't understand half of what was said. She is definitely lacking practice in understanding Moira-talk.
She takes the datapad and looks at Alex. It's unclear whether she's asking for permission or for a translation.

Stone comes up and raises one of his massive, hairless eyebrows at Moira's order. "Lion Bile, huh? Not the most popular drink around here but if you want your night to end already, I'll pour you some."

"Listen, Mom, it looks like you're having a lot of fun at the moment and I'm not drunk enough to deal with this right now. Maybe we should just talk tomorrow." Julia smiles awkwardly at Moira and Cass. "It was nice meeting you two. I'm sure we'll talk again while you're here."

Cass and Alex leave so abruptly that they just leave Moira, Zephyr and Julia behind. They make their way to the cottages, past the huge metal box at the entrance of the village. There are some people walking around in the village but it's very quiet compared to the bar area.

You keep going and after a moment, you reach your cottages. All cottages of the Potential bridge crew are right next to each other as you booked at the same time. Only Darcy is staying in a different part of the village for some reason.
Despite your drunken state, you notice something odd. Zephyr was still sleeping at the table in Stone's bar and there was no way really for him to get ahead of you without you noticing. Despite this, the light in one room in his cottage are turned on.

She sneaks up to the cottage and notices that the electronic lock at the front door has been disabled and then the door has been opened manually. Probably not the way Zephyr would enter.
As Cass looks through the window, you see that there's some dishes with remains of food on them - some rice dish - and a half-empty glass with a clear liquid sitting on the couch table. On the couch itself she sees a woman sleeping. She's skinny with dark hair, definitely too old to be Zephyr's daughter like Alex suggested, as she appears to be around his age. Cass has never seen her before.

Cass enters the cottage. The front door leads into a tiny hallway which in turn has a door that leads to the main room that she saw into through the window. The door to that room is open but she can't see the couch from this angle.

Cass sneaks closer to the door until she can see the couch. It's empty. Whoever it was that was sleeping on the couch must be a very light sleeper. This experience is sobering Cass up almost as fast as Moira's Lion Bile would have.
Cass can hear light breathing from the other side of the door, close to the wall.

There is a long pause. Finally, you get a reply. A woman's voice says: "This is my cottage and I've done nothing wrong. You have no right to just come in here"

"And I am Lt. Commander Zephyr Borealis' personal guest. Now either piss off or come in and shoot me but if you do that, he might do the same to you."

"He might. He's done dumber things for me." You can hear that the woman's voice seems to have relaxed slightly as well now but she still doesn't show herself. "And I'm sure he would have invited me in but he wasn't home, so I decided to wait for him."

After a short moment, the woman steps into the doorway. She has a knife in her hand but it's not raised. She's a little bit taller than you but very skinny to the point where it doesn't seem healthy anymore.
"You must be Cassano then. I thought you'd be prettier." She gestures towards the couch. "Come in, grab another drink. Smells like you've had a couple already."

"I'm Vega", she replies, as if that answers your question. "Where's Zeph? If you let him know I'm here, he'll tell you it's fine."

Vega sits down on the couch and puts the knife down on the table. Cass notices a small, unlabeled bottle of pills on the table next to the drink and food. "Honestly, that's none of your business."

Julia sits down with Moira, the people she came in with have withdrawn from the whole conversation some time ago and are talking to each other as well as other patrons of the bar.
Now that the chaos seems to have subsided a bit after her mother and Cass have stormed out, Julia seems to calm down a bit and to be able to better focus on Moira and understand her.
"I wasn't actually looking for her. I didn't even know she would be here. I'm stationed here, Junior Operations Officer in one of the environmental control centers on the island. Maen put in a word for me and helped me get the position here right after I graduated." She looks a bit embarrassed about admitting that she had help in getting her assignment. "But if I had known what she went through... Those messages just flew past me."

Julia leans slightly away from Moira. That woman is acting very familiar, considering they've just met a few minutes ago.
"Yes, Maen. Actually, for you it would be Theliak. He's Farredan, they're very particular about their names.", Julia explains. "He came to the Academy to speak to my professor about a project of his. He's a very interesting man and not just because of his biology." Although she's still a bit hesitant to speak to Moira about her personal matters, the engineer notices her eyes light up with excitement when she speaks about her fiance.

"Speaking of brains and possible organ failure: Your friend there" She gestures towards Zephyr. "He's had a lot to drink it looks like. Maybe you should take him to his quarters to rest."
She finished the drink in her hand and gets up from the chair. "It was nice meeting you... I don't think I caught your name actually, I'm sorry. We should get together to talk again some other time."

Alex

Alex rushed into the house to the communicator without even thinking. Now that she's come to a stop, she suddenly realizes something she must have seen but not noticed during her hurrying. At the entrance to her cottage, leaning against the door, was a white envelope that had not been there when she had left her cottage earlier.
"Understood, ma'am. Can you give us your name, please? And if at all possible without putting yourself in danger, get Commander Cassano out of the building. Our people will handle it."

Cass

"Has it ever occurred to you that there are parts about Zeph's life that he doesn't want his commanding officer to know? What do you think why he's never mentioned me?" Vega sighs loudly, as if she's explaining something simple to a child who just won't understand. "Now, just go along to your cottage and have some more of those drinks from your replicator until you pass out. Looks like you're good at that. I'll wait here for Zeph."

Cass, Alex

"Then wait here with me, if you need Zeph to tell you personally to get lost." She leans back on the couch, making a show out of getting comfortable. "By all means, get something from the replicator."
She doesn't notice Alex at the window.

Moira, Zephyr

As you are getting close to your cottages, a group of four people in resort security uniforms jogs past you, not paying much attention to you

Moira, ZephAlex, Cass

Vega immediately tenses up when Alex enters. Her hand instinctively flinches toward the knife but she stops herself before she reaches it.
She takes a second to compose herself and to put on her smug smile again. "Oh, are we having a house party? Zeph will be delighted when he comes home and finds his house full of attractive women. He's such a ladies' man, isn't he?"

Vega shifts her weight slightly and her eyes dart around the room quickly for a moment as if she's trying to figure out her position with you two around. She's trying to hide it but she's getting uncomfortable. "Well, by all means, come in then, Lt. Commander Lloyd. Take a refreshment from the replicator while we wait for Zephyr. Maybe a small midnight snack?"

"I'm known to be very generous", Vega responds in a dry tone of voice

Alex, Cass

"You must be the smart one of your little duo", Vega says with a sarcastic voice. "Zeph is my adorable little brother. And now that that mystery is solved, you can go to bed."
Before you can respond, you all notice some movement outside the window as a group of security guards arrives on the street in front of the cottage.

Moira, Alira, Zephyr

Moira and Alira both support Zephyr as they walk back towards their cottages. The streets are empty, except for one small group that is standing at a corner already very close to your destination and hectically whispering amongst each other. They initially don't pay much attention to your group but once you get closer to pass them they turn to look at you and greet you with a nod before resuming their conversation.

Cass, Alex

Vega repositions herself again. While she is still trying to make it look like she is relaxed and calm, her new posture will allow her to jump up from the couch quickly and without delay if she wants to.
"You actually called security on me? And I though Zeph would be the biggest fool on your ship"
The security team slowly moves in towards the cottage, two heading towards the front door, one to the window to the street and the last towards the back door.
Before they get into positions, Vega jumps up from the couch and attempts to run towards the door that leads to the back exit.

Vega tries to move past Cass and, unwilling to let her go, Cass tackles her. Catching her is easier than she expected and, underestimating how light Vega actually is, she falls to the ground with Cass when she is tackled, giving Cass a good grip on her that she should not be able to escape from easily.
One security guard reaches the window and sees the situation inside from there. He yells something to his partners and a second later, you hear a shout at the door. "Resort Security. We have been informed of a break in at this cottage. We are coming in. If you are holding any weapons, please drop them to the ground now or we will be forced to stun you."

Vega does not resist your grip on her. Cass, you are on the floor, almost face to face with her. She grins at you and then, as soon as you finish your sentence, she out of nowhere begins hyperventilating and her eyes tear up. Exactly when the two security guards enter the room, she sobs "Help"

The guards look a bit confused and uncertain on what to do. They look at the one at the window who shrugs in response.
Finally after a few seconds, the security officer with the phaser, which is still in its holster, says calmly: "Okay, everyone just get up slowly, show me that you're not armed. We'll talk this over and find out what's wrong. Does anyone have a problem with that?"

Vega makes a big show out of wiping the tears from her eyes and calming down. "My brother lives here. I was asleep and waiting for him to come home when these two women came in and started threatening me." She rises to her feet slowly and shows the officers her empty hands.

The officer with the phaser looks at all of you in turn. He doesn't seem to buy her story, considering that Alex was the one to call security in the first place. His partner on the other hand appears to be falling for her damsel in distress act, judging by the expression of sympathy on his face. Vega seems to notice as well and smiles coyly at him.

The officer with the phaser says: "We will sort this out. Does anyone know where Mr. Borealis is at the moment or how we can contact him? It seems that we should question him as well."

Moira, Alira, Zephyr

You can see that there is some commotion where you are going. There is one security officer on the street keeping people from going towards one house, not that anyone is trying. A few people have come out onto the street, wondering what's going on. Moira and Zeph recognize that this is Zephyr's cottage, Alira only knows that it is three houses down from hers.

Alex, Cass

The officer with the phaser turns towards the window and looks out on the street. "There's no need to make a big deal out of this, I hope. Just, everyone sit down, I'll send someone to look for Mr. Borealis and this will.be cleared up in no time."
He gestures toward the couch and chairs in the room and, when he notices the knife on the table, raises an eyebrow and takes it. He hits his commbadge and explains Zephyr's location into it and asks for someone to escort him to his cottage.

The security officer looks at Alira, Moira and Zephyr. "You are Mr. Borealis? We were just about to go look for you. Someone broke into your cottage, apparently. There's some confusion so maybe just come in. There shouldn't be any danger."
He speaks something into his communicator. It's standard spacefleet equipment but the voice output has been quieted down so people around won't hear what is being said. Then he leads the three inside. The front door appears to be broken as it doesn't open or close. It's just standing still, about 75% opened.

A security officer enters the room. Behind him are Zeph, Moira and Alira. Vega is looking at the one security guard who already seems to have made up his mind to be on her side with big, innocent eyes.
The officer with the phaser, who seems to be in charge of this operation, turns to look at the new arrivals. The guard from the outside explains who they are.

"Well, looks like we got lucky. Mr. Borealis, we have been called by Mrs. Lloyd about a break-in at your place. This woman, who claims to be your sister, apparently disabled the door and broke in. She says that she is your guest. Can you verify for us whether she has the permission to be here?" He pauses and sighs. "And there's also the issue that these two broke into your house as well, with good intentions, it appears, but still. It's your cottage so we need to hear from you before we decide how to proceed."

The officers exchange some looks, then the one in charge says: "We'll drop it this time but try not to let something like this happen again. We're already very busy tonight." He turns to leave, sees the broken door and says: "We'll send someone to fix this in the morning. You or your guests will have to pay for the damage, however."
With that said, they leave and only you six are left behind.
As soon as the security team is out the door, Vega drops her act of being innocent and scared.
"It was so much fun meeting all of you ladies but Zeph and I have important things to discuss", Vega announces with a smile. "I'm sure another time we can all sit together another time and I'll tell you all about the time little Zeph crashed his bike on purpose to impress the neighbors' daughter. But now get lost."

Everyone who's not Zephyr leaves the cottage together. You can resume your conversation on the street or go to sleep, whatever you prefer.

Zeph:
Vega gets up and closes the front door manually behind the others, then comes back into the living room. She looks through the window to make sure nobody is listening in, then she says: "I need your help, little brother. You know the story. You take a shady job offer, your cargo gets destroyed in a pirate attack and suddenly your boss is looking to kill you unless you can pay him back for the loss."

Vega watches Zephyr. "What's this supposed to be? Have you forgotten that I'm the sick one?"
She lies down on the couch, putting her feet onto the armrest on one side, then takes the glass from the table and drinks some of it. "And you owe me, Zeph. I know, you've helped me a couple of times already but I promise this is the last time. And if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be in this mess."

Alira, you did actually get a message but it's not from security.

It's a short letter in handwriting that looks like someone put effort in to make it look nice but it's not really that nice. As you read it, you realize it is an invitation to a barbecue the next evening. It lists a time and a cottage number which you recognize as the number that Darcy is staying at, away from the rest of the Potential crew's cottages. It is signed "Cassandra"

Cass, when you arrive at your cottage, you find a letter in front of your door as well. It has the name "Shawna Cassano" written on the front and when you open and read it, it's the same letter as the one Alex got.
Moira, when you go to your cottage, you find the same letter, only addressed to "Moira Bruce" instead

"So, spikeys for everyone then?", Nic suggests. "What are you having to eat, Max? Anything specific in mind?"
Max is looking at the menu with unsure eyes. "This is a bar but they're definitely not putting alcohol in their foods, right?"

"Good...", Max says. "I guess I'll have the fish then. We used to go fishing on Ta'al all the time. Although there's no real fish there at least not what you would call fish. They're more like snakes, or lizards I guess. If you ever get the chance to eat a Morahk, definitely try it. And I guess I will also have one of those iced teas. I've never had one of those."

Stone comes up the table. There's not much business at the bar so he is walking slowly and taking his time. "What can I bring you all?", he asks. Then, looking at Cass, he adds: "You're pretty tough. After last night, I didnt expect you to leave your cottage at all today. No wonder RC likes you."
Nic looks at Cass with a smirk on his face. He doesn't say anything but his expression speaks volumes.

"Everything is always good here. Otherwise, I wouldn't serve it. I can see in RC's eyes that she's in her burger mood today. I have to warn you, this is not really a restaurant so our food selection is a bit limited but we offer some variety. Fish, maliera, salads, potatoes, Ok'shann... If you want my personal recommendation, Omahrian seaswine omelette, but many humans tell me it is too salty for their taste."

"If you can make an omelette out of eggs from regular Earth chickens, that would be great", Nic says. "I'm not in the mood for 'seaswine'"
"And for me the... I don't know how to pronounce it, this fish dish" Max points at the menu and Stone nods. "I'm trying to be safe now. One time a few years ago, I tried to pronounce the name of a dish that..." he begins explaining but Nic cuts him off before he can get too far into his story: "And four Iced Vessalian Tea, please. Spike one at random and don't tell us who gets it. Just don't give it to the kid. I don't think he can handle it."

"It's a '44 Merengi heavy freighter, used until '53 by the Trade Board. My boss bought it after it was replaced and heavily modified it. If you like old freighters, you will love the Fork. I've heard people say it looks like a piece of junk on the outside, but one trip in it and they would change their mind."

"I would love to tell you all about it but as I said, those are trade secrets - and Merengi are very strict about trade secrets. It's some Rule of Acquisition, although I don't remember the number. I can show you some of the more interesting ones once we're on the Fork." Nic leans back in his chair and looks towards Stone, checking for the food order which doesn't seem to be ready yet. "Also, Max here seems to be bored with the topic."

Soon after, Stone arrives with the food and everyone starts eating. There is some silence for a short while after Nic cut off the topic of his ship without providing a new one but soon, Max picks up the story he was going to tell Stone when they were ordering again. It's about him accidentally ordering the wrong dish because of a mispronunciation but he manages to draw it out to last a couple of minutes.
Once everyone is done eating, Max excuses himself to his cottage and leaves you three behind in the bar.
As soon as the door closes behind him, Nic leans back in his chair, drinks some of the iced tea and says: "Interesting fellow you picked up there."

"By the stars, Cass, I just wanted to talk some shit about him. You sound like a captain. Cut yourself loose again." He waves to Stone. "Do you still have some of that stuff the Farredan gave you? We need something strong here." He grins at Cass. "And I won't allow any objections"

After a short moment, Stone brings you three glasses. Moira recognizes the clear liquid as 'Fleetwine', the very strong drink Stone gave her and Zephyr yesterday. Cass doesn't recognize it.
He puts them on the table and smiles knowingly at Cass, then goes back to the bar. He says: "Small sips, don't down this at once"
Nic raises his glass and waits for you to do the same. "To the good old days. And to cutting loose from spacefleet stiffness"

"Darcy's party? I didn't even know he was on the planet. Isn't he still recovering on some Starbase?", Nic asks while drinking a tiny sip from his glass.

"Sounds great. I'd love to meet the rest of your crew. They must have some stories about you that they can tell me." He sips on his drink again, then coughs a few times before recovering. "So, Darcy's daughter... Should I put on my good suit for her?"

"Can't wait to meet her then. I like competent women. But no need to be so hard on yourself, Moira. I'm sure you're great at your job, too. Which reminds me, I bet you have some stories to tell me." He reaches for Cass' head and tousles her hair. "What has Cass been up to without me?"

Nic's smile slightly faded during Moira's speech about Cass. "I see", he says in a flat voice.

Stone acknowledges Zephyr's order and gets to work on whipping up his food, taking his time as he always does.

Nic is having another sip of the fleetwine as he looks at Cass. He rolls his eyes and then glances towards Moira before focusing his attention on Zephyr.

Nic opens his mouth to reply but before he can say anything, he is interrupted by a loud voice from the outside of the bar. Half a second later, the same voice sounds over the speakers inside the bar:
"Attention all guests of Caspera-13. There has been a security breach in the cottage village. If you are currently in the village, go into your cottage. If you are currently in town, go into the nearest building. This is just a safety precaution and there is no danger to anyone. Please stay inside and wait for further instructions."

The front door to the bar opens and some people come in. They don't look like they all belong together and are just coming inside because of the announcement

Nic gets up which gives you enough room to follow him out of the booth. "I want to see what's going on, too. I'll come with you", he says.

Moira notices Stone looking over to their table and specifically to Cass and Nic. He makes eye contact with Moira and she can read the question in his face: "What are they doing?"

The man looks at Cass. "I know as much as you do. There's some security announcement. A security officer outside said this should only take a few minutes. It's probably related to the alarm last night, when those cadets tried to steal a hover transport. I guess they broke in somewhere else now."

"Yeah, I heard about it. Two kids got arrested last night.
They must have been pretty drunk to try something this stupid. But that doesn't explain the alarm. Why would they put the whole town on alert if it was just about a stolen vehicle? There must be something else going on. We should go out and check!"

As Nic leads Cass toward the front door, it opens again and Alira steps in. Cass recognizes her from the previous night at Zeph's house and she notices that Nic appears to know her as well. Alira, you recognize the two as well and you see them slowly move towards the door together.
Stone steps around the counter but doesn't walk up to Nic and Cass yet. He's waiting for Moira to react but he doesn't seem like he's planning to let them just leave after the announcement.

"Looks like you got busy, Alira", Nic comments. "I thought you were just here for that job interview and to have some fun but somehow you ended up in the middle of some serious action."

"Comm. Cassano, Lt. Vitan, this is Lt. Norton. Thank your for the offer of assistance but the best way you can help right now is by staying where you are and allowing us to do our job. This situation should be resolved in a few minutes."

Moira leads the people that were waiting around the door deeper inside, making it harder for anyone to slip out the front door unnoticed. Stone announces that everyone who is stuck in here right now will receive one standard drink, alcoholic or non-alcoholic, for free, which is met with some cheering.

Nic looks between Alira and Cass. "Alright, so what now? Are we really going to let this guy tell us what to do?"

"Moira was right. You have become boring", Nic says but he follows Cass to the booth. "Alira, what do you want to drink? Fleetwine? I can get it for you."

Cass and Alira sit down back at the booth with Moira. Nic walks up to Stone and a moment later comes back with a Fleetwine for Alira. He puts it down in front of her and then sits next to her.
He asks Alira: "How did the interview go?"