Bristles

Posted on Thu Feb 23rd, 2023 @ 4:56pm by Lieutenant Thraxina & Petty Officer, 2nd Class Harmony Stardancer & Ensign Avis Larant

2,419 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Mission 2: Rendezvous At Starbase 10
Location: Star Base 10
Timeline: During Midway's sojourn at SB10

"Now listen, Avis, it is important you understand the background to this little visit, but, well, I don't want you to lose any of the immense respect you have for me as an officer, all right?..." chided Thraxina as she, Larant and Stardancer walked along the 'main drag' of SB10, heading in the general direction of 'seedy'. They were all in civilian dress and Avis had very kindly taken time out from her 'bonk-fest' with her current boyfriend to add a bit of muscle to their expedition - the club they were heading to, a strictly Tellarite concern, was rough, even at this time of day.

"I do? Have immense respect for you as an officer? News to me," Avis smiled.

"Of course you do!" Thraxina assured her, before carrying on with the story.

"... well, to cut a long story short, I had this one night stand with a couple of Tellarites and one of them turned out to be one of the girls you met with Mr Xon on Exar Station. Anyway she has followed Harmony here because she has a terrible crush on her. That is: the piggy lady, Haili, has the crush on Stardancer, see? And we are going to go and tell her, Haili, that she, Harmony, isn't interested, right?"

"Oh god, Tellarites, really?" Avis hoped she would never ever sink that low.

Thraxina, who was still a little worse for wear, glanced at the pretty combat medic.

"Or that you are interested, which one is it again?" she asked Harmony.

"She keeps giving me mixed signals" Thraxina explained her confusion to Avis.

"Ummmm, OK," Avis tried to look blase.

"Curious, that's all," Harmony insisted, shaking her head. "I don't want any sort of romantic interest with anyone." To that end, she was wearing a loose blue-print shirt under light brown cover-alls, nicer than something that would be for work, but not at all suggestive.

"I'd like to know more about her...them, you know." She stopped. "Maybe this isn't such a good idea."

"Well, if it's what you want. Who am I to tell anyone how to live their life," Avis was trying hard to be diplomatic. Non-judgemental.

"That's right! I mean me and Stardancer never say anything about you and that Novak fellow do we? 'Junior Officer Bowling League' indeed. Oooh, here we are! And no bouncer on at this time of day, that's good." she hurried them in before Avis could stick up for Peter.

"Bowling league?" Avis frowned, what the hell did she mean by that?

Before she knew it, Thraxina had goaded Harmony, alongside Avis, through the doorway, and it was too late to back out now!

It was pretty quiet inside, at one table sat a Tellarite lady nursing a drink, a male stood behind the bar, but as soon as the trio entered, disappeared.

Haili looked up, eyes widening in disbelief.

"You!!" she pointed a trotter at Thraxina "You've got a nerve turning up here!" then she saw the next two walk in. "Harmony?!!" she stood now "And the slave girl?!"

Avis stiffened, "Slave girl?" That had to be aimed at her.

Suddenly, Harmony was wishing that she'd asked more about what Thraxina had done here the night before, especially since she'd agreed to come back with her. Well, this should be interesting!

From a pace or two behind Thraxina, Harmony gave a little wave. "Hi..."

Haili snorted at Thraxina again.

"You're not welcome here, you traumatised my brother last night! He says he feels violated and used!" she grunted.

"Well you were joining in!" protested the Ardanan.

"I was tryin' ta pull you off!" came the reply. Thraxina shrugged. That might have been how it started, but they'd ended up all pulling each other off. "Well, I'd better go back there and apologise." the officer announced and set off to the bar.

"Why am I not surprised," muttered Avis more to herself.

"No kidding," Harmony whispered, grinning. That sort of wild behavior might work for some people, but Harmony had had her time, and that was in her past now.

Haili shook her head. "Some people. They come in here, get drunk and act like pigs!" she then turned her porcine eyes more kindly on the other two.

"You girls are welcome though, grab a seat." she bade them and then clicked a trotter at a passing skivvy. "Hey Frank, three Rommies. Or, oh hey, maybe you don't drink Harmony, can I get you a softie?"

Avis glanced at Harmony and if she was comfortable sitting there then Avis would join her.

"Yeah, sure, sounds good!" Harmony glanced at Avis, then led the way to the table. "And yeah, a softie...anything without alcohol." She assumed that's what a 'softie' was, and she appreciated that Haili recognized that she might not want to be drinking.

"Name is Avis and I am not a slave girl but a Star Fleet officer."

OK so she wasn't an officer yet but sounded more authoritative than cadet.

"Huh, yeah, I forgot. Just remember you were dressed up like one." she said, almost apologetically. The Tellarite certainly wasn't the same, almost sadistic, self she had been in Xon's quarters. Maybe that had been peer pressure or an act. Or maybe something had changed her outlook on life.

Haili had clearly decided that an illegal Romulan Ale would be just up the tough looking Avis' street. The presence of the other human at the table with them inhibited her for a second, but she decided she might not ever get another chance to say this, so what the hell.

"So.. huh.. Harmony. I guess it was pretty dumb of me to send you them flowers, huh?" she asked. This sort of conversation was clearly something the alien woman was not used to, she was feeling her way, step by step.

"Were they Ok? Huh. I, er.. I ate the first bunch I bought. Hadda get some more."

"Ate them?" Avis had all she could do to NOT burst out laughing.

"No, no, it was fine." Harmony almost laughed at the admission that Haili had made lunch of the first bouquet, but it was actually somehow endearing...in a not-romantic sort of way! "Friends do nice things for each other, right?" She glanced to Avis for support. "They're really pretty."

Avis caught the glanced and nodded, "That's right. And they are pretty."

"Oh! Huh. Good. Glad ya liked 'em." Haili said going a little pink-er. "The man in the store said they were their best sellers. I dunno nuthin about flowers."

"I really owe you though, for helping free us...and eating the flowers and not us!"

The piggy lady snorted a grunt of a laugh. "Hur hur. Eat ya? We wouldn't eat ya! Hur hur. That's funny. No, Xon might have fed you to his Ma. She'll eat anything. Likes humans best though. Xon's Pa was a human. That's who he takes after, sorta. Hur. Eat ya. that's a good un."

Avis just silently filed away that bit about Xon. Some ally that one.

There was a pregnant pause.

"So.... you girls going to Nimbus soon huh? That's what my brother says. Midway's taking some bigwig to Nimbus. Nimbus. Huh. You been before? It's a shithole. Kappa Triangulii XIV. That's a nice planet. I'd like to take you there, Harmony."

"No, haven't had the privilege," Harmony answered, "but I don't get to pick where I go." Part of being in Starfleet.

She looked at Avis.

"Ur... I guess you could come, too. But you might be a third wheel. Sorry, don't usually do this sorta thing. Ur, think I might be doin' it wrong."

Third wheel? Well, that would sum it up nicely if she did agree to go along but she shook her head, "It's fine. No, I wouldn't be going. Besides once we leave for Nimbus, we're on duty. Unless Harmony can manage to get a leave from her department."

"You're doing just fine," Harmony assured Haili, "I just don't think I'm the right person for you to be trying this on." This was shaping up to be even worse than she'd anticipated. Haili was so sincere and earnest, and Harmony didn't return the same feelings. "I have my assignment and have to go, but you're really sweet, and I know you'll find the right person."

Haili looked sad, but resigned.

"I know. I kinda guessed when you came with-back up, it was to tell me to scram. Wrong time, wrong place, wrong sex, wrong species. I knew in my heart of hearts that I was kidding myself. That we could never..." she trailed off and chugged her ale.

Avis figured she was the back-up...and third wheel. Wonderful. The drinks came then.

"Thanks though. Y'Know, fer comin' an' telling me. But that's the sort of person you are, Harmony. Straight up. Honest... and kind... and gentle. That's what I saw when I first met you. Guess that's what I sorta fell for, even though you are one o' them funny looking human beans." she snorted a sad laugh. "An' I promise you I won't keep buggin' ya. I'm headin' fer the Nimbus System myself, heard there's work fer my sort there. But I won't keep creepin' you out with flowers and poems an' stuff."

She wiped a little tear from her round sad eyes. She had one last question that she couldn't resist asking, though.

"Did ya like my poem? I never wrote one before. my brother helped me with it. Guess it was kinda stupid."

Avis suddenly sputtered, "Wow. What the hell kind of beer is this stuff?"

"Uh?" Haili looked surprised. "It's a Rommie, Rommie" She meant Romulan Ale. Then she sort of sniffed at the air with her piggy snout and peered at Avis' blonde locks "'Cept you ain't a Rommie no more - I knew'd there was summit different about ya. why'd ya change it? Some feller tell ya to?" she frowned.

For her part, Haili's hair, bristles technically, were dyed a gothy jet black and smoothed down so they looked more like human hair. She had an Emo fringe that sometimes fell into her eyes and, when you looked closely, a tattoo could be discerned on the pale skin of her neck. It said 4C672.

"I never was a Rommie. That hair style I had before was very popular on my homeworld. As for the color, I change hair colors a lot. And - for your information - no one told me to change it but my boyfriend likes this new look," Avis explained then took another gulp of the Romulan ale.

"Yeesh, this stuff is strong," she frowned but she did not put the glass down.

Harmony chuckled at Avis' assessment of the ale, although she knew full-well that taste had little to do with the strength of the liquor itself. Still, she'd keep an eye on her roomie, to make sure she didn't get into trouble.

"Your poem was sweet, and heartfelt," she told Haili, "you have some skill with poetry, and one day you will charm the tusks off some unsuspecting gentleman!" She really did believe that Haili would find her true mate one day, and she'd be happy. "And he'll love your poems and flowers, no doubt! It just might be some time."

"Uh?" The thuggish young Tellarite looked a little surprised "Oh, er, I'm not really into fellers, Harmony. I thought you knew... I wasn't with Xon back at Exar Station, I was with his sister, 4C672. We split up. I... I kinda broke it off after I met you." She took another glug of her Romulan Ale.

Avis almost rolled her eyes. This date was a total flop. None of her business though, she was here just so Harmony remained safe in a rather rough place in the starbase. Think of it as security, just like her fleet role.

"She was OK about it. You know what interphasic gas-creatures are like. Easy come, easy go. Don't regret it, though. If I can't be with you, I don't really wanna be with anyone. Sorry. I'm making this conversation pretty heavy, huh? how's your..." she peered at Harmony's drink. "what the frick is that anyway?"

"It's an iced latte, a lot of caffeine, no alcohol."

"Ugghh" the Tellarite girl grunted.

Harmony grinned. "Keeps me awake! And I learned a long time ago that drowning your troubles in alcohol only make more trouble."

Haili shrugged. "Sometimes more trouble's what ya need." she moped.

How could she help set things right with Haili? "If Xon's sister, and you broke it off, then she wasn't your soul-mate." Harmony shrugged, wondering how she'd become 'Advice to the Lovelorn', and what qualifications she had for that. But if she could help the girl, she'd try. "Don't give up on love, but don't go hunting for it, either, it will come in its own time, and it will be amazing!"

"You're so wise, Harmony." from anyone else, that would have sounded sarcastic, but this sad faced creature actually meant it. "I'm gonna take your advice. I won't give up on love. I'm gonna wait for it to come." Unfortunately, that did sort of sound like she was still going to hold a torch for the incompatible human.

Avis finished off the last of the Romulan ale, nope she did not want another either. That stuff had a kick to it and she was on duty...sorta.

Just then Thraxina and Haili's brother emerged from the door behind the bar. There was much civilised chatter and farewells, even a cheerful shaking of hands, well, hand and trotter. She came over looking all pleased with herself.

"There we are! All friends!" she smiled. "Just a little civilised talk and all misunderstandings resolved. Shall we go? Are are we staying here?" she asked Harmony and Avis.

"That's Harmony's call, I just came along with her," Avis shrugged.

"I'm ready." Harmony smiled and stood, wondering if she was going to have to check Thraxina again for...problems. She glanced at Haili. "I'm really glad I got to see you again, and thank you again for helping us all get away from those stupid pirates." She would leave it at that...

"Bye" said Haili sadly, watching the bubbles in her beer.

"Come on girls, chop chop! The night is young!" ordered Thraxina, breezing out of the place, nobody noticing that her dress was on inside out.

 

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