Hot Shots

Posted on Sun Mar 24th, 2024 @ 7:36am by Lieutenant Evelyn Stewart & 1st Lieutenant Kes Th’relnal

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Year One: Whispers in the Wind
Location: USS Moore - DMZ
Timeline: MD 19: 1900 hrs

Stewart took another long sip of her fourth ale of the night, leading her to miss a shot by the Andorian. Her reflexes were still sharp, but her playing was getting sloppy. “Nice shot, errr…what exactly is your rank again? I can never keep track.” She confessed with an amused smile.

"I'm off duty, so I don't have a rank." He replied without looking up. This game was... interesting. "I'm just Kes." As he spoke he grabbed one of the handles and roughly gave it a spin to send the little men flipping around the rod. He glanced up then toward his young opponent. She was quick, for a human.

Stewart just smirked and shook her head in amusement as she took another sip of her ale. "What is with this crew?" she intoned loudly to herself, collecting the ball. She eyed the Andorian and how he carried himself. "You don't carry yourself like Starfleet, or a marine for that matter. How the hell did you end up here?" She asked, holding up the ball for him to see to make sure it was a fair dropped. She was playing fair, but still hoped the conversation would be distracting enough for his inexperience to allow her to make up for the point he scored.

"Imperial Guard." Kes replied quickly. "I was assigned here as part of an officer exchange." He noticed the ball and hesitated for a moment, wondering what she was doing just holding it up.

After a second he realized she was trying to make sure he saw she wasn't cheating. How much like Starfleet was that? Not only did they do the right thing, they wanted you to see them do the right thing.

He took a gulp of his drink without breaking eye contact with his opponent, his antenna staying focused on the table. "Drop the ball."

Stewart held Kes' eyes for a moment before giving a slightly amused smirk. She let the ball fall and just as quickly, flicked her wrist and shot it into his goal before he could react. Rocking back on her heels, she leaned away from the table and looked at the marine. "A little too fast for your antennae, Andorian?" She asked with smug sarcasm before taking another sip of her ale.

"What fun would it be if I won every match? Then no one would want to play." Kes replied with a raised eyebrow and grin as he fished the ball out of the pocket and held it up for her to see.

His blue fingers curled around the hard plastic ball to get a feel for it before he reached out over the table.

He kept his eyes focused on his opponent while his other senses studied the table and where her hands were. With a grin, he dropped the ball.

Stewart sensed she got the Andorian's attention with that arrogant blue grin of his. Without missing a moment, she moved to take possession and moved back and forth between the poles she used to control her players, swaying the ball between them before taking a shot, a rebound shot, another. Finally the ball hit the edge of the goal and she lost possession. "Dammit!" She said a bit louder than intended in her frustration.

Kes pounced. He was new to this game, but he could learn the simple mechanics well enough. He flicked his wrist to get possession for his players before pushing the rod and flicking it at the same time, sending the ball at an angle to his second set where it looked like it was going to pass under the players when he spun that rod and hit the ball, sending it rocketing across the table.

"Temper temper... " He muttered without looking up.

Stewart tried to ignore the marine as she focused. It proved futile as she continued to miss chances to intercept the ball until he eventually scored and she stormed away for a moment, mutter a Vulcan term for Andorians under her breath.

While he couldn't hear the exact words she said, Kes was focused on her enough that his antenna picked up some vibrations. He smirked. "Come now, don't walk away mad. Just a friendly game where a complete beginner is currently kicking your pink skinned ass."

Stewart simply looked at the marine annoyed before walking back over dropping the ball into the game without a word. Focusing her attention solely on the game, specifically on the ball, she was able to manage her attention and reflexes to score a brief exchange. “Just shut up and drop the ball.” She said flatly, not even looking up just focused on overcoming the deficient she found herself in.

Kes chuckled and dropped the ball, bringing his hand quickly back to the rod and giving it a spin. He didn't even care about winning, he told himself. No, he'd already gotten Stewart to lose her temper and for tonight that might be enough. Of course, winning wouldn't be a disappointment either.

He flicked his wrist once more, sure he would easily block and gain control of the ball. Instead it whipped past the player and into his goal. His antenna flattened back along his white hair. "Great play, do you want another drink?"

Stewart simply rolled her eyes and muttered to herself about the insufferableness of Andorians before she nodded, heading to her favorite couch to curl up on comfortably. “Since you won, it’s only fitting you are responsible for this round.” She commented, ignoring the wary look from Char at the bar as she finished her pint for another.

"Interesting tradition." Kes muttered as he motioned to Char for two more drinks. "Is it strictly human or Starfleet that penalizes the victor?"

He walked over to the couch and handed her the pint before settling down nearby.

Stewart took the glass with an appreciative nod. “It’s proper manners.” She corrected him with a sly smirk before taking a sip before glancing back at the foosball table. “What even made you want to play?” She asked Kes, curious as to what drew him to a perfect stranger after watching her deftly beat Lieutenant Bowman.

Kes shrugged. "It's new."

He took a sip of his drink and then followed her gaze. "Where most bars on Andoria are just to drink and socialize, there aren't as many varied games like humans play."

"I learned pool from a human engineer during the Dominion War." Kes sighed. "Never was good at it. Darts though... there's something about that I did like."

Stewart made herself comfortable in her corner of the couch and considered Kes' words. "It's not unheard of for an Andorian to enjoy stabbing thing, especially from a distance." She teased though with a certain level of sincerity in her voice.

"Distance?" Kes scoffed with a grin. "Ushaan-tors aren't that big." He took a large sip from his cup and then leaned back into his own corner. "Besides, in a fight it is better to stand and face your opponent head on, with greater power and prowess. That way their defeat stings more. Then they're defeated and broken. Stabbing from a distance won't do that."

Stewart simply rolled her eyes at the Andorian's rant about strategies and philosophies of combat. "How logical," she said sarcastically to mostly to irritate the marine. "A species so hot blooded their lust for alcohol is only marred by their lust for combat. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear I was speaking with a Klingon." She added with a playful smirk.

Kes grinned and took a sip. "And I, a Vulcan." He kept as much pepper off Vulcan as he could. The pompous assholes were allies and friends for centuries, but they were still pompous assholes. "Maybe the captain is rubbing off on you."

Stewart snapped her eyes back to the Andorian, dropping her smirk for a look of open hostility. The games were over as far as she was concerned. Stewart only just caught herself from interrogating the man on what he knew. She knew the only people who had any idea of her mating with Stryvek was Doctor Marlow from the medical report, Remy, and possibly Keishara. She took a breath as she considered her words. "I was raised on Vulcan by them, against my will," She made the point of adding. "Make no mistake, I have no love for the pointed eared bastards and to suggest otherwise is insulting, especially by a blue skinned bug." She added, downing her glass.

Kes couldn't help but grin. "Apologies." He took a final sip of his drink. "With a temper like that maybe it's the other pointy eared bastards you have more in common with."

Stewart set her jaw against the smugness of the Andorian sitting across from her. The man was proving every snide remark she heard growing up about Andorian arrogance was true. Deciding it was best to leave before she showed him what her temper was really like she looked at him, not hiding her offense. "Excuse me." She said firmly before getting up and taking a seat at the bar, ordering another pint from Char.

 

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