LtCmdr. Talos Dakora - Nothing Remains Quite The Same
Travis
((RSS Hemisphere Dancer, On the Water, Risa))
Talos and Ensign Lyara Alroyo had found themselves on an old Terran-style fishing boat, out on a calm bay. They had lines in the water, but both of them seemed more interested in telling stories and passing around the bottle of Bajoran Whiskey than fishing.
He hadn’t known Alroyo all that well before, but they’d managed to bond over drunken tales of loves– lost or otherwise. She could definitely hold her liquor, which was an important pre-requisite for Talos.
Leaning over the edge of the old skiff, Talos let his arm dangle down into the water.
Dakora: The water feels amazing. ::He shook his fishing pole demonstratively:: No wonder no fish want to leave it.
She mimicked his action, reaching down into the water herself.
Lyara: Maybe it’s the whiskey talkin’ but I kind of wanna jump in.
He perked up a little. He’d grown up in the coastal city of Medara, he’d learned to swim practically before he could walk. Still, he was cognizant that his confidence might be a little artificially augmented.
Dakora: I could be convinced…
Lyara: I can get out the inflatables if we wanna swim. Wouldn’t want either of us getting so wasted we can’t remember how to swim.
She crossed the small vessel, causing it to rock a little with each step. She opened the hatch up near the primitive controls and pulled out a couple of the inflatable floats. Finding one with what looked like Bajoran script all over it, Arroyo began to fiddle with the pump.
After struggling with a moment she let out a grunt of frustration.
Dakora: Is that thing giving you trouble?
Lyara: They decided to be true to the 21st century, so if you wanna swim safely you’re gonna want to start pumpin.
He grabbed another one of the inflatables, a ring-shaped float with a zebra-striped pattern.
Dakora: Thank the Four for all that cardio...
And with that, he began blowing into the air valve, rapidly inflating the tube as Lyara pumped the manual pump on her float.
He paused to catch his breath, just as she took a break to shake out her arms. A quiet moment settled over them before she broke the silence.
Lyara: Thanks for today, it’s been a real mood lifter to be out on the water drunk on whiskey.
He cast a sidelong glance in her direction and grinned.
Dakora: Anytime! ::He laughed.:: It’s been a good time hasn’t it?
Talos had felt sort of isolated for a while, as XO. Sometimes he felt like he wasn't really able to socialize with the crew without them feeling like they were under scrutiny. He supposed this trip following his temporary reassignment was sort of a blessing in disguise in that regard.
Either way, he was glad he’d gotten to know Alroyo.
Lyara: You’re gonna be a great dad Talos, I just know it.
The non-sequitur caught him off guard and he looked away, staring out into the water as an uncharacteristic wave of bashfulness washed over him. The subject had certainly been on his mind lately and he’d spent more time than he’d like to admit agonizing over all the ways he might do it wrong.
Her vote of confidence left him with a warm feeling somewhere down in his core.
Dakora: I.. uh… ::He smiled warmly.:: I hope so, too. Thanks, Alroyo.
She took a long pull from the bottle, which he noticed was getting very light now, and handed it to him.
Lyara: Now let’s get this stuff inflated and onto that water what do you say?
He tossed the bottle back one more time before setting it aside.
Dakora: Aye, Cap’n.
The warm feeling didn’t fade as they worked on their floats and continued their quiet conversations. Soon they’d be paddling around in the water and capping off an excellent night of good friends, good drinks and not catching any fish.
[END SCENE] ((OOC: Good luck on the Chin'toka! We'll miss ya!))
LtCmdr. Talos Dakora
Intel Officer
USS Artemis-A
O238811CD0