JP: Lt Commander Ava Munro & Captain Karrod Niac - To The Next Chapter, Part 2
Karrod Niac
((Several hours later, Holodeck 2, USS Ronin))
A satisfied smile crossed her face as she admired her own handy work. It had been some time since she'd created a holo from scratch but it would seem that some talents were like riding a hover-bike. You never forget.
There was some obvious detailing issues, the windows weren't exactly the correct shape (they had rounded corners rather than angled), and the tables and chairs were laid out slightly different. This was more due to her personal tastes. Other than that she felt she had recreated the San Francisco dive bar really well.
The piece de resistance was definitely the ugly watermark above the bar, almost as recognisable as the flickering neon light that welcomed you to Bertie's Bar.
With an obnoxiously wide smile on her face she turned to her friend and now Captain.
Munro: :: jokingly smug :: I have outdone myself.
Karrod looked around from the archway, the only thing ruining the illusion Henri had so artfully created. Somehow it even smelled right. He let out a low, appreciative whistle.
Niac: I can already feel my boots sticking to the floor. I can’t believe how long its been since I thought of this place.
He realized what was missing and snapped his fingers. The salty local crowd that made the bar their home were essential to what made it such a memorable dive.
Niac: Needs to be a little more lively though don’t you think? At the very least we need someone passed out over in the corner there.
Munro: Computer, fill the bar with patrons and a Bartender; use the file entitled ‘20th century dive bar’.
Computer: Affirmative.
As the room filled with a varied ensemble of seemingly dangerous men and women in leathers and denim, some of the women had big hair and even bigger bosoms, Ava laughed and held up a finger.
Munro: Computer: mix it up with some non human species.
With a short beep, and in a second of blurring, the bartender became an Andorian in a leather jacket, and half the room was altered to be an assortment of colourful aliens. It was perfect.
Niac: Nice but hang on, it needs one more thing…Computer, change environmental conditions outside the bar…strong summer rains with breezes off the bay. Set the time of day to a few hours after sunset.
The computer acknowledged the request and a few moments later the sound of steady drumming rain on the windows and the scent of the bay wafted in. Lights inside the bar snapped on and suddenly the whole place felt a bit like the home he’d returned to but somehow outgrown. He glanced around wistfully and unconsciously patted at his abdomen.
Munro: I took my husband here once. Even got him to wear one of those leather jackets - I actually managed to find an authentic one from the 20th century :: laughs :: We got here and it wasn't Bertie's Bar anymore, it was a Vulcan eatery :: winks :: I won't tell you what I was wearing.
Ava nodded towards one of the ladies in the bar: big hair, low cut top, short leather studded skirt, ripped tights and knee high boots.
Karrod snorted and stepped towards the bar, holding up a finger to summon the bartender. The grouchy looking Andorian barely acknowledged him as he rubbed at a glass with a dirty dishrag. Karrod laughed and felt oddly at ease.
Niac: Could be worse, I let you convince me that a denim jumpsuit was an important human cultural garment one time and then spent the most awkward night of my life here getting laughed at. By you most of all, as I remember.
Munro: Mainly because that Tellarite waiter really liked the jumpsuit.
Finally receiving a drink in a glass that somehow already had a chip in it, Karrod turned and leaned against the bar, looking at his friend as he tried to gauge her expression. There had been something on her mind since he’d first seen her and he suspected this setting was as much for her comfort as it was for their enjoyment.
Niac: So are you going to make me ask? You were never one for beating around the bush, Ava.
Munro: That's the problem Karrod. I don't have an excuse anymore - to stay on Earth. Before Harper went to the Academy I'd get the urge to accept a commission on a ship but then I'd remember that I almost lost her on a starship. I couldn't do that again. And then :: lifts her hand with her ring finger on it :: There’s Adrian. How's it been for you? You swore you'd never go back and here you are, a Captain.
Karrod considered the question as he leaned against the bar, drifting between the past the bar represented and the present that existed beyond the holodeck doors.
Niac: I won’t lie to you…it hasn’t been easy. Finding my feet with a new crew, getting used to the…dynamic nature of spacing duty again? It’s a lot. I was only a few hours into my first duty shift aboard the Excalibur when my consciousness got yanked out of my head and deposited in a Betazoid communication officer whose telepathy I had no idea how to control. As it turned out, that was an easy day in the grand scheme.
Munro: :: nods fondly :: Oh I remember those days. Is it, on some level, masochistic that I miss them?
Karrod shrugged and tipped back his glass. Ava followed suit, finishing off the amber liquid with ease. It was surprising how easy it was to speak with Karrod, they had always had an easy friendship that allowed for openness, and perhaps she hadn't really considered how much she felt the void of that sounding board in her life.
Niac: Well that’s the thing…I still loved it. Even with all the stress, with all the responsibility…even with everything this ship has been through since we launched…I love it. Being in command, watching this crew become a family, working with them to accomplish the impossible time and time again? It’s…there’s nothing like it, Henri. Nothing in the universe. It was always in there but Niac…may have helped remind me.
Ava nodded, she had noticed subtle differences in him. The way he moved, even some of the words he used but mostly how he interacted with his own abdomen, as if the symbiont that existed inside of him was somehow separated and occupied its own space. She had never seen any other joined Trill behave in such a way and it was of no surprise that Karrod was unique in his joining as he was with everything else.
Munro: Niac sounds like a good influence on you. I'm really happy for you Karrod, there were times when I thought … I thought you might leave Starfleet. And that didn't feel good :: serious :: Is it bad that I don't want to go home? That life just feels empty to me now. I think it's because it was created to keep Harper safe and give her a life of choices. Now, I need to get back to my own life and I don't know what parts to take with me? Is this the alcohol speaking, do I make any sense?
Karrod nodded and offered an empathetic squeeze of the shoulder. As much as he’d had a sister in Lenora, their relationship and their mothers favoritism had kept them from forming much of a meaningful bond. But somehow he’d found that closeness with Henri and when she spoke he could hear the pain in her voice.
Niac: Alright that’s a lot to unpack, but I’m glad you finally spoke your mind. Come on, we’re grabbing that table in the corner you liked.
Karrod glanced towards the corner in question which had one of the few out of the way sitting spots in the whole establishment, adjacent to a window with a spectacular view of absolutely nothing. The rain ran down the glass and the wind whistled slightly through the uneven seams as they sat and Karrod looked at her, trying to compose his thoughts.
Niac: Niac is a good influence on me, even if I’d rather not admit that to Niac.
He felt the swell of pride with just a hint of ‘I told you so’ from his gut which he silenced with a thumb.
Niac: And you know I was thinking about leaving…but you suggested I take a trip to Trill to clear my head and make sure it was what I wanted and then this happened…::He gestured towards his guts and Niac within::...and then this happened…::he spread his arms and encompassed everything beyond the holographic walls.:: And I never really thanked you. So let me try by starting right now…you sound like someone trying to blame themselves for wanting to be happy, Henri…and that’s not you. You deserve to live your life too…not just for your daughter or your husband…but for you.
Munro: You're right. It's not me… I don't let things weigh on me :: indicates to the bartender for another drink :: I remember when you left and then didn't come back. One of the guys called you Houdini for a year. He used to laugh at that joke so much I almost kicked him out a window.
Karrod chuckled and took another sip.
Niac: Of course I’m right, I’m the Captain. We’re famously infallible. But hearing you blame yourself for wanting more is a new one on me. I never thought you’d stick around Operations, you always talked about getting back into space one day…but you always found an excuse not to. A justification. A very reasonable and entirely logical means to ignore what you wanted while you were taking care of someone else. Now…now I think you’re starting to wonder why you tried so hard not to have the life you wanted.
Munro: It was for Harper. I never told you what happened but it was bad. The ship I served on was boarded. They got her… and I. Karrod all I could think about was getting my daughter to safety. I'd have vented every airlock, be damned who was in it, if it meant saving her. I couldn't be on a ship with my child, I was unsafe. I know there are many officers that could do it, I wasn't one of them. They're the strongest people in the galaxy.
Karrod considered the situation as best he could. He’d never wanted children, never really considered a family of his own, but he’d loved and been loved well enough to recognize how difficult it would be to focus on his duties if they stood between him and someone who mattered above everything else. He’d felt that disorientating panic for a long moment during the battle at Deep Space Thirty Three, when he saw the Khitomer drifting dead in space and could think only of Aeryn. Not the mission. Not the ship. One woman…who mattered.
Niac: You’re blaming yourself for still having a soul, Henri. If you want to torture yourself about it we’re certainly in the right place…but I’m not going to help you do it. Not when I know you don’t deserve the torment. Besides…that’s not your situation anymore, is it?
Munro: Don't get me wrong. I dealt with that baggage a long time ago :: knocks her head :: Clean bill of health in that department. I just wanted to explain why I didn't go back to a ship posting earlier. Also I thought I owed you an explanation before I speak to you about what I'm really dancing around.
Niac: I’m all ears, Henri. No secrets between us. We kept each other sane because we were always honest with one another. Tell me what’s going on.
The Andorian bartender approached and placed two fresh drinks on the table in front of them. Ava lifted her glass and took a long drink. She placed the empty drink in front of her with a triumphant smirk.
Munro: I know that you've had problems keeping hold of an ops chief… I wondered if you'd like someone to stand in. I do have a recommendation :: jovial :: She's brilliant, some might say she's the best in Starfleet :: shrugs playfully :: Even if she's a little full of herself.
Karrod snorted loudly as he took up his drink. Herni was a lot of things but bashful wasn’t one of them. Hearing some of the confidence back in her voice brought the smile back to his face and he raised the glass in feigned question.
Niac: Well if you know this mythical mugato of an officer you should give her my contact details, I’m sure I could find a home for her on the Ronin. If that happens to be what she wants?
Ava pondered the question, the same one that had been in her mind the weeks it took to rendezvous with the Ronin. If she was honest, it was an unspoken question for a year. It had gotten harder to ignore the closer it came to Harper leaving for Starfleet Academy. Adrian hadn't made it easy … she hadn't made it easy for him. He felt her pull away which had made him push her harder into their lives. He wanted her to become a Starfleet wife; only she'd be in service to his career as Legal Attaché to the Admiral’s Office.
Instead, she had run away to the stars. To the Ronin.
Munro: :: nods :: I think she does Karrod. If you'll have her :: laughs :: To be clear we're talking about me.
Karrod tapped his glass to hers with a smile as he feigned a shocked expression.
Niac: Oh well that saves some time. Welcome aboard, Chief Munro. The Ronin will be glad to know you…I sure am.
The two settled into a companionable silence for a while as the rain ran down the windows, the drumbeat of the drops a soothing background for a comfortable conversation between old friends. The first, Karrod hoped, of many more.
[End]
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Lt Commander Ava ‘Henri’ Munro
Starfleet Operations Delegate
Starfleet Operations - HQ
A240004LL2
&
Captain Karrod Niac
Commanding Officer
USS Ronin - NCC-34523
V239509GT0