Can Any Of Us Even Get Drunk

[mikangirl]

Who: Space Bar staff and special guests
Broadcast: N/A
Action: Space Bar!
When: One fine night after closing

[The Space Bar staff made good use of the ever-replenishing alcohol supply at their last stop, and Nami and Remy got around to discussing the idea of testing various experimental mixes to come up with new additions for the menu.  I mean, add to that Nami hasn't made a decision which one of the applicants should take the main bar job, so clearly the best idea is to shove them all into one place and ply them with alcohol while they talk to each other and work it out after that.

No, it's a good idea.  Shut up.

...okay.  It may just be a good excuse for a party.  Sue her.]



((ooc: this is a mingle!  It's open to job applicants and regulars who hold their liquor and their plus ones.  If you think that might mean you, you're more than welcome here!))

Comments

[watermarks]

[ Katara gives Pavel a sympathetic smile as he makes his way carefully through the devastatingly contrary heart-politics of being in a place like this. She tilts her head and listens as he continues, answering her question. ]

I guess rank means something different if you're in a formal organization. [She gives a half shrug, remembering all the 'Admirals' and 'Majors' who wanted recognition and responsibility just on the basis of their title.] But I guess the most important part is the relationship themselves, being there for each other, even if the rank is a bit debatable here.

[candothat]

[Thank you for understanding, Katara. That whole topic is a sentimental minefield.]

Rank is a strange thing. Relationships between, say, captains and lieutenants aren't usually so informal as those between people of the same rank. [Usually. Kirk doesn't care all that much about rank and the social divides that it tends to create off duty--certainly not as much as Pavel still does even after four-plus years away from home.] But you're right. What is important is that we are both here and each of us has a friend from home.

Not to say that friends made away from home are less important, of course.

[watermarks]

[There's a flicker behind her eyes of memory and pain. She smiles a little wryly.] That's very true. But there is something nice about having people around who will always remember you.

[candothat]

Even if they forget other things over and over. [He frowns at himself. Bringing down Katara's mood hadn't actually been his goal, so it's clearly time to try to minimize the inescapable misery of their situation with humor.] There is no winning with inter-universal abduction, eh?

[watermarks]

[ She shrugs a little and smiles. ] I guess when you've been in places like this as long as we have, we know that there are good things buried in a lot of pain. We just have to make the best of it that we can, while we watch and wait for a chance to break free.

[candothat]

That chance will come, I'm certain of that. If I have learned only one thing in these places, it's that nothing--good or bad--lasts for very long.

Also... there are far worse places than this to wait.

[watermarks]

[ Yeah... she's yet to be convinced about that. It feels as though she's just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Things can't be this way for long.

But Katara learned a long time ago the difference between what she could and couldn't control, and exactly how much impact worrying had on it. ]

So what kind of navy were you enlisted in, in your world?

[ Since, you know, rank. Captains. Although he doesn't exactly remind her of a soldier, she's been wrong in the past. ]

[candothat]

[This place can be a lot worse, just wait! Has she heard about the planet that they tried to save? Or the cannibal planet? She should definitely know about the cannibal planet.

But Pavel's conviction that it could be worse was still intact then, too. He may not be the best person to listen to.]

Starfleet isn't a military organization, technically, like the old Earth Navy was, although I believe that some terminology and traditions are similar and our rank structure is the same. Our primary goals are exploration and scientific advancement... sometimes we are given other missions. Sometimes it becomes necessary for us to defend the United Federation of Planets.

[He considers himself a scientist, not a soldier. A scientist with combat and field training. You know, as is normal.]

[watermarks]

Oh, you're from an Earth. [ Of course he was, but... an... Earth that was a New Earth somehow since... old Earth?

So... wait. She's confused. ] So you're not military, but you would be commissioned to defend your Federation? [ That seems... really reckless and irresponsible to send scientists and civilians on that kind of task. Kind of like letting a bunch of teenagers decide the fate of the world, amirite? ]

[candothat]

Yes, one of them. It's a very popular planet. [That exists in many different universes, it seems. Surely that's meaningful in some way.

He gives his drink a thoughtful look.] I am a commissioned officer, and I have been on missions that were defensive in nature. The United Federation of Planets has no army, no fighting forces, because there have been no wars and most of its members are happy with that... but there are threats occasionally, and so Starfleet officers are trained to respond to those threats.

[It's a tricky topic and Katara would get a different answer regarding Starfleet's purpose and status from every member of it. There are those who would like it to become an officially recognized military force (rather than the heavily-armed NASA offshoot that it is) and others who want to get rid of the guns entirely. Some consider it an armed force in all but name; some, like Pavel, are so caught up in the scientific aspects that they fail to notice how often Starfleet serves a defensive purpose.

It's complicated.]

Are you military, Katara?

[watermarks]

[Katara blinks, surprised by the question.] Me? Oh no. [Signing up to take orders, fighting at someone else's command? Only during one draft in Luceti, and the rest were, well, drafts.] I'm not part of any organization like that. But I am a waterbender.

[candothat]

Ah, right. [The trick with the ice and all.] Does that generally involve much fighting? Korra gave me the impression that her world was peaceful the majority of the time.

[watermarks]

[ Slow blink.

A world mostly at peace. Huh. Imagine that.

A small private joy curls up the edges of her mouth for a moment. We did it. We won. We stopped them. That was her future, that was what she was going to leave her to return to - the work wouldn't be over, she was sure of that, but at least the war would be. ]

Korra was from quite a few years in my future. I'm glad to hear that she thinks the world was mostly at peace in her time. It's not like that in mine, but I've heard that the war ends well. I'm from a time where we're still fighting it, though.

[candothat]

[What, good news? Here?!]

I'm sorry that the world you left was far from peaceful. [Especially since Katara seems young to be caught up in a war. Not that Pavel can comment on that; he was fourteen the first time someone tried to kill him and seventeen when he saw his first fight as a Starfleet officer.] Does it help, knowing that the war has a favorable ending?

[watermarks]

[ If he thought she was young to be in a war at eighteen, how much moreso if he'd put together how young she was when fighting in her world! Either way, Katara's two years into her majority, and hasn't felt young for a very long time. ]

More than I could ever express. I believed that we would do it, that Aang would save the world. But knowing that it happened, and that the next generation grows up without knowing war? That's an amazing feeling that doesn't get old.

[candothat]

[He hates that math, thanks.]

Maybe this is a little premature, but cheers to you for helping to save the world and for making it possible for Korra and all of the rest to grow up without war. [He raises his glass to her. Clink!]

[watermarks]

Uh, sure. [She raises her glass of very obviously soda and clinks it against his.] Though... I really don't feel like I can take any credit for it until it's something I've done. And Aang's done most of it.

[candothat]

But you will do it, and it's still a good and impressive thing. Not very many people can say that they'll help end all war in their world.

[watermarks]

[ She shakes her head. ] I can't say that either. I hope that the world will stay peaceful and never fight like that again, but I don't know it for certain.

[ You know what, screw this, she's not going to talk around in circles. ] I know that it happens. I'm glad that it happens. But it's not something that feels real yet, Pavel, not when I've been surrounded by so much war where I was before, and not when I know that I still have things I need to do at home.

[candothat]

[Good job, him. Keep insisting on congratulating Katara on ending all of the war ever even though things are still bad where she's from and wherever she was immediately before the fleet was clearly not peaceful. Everyone loves celebrating the end of something that's still around and horrible.]

I'm sorry. Of course you will still have many obstacles in your way once you return home. [He looks into his (currently empty) glass.] And of course war is never so simple.

[watermarks]

It's okay. I appreciate the thought. I just -- I've learned the hard way that knowing about your future doesn't necessarily change the way you feel in the present. It is still really good and wonderful news. What about you? Is your world at peace when you left it?

[candothat]

[He sort of wants to ask how that lesson was learned, but there's no way it can be a happy story. Now isn't the time.] It must be strange for you, knowing the future with certainty when you still have the present to contend with.

My specific world is at peace, yes. The rest of the galaxy, not so much... but none of the conflicts that have involved the Federation have escalated into a war. Not recently.

I'm so sorry! I must have lost this tag D8

[watermarks]

[ Her brow furrows. ] What happened recently?

[ And yes, she is oblivious to the 'asking serious questions while at a social gathering' thing. She's just very focused on who she's talking with, not so much their surroundings. ]

Not to worry!

[candothat]

[It's a nicety that he has only embraced in the last couple of years, so he's definitely not offended. A good conversation shouldn't be limited by location.]

Most recently, someone attempted to take revenge on the entire Federation for something that happened a long time ago. He was stopped, but... there are still individuals who are angry, or vengeful, or believe that the only way to progress is through conflict. They will always exist, I think, but their power is limited in a peaceful society that has learned from its past mistakes.

[watermarks]

[ Her brow furrows, trying to understand all that he was saying. She'd already learned that Pavel was an optimist, something she appreciated, but a society that refused war, that learned from its mistakes? That seemed... well, amazing if it was to be believed.

But first, to clear up: ] How was he stopped? You said your Federation didn't have an army, right?