Down Time
Posted on Wed Sep 3rd, 2014 @ 7:14pm by Lieutenant Lynsi Mason
Mission:
Vagrants, Vagabonds, and Thieves
Location: Alexander's
"So then the guy said 'The clown can stay, but the Ferengi in the gorilla suit has to go!'" Groans erupted from the small gathering of officers at the end of Ensign Wynn's joke. Erich, also known as Jinjo amongst the other pilots, found the joke to be quite funny.
Ensign Tegan Veillon was not amused. "We seriously just wasted fifteen minutes of our lives to hear you tell that story, and that's what we get?"
"You just wouldn't know a good joke if it bit you in the face, Firefly," Jinjo retored.
"Yeah, and based on that, you wouldn't either." The ensign's response garnered a few laughs, certainly more than Jinjo's long winded attempt.
"I think it's only fair that Jinjo buys the next round. I know I need another drink after listening to that." This time it was Lieutenant JG Thelev th'Kerria. His antennae twitched as he held up his empty glass. "And I just happen to be all out too."
Blaze had been lounging and watching this display progress. She may have their commanding officer, but she was still a fellow pilot. She knew as well as any of them that they needed a chance to unwind, especially after rough days. This past one seemed to have been particularly busy. There was the usual amount of freighter and starship traffic moving to and from the station, but they were getting a lot of new visitors lately, including all of those N'Veci transports that had just come in. There were all ready a number of refugees on the station now, and some reports from listening station suggested that there may be more incoming. New visitors meant lengthier inspections, and that was when they followed instructions. There was always the odd hotshot freighter captain that thought they didn't have to listen to her orders, and she repaid them with warning shots across the bow. After that, they tended to respect her authority.
The lieutenant looked down and noticed that her own glass was nearly empty as well. "I think Rio's right. For submitting us through that punishment, you get to buy the next round. Besides, that joke is older than I am. My dad was telling that one when I was a little girl. And if my dad was telling it, then you know it was a bad one." Blaze noticed their waitress nearby and flagged her down.
"What can I get for you, Lieutenant?" asked their server, a Trill named Dyri. Like the other servers in the bar, she was wearing a white blouse and black tie along with matching black trousers. It was odd for any bar operated by Ferengi to have female servers not wearing skirts or skintight outfits, but the owner of this bar, Commander Jordan Gunning, had desired an establishment that was a little classier. All though there were a number of bars and restaurants on the station, three of them saw the largest share of customers. Warp 12 was known as more of a club atmosphere, and catered to a lot of tourists and wealthy travelers. The Dive was deeper in the station, and was home to scoundrels and knaves. It attracted a crowd that enjoyed unsanctioned gambling, bar fights, showgirls. Alexander's, however, was the neighborhood pub, and where a lot of officers chose to unwind after a rough day, just like the pilots were doing now.
"Ensign Wynn has graciously offered to buy our next round, haven't you, Jinjo?" Erich smiled and nodded. "I will have another bourbon."
The Andorian Rio ordered next. "Another saurian brandy, for me." Firefly decided to change her drink to an Andorian ale, which was met with an approving nod from Rio. And finally Jinjo added another beer. He was already a few deep.
Dyri left to fill those orders, leaving the team to tell more stories and witticisms. Jinjo decided to challenge the rest of the group. "Alright, if you guys think that you could do so much better, then why don't you try one?"
The pilots were silent for a moment before Firefly finished off what was left of her drink in one swig. "Fair enough. I've got one. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them goes to a family in Egypt and is named 'Ahmal'. The other goes to a family in Spain. They name him 'Juan'. Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his birth mother. After receiving it, she tells her husband that she wishes that she also had a picture of the brother. Her husband responds 'They're twins! If you've seen Juan, you've seen Ahmal!'"
This one hadn't fared much better. It only elicited more groans than the first. Jinjo was not impressed. "That was worse than mine. At least I didn't rely on telling puns."
Rio was still a little confused. "I don't get it. Is it just because they're twins and they look alike?"
"It's a pun from an old saying on Earth," Blaze replied. "You're not missing much." Dyri came back with a tray of drinks and handed them out to the group. With a fresh bourbon, Lynsi decided that she was going to have a go. "Alright, I've got one. This is another old one from Earth. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were going camping. They pitched their tent under the stars and went to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes woke Watson and said 'Watson, look up at the sky, and tell me what you see.' Watson replied, 'I see millions and millions of stars.' Holmes said 'And what do you deduce from that?'"
"'Well, if there are millions of stars, and if even a few of those have planets, it's quite likely there are some planets like Earth out there. And if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life.' Holmes shook his head. 'Watson, you idiot. It means that somebody stole our tent!'"
Blaze got a couple of laughs, but Firefly shook her head. "You guys are only laughing because she's the boss."
Jinjo chuckled at her response. "No, that's not true. Not only." He grinned and raised his glass. "To spending another night with the greatest squadronmates in the galaxy."
"Only the galaxy?" Rio asked, which got a laugh from Blaze.
"I'll drink to that." Lynsi raised her glass as well, followed by Rio and Firefly. The four glasses clinked in the center of the table. The squadron leader was rather enjoying herself. Despite the bad jokes, she loved getting to sit back with her team and unwind. And she thanked her stars every time they all made it back home.
She was disrupted by her thoughts as Rio finished taking a drink. "Alright, I've got one I'm sure you've never heard. This one comes from my home. Two Aenar walk into a bar..."
"I've totally heard this one," Jinjo interrupts. "Two Aenar walk into a bar, and the third one ducks."
Rio was started laughing. "No, that wasn't it, but I'll remember that one. No no, this one is different. Anyway, Two Aenar walk into a bar..."
Lieutenant Lynsi "Blaze" Mason [P: Von]
Squadron Leader
V/F-37 "Claymores"
Lieutenant JG Thelev "Rio" th'Kerria [NPC]
Pilot
V/F-37 "Claymores"
Ensign Erich "Jinjo" Wynn [NPC]
Pilot
V/F-37 "Claymores"
Ensign Tegan "Firefly" Veillon [NPC]
Pilot
V/F-37 "Claymores"
All NPCs played by Liarra Von
