A Few Brews
Posted on Wed Nov 18th, 2020 @ 9:07am by Lieutenant Commander Jott Brott & Lieutenant Alan Harrison
Edited on on Wed Nov 18th, 2020 @ 12:39pm
1,334 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Equivalent Exchange
Location: Silver Tongue Brewing
Timeline: MD -03 : 2000 Hrs
For being such a hulk of a man, Jott Brott could be unnervingly quiet when he moved. Which explained how he just appeared behind Lieutenant Harrison, practically looming over his shoulder.
"Excuse me, do I know you? You look vaguely familiar."
Alan didn't expect someone to start talking to him from behind, although he realized such things happen often in pubs, particularly when one was blocking part of the bar. A bit startled, he turned around to find a rather imposing Bolian. The man was dressed in civilian clothes, so Alan couldn't tell whether he was a colonist, a visitor, or simply an off-duty member of the Starfleet contingent. "I don't believe so, but I've been around the galaxy a fair bit thanks to Starfleet," he said with a chuckle, attempting to compose himself and hide the startled note in his voice. If this man was looking to start any trouble, Alan hoped that mentioning Starfleet would make him reconsider.
Jott narrowed his eyes, as if it helped him perceive whatever he was looking for. Then suddenly the stare broke, and he offered the man a broad smile. "Well, must've mistaken you for someone else. I've met a lot of humans. Lieutenant Commander Jott Brott. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Alan relaxed completely once he found out the man was a fellow officer. "Lieutenant Alan Harrison. I'm the Chief Engineer as of this week. You're the Chief Science Officer of our derelict starship, right?" he responded with a chuckle, "Nice to meet you." He offered a handshake out of habit, having lived on Earth for the past few years. He hoped that Jott recognized the Human greeting.
Being fairly well versed in dealing with humans (in fact, he'd written a small pamphlet on Bolian-Terran relations for the Federation embassy on Bolarus IX), he extended his hand and shook. And shook and shook and shook, and then neglected to release whenever he kept talking. "Oh, Lieutenant Harrison! Lieutenant Harrison. Right, right. I must have remembered you from the memorandum sent around, um, by the captain. That must be it." He laughed, finally released his hand, and used it to tap his forehead with two fingers in some sort of Bolian gesture of forgetfulness. "When did you arrive? I didn't see a shuttle."
"Two days ago. It was in the middle of the afternoon, so it's possible you weren't outside around then," Alan said, remembering how unfamiliar the mid-afternoon heat felt after being stationed at the Academy for the last few years. "The view on the way down was worth the long walk to the captain's office, though. How long have you been on Haumea?"
"Not long enough," Jott said somewhat cryptically, though he delivered it with a smile. "It's very lovely here, isn't it? Xaeprea is a fascinating planet! Beautiful, mysterious, largely uncharted. There's plenty of work for me here. A lifetime's, really. What, uh, brought you here? To colonial life, I mean."
"It's a bit too sunny for my tastes, but quite lovely otherwise," Alan responded, "I was in a teaching position at the Academy on Earth and, honestly, I got tired of being chained to a classroom. This was the first position available offworld. At first, I was worried that there wouldn't be much to do here, but, as you mentioned, there's still much of the planet to explore." Alan made a mental note to see if he could explore some of that uncharted territory at some point.
"Right, yes. There's, uh, quite a bit to do, I agree," Jott said, practically rushing through it so he could launch into his next question, "What were you teaching at the Academy? I don't remember seeing you. I left a position there myself before coming here - adjunct professor of archaeology & archaeobotany."
"I see this where they routed all of our transfer requests then. I taught computer systems. Before joining Starfleet, I was on an academic track, so they figured I could teach the cadets a thing or two. If I look a bit old to be a freshly-minted Lieutenant, that's why," Alan responded with a chuckle, "Everyone thought it was a bit strange that I was posted to the Academy so early in my career. But what I lacked in Starfleet experience, I made up for with my ability to drone on for hours about technical minutia." Alan looked to the bartender and motioned to order another round of drinks for himself and his colleague.
"Oh, computers. No wonder I never saw you. That was on the other side of campus! Quite a walk. Too far of a walk, really. I don't care much for walking on campus. Too many people between you and your destination, always wanting to chat. Or ambush you about some grade or assignment. Thank you, I'll have one of those farmhouse ale things," Jott said when the bartender looked at him. With his attention back to Alan, he asked, "Do you find it a, um, useful skill? Droning on for hours about technical minutia?"
Alan ordered his drink, an Earth-style porter from a local brewery. "Well it can be useful at times. Particularly if you need to explain something to an admiral. If they don't have a technical background, talking a lot can convince them that you know what you're doing," he replied with a smile, "How did you end up at the Academy?"
"I took a sabbatical to write a couple of books and then when it was time to return to the fleet... Well. I, uh... I just didn't feel like it," Jott said with a thunderous laugh. "I'd just spent a year on Bolarus IX smelling real air with real soil under my feet. Space just didn't have quite the same appeal to me anymore. Teaching seemed to be a good thing until I decided where my career should take me. Can't say I cared for it too much, though. I had the laziest students. The laziest!"
"I think we've all been there unfortunately, but the few students that stand out usually make the job worth it," Alan replied with a chuckle, "I imagine your preference for being planetside landed you here." Alan took a sip of his beer. Not too bad, but the flavor was a bit different than what he was expecting. "What do you think of Xaeprea compared to Earth? Both quality of life and the planet itself, I mean."
"Well, first of all, let me begin by saying - and this is a controversial opinion, I understand - that I don't care for Earth very much. It's... It's dry. It's very dry. The air, I mean. And the people, too. Not all the people. But many of the people, especially at the Academy. You know, the stuffy academic sort," Jott said, wrinkling up his nose. "It's boring. Yes! Yes, yes. That's what I meant to say. Earth is boring. Xaeprea is not. For instance, did you know, there's an animal here that consumes metallic compounds?"
"Yes, they told me that one of those chewed through a bulkhead a while back. Never a dull moment here it seems, but I agree Earth could get a bit dull at times. Sometimes it was nice to just kick back and relax on a beach though," Alan continued, "So I read that there was a colony here before us from the 23rd century. Do you know why it was abandoned? Any mysteries around it that might interest an archaeologist like yourself?"
Before Jott could answer the question, Alan's tricoder chirped. After a hushed exchange with the person on the other end of the line, he looked back at Jott. "Sorry, I have to go put out some fires in Engineering - hopefully not literal ones this time. Let's do this again some other time, there's still so much to discuss about the old colony!" he said, before quickly settling his tab and briskly walking out of the bar.
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