What Fancies Your Whiskers?

Posted on Sun Feb 3rd, 2019 @ 7:58pm by Commander K'Niras Sh'howul & Fleet Admiral Donatella Figueroa & Lieutenant Aeryn Vinia & Lieutenant Junior Grade Shras th'Zarath & Lieutenant Junior Grade Ethan O'Donoghue

Mission: S01E04 The Outpost Has Eyes
Location: Whisky Whiskers

ON:

It was not the sort of place you wanted to venture in alone, especially in the dead of night, but being as the nightclub was on Ferasa, or Cait as the United Federation of Planets named it, the nightclub was more active during the night than it was during the day. Cait was the homeworld of the Caitian people, the same species that Lieutenant K'Niras Sh'howul was. It was a peaceful yet playful planet. Though it saw plenty of tourists and merchants passing through the 'watering holes' to wet their mouths with the finest whisky in the region, the planet itself was predominately Caitian. Very few foreigners settled down on the planet.

Captain Donatella Figueroa had granted her crew shore leave while Commander Samuels and a skeleton crew broke orbit of Ferasa and proceeded through an asteroid belt towards a dilithium rich moon with an orbital refining station that processed the raw dilithium crystals into fuel for starships. Commander Samuels and the crew left aboard the USS Musashi were obtaining crystals to replenish the starship's dwindling supply of the fuel. It was not the most glamorous of assigned tasks, but the commander was more than willing to have a rather quiet starship more or less to himself for the next several hours.

Meanwhile, Fig was able to let the majority of her crew explore a safe Federation world. Of course, this did not mean they would not get into trouble. She had already been made aware of a bar fight that had occured down the road at the Frisky Kitty where some intoxicated crewmembers got a little handsy with one of the dancers. A few deep claw scratches across their faces and non-lethal bite marks was hardly worth fussing over. Fig just ordered the gentlemen to be confined to their guest quarters after being patched up. She would see to it that the men were lectured on how to keep their hands to themselves.

At the Whisky Whiskers, Captain Figueroa and her senior staff had wandered in to unwind. It was very similar to an old Earth Saloon. There were Caitians at tables playing games that were clearly questionable... gambling of some sort, but Fig knew to just turn a blind eye to it all. Though it was a Federation planet, Whisky Whiskers was located on the planet's plains of wilderness. It was a bit rugged out here and the whisky was strong, but it was not nearly the deadliest of booze that you could stumble upon out this far beyond the main population. The Caitian's had their own form of 'country brew' that made old Earth moonshine seem like a toddler's milk.

Walking into the questionably illuminated establishment, Fig was cautious as bar stools spun around in unison. There sat Caitians of various shades and patterns along the bar, staring at her and the others, and purring. The Captain quickly looked away, avoiding direct eye contact. "Lieutenant," whispered Fig to her Second Officer. "What do we do? I don't want to agitate them," she said uncertain of how to be properly diplomatic with these sorts.

K'Niras smiled. "If they stare, stare back. If you don't they'll think you're weak and try and take advantage of you." K'Niras was demonstrating that right at the moment with a dark maned, silver and black male. "It's not like primates, where staring is a challenge. Here it is more like, can you hold your own... staring is a struggle for dominance that doesn't need to resort in violence, but it also has to do with respect. If you lose the contest... concede gracefully by closing your eyes and turning your face away from your opponent. You will have lost, yes... but you will still keep your dignity." The male he had been staring at finally looked away in the manner K'Niras had just described, leaving him free to return his gaze to the captain. He chuckled a little. "Whatever you do, don't slow blink at anyone you don't want to go home with..."

Captain Figueroa followed the advice given to her by her Caitian Second Officer. There was a large Caitian male with black fur covering his entire body, he had a large mane of fur around his neck and intense blue eyes that looked as blue as the skin of her Andorian Security Chief. The Caitian stared into her soul with his chilling icy gaze, but Fig let the embers glow courageously back at him. He did not quite look away, so much as turned his bar stool around and gave a bow of his head before returning to nursing his whisky sour. I don't know if that is a win or not, but I'll accept it, she thought to herself.

"Lieutenant, I mean no offense when I say this, but your species and their customs... It's like dealing with a Tellarite mixed with a Klingon, and a splash of Vulcan," commented Fig. There was just something about Caitians that eluded her all these years with them in the Federation. They could be as mischievous and mystical as they could very well be deadly on a bad day.

K'Niras chuckled and smoothed his whiskers with one clawed hand. "Maybe, but you did just fine just now. Other than that we're just like everyone else. Some places can still be pretty backwards. There are still people that live very primitive lives outside of cities and such, so the old traditions still hang on." He smiled and patted Fig on the shoulder.

The Captain had another quick look around the bar. There were still Caitians staring daggers their way, but Fig felt she had more or less earned a cautious welcoming into the lion's den. "You heard the lieutenant," she said to her officers. "Be respectful to these Caitians, but don't be easily submissive," she added. She knew the sooner these Caitians saw her and her crew as weak, they would be in potential danger. Federation member world or not, Whisky Whiskers did not seem to abide by Federation pleasantries.

"Drink... mingle... enjoy yourselves, but stay alert," Fig said as she gestured for her officers to spread out.

Shras walked in to the club, ready to let his white hair down and enjoy himself, as much as he could as a security officer. Hope this place has Andorian Ale, he couldn't help but think as he entered proper. Upon which he got immediately locked in a feeling of anxiety. Like he was being stared down.

Which he was of course. A male Caitian locked eyes with the Andorian. The cougar-like male seemed to look straight through him. Not to be outdone Shras stared straight back. As long as he could of course until he just couldn't maintain it.

Ensign EJ O'Donoghue was bright eyed and not so bushy tailed. His eyes bore black rims around them and his hair was up in a neat quiff. The smell of whiskey long gone from the young Irishman's breath. It had been a hard week, but hard stuff had only just started in the grand scheme of things, he clung to Fig and K'Niras like glue. He was an untrusting Irishman at the best of times. Being in a place full of Caitians didn't help him either, not that he didn't like them. A Golden maned lion locked eyes with him. It was a show of dominance and EJ wasn't the type of give up. He held the gaze as long as he could. His beautiful blue eyes bore holes into the Caitian's head. The Banshee, as he was now affectionately known, was not known to back down easily, so if these Caitians were looking for an easy target he was no such thing. "By Jesus, there's no whiskey Lieutenant? What is an Irishman to do?" EJ mused as he looked around the room, feeling uneasy, but not frightened in the slightest.

Fig was still feeling a bit uneasy in the establishment. She stuck closely to her Second Officer who seemed as relaxed as could be, if not slightly cautious, but Lieutenant Sh'howul knew how to handle himself and how these people were. "If I'm going to get my throat wet in this place, Lieutenant, what would you recommend I have?" she asked.

It did not take Fig more than a second to look around for Nurse Vinia who would have lectured her endlessly about alcohol and pregnancy. "Maybe just a small shot of something," muttered Fig as she looked over back at her Caitian Second Officer.

K'Niras eyed her. "Are you sure you don't want some Klingon bloodwine? Most of the drinks you get here are not going to be strong and they're going to be mostly fruit based. It takes very little real alcohol to cause a drunken state in us. Some of your stronger spirits are not even consumable for us without serious repercussions." He led the way to the bar and sat down on the barstool. It was currently very apparent how much smaller than most male Caitians that K'Niras was. Since he had entered the bar the staring contest had not stopped for him, as male after male challenged him silently. 'These bars usually carry a variety of human and other races drinks though... we'll just have to ask."

Aeryn's bright hair seemed to be causing a stir, and she having heard the words of K'Niras stared down one large black brindled male. What she didn't do was mention anything about the captain's consumption- after all Klingon females drank copious amounts of bloodwine during their pregnancies.

Captain Figueroa had given K'Niras a pat on his forearm, a small gesture of appreciation as she left his side. Things were quelled for the time being. It was still a place where Fig felt her crew had to be on constant 'yellow alert,' but with Shras and K'Niras there, she knew her crew would be safe... or at the very least be well protected if anything did happen. "Enjoy your time home, Lieutenant," she whispered to her Chief Communications Officer as she parted from his company and made her way over to the blue beacon.

K'Niras pulled at his Starfleet collar a little, the uniform seeming a little too tight suddenly. He gave her a little bit of a grin. "Yes, Sir," he replied, even though he wasn't really feeling all that glad to be home. K'Niras was small for a Caitian, he had no mane, he was a strange color. He had often been picked on during his educational years by other males. As he looked around the bar, he knew that now would not be much different.

"Acting Chief Medical Officer," said the Captain, calling attention to her presence near Aeryn. "It's been quite the journey for you these past few months. Going from a position as a psychiatric nurse at one of the Federation's utmost respected facilities to serving as Head Nurse aboard a starship... and you've slid into Doctor Hill's seat for the time being," stated Fig as she took a seat next to the blue haired woman. "I cannot thank you enough for all of this, Aeryn," added the Captain.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity and the adventure," she beamed over at the Captain, even as she reached over to pat her hand. More quietly she continued, "And as for the rest, it is my pleasure entirely."

Fig flashed a slight smile. "I am glad that you see it that way, but still," said the Captain. "Holding down the position of the Musashi's Chief Medical Officer is no easy task, especially with a skeletal medical staff and trying to keep your nurses and technicians together," noted the Commanding Officer of the starship Musashi. "Starfleet Command will be looking for a more fixed and stable solution soon. I am sure they will find a suitable physician. It does not look like Doctor Hill will be returning as that 'special assignment' has turned into something more permanent than the initial temporary need. Starfleet Medical has deemed it best that he remain there, and I am not about to twist anyone's arms to recall him back to the Musashi given the nature of his assignment," continued Fig.

"It's been an honor to do the job, but it's certainly more paperwork than I am accustomed to doing. I'm deeply flattered by your confidence in me in this matter." Her smile was gentle even as she continued, "I'm looking forward to having a physician aboard."

Captain Figueroa let out a long sigh. "The sooner they find someone, the better in my opinion," she said gently placing a hand on Aeryn's shoulder. "Please don't take that as my questioning you ability to be Chief Medical Officer. I've just heard through the grapevine that Starfleet Command may be sending us towards some rough space, areas of known piracy and missing starships. I value you aboard my starship, but I cannot help but want to have a full and balanced medical department before heading into that darkness."

"I can't help but agree with that statement," she answered without hesitation. "I am not unaware of my value, however I am not a surgeon. I am not exactly qualified to be a chief medical officer and frankly were lucky nothing more serious has rolled through the doors."

Fig nodded in agreement. "Quite lucky, and I will take that small blessing of luck," she replied. "Surgeon or not, you've been good at keeping on top of medical files, keeping proper documentation, and treating the scrapes and bruises. You've mended the broken bones. I will definitely be making that known to Starfleet Medical."

Aeryn bowed her head just slightly touching her chest with steepled finger tips at the words. Her cheeks colored brightly in conjunction with the gesture.

EJ's communicator buzzed and he fished out of his pocket, walking over to a corner to answer it. "O'Donnaghue, go ahead?" he asked, as he looked around the room.

"Is the captain near you?" the voice crackled over the comm.

"No, but I can relay a message," EJ said as he looked to Fig.

"Tell her there's an urgent message she needs to take care of," the voice crackled once more. EJ looked to the party in front of him.

"Okay Ensign, understood," EJ said, as he closed his communicator and walked back over and lightly tapped the captain on the shoulder. "Sorry to interrupt guys, but that was the ship. Captain, you have an urgent communication coming through and it needs to be attended to," he said, slightly smiling.

Captain Donatella Figueroa quickly turned at the sound of EJ's voice. Upon his informing her that the Musashi had been trying to contact her, she instantly muttered "Damn" as she felt her waist and quickly felt up and down her body. "Son of a..." she said shaking her head. "One of the Caitians must have pickpocketed me and lifted my communicator while I wasn't looking," she said, embarrassed. "They are Federation members, but I don't want ship's equipment getting into the wrong hands. Thank you, EJ. Can you see if you can track down that missing communicator?"

EJ Looked to the captain. "Understood, I'll try and do this as cleanly and without issue as possible, but I can't promise that we all know my Irish temper flares at the best of times," he said, as he looked around. "Might wanna send someone with me, ya know, to keep the banshee in check," he said, slightly laughing, but it was the honest truth. Of late, his temper had been worse and the last thing the landing party needed was a Human/Caitian incident before the mission had even started.

The Captain motioned her Second Officer, the Musashi's Chief Communications Officer, Lieutenant K'Niras over. "May I use your communicator, Lieutenant?.... one of your 'friends' here has seems to have some heavy paws."

K'Niras frowned and nodded, looking around the bar a little bit before he pulled his communicator from his pocket and handed it to the captain. "Sort of an unusual thing to steal. Here you are, Captain." He didn't make it obvious that he was looking around for the communicator, but he was. Often times when a Caitian took something they would just run with it until they could stop and look at their haul, but sometimes they didn't run, but the lure of whatever they had stolen was almost irresistible. If the person that stole the captain's communicator was still in the bar, then they might be looking at the communicator right now, perhaps subtlety.

"Even the smallest and simplest of items could be sold or traded to someone," replied Fig. "We take tricorders and communicators so casually, but to someone from a planet so severely behind us technologically, it's indistinguishable from magic," added the Captain. "Help Ensign O'Donoghue track down the missing equipment."

K'Niras nodded. "Yes, Sir." He slid off the barstool he'd been sitting on and looked at EJ.

EJ looked to K'Niras. "Looks like it's me and you, boss," he said, smiling at the Caitian. "You lead the way," he said, as he stowed his communicator. "Phaser or no phaser, Lieutenant?" he asked. He didn't just want to prime it and receive the worst looks from the crew.

K'Niras laid his ears back a little at the mention of the phaser. "How about we not, Ensign. This is more like a mystery than a murder. I'm pretty sure if you pulled your phaser out now... here... we might have an issue on our hands. So let's just keep that in its holster for now." He shook his head and looked around, keeping his opinions about Humans being overly impulsive. "If they have left the bar, then it is possible we will not find it, but if they are still here, it's just a matter of time before the one who stole it will look at it. So I suggest moving quietly around the bar and keeping an eye out for someone looking at the communicator. Does that make sense?""

EJ looked to K'Niras. "Understood," he said, as he looked around the bar. "Okay, Lieutenant, let's hope for both our sakes they're still here," he said, scanning with his very observant Irish eyes. "Should we stick together or split up?" he asked, flipping his communicator in his pocket. He moved off first, keeping his stance positive and regal as he moved around the Caitians in the bar..

K'Niras nodded. "Just stay sharp. It might even be good to go outside too, just around the perimeter of the bar." He watched EJ move away from him for a moment before he moved in the opposite direction, keeping his head down, but staying alert for the captain's missing communicator.

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