A Late Night Toast

[Mark Garrison 0]

"A Late Night Toast"

 

Trees were being cut down in Mark Garrison's quarters. There were no chainsaws however, just constant sounds of him snoring with every breath taken. He was still half dressed, the top half of his uniform strewn on the floor, while the bottom resided with him in his recliner. The guitar, with a padd of sheet music rested precariously on the arm of the chair. Mark had intended to get at least a half hour in, but after a full shift, a hour training session with his fellow officers, and the last half shift with the Marines as punishment by the Captain, it was a minor miracle he had even made it into his chair before passing out.

 

His heavy slumber was probably the reason why he hadn't heard the door chimes, the doors open, or Victria enter his quarters. Her head tilted slightly as she stood just in front of his chair, studying him as he slept. She had often wondered what humans experienced when they slept and what dreams crept into their minds. She glanced down to the bottle in her hands, contemplating whether to leave it for him to find when he awoke or bring it back when he was conscious. His weariness was beginning to seep into her and take its toll. She shook herself free of the feeling and turned to leave, placing the bottle on his coffee table on her way past.

 

 

"Mrrmpf." He shifted slightly, breaking the monotonous chain of snores. The guitar, finally getting the last push it needed, hit the ground with a resonating thud. Garrison snapped out of his slumber in shocking fashion. He jumped up, realizing he wasn't alone in his darkened quarters. His fists clenched into rocks, adrenaline and his fight or flight response kicking in. He quickly loosened however, feeling Victria's presence through their bond more than seeing her. Any other time he would have cracked a remark about her sneaking into his quarters while he was asleep, but he was just too worn out. He simply fell back into his chair with a sigh.

 

"I would apologize for waking you, but you did that to yourself." She had whirled at the sound and half expected him to attack in his stupor, but relaxed when she saw him slump in realization. "Though I would not have come if I had known how exhausted you were. Extra shifts wearing you down?" She stood motionless by the table, searching his face and noting the signs of fatigue.

 

 

"Between Commander Segami's training sessions and the Captain's extra shifts with the marines..." He trailed off, contemplating standing up, but his muscles quickly shot that idea down. He was a bit more toned then when he had come on board, but for the torture the marines had inflicted on him he'd of preferred a beer gut. They were easier to manage.

 

 

"So what warrants the occasion?" He checked the time, wondering how long he had been out, before looking over to Victria and the bottle on his table. The marines had taken every drink he had kept, so it must be hers. "What's in the bottle...?" He glanced back from the bottle to her with a small amount of nervousness on his face.

 

 

"Alcohol of some sort. I am not exactly sure. I did not even know if and what you drank. But I read somewhere that humans imbibed during celebrations and so I brought it to share, or as a gift." She peered dubiously at the bottle. "I doubt it will be to my liking, but you might enjoy it."

 

Glancing back, she arched a brow at his expression. "What were you expecting? The blood of newborn children?" she asked, a slight smirk forming on her lips.

 

 

"You have been having your teams patrol around sickbay a lot this past week." He chuckled as he pulled himself out of the chair with a groan. He moved over to her and the table, grabbing the bottle to examine the gift. He wasn't very picky when it came to alcohol, his roommate at the academy had seen to that. He looked back to her, suddenly remembering the statement before the babies. "Well, I'll have to ask again, what warrants the occasion? I know it's not my birthday."

 

 

"A victory of sorts. I have recently had contact with one from my home planet. A full-stage rebellion is taking place even now and they have defeated one of the Scorpiad fleets, no small task considering the casualties that the Federation sustained while engaging them."

 

Clasping her hands in front of her, she perched herself on the arm of one of his chairs, one booted foot resting in the seat. "Though the outcome is far from decided and this is only one small battle won, I thought it deserved a small measure of celebration. The Scorpiad will retaliate with force, no doubt, but we can at least enjoy this moment of victory."

 

 

A small smile formed on his lips as he watched her. He needed no further encouragement. "Well, then let's drink."

 

 

She lifted the bottle and twisted the mouth until the cork popped free. Sniffing it briefly, she then held it for him to inspect. "Not wine. I have tasted wine. Something stronger?"

 

He took the bottle from her and brought it to his nose. It smelled very potent, but sweet at the same time. "Saurian Brandy?" His smile grew. "Where did you get this?"

 

 

"If I told you, it would make you an accomplice," she confessed, smiling slightly. "But I will warn you that you might not want to leave this bottle out in the open where it could be found. Ah-Windu would not be pleased."

 

"Oh I will." He frowned and gestured to a small cabinet in the kitchen. "The Marines cleaned me out during their 'weapons check'."

 

 

"Strange. They barely scanned my room and took nothing. I have several items that are not standard issue, though I registered them on the manifests before I returned to the Excalibur. Do you think they were scared of my reaction or were given orders to leave my quarters be?"

 

He glanced over as he grabbed a couple glasses from a shelf. "I wouldn't be surprised if it's both. The Captain seems to do as he pleases, though I have an aching suspicion that it has to do with me raiding his quarters." He shrugged, and moved back to her, depositing the glasses on the table next to the brandy. "It's not that important though, I've learned my lesson about staying off the sensor grid."

 

"You brought that on yourself, you know. Corizon is very serious about his blades, especially the one he keeps on his central display. Did you collect it along with the others?" She lifted the bottle and poured a small amount into each of the glasses.

 

"Of course not, I can respect a man who cares for his weapons, but it was a minor armory in there. I doubt the senior staff would have enough arms to handle them all." He grabbed his drink from the table, but held off drinking it. It was her celebration after all. "Besides, I was just following Segami's orders," he added with a chuckle.

 

"Sometimes it is better to ignore orders in favor of self preservation," she replied honestly. "I think he might have been harsher on you than he normally would because he needed to make an example out of you." She lifted her own glass and swirled the liquid inside.

 

"Better me then someone else then. I don't scare that easy." He watched her play with the alcohol. "So, are you going to make a toast?"

 

 

"A toast?" Her eyes lifted from her glass.

 

"Yes, they can be vows and pledges, or for celebrations, weddings or some important occasion." He met her eyes. "Usually one says something pertaining to the cause of the toast, and then everyone drinks."

 

 

"Ah," her brow furrowed slightly as she pondered. "Then I suppose I would simply say, 'Death to all Scorpiads'. Do you think that would be too pretentious of me?"

 

He smirked. "No, I think it's quite fitting." He tapped his glass to hers gently, producing a small ring. "Cheers."

 

 

She smirked and took a sip of the liquid, letting it roll over her tongue as she studied the flavor. "Not the least bit satisfying, but interesting nonetheless," she commented, watching for his reaction.

 

 

He drank as she did, enjoying the sweet taste. This wasn't his first time drinking Saurian Brandy, but this was one of the finer vintages he'd have. "Good stuff, but I doubt it's to your sort of palette. You should try Klingon Bloodwine."

 

 

Her attention snapped to him at the mention of blood. "I suppose it is just a name?"

 

He smirked as he took another sip. "Rumor has it that there's fermented blood in it."

 

 

"And why am I only just now hearing about this drink?" She drained the contents of her glass and poured herself one with significantly more brandy.

 

"Maybe everyone's worried you're a violent drunk." He had a good laugh at that as he finished his own glass and poured and equal amount to Victria's glass.

 

 

"As opposed to... the rest of the time when I'm not the least bit violent?" She smirked and drained her second drink as well, setting the empty glass on the table. "And it would require that I ingest an obscene amount of alcohol to become inebriated. You are more likely to see me suffer from Hunger than drunkenness."

 

 

As he finished off the rest of his glass he considered challenging her iron stomach, but his last brandy hangover forced that idea out. "Yes, I'm sure you're just a cuddly teddy bear drunk."

 

"I am afraid that you will never have the chance to find out," she stated matter-of-factly. However, she did not attempt another glass. Too much human food always left her feeling uneasy and ill. "I suppose I should let you return to your rest. Next duty shift is in a few hours. Do you have more Marine patrols as well?"

 

"No, today was the last one, thank God." He unconsciously groaned at he picked up the guitar and padd, setting them in their proper places. "It was a good workout, but sleep sounds much, much better."

 

"Enjoy the drink. It is not quite to my taste." Her lips twitched in amusement. "I will see you on duty shift, yes? I will be outlining my next training class if you have need of me between now and then, though I suspect that you will be unconscious for the majority."

 

He groaned, thinking about his next training session in two days. "What are you doing again, Stealth and Recon?"

 

 

"Yes," she said flatly, obviously not impressed with the progress of her trainees. "Feel free to attend the next session if you are not on shift. The schedule is posted in security."

 

"At least your trainees don't have weapons." He grumbled loudly. "I'm supposed to train people in weapons and tactics, and a third of my trainees are doctors I wouldn't trust with a butter knife. The other third are engineers who try to maximize their phasers performance, and the science department huddles around each other to discuss reports and sensor logs. I think there was a reason why these officers weren't given weapons in the academy..."

 

"At least you seem far more suited to dealing with non-security... people... things. I do hope that you have safety procedures in place for those classes."

 

He had to laugh at her description of the unarmed of the ship. "Just because I can deal with people doesn't mean I want to. And as for the safety procedures, let's just say my students amaze me with every class."

 

 

"I can only imagine," she said, still smiling.

 

"You should sleep. No doubt, you are going to need all you can get. Though we have had no more incidents of officer duplicates, there are still a large amount of reports to sift through. And I have a feeling that Segami is going to have little time for such things."

 

"Alright, alright." He smirked, before grabbing his clothes off the ground and tossing them into the bedroom. "By the way, thanks for the drink."

 

 

"Just returning the favor," she replied, fangs bared teasingly. With a final smirk, she exited his quarters and disappeared into the hallway.