Starbase 435 - It's Not Exactly Risa

[Annabelle O'Halloran 0]

There was always one bar on a Fleet base that didn't cater to...Fleeters. Anna found her way to Starbase 435's without much trouble; it went by the inspired name of Journey's End. When she got the house special, a bowl of stew (meat unidentified) she wondered if it was because so many patrons succumbed to food poisoning. Then again, the house ale was exceptional and you could forgive a place a great deal for that. She took her time eating dinner; she had a seat at a small table tucked along the side of the bar, no windows onto the promenade, no windows at all. Like all good bars, it existed as its own world and this being a spaceport, time of day didn't make much difference. She hadn't checked to see if anyone felt like coming down with her. She'd submitted the rotation schedule for the Science Department to the Captain's attention, and then had high tailed it out, uniform left behind and comm badge in her pocket.

 

Seeing all the freight traffic around the port had made her homesick. No doubt about it. It was nice to sit here and listen to the usual chatter, the kind of stuff she'd grown up hearing when tagging along on the family freighters as a kid. This was a Fed base so no kids were in here, but on non-Fed bases, they looked sideways when a few kids came in with parents, or brothers or cousins. Anna had grown up hearing the stories of close run ins with the Feds, the Cardassians...anyone who didn't have an interest in letting a working man get a job done. Her favorites had been the stories of cargo and ships stolen by the Maquis. What kid didn't love pirates? Especially ones that had the good sense to fight the Federation? She ordered a second ale and while she basked in the ambiance, the murmurs regarding threatened trade routes and the usual talk of the perils of freight forwarders became background noise as she tapped out a letter to her youngest brother, Liam. She'd started it the other day, and now seemed like a good time to finish it.

 

"As I mentioned earlier, not too much has been going on, which if you've been reading between the lines during previous transmissions, is a good thing when you are stationed on a longréalta such as Reaent. I'm not bored--far from it. I have been missing you, though and I've got to admit that I'm a little worried, Liam. You don't realize it but Mamai sees more than you think she does and I can tell you from past experience that she will not be shy in letting Daid know about anything that worries her. If you can't stay away from trouble, then for heaven's sake, (and Mamai's nerves) be smart about it. And yes, Mamai's been writing to me again. By the rate of the thawing taking place, I may see myself welcomed back into the family fold before my eightieth turning. Oh, and NO I am not lending you any more credits. You're a pilot, for crying out loud and that means you can work 24/7 if you want. I don't care what you say about Daniel; he's a better boss than Brian and at least you didn't have to learn under Sean like I did. I have always taken pride in the fact that Sean's first gray hairs showed up when he was teaching me to fly. I swear that's why he holds a grudge. Let's face it; our three older brothers lack something of a sense of humor. I remember-"

 

"Captain Van Rijn, cargo is offloaded and we're almost done taking on supplies."

 

Anna's head jerked as she heard the name Van Rijn. It wasn't an overly common one. She turned her head and saw a young Bajoran wearing a flight suit, and she noted the company it represented was PlaxiCo. Big freight forwarder out of the Sol system, they used Kilo as a hub and were keen competition to her family's company, Wolf Freight Forwarding, in the systems around it. She could only see the back of the CO's head but the dark hair and set of it looked familiar. The shoulders were broader but six years were sure to bring some changes. She pocketed the padd with Liam's still unfinished letter and then picked up her ale, curious to get a look at the face of the man who told the young Bajoran to finish supervising the supply loading and that he'd be there by 19:00.

 

"Doesn't give us much time to get caught up, Captain Van Rijn." Anna grinned and set her glass of ale on the table before taking a seat across from the man who was indeed Andries Van Rijn. Three years her senior, he'd been in her brother Brian's class at school back on Kilo, and she'd grown up with him teasing her unmercifully when Brian wasn't looking. When Brian was looking and teasing her himself, Andries used to stick up for her. She'd had such a crush on him.

 

Andries stared in bewilderment for a second and then smiled slowly, "Belladonna O'Halloran. You have to be the last person I expected to see out here at the back end of nowhere. Don't tell me that I've got to worry about Wolf dogging my heels in this sector? Hey, wait...this is a Fed base." He chuckled, knowing no Wolf freighter would be caught within light years of the kind of security checks in place on one. "Are you here on Whelan business? Who's with you?" Amazing the difference a few years could make, he thought. She'd been a cute enough kid when she used to moon after him, but she was no kid now. She'd grown into her promise.

 

Wincing at the ridiculous name, which she'd garnered because she'd been forced by her mother to keep an herb garden for a brief, inglorious time and had accidentally included some poisonous plants in it, Anna tskd gently, replying, "Andy-Panda, not even a hello? All you can do is malign my family through innuendo and make vast assumptions on why I'm here, in this dive, and wasting my time talking to you?"

 

"If you're as wounded as you pretend to be, I'll be happy to call a medic," he said with dry amusement, recalling how she'd take everything her brothers and he dished out and then give back as good as she got.

 

"That won't be necessary," she said loftily, "I am a quick healer."

 

"And very thick-skinned."

 

"Ah, well now, didn't I have to be, Captain Van Rijn?" She smiled at him and then picked up her mug of ale. "So, PlaxiCo, eh? You're pretty young to be a captain, aren't you?"

 

"And you're pretty young to be...what? Annabelle, what are you doing in this dive, wasting your time talking to me?" He asked with a grin, while signaling for another mug of the same ale she was drinking. "I know Whelan Clan and there's no way that you are running around this crap base on your own. You with one of your brothers or, wait a second...Colum. You and he were bonded. Is he here?"

 

Anna eyed him coolly. "I am not here as part of Wolf Freight, or Whelan Artisans or as Colum Walsh's bond mate!" She glowered at him, annoyed that she'd raised her voice. "As far as I know, I am the only member of my clan aboard this 'crap base' and in fact I'm barely considered a member of even that! I'm in Starfleet."

 

Andries glanced around at the sudden silence and shifting of chairs as everyone in the nearby vicinity moved away. He smiled sunnily as he raised his mug to her, "You've always had a voice that could carry, Anna. Nice job clearing the room, oh and for ditching Colum. He was a lying bastard."

 

Feeling rather pariahish and carefully pretending she didn’t see the barkeep's scowl, Anna nodded morosely into her ale. "Aye, Andy, he was. I just wish my Daid could have seen it."

 

"Anna, cheer up. Even Starfleet's got to be better than Colum Walsh."

 

She looked up ready to defend her choice when she realized he was teasing her. "Well, my second choice was PlaxiCo," she drawled, "But when I heard they'd take just anybody..."

 

"Still carry that knife?"

 

"Aye."

 

"Maybe Colum did have a lucky escape."

Edited September 24, 2009 by Annabelle O'Halloran