First Contact

[Chirakis 1]

First Contact

A Joint Log by Cdr Chirakis and Cptn Caden Finlay

 

Drankum’s Bar was a welcome sight after Chirakis’ conversation with Dr. Lepage. Business was thriving. The tables were pressed together so tightly that patrons elbowed their way from one end to the other. That the station was almost at full capacity was a good sign, but it left little room for privacy.

 

As she stepped through the door, Kirel spied the freighter captain, Caden Finlay, sitting alone, nursing a drink. Taking aim at a table next to him, she maneuvered through the crowd and slid into a recently-vacated chair. With her back to him, she was close enough to talk but far enough away so a conversation might go unnoticed.

 

The wait staff, overworked at this time of day, were few and far between. Kirel pushed a used glass across the table and used the electronic waiter to order a Romulan ale.

 

For the first time in ages Fin was relaxed. His state of mind was more due to the alcohol he had consumed than the fact that he was back on this station again. Even though he was not exactly drunk he was intoxicated enough to stop being annoyed for a change, intoxicated enough not to notice the woman sitting down at the table next to him.

 

To him this place was bad news and the women around were horrible. But that was to be expected in a Fleeter facility. The women who joined usually took everything way too seriously. Fin sincerely wished he were on Risa now. Where were the pretty waitresses in this place anyway? Fin longed for a third beer.

 

Despite her civilian attire, one of the wait staff spotted the commander immediately and brought her ale in record time. She thanked him, relaxed as much in the chair as space would allow, and leaned close enough to Finlay to appear nonchalant. “Captain. Good to see you again,” she said before taking a sip.

 

The unknown woman’s voice violently dragged Fin out of his Risa daydream, and he did not like that. He looked at the woman carefully, trying to figure out if he should be nice to her, either because he had spent the night with her and wanted to do it again or because she was hot enough that he wanted to spend the night with her. Nope, too old, definitely too old. But something about her seemed familiar. He thought he recognized her voice. Maybe he had been drunk and the lights had been out.

 

“How is the Slighe Chlann Uisnich these days? Business picking up?” Chirakis caught a passing waitress and pointed in Finlay’s direction, having noticed he was dry.

 

Fin frowned, but cheered up decidedly when he noticed that his beer arrived almost instantaneously. “Wow lady, you must be an important customer, or maybe the owner?” Having a bar owner as a friend could never hurt, but her being the owner didn’t quite fit. How on earth did she know his ship?

 

She gave a small chuckle. “Chirakis Kirel, former station executive officer, Captain. Sometimes it helps to have people recognize me. Sometimes it doesn’t.” She took another sip.

 

Now Fin was interested. As much as it didn’t hurt to have bar owner friends, in his line of work it hurt even less to have high ranking officer friends. Especially not if they worked on a station that might need his services in the future. But Fin was planning on playing it cool. “Former, eh? What’d you do to get kicked out? Used to be in the Academy myself, but... let’s just say it wasn’t for me.”

 

“Kicked out?” She played along. “My job. Never went to the Academy. Too much theory, not enough practical experience.” She tapped the side of her head with one finger and hazarded a glance in his direction before turning back to her drink.

 

Oh dear, that kind of woman. “That kind of woman” was the kind of woman that was no fun at all, and fun was what he was after tonight. On the other hand, “that kind of woman” was usually a good business partner. “Your job? Kicked one backside too many?”

 

“Something like that,” she replied, tugging at her sleeves. “But sometimes that’s what it takes, eh Captain?”

 

“Only if you’re into that kinda thing, former Commander. Personally, I’m a man of many talents, if you know what I mean.” Fin wished she’d come to the point. He was sure that she wasn’t just talking to him because he was such a nice guy. As confident as he was about his ability to charm women, he wasn’t stupid. Chirakis was talking to him because she wanted something.

 

Former commander wasn’t exactly the case, but she let it pass. “Many talents,” she agreed with a nod. “And those talents are sometimes stretched to the limit, especially in certain sectors of space, and especially when transporting expensive cargo.” She angled her eyes towards him. “I have a few talents as well, Captain. I especially have a talent for finding lost items, such as missing high-priced cargo.” She called for a refill, and one for Finlay.

 

Fin closed his eyes and sighed. “And here I was hoping you wanted to get a bit closer tonight; instead you remind me of that little incident I had. That kinda killed the mood, I have to tell ya. But since you know so much about me, you also know that I’m interested in that talent of yours.” Fin wished Chirakis hadn’t reminded him of his latest misfortune that had not only left him short of money but also gotten him into trouble with certain big-lobed men. And he needed to be on the good side of these big-lobed men to keep the Slighe flying.

 

Kirel suppressed a grin. “Of course, those talents come with a price. But I’m sure we can come to an agreement... say, information for information? Even trade?” She stopped talking as the waitress, this time an exceptionally alluring human female, served their drinks, coming close enough to Finlay to brush against him.

 

Chirakis’ last statement kicked Fin’s brain into full action. He was so busy thinking about what kind of information he might have that was valuable enough for her to suggest such a deal that he almost missed how easy on the eye the waitress was. He only just managed to flash her his brightest smile before she turned around to serve one of the many other customers.

 

“Okay Chirakis, quit the games. I know you Fleeters, or former Fleeters, enjoy the drama that comes with being all mysterious and stuff. I should know, I’ve dated my share, and I tell ya, the drama was ridiculous, and enough to last 5 life times. So, straight up, what do you want and what do you have to offer?”

 

After taking a sip, she placed her glass precisely on the table. “Not a game, I assure you, Captain. Merely a trade. Either you want your cargo or you do not. Your choice.”

 

“You know full well that I want my cargo back. Considering how much you seem to know about me, you probably also know the trouble it caused me. But I won’t do it at any cost. I can provide you with information, not that I actually know anything. I won’t sell my soul, especially not to Starfleet; I did that once and was fortunate to get out just in time.” Fin was thrilled to hear that he might get his cargo back, but also wary of the offer. In his experience something that sounded too good to be true usually was.

 

Finlay had begun to draw the attention of surrounding patrons. Kirel twisted her glass, waiting for the din of nearby conversation to rise again before responding. Reaching into her side pocket, she withdrew a small piece of paper and slipped it to him under the table. “Contact this man. Use the code next to his name. I will contact you when you are ready to repay me.”

 

With that she rose, laid a few strips of latinum on the table to pay for both tabs, and left.

 

Fin looked at the paper and grinned. Now he knew that Chirakis was serious and even if nothing else came out of this, at least she had paid for the beer.