“Ginsh, Ginsh, over here pal. Sit yourself down, got ya brew, pal.” Came the holler and wave from a corner of the establishment, a brown haired, tall, lanky, human male, Paolo RInish Sat in a corner table, with two hot drinks in front of him. He was brash and outspoken, which is probably why Ginsh and he got on quite so well. 

The off duty Tellarite was at her more colorful sight that on duty, plumbing for the thigh length tunic and loose pants, the wave of blues,greens, orange, and just the hint of brown were quite a slight as he waved in between the chairs and tables of the bright and airy establishment, simply titled Brew. He glanced at the groups cradling their drinks, some very clearly more used to the experience than others, with one or two more impatient faces being on display.

The Tellarite settled himself down on the other of the two places, swiveling his chair slightly to put one corner gently against the wall, to have himself seated looking across and out into the cafe itself rather than directly into the corner. His drink was pushed towards him by the person opposite, Ginsh noted the lip curl, that told of a position of dislike from his friend, but that argument had  long been had, both positions clear and immovable, so left alone for now. The drink in question was an off brown shade of mocha with enough caramel syrup to overwhelm the single shot of espresso. The order being given usually entailed a discussion or lecture of a professed ‘cofficinado’. Just the way Ginsh liked it, both the drink and the opportunity for a verbal joust. 

He took a deep mouthful and after being asked about current projects gave a description of the chance observation of the ‘Drig Bugs’ extra leg he launched into an explication of the exhaustive testing procedure he employed, the trials that were associated with it, the obligatory grumbling that Paolo seemed to grin at, ask the questions that were obvious and occasionally suggest that Ginsh might be at fault, which brought a stout defense from the Tellarite.

“Of course I’m currently assisting as required until the USS Fitzgerald gets in with a number of specimens. But she’d four days late as is.” Ginsh grumped, rolling to mug around his hands, before offering an opportunity for Paolo to speak, given the minute size of his work, the prospect of a project on the scale the man usually worked on was staggering and fascinating at the same time “I suppose that’s not too much of a concern for you folks, data carries much easier than specimens. What are you working on? Or have been working on?” Watching his opposite number take a gulp of drink before offering.

“Yeah there’s a few like that pal, Starships having to reroute around hotspot’s or being pulled in to help out, rowdy Kingons and stubborn Romulans and that’s what we get.” Paolo’s comment seems laced with weariness, possibly a hint of annoyance. But that faded a little as he ;launched into a account of the days spent tracking comet, it’s unusual composition was broken down, i’s irregular trajectory was highlighted, the trip though an asteroid belt and glancing blows it gave the rocks within, the skimming if a gas giant planet and the effect on the star system in question. 

“But that was last week, this week things are altogether different, borders are more of concern at the moment than the phenomenon contained within. That and who’s wandering where and how often and whether they should or not be.To be honest I feel more Strat Ops than Science these days.” Paolo related, but with a sigh and a shrug, and what he felt was a thin but growing layer of contempt for either the situation or something else entirely. “We might just be Ensigns but even i can tell getting caught in the middle of this AGAIN is not going to work well for Starfleet, stretched resources are going to end up even thinner.” He went on, now teetering on the edge of launching into a rant From where Ginsh was sitting, suspecting the public venue and the large amount of potential onlookers provided a hold for now.

He hit back with his own observations. “Are you forgetting Starfleet is committed to aiding those who need it with impartiality? It’s not just a duty, it’s moral, we have the ability to help, it may be limited but it’s still there, so we should. Besides, some elements of both call us friends now so that’s something.” Ginsh countered, with his own observations and feelings and to an extent beliefs, he was worried about the tone his classmate was eleceting to take,this was more than just a cultural thing now. 

The rebuttal that came back was blunt, harsh, and seemed to speak of Paolo’s own held beliefs “Because it suits some, yeah, but the other elements would blow us away or knife us in the night as much as they do it to the other. These people have knocking bells out of each other since before the Federation was a thing, before it was an idea. Stopping theme fighting for goo is like trying to dig a hole in a bucket of water. It Won’t Work.”

“It did about thirty year ago now. That’s the base for all we have now.” Ginsh countered pithily, he knew his history well enough, and chose his reference point with care, hoping it might provoke a bit of sense back into his old classmate. 

Paolo had other ideas, the reference only seemed to entrench him further and then gave rise to the most worrying of all admissions. “Because of the biggest war rhe quadrant had ever seen, marriage of convenience,  and practically a shotgun one. Sometimes i think the Dominion had the right idea.”

“I surely hope you don’t mean eradication of ‘The solids.’” Ginsh deliberately using air quotes and lowered his tone considerably, to the point where he leaned in to the table.”Because that would be you and me up for the chop my friend.”

Paolo had leaned in as well at this point offering a reply “Let’s not get too carried away, but divide and conquer.” There was a weighty pause and a shrug, that was far too carefree for the comment he had just made, effectively giving a nod to genocidal tendencies, for Ginsh’s liking. “Good thing i’m weeding out and classifying warp trails, decode one of each, throw a wide band subspace burst into the offending sector and see what bites.” He offered with a grin that was as unsettling as it was upsetting, then there was a moment when his expression changed again as if Ginsh thought he was unsure if he’d revealed too much of his own feelings and intentions, he leaned back and grinned letting the silence hang.

Reaching for his mug, tilting it towards him, Ginsh was almost relieved at the need of a refill. “Same again.” He enquired, and collected proffered mug, taking another look at the expression Paolo wore, trying to get read on how serious he was with his positions. Rising from his seat he walked past towards the counter, resisting the urge to look back, even that type of talk was a worry, but who should he share his concerns with, was it his division head or straight to councilor, and what if that was not talk but a serious plan he was going to enact, a security risk dictated involving security. But was it an over reaction on his part? Drinks order was placed amidst these thoughts.