Captain Kirok Skyrunner is sitting at the bar on the Upper Promenade of Starbase 74. It was his last day of shore leave before he had to take command of his new ship, USS Carlsbad. He just met with the Starbase Executive Officer to receive his official command orders, so decided to celebrate alone for lunch. He was nursing a glass of Irish Whiskey while he was thinking about how his life might have been had his love interest, USS Michigan’s Security Chief Samantha Nash, not been killed on that awful away mission.

“Penny for your thoughts Captain,” the bartender softly said, while he was wiping the inside of a glass.

Captain Skyrunner looked up at him with a puzzled look on his face.

“Huh?”

“You look like a man with a load on his shoulders,” the bartender said.

“Who are you?” Kirok questioned the bartender.

“My name is Sabine. I am an El-Aurian. I like to listen to people.”

It took a minute to process that, then recognition shined in his eyes.

“Ah, you must know who Gui…”

Kirok started to say, when he stopped mid word as the doors to the bar opened and a slender looking female walked in and towards the bar. Before Kirok could finish what he said, the bartender nodded his head.

“Yes, I do know her. In fact, we were good friends for a very long time,” Sabine softly said.

“Oh ok. Well, to answer your question, I was reminiscing about what my life would be like had something tragic not happened,” Kirok answered Sabine.

“Go on my friend,” Sabine said, placing a basket of pretzels in front of Kirok and topped off his drink.

Taking a sip of fresh Irish Whiskey and allowing it to slowly go down to his stomach, he prepared himself for the upcoming hurt. As Kirok looked in the direction of the bartender, his eyes started to glaze over as he recalled the event that he regrets that happened.

“Well, what happened was that I was a fresh Lieutenant Security Officer on the USS Michigan and we had arrived at an alien world not previously contacted, according to Starfleet records. Our sensors determined that this alien civilization had managed warp speed technology since the last survey that was done over 20 years ago, therefore we were able to make first contact. So the ship’s First Officer led the away team, with Nash, myself and the Bridge Science officer on duty at the time. Everything started off smoothly. The aliens, Zorexin they called themselves, were on guard at first. The Executive Officer did manage to start friendly talks with their King. Once that first step was made, the Zorexin King allowed the rest of us to carefully explore the city.”

“Were the Zorexin aggressive Kirok,” the new guest said, sitting on a barstool next to Kirok.

Kirok turned to look at the person, a slight smile on his face as he recognized the voice.

“Hi Catersha, join us. As to your question…yes and no.”

Catersha pointed out a bottle of Romulan ale on the lower shelf. The bartender grabbed it, poured a glass and put both the filled glass and bottle in front of her. She took a sip and nodded to Sabine.

“To clarify, we were the first aliens they ever saw, so tensions were kinda high already, hence why Nash and I came along to the planet. We were invited to stay the night in the King’s estate, as honored guests.’ Kirok recalled, glassy eyes looking between Catersha and Sabine.

“So what happened Kirok,” Catersha asked softly, seeing her friend steel himself for what was coming. She put her hand on his arm to give comfort to him.

Kirok looked at her, then slowly explained.

“Long story short…one of the locals panicked and accidentally fired a primitive looking energy blaster at us. Of course, naturally, we returned fire, stunning him. That sparked an outrage with the locals. Next thing we knew, a deadly firefight and Nash took a direct hit to her face…because I froze for a second. She got vaporized instantly.”

Kirok had a hurt look in his eyes that Catersha saw. She placed a hand on his arm, giving a gentle squeeze to comfort him.

“Had I not frozen with fear, she would not have been hit and killed and then…maybe, we could have been something in the future,” Kirok quietly muttered, just loud enough for Catersha and Sabine to barely hear him.

“I am so sorry Kirok,” Catersha said softly, while embracing him with a side hug.

Sabine looked at Kirok closely for a few seconds, then gently said. “Nash meant a lot to you, didn’t she Kirok?”

Kirok looked at Sabine, with red teary eyes, and just nodded.

“She was the first love interest I had since the Academy and we talked about a possible future together and about one of us transferring off the USS Michigan.” Kirok wiped away a tear that streaked down his cheek. “Now I guess it won’t matter now. We had a lot planned out. She was due for a promotion soon and planned to transfer and recommend me to a security supervisor position on Gamma Shift. We had planned to get engaged early next year and get married later that year. We had almost everything planned out. We felt like we were soulmates. Now…it’s all gone.”

Kirok broke down again, quietly sobbing. Catersha kept comforting him.

“I am so very sorry Captain,” Sabine asked.

It took Captain Skyrunner several minutes to compose himself. When he did, he started to feel a little better, like a hidden weight fell off his shoulders. He let out a small sigh of relief, which both Catersha and Sabine noticed.

“Feeling a little better I see,” Catersha said warmly, giving him a peck on the cheek. “Sophia will be happy to hear this.”

Kirok gave her a hard, stern looking side glance for a minute. Then he broke his stern look, gave a slight smile and nodded.

“Yes she will. She knows about my past traumas and wants me to work on processing my feelings. She can see the pain in my eyes from all the tears of keeping that hurt bottled up inside for so long.”

Sabine commented on his statement, “it will always feel better to let that stuff out then keep it bottled up.”

Catersha sprang out of her seat and hugged Kirok from his right side, a grin on her face. Sabine disappeared into the backroom for a minute.

“I am so glad you are feeling a little better now Kirok. You will need to be your best out there when you leave in the morning,” Catersha stated.

“I know, I just got my orders this morning,” Kirok replied to Catersha, “either way, this first command of mine will be fun.”

Kirok finished off his glass of whiskey, gently setting it on the bar top and grabbed the last French fry on his plate. Sabine reappeared from the backroom, carrying a brand new bottle of Irish Whiskey. Sabine placed it on the bar top and Kirok spotted it.

“I’ll have this wrapped and sent to your ship this afternoon,” Sabine said to Kirok, with a friendly smile on her face, “my gift to you on your first command. Come back safe. I’d like to hear more stories about you, if you want to share.”

Before Kirok could speak, Catersha chimed in for him, saying that he would be delighted to do that, wouldn’t he? Catersha looked him in his eyes and all Kirok could do was nod and say yes to Sabine. Sabine laughed at Kirok’s forced agreement.

“I got another customer, but it was an honor to meet you two. My door is always open for you,” Sabine said as she walked to greet another guest at the other end of the bar.

Kirok and Catersha both left the bar together and walked the Upper Promenade the rest of the day. Kirok was thinking of what other possible paths not taken that could have been available to him in the past.