Cynndle stepped out of his commander’s office at the end of his shift with a smile on his face. In his hand, he carried a small box containing his new pip which he held tight before sliding it into his pocket. As he wandered down the corridor he tried not to show his excitement at being made a full lieutenant.

A few minutes later he stepped out on the promenade and looked around, “Definitely need to get a drink for this.” he said out loud as a thought struck him. He tapped his combadge, “Cynndle to Lihran; you free?”

Lihran was currently in the gym, running on a treadmill. Cyn’s voice blasted suddenly from his commbadge and startled him. He stepped off the treadmill before he went flying off and shut down the machine. He sounded out of breath as he tapped his badge to reply, “Lihran here. I am! Did something break again?” He chuckled.

Cynndle laughed at Lihran’s response. “Not today. Just wanted to know if you were free, could use a drink if you are up for it?”

Lihran grinned to himself at that, “Sure, I’m off today. Where did you want to meet up?” He stepped over to grab his gym bag and make his way out of the fitness facility.

“Downtime, say 30 minutes?” Cynndle responded.

“Sounds good to me,” replied Lihran, “I’ll see you there.” He killed the line and hurried to change and run through a sonic shower before joining Cynndle

Cynndle sitting at a table in the corner with a small glass of Andorian whiskey sitting in front of him. He was absently fiddling with his new pip in his hands as he waited for Lihrain to arrive. He was excited but he now felt pressure to actually pick his speciality now. On the Dawn, it had been one thing he didn’t have to worry about too much but Bravo offered so many other opportunities that he hadn’t even considered. He could actually move into Strategic operations like he specialized in during his time at the academy or push for command and stay a deck officer maybe…not to mention all the other possibilities. 

Lihran approached Cynndle with a glass of Earth whiskey himself. Lihran was wearing civilian clothes far more frequently; as the Romulan was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He dropped down to sit across from the other man, “What’s that? A new shiny?”

“Yep,” Cynndle said as he stopped rolling the pip between his fingers. “Just got it before I called you; thought it had been a while and best to celebrate with a friend right? Guess I should actually put this thing on, eh?” He quickly applied the new pip to his collar and smiled. “Now I actually have to do work, cannot skate by anymore,” he said wth a laugh. “How are things?”

Lihran smiled widely at that, lifting his glass towards Cynndle, “A good idea at that!” He emitted a snort, “I’m actually jealous of you. Being able to actually work. He huffed a sigh, ”I’m on minimal duties till I get this sorted.” He tapped his forehead.

“I get that. Any idea how much longer? I can only imagine the frustration.” Cynndle said as he look a small-tasting sip of his whiskey.

Lihran sighed and shrugged, “Not a clue. I’ve got… 80 or so years to sort out. At least. The whole… seeing my ex again thing did not help. At least the counselor is cute. What’s new with you? Other than a shiny new pip?”

Cynndle laughed, “A cute counsellor always helps things and I can only imagine having 80 or so years to sort out. Hell, that is many many more than I have to even think on. As for new for me, cannot say too much really. I did reshift out of operations into command,” he said and gestured to his red shirt, “It is a nice change of pace, had a torpedo scare when I was overseeing the ordinance shipment but other than that, lots of this and that really. Its been keeping me on my toes.”

Lihran arched a brow, “A torpedo scare? Now you realise you do have to explain that and how you managed that.” He sipped his whiskey, both concerned and amused at the same time.

“Ah, fair enough,” Cynndle said with a laugh. “Was assigned to oversee the offloading of torpedos with the new deck officer, Lieutenant S’Lone, a Romulan. Was going well until we heard one ticking…” Cynndle continued to recount the events that had transpired before taking a long sip of his whiskey and shrugging. “Was closer, closer than I would have liked. I need to follow up with the ordnance officer to see if they found anything. Was odd.” 

Lihran took a sip of his whiskey, nearly choking on it as Cyn recounts the story. “For the love of… No kidding! That’s terrifying.” He gave a shudder at the thought, “Not what we mean by having a blast at your new postition.” He lifted a brow pointedly. He leaned forward, lowering his voice, “Is foul play suspected?”

Cynndle shrugged, “Honestly, I have no idea. If it was I am sure it will be gotten to the bottom of in no time.” He leaned back and took another sip before he grinned. “Nothing on Bravo is ever straight forward is it?”

Lihran snorted a little, “That’s quite true, my friend. I hope it is sorted out. That could have been truly devastating if you were not on your toes.” He sighed and leaned back, dark thoughts of losing yet another friend crossed his mind. Pain visibly crossed his face for a moment. He dismissed the thoughts with a faint shake of his head and a slight smile before going back to his usual cheery self, “Surely that can’t be the only exciting, new thing?”

Cynndle laughed, “What can I say, I live a rather boring life outside of work. Though I am meant to be doing a shuttle run, well runabout run, to Regulus V in a month. They have requested some operations and engineering training. You interested?”

Lihran arched a brow at that, “That is interesting, not gunna lie. What kind of engineering training? Ah, doesn’t matter, regardless, I am interested, yes! I could do with an adventure.” He chuckled softly.

Cynndle shrugged, “The basics I think really. Starfleet is setting up a small training facility. Honestly, I don’t have much details yet. Just that I need to take a runabout there for a couple of days and to select a few others. I can pass on the additional information when I get it if you want?”

Lihran smiled and nodded, “That would be great! Been doing this Engineering thing for… over a century now I think. Pretty sure I can teach it or help set something up.” He chuckled softly.

Cynndle laughed, “God, I forget how much older you are than I am at times. I think this could get a good little getaway. Been too long since I was on a ship!”

Lihran grinned at that, “Just wait till my grays start coming in more.” He was already starting to get a few gray hairs coming through, “I could do with a little vacation adventure thing…” He groaned as his commbadge chirp, calling Lihran for an emergency repair, “I am afraid I need to run, Cyn. Great catching up with you!” He smiled warmly and tossed off the rest of his drink as he stood up. He lifted his hand and waved, turning to head out quickly.

Cynndle nodded, “Was great to catch up. I will keep you updated on things. See you around.”