After what seemed like the longest shift of his life, Luke had done what he could to get through some of the backlog. Not as much as he would’ve liked, but there was always tomorrow. Stopping off at his quarters to freshen up a bit, he shrugged out of his duty uniform and swapped into some more comfortable civilian wear.

Feeling slightly more human again, he reviewed his duty assignment for the next day and set an alarm. Now he was off duty, he had every intention to check out some of the bars.

Downtime had caught his eye the day prior when he partook in a small tour of the promenade areas. Quickly checking he was still relatively presentable, Luke left his quarters and made for the promenade.

Quickly spotting his destination, Luke took a seat at the bar and had a quick look around his surroundings. Minimal, all metal. Definitely function over form. This was a vibe he could enjoy.

“Whaddya want?” Luke was startled out of his musings by the bartender’s sudden appearance. 

“Scotch, two fingers on the rocks.” Luke gave his request and waited as the drink was prepared.

“Rough day?” Joshua looked at the man who sat down. He decided that Downtime was a decent enough place; somewhere you’d go to get a drink and not be bothered. Joshua internally mused, which is exactly what he was doing to this man. At least the stools were sturdy. And, as he tested it with a slight wiggle, it seemed to be bolted to the floor. He took a sip of his drink, “Joshua Bryant, Science Division.”

“You could say the first duty shift is always a bit rough. Hope I’m not being too obvious?” Luke smiled in return, taking a sip of his now-prepared drink. Grimacing slightly at the first sip burn he offered his hand to shake. “Lukas Daniels, Operations Division, but my friends call me Luke.”

Joshua took the proffered hand and shook it. “I’m just getting started here myself. I haven’t had any real assignments, so I’ve been tinkering with a few projects. Some out of necessity, some out of curiosity.” He chuckled at Luke’s grimace, “They make ‘em strong here.” He eyed his Old Fashioned, “I’m not even sure this is an orange peel. It’s orange though.” His statement caught the glare of the bartender. Joshua put up his hands in defense, “I’m not doubting, it just doesn’t-” His words were cut off by some noise in the corner.

Some patrons looked at a group of cadets becoming rowdy the more they drank. “Uh-oh, I heard that’s a surefire way to get kicked out of here.” Almost on cue, the bartender slapped his towel on the counter and made his way from behind the bar. “This should be fun…”

“And what projects have piqued your curiosity since….” Luke turned in the direction of the outpouring of noise, slightly miffed that the cadets were unable to read the room “Newbies.” he snorted. It was common knowledge the easiest way to get on the bartender’s bad side was to disturb the peace. Skal was not going to be pleased with the disruption to the atmosphere he had carefully cultivated… It was a common belief that to get the best of the Starbase Bravo experience, Downtime was the place to get it. But belief and fact were polar opposites. A lesson soon to be dealt out.

Joshua grinned in delight, “I wasn’t expecting a drink and a show, but I’m not going to turn it down.” His eyes followed Skal as he moved out from behind the bar. 

“How long do you give before we get a chance to see Skal’s ‘behavior correction’ for ourselves?” Luke grinned slyly, taking another sip before settling in to witness the consequences firsthand.

Joshua turned on his stool to watch the upcoming encounter, “I would wager in three… two…,” he didn’t get the last number out before Skal reached the table. With practiced expertise, he dressed the three cadets down with fury. The patrons who hadn’t yet seen the pending interaction were now staring.

“Well that’s a new way to insult someone’s mother,” Joshua mused amidst the tirade.

Skal picked one of the cadets by the scruff of their collar, sending the other two scattering for the exit. He launched the cadet out into the main promenade. The bar exploded into a collective cheer. Skal nodded in satisfaction and resumed standing behind the bar.

“Great first impression to make on a long tour of duty.” Luke shook his head. “Especially here of all places, someone really should have done a bit of research but I’m sure Security will be along shortly to move them on with a stern talking to.” Luke laughed before tipping his glass in salute to the bartender. Knocking back the last sip Luke set the glass on the bar before signaling for another. 

“Care for a refill? My treat for the company and show.” Luke asked Joshua. Three days on board and he was feeling like an unconscious list of experiences was in the process of being checked off.

“I’m not one to turn down a free drink.” Joshua chuckled, draining his glass and setting it on the bar. “Some people just can’t help checking off experiences. I’ve done some crazy things as a cadet, but I’ve never been thrown out of a bar. I do have a funny story about an impulse manifold.”

Luke signaled to Skal for a refill on Joshua’s drink. “A cadet and an impulse manifold enter a bar huh?”

Joshua laughed, “Yeah, something like that.”

“So what projects have attracted your curiosity? On a base this size, I’m sure there will be plenty of curiosities to explore.” Luke inquired. He of course had his ideas to streamline some of his processes. “Not that I’m asking to see your papers or anything.” Luke finished with a slight laugh.

“Right now I’m working on an experimental protein mixture. I’m working to adapt the mixture to work with flora. It’s shown some promise in human applications so far. But there’s an issue with converting the genomes to penetrate the plant’s-” Joshua’s commbadge chimed in his pocket, cutting him off. He fished it out of his pocket, “V’Lavith to Bryant.”

He cleared his throat and tapped the badge, “Bryant here, go ahead.”

“Doctor, I’ve been having trouble with the X-2544b mixture. The cell wall penetration issue, as described in your notes, is causing a precipitate to form. I believe the elements’ lack of movement is rendering themselves inert.”

Joshua frowned, “Maybe we need to apply a catalyst. But that might create too much heat and destroy the cell-” He looked over at Luke, “I’ll run some tests to synthesize some base catalysts and get back to you.” He put the badge back in his pocket.

“Apparently it’s still a problem…” Joshua ran a hand down his face and rubbed his eyes, “So it’s going to be a long night of simulation running.” He drained his drink, “Sorry to dash out, but science waits for no man. This was fun; it’s not every day you get to watch someone get thrown out of a bar.”

“Say no more. It was good to meet you nonetheless” Luke waved the apology away. “Probably about time for me to head out either way. “Luke finished the last of his drink, setting it back down on the bar, and began to settle up with Skal.