Wrastlin

Posted on Thu May 28th, 2020 @ 12:57am by Gunnery Sergeant Flarn
Edited on on Thu May 28th, 2020 @ 1:15am

1,865 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 10 - New Home, Same Pioneers
Location: After 11 - Deck 11 - USS Pioneer
Timeline: MD003 2100 hrs

Flarn was a Marine, stout and bled green. Then why did he feel like everything went from bad to worse since joining The Cure. First there was Breyet Nor, and that was easy enough, but then time travel, a coma, and an event that most people called a battle but in his opinion was a war. The Tellarite sat at the bar with a sifter of Adabaraan Brandy, he attempted to make heads or tails of it. He had been sitting there as he nursed the Brandy thinking what he needed most was a friend. Friendship did not come easy to any Tellarite, but especially Flarn.

Jayden headed into After 11. Clarissa was in a meeting and he was at loose ends. We didn’t feel like being alone in their quarters so he left her a message and decided to have a drink or two and maybe hang out with some of the crew. Looking around, he decided to sit at the bar and headed over to the bar and sat down, ordering a Scotch. Glancing to his right he nodded at the Tellarite sitting their.

Flarn saw the young man enter and sit next to him at the bar. The Tellarite's first reaction was to recoil he had hoped to not have to deal with ranks. However, he thought better than that. It would not look good for anyone. He raised his glass. "Evening sir. Great night for a drink."

“It is,” he replied. “How about you just call me Jayden. We are off duty and I really prefer it .”

"As you wish Si... Jayden. I am Flarn, although The Kingsmen like to call me Puumbaa. It is taking some getting used to. The way life is aboard a ship, Marines are used to a little bit more structure." The Tellarite was not too good at making small talk, some said it was a flaw of his species. However, he did give it a good try. "It has been a strange time for this ship. That's for sure."

“You’re telling me!” Jayden grinned. “I’ve seen a lot of strange things.” He grinned then. “Why Puumbaa? It sounds like it might be an interesting story.”

"The Kingsmen tell me that Puumbaa is the name of a character from an old children's story known as the Lion King. This character was a warthog and a great protector of a lion, a king. So when I a Tellarite joined the Kingsmen they believed it to be the most appropriate name for me. If what they say is true then it is quite an honor. So what do you do on this ship?" Although Flarn had been on the ship for some time he had not met or known what everyone on the ship does.

“I work in Operations,” Jayden replied. “Under Lieutenant O’Flannagain.” He smiled then. “She Is an awesome chief, I really like working for her.”

"Hmmm As is the Major. However, I have noticed that in the Corps there is a little more of a unit feeling. That is to say we operate very often as equals, everyone has an equal say. I have not had the pleasure of working with the Lieutenant, however, the Commander with the same name I know. I wonder if they are related?" Flarn took a swig of his drink, it was a little awkward spending off time with an officer. However, Flarn was getting used to it.

“They are married,” Jayden said with a smile. “Just wait until you see them together. They would make the coldest heart believe in love.”

"It is interesting as in human culture one never knows if people are related or simply have the same name. On Tellar that would never happen. Everyone has a unique and individual name. It is interesting the differences in races within the Federation. My greatest of grandfathers used to talk of the creation of the Federation and how Tellarites were one of the founders." Flarn replied with a slight lilt in his voice. He had reached the point in his drinking where he began to wax philosophical. The Tellarite took another swig of his drink, a few small droplets remained in his beard.

Jayden finished off his drink and waved for another one. “It used to be customary for a wife taking a husbands name, a law even. Anymore it can go either way and sometimes they each keep their own.”

"Hmmmm I wonder what changed in your culture. What made the custom change. We Tellarites are slow to change, and I for one believe that makes us better than most other cultures." Flarn had his drink on, he was slightly inebriated and his Tellarite was showing more than usual. Tellarites are fond of conflict, they are nothing if not argumentative. At the moment Flarn was attempting to goad Jayden into some argumentative banter.

“We believe change is for the better,” Jayden replied. “Who wants to stay the same and become stagnate and boring! Change keeps us exciting and pushes us to be better people!”

"True, but change also lends itself to infighting. If one does not like the change, or wants to change to something different. When a group is together, and unwavering it makes for a solidified community. On Tellar we move forward together as one." Flarn turned toward Jayden. He was a little angry at the comments of being stagnate. He sipped his brew again and wiped the droplets from his beard.

“Hey no offense!” Jayden grinned. “I was picking at you.” He took a drink. “Like us being stronger. Everyone knows we’re the badasses of the universe.” He liked giving Flarn a hard time. Signaling the waiter he ordered another drink.

"And that is the point of what I was saying. Humans believe themselves to be better than most others in the galaxy. When in fact they come across more like bullies than anything else..." Flarn's voice trailed off as he gulped at his drink. He would refuse to admit it but the synthahol was beginning to effect him. "...You were picking at me! I was rounding up the scum of the galaxy long before you were even a twinkle in your sire's eye."

Jayden grinned. "See what I mean? Old and decrepit. You probably couldn't beat me at a simple arm wrestling challenge. I however, am strong. Have you ever heard the legend of humans throwing cabers for fun?" He wasn't certain where he heard that but he sure loved this sparring.

Flarn may have seemed old, but he was just about middle aged for a Tellarite. What made matters worse was that he would never back down from a challenge. Flarn chugged the rest of his drink and put his arm up on the bar. "You're on. You may be strong but you are not stronger than me. Let's go, or are you scared to lose."

Calling him scared sealed the fate of his decision. He smiled back at Flarn. "Scared? I don't have that gene. I am more than ready. The question is are you?" He turned towards him, ready to start this match.

"Fine then we will settle this in the tradition of the Corps, with an arm wrestle." Flarn put his arm up on the bar. "First one to get their opponents knuckles on the bar shall be the victor."

Jayden grinned. "I am in agreement." He put his arm on the bar as well. "Let's do this and see which of us is the strongest on this day!" Jayden hadn't arm wrestled in years but he was quite good at it.

Flarn was a little out of sorts from the drinks but he remembered his decorum. He turned to everyone in the bar. "I want everyone to know that rank is not an issue here." It was a small formality but it had to be done to make sure that there was no problems. He gripped Jayden's hand. "You count off when you are ready."

Jayden grinned back at him. “I am ready,” he gripped Flarn’s hand in his. “Ready, one, two, three, go!”

As soon as the word was given Flarn flexed his bicep and began to take the lead. Jayden's hand wavered about half way down to the bar. While everything was going as Flarn had expected, what he did not expect was the strength within the young man. He found himself having to exert more and more pressure.

Jayden started slow, he knew that Flarn would expect to win so he waited and then started to push back, his arm gaining on Flarn. He was determined to win the night.

Flarn could feel the pressure that the young man was beginning to exert. It shocked the Tellarite. Who typically believed that humans were not capable of great feats of strength, at least not without a lot of training. Nevertheless, here was Jeyden's arm pushing back and Flarn lost ground as his own arm passed the zenith. He began to find himself precariously close to losing this match.

Jayden concentrated on winning the match. The younger him would have boasted and grinned and ended up losing but he liked Flarn and he knew in order for him to earn his respect and friendship he would need to show he was an equal. He pulled all the strength he had and felt Flarn's forearm going down towards the surface of the bar. Jayden had to give him credit, he was giving Jayden a good match.

Beads of sweat formed on Flarn's head as he fought to keep from losing. His hooflike hand was folded over Jayden's and practically eclipsed the human's hand. The Marine could not believe the strength of the other man. With an audible huff of breath Flarn's hand fell to the bar top. He stared at Jayden in disbelief, as he could not believe the human had beaten him.

Jayden's eyes met his and he smiled but not in any way that would seem boastful. He wanted a friendship with Flarn. "You gave it a good fight, I thought for a moment I was toast!" He could see that the Tellerite was still trying to figure out how he lost.

Flarn snorted and scowled, however, within moments the scowl turned into a smile. "Well I guess that not everyone in the fleet is weak and in need of a Marine's help. What are you drinking? This one is one me."

Jayden smiled. He was relieved that Flarn was taking this so well. “How about I try what you are drinking in the interest of fairness?”

Flarn smiled broadly and clapped Jayden on the back rather hard. "Well then my friend let us drink Aldebaran Whiskey and speak of battles." Flarn laughed as he signaled the barkeep to provide another drink. Before the night was out the two would become fast friends. The first for Flarn...

A Joint Post By

Ensign Jayden Robertson
Operations Officer, USS Pioneer

Staff Sergeant Flarn
Rifle Fire Team 1 Leader, USS Pioneer

RSS Feed