SIM:Whale: Flashback

Better Days

((SAN FRANCISCO, EARTH – 27 May 2260))

:: The pub was dark and dingy and intermingled with the odour of hard liquor and cheap cigars was the unmistakable stink of desperation. To most, the bar would have been a last resort – the kind of place you use as your last call when you’ve been kicked out of all the higher-class establishments in town. Of course the Wonky Nacelle, as the pub was known, did not earn its profits on the average citizens or tourists in San Francisco – this place survived solely on the dependable annual influx of highly stressed Starfleet cadets in need of relaxation. Relaxation and the possibility of extra-curricular adventures. ::

:: As David Whale’s eyes adjusted to the darkness of the place, he couldn’t help but smile. The Wonky Nacelle had been an early discovery for him and he’d never looked back – this pub was much home as his dorm room at this point. He was nineteen and as of four o’clock that afternoon had completed his first-year exams at Starfleet Academy. Along with his two closest friends at the Academy – Jonathan “Big Jack” Brodsky and Veepek Nu – Whale had been making the short trip off-campus at least once a week, but frequently more. ::

NU: I’ll get us some drinks. The usual?

:: Whale and Brodsky nodded and Nu headed off, shouldering his way through the crowd at the bar. Nu’s focus at the Academy was engineering, unlike Brodsky and Whale, who were both in security and tactical. “The usual” for the trio was scotch on the rocks. They usually started that way before switching to beer. Whale was craning his neck, looking through the crowd and Brodsky laughed – he could see Whale was using some of the crowd security techniques they’d learned over the course of their school year, but he knew that it wasn’t a threat that Whale was on the lookout for. ::

WHALE: Threll! Threll!

:: With a smile and a wave the tall Andorian girl squeezed through the crowd, doing her best not to spill her drink. Threll Asuda was an occasional classmate of theirs – being a tactical major - who lived in the dorms one floor below, though there was an assumption among the Academy gossip hounds that she kept a toothbrush in Whale’s room. ::

ASUDA: Dave! I didn’t think you’d be here tonight! I figured you’d be too wiped out. How did the exams go?

:: Whale shrugged. ::

WHALE: Easier than I was expecting.

ASUDA: Such a show off.

:: He just smiled. He knew that the cockiness was one of the main reasons she was attracted to him. And, truth be told, several other cadets. Asuda had a bit of a reputation around campus, one that was mostly undeserved, but one that had a grain of truth at its heart. It could be an Andorian thing, Whale supposed – so far, Asuda was the only Andorian he’d ever met, but if she was a typical Andorian female, he couldn’t wait to meet more. There was just something about that blue skin, especially when there was nothing covering it… ::

ASUDA: Listen, I know we were going to…

:: She glanced furtively at Brodsky, who dutifully pretended to be unaware of what was being discussed. ::

ASUDA: …I know we had some plans for tonight, but I kinda promised Marjorie I’d help her study.

:: She smiled sheepishly and Whale rolled his eyes. Marjorie Keller, Asuda’s bookish roommate, disliked Whale with something approaching religious fervour and he really had no idea why. In a few years, he’d run into Keller and she’d let him no in no uncertain terms, but for now it was a mystery. He shrugged. ::

WHALE: It’s okay. We’ll have other times.

:: Nu returned and handed Whale his glass before stepping off to the side with Brodsky. Whale lifted the glass to Asuda and clinked his glass to hers. ::

WHALE: I’ll celebrate with the guys tonight.

:: She laughed and pressed her cheek against his to whisper in his ear. ::

ASUDA: Keep tomorrow night clear.

:: After giving him a quick kiss, she headed off to be the dutiful friend to Marjorie. Whale watched her go, enjoying the view of her swaying backside, then turned back to his friends who were laughing at him. He smiled. ::

WHALE: Jealous?

NU: Absolutely. But not Brodsky – he’s got a thing for that Vulcan chick in life sciences, remember?

BRODSKY: Oh shut up, Veep.

:: Draining the last of his scotch, Whale inclined his head toward the back of the bar. ::

WHALE: Why don’t you guys go commandeer a pool table while I grab the next round.

:: He bellied up to the bar and ordered three Guinness draughts. While waiting for the bartender to get around to filling the order, Whale drummed his fingers on the wooden surface of the bar, worn smooth by years of use and stained by countless rings of water damage. Quite by accident, he made eye contact with the beautiful brunette seated on the stool to his right. Favouring her with his best charming smile, he realised that she wasn’t just beautiful, she was bloody well gorgeous – dark hair framing soft, pale features and green eyes of a brightness and intensity like he’d never seen. Whale had never been particularly poetic in his observations of the opposite sex, but this girl’s eyes sparkled like starlight and he was transfixed. ::

WHALE: Hi. Buy you a drink?

:: The girl, whose uniform identified her as a second year cadet – a year ahead of Whale – held up a half-full glass of some pinkish liquid. ::

WHALE: Ah. Right. I’m Dave.

GIANNA: Gianna.

WHALE: Are you… here with anyone, Gianna?

GIANNA: I’m here with friends. So no, not in the way you mean, David.

WHALE: everyone calls me Dave.

GIANNA: I think ‘David’ sounds more dignified.

:: He wasn’t sure how to take that…::

WHALE: Uh, what department are you?

GIANNA: Science. I’m focusing on xenobotany.

WHALE: Oh, that must be interesting.

:: In truth, he couldn’t remember what xenobotany was. ::

WHALE: I’m in security.

:: She nodded, but then frowned and narrowed her eyes at him. ::

GIANNA: Wait… are you David Whale?

:: Pausing, he tried to determine what the correct answer might be. In the end, he settled on the truth. ::

WHALE: Um. Yes. How do you…?

GIANNA: I volunteer as a peer advisor for first-year cadets – helping them cope with the stresses of the Academy, giving them advice on study tips. Sometimes listening to their problems.  :: pause :: You know a Marjorie Keller, I think?

:: Oh that’s just great. ::

GIANNA: And an Orion girl named Daxma?

:: Frak. ::

GIANNA: And Ariana Yachmenev?

:: Double frak. ::

WHALE: I may have… bumped into…

:: Gianna laughed. ::

GIANNA: Bumped into them. Right, that’s one way of putting it.

WHALE: Hey, I didn’t sleep with Keller.

GIANNA: No, but you did sleep with the other two. And probably a few others, I bet. Look, David…

:: She drained her glass and set it back on the bar before standing. ::

GIANNA: I’m sure you’re a nice guy, so I’m going to try to shoot you down as gently as I can.  :: pause :: I’m not interested in being just another notch on someone’s bed-post. This may sound egotistical, but I don’t care – I’m too good for that. My attention has to be earned.

:: For the first time in a very long time, Whale was at a loss for words. This girl was just so… so TOGETHER. She knew what she wanted and she knew who she was. Hell, she acted like a grown-up, which is more than he could say for most of the people getting stinking drunk in the Wonky Nacelle. Himself included. But true to character, his response didn’t convey any of this. ::

WHALE: My bed-posts are property of Starfleet, so I can’t notch them.

:: She sighed. ::

GIANNA: It was nice meeting you, David Whale.

:: As she began to walk away, Whale called out to her and she stopped, turning back with a questioning glance. ::

WHALE: So I’ll earn it.

GIANNA: What?

WHALE: You said your attention had to be earned. So I’ll do it. But I’ll need to know your last name, so I can find you.

:: With a barely suppressed grin, Gianna shrugged. She obviously didn’t think he had much of a chance. Then again, neither did he. ::

GIANNA: Dacosta.

:: He watched her go, unaware of the dopey grin he wore and unaware that unlike with Asuda, the idea of watching her backside never even crossed his mind. He was too busy remembering those bright green eyes. Someone in the pub had activated the old jukebox and Whale listened to the scratch-voiced singer belt out his tune. ::

I saw your lips I heard your voice believe me I just had no choice Wild horses couldn't make me stay away

:: Whale held up his glass in salute to the singer. ::

WHALE: My thoughts exactly.