First Pour

Posted on Sat Sep 26th, 2026 @ 10:03am by Lieutenant Elsen Rava & Talnera Vesk

1,446 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 1: A New Sheriff in Town
Location: Vesk Exchange, Mojave Station

The station felt different once she was no longer looking at it through a viewscreen.

Mojave had weight to it. Not just physical mass, though Elsen was already aware of the way the station sat inside a restless gravitational pocket, but the quieter sort that came from purpose layered on top of unfinished edges. It hummed beneath her boots as she moved through one of the main corridors, the soundscape a blend of systems, voices, and distant machinery still finding its rhythm.

She’d changed out of uniform before leaving her quarters, opting for something softer and less structured. Comfortable boots, fitted trousers, a loose top that didn’t feel like regulation anything. Her hair was down, curls allowed to do as they pleased, and for the first time since arriving she felt the tension of transition begin to ease.

Elsen hadn’t realised how thirsty she was until she stopped pretending she wasn’t.

The signage for Vesk Exchange caught her eye at the end of a gently curving promenade. Subtle, deliberate. No Federation minimalism, no attempt to make the place universally palatable. She approved of that immediately. Places that tried too hard to be neutral rarely were.

Inside, the lighting was warmer than the corridor outside, the air carrying a faint mix of unfamiliar spices and recycled station atmosphere. The space felt curated rather than decorated, arranged with intention instead of comfort alone. Elsen paused just inside the threshold, letting her eyes adjust, taking in the layout, the patrons, the rhythm of the room.

Cardassian design had a way of doing that to her. Sharp lines softened by age. Order with a bite to it.

She made her way toward the bar, choosing a seat that gave her a clear view of the room without putting her on display. For now, she was content to simply be here. Off duty. Anonymous enough. In need of a drink that wasn’t replicated and a moment that didn’t belong to Starfleet.

Elsen rested her forearms lightly on the bar and waited, curiosity flickering just beneath the surface calm.

Talnera Vesk noticed Elsen the moment she crossed the threshold and entered what was shipping up to become Vesk Exchange thought despite the perceived order the place was already in, for a Cardassian, it was disorderly.

Vesk had noticed the woman not because she was loud, but because she wasn’t. Because the woman moved like someone relearning gravity... cautiously and deliberately. There was a slight hesitation in her step, the instinctive scan of exits disguised as curiosity, the way her shoulders loosened only after she had taken the measure of the room. It was common among them... Starfleet. They could take the uniform off physically, but mentally and emotionally it followed them everywhere they went.

Talnera did not look at Elsen directly, not at first. She continued polishing a glass, watching Elsen’s reflection instead. Talnera Vesk mentally noted the choice of seating, the angle of her body, the quiet relief that followed once she settled. in. She was clearly a woman who had little to no issue walking into a Cardassian establishment, but did not want to stick out like a sore thumb.

When the Cardassian woman turned, she greeted the woman as she would any potential patron. "I'm afraid I haven't settled in fully. I am open, but still arranging things" prefaced Talnera.

"Soft, synthale, or are your feeling a little more indulgent?"

Elsen’s expression softened a fraction at that, an understanding smile flickering into place as she took in the unfinished edges of the bar for what they were.

“No rush,” she said easily. “New places take time to decide what they’re going to be.” Her gaze returned to Talnera, warm rather than evaluating. “I’m glad you’re open at all.”

She considered the options for a moment longer than strictly necessary, not because she was unsure, but because she was choosing the mood she wanted to sit with.

“Indulgent sounds right,” Elsen said finally. “Not as a celebration. Just… something to mark the end of arriving.” A faint, almost self-aware smile followed. “I’ve spent the last day getting lost in the station. I could use a drink.”

Her eyes flicked briefly to the bottles behind the bar, then back again. “Whatever you’d recommend.”

"Sounds like you could get lost in a drink," replied Talnera. She thought for a moment. "I think I have something that might be worth a shot" she added and excused herself as she took her focus off Elsen and onto finding everything she needed.

Talnera Vesk moved behind the bar with unhurried confidence, already reaching for a tall glass as she approached a section of bottles on display. Ice chimed softly into the tall glass producing an almost musical reverberation. Talnera Vesk carefully measured each pour, layering spirits with practiced precision: vodka, white rum, gin, some tequila. Each was added with deliberate restraint, not to pour too heavy handed. Elsen wasn't a Lurian.

She topped it with a splash of citrus and a careful measure of melon liqueur, the liquid blooming and evolving into a luminous green beneath the lights. Talnera set the cocktail in front of Elsen, fingers lingering just long enough to feel the station’s hum through the glass. "Nothing too exotic, everything is Earth... except the rum, that's from Risa."

Elsen watched the drink come together with quiet interest, not tracking each pour so much as the care behind them. When the glass was set down in front of her, she looked at it properly this time, the colour catching her eye before she lifted her gaze again.

“Earth and Risa,” she said, a hint of amusement in her voice. “That’s a good combination.”

She took a measured sip, let it sit for a moment, then nodded once. “Yeah. That works.”

Her shoulders eased as she settled back, one hand still loosely around the glass. “I’m Elsen,” she added simply. “Just arrived. Still figuring the place out.”

Her eyes moved briefly around the bar, taking in the unfinished edges without judgement. “How are you settling in?” she asked, warm and conversational. “Starting something new always feels a bit strange at first.”

"I am settling in fine," Vesk said wiping down the bar. "A lot of curious individuals on the starbase. Wanting to see what the Cardassian is doing. I'm used to being a spectacle though" explained Vesk. "It's good for business... until the novelty wears off."

Elsen smiled at that, not the polite kind, but the one that came from genuine interest rather than reassurance.

“I can imagine,” she said lightly. “People stare at what they think they understand, and even more at what they don’t.” She tipped her head a fraction, considering Talnera as she spoke. “Cardassians have a reputation in the Federation. Most of it loud. Very little of it personal.”

She took another sip of her drink, then added, more thoughtfully, “I’ve… known a few, through Rava, my symbiont. Different contexts, different lives. Some through Starfleet, some not. Enough to know there’s more there than the stories people default to.” Her tone stayed easy, not confessional, just honest. “You notice patterns after a while. What gets remembered. What gets flattened.”

Her gaze drifted briefly around the bar again, the lines, the deliberate order beneath the work-in-progress feel. “Places like this help, I think. They give people something real to replace the idea they walked in with.” A faint smile returned. “And if it keeps them coming back for the drinks, that’s not a bad outcome either.”

She lifted her glass slightly, a small, casual gesture. “Novelty fades. Curiosity doesn’t always. You’ve picked a good place for both.”

"I hope so," replied Vesk. "I would not be a very good business woman if I did not pick good places to set up shop" added the Cardassian with a small cackle. "To novelty and curiosity," she said grabbing a bottle of kanar, raising it.

Elsen’s smile softened into something easier, less considered. She lifted her glass without ceremony and tipped it lightly toward the bottle of kanar.

“To novelty and curiosity,” she echoed, and this time there was the faintest hint of a grin behind it.

She took a proper sip, not analytical, not measuring notes and balance the way she might have earlier. Just drinking it. The warmth spread slowly, the citrus and sweetness cutting through the sharper spirits in a way that felt grounding rather than indulgent. For the first time since arriving on the station, she felt properly off duty.

 

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