Lower Lights (part 1)

Posted on Tue Apr 30th, 2013 @ 2:27pm by Senior Chief Petty Officer Helga (Hel) Lowe & Robert Patrick & Commander Alexandra Vance & Master Chief Petty Officer Barbara Tarango & Private 1st Class Trent Kushner
Edited on on Tue Apr 30th, 2013 @ 2:28pm

1,200 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: What Dreams May Come?
Location: Enlisted Lounge

ON

Rob Patrick was working the lower lounge, as it was often called. It was wehre the enlisted preferred to hang out. Not that they weren't welcome in Ten Forward, but many of them preferred to have their own place.

It was gamma shift and those who wanted to unwind or couldn't sleep were gathering for some drinks and conversation.

Master Chief Petty Officer Barbara Tarango came through the lounge doors and picked an empty seat at the bar. She felt the need for a drink to relax after finishing her shift in sickbay. Instead of getting the bartender's attention, she decided to let him come to her.

"Hi," Robert said, coming up to the woman. "What can I get you to drink?"

"Well... hello, Robert," giving a smile to him. "I would like a glass of milk with some Chigos added." A herb that she uses once in a while to help her wind down.

Helga could use a glass of wine after a long shift dealing with people who either couldn't sleep or couldn't stay awake. Normally she would have opted for tea but after their recent encounter with the Borg she wouldn't mind if she never had another cup -- or glass -- of tea.

She sat on a stool next to Barbar. "Hi," she said to the other nurse.

Barbara turned to look at her, "Hello, Helga. Surprised to see you at this time of the night."

Robert brought Barbara her drink and turned to Helga. "Hi. What would you like?"

"Sangria, please."

TAGS

Trent walked into his favourite watering hole with a smile on his face. Inwardly he felt horrible, mostly from lack of sleep caused by those damn nightmares. Still, he wasn't going to let a little such as feeling like crap get in the way of having a good time.

"Have no fear people!" He proclaimed loudly at the entrance. "Your good time has arrived!" He made great show of taking a bow.

A couple of marines sitting nearby laughed and one of them threw a napkin at him which was caught deftly out of the air. "You owe me a drink, Collins. Don't think I have forgot." Trent pointed at the marine as he walked to the bar and sat himself. "Ladies." He said giving the fleeties there a curt nod."

"Hi," Helga said. "You're in a good mood tonight."

Barbara shook her head as she took a few sips of her drink, "I wonder where you get your mood." She glanced at Trent who came between her and Helga.

"Perception is reality. Besides, being in the company of beautiful women is always nice." He tapped his hands like a drum roll on the counter top. "My good barkeep, could I trouble you for a cup of coffee?"

"Coming right up," Robert said. He left for a minute and came back with a cup of coffee for Trent.

"Thank you, Sir." Trent took a tentative sip from the cup before putting it down and taking a look at what the two ladies were drinking. "Ooh, aren't we going to be a rowdy bunch."

"Not for me," Barbara said, taking a sip of her drink. "I didn't really come here to socialize with a big group. I was hoping to drink something to help me sleep...been hard lately."

"Same here. Sickbay is a steady stream of people wanting help to sleep," Helga said. "So, after that, a drink is quite in order."

"Sleep, isn't that an amusing notion." Trent said as he took another sip. "Getting to sleep isn't the problem. Hell, half the people on this ship are walking zombies. It's staying asleep that's damn near impossible."

Hel nodded. "And sleeping aids aren't as effective as they should be. People are still waking up. The only way to keep them asleep is to drug them and that has other problems associated with it."

"A regular little drug dealer, aren't you?" He chided.

"I'm a nurse. I give prescriptions to people based on what the doctors order. You're obnoxious, aren't you?"

"As sleep deprived as I am, I think the answer is a safe yes." He raised his cup almost as a toast. "Before the week is out i'm sure i'll have to visit you anyways."

Helga chuckled. "Do you want me to put you on the list now so you don't have to wait?" It was a joke, but there was a measure of truth to it. Sometimes, especially between shifts, there could be lines of people waiting to talk to one of the doctors.

"Just let me know when rush hour is." Trent rubbed his eyes for what seemed like the thousandth time for the day. He felt chilled for a moment. ~This coffee isn't doing the trick.~

A small child came up from behind Trent and tapped him on the shoulder. "Seven, Eight better stay awake."

"That's the plan little cutie." He said, turning to the young voice. He saw what the girl was wearing and took a quick glance at his watch. "Though i'm guessing your mommy probably thinks it's your bedtime." He looked around the bar for some indication of the girls parents nearby. "Where are they anyways?"

Suddenly the sinister laugh of a man filled the room. The girl looked up to the roof as if to search for the voice. She gingerly lowered herself from the chair and walked out of the room.

Trent found himself on alert. The laugh struck a deep cord in him and he knew there was something very wrong. His hand went down to his sidearm which he unclasped and tightened his grip around.

~Wait...that's not right~ He drew his sidearm and looked at it. ~How did I get this out of the armoury?~ It was then that he started noticing some other issues. like where did all the people go? He turned a full 360, looking at every corner of the dark room. The emergency lighting cast an eerie red glow on everything and created shadows that seemed to move the second his gaze left them."Hello?" He called out.

The laugh was followed by the sound of metal being scrapped across a bulkhead.

Trent was definitely starting to feel freaked out. He could feel a cold bead of sweat drip down his forehead. He would wipe it away except both hands were locked on to his TR-110. "Okay...that is ENOUGH!"

Trent's head snapped up with such a jolt that his entire body jumped. The cup of coffee he was holding tipped over and quickly spread over the bar in front of him. He ignored the mess and instead looked around the bright lit room, taking stock of all the people there including the two ladies he had been speaking to. His eyes went back to the inky black liquid that had spilled out. ~A dream?~ "Uh, heh, clumsy hands i guess." He grabbed a napkin and began cleaning up the mess.

(To be continued...)

Robert Patrick
Bartender

Master Chief Petty Officer Barbara Tarango
Nurse

Senior Chief Petty Officer Helga Lowe
Nurse

Private First Class Trent Kushner
Marine

Nightmare Child
played by Alexandra Vance

 

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