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Somehow I really doubt you will be. You'd disappoint any fans that are watching.

_{[ He smirked at him, picking out a burger for himself. He was a simple lad at heart, and there was nothing like a good burger. It was pricey, sure, but hey wasn't really his dime was it? ]}

Don't even start with that. Maybe I don't do well under pressure, hm?

[Don't be silly, of course he does well under pressure. He also does well not under pressure, but hey, who's counting?]

The geometry's simple enough, it's just the execution that's the hard part.

Well, considering your job before you got here, and your job now - I doubt that too.

I guess we'll see. I'd say loser buys next round, but...

_{[ He shrugged, going to the pool table and swiping the chit card to make it release the balls and racked them up. ]}

But you have that more than covered. Thankfully. [Because they might blow through a lot. They might not even have to make an effort. Depending on how much they decide to indulge.] I'll let you take first shot.

_{[ Perfectly true, and it wasn't like Kirk had an issue with that. Good booze, plenty of pool, or if they chose to go do something else. The chit had more than enough cash on it. ]}

How generous of you.

_{[ He took the cue ball and set it at a starting point, hitting it and blowing out the triangle of balls, though none sank in. Still, nice array, not a bad start. ]}

Did you do things like this with your captain? You know, just hang out and have a drink?

Not play pool, no. [He makes a small scoffing noise, observing the balls.] I am occasionally familiar with him on a more social level, but at his request, for the most part. He's still my captain, after all.

Hmm, yeah, I know. But I guess I've always felt that captains should know their crew, on personal levels. I mean, when you're out there, they're all you have to rely on. They're your family.

_{[ That was how he felt anyways. His CMO was his best friend, and Spock had somehow worked his way into the family too. Everyone on that command deck was important to him. Everyone on that ship was. ]}

Besides, when you're off duty rank shouldn't be as much of an issue, right?

Believe me, he made an effort. I've definitely relaxed about it over the years, but I don't exactly spend evening watching water polo with him drinking beers. He made a point early on to have what was supposed to be casual breakfasts with every crewmember, getting to know them personally.

[The last time he did anything purely social with the captain was...maybe the post successful war game meeting? Did that even count? He lines up a shot at a striped ball hovering near the edge of a side pocket and tips it in.]

You may have noticed that I'm not the warmest, fuzziest, nor easiest person to get to know.

Those adjectives had crossed my mind.

_{[ He leaned back against the table, sipping his drink as he watched the ball sink in, already calculating his own shot, though it wasn't worth it since Mal would get to go again. ]}

But you're not so bad, really.

... And water polo, huh?

_{[ He's smirking at you Mal, one eyebrow up. ]}

You should've seen me when it was our first year out or so. Nervous wreck in any unofficial capacity.

[There's really no good shot to take, so he'll have to settle for trying to nudge a solid at a stripe and call it a day. And he'll order a plate of appetizer finger foods when he's done.]

Apparently water polo was the captain's sport of choice. Played it in college.

Really? I don't know, I have a hard time seeing it.

_{[ He took up his stick and wandered around the table, trying to find the best angle to work with. He leaned over, biting his lip in concentration briefly before taking his shot, smiling as he got a solid ball in. ]}

Oh, that makes more sense. Did you play sports before getting into the Fleet?

Thinly veiled sarcasm will get you nowhere, captain. [See, it's funny, because he's hanging out casually with a Starfleet captain?]

Mm, no, I was never into sports. Never followed any, never really played any.

Not even captain of the chess club?

_{[ All right, he's teasing you now, but come on, you opened this flood gate.

He missed his second shot, sitting back and motioning for Mal to take his turn. ]}

So what did you do before Fleet?

...Schooling? I basically took the first moment of freedom I could and went straight to knocking on Starfleet's door. It was rather like university in that way. [Hm, give him a moment, there might not be any immediate good shot at first glance.]

What was it like back then? Fleet, I mean. I imagine it was different from the one I know, a little bit given time for advancements.

_{[ He was happy to let him take his time, more than happy to pick his brain. Mal was living history for him, why not take the opportunity when it was presented? ]}

I don't really have a point of reference, nothing to compare it to. Teaching you the skills to go into space and work a ship. A little boot camp, a little knowledge, and a lot of not knowing what was out there when you got there. If you weren't on one of the usual patrols and trade routs, then you were like we were, exploring.

_{[ He absorbed that, looking over as a waiter appeared with their food orders, snagging a bite of the appetizer before working on dressing up his burger. ]}

Exploration is a harder gig to get in my time. You guys already did a lot it, so we do scans of some known planets. I've come across a couple that hadn't been catalogued, but not many. There was talk of a five year mission going out beyond known space, and I was gunning for it before... well, you know.

_{[ He took a bite of his burger, and got did that meat taste wonderful. ]}

[He eyes that burger for a moment, missing some good meat. But he'll start on a mozzarella stick for the moment, lining up a shot.]

Plenty of first contacts. I'm sure our time must, in hindsight, seem like the wild west. Untamed and unknown. A lot of diplomacy. Thankfully, Captain Archer had somewhat of a knack for it.

[Nope, not quite a drop. Shame.]

_{[ It was a luxury, but that was the point of this right? Doing something luxurious. A good burger surely counted at this point. ]}

The Last Frontier, isn't it? I guess it kind of always will be.

_{[ But that was the exciting part, wasn't it? You could never stop discovering. ]}

Do you have a favorite?

_{[ He hopped off his chair and took up his stick, surveying the table. ]}

A favourite--what, first contact? [There's a light scoff.] I'd have to strain my memory recalling one that was relatively peaceful first. I make it sound worse than it was, but it seemed like everyone we crossed paths with...something would go wrong. Even with diplomacy, it could be very rocky.

All right, so what's the one that went the least amount of wrong? This way I can take notes for when I go back and get that five year mission.

I thought you were heavily implying that it wasn't happening? Because of...everything that went on.

Well, I can't say for sure they'd reinstate the initiative, but I think they would. Admittedly, my ship will need some heavy repairs before we could go out.

Look, all that you need for a first contact is a healthy dose of caution, an open mind, and a diplomatic tongue. If they were already hostile, there isn't going to be much to do about that. Try to keep any...cultural differences be. Any potentially dangerous or emotionally charged ones, anyway.

Always be sure you know what's going on around you or you might end up pregnant.

_{[ There's a pregnant - hah - pause at that, Kirk's lips thinning as he tries to figure out if Mal is screwing with him or not. ]}

Have you been pregnant, Mal?

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