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[tactical_alert]

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[tactical_alert]

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.

[universal_charm]

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. ]}

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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.

[universal_charm]

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?

[tactical_alert]

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.

[universal_charm]

Not even captain of the chess club?

<sub>[ 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. ]</sub>

So what did you do before Fleet?

[tactical_alert]

...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.]

[universal_charm]

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? ]}

[tactical_alert]

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.

[universal_charm]

_{[ 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. ]}

[tactical_alert]

[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.]

[universal_charm]

_{[ 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. ]}

[tactical_alert]

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.

[universal_charm]

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.

[tactical_alert]

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

[universal_charm]

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.

[tactical_alert]

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.

[universal_charm]

_{[ 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?

[tactical_alert]

Not me, no. Although our former chief engineer had quite the surprise on that end.

[universal_charm]

Yeah, I'll bet.

I'll be sure to mention that to Bones when I get back. Make sure to check for extra passengers and highly encourage contraceptives before engaging new life forms.

[tactical_alert]

Oh, we all made plenty of fun, but he wasn't exactly fully informed of what was happening, so, for once, not his fault. [There's a fond, if distantly so, look on his face at the thought. God, that was forever ago...]

[universal_charm]

_{[ Kirk knew that look. He got that look when he thought of his own crew, his own people. It was the look her head when he saw his tattoo in the mirror. ]}

For once? Sounds like he was the life of the party.

[tactical_alert]

He was. He was absolutely that. Caused plenty of trouble, mostly inadvertent. I had to follow him around to try to get him out of trouble. That's my side of the story, and I'm sticking to it.

[universal_charm]

<sub>[ There's laughter at that, full and bursting out of him. It sounded like himself - this friend of Mal's. Mal, he thought, was maybe Bones or Spock. Probably Bones since Mal could emote. It made him miss those two, and Uhura, and Sulu, and Scotty, and Chekov.

But he was glad for this too, for someone new. ]</sub>

We'll say I believe you - for now.

[tactical_alert]

If Trip Tucker ever shows his face here, he'll try to tell you I was something other than a perfect angel, and I'm here to say that I was absolutely a boy scout in comparison. So there. The record is straight.