Mas Que Nada

Posted on Thu Dec 10th, 2020 @ 6:31am by Lieutenant Commander Meilin Jiang & Lieutenant Commander Mara Ricci

Mission: S0E0: What Came Before
Location: The Drunken Ferengi - Bar

Mara didn't sing often. She had a fair singing voice, but she wasn't a singer; she was a saxophonist. Well, technically she was an engineer, but saxophone was her side hustle. She had found a jazz trio on the station with whom she sat in from time to time. And because they were all men, they were able to talk her into singing the numbers that were typically considered “girl's” songs. So that meant Mas Que Nada and Besame Mucho- in Portuguese and Spanish respectively, of course.

Tonight was the first night she had allowed them to bully her into singing them in front of an audience, though. The crowd in The Drunken Ferengi had seemed to enjoy them, so she decided she hadn't done too bad a job.

Shortly before the second set ended, she had spotted Meilin in the crowd. Once they stepped away from the little stage for a break, she caught Spires's eye and nodded towards Meilin to indicate that she was going to go speak with her friend. She knew the two of them didn't get along, so she didn't bother to wave him over; he wouldn't come anyway.

“You don't strike me as a jazz fan,” Mara said to Meilin as she sat down across from her friend.

"I'm not," Meilin confirmed with a terse smirk. "But when I heard about the main lineup tonight... well, I had to make an exception."

Mara beamed. She had surmised as much, but hadn’t wanted to make assumptions. After all, sometimes people surprised her- like the fact that her brother absolutely adores mariachi music or that Remi- her first serious boyfriend- had enjoyed knitting. (He had, in fact, knitted her a very intricate sweater that she still owned.) “I’m glad you came,” she replied. “I’m always nervous about these things. What did you think? Honestly, please. Don’t sugar coat it. Did I sound okay?”

"You sounded like a jazz singer," Meilin said diplomatically, then added with more cordial warmth, "but you seemed delightful." She turned her nose at the smell of mixed spirits and beverages. "Do you come here often?"

As that is what she had been aiming for, Mara took it as a win. “Not really,” she replied. “I’ve been here exactly one other time.” She grinned wryly, remembering the time she had attempted to make Spires jealous by leaving with another man. “It’s... a bit too loud for my tastes,” she added.

"It is rather dissolute," Meilin agreed. "Still, there is something to be said for leisure. Will you play again or are you finished for the evening?"

"One more set," replied Mara. "I won't be mad if you leave, though," she added with a smirk.

Meilin went a little rigid. "Oh." Leaving was preferable, but she did not want to be rude. "No, I... I will stay." She looked around and wondered what would be safe to drink. Almost everybody had some sort of cocktail in hand, but she had never drank alcohol before and did not wish to start now. Raising her hand toward a server, she said, "Hot tea, please!"

"As you wish," replied Mara. It was nice that both Meilin and Spires were here to support her, but she really wouldn't have minded if they had not come at all; she knew that not everyone liked this type of music. For whatever reason, the clientele of The Drunken Ferengi enjoyed it and that was enough for her. "Thank you," she added sincerely. "I'm glad you came even though it's not really your style."

The server swooped by and dropped off a steaming mug in front of Meilin. "It's..." Meilin paused as she sniffed the tea. It seemed particularly thick, but then she had failed to specify what sort of tea in her request. She sipped at the beverage and detected notes of honey, lemon, and... something unfamiliar. "Hm." It burned a little. Not ginger or ginseng, but it was good nonetheless. "It's fine, Mara. And it's not forever. Please, go, and play and sing your heart out." Meilin waved her off and began drinking heavier from her mug, enjoying the warmth that began trickling through her limbs like a taiji session.

“I still have a few minutes,” replied Mara. “Even musicians need a break now and then. So...” she trailed off, not quite sure how to ask the burning question about a certain starship captain that had been bouncing around her mind for the past few days.

Meilin had already finished her drink and called for another. "Mmmm, this tea is amazing," she said as she had another steaming hot mug passed to her. "Do you know what brew it is?"

Distracted from her thoughts, Mara leaned over and sniffed. Her brow wrinkled. It smelled familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. “I’m not...” she said, then gasped. “Meilin! This is a hot toddy! It’s whiskey!”

Slurping up the last of her second drink, Meilin batted her eyes at Mara. "No, that's not possible. I ordered hot tea. Nobody puts whiskey in tea." The mere thought of it made her start to giggle uncontrollably. "Mara, 你好搞笑!" The slur of her voice mixed the tones of Cantonese beyond the Universal Translator's ability to render.

“I think the waiter misunderstood hot tea for hot toddy,” Mara explained. Thankfully, some of the alcohol would have burned off in the hot liquid so at least she wasn’t getting the full blast of the alcohol. She motioned to the waiter not the bring her any more, giving him a wide-eyed stare so he knew she was serious. “Ugh, Meilin, I can’t leave you like this!”

"Leave me like what?" Meilin asked, genuinely puzzled. "I am not a child in need of supervision... I am adulted... unless you meant leave me romantically. But then we've never been romantic." Whatever humor was to be found in the notion tickled Meilin's funny bone to the core. More giggles bubbled up from her throat. "You sound so confused."

“Oh, Meilin,” moaned Mara. Her eyes searched the bar until she spotted the waiter again. “Tea,” she enunciated. “Just tea. Black. The strongest you can find.” Once he was on his way, she turned back to Meilin. “You’re drunk. Don’t do anything your grandmother wouldn’t do.”

Meilin frowned. "I never knew my grandmother. You know I'm an orphan. Or did I never tell you?" Rather than confused, Meilin turned sad. She grabbed hold of Mara. "You are such a good friend, Mara. You might be my only friend." As she started to sob into Mara's chest, she couldn't help but smell her scent. "You smell beautiful. So beautiful..." She leaned back and stared up at her friend's face with a look of intensity. "You are beautiful, Mara. I love you, Mara, you beautiful person..."

Mara wondered if she should contact Sick Bay about getting some of that good ole whatever-it-is that drew alcohol out of your system. She couldn’t remember if Meilin had ever told her about being an orphan and at the moment, Mara couldn’t even say whether it was true or not as drunk people were prone to fabrication. “I know,” she replied, mouthing a silent thank you to the waiter as he dropped off the tea- which she checked to make sure that’s all that was in there. “I love you, too, Meilin. Here, have some tea,” she said, pushing the tea towards her friend.

"But you said the tea has alcococohol," Meilin stammered. "I don't want to get drunkkk. I've never been drunkkk before." The hard glottal stop of the k-sound made Meilin start laughing again. She pressed two fingers against Mara's lips. "Shhh. No more talking. Just stand there and emanate your beauty."

“There’s no alcohol in this one, I promise,” replied Mara. “I checked.”

"Oh, fine," Meilin said. She started sipping the tea and chuckled. "Yes, this is what tea should taste like."

Mara shook her head at her friend. “It looks like the band is about ready to go on again,” she said. “Are you going to be okay?”

"I'm fine!" Meilin insisted. "Go on, now," she said, waving Mara off. "Go play that beautiful music, beautiful woman!"

“I’ll keep an eye on her, commander,” said a familiar voice next to Mara.

Mara looked up to see none other than Christoph- the poor sweet guy with whom she had attempted to make Spires jealous, standing by the table. “Oh,” she said nervously. “Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

“It’s okay, chief,” he said with a winning grin. “I don’t mind. Besides, she’s kinda cute,” he added with a shrug.

"I am not cute," Meilin objected. "I am a professional sciencetific Starfleet officer."

“Oh, yes, of course,” replied Christoph in mock seriousness. “Totally professional. But it is possible to be both professional and cute. Take for instance, your friend here,” he added, placing a hand on Mara’s shoulder. “Professional and cute.” He added a charming smile. “Like you.”

Meilin's cheeks flushed red as she fought against blushing, but she still refused to accept the compliment. "You must be drunk. Because I clearly said I am not cute. Silly drunk man..."

“Stop lying,” teased Christoph. “You’re totally adorable!” He motioned for Mara to head back to the little platform with the rest of the band and she reluctantly vacated the seat, which he slid into smoothly. “And I’m not drunk,” he promised, holding up his glass. “It’s fruit juice.”

"I love fruit juice," Meilin said, snaking his glass away from him and slurping it down. "Mmmm..."

“Cute and bold,” grinned Christoph. “I like it. Go on, chief, I got this,” he assured Mara in an aside.

Mara glanced at the platform to see the pianist gesturing to her, then looked back to Meilin. “Do not let anyone give her alcohol,” she instructed.

“I can handle it,” he promised.

Reluctantly, Mara headed back to the platform. As she went, she heard Christoph introducing himself to Meilin, sounding smooth as silk.