An Old Russian Trick - Part 1

Posted on Sun Jun 30th, 2019 @ 8:41pm by Ashe Zachariah & Lieutenant Aleksander Voroshilov

Mission: Getting To Know You
Location: Astraea Lounge

The lounge was empty, not surprising for 1100 hours. It meant that he was the only one at the bar, him and the bartender. Nodding at the woman with rainbow hair he pulled a toothpick out of his pocket, setting it between his lips. It was a replacement for the cigarettes he smoked while playing smuggler on the border. Approaching the bar his eyes stayed on the striking woman, a smile grew on his face. He needed the distraction after the day he was having.

Sliding into the bar stool nearest the woman he grinned, rolling the toothpick in his mouth, "Vodka, double shot please."

Ashe raised an eyebrow slightly as she cast a gaze over the figure that had just sidled up to the bar. "What kind of Vodka? You're in luck, my supplier managed to get me a great shipment of the real stuff, so if you're not sure what you want I can make some recommendations. Double shot? How about a nice Russian potato vodka?" she asked with an easy smile as she set two small glasses on the counter, waiting for him to decide.

He observed the two glasses with interest. Slouching a little over the table, his eyes moving from the glasses to her striking blue eyes, "Let's go with Mother Russia. Nothing like vodka from the homeland."

With a quick rainbow coloured nod, Ashe disappeared momentarily, holding a large bucket filled with ice. In the middle of it was a single bottle filled with clear liquid. The condensation and frost surrounding the bottle indicated that it was highly likely she had just retrieved it from the freezer, which would explain why the contents of the bottle, while not frozen, had achieved a thick, almost syrupy consistency.

Free pouring, she added healthy measures to both glasses before returning the bottle to the bucket of ice and picking up one of the glasses. "Tvoye zdorovye!" she said with a smile as she held the glass up.

"Tvoye zdorovye!" Alexi mirrored her smile, taking the glass and meeting hers. His eyes never left hers as he downed the shot, the ice cold drink followed by the alcoholic burn felt good. The company made it all the better, "Up for another kotyonok? Just to sip this time."

Taking the bottle, Ashe poured two more glasses before she put the vodka back on ice. She picked up her glass, hooking her foot around a stool and pulling it toward her, sinking down onto the edge of the seat. "So, don't tell me you're homesick already," she teased as she watched him.

"I haven't seen home in twelve years, why should I miss it now?" He chuckled, taking up his glass and sipping it. There was a moment of genuine shock, actual quality rather than rotgut. He leaned a little closer to her, "What about you kotyonok? Where is home for you?"

"Home is an over rated concept," Ashe said with a shake of her head, her rainbow coloured hair bouncing around her face. She took a sip of her vodka before setting the glass back down on the table and waved a hand absently around the bar. "This is as good a place as any right now."

"I understand. Life can certainly change ones perspective," His eyes followed the movement of her hair, it was a rather fun distraction. For him, home was were the mission was. Anything else was a memory, most of them unpleasant. Looking back to her eyes he smiled, "So long as I have a place to lay my head, a glass in my hand, and company to enjoy it's home enough for me."

"Well welcome to The Raging Deity," Ashe replied with a laugh. "Home to lost souls all over the universe." She took another small sip from her glass, a slightly less practiced sip than she had been using most of the evening every time she'd 'shared' a drink with yet another new member of the crew. But now, thankfully the day was near ending and she would be closing up soon, so enjoying a drink or two certainly wasn't going to hurt.

"Mighty bold of you to assume I have one," He tipped the glass towards he before taking another sip. Unconsciously he ran his finger along the bar, having spent so many nights in bars that dark enough where telling genders was nigh impossible, dirty enough that you'd have a 50/50 chance of catching an STD it was a habit. It was the smell that usually got them, horrendous. Looking at his fingers seeing them clean. Flicking his eyes back to her, a smile on his face, "I think I left mine several years back."

"Home or soul?" Ashe asked, her mouth quirking in the hint of a smile as she topped up his glass, ignoring her own momentarily as she picked up a cloth and ran it over the bar in front of him, leaving the subtlest scent of lemon behind as she threw the cloth in the trash ready to be recycled before she closed up. "Better?" she asked with a slightly raised eyebrow.

"I knew it would be when I saw you behind the bar," He decided to ignore the first question, mostly because either answer would be less than satisfactory. This was definitely the warmest welcome he received since coming back to the civilized world. With a jovial smile he picked up his glass, "Would like to see an Old Russian Trick?"

Ashe smiled charmingly, seriously doubting that any trick he had to show her would be one she hadn't already seen. "Sure darlin' show me what you've got," she said, perching back on the edge of the stool and picking up her glass again, sipping at the vodka.

"Let me see your hand," He took the toothpick out of his mouth, holding it much the way he would a cigarette. He took her hand palm up, studying it intently while occasionally stealing glances at Ashe, "This is a trick my Babushka taught me. She was a fortune teller in our village," Looking up at her with a grin, "Very accurate too, told me I'd meet a beautiful woman with rainbow hair," He looked away briefly, "Or was it follow a rainbow for beautiful hair."

Putting the toothpick in back between his teeth he continued the investigation, running his free hand down the length of her forearm, "Interesting."

"Really? And what's so interesting about my arm?" Ashe asked, trying very hard to feign interest in what was no doubt going to be yet another pickup line.

"Aside from the fact it's lovely and just toned enough to hint at your occupation, nothing. It was mostly your face I was looking at," Meeting her eyes he continued, "While you're very good at being polite I could tell that you were on to my bullshit pretty much the moment I walked through that door. I'd expect that from someone who deals with assholes like me on a nightly basis, but you have down to an art. Making every Joe who walks in with a story you've heard a dozen times from a half dozen patrons feel like its your first time hearing it."

Setting her hand down gently he leaned back a little, an inquisitive look on his. Most of the story had been a lie, his Babushka had died before he was born and they lived in a rundown apartment in a city of 1.3 million, "What I found interesting is how long you were able to keep it up. I suppose at this point you were expecting a pick-up line."

"Nine times out of ten that would be what comes up next," Ashe replied with a vague smile. "That other one time, well, those are the ones that really get interesting." She shrugged slightly. "Besides, honestly, running a bar like this is a walk in the park, especially on a Starfleet ship. Y'all are held on pretty tight leashes and most Captain's don't like when their crew misbehaves. I tended bar on a Klingon freighter for a few months, now THAT made for an interesting work environment!" she grinned.

He still got migraines thinking about drinking in some rundown bar in a Klingon shanty town, never sure if the pain was from the amount of alcohol or its questionable origin...or the fights induced by the consumption. They'd be memorable nights, if he could remember them, "Now that's a group I'd be keen to hear some stories about," He chuckled a bit, "I'm Aleksi by the way."

Ashe topped off his vodka again, as well as her own before she held her hand out toward him, a genuine smile on her face. "Ashe," she said easily. "And trust me, I have plenty of stories. I did three years as a dabo girl before the freighter, and before that, well," her smile broke into a grin. "Let's just say very little surprises me now days."

His eyes lit up at her smile, deciding that he'd try something novel, a bit of honesty, "I know the feeling. I've been tossed around the galaxy like a ragdoll. Most of it boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror. Then," He took a sip of his vodka, "You get to live out of Klingon Scout Ship for a year, pretending to be smugglers. I don't think my liver has quite forgiven me."

Setting his glass down with a smile, he raised a brow. He would avoid pre-dabo days to keep the conversation friendly, "How about this? You tell me your best story on that freighter, and I'll give you my favorite from the border. Sound like a deal?"

=/\= To Be Continued =/\=

Lieutenant Aleksander Voroshilov
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Astraea

&

Ashe Zachariah
Raging Deity Lounge Owner
USS Astraea