Work Text:
With Boimler and Mariner safely flung forward to their own century, the Port Galley felt normal again. Quieter. Manageable. Erica liked chaos if she was in control, but the two of them brought an unexpected energy to the ship. “So, you’ve never been to Starbase Earhart, right?” Erica suggested to Uhura as they sat down to eat dinner.
“No, I hadn’t even left earth until Enterprise. What was it like? I’ve heard stories,” Uhura explained.
“And they are probably all true,” Erica responded with a shrug. “It’s…well. It’s everything and nothing like you’d expect. Loud. Crowded. A mix of smells that are disorientingly different from that on a starship. It was a shock.”
Uhura gave her an encouraging look and Erica drew in a breath to continue.
“We went soon after the war ended. Picking up some new crew. But it also meant some welcome shore leave for the rest of the crew of the Palenque. The first we got in…months. As soon as we docked I swear half the crew practically sprinted out of the ship.
“I left with some of the other helmsmen…Lieutenant Chang, Ensign Peeters, Ensign Marks… wait. No not Marks, she had…she didn’t make it through the war. Funny, you almost forget it for a second, thinking someone would have still filled the space you remember them in. Anyway there was a group of us.
“Chang dragged us to this bar he’d visited before. I don’t remember the names, but it was about as seedy as it could be. The first thing that hit me was the humidity, recycled air thick with sweat, old alcohol, and the oppressive smell of fried food…”
The glowing neon signs at the entrance advertised drinks and games. The lights hummed so loud they seemed to buzz under Erica’s skin. The cacophony of noise from the inside leaking out into the corridors.
The entrance itself was dim, a shock between the bright lights of the entrance and the dusty, misty interior. The stale, sour reek of spilled drinks. Inside was a press of bodies, shouting, cups hitting the tables, the sound of the Dom-Jot tables, and music all competing for Erica’s attention. The music was so strong she could feel it in her chest, upping her anxiety.
Ensign Peeters tried to pull her over to the Dom-Jot tables, their feet sticking unpleasantly to the floor as they walked. “Come on, Ortegas, you gotta see this game, they even bet on it.”
Erica pulled back. All she could see were unfamiliar faces in the shadows, shouts and tensions under the laughter of the space. A crash near the Dom-Jot tables cracked like phaser fire. Each time a glass slammed down Erica flinched slightly. The space felt like a threat. She needed to get out. She felt her ears ringing, breath shortening as she started to slip into panic.
“I’m gonna get some air,” she shouted at Ensign Peeters.
“You fine?” Peeters yelled back.
“Yeah. Have fun, I just…I’ll see you back on the ship.”...
“I slipped away before she could answer. The space was overwhelming. I needed somewhere open. I ended up in this market section. It was this sudden expanse of cooler air. Calmer. Or at least it didn’t feel primed to explode into a fight. The metallic tinge of the station fighting with the smells of grilled food.
“Beyond the food stands scattered about, there were parts or trinkets stalls everywhere, trading items from across the quadrant and probably beyond. The vendors came from all over, signs in a half dozen different languages. Most of it…I had no idea what it was, but there was a stand with old vehicle parts…some of them clearly historic Earth.
“Eventually I ended up at this guy’s stall, a Tellarite trader, he waved me over. It was quiet, away from the heart of the market. Said he had something perfect for a ‘discerning Starfleet Officer’.”
“Sounds like a trap,” Uhura said, leaning in to hear the rest of the story.
“Oh, I am sure. He had some historic starfleet tools, old phasers and such.”...
“Not interested,” Erica replied, ready to step away.
“Wait, come come, I have more to look at.” The trader pulled out a box. It was old, made of a stripped wood. The outside was unadorned, but clearly crafted with skill. Erica stepped forward, intrigued. Inside were several balls. They were smooth, made of some sort of resin. The colors were dull, the surface scratched. But carved into the different spheres were glyphs.
Erica picked one up to examine. The resin felt warm, warmer than the cool air of the Starbase. The carved grooves smoothed from time and use. There was a history to them.
“They are an ancient Nausican Dom-Jot set. Don’t make them like this anymore.”
Erica had no use for them, but somehow they were enticing. “What do you want for them?” She asked without thinking.
“For you, Starfleet? I would trade for a genuine Starfleet jacket.”
Erica set down the piece, “Sorry, not today. But I’ll think about it.”...
“I take it you didn’t go back,” Uhura speculated.
“No. I mean can you even trade a jacket? There have to be regulations against that. And well, the idea of trading it away just didn’t sit right. There was just something real, ancient to that set. Like you could feel the lives it touched. But what would I even do with it?” She shrugged. “I do kind of regret not getting it, it felt like proof of good times, of people just making things with such detail and then having time to just play a game.”
“Proof that life goes on,” Uhura suggested.
“Yeah something like that. But no, I didn’t go back. I wandered around a bit more. There were some gardens on the base. Well, gardens might be a bit generous, they are really like a hydroponics bay turned into a park, with just the stars greeting you above. But it was open, green, full of life. And quiet. The only sound was the rustle of the leaves under the ventilation fans. Not the premier shore leave destination. Yet I think I just wandered that space for two hours. It had a sense of reality, somehow about the smell of growing things and open skies reminding me how calm life could be. Something I had not felt in a long time.
“I was probably back on the ship within a few hours and stayed there for the rest of the shore leave. It felt safer. I would love to go back sometime, I’m sure I would enjoy it more.”
Erica picked up her burger, forgotten on her plate, and took a bite before continuing. “I was not on the Palenque much longer. Just a couple of months later I transferred to the Enterprise and well, the rest is history. Do you think Pike would detour us to Starbase Earhart sometime? Maybe I should suggest that at the next briefing.”