Zero Michelin Stars [Jettis]

[Jettis Jyur]

"Well, glad to know the truth." He commented drily. "No offence, but I prefer gummy worms soaked in vodka. Delicious." Downing another mouthful of his glass, it was at least half gone by now. He didn't bother responding to her taunt, he already had his plan lain out. Besides, he was going to enjoy a glass of vodka or two before he started chugging Romulan ale.

"Any pets?" He asked sporadically, not allowing the silence to drag out between them uncomfortably. Downing the other half of his drink in one fell swoop, he moved the poor himself another, watching Kali from the corner of his eye.

[Kali Reyes]

She wasn't sure if he was instigating more small talk to slow her down or genuinely interested, so she tentatively played into it. Drinking competitions was something she took as seriously as her day job, if anything gave her meaning in life.

Her senses took on that familiar pleasant buzz and she almost choked on a rather gross mouthful when she set the bottle down. It was halfway full and the very tepid flush on her cheeks showed it. "I've uh... got a laundry basket full of tribbles. They're not mine, I just confiscated them. Gonna see if I can drop them off later on Bajor."

"Other than that, I'm just not good with animals," she admitted. "Or kids. Or people I guess if you really wanna get into it."

[Jettis Jyur]

He chuckled, watching her in amusement.  She was definitely something interesting, that was for sure. Dumping another glassful of JÁƒ¤ger, and before he barely had time to think about it, it was gone. Setting the glass down, he abandoned it all together and joined Kali in drinking straight from the bottle. Pouring a drink was just another unnecessary step anyway.

"Really? Not good with them, or juzt don't have the time for them? Because I can relate with the latter." He smirked, placing his palms on the counter and leaning back. "I have a dog, but I left her back on Earth per Ztarfleet request. They 'suggested'-" He made sarcastic air quotes around 'suggested', "That I was too attached to her. So I left her with Thereza, she just adores her."

[Kali Reyes]

"Point taken," Kali said dryly. "Maybe I'm just obscenely selfish. I can barely take care of myself. Add a dog or a kid and I'm just asking for the authorities to bang down my door." She absently thought about the concaved bulkhead in her quarters. "Or fish," she tacked on. "Only need to feed them once a day."

Kali visibly relaxed when Jettis finally grabbed the bottle. She thought she'd be the only one swigging like a Klingon here. A tiny shudder ran up her spine for some reason and she danced the strange colors away from her eyes by sitting her chin on her palm. "Thereza? That your kid? S'nice name."

[Jettis Jyur]

He hummed slightly at her comments about not being able to take care of anything. Taking another swig of his drink, he twisted around in his seat to lean against the counter.
"Ja, Thereza. Thank you." He smiled down at the floor for a moment, chuckling deeply. "She's six." He added, as if Kali had asked in the first place. "You ever thought about having kids?" He asked, curiously and innocently. He couldn't be sure if it was his naturally nonchalant nature, or his 'liberation' that allowed him to speak so freely. But it was likely a combination of both, for him to ask something so blatantly.

[Kali Reyes]

"I like the attempts to get there, believe me," she said thickly. "But going all the way? I try to avoid that." She'd blame the lewdness on the alcohol, but nah. She'd say it sober too.

After a beat, she refocused on the bottle in her hands. "I'd be a terrible mother anyways." With her slew of problems? She'd like to spare that for whatever hypothetical genetic spawn that would never come her way. "I'm not even good material for... you know." She idly waved in a wishy-washy fashion.

[Jettis Jyur]

His mouth twitched slightly at her comment, as if a smile were trying to escape, but failed. Taking another mouthful of his drink, he turned away from her to stare at the people casually chatting at the tables.

"Hey, no worse a mother than I am a father." He mumbled absently after a short pause. As well as he cleaned up, he was still a mess with a lovely bag of issues. He just new how to hide them better than most people. That came with hundreds of years of practice, and running - literally, from your problems. There was no more of an evasive tactic than getting into a space ship and literally flying into space to avoid confronting your issues.
"Good material for what? Marriage? Dating?" Even drunk, Jettis was sober enough to bite his tongue when his next comment almost voiced itself. He wasn't about to get himself ejected out of the shuttlebay.  To avoid commenting, he downed a few more gulps for good measure.

[Kali Reyes]

"Hey, no worse a mother than I am a father."

Kali rolled her shoulders back in a lame attempt at shrugging. "Well, I don't know about that. You're at least one step ahead of me. And to be honest, you don't look like a deadbeat. Too clean shaven." But how would she know, really? They've only just met.

"Good material for what? Marriage? Dating?" Even drunk, Jettis was sober enough to bite his tongue when his next comment almost voiced itself. He wasn't about to get himself ejected out of the shuttlebay.  To avoid commenting, he downed a few more gulps for good measure.

It was the drink that made her petty. She pushed the neck of his bottle down a bit to keep him from chugging the whole damn thing down. "Don't have a very good track record," she answered simply. "Every little girl is told Prince Charming's somewhere in the galaxy looking for them. Even for bar wenches like me. Then you get sick of waiting, and then you get sick of picking up your heels to look for them yourself, and then you start realizing that maybe he got blown up by a Klingon scout ship or something so you might as well drink and be merry."

She lifted her bottle in toast. "I'm way into stage three. Maybe stage four." The amber liquid sloshed a bit which caused her to pause and squint at the bottle.

Where the hell was the worm? 

[Jettis Jyur]

"Well, I don't know about that. You're at least one step ahead of me. And to be honest, you don't look like a deadbeat. Too clean shaven."

Jettis smirked sarcastically, but said nothing. When she pushed the bottle down, he relented for a moment, lowering it and setting it on the counter. Sitting higher in his seat, he quirked an eyebrow at her long rant. "You're the optimiztic one, aren't ya?" He teased, laughing. "Trust me. He'll - or she'll - come along eventually, and hopefully you'll realize it before it'z too late, and they just -" he flung his arms out, as if pushing something. "- flicker out of your life without you even conzidering them." His voice seemed to have two conflicting tones. A dark, sorrowful one, with an upbeat chirp overlaying it, hiding the true depth of it. Picking up his bottle again, he motioned with it casually. "Zpeaking as zomeone who's already in stage five. Your life is too short to zpend it looking for zomeone who vill come to you." His voice was relaxed, and his accent fully emerged from its shell. Knocking the bottle back again, he worked on finishing what little of it was left in one fell swoop.

[Kali Reyes]

Jettis smirked sarcastically, but said nothing. When she pushed the bottle down, he relented for a moment, lowering it and setting it on the counter. Sitting higher in his seat, he quirked an eyebrow at her long rant. "You're the optimiztic one, aren't ya?" He teased, laughing.

She shrugged again, but this time with a lazy smile attached to it. "Ha. You've got jokes." But he was right. That was why she was trying not to drink so much anymore. Drinking just made her nostalgic and there was nothing worst for a futurist than to gripe about the past.

"Trust me. He'll - or she'll - come along eventually, and hopefully you'll realize it before it'z too late, and they just -" he flung his arms out, as if pushing something. "- flicker out of your life without you even conzidering them." His voice seemed to have two conflicting tones. A dark, sorrowful one, with an upbeat chirp overlaying it, hiding the true depth of it. Picking up his bottle again, he motioned with it casually. "Zpeaking as zomeone who's already in stage five. Your life is too short to zpend it looking for zomeone who vill come to you." His voice was relaxed, and his accent fully emerged from its shell. Knocking the bottle back again, he worked on finishing what little of it was left in one fell swoop.

"Are you telling me to flirt with every stranger I meet, because I'm way ahead of that curb." This time it was her turn to tease. There was just something off-putting about his response and it distracted her from the missing worm in her bottle long enough to work her bottom lip against her teeth. "Stage five, huh? Maybe you need the rehab more than I do." She didn't like prying into people's personal lives, but she didn't mind giving them an opening to do so anyways.

Kali pursed her lips in thought and leaned forward. "Soooo... who hurt you, buddy?" Or who did YOU hurt?

[Jettis Jyur]

Jettis finally slammed the bottle down when he had managed to down the entire thing. How wasn't his concern, rather his next thought was, should he go for another drink?
"Roland!" Well, his mouth was already answering for him. Which was already a recipe for disaster. "Gimme a Belvedere, Intense Vodka bitte und danke." he ordered, before turning to face Kali again. To be honest, he had kind of tuned out on what she was saying, until the last. Who had  hurt him? Well the list was surprisingly short - then again, he didn't form deep bonds easily, not since anywho.

"Nobody?" He answered flippantly, as if he had no idea what was making Kali so suspicious. "I mean, a few girls I had to leave on different planets, a few guys I'd meet one time in a bar, a few... I don't know that I'd meet in a village or two..." He gave an exaggerated shrug. "I never stayed to make it anything more than what it was. I never connected with any of them." Another large shrug, punctuated with a chuff. "And they never wanted it to be anything more either, so it worked out well for everybody." There was that dark undertone again. Something was off about the way he said it, but you wouldn't be able to put a finger on it. It was a vague sense of loss, as if nothing he said were sincere. Or that creeping feeling on the back of your neck that he knew something you didn't.

[Kali Reyes]

Jettis finally slammed the bottle down when he had managed to down the entire thing. How wasn't his concern, rather his next thought was, should he go for another drink?
"Roland!" Well, his mouth was already answering for him. Which was already a recipe for disaster. "Gimme a Belvedere, Intense Vodka bitte und danke." he ordered, before turning to face Kali again. To be honest, he had kind of tuned out on what she was saying, until the last. Who had  hurt him? Well the list was surprisingly short - then again, he didn't form deep bonds easily, not since anywho.

While he ordered again, Kali's attention returned to her bottle. She finished it clean, sure, but the fact remained that the worm was missing. Did she drink it? Her nose wrinkled and she suddenly felt more sober than usual. Oh god, that last one - the one she found difficult to swallow -

Her eyes presumably dilated the moment she looked at her polished reflection on the counter. She could have sworn the tiny beating in her ears was music. Roland took the order like a champ, but then frowned at the empty tequila bottle. That was when she saw the color of Roland's distaste - like a nasty yellow aura.

She licked her dry lips, strangely aware of everything. "A dozen trojan shooters." Because hell, Jettis looked ready to binge drink this time and Kali was looking to win with quantity instead of quality.

"Nobody?" He answered flippantly, as if he had no idea what was making Kali so suspicious. "I mean, a few girls I had to leave on different planets, a few guys I'd meet one time in a bar, a few... I don't know that I'd meet in a village or two..." He gave an exaggerated shrug. "I never stayed to make it anything more than what it was. I never connected with any of them." Another large shrug, punctuated with a chuff. "And they never wanted it to be anything more either, so it worked out well for everybody." There was that dark undertone again. Something was off about the way he said it, but you wouldn't be able to put a finger on it. It was a vague sense of loss, as if nothing he said were sincere. Or that creeping feeling on the back of your neck that he knew something you didn't.

Kali raised her hands up in surrender. "Yeah, okay." Because she knew deflection - hell, it was practically an art form for her, except she used a bit of glibness to get people off of her back instead of this... black aura he was exuding thanks to the psychedelic worm. But typical Kali, she wanted to prod, and she usually did it with the force of a cattle prod. "You got a kid out of it, didn't you? Someone had to be worth it."

[Jettis Jyur]

Jettis wasn't paying much attention, until he noticed Kali staring at her own reflection. He said nothing, but shot her a curious look. Glancing over at her bottle, he didn't have the question why she had suddenly fallen silent. She looked a bit flushed too, but then again, that could just be from downing a whole bottle of tequila. He was sure he looked pink in the face too, he certainly felt it.

"You got a kid out of it, didn't you? Someone had to be worth it."

While normally he would have had some sort of negative reaction to this, he didn't even react at all. In fact, one might think he hadn't even heard her, as he simply grabbed the bottle when offered with a small 'thank you.' Popping the cap off, he took two, effortless gulps of it, before resting it in his lap.
"Nah." That somehow seemed like an inappropriate answer to the question asked. "Like I said, there's a reason I'm not on Earth with a nice domestic life, big house, wife, a kid and a dog." It wasn't as if that weren't an option for him. But of course, he had rejected it for some reason that seemed smart at the time. Shaking his head, he leaned back against the counter again. "While that'd be nice, it's not for me." Why did those words hurt him? Actually, physically make his chest tighter, as if he were lying. It wasn't a lie, it just wasn't the full truth. But then again, Jettis was a man of half-truths. Most things he said couldn't be taken at face value.

[Kali Reyes]

"I guess this is the part where I say 'that's too bad', but what do I know?" she replied. The shooters came shortly after so she busied herself with the tops. Jettis looked more engaged in getting the bottle down than words anyways. "Can't reach the edge of the galaxy looking through a white picket fence anyways."

And she supposed that was the pro to the cons of domestic life. She certainly wasn't bored with her service history so far as long as she wasn't stranded during the exciting bits. "This conversation's making me sober. How's your liver so far?"

[Jettis Jyur]

Pursing his lips at the comment, he nodded. It was true. And white picket fences made him feel too trapped. Yet another reason why he hadn't married - hell, he wasn't even planning on having a kid, it was just thrust upon him, and he was notified six months later, when he was in some random bar on some random plant. It certainly was a jerk back to reality.
If he'd had a family while travelling, or on the Starship? Sure. But being confined to Earth almost made his skin crawl at the idea.

Pulling himself from his thoughts, he glanced over at Reyes. "My liver? Good so far. Disgusting as that turkey was, it helps. I'm surprised you're keeping up." He chuckled, and his playful tone was almost back. Almost. "Not because you can't handle your liquor, but what are you? Thirty, forty pounds?" He snickered against, looking her up and down. She was positively tiny - without speaking to her, he would never guess sh would finish a bottle of ale, a bottle of tequila, and eleven shots. She looked like the person who would take a small sip of wine, and comment that it was too much or her and go back to drinking water.