30 Days

Posted on Fri Sep 18th, 2026 @ 5:23am by Michelle Erilin & Ensign Fiona McCarthy

1,948 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Die Hard: Chimera Edition (side posts)
Location: USS Chimera, Lounge

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Day One...

It had been several hours since Fiona felt defeated. She had no way to process her feelings. Talking to Kally was helpful, but barely. She was part of the problem. She needed time to process her feelings, but they seemed to be a little overwhelming. She needed a little pick me up to relieve the stress, she felt like she walking a fine line. She was on the edge, and she needed a venue to release that stress. She walked into the lounge, and walked over to the bar. She gave a fake smile, as she walked up to the bar. "I need something strong, I prefer Whiskey, but I'll take whatever you got. "

Michelle gave Fiona a smile that was both warm and concerned, her empathic sense telling her that something was bothering this young woman. She'd seen her with Azrael the day before, which had made her smile that maybe he'd found someone finally, but now it seemed different. "Certainly.. I know you didn't like the Jack Daniels from yesterday, so let's see..." She turned around to peruse the bottles she had on display, "It's not quite a whiskey, but the Bolian je'ghaj has a somewhat similar flavor profile and has enough alcohol in it to put down bear with a couple shots." She brought the purple liquid in a short, squat bottle over and poured a shot of it, sliding it over the counter, "Anything you need to talk to someone about?"

Fiona took a look at the purple drink, that was in her hands. The shot glass was a standard glass nothing to fancy about it. She swirled it for a moment, as she heard Michelle ask her question. She debated to say, as she took a quick sniff. "Here goes nothing!" She said, as she took the glass and slammed it down. She almost cough, as it was smooth and bold of flavor, it had a slight burn going down. She was use to drinks burning a little, so it did not really bother her. "I'm good, honestly. That was something." She said, as she looked down the empty shot glass. Feeling a little tingle of warmth hit her body.

"It's strong enough that while I'll give you another, that would be it, what with your body mass." Michelle gave Fiona a wry smile, "The good news is that as the bartender, I'm a good person to talk to 'off the books' so that barring a couple of very specific situations, nothing has to get reported to Starfleet, and you don't look suicidal or ready to seriously harm someone else at this moment." She poured another shot of the je'ghaj and slid it halfway over in a new glass towards Fiona. If she didn't take it, then Michelle would be indulging herself.

Fiona picked up the glass, she took a good solid look at the purple substance. She gently swirled in the glass. Then she looked up to Michelle. I could surprise you, maybe handle three or four shots. I'm Irish afterall." She said with a big smirk on her face. She had been staring at her glass. The warm feelings were mild in her system. They were a little bubbly. Fiona felt like she was in complete control.

“Irish or not, part of my own job here is to make sure people can still stumble home. If you’re still coherent in half an hour after you drink that one, we’ll see.” Michelle propped herself up on an elbow at the counter, “The Hydra is a no-guilt location and while I’ve seen you before, I’m Michelle Erilin, the proprietor and head barkeep and cook for here. I can usually get my hands on things if they’re requested, and if you’re going to be shipping back out with us after the refit, let me know ahead of time so I can lay in some stocks of whatever you fancy.”

"Stumbling can be fun, and I am light as a feather. I prefer whiskey that purple stuff right here, will do in a pinch." Fiona said, with a warm smile, as she looked at the glass, and debated about slamming it down quickly. She hesitated for a moment. Just looking at the glass, as she put it down. "Well you are going to cut me off after this, what do you have to chase this down with?"

“My recommendation would be a Guinness, but some would say a more ‘spicy’ Andorian ale would be better.” Michelle gave a smile, “I would highly recommend that after that, you consider some water or a mild soft drink, just to ensure you stay hydrated. ‘Tomorrow you’ would very much like avoid a hangover, I can guarantee that.”

"Guinness maybe, not sure about this Andorian Ale, lets try some. Let's get one of each." Fiona said, as she took the shot in her hand, and slammed it down. She coughed a little, the purple liquid went down, and instantly rushed through her body. She coughed a little and slapped her hand on the table, and she smiled as she said. "Holy shit, I feel that." Fiona said, as she felt her buzz increase dramatically. She took a couple deep breaths, as she waited for Guinness and the Andorian Ale.

"Trust your local Courtesan, we won't steer you wrong, I promise." Michelle chuckled, leaning on the bar again, "Would you like something to snack on, or are you going with a liquid diet today?"

"I am going to take a chance and trust your judgement." Fiona said, she still was not sure if she could trust her own judgement, especially after the Azrael incident. Maybe she could trust hers. She waited for Michelle to hand her the two drinks she asked for, with her recommendation on one of the two drinks.

Michelle lined the two drinks up, first the Guinness, knowing the slightly chocolatey flavor would counter the acridness of the Bolian drink, then smiled, "I'm going to make you up some eggs and bacon, no one ever goes wrong with those and hm...." She tapped her cheek, "How do you like your eggs, by the way?" She moved over to the far side of the bar where a small stove setup was sitting, clearly only for small usage rather than full on meal prep.

"Your going to make me eggs, how nice of you. Scrambled will be fine." Fiona said, thinking eggs over medium may not go well with alcohol. She was not interested in puking up any eggs later on.

"And bacon. Everything goes better with bacon." Michelle ran her palm slightly above the pan to make sure that it was hot enough before gently laying in a quartet of slices of bacon in to get them started before starting the heat under the frying pan for the eggs, "I do try to be the nice sort, not much else for me to do overall around here."

"You might argue with the pretty lady coming don't think that's a flirting. It's just an old saying my dad used to say." The last thing Fiona needed was another person flirting with her. Horny it seemed like everyone on the ship was horny.

"If I were going to flirt with you, Ensign, you would know it." Michelle gave a laugh, "But that's not what you want nor need right now. Funny thing is that I'm the Registered Courtesan around here, yet my business is primarily right here, serving drinks and food. Don't worry, you're safe around me, I promise." She shot a smile from where she flipped the sizzling bacon.

"That bacon smells good." Fiona said, as her mouth started to water with the savory smell filling up the lounge area. It was very intoxicating to breath in. "I appreciate that, may I call you Michelle?" She asked, hoping it was okay for her to do so.

"Actually, that's what I prefer people call me." Michelle chuckled, "It's a bit better than some of the other names I've been called, plus, not being a member of Starfleet means there's no rank for me to hide behind." Now the eggs went in so that they would be done at the same time for perfection. "In fact, would you prefer to be known by your name, or should I keep calling you 'Ensign'?"

"Fiona McCarthy, but please just call me Fiona." Fiona said, thinking to herself wow somebody here with a sense of morality, and a sense of decency. She wasn't used to this on the ship. It was refreshing to say the least.

"All right, Fiona, since I'm also sortof the unofficial counselor on board, at least until the Fleet wants to give the ship one, and a bartender, I'm also good at listening to problems." Michelle remarked, adding a couple minor ingredients into the eggs and stirring them up as a good, fluffy set of scrambled eggs would be, "And trust me, no one hears anything from me that I don't wish to tell them."

"Eggs and bacon what's next toast and hash browns?" Fiona teased, not bring sincere. She was trying to be silly. Breakfast for dinner was not a bad idea. However she had eaten earlier, she was surprised that she was hungry again.

Michelle slid the bacon and eggs onto a place in as attractive a pile of scrambled eggs as she could make and the bacon in a double-fan, centered on one spot and slid it with a set of utensils in front of Fiona, knowing the other woman was joking around, "I try to be able to provide anything a customer asks for, though there are always some things that I just can't do."

Fiona heard her comment about doing things that she just wasn't sure how to do, that seems like a whole train wreck of bad ideas that she wanted nothing to do with. "I'm not sure I want to know." Fiona said with a teasing grin, as she pulled the plate closer to her and took a bite from the bacon. "So good."

"No, I'm sure you don't." Michelle chuckled, leaning back on the counter behind her after putting the pans into a container, "But I'm not one to judge, either. Which is why you can come to me about things you wouldn't even tell the official Starfleet counselors, because what you tell me is discreet, between you and me."

"I might take you up on that someday." Fiona hinted. She was not as trusting as she was before. The fire in her still raged against Azrael, the Captain and the Doctor. At least around Michelle she could let her guard down a little.

"Well then..." Michelle didn't know where to go with this conversation, so... "How's the weather?"

"Is that you're cute, saying that my time's up?" Fiona said with the teeth-baring smirk on her face. Because they both knew that there was no weather to be determined on a ship, everything was climate controlled.

Michelle chuckled, “Not at all, just making a bit of a joke is all, If I were cutting you off or requesting you leave, I would be far more blunt about it”

"I see, but you're probably right it is time for me to go." She said that she started noticing more people entering. "If I stay any longer, guys are going to try hitting on me. I'll see you next time." Fiona said that she stood up and got ready to leave.

"It could be worse, they could be running away screaming." Michelle said with a smile, "I'll see you next time, you take care now!"

 

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