Courage and Caffeine

Posted on Tue Jun 23rd, 2020 @ 5:44am by Cailus Griffin & Lieutenant K'Laus & Commander Mindo & Emilie Temple
Edited on on Fri Jul 10th, 2020 @ 5:32pm

Mission: Death in Paradise
Location: USS Pandora | Deck 6-- Recreation Deck | The Crescent
Timeline: Approximately 23:00 Hours

Casually dressed and well past off duty, the Klingon Chief Supply Officer for the Federation starship Pandora was burning the midnight oil. Fick was exhausted and no sooner had his head hit the pillow did the young flight controller slip into a deep sleep. K'Laus had stayed in bed cuddling with his boyfriend for as long as he could, but sleep alluded him. Sleep had been alluding his for several nights now, and Lieutenant K'Laus had been sneaking out every so often to frequent a small café on the sixth deck of the starship located in the crescent section where a few shops and cafes operated. There was a good hour until things in the crescent closed down for the night until opening back up at the 'crack of dawn,' but it was more than enough time for K'Laus to grab a mug of coffee or a more lavish and sophisticated caffeinated beverage.

There was once a time in his life where K'Laus would have gone off to brood with himself, sit alone for the remainder of the night until his lids grew heavy and his body became too tired to continue, where he would sneak back into his shared living quarters with Fick and cuddle back up with his boyfriend trying not to stir the younger man. However, as K'Laus became more comfortable with socialization and with this crew especially, he became less afraid to ask for help or ask shipmates to lunch and to escort him to social functions when Fick could not attend. Though he still remained rather introverted and was not known for making friends with the crew.

His position aboard the USS Pandora did force him to interact with people. He was their immediate connection to requesting supplies and ensuring their cargo arrived safely aboard and was securely tended to. This meant everything from engineering parts, to laboratory equipment, to medicines and vaccines to the simplest of school supplies for the classrooms. It had allowed K'Laus to get to know his shipmates without having to awkwardly 'hang out' with them as the case would have been. K'Laus was perhaps the most socially awkward individual aboard.

Tonight, something was on his mind, and he knew that it would continue to haunt him until he worked it out of his system and made some progress with it. However, he could not do it alone. He needed help. So, he did what he had been taught to do. He asked for help. Normally, he would have gone to Fick for advice, but he could not ask Fick what was brewing in his head lately. Their relationship was going alright and had been making significant progress since they became exclusively involved with one another. However, K'Laus was still as secretive as ever with certain things.

He arrived at the café earlier than the time he specified, but only by a few minutes. He was not sure that either of the individuals he 'summoned' to meet with him would be bothered to come, especially at such a late hour. K'Laus had approached the barista working the café and ordered a Delavian café mocha with a shot of Raktajino. Sure, he probably wouldn't be going to sleep any time soon, but who needed sleep when life was causing you to be restless anyways. He took a seat at a café table that seated four comfortable as he looked over a PADD and waited...hoping the three would join him.

When the call came, Cailus had spent a good minute trying to decide if he was still dreaming, having been fast asleep in bed when the comm chirped. Shae’s threatening half-awake growl at Cailus’ indecision finally pushed him out of bed to leave her to her sleep, but still, the Martian man was quite befuddled as he got dressed. Of all the people onboard, with the possible exception of Dorian Rochester, K’Laus was the last person to invite Cailus to a late night drink.

Regardless, as much out of growing curiosity as anything else, Cailus dressed in casual clothing and headed down to the ship’s recreational area. The deck was quiet, with only a handful of crew milling around given the far more expansive and interesting delights of Paradise Station just beyond the airlock. Thus, still not quite awake, Cailus easily found the tall Klingon sitting at the table.

“K’Laus,” he grumbled in greeting as he approached and sat. not quite in a forgiving mood given the disrupted sleep. Even so, drowsy or not, Cailus’ eyes flicked between the PADD and the coffee, analysing the situation as he sat down opposite the Klingon. “What can I do for you?”


The Klingon took a swig of the chocolatey strong brew of hot brown liquid, grunting in reply to Cailus' casual inquiry. "I could not sleep, Lieutenant. I have not been able to sleep for sometimes now" explained K'Laus simply. He did not go into further detail. "I know...I know that you are not a medical doctor and my sleeping patterns are of no interest to you" grumbled the Klingon.


K'Laus leaned forward. "However, I did not summon you to sing me a lullaby nor tuck me in at night" said the Klingon with a bellyful boisterous guffaw. A Klingon raised by a Talarian step-father had produced a young man with a peculiar personality. "I require your services and expertise. You are Security Chief of this starship and the best guard one could find."

Still as confused as before, perhaps even more so, Cailus rubbed his eyes wearily, quite unaffected by K’Laus laugh. “I’ll take the compliment,” he muttered. Resigned to whatever strangeness K’Laus had planned, Cailus gestured at the waitress, who had been idly chatting with the only other customer in the cafe, a young man still in his blue science uniform. “Berry cider, please,” he requested; might as well have a drink in the meantime.

Mindo had just walked into the room and quietly took a seat as the two much bigger gentlemen greeted each other. Mindo had been wide awake in his quarters, listening to music and staring into space (literally and figuratively) with plenty other things on his mind. When he was summoned to the cafe, he was a little nervous K'Laus was drunk and looking for another fight, but the Klingon had sounded pretty clear and now Mindo could see this was regarding something else.

The waitress smiled and turned to Mindo. "I'll have a large coffee."

"Venti coffee?" said the waitress.

"I don't care what you call it," said Mindo. He spread his hands far apart. "Give me this much caffeine!"

"A large coffee, yes sir," said the waitress.

Mindo looked at the Klingon. "Klaus, what am I doing here?" he said.

“I’d rather be here at the moment.” Emilie Temple complained as she waddled up to the table with a sigh. The seventh month into her pregnancy was playing hell on her sleep patterns. It was impossible for her to find a comfortable position at the moment, and long afternoon naps were causing her to be awake later at night. She had unsuccessfully tried to get to sleep for the past two hours and so was actually relieved when she received K’Laus’ message.

Ems was also holding a PADD in her hand to watch over Katrine, who was sleeping happily in her room, and plonked herself down on the nearest chair. The waitress appeared nearby.

“What can I get for you?” She asked with a cheery smile.

“You can get this darned baby out.” Emilie replied, only half joking. “Or a strawberry milkshake.”

“Uh, I’ll start with the milkshake.” The waitress answered.

Emilie smiled in response before turning back to the others, “I thought I was the only night owl around here.”

K'Laus knew the term, a avianoid creature from Earth that was nocturnal. In the way that Emillie was using it, it meant that she was like the creature...up throughout the night. "I have been turning into one lately. It was not planned, but I cannot sleep easily. I cannot speak for these two though" he added gesturing to Cailus and Mindo. He also looked at them both apologetically in a way only K'Laus could, his gruff Klingon appearence trying to display sympathy or empathy made him look distorted.

"I have asked each of you here because I require assistance" he began. "Mrs. Temple, it is you who holds the Captain's heart and soul. I look up to the Captain as the leader of the Pandora. I look Klingon, but still Klingon culture alludes me. I strive to learn more, but I have no house that I am aware of...not in the Klingon sense that is. I have had to make my own house and I see myself as a memeber of the Great House of Pandora. You are the Lady of the house" explained K'Laus.

"Oh." Emilie whispered softly. It was the nicest thing K'Laus had ever said to her, and she was taken aback by how earnest and gentle he was being. She wanted to say more but didn't want to embarrass him, so just replied with, "Thank you so much."

Lieutenant K'Laus looked at the Security Chief. "As protector and guardian of the house, I owe you my life, Cailus. I trust you. I need you to hold onto this and guard it with your life" directed the Klingon, retriving a small ornate box. Please keep it somewhere secure and do not ever open it...treat it like the ship's namesake" added K'Laus. The ship's Chief Science Officer and the former First Officer had taught him about the namesake of Pandora.

This, at least, Cailus understood, and he took the box with the grave sincerity with which it had been offered. "You have my word, K'Laus," he said, locking eyes with the tall Klingon. "I will keep it safe."

Then came Mindo. There was so much K'Laus could say about Mindo, but the reason he had called for Mindo was held within their strange encounter aboard the starship. "In the past we did not start off on the best of terms. I saw you as competition, professionally and personally. I feared you taking Vecon Fick from me before I could muster the courage to make my claim on his body and his soul. There was a time where my rage and bloodthirst saw me want to take my hands around your neck and crush your windpipe...and I am glad that I was unsuccessful in doing so."

Mindo sat for a moment. "Thanks," he said after a brief pause. Though K'Laus had technically not apologized, Mindo understood, and decided to let the hostile feelings go. It actually felt pretty good. Mindo was used to having enemies, but he never preferred it that way. Mindo appreciated the olive branch. With that out of the way, Mindo said, "So why are we here?"

K'Laus grunted and sat his mug down. "I want to be a man" he said swiftly in response, "A warrior in the Klingon sense...my mother fled the Klingon Empire with me before I was of age to undergo the Rite of Ascension. I will never be considered a man in my people's culture if they ever discover I never underwent that rite. Fick and I have plans to take leave and go to the Klingon Empire so that I may undergo the Rite of Ascension" he explained.

He looked at the trio. "It needs to be done before I can..." K'Laus sighed. "Before I can take Fick as my mate in the eyes of the Empire. When we return from Klingon space, I will be seen as a true warrior, one who can be bonded to a mate, and Fick is my Par'Mach'kai."

"Mindo," said K'Laus firmly as he reached across the table and grabbed onto the man's forearm and wrist. "I challenged you in order to claim Fick as mine. We engaged in combat over him we formed a bond. I feel close enough to you as a fellow warrior to ask this favor of you. Please honor me by being my Tawi'Yan."

Mindo went wide-eyed. He turned to look at Griffin, then Emilie, then back to K'Laus. This was either the most unexpected request he'd ever received, or it made perfect sense. "Aside from what I've seen in Klingon cinema, I really know nothing about Klingon culture. So I don't really know what a Tway-yah... Tawiwowi... what you said, is. I'm guessing it's something like a ritual sacrifice where you spill my intestines and drink my blood?"

Cailus' eyebrows shot up. "I'm fairly certain that that would be contrary to regulations," he said to Mindo drily, unable to resist a darkly amused smirk.

K'Laus chuckled at Mindo. "You hardly have enough meat on your bones to feed one Klingon warrior" commented K'Laus. "Cailus is correct...I believe in human terms, what I am asking of you, Mindo, is to be my best man for when Fick and I are bonded."

Emilie clapped her hands together airily, a big smile on her face. It was heart-warming to see this moment unfold and she felt especially connected to those at table right now. "How wonderful." She beamed to Mindo and K'Laus. "You must do it, Mindo."

Mindo glanced at Emilie, then back at K'Laus. His confusion remained. "What do I have to do? Is that where I stand up and ask you if you take Fick as your husband, and you say 'I do?' That's how this works, right?" He glanced at Cailus, who just a week ago had asked Mindo to attend his wedding with Shae. Mindo understood what that meant. Just dress nice and show up. He was a little rusty on the other details, as Fesarians didn't marry.

"Don't look at me," Cailus said with a shrug, although there was a still a distinctly amused (and evil) glint in his eye. "I know about as much about Klingon weddings as you do."

The Klingon grunted at Cailus and looked at Mindo. "I know only a little more than Cailus does about Klingon weddings. I have a lot to learn about Klingons and Klingon culture...ceremonies...everything. I have been to some human weddings before. The best man sometimes says something pleasant about the couple, and there is a lot of alcohol consumption. I believe the best man is supposed to throw me some sort of party?" K'Laus said curiously looking at Mrs. Temple and Cailus.

"You two are human" said the Klingon. "What are human weddings like? What does the 'best man' do?" asked K'Laus.

"Depends on the ceremony." Emilie answered, "If you're wanting to exchange wedding rings with Fick, then you would give them to your best man to hold onto before the big day. He would stand at your side during the ceremony and hand the rings over at the right time. He's like a support person, too, a figure of significance in your life you want close to you." She smiled at the thought, "And if you're having a reception afterwards, the best man has been known to make a speech to toast the couple. Though, more often than not, this speech could have some jokes at the Groom's expense, too. Gentle ones, though."

"Fascinating" replied K'Laus. "I have chosen to give Cailus the rings until I can propose. I know that in Klingon ceremonies the 'best man' as Mindo would be presents the couple with bat'leths" explained the Klingon. He looked at Mindo reassuringly "You will not be harmed. Nobody will be harmed if everything is done accordingly."

Mindo took all of this in, and as he learned more about the best man's role, he got even more confused. "K'Laus," he said. "The last conversation you and I ever had involved your hands around my throat. Now you want me to throw a party for you and propose a toast at the wedding? And all of this because you won a fight against me, a guy less than half your size? I'm not sure what to make of all this."


K'Laus nearly spat his beverage clear across the table, but was able to manage a quick hard swallow of the hot liquid. "Won?" he wanted to laugh, but the amount of humor he found in Mindo's response would have sent him tumbling onto the decking. "Mindo, I did not win that fight against you. Had I won that fight, I would have had this uniform stripped from my body and you would have been kept in cold storage until they took your corpse away along with my life as they sentenced me" said the Klingon. "If anything... You won that fight, but I do not regret the ending" added K'Laus.

The Klingon grunted. "Indeed, I do not regret it. I am asking you to consider being my Tawi'Yan because I admire you, respect you, and I owe you my life. I do not make friends easily nor do I go out of my way to do so, and I am...remorseful in that I have not had the courage to seek your friendship after what has happened, but if there is anyone aboard who I would want as a friend, it would be you, Lieutenant."

Mindo nodded his head slowly, listening to every word and taking it all in. There was a small silence, less than two seconds, before Mindo took a deep breath and said, "First off, the fight was over Vecon, and you are the one marrying him. From my end that's a victory for you, whether I'm dead or not. In some ways, Vecon is the only person on this ship who understands me the most. That said, I've seen you and Vecon together. I've seen how happy you are with him, and I know how much your exclusive relationship means to him. As much fun as he and I had together, in the end I very likely could not have made him as happy. I do miss his company, but I do not wish bad things for him. If he is going to spend the rest of his life with someone, I think you would be the best person, because you make him happier than I can. I suppose that means you're not... that bad of a guy. And since I don't like having enemies, I think being your friend is a much better option." Mindo sighed and paused for a moment, and the look that flashed on his eyes was unmistakable. He'd made his decision. "I will stand with you, K'Laus, as Vecon's friend, and yours as well. It would be an honor."

The words Mindo spoke came from a place that humans called the 'heart' though the heart was an actual organ, humans only having one, and it pumped blood through their veins as hearts tended to for most species. Regardless of where the emotions and words had come from, K'Laus knew that Mindo had meant every last word he said. "You honor us both by standing by me, Mindo. One day I will have a Klingon house and knew ancestry to the fullest, and on that day I will look to you to become my brother and join my house" replied the Klingon.


K'Laus reached across the table and grabbed Mindo's hand. "I know you to be a good man. Short in stature, but incredibly intelligent. Your personality is radiant. You are the soul of this crew and when I look at Fick, I know I did not win him because I was the better man, but because you were the better man...the better warrior to yield to my interests in him as a mate. Do not think for a moment that you could not have made him happy. I know that in time, if I should have fallen in battle or been killed by a sentient oil slick that you would have made him very happy" said K'Laus reassuringly.

"I did not like Fick at first" confessed the Klingon. "He was arrogant, annoying, and made my head hurt being in the same room as him. When I became interested in a mate, it was not Fick who first caught my attention. It was you in Engineering giving orders to your subordinates. The commanding tone in your voice was disjointed from your small petite stature. It made my blood hot with passion."

Mindo smiled. "Well the humans often say opposites attract. I think we'd have made a good couple."

In response, the Klingon nodded and grunted. We would have thought K'Laus though he said nothing directly to Mindo in response as K'Laus had enough knowledge of social behavior to know the topic was not one to delve into amongst company of others. "Mrs. Temple, do you think the Captain would have any objection to a wedding aboard? One with some differing customs from our cultures?"

"No," Emilie said earnestly. "I mean, obviously we're talking about when we're back in Federation territory, right? After that, I think a wedding or two - " She looked pointedly at Griffin, "- would be most welcome."

"Two" replied K'Laus looking at Cailus. "Will you be taking the form changer as your mate?"

Caught off-guard and tired as he was, it took Cailus a moment to understand K'Laus' meaning, and he frowned, glaring at the Klingon. "Her name is Shae, not form-changer," he said quietly, the threatening tone undeniable before he forced himself to relax. "And yes. We're engaged to be married." Glancing at Emilie, he added, "And no. Shae and I don't want to wait too long, so we have been planning to do the wedding here in the Expanse. You are all invited, of course."

"And I'm told we can wear clothes," said Mindo. "Apparently most weddings let you wear clothes. Given the whole Betazoid thing, and also the way Ferengi are, I think I was smart to ask."

"Yes, thankfully." Emilie added with a smile. She especially didn't feel like being naked at the moment, let alone in front of her fellow crew mates, whom she still hoped to be able to comfortably look at afterwards. She turned to K'Laus, "Was there any role you wanted me to take in the wedding ceremony?"

K'Laus nodded. "You as Lady of the Great House are of the greatest honor. There can be no wedding without you, without your approval and without you overseeing the bonding of two individuals."

"Oh my." Emilie replied softly, holding a hand to her chest. "I would be deeply honoured, K'Laus, thank you for asking me."

The Klingon smiled..an actual smile. Only on the Pandora would such a strange sight be accepted as the norm. "You honor me with your acceptance, and you all have been generous with your time. It is late and I do not wish to keep any of you up any longer. Sleep well" he said as he arose from his seat and picked up the nearly emptied mug he had been nursing.

Emilie wobbled to her feet too, "I don't think I'll be able to sleep." She commented airily as she strolled away.

"I certainly will," Cailus commented drily as he stood up, picking up the box that K'Laus had entrusted to him. The whole chat had been bewildering and heart-warming in equal measure, but he was quite content to analyse the matter while warm and comfortable with Shae in bed. "I'll drop this off in my office then turn in. Have a good night, gentlemen."

Mindo hopped down from his chair and nodded to everyone. "Good night."