<USS Avalon> "To Each His Own"

 ?To Each His Own?
by Lieutenant Zachary Winters,
Lieutenant JG Gregory Orton,
& Ensign Ryan Hollander

Zeta Reticuli VII.

The station had everything that you could possibly imagine. Bars, shops,
entertainment complexes, holosuites, and the most up to date training
facilities; it was an oasis in the desert of space. Everyone was flocking to
it and returning only when their shifts required them to be on board.

Security had fallen dead. Only three people were on in the offices and they
weren?t doing anything more than playing cards and eating. Over seventy-five
percent of the ship was on the station and they were the ones who wanted to
go, but were stuck with working.

Lieutenant Zachary Winters rubbed his eyes a bit and stared blankly into his
cards. ?You?re on Hollander, do you want to fold or bet??

The young Ensign looked hesitantly at his cards and then to both Winters and
Orton ? sitting opposite of him. He fingered his cards and then his playing
chips, and cast a gaze at them once again; poker was definitely not his
game.?I fold.?

Orton sighed heavily and tossed in his cards, ?That?s the seventh straight
game. What do you have??

Ryan fanned out his cards and the two exclaimed incredulous words as they
stared at his full house. Winters took the cards and began shuffling them
once again. ?That would?ve been the seventh straight time that you would?ve
one, Ryan, why don?t you start risking a bit and hoping that it?ll pay off??

Tensing visibly, Ryan stumbled over his words as he often did, ?I, uh, guess
that I, uh, wasn?t paying attention.? His excuse slammed into the bulkhead
and stopped as the eyes of skepticism stare back at him. ?What? I didn?t
knowwhat you were holding.?

The Lieutenant JG laughed, stood, and stretched. ?That?s the whole point of
the game, Ryan, you?re supposed to guess. If I knew what you had I would bet
accordingly and then you?d know that I was winning. Then you?d fold and the
game would complete the endless cycle so many monotonous times that no one
would play.?

?He?s right,? Winters chimed in, ?Want to play again??

?No, I?m good, our shifts are over in ten minutes anyway.? 

A trio of replacement security personnel stumbled through the door laughing
hysterically and nary giving the present group a look. Winters smiled and
walked out into the corridor and was soon followed by Orton and Hollander.
?Where you two want to go first? The bar? The Dabo tables? The holosuites??
His eyebrows perked at the last one, drawing grins from the accompanying
gentlemen.

Entering the turbolift, Orton called out, ?Deck Eight.?

?Computer, halt turbolift.? Winters shouted before the lift had moved a
fraction of an inch. He looked at Orton, who stared back just as casually,
?What the hell do you think you?re doing? We got free time to go and play on
the station and do whatever we want and you plan on doing what??

?Curling up with a good book and reading until my next shift.?

?Holosuites, Greg, think about it.? He smiled that sly grin once again.

?No, Zack, there are more important things than wasting precious time
onboarda crowded station, like ? ?

?Like sitting alone in your quarters reading ancient literature and reading
up on new security tactics? You?re boring, Orton.? Zack seemed to pout
realizing that he?d lost one member of his potential company for the
evening.?Computer, resume.?

Ryan looked on, slightly confused; ?I?m just going to the bar.?

Winters looked at him, the frustration bubbling in him, ?And then to the
holosuites. You know you want a piece of action ? we?ve been on this ship
forever and a day.?

Hollander frowned, ?You?re just a playboy, Winters.?

Zachary balked as if someone had just insulted a Ferengi?s mother. ?So, at
least I am social.?

?There are degrees of social, Lieutenant.? Orton added as the turbolift
slowed to a halt. ?There is the social master that likes to go to parties
andhang out with all sorts of company. And then there?s you, the man whore
who only surrounds himself with the likeness of female company. Goodnight,
guys.? With that he took a weary step forward and the doors sealed.

?Deck Six.? Ryan called out.

When the lift finally came to a halt and the two security officers exited
they could already here the cacophony coming from the airlock. One security
officer who let them pass freely guarded the door and then they stepped onto
the bustling promenade. Vendors lined the walls and shops were bordered with
neon signs and vibrant colors to attract any passing tourists.

?The bar is that way,? Ryan pointed.

?Well, the holosuites are that way.? Zack pointed in the opposite direction.
?I guess I?ll see you later, Ryan, have a shot for me.?

Ryan?s mouth smirked and he turned away. The trio had split.


**********


Lieutenant JG Gregory Orton had found extreme comfort in a sonic shower and
then sitting on the soft couch in his quarters. The silence was soothing and
the stillness was something that he?d long for after a long day?s work. He
wasn?t like the others, he realized, he wasn?t drawn to something just
because it was there. It had to interest him for him to care, and in this
case, he didn?t care.

Replicated lasagna filled his evening menu and once finished he returned to
the couch. Orton read some reports with the same blurbs of information he?d
read in the PADD before and finally realized that it was useless and tossed
them helplessly on the coffee table.

Orton stretched and snagged a PADD from the stand at the end of the couch.
Heopened it up and began to read the contents; a book that he?d started
before coming on board Avalon was his goal now. He?s stopped mid-story just
before it got good and was longing to read the conclusion with every breath.
Finally he?d be able to dive into the world of make-believe and mystery, and
of enchantment. 

Far away from the world that was space travel and Starfleet service, Orton
let himself travel.


*********


The bar wasn?t as full as he had expected it to be. Ryan Hollander into the
semi-crowded establishment and made his way easily to the bar. A striking
woman walked behind the counter and smiled at him, and grabbed some bottles
of liquid. After mixing the two she handed them to Ryan. ?Here you go, cute
one, it?s on the house.?

?What is it?? He stared at it oddly having not remembered giving her an
order, or knowing her before she placed herself behind the counter. 

?Tarkalian ale,? she smiled and wiped down the bar with a towel, ?Just how
you like it with more Tarkalian whiskey than vodka.?

He looked at her oddly and then took a sip and savored the freshness sparked
into it. He set the glass down and gazed at the beauty in front of him. ?How
did you know??

?I?m Betazoid, honey, I knew what you wanted before you did.?

Another grin spread across his face and he downed the glass and handed it
back to her, ?Then I?m sure you?re sensing what I want right now??

She nodded and poured him another glass.


*********


He had to wait fifteen minutes before he was able to get into the
holosuites.Everyone one down the promenade had been filled and in use. One
had been active on the same program for over seven hours, but at this point
Winters would have been fine with just an hour or two. When the green light
over an alcove finally went on and a man stumbled out, Winters threw himself
into it and sealed the door. 

It was a well-built facility with all the safeties and what not, but Winters
was tired of paying attention to artistic license and unzipped the front of
his jacket. He tapped the console and thought for a moment of a program to
run. His eyes brightened and he smiled, ?Computer, run program Risa Beach
Seventeen Alpha.?

The computer beeped in acceptance and the blocky Starfleet room became a
sandy beach with a moon the size of a ship itself. The moon?s reflection
rippled steadily over the waters moving in the breeze. A couple of towels
hadbeen laid upon the sand and candles lit around the area bathing
everythingin an amber tint.

?Welcome back.? A soothing and sexy female voice called out behind him.
Winters turned and gazed at female perfection. He blushed and stared at her
as she stepped up and kissed him passionately on the lips. He began to undo
his shirt, but she held up a finger to his lips. ?Let me do that.?

She pulled off his shirt and pushed him onto the ground.

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