Warm milk and honey

Posted on Mon Sep 7th, 2026 @ 3:42am by Captain Tyler Driskill & Nis Meadows

1,370 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 4 - Siphoning of Stars
Location: Deck 10 - saucer section | Ten forward | USS Concord
Timeline: 22:00 hours

Captain Driskill had spent the majority of the day playing diplomat. It was the hat he enjoyed wearing least out of the many hats he put on throughout the day. He let out a yawn just before the turbo lift door slid open to a pair of officers standing there holding hands. When the pair saw the Captain they quickly let go and stepped aside so the Captain could exit. Tyler could hear them whispering and giggling as the doors slid shut. Lucky for those two young Ensigns he was to tired to deal with it this evening. It had been a long day, he wanted a drink and some sleep. He would ponder what course of action to take if any at all.

Tyler was on his way to the ships lounge or as it was known among many that served on a Nebula-class starship and her big sister the Galaxy-class, ten forward. Called that as it was located at the forward section of the tenth deck. It was also one of the only places on the USS Concord that had decorative doors. Before stepping through those doors the Captain checked his uniform and put a smile oh his face. He stopped and exchanged pleasantries with one of their Khelvari visitors and set his sites on the bar. A few seconds later he pulled up a bar stool and took in the atmosphere.

"What can I getcha?" Nis turned out of instinct not even realizing she realized someone had sat down. Bartender instinct. Then seeing the captain pips... and the face she made sure to memorize. "Captain." She smiled, wiped her hands on the clean bar rag and reached a hand out. She wasn't in the bar 24/7. A girl's gotta sleep. She wasn't sure if he's ever been in before, but never before had she been face to face with him.

Tyler smiled and met the bartenders extended, welcoming, hand with his own. “Tyler Driskill” he said out loud, introducing himself as he had never met the ten-forwards keeper. “Let’s see” he was mostly thinking out loud as he didn’t frequent the lounge. “Do you have any recommendations or specialty drinks?”

"Nis Meadows," she nodded and then looked at him trying to get a sense of him. King's Breakfast came to her mind first off because he was basically the king of the ship, in simplistic terms, but, did he like sour? "Well, what are you in the mood for, Captain? Sweet or Savory? Sour or Bitter? Wanna creamy in the mix?" Just then a smile creeped over her lips as she figured something, "I think I got something for you." She gathered some milk and a bottle of what could be Bénédictine if it were actually alcoholic. She warmed the milk and gathered a large mug. It wasn't one of those glass and/or metal things starships usually had. There were still potters and she happened to pack a few of her favorite mugs from home. She had a feeling, if anyone needed a cozy feeling, the captain of a starship did. He had a lot of his shoulders, and maybe, just maybe, a cozy nightcap in a mug you can wrap your hands around would help him to have a moment of peace and relaxation. Instead of a slice of orange and a cinnamon stick like she'd use at her bar back home, she slipped a small twisted branch thing in there. It had the flavor notes that would seep into the drink like the typical garnishes, but she figured if she could compromise on anything, it would be that. She wasn't sure she could bring crates of garnishes with her, so this would have to do.

“Pleasure to meet you, Nis” Tyler smiled and listened to her questions. “I do like sour things but something to wind down the evening would be great” he shrugged “it’s been a long day of diplomacy.”

She chuckled a bit at her own personal inside joke. Diplomacy. That was very kingy. And he liked sour. King's Breakfast for sure would suit him. But for now, she was glad in her decision, "Milk and Honey it is, then. Adult version of warm milk before bed." She set the mug in front of him and tilted her head, "I remember some of the crew were in here chatting about things and I recommended recipe swapping. I'm sure none of them took it seriously, but maybe serious isn't all you need. Well, I'm assuming things aren't going well. How are they going?"

The Captain took a sip from his warm milk and smiled at the nostalgia “my mother used to make me warm milk when I was a kid and couldn’t sleep.” He moved right along to her question but only after taking another sip from the mug she had provided “things are actually going quite well with the Khelvari.” Raising an eye brow “unless you know something I don’t or have had bad interactions with our guests?”

She shrugged, "Nope, but since things are going well, maybe swapping recipes will be a nice bonus? So you think they can be allies?" She looked around the space a bit, an idea forming in her mind. Perhaps a sort of celebration would be in order. Show these aliens Starfleet isn't all grey and strict. She could tell she was in the presence of one of the friendlier captains. She's heard stories of captains that were never seen by their crew and when they did, they were very strict about protocol. Thankfully, she was civilian and Tyler here seemed to relax in that fact? No one to be responsible for or be responsible to. Just two people hangin' out. This is exactly what she wanted to make this place. There was a serious mission, but it would take time. And if they didn't distract themselves sometimes from it occasionally, it would not go well. The crew's morale seemed good so far, but it was still the early days of the mission. She hoped her little space could keep the morale pleasant.

He sat his warm milk and honey down, his brows both perked up. “There is definitely potential for them to be allies. Especially if we are able to adapt their tech with ours.” He glanced around the larger room “they seem to be very interested in our diversity. They want to learn about our people and are a very social people.”

She smiled wide, "That's wonderful! I was thinking of a party to celebrate an alliance but a meet and greet would be good to do as well!" She put her hands together and her brain raced with ideas.

“Could push us one step closer to an alliance” Captain Driskill kicked eyes with Nis. “We are scheduled to arrive at a testing site in a few days. Do you think you can have something set up by then?”

"Of course!" She was giddy, but then the other words he said came through, "Testing site? Is that something I can ask about?" What were they testing? Who was testing who?

“It’s perfectly fine that you know” Captain Driskill smiled “we are going to be testing a possible merger of technology to get us to Voyager and essentially home much, much faster.”

She smiled, "That would be wonderful! I'll get a menu put together and we'll start decorating!" She smiled at the captain, "I'm so excited!"

Tyler smiled “if you need an extra pair of hands feel free to ask Lieutenant Walker to help you out.” Tyler stood up “I’m sure the Lieutenant would love to help and thanks for the milk, it hit the spot” he had to hurry and cover a yawn.

She smiled and nodded, "No problem! Anytime! Have some good rest, Captain!" Her mind was still spinning. These Khelvari and the crew were going to have a blast.

“Thank you again” the Captain smiled and as he exited ten-forward he made a mental note to make sure the crew knew they would be expected to swing through. However he needed some rest for now as tomorrow would be another long day.

 

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