June 25, 2363

Blue and I have violent needs, due to our respective genetic backgrounds, that no amount of awesome sex (me with Travis, he with whoever he finds at our port of call), nor beating each other senseless on a nearly daily basis by sparring, can satisfy. So, we have a tendency to go out and start fights in bars we're not likely to return to any time soon. Travis, after objecting the first few times, then having to be stuck on the ship with us for the next cargo run when we didn't indulge these violent urges first, has since stopped arguing with us when Blue and I leave the ship armed to the teeth. Usually I'll just lean over, kiss his on the lips, accented with a sharp nip, and assure him we'll be back after we've purged some of the pent up rage. Sweetheart that he is, he'll usually have bail money prepared, a regenerator and bandages out, and the ship ready for departure whenever Blue and I return. Travis never objects anymore, as I always return horny as all hell and ready to fuck his brains out.

Usually these violent outings go pretty much the same. One of us makes up some pretense to piss someone off, provoke them into attempting to beat the shit out of us, then we let loose. Usually with a proper bribe to the bar tender or other authority figure in the bar, and a promise to also cover damages, we usually have an alibi to pin the blame on the other party too. When executed as planned, we've never had this backfire on us.

The problem this time, and the reason why it gets a journal entry, is that this time, we hadn't finished scoping out the bar yet. I'd been just starting the delicate negotiations with the bar tender to see if he was the sort who'd take the bribe and Blue had been looking over the other patrons in the bar, when a trio of Andorians walked in. Out of the corner of my eye, I didn't like the curl of Blue's antennae, and I turned to look, letting my current statement to the bar tender just cut off mid word. A shen, a zhen, and a chan, they already had turned their attention to Blue and were headed towards us. I hissed an inquiry as to if he knew them, and he shook his head.

The conversation started pleasant enough, they addressed him with respect and noted the lack of shapla. I wasn't sure what a shapla is, or why Blue not having one would be of any note, but he tensed in response to this observation. He muttered something about having somewhere to be, and stood to leave. I moved to follow, but the group blocked our path to the door. One of them asked if he was bonded. Seeing there wasn't any tactful way to get away at this point, he let silence be his answer.

The zhen moved forward, moving so close to him that I felt uncomfortable on his behalf. She explained that they'd lost their thaan, and that for reasons that were complex and hard to explain, they couldn't return to Andor to seek another until they would likely have little to no fertility window left. Unsure how he was planning on responding, but knowing that he wasn't interested in their offer, I started searching for distractions, ways out of this situation that wouldn't require combat. One crazy Andorian was challenge enough for me to handle, Blue and I are a pretty even match, but three of them with only Blue to back me up? Not on my list of things to try if I can avoid it.

He tried to politely decline the invitation. I'm sure if all they'd been seeking was sex, and someone to just donate genetic material to produce children, he might have cooperated just to get out of here without stirring any trouble. However, it was clear they were seeking a bond, a lasting commitment, even if only to produce children. I know he doesn't want to be tied down like that, and suspect that he would only ever consider making such an exception if he found himself truly in love. Part of his objection, his reason for not returning to Andor to contribute to the whole, was this very emphasis upon the production of children, and the neglect of love and lasting commitment to the people with whom one is bonding.

The shen and chan both dropped their hands to handles of weaponry clearly on display on their persons. Blue hissed back at me to not do the same, even as I was moving to do just that. This provoked commentary about his pinkskin pet, in response to which I growled. The shen quickly moved to hold her knife to me, only to find me gripping her by an antennae, and my own knife ready to remove it. Both the zhen and Blue muttered a string of curses in Andorian, strangely complementary yet conflicting, as they drew their weaponry.

I eyed the chan and the zhen, even as I warned the shen that any movement on her part, and I couldn't guarantee she'd still have her antenna. I knew that I was probably only making things worse, but I was pretty sure by this point we were going to have to fight our way out just judging from the looks in the eyes of the trio as Blue had repeatedly tried to politely make it clear he didn't want to become a part of their bond. When we'd been on Andor for his shi's bonding, we'd been lucky to have not encountered anyone who was violently opposed to Blue's choice not to contribute to the whole, but it looked like I was going to be getting some first hand experience with this now.

Blue and the zhen faced each other, the shen held very still, though she still gripped her knife, and the chan eyed me warily, attempting to size me up, nearest I could tell. When everyone started moving, I don't actually remember what happened, other than Blue and I found each other back to back fairly quickly, our normal bar fight instincts kicking in without fail. The three circled around us, the shen having managed to escape my grip with little more than a nick at the base of her antennae. I was both annoyed and relieved at this. If I'd succeeded at removing the antennae, it likely would have taken her out of the fight, leaving her unable to balance herself, but likely would have left her zhen and chan doubly pissed and seeking revenge for the horrid act. As it was, it probably left the three of them royally pissed off that I had even threatened such an act.

We stood like that a short while, the three of them circling Blue and I, until a couple of other bar patrons started to provide commentary about the situation. When one started to offer wagers on the outcome of the pending fight, I quickly produced a throwing knife from what would have looked like no where to most observers, and threw it at the jackass. When he made some snide remark about how I missed, the knife having embedded itself in the wall a hair's width from the side of his head, I simply told him that was a warning shot, and the next one goes between his eyes.

The whole bar fell silent at that point, everyone was watching us. The trio took this as a sign that we'd been posturing and sizing each other up too long, and attacked almost as if they were one mind. Blue and I were quick to realize that while they outnumbered us, our combat skills were actually better, so the fight wasn't nearly as lopsided as I had expected. It still left a large mess, and puddles of blue blood everywhere, thankfully very little of it belonging to Blue.

After probably a half hour of brawling, we finally had the three pinned down. I turned to the bar tender, offered up what was originally going to be our bribe for the evening as a down payment on repairs. Meanwhile, Blue made it crystal clear to the trio that if he were to find any of them in his presence again, he wouldn't have the courtesy to leave them alive. Not a single one of them would raise their eyes to meet his. The whole of the bar was still dead silent by this time, staring at Blue and I even as we walked out the door.

When we made it back to the ship, Travis expressed surprise over the blue blood covering both of us. Even as the question of if Blue was okay was leaving his lips, Blue starting throwing one fist strike after another into the metal wall. Travis' question fell dead even as I grabbed Blue to stop him. Travis was quick to offer up bandages and the regenerator, even as I had to hold Blue in a crushing grip as I attempted to talk him into calming down. As I realized that it was going to take a little longer to soothe Blue than I'd hoped, I had Travis get us cleared for departure quickly, and get an electronic funds transfer to the bar we'd left in a shambles for the amount agreed upon with the bar tender to cover damages.

Even once I got Blue seated in a chair, calmed down enough he wasn't physically lashing out, his antennae trembled, and a cold fire burned in his eyes. I silently bandaged his bloodied knuckles as Travis went and sought out something alcoholic tucked away among our personal effects. When Travis left the cockpit, Blue looked after him a moment and sighed as he turned to look at me. His antennae drooped a little, and I saw him make an effort to try to unclench his muscles and sit back in the chair. I took his hands in mine, and gave them a gentle squeeze, careful not to agitate his raw knuckles.

He smiled wanly at me, and thanked me softly. When I insisted it was nothing, and pointed out that's what friends are for, he looked at me quizzically. His eyes then lit up, and he admitted that he really hadn't been sure what to call that, that he hadn't properly understood the term until now, even though he'd heard me use it frequently. It was about then that Travis returned with some blood wine, and seeing Blue's improved mood, grinned widely as he offered it up.

I could tell he was still troubled by what had happened in the bar, but he'd calmed down enough he could at least function like normal. Between the three of us, we killed the bottle of blood wine, even though it'd been unopened before Travis dug it out. Travis had the smallest share between the three of us, but he was clearly the least sober, and elected to drink some water and sleep it off. Blue and I hung in the cockpit to talk a while.

After small talk of trivial sorts, something he'd only started indulging Travis and I in during the recent months, I asked him what a shapla was, and why the trio had made note of his lacking one. When his muscles tensed up again, I apologized softly, resting a hand on his forearm. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall we were sitting against, and set his other hand on top of mine. There was a silence, and just as I was about to offer another topic up for discussion on the assumption he didn't want to address that one, he spoke.

He explained what it was, its significance, and how pointing out the lack of it had all but asked the question of if he was bonded. He figures the question only got explicitly asked because they were probably trying to make the point for me as well. It was possible, he explained, that they thought he and I were bonded, of a sort, when I elected to stand by his side when they challenged him. This concept of friendship, as he'd explained earlier, was foreign to his people. You were either family, someone you worked with, or a stranger. Sex was pretty much meaningless, so lover was less a social and relationship term, and more of a description for an activity partner.

There was a period of silence again, and I eventually elected to break it by teasing him about the dents he left in the wall when he'd punched it. He leaned forward, and turned his head to look up above where we were sitting, and stared at the new curves on the wall, splattered with a little bit of the dark blue of his dried blood. Seeing the look in my eyes when I'd pointed it out, he grinned and said I couldn't possibly leave dents as fine in the wall. I punched him in the shoulder and stood up. He was on his feet right next to me, and we grinned, having no need to actually say anything, as we headed for the corner of the cargo bay we'd set aside for sparring.

He was in a much better mood by the time we'd beaten the pulp out of each other. Travis had crawled out of bed in time to watch us finish up, and Blue finally decided he needed his small ration of sleep. Travis and I made our way back to the cockpit, even though the ship was usually fine on autopilot when we didn't have cargo yet, and I curled up with my head in his lap as we talked for a while about Blue. Travis still hadn't really understood what'd happened, we'd been so busy trying to calm Blue down that I hadn't had the chance to explain, and Blue was still so worked up about it, I would have been surprised if he'd been able to get it out himself.

Once I'd brought Travis up to date, I admitted it was time for me to sleep too, so he sent me off to the bunk room and took watch in the cockpit. Blue was out like a light when I got down there, and I'm going to be also soon, I just wanted to get this all written down when it was still fresh in my mind.