Representing

Posted on Sat Aug 8th, 2026 @ 6:08am by Lieutenant JG Ash Rowe & Lieutenant Margarar

1,902 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Crisis at Zeta-294
Location: Bar
Timeline: Before 'At The Border'

ON:

Ash headed for the bar, her hand already in the air to get the attention of the tender as she leant forward against it. She'd had time to change out of her uniform and into a denim skirt and white shirt. "I could murder a beer please, the colder the better," she grinned to the man behind the bar before hopping up onto the stool, letting out a long breath. It had felt like a long shift, but she wasn't ready to settle in her quarters yet. She'd just end up scrolling through the sports news and wallowing.

The dimunitive Antican walked into the bar, as well. It was not because she drank alcohol, or even synthahol regularly. She did not. However, she felt the need to get some sort of snack and on her last ship, the best snacks were at the bar. There was something called a "pig in a blanket," that she particularly relished. True, the pig was not a freshly killed meat but there was something about it and the dough that mixed together and satisfied Margarar.

As she arrived, she heard Ash wanting to murder a beer. Margarar simply wrinkled her nose and answered, "I do not think that is possible and I do not understand why one would want to kill or consume something that was not live at one time."

Ash laughed softly at the way she put it, shaking her head lightly as she sat back enough to see her properly. "It's a way of saying you really need it...but...I have no idea how it started. Because you're right...it....is a weird turn of phrase when you think about it," she rubbed the back of her blonde hair thoughtfully before shrugging with a wide smile, giving up. "Who knows?"

"Not I. It is something that we do not say on Antica," she answered Ash. Margarar then turned to the bartender and said, "I would like some of those pigs in blankets that are neither pigs or blankets but suffice for meat."

Ash chuckled softly at the way she put it, although it was as good a way as any. "I'll have some too, thanks," she winked to the bartender before turning further towards the other woman with a warm smile. "I don't think we've met properly...I'm Ash."

"I'm Margarar." The Antican sniffed the air and looked at the woman. "You're Betazoid. Does that mean that you are a counselor on this ship?"

Ash tilted her head as she watched her with curiosity, wondering how she knew. The blue eyes usually threw people off. She shrugged it away though...ships could be small places afterall. "Hell no, I'd make the worst counsellor. No...I fly the ship."

"And yet you're down here?" Margarar asked. "Why? By the way, it is good to know that Betazoids can do something other than counsel."

Ash smiled wryly at the comment, nodding her thanks to the tender as she took her drink, taking a good few mouthfuls before settling back with a sigh of relief. "I'm allowed time off too," she winked to her lightly. "And I'm pretty sure Betazoids can do most of the same things everyone else can do. I'm no expert though, I've only visited Betazed a few times."

"Maybe that's why you're not a counselor," Margarar replied with a short chortle that could have passed for a laugh. "If you're Betazed, then why have you only visited a few times? Where did you grow up?" she wondered.

"My parents emigrated before I was born," Ash shrugged lightly with a half smile. "I've never really felt the need to spend any real time on Betazed. I prefer being on the move. How about you? How did you join up?" she asked with curiosity, not having seen many of her kind before.

"Emigrated to where?" Margarar asked with a small tilt of her head. "As to myself, Antica is not a member of the Federation yet. I was 14 and I was tinkering with something. On a whim, I sent it to the Federation to show my achievements, since most Anticans did not care. I had a lot of time to do that since I had not mated yet. Though, that 'yet' should be 'still.' My biological clock is ticking hard. I'm getting to be rather old at 20," she told Ash.

She then continued the story. "The Academy wanted me, so I had to get a sponsor. I think some higher up did it after investigating me some. So, now I'm here, the first Antican in Starfleet."

Ash chuckled at the mention of her being old at the age of 20. The horror of it! But, she had no idea if their lifespan differed to hers. "The first? That is amazing work...but...maybe a lot of pressure too?" she ventured. Although, Margarar seemed to have a vibrant and cheerful disposition, maybe it didn't sit like that with her.

"It is," Margarar confirmed. "As is being 'on duty,' most of the time." She said the words "on duty," as if it meant something other than being on her shift.

Ash tilted her head, curiosity piqued, picking up on the turn of phrase not quite fitting. "On duty most of the time?" she asked lightly, unsure if she was stepping on tricky ground.

"Yes," Margarar answered. "It was part of my special training at the Academy."

Ash pursed her lips in thought, but came up empty, shaking her head lightly. "I've...never heard of anything like that...you mean Starfleet Academy?"

"I do," Margarar confirmed. "Is there another that I'm not aware of?"

"Probably not," Ash laughed as she shook her head, watching her with glinting blue eyes. "No, I mean the special training part."

"I can only tell you what was given to me at the Academy. I do not know what is standard or not. No other Antican has ever been there and I did not inquire of others."

"Did you enjoy it?" Ash asked with open curiosity. Not having originally intended to join Starfleet, she was always interested in the journeys that other crew had taken to get there.

"No?" Margarar started before answering, "Yes?" The Antican screwed up her face and finally decided, "I do not know how to fully answer the question. I have come to understand it was necessary."

"That's fair, that's fair," Ash smiled to her with understanding. She'd rolled her eyes at a lot of her own training. But then, she'd had a condensed training, maybe it was different for regular cadets. She'd also been struggling with the idea that she'd already reached her peak in life. "For a lot of us, it was just a means to an end."

"I can't say. I know that 4 years is about a twelvth or a thirteenth of my projected lifespan, so I had to be dedicated."

"Is it...tricky? Being away from your people and surrounded by so many others?" Ash asked, both with a sense of compassion and interest. She'd never really had a 'people' herself, so it was much the same wherever she was.

"Tricky?" Margarar asked, musing the word. "There are no tricks being played on me. However, it is unusual. I've grown accustomed to it, though. I had to when I started at the Academy. My choice to come here, set me on this road and I have to live with those consequences."

"Consequences," Ash considered the word. It was usually used in a negative connotation...but that didn't necessarily mean it was how Margarar had meant it. "Well, I hope you're enjoying it. I'd hate it if we proved a poor example to your people."

"It is my species that made a poor impression on the Federation. I am here to prove that we would be a valuable addition to the Federation."

Ash smiled weakly, the words causing her heart to ache. No one should have to bear the weight of a whole people. It was too much for anyone to handle...and just unfair. "We're more than our heritage," she assured her quietly.

"Are we?" Margarar wondered aloud. That was against Antican beliefs. Family was everything to a large extent.

"Sure we are," Ash replied, the confidence clear as she leant back against the bar. "I have no connection with my heritage. I live how I want to. But I still have a place here, and a purpose. We're individuals...make our own choices."

"That is easy to say when you have no connection. My pack means everything."

"Hey, whatever makes you happy," Ash held her hand out to the side in a gesture that was almost a shrug, but not quite. "Just saying you don't need to carry the weight of all those people here. Just yours."

"You are Betazoid, no? How long have Betazoids been a part of the Federation?"

"Over a hundred years ago now, I think," Ash rubbed the back of her neck thoughtfully. But she only knew that from the Academy. "It's pretty hardcore, actually...being around a lot of non-telepaths and non-empaths. I'd imagine it's harder for people who grew up there, where it was all they knew."

"And before that, there were probably exchanges of humans and Betazoids on each other worlds, no?" Margarar continued to press in hoping to show the logic of her situation.

"I'm guessing...but it's just a guess," Ash admitted openly with a soft chuckle and a half shrug. "Most other areas of fleet life and history come second to flying."

"Well, I'm the first of any exchange," Margarar told Ash. "Nobody from the Federation has come to live on Antica. The last real interest in us was after the Federation knew the Borg was coming. The impressions that I make will be considered representative of all of Antica. There is no way to avoid it."

"True, true," Ash nodded slowly, thinking over what she was saying, seeing the point. There was no denying there might be some truth in what she said...but it was slightly parallel to the way she had been seeing it. "You can't do anything about people deciding to judge a whole race based on you...I'd question the kind of person who'd do it, but you can't help it if they do. The only thing you can control is whether you let it bother you. Whether you care what they think enough to make it matter."

"If this was home, I could not care less. However, it is not, so I am aware..." Margarar answered.

Ash nodded lightly, smiling softly as she rested back against the bar. There was nothing wrong with being pragmatic. "Always good to be aware," she agreed with a tilt of her head.

Margarar's pigs in blankets finally arrived. Greedily, she grabbed one and popped it into her mouth. She smiled as she chewed and swallowed.

"Well, if it means anything, you're making a great impression on this pilot," Ash assured before laughing softly, arching an eyebrow with a 'sorry about it' expression. "...although, I'm pretty low on the ladder...."

"Rank does not matter," Margarar replied with a toothy grin. She popped another pig-in-blanket into her mouth and practically swallowed it whole. "I am pleased that you are in my clan."

-----

Lieutenant Margarar
Assistant Chief Engineer
USS Wolff

Lieutenant JG Ash Rowe
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Wolff

 

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