A Weight Off My Shoulders
Disclaimer: I own nothing... except my crazy imagination!
Summary: A depressed naval officer looking to get drunk stumbles into an odd pub finding more than he bargained for. It's name... The Captain's Table.
A/N This story be based on the Captain's Table series of books and will be multi-fandom. A lot of good Captain's out there are always in search of good drink, good stories, and great company!
Chapter 1
2:35 AM-November 17-2012
Lt. Commander Jason Clarke just had the most recent worst day of his life.
It had taken all of his willpower to not break down at the funeral which had been held earlier that day.
This was the last of five he had attended in four days.
Lt. Sarah Ellis, Ensigns Tom Farrel and George Cody, Petty Officer Sam Haulser, and Seaman Eric Rogerson.
He couldn't stop being haunted by the names and faces of those he had failed.
Walking down the dark, cold, street he still wore his dress whites, not having bothered to change after leaving the cemetery.
Jason just wandered aimlessly for hours after that, hitting every bar he came across until they said he had enough and kicked him out.
That's how he found himself standing on the side walk in front of a rather old fashioned looking pub.
The sign hanging on an wrought iron rod protruding from the brick building proclaimed 'The Captain's Table'.
The place did look rather odd but, what the hell, a bars a bar, an imbibed Jason mused.
Going his best not to trip, he headed up the short set of stairs to the buildings heavy wooden front door and proceeded to go inside.
As Jason closed the door behind him, one thing became readily apparent.
Even in his semi-drunken state, it was immediately obvious to him that this was no ordinary watering hole.
'Oh... wonderful. This must be a hang out for creepy sci-fi fans...' Jason thought, as he looked around the establishment, which had the feel of an ancient tavern / inn.
It appeared to be filled with people of every type and description, most of them not 'human'.
The oddest sensation seemed to overcome him at that moment, it suddenly felt like all of his depression, worries, hopelessness, had been instantly lifted from him.
Mildly curious by the place, he walked a little farther into the bar and accidentally bumped into one of it's current customers.
A annoyed flanged voice yelled at him, "Hey! Watch where you're going human, ya almost made me spill my drink!"
Jason turned to apologize and found himself being forced to look up at an 'alien', who had to be at least seven feet tall.
"Ah... sorry buddy, nice getup by the way.", An amused Jason replied.
The 'alien' just made an annoyed sound and pushed past him barking, "Bah! Stupid humans, wouldn't recognize a Turian Hierarchy uniform if it bit them in the ass!"
'Wait... did that thing have huge talons, really sharp teeth and... mandibles. Weird... the damn thing looked like something out of one of my nephew's video games. Okay... I'm out... No more booze tonight.', A now very confused Jason pondered, as he opted to head for the exit.
There was one small problem however as he tried to leave, the door seemed to have disappeared and a solid wall had taken it's place.
Jason began to go from confused to concerned, walking back towards the bar and in his haste, walked into the same person he had jostled moments earlier.
"Alright... that's it human! I have had enough of you!", The 'alien' said, as he spit out the contains of the mug which had been splashed in his face.
Just then, a man in a long brown duster type coat walked up to Jason's would be assaulter and placed a hand on the aliens arm, "Hey, take it easy on Mr. Prim n' Proper over there Vorrax, you know Cap's high toutin' rules... ain't civil like to go starting fights... dong ma?"
'Vorrax' just huffed and walked away, after giving Jason an icy glare.
Jason thanked the man for helping him then said, "Ah... nice coat you got there, gives you the old west gunfighter look."
The man looked a bit confused, but shrugged it off and replied, "Thanks, got it on sale.", as he walked off to a far table.
Jason had the oddest feeling, just like with 'Vorrax', that man was definitely familiar to him, he just couldn't place why.
He quickly walked up to the bartender, who was an older looking bearded man, in an even older looking uniform, desperate for some answers.
"Hello son, the name's Cap, what will it be today?", The man told him with a smile.
"Well... um... sir the problem is-", Jason started to say, before the old man held up his hand.
"Please son, call me Cap... everyone else does." Cap told him, and motioned for Jason to continue.
"Okay... Cap, here's the problem. Your ah... your front exit seems to have ah... disappeared. Is there another way out of here?", Jason said, thinking how even he thought he sounded crazy saying that sentence.
Cap just beamed at him saying, "Oh... that does tend to happen from time to time, nothing to worry yourself about though. As for a way out... why don't you find some nice company, maybe share a story or two, and have yourself a drink. You'll find everyone here is a captain, just like you... Lt. Commander Clarke."
Jason was absolutely stunned at the bartenders bland response, "What? How the hell do you know who I am? Also, are you actually telling me... I have too talk with these people... tell them some damn story... or I can't leave?"
"To answer your first question, that's no big secret, I know everyone here. As for the rest, that's about the gist of it Jason.", Cap just grinned at the flabbergasted naval officer.
Deciding that he didn't have a whole lot of choice, being in what he thought must have been an alcohol fueled delusion, or maybe just a really weird ass dream, Jason just ordered a beer, and looked for the man who had helped him out earlier.
Heading in the general direction the man had walked off in, Jason couldn't help but over hear the boisterous conversation coming from a near by table.
The men obviously seemed to be all fishing boat captains and each was trying to out do the next with his story of the best season they ever had catching something called 'opies'.
Jason just ignored the rather salty captains, and keep looking for Mr. Brown Coat.
He quickly found the man, he wasn't exactly hard to miss, at a nearly full table in a corner by the back wall.
Jason was just about to try politely interrupting the group's conversation, when everyone seated there took notice of him.
As their eyes collectively landed on him Jason finally realized exactly why this place felt so odd.
A shocked Jason could barely even make himself think, 'Dear God, I hope this is just a dream... These... These people don't even exist!'
Jason was now rightfully worried for his sanity, as he took a couple steps away from he table.
Either that, or some of his shipmates had pulled the biggest prank of all time, probably trying to cheer him up.
'Jesus... That's Nathan Fillion!' He now instantly recognized the man who had stepped in earlier, given the current company sitting near him.
As Jason gazed around the rest the table that the three other men and one woman sitting there he was seriously starting to think that he had had some type of mental breakdown.
The mug of beer he was holding slipped out of his hand, and promptly smashed into several pieces on the floor.
'Patrick Stewart... Harrison Ford... Edward James Olmos and... huh... can't say I recognize the woman.'
Somehow, he thought it was a long shot, to say the least, that anyone could have talked these people into meeting him here.
The tense silence was broken by a surprisingly kind voice, "Looks like you could use another drink son... and a seat, before you fall on your ass." Olmos told him.
Utterly stunned, and more exhausted than he had felt in years, Jason quietly sat down at the last remaining empty chair.
"I reckon some introductions wouldn't be amiss" Fillion grinned at the woman, who was sitting next to Jason, "Care to do us the honor darin'?"
She folded her arms and gave Fillion a look that told Jason, this was not a women you messed with.
Jason suddenly thought, 'Wait... That familiar alien I pissed off earlier, and that logo on her uniform... N7... Well if I am going crazy... at least she definitely fits in with this bunch...', and he knew who she had to be.
Then the woman spoke, "Fine... Mr. Space Hick. Guess I'll go first then-"
Jason was mildly concerned about interrupting this woman but, "Um... sorry to butt in... I think I know who you are ma'am... actually I think I know who all of you are..."
Waiting a few moments, and then starting at his left, Jason motioned to reach of them around the table, "Captain Malcolm Reynolds. Captain Jean Luc Picard. Captain Han Solo. Admiral William Adama. And lastly, Commander ... Shepard"
"Not bad at all, but it's Lt. Commander..." Shepard held out her hand, which Jason quickly shook, "Lt. Commander Samantha Shepard, to be precise, and Han says he's a general, but somehow I don't believe him..."
Solo just grinned at her from across the table.
It only added to the extreme strange nature of this place, in Jason's mind at least, that none of them were surprised that a perfect stranger had heard of everyone at the table.
"And who might you be sir?", Jason could feel Picard's eyes staring right through him, which was a tad unpleasant.
"Lt. Commander Jason Clarke, sir!", instantly chiding himself for being so formal, he managed to intone that with as much dignity as possible.
"Great... another boring navy tool... If it wasn't for Reynolds over there..." Solo motioned to said captain, "I'd be dieing from lack of decent conversation in the sinkin' place!"
"You'll have to forgive the jackass smuggler son, that just seems to be his way of saying hello.", Adama said as he grabbed a waiters attention and ordered them a round of something called ambrosia.
A/N: As you can see dear readers, this bar is full of captains from all different times, dimensions, and universes. Hell, I may have even thrown a few real life captains in there for kicks... Please review and tell me if you enjoyed this! Also, don't forget to add the name of a captain (doesn't actually have to be the rank of captain, just anyone in sci-fi who commanded a ship) that you'd like to see. You never know, they might just show up...