Chapter Text
The Shots You Don't Take
Kathryn watches the look of panic rise on Tom's face as he analyzes the pool table and she can't help but tease him a little. "I'll tell you what, if you can make this shot, you can have your second pip back."
"Seriously? That shot is nearly impossible! One in a million, at least!"
"I could make it," she declares.
"I'd like to see you try," Tom huffs in response. He knows she's a great pool player, but this shot? There's no way!
"Alright," she agrees confidently. She leans over the table to set up her shot but before taking it, she looks up at the ensign. "What do I get when I make it?"
"Uh… replicator rations?" A raised eyebrow tells Tom that was the wrong answer. "What do you want? My last pip??" Tom groans in frustration.
Kathryn focuses her attention back to the table, lining up the cue just right as she responds. "For the next talent night, Tuvok asked me to read a scene with him from a play he's been writing." She leans over the cue and looks up at Tom. "When I sink this shot, you'll volunteer to read with him instead."
If Tuvok's poetry is any indication, this could be quite the punishment. But Tom looks at the balls on the table again. The eight ball sits directly between the pocket and the last stripe. There's no way to get one in without the other. Tom boldly meets his captain's eyes with a confident, steely gaze. "Deal."
Without even looking back at the table, Kathryn sinks the shot.
Tom's mouth hangs open like a fish while Kathryn orders the computer to reset the table to the previous configuration. "Your move, Ensign," she grins, offering him her stick.
Tom is so flustered that he not only misses the shot but he also rips a hole in the felt with his pool cue.
"Tuvok will be expecting you for a rehearsal tonight at 2000," Kathryn smirks, patting Tom consolingly on the shoulder. With that, she exits the holodeck, leaving Tom to contemplate all of the mistakes he's made in his life to bring him to this moment: a Starfleet ensign, lost in the Delta Quadrant, about to star in the latest Vulcan contemporary theatrical experience.