Mixer

Posted on Wed May 14th, 2025 @ 5:11pm by Lieutenant Commander Emni t'Nai & Lieutenant Irynya & Lieutenant Commander Victoria Cross & Lieutenant Ezhr Delja & Lieutenant Cassian Maritz & Lieutenant Axod Qo & Ensign Noah Balsam & Ensign Mei Ratthi & David Mccolugh

Mission: Mean Green Queen
Location: The King's Shilling
Timeline: Mission Day 23 at 2000

[The King's Shilling Pub]
[MD 23, 2000]

It was with no small amount of wry humor that Emni, drink in hand and seated at a small round top table near the entrance of The King's Shilling, considered that party host was clearly somewhere under the Other duties as assigned item on her job description. Not that she minded being the one to initiate a gathering, but it did feel a bit out of her comfort zone. The last time she'd truly played hostess she'd had their Risian flight controller, Irynya, to lean on and could call in the other woman's expertise for an event being planned on her home planet and in her home town.

On the Sojo, though, Emni could claim this space as her home away from as home as well as the next person. Or, she supposed, better than some since she'd been on her only just longer than the few assigned crew who had traveled with the ship from the Antares Fleet Yards to pick up the crew that had been on extended shore leave on Risa.

"Think anyone'll come?" she called across the cozy space of the pub to David Mcculugh, the bar's proprietor where he stood behind the wooden bar top looking nothing less than perfectly at home. Aside from the two of them, the space was empty. The fire crackled merrily in its holographic hearth and the easy chairs and eclectic mix of tables shone as if they'd just been wiped down. Emni took them all in and offered David a warm smile.

"Usually an excuse to have a good drink and good conversation will bring people out." David returned the smile, "A tale as old as time."

---

Given that he was off duty, Axod had changed into something much more comfortable than his standard issue uniform. The counselor opted instead for a loose fitting cream coloured kaftan. The neckline was quite open, allowing the some of Doosodarian's chest, which had been the focus of his workout that very morning, to be seen. He entered The King's Shilling and crossed directly to the bar. "Lurian martini please very very dirty." He said gesturing to catch the bartender's attention.

Victoria emerged from the entrance, dressed in a knee length sleeveless gold and silver dress and comfortable shoes. Slinking around a crowd, she stepped up to Axod's side, giving the man a tap on the shoulder. "Bartender, two parts spiced rum, one parts lemon."
She took her drink and turned to her crewmates with a smile. "G'day, Sojos!"

Ax turned around, his back to the bar. "How's Ops Vic?" He asked, winking at Victoria. He picked up his intricately shaped glass and took a step towards taller woman. "Everything operational?" He smiled to himself, wondering silently 'What does Ops even do?'

"Ops is about as good as can be, mate." She took her drink and tapped her glass to his, a grin on her face, "Systems are still running either ship shape or held together with duct tape and wishes, depending on who's asking." She took a drink and looked back at the party, before raising a brow. "We oversee day to day operations of the ship, make sure communications and power routing is working as it should. It's easier to say what we don't do, honestly. But enough of work! How are you?"

The Doosodarian man smiled warmly. "I'm doing okay." He said, lifting his glass to his mouth. He took a slow sip, savouring the bitter flavours. He thought of the current situation between him and Xex, and also the recent arrival of Ezhr. It was complicated to say the very least. "What's new with you?"

"Oh, nothing much. T'Kass and I have been writing and keeping the long distance thing going. I've been working on a model kit and trying to program it's micro shield emitters, and uh. Not a whole lot. Did you hear about the Holodeck nonsense that happened?"

She sipped her drink.

Axod shook his head, the dim light of the lounge catching in his eyes as he took a slow, measured sip of his beautifully bitter cocktail. The sharp tang lingered on his tongue, grounding him in the moment.

"I haven't," he admitted, lowering the glass with deliberate care. His fingers traced the rim absently, as though considering the weight of the words before him. He glanced up, curiosity flickering across his features. "What happened?"

His tone was even, but there was an unmistakable undercurrent of intrigue, the kind that came naturally to a counselor accustomed to peeling back the layers of a story.

"Right," She finished her drink, "Me, Cap'n and a few others get in the Holodeck. I'm planning on this gritty Western, a genre that takes place on the wagon and gunpowder era of my people, with a twist. We were supposed to hunt down bushrangas, like outlaws, and come upon a crashed Klingon and run for our lives, right, mate? But a problem happens."

She snickered, "Ok. Crewman Allen on the third deck is this huge fan of regency era- that's big houses, courtship, very hoighty toighty stories of family drama, and she wrote a story where she's supposed to be this newcomer who woos the daughter of this great big manor in England, and you know, pining, hand holding, maybe a duel with a suitor, all well and good, but.."

She laughs. "The LCARS update snagged the Holodeck, and the Holodeck CPU in the programming can't decide between the two code bases because they're both dramatic period pieces and decides for WHATEVER reason to fuse the two. So the manor Lord's daughter's are still gorgeous young maidens, right? But one has the face of a rugged outlaw, and one's the Klingon!" She howled with laughter.

"WHO ARE THOSE STRANGERS, FATHER?" She asked! And-" Victoria wheezed, teary eyed, "Wait, you were there! I forgot you were Gus!"

"Did you ever call Tark back?"

Axod quickly realized that playing dumb wasn’t going to work. His attempt at feigning ignorance crumbled under the expectant gaze fixed on him.

“Oh, uhhh…” he started, his voice betraying his nervousness. He reached for his drink, taking a deliberate gulp as if the liquid courage might help him navigate the conversation. Unfortunately, it only bought him a few seconds. “That certainly was… an experience.” He forced a chuckle, setting the now nearly empty glass down with a little more force than intended.

He could feel the weight of the moment pressing down on him, the silent demand for an explanation lingering in the air. So, rather than dwell on his own missteps, he grasped for the nearest escape route. “Did you ever figure out what was happening with the holodeck?” he asked quickly, his tone just a bit too eager to shift the topic.

His gaze flicked across the room, waiting to see if the diversion would take or if he was about to be dragged right back into uncomfortable territory.

Victoria was red as a tomato from choking down her laughter, and reached over, giving the Doosodarian a playful elbow to the ribs, a smirk firmly chiseled on her face. She snickered, and soon broke, laughing again at the nonsensical glitch the team had to endure. "Did you see the sun rising and it was a Klingon 's head? Or- oh no, mate, the horse tapping in Morse code? I have no idea why those things happened, but I'm glad we don't have a Moriarty situation with a Klingon Lady-in-waiting!"

She stopped to catch her breath, and ordered another drink.

Axod signaled for another drink, offering a brief nod of thanks to the bartender as the glass was set before him. He wrapped his fingers around it, the cool condensation a stark contrast to the lingering warmth in his chest.

"I'm just glad it's over," he admitted, his voice carrying the weight of exhaustion. He lifted the glass to his lips, taking a long, deliberate sip. The burn hit instantly, sharp and familiar, searing its way down his throat. He winced slightly but welcomed the sensation.

"Axod, you know with these replicators, we can replicate almost anything from nothing, but you know what can't be replicated is the act of painting something new, you know? Or sculpture. I was thinking," She took a drink of her alcohol, "about a work at my in-laws. It's a meditative piece of Vulcan artwork, consisting of a wide, open bowl and a flame in the center,"

".. The bowl is perfect, bronze polish, cut from a single piece of metal and burnished a thousand times to a mirror polish, but the flame inside is live, and can't be snuffed out with water, sand, or anything. It's supposed," she finished her short glass, "to be an artistic representation of the philosophy of Vulcan logic. As hard as you try to be perfect, precise, and calm, deep inside is the spark."

"So I've been thinking of getting into art, maybe. Starting an art club, modeling for a painter or sculptor, I don't know."

Axod nodded thoughtfully, a small smile playing on his lips. “Yeah, I think something like that would be a welcome distraction for a lot of like-minded crewmembers.” His voice carried a note of genuine interest, his dark blue eyes glinting with intrigue.

Lifting his glass, he took a slow, measured sip, allowing the rich flavors to linger on his tongue before swallowing. The familiar burn trailed down his throat, grounding him in the moment. He swirled the remaining liquid in his glass absently, considering the idea further.

“It’s easy to get caught up in routine out here,” he mused, glancing around as the ambient hum of the room surrounded them. “Something new, something different—it could be exactly what people need.”

"Speaking of something different, Ax, what is there to have fun in this bar..? Maybe billiards? Darts? Ooh, maybe a dabo table hidden somewhere?" An impish grin crossed her face. "I can't say I've been invited to any officer poker games yet, and after the holodeck glitch I have concerns the skippa may shy against it. What if the cards come alive and try to kill us?"

"Unless you favor sitting here drinking, which is plenty fine as is, yeah?"

"Why don’t we see if we can replicate a deck of Doosodarian Liryp cards?" Axod suggested, a mischievous sparkle in his eye. He took a final swig from his glass. "I’ll teach you how to play — and if you’re a quick study, maybe we can hustle a few of these lower deckers out of some credits." He punctuated the offer with a playful wink, his grin hinting at more than a little mischief.

He turned, gesturing smoothly toward the bartender. "But first," he declared with a flourish of his hand, "another round. Can’t charm anyone with an empty glass."

---

Not knowing anyone else aboard except maybe Victoria, Irynya, and Sheldon, Cassian was the next to arrive at the pub. The security chief had opted to dress down after his shift with a dark green button-up shirt, some black jeans, and black shoes. It was nothing fancy, but it was comfortable. Walking in and skirting around some of the people already there, he was happy to order his normal scotch and coke and people-watch for a while.

His sweater was at least a size too big and it almost reeked of warm comfort in its knitted blue shape. It was, obviously, too big as it pulled well away from his neck and halfway down his shoulder. His lower half was an exercise in hiding his stick bug lankiness- baggy and comfortable brown corduroy, a somewhat anachronistic choice. Pushing up the too-long sleeves, Noah steeled himself. He's hovered in front of the King's Shilling Pub's door and surveyed the room.

Like his pants, it was an anachronism, much like Debbie's. Noah felt like we had gone further back. What was the Mess Hall was converted into a rectangular English pub complete with wainscotting and plaster. The bar was wooden and sturdy. Or at least looked it. It wasn't hard to give duranium a fake finish. But Noah suspected, like Debbie, there was a push for authenticity here. The strangest thing to his eyes was the wooden floor.

Noah wasn't one for big parties- but Irynya had made it clear to him that this was a mandatory, non-voluntary social obligation. So much for a quiet evening of painting figures. He swayed through the growing crowd and approached the bar, intent on waiting his turn for a drink.

Mei followed someone in- she wasn’t sure who they were; a couple of people from Security, maybe. She wasn’t paying attention to them, though. As always when she walked into the King’s Shilling, she looked around, wide-eyed at the decor. ‘Old World’ was what they’d called it at the Academy, though what that was supposed to mean, she wasn’t sure. She’d have said it was ‘cozy’, if anyone asked her. But no one had, and no one currently was. And she should probably pay attention to the actual people around her before she tread on any toes.

Only a few people she really knew were there just then, and she didn’t know any of them particularly well. She smiled and waved in Noah’s general direction, then slipped into line for a drink.

The lanky one waved back at Mei, unfolding his protectively folded arms in the process. And he slipped from his place to join her. "Hi," he greeted her, refolding those lanky arms in his too-big blue sweater. "They-they roped you in too? Did Irynya say it was mandatory to you too?"

“Mandatory?” Mei frowned. “No, I don’t think she said it was mandatory. Unless I’m forgetting something, which is definitely possible. I had to file so many reports today and half of them weren’t even anthropological ones, so my brain’s a little fried. But why would a mixer like this be mandatory?” She smiled at the bartender as she took her drink, then stepped aside so Noah could get what he wanted. “Or is Iry just in habit of pretending things are mandatory so people will show up instead of staying cooped up in their quarters forever?”

Noah smiled at the scientist, his brows knitting even as he bit the edge of his lip. He blinked and flailed a hand in a sort of shrug, "Well, she-she told me it was mandatory. To make sure I came." His nose wrinkled. "Uh, I think. And-and its fine. I just would've... y'know," and again he shrugged with a turn of his hand, "Would've been painting figurines. Or maybe working on this project Sheldon and I are dreaming up."

Noah shuffled a little closer to the bar as Mei stepped aside with her drink. "Cream soda please, extra fizzy." Noah asked. "So, um, how's um." He looked away at a brief distraction and back with a quick too-wide smile. "How's your research going? Wha-what are you studying right now?"

“Right now? Well, lately I’ve been studying the Kazon murals I scanned on that moon- Shaddam Vi a. I was able to get some really high quality scans before- well, before things went to hell there. And anyway, the scans have given us a lot of information on what parts of Kazon society could have been like when the murals were made. I haven’t been able to get Kaldri in to look at them, though, so what I have is all speculation. But it’s a place to start. So that’s been really interesting.” Mei finally took a breath and sipped her drink. “As for my own personal research, I haven’t gone too far yet because I’m still working on the grad school paperwork. There’s a lot of it, and I haven’t quite identified what I want my doctoral thesis to focus on, even though I have time to figure it out. But anyway. What sort of project are you and Sheldon working on?"

Noah listened along, his eyes only skirting over once or twice to see if the bartender was getting his drink. "Oh I-I didn't know they had a lot of glyphs. Do you need more resources to work through them? Commander Cross might be able to help with that... and-and you can always use the Holo-Lab to render the glyph scans." Noah offered. He looked at his shoes. "Sorry I know that's shop talk..." he shrugged again with his hands. "Uhh its... kind of obscure. But we're trying to design a new portable drone sensor that can uh be deployed from a standard field satchel. Autonomous voice command."

“So far, our equipment’s been enough, but I’ll keep your offer in mind if I need a little more power. But what’s the ‘autonomous voice command’ all about? I thought those drones were already voice-activated and somewhat autonomous. Or am I thinking of something else?” Mei asked.

"Cream soda for the Ensign," Noah heard next to him.

Noah flashed the bartender a smile and picked up his drink. "Um." His nose wrinkled. "Its... more of a thought experiment... uhhh with a retro approach. Its hard to explain. But rather than having to keystroke it we want to uh be able to launch it by voice command. Most of the uh drones are voice activated... and-and autonomous. You know, umm." Noah rubbed his neck. "Its hard to explain. I'm-I'm probably not making much sense. It's just-" he shrugged. "Engineer stuff." He took the first vanilla-laden, creamy, fizzy and sweet sip from his frosty mug. "So wha-what did you order?" Noah asked.

Mei held up her drink, an amber-colored confection with an orange slice floating in it. “This is a sherry cobbler. I’m not sure what that means, but it seemed to go along with the theme of the bar. Apparently, it’s in a Charles Dickens novel. Whoever that is. It tastes good, anyway. Sweet, but not too sweet. And I don’t think it’ll get me drunk after just one, so that’s a plus. It smells pretty good, too.” She tilted the glass toward him like she was offering to let him smell it.

Noah took the offer, hovering his prominent proboscis respectfully near the lip of the drink for a sniff. His nose wrinkled at its bridge. "Huh. Strange." Noah hadn't read any Charles Dickens. He knew the literature was out there, and vaguely understood how it could be tied to their surroundings. He knew it had a connection to old Earth Christmas. "Ah." Noah said about the writer. It was a neutral sound and Noah flexed his brow for a moment. He felt like he was just making useless sounds.

"This is pretty sweet." Noah said with a raise of his glass, trying to dispel just being an acknowledging grunt. "Its similar, uh, to root beer. No alcohol." He sighed through his lips, his brows perked. "Alcohol makes me... um..." He squinted his eyes with distaste, "Weird."

“Yeah, alcohol makes a lot of people weird in a lot of weird ways. We’d probably all be better off if we didn’t drink the stuff, but here we are.” Mei shrugged and sipped the drink in question. “It’s not bad,” she said, giving it another look before sipping again. “And with that, I think I’ve run dry of conversation. Unless you want to chat about anthropology, which I’m pretty sure you don’t. Do you see Iry around here anywhere?”

Noah looked about but it was a sea of people. "N-no I don't see her. But um, nice chatting with you, thanks. Maybe if we split up we'll find her." Noah raised his glass to the Anthropologist with his amiable and too wide smile. Noah took his leave, aiming his body toward one of the darker corners of the Pub where he hoped to find a ficus tree.

“Bye,” Mei said, waving awkwardly as Noah wandered away. Then she shrugged, sipped her drink, and headed in the opposite direction to look for Irynya or any other friendly face not already engaged in conversation.

---

The Risian in question was running late, or so she told herself as she hurried down the corridor in the long cotton dress that she'd finally settled on after a completely unnecessary amount of uncertainty. Somewhere during the day it had occurred to her that attending an event like this as a senior officer might be different than when she had attended as a lower decker. Had Timmoz been deliberate about greeting his team at events like this? She'd always chalked their interactions up to the sibling-like bond they had. She couldn't decide, though, if perhaps she'd missed some key step and, despite herself, she felt nervous. It was silly, she knew, but there all the same.

The black hem of her dress--a style she'd once heard a human classmate refer to as "maxi"- tickled the tops of her sandaled feet as she walked, and felt as if it swirled around her legs airily. It was dressier than expressly necessary, but still felt appropriately Risian for an off duty event, even if she was meant to be there in department chief mode. In true Risian fashion the bodice of the dress was tight and the neckline low with no sleeves to speak of. The straps were tied off in neat ribbons that mingled with the hair she'd opted to leave loose. Over it all she'd grabbed a wrap, aware that she couldn't be certain whether she'd find herself hot in the crowded room, or cold.

She had just decided to look first for her friends when, stepping through the door to the pub, she was stopped by Ensign Bryad who greeted her with a wave from a few feet away indicating she should come over while Crewman Tolbert stood with her hand tucked in his arm. Somehow she hadn't imagined finding Tolbert at an officers event and the sight of the woman, on Bryad's arm no less, threw her for a loop. She recovered quickly though, casting one forlorn look around the room and spotting Mei and Noah together before putting on one of her signature Risian smiles and making her way over to the two pilots.

Delja was not at all surprised to find a decent crowd by the time he arrived at The King's Shilling. From everything he'd heard, this was the place to be this evening, which meant it was the place he needed to be. He was still new to Sojourner and, even though Axod had been kind enough to introduce him to some of their fellow shipmates, this was the first time he'd really had a chance to socialize with a meaningful number of the crew. For that very reason, he did not linger long in the door. Instead, he pressed forward and began navigating his way further into the room.

Cassian had his drink in hand and was halfway through taking a drink from it when he saw Irynya walk in, looking amazing as always, and taking a look at himself, he realized he was dressed nowhere near as good. He was about ready to go and talk to her when he followed the line of sight and saw she was going toward some other people he hadn't met. "Maybe another time then," he said quietly into his drink as he finished it off. Instead, someone else had walked in just after her, and Cassian thought he might as well try and make some friends while he was on the ship, so he waved the guy over and stuck out a hand, "Hey! You look just as new as me. I'm Cassian, the Security Chief. How's it going?"

"Ezhr, first contact specialist," Delja replied, giving the man's hand a firm shake. It was only after the words were out of his mouth that he realized the irony of referring to himself as such while making 'first contact' with one of his shipmates, and he couldn't help but chuckle a little. "It's going well, I think," he continued, "You?"

Cassian laughed at the joke while appreciating it. He gave the other man a click of the fingers and a grin, "I see what you did there, that's brilliant." He finished his drink and added, "I'd have to agree though, I think it's going alright so far, but I guess we'll just have to see where we're heading and what happens, right? What made you join this crew?"

"Would you believe me if I said I was just looking to get away," Delja asked. The smile on his face belied the faux-seriousness of the question. "I guess I liked the idea of being on the frontier, making contacts with new species," he continued, "which it sounds like the folks around here have been doing..."

"In that case, there's plenty of different people and species to meet on this ship then," Cassian admitted. "I know at least two people here I'd be happy to introduce you to, if you'd want?" He motioned with a nod of his head towards Noah and Iry.

"Lead the way."

---

"And then," Bryad was saying, "I figure without Timmoz around to claim it we ought to all get some fly time in with the Waverider. What do you say Lieutenant?"

Irynya had, admittedly, only been half listening, but mention of Timmoz brought her quickly back to the conversation. She and Bryad had never been particularly close, but he'd made it clear he felt the assistant chief job ought to be his and lately he'd clearly been trying to create some kind of friendly connection between the two of them.

Talbot had perked up, though, green eyes flashing with curiosity. "I've never had a chance to go out on the Waverider," she said, those self same eyes never leaving Iry's face.

The Risian felt the stare, but couldn't help but be at a loss for words. Rather than answer either of them she craned her neck looking for Noah, or Mei, or Sheldon. "Excuse me," she said and, not seeing any of the three of them, took a guess and started toward the corner of the bar.

It surprised her how quickly the room had filled up though it probably shouldn't have been a surprise. But though the King's Shilling was smaller than Debbie's it was still big enough to hold a fair crowd and it took her a moment to weave her way through the officers present, pausing to say hello and nod in the direction of others who acknowledged her without actually fully stopping to talk. After a moment, catching sight of Noah, back pressed to the wall next to a large green plant and a half finished drink in his hand, she grinned.

"You know," she said, pulling up in front of him and considering the plant with deadpan seriousness. "I didn't think we had an crew aboard of the foliage variety."

Noah looked at Irynya and smiled wan into one cheek. He looked at his drink. "Its getting a little busy in here. I asked Chief Basheer to send me a rescue comm at the ten m-minute mark, but..." Noah shrugged. "That was awhile ago." He smiled wan again at the plant. "Just the Captain's new houseplant. From what I heard from Jyl." Noah blinked and looked at Irynya. "Having fun?" He asked, surveying the room like a timid deer before he gulped his cream soda.

Iry pulled a face. "I don't usually want to hide at parties, but I swear Bryad looks for any opportunity to try to get info on who the next Assistant Chief will be and it's just not decided yet." Almost instinctively she craned her neck looking for the pair of flight crew who she'd just left, hoping they hadn't followed her into the corner. "I haven't even bothered to get a drink yet." She eyed Noah's glass of creamy golden liquid. "I'm guessing that is not alcohol."

"No," Noah affirmed. "Cream soda." He looked at his glass and the foamy sweet head. His eyes followed the track that Irynya had just looked at the pair of Flight officers. Noah didn't know them. So it was puzzling to him when he locked eyes on the one Irynya called Bryad. He gave a beaming smile toward Noah when he realized who the engineer was talking to and then made a sign gesture. A parroted mouth done by hand, rocked his fingers between Noah and he and then he made a praying motion. Noah took this as, 'talk me up in front her.'

Noah raised an eyebrow in a very Vulcanesque way. Then he looked back at his drink. It seemed his department and hers were both in a state of flux. Noah smiled wanly into a cheek. "He's... intense..." He said, "Do you want a drink? I think if we go over there, he's gonna intercept you again."

Irynya grimaced and nodded. "Do I want one... yes... do I want to chance more pointed small talk..." she glanced over her shoulder and sighed. "It's not as though he doesn't know where I am. He'll intercept me here as well as anywhere else. Come with me?" At this she looked back to Noah, meeting his eyes with a look that begged for mercy and no small amount of social protection. "I promise if he comes over you won't have to do anything just... I don't want to take him on alone. Besides..." here she widened her eyes meaningfully, "Talbot is with him..."

"Of course," Noah scoffed at the very idea otherwise. He was a wallflower, yes. But the words came out of his mouth before he'd fully weighed them. And even when he had, he still felt like it was the right thing to do even if it would cost him his introvert points. "I can try to really really bore him like I think I just did Mei..." He said near her ear as they began the sojourn toward the bar. He looked at her. "Talbot is... competition?"

Iry felt the small hairs on the back of her neck prick at the tickle of Noah's breath near her ear when he spoke and couldn't help the grin that pulled at her lips as she appreciated the familiar closeness. She'd been about to probe for more information about his comment about Mei when he inquired about Talbot setting her entirely off the track of her thoughts.

"To you?" she asked without thinking, puzzlement lacing her tone as she glanced sidelong at him before weaving closer to the bar.

Noah pinked. Visibly. "Wuh, wha, uhh, no? No? I mean." His brows popped. "Uh... what do you mean, to you?" He asked back. "I meant does Talbot want the-the uh..." he circled his hand. "Um. Assistant. Job?"

Eyes widening, Irynya felt heat flush her cheeks and the back of her own neck. Blessedly blushing was less obvious on her cheeks, but there was no missing the flush of Noah's cheeks. Her mouth rounded in an O of understanding as his question clicked into the correct context. "I..." She started and then pressed her lips tight together, eyes darting down and away before returning. "Umm... no... Talbot is... umm... the crewman I mentioned to you last week... the... umm... distracting one..."

Noah blinked. Noah blinked again. "Right yeah... I remember that. But..." There was a long, long hang between Noah's words. "OK. Anyway. Um. Talbot, so that's Talbot." Noah refocused despite the burning feeling and mild panic on the back of his neck. He fell quiet for a moment. "So... what do you-you-you want to drink?"

Iry felt like she should apologize. Like she'd just blundered into something entirely by mistake and didn't know exactly what that something was. She opened her mouth to say something and then shut it. "Noah," she said quietly, trying to make his name a question and an apology all at once. "I..."

Noah, still pink, nibbled his lip, drawing the edge of the tooth against the flesh. He blinked and was about to speak when he heard her start. "Huh? Yeah, sorry, go ahead?"

"What can I get you, long lady?" The bartender asked. He wrapped on the well loved wooden surface of David's pub bar with a smile. "How's that Cream Soda, kiddo?" He asked Noah.

They'd reached the bar and before she could say anything else she was asked, once again, what she wanted to drink. This time by the bartender. "Risian sunrise please," she answered her tone more harried than normal. She turned her back to the bar so she was facing Noah.

"I-I was... sorry... uhhhh I have some holodeck time and-" Noah began, looking into Irynya's eyes for a moment before he felt like he'd been staring. His eyes rounded a little and he looked away with a grimace.

When he looked up there was a busty and beautiful ginger woman who'd interposed herself between Noah and Irynya's space. "Parmaelian Gin-fizz with a dash of Kumquat." She ordered boistered, smiling on her wide and freckled face. She turned to look at Noah. "Hey cutie." As Noah pinked, she turned to Irynya. "Hey, Lieutenant. Congratulations again. We were sad to hear about-"

Iry felt an uncomfortable surge of frustration as Talbot inserted herself into the moment, her stomach twisting with something hard to place as she watched Noah's cheeks flare pink again at the other woman's flirtation. Her lips pressed into a thin line she gave Talbot a look that she hoped made it clear that she was interrupting without being rude, but the taller woman was unphased.

And then Bryad stepped in between Talbot and Noah. "Hey, did you chat me up?" He asked Noah in the most conspiratorially unnecessary way. Noah just smiled awkwardly.

"Uh, thanks," Iry was saying in reply to Talbot. She craned her neck, hoping to catch Noah's eye and perhaps signal a retreat of some sort. Back to the plant in the corner or... had he said something about the holodeck? Maybe there. But Bryad had stopped in between them and Talbot was still talking. The Risian swallowed down her frustration and turned her eyes back to meet the warm green of the other woman's. With an effort of willpower she didn't feel like she had in that moment, she slid into the Risian what is ours is yours mentality, her facial expression shifting to openness even as she tried, again, to catch Noahs' eyes.

But the view of the slight one was blocked by the back of Bryad and from the incessant mumbling sound beyond Talbot, it seemed Noah was getting an earful of the wonders and sexiness of being a ship's helmsperson. He seemed to occasionally answer to Bryad, "Oh. Yeah?" Or "Ahh."

"...surprised that Lieutenant Oliveria went with him," Talbot was saying and Iry grimaced slightly before nodding.

"I'm not surprised," she offered. "Nico and Timmoz were..." the word floated to the top of her mind as if spoken by Timmoz's voice in her ear. "Alash," she said and she smiled sadly missing her Qash anew.

"Your drinks ladies," the bartender offered. One was a beautiful symphony of the colors of sunset. The other had a pleasant chartreuse base with a thin seam of lavender liquid floating atop.

"Aw that is so sweet! Which one was Oliveria again?" Talbot had seemed intent on keeping the conversation going. But from the corner of Irynya's eye, Noah was being pushed by Bryad, hands on his shoulders from behind. Bryad was saying something about, 'trust me you'll love these guys' and was guiding him toward a group of security officers, yeomans and a few crewmen from the Shuttlebay. Noah's face was, unsurprisingly, that rictus of trying to be polite but also vibrating with the anxiety of really not wanting to do this.

Another anxious twist of... something... took hold of Irynya's gut and though it was too late now to catch Noah's eye she couldn't help staring after him as the group they'd been approaching parted to make room for Bryad and his new charge. She watched a moment longer... waiting to see if he would glance back at her and mouth Save me. or make some other indication that she should come intervene.

"Lieutenant?" Talbot's voice drew Irynya's gaze, reluctantly back to their conversation. She was holding Irynya's drinking, offering it to her and scanning her face with a concerned sort of expression before turning to look in the direction Bryad had steered Noah. "Oh," she said as if a lightbulb had gone on in her head. "I didn't realize you were..." here her eyebrows popped up suggestively.

Irynya felt the back of her neck flush anew. "Oh. Noah?" she asked, trying not to sound as flustered as she suddenly felt. Why was she flustered? "I... no... I mean... we're just friends. He just doesn't really like parties." Almost without thinking her eyes darted back to the circle that encompassed Noah and Bryad. Two of the crewman that kept the Shuttlebay at peak efficiency were grinning at Noah as if something particularly cheeky had just been said. She drug her eyes back to Talbot.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm being rude." She forced a warm smile back onto her face and drew a deep breath. "I didn't realize you and Bryad were friends," she said and, finally, brought her drink to her lips for a sip.

---

If Emni truly had held any reservations about people attending the gathering they were squashed as quickly as they arose. She circled the room, pausing from time to time to say hello and check in on different crew members. It was good to see some of the newer crew interacting with those who had been aboard since the beginning of their voyage.

Even better was the general emotional tenor of the room. Congenial. Relaxed. With the occasional spike of awkward tension that sometimes happened in social gatherings as folks found their way through.

Overall, the XO considered it a success and, realizing her glass was empty, she headed back to the bar for another round.

=/\= A Gathering of Crew By =/\=

Lieutenant Commander Emni t'Nai
Executive Officer

Lieutenant Commander Victoria Cross
Chief Operations Officer

Lieutenant Cassian Maritz
Chief of Security

Lieutenant Ezhr Delja
First Contact Specialist

Lieutenant Axod Qo
Ship's Counselor

Lieutenant Irynya
Chief Flight Controller

Ensign Noah Balsam
Systems Specialist

Ensign Mei Ratthi
Archaeologist / Anthropologist

David Mccolugh
Bar Proprietor