Rigel or Bust (Part 1 of 3)

Posted on 12 Dec 2014 @ 3:44am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Commander Luke Wyatt & Petty Officer 1st Class Siren Hex Saalm & Nesh Saalm & Clarence Pearl & Lieutenant JG Dorian West & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn

2,167 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: Starbase 84 - Deck 123, Upper Promenade Bar
Timeline: MD 08 - 0810 hrs

[ON]

0800 was a bit too early in the morning for Lirha's liking -- especially considering her shore leave had just started -- but today was a rather special day for herself and her fiance who she was presently walking arm-in-arm with through one of the starbase's massive promenade facilities. The Orion had been yawning all morning but had done her best to push aside her sleepiness. Somewhere along the way, she had decided to stop by one of the base's bars for an early drink and meet up with the rest of the wedding party before departing for Rigel VII, and so she scanned the various shops, stores, and pubs for one that seemed appropriate.

"How about this one?" she asked Siren while motioning to a lounge-taproom-type of establishment that was nearby.

"Looks perfect," Siren replied casually, but she was looking at Lirha as she said it, her eyes shining playfully at the connotation of looking at her while saying the words. She nudged her with a teasing sway to her body, leading her inside with a soft laugh.

Allyndra was in civilian attire. A simple one piece dress, all white and belted in the middle. While the front was went to the neckline and sleeveless the back was cut wide and low for her wings. She had just wanted to get away from uniform and Fleet for a awhile and put that whole career and military thing behind her. This was going to be a special moment for the two and somehow Fleet did not seem to fit the occasion. As she wandered down the promenade looking at the various wares and offerings in the stores, she wondered what Orion weddings were like. It was probably something she should have looked up. It was not that she was exactly body shy, but she also did not think they were quite like Betazoid weddings but she would handle that if they were. White, she was wearing white and wondered if she should not have done that. Humans, well many, tended toward that for certain reasons related to custom. On her own world, it was red and yellow but that did not stop others from wearing the same shades. Well, Allyndra thought done was done right now and she could always get something else when they got to Rigel and the Orion home world. Allyndra pushed that to the side and concentrated on figuring out which establishment the two had gone two. She had gotten a message that the whole party was to meet up for drinks at one of the promenade establishments but like all things Orion it seemed to her, everything was spontaneous. A flash of green skin and red hair caught her eyes and she noted the two heading into a place. Allyndra figured to give them at least a few moments alone and besides she had a wedding present yet to get. Her eyes swept along the various places and finally settled on one place. That should provide a diversion for several minutes to allow the two to have some alone time before descending on them. She passed the place they went into and nodded her head as she glimpsed the various drinks. Whoever said that a liquid breakfast was not a pleasant way to start the day was dead wrong.

"Over there." Wintrow pointed at the bar, while guiding Nesh along on his arm. He was dressed in a simple blue suit and cream shirt, though he wasn't wearing a tie. He wasn't sure how to dress for this occasion though because the last wedding he'd attended, he had been in his dress uniform, attending a marine wedding. "What can I get you to drink Nesh." His dad had raised him to be a gentleman towards women, despite the treatment his stepmother had given him when his dad had been away on business. But the valued pieces of advice stuck, and his dad had told him it was polite to ask a lady what she'd like to drink. "And where would you like to sit?"

Nesh wasn't entirely sure what Wintow was up to herself, but she didn't mind it all. Having a pretty boy on her arm made her feel slightly more important, especially when he was dressed so well. She herself had opted for something slightly more casual to their trip to Rigel, as she knew them to be traveling for some time. "You don't have to be so formal, Win." she teased, giggling and poking his side. She waved toward the rest of the group, eventually deciding to pull her cadet companion along to join them. "I wonder if we could get breakfast here... What do you think, Win?"

He squirmed as she poked him. "I'm sure we can get breakfast, and why wouldn't I be formal? You're a lady, and I'm taught to treat a lady right." He blushed scarlet as he watched her, nearly stumbling as he was pulled along. "What's a typical Orion breakfast consist of?" he asked, his accent heavy as he spoke, his dark eyes holding a sparkle of mirth. For the first time in weeks, he was actually feeling somewhat happy.

"Nothing we can get here." Nesh concluded with an adamant nod, her inner Orion foodie getting the best of her. Wiggling her fingers in his direction, she grinned mischievously. "But it's wing slugs. Wing slugs for every meal!"

The half-Betazoid shuddered at the idea. "That's gotta get boring right?"

"Nope, because with wing slugs you can spice them up twenty million different ways, and you can have a year's worth of dishes and not taste the same thing twice!" The tone in her voice seemed absolutely serious, though her motions and expression betrayed her jest.

"Urgh," Wintrow responded playfully, though he missed the jest in her expression. "twenty million ways to eat the same thing? Honestly?"

Nesh could feel the 'evil' chuckle welling in her throat. "Oh yes. Twenty million ways, with chefs who specialize in wing slug dish creation, so that number could multiply any day now!"

The half-Betazoid boy shuddered in disgust. "Just don't tell me if you feed me these things okay?"

"Tell you? What fun would that be?" Nesh's eyes glimmered with a jovial mischief that she hadn't felt in quite awhile. She could tell already, this trip was going to be fun!

"I don't know." Wintrow shrugged. "If you don't tell me it's more likely I'll end up eating them, don't I?"

"Mmhmm." And Nesh left it at that, already looking for a spot to sit with the rest of the group.

Allyndra made the final arrangements on the purchase having decided on an item for a wedding present, well at least one. She made her way back toward where she had seen the two enter and saw a couple of others. They all appeared to be deep in conversation so she just headed toward the bar area. "Bloodwine," she told the man that was attending the place. "Hot and heavy."

"I can do that," Clarence said lightly as he moved to get her the Bloodwine. He was far less interested in it than anything else. He smiled as he put the drink in front of Allyndra. "Enjoy it."

Now sitting at the bar with Siren, Lirha spotted Allyndra's distinctive wings and familiar frame not too far away. She gave the CMO a friendly smile and a light wave of her green hand, then looked around some more and caught a glimpse of her sister with an unfamiliar young man who appeared to be with her, and so she waved to them as well and motioned for them to come sit with her. There were now only two people unaccounted for who the commodore had invited; Rice and Wyatt, and she hoped they would appear soon and hadn't gotten lost in the massive starbase.

Spotting the wave, Wintrow gently nudged his gorgeous companion and nodded over. "Your sister is vying for your attention," he whispered, "I think she wants us to join us." He looked hesitant. "Nesh...I've not met your sister before, not officially anyway..."

"Is she?" Nesh perked her head up, eyes lighting up as she waved back. "Well, we should definitely change that!" As they made their way over, she grinned bright at her sister, gently tugging Wintrow forward and made appropriate gestures between both commodore and cadet. "Sis, this is Wintrow, my new roomie. Wintrow, this is my sister, Lirha."

"Ma'am," Wintrow greeted shyly, offering his hand to her. "Cadet Sophomore Wintrow Paragon," he added, "I'm a pilot..."

The commodore eyed her sister with friendly bright green eyes as she approached while also taking in the appearance of the man she was with. 'Man' was perhaps a loose word, because the tall blond-haired cadet looked to be about 15 years old. Well, to Lirha, at least. And he was quite lanky, another sign that he might not have reached the age of maturity and fully filled out his frame yet.

"Hello, cadet," Lirha replied with a polite nod as she shook his offered hand. She couldn't help but think he'd somehow violated Starfleet protocol by enlisting before puberty hit. "It is good to meet you. Are you..." she paused for a moment to find the correct words, "...old enough to serve in Starfleet?" she bluntly-delicately asked with an inquisitive look accompanied by a mischievous glint in her eyes which Nesh could have observed in her irises.

Taken aback by her question, Wintrow just stared at her for several seconds before he managed to recollect himself. "Uhm...Yes ma'am...I'm nineteen ma'am," he stammered, completely missing the mischief in her eyes.

"Lirha!" As if she were scolding her mother, Nesh pouted, other hand on her hip. "Don't scare him away!"

"Well, if you have not done that already, I am sure he will be fine," the older Orion responded with a carefree shrug and a playful smirk.

Still not sure what to think of this, Wintrow offered a polite smile. "I'm not abandoning her," he promised, "whatever happens, I'm not going anywhere, that would not befitting a gentleman's behaviour."

Nesh stuck her tongue out at Lirha, trying to hide the blush that was forming on her cheeks. She hadn't expected Wintrow to be so chivalrous. "See? He's hard to scare away."

Allyndra waved back but did not interfere with the group. That was family which she was not. She was glad to be going never haven been to the Orion home world. There were writings in the archives of course about encounters with them long ago. She wondered if any of them remembered or knew about hers from long ago as well. Well, she mused, that was then, and this was now.

Allyndra took a deep sip of the hot and heavy Bloodwine. It was fiery with both spice and alcohol. If she had not long built a tolerance to the stuff, she would have to be carried aboard after having only one cup.

Having set up the bar with copious amounts of alcohol, Clarence had to admit it seemed to be doing alright. People were getting drinks. The lucky couple seemed happy from what he could see. He picked up the cocktails, placing them on a tray. The drinks were green...a homage to the Orion woman. On the top was a red strawberry, a homage to the redhead by her side. The drinks were tropical flavoured...it was a mixture of the yellow pineapple juice and the blue orange liqueur that had rendered the drinks green. Together with some strawberry vodka it had created this drink. And he thought it tasted decent. Fruity, the strawberry giving it a bit of a sour twang, the orange adding the perfume and breaking through the sweetness of pineapple...it worked. He hoped it worked for the others as well.

Lirha poked at her green drink with a straw to stir it and mix the flavors some more, then took a long sip to taste it. "Mm..." she mumbled, clearly happy with the strange concoction as she sipped some more of it. She couldn't exactly discern which specific ingredients were in it, but it tasted like a fruity blend of some sort with vodka. There was only one thing missing on this special day; more vodka.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CDRE Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

Cadet SO Wintrow Paragon
Support Craft Pilot
USS Galileo
[PNPC T'Vanna]

Cadet FO Nesh Saalm
Scientist's Mate
USS Galileo
[PNPC Kita]

Command Master Chief Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

Lt Cmdr Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

PO1 Siren Hex
Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

LTJG Dorian West
Counselor
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

LTJG Luke Wyatt
Chief Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo

Clarence Pearl
Bartender
Starbase 80
[PNPC Markos]

LTJG Aria Rice
Security/Tactical Officer
USS Galileo
[PNPC Devin]

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