Rigel or Bust (Part 3 of 3)

Posted on 12 Dec 2014 @ 3:45am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Lieutenant JG Dorian West & Petty Officer 1st Class Siren Hex Saalm & Nesh Saalm & Clarence Pearl & Commander Luke Wyatt

2,826 words; about a 14 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: Starbase 84 - Deck 123, Upper Promenade Bar
Timeline: MD 08 - 0850 hrs

Previously, on Rigel or Bust (Part 2)...

Wintrow took the offered hand and offered a weak handshake. "Wintrow Paragon sir, I'm a pilot." He shook his head, nearly losing his balance as he did so. "No sir, none so far." As he pulled his arm back, two small wounds were visible on his wrist.

Luke shook his head in disappointment "Don't tell me your age but you're having a drink... A real drink" he said signalling for another whisky and coke, doubled over ice. Catching the wound as he returned his attention to the young man he glanced to Allyndra "I am curios Doc if someone was drunk and you drank from them would you to become drunk?" He asked winking at Wintrow and eyed the wounds.

And Now, the Continuation...

[ON]

Wintrow studied the drink that was given to him and sniffed at it, wrinkling his nose. "This smells strong," he commented, before sipping at it. "I'm old enough to drink by the way." He smiled charmingly at the man, then took a second somewhat bigger sip. "What is this drink?" He heard the question asked of the doctor and though he was curious, he wasn't sure if he'd make the offer again. She hadn't hurt him, and he did actually feel more relaxed so there was no harm done. But it still felt weird.

Allyndra shook her head, "No, we actually don't take that much even in love play and we have long gone away from 'hunting' as my ancestors had to do."

Nesh narrowed her eyes at the interactions Win seemed to be having. Jealousy didn't suit her, nor was she feeling it at the current moment, but concern did. Not that she expected either of the Chiefs to abuse a cadet, but it would have been awkward to have Win this loopy before they stepped foot on Rigel. As quiet as she was, the feeling of her slightly judging stare may have easily been felt by anyone looking in her general direction.

"Oh did you hear that! Hunting and... Love play Sounds like the young spud here is a stud!" he winked a wide grin growing on his face and Nudged him with his shoulder. "It's whisky by the way!"

"Now, now," Allyndra said, "let's not further embarrass the poor cadet. It will all wear off soon enough except perhaps the whiskey unless you want to try Bloodwine?"

Wintrow had turned bright red in the face at Wyatt's words, not sure how to take those words. He had trusted Allyndra when she'd said the effect would be brief, only a few minutes. He wrinkled his nose again, the very idea of drinking Bloodwine already making him feel sick. Yet, how was he to judge if he never tried? "I'll try anything," he said, turning to look at Nesh who seemed to be hovering close. He could sense her emotions, but couldn't quite make sense of them. "Nesh?" he querried inquisitively.

The instant the older cadet addressed her, Nesh's seemingly possessive glare vanished, and she was next to him once more, worries all but vanishing behind a jovial smile and the thought of alcohol. "Bloodwine's stronger than whiskey, Win. I'd go for that, if you think you can stomach it!"

"A small amount then," Allyndra said and asked for two small cups for the two cadets.

"If I can stomach those slugs of yours, I'm sure I'll stomach this," Wintrow chuckled, though he still wasn't looking forward to trying the slugs.

"You haven't stomached any slugs yet!" Nesh giggled. "You'll be sorry you said that!"

"And why's that?" Wintrow challenged happily, still twirling the amber liquid in his glass, while waiting for the Bloodwine. "I'll try anything, I told you that. I just don't want to know beforehand."

"Oh, you'll see." Shaking her head, the young Orion took her own glass, holding it up to him for a moment. "Cheers for trying new mystery dishes, then?"

Wintrow raised his glass. "Cheers!"

As the friendly banter continued and the members of the wedding entourage got to know each other over a few drinks, Lirha checked a nearby chonometer at the far end of the bar then realized they had only about twenty minutes left before they needed to depart for Rigel VII. She began to dig through her duffel bag and finally produced a stack of small PADDs, then began to hand them out to everyone. "Here is our travel itinerary," she began to explain. "I have booked us passage aboard USS Jespin, an Intrepid-class starship under Captain Dikkon's command. He owes me a favor from a couple years back, and since he just happened to be heading in our direction..." Lirha gave the group a wry smirk and shrugged. It wasn't often that she pulled strings to get what she needed, but in this case, the Rigel system was a bit too far away to go there and back without a speedy starship, and there were no transport freighters capable of exceeding warp 7 for sustained periods of time.

"Once we board Jespin, it will be a ten-day journey to Rigel VII," she continued. "I have booked us lodging at Poden, a popular hotel in Vajripam's downtown tourist district. My mother should be meeting us there and might want us to stay with her at the Saalm villa, but just in case...I thought it would be good for everyone to have their own suites." Lirha knew her mother could be a bit eccentric and overbearing at times, and while she and Nesh were relatively used to it, the others might find it a bit too much. Or maybe not. She wasn't sure but wanted to have all of her bases covered.

Listening carefully, Wintrow felt he was missing a vital piece of information. "Uhm ma'am?" he started hesitantly, raising his hand to get the commodore's attention. "Where or how shall we be lodged during our journey? We're not ousting any crew, are we?"

Lirha shrugged, not too concerned about the internal happening of the starship they were about to board. It wasn't necessarily that she didn't care if someone had to vacate their quarters to accommodate her wedding party, but...she didn't really care.

"Captain Dikkon has made arrangements for us," she answered to the young cadet. "I assume his starship will have ample space for us otherwise he would not have volunteered to house us. Maybe a VIP quarter or two...possibly some vacant senior officer quarters?" she mused with another light shrug. "We will find out once we get on board, most likely from their Operations department."

"I'll take full advantage of any luxuries I can manage to get then," Dorian jested lightly, but kept his eyes down on the padd, pressing his lips together against his smile.

"Are you now?" Allyndra interjected. "Or is it just to be around some of the most potent female pheromones in the galaxy and if the tourist holobook was correct some of the wildest places of entertainment. I know I am going to keep an olfactory suppressant handy for the males have heady ones of their own." She kept the talk light but did wonder how amoung all those Orions who did not take pheromone suppressors like the Commodore and her cousin Nesh was going to hit everyone.

Lirha grinned at Allyndra's observation of the Orion homeworld. She saw vacations such as this as a time to relax and escape Starfleet protocol, specifically the required weekly pheromone suppressant injections she was required to take, and was looking forward to letting her body return to its natural uninhibited state. For the other members of the group aside from Nesh, however, it was true that they might succumb to the abundance of pheromones that would be present from the moment they landed. And being the responsible Orion that she was, she had come prepared just in case. "I have brought a week's supply of pheromone blockers in my travel bag for anyone who wishes to take them. They will inhibit the effects and they work on both males and females. I....actually recommend them for everyone except Nesh."

Allyndra nodded. She had looked up how they handled tourists to the Rigel home world of the Orions for non-Orions and it was common to utilize such things. All the ports had them and there were reminders. Some though preferred to 'sample' the headiness and of course there were places that catered to the stereotype of the Orion wild women and even sample slave markets though those were just for show since officially such things no longer were sanctioned. She thought even she might go to one and see what it was like, there had been indications in the records that at one time at least one of the failed colonies had been raided by beings which seemed to be Orions.

"Are there any side effects to taking them" Wintrow asked carefully, looking to Nesh. Since they had already experimented some with them, and he actually had his own now, compliments of Nesh.

"I do not think so but I am not positive. Perhaps our doctor can better answer that question," Lirha replied to the curious cadet while she began to dig through her bag. She procured a small vial containing several of the pheromone blocker pills then handed it to Allyndra for her to analyze. "They are Starfleet-issue so I assume if there are any adverse effects, they are not too debilitating," she added.

"They should be fine. Most of them have been tested on multiple species over time as Rigel has become a popular spot to visit," Allyndra replied and then added, "and for those of us without as much pigmentation such as I, I would also suggest a good suntan screen as well. The sunlight is much more intense and probably I would suggest sunglasses for some of us as well due the same. You will probably feel more invigorated as the oxygen content is higher then on the ship. I think medically that should cover most." Allyndra waved her cup toward Lirha. "Commodore anything more to add about cultural dos and don'ts before we head off?"

There was quite a lot to add, actually. Lirha could easily spend the next two hours briefing the group on various Orion customs and society, but instead she'd prepared a brief written summary of the most pertinent information. "Most of what you need to know is included in the itineraries I just gave you," she answered while motioning to one of the small PADDs she'd recently passed out.

"Vajripam is a relatively safe city and is a major trading hub of the Beta quadrant. There will be many members of different species present, and the city is also a popular vacation area for some of the more exotic forms of recreation." She wondered if she should elaborate more but instead decided to let everyone use their imagination to fill in the gaps.

"For those of you who have never visited an Orion colony, they are usually very commercialized and hedonistic. We tend to enjoy ourselves as much as possible, and gaining wealth and displaying it through various means are signs of upper social status. Servitude is common...even slavery at times, and while this might be a bit shocking to see at first, it is the way Orion society has run for centuries. Servants and slaves are treated quite well and are often considered valued and respected members of the families they belong to. Societal serfdom should not be confused with Syndicate slavery which is a much more severe form of bondage," she explained.

"Like all Orion colonies, Vajripam has a matriarchal organization. The eldest women are the heads of the different families and bloodlines, and because of basic Orion physiology, the men do not often make the important decisions -- financial or otherwise." Lirha paused to see if anyone had more questions before she continued.

Allyndra was starting on her third cup of Bloodwine. Such an amount would start to put pay to even most Klingon warriors and though she was not quite that far gone yet it would catch up with her but she figured to sleep it all off on board the starship.

"To hedonistic pleasures then!" She toasted the last of the Commodore's words.

Wintrow had listened intently and though he too was feeling some effects of alcohol, and waning after effects of the doctor's bite, he found he was still able to keep his attention on the commodore. "If they don't make important decisions, then what do they do?" he asked, clearly interested. Betazed was a martriarchial society too, and he was only just starting to learn that part of his heritage.

Lirha cocked her head and furrowed her brow, unsure of how to answer the young man's vague question. "They...do what every other man does? They are simply not the head of the household as in Earth cultures."

"Don't let her fool you, Cadet." said the Chief of the Boat as he walked up to the table, smiling at the daughter he wished he had in Lirha. "Orion men still get sex after they're married." He walked to Lirha and opened his arms to give her a hug. "Sorry I'm late, Tyra didn't want to go to mommy, but Tarish managed to convince her to go. Divorce sucks."

The latecomer was a most welcome surprise for Lirha especially considering she hadn't seen Quinn in many many days. She briefly wondered what he'd been up to but the mention of divorce seemed self-explanatory enough, and a bit sad to hear.

Giving him a big smile, Lirha spread her arms and hugged him, most pleased he'd decided to join the group for a drink before they departed for Rigel VII. "It is good to see you too, Markum. And I am sorry to hear about Tarishiana. I assume you are coming to Vajripam with us?" she asked. Afterall, the wedding wouldn't be quite the same without him, and maybe a vacation would be the perfect thing to take his mind off his recent marital woes.

Wintrow just stared at the newcomer and shook his head. "I'm just trying to understand a different culture sir," he replied.

"There is no way I'm going to let you get married without me there to witness it." he said. "Thanks, but I've survived worse. You should have met my first wife."

"I do hear the first wives are the worst," Lirha smirked while nodding in agreement and also giving Siren a playful wink. She glanced at the chronometer one last time and realized it was almost time for them to head towards the airlock and catch their ride. As much as she would be content to stay at the bar for another fifteen minutes, she didn't want to delay her fellow captain's departure, and there would no doubt be plenty of opportunity to have more drinks and food once they boarded Jespin.

"I think it is time to depart," she said to the group before pulling several small slips of gold-pressed latinum from her bag and depositing them on the bar as a tip for Clarence. She gave him a friendly smile accompanied by a farewell wave, then rose from her stool and shouldered her duffel bag. "Are we all ready?" she asked the group to make sure everyone was set to leave.

Allyndra made sure she had the small gift and then chugged the rest of the cup of Bloodwine. She knew she would regret that later but nodded.

Quinn scooped up Lirha's money, deposited his own onto the table and as he walked past her he placed the money into her own hands. "You, young lady, are not paying for anything on this trip. It's your wedding and I will not hear anything about you paying. Either of you. This will be my treat. I insist, and you're welcome."

Lirha smirked and rolled her eyes at the friendly gesture. "Fine," she resigned with a soft sigh. "But I hope you brought a lot of latinum. For some reason it never seems to last long in Vajripam..."

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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