Club Cluros (Part 1 of 2) [18+]

Posted on 12 Feb 2015 @ 8:01pm by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Commander Allyndra illm Warraquim & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Nesh Saalm & Petty Officer 1st Class Siren Hex Saalm & Lieutenant JG Dorian West

3,514 words; about a 18 minute read

Mission: Episode 07 - Sojourn
Location: Rigel VII - Vajripam, Club Cluros
Timeline: MD 20 - 2110 local

[ON]

The heavy boom of large subwoofers drowned out most of the loud sounds inside of Club Cluros. The dimly lit interior flashed and glowed brightly in the darkness as strobe lights and holographic laser projectors added a colorful hue to the ambiance in the early evening hours. It had been one of Aila's wedding presents to her daughter; a VIP package at Vajripam's most popular and trendy nightclub, and Lirha had been more than happy to accept. In fact, she couldn't think of any reason to turn down such an offer, especially with all of her guests and friends present. After all, what better way to experience proper Orion nightlife than to party and get drunk for the rest of the night? A few loosened inhibitions never hurt anyone...well, not too much.

Sitting in the corner of the club's backroom lounge, she and the rest of the Galileans had only just gotten seated when a young Romulan waitress appeared to take their orders. At least, Lirha thought she looked Romulan. Possibly a hybrid of some sort as was usually the case on Rigel VII. It was such a diverse and multicultural planet that it wasn't at all strange to see members of other species littered throughout the cities and townships.

"Good evening, mistresses," she said to Lirha in the popular Yrevish tongue, accompanied by a polite bow to both her and Nesh after identifying the two Orion women at the table. "May I get you a cocktail? Perhaps some food?"

The commodore smiled and nodded at the pointed-eared teenager then translated for her friends. "She wants to know if we are hungry or would like drinks?"

Allyndra had decided that a flight dress, that tied around the neck exposed back, short skirted and light silk like dress matched the still warm night air and with the amount of homeothermic bodies in various states of exertion it was a good choice. She still had a cloak on to hide the folded wings but she had switched it to a lighter fabric made out of the same material as the flight dress. There was one thing that seemed to call her her and that was music. Almost any kind seemed to make her want to move and she could not help but shift slightly to the beat in the lounge chair.

As Lirha translated she nodded and said, "Blood wine, undiluted and hot."

With so many of the Galileo's crew present, Nesh had thought it best to pick out one of her most extravagant cocktail dresses, which was aptly colored gold and ended just above her knees. Having sat herself down next to Wintrow, she was more than happy to chat up the rest of the party... after she had herself a drink, of course. "I'd like an Orion Cider, please!"

Watching Nesh, admiring her in her gorgeous dress, Wintrow gave it a second's thought. "I'll have one too," he said, while leaning back. He'd already had a few drings along the way during the day, and had gradually adjusted to the heat. Despite the sunscreen, he still caught a mild sunburn across his shoulders which now irritated against the thin fabric of his shirt. Still, it was a small price, compared to being with his lovely date.

Allyndra glanced over at Wintrow. The way he looked at Nesh was not the way someone looked at nothing but a shared room mate. He had denied any romantic or sexual interest when they arrived but if that was the case then, it seemed to melting away like ice in the Rigel sun. Ah, Allyndra thought, she remembered when she was so caught up in love. So long ago it seemed and yet she was not that old yet. Turning her gaze to the others in the club she watched but instead it only made her miss Lamar even more. He had not stayed that night and seemed to have found her company unwanted. She sighed. She had told him that there was no real ties in her culture before bonding but then again, there were the Irsemia houses. She had resorted to those but once since being widowed and while it satisfied one need of the body it left the soul and mind lacking. Allyndra scolded herself mentally, "Bring not you sorrow into this place of joy."

Briefly, Wintrow turned his head as he thought he sensed something, but he couldn't figure out the who or where part, so he returned his attention back to his companions, and his drink. Perhaps, he mused, he was imagining things, after all he did have a few drinks already, and he was starting to feel a little odd.

"I'll try an Orion cider too," Dorian motioned with his hand, leaning forward to get comfy, looking around with dark eyes. It was an intense place to get used to, but he'd had his time when he was young and into the scene.

"Surprise me," Siren added to the list, waving her hand with a soft smile. What better way to get a taste of local life? She leant back, stretching with a sigh, the halterneck top shimmering with the lights, but low on the back, showing virtually her whole back and the tattoos laced across it, matched with a pair of black jeans. She couldn't stop looking at everyone and everything, taking it all in. They didn't have long here, so she wanted to remember all she could. She'd only had chance to travel since joining Starfleet, and it had opened her eyes to a lot.

Once everyone else had ordered, Lirha finished translating then ordered for herself. "Saurian brandy. Neat. A double. And a large order of fried wing slugs for the table, please."

The young Romulan waitress smiled and nodded while jotting down her orders on her PADD, then hustled off to procure their food and drinks. It didn't take long -- maybe two minutes -- for her to return with a large drink tray in one hand and a steaming plate of wing slugs in the other. Lirha caught a whiff of the delicious appetizers which were drizzled with some sort of fiery pepper sauce, and instantly her stomach began to churn in anticipation. The drinks were handed out to each of them and the wings were placed in the center of the table for all to enjoy. "I hope you are all hungry," Lirha smiled. "Please help yourselves," she added before raising her small glass of brandy for a toast.

Wintrow stared at the dish on the table, and then at Lirha, and finally at Nesh. "Are those..." he asked, "are those the things of which you mentioned you know a gazillion ways to prepare?"

Nesh plucked her drink up from the table, handing Win the identical glass before noticing the wing slugs and nodding. "Yep! This is one of the best ways to have them, too. Hot and spicy!"

Allyndra looked at the steaming things and for once she thanked the Twins that she could eat such things. No matter how well they might taste they looked positively disgusting to her. She waved her cup of wine toward them and said, "Enjoy, let me know how they taste." She put her best diplomatic effort forward, "They look positively....interesting."

Swallowing, remembering his promise to try them, Wintrow reached out and picked one up. He closed his eyes as he stuffed the fried slug into his mouth and chewed. His eyes flew open as he covered his mouth with his hand, swallowing a second time. "Drink," he breathed, downing his (alcoholic) beverage in one go. "H-hot!"

Allyndra shook her head as she watched Wintrow's reaction. He already grabbed and downed his drink. That was a bad thing, alcohol would make the capssaicinoids just dissolve faster and make the reaction worse. She got up and hurried to fetch something of a dairy product. Returning she handed the glass over, "Here drink this instead. Doctor's orders."

The teenager grabbed the drink and again downed it in one go, grimacing at the taste of it. But it did work and the heat diminished a little. "Th-hank you," he breathed, his eyes watering and he blinked the tears away. "Those are very hot," he gasped, "too hot."

"You should be fine, just sample them slowly alright?" Allyndra admonished. "Now," she smiled, "I think you owe me a dance later, if it is not too embarrassing to dance with an 'old lady."

"It's not ma'am," Wintrow answered, though he nearly choked as he was told. It was a good thing Alex and Mason had taken some time to teach him at least the basics. He took a deep breath. "I'd be honoured," he added slowly.

Allyndra nodded. She wouldn't mind but she would not push it either and turned her attention back to the rest of the guests.

Lirha sipped her glass of brandy then reached out to procure a steaming wing slug for herself. Skillfully using only one hand, she brought it up to her mouth and bit down through the crunchy breading and into the soft gooey insides of the appetizer. A flavorful gush of slug juice squirted across her tongue inside her mouth, and she happily sighed while she chewed the yummy bite. The spice was almost perfect, and it was an excellent blend of upfront and lingering heat.

While the commodore was mid-way through the wing, the waitress returned once again, this time carrying a large and elegant gold hookah. "Would you like a poubyal for the table, mistress?" she asked of Lirha.

Her mouth was still half-full therefore Lirha simply nodded and smiled while gesturing with her wing slug to place the elaborate smoking device on the table. Along with the poubyal, the young girl deposited two small packets wrapped in foil for use with it, then politely bowed and scurried off to another one of her tables.

"Do any of you care for a smoke?" Lirha asked of her friends while wiping the sauce off her green fingers with a napkin. She then delicately opened up the two small packets to inspect and sniff them in order to decide which to put into the poubyal first. "Hmm...one of these is j'mordal...flavored, I think...and the other is flarseh. Any preference?"

Allyndra cocked her head looking at the thing. "Is it a narcotic?"

Wintrow shook his head. "I don't smoke," he said, his voice still sounding a little off.

"It is a narcotic, yes. Similar to Earth marijuana," Lirha nonchalantly answered. "They both produce a wonderful feeling. Body and soul, together. Please try some," she added while packing up the poubyal with a generous amount of j'mordal. She quickly looked around for a fire device of some sort and quickly found a small torch lighter sitting on the edge of the table.

Taking one of the golden tubes which extended from the poubyal's center chamber, she brought the tip to her lips and lit the top of the device. She inhaled hard for a few long seconds while watching the coals and j'mordal light up, then she released her inhale with a muffled cough and passed the tube to anyone else who wanted it. Her eyes settled on Wintrow and she motioned for him to take a puff.

Wintrow, however, shook his head. "No ma'am, I don't smoke," he repeated. He didn't feel ready to go this far in terms of experimenting. Not yet.

Lirha coughed a bit more and shrugged before exhaling a large cloud of smoke into the air from her nostrils. She didn't particularly mind if the young man didn't want to participate, but she found it very strange that he would let an unfamiliar woman drink blood from his wrist yet somehow was opposed to smoking. "To each their own," she mused out loud in Yrevish.

Quinn walked over to join the party with a dark purple colored drink and took a seat. "Sorry I'm late, again. Seems my luggage was misplaced into a large suite filled with women that wanted to service me." The old salt merely grinned and then stopped, sniffing the air. He quickly looked to Lirha and his eyes lit up. "Is that, j'mordal, I smell, dear? If so, please pass it on over here and I'll show ya how to blow smoke rings, through your smoke rings."

"Out of curiosity, I will give it a try," Allyndra added sniffing at the stuff.

Wintrow watched curiously, but still made no move to try it for himself. It smelled potent enough, but not necessarily bad. To the half Betazoid, it smelled almost herbal, and perhaps a little sweet. "It does smell nice," he offered in compromise.

Smiling at Quinn's sudden arrival, Lirha gave him a knowing wink then passed the tube to him. She then motioned for Allyndra to use the second tube on the other side so the two of them could smoke at the same time. "It is nice...very," she grinned at Wintrow.

Allyndra took the tube and eyed it. She watched the others for a moment to see how it was done and it seemed that one took a big deep breath of the stuff. Doing the same she took a deep breath. The thing was that her pulmonary system was so much different. The stuff was acrid and it seemed to burn through her entire body down to the bones. She coughed the rest of the smoke out but drug had worked its way in deeply since there was a lot more surface to blood area. Slumping back into the cushion feeling the effects she said, "Interesting..." her word definitely slurred.

"Nesh?" Wintrow asked, looking to his roommate and date for confirmation. He relied on her to tell him what he really shouldn't do, and what was safe to try. The smell was appealing even though the idea of inhaling something that had burned into his lungs didn't really do much for him. Concern creased his brow as he watched the doctor slump back. "Doctor are you alright?"

By the time Wintrow had declined a second time, Nesh was joining in on the fun, her own tube in hand. After inhaling a puff of the narcotic, she smiled at the elder cadet and nodded. On the exhale, she held out the tube for him to take. "It's alright. I'm not sure how it'd work on the Betazoid physiology..." The Orion sheepishly looked toward Allyndra. "... Ma'am?"

A little nervous, Wintrow took the tube, his co-ordination already a little off thanks to the amount of alcohol he'd consumed by now. Hand shaking he brought it up to his mouth and inhaled carefully. "I don't know either," he murmured, closing his eyes. Even with his eyes closed, he still had an oddly clear mental picture of his beautiful roommate. Something that hadn't happened before, and he was acutely aware of everyone close around him. It was as if the narcotic enhanced his empathic abilities, making him more aware of people.

Quinn chuckled as he watched the to try the drug. He smiled back at Lirha while shaking his head. "Rookies. I was smoking stuff like this before any of you were even an itch in your daddy's pants." The CoB took a long, slow, and even draw. He relaxed and let the flavorful smoke enter into his lungs. He handed the tube back to Lirha and then made an odd facial gesture. Seconds later a large smoke ring was blow out over the table, followed by three smaller rings that passed through the center of the larger ring. "That, kids, is how you blow smoke rings." His lips were already tingling from the smoke. He was starting to really feel relaxed.

Allyndra just watched the lights and they seemed to merge with the music. She could almost imagine them pulsing to the movement of the dancers. A tiny part of her brain told her that she should not have inhaled so deeply but that little voice was annoying and she ignored it. Leaning back against the cushion suddenly seemed all the best idea in the world and closing one's eyes did as well. The questions seemed to come from some way far away place and she mumbled something, "Mo'hinae N'ipona"

Lirha took the offered tube back from Quinn and puffed again on the potent herbs. Taking a deep break to inhale then blowing it out as best she could, she tried to imitate the COB's smoke rings but sadly the cloudy wisps ended up looking more like some sort of mutated Klingon wild animal. She passed her tube over to Siren, then to Nesh and Wintrow, then downed her shot of brandy in one big gulp before reaching out to take another crispy wing slug and munch on it. "Mmm..." she hummed contently.

Wintrow fared no better at his attempt to blow smoke rings, but the drug was helping him relax further and lower his boundaries. He leaned back into the cushion he was sitting against and took a few deep breaths, watching the commodore and her fiance. They felt happy, he mused as he openly studied them. He was very aware of the emotions close around him, he could even sense that the commodore loved the spicy slugs. "Which variety is your favourite?" he asked, his voice sounding a little off from the smoke and alcohol.

With her mouth full of crunchy yet juicy wing slug meat, Lirha resisted the urge to become unlady-like and spew chunks of mollusc onto the table while she was eating. Instead, she glanced towards her little sister who would hopefully be happy to answer for both of them, considering they had much of the same food tastes.

The aforementioned younger sister had slouched back in her chair, sipping her drink and watching the interactions between the pair. Her mind was clearly elsewhere, but caught Lirha's gaze for just long enough to register that she needed to speak. "... She likes the spicy ones. The juicier they are, the better."

Quinn sat and chuckled while glancing over at Lirha. "He doesn't get out much, does he?"

She shook her head lightly and gave the COB a sideways smirk. "It does not seem so. This will be a good experience for him, hopefully," she quietly replied out of Wintrow's earshot. Lirha then looked over at Siren and gave her a warm smile. Her other wing sauce-free hand discretely reached under the table and began to affectionately stroke the inside of her fiance's thigh. Having fun?" she teased.

Siren smiled gently to her, nodding as she caressed the hand on her with a gentle movement. "Just taking it all in," she admitted softly. Their companions as much as the surroundings. "Soaking it up. Remembering."

The room slowly came back into focus and with it the oddest sensation of being hungry. She caught a passing waitress and asked for a large glass of fruit drink and definitely without alcohol in it. The remainder of her blood wine sat still on the table but she decided that between the smoke which now seemed to wreath the table and the potent blood wine the best part of sensibility was to avoid anymore loosening of inhibitions. Orion might be that kind of world but someone had to retain some coherence.

It wasn't too long before a random member of the club arrived to speak to the group. In fact, the older Orion woman who approached Lirha looked quite young and was adorned with a plethora of gold ornaments decorating her curvy frame. She smiled as she approached the entourage and gave a polite nod to the commodore.

"Mistress Saalm, a pleasure to meet you. I'm Iraha, the owner of this establishment," she waved her dark green hand in a sweeping motion to indicate the entirety of the nightclub. "Your mother and I are good friends...since we were children. She informed me ahead of time you would be coming and of your pending wedding." Her dark brown eyes cast a long gaze at Siren before returning to Lirha with a hint of approval contained within them. "I must congratulate you. It is not every day we are so fortunate as to marry a beautiful Human vixen," she mused.

To Be Continued...

[OFF]

--

CDRE Lirha Saalm
Mission Advisor
USS Galileo

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

LCMR Allyndra illm Warraquim
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

CMCPO Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

PO1 Siren Hex
Intelligence
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

LT JG Dorian West
Counsellor
USS Galileo
[PNPC Blake]

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

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