Ensigns Only: Guys Night and the Orions Part 2

Posted on Sun Sep 3rd, 2023 @ 7:07pm by Lieutenant Sava & Ensign Sar

1,624 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Mission 1: Campor III - Resupply
Location: Ice Lounge: Deck 10
Timeline: MD 27, After Part 1

The women found room to sit at the large booth, situating themselves as the guys slid inwards.

"We are members of an Engineering team called Thal", Vehnanneu said to Dramin. "This is quite an opulent bar for a Federation ship. Is this how your crew spends its down time?"

The Orions cherished such lavishness, though their vessel had little room for such places.

"Well, it really does depend on the individual." Dramin was one of the last people to talk to when it came to the use of downtime, really, considering how much of it he tended to burn on his work - but he did have a duty to tell things as they were. Or so he thought, at least.

"As well as the class of ship. The Odyssey class is meant for long-term exploration, which inevitably leads to the need to keep her crew members comfortable and their morale high. The Columbia in fact possesses several other facilities including a shopping deck with items that replicators cannot recreate adequately to facilitate just that." He explained, making sure to wedge himself between her and Shan. Sure, he might've been much more shy than the others when it came to interacting with these women, but Shan looked downright uncomfortable, and he wanted him to enjoy the night, too. Even if it meant keeping Vehnanneu's attention on him for the night.

"Well, miss Vehnanneu-" Dramin hoped sincerely that he'd pronounced her name correctly. Making the effort to learn the name of the one you were speaking to was the basest form of respect to another, especially if they were a guest. "-if you'd like, we could take you and your team there - it isn't far, just one deck down."

"Yes", Vehnanneu beamed. "That would be lovely!" She drew her glass closer to her as she spoke. "It would be nice to see as much of this ship as possible."

"I am Chaala", said the shortest one with dark hair. "My specialty is damage control. We don't exactly have Operations aboard our ship."

The fourth woman wandered off towards a quiet table for two, face down in her PADD as the others talked. She sat, diligently reading old diagnostic reports.

"What do you all do? This is quite a starship", Tidari said, dimples forming around her charming smile.

Eveza returned from the arched tunnel carved of ice which led to the kitchen. She carried a platter of hari, spiced Andorian breadsticks.

She slid the tray on the table and stood waiting, not wanting to interrupt.

Dramin thanked the young, pretty Andorian waitress with a craggy Kelpien smile. "I am a junior attorney of the Judge Advocate General's chambers - a legal officer, if you will." He said. "It is hardly as glamorous as it seems, I assure you." Indeed, hours of research, fact-finding, interviews and of course, terabytes of correspondence over subspace hardly made for something that'd constitute glorious - which made the actual fruits of his labor the favorable verdict delivered at the end of trial.

"There are lawyers aboard this vessel?" Tidari's eyes widened. "You all must get into so much trouble to carry such an individual along your travels." Their voices were smooth and flowing, easy as a summer's breeze.

Tidari looked to the other two officers, curious to hear their responses.

Eveza knew they were in the middle of a conversation and waited patiently. Andorian staff were not rude like humans, who always interrupted just to ask about an order.

"We represent the Federation wherever we go, so it's good to have lawyers. So far we've avoided anyone being court-martialed." Edwin explained. "But we've just begun a ten-year mission so there's plenty of time."

Tidari giggled, eyes lowering playfully at the comment on time.
Edwin smiled at his joke, he wasn't very good with kind of thing. His friend told Bella had told him to pretend the lady was just 'one of the guys; and be himself. It seemed to be working.

Shan smiled with relief at Eveza’s arrival. “Those look amazing,” he said as he squeezed out from his place at the table and stood up. He gave her a pleading look as he said, “The ladies here were looking for a tour, but I know you were really needed to talk to me about that… thing, so I was thinking I might stay behind and order a proper meal, and you know when you get a minute you could tell me about you know… that thing?” He furrowed his eyebrows almost in pain as his antennae seemed to gravitate toward Eveza and away from the table.

Her antennae were likely picking up the same vibes from the Orion women as Shan’s. They were definitely interested in flirting, most likely quite a bit more than that if the men were into it. And Eveza knew enough about Shan to know that he was not into that at all.

Chaala giggled, a sweet, euphonic sound, and looked to Edwin, dark brown eyes gleaming with good humor. She resembled a human of Asian descent, "Oh, you're funny." She teased, swatting him in the arm. "Aren't you Starfleet types all so upright and law-abiding? I've met your type before; I don't know what it is about you lot, but some of your friends on other ships don't know how to have fun to save their life! I'm glad you're not that type." She added, scooting closer to him with a flirtatious smile. "Maintenance is a boring task, but when you talk to people who talk about boring stuff and nothing else, I'm sure your mind would start turning to mush, too..."

A tiny fraction of a second passed before Sar responded to Chaala. "On the contrary, the maintenance of a starship is a dynamic and engaging task. It is one which requires a level of commitment that is not garnered within every individual. Attending fully to the needs of a vessel can be both rewarding.. and fulfilling. " Sar followed up his words with as blank of an expression as possible.

Tidari looked at Sar with a mix of shock and disgust. She was surprised at how formal he was. Vehnanneu stifled a laugh for a few seconds, but quickly succumbed to the urge. Neither of the women had experienced a Vulcan before. Chaala had met one or two during a particular set of missions.

"There are a few larger starships in the Orion Space Navy's inventory", Tidari said. "But nothing like this... Your ship is a like a town.. A settlement."

"I would imagine Orion starships contain a wide range of facilities", Sar postulated.

Eveza grabbed Shan's shoulder and pulled him to the side while the others spoke.

"I mean, we do have a spa", Vehnanneu said, drawing giggles from some of the others. "But power is often limited. Sometimes unreliable. We're forced to focus on essential systems."

"Is there anywhere you think we should visit while we are here?" Vehnanneu looked to Dramin first, but also to Sar and Edwin.

"Well, there is the shopping district for a start." Dramin reckoned. "Which includes numerous food vendors, if you happen to fancy sampling cuisine from other cultures. There is a library a few decks up if you'd like. Oh, and the holodecks, obviously." And obviously not the sensitive areas. Engineering was a big no-no and so were the bridge and attorney's offices and so on...

"I prefer the Arboretum," Edwin smiled. "It's nice to be able the see nature on a long voyage."

"Oh, we don't have those on our ship. It's not exactly made to support a room of that purpose." Chaala turned to Edwin and smiled. "I would like to see it. Would you be so kind as to show it to me?" She requested.

"Id be glad to." Edwin smiled

Chaala stood up interlocking her arm with Edwin's. "Show me the way, then," she said charmingly as the two walked out of the door.

After guiding Shanir to an adjacent table, Eveza whispered, "You look uncomfortable... What's wrong?"

"Everything is fine now, but the last thing I want to do is entertain a group of amorous Orion women. Just give me an excuse to stay here while they taper off, and I'll be ok," Shan said. Remembering his manners he added, "Please?"

Eveza giggled, looking over to the woman in hopes that they didn't hear him. "They seemed nice to me", she said. "They're no different than your friend from the other night, are they?"

"Well, their culture is a bit different," Shan started to say. "And well, it was Orions who enslaved Lissa's mom, so she doesn't have a lot of nice things to say about them either."

A few minutes later Dramin left with one of the other Orion women. As the others splintered off, Sar became wrapped up in a conversation with Tidari. The fourth Orion, Gevvnu eventually joined them.

Tidari remained persistent in her desire to tour engineering. Sar decided there were several non-sensitive engineering areas he could show them.

The first stop would be the Engineering Labs on Deck 20. There were a few things his team was working on that should be of interest to them, without giving up any trade secrets of the Columbia.

Shan and Eveza continued to spend time talking between the moments when Eveza served the lounge's clientele.

The USS Columbia continued to cut its path through the tempestuous Mutara Nebula as the verdant guests spread throughout the ship.

Ensign Shanir th'Kaasnik
Operations Officer
USS Columbia

Ensign Sar
Engineering Officer
USS Columbia

Ensign Dramin
JAG Officer
USS Columbia

Ensign Edwin Veers
Support Craft Pilot
USS Columbia

Eveza
Waitress/Server Ice Lounge
USS Columbia

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