Goodwill Reception Part 1: Before the Doors Open

Posted on Mon Apr 1st, 2024 @ 3:35am by Captain Remy Johansen & Lieutenant Commander Nash Winters & Lieutenant Jules Mundy & Lieutenant Commander Maxun Spello & Lieutenant JG Thivi & Lieutenant JG Ta'Feel Anith Usskik & Civilian Jheva

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Artifact or Artifiction
Location: Deck 10, All Purpose Room
Timeline: Day 6, 1400 Hours

The all purpose room had been transformed for the purposes of hosting a reception for the Atarans to mingle with the crew and citizens of the Astrea and enjoy light refreshments. Smaller flags from all of the Federation member worlds created a border around the ceiling. Nothing garish, but representative of how many groups of people had come together to form this alliance.

There were also small displays showing the history of the Federation and it's formation, and other landmark moments around the edges of the room. Four buffets were set up with various assortments of appetizers, small plates, and desserts from many worlds. While one could serve oneself, there were also servers to assist and answer any question.

A bar had been set up as well. After speaking with Remy, Samuel had gotten to work. He and his staff had done an amazing job thus far. There were actually two separate bars running. One for adults to have any type of drink they chose, and a second bar, set up solely for any children that came or were brought. At that one, there was a wide array of fruit juices, different flavored milks, even some soft drinks. Also, in the spirit of friendship, Samuel was forgoing his normal fee for his services in a party setting. For his employees, he was going to pay them from his own pockets for the whole event, however long it ran.

Remy and Nash entered the hall around 1400 to check on its progress about a half an hour before the event was set to begin. "I hope this goes well," Remy said to confidante. "This is my first time, you know - being the person they blame if everything goes wrong."

“Come on, now, Remy. You’re being too hard on yourself. For what it’s worth, I think you were made for this,” Nash complimented Remy. He crossed in front of her and put his hand on her shoulders. They faced each face to face.

“I’m not privy to Command’s plans for the command structure on Astrea, but I would bet on you to take the big chair. And twice on Sunday. You’ve impressed a lot of people so far. You deserve it, my friend. Look….please push the self doubt out of your mind. Captain. I’m going to say hello to Sam. Whistle if you need me.”

Sam, Remy hadn't spoken to him much at all since the other night. She trailed behind Nash who was walking at a quick step as he went to go say hello.

Samuel was behind the main bar at that moment, though he moved back and forth between the two. As he was finishing up with one customer, he felt a familiar presence approach. Reaching under the bar, he grabbed a wine glass and a bottle of Chianti. By the time he had the glass filled, Nash and Remy had reached the bar. Placing Remy's in front of her, he gave her a grin that belonged only to her, before changing it and looking over at Nash. "What'll it be, Nash? Harvey wallbanger? Screwdriver? Risian Sunrise?"

“How about an Old Fashioned? Orange twist. Remy, something for you?” Nash had noticed the way Sam and Remy looked at each other. Something was definitely there. He’d ask her about it at a later time.

“You know….I think Alexandra might want to be here and meet the other children. What do you think, Remy? Should I bring her down? It would be a diversion from her usual routine.”

"If the others bring their children, it would be nice for some of our own on board to be around," Remy said with a smile. "If you're comfortable bringing her," she added. Remy found herself feeling oddly uncomfortable standing alongside Nash, with Sam behind the counter, the room coming together nice but not open for guests yet. She had tried to catch Sam's eye, but she wasn't quite sure what direction to look without seeming either obvious or disengaged.

Nash took a sip of the drink and was not disappointed. “It’s delicious, Sam. Just how I like it. Hope you had a good time the other night. Dinner with Sara and I, I mean. Hope we didn’t embarrass you. She was glad to see you after all this time. So…. tell me, how’s your social life. Been seeing anyone?”

Remy had intended to ask Sam to place the glass of wine in back until later, but it was at that point that she slid her arm across the bar and placed her fingers on top of the base of the wine glass so that she could pull it back toward herself. She really should have made the time to talk to Samuel about this before something like this would happen.

She tried to look casual as she took the wine into her hand. "Weren't you going to get Alexandra? She'll need time to pick out something to wear. You should go get her now. Take you drink, no one will mind." She hid her face behind the glass as she took a sip.

Before Samuel could reply to Nash's question, Remy spoke up. Hearing the tone of her voice kept him from telling the truth, yet. "Oh, you know me, Nash. I tend to be too busy running my bar to have free time like that. It's the curse of barely needing any sleep, I'm always working." When Nash looked away, he briefly made eye contact with Remy, then looked back at Nash, as he pulled out a cloth and started to wipe down that section of bartop.

Remy had asked for it of course, but Samuel's words still stung a bit, as she let out a slow breath and tried to not let the light in her eyes dim too much. She was an idiot and she knew it. It was precisely this kind of behavior that had soured almost every relationship she'd been in before it even got started.

“Such is life for a bartender and proprietor, right? Remy, yes I am going to get Alex. I think she’ll take an interest in our guests over there. I’ll be back in a bit. If I'm not back in an hour, call for General Quarters,” Nash grinned as he left the bar. He was worried about his friend Remy. At the same time, he saw a gleam in her eye that he had not seen before. Nash was no empath, but he could sense something between Sam and his Commanding Officer.

After Nash had walked away, Remy took a step toward Sam and closed her eyes to a near squint in embarrassment at herself. "I'm sorry," she looked at him almost painfully. "I'm, uh... can I see you later?" she asked.

When he was sure that no one was near enough to hear them, Samuel gave Remy a soft smile, which was echoed in his eyes when they locked onto hers. "You don't need to apologize, my love. If you want to keeps things about us quiet for now, I will certainly respect your wishes." He reached out and placed his right hand gently on her left, giving it a slight squeeze. "I'm not going anywhere, Rem." He gave her a little wink, then released her hand as he nodded. "And of course you can. You know how to find me."

Remy felt herself blush slightly at the attention. "Thanks. I'll find you later. No more wine until after the party," she commented taking her glass.

Samuel nodded, dipping his head respectfully as he replied. "As you wish."

Tag Remy (optional)

Dr. Ta'Feel checked Hir chronometer, noticing that it was 1410 Standard time, and tele/talked to Hir family members that it was time to go to the reception. They left their quarters and made their way to the reception area at 1421, paused for a moment, then entered the area. Ta'Feel walked over to the adult bar area and ordered 4 mielcelovo nectars, then, after picking up hir drink, decided to wander around the room observing the Atarans and their interactions with other alien species. Nallee, Shakal and Zetchurl each picked up their drinks, and started slowly walking around the room.

Shelly and Andrea entered the party early while holding each other's hands gently and went to the bar to order their strong, cold beer. They made sure that it was not that replicated crap at all. After they got their beers, Andrea tipped the bartender four strips of gold pressed latinum and they both took a sip of their beers. Then, they wandered around a bit and saw the Doctor. They were unfamiliar of the doctor's species. Both of them approached the doctor and they said in unison, "Greetings Doc. We wanted to introduce ourselves to you." Then, Shelly said, "I am Shelly Guevera and this is my gorgeous fiancé, Andrea."

Ta'Feel did a quick a series of blink/speaks, replying first to Shelly, "Dr. Ta'Feel is pleased to meet Shelly Guevera.", then to Andrea, "Dr. Ta'Feel is pleased to meet fiancé Andrea." Sei paused for a short time, then continued, "What is your perception of the Astrea and ..." Ta'Feel paused for a moment, then decided to use the common Standard term for the crew of a ship, which was her, but used the .Chix'alk pronoun instead. "... tem crew?"

Shelly and Andrea replied in unison saying, "The Astrea, first off, is bloody awesome. We love this ship. And, well, the crew, we are still getting used to them." Then, they took a sip of their beers and continued, "We noticed that your pronoun is quite unique. We are curious, what species are you? We never encountered such a unique species before." Their curiosity obviously showed as they raised their right Romulan eyebrows.

Ta'Feel responded with a series of blink/speaks, "Dr. Ta'Feel is not sure which pronoun you are referring to." "We belong to the .Chix'alk species." Sei gestured to the other three family members as Sei spoke. "Our species is very different than the usual bipedal, two-gendered, species." "If you like, I could introduce you to the other members of my mated family."

Shelly and Andrea replied, "Yes, please. We would love to meet them." They were curious and they could somewhat relate to Ta'Feel's species.

Dr. Ta'Feel did a quick tele/speak, where Hir eyes went through a series of rapid color changes, but Hir horns did not go through any color changes at all. After a moment, Sei responded with a couple of blink/speaks, "I just contacted my family members." "They will be here in a very short time."

Shelly replied, "That sounds wonderful." Both Andrea and Shelly loved the way Ta'Feel contacted Hir family members and this Ta'Feel's eye color changes and found it to be very unique.

Nallee Anith walked over to the group, did a blink/speak, and announced, "Mr. Nallee Anith greets LtJG Shelly Guevera and Ens. Andrea Mitchell."

Shakal Anith walked over to the growing group, did a blink/speak, and announced, "Ms Shakal Anith greets LtJG Shelly Guevera and Ens. Andrea Mitchell."

Zetchurl Anith had walked up to the group, but waited until the other two had introduced themselves, then walked over and announced, "Mm. Zetchurl Anith greets LtJG Shelly Guevera and Ens. Andrea Mitchell." Zetchurl pronounced the "Mm." almost like cross between "Mom" and "Mum", with the vowel sound almost silent.

The four of them stood side by side, with Ta'Feel to the left, followed by Nallee, Shakal and Zetchurl. With their heights being 6'3", 6'1", 5'11" and 5'9", respectively, they might have looked like a set of Russian nesting dolls.

Ta'Feel did a blink/speak, and replied, "Mx. Ta'Feel Anith formally greets LtJG Shelly Guevera and Ens. Andrea Mitchell." Ta'Feel pronounced the "Mx." almost like "mixed", with the "d" barely audible. "Would Shelly and Andrea care to sit at a table and converse for a time?"

Shelly and Andrea replied in unison, "It is a pleasure to meet all of you. And, yes, we would like to sit at a table and converse for a time." They called over a waitress and ordered a full bottle of the most expensive whiskey with two whiskey glasses and asked, "Would all of you like some whiskey as well?"

Dr. Ta'Feel replied, "The .Chix'alk species can only consume Mielcelovo nectar, which is similar to Terran honey." "We appreciate your offer." "We can consume alkomedo, which is similar to Terran mead," "To honor our guests, we will consume alkomedo." "Would either of you desire to try alkomedo?"

Shelly and Andrea replied, "Certainly. That would sound good as well." Then, they also ordered alkomedo for everyone at the table and tipped the waitress 10 bars of gold pressed latinum for her service."

Ta'Feel picked up hir mug of alkomedo with hir right hand (which has an opposable thumb) and announced, "In the Terran tradition, Dr. Ta'Feel would like to offer a toast to our friendship." Sei then raised the mug toward the center of the table. Nallee, Shakal and Zetchurl raised their mugs, and extended them toward the center of the table.

Shelly and Andrea raised their glasses and said, "Cheers to friendship!" Then, they took a sip of their drinks.

>> To Part 2 >>

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