Raving About Drinks

Posted on Fri May 3rd, 2024 @ 3:18am by Ensign Cha'joga d/o H'gren & Lieutenant Eirly Andersen

1,836 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Mission Interlude Starbase 76 & Serenity
Location: 10-Forward
Timeline: Between "Assistant Chief Tactical Officer" and "First Contact Day Party"

The lounge party was in full swing. The organizer had made it clear to all the attendees: come out of uniform and with your hair down if you have any - the point of it was for everyone to just be them, apart from their jobs, for the night. Electronic music thumped overhead, and colored lights flashed over the celebrating crowd as they partied the night away.

Among them was Cha'joga, with her hair braided down her back and dressed in a dark red tank top, sandals and shorts, currently exchanging stories with one of her fellow flight crew. The Klingon chuckled and waved them off as they stood to greet a fellow crew member in another part of the bar.

Eirly was amazed that a lounge would have such a night on board, and she didn't know anyone as of yet so she thought she would just hang out by the bar itself and watch everyone else having a good time. She had done a little bit of research into what one would wear to something like this and eventually landed on a short black skirt, a light blue flowy top and a pair of flat shoes. She accessorized with a couple of rings on her fingers, a long pendant necklace, and her hair was half down with a couple of small braids.

Sitting at the bar with her drink in hand, she was more than happy to just sip on that and relax for the night.

Cha'joga left her seat to order from the bar then; she plunked herself in the seat next to Eirly and made her order. She smoothed her braids back and glanced sideways at the attractive blonde woman. "Compliments to whomever made this happen! I can't wait for the deejay to put on the hard rock music I requested!" She had no issues simply chatting up strangers at any point in time, really, especially tonight when everyone had left their ranks at the door. "How about you? Will you be joining the dance floor?"

Eirly put her drink down and regarded the other woman, admiring the outfit, the hair and the unusual purple hue of her skin, something she'd never seen before, "Does this place always host events like this, or is it more of a once off kinda thing?"

"I prefer to think of these parties as rare opportunities not to be missed! Actual downtime does not come often!" Cha'joga grinned and crossed one leg over the other. The bartender delivered her order: a dark reddish liquid that definitely wasn't wine. Cha'joga sipped from it still, though, with a hum of approval. "So! What is your name, stranger? My name is Cha'joga! It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

Eirly looked down at her own drink and realised she too needed a refill of the peach coloured cocktail she was drinking so she motioned for another and took another sip of the one in her hand before answering with a smile, "I'm Eirly, pleasure to meet you as well! I'm in the Tactical Department under Lieutenant Commander McEntyre, and I only arrived here yesterday, so I'm still sussing this ship out."

"This party must be a good first impression for you, then!" Cha'joga nodded at the crowd and smiled a mischievous toothy grin. "Will you dance with the others? I think I shall be rejoining them on the floor when my drink is finished. Of course, if you lack someone to dance with, I am more than willing to offer!" She gestured to the crowd. Lively music thumped overhead still, maintaining the energy in the air. One of the security crewmen had managed to string neon armbands onto his wrists and was currently headbanging to the beat - what a strange guy, Cha'joga thought to herself.

"Why the hells not, I haven't been at a party like this for years!" Eirly too was watching the Security crewman with delight. She could tell just by looking at him that he was still young and didn't know any better.

The bartender came with her drink to which Eirly thanked him with a somewhat flirty smile and looked at Cha'joga, "Who are your friends that are here? Anyone that could handle all this and more?" She grinned mischievously and gestured to herself as a whole before laughing.

"Oh, there's..." Cha'joga pointed out a few of her fellow pilots, along with Rilaxa in the corner, who was gossiping with a bunch of her engineer friends. "...and there's me, too, if you would like! I have never backed down from a challenge." She said with a toothy grin. "The choices are endless! I'm sure many people in this room tonight would be pleased to take you on!"

Eirly looked to where the other woman pointed the other people out, nodding as she sipped her drink and put it down. "What do you mean by take me on? Ha ha ha. I'm not a dancer in any way, shape or form when it comes to events like this!" It was true: she had no idea how to dance like everyone else was, but she could waltz around a room or pirouette like there was no tomorrow, although there wasn't exactly and requirement for those kind of skills right now.

"You asked who could handle you, and I gave you an answer, didn't I?" Cha'joga grinned toothily and stood up. Her glass was empty by now; she slid it across to the bartender who accepted it with a smile. "It isn't so hard, really! Dance however you feel is right! I can help you if you'd like..."

Eirly finished her drink too and slid it across the bar as well then slid off the stool gracefully enough and said, "Okay, why not, let's go." She wasn't sure if Cha'joga was being flirty with her or just being nice and friendly, but Eirly was still a bit wary after the way her last relationship ended. "I want to meet the others!" Mainly so she could hopefully gain some friends besides Cha'joga.

Cha'joga rose to her feet and led the way onto the dance floor. "Here! Just do what I do! there's no right or wrong, just do what feels right!" She said. "Go on, give it a try!" After that she began dancing to the beat, following the crowd's movements.

Eirly followed Cha'joga's movements and found the dancing to be exactly the opposite of what she was used to. Eventually, she was even laughing when she goofed and tripped up on her own feet, and she thanked the Gods above that she was wearing flat shoes otherwise it would have been a disaster.

"Remind me later on that we need to book a holodeck so I can show you something!" She called out over the noise of the music while still moving and dancing to that beat.

"Of course I shall! Now! Let's enjoy the night, hm! Today is a glorious day to party!" Cha'joga declared proudly as she danced together one of the Bolian crewmen from the science labs, right near Eirly.

Eirly let the music and the rhythm take over and continued to dance alongside Cha'joga. It was nice, this whole situation was nice and she was enjoying it.

The music changed to something more energetic with thumping bass and electronic beats in the background. Cha'joga caught on to the beat, gyrating her body with the rest of the partygoers with a whoop of enjoyment.

Now that the music had become more energetic, Eirly wasn't as comfortable dancing as she was just a few minutes ago, and she started feeling a little light-headed so she stepped off the dance floor and over to a seat nearby.

The spots danced in her eyes and she blinked hard as she tried to focus on what Cha'joga was doing: she was having fun and Eirly couldn't help but smile at it, even though she herself was having retina issues.

Cha'joga eventually rejoined her. Sweat dripped from her brow and onto her body, but the Klingon was grinning and seemed quite happy, in fact. "That was good! I hope you enjoyed yourself!" She said as she ordered her next drink: a sparkling clear liquid with a slice of some kind of citrus fruit as a garnish. It definitely wasn't a lemon; the entire slice was red all the way through. "Small steps! That's what it takes for some people."

"Oh, it's not that at all!" Eirly explained, "I was starting to see spots in front of my eyes and the lights were a little bit too bright for me, that's all." She managed to flag down some water for them both.

"Bit too bright?" Cha'joga immediately seemed much more concerned than before. "Are you ill? Perhaps it is the noise that's bothering you? If so I believe you can go; no one is keeping you here."

Eirly shook her head, "I promise I'm not ill, I just have a bit of light sensitivity when it comes to seeing, and I pushed myself a bit hard with it, that's all. Nothing to be concerned over, Command knows about it. And the noise is fine, I've been enjoying myself! Plus, I've made a friend! So win-win!"

"Atta girl! That's a win in my eyes too!" Cha'joga grinned and slugged her in the shoulder, not quite hard enough to knock her over. "Maybe next time I'll have to bring you to my favorite pub on Earth - it's a lovely place in San Francisco, about twenty minutes from Starfleet Academy on foot. The rave nights there rival even Klingon victory parties, ha!"

Eirly staggered slightly to regain her balance. Damn, that was light?! "As long as I'm not going to be the only human there, I'd be happy to have a girls night out!" Then she laughed, imagining what it would be like if she was the only one there. "Next trip back to Sol, we'll go there for real."

"Excellent! I'll remind you." Cha'joga replied enthusiastically. "Don't worry! I shall be sure to invite an eclectic mix of our fellow crewmates! You will not be alone."

Eirly was enjoying how enthusiastic Cha'joga was, the extrovertedness was refreshing and complimented Eirly's introvertedness really well, "Am I right to assume that people just gravitate towards you? Because I could certainly see that happening!"

"Most do. I don't mind either way." Cha'joga replied cheerfully. "Want anything to eat? I'll order for us both. Or we could leave if you'd like?"

"You know what? Let's get some drinks and some food and just have a good night." Eirly said with enthusiasm, a full 180 from her previous comments. "Here for a good time, not a long time, after all!"

"That's what I'm talking about! Come, the night is young!" Cha'joga looped an arm around her shoulders and ordered another round of drinks for them both.

Ensign Cha'joga d/o H'gren
Helmsman
USS Astrea

Lieutenant JG Eirly Anderson
Assistant Tactical Officer
USS Astrea



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