Ladies Night

Posted on Sun Mar 3rd, 2024 @ 4:54pm by Ensign Dani Harper & Attaché Phesg Tel'im & Ensign S'Niri

2,442 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: The Menagerie: side stories & mischief making
Location: USS Astrea Recreation Facilities/Jupiter Station Promenade and Disco Bar
Timeline: Week 1, A Friday

Dani had rounded up some of the women she had met over the last week that seemed like they might be fun and asked them to meet her out for a night at the recreation facilities. Dani wasn't one for evenings alone, and the rec rooms had a lot of options of things to do, so the odds of finding something that they could all enjoy were pretty high. When she got to the corridor on Deck 11, she was a little early, so she wandered the hallway, peeking in on what others were doing, and keeping an eye out for who she hoped would be her new friends.

Tel'im smiled as she saw the Ensign looking around. "Lost? ... You know its not nice to peep, unless you're into that kind of thing?"

"Oh hey," Dani said smiling cheerfully. "Just checking out all the games and stuff they have around here. "It's not terribly busy, we should get to do what we want. Was there something you were wanting to try?"

"Well, hello there, my lovely Orion friend!" Cha'joga seemingly materialized behind the Orion two seconds later. The Klingon wore a long sleeveless dress with slits to show off her legs and a golden necklace made of some kind of teeth on a string. She glanced at the woman she was talking to and offered her a toothy grin as well. "Someone's early, I see! Who's this?"

"Your newest friend, round-ears," Tel'im shot the dark-haired Klingon a smile, then switched to Standard. "Tel'im--I'm a Romulan with an actual sense of humor, and a healthy respect for Starfleet... Pleasure... We're a rare trio, aren't we?"

"Thisbe is supposed to be showing up too..." Dani said, craning her neck to see if she could see the Bajoran coming. "But yeah, you could call the three of us the misfits in a way," Dani agreed.

"I'm sure she'll show. She enjoys a good time, last I heard." Cha'joga grinned a toothy grin.

Thisbe joined the group next, turning up in a tight white dress and matching heels. "Hey, girls. How are you?" She asked. She was ready to go cut a rug and maybe see her Vulcan friend one last time. "Where are we going?" She asked. "I heard a rumor that there will be a group of eligible men in the disco bar on the Promenade level," she said. "A VERY cute Vulcan among them...." she smiled.

"Well I thought when I said meet on the recreation deck, we'd like do the stuff here?" Dani said sheepishly looking at Thisbe and Cha'joga, who obviously had not dressed for a round of bowling or shuffleboard. "I take you guys had something else in mind?"

"Dani sweety, when you tell us we're going out on a girl's night, that doesn't usually mean anything ordinary." Cha'joga grinned and elbowed the young Orion lightly. "Disco bar and men first, then we can do other things - what say you all? It shall be a glorious night!"

"Sure, well okay. Where are we going then?" Dani asked with a shrug.

"That disco bar sounds... Interesting... Maybe I'll see a cute girl? I'm sure my wife wouldn't mind me dancing a bit... Eh, screw it--lets go!" Tel'im turned to the Klingon. "So, how'd you end up in Starfleet? I get asked that a lot, so I thought I'd return the favor for once."

"I wanted to fly." was Cha'joga's response, somewhat noncommittal though truthful. It was the same response she gave out to most people, anyhow. She set off towards the disco bar with her new companions in tow. "I'd be happy to meet either tonight - I hear some women like their girlfriends strong." She joked.

"We can arrange that," Thisbe replied. "I have a friend on the Station that said that the Disco bar was where all the best people hang out," she said. "I am sure you can find a lady, a man, or both. Wait, how is my makeup??" She paused to look at her face in the mirrored door of a turbolift. "T'Vala, eat your heart out," she smirked.

"Wait, whose T'vala?" Dani asked trying to catch up with the gossip as she followed the girls to the disco.

"Former lover, sister, the possibilities are endless till she answers," teased Tel'im. "Damn, did you dress to impress? Is that the Terran phrase? I know I look Vulcan, but these Romulan vocal cords and brain are still adjusting to some of the more idiomatic phrasing of Fed Standard." She looked over at the Klingon as the lift started moving. "I noticed your accent--sounds like we might be in the same boat? House Mokai, unless I miss my mark?"

"Indeed. It is that of my mother's." Cha'joga stated. She looked to the Romulan with a raised eyebrow. Rarely ever had she ever met someone else who spoke of themselves in the same boat as her. "The same boat as I? What do you mean? Are you too dishonored and considered an exile among your people?"

"T'Vala is a...friend. A Vulcan I met here, on the Station, when I first arrived. I actually arrived about four days before I had to report for duty-I had a shakedown cruise and we were close," she said. "So I spent time wandering the Station and making out with cute boys," she said, with a shrug.

Dani giggled. "How many cute boys?"

Thisbe shrugged noncommittally. "Only three, actually," she said. "But T'Vala is...special," she said, starry look in her eyes. Truthfully, it wasn't as serious on his side as it was on HERS but she chose to ignore that part.

"You made out with a Vulcan?" Dani asked as they stepped off the turbolift. "That is interesting. I didn't think they just did that sort of thing for fun."

Thisbe shrugged. "I guess some do. Or I am irresistible," she said. What had REALLY happened was that it was a dare, and there was money behind it. "It was fun. Not sure I'd do it again, though. I mean, I like him, but we haven't melded yet and we're sailing soon, so."

"I didn't think you had melded with him--if this is the gentleman I'm thinking of, he's surprisingly circumspect about who he melds with... Usually during... Ahem, more physical activities." Tel'im led the group towards the docking access to the station. "I'm not dishonored, although I certainly would like to strangle the commander of the Hakona. Humorless little thel'adr, and... What's the Terran word? A homophobe? ... No--I am not dishonored, but I do feel a bit of an outcast. Very few Romulans with my experiences, much less serving on Starfleet ships, even as civilians." She flashed her ID at the bored Denobulan security guard on duty and passed through. "Come on--that music won't wait."

Thisbe blinked. "I see. I'll introduce you all to him if they're there," she said, "And you can let me know." She said. She showed her ID and went on, headed straight for the back, for a larger table that the four women could occupy, and ALSO to survey the room.

Cha'joga grinned at the bouncer and flashed her identification at them and walked behind the group. "To think humans would have gotten over homophobia in three hundred years. I suppose for some people time never moves." She mused as they sat down together. They looked strange, a Romulan, Klingon, Orion and Cardassian-Bajoran hybrid seated together, but then again there'd been stranger things in the history of the Federation than that. "What would you all like to drink? I'll order." She offered, rising to her feet. "I think I'll have... that drink the menu calls a Warp Core Breach..."

"That's terrible," Thisbe remarked. "If it makes you feel better, it's not well-recieved on Cardassia Prime, either. My dad was Cardassian, a defector during the Occupation. I was raised on the neutral planet of Ordeve, and uh...well. My uncle still lives on Cardassia Prime with his family. My middle cousin is gay and he faces a lot of...maltreatment. I am trying to get him to join us, but things are tough for Cardassians raised in the Dominion, for obvious reasons," she said. Thisbe herself was too young to have been affected by the Occupation, thankfully, but still listened to her parents' stories and warnings about the social things to look out for to prevent genocide.

Dani looked around while the others talked, listening. She perked when Cha'jog asked for drink orders. "Amaretto Sour please," she responded. She hadn't really planned to drink tonight, but apparently she was along for the ride. "The Hakona?" Dani asked. The ship wasn't familiar to her.

"Can I have a white wine, please, Cha'joga?" Thisbe asked. "Thank you." To Dani, she spoke. "I don't know that one, either. Romulan Exchange, perhaps?" She shrugged an olive toned shoulder and returned to her task of looking for V'lal.

"D'Deridex-class Romulan warbird." Tel'im shrugged. "Confronted the Enterprise-D near and over the Ikonian homeworld in the Neutral Zone twenty years ago... Red wine, please, second-dryest you can get," the Romulan threw over her shoulder as the Klingon was leaving. She next turned to the hybrid. "If you need help, I have one or two contacts within Cardassian borders. Might help smooth things over."

Thisbe nodded. "Perhaps," she said. "Though I am not sure my parents wouldn't be exactly overjoyed by that. They were defectors," she said. "And us hybrids aren't exactly well-received," she said.

"Why doesn't your cousin just leave?" Dani asked.

Thisbe sighed. "It's complicated. A guy, first of all, which is SO DUMB. Plus, my uncle has a storied military career and...well. People would talk. I think he's worried about being disowned," she said. "But I am still trying to work on him," she said. "Now that full Cardassians are allowed in the Fleet, it would be a good time. He runs a legal office on Cardassia," she said.

Cha'joga had only just returned with everyone's drinks when she spied a beautiful young Betazoid woman sitting alone in the corner of the bar. "Isn't that crewman Otri? The one who used to be a model on Betazed before joining Starfleet?" She nodded in the young woman's direction.

Thisbe turned her head in Cha'joga's direction. "Ooh, she's pretty," she said. "I don't think I've met her." She said. "Dani? Have you?"

Dani shook her head. "Mmm-mm."

Cha'joga grinned at her table companions. "I'm going to say hi if you both don't." She stated, glancing round the table. "I hear she likes pilots..."

Thisbe gestured. "Feel free!! I like boys," she said. "Good luck. BE SAFE!!" she giggled.

"You need a wingman, or you got this?" Dani asked.

"I think I have it reasonably in the bag, as humans say. Don't worry! Even if I fail, I've tried my utmost!" Cha'joga rose to her feet and approached the beautiful young Betazoid with her chest puffed out and head held high. Klingon confidence, as always.

Thisbe shrugged. "Well. I don't see V'lal or his friend Matt yet," she said. "Should we get some appetizers?" She asked. She was now eyeballing another guy, though-a Bajoran, if the ridges from his nose to his forehead were any indication. "He's CUUUTEE," she said. "Do you guys know him?"

Tel'im sniggered. "Oh, I know him... He's heading up a team upgrading the Avilon. Taking forever, apparently. Hit on me my first week here--I almost punched him... Good in bed, from what I hear the other women say, but so not my type." Her eye caught a human woman just entering. "Isn't that Ensign Wilson, from our ship?"

Thisbe looked interested. "I see," she said. She'd never dated one of her own before. Could be a fun experiment. If V'lal didn't show up, he'd do just fine. She moved her vision to the door. "Yes, I think so! I haven't met her formally yet, but it sure seems so," she said, finally sitting down and taking a swig of the wine.

"It's her, I worked with her for like five minutes one day before she got called away," Dani raised a hand to catch her attention. "Hey Rose, are you here with anyone?"

"No, but I heard the mushrooms are to die for here! ... Hi, I'm Rose--you all are?"

Cha'joga came loping back over looking somewhat downtrodden. She plopped down into her old seat and sipped from her drink. "She isn't into ladies." She mumbled.

"Bummer," Thisbe said. "Well, at least you said hello!" She said. "I don't see V'lal or his friend Matt," she said, in a bit of a whiny voice.
"Maybe we should just all date each other," she said, grumpily.

"Maybe we should try dancing?" Dani suggested. "Everyone seems to be having fun out there."

"I can't dance very well - but I can certainly try!" Cha'joga rose to her feet and strode boldly out onto the dance floor in search of a partner. Surely there had to be at least one wallflower or especially bold individual she could hoodwink into joining her.

"Pleasure... I'm happy to dance, but food first... Can I get anyone anything?" Rose smiled at Tel'im. "I know what you want, at least, Tel."

The Romulan gave the human a look. "Just because you're engaged to my nephew, don't think I won't hold you to high standards... Those mushrooms do sound good, though."

"Dancing is a good idea!" Thisbe said. She stood up on her feet, and pulled the ladies along. "Let's go."
"Let's go," Thisbe said, setting her glass down on the table, and pulling the Klingon with her. "I can't wait to see how a Klingon dances," she said. She made her way to the dance floor, busting out some moves as she did. She didn't lie that she was a good dancer, she just LIKED it. She was actually pretty terrible. She had learned some old Earth dances-the Robot and the Mashed Potato.

"A lot of different dance styles out on the floor tonight," Dani commented to Rose and Tel'im. "I guess anything goes when you're in Starfleet," she said with a shrug.

"Indeed!" Cha'joga hollered over the thumping beat that seemed to be playing overhead. Good thing the crowd was already noisy enough, or she might've drawn more attention than she'd have liked. She was not much better of a dancer than Thisbe at all, but that had never stopped her from making a valiant attempt at it - she gyrated her body to the beat as she made her way round the crowd.

[End]

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