Ladies' Beach Party

Posted on 10 Feb 2022 @ 5:06pm by Ensign Mimi & Lieutenant JG Sofie Ullswater & Petty Officer 3rd Class Jeysa Zeror & Cadet Senior Grade Jemima de la Coeur & Nesh Saalm
Edited on on 15 Feb 2022 @ 7:59pm

3,912 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: Episode 18 - Cold Station 31
Location: Regula I - Level 16, Holodeck
Timeline: MD 02, 1700 hrs

[ON]

Nesh Saalm had booked herself the holodeck and sent out some invitations. Truth be told, after her fight with Lirha (and she was not going to be forgiving and forgetting anytime soon), she needed to have some fun. And remembering how much fun a day at the beach drinking was...well, she had booked a holodeck, gotten enough booze in to knock out some Klingons and dressed up in a skimpy bikini. She wore her hair up as well, in a tight bun, exposing her neck to the holographic sun.

It was beautiful though. The clear water, the holographic people around, the sexy half-Klingon bartender who took care of the drinks. They were going to have fun, she knew it. And she needed it, with her bruised ego.

Working in the galley. Lirha had only offered it up because she thought she would say no and crawl back to science like she wanted her to. Manipulative. Dishonest. Seriously, if they had been anywhere near a decent Starbase, Nesh would have jumped ship. But stuck out here she had limited choices.

As the door to the holodeck opened and she took in the beach scene in front of her Mimi took off her sandals so she could walk barefoot on the warm sand, it had been too long since she'd walked barefoot around somewhere other than her quarters. "Hi Nesh." She said seeing the young Orion.

"Mimi!" Nesh smiled as she stood, watching her with excitement. "Welcome to the beach! What do you want to drink? Romeo here can shake up any cocktail you want."

"Just a glass of springwine, I do not want to repeat what happened last time." Mimi replied, referring back to their last 'ladies night' with Nesh and some of the old Galileo crew, she had enjoyed that night and had decided to wear the same green dress as she had then.

"Oh please, that was part of the fun..." Nesh said and raised her hand. "Romeo, a large glass of springwine and another margarita for me!" she announced and led Mimi to the beach towels.

Jemima was dressed in a bright yellow swimsuit, her hair pulled into a ponytail on top of her head. She was practically bouncing as she walked onto the holodeck. "Hey, all!" she called cheerfully. "This is a great idea!"

"Jemima!" Nesh smiled as she waved, laughing. "So weird seeing you in yellow but I love it! Come over, have a drink! Oh, what are you drinking, Romeo will make you whatever you want...and yes, it's real alcohol..." she tempted, biting her lip seductively.

"Rum and coke, light on the rum," Jemima said, grinning. She gave Nesh a hug. "I'm off-duty and can wear what I like and I like colours."

Nesh hugged her before she pulled back. "Romeo! Rum and coke, light on the rum!" she called out and giggled, shaking her head. "I have to admit, I do not miss the Starfleet uniforms...always found the collar itchy. Is that just me though? Is there a secret that no one told me about softening it?"

"They are designed to be comfortable for long.." Mimi started to give an explanation but decided to give up halfway. "No, there is no secret."

Fast on the heels of Jemima, Sofie hopped through the holodeck door before it could close with all the delicacy of an injured goose. Wandering through the station half lost in a summer dress and wide brimmed hat trying to find her way here had made her slightly self conscious but now she'd got here she was beaming. "Hey everyone," She declared with exuberance "I have arrived!"

"Hi Sofie." Mimi said smiling as she picked up her springwine. "I like your dress."

"It's stunning!" Nesh said and smiled warmly, waving eagerly. "Come on, have a drink. What's your pleasure?"

"Looking sharp yourself Mimi!" Sofie called over as she sidled up to where Nesh and the others were gathered. "And yes, please," she buried her tired face in her hand for emphasis. "Something strong, I have had a nightmare of a day and I need this." Then after a moment of hesitation "I don't suppose they have any kanar do they?"

Jemima hugged Mimi and Sophie before finding a place to sit.

"Sure they do!" Nesh said and waved her hand over at the holo bartender. "Kanar for the lovely Sofie please!" she plonked herself on the beach towel and looked at the others. "Full disclosure...I missed girls' night out and I am in a rotten mood so wanted to do something cheery. Now, I know she's your Captain but she is also my sister...so I will have a little rant and you don't have to comment because obvs I know it is awkward for you..." she took a deep breath, filling her lungs before she groaned. "So I wasn't pulling my weight and I got either having to go back to Science...which..." she looked at Sofie. "I know you totally are amazing at but I am totally not so I didn't like it..." she looked at the others, her eyes wide. "Or work the galley for like 19 hours a day plus cleaning...so I chose the galley because at least I can pretend to be creative! Anyway, my sister is becoming my mother now and I just hate it...so...we're drinking and talking about things that really matter!" she clapped her hands as the drinks were brought over. "Like...do we know if we've gotten any cute new crewmembers lately?"

"There's a new guy in ops," Jemima said. "Haven't talked to him yet." Then, jumping to the other topic, she added. "What's wrong with being an artist? Everyone needs good art, even Starfleet."

Sofie took the glass of dark green kanar from the hologram without acknowledging him and went and gracelessly sat herself down on the sand next to Nesh. "Unfortunately I have seen nobody on the entire station that has even been close to matching our level when it comes to cute..." She stopped herself before continuing, realising that And when I was your age... would be perhaps the most patronising thing to say right now. "Look, I sang opera for like 2 years before I joined Starfleet, I don't regret it at all. Don't let anyone tell you that you need to grow up too fast."

With a small bag over her shoulder Jeysa entered the holodeck."Hey, sorry I'm late, decided to whip up a few snacks. Completely fresh and homemade."

"Those are two of my favourite words," Jemima said, grinning. She thanked the bartender for her drink and took a sip, then addressed Jeysa again. "Actually, you're just in time."

"Perfect timing and oooh! Snacks!" Nesh smiled as she met Jeysa's eyes. "What drink would you like? Romeo can whip up anything...and it's the good stuff too. I was just...whining. About my sister. Oh and if there's any good looking fresh faces joining us on the Gally...."

"I'll have a sex on the beach." Jeysa replied, she put her backpack on the table and pulled out a few containers of snacks.

Mimi laughed. "They really have a drink called that?"

"They really do..." Sofie sighed with great exasperation. Pulling herself up from the sand she sidled up to the table to see what snacks were on offer. "Earth people come up with the most absurd things."

"We sure do," Jemima said, grinning. "We also come up with some of the best. Ain't nothing like a hot rum toddy on a cold, wet night."

Looking over at the selection Jeysa had bought with her Mimi put her nose close to one of the boxes. "What are these?" She asked, "They smell very interesting but look horrible."

"Oooh!" Nesh reached out and smiled, picking one up. "Orion wing slugs. Sooo good," she popped one in her mouth before she moaned softly, closing her eyes. "And these are sooo good..."

Jeysa smiled, she knew Nesh would like them, they were the same 'Trillian twist' wing slugs she had made for her and Lirha a few months previously.

Picking one up Mimi sniffed it more intently before popping it into her mouth, she made several different faces as she chewed it. "Hmmmm, quite an unusual taste."

"Thanks, but I don't eat things I use to bait my fishhook," Jemima said cheerfully. "Give me a fresh croissant or a lemon-blueberry tart and I'm in heaven."

"I did bring some sweet and savoury things too Jemima." Jeysa said, opening another box. "Not quite a lemon-blueberry tart but I have brownies."

"Brownies?" Jemima's eyes widened, as did her smile. "What kind?" Although, to be honest, it was pretty hard to ruin brownies.

Even Sofie, who had been elbow deep in delectable Orion snacks turned her head at the mention of brownies. One of the things that Earth folks had for sure got right was that wonderful chocolate delicacy. "You're a real good sport Jeysa, putting on this spread for us. Thanks, we must be the luckiest people in light years of here."

"I've spent years serving people, organising events and all that sorta stuff, hard to turn it off when I'm not at work." Jeysa said before popping a brownie into her mouth.

"I am just grateful you can handle the Captain," Nesh said, making the distinction between Lirha-as-Sister and Lirha-as-Captain. "Keeping things moving smoothly, making sure no one gets insulted by paperwork...there's not enough credit given to the yeoman if you ask me. Or, for that matter, anyone who isn't in a Chief chair or below..."

"I'm grateful I don't have to do any of that," Jemima added. "Just goes to show how good you are at your job." SHe took a bite of brownie and closed her eyes. "And these are heavenly."

"Thanks, all of you." Jeysa said smiling, it was nice to know her work was appreciated. "Although, we're not supposed to be talking about work here, we're supposed to be enjoying ourselves." She picked up her cocktail and downed almost half of it in one go.

Sofie raised her glass in response and took a sip of the syrupy liquid. It wasn't amazing but too many years spent around Cardassians had spoiled her. "I'd rather drown than spend another second talking about work. But I guess we are all on shore leave so..." She lay back on the sand, munching one of Jeysa's savoury snacks and gazing up at the simulated sky. "We don't even have to think about it! Just think about the fun stuff..."

"Or not think at all." Jemima took another brownie.

"It has been good to get off of the ship for a while." Mimi said then sipped her springwine. "John took me out for dinner then we went for a long walk around the station."

"Oooooo, lucky you." Sofie cooed jokingly "I had brunch with Aria this morning, you know she's head of department now?" She shook her head "Things change eh? It's going to be different not seeing her around so much." A moment of melancholy washed over her as she looked up at the sky, hearing the waves lapping against the sand, the occasional seabird calling out, but this was meant to be a carefree beach party so she pulled herself back to her normal bubbly self "So, any of you got plans for what you are going to do during shore leave?"

Jemima flopped back on her blanket. "Not one."

Mimi shrugged slightly "I do not really have anything planned, maybe watch some more movies with John, I like spending time with him."

"Oh, do you now?" Nesh smiled and rolled onto her front, propped up on her elbows so she could still drink and eat. "I bet you do...not seen John around for ages...not that I was looking for him..." she winked, her lip teasing her lip for a moment to catch a spilled drop of drink. "So...using him as a scratching post yet?"

Putting her drink down for a moment Mimi cocked her head to the side a little. "A scratching post... why would I, did you mean that as a.... euphemism?"

Nesh laughed at the way Mimi looked at her, the cute little head tilt that made her look so confused, and put her glass down on the sand. "Yeah girl! Like...applied xenobiology, amorous congress, feeding the kitty, docking sequence engaged, cloaking the torpedo...bow-chick-a-wow-wow..." she stopped herself and looked at Sofie, winking. "That last one was from Rice a way back, never heard it until she said it..." she looked back at Mimi and sighed. "Look, I am getting so little action nowadays that I need to hear of others getting something...anything..."

Jeysa burst out laughing, nearly launching what remained of her cocktail over the sand. "Cloaking the torpedo, that's a good one."

Lying there on the sand Sofie wished it would just swallow her up. Living with Aria had given her some resistance to this sort of thing but she couldn't help but blush a deep red as Nesh's vulgar list carried on. She had to say something, anything! "Well you know I for one am glad that Mimi is having a wonderful time with John. And who knows Nesh, I'm sure there are plenty of wonderful people around the station..."

"But I've not exactly come across someone I'd want to clean my antimatter injectors, if you catch my drift..." Nesh winked to Sofie, clearly not noticing the other woman was uncomfortable with the conversation. She pouted as she looked over at Mimi, cocking her head to the side. "Let me live through you for a little bit...please...anything? Don't have to go into details just...something!"

"Well we were watching a movie in my quarters, we had come close to it once before but stopped because we were not sure it was safe." Mimi took a deep swig of her drink plucking up her courage. "I told him about some new tests Allyndra had run and she said it should be safe. So we decided to try it."

The sound that Nesh made almost sounded like a squeal and she smiled widely, nodding. "And? How was it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Repeats to happen again in the future?"

"It felt really weird to start with but got better as we went." Mimi replied. "John may look a little rough but he can be so gentle."

As soon as Mimi began to speak Sofie was jumping to her feet and instantly at the bar. She gestured with her empty glass to the hologram but as he went to pour her another drink she snapped "Look, just give me the bottle." and snatched it out of his holographic hands before returning to the others on the sand. Hopefully she could drown out her awkwardness in the syrupy Cardassian spirit.

"Sofie, great idea!" Nesh smiled, oblivious to the reasoning behind the addition of spirits. She sat cross-legged on the beach towel, looking at Mimi with shining eyes. "That's fantastic, Mimi! I have been rooting for you for so long! Not that we're not happy being single and independent and so on, but...you know...I'm a romantic at heart!"

"I am sure you will find someone for yourself eventually too, Nesh," Mimi said. "And not just a.... cheap fling?"

"The right guy is always worth waiting for," Jemima piped in. "You want to wait for a guy who cares about you and doesn't just want you in bed."

"I'll settle for my haboosian baths holoprogram for now," Jeysa said before downing the last of her cocktail. "Those massuese's have such delicate fingers.

Sofie, now secured on the sand with a bottle of kanar and a lot less worries, turned to Nesh "So the right guy wasn't on Galileo? That's fine! I guess now we are on the station and everything there are all these other people, with any luck, who knows? The person you are looking for might be just around the corner!" She finished her glass and immediately poured herself another "What sort of guy does someone like you look for anyway?"

Nesh's smile seemed almost wicked as she looked at the other women, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I try not to...judge on appearance," she said and sighed, before she winked. "But I will allow myself to be shallow enough to say I have a type. Tall. With the charisma of a tractor beam. Intense...not with a temper, but with passion. I like feeling as if I am being swept up in a storm."

Jemima nodded. "Me, I like someone who can make me laugh and likes to cuddle." She grinned. "Cuddles last far longer than passion."

Do tractor beams have charisma? Sofie bit back the question and drained her glass once again. "Yeah that description doesn't seem to match anyone on Galileo. We're all short here." She laughed a little at herself as she sat there on the sand. Was it the kanar setting in? "Anyway, I agree with Jemima, I just want a hug."

"Nekomi are good huggers." Mimi said, she finished off her glass of springwine before ordering another. "We hug like humans shake hands, there are.... formal hugs, hugs you'd do with friends and family then.. intimate hugs."

"My granny used to call them special hugs," Jemima said. "I'm not so sure I'd consider that particular activity hugging."

"You are going to have to teach us how you hug like Nekomi," Nesh said and drained her glass, sighing softly. "If I had to learn the human handshake, I want to learn the Nekomi hugs. Formal and friends."

Mimi chuckled at Jemima's remark. "Up you get then Nesh," She said slowly getting to her feet. "And I will show you, if I can remember, I never actually had to hug anyone formally."

Sofie clapped excitedly with a giggle from her seated position on the sand. "Yeah Nesh, get up! Let's see the demonstration!"

Jemima clapped. "Yes, show us."

Laughing, Nesh stood and made a bow to the other girls before she looked at Mimi. "Direct me as you wish...I want to be good at this, to impress your people!" she winked before she blew a kiss.

Chuckling slightly, Mimi approached Nesh. "So we start with nearly a handshake but you hold each other by the wrist," She took Neshs arm by the wrist. "then keeping hold you go into the hug but you stay.... stiff, do not lean into it, only your arms should touch the other person's body."

Nesh did as told, taking a hold of Mimi's wrist, staying stiff as she watched her. "I feel this may have benefited from a hoop skirt or something ancient and bulky..." she said playfully, but was clearly enjoying learning this bit from Mimi's culture.

"Maybe, we do not really like big and bulky clothing though," Mimi remarked. "Now a 'friends and family' hug I do not think I need to explain, hug them however you want." She let go of Nesh's hand and wrapped her other hand around her and hugged her tightly.

"Now that is my kind of hug," Jemima said, grinning. She was a hugger herself, but rarely had a chance to do more than give friendly hugs.

"How about an intimate hug?" Jeysa asked Mimi, chuckling slightly.

"Well for an intimate hug you...." Mimi slipped a hand down and pinched Ness' bum.

Sofie sighed quite loudly with detectably humorous exasperation "You two are incorrigible, almost as bad as Aria." Her expression soured for a moment "She's moving out of my quarters you know? Going to miss her." After a couple of seconds of silence she tried to pick herself back up "Really hope I get assigned someone good, this is going to be a long journey and nightmare roommates are just the worst. How are you all doing with roommate stuff anyway?"

Nesh made a quick face before she shook her head. "Well, since I snuck on the ship I managed to keep to myself. But with the...increase of people, I don't think I'll get away with it. So I am in the same boat, Sofie!"

"I am still lucky so far, I got the entire room to myself." Mimi said after she released Nesh from the hug, "Though if we get some of the crew from the Trial given to us that might change."

"I bunk with Goldie," Jemima said. "From what I've seen, she only sleeps in our quarters, so it's not so bad."

"I hope I do not get anyone who is allergic to cats." Mimi remarked as she picked up her drink. "That would not be good."

"Can you imagine! You would have to deal with someone sneezing at you all the time," Nesh flopped down on the towel, giggling as she took another sip of her drink. "Although I would feel your pain. Without my...suppressors, everyone here would be having a terrible headache with my pheromones..." she paused, clearly thinking of it. "Although that seems only to happen with heterosexual human women..."

"Orions do have a most interesting scent, I can smell an Orion as far away as I can a Caitian." Mimi said before finishing her springwine.

Nesh's eyes went to Mimi at the words and she smiled, leaning closer to the other woman and meeting her eyes. "Is it a pleasant scent or a bad one? What makes it...distinct?" she fluttered her lashes and then chuckled. "I mean, before my scent is overshadowed by cooking..."

"It is quite pleasant," Mimi explained though she knew it'd be hard for the others to understand as their noses were significantly less sensitive than hers. "sweeter than a Risian but less intense than a Caitian male."

Nesh blinked with surprise before she smiled, nodding. "I'll take that compliment!" she said as she looked at the others. "And it is a compliment..."

"You are welcome." Mimi smiled then headed back to where Jeysa had her boxes of snacks.

Nesh too went to the box of snacks and helped herself. She became serious after a moment, watching the other women. "I...want to thank you all," she finally said. "I know I have been neglecting my friendships and even so you all...showed. Means the galaxy to me."

Sofie crossed her legs in the sand as she pivoted to face Nesh, adjusting her hat a little as she did "Really Nesh don't worry about that sort of thing. These last few weeks, all the time since the whole Tholian thing... Its been hard on all of us. I know I haven't been my normal self all the time. I'm just glad we're all still here."

"I'll drink to that," Nesh said with a smile, stretching out on the beach towel with a soft sigh.

"And to new beginnings," Jemima added. "After the last six months, we all deserve one." And a nice, long shore leave.

[OFF]

--

Ensign Mimi
Deputy Operations Manager
USS Galileo-A

Po3 Jeysa Zeror
Captain's Yeoman
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Mimi]

Cadet Senior Grade Jemima de la Coeur
Science Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Sandoval]

Ensign Sofie Ullswater
Science Officer
USS Galileo-A

Nesh Saalm
Sous Chief
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Rice]

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