Pop the Champagne (Part 6 of 6)

Posted on 12 Nov 2012 @ 7:11am by Rear Admiral Lirha Saalm & Captain Jonathan Holliday & Lieutenant Scott Parker & Lieutenant Commander Pola Ni Dhuinn M.D. & Lieutenant Commander Evelyn Coleman & Lieutenant Commander Dea Mialin & Lieutenant Theron Rhodes & Lieutenant Aria Rice & Lieutenant Kiri Cho & Lieutenant JG Delainey Carlisle & Commander Andreus Kohl & Commander Scarlet Blake & Lieutenant Commander Amynta Markos & Chief Warrant Officer 4 Cyrus Kiwosk & Command Master Chief Markum Quinn & Ensign Im'er Mor'an & Amril & Petty Officer 1st Class James Watt & Petty Officer 1st Class Gabriel Stark & Verity Thorne

2,915 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 02 - Resupply
Location: USS Galileo - Mess Hall
Timeline: MD 04 - 1140 hrs

Previously, on Pop the Champagne (Part 5)...

James chuckled and downed another swig of brandy. "I did see it, that's why I said you weren't as much of a vulcan as you looked, and that you admitted yourself."

"Very well," Mor'an said with finality. She decided to change the subject. If he was going to stay around they might as well talk about something less annoying. "Where are you from?"

"Volan III," came the reply. "But I don't think we were properly introduced. Striker Watt."

"I am Im'er Mor'an, Daughter of Im'er An'aley, of the Order of Ban'kina." She twisted her hand in the Tarkannan greeting. "You may call me Mor'an."

"Thank you," he said graciously. "My real name is James Watt, but you may call me Striker."

Cyrus had made his rounds from person to person before spying the cadet and his roomate talking. He chuckled and gave a small thumbs up and pretended to throw a chair and act like a Klingon before turning around and making for a new guest to chat with.

And Now, the Conclusion...

[ON]

Nobody noticed as the doors parted. The Mess Hall was awash in various conversations and the crew seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves. Parker stepped through the threshold with an awkward grimace, which was refreshed by a polite smile, and glanced amongst the crowd. He'd been on the bridge for half of the morning. It was an unnecessary task. There was nothing to command. From there, he'd realised that the reception was most likely the better place to be and had mentally excused himself in order to make an appearance amongst his new colleagues. New colleagues who hadn't been thrilled to take him into their community just yet.

He made a beeline through a small cluster of chatting officers - his staff amongst them - and clocked both Holliday and Saalm. Perhaps he would be more welcome amongst the command line. As he drew close to the pair, he widened his smile and extended a hand towards the first officer. Jealousy tinged his mind but he fought back, finding the appropriate happiness for his old classmate, even if his greeting was a little rushed.

"Congratulations, John, I couldn't be more pleased for you."

Picking out the voice of the new Chief Security officer, John turned to meet the outstretched hand of his former classmate and shook it warmly, it seemed their discussion the previous evening had come to fruition.

"Thank you Mr. Parker, that means a lot. Glad you had the opportunity to come down and mingle, it's not often we get downtime like this to sample the wonders of the replicators. I assume the Bridge is in capable hands?"

"Oh yes, Sir, Warrant Officer Sylva has the CONN. Not that there's much to be done, I suppose." Parker grinned knowingly but suppressed his urge to vent. He really was glad to see such a familiar face - even after so much time had passed since they were last acquainted. "Ship's secure, everything in order. Any administration is just idling away in yours and the Captain's inbox."

Lirha returned next to her XO's side after eating several more plates of food, and noticed that he was now in conversation with their new chief of security. "Hello, lieutenant." she said in greeting with a small smile. "I'm glad you could join us for this reception."

"A pleasure, Ma'am, I'm just grateful for the invite," replied the new security chief. He purposely leaned forward and offered her a handshake. "Congratulations on your own promotion. From what I've come to understand, it's been well earned."

"Thank you," the captain replied with a sincere nod and returned the handshake with a firm one of her own, "Although I feel that my crew deserves most of the credit, not me. And of course, without Commander Holliday, I probably wouldn't be standing here today to receive my new rank." she said as she glanced at her XO and gave him a knowing look.

"I could believe that, Ma'am," replied the security chief, glancing briefly at John with a sheepish smile before returning his attention to Saalm again. "The Commander and I were in the same academy class. He was always considered reliable then - depending on who you ask, of course"

"Depending on which member of the faculty I had managed to piss off in that particular stardate!" John replied, almost lapsing back into the more boyish and rogue behaviour that he had become almost famous for during his time at the Academy.

A brief silence fell upon the trio, an awkwardness enhanced by Parker's presence, and they surveyed the scene, taking in the various snippets of conversation around them. Scott had his hands clasped before him. After a moment, without looking at the pair, he released a sigh and shrugged. "I should probably mingle, at least congratulate my staff. They don't seem to like me much, though."

"It's just New Officer Syndrome as I like to call it....the crew got used to having to rely on each other during our last mission and the sudden arrival of a new face throws it all out of balance - trust me they'll get used to you. I had the same problem myself. Might have been the XO but I felt like a complete outsider"

Lirha nodded at the gold-collared lieutenant. "I think you'll fit in just fine. Some of the crew are still wound up a bit tight from our previous mission...I think they just need to relax and enjoy themselves for a few days. Don't take it personally."

"I guess it's been a challenge for me, too," Scott began to reply, "I've forgotten how tightly knit a starship - "

"Delaney to Parker."

Parker offered a meek smile of apology to his superiors before tapping his comm badge. "Parker here, go ahead."

"There's a unit with a class three rating awaiting urgent transfer from the colony. We really need an officer to take a look, Sir."

And so, his assurance that he could be contacted regardless of the day's reception, had come to fruition. He hadn't wanted his two staff officers to be interrupted, given that they were the ones receiving promotions. With a sigh, he acknolwedged her response and signed off, shrugging at both the captain and first officer.

"Well, I suppose there's work to be done. Once again, captain, thank you for the invite," he made to leave, adding one final remark, "and congratulations, Sir," a nod from Holliday to Saalm, "Ma'am."

"Carry on Lieutenant." The XO replied with a smirk on his face, before giving a joking salute to his old friend and watching him depart.

"Here you are," Amril said to Evelyn as they stood over the refreshments. He offered her the bright blue drink from a punch bowl before pouring his own drink.

Evelyn took the glass, smiling at the Vorta. "Thank you." She waited for him to pour his drink and when he finished she looked into his eyes. "To new friends." she said lifting her glass slightly before taking a sip.

"To new friends," he agreed, raising his glass and taking a tentative sip. "Hm, it has an interesting tingle to it," he mused. "Well, enough of that. I would very much like to hear about your exploits, Lieutenant."

Evelyn gave him a small smile before taking another sip of her drink. "Well Amril, I have had many of those in my life, so which ones are you more curious about?"

"Any you think might interest me? Just one short anecdote from your life, perhaps?"

Evelyn chuckled, "Alright lets see a short anecdote about me..." she muttered as she thought over what she can share. "I am from a race of Listeners and I am growing sick of listening." she said chuckling, "I'm 229 years old, and I think I've heard about everything there is when it comes to humanity. If El-Auria still existed, I wouldn't still be here."

"It was destroyed?"

Evelyn nodded, "Yes, it was." she said sadly not wanting to share any details.

"Ah, well, I am terribly sorry, lieutenant. It would seem we both are people without places to call home."

"Seems so." She whispered looked at him, "you know I had my reservations about you Armil, but I'm glad you're around. Your curiosity is refreshing."

"Why, Lieutenant," Amril replied with a smile, "I had my reservations about you too."

Evelyn smiled and winked at her Vorta comrade before taking a sip of her drink.

Having been just ambling around, trying to soak in the atmosphere, while simultaneously avoiding Cyrus, Pola finally managed to catch Kohl's eye and indicate for him to join her for a moment. She intending on getting out of here quick, having no appetite and with the alcohol flowing she figured she'd be safer hiding out in sickbay, finishing up the paperwork for the last of the crew in the colony medical centers.

As Kohl made his way over to Pola, he noticed the look in her eyes. She had the haunted look of a prisoner with an escape plan. But Kohl wasn't about to let her get away that easily. "The dress whites flatter you, full Lieutenant Pola," Kohl said. He was all grins as he approached her. "I hope you're flirting shamelessly with any men looking to share a drink with you."

For the first time this evening, a twinkle entered Pola's eye as she suddenly laughed aloud. Placing her drink down on a nearby table, her eyes again drifted over to Cyrus before moving back to her ACMO. "Well Lieutenant Jay Gee Andreus, double promotion in 24 hours. Congratulations."

Kohl turned his head slightly to follow Pola's gaze. It made him grin to see where she was looking.

"Hear, hear!" echoed Counselor Carlisle, who had approached the two, a glass of sparkling grape juice in her hand. "It feels good to be celebrating for a change, and I can think of nothing better than to celebrate one of our own."

Before the counsellor turned to face her, Pola sent a pleading look in Kohl's direction for him to stay mum about the man they had been talking about. Despite having worked together, Pola still did not know this woman very well and as such still didn't feel comfortable discussing personal information with her. "I must admit, Kohl fully deserves both recognitions he has been awarded."

"Thank you both," Kohl said. He folded his hands together in front of him, suddenly wishing he had a tumbler of something toast-worthy in hand. All he had now were his words, and he wryly said, "I do hope I can live up to the impression I seem to have created."

Resting her hand against Kohl's arm, Pola squeezed it gently as she smiled a genuine smile. "You will Andreus, and when you don't you will have a team behind you to help catch you and put you back on the right path."

Delainey simply offered her own smile. Kohl had certainly helped her through much of her own doubts of late.

Smiling back, Kohl moved on from talk of work to ask, "Are you ladies prepared to leave all this behind for a little while, and disembark on shore leave?"

"Well unfortunately I'll still be somewhat on call, people still need medical attention despite the colony hospitals but it really shouldn't impact on my fun. Fingers crossed." Pola addressed this to Kohl, smiling as she realised she would have loved to just completely leave work behind but when you were a Doctor, it didn't seem possible.

"You should still take some time for yourself," Verity Thorne pointed out as he moved toward them, the Chaplain catching what she was saying. When he'd seen the argument kicking off between Maenad and Liyar earlier, he'd made himself scarce and hadn't returned back to the group with drinks. In honesty, he wasn't in the mood or energy to play referee. Now he'd finally tracked Kohl down again and offered his synthahol over with a small, apologetic smile at it being so late. "I mean, what's the point in having an Assistant Chief if you don't exploit him?" he added, but with a small, teasing smile.

"Verity." Pola's eyes lit up as she recognsied the ship's chaplain. They hadn't seen much of eachother since he helped in sickbay during the worst of the crisis, she'd been delighted when he received his promotion, he'd been invaluable when the injured had been piling in and people had been scared. "I was at least trying to earn Brownie points with my assistant, I'm aiming for the Boss of the year award."

"No, no, it's perfectly fine," Kohl replied. He raised his glass as if it were a toast when he said, "I quite enjoy being exploited." And he drank to that.

Offering her hand to Verity, Delainey introduced herself. "Dr. Delainey Carlisle. I don't believe we've met officially. Congratulations on your promotion as well."

"Thank you," Verity smiled, shaking his head lightly. He couldn't quite believe it himself. He hadn't really thought about ranks and the like when he'd joined up. "Verity Thorne. Chaplain. Maybe now things are calmer, shall we put it, we can get a chance to talk properly at some point."

Suddenly feeling lightheaded again, Pola attempted to control it before anyone noticed. Clearing her throat as she listened to the conversations happening around her, she realised that she really needed to leave. Hearing her commbadge beep, she had never been so glad to have work interrupt before. "Well I am sorry guys, duty calls. Enjoy the rest of the evening." Smiling, Pola moved backwards until she was able to spin around, pushing back the light headed feeling again as she headed for the exit.

Amynta had arrived late, more on account wondering whether or not she should attend. Regardless, she had. She wore a wine red, tight fitting dress, her blond hair hanging free and her usual makeup on. She smiled as she saw the cocktails, making a bee-line for it and taking one to sip. "Oh god..."

Gabriel Stark laughed softly as he saw her reaction, arching an eyebrow as he lifted his own cocktail glass to her in greeting, leaning casually back against a table ledge. He really had lost count now of how many he'd had. He was warm, buzzing. "Good taste. Enjoy."

Cyrus had picked up a synthol beer as he spotted the blonde and a very drunken fellow beside her. "How has everything been you two?" The muscled ex-marine smiled warmly and motioned with his own glass to the cocktails available. "Are they any good? Never been a big one on them myself, but these look better than some I've seen."

Amynta smiled as she touched Stark's arm, chuckling before meeting Cyrus' eyes. "They're nice...fruity...with a bit of a kick," she said and arched an eyebrow with a small smile, chuckling. "Try one...just a little sip..."

Cyrus shrugged. "Ah what the hell...one sip." He took one cocktail, sitting alone one the table and brought the sugar rimmed class to his lips. As he took a sip his mouth almost puckered at the sweetness of what he discovered was a strawberry daqueri. Shaking his head he chuckled. "Here you go miss, it's all yours." He set the drink on the table and washed the taste out with his synthol beer, which was little better. "I didn't get yours names." He stated.

"Stark," he offered, lifting his glass in something of a toast to him, smiling with dark, shining eyes. "Gabriel Stark. Security," he said it to both of them, as he hadn't met Amynta before either and was unsure of who she was.

Amynta smiled and nodded, her eyes warm. "Amynta Markos. Intelligence," she said softly, sipping her drink.

"Cyrus Kiwosk, I'm sec too. Used to be a marine, got a transfer." He grabbed another real beer and smiled. "Can't go wrong with a day like today!" He chuckled and downed the synthol in a single gulp. "A pleasure meeting you both. I'll see you at work Stark."

Willis walked out of the room, leaving Quin to himself, and what appeared to be an empty bottle of beer. He leaned back in his chair and enjoyed a moment of people watching.

[OFF]

--

CAPT Lirha Saalm
Commanding Officer
USS Galileo

CWO Cyrus Kiwosk
Security/ Tactical
USS Galileo

Master Chief Petty Officer Markum Quinn
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo

Lt. Theron Rhodes
Asst. Chief of Security
USS Galileo

Lt JG Dea Mialin
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Liyar
Diplomatic Officer, SDD/VDF
USS Galileo

Crewman Athlen
Sociologist, SCC
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Evelyn Coleman
2XO/Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

LTJG Kiri Cho
Asst. Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Cmdr Jonathan Holliday
Executive Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant (JG) Maenad Panne
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Pola Ni Dhuinn
Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Scott Parker
Chief Security Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Scarlet Blake
Counsellor
USS Galileo

Lt. jg Amynta Markos
Intelligence Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant JG Andreus Kohl
Assistant Chief Medical Officer
USS Galileo

Amril
Vorta Defector
USS Galileo

James "Striker" Watt
Engineering Officer
USS Galileo
played by Pylus Anon

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