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Tag to Aryn!

[Lounge]

Not wanting to make things even more awkward, Alec also grabbed a sandwich from the scantily clad server and chuckled as he watched the funny little girl dancing enthusiastically.

Laying a hand on his arm, Aryn asked, Do you want a drink?

Yes, thanks. An Aldebaran whiskey.

Aryn nodded and headed off to the bar, dodging other party-goers as they danced and moved about in their costumes. An Aldebaran whiskey and a Risian mai-tai, she requested of the bartender. When the green whiskey and the orange cocktail were delivered, Aryn carried them back to where Alec still stood near Captain Naira and Admiral Adeyemi, handing Alec his drink.

How is your baby doing? Aryn asked Naira. I'm sorry, I don't know that I ever heard the name.

Attempting to make conversation with the Admiral, Alec asked, Do you come to the station often? Or are you based here?

[Observation Lounge]

"I was formerly a resident here," Adeyemi said dryly in response to the doctor. "I can tell you aren't in Starfleet. We'd say 'I was stationed' here. Which I used to be. Now I try to get back whenever I can."

It was quite a speech, for him. Perhaps he was making too much of this. Though, to be fair, the entire Columbus knew that he was not the most sociable man. He and Captain Naira were alike that way. Perhaps that was the only way they were alike.

Secretly amused,he glanced over at the Orion officer, noting that she was very gingerly trying out an egg salad tea sandwich of her own. The admiral's beer was nearly empty, and his belly was growling. To show the captain how it was done, he grabbed a fistful of the little things: smoked sturgeon, cucumber and watercress, curried tuna. Emboldened, he moved up to the big guns: a palm sized crab salad sandwich, ham, brie, and apple, pea and prosciutto. He was on a roll, and and smiled at the captain when he was finished, wondering if she was feeling adventurous.

"How about yourself, Doctor Alec?" The food was making him feel expansive, and as if on cue the Bolian server minced by with a refill for his beer. "How are you finding the starbase?"

[NPC - Crewman Kellen Gates - Observation Lounge]

At the news that Second-in-Command Seamus would not be joining them, Kell appeared momentarily crestfallen. "Ah, sheet. Shlave-driver!" He accused her, right before the first song of the night kicked in. "Oh! I lub this one!" His uncharacteristic merriment made him look just a little unhinged, and the mobile on his head bobbed and swung dangerously as he started hopping from one foot to the other in time with the music. "Save me a dansh, Missurs Purzzles!" And with a wave and barely a backward glance, Kellen bee lined for the dancefloor, where he greeted Analyn and joyfully began to try and emulate the child AI's dance moves.

[Lounge]

Analyn saw the man dancing and joined in. The man talked and smelled and moved funny, but he looked to be having a good time. So was she. The tail of her costume repeatedly thumped into the man's ankles as she danced, threatening to topple him over onto the dance floor.

[Observation Lounge]

She smiled at the Bolian as the woman passed on a message to the admiral and handed him a drink. She could see it in his eyes that he was just as caught off guard by the party as she was. If there was one thing the two of them might have in common, it was likely to be a sense of unease at the casual gathering. While she suspected the admiral was struggling to hold in his objections to scantily-clad adults indulging in extravagant food, drink and...flirtation, her discomfort had to do with an inability to relax in such situations. She struggled to separate the professional work life mentality from off duty hours. These were the people she saw and worked beside each day, she wanted them to see and respect her for all the hard work she put in and what achievements she had made, if she got too comfortable with them, she was afraid they might not feel the same way.

Still though, this was not what she was expecting.

"I only asked for cake and some drinks. This was all Ms. Mazal's doing." Naira still couldn't believe her eyes. In the back of her mind she told herself that she should have known that the bar owner would have gone all out for this party. Every time the woman was asked to help put together an event, she poured her heart into it. She'd put together custom menus, decorate according to some kind of theme and spend the evening mingling with the guests. Why Naira thought this time would be any different, she didn't know.

Maybe it was the lack of sleep?

[Lounge]

"I see." Clearly, Adeyemi wasn't having any of it. Orion were known for their larger than life personalities and emphasis on social gatherings. But then again, Captain Naira wasn't a typical member of her species, just as he wasn't of his own.

"I suppose, as it is Halloween, I will get into the spirit of things." It was one night, and Analyn was having a great deal of fun. Then again, she had fun staring at a fish tank for minutes on end.

[Observation Lounge]

Aryn and Alec approached the Observation Lounge around the same time as the admiral and Captain Naira. Aryn laughed and pointed out Analyn in her cuttlefish costume, causing Alec to chuckle as well.

Approaching the officers in dress uniform, Aryn greeted them. Captain, she acknowledged the Orion woman with a nod. Admiral Adeyemi, good to see you again. Welcome back to SBC. This is my husband, Dr. Alec Trenzal.

Alec stepped forward with a smile, putting one arm around Aryn. Admiral, it's a pleasure. Are you joining the party?

Both El-Aurians caught the tension in the admiral and between the admiral and captain, but Alec especially, being ignorant of Adeyemi's convictions, was simply making friendly conversation.

[Lounge]

And so it began. Adeyemi braced himself with a prolonged swig of Seamus's Irish but still acceptable ale.

"Pleased to meet you, Doctor. Lieutenant." Was all the admiral said. When the question about the party came up, Adeyemi could only mildly grunt.

[Observation Lounge]

"Hello Lt. Corliss, Dr. Trenzal," Naira happily greeted the pair. At that moment, any distraction was a welcomed distraction. "I'm so glad to see that the two of you have returned and will be joining us tonight."

She turned her attention from the happy pair back towards the admiral. "Lt. Corliss here is our new Chief of Operations and her ummm...husband, here has offered his services in Sickbay. I don't know if you remember him, but he helped with the cure for the nanovirus." While Naira could go on singing highly of his praises, she fumbled over that one word. She swallowed hard trying to get rid of that bad taste in her mouth. That word always left her with a bad taste in her mouth.

[Lounge]

"I quite remember." The admiral favored the couple with a small, genuine smile, an unusual expression for his usually stolid face.

Another scantily clad server, this one a human with bright aquamarine hair who was nearly as tall as he, sauntered by with a tray of sandwiches. Trying not to look, the admiral scooped up a tiny egg salad tea sandwich and stuffed it into his mouth to cover the slightly awkward moment.

[Chapel]

Naira walked side by side with the admiral, not knowing if she should lead the way to the Observation Lounge, which he clearly knew the way to, or if she should follow behind due to his rank. Walking beside him just seemed like an easy compromise.

She cringed at the sight of Analyn bumping into objects in her bulky costumes, knocking things to the ground. Some poor crewman was going to have to follow along in her wake of destruction, mopping up the deck and scrubbing sticky bits of fallen candy. She didn't envy that person.

"No costume requirement," she answered the admiral. "I asked they put together some refreshments assuming you might be hungry after your long trip, nothing extravagant, though it does happen to coincide with this Human holiday, so I assume there might be a few people in costume."

Naira had asked for a simple cake and some drinks to be laid out in the event that the admiral might want to consume something while meeting and catching up with recent staff changes among the department heads. She had left a party related decision making up to Ms. Mazal and the Puzzle's staff, assuming they might place a few decorative gourds on a table, offer some colorful beverages smelling of fruit and a small collection of finger foods.

The sight was was greeted with upon exiting the turbolift to the Observation Lounge was anything but. The normal bright overhead lighting was replaced with this dim purplish light. Various strips of sheer fabrics hung from the ceiling. There were pumpkins scattered in what looked to be every corner and lining the walls. There was band, more food and drinks than she could remember seeing in some time and the number of people dressed in costume, including some that left little to the imagination, vastly outnumbered those in uniform.

Her cheeks darkened and her eyes widened in shock. This was nothing like what she had expected and she hoped the dim lighting hid her surprise.

"This is not what I had planned," she quietly tried to explain as a young female Bolian ran passed them wearing her own fish tail and nothing but a couple of bivalve mollusc shells attached to her chest.

[Observation Lounge]

Adeyemi goggled at the sight of the nearly naked blue woman sashaying about the lounge. Blindly, he reached for Analyn, to cover her eyes, but the little girl had the dance floor and dessert trolley spotted. She rushed off with a happy squeal in her Cuddlefish costume, knocking over more things and banging into ankles, and alternated between dancing with the frenetic silliness of a toddler and pawing at all the desserts she saw.

"This is...unexpected." The admiral was somehow fuming and cogitating at the same time. Behind his narrowed dark eyes his mind was grinding away. Shit rolls down hill, as they say, and right now his gaze was locked onto the captain's.

"Seamus from Puzzles sends his regrets, admiral, but he said to send this." The Bolian wearing the equivalent of an aquarium said. She handed him a pint of a creamy,frothy looking ale. "Go on. We got a whole keg of the stuff set up."

It was from Seamus's private stock. Eyes still narrowed, the admiral as much snatched the pint from the Bolian and took a bracing swig. Anything to get him through this.

"He said to say, and I quote, 'You tell that Sassenach that this is the best damn beer in the quadrant and its from Ireland.' I didn't say that, Seamus did. Excuse me captain, admiral." The woman sauntered away.

"I see you've covered all the bases, Captain Naira," Adeyemi told her when they were alone. "Lure me in here for some kind of...racy party but bring my favorite beer."

Tag to the captain

[Chapel]

Naira stood quiet, watching the exchange between the two men and the AI. It was kind of charming in a way, the way the admiral treated the AI just as he might treat a child of a similar relative age. A part of her was tempted to interrupt the men to state that Analyn had been in fact 'saved,' on a regular basis in fact, ever since the station was infected with a nanovirus and they had to resort to using an older backup after purging the system of the virus. However, she had a feeling that neither of the men would find her comment funny or amusing.

Then, the old Vulcan had to pull her into the conversation with yet another invitation to attend service. Great. Now she had to think of an excuse on the spot to get out of it. She could use the baby, he was a great excuse, but there was the off chance that they might tell her to bring him along. The religious type seemed to love having babies around. She could say she had a meeting, but if she lied and the admiral found out about it, it might make their working relationship even more strained than it already was. She was running out of time as they waited for her reply.

"I'll have to check my schedule."

That was it! Not a yes, not a no, but the perfect answer to appease everyone.

"In the meantime, I believe Ms. Mazal has gone ahead and put together a party to help welcome you back to the station, Admiral. Knowing her, she has likely gone all out to help you feel more at home."

[Chapel]

"I explicitly asked for no parties," Adeyemi said, as if he was straightening out a crucial point of an interstellar treaty. "Or none in my honor, anyway."

"Oh, Mack--here, have some dang candy corn!" Analyn shoved a flipper into a basket on a church table, and sprinkled a liberal amount of the confection into her own candy bucket. She mashed a handful of it into Adeyemi's grasp.

"Oh, dear--no, I don't like--" The admiral had to clutch all the corn to keep from dropping it on the deck. "This stuff tastes like sugary wax, or oil, or something."

The little girl wasn't paying attention. She had stuffed another mound of candy into her mouth and was chewing blissfully, eyed half closed as she followed the adults, fish tail knocking over items in the church and tripping others up as they all walked.

"What is the nature of this gathering?" Adeyemi asked darkly. The admiral had grudgingly eaten some candy corn, as he hated to waste food . It tasted just as bad as he remembered. "It's not a...costumes required party, is it?"

To say he was a trifle peeved to be attending a party, even with such pleasant company, was an understatement. But Adeyemi's mood would be even worse if he had to go in costume.

Tag to the captain.

[Chapel]

Naira quietly stood at the back of the room, with her back up against the wall as she watched the proceedings. Despite the numerous invitations she had received to attend services, Naira made it a point to avoid associating herself with any of the various religious groups on the station. The last thing she needed was to be seen as showing favoritism to one of them. It was bad enough that she had to sort through all the requests to host one religious holiday after the other, especially on the thankfully rare occasion that two of them happened to coincide.

With a number of people sitting and listening to the old Vulcan reciting a text considered old by even Vulcan standards, she'd wait for the admiral to finish before greeting him.

[Chapel]

Analyn knew how to behave in church. She'd been many times with Mack 'Em. It was never important to her. She didn't see how it made sense or was needed. But she knew that it was important to a lot of people, and so the little girl swayed in her fish costume and waited.

Adeyemi was ending things with Friar T'Vol. The Vulcan had not enjoyed so devout patronage from any Columbus commanding officer, before or since, and genuinely had warmth for the admiral. But he also had an agenda.

"—must have a word with the captain, really." Adeyemi was saying when he saw Analyn and the lady herself enter.

"Excuse me," He said, but  the first indicated he would follow.

"Hello my dear," The admiral said with barely restrained delight at the sight of Analyn and her costume. The little girl gave a squeal and rushed into his arms.

"Imma CuddleFish!" She shouted happily, and was swept up into a hug.

"Very clever, sweetie." Adeyemi told her as he settled the little girl onto a hip. "Captain, how strong you look."

His vaguely sexist, awkward compliment hung in the air for a few moments. Thankfully, T'Vol went to the rescue.

"Analyn, it is a joy to see you on this holiday." The Vulcan said, with a dip of his shaved pate, salt and pepper head. "Perhaps you would accompany the admiral and the captain to services on Sunday?"

"Why?" Analyn drew out in an annoyed toddler voice.

Adeyemi bounced her gently. "For your everlasting soul, Analyn. So that it may be saved."

"How do you know my soul isn't saved already?" The AI wanted to know.

Having no textbook answer to that one, Adeyemi turned to the captain, desperate for her to speak.

Approved.

[Chapel]

"Can I say how glad I am, admiral, that you have decided to visit the house of God before a tavern or a party?" Friar T'Vol said as he handed over an earthenware glass filled with a dark purple liquid. "So many of our station's Christians forget the feast days and pagan connotations of this holiday."

"And yet you still celebrate it." Adeyemi wasn't in costume, and had been hoping to avoid that entire debacle. Thankfully, Analyn was with the captain. If she hadn't been, it's likely he would have been wearing a giant squid or squirrel outfit or something right now. Instead, he wore a gray business suit, the kind an off duty Starfleet officer much less his rank might wear. He still managed to pull it off fairly well, he thought.

The pre-service crowd mingled one another, eating cookies, sipping from their cups. Whatever the friar had poured him was warm. Adeyemi dunked his nose into it and began to drain it, as was his wont, when he realized it was hot spiced wine. A perfect autumn treat. That was unlike the friar. He took a more measured sip.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome. We are about to get started. I know all of us want to go to the Promenade to be with our families, so I will make this quick." Friar T'Vol caught the admiral's glance, closed his left eye, and opened it.

Adeyemi sat, fuming. That old fraud. He was going to do a cursory service and then release them all to revel and party. He knew that Vulcans sometimes developed a sense of humor after prolonged contact with humans, but he didn't know it could be this cruel.

pineapple on pizza is yummy if it's with canadian bacon! 

Promote this woman!

Approved.

Player has requested a two week continuance.

Approved.

Done.