Star Trek: Starbase 777 - circus-entrance

The circus entrance was a large gate, set up at the front of the area that the circus had temporarily taken as their own. The blinking lights at the top were very visible even in the faux daylight of the environmental ring, calling this the "Circus of Solace", with two figures handing out flyers for the show on Saturday, until which the main circus tent would remain shut. Both figures were masked, having completely featureless white porcelain masks pulled over their faces, and they were covered in head to toe with heavy purple fabrics in different shades, making it impossible to discern even the slightest thing about them.

Maran had occasionally heard of the human tradition called a 'circus' - his colleagues on the Khitomer had mentioned it in passing, but never actually shown him what one was like. Hence, when he'd first read on the starbase's notice boards that one was coming in, he thought he might as well have a look. He just didn't expect it to be quite so gaudy. Maran was forced to shield his eyes from the blazing lights as he made his way through the entrance, grabbing a flyer from one of the staff along the way...

Dressed in her comfiest clothing, Essen strolled up to the circus entrance and looked around. Well, it seemed to be pretty simple at the entrance, nothing too unexpected, but the fact that it was a real life circus was enough for her. Essen had never been to a circus before, mainly because she lacked interest, although that was back in the day. Now, however? She was more than interested and curious to discover more about the circus that came to the starbase. So, not really needing to get any fancier than her red headband, a t-shirt and jean shorts, Essen wandered around. That was, until she found Maran there. She approached up behind him quietly... "Maran!" She finally said, hoping to spook him just a little as a joke. "Hehehe, did I getcha? Jokes, don't worry."

Behold, a wizard! Having donned his robes, your friendly local perma-LARPer was here to abracadabra the place up. The robes were a glittering blue with stars and moons and lightning bolts, and he had a matching pointy hat - one that was extremely tall and had such a wide brim that you could hardly see his face. "Joyous day, o fellow circus-goers!"

2

In came Elohae then, deeply involved in a signed conversation with the ACTO as they walked. Conversed with the smooth speed and fluidity of movement that was only fostered through fluency in the sign language of choice, that and the fact that the subject of the conversation was and remained something of a shared interest between both of them. "Well, if you stretched your canvas's before you set up the installation you'd be able to tailor it the base they'll sit in to fit it." Elohae mused as they came in. "Could also do the reverse and tailor your canvas's to fit the base's, depending on what's being looked for, I'll send you a message discussing options.."

Vara'l nodded a bit at all Elohae had been saying as they entered, deeply interested. "Both approaches could work, need to work out more about the measurements.." He responded then before he turned and gestured to the Circus. "We're here, this is the circus I was telling you about, looks amazing right?" He then waved at Essen. "Heya!"

“Hey-ho! Rozamal the Gorn here!” Rozamal said cheerily as he walked towards the entrance, wearing a collar that resembled the one worn by a famous frog, and two eyes on the sides of his head to complete the muppet look. “Oh my, this is a lovely place.” He said in his normal cadence, rather than his Kermit impression.

2

Essen didn't know Vara'l coming to the circus so she was pleasantly surprised to see Vara'l here! With someone else she didn't recognize, maybe was this his partner? She didn't want to make any assumptions. So she scampered over to Vara'l to greet him, standing a bit at attention but not fully. "Hello sir! Fancy seeing you both here for the circus! I hope you've been well!"

And not far behind Vara'l and Elohae happened to be none other than 'Essen's mom who's got it going on!' She also was dressed down, just a t-shirt and jeans. Keeping things simple. "Oh! Lieutenant Commander tr'Hara! It's good to see you again!! I see you met up with Essen!"

Essen looked back behind Vara'l. "Oh hey mom!" Essen greeted her, moving close to Erra, but keeping herself in Vara'l's line of sight so she could still talk with him!

Having been hidden behind his dad and Elohae, holding onto his dads top a bit, Telim initially peaked out to sign at Elohae. The comment. "Ms Essen's talking you!" Signed followed by a pointed. "Over there." Followed by descriptors and a very enthusiastic wave at Essen. "Heya!" He'd then let out a small eep and ducked to the other side of Vara'l when he heard Erra. Lots of people lots of people, he then pulled out his headphones and slipped them on.

1

Essen noticed Telim! AWWW! He was hiding! Essen knelt down to Telim's level and gave Telim a kind smile and a wave! She didn't know sign language, but she wished to tell him she was happy he was here. "I'm happy you're here, Telim," she spoke quietly to him.

Ever the parent, Vara'l didn't move as Telim did this. He instead waited for him to be in a comfortable spot and gently rested a grounding hand on his sons shoulder. Let him know he was here, if Telim needed anything. As he did so, he responded to the two people who'd talked to him. A smile easy to muster as he smiled at Essen and Erra "Hello Essen, hello Lieutenant commander Erra, Its good to see you both I'm funct-" He said before a gentle elbow from Elohae caused him to say. "Doing quite well, thank you." He'd then added. "This fine gentleman is a friend of mine and Telim's babysitter, Elohae tr'Kyrmyra."

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"Hello!" He'd signed when Essen initially approached, that is..after Telim alerted him to her approach and he'd taken the time to thank Telim once he'd finished popping on his headphones. With the initial waved hello out of the way, he'd reached for his PADD and rapidly typed out something further. Typed it out and pressed 'speak' "Hello, it's very good to meet you, I'm Elohae tr'Kyrmyra." It'd then paused then for a moment before it added. "I had a hand in convincing Vara'l to come along" When he then lipread what seemed remarkably like 'functioning' beginning to be uttered by Vara'l, he gently elbowed Vara'l. Elbowed them in that nonchalant friendly manner that basically amounted to a non-verbal 'you're doing it again man.' He'd then lightly twitched as he turned and found someone else there. Ah. Must have missed Vara'l greeting someone, he'd idly mused to himself then as he'd waved a hello.

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Telim peaked out from where he'd settled in next to his dad and smiled at them. "Happy to be here." He responded then. "Just.. lotsa noise and stuff, need to get used to it." The kid then let out a soft oh and looked to the other liberated Borg then back to Essen. "Dads friend is deaf, he's really nice and does loadsa art stuff."

Essen wanted to make it easy for Elohae to understand her. Out of courtesy and respect, she brought out her PADD and opened up a speech-to-text program which transcribed and showcased what she was saying as she was saying it, to Elohae. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. tr'Kyrmyra. My name is Essen. This is my mother, Erra. I'm really happy we ran into you and that we can share this fun event with you all."

Serin approached Telim and da gang. Important note: he was wearing a long white beard. It looked obviously fake, but that amused him. "I, too, am hard of hearing, but it doesn't stop me from casting my spells." He signed what he was saying as he said it. Unfortunately, it didn't make any more sense in sign language.

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The woman gazed upon Serin, noticing how wizard like he was in how he spoke and how he conducted himself. "Aww! You're adorable! What's your name, honey?" She asked him.

Adorable? Honey? Was she being nice or had he been mistaken for a child because of his whimsy? "Serin-Eshi Ser Fah’Mohrs Ed Signor Seroth Seira Fandall Serin-De-Sieth. Serin for short. And you?"

4

Four entered into the circus and noticed a few familiar faces. Everyone seemed rather talkative and to be honest they weren't all to sure if it would be wise to interject. So, they just moved on. They were wearing some black clothing. They found it rather comforting as it reminded them of their exo-plating. They slowly began to scan their surroundings as they spoke to themselves. "Socialization Event #2, commencing. Begin logging of events, now. Further analysis will be conducted after such events have transpired. Begin socialization protocols five and six. Socialization protocol one is set on standby." Four silently commented to themselves before heading to the Fortune Teller. They would probably speak to the body piercer after, but the fortune teller did intrigue Four. Were they able to tell stories of fortunate events? Or perhaps fortune itself and the events that proceeded its accumulation. Perhaps there was a different meaning all together...in any case, it seemed the most vague of all the other sections. So, Four made their way there, to learn.

Telim smiled at the magician! They were amazing absolutely amazing! You could be a magician when your ears didn't do ear things right? Woah! Not that he wanted to be a magician though, he wanted to be a linguist! Thats why, when Essen pulled out that Padd and used that transcription program, he looked to her and just smiled the smile of a kid who's already high opinion of a adult had just jumped up yet further. Then he waved at Serin a bit and then asked. "Do you have a spell book mr magician?" Immensely curious as he asked that and idly thought that even though the beard was fake, it looked fun!

Elohae smiled warmly at Essen as he read the PADD and then tapped on his own PADD. "It's very good to meet you both, the use of the PADD is really thoughtful of you, thank you." The voice had paused a moment then before it'd added. "I'm looking forward to sharing this fun event with you all also." He'd then glanced to Serin, having noted Telim's look and also managed to catch some of the sign. Turing slightly so his hands happened to be visible to Serin he'd then signed. "Your beard is quite fun sir, hello"

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Vara'l also turned to Serin after he'd initially greeted Essen and her mother. He'd smiled then and just..watched everything as the other spoke. He unlike Telim happened to know that they were a Starfleet officer as, unless he'd remembered wrong, he'd seen them before. That fact failed utterly to prompt him to say anything that might have disabused Telim of any of that curiosity or dampened that smile. "Could be like the magicians from some books, who keep all their spells in their heads." He suggested softly to his son.

As if he would ever turn down an opportunity to bring props! "I have a spellbook and a magic wand. Would you like to see them?" He held out the book and wand. The book was leather and had mystical symbols carved into the front, and the wand was gnarled with an ornate handle. They were quite convincing!

The headphone wearing kid's eyes promptly rounded as he looked up at the 'Magician' Amazed by what he saw he stepped forward a bit to look at them better. As he practically proceeded to drink in everything about them that could be observed, Telim promptly responded with a nod! "Yes, that'd be amazing!" Telim had declared before after a moment he then asked. "Real leather?" Paused and then added. "They're both really cool!" And then asked. "Please can I see inside your book?"

"Well, replicated leather. Here you go." He handed Telim the book. Inside the tea-stained pages were a scrawling of various runes, which an observant person may notice did seem to have some sort of pattern to them. A code? A conlang? "Forbidden knowledge, you know, which I share only with my most astute of students."

The kid accepted the book with intererest and very very carefully looked through the different pages. "Its really cool!" He responded with a smile before he added. "Its got patterns too it, like with numbers or fun books!" Telim declared then before he waved a bit to catch his dads attention and pointed out some patterns, book very carefully held one handed for a moment. He then took it in both hands and looked up at the Lieutenant again. "I bet Forbidden knowledge is..e.." Telim took a moment as he worked out the word. "..Ency-phered, the word dad told me about!"

Erra's eyes widened slightly at how long the wizard's name was, and after a moment, she responded. "Oh! Um... That's a lot to remember. Heh. I'm Lieutenant Commander Erra. Mother of this ball of energy over here." As she pointed to Essen.

"Good eye. It's written in my own personal code. That way, my enemies won't steal my spells." He looked at Essen. She definitely looked like an adult, but the way Erra spoke made it sound like Essen was a big kid.

As soon as Erra called Essen a big ball of energy, Essen couldn't help but look up at her and Serin with a mischievous smile. "She ain't wrong. I'm a chaos demon." A resulting giggle sounded like the manifestion of the emoji. Yyuup. She figured she was a natural antagonist to Serin already, despite the fact she had just met the man now. She wondered what sort of mischief she'd get into when Serin was involved.

The Older Liberated Borg Romulan attempted as Essen said what she said to not smile. This attempt failed miserably though he tried to keep the smile concealed. Essen never failed to improve his mood yet further. They were just that sort of person, oozing that sort of energy that just..improved days. At least that's how he reckoned he felt about it these days. "Very good spot with the code, Telim." He'd said then as he'd smiled...smiled more as he seen Telim's look and beheld yet another piece of evidence as it was presented that Telim was quite the smart kid. "Also a very good method to conceal spells mr wizard."

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Telim nodded 'sagely' when Serin said what they said. "That's really really smart!" The kid declared then before he looked closely at it a bit. "I bet dads mom could work out what the code is though..I don't think I could though yet.." The kid looked up at Serin. "Though it looks amazing, a bit like the book Elohae made for a thing called a 'Comic-con'" It was at this point, as Telim glanced back to Elohae, that the kid offered the book back to Serin! "Thank you for letting me look at it." He said as he smiled then. Once the man took the book back, Telim started to sign. Started to fill Elohae in on what was being said! He wanted to be helpful!

Elohae watched everyone around him as best he could. Did his best to follow along with all that people said. While with others he might have felt a tad left out, his attention had been rather grabbed by all that Telim said. Or well, what he'd managed to lipread. Did Telim just spot a ciphered text? He remembered that tidbit of information Vara'l had shared with him. Huh. Neat. Then he lipread something incorrectly, or so he suspected. Chaos demon? Can't be right that. "Hold on, Chaos Demon?" He'd signed then as he glanced to Vara'l. "Now those are words that have a story to them if I read that right."

Kirio tiptoed tentatively around the crowd to get into the circus. Dressed as a scarecrow, complete with a patchwork hat, workboots and overalls, they figured they needed a little bit of levity in their life. What better way to do that than in a circus!

Vanik had heard of a circus once before, some conversation with a friend from the academy he often referenced, but he had never gone to one. He had spent a few days considering whether he should or should not attend when he saw the flyer for it, but curiosity won out. And as an engineer, someone who enjoyed learning how things worked, he decided it was best to experience the circus to find out its moving parts, so to speak. So Vanik was here, dressed in comfortable, light Vulcan clothes and practical shoes. He walked into the meadow, up to the entrance, hands behind his back, and peered at the crowd for a moment before heading in quietly. 'This will be a fascinating experience,' he thought to himself.

As she was in her own little corner of the universe at least in her mind, Melody skipped in and saw the open booths that were advertising some fun activities! But one that caught her eye was the haunted house. She wanted to try that. Normally she was avoidant of that sort of thing. But she wanted to test her might. Alyssa was running behind, so Melody was alone for now - off to the haunted house she went! But not before she noticed Essen and waved. "Hi Essen!!" She greeted her, before she scurried off to the haunted house.

Essen was about to respond to Elohae, but Melody caught her off guard, so she turned to Melody to respond. "Heyyy Melody, what's up--o-oh, okay," Essen said as Melody just scampered away. So, she turned back to Elohae and Vara'l. "Yeah, I'm a chaos demon," Essen responded, and that populated the PADD for speech to text. "I'm the most famous little shit on the station."

"Wow, how fun!" Xal had been on the station for less than a full day. It was such a wonderful surprise to dock, wake up after a long cat nap, and walk to the meadow to find a traveling circus. There was no way he could miss it, so he strode purposefully in 5" pink chunky heels with straps around his ankles toward the circus. His baggy hot pink pants siwshed, as we walked making fun little wind breaker noises. He had on a hot pink jacket made of the same material with a dark mauve flower embroidered on the left lapel, and then a baby pink crop top underneath the jacket. He smiled broadly as he walked in, scanning the sideshows for the one that looked the most fun, when his eyes landed on the body piercing stand. "Oh yes," he said aloud to himself, and beelined to the stand.

Elohae looked very curious as he read the PADD message and then looked to Vara'l. Looked to them and signed. "You're telling me that story." Before he added "Not now, later." Then looked to Essen fully again and typed out something on his own PADD, which then spoke. "Vara'l speaks very highly of you, but given his being.." The PADD paused and Elohae snatched the moment as he directed a cheeky grin at Vara'l then looked to Essen. "Him, he's never that colourful with descriptors and I suspect, he's not told me all the stories." He'd then looked into the circus area himself before he tapped his PADD again and looked to Essen. "Might I propose we all head in and perhaps find food or something else fun?" The PADD then queried.

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Telim at this point, once freed of the books weight and having signed a bit to Elohae, promptly hugged his dad a moment. The kid always careful when he hugged so he didn't trap his dads arms or well..his hands. After a moment, he then broke from the hug and asked. "Daaaaad, what's a chaos demon?" And then looked to Essen...before he then looked to Elohae and then back to Essen. "Can we go see what food they've got?" The kid then asked!

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Vara'l presented by first Elohae being Elohae and then his son asking him what a Chaos demon was initially looked awkward. Then he responded verbally and with sign. "I'll tell you what a Chaos Demon is later.. though people's opinions of what they are varies." He then chuckled as he idly signed to Elohae. "I invoke my right to remain silent!" And then spoke to Telim. "Food does sound good!"

1

Being the little shit she was, Essen decided to first make a joke. "Chaos demon means me. I'm a Vulcan in disguise." Essen joked. "Nah, just kidding. Chaos demon just means I am spontaneous. Feisty, honestly. Chaos demons thrive on mischief... tomfoolery... and overall harmless havoc." (edited)

Quite frankly, this wasn't Terahl's usual scene. He couldn't often be found lingering around circuses or carnivals— not since his university days, ha— but he'd allow himself just a little bit of nostalgia. If not for an excuse to flaunt his costume, because, well. It was fitting for the occasion The top half went for a ringmaster sort of energy— masquerade mask, a top hat with a hanging piece that covered his face like a veil, black and red laced bodice. The skirt came out in a big-top red and white pattern, and little horses hung all around it, slowly rotating around and around him. Of course, he had a parasol to match the skirt, and mismatched socks that went a little ways up the leg— one red and white striped, the other checkerboard. Checking a pocket mirror to make sure his black lipstick hadn't smudged (it hadn't, woohoo!), he then tucked it away to get a proper look at the now bustling area. Where to go, then?... (edited)

3

Four came back to the entrance. One bag of latinum lighter and with a new pendant hanging around their neck. A sliver bird of prey with an amber within its talons. They kept their focus around the entrance before they looked at the other areas. They did not eat, so the food stand was not an option at least until other beings made it so. The Haunted House seemed very dangerous. What spirit was it haunted by? Was it contained in the house? Was there multiple spirits? Starfleet would not allow anything dangerous onto a Starbase...hopefully. The body piercer was the last option. They were already pierced in a variety of places. Perhaps this piercer could add another IV tube or...potentially something that could intersplice with their systems. Four decided that would most likely be their next stop. "Break in Socialization Event #2. Begin logging process of past events and prepare for next interchange of events. Logging process, engage." Four then stood as the lights on the side of their head grew brighter and Four fiddled with their new pendant. They stared at it as they looked at the small amber glint against the light.

Arriving to the circus was-- Six of Nine! Lhi! He was dressed in event appropriate attire! Some tight black trousers with criss-cross ties up the side, boots, and what appeared to be a circus-themed jacket! Lots of gold tassles and his cable was painted gold too! It looked like it was part of the costume! Lhi's fluffy curly purple hair looked good too! He missed his long hair, partially because it's what Miral always complimented but also because it hid the fact he only had one ear. With the help of the nice biomedical engineer Lhi did have a second ear so problem solved!

And here he was, at the entrance! Sakchai! Who was accompanying Lhi. The two weren't friends per say, but the Valdore's did have to pay reparations to the Ahaefvthe's and Sakchai felt like he needed to be extra nice to him. When Lhi said he was nervous about going to the circus alone with his new look, Sakchai gladly offered. He was dressed as.. a Ra'tar. To go along with Lhi's ring leader costume! Sakchai looked more like a giant terran ostrich than a majestic bird of prey. The costume fit well enough, but it was probably not the best costume in the replicator. It was the first one he could find though! It was either that or a lion and Sakchai didn't know what a lion was.

Teno was so excited for the circus! And Halloween! He had learned about the Holiday from his time on Earth and ever since then, he had made a costume to wear each year. This year he was dressed as a Bajoran cicada! He was wearing darkly colored clothes with reflective blue-green patterning, iridescent and translucent wings, and a headband with two antennae! He was happy to be here, and had invited a friend he thought might enjoy trying the different foods, and maybe even talking to the fortune teller!

1

Haru was here too! Despite all that had happened, T'Sareth had helped Haru get dressed for the party. T'Sareth wasn't attending, but was not going to prevent his husband from having a good time. Things weren't perfect, but they had talked things out and at least were back to sharing sleeping space together. Haru was dressed as a marshmallow. It was a costume that he didn't need make up for! He was already pale and all he needed was a pillow-like puff jacket and some white tights. He looked incredibly soft! In his hands he held his PADD to help guide his way.

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Essen noticed all of the friends coming in! As she spoke with Vara'l, Elohae, and Telim, and with her mother beside her, she greeted every friend that stepped in! While she didn't know some of their names unfortunately... "Hey y'all! Oooh! Teno! Haru! What's up broskis!" Jeez, she started to sound like Chase...

"I'm broski!" Haru said loudly with a laugh, hugging himself in his fluffy outfit. He recognised the voice as Essen and attempted to turn to face her, but he was facing slightly off as he spoke. "I'm a HARUmellow!" He announced as he slowly swayed his body back and forth. "What are you? I uh, yeah I can't see your outfit."

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With a chuckle, Essen reached her hand out. "Over here, Haru! Feel for my hand. I'm reaching it out to you." As she hoped it would orient him correctly. "HARUmellow! Look at you!! It's such a nice costume, friend! I, uh, didn't get the memo we were dressing up... So I'm just in a t-shirt and jeans and that's it..." She said with a nervous laugh.

Haru reached his hand out to try and grab Essen's. It took him a couple shots of reaching at what seemed to be air. Once he felt Essen's hand, he blushed and giggled. Haru was someone who did enjoy physical contact, especially when it came to getting around, but he was also still very much Romulan and was raised in a pretty traditional Vulcanoid home. "Thank youuuu! I wanted to be SOFT!" Haru patted the fluffy white costume. "Oh, I heard it was customary to dress up on halloween so I did! I picked something white coz like.. I mean, I'm already there. I'm pretty white," Haru pointed to his hair and face which were indeed very white.

1

Essen did know it was Halloween - but in the back of her mind she didn't want to be confused for any of the circus performers to make things awkward. Not that she would be confused for any of the performers anyway. "It looks very soft, your costume," Essen remarked. "I gotta say, it does look pretty convincing from far away. You are a very convincing HARUmellow!" Essen congratulated him. "You could even get some graham crackers and chocolate to make yourself a Haru-smore!"

"Thank you! I wanted to be comfy and I get cold easily so this was a good choice!" Haru was used to the Vulcan desert heat so being on a Starbase with a more 'normal' M-Class atmosphere was actually a little cold for him. Him and T'Sareth kept their quarters warmer than the standard as well at about 24 or 25 C. Nothing ridiculously hot, but warm. "Ohhh a Haru-smore... I think my husband would be very sad if I had chocolate, he doesn't like being drunk," Haru said with a laugh, remembering the last time T'Sareth had chocolate. His husband was someone who valued being sound of mind so anything that altered his mind was unpleasant to him. "Thanks! I don't know what I look like, but I will take your word for it! I FEEL delicious and that's what counts. I can't wait to not see the circus!"

Essen all of a sudden got an idea. "Hey, Haru, if you don't already something like it in place, maybe I can set up my PADD to describe what's happening to you in real time! A descriptor function, if you will! So you can still enjoy the circus and be able to have fun!" Essen's voice was genuine and caring. She wanted to support Haru however she could.

The proud mother stepped up behind Essen and put her hand on Essen's shoulder. She gifted Essen with an impressed smile and a nod.

"Hello Lieutenant Haru." Vara'l proceeded to say when Essen's hello lead him to notice the approach of the other Romulan. "..It's customary to dress up on Halloween?" The Romulan then awkwardly asked, curious as he idly ruffled his sons hair a bit and signed a similar question to Elohae, one eyebrow raised in his customary 'I'm missing something aren't I' vulcan'esk way of expressing curiousity. That is, whenever he deemed such emotion something that should be expressed. The ACTO also looked very impressed when Essen made the suggestion they made. A smile, natural and unforced, something that graced his face for a moment before he looked to his son and then back to Essen. "Lieutenant, I think us three are gonna go in search of food now, perhaps we'll see you again in a bit?"

Being a hungry kid, Telim initially just tugged on his dads arm before he then signed. "Foooood, hungry" Up at them. With that important decleration deamed out of the way he then turned and looked toward the new arrivals and waved at them. Or well, waved initially, up until the moment he realized that one of the people seemed to be partially sighted or blind. "Hello!" He'd then said. "I'm Telim, its nice to meet you, whats a S'more?"

Essen heard the word 'food' and immediately she perked up. "Food?? Do they have popcorn? Please tell me they have popcorn. If they do I'm coming with you. My popcorn."

Elohae looked at Essen with deep curiousity then as he lipread what she'd stated. With a quickly tapped out series of words on his PADD he then stated through its mechanical voice. "I suspect circus food stands do stock popcorn." The statement followed by the addition. "It seems like very good food for circuses."

Like she had just been jolted with a hundred volts of electricity from a defibrillator, Essen's body perked up and she was all of a sudden energetic as hell. "Well we gotta go over there and get some food! I gotta have my popcorn! My popcornnnnn!"

"Lets goooo!" The kid declared as he jumped up and down a bit very much liking the sound of food as the prospect of heading to the food stand solidified from possibility into a definite in the face of the other's words. "Pleaase?" He looked up at his dad then as he affected his best impression of 'puppy dog eyes'

"Food sounds like the widely agreed upon choice, to the food stands we go I suppose." Vara'l responded then as he started on toward the Food stand with his son in tow. A signed conversation started up again with Elohae as the trio moved as a group off in search of food.

A piercing scream of devastating terror rang out across the entire field, originating from the large circus tent. A few masked figures looked up, before hastily making their way over there. However, despite the fact that nothing like this had been heard before, not even from the haunted house (despite Maggie's best efforts), nobody really looked up, and anyone who did look around them spooked was quickly reassured by circus staff around them.

Essen's body flinched as she heard the scream. Her head whipped around to the circus tent - a scream? And THAT loud? Hold up, something was up here. Essen looked at Vara'l, Elohae and Telim. "Looks like popcorn will have to wait," Essen said, before she approached the tent with a start. She half-expected to be stopped by some of the circus staff around her, but she didn't know for sure unless she went to go see what was up.

Erra wasn't far behind her daughter, and luckily, she slipped into security mode the moment that the scream happened. Erra moved with a start to approach the tent alongside Essen. "Starfleet Security, what's going on here?" Erra spoke with a booming voice, not disrespectfully but enough to get the attention of any any circus staff that was immediately in the vicinity. (edited)

Two large, broad people with masks resembling Oni from Japanese folklore were standing in front of the entrance of the tent, seemingly anticipating a reaction like this. They bodily placed themselves in front of Erra and Essen, so they would not be able to enter the tent. "Please return to the rest of the circus area. This is not unusual for a circus, and we have the ability to deal with incidents privately."

Kirio halted a few steps behind the pair. It seems like they had everything under control, but, "Is anyone hurt?"

But Erra wouldn't be one to back down. She had a duty to fulfill, and despite this being a travelling circus that had staff running it, ultimately Starfleet would be liable if anyone got hurt. "I'm going to stay right here, actually. Per Starfleet regulation and protocol, security is expected to report to scenes of unusual activity if they detect it. You're acting unusually calm in the event of a screaming individual, which under the authority of the United Federation of Planets warrants me to investigate as an officer within the security department. So I ask again, simply: what is going on here?" She did not advance any further. But she did not obey their instruction to return.

Essen looked back towards Vara'l. "Sir, I think we could use your help up here, if you're able, please."

The massive Oni both looked unfazed by Erra's posturing. "This is not unusual activity for a circus, as we said, and we have got it handled. We are professionals, ma'am, and letting you in now would both compromise the surprise of the show on Saturday, and the privacy of multiple of our staff, who are entitled to it. If we need further assistance, we will come to you."

Diahjir had come to the circus for his own reasons -- those being sheer curiosity. (Events like that simply did not happen on the Apollo Terminal, and it had been far too long since he had gone to anything close to a festival). He did hear the scream, and his eyes quickly flicked over to the direction that it came from. He even took a few steps over to a member of Circus Personnel, wanting to ask a question. "Is anyone hurt?" he parroted the words of Kirio "I will not pry, but if someone is hurt I am a medical officer."

Essen wasn't amused by the answer that the Oni gave. So in response she didn't move an inch.

"They're entitled to their privacy, sir," Kirio objected. "Unless we have concrete evidence something is wrong, we can't do a thing."

The Oni didn't care about what did or didn't amuse Essen. "We have our own doctors on staff, but the gesture is appreciated. As I said, we are professionals. If we need any further assistance, we know where to find you."

Something stuck out in Erra's mind. Perhaps the forceful approach wasn't the one to take. "Alright, you're not going to let us in, I'm not going to move, so. Do you mind if we ask you some other questions?" Hopefully by getting them talking they'd give the group some answers. (edited)

"That was all that I needed to know, thank you for your diligence." Diahjir said with a nod and a small smile. He believed that they were professionals, and that if help was needed they would reach out.

"Ask away, ma'am, but know that we do have the permits in place to remove belligerent guests from circus grounds. And you are not in uniform right now." It wasn't a threat, per se, though the fact that this... strongman? Security guard? was probably half a foot taller than Erra and you could fit three of her in him, didn't help. It was simply a reminder that she was on the back foot, and didn't have the authority currently to demand anything.

Upon the strange occurance with the scream that he didn't really hear but noticed how people reacted to, ducked behind his father and Elohae and remained as close as possible. Just as he'd been taught way back when. Just in the manner that happened to make him feel the safest.

Vara'l frowned a bit at the screen and placed a warding hand behind his back slightly to calm his son. As he did so, he watched Erra and Essen. Watched them and watched how they reacted and happened to be reacted to. A frown apparent as the two large broad people placed themselves infront of the tent where the scream originated from. Screams indicated distress and Erra seemed to be in the right. "One moment." He responded before he looked to Elohae and signed. "Look after Telim."

Elohae nodded once and gently grabbed Telim as he one handed signed the instruction. "Come with me Telim, everything'll be okay." And guided them away from what was going on, Vara'l was needed to help with inquiries at present so his duty now was Telim's safety. As he then moved off with the kid, he ensured he had Telim's hand clasped in his.

Vara'l then headed over to Essen and Erra. As he did so he listened in to what was being said. He then frowned slightly and then, once all was responded to, nodded slightly to himself. "All relevant concerns that would have merited further discussion at this point have been satisified, as the Lieutenant has said, they're entitled to their privacy." He paused a moment and then continued on to say. "Should our help be needed, they will request it, for now might I propose we all head off for food?" He then looked over to the strongman and frowned a bit. That was a hostile approach to dealing with a clearly concerned member of a organisation like Starfleet. Something happened to feel..off here. "This is a private matter of theirs at present and not a threat to the station as far as I see, lets all enjoy the circus." (edited)

"I think that's a good idea," Kirio agreed...quite hesitantly. "We can't start interrogating them just 'cause somebody screamed. Have you been inside the haunted house??"

Well, orders were orders, despite being out of uniform. Erra did not agree at all with Vara'l's ruling, yet she was not the senior staff. "You heard the ACTO. Off to find some food." Giving one final look to the Oni, Erra surrendered her impromptu interrogation and backed away.

"It's good," one Oni said, in response to the haunted house comment. "Our staff have done well on that one." The other Oni scoffed, and turned to his counterpart. "Just because you're a wuss who jumps at the slightest sound..."

Kirio watched them go, scowling just a little to themself. Oh, so they were background noise, but as soon as a senior officer said it his word was law? Whatever. They turned a polite smile to the Onis. "Oh, uh, I probably won't be going, I'm also a wuss who jumps at the slightest sound. I'm sorry about that whole.. thing, by the way— don't hesitate to let us know if you need anything, yeah..?"

Essen didn't agree either. But, she was the LAST one to disobey Vara'l. She knew what happened in the past if she disobeyed the CTO. She headed alongside Erra and looked to Kirio. "Sorry about her. She's an anxious mother."

"Being an anxious mother shouldn't be getting in the way of her duty." Kirio glanced off to the side. "If we jump and pull phasers at every slightly suspicious thing, we'll never get anything done around here."

"I know I shall enjoy myself, and I look forward to the show." Diahjir said with a smile before he turned to leave, looking to Kirio before he made a small comment. "You are right, about this situation." He said in reference to their comments, now was not the time for phasers.

"Metaphorical and physical phasers," they added somewhat sheepishly. "Uh— thank?? You??" WAS THAT THE NEW CMO????

Diahjir, the New CMO, nodded, "You are very welcome." They replied as their smile widened slightly. "What is your name? If I might ask? I am Diahjir Lan, a pleasure to make your acquaitance."

"Kirio, sir! Kirio Mizax, Security." Kirio took a handful of steps back and away from the tent and the giant Oni-people. "I'm just. Not on duty right now." Obviously. Fucking idiot, you're dressed like a scarecrow. Why did they say that.

Diahjir followed Kirio, nodding when they mentioned their name. "Ah, I am medical, I probably should have mentioned that earlier, the joys of being off-duty for the moment though, it is nice to really be able to take everything in. I do love your costume. I am planning on wearing one myself soon."

OH FUCK IT WAS THE CMO. "What're you gonna be?" Kirio asked oh-so-casually and so incredibly normally, because they were going to be so normal and regular during this interaction, ok? "Thank you, by the way! I made it myself. Mostly. I couldn't figure out the hat pattern for the life of me.*

"I was thinking of playing upon the 'mad scientist' trope. I had recently read the old text 'Frankenstein' by Mary Shelley, and as terrible as he is, Victor Frankenstein might be good to base a costume on... with some tweaks..." He responded, trying to keep the conversation very casual as well.

Teno’s ears perked up at the scream and he watched as Erra, Essen, Commander tr’Hara, and some others addressed the issue. For the moment it seemed to be alright, if a little unnerving, so Teno just turned back to Haru to make sure he was alright and see where he wanted to go next.

"Oh???" Kirio had never heard of that, ever, in their whole lives. "I'm sure it'll be really cool! Morally ambiguous scientists are always cool," they paused, then added, "in fiction. Not— don't do unethical experiments. Not that you'd do that! I just. Uh.." Their mouth pressed in a tight line. Fuck. "One of my old hosts was a farmer so I had farming on my mind, and so. Scarecrow." Great save, Kirio!

"You are correct about that as well, Moral Ambiguity is a wonderful device in fiction," He chuckled softly before he nods again, "You are joined, then? I was curious, but did not want to pry or assume. I am Joined as well."

Teno and Haru were standing off to the side but when the Bajoran overheard someone mentioning farming, he couldn’t help himself but to listen. A special interest? Teno? Never. Except, always. “Uh hi excuse me! I really like your costume! Very accurate,” he said excitedly, his face lit up and his buggy antennae wiggling.

2

"Yeah, really really recently! Like, I just got out of recovering from surgery, recently," OH hey someone new. Kirio gave the new person a big smile in response to the compliment. "Thank you so much, that's really nice of you! Nanni was a farmer, yeah, she made artificial pollinators on Trill to help with harvest. She was really cool."

Diahjir nodded some more, "I wish you the best with your Joining. If you ever need some advice, I have been joined for over half of my life by this point." They looked over to the other person who joined and gave a small wave. "Ah! Hello to you as well."

Teno smiled back at Kirio happily. “Oh wow, that’s really interesting! I’m going to have to look those up. I’m a botanist and I grew up on a farm on Bajor, so it’s always fun to learn more things about agriculture. And that’s why I’m a Bajoran cicada this year. And yeah! Neat! Oh my name is Teno by the way!” Teno looked over at Diahjir and smiled. “Hi! Nice to meet you too!”

"Your Bajoran Cicada Costume is wonderful," he said as he scratched the back of his neck, "It puts a lot of pressure on me to make my costume something really spectacular." He took a breath before he realized he had not introduced himself to the newcomer to their conversation. "I'm Diahjir, Diahjir Lan."

"Oh, yeah, the costume is great," they agreed brightly. "I can see if I can dig up some of her old stuff and send it your way? Full disclosure it is like," mental maths time, "...one hundred and something years old, so. Oh, Kirio, by the way. Kirio Mizax. Nice to meet you!"

"Oh I do have it!" Haru exclaimed in response to Essen mentioning a visual to text programme. He wiggled his arms about to whip out his PADD from his sleeve. "It can describe anything I want and i can switch my implants to infrared so I can uhh see a little," Haru said, pointing to his eyes. The lighting was comfortable in the circus entrance so his red eyes were easy to see. "Jolan tru, Vara'l!" Haru did a little salute in the direction he assumed his boss was in when he was greeted. "Our boss, Essen!" Haru told her excitedly. When the loud scream was heard, Haru had rushed over to Teno (whom he somehow could find easily) to hide behind them during the whole shuffle. He stayed there whilst everyone continued to talk amongst each other.

"Jolan tru Haru." Vara'l responded when Haru said what they said and actually saluted in the correct direction which Vara'l actually smiled at. Smiling as he'd walked, Vara'l headed over to Elohae and Telim and started a signed conversation with them both. Given what had happened, he reckoned it was time to move off. Time to go find something to eat with this scream thing placed firmly in the rear view mirror to use the human expression. Food seemed like a nice option so..off the trio headed. Time to go eat, that was after they'd agreed what to do if things happened to develop any further in a direction that neither of the adults happened to be comfortable with.

1

A young woman dressed in fitted black clothing and wearing a stained-green wooden mask almost resembling a turtle pushed through the crowds of people, clearly looking for something... or someone?

Good thing Rozamal was here to help, still dressed as Kermit. “Hello there! Are you lost my friend?” He said kindly, noticing her searching. “Do you need help?”

Four had been meandering around the circus ever since they left the body piercer. They stepped out of the way of the acrobat and stood to the side watching the colorfully masked woman. Four tilting their head and not speaking just yet noticing one of their superiors dressed as a frog intervene.

The woman looked surprised to be addressed, and then even more surprised to be talking to a massive Gorn. Still, she caught herself, her brown eyes darting across Rozamal's face from behind her mask as she tried to figure out the words. "There- uhm, there was a medical officer around..." she settled on, sounding uncertain, though her voice didn't lilt up at the end to make her sentence into a question. (edited)

He gave a nod. “Do you need some medical attention? Or someone else? I can see about getting you a medical officer, if you’re comfortable?” He said, noticing her awkwardness and not wanting to force it onto her.

"Yes, I mean- no, it's not for me, but I need a medical officer," she stated, a little more certain of herself now.

“Then you shall have it my friend.” He said, tapping his cane against the ground for an emphasis before tapping the badge he kept in the pocket of his costume, bringing it out as well. “One moment!”

The woman in the turtle mask simply nodded, waiting patiently (though nervously) for someone to arrive.

She rushes over with her medical equipment "Hello what seems to be the issue?"

He gave the woman a nod before stepping back to allow the medical officer to work. “You are in good hands.”

Thankfully, Iviaan was on duty, and was able to make his way to the circus via super speedy transport. Iviaan, carrying a handy dandy little kit of medical equipment as well, made his way over. "Lead the way. Do you have any insight to the issue?" Typing very very fast!!

At the sight of Iviaan and Areinnye, the woman visibly relaxed ever so slightly, though she remained tense on the whole. But at least her shoulders weren't up to her ears anymore. "Yes, my friend- my coworker, she- well, she fell, and we had a safety net, but, I don't know what happened, it just didn't work... and Janus says we can handle it like we always have, but she- my friend, I mean- she doesn't look good, and I don't think we can handle it. I just want her to be okay." She was rambling, clearly stressed, and she hadn't given any actually useful information for a medical officer to work with aside from the fact that her friend had fallen.

Quickly flipping a switch so his thoughts could be translated to TTS, Iviaan nodded, attempting to give a comforting smile. That's alright. We'll take care of it, we're here to help. Can you show me where she is?"

Of course, Diahjir was still around, and he had seen the comm calling for medical officers. In true Diahjir fashion, he rushed to the scene, even if he did not have his medical equipment with him. (He was supposed to be off duty after all). Nevertheless, he approached the other medical officers, trying to offer a reassuring smile of his own. "I am Dr. Lan, if you do not mind I would like to help as well."

"Yes," the woman nodded, relaxing some more. "I will- hmm..." she thought. "I will bring you around the back. There's less people, that way." She nodded once more, to herself this time, then turned around to walk away, looking over her shoulder to see if Iviaan and Diahjir were following.

Diahjir was following, but not before he turned to Iviaan. "You have medical equipment, good, I... might have to borrow some of that if you don't mind." he spoke softly.

Iviaan raised his head to Lan. "Yes, of course," he said quickly, offering his kit, and, if accepted, quickly following behind the turtle-masked woman.

Rozamal waved them off. “Good luck friends!”

"Thank you. I believe we should be able to do this together." He said before he followed the woman as well

Four had just stood and watched as everyone did their thing. They were quite proficient and they were sure that the injured person would get the help they needed. So, they just continued to log their experiences. "Break number two for socialization event #2. Begin logging process of past events and prepare for next interchange of events. Logging process, engage."

Teno watched as the CMO left to address the medical emergency with the circus performer and simply stood out of the way with Haru, watching curiously. "You good, Haru?" He asked softly, turning his attention to his marshmallowy friend hovering behind him. "I think we're good for now." He tried to be reassuring.

Xal had been walking around, looking for another fun little event to participate in when they heard the scream. It seemed like some uniformed and plainclothes Starfleet Officers had sniffed out the issues and were on it. So, they did what they always did and opened their pretty Vulcanoid ears to any juicy gossip they could hear.

Stand back folks, the brick wall is here. Maxson took a look over the meadow and the Circus of Solace, and there was just…just the SLIGHTEST of a grimace that came across his face. Circuses, clowns…and now missing persons. Hrm, “Starfleet Security. Where can we find the employees.” (edited)

Kirio gestured vaguely to where the Oni masked folks had been before. "Should be around there."

Aside from the people manning the sideshows, nobody really stood out at the moment. However, with an officer in uniform, you could probably just walk into the circus tent.

1

He glanced in the direction of where Kirio gestured, letting out a low hum, “…are all of these performers masked?” He looked down at the lieutenant beside him, a raised eyebrow, “Walk and talk. Coming through,” The ACOS made his way through the entrance. Time to find some answers.

"Of course, of course, making way, we never would have seen you otherwise!" They remarked haughtily, brushing a stray strand of their dark hair out of their face and gazing at the Starfleet Officers with a raised Vulcanoid eyebrow as they hustled away to do their jobs.

Kirio snickered a little under their breath. Couldn't help themself. "Yessir, all of them, from what I've seen."

The ACOS shot a look toward Xal as he and Kirio made their way inside, “All masked…frustrating,” Into the circus tent!

He stood there and allowed the security officers to walk through. “Mm, that is not exactly a good sign.” He said, standing outside the tent to give the security officers space.

Xal smiled and waved at Maxson with wiggly fingers before walking away to go get into trouble elsewhere.

Rozamal hummed lightly as he stood outside the tent. “Mm, I hope the acrobat is okay.”

Four looked up after losing themselves in their logs. They silently began to make their way to the tent after over heard the situation. Missing person? Who had gone missing? Only one way to find out.

Oh! Well if the young Borg was going in, why not Rozamal. He would try not to disturb the area, but still. He was rather concerned for the acrobat.

Listen, he was here to have a good time - but ending up near the group by pure accident, and overhearing that there was an investigation about to commence... well, he might as well help the fellow Starfleet officers out. Sketchy circuses were cool and all, but not like, in reality and with people getting hurt, so... "I heard there's-- wait, sorry, uh-h-h..." said a tall man in dark blue coveralls and a pale mask, revealing himself to be the Romulan helmsman upon hastily taking it off of his mulleted head, "Lieutenant Syrax tr'Morvar, pleasure's mine! Was it the investigation team that went into the tent? If so, I might as well follow." Upon receiving a confirmation, the officer soon followed suit, but not before sticking the mask onto a fence post. Grotesque.

Jena was out of the office for a little bit to give herself the opportunity to take her usual walking rounds around the station when she stumbled to the circus! While she originally planned to simply indulge herself in the carnival sweets, a combination of a popup security notification on the corner of her eye and the later Maxson and Kirio sighting made her put down the carmel popcorn with the sense that something had gone awry. And so she decided to follow the two security officers as she tapped her temple to access the missing persons report and read it in her eye to get herself up to speed. "Curious... whatever happened here..."

After getting his fortune read, Xal ambled his way back to the circus entrance to people watch. There were many people milling about, standing around and having conversations. He wasn't worried about getting someone's attention, really. He'd either find someone interesting to talk to, or someone would be drawn to him. It always happened that way. So, he stood, watching, and mostly listening, waiting to see who'd have to make the first move. Him, or another person who also had good taste. (edited)