Star Trek: Starbase 777 - kirk’s-karaoke-bar

Here Sakchai was, letting his musicianship shine as he stood on the stage of the karaoke bar. He had surprisingly only had one drink that visit and was really out here singing his lil grey heart out on stage. Sakchai gripped the mic with his two-fingered hand as he danced and flung his arms around on stage. He was not a very graceful dancer or a very good dancer. He had good energy in his moves, but his motions were often uncontrolled as shown by the numerous times he almost smacked himself or the wall behind him. It was a fun time and he could tell that even though he was not some star performer, he was providing entertainment. With his bumpy face and black hair, it was easy to see he was Cardassian, but his pointed ears hinted to the other half of his heritage. Sakchai sang in Rihannsu which was translated into whatever other languages people had their UTs set to. “Get your disrupters and a map for these warbird attack patterns! I’m talking WAP WAP WAP,” Sakchai sang loudly, turning around and twerking on stage. He didn’t have much of an ass, but he did have the right energy. Sakchai was dressed in some tight blue jeans and a loose fitting t-shirt that had Cardassian Voles holding flowers on it. Very cute! “I don’t need no mogai class, I need a D’DERIDEX…”

Rykell Kess wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing in Kirk’s Karaoke Bar. He wanted a drink after completing his first duty shift, but he wasn’t planning on singing. He could play the belaklavion, or at least was learning to, but he couldn’t sing. It must have been his curiosity that drew him to the bar. He watched the man on stage with a puzzled expression as he sipped his Aldebaran whiskey. Kess didn’t know what song the Cardassian/Romulan was singing, but like most karaoke performances, it was entertaining. He chuckled to himself as the idea of signing up for the karaoke flashed in his mind, then quickly faded once he had dismissed it. He didn’t fancy making a fool of himself. The people around Kess were cheering loudly and shouting words of encouragement to the man on stage. Kess remained quiet, but he had a smile on his face. The nervous feeling he had in his stomach when he had arrived on Starbase 777 was gone now. There was a strong sense of camaraderie in the air which helped put his mind at ease, even though he knew no one.

Sakchai finished his song to a round of applause He knew he wasn't the next Romulan or Cardassian idol, but he had fun and that was what mattered. Considering the excitement he drummed up, he was good at drumming up the crowd at the very least. It was a karaoke bar, not an audition show. He put the mic back onto the stand and exited down the side of the stage. As he was approaching his seat, he noticed there was someone else at the table. "Jolan tru," Sakchai greeted the person, taking a seat near them. He had never seen this person before, maybe they were new? Or maybe they just didn't frequent the bar. "My name's S'Tcaevra, but my friends call me Sakchai. And you? Is this your first time here?" Sakchai asked, trying to be polite and friendly! He knew that karaoke bars weren't everyone's thing and wanted to make sure everyone felt welcome there.

Kess applauded the singer after his performance had finished, then looked around the bar. He eyed the other patrons before he heard a voice beside him. He glanced at the man who had been singing. “Hey,” he replied. His Romulan wasn’t the best, but he understood what Sakchai meant. “Rykell Kess, but my friends call me Kess.” He liked to specify that his name was Kess; a lot of people had mistakenly referred to him as ‘Rykell’ during his time at the Academy. “Yeah, I got transferred to the station a few days ago.” He took a sip of his whiskey. “That was a good performance,” he commented.

"Eyy Kess," Sakchai waved his hand, the one with the two fingers! He opened and closed them like they were lobster claws, very cool. The biggest downside to having only two fingers on his left hand was he couldn't really wear bracelets since well, his palm was not fully developed. He look a second look at the person and realised they were Bajoran so Kess was his first name! “Bajoran, right? I know you guys do house name first," Sakchai said with a nod as he leaned on the table. "Welcome to 777 and thanks! I know I'm not like.. the best singer or anything, but I like performing and making people laugh. It doesn't matter if they're laughing at me, we're all having fun," Like a true Cardassian, Sakchai loved attention, even if people were laughing at him not with him. He was a good sport and was fully willing to embarrass himself on stage for a few minutes to make others smile. "Did you wanna sing something? If you're shy, I could go with you! I don't know a lot of music that isn't Romulan or Cardassian, but I'd gladly learn whatever you need me to sing on the spot!"

Kess eyed Sakchai’s two-fingered hand with curiosity, though he decided against mentioning it to avoid being rude. “Yeah, that’s right,” he replied, relieved that Sakchai was familiar with the Bajoran naming system. He chuckled. “Thanks, and don’t worry, you’re a good singer.” He admired Sakchai’s attitude when it came to entertaining others, even if it was at the Cardassian/Romulan’s expense. “Oh yeah, because I’d be great,” he said sarcastically. “I think I’ll sit it out, thanks.” Kess didn’t decline the offer because he was shy; unlike Sakchai, he didn’t like making a fool out of himself. “Are you going to perform again?” he asked. He wasn’t exactly sure what the policy was when it came to singers going up multiple times, but he doubted there were many restrictions.

"Really nice to meet you, Kess!" Sakchai's little ridges around his eye wrinkled when he smiled. The top part of his ridges came together in a sharp V shape, a little hint to his Romulan heritage. "Thanks, I really like music, but I never did well in music class. My classmates were always much better than me," Sakchai responded with a little chuckle. Whether the Bajoran was speaking genuinely or just wanted to reassure Sakchai he didn't make a completely fool of himself, he appreciated the compliment. "No worries my dude, I get it," Sakchai leaned on the table and tapped his seven fingers on the surface. He had painted black finger nails, very cool! Sakchai and his brother were both down with the acrylic nail trend, and the best thing was Sakchai always got a discount. "Nah, you know, talent has to rest," He joked slapping the table a little harder than he planned to. "What's your job here, Kess?"

“Likewise,” he replied. He finished his whiskey and set the now empty glass down. “Yeah, I get what you mean.” He could recall multiple Academy subjects that he had been abysmal in. Engineering came to mind – he had always felt one step behind everyone else in his class. He eyed Sakchai’s black fingernails for a moment, surprised by them. It wasn’t often you saw a Cardassian with painted fingernails. He chuckled at Sakchai’s remark. “I’m a Patrol Officer,” he answered. “Did my first shift today, actually.” The duty shift had gone well, although not much had happened. He doubted that the Starbase would always be so quiet, but he supposed it was nice to have a steady introduction to his new posting. “How about you?”

"The Cardassian education system was like.. a trip. My parents are both Vulcan dudes and they have always cut my hair and I could never tell if the kids in my classes thought I looked good or actually ugly when they teased me," Sakchai liked to believe everyone thought his unique Vulcan bowl cut was cool looking, but then again, his classmates could have thought it was the fugliest thing they'd ever seen. Both opinions valid, honestly. That wouldn't stop Sakchai from going back to Cardassia IV for hair cuts from his dads though. "Ohh nice! Patroling! A much needed job to keep these corridors clear of criminals or maybe just to control a rowdy fight at a bar for no reason," Sakchai said, fully aware that he was just talking about himself and his fellow Cardassians. Boy did they love random bar fights. Other species did too, but Cardassians especially. "I'm a space traffic controller! I love it, really. I get to talk to so many types of people. We don't have many Cardassians here, but when I worked in Cardassian space, I had a lot of fun banter with the other helmsman," Sakchai explained, slapping the table as he spoke. Not as hard this time! "Here, it's mostly Fed people and like.. Klingons and Romulans, Not bad, but I always get nervous talking to Romulans because my Rihannsu isn't perfect and they are very strict about formalities," He stated with a sigh and a shake of his head. "Yeah any fun patroling stories, Kess?"

“Vulcan parents, that sounds fun,” Kess joked, thumbing his glass. He had a lot of respect and admiration for Vulcan wisdom, though none of the Vulcans he had met were huge on nightlife. He couldn’t imagine how Vulcan parents were. “Yeah, guess you could say that,” he said in response to Sakchai’s praise of patrol officers. He would be inclined to agree if anything had actually happened during his duty shift. “Traffic controller? That’s impressive. I don’t know if I could deal with that many people.” Unlike Sakchai, he had a feeling he would get into arguments very easily if he were a space traffic controller. “Not yet,” he said, thinking about his day. “Closest thing to action was an argument in a shop. It pretty much resolved itself.” Kess surveyed the bar area. “How about you?” he asked Sakchai as he waved to the bartender.

"They actually weren't too bad! They were very Surak, but I appreciated their dedication to parenthood. They adopted me and my brother, S'Tven -- and yeah we always got mixed up in school," Sakchai laughed loudly, wiggling his fingers. He had large arms, which covered quite a large portion of the table and his nails made a satisfying clicking noise when he tapped them against the wood! "Ohhh, I am sure you will find some crazy stuff," Sakchai could only imagine the wild things that could happen on a starbase the size of 777. "When I was stationed on Deep Space Nine, I vaguely remember remembering regular fights at Quarks. But then again, there's something about that little Ferengi man that makes me wanna fight," Sakchai said, punching the air in front of him. "Hmmm... I have a few crazy stories. Mostly me fighting with other pilots. I swear, Cardassian helmsman in Cardassian space are so stubborn. I mean, so am I, but I have had a couple of good arguments. I couldn't tell if they were like... because they thought my voice was hot or if they actually wanted to beat my ass-- in a non sexy way," Sakchai laughed at his own joke and slapped the table again. It was a good thing someone else had taken the stage and was busting out a rock song, otherwise Sakchai would have definitely been the loudest in the room. "Oh, drinks-- yeah! What are you gonna get?" Sakchai had almost forgotten this place was a bar when Kess waved over the bartender. He didn't know what to get, there was Kanar and Romulan ale, the drinks of his people, however Sakchai was also a fruity type of guy, he loved those mixed drinks.

Kess chuckled. “Fair enough,” he replied, wondering what having a twin was like. “Wouldn’t mind a bar fight…” he muttered half-jokingly. Of course he didn’t want anyone to get hurt, but part of him was itching for action. He chuckled again. “Yeah, though it might just be a pilot thing. I remember my parents arguing constantly with controllers. When you’re flying a ship, you really don’t like other people trying to control it.” Almost every time he joined his parents for a job on their ship, the Night Glider, they would lock horns with at least one space traffic controller. They probably still did. Kess listened to the rock music in the background, struggling not to laugh at the karaoke singer’s high-pitched vocals. He then glanced at the bartender as they arrived to take the pair’s orders. “I’ll have another Aldebaran whiskey,” Kess said. He looked at Sakchai. “What would you like?”

"I'd be down for some like.. casual bar fights, but I can't throw bottles, that's the only downside," Sakchai said as he lifted his left hand, the one with two fingers, and clicked his fingernails together. He really liked his tiny hand, it was a charm point and he was happy to show it off. "That's fair, a lot of helmsman get pissed that STC has to tell them where to go and what to do, especially the ones unfamiliar with the airspace. I mean, I get it, but STC are the ones who can see every ship flying in the space, it would be stupid to ignore us," Sakchai said with a shrug and a laugh. "Oh drinks, uh. I like those mixed drinks, the pizza drinks," Sakchai said, trying to remember the word. "Uhh... The ones that are pink? Like, ah favdt! Yeah you know what, I'll have Kanar," Sakchai was desperately trying to remember the worst, but in the end to avoid looking like a complete fool he decided to just go with a Cardassian classic. "Where were your parents travelling? I know the STC on most stations around Bajoran space."

“Yeah, casual is probably the right way to go,” Kess murmured, knowing he wouldn’t actually want anyone to be seriously hurt if there was a bar fight. He had also seen a few brutal fights and none of the participants had left looking any good. “True,” Kess said with a shrug, “I guess some pilots really think they know best.” If he had become a helmsman, he definitely would have been one of those pilots. “Pizza drinks?” he asked, confused. He knew that pizza was a delicacy from Earth, but he didn’t know it was also used in drinks. “Kanar, good choice. Might have to get that for the next round.” The bartender moved away to make their drinks. “Ah, sorry. They’re going through Vulcan space. They prefer to take jobs further out, tends to pay better.” Kess tapped the counter and looked around the room. “How about your parents? What do they do?”

Sakchai nodded at the security officer's agreement about the casual fights. He was no trained fighter, if anything, he got the least amount of combat training at the Academy since he had chosen OPS. He got the standard self defense courses and that was it. Sakchai certainly looked like he could throw down, but he had no fighting spirit. "Yeah the pizza drinks, I think that's what they're called?" That was not what they were called at all. He was pretty lukewarm on Kanar as a drink, but it wasn't bad. "Vulcan space -- ah," Sakchai's eyes widened a bit when Kess mentioned money. "What, money? I didn't think people in the Federation had a need for money. At least, that's what they told us at the exchange officer meeting," Sakchai briefly recalled the lecture about Federation culture. "And ah my parents, well, they're Vulcans, super Vulcan," He said with a laugh. Deciding to focus on his adoptive parentst, not his biological parents. He knew what his biological parents did and it was not something he was about to say in public. "They were Starfleet officers, but after myself and my brother came into the picture, they decided to focus on raising us," He explained. "Hence why uh, my hair looks like this," Sakchai ruffled his hair, showing off the classic Vulcanoid bowl cut. "Two Vulcan men raising two Cardassian kids, they're still living on Cardassia IV and are happily retired."

Kess shrugged. “Never heard of them, but they sound good,” he replied. Was he going to try pizza drinks before trying pizza as a meal? “Well, they don’t, but my parents like going places where it is needed,” he explained. It had taken him a while to adjust to not needing money when he joined the Academy. He eyed the bartender, who was in the process of pouring their drinks into new glasses. He glanced at Sakchai as he explained that his parents were retired Starfleet officers. He smiled slightly. “Yeah, first time I’ve seen a Cardassian with a bowl cut,” he joked. “Are your parents the reason you and your brother joined Starfleet?” Returning to the counter, the bartender set down the pair’s drinks before moving on to serve another patron. “Thanks,” he said to the bartender as they passed him. He picked up his Aldebaran whiskey.

"They're pretty good, yeah, you should try them," Sakchai said, sitll not realising margharita was.. not the pizza. Anyway, when their drinks came, he opened and closed his little two-fingered hand and gripped the base of the glass. He was surprisingly good at grabbing things despite the lack of fingers. "Oh no no, I'm actually in the Cardassian Defense Force. I don't think I'd ever transfer," Sakchai said with a chuckle and a shake of his head. He sipped his Kanar slowly, being unsurprisingly unenthused by the drink. He had had better, but then again, they were far from Cardassia so it was probably hard to get. "And my brother... Not to be too harsh, but he was never good at working. He's always just kinda coasted along enjoying his hobbies and volunteering from time to time," Sakchai mentioned, wondering what S'Tven was up to lately. Probably silly adventures, as always. "How's the... whiskey?"