Star Trek: Starbase 777 - new-berlin

The Solar Windz Nightclub; a hip new club in the arts district of New Berlin, this club was built as the ultimate space themed club. Set under a massive transparent dome, the club has multiple areas spread out across height variable spaces all connected by elevated walkways: a bar, a runway for drag performances, a huge dance space with poles, breakdancing zones and brightly colored dance spaces. The club’s owner and proprietor, a Mistress Artemis Luna serves drinks behind the bar, introduces new acts on stage and mingles with club patrons.

[D] Randy materialized at the entrance to the club, quickly double checking his outfit before entering; he was wearing a pair of tight ripped wrangler jeans, a dark red cropped tank top, his favorite pair of cowboy boots, and his black suede cowboy hat, the tan lines he had already gotten from a few days back home in stark contrast to the much paler skin gotten from spending so much time in space. With a cheeky wink to his reflection in one of the nearby glassy stone walls, Randy entered the club, immediately heading over to the bar, putting in his order and slowly sipped his drink as he watched the activity of the club increase. (edited)

[D] Surprising even themself, Rilek was here at the club too! Never in their life did they think they would be on earth on leisure. If only their ancestors could see, they would have probably been horrified to see the Khellian matriarch willingly mingling with aliens, but it was know they had their ancestors rolling in their graves that made this all the more fun. Rilek was dressed ready to club with their stomach fully exposed (worst thing to do at Romulan parties, actually) and a very puffy jacket, the only thing they were missing were probably LEDs draped over their body. Rilek was also wearing a tight metalic mini skirt with some random straps and knee high heeled boots with even more straps... Because that was the Romulan way. For this clubbing adventure they decided to wear their finger guards on both hands, they thought it would make them look more dangerous. They were well aware they were probably going to be surrounded by humans or otherwise non-Vulcanoid folk (although there were plenty of Vulcans who liked to party, they existed!) and did their best to try and hide the hallmarks of their species. Their reflected mask covered their eyebrows and forehead ridges whilst their ear cuffs spun perfectly around their pointed ears, hiding the tips and giving them more of a fantasy elf vibe. Rilek made their way over to the bar and sat next to some cowboy, they ordered a very boring glass of sparkling lemonade, no alcohol, just the lemonade.

He had been happily sipping his drink, shimmying along to the music flooding throughout the club, when he heard someone approach, sitting next to him. After they had gotten their drink, he turned, leveling the stranger with a wide smile, raising his drink slightly in greeting. “Howdy! I ain’t never see you round’ these parts! Are ya’ visitin’ Earth?” He asked with a bright, friendly tone.

Rilek turned to face the cool cowboy talking to them and smiled in greeting as they rested their arm on the table, slowly tapping their finger guards on the counter as if they were some movie super villain plotting an evil scheme. "Howdy," They repeated the phrase as best they could, but they clearly were no native to the unique flavour of Standard spoken by this individual. "I am, I take it you frequent this establishment?" Rilek replied back in the best Standard they could, speaking a little slower so that they could ensure they enunciated each word. They had the UT on them, but they weren't sure how good other peoples' were. One would assume if anyone was clubbing they would have brought a translator of some sort, it's hard to flirt when two people didn't speak each other's languages.

He couldn’t keep the chuckle in as he heard the individual repeat what he had said, knowing that regardless if they were from Earth or not, his words were definitely far from the typical dialect of Standard. With another sip of his brightly colored drink, Randy nodded, before speaking once again, mentally cursing himself for not loading his translator with the subroutine before he left home, knowing that he might have trouble ‘mingling’ later on if he couldn’t establish adequate communications with others. “I normally do! I sadly ain’t been back in donkey’s years cuz’ I’ve been posted out onna’ station a bit n’ a half away from here.” He said with an exaggerated pout, his eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Donkey...." Rilek repeated the word, not quite understanding what the guy was saying. They tilted their head and then thought about how best to interpret the other's words. In all their years of studying Standard they had never heard of the term, but they couldn't give away their confusion. Rilek kept a poker face, a warm smile and a relaxed gaze, but mentally they were struggling to navigate this sudden interaction. "A station, which one if I may ask?" They inquired, hoping that listening to more of this guy's dialect may help them piece together the words. Even their UT wasn't much help here as all the words he was saying were Standard.

Randy could see the visible confusion on the stranger’s face, desperately wishing his lack of translation program. Hoping that he might have actually brought it in his rush to get ready, Randy fished through his pocket, and fortunately, happened to find his combadge with the program, quickly pulling it out and placing it onto the counter, activating the program with a grin. “Starbase 777! It’s in the near the Laurentian system! Have you ever heard of it?” He asked with a curious tilt of his head, quickly taking a sip of his drink as he waited for them to respond.

Rilek chuckled a little seeing the man fumble with finding his combadge. "What a coincidence, I just transferred there myself," Rilek said, suddenly growing suspicious that this meeting was not as serendipitus as they originally thought. The voice of reason in their mind was telling them that there was no way this human would have any dealings with unsavoury organisations, but then again it wasn't hard to change your appearance. "And what is your job on the station?" Rilek asked, as they swirled their metal straw in the lemonade glass, their pointed finger nails also clacking up against the glass.

At hearing that this stranger also happened to be a crewmate of his, Randy beamed, bouncing slightly in his seat with excitement. “Oh really?! That’s great! How are you liking it so far? I love how big it is and all the green space!” He babbled, before realizing he was getting overexcited and taking a sip of his drink to calm down a moment, as calm as one drinking a redbull tequila sunrise could be with all the caffeine coursing through his veins. “I’m a tactical Cadet! Though, I am due to graduate soon, so I am not too sure what I’ll be doing then, I’m hoping to do something with cryptolinguistics!” He exclaimed, mulling over all the possible jobs he could do over in his head.

The bouncing and smiling made Rilek smile back. "It is nice so far. Yes, there sure is a lot of greenery. I will need to do more exploring when I get back," Rilek replied before taking a sip of their own drink. The lemonade was good, although now they were regretting their decision to get it sparkling. It was just lemon juice with some sugar and club soda, not the best. "Cryptolinguistics? That sounds more like an intelligence job," It was amusing to see someone so young and full of life, Rilek's smile and friendliness was genuine, even if it seemed like they could be scheming something. "But linguistics? What languages do you speak? I like linguistics too but I wouldn't call myself a linguistic, I am just a hobbiest," Rilek said, curious what this human knew. They were impressed to see someone so young at the club, or well, they assumed he was young. Rilek wasn't old, but they were sure they were at least ten years older than the cadet.

"I need to do some more myself! I heard there was an aquarium, and I've absolutely got to see it at some point!" He said with an emphatic nod, glad that this officer seemed to be so friendly and personable. "Intelligence...hmm, I hadn't thought about the fact it would be so closely related to tactical, perhaps I'll speak with my advisor about that soon! Thanks for bringing that up!" He said with a cheery smile, before quickly downing the rest of his drink, rapping his knuckles against the bar to signal the bartender for another. "So far I've learned Klingon, Vulcan, Rihannsu and Tzenkethi, and of course Standard which is my native language! I've really been enjoying my xenolinguistics classes as you can tell!" He said with a deep, booming chuckle, letting himself relax a bit into the conversation. "What do you do aboard?" He asked with a curious tilt of his head.

"I was just at the aquarium before leaving to come here, what a coincidence," Rilek said, leaning forward when they said the last word. "They have some delicious looking fish there, what a pity they aren't for eating," As they said that they opened their mouth slightly so the cadet could catch a little glimpse at their sharp teeth. With most of their face covered by their holographic mask, they were going for a look of danger and mystery. Or maybe it just looked stupid. "I think you will do well in tactical, you have a great drive for it. Also I am the fleet liaison officer, for the Romulan Republic," Rilek told him, leaning back against the counter and stirring their drink with their straw again. "And oh, Rihannsu? That is quite a difficult language," Rilek raised and eyebrow when the other said it and gently pulled their mask off to show the other their very obvious Romulan features, the eyebrows and forehead ridges. "What made you want to learn that language?"

“Oooh! That’s fun! Is it nice? I’ve heard that its one of the most comprehensive located on a Starbase!” Randy said with an enthused nod, eyes wide. “You can’t eat those, but I’m sure if you would like, you could replicate a generous selection! I’m quite fond of catfish myself!” He said, momentarily thinking about his Father’s panfried catfish recipe he had programmed into the replicator, his stomach rumbling in response. “Fleet liaison! Wow! What do you do in that job? Must be a lot of work!” He said, curious what such a job would even entail, given the scope of the relations between Starfleet and the Republic Navy. When Rilek switched to speaking Rihannsu, Randy quirked a brow, before deactivating his UT, responding in his own heavily accented Rihannsu. “Well, the two postings I’ve been on so far had had crews with a large amount of Romulans, and I figured as a professional curtosey I would learn their language just as many of them have learned mine! Along with that, the field that I am going into, it would be quite beneficial to learn the language!” He said with a enthusiastic nod.

"It was very nice, it made me hungry though," Rilek tilted their head from side to side, seemingly thinking about something. It was the forbidden spaghetti of the Cardassian man-o-war jellyfish. If the venom wasn't so lethal, maybe they'd try. Or maybe they could replicate spaghetti that looked like the tentacles. Anyway, they laughed when the dcadet mentioned catfish. "Catfish? Is it a cat or a fish?" Rilek asked a genuine question, never hearing of the fish before. As much as they liked to claim they knew about earth and other planets like it, there were still a lot of animals they did not know. Earth especially had a weird habit of naming animals after things that were clearly not that animal. "My job is to communicate with the Republic on behalf of Starfleet. It is a position usually held by someone from the other faction. So in my case, my position would most likely be held by another Romulan or someone who is knowledgeable about Romulan culture," Rilek explained, continuing to speak slowly so that Randy could pick up each word. Thankfully they were only drinking sparkling lemonade so they could continue to have their wits about them as they spoke. "How lovely of you, I am sure your crewmates are happy to hear you speak such beautiful Rihannsu," Rilek said, genuinely very impressed with the human's desire to learn their language. It was not an easy language and with the tensions between the Federation and the Romulans, up until recently it wasn't very useful unless someone was going into diplomacy. "Well if there is anything you would like to learn, I love teaching people. Romulan culture can be difficult sometimes," Rilek explained as they curled their fingers around their glass, all ten sharp metal fingers clicking together made quite the sound. "I realised we never introduced ourselves. I'm Rilek, and you?"

At Rilek’s comment about the aquarium making them hungry, Randy couldn’t help but break out into a fit of chuckles, having not ever thought about how for a pescatarian or a fish-enjoyer, an aquarium was practically a five-star buffet that they could only look at rather than eating. “It’s a fish! I was never quite sure why it was named catfish other than it has some whisker-looking appendages on its face….its a strange fish, but gosh is it tasty!” He said, now resolute in his need for some of the dish, sure to ask his Poppa to make it for him at some point during shore leave. He continued to speak in Rihannsu, grateful to Rilek for them slowing their speech slightly, as even though he would consider himself fluent at this point, he was still quite inexperienced to native speakers. “Oh wow! Must be harder for you then since you are doing the job as a Starfleet Officer, but very rewarding I am sure!” He said excitedly, before grabbing his drink and taking a generous pull, savoring the sickly sweet taste for a moment before speaking further. “You really think its good? Why thank you! It’s a real compliment to hear it from someone so well versed in the language as yourself!” He beamed, on absolute cloud nine to hear that someone other than his Professors thought he was doing well with his language skills. “I would love a lesson sometime! I’ve been really wanting to learn some of the slang and expletives in Rihannsu!” He said with a deep chuckle, shaking his head incredulously, before sitting up straight in his seat and waving slightly. “A pleasure to meet you Rilek! I’m Randy Lovell!”

And Rilek laughed along with Randy at the fish comment. So it wasn't a cat with gills, but the image in their mind remained. "What a pity it's not a cat in the water," Rilek commented with a small shake of their head and a stir of their drink. "Perhaps I shall try it one day," If this cadet recommended it then surely it must be good. Randy clearly had a good taste in fashion to be walking up to a club dressed like a 25th century cowboy. Perhaps it was their age gap or Rilek's duties as matriarch, but they wanted to do everything they could to help Randy feel comfortable on the station. Humans were wild, but Rilek could be wilder if it was a life or death situation. "Oh it is not as hard as one may think.I used to serve the Republic so I have a lot of connections there. It's quite funny to go to work and see your old boss now an admiral chatting away with you. It feels less like a job and more like a gossip session," Rilek giggled, blushing ever so slightly as they said it. What the blush was from was unclear given the context though. "And yes I do think you are very good,“ Rilek gave Randy a nod and then took another sip of their lemonade. Sparkling really wasn't the way, the carbonation was much too strong and it felt like the bubbles were tickling their nose. x_divider

00:45

"Oh? Slang expletives," Rilek's eyes grew wide and then they laughed once more. "Of course, always the swear words," They said with feigned annoyance, shaking their head and waving their hand. "I'm kidding, I understand, I asked the same when I was learning Standrd," They commented with a smile before turning to the bartender and asking for a non-sparkling non-alcoholic drink, they were done with the spicy water. "Lovell? I havenever heard of that house before. What part of Romulus is that? Or did you mean Lhoell? If I remember, the Lhoell house had a lot of members serving the Navy," Rilek said to Randy, clearly messing with him but their tone sounded compeltely serious.

He grinned, excited that Rilek seemed so interested in the fish he had mentioned. "Perhaps once we are back on the station, I'll have to have you over and make my favorite recipie with it!" He said, happy at the possiblity of making another friend on the station. Randy quirked a brow at the blush that came to their face at the mention of an Admiral, sensing that there may be something more to the interaction they had with their Republic counterpart than purely professional work. "Gossip session eh? Sounds like fun!" He said with a chuckle of his own. With a cheeky grin, Randy answered back in the most formal, regal Rihannsu he could, throwing a teasing wink in as he spoke. "Oh, you know, the house that has all the Humans in it! I'm surprised you haven't heard of it!" He said, deadpan for a few moments before bursting out into laughter.

"Oh that sounds delightful!" Rilek's eyes grew wide and they slowly clasped their hands together, making sure not to accidentally scrape themself with their own metal claws. They nodded and leaned a little closer to Randy when he repeated their words as if Rilek was gonna fill the cadet in on some gossip themself. "Mmm, I have a lot of gossip about various people within the Republic," They stated ominously, wiggling their eyebrows before pulling away and grabbing their new glass of not sparkling lemonade. Rilek loved that Randy played along with their joke about the Lovell-- or Lhoell house, which was a legitimate house from Romulus and Rilek was not kidding about having members in the Navy. Although Rilek was far from knowing all of the major houses from their homeworld, they had certainly heard things through the Romulan grape vine. "A human only house?" Rilek laughed loudly at that, their voice pitching up a few tones and their mouth wide open. "Funny, Randy! Actually, I know a few houses on Romulus that had quite a few aliens, what a pity I haven't heard any news from them in a while," Rilek mused, tilting their head side to side before they took a sip of their drink. "Ever been to Mol'Rihan? You should visit Isha Fields, lots of epohhs," Rilek said, switching back to Standard as they assumed Randy would probably be more comfortable conversing in his native tongue and Rilek didn't mind speaking another language. It was good practice if anything.

C’Sara materialized in the club entrance, ready to party! They were wearing a light teal minidress with a gold, amethyst, and opal necklace, and matching belt made of the same gemstones. They didn’t want to get drunk right now, they wanted to dance first. So they ordered a strawberry lemonade and sat next to Rilek, waving to them. “Hi!”

Randy threw Rilek a wide, indulgent smirk at their offer of sharing some juicy gossip. “Oh do tell!” He said lowly, before letting out a burble of laughter when they wiggled their eyebrows, leaning back on his stool and slapping his knee in mirth, glad to have stumbled across someone who could be as relaxed and fun-loving as he was, especially someone who had offered to teach him swear words…that was always a bonus. “Oh really? That’s crazy! Though, I have heard from people back on the station and while I was posted on the U.S.S. Rapture, that there’s some big Orion that is for all intents and purposes a Romulan! I think he’s even in your division from what my brother has told me, maybe you can pick his brain about other houses with aliens in them!” He said enthusiastically, hoping that Parker hadn’t been bullshitting him when he told him about the Orion, knowing that his brother loved to mess with him more often than not. At Rilek’s question he gave an exaggerated pout, crossing his arms across his chest like a child that hadn’t gotten their way, his eyes shining with teasing mirth making it clear he was teasing. He was somewhat thankful when they switched back to standard, his brain slowly losing the capacity to translate at the clip he had been before now that he had a drink in him, though by doing that, he had also deactivated the ‘Texas subroutine’. “I ain’t ever been sadly! I’d love tuh’ go sometime though! I’ve heard it mighty purty, and has all them neat lil’ critters roamin’ round’ like epohhs!” He said, having uncrossed his arms and replaced the pout with a toothy grin, his face lit up with excitement talking about animals. x_divider

20:54

He had just finished speaking to Rilek when another individual had approached, coming up and getting their attention, Randy happily turned back to face the bar and took a pull from his drink, patiently waiting until he was invited back into the conversation.

Seeing another person approach them, they gave the stranger a smile and a wave in greeting. It was nice to see another person joining them, and dressed in such a cool outfit too! "Love the necklace and the matching belt," Rilek pointed out with a smile on their face. "I don't think I can tell, Romulan code of honour and all," Rilek told a bold faced lie, turning back to look at Randy and then chuckling. They loved messing with others, it was all just fun and games anyway although often they had been told it was hard to tell what was real and what was fake. "Orion in command? Hm, maybe I will seek him out," If they were in the same division they would probably have to cross paths. They liked how much Randy seemed willing to play along and laughed with him. They did notice Randy switching back to his unique dialect, something Rilek still struggled to piece together. "The epohhs are cute, but so are the Romulan horses-- the rorses. I like the other critters too, but most of them are predators, what a pity. I'd love to have a T'Liss as a pet," Rilek mused as they sipped their lemonade before realising they still had their mask off! The put it back on before turning to the Caitian, wanting to keep a slight air of mystery about them. "Hello there, you can join us. We were just chatting, are you also here on shore leave?" Rilek could only assume this person was also on holiday although they weren't entirely sure from where.

“Thank you, I wanted to look a bit extra today. I’m on shore leave from 777. Nice place but I needed to get out and party. What about you two, you on shore leave as well?” They asked, sitting down. They soon received their lemonade, which they took a few sips of. It was pretty good. Maybe they’d add vodka to the next one and really get things started. They turned to Rilek, damn they were pretty. “Whoa, you look nice.”

Randy nodded emphatically, holding up his drink as to signify his being on leave purely by the fact he was drinking at all. “You bet your bottom dollar we are! We’re also from tha’ Starbase! What a fun coincidence? Wha’ I tell ya tha’ world gets smaller an’ smaller ever’ livin’ day!” He said enthusiastically, before taking a generous pull from the bright-purple drink he had been nursing.

"Why thank you," Rilek said when the nice Caitian complimented their attire. It wasn't very often that they went out clubbing. What a coincidence indeed that all three of them happened to meet on this club on Luna nad all three were from Starbase 777. Rilek told themself it was just random chance, but considering much of their life was carefully orchestrated events hidden behind 'random circumstances', they were never too sure there wasn't any plot going on. "And what's your name? I'm Rilek, Fleet Liaison to the Romulan Republic," Rilek gave the Caitian a polite bow of their head and a gentle smile. They pulled their mask down so the other could see their Vulcanoid features for just a moment before putting it back on.

“Yeah, nice to meet you both! Small world, or a big Starbase with a shit ton of people on it. I’m C’Sara, I’m a shuttlecraft engineer.” They smiled back, pointy teeth and all. They nodded at the mask reveal, though they wondered why the mask was there. It was cool though, maybe Rilek had a killer sense of fashion. “Liason? Lots of diplomacy, then? I could never do that, those situations are too delicate for me.”

"It's not as hard as it seems. Unlike other diplomats, I mainly communicate with the Romulan Republic and I know most of the admiralty there," Rilek said with a shrug and a sip of their drink. Their metal finger guards clicked against the glass that seemed to cut through the rest of the bustling noise of the night club. "I do less negotiating and more just information-giving." Rilek told C'Sara, tilting their head slightly as they spoke. Shuttlecraft, tactical officer, and a fleet liaison. They couldn't think of any reason why anyone would specifically orchestrate the three of them in the same spot, it wasn't like any of them would be carrying any secrets and both C'Sara and Randy seemed friendly, definitely not Tal Shiar spies or anything like that. "Shuttlecrafts? What made you choose engineering?"

“That seems simpler. Is it a good job or is there drama? Sometimes there’s drama in engineering, it’s mostly just yelling at whatever’s not working though. Like turbolift 2, it’s cursed.” C’Sara always had to relay the knowledge about the cursed turbolift. Nobody had managed to completely fix it yet. One day, maybe, but that wasn’t C’Sara’s department. They were there for the cursed shuttlecrafts. “I chose engineering cause I’m a nerd who likes to fix stuff. Plus I’m good at it too. Figured I could do something with my life if I went into Engineering.”

Deciding to amp up the party a bit, Randy turned to the two speaking, a cheeky grin plastered on his face. "A'm sorry tuh' interrupt, but would y'all wanna do some shots? I wanna load on a lil' buzz so I can do some dancin'!" He said, getting up off of his stool and wiggling his body a bit in a faux dance move, something that for someone his size probably looked quite humorous.

"Hmm, I wouldn't mind, I would rather not get too intoxicated, even off duty I need to be careful. You never know when danger may strike," When Rilek said danger they clicked their finger guards together and then tapped their glass. It sounded like they were afraid of danger coming to them but out of the three of them they were probably the most likely to become the danger. "Do they have Romulan ale? Or is that too strong? I think it would be fine for shots if either of you are ready to have a go with me."

"Wha' thas' fair! I hear ya' thur' too, I need ta' be sober enough ta' transport home!" He said with a booming chuckle, slapping the bartop lightly. "I reckon' they got jus' bout' anything! I ain't had some ale inna' minute, ah'd love tuh' have sum'!" He said, before throwing Rilek a cheeky wink. "Ah' may be Human, but ah've been known tuh' drink justa' bout' anyone under tha' table!"

"I am not getting under the table to drink with you," Rilek said almost immediately, finding the comment very odd. They were still trying to parse the human's dialect, but for the most part it sounded just like a slurred version of Standard. Rilek ordered a bottle of Romulan ale and some shot glasses and poured the intoxicating blue liquid into each of the small glasses.

At Rilek's misunderstanding of his turn of phrase, Randy couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle, amused. He grabbed one of the shotglasses, holding it up happily. "Mhiohs cheers in Romulan" He exclaimed before downing the shot, trying very hard to not have a visible reaction to the strong beverage.

Rilek grabbed their glass and drank the ale at the same time as Randy, no expression change at all, perfectly straight faced. Although ale was not their first choice of liquer, it was powerful and being able to drink it with little to no reaction was quite the party trick. It was all that Surak that allowed Rilek to keep their reaction off their face. "Hm, could be better. There was better ale on Romulus," Rilek said in a very matter-of-factly, like how a hipster would walk into CD stores and tell everyone 'it sounds better on vinyl'. "How are you feeling, Randy?" Rilek asked the cadet with an amused smirk on their face.

“Oh yeah, I can do some shots alright!” C’Sara had experience in that department. They partied their fair share, they knew how to dance. The music was good, so was the alcohol (they weren’t Romulan so they really had no clue what ale was good and what wasn’t). And they could party all night. They took one of the shot glasses and downed it, definitely had a bit a bit of a reaction, but whatever. The end goal would still be achieved- a buzz and an eventual hangover later on. But that was a later C’Sara problem.

Randy turned to Rilek with a slight grimace, and reached for another glass full of the drink. With a slightly pained smile, Randy took the glass and downed the next shot, throwing his new friend a thumbs up. “A’ think a’m hangin’ in thur’! This stuff is a tad more…potent than last I remember it!” He said with a chuckle.

[D] Better late than never right? The local Aenar-Vulcan went to materialize at the entrance. He was practically wearing his uniform, though the shirt had been replaced with a navy blue turtleneck. Sikan keeps his constant expressionless gaze however. He really only came here to observe partying behaviour out of sheer curiosity. Plus he had sent out an invitation to that former classmate of his. It was accidental he even found out they were at the same posting as him. Sikan slowly approached the group.

"It is quite strong, be careful," Rilek watched in amusement as C'Sara and Randy took their shots. They noticed the reaction C'Sara had to the drink, which was not uncommon for non-Romulans -- well even Romulans felt the drink was too strong at times. It was not a secret that most Romulans simply drank ale to show off how strong their tolerance was and whilst Rilek wasn't one to drink to show off, they were proud that they could handle the drink without much of a visible reaction. "Oh, hello, come to have shots?" Rilek asked the blue pointy eared stranger as they grabbed the bottle of ale and poured another glass to hand to the person. "It's Romulan ale," They told him, wondering how a fellow Vulcanoid would handle the drink. Although Rilek wasn't exactly sure of the stranger's species, the pointed ears told them he was most likely some sort of Vulcanoid.

He just shook his head, holding his hand up slightly to refuse the offer. "No thank you. Is there water?" Sikan definitely isn't intent on drinking anything alcoholic. Last time he did, it was more of a dare he regretted taking at the Academy. It felt like it burnt his throat and his stomach. His antennae bobbed a bit, silver eyes taking a glance at the entrance. "I am... waiting for someone."

“Yep, yep, it’s strong. How do you all drink this enough to have any kind of tolerance?” Showoffs. What they couldn’t understand is how some humans didn’t even have much of a reaction. They had definitely seen Lisa taking a shot or two of it in the bar on 777 and having no reaction. Or Ace, though Ace could probably drink them under the table with any kind of alcohol. He was more of a partier than they were. “Hi” They said to Sikan

[D] They almost didn't come- Grivix wasn't too big on parties, ever. Piffles was left with someone to babysit it, and Grivix was holding a slightly larger than average grey tribble with white specks on its fur. This one they would bring to help ease their anxiety outside the job. Grivix didn't say anything, glancing around of the environment before heading to a wall.

"Hello." He definitely wasn't sure on starting a conversation, but Sikan didn't want to not acknowledge. Seems like his invitation did get accepted though. Sikan noticed his former classmate from the corner of his view. He wanted to interact around for a bit before heading over there though.

"Oh, very well then," Rilek shrugged and drank the shot themself. They hoped the stranger's friend would show up soon, they wondered who this friend was. They turned back to C'Sara when the Caitian began to speak again. "To be honest, a lot of Romulans find ale hard to drink. It is a sign of strength to be able to drink so much," Rilek explained when C'Sara asked the question. They were too busy talking to C'Sara to notice the Denobulan-Kelpien who materialised not too far from them and when they glanced back to see what the nice friendly blue man was doing they realised his friend had appeared. "Jolan tru, is this your friend you have been waiting for?" Rilek asumed the tribble-carrying dude was a friend of blue dude.

“Ohh, it’s just a looks thing. Apparently I have two very strong friends then, they’re both humans and they can drink ale with no problem as long as it’s only a few shots or so.” They then proceeded to pour another shot into the rest of their lemonade, and drink it. No reaction this time, it was dilute enough. No need to order any more lemonade now, at least. They had that covered. Maybe they’d dance. They could definitely dance for hours, fucking around with shuttlecraft all day had built up their muscles.

Very slowly, his antennae bobbed slightly to Grivix's direction, but he doesn't look. "It is. It would not be them had they not been carrying a tribble." A pattern he had observed and deducted it was a common behaviour for them. And due to the fact he was unaware of any other Denobulan-Kelpien hybrids.

They were pretty much avoiding people for the most part, but didn't mind had someone been inquistive of their tribble. That thing was large enough to be like a plushie. Soft too. Despite not being too sociable, Grivix seemed content where they were now. They glanced at Rilek for a moment before focusing back to the tribble.

"Good for them," Rilek said with a neutral tone before pouring themself another shot of ale and drinking it. No matter how much they drank, the taste was still pretty bitter, but they had bought the whole bottle so they couldn't waste it nor were they going to force it upon the others if they didn't want it. "Interesting companion, what are your names you two?" Rilek said, pointing to both the Denobulan hybrid and the Andorian with the glasses and raising an eyebrow. "Oh, and let me get you that water," Rilek remembered the blue dude had asked for water earlier and quickly asked the bartender for some. Once the glasses were in hand, they offered them both to the two strangers.

"Ensign Soppak Vyorin Sikan. I prefer Sikan." His antennae bobbed as if they nodded. The mention of a companion and the sight of Grivix's tribble... It made him want a pet. Wanting a pet... Wait. His antennae had curled at the confusing at his own thoughts. "The other one. That is Grivix Rexus." They were still focused on the tribble.

Not wanting to butt in on the conversation happening with the newcomers, Randy turned back to his new friend Rilek and gestured to the lower tier of the club that housed the dancing facilities. In low toned rihannsu, Randy addressed them, a slight smirk on his face. "You want to go dance a bit? I've been wanting to put the skills I learned in a dance class I took to use!" He said happily, hoping that he wouldn't completely embarass himself in front of his crewmates.

"Enchanté', Sikan and Grivix," Rilek greeted the two with a friendly nod before looking towards Randy who spoke to them in Rihannsu. A light green blush crossed their face at the proposition and they set their glass down on the counter and stood up. "Dance with me? I would love that," Rilek replied in Rihannsu and offered out their right hand for Randy to take. This was an incredibly scandalous thing, although it was unclear if this action was flirty or threatening as they flexed their long fingers that were covered in the metal finger guards. Most notably there was a slight colour difference between their middle and ring fingers and the rest of their hand, making it obvious they were prosthetics. Their palm was covered in short scars that extended from the prosthetics all the way down to their wrist.

He beamed down at Rilek when they agreed to join him, grabbing two glasses and the bottle of ale, determined to finish the bottle with them after they so kindly procured it for them. He turned and gave the remainder of the group a small wave, before returning his attention to his new friend, ready to do some dancing. “Well, I love having someone to join in the reverie with me, not many people can keep up with my energy level!” He said happily, throwing Rilek a teasing wink. “Shall we?” He offered, momentarily stunned at the proferred hand, knowing that offering to hold hands among Vulcanoids could mean a great deal of either scandalous or threatening things. Deciding to throw caution to the wind, Randy took Rilek’s hand in his own and guided the two of them down to the dance floor, quickly stopped off at one of the small tables and dropped off the bottle and glasses and poured two shots for the both of them. “Down tha’ hatch!” He said in his heavily accented standard, before gently letting go of Rilek’s hand and downing the shot in one fell swoop, a wide, almost manic grin making its way onto his face. He then ran at full chat to one of the nearby poles, grabbing ahold and spinning around like a top let loose at warp speed, cackling cheerfully the whole time, clearly having a ball putting his skills to use.

He definitely wasn't watching this, now back to being focused on the Denobulan-Kelpien that was focused on the large grey tribble. Sikan was drinking from the water glass when he walked over to them. They had sat down, so he just went to sit down next to them. Honestly the rper was running out of juice here so they introverts are just hanging there together.

Rilek was amused by Randy's reaction, gently closing their fingers around Randy's hand. They made sure to keep their grip loose as any force could risk causing the other discomfort. Their finger guards were pointy, but the tips were dull and the metal around their fingers was smooth so there was a low chance at accidental cuts, but having metal pressed up against skin was seldem a comfortable experience so they were cautious with the way they held Randy's hand. They took the shot glass when offered, having no visible reaction on their face when they drank the liquid. Rilek watched as Randy rushed to the pole and began to spin around it. They were aware that was the vibe of this place, but pole dancing was... Very odd to them. They had also swung on poles in the past, but not as a dance per say. Not knowing how best to respond, they gave Randy golf claps and smiled at him. That was what people usually did, right?

After he had sufficiently tested his skills, Randy lowered himself back to the floor, making his way back over to Rilek with the enthusiasm of an over-excited golden retriever, a wide, happy smile on his face. He downed another shot and offered his hand to Rilek, throwing them a faux suave expression. “That dance floor over thur’ looks mighty enticin’, you got any moves?” He asked, half challenge half teasing in his tone.

Rilek laughed as Randy made his way back to them. They were fully aware of the wildness humans had in themselves, but that didn't mean they would ever cease to be amazed. They gladly took the cadet's hand, gently squeezing it. What a scandalous thing, the Khellian matriarch holding hands with a human cadet. Thankfully they didn't think any other Romulans were watching, but maybe some Vulcans would be scandalised by the open hand holding. "I have some moves," Rilek was purposefully vague as they slowly made their way towards the dance floor. "What sort of dancing do you do? I can match the vibe," Rilek let go of Randy's hand once they got to the dance floor, allowing Randy to lead whatever style he was comfortable with.

Randy quirked an eyebrow, sending Rilek a smirk. “Square dancing? It’s tha’ most popular kinda’ dancin’ where a’m from!” He said, amused at the thought of a Vulcanoid wearing a pair of cowboy boots, prancing around the dance floor in some middle of nowhere shitkicker bar. “What kinda’ dancin’ do you like tha’ best? I happen tuh’ be a bit of a quick study maself’!” He said with another indulgent smirk, taking a moment to project a bit of faux cockiness that he felt aided him in social settings.

"Square dancing? I do not know how to imitate a square," Rilek said, clearly never heard of the style of dance before. They looked around at what the other people in the room were doing. It was a mix of the typical club dancing and some people actually laying down some sick moves. Rilek wasn't sure if there was an equivalent dance outside of Romulan space, but perhaps they could take this opportunity to teach Randy a bit about their culture. "Hmm there is a type of Romulan dance that involves... Well, it's called 'push and pull'," Rilek switched to Rihannsu for just those two words. "We join hands and do just that. I suppose it is similar to ballroom dancing, although with a bit more action and there are no gendered roles," They stated, holding their two hands out with palms facing Randy. "Take my hands and we shall intwine our fingers, then we will dance."

Randy chuckled at Rilek’s slight misunderstanding of what square dancing was, shaking his head amusedly. “Well, its not quite jus’ dancin’ in a square, but you ain’t too far off I reckon!” He said, also observing the variety of people dancing in all different kinds of styles, appreciating how lively the club got when it started to really fill up. “Push and pull? Sounds like a mix of rugby and waltzin’! Well, hell, I’m in for a challenge!” He said enthusiastically, remembering fondly just how pleasantly worn out and bruised he’d get after a rousing game of rugby back during his freshman year of the Academy. When prompted, Randy intertwined his fingers with Rilek’s, the shock of being allowed to hold hands with a Vulcanoid only now starting to wear off. He looked around the room, taking note of two Vulcans at a nearby table that looked positively scandalized, in jest, he threw the two a wink and turned his attention back to his friend, nodding to them “Let’s boogie!”

When their fingers intwined, Rilek shot Randy a devious smirk before pulling him towards the middle of the dance floor. Due to the duo's tall stature, people naturally moved aside to let them do their weird Romulan tango. Rilek stepped back and then pulled Randy close with their noises barely touching. Up close, Rilek's pretty red eyeshadow was visible with the pretty silver sparkles that also matched the white strands of her hair. The closeness only lasted a few seconds before Randy was pushed away and Rilek stepped to the side. It was hard to tell if Rilek was trying to dance with or against the human cadet, but it was thrilling nonetheless. "Feel free to put some force behind the moves," Rilek told Randy, interested in how much power the cafet had behind his muscles. As the music played, Rilek's movements kept in time with the beat, stepping in rhythm. Rilek made sure her movements weren't too forceful as a Vulcanoid and a human, no matter how strong, were in different strength classes. The goal of the dance was not violence or even to show off, it was supposed to be representative of balance, the ying and yang, needing both halves.

He caught the glint in Rilek’s eyes, a matching one of his own most likely in his, something that he couldn’t help but take a moment to appreciate, feeling like he had finally found someone amongst those he was serving with that matched his level of chaos. When they pulled him close, he had momentarily forgotten just how strong Vulcanoids were, letting out a little puff of air as he was bodily moved, no small feat considering his large stature and the muscular heft of his build, idily wondering if they could actually pick him up. Once he had recollected his thoughts, making it a point to not dwell too much on their hair, or the expert application of their makeup, Randy smirked, eyes once again glinting mischievously. “Force is what ya’ want? Wha’, you better bet some force is comin’ up!” *He said, before yanking them toward himself with even more gusto than they had to him, side stepping as he did to avoid a pair of Bolians that had clearly embibed too much. *

Rilek had initally thought wearing platform boots was a bad thing as it made them tower above most humanoids moreso than usual, but with a partner as tall as Randy it put them at eye level. The Romulan-Vulcan officer was by no means short, but Randy was probably the tallest human they had met. They continued their dance of pushing and pulling, Rilek laughing when she felt Randy's strong arms pull her closer. The strength of the human was certainly impressive, they thought. Their little push and pull dance wavered from the beat as Rilek was trying to work with Randy's movements whilst being mindful of the space around them. "Impressive, Randy," Rilek complimented the other with a soft laugh only Randy could hear through all the music. Their grip began to loosen as they became more comfortable with the rhythm. It was another song until Rilek pulled Randy off the main dance area and released their grip so they could catch their breath. The traditional Romulan dance was fun, but taxing, even for a Vulcanoid. "Wow, not bad... For a human," Rilek teased with a wink. "You have a lot of energy and strength, maybe that's why you're so tall."

Once they had left the dance floor, Randy joined Rilek in taking a few breaths, having not realized quite how much he was exerting himself trying to keep up with his new friend, something that he once again had to take a moment to ponder with amazement that he had found a friend that could keep up with his seemingly endless energy. Randy gave an exaggerated bow, throwing Rilek a smirk as he pulled himself back up to his full height. "I reckon' you're just as impressive! I ain't met anyone that could keep up with lil' ol' me in quite some time! I bet ur' a damned meance in tha' gym!" He said with a deep chuckle, eyes shining with mirth.

Rilek didn't show it on their face, but they were actually pretty overwhelmed being around so many people. Luckily their mask provided a sense of comfort in anonymity. Rilek smiled right back at Randy and mimicked the bow. When they came back up they quickly rearranged their hair, tucking the longer strands behind their ears. "Gym? I don't really like working out that much," Rilek didn't say anything on the 'menace' comment. They assumed it was another figure of speech and Randy was not expressing fear towards them. If that was the case then he certainly wouldn't have just danced with them. Rilek's gaze wandered for a moment, looking at some of the other people in the room who were going about their business. By this time they had completely lost sight of their original 777 group, Sikan, Grivix, C'Sara were just mere blobs in the distance. Or maybe those figures weren't them and the alcohol was getting to their head. Now that they had some time to breathe, the lights and sounds of the club was starting to make their head hurt. It was just so very loud. Rilek's hold on their own mind began to slip as they took a step to the side to keep their balance and their eyes began to shake. "Let's sit down, Randy, I'd like some more lemonade before I left," Rilek did their best to keep their facade up. They gestured for Randy to follow them back towards the bar area.

“Oh wow! Good genetics then!” He said, impressed, though thinking for a moment, the difference may be due to their respective biologies, rather than any serious strength training. At this point, he had started to realize just how exhausted he was, having danced his proverbial ass off, and was now thinking about winding down, knowing that he’d want to get a good night of sleep in before the shuttleflight back to the station in the morning. “Good idea! I tell ya’ I’m bout’ 300% danced out!” He said with a chuckle, dutifully following Rilek back to the bar and downing a glass of water, hoping to get out ahead of the hangover. “Itsa’ funky thought, but I think I’m ready tuh’ get back to tha’ station tomorrow!” (edited)