Star Trek: Starbase 777 - ┃bar-seating-2

Set at the dark-oak bar were a handful of tall bar-stools for people who intended upon staying at the bar instead of taking their drink away elsewhere.

Alan took his whiskey to a seat further along the bar. He sat down and wiped his formal uniform trousers down. He looked around before looking back at his whiskey. It had been a while since he had drank something like that. He lifted it to his lips and took a sip. Instantly his nose scrunched up, and he placed the whiskey down. He debated whether having another sip, not knowing it wasn't a sipping drink. He eventually shrugged and took another sip of it. He turned around and looked out to the party, sighing as he watched everyone having fun with each other. He hadn't met enough people to feel comfortable joining in just yet. Instead he just sat at the bar and drank, possibly waiting.

[D] Nalas, cute and smol (well, six feet, average Bajoran height), skipped into the bar area all dressed in green and white Bajoran robes. The fabric was soft silk with gold and white braided accents around the middle and dark blue trousers with matching dress slippers. His typically messy dark brown hair was neatly combed down and permed and he had neutral make up that day. On his right ear he wore his Bajoran earring-- well, Cardassian inspired Bajoran earring. Bright green jewels adorned the ear cuff and one for the dangly bit. There were so many new people! How fun! Nalas had a PADD in hand as he skipped over to an available stool and plopped his silly little butt down. "Jumja juice-- virgin please no alcohol," Nalas ordered as he swung his long legs. He turned his head to see who he was sitting next to and it was-- a human? Who did not look like he was enjoying his drink. "Hey, I could order you some juice too? That doesn't look very pleasant," Nalas said, pointing to the stranger's whiskey.

Alan, who was quietly coughing into his elbow, looked at the person. The whiskey was quite... not what he had expected. Alan looked at the whiskey before nodding his head from side to side. He turned back to the stranger and nodded. "Sure thing, anything but this engine oil." He said with a smile. He turned his full body to the person. "I'm Alan, I do tactical stuff on the rapture." The smile didn't leave his face when he said that.

"Engine oil? Yuck, this is why alcohol is never the answer," Nalas spoke Standard with a very noticeable French accent to the supposedly human officer. He gestured to the bartender to call them over and get another glass of jumja juice. Once their drinks came he pushed one towards Alan. "Hey Alan! I'm an exobiologist here, Nalas Za'ari," He introduced himself with an equally friendly smile. A Bajoran boy with a Cardassian name, he was quite proud of it even if he didn't like his Cardassian father. He was gonna be good Cardassian scientist representation! "Where are you from, Alan? I know a guy with the same name actually!" With how intergalactic Starfleet was, finding two people with the same name was a lot less common than one may think.

Alan smiled at the man and shuffled to the edge of his seat. He wasn't too familiar with names of other races, but he knew a few. He thought it was especially funny that he knew another Alan though. "What a coincidence. Can't say I've met another Nalas." He laughed. There wasn't much to laugh about, but it was nice to do so. "I'm from earth, not to much to say about that. I'm just another human from earth who wanted to see space. What about you? Where you from, Nalas?"

"Oh no, I think I'm the only Nalas in this century," Nalas said with a light chuckle. It was certainly bold of his mother to name him Nalas. "But maybe you know Li Nalas? The Bajoran resistance fighter? Dude was okay I guess but he hated my people, the Cardassians," Nalas said as if he wasn't sitting there as a whole ass Bajoran boy. There was nothing Cardassian about him aside from maybe the colours of his earring and his mannerisms. "Humans from earth who wanna see space! Sounds cool! And I'm from Cardassia Prime, it doesn't look like it but I'm 100% Cardassian, born and raised! My dad is a Gul in the Cardassian intelligence bureau. Uhh, I joined Starfleet coz the Cardassian military is kinda uhh.. Okay, I'll say it, those guys are spacist as fuck," He said before taking a huge sip of his juice. "Anyway, how's life on Rapture? I heard it's a shiny cool tactical ship, you guys got the big guns, do you have tons of work as tactical officer?"

Alan chuckled along with Nalas' story. He had no clue whether it was okay to or not, so they sounded like nervous chuckles. He knew the name Li Nalas and nodded when he was mentioned. He had read about him once. "My mum was from Texas?" He said, not sure why though. When asked about the Rapture, he had to think for a moment. "Not as eventful as other ships I've been on, but that's a good thing. First week on we were caught up in some tango with the mercury." He perked his head up and looked around cautiously. When he saw the coast was clear, he leaned in. "As for the guns, you're looking at the guy who uses the damn things." He said with a small smile.

"Ohh Texas! Actually I know someone from Texas! A Caitian named P'Nelar, man, she's a straight up G! Love her," Nalas said with much enthusiasm. He was a kid who clearly had a lot of energy and vigor. Speaking with his hands and a bright smile on his face. "Tango? Is that like a mango?" Nalas asked, completely serious with his question. Nalas was horribly monolingual (despite speaking two languages fluently) and his understanding of spoken Standard was shaky at best. There was a reason him and his boyfriend stuck to French. "Oh pew pew! Do you get to do any hand to hand combat? You know, giving the enemy the one two punch punch!" Nalas said with two fists punching the air.

Alan nodded his head from side to side again, thinking about a way to describe 'tango'. "Well it could mean a bunch of things, but I was using it like..." He thought some more. "It's like a scrap, like a fight." He said half shrugging. He wondered why Nalas spoke with an accent. "Yeah, I guess if I needed then I know how to throw a punch, but I save that for the reunions back on earth." He laughed. He had realized that he hadn't touched juice. He took a sip, and it was muuuch nicer than the whiskey. "Do you... speak French? I don't." There was no good way to ask that, he realized as soon as he tried.

Nalas nodded as Alan explained what tango meant. Okay so it wasn't like the ship was a giant mango. Although he kinda was hoping for mangos, fruit was yummy! "Oh, what you gonna fight your fam?" Nalas raised an eyebrow, not as intimidating as when Vulcans did it. He looked sillier if anything. He took a sip of his juice right as Alan was asking him about speaking French. He wasn't offended at all, it was a normal question! "Oh yeah I do! I went to the Academy in France! To be honest I'm kinda bad at languages, I can barely manage to get the hang of Bajoran. Kinda embarrassing," He waved his hand and chuckled. "Did you live your whole life on earth? I assume you went to the academy in uhhhh.. wait where is the other campus? Canada?"

An explanation was needed in order to make him sound like he wasn't on terrible terms with his family. "Well not really fight, a friendly brawl. Like siblings, me and my brother fight. Me and my sisters fight, it's just how we show our love for one another." He never really thought it was odd, siblings fought all the time. It wasn't personal between them, just sibling stuff. "I attended academy in San Francisco. But hell... that would have been about 24 years ago." He laughed slightly. "I'm ancient, I'm 32." He took another sip of the juice. "Tell me about yourself though, enough from me. I want to hear about you." He said wiping some juice from his mustache. He placed an arm on the bar and leant on it, his body still facing Nalas.

"Oh! I kinda get it, I fought with my family too, kinda, because they are spacist though, that sucked," Nalas laughed as if he wasn't part of a very backwards thinking Cardassian family who thought the Occupation was 'not that bad'. "Ehh not that old! I'm only 25 though," Nalas responded as he finished off his juice only to order more. He had the latinum and also he loved jumja, it was the only Bajoran food he had growing up. "About me? Uhhhhh," Nalas' mind immediately went blank as he tried to think of anything interesting to tell Alan. He thought he had a pretty boring life well-- wait! "Oh about the name-- so the Allan I know is cool. He and I are dating the same guy and we smooched next to the pool once!" Nalas said with much energy. "And he's looking to get shorts as part of the standard uniform. He has a whole petition going if you're interested. I could introduce you guys?"

A lot to take in at once, but he will get through it. First off, dating the same guy?!? That definitely confused Alan. Second, SHORTS?!? Alan was more of a trouser person, longer pants kind of guy. He also wanted to know about the juice. He choked when he heard about other Allan. He placed his glass down quickly on the bar, surprised and trying to wrap his head around it. "Are you dating two people?" He said squinting, trying to stop the tears from his coughing. Before he sounded like he was ignorant, he added on quickly. "That's pretty cool, I'm happy for you. I can barely get a date." He laughed at his own joke. "Yeah I'd like to meet other Alan. Or cooker Allan, either way, I'd like to meet him." He sipped some more juice. "What is this stuff by the way?"

"Oh no! I'm only dating one guy but uhh, he's dating multiple people! But nah, I just like kissing cute guys," Nalas shook his head, amused that Alan not only thought he was dating multiple people but the idea alone was shocking. Oh that's right, a lot of humans were monogamous! Cardassians were too, although Nalas didn't see a problem smooching his friends. "And oh do you want a date? I know some cool people here who were looking for someone to hang out with!" Nalas was going through the list of people who would want to date a cool tactical officer like Alan. He sipped his juice and spun around on his little stool. "And this is jumja juice! It's a Bajoran specialty, very sweet and kinda citrusy? I guess it's like Terran orange juice," He was trying to find the right words to describe the taste. "Oh and wait lemme pull up Allan's info," Nalas clicked a few buttons on his PADD. "What was your full name by the way? My friend is Allan.. Allen. I know right? Together you guys could be Allen cubed!"

Alan flopped to the bar with laughter. A math joke that he understood, and it was hilarious. He sat back up and decided that he should address the other things too. "I'd be happy if you introduced me to some people. I'm into females though, but we can do that later. My full name is Alan Harrison." He looked at the juice. "This stuff is better than orange juice, much better than whisky too."

"Feeeemales," Nalas did his best ferengi impersonation and laughed along with Alan. Humans were so funny! He kinda wished he worked on Rapture if they had such funny crew, although that would mean leaving his boyfriend and all the hot people on 777. Well, there was a lot of time to joke and chat with Rapture crew. "Okay, I asked the other Allan if he would wanna hang. And I'm glad you like the jumja juice! Yep, alcohol is kinda ew. Kanar is popular on my homeworld but man, that stuff sucks," Nalas said making a disgusted face and then sipping his drink. "Mmm, what do you think of 777 by the way?"

Alan poured the last of the juice into his mouth and wiped his face. He placed the empty glass down. "That stuff is good." When asked about the 777, he looked around. Although he hadn't seen much of it, he didn't have to. "It's nice I suppose. I worked on a station like this, and it was pretty uneventful. To be fair, I needed some uneventful during that phase of my life. This one's not so different." He looked around again. "If you've seen one, you've practically seen them all."

"It's in the replicators, you can just say Jumja juice," Nalas was happy to share a bit of his culture with the other officer. It made him feel more Bajoran which was actually the vibe he was going for. He even wore Bajoran formal attire for the ball! "Yeah that's true. Federation stations are cool! I was actually on Terok Nor before this! Real cool, but I love Cardassian architecture, we make cool ass stations," Nalas said, only the tip of the iceberg for his hot takes. If only Alan knew the rest of Nalas' hot takes about Cardassian culture, especially the one about Yamok sauce on everything. Nalas stared down at his PADD that he placed on the table, hoping Allan would get back to him. There was a soft ping to signify there was a message! He quickly opened it only to realise it was not his funny human friend. "Oh-- wait, Alan, how do you feel about Vorta?"

Alan stared perplexed at Nalas. He had no damn clue what Vorta was. He opened his mouth to speak before closing it again, his expression changing between a multitude of confused faces. He leaned against the bar, his fingers were perched above his lips. "Vorta... Is that like a drink? A person...? Is it water? It sounds like water. I have no clue what it is, I might like it?"

Nalas laughed when Alan didn't know what a Vorta was! For real? He was sure everyone knew about the Dominion. He pushed his empty glass to the side and began to furiously type on his PADD, clearly having a thought. "Vorta are from the Dominion, you know, like the Gamma Quadrant power," Nalas said as he turned his PADD to Alan to show him a photo of a woman with straight bangs and long dark hair. She had almond shaped eyes, very pale purple, and a radiant smile. She was standing next to Nalas making some weird pose, Nalas had a hand in front of his face and his legs bent and the woman was doing a sideways split with both hands up. It looked like they were in a garden together. "Her name is Aella, she's also dating the same guy I am, but she'd totally dance with you! She's nice-- usually. Except when she called my species irrelevant, but she's learning."

Alan felt phenomenally idiotic. His cheeks lit up when he saw that it was a female. Not just that, but by the looks of it, a very pretty one. She looked almost intimidating... almost. He turned back to Nalas, clearing his throat. "I would love to meet her." He didn't know what to say about the relationship, it was getting confusing who and who wasn't in this single one. "Is everyone in 777 in this mega relationship?" He asked trying to sound as inquisitive as possible while holding back his grin.

"Oh uhh no no! It's just us three," Nalas laughed again, wow the lower decker circle really was kinda confusing to an outsider looking in. He typed up a quick message to Aella, telling her about the funny human. She'd definitely agree, she loved meeting new people and hey, it gave her a chance to try out socialisation again. "But we're all friends. Okay I told Aella you would meet her! Mmmm maybe later though, I don't know what she's doing," Nalas said as he fished out some latinum from his pocket to order some jumja juice to go. "Imma walk around a bit more, thanks for chatting Alan! Tell me how Allan cubed meeting goes!" Nalas hopped off of the bar stool and gave the funky human a wave before heading off to cause trouble elsewhere. Where will he go? Nobody knowsss.

[D] After getting dressed in her purple butterfly theme gown, Aella made her way to the bar just as her friend said. She ended up passing Nalas on the way and gave him a high five and shot a couple finger guns at him. The two were best of friends despite their rocky beginnings. After the short little exchange Aella made her way to the bar and sat where Nalas had been sitting. Aella was short, only a couple inches above five feet, with long black hair tied up into two buns. Her purple dress was long and flowy with a butterfly wing pattern around the chest area and the back. The purple of her dress matched the purple of her eyes, she looked like a purple butterfly princess! Her frilly ears stood out as well, a tell tale sign she was not human. She had red lipstick and matching eyeshadow, with sparkles! "Hello, Nalas told me you wanted to meet me?" Aella spoke textbook perfect Standard, unlike Nalas. She had a low voice, smooth like caramel, very calm and not as energetic as Nalas.

Alan had watched the entire exchange from the bar, smiling as it happened. It was always fun to watch friends being friends. He was admiring her dress too. Looking around and seeing everyone in their absolute best made Alan wish he had properly dressed up. Not only that, but she looked amazing. He stood up from his stool to greet her. He stood there nervously. "Hello, I'm Alan. It's lovely to meet you." He chuckled softly, a sign of nervousness. "You look great, by the way. What's your name?"

When Nalas told her about the tactical officer who wanted to see her, she didn't expect him to be this... Human. Attraction did not come from looks, she was still a Vorta after all. "It is nice to meet you Alan, oh you don't have to stand," Aella chuckled at the human's nervousness and shook her head. Yes, she thought she was a queen, but this was a causal meeting. "Thank you for the compliment! And my name is Aella 5, Dominion liaison and official speaker for the Founders," She said proudly, holding her head up as if she were a queen addressing her subjects. "And what is your job, Alan? Nalas told me you were in Starfleet?"

Alan nodded at her and looked back at the stool, debating whether he stand or sit down. He decided that it would be best to stand. "Aella 5?" He was definitely surprised. Typically humans didn't have number in their name. "Speaker of the Founders? How prestigious." He chuckled to himself. "I'm just a lieutenant phaser specialist. It's not as interesting as it sounds." He had no clue what to say next. "Could I offer you a drink?"

"Yes, I am the 5th one in my line. Vorta are cloned. You can just call me Aella though," She said in her sweet sing-song voice. If there was one thing Vorta were good at, it was subtle flirtations and sweet mannerisms. "And thank you, I am here to serve the Founders," Alhtough Eshen had told her to avoid talk about Dominion things, recently she hadn't had a problem with it and she was not ashamed to serve the Founders! "Phaser specialist? Sounds exciting," Aella said, shooting a couple of finger guns in Alan's direction. "And oh that would be lovely, I was told to try the... Hmm,, Jumja juice? I have never had it before," Aella said trying to remember what Nalas had written in his message.

Alan returned the finger guns in Aella's direction. He laughed softly afterwards, she seemed pretty cool. When he heard jumja juice, a very smug look washed over his face. "Jumja juice you say?" He turned to the bar tender. "This here is a Bajoran specialty. It's very citrus like, a nice sweet taste. Spoiler alert, it's amazing." Thanks to Nalas, Alan could act like an expert of Jumja juice. When the drinks arrived, he slid a glass to Aella.

Aella chuckled when Alan returned thee finger guns! Wow he knew the secret language too? She thought it was something only her, Nalas, and Allen knew but this guy knew it too! He also seemed very friendly, offering to buy her a drink and all. "Oh alright, I can't wait," She swung her legs as she slowly swerved the stool from side to side. She didn't seem nervous at all, social functions were quite normal for her, a diplomat. She took the glass from Alan and slowly sipped the drink. It took her a couple seconds to process the taste-- well, what little taste there was. "Citrus? Hmmm.... It is... Honestly, I can't taste it very well," Aella took a few more sips, hoping that her medicine just was taking a while to kick in but no, she couldn't really taste anything but sweetness. "Do you like this drink, Alan?"

Uh oh. Alan was now not only confused but was also now worried. Worried that he had messed this up, and that his taste was off. He looked at the drink. Maybe Nalas was tricking him with the whole citrus thing. Alan took a sneaky quick breath and smiled at Aella. "I think it's alright, I mean it certainly beats whiskey." He didn't know what to do. Not only did he just lie about the drink, but now he was maybe about to panic. This wasn't even a date, at least he didn't think it was. "What kind of drink do you like? I can get that if you prefer?"

"Wiskey? Oh, alcohol, yuck," Aella made a disgusted face when she said it. She tried German beer once and boy was that terrible. She stared at the oddly cloudly liquid and swished it around in the glass before taking another sip. A few more seconds of pondering over the flavour later she shook her head. "Umm... It's alright," She concluded, assuming she was probably just unable to taste some of the flavours. It was weird because it was a fruit and usually fruit things went well for her. "Oh! I love Rippleberries! I would like Rippleberry juice," Aella said with a bright expression, immediately perking up when Alan offered to get her a different drink. Nalas was probably going to be sad to hear she didn't like the jamja juice.

Alan gave a small sigh of relief, noticing the perk up. He took a sip of his juice before placing it back down and turning to the bar. "A rippleberry juice please." He said with a smile. He turned back to look at Aella. He waited until the drink arrived and then slid it over to her again. "So how long have you been on the station?"

Aella took the glass of juice when Alan handed it to her and took a giant sip. Mmm, very nice and fruity, it tasted like terran raspberries! "Much better, Rippleberries are one of the few fruits my people can taste," Aella said, unsure if Alan knew much about Vorta physiology or how the Dominion worked in general. If he did, he didn't seem to show any prejudice towards her which was good. If he had... Well Aella would have had to bully him, but anyway. "Almost a year now! It's amazing how much time has gone by," She said with a soft smile as she pressed gently on her hair clips to make sure they were secure. "I have lived over a hundred years, but I have to say 2412 has been the most exciting year," She giggled, covering her mouth as she did so. "How long have you been in Starfleet?"

Alan gave a short confused glance at Aella. He didn't have much clue what she was talking about, but at least she liked the rippleberry juice. He started to wonder if he would like it, or if it would be too strong for him. He would wait until later, perhaps back on the rapture. Alan thought about her question hard. He had been in for a few years, a war for 2 years, another war, a year of break, plus the extra 3 years in space, and 2 years on a station. He wasn't going to include academy. He had been in Starfleet for just over 10 years. Oof, that made him feel old. "I've been in starfleet for just about 10 years. I haven't been on the rapture the whole time, my first ship was the marino. After that I ended up on a station like this one. And then, I transferred to the rapture." He gave a nervous laugh and played with his glass. "Yeah I'm 32, ancient."

Aella sipped her juice, it was non-alcoholic, but even if it was alcoholic it wouldn't do anything to her. She was immune to most mind altering substances, and poisons too! Very handy for a race of diplomats. She studied Alan's expression as he seemed to be thinking of an answer. Ten years in Starfleet? Oh, so short! Even though he said he was ancient. "Only 32?" Aella giggled and put her glass down. "Oh you're talking to a 103 year old Vorta and I've served the Founders for all 103 years. We don't have umm.. Childhoods? Once we are created, we're ready to serve our gods, very convenient," Aella said proudly, assuming this man had no idea about the Dominion or how Vorta worked. "What inspired you to join Starfleet? I love hearing why people choose to enlist in what seems to be optional service."

103?!? Woooooah, Alan was impressed. He found it fascinating, the amount of sights seen, the events experienced, she's lived over three times his own life. Alan's mouth opened slightly, and although his mouth wasn't smiling, his eyes still did. He gave her a surprised yet friendly gaze. Vorta, he would have to read up on it. "103? Wow, that's amazing. All the stories you must be able to tell, that is astonishing." He said, still in mild disbelief. He thought about her question, and his answer wasn't nearly exciting as most. "Well, my brother joined, so me and my sister joined in. I don't see him nearly as much as I want to, but we all have a big gathering every few years or so. Same with my sister, I don't see her too often... actually it's been a while..." He drifted into thought, trying to remember the last time he visited his family. It would have been after leaving the Marino crew, 2 years ago. He quickly changed the topic before he dragged the mood down. "Have you ever thought of joining Starfleet?"

The look on Alan's face was amusing and won another chuckle out of the Vorta's mouth. Humans were so funny! She had dealt with a lot of them during her time as a commander in the Dominion and they were surprisingly very diverse. She remembered reading about Captain Sisko, Picard, all of the 'greats' of Starfleet. All very intriguing men and woman the humans and Starfleet were. "Oh yes, I have so many stories but I don't think they would make for a very nice first meeting," Aella smirked and tilted her head slightly. Remembering what her boyfriend told her about the 'big G'. None of that! "Oh so a legacy? How interesting! I haec never had a family so," Aella shrugged. "But the concept sounds nice. And hmm I don't think I would want to join. I serve the Founders, they are my gods. I want to stay as close to them as possible," Aella said as if she wasn't over here all the way in the Beta Quadrant, far from the Gamma Quadrant. "So you really don't know that much about Vorta, do you? I thought all you Starfleet folks learned about the Dominion War?"

At the mere mention of the word 'war' Alan's expression changed. Although he had heard about the dominion war, it was something he hadn't really had to talk about. He didn't really have to talk about it that much. Wars were terrible things, nobody wins, everyone loses, nobody leaves un-phased. He understood that there was a conflict between the Dominion and Starfleet, so it was idiotic of him to ask. "That's right. I had forgotten about that." He said slowly. He wasn't angry, just a little upset at himself for not knowing. "Sorry about that. War just... not one of my topics of conversation." He said slowly again. He didn't sound angry, just less than happy, not quite sad but not happy either. Alan grabbed his glass and took a sip of juice. Maybe at that moment, it might as well been whiskey.

"I mean, I thought the Vorta were well known amongst Starfleet, that's why I asked," Aella said with a lighthearted laugh as she twirled a strand of loose hair around her finger. "I am not trying to talk about war, I was just wondering because well, everyone I meet seems to have an opinion about my people. We are all cool and suave diplomats, sneaky, cunning, also immune to most poisons," Aella narrowed her eyes and gave Alan a mischievious smirk. She watched as Alan sipped his jumja juice, still curious about what exacrly it tasted like. "Oh and we're cloned. I heard you had a Vorta on Rapture, did you ever meet them? You have quite the number of exchange programme officers on that ship so I hearrrddd," How did Aella know this one would never know. She was well connected it seemed.

After hearing that, he just felt a little stupid. Nothing that would linger more than a few minutes. He listened to some of the things she had said. He didn't actually have an opinion on many species, other than humans. He had also never met any Vorta officers on the Rapture. Alan was curious, suspicious even, of Aella's extensive knowledge of the ships crews. Maybe she was close with the other Vorta officer. "I don't really have much to say about your people. This is the biggest conversation I've had with any Vorta before. As for the crew member, I have never met them." He wasn't going to interrogate her on how she knew about the rest of the stuff, but he was going to be careful with what he said. "I only transferred recently, I haven't met many people on the ship."

"We are pretty rare," Aella said, unsurprised the Alan didn't have much experience with Vorta. Perhaps she was just used to the normal inhabitants of 777. They all knew her name and her face, she was infamous for teasing and bullying some civilians (lovingly, she was a friendly presence. It was easy to forget that she was alien as ever to most people in this corner of the galaxy. Aella tilted her head from side to side, trying to read Alan's expression as he spoke. He seemed like a guy who mainly stayed to himself. "Really? You should introduce yourself to the crew. Do you at least talk to your department? I can only imagine what fun tactical has, pew pew and lasers," She said with a laugh, making more finger guns at the human officer.

Alan returned the finger gun gestures, but it was a short volley of finger guns. He probably could have been talking to his fellow tactical officers more. He had only ever talked to Rai, and Kosha from another department. On the brightside, he had met Nalas, and now Aella. "Haven't had the time, too busy. I've met one of them, but he's the commanding officer." By 'too busy' he really meant too lazy. Sure it would be nice to meet new people, but he hadn't though of doing that just yet. "I've probably had the better conversations here on this station, the non work related ones are the best." He said chuckling.

Aella nodded as Alan mentioned his interactions on the ship. "Ohhh commanding officer? It's always good to get close to the boss," Aella chuckled as she slowly turned her empty glass in her hands. “You know, you should explore this station. We have a butterfly house and everything. Oh and that silly guy who is also named Allan. I think Nalas mentioned calling him over? Oh and would you like to try some Rippleberry juice? I can order you a glass. Don't worry, it's non-alcoholic," She reassured him, assuming that since he wasn't drinking alcohol he was like Nalas who preferred juice. No judgment, Aella also disliked alcohol. It was so weird how humans were just okay with drinking poison!

Alan shrugged at the recommendation, all stations were pretty similar. He hadn't been to a butterfly house though, but how interesting could that be. He had remembered Nalas saying that he should talk to Allan. "Might explore, not too sure yet. I've been on another station for two years, and once you see one, you've practically seen them all. Besides, this is where most of the fun is." He said, waving his arm out to the rest of the ball. When offered some more juice, he nodded his head side to side. "Maybe later, I've had enough Jumja juice for now." He remembered something that Nalas said about the polyamorous relationship. "Nalas told me you guys were in a big relationship, what's that like?"

"True, although Deep Space Nine is completely different. Oh, I wish I could visit that place, right outside the wormhole," Aella wondered aloud, smiling as she mentioned it. The station was also quite close to home and there were many times where she missed the Gamma Quadrant. Her people were still rebuilding from the HurQ attack and something inside of her just wanted to return to the Dominion to assist. However her job was on 777 and it was arguably more important than rebuilding because she was the first Vorta to live full time in the Federation! "That is true," Aella giggled before ordering some MORE Rippleberry juice for herself. The drink was light pink in colour and tasted similar to terran raspberries. A bit tart and very sweet. "One big.. Ahh umm.. Well I am only dating Eshen, I am friends with Nalas and Allan though. I don't really have anything to compare it to because this is my first relationship. I only go on dates with Eshen so it's similar to any uh... Other relationship between solids? I take it you have a different view on relationships?"

Alan shrugged, he didn't hold judgement towards relationships. He hasn't really been in one for ages, just been on small dates. It's hard when you are all over the place. "I'm more of a monogamous relationship person. I don't really know how polyamorous relationships work. But if people make them work and are happy, then who am I to judge that." He said with a smile. He watched her get more juice, but couldn't judge. He had already had two jumja juices. "I've only ever gone on dates, never had much of a relationship. One day it'll happen." He looked around the party, watching couples dancing. He wasn't envious or sad, just happy for them. "When do you think I could meet this Allan that I've heard so much about?"

"Ah I gotchu. I don't really know much about how other solids date, Vorta usually don't date, well, not like you guys. It's more of a casual arrangement for us. I know it may sound strange but in the Dominion we don't really have free will. Or well, we didn't used to have it, it's a new thing for me," Aella snapped her fingers and nodded. It was sad to hear that Alan didn't have much relationship experience, he seemed like such a nice guy! Honestly, she never understood why people with free will didn't just... Go all out. If they could do anything, why not date a million people? "Oh umm I wonder," Aella checked her PADD to see if she had gotten any messages. She saw Eshen had messaged her and quickly typed up a reply. "Oh! He's here! With his boyfriend-- ehh my Zhimata, which is the Vorta word for partner," Aella said as he rested her PADD on the table so she could sip her juice. "Mmm, you will love them, Allen is human but Eshen is half Klingon half Vulcan. He's the one who taught me so much about interacting with solids," Aella told Alan with much enthusiasm. Not as much as Nalas, but it was clear that a bit of the Bajoran's eccentricness had rubbed off on her. She spun around in her seat and awaited for the arrival of her friends.

Allan, who had no idea he was being talked about, walked in holding Dion's hand, walking over to Aella, who he very quickly recognized but he also gasped, putting a gloved hand that wasn't held in Dion's over his mouth as he stood across from her. "Holy- Aella, you - you're really the butterfly queen Aella of Five! Look at you!" He grinned, looking over her outfit a second time and he really could not stop smiling, something about seeing her be the butterfly queen from when they were in the butterfly house together made him feel so many things! All of them good, though. "You're beautiful, absolutely dominating as always," he said with a delighted sigh, before turning to look at the man seated next to her. "Oh, and - let me guess, you're Alan? I'm Allan Allen, Alan." He offered the same un-held hand out for a handshake, and laughed a little at how silly the phrase he'd just said was, but what other chance would he get in his life to say it?

"Precisely! Oh, you look absolutely divine, Aella! A Queen for us two Kings!" Eshen said, approaching Aella, putting a gloved hand on her soft cheek and giving her a gentle kiss. "When we first met by the lakes, I still remember the crimson butterfly that was there, too. Perhaps we should go there and skate after this." Lots of butterfly symbolism to go around, apparently. "Purple is such a good colour on you." He let his hand rest on her shoulder, his other hand still holding Allan's, and looked to the other Alan. "Ah, so you're Alan? Nice to meet you! I'm Eshen, though on occasion for personal reasons I go by Dionysius, which I am today."

"Aww thank you Allan!" Aella immediately stood up when her two friends walked into the bar area. She did a little spin to show off the beautiful flowy fabric of her purple dress. "And you look absolutely stunning! Both of you! Ehehe dominating all of my queendom!" Aella lifted her chin up and flashed Allan a cheeky grin and a wink. She sat back down and giggled as she thought about the grand Allan meeting-- wow Allan squared or cubed coz Alan and Allan Allen was 3 Allans! "Thank you Zhimata, and you look... Well snowy! But your smile is radiant and you know I am always happy to see you," Aella grabbed her glass of Rippleberry juice and sipped it slowly. "Mmm, you just missed Nalas, I think he went off to stuff his face with marshmallows or something."

Alan turned to the two newcomers and gave them a big smile. He shook Alan's hand laughed, his name really was Allan Allen. Allan squared. He also gave Eshen a respectable nod, seeing as their hands were full. "Nice to meet you Allan Allen, I'm Alan Harrison. And you must be Eshen, but I could call you Dionysius if you would prefer." He still gave the newcomers a big smile. He stood up and leant on the bar, before he almost completely forgot his manners. "Could I offer you a drink? I've just had a glass of Jumja juice, tried to have whiskey before too and just did not care for that... wow just looking at you three, I feel I have dresses way too much... in uniform." He said admiring their fancy dresses. He didn't have much to choose from, the only other clothing he had was extremely casual.

Allan smiled right back, giving a friendly-but-firm handshake to the other Alan. "Of course, Alan! Nice to meet you too, fantastic name by the way," He said with a delighted laugh again, man it was just so fun to meet someone else with his name - he never had before! One day he wanted to be like 21st century Will Smith and meet and take photos with all the other Allans. "And aww, thanks Aella, yes, dominating your queendom indeed," he gave her a cheeky grin and wink back - and then raised an eyebrow when she mentioned Nalas went off to stuff his face with marshmallows 'or something', turning to Dion and looking at him with his head tilted slightly down and looking up at him with an interested look in his eyes. "I meaaan, if that's the caase, I might try and find him," he laughed and then turned back to Alan, "but I'll try some ahh, what's it called, Jumja juice? Sounds interesting, I'm in." Also, he just had to trust the other Alan. Some unwritten code.

"I'll need to help you find a more stunning outfit sometime, then, so you can really dress to impress. I'll have a red wine." Though he'd had jumja juice before, he preferred it with brunch, not at a party. "Something strong, by human standards." Which meant by both Vulcan and Klingon standards, it wouldn't be that strong at all - he actually wanted something light to start the night, but if he actually asked for that, they'd give him something light by human standards, which to him would be barely more alcoholic than the jumja juice. "I think we should both go and find him, Allan," Dion said. At this point, they'd both kissed Nalas separately, but not both at once. For now, though, he addressed his first love. Well, sort of. First person he admitted it to, anyway. "Aella, darling - have you had a good time at the party so far? Has Alan been a gentleman?"

Alan turned to the bar and requested the drinks. One Jumja juice, one red wine, and a rippleberry because he might as well try it. He listened to the other three natter away, smiling as they did. When the drinks arrived, he shifted the wine and jumja away from him so that the others had more room to grab them. He took a sip of his rippleberry juice. It tasted like raspberry, which was eh. He nodded slightly, before putting it back on the bar. He definitely preferred jumja juice. He looked at Eshen when he asked the question to Aella, it wasn't his question to answer. He smiled though, knowing he had been quite polite, at least that's what he hoped he had been. Hopefully he was polite. "I definitely prefer Jumja if I'm being honest, what are your thoughts Allan?"

"Okaay, but if he's still stuffing his face with marshmallows, I wanna help," he grinned as if that was a normal thing to say, but hey, maybe they could kiss Nalas at once one of these days. At least one kiss on each cheek, that'd be cute! He took a sip of the jumja juice after muttering a small 'thanks' to Alan, wondering what the fuck it tasted like until it hit him. "Oh, shit! This is kinda like, uh, orange juice? Fruit punch? It's citrusy, that's for sure. I like it, though. Oh, if you want another drink to try-" he leaned up a little closer to the bar and requested a ponche navideño, a classic, warm holiday drink made with apples, pears, oranges and guavas and spiced with cinnamon, cloves, tamarind and often hibiscus and piloncillo and tejocotes as well, it just depended on who was making it. "If you don't like it, I'll drink it, but. It's a real hit where I'm from this time of year."

"Why thank you Allan," Aella said as she twirled a dangly braid around her finger, straightening her posture." Oh yes, Jumja juice is Nalas' favourite and I am sure you can find him hanging around," She said as she was starting to wonder where her best friend had wandered off to. Nalas was elusive and capable of slipping between crowds. It also helped that he looked very human compared to other aliens so it was easy to lose the silly Bajoran boy. "Alan has been wonderful," Aella looked at Alan, batting her eyelashes at him and a flirty manner. "And I would appreciate help with my outfits. It was really difficult to find this one. You know, I'm not good with fashion," She giggled and tugged at the hem of her long skirt to reveal she had on purple crocs under her skirt. Not a crime, but it felt like one. She watched as Eshen and Allan enjoyed their drinks, how fun, this was a good party! Right level of volume, good friends, chill vibes.

Alan was intrigued to try the drink that was ordered. He nodded at Allan and took a swig. In an instant he rushed to put the drink back on the bar, while covering his mouth with the other. "That is super strong, wow." He said, not knowing how else to describe it. He kept it though, he thought it would be rude to give it away. "Thank you, Allan." He said smiling, holding the drink in the air as he nodded at him. When he saw Aella's crocks, he couldn't help but laugh. He wondered how in the hell she could walk in something like those, but thought it would be best not to ask that. Instead he gave her an applause. "Footwear fit for royalty." He was having lots of fun with these three, and would imagine that the fun would only get better if Nalas was there.

Oh, how cute! Definitely a fashion crime, but that was Aella for you. Although - "Good job matching the crocs colour with the dress! Colour coordination is a good way to bring two disparate styles together." Not long ago he would've seen this combination and been disgusted, but, well, everyone has different styles of expression.... also, he was legally allowed to let Aella get away with whatever she wanted. That's how it worked when you dated someone. 100%. "I'm now imagining a version of cinderella where she leaves one croc at the ball... Oh, Allan and Alan, I might try that ponche navideño after my red wine, too," Dion said, sipping his red wine. His glass was in the hand he'd used to cup Aella's cheek earlier, the other hand still in Allan's. He wished he was an octopus with eight hands. Actually, no, that would be a nightmare for his tailor, Karag.

"Super strong?" Allan tilted his head, a little confused because he didn't think it was -that- strong of a drink compared to, well, other things. It was sweet, it was warm, and it was like apple cider but with more stuff. And it reminded him of home, so maybe that was it. "Interesting, I guess you could say it like that." He giggled with Aella when she revealed those purple crocs, lifting a finger from his glass of jumja juice to point at Dion in agreement. "Mmhm, color matching's fun," he finished the juice and set the glass back down at the bar and looked back at his boyfriend. "Yeah? I dunnoo, Alan here says it's super strong," he smiled at Alan as he said that, but also Alan was a human and Dion was not, so that factored into things.

"Why thank you Zhimata! It was a suggestion from Nalas. Oh, he's wearing thongs by the way," Aella mentioned with a soft giggle. She watched as the three men all enjoyed their drinks, still blushing a little from the tiny bit of physical contact with Eshen. How strange it was, to be a Vorta in love. She ended up laughing again when she looked back down at her crocs peaking throuh the bottom of her long skirt. Footwear fit for royalty indeed! "Oh I don't get how you solids could drink poison like that. I mean, Vorta can drink some pretty weird things but ah, I will never understand alcohol," Aella shrugged her shoulders. "I think I am gonna try and find stinky-- I mean Nalas. I kinda wanna try the marshmallows. I'll bring him back here when I find him!"

Alan grabbed his Rippleberry juice that he had placed just behind his elbow and took a sip. He definitely preferred that over the ponche navideño. But overall, jumja was still his favorite. Although he did like regular apple juice. "Strong as in... a lot happening. Like, sweet?" He struggled to explain it any other way.