Star Trek: Starbase 777

The buffet is long and piled high with all kinds of under-the-sea themed food imaginable. There are two rows of heated serving dishes so that people can navigate the buffet on either side, forming two lines to serve themselves! Each serving dish, instead of being a standard metal rectangle, was replicated to look like a large shell bowl with a shell cover that could also withstand heat and keep food warm. The serving utensils, whether spoons, ladles, or tongs, all were the opalescent color of mother of pearl clams. The stacks of plates at the end of the buffet were all beautiful blue-green and sparkly and the utensils were replicated to shimmer in the comfortable cool lighting.

Smooth steps conveyed the Romulan ACTO past so much. Alcohol not something that appealed to him right now, the fishing pools and dancing something that required something he failed to possess. Booted movements taking him from place to place as he watched, looked listened and gathered information about the event and what was offered. Did so right up until the moment the tell-tale smell of food graced his nose, good food. The smell something that, once he deemed what he reckoned it might be was too his liking, turned his focus toward the buffet hall. Swift smooth steps silent as he walked his way there, guided by the beautiful smell, and joined one of the queues. Once in the queue, Vara'l's steel grey eyed gaze flittered over all the food present and alighted on several things he quite liked. With a plate acquired as he moved along, Vara'l eventually served himself a helping of each of the things he preferred with some stuff to accompany it. With that food acquired, he moved off to one side and looked for somewhere to perch as he demolished his acquired bounty.

The best way to get a party started is to get some food, and Maxson wasn't about to go dance on his lonesome or get a tumbler of whiskey just yet. He slid his way into the buffet line and began to arrange a plate for himself, his dress shoes clicking against the floor. When was the last time he went to a dance of this kind? The school aboard the Oklahoma DID throw a prom...when he was a high schooler. It still counts. Maxson finished up his plate and gave a glance toward where he would be able to sit with his little meal, much in the same way Vara'l was doing. In fact, for a moment or two, the ACOS was standing right next to the ACTO in dead silence before realizing there was another person stood beside him, "...hello, Commander."

Having been eating when he was approached, Vara'l paused mid munch as he heard someone greet him. He then turned and looked to the other, thanked his lucky stars that he had his implants activated and that the place wasn't as loud as he liked, he inclined his head slightly and said. "Hello, Commander." He then paused and proceeded to add. "I apologise for not noticing you sooner, I was rather focused on the food." The comment followed by a further addition. "Have you tried the mussels?" The Liberated Borg inquired. "They're quite pleasant." Vara'ls attempt at small talk that was, he'd not expected to be approached by someone like this.

"...not to worry, I...hadn't noticed you either, I must admit. Was a bit distracted doing my best to find somewhere to sit..." He hummed, turning his attention away from Vara'l for a moment to once again scan for an open table. He flicked his eyes back to the xB upon his question, though. He looked at Vara'l, his plate, and then to his own plate, and then back to Vara'l, "...ah...no, I haven't," He said a bit awkwardly, before shifting how he held his plate and offering a hand to Vara'l, "I believe we've only met in passing, Commander. Patroclus Maxson, the new Assistant Chief of Security."

"I understand." He responded then before he adjusted his position and revealed that he was in fact comfortably perched on what wasn't entirely a seat but happened to be a comfortable consolation prize. "Was like that myself until I located a spot, there's another bit over there if you fancy perching and talking." He continued as he indicated another spot near where he was, still close enough to talk, where the other Lieutenant Commander could perch if he wished. "Its a passable perch compared to alternatives." His assessment of the perch followed by a brief glance off to one side as he kept track of the crowd and idly queued the command to his hearing implants to adjust things so he was more comfortable. Civilian situations, balls especially, happened to be loud in ways he wasn't always prepared for. How Vara'l had managed this before his ears had been messed up he had no idea. When the other commander proceeded to offer him a hand to shake and introduced themselves, Vara'l smiled and accepted the handshake. Accepted it and updated his mentally kept list of who was in what position within the senior staff. "I believe you are correct, it is good to meet you ACSO Maxon, I'm the Assistant Chief Tactical Officer Vara'l tr'Hara." He shook the offered hand of course. "Please allow me to offer you congratulations on your elevation to the position of ACSO."

Maxson glanced in the direction of the spot Vara'l had pointed toward, nodding to himself. Indeed, a comfortable consolation prize, but he sort of remained where he was stood for the moment. As much as he'd like to get the food into his system and then either mingle or just...say hi to the people he knew well enough before leaving, he similarly would prefer a table and a chair as opposed to the side of a pillar. Nevertheless, he nodded to his fellow commander, "Appreciated." Shaking hands with the xB, Maxson at the very least was capable of offering a polite smile which managed to break through his normal stone-faced expression as the two introduced themselves properly, "Vara'l tr'Hara. Thank you for the congratulations. Suppose we'll be...working somewhat closely now, then. I believe Jena had messaged me a few days ago about a joint team building exercise between our divisions...not to mention the fact that we're...both assistants," He cleared his throat, "Regardless. A pleasre to meet you."

The Romulan nodded slightly when the other indicated that what he said was appreciated. He wasnt at all phased that theother hadnt elected to perch where he had indicated. If the man wanted to stand he could, wasnt his problem and wasnt something he would have ever grumbled about especially in this situation. "You are welcome" The Romulan responded then as he continued to perch and watched them with a face that remained mostly impassive. Remained so apart from a attempted smile. One that seemed mostly natural but probably lacked.. something. Emotion was still something he occasionally struggled with. When they then thanked him for his congratulations, Vara'l's smile managed a bit more of a natural look. "You are welcome and well, I imagine we will." He agreed then before he cocked his head ever so slightly and absentmindedly ensured the joint team building comment would be remembered and commented on to the CTO. "I imagine we assistants may end up having some role in dealing with the logistics of such a endeavour." He then paused and his smile proceeded to grow a bit. "As you are right,we are both assistants." That smile something he maintained as he proceeded to add. "It is a pleasure to meet you too and I look forward to working with you in the future."

Making their way to the buffet tables, Rilek quickly looked around for any food that was meat free and relatively healthy looking. Thankfully with the 'under the sea' theme, there were plenty of fish dishes. Rilek went to the cold table first to grab some sushi. They grabbed a few salmon rolls and then moved on to see what sort of hot foods there were. Were mollusks sea creatures? Rilek realised she had never seen a Romulan jumbo mollusk. Alive, that is. They were clearly abundant somewhere. As Rilek was gathering some of the hot fish and scoops of rice, she saw two people talking, one she recognised as the ACTO, Vara'l tr'Hara, and the other was also senior staff, but she could not remember what division or what their name was.

The third lieutenant commander spotted by the ACTO as she acquired her own meal, Vara'l turned slightly from the conversation with the ACSO. Did so and proceeded to bow in a manner his house deemed appropriate when faced by another house's matriarch in a formal gathering of this sort and then turned to fully face the ACSO again. The duo were conversing and he wanted to not be rude to either of them. In his eyes that had meant to greet the matriarch properly and to also ensure that the ACSO didn't end up feeling like he'd just walked out on their conversation.

Rilek caught the look from the tactical officer and looked right back at him. "Jolan tru, Vara'l," They greeted with a polite smile and nod of their head. They had spoken in the past, but due to their jobs, there wasn't much reason for them to interact during work. Rilek reached over to grab some steamed vegetables from the hot tray to put on her plate.

"Jolan tru, Matriarch Khellian." The Lieutenant Commander responded then, unsure what else to say when the other had well..just greeted them and seemed engaged in getting food for themselves. He'd bowed. That was what the house required of its members when it came to other houses Matriarch's. At least, that was how his mother had trained him. Unsure what else to say, he confined himself to the formal greeting for now.

"You may just call me Rilek," She told Vara'l, finding it odd to be addressed as matriarch within Federation space. She joined Starfleet to get away from her title as matriarch and make a name for herself outside of her house. Still, there were so many Romulans (and other Khellians) on Starbase 777, it was hard to truly get away. "We are not on Mol'Rihan, please. If anything, you are my superior officer as you're the ACTO," Rilek turned to face Vara'l and used her fork to pick up some of the veggies to eat them. "Anyway, how are you this evening? I like what you did with your hair," She pointed out, noticing he was not wearing his usual ponytail that evening.

"As you wish, Rilek." The xB responded before he then seemed to consider things for a moment. Considered what she said and inclined his head as he conceded their point to a degree. "I concede your point regarding the seniority matter due to my being senior staff, at least in relation to being on duty." He then, when they asked him how he'd found the evening and what he'd done with his hair, smiled. It was nice that someone had noticed the change, though he had noted he still felt self-conscious about the decorations woven into his hair. It wasn't something Borg indulged in, part of him protested. Inefficient, time wasting, a waste of metal. Something that detracted from the collective's journey toward perfection. He needed to learn how to ignore the mentioned part, he reckoned. "Thank you for the compliment, Rilek." The Romulan started. "And...as to how I am this evening, I'm." Vara'l caught himself before he said he was functioning and instead continued on to say. "Doing reasonably well, discovered a number of foodstuff's with quite agreeable tastes, thank you for asking." Vara'l trailed off briefly then, he wasn't.. too good at small talk of this sort, especially with someone who happened to be a Matriarch. Long gone were the days where a younger him would have smoothly adapted to such things as casual talk with such a personage. "If you'll permit me to turn the question back on you, how are you this evening also?"

D’rthrek stepped into the buffet line, his eyes immediately locking onto the colorful array of dishes. The Federation’s penchant for food-centric celebrations was, without a doubt, one of its best traits. Grabbing a plate, he started piling food without hesitation, placing items on top of one another with no thought for the organization. He didn’t care what went where—he just wanted to try as much as possible. Moving steadily down the line, he noticed a group of Vulcans—or were they Romulans? He didn’t give it much thought and avoided interrupting them as he loaded his plate even higher. Leaning against a nearby wall, D’rthrek wasted no time sampling his chaotic creation. The clash of flavors was startling, unfamiliar, but undeniably satisfying. A low rumble of approval escaped him as he took another bite, utterly focused on the food and only vaguely aware of the celebration continuing around him.

Rilek was happy when she heard her name from the ACTO. It felt weird being addressed so formally off duty. The ball was certainly a formal event, but it was an event where everyone was equal, there were no bosses or managers, everyone was just there to look fancy and enjoy each other's company. "Yes, there are quite a lot of foods here," Rilek picked up one of the sushi rolls with her hands and ate it just like that. No soy sauce, no wasabi, just straight up the sushi. "I am doing well," She said after chewing and swallowing her sushi. "I noticed there were touch pools, but I do not think I would be premitted there with these," She lifted her hand to reveal she was wearing her metal nail guards on all her fingers that evening. "They are a pain to take off," Not to mention the ones on her left hand were part of her prosthetics and she was not about to go finger-less for any part of the night! Rilek turned her head when she heard the sounds of someone else approaching them. She didn't recognise their species, but they were surprisingly taller than her. It was quite a surprise considering she was usually one of the taller people in the room. "Jolan tru," Rilek turned to the other and smiled politely towards him.

"Indeed there are." He agreed simply at first before he added the admission. "I've ah..not had the pleasure of partaking in a good few of the food options present and elected to try a selection, a decision I'm quite contented by." He then indulged in a bit more of his food and allowed himself a moment as he enjoyed the taste. Enjoyed it for a time before the other indicted they were doing well. Something he smiled at slightly. That smile something at faltered to a degree as he first nodded at the comment about the touch pools and then grimaced a bit about the comment about not being permitted with prosthetics like that. "There are and well...I imagine you're correct. " The Romulan responded then before he added. "I've certainly been warned previously about such things, though my borg..tech isn't exactly similar." He then looked to the newcomer. "Jolan tru."

The party in the buffet still had people coming in - and the new and improved Snake was no exception! She clip-clopped into the buffet area, looking around for people she recognized - and she finally saw Rilek and Vara'l! With an eager smile, Snake approached Vara'l and Rilek, giving them a kind curtsy. "Hello Rilek and Commander tr'Hara!" She said. "Fancy seeing you both this fine evening!" She was experimenting with how she sounded. Her voice wasn't as masculine-presenting as she normally did, she instead spoke lightly and with a higher pitch. That was the icing on the cake for Snake. And in all honesty - she didn't mind the Snake name as much as she thought she did. She could still be a badass as someone new. (edited)

The ACOS had since shuffled away from the conversation, not quite knowing anyone else besides vaguely being away of Vara’l. Plus, his food was getting cold. He made his way toward the #bar to grab a stool.

Zhi'rev had arrived at the bar! With comfortable steps, he took one of the man plates and started to serve himself -- as one would do at a buffet. He was hoping to soon go to the touch pools, but that could wait a few moments. He had been looking forward to this ever since it had been announced, after all!

"Jolan tru Lieutenant Grayson." The Romulan responded then as he inclined his head in a greeting to the lady. "You look fabulous, how are you?" Vara'l asked then as he noted the familiarity of address and approach. "Enjoying the winter ball so far?" Vara'l inquired simply then, unsure how the Lieutenant wished to be addressed. That was after all, something he'd never discussed with her. Something which idly caused him to kick himself. Was it okay that he'd called her Lieutenant Grayson? He did not also that the ACOS had headed away. That was unfortunate in a way, he hoped he'd not caused issues by not introducing people. Hell. Social situations without the structure of rank and protocol sometimes seemed..hard.

"Perhaps I can try the fishing pools since those do not require me to get wet," Rilek said as her amber eyes shifted towards the fishing area that was across on the other side of the event space. She ate a few more pieces of her sushi before a fellow command officer approached them. The individual was.. Snakebyte, Rilek's former crewmate from another ship. Snake seemed to be mixing it up with style and gender presentation, which was not an uncommon sight to see in this era. What did strike Rilek as odd was previously , Snake had been pretty masculine in presentation. She wondered what sparked this change. "Yes, you look pretty this evening. How would you like to be addressed by the way?" She asked, wondering if Snake wanted to change up names or pronouns. Rilek grabbed her fork to stab a few of the steamed veggies and ate them slowly. Her eyes then glanced at another Romulan who entered the area. Was that-- ZHI'REV? A slight green blush crossed her cheeks as she looked at her former roommate-- definitely not checking him out or anything. She just thought the Lareth man has a unique look and very soft looking hair.

Teno walked side-by-side with Kakabam, their red and green outfits a gorgeous complimentary pair, flowing fabric trailing behind them both as they walked. "Ooh, Kakabam, look at all the food! And those serving dishes are so clever!" Teno remarked on the pearlescent cutlery and the mother-of-pearl-shaped serving trays. He walked with Kakabam up to the dishes and grabbed a plate for himself and one for Kakabam, handing them utensiles and whatever else they'd need to serve themself. "Wow, I can't wait to eat this food!" He said, piling his plate with this and that, waiting to see what Kakabam chose.

Zhi'rev had finally noticed Rilek, right after he had gotten his food at the buffet. That was enough to bring a smile to his face, after all, he missed his old roommate sometimes, even if there had been an incident or two (with the finger guns that is). When he finished grabbing his food, he walked over to where Rilek and a few others were standing and chatting in order to say hello to them. He started with a simple wave.

The woman simply flicked part of her hair back - it was so nice to finally be in a skin which Snake was proud to be in. This? Snake could definitely get used to this. While she hadn't made any permanent changes yet, and she didn't want to, at least, not immediately, this certainly was proving for Snake to think about what she needed and how to reframe her behavior. "I am fabulous," Snake said, although by the tone of his voice, he meant it earnestly. "I've never enjoyed a dance or a winter ball as I have enjoyed this one. And you can probably see why." She also turned to Rilek. "Hellooo Rilek! I was hoping you'd say that! I've never felt pretty like this before! I absolutely love it! With a breath, Snake continued. "Off duty you can still call me Snake. I went back and forth on it for a bit, but Snake pretty much still encompasses me. For now my pronouns are she/her/hers. Lieutenant Grayson is fine when we're on duty, I'd think, I don't really mind my last name. I'm still trying to find out what my first name could be though. Might want suggestions, I dunno. But yeah! I'm experimenting with being a girl now!"

"Oh, what a nice touch," Kakabam walked beside Teno into the buffet area. They looked at the cutlerly their friend had pointed out much intrigue. Kakabam did not look very impressed on the outside, but they were very impressed! "Surely they have jumbo mollusk," Kakabam grabbed the plate and utensils from Teno and looked at what sorts of food they had. They were fine with fish, it was just meat that they avoided. Kakabam took a few pieces of sashimi and some oysters from a planet they could not pronounce. That meant it was good, right? "What are you getting?"

"I am glad you feel fabulous and pretty," Rilek said with a slight tilt of her head as she looked Snake up and down again. The dress reminded them of a seashell or some coral. "I see. Experimenting with gender can be fun," Rilek never experimented with gender, actually, since she was every gender at the same time. No need to experiment, she was a confident man, woman, and all genders in between. "You can always keep your name? Or make your new name similar. My real name is Rh'vaurek and Rilek has a similar feel and a little easier for non-Rihannsu speakers to pronounce," Besides being a somewhat cringe name, Rilek understood that Rh'vaurek had a lot of uniquely Romulan phonemes. Rilek was a lot simpler without losing the 'vibe' of the original. "Alright, I will still address you as Snake. I am glad you feel more confident and I welcome you to womanhood," Rilek said with a little chuckle. Rilek tried not to show her delight too much when Zhi'rev approached, but it was hard not to say something. "Jolan tru, it is nice to see you again Zhi'rev," Rilek greeted her old roommate, moving ever slightly closer towards him. "How have you been? you look great tonight by the way. I have noticed a significant shift in energy since your absence," Rilek told him, leaning a little into her occult practices. She still offered tarot readings and such!

Snake's smile only widened as Rilek continued to call her pretty and fabulous, reaffirming her decision further. "Aww, Rilek, thank you," Snake said. "I feel so much better already. It's good knowing this is a good experiment. I am really hoping for this to yield a good result from now on. I hope to be much more confident now that I'm a girl and from what I've seen it's already working. Thank you so much for the welcome!" She said with an earnest tone of voice.

"Jolan tru to you as well, Rilek, and I do not believe I have met you before, Snake, if I have caught your name correctly. But it is a pleasure," Zhi'rev said with a nod and a smile, trying to be polite as possible. After all, he could not fault someone for wanting to change how they expressed themselves, as that was something he wholeheartedly believed people should be able to do. "And I have been quite well, Rilek, it is good to be back though. And you look fabulous as well."

"I think you should take this slowly," Rilek gave a genuine suggestion to their colleague. As much as they welcomed this new 'Snake', they also were a little worried about this decision so suddenly. Rilek had identified as a woman for the majority of her childhood, it wasn't until she hit puberty that she considered other gender identities. "Make sure to speak with your therapist a lot during your transition period," Rilek gave Snake some advice and then turned back to look at Zhi'rev. He was so handsome. The more she looked at him, the more attractive he became. It was like eating a single potato crisp. Impossible to eat just one. Rilek watched Zhi'rev greet Snake, he was so kind and polite. "Thank you, I am glad you came tonight," Rilek was trying her best not to sound too excited, but she was overjoyed. "What kind of food did you get?"

"I've heard about them, they sound fun." Was Vara'ls simple response when the Fishing pools were mentioned. "Though admittedly I'm still not entirely sure I fully grasp said concept of fun, not in its entirety at least." When Snake and Rilek started to talk further, Vara'l initially listened. The comment about her being fabulous simply responded to with a. "Indeed." By the Romulan, Vara'l having failed to identify any need for further comment in that matter. He then simply listened as the two conversed and considered for a moment perhaps making his excuses and going somewhere else. This..seemed like a conversation he'd not best manage to keep up and fit in with, at least that was how he reckoned it currently. "Jolan tru." He then proceeded to say in greeting to the other Lieutenant who approached before he made up his mind, bowed slightly to the Khellian Matriarch and then more shallowly to the other Romulan in a indication he intended to excuse himself before he then moved off a bit to go get more food. "It has been good to see you again Snake, I know I've already said something similar but you look wonderful and like Rilek, I'm happy you're feeling more confident and such." He paused then. "If you'll all excuse me, I'm going to go in search of more sorts of foods I've never encountered before, it has been good to meet you all." The Romulan then moved off in search of more food.

Zhi'rev bowed slightly at Vara'l before he showed off the foods that he had managed to acquire. "I am currently enjoying a rather delicious lobster stew -- specifically a version from Maine. It is rather delicious, I do have to say, and it is something that I have never had before, even during my time on Earth. What are you enjoying tonight?" he addressed his question to both Rilek and Snake.

It'd likely be apparent with how Vara'l clearly looked to the plate of food, noted the lobster and then..angled toward where he spotted it that the Romulan hadn't ever tried Lobster before. Let alone Lobster in a stew form. It was a human dish that involved something he'd never really encountered any reason to order anywhere or even replicate. Not when he was with the Imperial fleet..for obvious reasons and not at any other point during the saga that had ended up being his life at points. That was something that easily caused it to appear on his mental list of things he wanted to try out. So, once he spotted where it was on the buffet tables, he'd acquired a bowl. Loaded it onto his plate alongside a selection of other things. As he'd then headed to the bar once his plate was loaded up, Vara'l had started to smile. This was due to the fact he'd just realized that well. It wasn't too long ago in the grand scheme of things that the very prospect of being so adventurous with his food choices would have seemed impossible. A decision plagued with inefficiencies, one to be avoided in favour of other replicated food stuffs. For some reason, that actually had amused him, at least for a time. (edited)

"I hope you find something you like, Vara'l," Rilek looked towards Vara'l and gave him an acknowledging nod as he headed off to go explore the buffet. She was happy to see Vara'l was getting out of his comfort zone. It was common for liberated Borg to not wander too far from what was familiar as she observed with Four. With Vara'l gone, Rilek looked at Zhi'rev and Snake. "Oh, that does sound nice. I do not know what Maine is, I know they have cats, at least, the Maine Coon is a cat," Rilek was unsurprisingly very poor with terran knowledge. "I have some sushi, it is salmon? Apparently, and some hot Romulan jumbo mollusk," She pointed to the things on her plate. "I was hoping to find some more hot foods that looked good but I do not know much about alien fish," Rilek was not scared of fish, but the appearance of some fish were a little off putting to her. "If you want, I have some extra sushi," Rilek showed her plate to Zhi'rev that had three more salmon and cream cheese rolls on it.

"I would love to try some sushi, if you would not mind sharing with me," He responded after a moment to think about it, he had eaten sushi before, but that had been during his time on Earth, and he was not sure if it had changed any. In a way, this was him showing that he trusted Rilek, trusted her not to poison him. "I am not sure if the Maine Coon comes from Maine, I barely know where Maine is on a map..." He laughed a little before he nodded at Rilek's second statement. "I understand, are you enjoying the sushi at least?"

"Of course, have some," Rilek offered to Zhi'rev, trying not to giggle at how excited she was to see him again. Rilek tried to follow Surak as best she could, which helped with keeping her emotions in check most times, but when it came to feelings of affection it was hard to control. Even around those she saw often such as Allan, she struggled to keep her emotions regulated. "Geography was never my strong suit. Even Romulan geography or stellar cartography is confusing to me," Rilek admitted with a slight tilt of her head. She had a mind for law, not places. "Yes, I thought the sushi was very nice. I do like the slimy texture of fish, it is... interesting. Where else on earth have you been to?"

Zhi'rev took the fish, and after a bite of sushi nodded rather happily at the taste. It was good to know that Sushi at the very least, still tasted as good as he remembered it being. "Honestly, I never travelled that far from Cambridge, I was too dedicated to my studies to really leave while I was on Earth. I've been to Paris once or twice, but that is about how far I ever got. Have you ever visited Earth?"

"I see, that's right you attended university on earth," Rilek never considered travelling to earth in her youth, but it seemed like it was a pretty cool place? Especially post Great Loss, many Romulans lived there. "I see, I have always wanted to visit Paris, but I hear it is not as romantic as some may think," Rilek chuckled, remembering hearing from someone that Paris was nice, but it wasn't exactly people smooching in the streets romantic. It was a normal city. "I have never been to earth though. I would like to some day. What brought you to study there? I do not think I ever asked you why you chose earth of all planets."

What was D'rthrek doing when the others said hello? Eating. He was polite enough to nod in response to their greetings but didn't stop eating. He only knew his boss, though he rarely spoke to them. He really wasn't one for small talk. After finishing his meal, he grabbed a few more plates until he reached the sixth plate and finished, putting it away and heading to the... #fishing-pools