Star Trek: Starbase 777

The observation lounge had two rows of window seats. The first row were slightly back from the window and facing outwards towards the stars so people could watch the comings and goings of shuttles, ships, workerbees, and even the occasional officer out on a spacewalk. The second row was behind these, facing the open area of the observation lounge. Both sections of seating were split in two with a gap in the middle for people to walk through. For Halloween they had been decorated with plush cushions of Halloween items: black cats, pumpkins, witch hats and so on. Little tables had been set up here and there around the seating so people had places to set their plates of treats.

With a plate consisting of a pizza slice, a few gummies, and some kind of earth candy he’d never tried before, M’Rish settled onto a window seat next to a black cat decoration, eyeing it curiously. He knew the difference between Terran cats and his own species, but the resemblances were… uncanny.

Shinji had been busy studying for Academy midterms, and so he’d sort of been neglecting Halloween- something he never usually did, but grades were important and so he was focused on that. So, having heard of this little soirée, he’d thrown together a bit of a lazy costume- fox ears and a tail, and some clothes from his closet. But. This was Shinji. Nothing in his closet was lazy. And so, despite this, to Shinji, being a “lazy, thrown-together costume”, to anyone who was -not- Shinji, it was beautiful. A dark pink collared shirt with white ruffles, lace cuffs, and gold-and-pearl buttons, a light pink cape with a lace trim, and dark pink shorts- puffed out then and tight at the actual leg hole at the mid-thigh in a style more reminiscent of some ancient aristocratic fashion rather than an average pair of shorts, paired with cream knee-high stockings held up with lace garters. On his feet, he wore white, almost cream boots with a small heel, to match the stockings. He wore cream-colored gloves that ended at the wrist, and he carried a pink-and-gold hand fan adorned with pearls. And, on top of his head, was a golden crown, decorated with pearls and flowers and lace. All in all, Shinji had clearly thought this soirée was an actual soirée, and he’d dressed accordingly. He had a plate piled high with chocolates and sweets of all varieties, and he made his way over to M’Rish’s table, waving hello before sitting down, as it was one of the only open tables left.

Adjusting his witch hat, he looked towards the extravagantly dressed cadet, eyes wide. “Your costume is amazing.” He gaped, “It looks like it took so much time to put together. Holy crap.”

Shinji just smiled, readjusting his crown. If only M’Rish knew, he thought, his costume potential was far higher than this. But, he did still really like what he’d put together, and so he wasn’t about to talk himself down. He just wished he had another hand so he could also hold a little lace parasol or something, but they were inside so that wasn’t exactly feasible. “Thank you! A lot of it I already had in my closet, but coordinating an outfit is almost harder than getting the pieces to it!”

Absolutely shell-shocked at the thought of the cadet having a costume more intricate than this one, he chuckled softly. “I’ve got a thing or two to learn from you, then.” He took a bite of pizza, “How’re you, uh, liking the party?”

“Maybe! I’ve been collecting outfit pieces for years now, it’s one of my hobbies. An expensive hobby, yes, but I like it.” He laughed, a bright smile still on his face. It was clear as to why his clothes still cost money- they were designer, details often hand-stitched, and the accessories were also usually handmade. He loved it, though, and if he was broke in order to look so pretty, that was fine. “I love it! I love any excuse to dress up and eat an inhuman amount of chocolate!”

“I’m not too familiar with Halloween, but it seems fun.” He nodded, gesturing to the room around them, tilting his hat up to be able to see properly, “I’m liking the food, and everyone looks great.”

“It is, it is! I love Halloween! Though, maybe it’s because I’m from Earth. And from a bigger city, plenty of Halloween stuff to do.” Plenty of Halloween parties and events and such, especially in Osaka where he was from- cities with over a million people tended to have such huge events. Being from a big city had its perks. “Chocolate’s good any way you use it, to be fair. You ever had chocolate covered strawberries?”

“I… don’t think I have, actually.” He clasped his hands in his lap, “I don’t end up consuming a lot of human food. But chocolate itself is wonderful, so I’m assuming it’s a pleasant treat.”

“I’m biased because strawberries are my favorite food, but they’re really good! Milky Way Wonders in the dining district here has the best ones, you should try them someday! The sweet chocolate with the fresh strawberries… now I want one, and there’s none here. Just my luck.” He laughed, a sweet, merry sound. Shinji was the most unserious dude ever, and a state other than cheerfulness was uncommon for him. “What’s Caitian food like?” Would it be rude if he assumed they ate fish? It would probably be rude.

“It’s… it’s meat-based, mostly.” He hesitated, a bit scared of the cadet’s reaction to the full truth, “We usually do… synthesized substitutes. In the past, it was, um—” It was a fairly ignored part of Caitian history, the backstory of their cuisine, but one that stuck to the back of his mind. It wasn’t his fault, and he’d never partaken in it, but historical Caitians hunting Betazoids wasn’t something he liked to tell strangers.