Upon arriving and seeing the decorations, Naoko felt vaguely disappointed it wasn't a costume party.  She hadn't gone to one since Academy and always had fun.  Still, the party wasn't about her.  Naoko didn't know all the details, it wasn't her business, but Alex had wanted to throw a party for Teala and that was good enough for her.

Dressed in simple black slacks and a green blouse, Naoko had sought a fashionable look that didn't draw too much attention.  Looking for the host, she found Alex, but also saw Bart.  They hadn't really socialized since his promotion and she wasn't sure if he was still "Bart" or "Chief" now.  Only one way to find out as she approached and waved to him.  "Hi..."

Jason walked in a few minutes after Naoko did and glanced around at the decorations. He wore a plaid button up shirt, jeans and hiking boots as if he had come from a long walk. The old wooden anchor hanging from the wall had him curious enough to walk over to look at it. He was positive it was real and really old. Turning, he froze at seeing Naoko there and then walked around her to the opposite side of the bar and sat down to wait for the bartender.

The dark haired man came over and he nodded to him. "Couple of double shots of Walker if you have any, on ice." The glass was set down before him after a moment and he picked it up, swirling the amber liquid around before taking a sip. Not too many where here now and he nodded to the Doctor.

In reply to Garrett Volkov (msg # 9):

"Can you make Vulcan spice tea?"  He asked the tender when approached about a drink of his choice.  "And make sure the glass you put it in is big enough that you can park a runabout in there in case of emergency."  H'Raal knew that events like this were normally ones for other drinks - like Andorian ale, a particular favorite - but he wanted to make a good impression with the team first, and the Vulcan drink was something he could drink for as long as he liked.

In reply to Bartolomy Blatt:

The Caitian then turned to the man he'd originally been talking to.  "Cadmus.  If you're part of that, then it looks like I am joining you," he informed Bart.  "For tonight and a lot more nights to come."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:42, Sun 13 Sept 2020.

If only person came to the party, M'Lera would be it though she was more than pleased to see she wasn't.  Most didn't know Teala's story and it wasn't M'Lera's to tell.  She just hoped it had the intended effect when Alex told her he was hosting it.  The guest of honor had yet to arrive, but Alex was there, so that seemed a logical place to start.  She wore a sapphire blue skater dress, but left her legs and feet bare as was the Catian norm.  "Good evening, Doctor," she said as she approached.  "It seems your party is starting well.  When will Teala arrive?"
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 14:51, Sun 13 Sept 2020.

Alex could only nod. He was expecting to leave to grab the guest of honor. Then the new officer of the crew arrived and what Garret said made him blanch. He had thought humans knew better than to insult another species over similarities to animals on Earth. Wars over misunderstandings had been caused for cases of honor, pride, and cultural heritage. Heck, one species thought public eating was tantamount to sex in public. He doubted Garr meant any insult, perhaps just a bit of humor, but humanity had struggled to overcome stereotypes based on sex or race. Hopefully, H'Raal wouldn't take afront. It was the last thing Farah needed with her new second officer.

Slightly shaking his head, he smiles at the bright young Catian that has given him joy and more help in such a short period of time. "M'Lera, glad you could make it. I was about to get our guest of honor. I wanted to make sure things were ready before I sprung this surprise," Alex said easily.

Though she had other plans later in the evening, Istala wasn't one to pass up a party.  A quick note to Vanna to meet her there and she went off to the Promenade Deck in an off-the-shoulder black mini-dress and strap shoes that let everyone see her spots.  "Little black dresses", as Farah had called them, never went out of style.  Arriving, she saw the Broken Anchor and its interesting design.  She was sure she had been down here before.  How had she missed this, she wondered, then reminded herself why she might have.  That was the past.

Glancing around, she saw those who had arrived before her, nearly all familiar faces when she caught sight of the two Catians.  Farah had told her a new second officer was taking Malko's place, H'Raal, and Farah calling H'Rall a "he" ruled out the female.  Best to make introductions in an informal setting as she moved to where he was chatting with Bart.  After patiently waiting for the two to finish their conversation, she said, "Excuse me, Lt. Cmdr H'Raal?  I'm Lt. Istala Res.  I get the Mihoshi where she needs to go.  Captain Greene said you were coming and I wanted to greet you."

In reply to Istala Res (msg # 16):

In contrast to Istala, and some of the others, who had come to the celebration in off-duty attire, H'Raal was dressed in his Starfleet uniform.  Oh, that wasn't to say that he didn't have clothes like they did, that all his closet had were copies of the same thing he was wearing now, but he figured that you couldn't go wrong with the uniform for making a first impression and attending a party.  The three pips signifying his rank were on the opposite side from the one she'd approached him on, and the task force already had one Commander attached to it, one not him, so the mistake in rank was an easy one.  No matter.

"Chief," he told the Trill (he had made out the spots). "It's Chief H'Raal.  About the only time I can stand someone actually using my rank is for promotions or on official reports, and this is hardly either.  It sounds like we're not a big crew, either, so standing on ceremony when it's not necessary is, well, just that."  The Caitian carefully looked her over.  "You don't look like an engineer...were you Ship Operations?"  He named a third track available to Operations personnel at the Academy.

Alex would excuse himself to go and meet with Teala to bring her back.

"Here you go Chief," the bartender said and set the Vulcan Spice Tea down. then gave a questioning look to Istala. "Good human whiskey or something else with a better kick?" The bartender would get her what ever she wanted and make himself scarce unless someone wanted something.

In reply to Garrett Volkov (msg # 19):

Thanking the bartender for the beer, he took a sip.  It was strangly floral and quite effervescent.  He turned back to the catian to continue his conversation, but noticing that he was engaged with Istala, he took his drink and started to mingle with the crowd that was forming.  As he turned, he noticed Naoko, "Oh, hi, wow, you look great."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:22, Wed 16 Sept 2020.

In reply to H'Raal (msg # 17):

Way to go, Istala....

"Sorry, sir, I was being clever and failed," Istala said, deciding to go for the direct response.  So much for the social introduction.  "Yes, I'm Operations, helm specifically, so you're my new boss.  Sir.  I mean, Chief H'Raal."

Glancing at Garr, she shook her head.  "Just some ginger ale, please."

In reply to Istala Res (msg # 21):

"It's alright.  Failure is a normal part of what we do.  Being clever about your failure makes it more interesting, yes?"  He picked up the cup of spice tea.  "It's good to meet you, Lieutenant.  Are you it in terms of the position, or do you have anyone else that you split duty with?  I haven't quite had the chance to fully review the Mihoshi's crew log.  Though I'd like to have a meeting with everyone in Operations sooner rather than later.  There's a little speech I like to give before I start any assignment, something to help rally the crew and remind us why we do this."  Taking a good drink from it, he sighed as he put the cup back down.  "That helps stimulate the senses a bit."

In reply to Istala Res (msg # 21):

The bartender nodded and brought back a glass of the ginger ale on ice. "Here you are. Enjoy." He looked around. "Anyone need a top off?" If not, he would go back to making sure things were set for the party and any spills and drips wiped up.

In reply to Garrett Volkov (msg # 23):

Naoko had seen Jason enter and how he went out of his way around her.  He had done such since his "confession" to her that he might have murdered her... or whatever had happened in his flash-forward.  And while she had occasionally toyed with approaching him, his behavior kept making her think the better of it.  If this was how he wanted it, she wasn't going to force the issue.

"Could I get some sugar-cane shochu?" she then said to Garrett's request, making note to pace herself.  Good shochu had a way of sneaking up and clocking its victim in the back of the head and that was the last thing she needed.  Once she got her drink, she nursed it until Bart acknowledged her.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 04:18, Thu 17 Sept 2020.

In reply to H'Raal (msg # 22):

Thank the Fates for a poker face, Istala thought as she heard H'Raal mention giving a speech, yet gave him no sign of her inner groan.  Because who didn't love meetings and speeches?  "There's Lt. Vanna Keyes, who's usually my wingman when things get dicey.  Sometimes she'll take the next shift after me when things are quiet.  Rounding off it Nolan Wescott.  Nice guy.  That's your top three."

Rarely did Farah get to attend a social function that didn't require a dress uniform and given the reason, she'd be damned if she missed this one.  Giving the others a chance to interact on their own, she waited a little while before making her entrance, opting for a shoulderless violet silk blouse and black pencil skirt.  Subdued so as not to stand out.

Thani was uncertain about the function of parties. It seemed a quaint custom ritual to show up and consume food around others. But then there was food consumption at the movie night. Thani was Beginning to suspect humans made any excuse to gather and eat together.

She arrived in what most would consider a relaxed outfit. Loose silk shirt and pants that would like yoga pants, comfortable shoes.

Looking around she saw some new faces and some familiar ones. Luckily she had plenty of time to scan the room before finding an unoccupied location near the bar to obverse the comings and goings of the attendees.

In reply to Thani sh'Elliaph (msg # 27):

Standing there looking at Naoko in awkward silence, Bart never learned how to start a conversation.  He had never been sure of the right thing to say and was afraid of making a social faux pas.  He was abot to cower away as he normally did, until he rememberd the flash back he expereinced recently, so what the fuck. He turned to look at Naoko, "I don't really know you that well, Naoko, So tell me, what do you like to do in your spare time?" Then he waited as the pressure buit up, did he do the right thing?
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 06:09, Fri 18 Sept 2020.

Deckar was enjoying the silence.  That gave him time to reserch some of the thens he witnessed during the timeJump.  He set up some filters to downlog the news items related to his visions.  He was in the process reviewing the personell files of all the incoming crew and preparing for the next mission.  The alarm broke his concentration, it was time for the party.

Deckar walked into The Broken Anchor wearing a form fitting shirt, roayl purple with a mandarian collar.  His pants were a classic straight leg cut, in a shade of steel grey with matching wingtip shoes.  He spotted the catian talking with Istala, so he walked over to them.  "Hello Istala, you look wonderful tonight." Turning to the cation he said in broken catian, "You must be Commander H'Raal.  Welcome, I'm Commander Deckar Geary."  It was his custom to see how the other person preferred to be greeted, wether with the human custom of a handshake or some other form of greeting.

Garrett set the glass of shochu down in a snifter for Naoko, searved neat. "Here you are." So far he had gotten drinks for everyone that had ventured close enough to ask. Though in looking his gaze halted on a figure that just entered, a smile slowly forming on his face. A motion was made with his hand at a empty seat for Farah before he moved down towards the ensign and the Andorian who sat at the end of the bar.

"And what can I get for you, Miss?" He asked Thani. One at a time, at least till they all had their drinks then he wouldn't have to worry too much about what they wanted because he would remember.

Oh, someone asking her for a drink... Thani knew little of the customary drinks of Earth, but the ones with trinkets did intrigue her.

“Something with a little umbrella in it please.” Hopefully it tasted good too!

In reply to Bartolomy Blatt (msg # 28):

"When I'm not designing software that will destroy the ship?" Naoko replied with a half smile.  Enough time - and knowing who the true culprit was - had eased her sense of guilt into something simply more self effacing, if in a black humor sort of way.  She shrugged.  "I like to train in my family's sword style, which sometimes means a holodeck session as a feudal samurai.  It's a good workout and let's me blow off some tension.  If you ever feel like storming the castle, let me know.  Otherwise, I like things that get me out of my head.  I spend too much time in there."

Taking a sip of the shochu, she sighed.  It was fine, but replicators had their limits.  Recipe "compression" sometimes trimmed out those bits that most never noticed.  Most.  "Sometimes I wish it weren't against regulations to set up a distillery."

In reply to Thani sh'Elliaph (msg # 31):

"Get Thani a Mai Tai and a cosmopolitan for me," Farah said to Garrett as she sat next to Thani.  Farah hadn't seen much of her Chief Science Officer since returning to Deep Space Five and wanted to get a little caught up.  "It'll be strong and tart, but with a hint of citrus."

In reply to Naoko Kusaragi (msg # 32):

Bart laughed at he software joke and was quite impressed with her sense of heritage.  He could fully empathize about living in ones own head. "Don't I know it."  After she finished he looked at his drink, "I guess we could set one up in engineering and call it 'Emergency Antifreeze.' Just incase the replicators ever go down."  Then he gave her a little wink and a smile.

Garrett nodded and came back a few moments later with the drinks, setting the Mai Tai, a pale yellow topped with a darker rum, in front of Thani. Then he slide the pink shaded drink, a Cosmo, to Farah. "You ladies enjoy your drinks," he said and smiled then looked around to see if anyone else needed a drink.