Just One More Song...
Posted on Sun Oct 15th, 2023 @ 6:50pm by Lieutenant Vura
Edited on on Sun Oct 15th, 2023 @ 9:47pm
0 words; about a 1 minute read
Mission:
Episode 14 - The Poseidon Adventure
Location: Poseidon Station - Various
Timeline: MD007 1900
Remira O'Malley arrived to the Pioneer several days into their scheduled shore leave at Poseidon Station above the planet Aquil. It was a bit of a challenge to make friends, arriving in the middle of shore leave like this without really having worked with any of the crew yet. Remira wasn't keen to sit alone on a beach for the next couple of weeks, so she took a look at some of the scheduled activities for the next few days and decided she would just show up and see who might be friendly enough to get to know a new face. Her eyes lit up when she saw there was a karaoke party in just a few hours. This was not an activity she could miss. Karaoke was one of her favorite pastimes and she loved dragging friends along and convincing them to sing a few songs.
When the party was getting ready to start, Remira walked into the bar and ordered a drink and found a seat with a decent view. She scanned the crowd as they trickled in, looking to see if she recognized any of the faces from the Pioneer's manifest.
Vura had felt that she had spent quite a bit of time with her friend Paisley. She also had spent a great deal of time doing on board mental fitness exams. So, tonight, she decided that she was going to spend some time for herself. Not feeling up for any artistry, she decided that perhaps a bite to eat and some crowds might be a fun way to spend her evening.
She wandered into a karaoke bar and decided that this might be a fun way to kill some time. Vura, herself was not a singer. Acting, she could do but singing, well, she was more fit for the ensemble than being a solo artist in any musical. That being said, some greasy food, some cheap alcohol rather than synthahol, and a bunch of other fun-loving people might be a rather good time.
Remira was 99% sure that the Deltan who just walked in was the ship's counselor. She noticed the Deltan scoping out a place to sit, so Remira left her jacket on her seat and approached the woman to see if she might like to join her.
"Excuse me. Are you Counselor Vura? I'm the new Assistant Chief of Operations. Remira O'Malley. Everyone calls me Remy. I just arrived yesterday. You're welcome to join me at the bar. I picked out a seat with a pretty decent view of the stage," Remy offered.
One thing was certain about being a Deltan, you were bound to get noticed. There were just so few of them in Starfleet and when Pioneer had the unique experience of having two on board and one was enlisted and the other was, well, her, anyone who was on the ship had a pretty high percentage chance of guessing right, as to who she was.
That being said, it was also a little disturbing that even out of Starfleet wear, she was almost instantly recognizable. This evening, she opted for a cold shoulder short sleeve dress that was black to her waist but as the skirt flared out, it turned into various hues of purple and pink. On her left wrist was a sterling silver bracelet with sapphire stones. On her right wrist was six thin sparkly rhinestone bracelets that glittered when the light hit them.
Her makeup was impeccable, topped off with penciled in eyebrows and ruby red lipstick. In each ear were long gold drop two strand earrings with butterflies that stuck in her lobes. She considered this her casual attire.
"Nice to meet you, Remy," Vura replied with a warm smile. "I am indeed Vura, the Chief Counselor. I would love to join you at the bar." With that, Vura got up and practically glided across the floor towards where she was directed. "I would not concern yourself with just having arrived yesterday. I only arrived a few days ago, myself."
Remy led them to her corner of the bar. "It's just a weird time to start a new job. Everyone's on vacation, only skeleton crews are working. I'm not one to spend a ton of time alone, but I don't really know anyone yet," Remy confessed. "I thought this might be a good place to mingle. I love a good karaoke party, and the crowds are usually pretty fun. Do you have any songs that you usually perform?" Remy asked.
"Oh gosh, no!" Vura replied, putting a hand lightly to her chest. "Singing is not my forte'. Then again, I probably ended up in counseling because I was not really strong in any of the arts, though I do enjoy trying. However, when you come from Delta IV, with all of the talent there, it can be a bit intimidating to see that your best does not even equal some of their mediocre." She shrugged nonchalantly.
"And, as to knowing anyone, you now know me. And this seems like a great place to mingle." She looked around the karaoke bar and watched as numerous eyes tried to look other directions from her as she looked in their direction. "You like to sing, then?"
Remira blushed slightly. "Sure. I've done some stuff - nothing professional. Just little community gigs, and some stuff at the Academy." She leaned into Vura, and grinned playfully. "But at karaoke, no one cares if you are any good, it's all about having fun. Wanna pick out something we can do together?" Remy asked excitedly.
Vura could not help but be taken into Remy's excitement. "Sure, why not? What's the worst that could happen? I make a fool of myself?"
"You will not!" Remy said emphatically. "I usually do stuff from these old Earth playlists. But we could pick out some Klingon opera. Or if you want me to be the one to make a fool out themselves, maybe you could pick out something Deltan that I've never heard of, and I can just wing it," Remy said laughing. She pulled a PADD over with the songs list and placed it between them and began scrolling.
"Let's go with something in your old Earth playlists. I've counseled enough Terrans that I have heard more than one old Earth song in sessions, or at least partial references. Terrans often have a fascination with their past. They keep it alive well."
"Hmmmm...." Remy said, scrolling through the old Earth playlists, sharing the screen with Vura. "Seeing anything you like?" she asked. "' Go Breaking My Heart', or 'I Got You Babe' are classic duet songs. 'Sweet Caroline' is a fun one, the crowd will probably join in with us, so less attention will be on you if that's what you are looking for."
Remy shrugged. "Or is there something else you like? There are several different eras here to choose from..."
"Surprise me," Vura told Remy with a mischievous grin. "I'm sure that this is one of the only times that anyone in this room is going to see an Orion and a Deltan together. Imagine if we put our pheromones together! The universe could not handle us." She gave a delighted, melodious laugh at her joke.
Remy looked up at the Deltan and met her eyes, a mischievous grin turning into a good-natured chuckle. She nodded as if in deep thought. "We could very well take over this sector. Maybe even the whole quadrant," she agreed.
"I'm going a whole new direction now," Remy said, typing their order in so that they would get put into the queue.
She passed the PADD to Vura, the lyrics to 'Summer Nights' listed out. "So, are you John Travolta or Olivia Newton John?"
"Is that the musical from Terran culture where two high school kids cannot figure out during school how to copulate like when they did over the summer? I know a patient of mine had me watch that. Those four wheeled motorized things that operated on land seemed to be a really important thing for the males. Grooming also seemed to be a preoccupation for females."
Remy laughed, "Yeah that's the one. Cars. The drama club did a performance of Grease my sophomore year and I was cast as Betty Rizzo. It was a blast, and the props were hilarious. So much fun," she said still smiling at the memory.
"Now acting, that I have a modicum of talent in. So, shall we get our song on, Remy? I suppose I'll take the boy's role in this song."
"Sounds great! We're up next, I already put us in the queue," Remy said, standing up and taking a drink. The current song was ending. "Yup, let's go!" Remy said her enthusiasm growing. As they walked up the stage Remy whispered, "Is there an acting troupe on the Pioneer? If not we should get one going."
Remy grabbed a microphone and waited for the music to start.
"I don't know," Vura whispered back just before her cue came on, as she sung wobbly, "Summer lovin', had me a blaaast...."
Remy danced along with the music, when it was her turn to sing, she looked directly into the crowd, "Summer lovin', happened so faaast...."
Vura looked at the Orion and sang back, "I met a girl crazy for meeeee."
Remy raised her eyebrows flirtatiously at Vura as she sang, "Met a boy, cute as can be..."
Flriting was definitely in Vura's roundhouse. She neared Remy, winked, and sang in chorus with her, "Summer days drifting away, To-ah! Oh, the summer nights." She then continued, "Well-a, well-a, well-a, huh, Tell me more, tell me more, did you get very far?"
Remy bent at the knees so she was looking up at Vura, playing role, getting into the song, "Tell me more, tell me more, Like does he have a car?"
She popped up to her feet and started dancing again, looking a Vura, urging her to move with the music as well.
Vura swung around Remy with a graceful twirl, singing the chours and then continuing into the next verse, "Uh huh (doo doo), Uh huh (doo doo), Uh huh (doo doo doo doo doo). She swam by me, she got a cramp."
Using her thumb to gesture to Vura playfully as she sidestepped back into Vura o that they were brushing shoulders, Remy sang, "She ran by me, got my suit damp."
Vura backed off of Remy, worried that her pheromones via telepathy would cause Remy to start making further overtures. In the process, Vura's voice wobbled as she sang, "I saved her life, she nearly drowned."
Remy didn't miss a beat, she loved the attention from the crowd. Making splashing gestures with her free hand she sang flawlessly, "She showed off, splashing around."
Remy looked back at Vura and nodded encouragingly for her jump in on the refrain, "Summer sun, something's begun But ah! Oh, the summer nights...Well-a, well-a, well-a, huh"
There was nothing like an art to keep a Deltan's interest. Vura got close to Remy again and sung the chorus along with Remy, but it was her turn now.
Both women continued dancing and flirting their way through the song as they took turns with the verses. Remy was enjoying the attention they were getting, though she was oblivious as to just how much attention the two of them were actually drawing. She was having so much fun, it seemed like no time had passed at all before the song was wrapping up.
Remy looked soulfully at her audience, "It turned colder, that's where it ends..."
Vura pouted, put her hands up in a helpless shrug, and continued, "So I told her we'd still be friends." She gave Remy a wink and then looked away.
Remy placed her hand on her chest as she sang out, "Then we made our true love vow...."
Vura joined in and they sang together, facing away from each other and into the crowd dramatically, "Wonder what she's doing now.... summer dreams ripped at the seams..."
Putting her hand dramatically to her heart, Vura sighed, "But, ohhhhhhOhhhh" and her voice became louder and her voice became more sharp as she finished with Remy, "Those suUuuummer, NiIIIIIIiiiiiights!"
They walked off stage and reclaimed their spot at the bar. As they were walking, remy was bubbling with energy. 'You are such a good singer, Vura!" she exclaimed. "That was so much fun," she added.
"Fun? Yes. Good singer, you're a good liar about that. You're the one pulling it off for both of us."
'No, really. Ypu stay on key - which is less than half the people out here today. You have a good voice. If you are ever cast in something serious, they give you a voice coach to make sure it's perfect. We have to get a drama club or an open mic night or something going in a few months once shore leave as worn off and people are looking for stuff to do."
"Are you trying to take my job, now?" Vura asked, giving the Orion a wink. "And here I just thought you wanted to take me...." Playfully she tsked at Remy.
Remy laughed good-naturedly. "I wouldn't dare tempt your vow of celibacy," Remy said with a playful wink.
"I would be more concerned for you," Vura answered honestly.
Remy lowered her voice dramatically, "And yourself too, lest any lover go bad and become so obsessed with you, they try to do the unthinkable," she added. In her usual upbeat voice she added, "I'm not really looking for anything either. Orion hormones come with their own problems. You never know if someone is trying to do something to be nice, or if you are somehow influencing them. I wear this lotion, but I don't know how well it works, honestly." Remy shrugged.
"Other Deltans have experienced that issue. Not I, thankfully." She shrugged non-chalantly. "And Federation scientists seem to think that pheromone blockers work, so I should think you should trust them, but I could see how it would worry you. So why come to Starfleet, with that concern? Or an enclosed Starship?" Vura asked curiously.
"I always wanted to be in Starfleet. I've never had any big issues with them outside of puberty and not really knowing how to control them," Remy shrugged. "It's just when someone asks me on a date, I wonder. And I really don't like asking people for favors at all, because I'm always worried I'll accidentally influence them to help me somehow," she answered honestly, but with an awkward laugh. "But you didn't come out to work. We can change the subject to something less like what you'd hear in a counseling session," she said putting on a brighter smile for Vura.
Vura laughed. "All I can do is talk, Remy. So, I inadvertently find myself counseling when I should not be. My apologies. Either way, I would still want to get to know more about you. So, out with it...." She playfully waved her hand at the Orion.
Remy laughed. "Out with what?" she asked, playfully waving her arm back. "What about you?" she asked. "Deltans give up a lot to join Starfleet. I really didn't have to give up anything. My father was a Starfleet officer - I'm half-Human. I grew up on Starships. My living arrangements haven't changed much, but now I get to be a part of Starfleet." Remy shrugged. "But you - you sacrificed so much. Why?"
"Don't give me that out with what innocent bit," Vura replied with a knowing smile back at Remy. "I created that, or at least perfected it." And true to her word, Vura completely avoided talking about her history. "So, you're a fleet lifer, eh? Born, raised, and will likely die within it. Possibly your children too? So, how does a Starfleet human meet up with a sexy Orion without it involving bondage? Or perhaps it did?" Vura asked interestedly.
"My mom was a slave," Remy said nodding. "My father was serving on a ship that cleaned up the mess after special forces did a Syndicate bust. She was a passenger back to Starbase for medical and asylum processing, and I don't know - they tell me they had a connection," Remy shrugged. "They seemed very much in love when I was growing up, and still do."
"Well, every story has a beginning...."
"She was in the hospital for weeks. My dad put in for a temporary transfer so he could stay on base and visit her while she was a patient. The Captain thought he was nuts or under the influence of those infamous Orion hormones, but they had messed her up pretty badly," Remy explained. "Injections and surgeries. None of the women they rescued had properly working pheromones for the next year or so."
"Well..." Remy smiled. "Except a few, that were posing as slaves. That's how they got outed. As least that's the story my dad tells anyway. He could be embellishing it," she said laughing.
"Seems odd that the Orions would want to sell or damage their goods," Vura replied shrugging.
"Well not like that, I don't think. They didn't really talk about it much, but from what I've been able to glean, they just weren't very delicate in the way they made the women infertile." Remy looked at her new friend. "There was quite a bit of medical intervention just to have me," she added.
"And luckily, here you are...with me." Vura beamed at Remy.
"Here I am," Remy responded, raising her glass. "So why won't you talk about yourself?" she asked. "Your job is listening to people talk all day, and you come out and you do the same thing."
Vura laughed prettily. "Caught me, did you? Well, Remy, I suppose that it is much more comfortable for me to talk about others and their problems than to reflect on my own life." She paused after giving an audible sigh. "Have you ever wondered why there are so few Deltans in Starfleet?"
Remy nodded, "Sure, I guess I just assumed it would be lonely here. All the social limitations."
"There is that, no doubt. Our pheromones being what they are, with no cure, and having to take the Oath, those are definitely issues. But that's not all. Most Deltans never want to leave Deltan IV. We're sensationalists. We love to experience every new sensation. We concentrate on inner space. Outer space, as a rule, has not a lot of interest for us. So, even if there was a resolution for our pheromones, you would not likely see a great deal of change in how many Deltans leave home."
"But space has an interest for you?" Remy asked.
"I would not say that," Vura replied, shifting in her chair uncomfortably. "But Delta IV had little interest for me any further."
"Hmm... Tell me more about that," Remira asked, then remembering something she sang just to Vura, "Tell me more, tell more..."
"Delta IV did not put up a fight," Vura replied with a small chuckle, quoting back at Remira.
"So do you let anyone get to know you?" Remy asked somewhat pointedly.
If the Deltan had eyebrows, she might have raised one like a Vulcan. "Whatever do you mean, Remy?"
"Don't think I haven't noticed how you have evaded every question I've asked you, tried to turn it back to me, deflected. I'm sure you probably have a few more tricks up your sleeve yet too," Remy commented, somewhat smugly, though her expression still playful.
"Oh, you would like my tricks but sadly, it might drive you insane and I think Starfleet frowns upon that." Vura grinned mischievously and gave Remy a small wink.
"I guess we'll never know," Remy said with a shrug, downing the last of her drink.
"Sadly, no. The problems with oaths and being Deltan."
"Well, hey. There's always something to write home about. Cheers?" Remy held up her glass for one last drink.
"Cheers."
A Joint Post By
Lieutenant Vura
Chief Counselor, USS Pioneer
Lieutenant Junior Grade Remira O'Malley
Assistant Chief Operations Officer, USS Pioneer
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