Trying the bar scene

Posted on Fri Apr 14th, 2023 @ 2:34pm by Commander Raiden Kosugi & Lieutenant JG Eira Cortez
Edited on on Sat Apr 15th, 2023 @ 1:46am

Mission: The Goddess
Location: Lounge
1067 words - 2.1 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

Aarva had never liked going to bars. They were always crowded, noisy and, of course, there was always the danger of drunk behavior. Her classmates had taken her to Club 47 once on Earth Spacedock and she'd never gone back since; the experience had simply been too much for her liking.

She liked to think, however, that since graduating from Starfleet Academy she'd gained at least a little bit of steel. Hence she'd decided to visit the Gladiator's lounge in a simple gray shoulderless dress that she rarely ever wore; she was surprised it even still fit. She sat herself down at the counter and ordered herself a drink, feeling entirely too self-conscious and watched as she watched the crowd nervously. So far, so good.

"That dress really suits you, it's quite flattering," Eira commented loud enough for the other woman to hear. She'd been sitting at the bar watching the drinks being poured with skill and just quietly observed everything going on. That was, until the Kelpian walked in.

"Sorry, I'm Cortez, the Ops Chief, and I thought I'd just give you a confidence boost." She smiled as warmly as she could.

Aarva made a panicked 'eep' and nearly dropped her drink as the Ops chief's voice jerked her out of her thoughts. "Oh! Oh. Uh. Hello. Hi." Her cheeks flushed pink as she sipped from her drink and looked at the attractive blonde who seemed to have appeared out of thin air. Never had anyone else said she looked good in anything other than her uniform - she knew she looked weird, with her stature and anomalously proportioned body and that would probably never change - this was a first.

"Thanks... for the compliment. Heh..." She glanced down at herself, trying to fit the dress into any description that suited the word flattering on her. "M-My name is Aarva. I'm new on board." She tried for a smile, but it came out wonky and a little bit lopsided. "Nice to meet you." She held out a hand for the woman to shake.

"Nice to meet you, welcome aboard," Eira replied with a bit of a chuckle: she could see the awkwardness radiating from her. She beckoned for Aarva to join her in the spare seat, "Which department are you in?"

Aarva glanced between Cortez and the spare seat she was pointing to for a good few seconds before meekly picking up her drink, walking over and sitting down with her drink clutched in one hand. "I'm in engineering." She said, sipping at her drink, the sweetness and coldness of which certainly helped to calm her jangling nerves. "I specialize in robotics." She eyed the other, studying her with large violet eyes that blinked behind large, goggleslike glasses. "Um. I guess we'll be working together a lot. Right? Engineering needs Operations a lot of the time."

"Ah yes, yes we will be." Eira nodded and sipped her drink as she thought for a moment, "Or more so other members of the Operations team than me. I mostly stay out of Engineering so I can't get blamed for things breaking or going wrong." She took another sip of the drink and added, "What made you want to specialise in robotics?"

"Something in my childhood. I just like robots and how they work. They're fascinating don't you think?" Aarva replied. Now wasn't the time to discuss poor Pu'lio, she reckoned, not with a stranger she'd only met barely a few minutes ago. "And how much better they've gotten over the ages. Androids are part of our training modules at the Academy, so we look at people such as Data as case studies. It's a really interesting field. How about you, why Operations?"

"I think the reason behind it is another story for another time, but I trained in Linguistics and minor Operations based subjects over the past few years, and well, here we are!." Eira responded. She could feel the different emotions popping up all over the place from Aarva including the awkwardness, but she chose not to mention anything. Like always.

Another story for another time. That was what people usually said when what they wanted to say was far too traumatic or upsetting to say at that point in time in her experience - which was unfortunate. Oh, well. She'd have to wait. "Do you like your duty post?" She asked. "I know Operations isn't easy for anyone..."

"Operations suits me just fine and I found it did take a bit to get used to it but this mission coming up will be the ultimate test of how I can handle the position, I guess." Eira shrugged her response. It's true: she just had to prove herself to the higher ups that the department transfer was the right choice and maybe she'd be in line for that promotion too.

"I'm sure you will! Don't worry!" Aarva said with as bright a smile as she could muster. Which just made her look extremely weird. "I'm sure. Yeah. Um..." She glanced back at the bartender, and back to Eira again, not entirely sure how to continue their conversation. "...do you want anything to eat? I can order."

"Nerves are to be expected, don't stress about making impressions too much." Eira nodded, "Get your head in the game and things will flow nicely. Plus, I guess you can count on me to back you up if things get out of control. And yes, food does sound good, maybe something light for me though.

Aarva nervously scratched her arm, "Er, maybe... Um.." she looked around and saw others staring over towards her and Eira. "I've got to go. I-I am not ready for this yet." she adjusted her glasses. Then came to a decision she had to leave like now. Aarva hopped off the stool and started moving towards the exit. "M-maybe we can try this again later?" a wry smile becoming evident. "Maybe later." and with that Aarva made a bee line for the exit, losing what courage she had mustered up beforehand almost dashing to get out of the bar as fast as she couid without tripping.

The bartender looked at Eira. "A little skittish wouldn't you say?"

Eira stared in disbelief and nodded: she hadn't seen anyone that skittish since college. "That's the understatement of the century." Then she continued drinking her drink and observing everyone else.