In a Bar Down in Deep Space...

Posted on Tue Aug 7th, 2018 @ 3:16am by Lieutenant JG Alejandro Fernandez & Lieutenant Hel Samedi

Mission: Trills and Thrills
Location: Main Lounge
Timeline: Just prior to 'Friends'

Alejandro was finally starting to get used to his new ship. The Victory was a wonder and sight to behold.
Now as the ship was on its way to Trill, he took some personal time to finally get down to the Main Lounge to see what was going on, if anything.
He was dressed nicely but not formally, making sure he at least had his dancing shoes on because you never knew if a party or DJ would be rocking out long into the night.

He walked into the lounge and found it to be sparse. He frowned but it was early after all. He walked up to the bar, "Crush Orange soda on the rocks por favor". Alejandro didn't usually drink alcoholic drinks early in the night, and besides, tonight he would just enjoy a cold, fizzy, delicious ancient Earth drink. He walked around the large space a bit when he spied a keyboard sitting on far side of the stage; and he smiled hugely to himself as he quickly made his way over to it as he thought, "Time to get this party started!".

The keyboard was state of the art but looked as it hadn't been used in a while. He pulled up the stool, cracked his knuckles, adjusted the volume and began to play. Now he was no Chopin, Beethoven or Liszt; heck he wasn't quite as good as say Floyd Cramer or Liberace or Ray Charles or Stevie Wonder, but he would have been good enough to give them a run for their money. First he began playing the iconic Elton John piece "I'm Still Standing" following up with the always peppy "Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting". His voice was in good form tonight and soon the small crowd began to take notice! Some even began to dance! He just keep rocking with the flow as the vibe in the room got higher and higher with happiness. "Give Me Some Lovin'" by the Spencer Davis Group came next followed by "We Built This City" by Starship. He was in his groove as he saw the crowd having a great time. He wondered if some of his new officer amigos would show up.

Hel made her way into the lounge as well, tired of working hard to try and find the last few remaining niggles in the Victory's tertiary systems and redundancies. She'd managed to find and iron out some of them, but hunting down the last few would be a headache for sure. Still, this is what she signed up for as she accepted the post, so she wasn't going to complain. Out loud. In public.

The sounds of the piano took a moment to register. She'd already started quietly humming along to the familiar tunes, but it took a few moments for the fact that this was being played live, to percolate through the haze. Still, not one to waste an opportunity she made her way over to the piano and began to sing the song Alejandro was playing. We built this city, indeed. And, we built it on rock and roll. Her voice was pleasant and her melodies spot on. Although she was no Madeline Merryweather, Hel could carry a tune and even make it pleasant to listen to.

Alejandro smiled up at Hel. Her voice was nice and she was easy on the eyes, even for her goth-chick styling.
It was wonderful that Hel, and the crowd, still loved the ancient Earth classics. They never really grew old. He continued with Jerry Lee Lewis' "Whole Lotta Shaking Going On" and "Mean Woman Blues", and then rocked hard on Journey's "Don't Stop Believing". He looked at Hel as he played the famous piano instrumental "The Entertainer" and asked, "Requests Lieutenant?"

"Yeah. A chance to actually have a drink and a bite to eat." she smirked. "Dry throat. Need to lubricate." was added with a sage nod, and a hand held out in greet. "Hel Samedi, acting chief engineer. I saw you at the briefing, right?"

Alejandro stopped playing (to the chagrin of the crowd) and let the regular house band/DJ take over. He took her hand and replied, "Indeed senorita, that was me. Ven conmigo, let me get you a drink." He walked with her to the bar. The pretty bartender smiled and flirted with him, "You are talented Lieutenant and you as well Lieutenant Samedi." Alejandro smiled at the flirting bartender, "Gracias camarera." He then turned back to Hel, "So what will you have? I heard about the 'Moonlight of Jarendinnica' drink, is it as good as they say?"

"I've not heard of that before. Sounds romantic." Hel smiled. "And a Schnitzel plate with fries and salad as well, please. I'm hungry after a hard day's work." she added. Patiently waiting until he had the order complete, then motioning to a table near one of the viewports where they could eat in peace, to the back-drop of stars streaking by. "So what's your name, big guy?"

Alejandro ordered a double meat bacon burger and blue cheese fries with a grape soda this time instead of alcohol, at least for now anyway, he smiled at Hel and replied, "Me llamo es Alejandro," his Mexican accent was strong as always as he continued, "Alejandro Enrique Villegas Fernandez, and yours bella dama (pretty lady) and I mean informal of course." He smiled at Hel warmly then took a small swig of his soda.

"Bet you say that to all the ladies." Hel smirked, watching him intently, the way he moved, the way he carried himself, especially his eyes. Taller than she was, but of slimmer build. "So, what's a man like you do on a ship like this?"

He smiled back at her; "Trying my best to give the best tactics, best strategies and best ideas I can senorita." He thought a minute and added, "And maybe to prove to myself and others que soy lo mejor que puedo ser (that I am the best I can be), and what about you maravillosa (gorgeous)?"

"Maravillosa, huh. Going to have to remember that one." She mused, starting on her meal. "Me, I'm just here to see the universe, meet interesting people, new species, you know. The whole explorer spiel. Plus, being an engineer is a pretty cushy job." Hel smiled. "Ten not to get shot at very often." She then turned a bit more serious. "Look, Alejandro. You're charming and handsome and I don't mind the flirting - in fact, it's kinda flattering. But I'm already seeing someone, and I'm strictly a one lover kind of girl."

Alejandro smiled broader, "As you should be la tiniente (lieutenant)", he tipped the neck of his soda bottle to her and continued, "So let us agree to friendship then eh amiga (friend)?"

Hel smiled warmly. "Sounds good to me." A smile. "So what do you do for fun around here, Alejandro? Besides hit on pretty women."

"Well, I play a lot of sports in the holodeck", he replied, "Work out in the gym, practice playing on my guitar and keyboard, read a good novel whenever I can and sometimes go for long walks through the ship just to think. Que pasa contigo? (What about you?)"

"Much the same, actually." she smiled. "I work out to keep in shape, play guitar and sing." she looked at him curiously. "You read? What kind of things do you read? Ever heard of Alice L. Merriweather? Writes psychological horror."

"Science Fiction, Fantasy, Alternate History, and Autobiographies and Biographies mostly. Si, I have heard of Merriweather but I not into horror unless its Poe or King. Soy de la vieja escuela de esa manera (I am old school that way)". What do you know about Trill? This will be my first time there. Estoy intrigado por otras culturas (I am intrigued by other cultures)".

"Sorry, I don't understand much of - that's Spanish, isn't it?" she tilted her head. "Curious, why do you read Poe and King, but not Merriweather? Not judging you, if her writing style is not your taste that's fair enough. I'm just curious."

"Oh perdoname (pardon me), Spanish is my primary language and I sometimes forget that the Universal Translator isn't always on or in every place on the ship; but as to your pregunta (question), I just don't appreciate Merriweather's style you see. I am not sure why, but maybe it's the way she creates her atmosphere. It almost seems like she tries too hard to scare you... but that is just my perception". He thought for a minute, "I think I would love to improve my holodeck programming skills, any classes aboard ship that can help me do that marvellosa?"

"I don't know about any classes for that, sorry." a smile, "And as for your comments on Merriweather, I'll try not to take them personally. My books do seem to sell reasonably well, so it seems your opinion is a minority one."

Alejandro's face fell and he blushed, "Estoy tan avergonzada, I mean, I am so ashamed, please forgive me Lieutenant..." His voice trailed off.

Hel laughed, a musical laugh. "It's ok, don't worry about it. I know psychological horror is not everyone's cup of tea. I'd be a poor officer if I couldn't take criticism. You're good."

"Gracias senorita. Well the night is still quite young, are you going to stick around and enjoy tonight's DJ? He seems to be pretty good." Alejandro asked.

Hel shook her head. "No. He's pretty good, I'll give you that, but - a friend of mine is going through a hard time, and I put together a care package for him. I'm only here to rest up a bit and get some food in me before I go deliver and just spend some time making sure he's ok."

Alejandro nodded, "It is good of you senorita, to help your friend. You should be commended. As for me, I think I will stay and see what kind of trouble I can cause comprende?" He raised his eyebrows a couple of times to portray his desire for flirting and fun and causing (or at least getting into) trouble.

"Mmhm. Quite." she winked. "I think the bar girl is into you. The way she looked at you when you got our orders. Might wanna try with her, she looks like the kind I would have some fun with, you know, if I weren't tied down already."

Alejandro almost blushed again, "Si, I agree with you Lieutenant, not to mention the several ladies who crowded in front of the stage when we were singing... and that couple of ladies at the far end of the dance floor trying to act cool but keep looking over here, it might be a bein noche (good night) indeed".

Hel chuckled, as she finished her meal and drink. "Well, you go get 'em, tiger. Good luck." as she rose to her feet. "It's about time I headed back."

He tipped his drink to her and then drank it back in one gulp; and just as Hel left the table, he got a message from the hot bartender, "I get off in one hour, wanna show a girl a good time?" Alejandro chuckled a little and headed back to the bar, "So senorita, can this Chicano get a good margarita?"

It was going to be a VERY good night ANDALE!!!