-==IC: Midori==-
Midori had a sudden urge, and leaned closer to Kaze when--
-==IC: Flipz==-
The lounge doors opened to admit Captain Flipz. Those who noticed him, including Midori, straightened to attention, but he paid them no heed. As another pair of crewmembers took the stage, Flipz spoke to Guinan. They sat down at the bar, where observant ears could hear their conversation. Meanwhile, Pavlov spotted O'Really, and made a beeline for her.
-==IC: O'Really and Pavlov==-
"Uh oh. He sees me. Quick, pretend we weren't talking. You could probably take him, but he outranks us, so..."
"Hey, there, Chief. I don't think I got a proper chance to introduce myself..."
-==IC: Flipz and Guinan==-
"So, it must be different being in a starship's lounge on the other side of the counter."
The pasty-skinned regular bartender walked over and set down a glowing, multicolored beverage in front of a surprised Flipz. Guinan had obviously known exactly when he was going to arrive.
“No, not too different,” the woman replied.
The young captain gingerly took a sip. His eyes widened in surprise. “I’ve never had anything like this...”
“Of course not. It’s an El-Aurian specialty.” She smiled grimly. “there aren’t many of us left to spread the word.”
“...It’s amazing!”
“You expected something less?”
“Not from you,” he replied sheepishly. “It’s just...”
“Captain, you have good instincts. You need to learn to trust them. Take a risk once in a while. Step out of your comfort zone. And then, then you’ll truly shine as a commanding officer.”
Young Flipz nodded. “I’ll remember that.”
“No, you won’t. But you will.”
The young captain didn’t notice, however. “You know, one day I’m going to get you in my command permanently as a personal advisor, Guinan.”
“I know you will. But right now there’s someone else you need to pay attention to,” Guinan said as she nodded toward the doors. A moment later, they opened to admit an unexpected guest: Commander Williams.
-==IC: Commander Williams, Pavlov, and O'Really==-
Commander Williams scanned the room, searching for a particular face in the crowd. Finally, at a small table almost hidden behind the karaoke machine, she found her objective: Andre Pavlov.
He was hovering, apparently uninvited, near an Asian-looking woman with shockingly red hair. A single streak of blond hair hung down next to her vibrant green eyes, which were blazing toward her unwanted guest. Back at the bar, Guinan exchanged a glance with the captain; both sensed impending conflict--and it wasn’t going to be pretty.
Meanwhile, Commander Williams had reached the table. “Hello, Andre,” she said with a forced pleasantness. “Hello, Mrs....?”
“Chief Kiromita O’Really, Transporter Chief. Sir,” she added as an afterthought. It came out sounding like an insult. Fortunately, the ship’s first officer pretended not to notice.
“A pleasure,” she lied. “Mr. Pavlov, I require your assistance in recalibrating the forward targeting sensors to accommodate interference from the phenomenon we have been assigned to study.”
“Sensors. Why don’t you get T’Sing to do it?”
“Lieutenant-Commander T’Sing is unavailable at this time; he is busy preparing other sections for our survey. Besides, these are targeting sensors; not only is it a tactical issue, but with our assignment being so close to Romulan space it is an issue of ship’s security as well.”
“Sorry, Commander, but as you can see, I’m…busy.” Pavlov grinned at Kiromita. She did not return the expression.
“Actually, Commander,” she chimed in, “he is not ‘busy.’ In fact, it would not...discomfort me at all if he left with you now.”
“How very generous of you,” Jennifer replied acidly.
“Not at all, Commander,” Chief O’Really responded, again making the rank sound like an insult. “You deserve...access...to the Lieutenant-Commander whenever you desire it.”
“Ladies, ladies, there is no need to get into a disagreement over me.” Pavlov suddenly became aware of the twin death glares drilling into him. “On the other hand, I suppose a cursory examination of the sensors could be beneficial to our tactical readiness...”
Pavlov hurriedly left the table, walking right into Captain Flipz. The young captain looked at his chief of security with concern and opened his mouth to speak, but Pavlov stepped around him and left the lounge before he could utter a word.
Flipz turned to Guinan and asked “What was that all about?”
Guinan shook her head sadly, remembering some past event in her long life. “Be glad you don’t know, Captain. Be glad you don’t know.”
The young Flipz debated with himself for a moment, and then left the lounge. Meanwhile, Commander Williams had just sat down at another table when something interrupted her brooding.
“Go on, Commander,” Chief O’Really piped up. “He’s all yours. I don’t want him.” The lounge went dead silent.
Williams spun around in her seat, her eyes blazing with restrained fury. “Look, I get you’re new around here. But there are some things you just don’t mess with, I don’t care what starship you’re on. Leave it alone.”
“Oh, believe me, sister, I’m trying. But you won’t take him.”
“I said drop it. I don’t know where you’ve served, but around here I call the shots.”
“I thought that was Captain Flipz’ job?”
Guinan quickly stepped between the feuding women. “Hey, now, let’s not spoil the mood for the other guests, shall we? How about some karaoke, hmm?” Commander Williams snatched the microphone and stalked up to the platform, her gaze never leaving Chief O’Really. She punched in a song with quite a bit more force than was necessary, and smiled grimly as her stare pierced the transporter chief.
OOC: Cutting off the post for length, I'll continue after a response or two.
