| abstract
| - Golden Beach - New Luna - This long, straight beach is coated in a golden, silky sand near the water and a soft, fine white sand, almost like powdered sugar, away from the waterline. A few leaves of seaweed are washed up, as well as shells here and there, but overall the beach is clean and sparkling. Where the trees come close to the water, some strange animals, shaped like ferrets but having monkeylike tails and limbs, play in the surface happily, squeaking like merecats. A few dolphins can be seen cresting the surface out not too far in the water. A long stretch of the beach has been transformed for the Carnivalis party, the portable bar set up along with the kitchen. A few long tables hold the food, all of that along with the dance floor and stage up far above the water line. Further down towards the water has been left open for swimming and sunbathing. Busy as always, and looking way overdressed in her uniform, Lydia is over dealing with sound system issues, arguing with the man in charge. Karlan Arizhel comes in from the landing pad, walking fast and looking behind her briefly with a grin. She slows to a more sedate pace when she spots the captain, and clears her throat, looking over curiously. Dressed somewhat awkwardly in a pair of shorts and sandals, Karlan strides silently over the sand looking at Arizhel for a while before turning his head to the captain, nodding at her. Not noticing either of them, Lydia is still wrangling with the sound tech. "I told you, it doesn't sound right. Maybe if you stepped away and listened like I told you to, you might hear it." She seems frustrated, as if this has been going on for some time. Arizhel blinks up at Karlan coquettishly, before heading towards the discussion, picking her way carefully across the sand. "Is there anything I can help with, Capitan?" Karlan smiles at the captain, nodding. "What's wrong with the sound system?" "Nothing." The sound tech says before the captain responds, and she fixes him with a stare that could freeze lava. "Step away to the front of the stage, listen, and THEN tell me I'm wrong." she replies, crossing her arms. Grudgingly, the man finally does so. Arizhel quirks an eyebrow, and grimaces slightly at the sound guy's answer, and the captain's response. She watches him briefly, as he walks to the stage, but seems to lose interest after a couple of moments, turning back to Lydia. "So did you need me to do anything? It looks like the setup is mostly done, but it doesn't hurt to ask..." Karlan raises an eyebrow, watching the sound technician and the equipment intently, waiting to listen to it, idly tapping a foot on the sand. "Nope. And Jens took the bar, so until he needs help, you can get something to eat and just hang out. Just please don't go swimming, if I need your help, I don't want you dripping all over." Lydia says a bit absently, then gives a small, barely noticeable smile of triumph as the tech brushes past her and goes to fiddle with something on the sound board. Karlan shrugs, turning to smile at Arizhel before walking towards the bar, creeping silently over the sand. "Well cap'n if you need anything, I'll be somewhere on the beach." Arizhel grins. "Speaking of Jens, where is he? I didn't see him as I came in, but I guess I kind of got distracted by your little discussion over here." She chuckles briefly, and nods. "I'll make sure not to go swimming. I've had plenty of time for that lately, anyway." "Actually, Karlan, I need to talk to you for a minute. Jens should be over at the bar, I think he was saying something about a problem with one of the kegs. Maybe you can check in on him." Lydia says, holding up a finger to the Timonae. Karlan turns an exaggerated sigh into a smile as he turns back to face the captain. "Ah, yes, no problem. What's the matter, cap'n?" Arizhel nods, grinning mischeviously. "I'll go take a look at it, see what I can do." She starts across the sand, but sighs exasperatedly after a few steps. "I guess this is why they call them sandals..." she mutters to herself, removing the offending footwear, and putting them in her satchel as she continues over to the bar area. The sound tech finishes and heads out, eliciting a small frown from Lydia. "I really need to do something about him..." she murmurs, before turning to the Timonae with a nod and a bright smile. "I need to discuss something with you. It seems as though we've one more person than what we really need in the engineering department, and before the next run, I need to let someone go." Karlan blinks, looking at Lydia with mild interest. "Oh. Let the other guy go then," he says, nonchalantly. "You're not considering getting rid of me, are you?" Arizhel steps into the bar area, looking around curiously. "Jens? Hey, where are you? Lydia said you needed help with something." she peers around the side of the counter, looking behind it. "Are you hiding from me, you silly boy?" "No, you get to do it." Lydia says simply, then smiles. "Congratulations, you've been promoted, and now you get to fire someone. I'll give you the paperwork tomorrow." With that, she heads over to the kitchen to check on things there. "I'm not hiding." Jens says a bit testily from where he's sitting on the ground wrestling with the tap. He's dressed in a bright purple speedo with the ship's emblem emblazoned on the rear end. "This stupid thing won't work. Do you know where the spare is? I couldn't find it." "Wha- Bu- Than- Uh, she's gone," Karlan mumbles, a while before shruggin, rolling his eyes, and walking over to the bar counter thoughtfully. Arizhel grins briefly at the other bartender's outfit, but the grin fades when she gets a taste of his mood. "Hmmm, I thought I saw it earlier. Let me take a look around." She rummages around under the counter, a pensive look on her face. "I know it was here," she insists." "Well I can't tap beer without a beer tap." Jens points out reasonably, and pumps the handle a few times. "It's like it's getting stuck...here, try it." he hands it over. "Stupid old fashioned hydraulic things..." Arizhel chuckles and nods. "Maybe it just needs a woman's touch, Jens," she quips with a smile, crouching down to get a closer look at the tap, moving it a a couple of times experimentally. "Hrm. It does seem to be getting stuck. Maybe I ought to go back to the ship and look for the other one?" Karlan turns around, shaking his head, and chases after the captain. "Uh, cap'n, perhaps we should talk about my pay? I have the crawling suspicion there's a reason you didn't say I get more money out of this." Turning from her perusal of the absolutely giant melons being partitioned up, Lydia raises an eyebrow. "We'll discuss that later, Karlan. This is hardly the time or the place, now is it?" Karlan sighs and turns back, rolling his eyes and taking a seat at the bar, looking over it curiously. "Need help with that, Rish?" "Have one of the servers do it." Jens says, then glances up as Karlan approaches. "Hey sweetie, there you are! Rish told me she's going to share you with me, that's all right with you, isn't it?" "Not unless you can unstick a stuck beer tap," Rish says, a little exasperated, as she attempts again to get the thing moving. "It's no use, I don't think. We'll have to mess with it later." She motions to one of the servers, who seems to conveniently miss the gesture, but Rish doesn't notice, being caught off guard at that point by Jens' comment. "Oh, Jens, I told you not to tell him yet. You're going to scare him off," she says, grinning mischeviously. Karlan shrugs, looking at the tap. "Well, no, not really. Sorry. I suppose you're busy, so I'll just help myself to a drink, maybe...?" Getting to his feet, Jens pouts a little, then shrugs as well. "What'll it be?" He asks, taking the tap back from Rish and tossing it away somewhere. "We need a new one of those. Maybe something from this century would be nice." Aisrya arrives from Patio . Aisrya has arrived. Airenei arrives from Patio . Airenei has arrived. Arizhel flinches as the tap lands elsewhere with a clank, and blinks over at Jens briefly. "Well, I don't think there's much chance of fixing that one now, so you'll probably get your wish," she says, managing a small grin. "I'd offer to get his drink for him, but you seem to enjoy waiting on him." The captain is still overseeing the dissection of the giant watermelons, slices already being carried out to the tables. Jens is bartending, a few discreet security personnel watching the crowd, though it's hard to tell crew from visitors today. Aisrya steps off of the private patio at the top of the beach, and holds the gate open for Airy, who follows behind her. She has a bright yellow sari wrapped around her torso, hiding anything else she might be wearing, save for a lone strap that's around her neck. "This place is awesome," she comments to her companion with a grin. Airy just nods in agreement, slipping through the gate with a grateful smile. "I haven't eaten breakfast, let's pay and get in there, yeah?" She says cheerfully, hefting her bag higher onto her shoulder. Not getting a response to his question, Jens shrugs and lets Rish get Karlan a drink, turning to take care of someone else. Arizhel waves one of the servers over, and this time he catches the gesture, walking over. She has a brief, quiet conversation with him, after which he nods and heads up toward the landing pad. She blinks briefly at Jens, and sets to work mixing a drink, fairly strong by the number of different types of alcohol she puts in it. Rish sets it in front of the Timonae, and winks at him. "You have fun with that one. If I did it right, it should taste just like iced tea." Karlan sips his drink thoughtfully, looking at Arizhel. "So, did the captain ask you to tend the bar while I sit here all alone? Woe is me." He grins, taking a long sip and leaning against the bar. Anelie arrives from New Luna Landing Pad . Anelie has arrived. Aisrya nods to Airy with a smile as she sets off towards the party, "I concur." Arizhel chuckles softly. "She asked me to help Jens, so I'm helping Jens, no? It's not exactly fair to leave the poor guy back here by himself. I'm sure things will clear up at some point, so we can hang out for awhile." She grins at him. "Besides, you're not alone. I'm right here," she points out. "So is the drink okay?" Jens laughs, finishing up cleaning a glass and putting it back with the rest. "Poor Jens is so helpless on his own, you know." He says with a grin. "I handled the last one all by myself, miss 'missed her shuttle'." Linking arms with Rya, Airy follows her to the party, paying the hostess waiting near the entrance. "Quite good," Karlan replies, tapping a finger on the counter absently. "I suppose I'll be sitting here for most of the party then." With a small object in her hands, Anelie enters the area from the direction of the nearby landing pad. She raises her hand to cover her eyes as she peers down the expanse of the beach towards the assembled bar. She then moves carefully across the beach towards the bar with the object tightly gripped in her hands. Aisrya has to flash the bottom of her bikini at the hostess to get the enterance discount, though she does not seem to mind doing so at all. "Nice bikini," she notes to Airy with a smile once they're in. "Yeah, I didn't want to wear the other one. I mean, if I'm going to be dancing, I don't want to be falling out." Airy dimples, then laughs, heading straight for the food. "Ay, that's part of the reason I want to help. I feel bad for that," Rish says, then sniffs, pouting at Jens. "It's not my fault my mom can lecture like she can. Stars above, it's a sight, though. I think she could out-talk a politician, no?" She turns then to look at Karlan, quirking an eyebrow. "You don't have to stay here just to keep me company, hon." Noticing the waitress Jens raises a hand to her. "There you are, honey, you got my tap for me?" He asks, not having noticed that Rish sent soemone else to get it. The bartender is dressed in nothing more than a purple speedo with a gold domino mask stamped across the butt. "I don't know if I believe your assertion that you'd care if your girls would escape from it," Rya says with a sly smile. Swiftfoot arrives from New Luna Landing Pad . Swiftfoot has arrived. Karlan grins at Arizhel, shaking his head. "Oh, but I want to. Besides, there't nothing better to do, even though the sight of Jens clad in that... non-outfit is a bit distressing." "Oh, you're awful." Airy scoldingly says to Rya, snagging a sandwich to eat. "There's kids here." Anelie stifles a laugh into a small chuckle as she looks over the bartender. "Yes, here is the tap you wanted." She grins brightly as she extends the bar tap towards the bartender. "This is the right one, ya?" Aisrya flashes a grin as she gets a plate and starts filling it up with various fruits, "I'm just sayin'." "You got it, honey!" Jens says, then crouches down to tap the last keg. "Can I get you a drink while you're here? Rish is stealing all my work, because she's jealous her boyfriend likes me better that her, so I have nothing to do." Karlan rolls his eyes. "Yes. Of course. I can barely contain my excitement." He grins at Arizhel, looking down and sipping from his glass thoughtfully. The server that Rish sent off on his fruitless task only minutes before returns. "I couldn't find it," he explains, rubbing the back of his head with one hand, and deliberately avoiding the bartendress' eyes. "Well, that's cause Anelie just brought it, no? Silly boy, she was just quicker on the draw than you. There's no shame in that," Arizhel replies, smiling at server, who mumbles something in reply and wanders off toward the food tables. "Hey! I am not jealous!" she exclaims, turning to grin at Jens. "You're a brat." Airy scolds Rya, then laughs and takes a plate herself, loading up. "I actually remembered my sunglasses today, so I won't go blind. Is the swimming any good off here?" An orange-furred Demarian pads in from the landing area, a towel slung over one shoulder and a pair of sunglasses perched on her snout, making her way towards the party. She pays the hostess, who seems a little taken aback by a Demarian in a lime-green swimsuit, but it doesn't seem to faze the felinoid at all, as she heads straight for the food tables, her tail switching idly behind her. Anelie lets our another small chuckle as she looks over the bar proper. She quirks her mouth into a mock frown as she turns to the bartender. "What do you recommend for starters? I am always interested in trying a new drink, if it is good I mean." Her mock-frown quickly dissapears into a grin as she speaks. Aisrya halts her food gathering for a moment to place her hand on her chest. "/I/ am a good girl, hon," she says, trying to look serious. "Well, it's such a nice day, I could make you a lemon drop if you like something fancy, or some long island iced tea...or something kind of fruity. What do you feel like?" Jens asks Anelie, propping his cheek up on a hand. Noting the Demarian's entrance, Airy calls cheerfully, "Swifty! Come eat with us!" She grins brightly. "Oi, I didn't think she'd be here. You don't mind if she joins us, do you Rya?" Arizhel laughs incredulously. "Man, you don't kid around. You're gonna have her drunk in minutes if you start feeding her iced teas. Go easy on the poor girl, no?" She turns her eyes back to Karlan, and tilts her head to the side, seemingly sizing him up. "Hmm. You're so quiet. Is something wrong?" "Nope," Rya says as she goes back to foraging. Karlan grins at Arizhel, chuckling. "Not jealous? So you don't mind if I go around and bother all the other girls?" Swiftfoot flicks her ears in Airy's direction, then looks over and blinks, waving. "Morrning. I didn't think I'd be herre myself, but then I thought to myself, why not, meh? I can only check the ship's systems so many times beforre I drrive myself nuts. A crrazy pilot is a bad pilot," she says, nodding to herself. The felinoid picks up a plate, and puts a few pieces of fruit on it, padding over to join the two Timonae. "It is just a perfect day." Airy sighs contentedly, then smiles. "You guys know eachother, right? I don't have to do the whole introduction thing? Cause I just wanna eat right now." "Something fruity?" Anelie mimics. "Well that sounds interesting. I need a good drink for me to enjoy my day off with. Give me one of those." She decides finally. Flashing a small grin to Arizhel, "I can handle myself well enough, but thanks for your concern." Aisrya smiles at the Demarian and waves. "Yup," she tells Airy. By now she's compiled a small mountain of various fruits. Jens salutes the waitress, then gets to work, rimming a cocktail glass with sugar and mixing something that turns out a bright orange, garnished with a slice of strawberry. "Here ya go!" he says, sliding it in front of Anelie. Arizhel snorts at Karlan, and puts a hand on his arm affectionately. "Hey, talking is okay, no? I'm not going to get jealous at you for talking. I want you to have fun. I'll join you if I get a moment, kay?" She quirks a brow and smiles mischeviously at him. "Besides, you can make it up to me sometime." The ebon-haired woman grins at Anelie, and chuckles. "Sorry, just trying to protect you from Jens' predations. I experienced them first-hand, and boy did my head hurt afterward. Just ask Karlan here." Swiftfoot chuckles softly, and nods, flicking her tail in a wave. "We've met, you could say, thrrough Val." She nibbles experimentally at a slice of watermelon. "Mrrh, I don't norrmally put much stock in frruits, but these arren't bad at all." "I don't think I've actually ever met Val." Airy says contemplatively. "Heard about her a couple times, and...Damn, Rya! Got enough fruit there?" She chuckles, though she takes a few different things herself. Karlan grins at Anelie, nodding. "Yes, Jens is in the habit of getting innocent girls drunk and then wondering about what he'll do afterwards. He usually leads them carefully to their rooms when they're not capable of moving anymore." Anelie glances from the cocktail glass to Jens and then back to the cocktail glass. "It doesn't -look- to be that bad." She shrugs her shoulders slightly as she takes the glass up from the bar. "Does it have a name?" She intones to Jens as she raises the glass up to her lips to take a sip. Upon hearing Karlan's comment, she immediately lowers the glass back to the bar surface. Aisrya sticks her tongue out at Airy quickly before looking over the beach. "Where should we settle"? "Just ignore Karlan. He's just angry because he keeps denying our love." Jens says seriously to Anelie, even though there's a twinkle of humour in his eyes. "And that's a mango cocktail. You've got some mango juice, coconut rum, and a bit of some tropical liqueur from somewhere or another, I forget where. I could check the bottle." Arizhel puts both hands on her hips, which has the side effect of giving a really good view of her cleavage. "For the last time, Karlan, I am not young and innocent!" she exclaims, laughing. "You should know, in any case." She blinks over at Jens, still chuckling. "Hey, hon, I'm gonna take a few minutes with our chief engineer here before things get busy, okay? I have to woo him away from you somehow, no?" Karlan chuckles, watching Anelie's gesture. "Oh, don't worry, it's not that bad. Just ask Arizhel." He grins at the bartender, nodding. "Oh, yes. You'd better do it fast, I'm about to jump over this counter," he says, chuckling lightly. Swiftfoot yawns and eyes the the rest of the guests briefly. "Hrr. Nice setup they've got herre. I always did like New Luna. It beats the hell out of Sivad, that's forr surre." She chortles, and flicks her tail once, padding silently along the sand after the two Timonae. "Wherreverr we go, I'm going to strretch out like a gigantic, lazy rrug." Anelie glares at Karlan for a moment before chuckling to herself as she retakes the glass from off the bar. She nods her head at the bartender as this time she raises the glass up to her lips and takes a small sip before resting it back down on the bar. Finding a likely spot, Airy sets down her bag and plate, digging out her towel and spreading it on the sand. "Here we go, this looks fine." She comments, sitting down and grabbing her food. "This okay with you guys?" "Go on, get out of here." Jens says, shooing away Rish with a pretend angry look on his face. He goes back to serving the customers, catching up on people from time to time. "Yup," Rya says with a nod. She waits for Airy to sit down before asking, "Hold my plate quickly?" Arizhel grins and pours herself a drink, exactly like the one she gave to the Timonae, then takes a playful swat at Jens' behind, and scoots out from behind the bar. The ebon-haired bartendress makes her way over to Karlan, grinning up at him. She stomps one foot imperiously, and holds her arms open. "Well, you gonna hug me, or what?" As if in response to Airy's question, the Demarian spreads out her towel, then flops down on it, somehow managing to keep everything on her plate at the same time. "Looks good to me," she says, digging her toes into the sand. "Hmm. Nothing quite like sand in yourr claws, I must say." She sets the plate down in front of her, and starts to pick at the fruit. Airy reaches up to hold Rya's plate for her, carefully balancing it to keep the mountain of fruit from tumbling. "I wouldn't know, not having claws, but toes work just as well." Airy says cheerfully. Karlan looks up nonchalantly for a while, before smiling broadly and standing up, comically putting his arms around Arizhel, who's much shorter than he is. "You sure Jens can take care of things?" Free from her plate, Rya quickly unwraps the sari that had been wrapped around her torso, letting free a lot of skin and her bikini. She then spreads it out like a towel and sits down. "Thanks," she says as she takes her plate from Airy. Drink in hand, Anelie turns and leans her back against the bar. She takes a another sip from the drink as she exchanges glances with numerous patrons and guests before turning her attention to beauty of the beach itself. "Captain told me you want to learn bar." Jens says conversationally to Anelie, drying a few glasses. "You going to be working back for us, then?" He idly starts juggling a few of the glasses, then neatly catches them, stacking them with the rest of the dry ones. "Jeez, I'm starting to believe that you -are- obsessed with Jens," Rish quips, grinning mischeviously up at Karlan. "I'm going to have to work hard to get your attention back where it belongs." She sniffs and pokes absently at her belly. "I mean, I know I've put on a few pounds, but stars, I didn't think I was that bad yet. I'm so fat now, I bet you couldn't even pick me up." "Pretty busy, but I'm surprised there aren't more people out enjoying this gorgeous day." Airy comments, going back to her sandwich. "And I'm surprised Jared's lazy ass is still asleep." "You might give some thought to getting some. They come in handy," Swiftfoot says to Airy, chuckling. Her gaze wanders to the bartender as he juggles glasses, and she blinks, her ears flicking. "Hrh. Nice trrick, that," she comments. The felinoid eyes Rya, and chuckles. "That's irronic. You wearr less than I do." The felinoid goes back to picking at the fruit on her plate, sniffing each piece experimentally, and digging her toes into the sand. "Right. You're just trying to get me to pick you up and haul you somewhere," Karlan replies, walking along while keeping an arm at her back. "Maybe we should walk down to the beach?" Aisrya smirks at the Demarian before quickly eating a small piece of fruit. "This area doesn't seem to really be inhabited much," Rya says with a little shrug, "And the beach is huge, so you really don't see people on it much." Malion arrives from New Luna Landing Pad . Malion has arrived. Anelie quickly turning excitedly back towards the bartender. "Ya..Ya, I am supposed to help you two when you need it." She takes another quick sip before resting the glass back on the bar. "I don't know how to make many drinks, but I am willing to learn." She offers a faint smile after her last words to Jens. "That's true." Airy admits, then gives a little laugh. "Well, I'm glad I got to make it, the food's good, and I bet the drinks are too." She glances back in the direction of the bar, a bit wistfully. Arizhel chuckles, leaning her head briefly against Karlan's arm. "Am I that obvious?" She smiles and looks out across the water, shading her eyes with one hand. "Hmmm... you know, I'm looking forward to this two weeks off. I think we can get to know each other a little better, no? Plus, I can spend so much time in the sun that I'll end up with darker skin than you." "That's why we have a little cheat back here." Jens says with a wink to Anelie, slipping a slender digital pad over to her. "It's a little drink dictionary. Comes in handy for the rarer stuff. You can go ahead and play with it, just don't take it from the bar. But yeah, I'll be happy to teach you. Rish might, but if she's in a bad mood, she might sit on you with that big ass of hers." Swiftfoot adjusts the shades perched on her snout, and grins. "Jarred's lazy ass is almost always asleep, forr the rrecorrd. If he's not asleep, he's making trrouble with Vollistans orr something," she quips, chuckling. The felinoid mrrls contentedly, laying back on the towel with the mostly picked over plate of fruit next to her. "I'm glad I came out, in any case. The Battleclaw's a good frriend and all, but sometimes he asks too many questions, meh?" "It's not too early to get drunk?" Rya asks Airy with a grin and a wink. "Silv scolded me like a nanny yesterday, I'm still a bit sore about it." Airy says with a little laugh, then mock-widens her eyes at Rya in shock. "It's -never- too early to get drunk. I bet they might even have a bottle of Demarian wine hidden somewhere..." she adds to Swifty. Karlan smiles, walking along with Rish. "Yes... Get to know each other better, definitely. It'll be an interesting two weeks. I' just a bit worried about what the captain wants me to do. I think I'll fire Billy, I haven't told her what we did to him yet." Malion wanders in from the landing pad and down onto the beach. Straight away he reaches into one of his pockets and starts to rummage through them for something, as his emerald green hued eyes take in the scene in front of him. "I heard that, Jens!" Rish calls out over her shoulder, pausing to wiggle her rear at the bartender. "And I'll sit on you, if you keep it up! I won't sit on Anelie, but I'd be more than happy to teach her the bar!" She blinks up at Karlan, and quirks an eyebrow. "You've got to let someone go?" Swiftfoot chortles softly. "You mean about Arrnie, orr whateverr his name is? He was a jerrk." She snorts softly, and puts her paws behind her head, tailtip twitching slightly. "And it's neverr too earrly to get drrunk. Unforrtunately, no drrinky forr the kitty today. I've got to fly back laterr on, and while I -can- do that drrunk, it's not exactly safe. I'd catch hell if I crrashed Jackal cause I was toasted." Anelie grins towards the bartender as she takes the small device into her hands. She examines it contently for a few moments before taking another drink from glass. "This is a very...handy thing to have around" She mumbles looks through the numerous drinks. Glancing back up at the bartender, Anelie offers "Thank you then, I hope I can be of some help to you." Urfkgar arrives from New Luna Landing Pad . Urfkgar has arrived. "That's what I like to hear," Rya says, grinning at Airy. She then looks over her shoulder towards the bar. "Hrm, what to get..." Karlan nods at Arizhel, sighing. "Yes, it's rather unpleasant. Ah well, such is life. I got promoted, but I have a crawling doubt that it's going to reflect on my pay." He grins, standing still beside her just at the edge of the party, watching the sea. Malion feels kind of out of place here and starts to make his way towards the to the bar, trying his best to fit in with the crowd. "Too many bloody people, couple of drinks I'll be right," he mutters to himself as he approaches the portible bar. The purple speedo-clad bartender gives Malion a cheerful greeting. "One sec, hun." He calls to him, finishing up pouring a whiskey and water for an old lady in a bikini. After finishing that up, he returns, asking the Martian, "What'll you have?" Urfkgar scratches idly at his shoulder as he lumbers onto the beach. He uses his other hand to dig in a cargo pocket. Grunting vaguely, the big Zangali takes a look around. "One drink won't get you drunk." Airy says stubbornly to the Demarian, nibbling on a piece of watermelon. "I'm going to just go for something fruity, it's too hot out for shots." Malion blinks and raises a brow in question. "I'll grab a Sivadian Double Helix, cheers mate." He continues to rummage through his pockets. Anelie takes a final sip from her glass as she finishes her drink and returns the empty glass to the bar top. She gives her head a slight shake before turning to glance curiously down the bar, offering a small grin to those looking. Arizhel sighs and leans against the much taller Timonae, looking out to sea. "Hmm... that doesn't sound good. A promotion -is- good, though, so congratulations, for what it's worth. It's too bad your first assignment is a hard one... Poor Billy." The hostess at the entrance gives the Zangali a cheerful greeting, even though her dismay shows on her face. "Entry's only thirty credits, or twenty rayden, sir." She pipes up nervously. "I dunno, a Dryad's sounding pretty good," Rya says with a grin before she downs another small piece of fruit. Discreetly, Anelie's glass is replaced with a new one, but this time something pink, with another strawberry garnish. Jens makes the switch so deftly that it's hardly noticeable, then goes to mix up the Martian's drink, sliding it neatly in front of him. Swiftfoot chuckles at Airy. "I know, I know, but once I get starrted... you know me. I was actually thinking about going forr a walk, meh? It's a nice day." She grins sheepishly, and shrugs. "Besides, I can't dance, and I think that's where this is heading prretty soon." Karlan sighs, nodding at Arizhel. "Poor Billy. He will be missed. His death, heroically throwing his overlarge body to plug a leak in the generator, will be remembered," he intones mock-solemn voice. "Yeah, probably we're going to get smashed and make fools of ourselves on the dance floor." Airy admits to Swifty, then grins at Rya. "A dryad? This early in the day? You like to live dangerously, don't you?" Aisrya smirks, "Pfft, I can handle one Dryad easily, hon." Arizhel grins mischeviously, and looks up at her companion. "I think I'm going to head back to the ship for a little while," she says, "You're free to come with, if you want. If not, it's all good, don't worry about it." Malion places a small combination of credits and raydens on the counter top for the bar man. The gunsmith takes the shot in hand and knocks it back in one hit. "Not bad mate," he says, with a nod. "Not bad at all, what else do ya know how to make?" Anelie rests her hand against the bar and used her other hand to pick up the drink. She raises it in the air slightly before shrugging her shoulders and taking a drink of it. She puckers her lips slightly as she returns the glass to the bar top. Anelie then shoots a glance down at the Martian before turning her gaze elsewhere. "Whatever you need." Jens chuckles, then nods his head towards Anelie. "You should chat with my friend, it looks like she needs a companion." He grins discreetly, then moves to the other end to take care of a customer. Swiftfoot stretches as only a feline can, arching her back impossibly far, and giving a soft mrrl of contentment afterward. "If I don't come back, I was kidnapped by a dashingly handsome Demarrian pirrate, and am on the rromantic adventurre of a lifetime, meh?" She covers a giggle with one paw. "Naw, honestly, prrobably means I got lost." The felinoid gathers up her towel, slinging it over her shoulder, and pads out along the beach, her white-furred feet utterly silent on the sand. Karlan shrugs, grinning at Arizhel. "Mhm. I think I ought to, if only to stay away from Jens." He smiles at her, walking beside her lightly. Long distance to Arizhel: Martine hugs. "Have a good night. Tell the boyfriend I say hullo." Swiftfoot heads into New Luna Landing Pad . Swiftfoot has left. Airy nods at Swifty as she leaves, then grins at Rya and gets to her feet. "Let's go drink!" She says, bouncing in her excitement. Malion catches the glance from Anelie out the corner of his eye and returns one of his own. "How ya going?" he casually enquires, not even attempting to hide his strange accent. He notices her gaze off somewhere else, and shrugs. "No complaints here," Rya says with a grin as she stands up. She brushes some sand off of her butt once balanced. Arizhel grins and takes Karlan by the hand, leading him towards the ship. She stops briefly by the bar to pick up her satchel, then heads toward the landing pad. Arizhel heads into New Luna Landing Pad . Arizhel has left. Karlan heads into New Luna Landing Pad . Karlan has left. Anelie chuckles at Jens' comment before giving her head a brief shake. She snakes a glance back down the bar towards Malion and proceeds to take another sip of her drink. With a slight grin Anelie states to Malion, "I'm sorry,did you say something to me?" Anelie uses her non drink holding hand to push a few wayward strands of hair out of her face as she remains focused on the Martian. Urfkgar starts to dig around in a different pocket, switching the hand he uses to scratch his shoulder when he does. He eyeballs the hostess throughout. Eventually, he rumbles, "Urf pay stupid softskin girly. What stupid softskin girly do Urf? Morerer credits. Morerer veh-jeh-ta-buls? Morerer juice?" Malion tries to force out his most charming smile, though it ends up more sheepish than charming. "Just asking how ya going, that's all," he politely replies to Anelie. Completely flustered, the hostess stutters out a response, doing her best not to flee in terror. "There's food for anyone who pays, sir, and there's dancing...and there's free tap beer, but you have to pay for mixed drinks." she finally squeaks. Leading the other Timonae to the bar, Airy smiles charmingly at Jens. "I'll have vodka with whatever fruit juice you've got back there, and my friend'll have a Dryad." She says, leaning against the counter. Aisrya slides up next to Airy and puts her elbow on the bar to lean on it. She gives Jens a wink. Smiling happily, Anelie takes another sip of her drink before looking back at the Martian. "I am doing wonderful. I don't have to work, I have a great drink, and great weather to enjoy it in. There is nothing more I can ask for." She states quickly before finally adding, "My name is Anelie." The Zangali nods and mulls his options over. Apparently deciding to haggle, he says, "Urf want vah-ya-toe-balls. Urf no want morerer stupid softskin food. Urf no do stupid softskin stuff. Urf pay credits. Urf no need pay morerer credits." "Well, if it isn't my favourite Timonae lady." Jens says, obviously remembering Rya. He gives her a little wink. "So next time I see you, are you going to be with -another- lady?" He pours the drinks deftly, then sets them infront of the Timonae. "Here you are, enjoy." "I-I'm sorry, sir." The hostess stutters. "We can't change the policy. If you don't wish to take part, you can go further down the beach, to the part we aren't using this evening." By this point, the big Zangali's caught the attention of a few of the security guards, who are casually moving in that direction. A slightly scarred hand is extended by Malion, a guesture of friendship towards Anelie or perhaps an attempt to seem more sophisticated than he actually is. "Good to meet ya Anelie, I'm Malion... Just call me Mal if ya want," he passes a glance towards the bar tender and then back to the Human female. "Ya wanna drink? My shout." Airy giggles as she accepts her drink. "You know the bartender?" she asks Rya, taking a small sip. "Ooh, this is good..." Aisrya smirks at the bartender. "We'll have to see how long this one lasts," she says with a grin before giving Airy a wink. It's rather dubious if the one eyed lizard spots the security types. He continues to scratch at his shoulder, "Urf no do stupid softskin stuff. Urf no eat stupid softskin food. Urf eat veh-ja-buls. Juice. Stupid softskin girly sayeded pay juice. Morerer credits. Urf drink morerer juice. Stupid softskin girly morerer credits Urf do. Urf no do. Urf do credits. Juice. Credits." Anelie reaches her own hand out to meet Malion's. She grins broadly as she listens to Malion's offer, but simply shakes her head from side to side. "It is nice to meet you, Mal, but I think I have already had too many drinks." She raises her own glass to illustrate to Mal before smiling again. "Now you're making me nervous." Airy laughs with a suspicious little look at Rya. "I'd better keep a close eye on my drink." She jokes, then shakes her head and grins. "I'm sorry sir..." the hostess begins again, a bit desperately, then sighs on relief as the Captain approaches. "Is everything all right?" Lydia asks smoothly, tilting her head with a polite smile. "It seems as if there's a small problem." Malion slowly nods and shrugs slightly. "All good then," he casually replies, with a friendly smile. "So what do ya do for a crust Anelie? if ya don't mind me asking that is." Aisrya laughs a little bit and shakes her head. "Don't worry, I don't do drunk girls," she says with a grin, "Unless I'm also too drunk to care." Directing his attention at Martine, the Zangali tries to dazzle the newcomer with his brilliant negotiation. Gesturing vaguely at the hostess, he explains, "Stupid softskin girly sayeded Urf pay morerer credits. Urf say Urf no pay morerer credits. Urf pay credits. Urf no eat stupid softskin stuff. No do stupid softskin stuff. Urf eat veh-ha-ta-bulls. Stupid softskins no eat. Urf pay credits juice. Morerer juice. Morerer credits do Urf say. Do stupid softskin girly say." "Oh, that's a consolation." Airy says jokingly, then pouts. "What, don't you think I'm pretty?" She snuffles pathetically, looking abjectly sorrowful. "You think I'm ugly, that's why you won't try to seduce me. Oh, woe is me!" Aisrya takes a sip of her drink and smirks. "I got nothing against seducing you, hon," she says with a wink, "I was just under the impression you didn't swing that way." Anelie suddenly frowns to herself as if remembering something. "I'm sorry Mal, but I am going to have to cut our...talk short. I work for the Masquerade and you'll be able to see me around until we leave." She then raises her glass and takes a large drink leaving about half its contents. She then turns to the bartender and states, "Jens, I'll pay you back when I can. It's not like I won't be seeing you soon." She then turns towards Mal and offers a faint smile before pushing away from the bar. She gives one last nod before making her way out across the beach towards the landing pad. Lydia listens to the Zangali's explaination politely, nodding from time to time in understanding. "Mhmm, I see the problem. You feel, that as you will not be partaking in all of the activities, you shouldn't have to pay full price? Well, my friend, I'm afraid it would set a bad example to everyone else if we let you in with a partial payment, but we are giving a discount to those who come in swimwear. We can give you that discount, which would make it only fifteen credits." "Oh, I don't." Airy assures Rya with wink. "But it's still fun to get the attention, right?" She laughs, taking a long gulp of her drink. "Mmm, that's good stuff." Anelie heads into New Luna Landing Pad . Anelie has left. Malion watches as Anelie leaves, with a raised brow, faintly smiling as she leaves. "Yeah righto, I'll see ya round I guess," he replies, before looking down at the counter top. "Looks like it's me with me old friend alcohol again," he quietly mutters to himself. "Gooderer. Stupid softskin girly heareded Urf. Urf pay," says the Zangali. "Well, we'll see how long you can keep that act up," Rya says with a playful grin. "I'm glad we could come to a mutually beneficial arrangement." Lydia replies with a bow of her head, then lets the hostess take back over, accepting the Zangali's payment. The captain herself heads over to the bar. "Single of Sivadian brandy..." She says, then is interrupted by Jens, who finishes it for her. "One ice cube. You got it, captain." "Mazes, am I going to have to get a lock for my door?" Airy teases with a wink and a grin, then laughs and tosses back the rest of her drink. "That was good, and I have no idea what the juice was..." Aisrya smirks a bit and takes another sip. "I'm the one that's probably going to need the lock," she says. Malion passes a glance to Jens as he passes, trying to get his attention. "Ya got any of that Vestcya laying around mate?" he says to Jens, then notices notices Martine coming up to the bar nearby. "How ya been Lydia?" he asks loudly. "Ya remember me don't ya?" "Nope, sorry." Jens says. "The captain doesn't let us sell hallucenogens. How about I pour you some vodka instead?" he offers, setting the captain's brandy in front of her. "You're questioning my self-control?" Airy asks with a laugh, setting down her glass for a refill. "I'm very controlled, I'll have you know." After a bit of scrounging, Urfkgar produces the money and forks it over to the hostess. Then, he ambles off in the direction of the not quite free food. "Mr. Vincess, isn't it?" Lydia says politely, smiling at the Martian. She lifts her drink and takes a small sip of it, cool and collected despite the fact that she's probably cooking in her uniform. "I haven't been trying to seduce you, though," Rya notes. The kitchen workers see the big alien coming, but they seem too jaded to be afraid like the hostess, most likely because they're lorded over by a crochety Odarite that's more frightening than anything else they've encountered. The tables are full of mostly cold foods, considering the heat, lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, sandwiches, and all kinds of desserts. "That'd do mate," Mal replies to Jens. "Just give us some vodka then mate." Lydia's words reach him and he moves closer down towards her, making his way around a small group of tourists. "Mister Vincess.... that's me last time I checked" the Martian man states, with a smile. "Just call me Mal, don't like all the formality and stuff." "This is true." Airy says good naturedly, then eyes the Zangali as he heads for the food. "Ach. Well, it takes all kinds, right? Talk about scary looking, though..." Urfkgar corrals himself a large serving platter consisting of some vegetables and dip. He off loads the dip before wandering around the tables, gathering a variety of vegetables. Once the platter is full, he starts trying to pocket more food, and he's not all that tactful about it. Aisrya glances at Urf before looking at Airy again. "Want to hit the beach again?" Looking at each other, and then the Zangali, the kitchen crew come to an agreed stance and simply don't look in his direction. "Mal it is, then." Lydia says with a nod, catching the eye of one of the passing security and giving him a little nod. Jens finishes pouring the vodka and sets it down in front of Mal, then replenishes Airy's drink. "Yeah, that sounds good." Airy says, taking her new drink and sipping on it as she heads back towards their towels spread out on the sand. Aisrya follows Airy, bringing her drink along, too. "Nice ass, hon," she tells her from behind, grinning. A beeping noise starts to come from a recently stuffed pocket. The Zangali grunts disgustedly and is forced to abandon some of his stash in order to recover a commlink. "What stupid softskin boss?" A brief pause. "Urf hear. Stupid softskin boss." He stores the commlink, recovers some food, and starts to head off the beach with his platter. Airy gives it a little wiggle, then laughs. "Why thank you, darling." She replies, flopping down on her towel and sipping at her drink. Malion passes a glance across to the Zangali, and raises a brow. He slowly studies the reptiloids before blinking several times, totally unsure of what to think. "Cheers mate," he offers as a thank you to Jens. The young man returns his attention to Lydia, "Been up to much lately?" "...You could say that." Lydia says dryly. "I get about four hours of sleep a night, then the rest of the day is spent working." She chuckles. "I love it, though, wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. Yourself?" she inquires politely, taking a sip of her brandy. Malion nervously smiles and attempts to give an honest reply. "Keeping meself out of trouble," the gunsmith reaches out for his nip of Vodka. "Well trying to keep meself out of it." "Though, as much fun as asses are, I'm a boobs kind of girl," Rya says with a grin as she sits down. "How about you?" "Me? Hmm, that's a good question. I guess I find the right confidence more sexy than anything else." Airy says thoughtfully. "Most of it's about attitude for me, you know?" "That's good. Hard to get far in life if you're always in trouble." Lydia says sympathetically, then smiles easily. "Have you eaten? I need to myself, or I'm going to get scolded again. I never eat enough." "Nah, haven't eaten yet," Malion replies with a frown. "Ya a bit like me then, I'm lucky if I eat two meals a day at times." Aisrya sighs at Airy a little bit. "You can't play with attitude, hon," she says. "You can play with anything you want if you do it right." Airy smirks, taking a long sip of her glass. "Not in the way I'm talking about," Rya replies. David arrives from New Luna Landing Pad . David has arrived. "Well, perhaps you shouldn't be drinking on an empty stomach?" Lydia suggests delicately to Malion, then heads for the food tables with her drink. "True...well, then, I guess I like a nice set of abs." Airy admits, pursing her lips thoughtfully. She and Rya are sitting on towels down from the party, having drinks. "Yeah, ya could be right," Malion says, almost in complete agreement with Lydia. The young man follows her across to the tables, the vast array of foods are almost alien to him. "Umm... I'm gonna hate to ask Lydia, but what are most of these foods? I don't think I've ever seen anything like this." "Not too bad," Rya says with a chuckle. "Most of it's just different kind of fruits, but a lot of these are exotic. Sorry, I don't know the names offhand." She points to a table weighted down by giant green melons. "But my mother sent up some watermelons from her greenhouse. I've been looking forward to those all week, and I'd definately recommend them." She heads that way herself. Approaching this stretch of beach comes walking a lunite, who going by his tan has been around these parts for more than a few days anyway, not quite the deep-tanned brown of the locals, but not the red typical of his race after spending a coupleo of days in the sun. He reaches the small area set out for the party, making his way through the people enjoying themselves to the small party where the Captain of the Masquerade is currently mixing. As he approaches he fixed a small smile on his face. "Good evening!" The hostess pipes up as the man approaches, mostly recovered from her earlier run-in with the Zangali. "Fifteen credits, or ten rayden admission, since you're in beachwear, that's the discounted rate!" She says cheerfully. Malion takes a plate and starts to move down the table, putting several different pieces of fruit onto it, one of each kind. "How's ya cat anyway?" he asks Lydia, attempting to make idle conversation. "I have a thing for ears, too." Airy admits. "I don't know why, don't ask me. I once was with this guy that seriously had thirty piercings in his ears. That was a bit overboard." "Mischa? I tried putting her on another diet, but that failed. I need to do something about her." Lydia says a bit disgustedly, though she seems a bit amused by it. She selects a big slice of watermelon, then goes for a sandwich. "Pretty soon she's going to roll everywhere." David hands over the admission to the hostess with a small smile, fortunately remembering to bring his wallet when he left most of his goods back on the ship, after which he continues his journey to the captain's party. "Yeah, that's pretty weird, hon," Rya says to Airy with a grin before taking a sip of her Dryad. "He's actually the one that pierced mine, and my nose." Airy says, touching the ring in her nose. "I know it's a bit old-fashioned, but I think it looks cute. It's coming back, you know." "Sorry to hear about that," Malion replies, trying his hardest not to laugh. "Poor little... um big girl." A glance is passed down to his plate, accompanied with a grow from his stomach. He then adds as an after thought, "I don't suppose ya got any contract work for a gunsmithy at the moment?" "Afraid not. My security team only use stun guns, and they service themselves. They're all trained for it." Lydia says, glancing up at the approaching person. "Well!" she exclaims after a brief moment of non-recognition. "You certainly clean up well, Ares. I knew you could." Aisrya winces a little, "Eh, I don't like holes being poked in me." That makes Airy laugh, though she tries to hold it in. "Is that why you like girls?" she cracks, then ducks. Aisrya reaches over to poke the side of Airy's waist. "I do guys, too," she says. "I know, it was a joke." Airy replies, rolling her eyes and making a face. "C'mon, you get it?" "That's fair enough then," Malion replies, slightly disheartened. The young gunsmith makes his way back towards the bar, plate in one hand and the nip of vodka in the other one. Ares himself approaches Lydia and Malion and the small smile turns into a full-fledged grin, "Thank you, been so long since I've been in... civilian clothing, good to have an excuse, spent most of this week working on my tan, nothing worse than fish-belly white on the beach." He glances at the food and raises an eyebrow, "It's truly a shame that I ate on the ferry." The lunite gives a small nod of greeting to Malion as the human heads to the bar. "Not even a piece of watermelon?" Lydia asks with a raised eyebrow. "I had them shipped in specially..." She trails off, then turns to the Martian with a smile, only to realise he's walked away. She frowns slightly, but shrugs and turns back to Ares. David chuckles at that and helps himself to a fairly large slice, "Consider my arm twisted." Malion stops suddenly, trying to recall the face of the stranger who nodded to him. He quickly turns back, just to try and jog his memory. "Ya that bloke from Ungstir right? Think we meet in the Rockhopper," he bluntly asks, still trying to place the face. "Yeah, whatever," Rya says with a grin as she quickly attempts to briefly tickle the other woman's side. Lydia steps back from the conversation for a moment to let the two men speak, going to find herself some strawberries. With a squeal of protest, Airy tries to escape the tickling without losing her drink. "Rya!" she protests. The lunite rebel nods, "I believe we made the news last time we met up, your companion caused quite a... stir." He glances at Lydia before attempting to take a bite from the watermelon with getting juice dripping down his face. An impossible task. "Yeah, she caused a stir alright," Malion replies, before chuckling. "I'm really starting to hate Ungstir." He slowly raises the glass of vodka to his lips and takes the nip back in one hit. "By the way, don't think I caught ya name last time." Aisrya's attack doesn't last long. "Teach you to mess with me," she says with a grin. "If I didn't have a drink, you'd be sorry." Airy threatens mischevously, then takes a swig of her glass. Pretty much the only crew member in uniform, the captain sticks out a bit, despite the fact that she's simply mingling for the moment. She finishes retrieving her strawberries, and returns to the conversing gentlemen. The lunite wipes the juice from his chin, good thing about water melons is they're messy, but being the colour of... well water, when wiped they stay wiped. "I've been using the name Ares," says the lunite. "But perhaps it's time I dropped that again." His grin becomes positively dangerous, "Ryan, Jeff Ryan." "Bring it on, hon," Rya says with a grin to Airy. A step back is taken out of caution by the Martian, not exactly like the way that Ares has grinned. "Yeah... Good to meet ya Umm.. Mister Ryan." he nervously states. If an expression can completely freeze, that's about the most apt way of describing what happens to the captain of the Masquerade, an unusual lapse for the usually collected woman. She quickly recovers, and offers both men a polite smile. "Excuse me, I should check on things." She says, setting down her plate, tossing back her drink, and quickly heading for the kitchen. "I'll take you down." Airy growls with a laugh, attempting to finish off her drink so she can make good on her threats. The grin drops and man claiming to be the dead-lunite-rebel simply shakes his head glancing after Lydia with a slightly disappointed expression fleeting across his face, a quick look of disappointment, almost to himself he mutters, "To be expected I suppose. My name's been blackened from Mars to Sivad all the way out to Ungstir." The grin is back in place after a moment, "I've got a lot of work to do trying to repair it no?" Aisrya takes a sip of her drink. "I don't think you got it in ya, hon," Rya counters. "Probably not." Airy admits cheerfully, then laughs. "I might be scrappy, but in the end, I'm just an artist. My muscles are from hauling around scrap metal, not fighting." A cold stare is given to Ares by Malion. The Martian male doesn't know what to say and a shakes of the head is given, rudely he turns away without answering the question and heads back towards the bar. "I ain't associating with his kind," he says to himself quite loudly. After a few minutes, now composed, the captain returns, retrieving her plate with an apologetic smile to the Lunite. "You startled me." she says simply. "But you look very well for a corpse." she adds, obviously doing her best to be polite. Aisrya chuckles a bit and pokes Airy again. "I like scrappiness," she says with a grin. Airy pokes back, on Rya's shoulder, then laughs. "I've got to be, fending for myself. You've got to have a measure of it, you know." The man glances after Malion as he storms off and again the smile drops, it doesn't come back quite in force when the captain rejoins him, he simply nods to Martine, "Not sure why, I know the same as everyone else, I died on Antimone." He glances towards the bar now being occupied by the martian, "Shame he's run off there, I could be doing with a drink." "Come, don't let it bother you." Lydia says, heading towards the bar herself. "I think I'll indulge myself with a second drink myself, it's been a rather stressful day." She's obviously expecting the man to follow, but she doesn't glance back, leaving it up to him. Jeff Ryan thinks for only a beat before following. Malion leans on the bar, placing his empty glass down on the counter and his plate full of fruit beside it. The young gunsmith looks Jens and then asks in a casual manner, "What's ya strongest drink mate? Don't care if its what it's got in it, just give me the strongest thing ya got." "Well now..." The bartender says a bit worriedly, still clad only in the rediculous purple speedo. "I suppose I could make you something, but there's security here. I don't suggest doing anything silly, or you'll end up wetting yourself from a stun gun." "Spunkiness is good, too," Rya says, "In modest quantities." Lydia ducks behind the bar, leaving Jens to deal with the young Martian. "What can I get you?" She asks the Lunite, pouring herself her usual single of Sivadian brandy with an ice cube. "So you think too much spunkiness is a bad thing?" Airy says thoughtfully, finally reaching the bottom of her glass. Malion slowly shakes his head. "Don't worry mate, ain't gonna do anything stupid," he replies, with a smile to Jens. "Ya got me word on that mate, the worse thing I might do is sing." "Another one of those, but without the ice," says Ryan. His look is one of concern, "I hope I've not just added to the stress, we're here to relax no?" "Good for you." Jens says firmly, pouring something that tastes like it has a lot more alcohol than it does, and dropping it in front of the gunsmith. "What happened to your good mood?" Aisrya shrugs a little bit as she sets her drink to the side. "Gets annoying if there's too much," she says. Lydia pours a second brandy for Ryan, then ducks back around the bar to avoid getting in the way. "No, you haven't. I'm just stuck in last-minute preparations, all the things I need to get done before I head to Centauri. On top of that, my cat's sick, so even when I do sleep, she keeps waking me up." Quickly stemming the flow of complaints, Lydia chuckles apologetically. "It's just the usual things. Nothing too out of the ordinary." Malion reaches into his pockets once more and grumbles about something, looking at Jeff out the corner of his eye. "Comes and goes like it choices mate," he offers as his reply to Jens question, dumping a handful of credits on the counter. "Like the tide mate, just comes and goes." "I suppose that makes sense." Airy yawns, flipping down her sunglasses. "Alcohol and sun make me sleepy..." At the mention of the centaurans the lunite nods, smiles and takes the glass, "Bloody Centauran's, it's thanks to that bunch I'm dropping my alias and bringing my... organisation out the shadows. Only bloody government in the Orion Arm that trusts me, probably about time I had another meeting with the Xeter." "So where's the scrappiness?" Rya says with a grin. "You should come with me." Lydia offers. "I'm checking out a resort there that a Centauri...mmmh...Pakmeq? I believe that was it. Informed me about. I was rather dreading the trip, to tell the truth, I'm not used to being away from the ship for that long. I forsee panic attacks if my daily reports are late." She chuckles, then sips her brandy. "No point getting down and out, sweetheart." Jens advises Malion, then goes to refill the bikini-clad old woman's whiskey. He returns after a minute, and sets to washing glasses. "You just need to take things as they come." "Scrappiness? Oh...I'm lazy." Airy laughs, stretching out languidly in the sun. "I'll beat you up some other time, okay?" "Thanks for the offer," replies Jeff with a chuckle, the deep sound reverberating through his synthesiser. "But I have my own ship, fast little beaut too," he smiles at the thought of his 'little beaut' as he takes a sip of the brandy. Aisrya dons a fake shocked look. "So you got me all excited for nothing?" "I'm probably just taking the shuttle. The ship's staying here, no reason to haul the whole beast over just for my meeting." Lydia says with a fond little smile for her 'beast'. "Besides, gives the non-essentials some time off and away from the strict captain." "I'm a total tease, Rya. You didn't know that by now?" Airy says, looking over the top of her sunglasses with a little grin. "Amen," replies Jeff with his usual grin back in place. "They might hate us, but they're lost without us." He sets the glass on the bar. The Martian gunsmith reaches out and takes the drink that was given to him earlier and shrugs. He takes a deep swig from it and coughs, as the contents burn they way down to his stomach. The seering pain in his side making itself know once more and Malion places the glass back on the counter. "Mate, I've been taking everything as it comes for the last twenty two years and it ain't getting any bloody easier," he replies to Jens. He stands and moves down a couple of chairs, just to avoid the annoyance that Jeff's voice is giving him. Jens just purses his lips, shrugging and moving on to serve the other customers as they come, leaving the brooding young man to his own devices for now. "Well now I know," Rya says with a smirk. "What kind of ship do you have?" Lydia asks curiously, catching eyes with one of the security personnel, and nodding down the beach to a very drunk young New Lunite bothering one of the waitresses. "There's no harm in it." Airy says a bit defensively, reaching in her bag to dig for the tanning oil. "Transport ship," says the lunite. "Yacht class, engines upgraded." He follows her glance down the beach and simply quirks his eyebrow at the waitress, "Can't blame him for trying." Malion remains seated, still brooding in his own little personal hell. Another deep swig is taken from the glass and he places it back down on the counter. He narrows his eyes as he looks to the half full glass and glares at it, as if he's trying to find a place to blame all his problems. "I didn't say there was," Rya replies with a grin, "I just know to watch out for you, now." "I keep my eye on any potential problems." The captain says simply. Indeed, the security doesn't seem to be interfering, just watching, though a solid slap from the girl sends the drunk on his way. "Sometimes I miss just flying, but I never seem to find the time to do it anymore." "Darn, I gave myself away." Airy says with a pout. "I should have kept my mouth shut, huh?" "I get to fly a lot," says Jeff. "Last month or so I've been at it again, but just wandering from world to world isn't the same as it was back in the old days..." He takes a look around at the beach, "So what's the game plan? Dancing? Sports? Swimming?" Aisrya chuckles a bit, "Oh, well." She pauses a moment before asking, "Want to hit the water?" "You know..." Lydia says musingly, ignoring the question for a moment. "It's one thing to listen to someone's insane theories, it's another one to have the source of them standing in front of you." She shakes her head, then tosses back the rest of her drink before responding. "Whatever suits your fancy. Dancing, swimming. I couldn't find a volleyball net -anywhere-, can you believe it?" "Yeah, it'll wake me up." Airy agrees, tossing the oil aside and getting to her feet, removing her sunglasses and setting them on her towel. "Last's unlucky!" She calls teasingly, kicking off her sandals and sprinting for the water. The man chuckles at the mention of the net before asking, "Insane theory?" Malion takes the glass up in hand and sculls the rest of the drink, still remaining completely silent. He's started to develop a bit of a sway in his sitting posture and leans against the bar to stop it from being seen. The glass is quietly placed back on the table and he takes a piece of fruit from the plate and takes a bit from it. Aisrya is quick enough to be on her feet before Airy is off running. Rya laughs and is quickly hot on her hills. "My father." Lydia says a bit disgustedly, shaking her head for a moment before continuing. "He's a history professor at Uni back home. Part time conspiracy theorist, much to Mother's and my chagrin." She shakes her head, then laughs. "Let's just say we'd rather dislike him being proven right about -anything-, because then he'd never stop." "Can't catch me!" Airy calls mockingly, then catches her foot on something and falls to her knees. "Ack!" She exclaims, trying to struggle back to her feet before Rya can pass her. Ryan chuckles at that, again the reverberation, "I'm a bit of an amateur historian myself." He seems a little embarassed about the admission, perhaps not suiting his soldier facade, "So what's his crazy theory that concerns yours truly? I promise not to be offended, the news has already said some rather... unkind things." Malion places the pip of an unknown piece of foot on the plate and rises to his feet. The sway is more evident than before as he heads towards Lydia and Jeff. "Had a good one Lydia, I'll catch ya around sometime," he states. Though no words of farewell are passed towards Jeff, only a learing glare. In the middle of a sprint, Rya is just barely able to avoid running into Airy after she hit the sand, but she keeps going full-power to the water. "Fare well, Mal!" Lydia calls cheerfully to the younger Martian, ignoring the look. "We shall definately have to talk again some time soon." She promises warmly, then turns back to her conversation. "I don't really listen all that carefully. I believe it involves secret organizations and faking your own death to avoid Sivad, blah blah. My father's not terribly fond of Sivad. After the whole mess with the Masque, I got a whole message full of 'I told you so's." "No FAIR!" Airy squeals, trying to catch up to Rya. She finally does at the shore, and tackles the other Timonae, splashing into the water with her. "If I knew what it was I could probably disprove it," chuckles the lunite. "But I didn't fake my death, I was as surprised as anyone when I reappeared alive and whole on Sivad of all places." Malion wanders off towards the path up to the Landing Pad. "I hope ya do, I still owe ya those drinks Lydia," he calls back over his shoulder as he wanders up the path. Malion heads into New Luna Landing Pad . Malion has left. The kitchen workers begin cleaning up their stations, some of the locals heading home, others hanging around. Jens starts in on last call, setting out the last of the beer and cleaning glasses. Aisrya starts to slow down when she gets to the water, so it doesn't take much for Airy to catch up. She lets out a quick yelp when she's hit from behind, but once she stops falling, she wastes no time in trying to find a ticklish spot on the other woman. "Well, I'm sure it'll all work itself out in time." Lydia says with a smile. "I guess I was just a bit, well, shocked. You're right, there are plenty of awful things bandied about about you, but you've given me no reason to believe them." Lydia laughs openly, brushing a few stray curls out of her face. "I get along with nearly everyone. It's pretty hard to scare me off, and a few rumours won't do it." "They shouldn't," he replies with a smile. "I was only ever a patriot, that doesn't make me evil. Nor you." He glances over at the retreating figure of Malion, "Nor him." Squealing, Airy tries to escape the tickling, her rather piercing cries attracting a bit of attention, most of it male. "Ryyyaaaa!" she giggles, squirming away. "Stop!" Aisrya, grinning widely, does not let off as soon as she did last time. "You little sneak," she says with a laugh once she stops. Sitting down, the water comes up to her navel. "He tries very hard." Is all Lydia will say on the subject, handing her empty glass to the bartender. "I do apologise if I've been a bit nosy, it's a failing, but you must admit your...re-emergence is nothing less than extrordinary. Even to yourself, it would seem." She adds mischevously. "I don't remember being dead," says the lunite, returning the mischevious smile, almost conspiratorially. "But I know I died, however it's one of the universe's mysteries I don't feel too inclined to probe deeply. It's nothing short of a miracle, and I just have to accept it and move on. That took me a while." "I am sneaky. Whatcha gonna do about it?" Airy asks with a grin, raising her eyebrows, then splashes Rya lightly. "Tickling seems to be effective," Rya notes with a grin. The food is quickly gathered up and packed away, along with the tables, and the kitchen is neatly disassembled and carted away. They then move on to the dance floor, the servers cleaning the area as best they can. "I suppose sometimes that's all one can do." Lydia allows with a smile, still keeping one eye on the clean-up. "Lord knows that many things in our life do not need close scrutiny. Jens, go ahead and close up the bar." "You tickle me again, and I'll bite you." Airy promises, raising a finger warningly. Jeff Ryan glances at his now half-shot of brandy taking another sip, "Probably a good idea, any more of this stuff and I'd end up maudlin." "I'd like to see that," Rya says with a grin before she reaches out at the nearest of Airy's thighs, in an attempt to call her bluff. "Brandy's good for the soul." Lydia says with a chuckle. "Bless the Sivadians, it's one of the few things they get right." She chuckles again, softly. "I should probably trek up to the ship and see how things are going there, now that it's all winding down. Would you like a tour?" Airenei quickly slaps away the hand, not hard enough to hurt at all. "You're naughty..." she laughs, 'tsk'ing softly. "No no..." Jeff Ryan gives a sharp nod, betraying his military origins perhaps, he throws back the last of the brandy, in a way any sivadian would frown at, "Be a pleasure."
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