Star Trek: Theurgy

Day 30 [2235 hrs.] Ain't Misbehavin'

May 14, 2020, 11:58:56 PM

AIN'T MISBEHAVIN'
STARDATE 57632.85
APRIL 9, 2381
2235 HRS.

[ Xelia | Holodeck 06 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @uytrereee

It had taken a few days of wheedling, cajoling, and persuading, but she had finally -- finally! -- been given clearance to use the Theurgy's holodecks. As if they could've kept her away even if they wanted to. But immediately hacking her way into somewhere she shouldn't be wasn't the best way to reassure the Starfleeters that she wasn't a threat or a spy, so she'd had to take the long way around and do it all properly, follow all their little rules.

Still. She'd made it in the end, hadn't she?

And oh it was all so worth it. All of it! These holodecks were gorgeous. Spacious enough for a whole host of participants, with state-of-the-art holo projection with stunning graphical fidelity, lightning fast computation speeds able to run complex simulations on the fly, and frankly life-savingly good procedural generation. Oh my god, they were sexy.

She had spent all day exploring them, moving from one to another as people came to kick her out for something they'd schedulled or whatever. She'd started by just running a selection of the programs pre-loaded onto the system -- mostly training programs and a smattering of social ones, nothing particularly exciting but enough to show off the technological capabilities at least. Then she'd tried asking for custom programs on the fly, to see how well the hardware handled that. And babe it handled it like a dream. Smooth as butter. Not as intricate as a program that'd been actually designed, of course, but for certain scenarios it was more than capable.

Next step was to try out actually custom programs. So when, in one of her many moves from holodeck to holodeck, she found one was already occupied and running a custom program, her curiosity was certainly piqued.

Even more so when she heard the faint sounds of… was that jazz?

Well this ought to be very good indeed. She stepped into the program, curious to see what exactly she’d find.

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #1 – May 15, 2020, 06:11:03 AM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Holodeck 6 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @fiendfall
[Show/Hide]

If there was one place that Frank could actually unwind, it was right here, in his workshop. It was a near carbon copy of the fabrication bay aboard The Colliery that he'd come to love as a child, outfitted with the same second hand light fixtures and everything. The very same one he took with him when he left for study, and one of the few treasures he'd secreted away upon his abandoning of the Magellan.

Simulated at approximately seven meters a side, the workshop program didn't immediately impress as an intimate space, until the equipment was considered. A full photonic suite of tools of old world heritage, with a clear 2350's vintage in design crowded the room. A programmable mill, a turning lathe, a planer, router, and of course a sander. The room smelled of wood to boot, and the air was just a tad hazy with sawdust that seemed to lightly cling to every surface. It did not appear for now, that any of the equipment played host to a craft or a craftsman, tonight they were an audience. And were they ever packed in tight to see the show.

For tonight, this room was not filled with the buzz of powered equipment, but with the sweet sounds of Jazz. An invisible band played in an upbeat tempo with bass, drums, and piano alike, laying a loop, that was punctuated by the sound of a single brass, a saxophone. Its player, clad in a navy blue Starfleet PT tee-shirt and casual grey sweat pants bearing the very same logo, sat upon a simple metal stool, golden instrument in hand, eyes closed, reed between the lips. Beside him sat an identical stool, playing host to a tumbler filled with an amber liquid, and a decanter of similar ilk. Both were untouched for the moment it appeard, unlike the glass of water next to them both.

Entirely unaware he was about to be discovered, Frank played as he always did, with his whole heart. Faced away from the entrance to the holodeck, with his head hung low, black leather strap about his broad neck, Frank piped out a gentle rising line. The gentle 'bwaaa bwa bwaaaa' began to pull ahead in the race against the band, and within a minute or so, the saxophone was the clear front runner in the auditory footrace. Within another moment, the saxophone was the only player on the stage, the band faded away to make room for a peppy solo, as wide and calloused hands coursed deftly about the beautiful brass neck, producing a pleasant solo, that eventually once more gave way to a chorus with the crash of symbols and the welcome brotherhood of the band. He belted it for the rafters, if they were capable of being shaken and they weren't before, by now they were shook.

For now, Frank was in his own world, a world that consisted purely of smooth brass. No duties, no obligations, no doubt, just a clear mind, a forehead beading with sweat, and wind piping from within, bringing with it the truest expression of his soul.

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #2 – May 16, 2020, 06:35:31 PM

[ Xelia | Holodeck 06 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @uytrereee

She stepped through the door, expecting to find herself in a simulated bar or nightclub -- maybe someone had beaten her to it and designed a better version of Below Decks already -- or possibly, at a stretch, even some sort of musical studio thing. Instead she found herself in a modest-sized room filled with some sort of, like, machinery? There was a long boxy thingy with some round bits on it, another rectangular thing with a hole in the middle, a round thing with legs, and a bunch of smaller bits and pieces she had no idea what they were for. And the whole place smelt funny, reminding her of a perfume line she'd advertised for once.

What was this place? Some kind of workshop, clearly. But that was just wonderful! That meant the holodeck could support in-program user-created modifications!

Oh wasn't this just delightful.

So was the jazz currently filling the room. At first glance she'd assumed it was just some sort of background music -- Jazz in a workshop? How quaint. -- but now she could see that the holodeck's only occupant was actually playing some kind of instrument. What was it, some kind of weird flute that'd been bent in half? She didn't really know music stuff.

Though, she knew enough to know the music being played wasn't bad. It was actually quite fun? Toe-tapping. Much more interesting than she'd expected from anyone on a Starfleet ship, anyway.

The musician was a humanoid, she assumed male from the facial hair but honestly Humans were so hairy in general it was difficult to tell. Trying to guess age was totally beyond her. Nineteen? Twenty? Honestly who knew. And whether he was Human or some other Federation species she couldn't tell. They really did all look the same.

He hadn't noticed her, but that was fine. She was perfectly happy to just have a look around while he played. He wouldn't mind, would he? Of course not. She didn't want to disturb his music-making, he looked so engrossed bless him! And really she didn't mind hearing more. It was very... different to her usual taste in music. And she'd heard jazz before, of course, but that was Orion jazz, with different kinds of instruments and what not. She'd never really been bothered with it, to be honest. But this was thrillingly new and exotic!

No, she really wouldn't mind hearing more. And she could admire the program while she did! It was really a perfect arrangement.

There was nowhere obvious to sit, but a cursory poke of one of the pieces of machinery didn't result in her losing a finger so she ended up hoisting herself up to perch daintily on it. The metal of the machinery beneath her was cold against her bare legs -- a bad day to wear shorts, apparently -- so she crossed them, leaning back on her hands to watch the musician at work. There was dust everywhere she realised; god, she was going to be covered. Whatever, it'd vanish the moment she left the deck. Despite all the high tech programming on display, she highly doubted this module had a persistence script.

It was only as he finished his piece (song? Whatever) that she made her presence known, erupting into applause. 'Yes, darling! That was wonderful! Really, you must be so talented!' She hopped down from her perch, crossing to introduce herself. 'Xelia by the way, sweetheart. What instrument is that? She's gorgeous.'

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #3 – May 16, 2020, 07:17:22 PM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Holodeck 06 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @fiendfall 
[Show/Hide]

She was quiet, and he was engrossed, until she said something or he came up for air, he'd never have noticed the curious creature that had become a one man audience to this show. As she settled in, his melody was coming to a close, the pip pip pip of the final crescendo and the buwaaaa of the signoff. After a moment he opened his eyes, and let his saxophone dangle, and as he went for a sip of adult refreshment, he was startled by clapping. 'That's odd, I didn't program tha...' "Yes, darling! That was wonderful! Really, you must be so talented!"

He startled, and he damn near knocked the photonic tumbler to the floor, containing very real scotch. Fortunately it teetered on the edge long enough for Frank to avert a messy end, and he pushed the thing back towards the center of the stool with a massive paw. In a moment he was looking at her, but she was already introducing herself, and not to mention, her beauty was quite disarming of what would usually be a quite rude response about the privilege of privacy. 'Orion' he thought, 'A particularly nice looking, and excitable Orion at that.' For whatever reason, perhaps it was her legs, perhaps it was that he was brand new here and didn't have a friend on any of the 32 decks of the Theurgy, perhaps he was starved for female company, Frank just laughed, gave her a warm smile, and offered in a light tone "Frank."

As he regarded the golden instrument hanging about his neck, he offered lightly, "She's an Alto Saxophone, New Orleans Earth Vintage 2321, handmade /not/ replicated." He seemed particularly proud of that fact, and in reality he was, he believed in the soul of the instrument quite readily, perhaps something Xelia might learn with time. Slowly he unslung the saxophone, and lowered it into the photon replication of the holding stand he'd made for it on the Cortez many years ago, He reached over to the stool, picked up the decanter, and said lightly, "Computer, another glass containing one whiskey stone at minus five degrees." Into the materialized glass he would pour a little over two fingers of his chosen beverage, and offered it to the Orion perched atop his router table. "Xelia it's very nice to meet you. Sip on that, and listen to this." He hoped by the end, she'd understand the joy of Jazz, and maybe she'd dance for him.

Whether she took the tumbler or not, he turned, and delicately picked up his saxophone once more, settling back onto his stool, and lowering his head. Like a quarterback preparing for a snap, he took a deep breath, and with another moment he tapped his foot, and on came the drums, the piano, and the bass like magic. And then, he played his saxophone for her.

It was a peppy tune, with an easily followed chorus that didn't require much intricacy of knowledge about the composition of jazz to enjoy, and eventually he broke into a popping solo, and in that moment he closed his eyes. The entire Senior Staff could have been watching him, right then it was him and the music, and nothing else. 'Pip pip pip waaaaa' were the last notes as he faded the short one minute song to an end, and he offered, "What do you think Xelia, do you want to hear a little more?"

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #4 – May 16, 2020, 10:42:03 PM

[ Xelia | Holodeck 06 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @uytrereee

Oh, the poor dear, he really hadn't noticed her at all! There was no way to feign that kind of shock; he nearly knocked over his drink! Thankfully he managed to catch it in time, turning to see her, his expression morphing from one of surprise to disapproval to something actually friendly.

'Frank,' he introduced lightly, with a laugh and a smile, and oh, what a sweetheart! He seemed like a big, harmless, jovial kind of man. Well, that she could absolutely work with.

He explained the instrument to her with pride -- a hand-made vintage Alto Saxophone, apparently.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. 'Oh, I've heard of those!' Saxophones, that is; she had no idea what New Orleans was. The material it was made from? Whatever, who cared. 'She is lovely.' She wanted to touch it, stroke down its flank, get a feel for it, but Frank was already putting it on its stand. Ah, a shame. Some other time.

The drink wasn’t her usual choice -- she would usually go for something sweeter, more brightly coloured, and full of bubbles -- but she accepted it gracefully all the same. It was a nice touch, a nice little bit of hospitality bless him. She took a sip and tried to suppress a cough. Luckily Frank had just picked up his saxophone to start playing again; hopefully he hadn’t noticed.

This new piece was different but no less intriguing -- bright and fun, with another energetic solo from Frank. Xelia, leant against a piece of machinery, found herself drumming on it a little with her nails, roughly in time to the music.

It wasn’t her normal definition of fun, but somehow it was fun all the same. It was new if nothing else. She’d sampled everything Vondem had to offer, been to all the best parties and bars in Kinarvon; Starfleet entertainment, as much as that was an oxymoron, was at least something else. And this was actually good? Frank’s enjoyment of the music couldn’t have been clearer, and it was infectious. She found herself grinning along as he played.

The piece came to a close and she applauded once more; poor thing, Frank clearly wasn’t used to playing with an audience. In fact, he clearly wasn’t used to playing anywhere meant for music -- whoever heard of playing in a workshop!

‘I’d love to, sweetling, but first I really have to ask: why are you playing here, of all places?’ She didn’t exactly know much about acoustics, and maybe this program had had sound amplification in mind, but still, it just seemed… wrong, to be playing jazz somewhere like this. ‘Don’t you have anywhere else to practice? Not that this isn’t… lovely, or whatever, but isn’t there anything else you can play to other than whatever these machines are meant to be?’

She was, of course, already thinking of just where else he might like to play. A smokey noir bar, perhaps? A crowded amphitheatre? A quiet recording studio? The possibilities...

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #5 – May 17, 2020, 05:08:58 AM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Holodeck 06 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @fiendfall 
[Show/Hide]

As Frank finished his little diddy, he slowly opened his eyes, and reached out for his glass, took a little sip, and it was the perfect temperature, that was the advantage of a super-cooled whiskey stone; by the time he got done faffing around with his saxophone, getting the sound just right, the whiskey was also just right. His immediate concern however was not refreshment, but Xelia's reaction. He certainly was not used to playing with an audience, so he usually really was not bothered about how a piece turned out, he was concerned about how it felt to him. But this was a beautiful green lady, and she'd never heard an Earth saxophone before. This was a proverbial First Contact situation, protocol dictated he needed to make sure he made good first impressions on the ornate Orion.

Icy blues turned to Xelia, he asked honestly, "So, what do you think?" He raised a brow, "Be honest, I can take it." He took another couple sips of his whiskey, as he set his saxophone back to rest, stifling a yawn as the night went on. He smirked at the claps, and said gently, "The only applause I usually ever hear, is right up here" as he punctuated the sentence with a soft tap to the side of his head.

As she asked her question though, he donned a look that was pure puzzlement, he really didn't understand. "Uh, this is my workshop, where else would I play?" He thought it over for a second, "I guess I've always played here, I never considered....you mean why don't I play in the below-deck or? I don't think a lot of the crew shares my joyful love of jazz." He laughed as she said whatever these machines are meant to be, and he said lightly, "They're for woodworking. It's an ancient Earth craft, although I'm sure you have carpenters on Orion as well. I make things out of wood, gifts. For close friends, or beautiful women like yourself." He gave a slow chuckle, "Did I mention you're stunning?" He raised a brow, and then just flashed her a wink, after which he polished off his drink, setting the empty glass down.

"So Xelia, tell me, what department do you work in? I'm in Engineering myself." He didn't give away what exactly he did, he always found that rank stifled the romance. He shrugged, "Or if you don't want to talk about work, tell me about yourself. When did you come aboard the Theurgy? Have you been here since the beginning?" He gave a nod, and took a deep breath, realizing he was being intrusive with someone he just met. "Sorry it's been a long journey to get here and the only company I've had is Klingons. All they want to talk about is fighting, and don't get me wrong, they were good hosts, and I like a good dance around the ring myself, but you have to flavor the violence with at least something else. Tell you what, you tell me something interesting about yourself, and I'll play you something else." He thought it over for a moment, "I think that seems like a really fun game, don't you?" He picked up his saxophone and threw the strap over his shoulder, raising it as he raised his eyebrow, inviting her to play his game.

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #6 – May 17, 2020, 05:30:46 PM

[ Xelia | Holodeck 06 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @uytrereee

There was something rustically charming about Frank, she'd decided. Bless him, he really did love his music -- his joy was clear when he played. And he seemed refreshingly straightforward, none of that mucky male ego getting in the way.

She laughed brightly when he asked for her opinion -- he was so adorably honest and open, wasn't he? Sweetling.

'It's certainly very different to what I'm used to, darling,' she said, absently swirling her glass. 'But that's a good thing, I promise.' She smiled across at him as he yawned. 'You don't perform, then?'

He seemed confused by her question about where he played -- oh sweet pea! 'Really, who cares about the others? If you want to play in a bar you should be able to! And I don't just mean Below Decks...' She waved her hand airily. 'There are plenty of places you could play! I'm sure we could find you a holographic audience that would just love to hear your music, darling.' She looked across at him almost slyly. 'What do you think? A cozy little performance stage? Or something bigger? Live a little, darling!'

Oh, it was a woodworking place! She looked around it with new eyes, hoping this knowledge would lend any kind of meaning to whatever she was looking at. It didn't.

'I suppose I haven't had much experience with woodworking,' she said. Honestly she never would've guessed the room's purpose, everything here was so utterly foreign to her. She'd never set foot in a manufacturing plant or craftsman's workshop. 'You... make things? Out of wood? And that's fun for you?' She couldn't tell if she was genuinely curious or just disbelieving.

Thinking about it, he probably wasn't wrong. Vondem almost certainly did have carpenters and whatever else, but she'd never seen them. Presumably Vondem had a lot of things she'd never seen.

She shrugged. 'I guess Orion must do. Mostly slave work though, of course.' She couldn't imagine anyone free willingly doing that kind of job, but then again she'd never met anyone who did that job so what did she know? Perhaps it was really... what, rewarding? Ugh.

His compliments made her smile in amusement. Nice try, darling. She'd had quite enough of older men for one lifetime. He might make a good customer for her holos, though. When she'd figured out how to convert them to play on Starfleet technology, of course.

She flicked a strand of hair off her shoulder. 'Aren't you sweet?' She didn't exactly mind getting told what she already knew. She was gorgeous -- at least Federation beauty standards could properly appreciate that too.

It made sense that Frank was in Engineering, she supposed, considering he was surrounded by manual equipment. Another job for slaves. But then, weren't all Starfleet jobs like that?

She leant back as he talked, letting him continue without interruption. He was a new arrival, was he? She found herself laughing at his description of Klingons -- she hadn't known many personally, but the stereotypes certainly seemed to ring true if Frank's word was to be believed.

The game he offered was interesting. She bounced in excitement. 'Oooh yes darling, that does sound like a fun little game.' 'Fun' by Federation standards, of course, but at this point she'd take what she could get. It was better than the interviews she'd been subjected to by some people in the name of 'getting to know her'. Ugh. How she hadn't fallen asleep on the spot she'd never know.

'Well, first of all sweetling, I'm definitely not Starfleet.' Get that misconception out the way immediately -- the thought of being mistaken for a Federationer was actually quite offensive. Gross. 'I'm just here for a bit of fun, really. I make holograms of all kinds of things -- and really, it seemed like you people could do with a bit of entertainment.'

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #7 – May 17, 2020, 06:19:46 PM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Holodeck 06 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @fiendfall 
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Frank truly was an embodiment of what you see is what you get. Especially in a setting like this, and she'd already worked her way into his private space, shared in his drink, so where was the harm in a bit of friendly conversation? As she laughed though, he raised a brow, perhaps worried she was about to say something that would offend him. Instead she said that it was different to what she was used to, and would give a gentle nod, "Art is the flavor to a hard day's work." He shrugged, "If you can't find something you enjoy to do, it's gonna be a long and boring existence. Especially if you only visit the same spots." That was a bit ironic, coming from a man playing in a rendition of a 30 year old workshop. 

At her question he rocked his head back and forth, and thought for a moment or two, "I've honestly never thought about it." He shrugged, "I don't suppose there's a reason I haven't, I've just never done it. I took up playing for me, it never occurred to me that someone else would want to hear my music. Some guys fish, or play Velocity, or Chess. Me, I come here, I play saxophone, I woodwork, and occasionally I take my RX-45 out for a ri..." He paused, "Well I guess I won't be doing that anymore." The look on his face showed he was honest, he was genuinely puzzled at the notion of walking into a lounge, and playing for people who didn't ask. "I've played for girlfriends, close friends, people like that, but never strangers."

As she inquired about a holographic audience, he poured another glass of Glenmorangie, "Hmm...yeah, I think I could like that." He gave a raise of the brow, "Why? Do you know of a simulation like that? The only bar simulation I know of is a western saloon." He laughed softly as he said western saloon, "Uh, that's an old Earth thing, back when Earth was pre-warp, pre-central government even." He didn't know how strong her Earth history was, but he doubted she cared about cowboys. He gave a nod, "Tell you what, if you find a simulation like that, and you promise to come to my debut, I'll do it." He winked at her, tipped his glass towards his mustachio'd mouth, and drank deeply.

He shrugged, "Most people don't have a lot of experience with hands on work these days. Why bother, when you can replicate essentially anything? But there's an art lost in that translation. The soul dies for the sake of simplicity." He gave a smile, "But my flutes still sound better than anything replicated, because they've got soul. That's what matters in a craft." She'd understand when he made her something, well, if he made her something, they were still feeling each other out. "Yes, I make things out of wood, or sometimes metals. Wind instruments, jewelry, things of that nature. Most of the time they're gifts, for close friends or lovers." He stroked his beard, "Although I've left all those behind for this mission. But with time I'm certain I'll be making new friends, and thereby new gifts. Who knows, I might find a partner on this wild journey we're on." 

He gave a nod at her comment of slave work, but breezed on by it, to a lifelong Federation Officer, and son of a tradesman, the notion that hard manual labor was something lesser bothered him. But Xelia could hardly be blamed for the intricacies of her culture. "Sweet and honest as a hard day's work. I'd say those are two of my better qualities while my pants are still on, as beauty is not among them." He flashed her another little wink, "That's a joke."

As she agreed to his game, he straightened a little, brightened, if that was possible, and turned to her fully, "So you're not Starfleet then, so you're a civilian, or a contractor. Interesting." Why come to the Theurgy then, he thought, but perhaps she'd tell him without him prying, throughout the course of their game. "Oh yeah? What kind of holos? Anything I've seen?" He waited for an answer, and once it came, he would forward, "Alright, let's play. You tell me something interesting about you, and I'll play you another diddy." He picked up the decanter, and offered it towards her, "More?"

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #8 – May 19, 2020, 09:12:43 PM

[ Xelia | Holodeck 06 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @uytrereee

Oh finally, someone who understood the importance of enjoying yourself! She'd been coming to the assumption that all Federationers lived to self-flagellate, do slave work, and generally be as miserable and boring as possible. And while playing the saxophone in a dusty workshop wasn't exactly the Orion definition of 'fun', it was clearly what Frank liked to do, so really, who was she to judge?

At least until she could get him one of her programs, at least. Oh, she could show him so much more fun! This ship and everyone aboard were just crying out for her help.

Frank didn't seem particularly interested in playing for a living audience, which she could understand. She performed much better inside holograms too. Live audiences -- not to mention live participants -- could be such a bore. The pressure it put on you, as well! And it was so easy for things to go wrong or distract you. No, no, holograms were much better, much cleaner.

At least, she assumed that was what he was saying. She didn't have a clue what 'playing velocity' was meant to be -- a race, maybe? Chess she recognised, at least, as one of those boring Vulcan games. Ugh, gross. Compared to that, Frank's saxophone playing was utterly thrilling.

He seemed disappointed at the loss of an RX something-or-other. 'What's that, sweetling?' she asked, curious. What else did this strange man find fun?

At least the idea of a holographic audience got his attention. Yes, that's it darling.

She laughed lightly as he spoke of Earth history. 'Well, I'm sure you could play in one of those if you wanted, sweet pea. I had something else in mind, though.' She smiled into her drink. 'I'd do more than just come to see you, darling. I could make it for you.' She shrugged one shoulder in a show of carelessness. 'It'd be easy. I could make it so you could perform anywhere in the galaxy, to an audience of whoever you want.' And it would be good practice for her, too. Good advertising as well, if she could persuade Frank to let her invite others to come see him. Oh yes, this could work wonderfully.

Plus it was silly poor Frank had to play in a dusty old workshop. His music deserved somewhere special.

She found his commentary on handmade items interesting; it had never really occurred to her before. Replicators existed on Vondem, of course, but it seemed they were much more commonplace in the Federation. It made sense, she supposed. They didn't have slaves to make things for them, they had to rely on machines all the time. The idea of deliberately hand-making something yourself when you didn't have to... ugh, it just sounded like a lot of work.

Then again, she'd written all her scripts herself. She could've bought a slave who knew how to do it, but she hadn't. So maybe it was like that?

Leaving things behind she could relate to at least. 'Oh darling, that's such a shame!' she exclaimed. 'Do you regret coming here?' Why would someone deliberately join this ship, she wondered. She'd done it because it was the least-terrible option among a lot of really awful ones. But Frank had clearly had a life, friends, possessions he liked... All of that. Why throw that away?

She laughed at his little joke -- bold, wasn't he? 'Well, they're certainly new to me,' she said with a smile. 'I don't think sweetness or honesty particularly thrive on Orion.'

He seemed interested in the fact that she wasn't Starfleet, although really he could probably have figured it out himself -- she was yet to see a single Federationer with decent dress sense. The reference to being a contractor was interesting; it must mean something different here. She hadn't served under a contract in a good few years, and certainly wasn't intending to do it again.

'A civillian, sweetling, you needn't worry,' she said, and laughed a little at his next question. 'All sorts of holos! Mostly relaxation aids and pornography, although I do love to dabble.' She waved a hand dismissively. 'I doubt any reached Earth, tragically. But that just means I get to introduce you all to them in person!'

She took another sip of her drink and tried to hide the grimace. God, she was not used to drinking alcohol that actually tasted alcoholic. Still, she accepted his offer of more when it was made. It was still free alcohol, after all.

Something else interesting about her... She made a show of thinking. 'Goodness, sweetling, you drive a hard bargain! Let me see... I used to live in Kinarvon, on Orion, in this gorgeous apartment -- really darling you would've loved it. Spacious, stylish... It had this lovely little infinity pool, oh my god, and my bedroom? The biggest bed you've ever seen, absolutely covered in pillows, so soft and comfortable. Absolutely stunning. And the acoustics in the bathroom! Sweetling, you could've played saxophone to your heart's content!'

Speaking of... 'Now, your turn darling,' she said with a sly grin.

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #9 – May 19, 2020, 11:03:29 PM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Holodeck 06 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @fiendfall
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Frank enjoyed a bout of self-flagellation as much as the next Federation officer. There were countless times that he'd spent his days, toiling away in the hold of any one of the ships he'd served on. His hands, arms, chest and the rest of his body bore a thousand marks of a lifetime of hard work. It was likely precisely because he had nothing to do right now, that he was so freely able to enjoy this leisure time. Xelia was just icing on the cake that was tonight. He looked her over once, and then twice, and just softly smiled.

At her question, he smiled fondly, maybe it was the whiskey in his belly, or the rhythm in his bones tonight, but something compelled him to want to talk, and talk some more. "Blether RX, it's a motorbike." He nodded, "I had a genuine model on the Magellan, vintage, I had it brought aboard, and stored, so I could tinker with it in my free time. It occupied a part of cargo bay zero-two on my last ship. But it's probably just a pile of scrap metal and slag now, repurposed for replicator food. Single combustion chamber, hydrogen burning fuel, real clean combustion engine. And boy could she go. It was the only thing I enjoyed doing planetside besides bird hunting and I haven't done that for a long time." He shrugged, "Guess those days are done for me though." He stood up and looked around his photonic workshop for something, which he eventually found. He would hand her a picture frame, after he blew the imitation dust off of the glass panel, and would say, "There she is."

As she said he could play in a saloon if he wanted, he gave a shrug of his own, but as she said shed' make a place for him to play, he raised a brow, "You'd do that for me?" He looked around, "This place took me over a year to get right, and even then I had a lot of existing holos to go off of, specs and that sort of thing. I've never made a holo from scratch." He gave a slow nod, "I don't want to hold you to anything, but if you did, I'd be very grateful."

As she asked him if he regretted coming here, he settled back onto his stool, "Not for a minute." He shook his head, "Sometimes you have to do what needs to be done, even when it's tough. That's what Starfleet is all about, sacrifice for the greater good." He nodded proudly, "What kind of officer would I be, or for that matter human-being, if I heard what was going on with the Federation, and just tucked my head between my thighs?" He shook his head slowly, "Arnolds are stronger stock than that." The way he said it, conveyed an intense pride in his heritage, humble as it was.

He took a long draw from his drink, listened, and topped her off when she required, noticing the occasional wince, "If you don't like it, we could get you something else." He nodded, "I won't be offended, Scotch really is a man's drink." He laughed gently, "You can replicate food and beverages here too." As she said she made pornography though, he let what drink he had in his mouth dribble back into his cup, and he raised a brow, "Anything I've seen? Then again I reckon we'd have to go back to the pants off thing, for me to know." He laughed softly, and gave a nod, at the end of the day, work was work.

As she explored things to tell him, he would nod and imagined the apartment as she described it, picturing a pool, and a giant bed covered in pillows. He even imagined her in it, soft flesh on display, her pert brea...bad Frank, bad! He gave a slow grin as she intoned him to play, and he said lightly, "I was born on a mining freighter." She hadn't asked, but Frank believed in fairness.

Once again he took up his instrument, softly caressing the keys one by one, making sure none stuck even though they never did with the care he gave the thing. It was still a habit, but after a few more tender caresses, he raised the reed to his lips, and played something a bit more sensual and slow this time. "This one is just for you. Computer, backing track six." It was a gentle melody, with very little backing track apart from a lone bass and soft piano, he looked at her while he played this time, keeping his eyes open. It was a track that started slow, and never really picked up, it was meant to be enticing and relaxing.

When he was done, he turned to her and raised a brow, silently asking for critique.

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #10 – May 25, 2020, 11:28:19 PM

[ Xelia | Holodeck 06 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @uytrereee

Xelia had no idea what any of the technical details Frank was giving her meant. Combustion chambers? What, did she look like some kind of mechanic? She'd figured out he was talking about a vehicle -- a motorbike, which sounded terribly... old fashioned.

'Ooh, let's see!' She took the picture frame from him with curiosity. Seeing the bike, it actually wasn't nearly as bad as she'd thought. Obviously it was pretty old fashioned, but that was actually kind of cute? Not exactly sleek or modern but still...

She looked up at Frank. 'Darling, this suits you perfectly,' she said with a smile. It was true; now she'd seen it, she couldn't imagine him riding anything else. Nor could she imagine anyone else riding this... How did it ride, she wondered. She'd never designed a vehicular holo before; it might be interesting to try. Would the Federation's coding system have a vehicle controller pre-loaded or would she need to script it from scratch? Hmm...

One thing at a time. First, a stage for Frank to play on. He seemed to like the idea, at least. She was actually a little surprised to hear that he'd made his workshop himself -- not from scratch, obviously, but it seemed the Federation creation environment had a robust library of assets and scripts to play around with.

'You made this yourself?' she asked, hopping off her perch to walk around the holo again curiously, running a hand over one of the machines, picking up some of the smaller objects that caught her eye. It was a good holo, especially for someone who didn't usually make them. 'Honestly, sweet pea, you did a lovely job,' she said, turning back to Frank. 'It's based on a real place, is it?' Always so much harder to recreate sets from life. People or objects were an absolute breeze, but scenery? Ugh. So much of it was in the tiny details, the lighting...

She waved a hand dismissively at his offer of thanks. 'Not at all, darling, it's nothing.' She wondered if she could get him a live holo band rather than these little backing tracks... She could probably repurpose her response logic from her more explicit holos to detect tempo and pitch and keep the band supporting Frank's melody... Ugh, she should be making notes! This was going to be fun.

Xelia was interested to hear Frank's reply to her question -- whether he regretted joining the Theurgy. He didn't surprise her; his answer was the standard Federation fare, all duty and sacrifice and greater good and blah blah blah. So boring and predictable -- she'd wanted something more exciting, Frank! But whatever. He was a good little Federation boy, after all. She did have to wonder what an Arnold was, though. He sounded proud of it. Wait, was it meant to be him? She'd thought his name was Frank? No, wait, didn't Federationers have two names? Ugh god it was all so complicated.

At least he offered her a different drink. At his comment she raised an eyebrow.

'A man's drink?' she echoed. No wonder it was awful! She put the glass down disdainfully; ugh, she'd been drinking that! 'Something else then, I think. You do margaritas? Chilli lime mango flavour?' She'd been experimenting with what the Theurgy's replicators could offer, and while the drinks menu couldn't quite keep up with Teleo's mixology, it wasn't nearly as disappointing as she had originally thought. She'd even managed to persuade a holo to make her a toffee vodka ice cream sundae, which had honestly the entire 'being hunted down by the Syndicate and forced to hide out on a rebel Starfleet ship' thing almost worth it.

She paused to consider his next question. Had any of her holos made it out this far? She doubted it. But there was always the odd possibility.

'I wouldn't know, darling,' she said coyly. 'I suppose that depends where you've been looking. Have you ever been to Risa? The "slave girl" set is popular out there.'

He sat and listened to her describe her old apartment -- really, the longer she went the more she missed it; she might have to make herself a new one in holo form, a better one obviously -- before saying he'd been born on a mining freighter. She looked at him askance. Who knew where they'd been born?

Or, wait. Humans didn't have nurseries, did they?

Before she could say anything, he picked up his saxophone once more and began to play. This was a much softer piece, slower, with just like, a couple of instruments playing in the background; she kind of wished the lights would dim for it. Something to put in her own holo. The music was nice, though. Super chill. It kind of sounded like being stoned and lazy. Not her usual scene but she could appreciate it as much as anyone.

She gave him another round of applause as the music came to an end. 'That was for me? Oh sweetling, you shouldn't have! It was lovely, really.'

She leant back and sipped her drink, slightly tentative. She had a question to ask, but she didn't want to sound stupid. But she was actually kind of curious. So...

'You... lived with your parents?' she asked, trying to sound casual. The whole concept was so weird! 'Did you have, like, a family or whatever?'

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #11 – May 26, 2020, 03:16:12 AM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Holodeck 06  | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @fiendfall 
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Frank finished playing, and he turned to Xelia with a raise of the brow, asking for her critique. He knew she was too polite to be rude, but he could smell bullshit from as far as....well the average human nose.

He smirked as she looked at the picture frame, and he gave a slow nod, "It really did, it was a smooth ride, not that I got to do much riding on it, but it was fun to work on aboard the Magellan. The captain of my old vessel was rather tolerant of my idle tinkering." He chuckled, thinking of times he had caused complication aboard, "Sometimes I reckon too tolerant." He'd disrupted replicators for 16 hours once, and caused the lights to randomly dim and brighten, those were the days. Although then again, this was a new ship, there was plenty of mahem for him to get involved in still.

As she asked her question, he gave a slow nod, saying lightly, "Well, sort of." He nodded, "Mostly I cross referenced manifest data and scans of the mining freighter I spent my childhood on, some holo images my dad took, and I polished up some details from memory. I worked in some subroutines from various holo programs that were similar workshop settings, and here you have it, an idealized version of my pa's childhood workshop." He chuckled, "Seems kind of silly now, when I explain it, a lot of effort for something unoriginal, but, well I suppose that's me really. I'm an old soul, I pine for nostalgia." At her question he offered a nod, "Yea, it's based off of the ship I grew up on." He drained his tumbler, "It was called The Colliery, that's an old name for a coal mine. Uh, a fuel carbon mine." He nodded lowly.

He smiled as she waved away his thanks and offered, "Sure sure." But either way he put down his saxophone within reach of her, and wandered over to his bench to take up a measuring tape. Without asking, he'd make a grab at one of her green hands, dainty compared to his massive mitts, and would wrap a measuring tape around her index finger, and then her wrist, releasing without explanation unless she dodged him. He was sizing her for a ring and a bracelet, wood of course, lacquered, his way of saying thank you. If she asked him, he'd just shrug and say 'curiosity', he'd not tell her.

He chuckled and said, "Yes, the ancient Scots have been making whiskey since before recorded time, the water of life they called it. But it's a harsh drink, an acquired taste for certain" He nodded, "I became very fond of this earth vintage. After the Federation was formed, the recipes spread all over, and there's a lot of imitations, but nothing tastes quite like this." He rattled the decanter, "I reckon it's the water. Have you ever been to Earth? If you do, you need to go to Scotland. It's one of the best places on the planet, beautiful, mountainous, sparsely populated, it's beautiful. Shit if this all shakes out with the Theurgy, I'll take you there myself." He nodded lowly, a human, but by no means an earth native.

At her order he just had to laugh, chili lime mango margarita, but he said idly, "I reckon the computer can make most anything." He gave a nod, and thought for a moment, stroking his beard, thinking on what went into a margarita, drawing on old girlfriends of years passed for inspiration, before saying, "Computer, please blend one mango, one orange, two small limes, a standard ounce of orange liquor, a dash of hot sauce, three ounces of silver tequila, and two teaspoons agave. Chill to 4 degress, serve in V-Glass, with chili powder rim." He grinned, and looked at her, flashing her a wink as the drink materialized on a nearby table, "Now try that. The key is knowing what goes into a drink. If you ask for a margarita, you're going to get some Starfleet nerd's interpretation." He gave a nod, "The trick is to know the ingredients and to replicate those. You'd know that if you'd been on vessels as long as me." He gave her a playful squeeze of the thigh, settling back onto his stool, maybe flirting a little. 

At her coy statement he gave a slow shrug, "Can't say I've ever seen that set on Risa." He gave a nod, "You'll just have to make me one special won't you?" He winked at her, returning her coy tone as plain as her, looking her up and down.

He grinned gently, and offered to her question, "Yes, I lived with my father. I was born on a mining freighter like I said before. My mother died when I was very young, but my father operated a deuterium mining freighter. So I was born aboard The Colliery, and I lived on there until I was twelve. My da' was determined I was not be a miner though, he got me a former Starfleet Officer as a tutor, and he sent me off to youth academies when I was old enough. Did some work with the Federation during war times, that's how he managed to set all that up." He gave a slow smile, "I did love being part of the mining crew. Hard nose men." He reminisced as he poured himself another glass, "Real men, real workers. Hard men. Not your type, although then again, they might have moistened your underpants" He nodded slowly with a laugh, perhaps a little buzzed and thereby a lot more loose with his tongue, "It's a simple life, I miss it sometimes. It's a life where you always knew where you stood with everyone else." He rolled his shoulders, "Dad lives on earth now, he receives regular treatment for a respiratory disorder that's pretty common in miners. That's actually how I ended up on the Theurgy, a family friend that knew my pops, an Admiral, gave me a heads up on what was really going on."

He looked her over, "What about you, how'd you end up here?" He raised a brow, "We've had drinks together now, and you're going to dance naked for me and take me to bed, don't you dare lie to me."

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #12 – May 30, 2020, 11:49:29 PM

[ Xelia | Holodeck 06 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @uytrereee

God, she'd known there'd be a cultural difference when she came aboard a Federation ship, but honestly so much of what Frank was talking about was totally alien to her. He grew up on a mine? This workshop was his dad's? The idea of not only meeting one of the people who bred you but also, like, having something of theirs was super weird. Like, ew. Why? Why would anyone care about who made them? Or even who raised them -- she hadn't thought about anyone at the Ichebel Nursery pretty much since she left that place. Like, who actually cares? It's your life, what has anyone else got to do with it?

But clearly that wasn't how Frank felt. He seemed to be a nostalgic, sentimental person in general. Weird.

Weirder still was when he appeared over her shoulder and went to grab her hand. No thank you, darling. She stepped away quickly, pulling her hand from his grasp.

'No touching, sweetness,' she said, a hint of seriousness peeking through her teasing tone. 'You have to earn that, darling.' It had been a bit of a sore subject in her business: Duniz had argued that Xelia should let people get a teaser if they wanted, while Vaxus had insisted giving away something for free when she could monetize it in a holo was idiocy. The truth was, while Xelia loved touching people herself, when someone else initiated it... she didn't love it. Especially men. Especially if they weren't even paying her. Ugh.

She perched on a stool at a safe distance; close enough that Duniz would've been appeased, at least. Frank could look was much as he liked, she wasn't about to take that away from him.

He talked about whiskey like he was sentimental about that, too. She wondered if 'Scot' was a name for a man or something. It being a man's drink, surely it was men that made it?

She shrugged a single shoulder at his question. 'No, I've never been to Earth.' Why would she want to? 'Is there much to do there?' Oh, Scotland! Was that like, a place full of men or something? All making gross drinks? What a sales pitch.

When she asked for a proper drink, he gave a little laugh and then proceeded to order it like he was giving out a recipe. She watched him curiously -- what, were Federation holo so badly-programmed they had to have their little hands held the entire way?

It made more sense when her drink appeared. She took a sip as Frank explained what he'd been doing, and she had to admit, the drink was pretty good.

'You're teaching me all the tricks now, darling,' she said slyly over the rim of her glass. 'Good to know, I'll keep that in mind.' She saw his hand coming this time; fine, he could have this one.  A taster. She just took a sip from her drink that lasted slightly longer than usual to make up for it.

She raised an eyebrow at his request for a holo. 'Ooh darling, are you commissioning me? My prices are very reasonable.' She had yet to convert her prices to a currency anyone aboard the Theurgy might own, of course, but whenever she did, she was sure her prices would be reasonable. Back on Vondem, she'd have charged one bar and fifteen strips of gold pressed latinum for a custom holo -- although that was over-charged for her Syndicate customers, she'd have to knock that down a bit -- or 10,000 djebbits for one from her back catalogue. How that would remotely translate -- to, what, Federation credits? -- she had no idea. The money side of things had never been her strong suit.

Still, she was interested to hear about Frank's family.

'You've been on a ship most of your life, then?' she asked, curious. 'I hadn't left Orion until this year, all this travel thing is so new to me.' Everything he was saying was so foreign to her. 'And you, your dad sent you to Starfleet school? But you still talk to him or whatever? And that's not, like... boring?'

She had to laugh at his next words. 'Oh sweetling, you couldn't afford me even for five minutes,' she said, waving him away. 'My holos are reasonably priced, but I don't think anyone on this whole ship could afford me for the evening.' Or even for the hour.

She ran a finger round the rim of her glass, catching the remaining chilli powder and popping it into her mouth. 'I'm here because I was bored,' she said casually. 'Aldea was boring me. And I know enough about the Syndicate to be useful to the Theurgy so it just made sense, darling.' She shrugged one shoulder. 'Plus I guess there'd be no one to sell my holos to if the parasites destroyed everything. Plus this way I get to annoy this bitch in the Syndicate who stole my slaves and chased me off the planet.' She gestured with her drink. 'Take your pick.'

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #13 – May 31, 2020, 07:05:05 AM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | What's it Cost? | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @fiendfall
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There certainly was a cultural difference. Without a doubt, Frank would be absolutely culture shocked if he went to Orion. He'd probably end up dead, or a slavemaster, it would depend on whether it was happy Frank or mad Frank. Either way, this was a choice meeting for him with Xelia.

He raised a brow ever so slightly as she recoiled from his touch, and he heard her say no touching, and he gave a slow nod then smile faded, and offered a bit more fairly, "Yeah, alright, sorry. And here I thought my Sax playing had done the job." He had probably gotten a bit overly familiar. He had no idea she had a policy, to him he'd just gotten his hand smacked for trying to make a pass. Either way he'd obey her wishes, and just went back to his decanter, turning his back on her for a second as he poured another drink.

He would slowly turn back to her after a moment, sporting a new smile, saying lightly, "Ah, well, you've missed out on that experience." He shrugged lightly, "Is there much to do on Orion?" He raised a brow, and chuckled, "It's an entire planet, there's plenty to do there. It gave rise to a whole culture after all." He rolled his shoulders then, saying lightly, "If we do ever go, I'll show you the sights, from the back of an iron horse, you'll like it, I promise."

He smirked at her and said gently, "I'm sure you've got plenty of tricks you can teach me, this is just familiar ground to an old space hand, I've never known any different." He gave a slow chuckle, "Sure, I'm commissioning you. You're the merchant, so you tell me what the price is." He had never really had to deal with money being in Starfleet, so this ought to be an interesting conversation with her.

At her question, he gave a nod, "Yes, birth to just after my eleventh birthday, I lived on the Colliery, and then I lived on a space station for about four years when I went to a Junior Academy, and then I applied to the Academy when I was able, and then I spent some time on another Space station for a Fellowship, and then it's been ships ever since." He nodded slowly, "I was on the Cortez during the Dominion War. She disappeared a few weeks after I transferred to another vessel." He'd been awarded a pair of medals for taking actions to make the Cortez able to actually fight in the battle for Deep Space Nine, but he wasn't the type to brag about accolades. "And since then, I've never been off a space ship for more than a couple weeks. I did date a couple girls who were keen on shore leave, but I've never been comfortable, unless I was hunting birds. But even that I can do in a holodeck."

He raised a brow, "Truly? You'd never traveled until this year? Wow, well you picked a place to come." He laughed softly then, saying lightly, "Well he didn't send me there, I had a bunch of choices after the Bessemer Academy, that's the Junior program, I could have been taken on by a bunch of corporations, foundries, processors, research, but I chose the Starfleet Academy." Her next question puzzled him, but he nodded, "Yeah, when I can. He lives in San Francisco, well he lives in Nevada, which is in the North American southwest, but he has to be close to Starfleet Medical, for his lung treatments. He lives near the desert, dry air's good for his lungs." Fortunately that basically meant anywhere on earth with local transporter tech.

At her notion that he couldn't afford her, he gave a shrug, "Can't say I've ever tried paying for sex. Never thought to really, for most of Earth's history it's been a taboo topic." He chuckled gently, "Always seems to take all the sport out of it, don't you think?" He raised a brow, realizing they thought about the subject in two entirely different ways. He gave a smile, "But I'd be willing to try, if you want." He winked at her, pulling her leg.

He heard her say she was there because she was bored, and he just had to laugh, "I guess we all chase our own thrills. You just decided to do it on a ship that's welcome basically nowhere." He shook his head slowly, "I guess that's one way to do it."

"Take my pick of what?" He gathered she meant reasons, "Oh, I get it." He looked about, "So if I cannot touch you, then I guess dancing's off the table?" He mocked a waltz position, and extended a hand to her, expecting her to refuse.

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #14 – May 31, 2020, 08:16:44 PM

[ Xelia | Holodeck 06 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @uytrereee

She laughed a little at his apology -- the poor dear looked so deflated, little thing. 'Your music earned you my company, sweetling,' she said magnanimously, giving his arm a little pat even as she moved away. 'Which is no small feat. Don't be too hard on yourself, darling.'

He turned away from her for a moment to sort out a drink or something; when he returned, his smile was back, so he couldn't have been that upset. She laughed at his question about Vondem -- 'Darling, you can do everything on Orion.' -- but still, listened with interest as he talked about Earth. It was cute he seemed to think just having a culture would make a planet interesting -- Vulcans had a culture after all and she could think of nowhere more boring than their homeworld.

Still. Earth couldn't be that bad. Even if she had no idea what an 'iron horse' would be -- she understood the words separately, a type of metal and an Earth creature, but together? What even was that? Some kind of automaton?

She shrugged. 'I suppose the holodeck is the closest anyone is going to get to Earth for a while,' she said. 'Do you know if it has any good Earth programs? I haven't really been looking for that sort of thing.' Not that she'd know if the program was accurate, of course. Other planets had never really interested her -- why would she care about where other people lived when she could make it big on her own planet? Oh, she'd wanted to expand, she'd been excited to sell to the Ferengi and start getting her holos as far as Risa, but she'd only seriously started working towards all that at what had turned out to be the end of her career on Vondem -- for the last year and half or so.

So he was interested in commissioning her. Interesting!

She leaned back, sipping at her drink. 'Let's see then...' She made a show of running calculations. 'Well, for a custom holo, I would've charged my old clients somewhere around... Well.' She took a drink; she might not have known much about the Federation, but she at least understood there was no way she could charge Syndicate prices here. 'But of course, my old clients never played me jazz.' She flashed Frank a smile. 'And it's your first program, so we need to make it special...

'Ugh, these conversions are a little tricky, darling,' she said with an exaggerated pout. She knew enough maths to get by -- you had to if you were ever going to do manual coding -- but it'd never been something she enjoyed, and since setting up Ve she'd not bothered to do it. 'Why don't we say 3000 credits? Because I liked your music.' It was a tiny sum compared to what she was used to, but at least she wasn't going to be making a whole new holo -- after all, she could just reuse one from her old set if Frank had never seen it. 'How does that sound, sweetling?'

The rest of what he said, telling her about his education and his family, was no less weird than what he'd said before. And god, of course, the Dominion War! It hadn't occurred to her that Frank would've been involved in all that mess. She looked him over curiously; she couldn't imagine this saxophone-playing, motorbike-riding, whiskey-loving woodworker in a war.

'Isn't it weird?' she asked. 'Isn't it like, super weird living on a ship all the time? And like... Working for Starfleet or whatever? Being in a war? It seems super weird to me.'

It was so funny what he found weird though. She laughed at his comment about 'taking all the sport out of it' -- Federationers thought about these things so strangely!

'Everything fun is taboo for you people,' she said, waving a hand dismissively. His little tease was cute though. 'Unless you've got a fortune of gold pressed latinum you've been keeping from me, you might need to set your sights a little lower, darling.' Sweet pea. It was actually quite nice, knowing no one on board could afford the real her. She didn't have to worry about that side of marketing at all. And if no one could afford to pay her to do things she didn't want to do, then, well. She didn't have to do them.

She raised an eyebrow as he offered a hand to her, asking her to... dance? He wasn't in the stance of any dance she recognised. And, of course, they were both more clothed than most Orion dances called for.

Sure, why not? She took his hand. If he started getting fresh she could always extricate herself.

'What are Earth dances like, then?' she asked.

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #15 – May 31, 2020, 10:04:22 PM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Follow my Lead | Money? | Try Something New | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @fiendfall
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Frank smiled as she laughed, at least she had a good sense of humour too. As she said that his music earned her his company, he would give a nod, and tip his glass, offering after an exaggerated 'ah', "I did forget about that, your esteemed company." He chuckled gently, shaking his head slowly, "Frank Arnold, master of fearsome feats." He smirked, flashing her a wink.

As she said you could do everything on Orion, he supposed that's how he felt about Earth in a way. "Like a real life holodeck." He thought about what everything meant on Orion, and just gave a slow chuckle and a shake of the head. In an imbibed state, those thoughts were only going to get him into further trouble.

At her notion about the holodeck, he gave a nod, "I think you're going to be right. I don't exactly know how things get set straight on, I'm sure the Captain has ideas, but it'll be a long fight before we're able to go back to Earth." He stroked his beard, "There's a couple nice ones set in Paris, and there's a nineteen forties New York, that are interesting, especially if you want a culture study. There's a couple boxing programs where you can watch famous fights, that's a sort of human bloodsport." He smiled thinking it over, "There's one where you can actually fight, that's the one I like for exercise." He grinned to her.

He listened to her muse over prices, and gave a slow chuckle, and would say, "It is my first program." He stroked his beard, and then started to muse the idea of money. He'd of course taken his standard chip with him, which contained a certain amount of currency in credits, but most of his credits had been frozen when he'd defected, in the eyes of the Federation. He certainly wasn't getting paid while he was aboard. He knew that Officers accrued credits, but he almost never took shore leave, so he had never really bothered to track pay, save, or otherwise.

He gave a slow nod, his chit had just over two years of pay accrued on it, mainly he'd taken it in case he needed to secure private transit in his flight, all that was recent aboard the Magellan in his remote accrual, so likely somewhere around 24,000 credits, so a 3000 credit holo, was a steep price. Then again, he wasn't exactly using it for anything else. He gave a nod, "To be honest, I don't know how it sounds, it's a chunk of what I brought for sure. Uh, sure, that's fine. Long as you can teach me how to transfer. I've never really had much use for credits. I brought a small wallet chip with me, it's packed away in my quarters still, but most of my accounts were frozen, along with most of the crew."

"You're going to find that most people on this ship, don't really have /money/ in the traditional sense. Federation officers generally only have use for money outside of Federation space, or on leave on planets that still retain currency practices. I know the Aldeans actually had to give us currency to use here." He chuckled, "But unless you had made a withdrawal before coming the the Theurgy, your account would be frozen by Starfleet, given we're all technically traitors. I think my rate is something like two thousand a standard month. So it better be a good holo." He told her this with a chuckle, because if she wanted to sell anything, she might have to get used to the concept of bartering. "I can also always barter. I give a fantastic neck rub." He winked at her as he said it, setting his empty glass down, that was enough for one night.

As she asked him if it was weird, he shrugged, "Guess I've never really thought about it. I guess to me living on a planet in the same place, seeing the same stars and the same moons, feels weird." He nodded slowly, "The Dominion War was different, that's for sure. Starfleet never really posed itself as a military, so conflict was always a weird thing to be caught up in yeah. Lots of medals got handed out, lots of refits of ships, lots of classmates I knew on ships got destroyed, things like that."

As she said unless he had a fortune of gold pressed latinum, "As a matter of fact, I left a cache buried on Q'onos." He smirked, "I will happily pay you when we dig it up, and avail you of your services now. I'm good for it." He gave her a cheeky look, clearly joking as he wandered about, saying lightly, "That's okay I guess. I didn't figure I was trying to buy you." He shrugged, "But I guess you're not the dating type?" He laughed lightly.

As she raised her brow, but took his hand, he would say lightly, "Computer, protocol Austrian Waltz One." Classical music would start to play, and he would place a massive hand on her waist, while he held her other slightly aloft, and would start to lead her through the steps if she complied, "It's a formal dance, old naval tradition from old Earth, I learnt it in decorum class at the academy, just follow my steps." He smiled, holding her close to him, but not so close as to infringe upon her, as they slowly turned, and he'd very slowly guide her through the steps, until he felt she'd gotten the hang of it.

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #16 – June 08, 2020, 10:15:33 PM

[ Xelia | Holodeck 06 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @uytrereee

She raised an eyebrow at the suggestion of a Human bloodsport. They had those?

The talk of money was both more exciting and more disappointing, all at once. She'd known the Federation was mostly money-less -- something that was so completely alien to her she still didn't fully understand how it could possibly work -- but she'd also understood that, like, they had some kind of money, right? For trading outside the Federation? They weren't the only people in the quadrant, after all.

But apparently the people on the Theurgy barely even had that! And even if they did, it was such a horrifyingly small amount as to be almost completely irrelevant. Two thousand credits a month? She'd make more than that in a single night!

It seemed not only could no one aboard afford the real her, but almost none of them would be able to afford her holos either. This was terrible! Two thousand a month! Oh my god! She was ruined!

'..Well,' she said in a weak attempt to cover how hard that bombshell had hit her. 'They really don't pay you anything at all, do they?' Two thousand! In a month! That was... what, 65, 70 credits a day? Barely three credits an hour! Three credits an hour!! Oh my god.

'I'd have demanded more, if I was you,' she said, taking a drink. 'How can anyone possibly be happy with so little? You'd have to work, like, half a year just to be able to afford a night out!'

She couldn't charge 3000 credits if this was how little people were making. They'd never pay. Although, supply and demand... Ugh. She hated the business side of things. She wished Vaxus was here to sort it all out for her.

Frank's offer to barter was kind of interesting. Like, it wasn't a terrible suggestion. But what did he have that she'd be interested in? What could he possibly offer her that she didn't already have?

Then again... Having someone in your debt was always useful. And if she could get half the Theurgy to owe her... Maybe it wasn't a terrible business model after all.

'Hmm. Well, I'm not unfair,' she said flippantly. 'And you did play for me. What about 1,500 for now, and we can talk about that favour later?' The price was depressingly low, but it was becoming increasingly clear she wasn't going to make any real money on the Theurgy. A shame, but she could still get something out of it. She had enough of her escape fund left to be able to plan her next move anyway, and though it wasn't as much as she would've liked, it wasn't nothing.

She gave a little laugh at his joke. 'We'll just have to go to Qo'noS then, won't we?' she poked back. This was fun!

His comment on dating surprised her, though. Another Human thing she didn't fully get, though she thought she understood enough to know it wasn't anything she'd ever done. Like, you hung out with someone and then slept with them and whatever, and then just kept on doing it? And you didn't pay or get paid? And they didn't own you? Like... Obviously people on Vondem slept together without it being a money thing, but that was usually at a party or something. And it didn't keep happening, you didn't seek each other out afterwards to, what, talk about it? Review each other? Ugh. Weird.

'No freebies, sweetling,' she said gently. That's what he was asking, right? She shrugged one shoulder. 'Not my style.'

The dance he'd invited her to was weird, very different from what she was used to, but she followed him as best she could. She even allowed him to touch her waist which, cheeky. 'If you weren't poorer than a foreigner in Kinarvon, I'd charge you for that,' she smirked. No freebies indeed.

Frank was respectful at least, guiding her through the dance without crowding her or trying anything. It was almost fun, in a weird kind of way. Like, the dance itself was an absolute snorefest, but it was new and different enough to be kind of exciting anyway.

'So, Earth, Qo'noS... Where else have you been?' she asked as they danced. 'Anywhere I'd like?'

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #17 – June 09, 2020, 01:35:22 AM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | Dance the Intricate Dance ] Attn: @fiendfall 
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Frank slowly led her through the steps, it was actually really nice to be close to someone again, even if that someone had patently let him know that she wasn't interested at all. He gave a slow smile at her, working her through the steps. He'd taken up dancing for boxing, and he'd ended up liking them both equally, rather than one over the other. In boxing your partner did try to hit you in the face, that was a downside.

He gave a slow shrug then, and said, "Honestly, monetary payment is quite backwards. Often times, it only leads to an oligarchical structure where the poor are penalized, the rich are ever enriched, and the market becomes centralized around the marginal trading of fractional values of wealth generation. Innovation is often stifled in the face of pure commercialism, and academic sciences suffer in the way of industrial pragmatism. An advanced society will always trend towards utilitarian principles, wherein the basic needs of the populace are met, such that each individual may explore their potential. A perfect socialist utilitaria." He nodded lowly, "The Federation cares for our basic needs, I'm academically stimulated, fed, clothed, so then really money only serves the value of trading outside of the Federation." He shrugged, "On Earth, I probably have, a hundred thousand credits, I've almost never spent one, and I've been earning a long time." He chuckled gently, "fat lot of good they're doing in a frozen account."

At her suggestion of Q'onos, he offered, "That just sounds like an excuse to get me into bed. Better not, once you get me once, you'll not be able to give up. But I'll find the shovel, and you promise to dig." He winked at her, having a joke at her. He gave a shrug, "Why bother? Again, I have nothing to use them for. I've had many a night out, I can't remember a drink tab outside of a few stops at starbases near the edge of Federation space." He chuckled, "Esteem and standing, are the currency of a modern mass. When you join a new culture, you have to learn their system" He rolled his shoulders, and at her offer, he said lightly, "I'll give you the three thousand up front, I don't like being in a debt of favors. After all, I don't know what you could ask of me, and I can't promise you something, if it might lead me down a road I can't control." He nodded, "I might not feel like that after the first holo." He winked, "Now if we were talking the real thing..." He shrugged, "Who knows, it's been a lonely while."

He gave a slow nod then, and would give a shrug, "That's a shame, freebies with friends is fun." He winked at her, "That's alliteration for you." He rolled his shoulders, leaning into her for a moment as they moved about. At the end of the song, he'd let her go, sans copping a feel. "If I weren't poorer than a foreigner in Kinarvon you'd already be naked." He smirked, turning her jab back on her, as he slowly settled back into his seat.

He shrugged, "If you really needed a favor that bad, I'd help out." He nodded lowly to her, "It's not like I'm swimming in friends, and while your friendship comes at a cost, it's still a friendship." He chuckled. "Maybe one day I'll negotiate the pants right off you. You can call me Grand Nagus then." He laughed again, looking around for his glass, which once he found, he picked up and filled with fresh spirit.

He hmm'd, and said, "Well, Deep Space Nine, all over Cardassian Space during and after the war, Bajor obviously, Betazed once or twice, All of the Federation planets really. Risa, which we talked about. Uhh, let me think, I've stopped at Nerendra Station, never been into the Shackleton, most ships haven't." He stroked his chin, "That's all I can think of right now to be fair. A vessel makes a lot of stops in a standard run."

He chuckled, "Depends what you like."

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #18 – June 23, 2020, 04:35:09 PM

[ Xelia | Holodeck 06 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @uytrereee

She had to frown at Frank's explanation of the Federation system of money. Like, what? 'An advanced society will always trend towards utilitarian principles', ha! He thought the Federation was advanced! Oh sweet pea! But then, she supposed that had always been the Federation's thing -- gloating about its superiority, pretending it was better than everyone else. She hadn't been aboard long, but she'd already seen enough to know it was basically the same as everywhere else. The only difference was that the Federation had better propaganda, clearly -- it'd managed to trick its citizens into believing its own rubbish hype.

'Darling, you only have those problems because Humans are so woefully unimaginative,' she said in reply. 'You never let yourselves have any fun! On Vondem, rich and poor barely exist for longer than a few days. If you're rich you spend it all, if you're poor you probably just had an amazing night out and spent everything. Anyone can be rich, and anyone can be a slave. Isn't that more exciting than everyone just being the same all the time, and never being able to do anything interesting?'

And he thought the Orion system was backwards! True, it wasn't very fun for slave species and foreigners, but they weren't Orion, they didn't count. And it was possible to get stuck in a loop of contracts, never quite making enough to get out for longer than a few months, but Orion slaves were treated well for the most part, and if you were too stupid to be a good slave to a good mistress then really whose fault was that? Part of the fun of getting to have fun was the knowledge that other people weren't, that they were looking on jealously, wishing to be you. If everyone was the same then... Ugh, it made no sense to her.

She laughed in surprise when Frank admitted to hoarding credits. 'Don't tell me you're really a Ferengi,' she said with a playful swat to his shoulder. 'How can you let money just sit around like that when you could be using it to have fun?' Now this was backwards.

His continued flirting just earned him some rolled eyes. Tenacious, wasn't he? Not that she minded it, he could have his fun. At the very least, he seemed to understand the concept of debt enough to realise he probably didn't want to get himself involved in it. Weird, even though she'd not had a favour in mind, she was almost disappointed to go back to just a monetary payment. She hadn't realised how much she missed keeping people in her pocket for the winter.

Ah well. Money worked too.

'Alright,' she said with a slight shrug. 'Up front, then.' A slight laugh when he tried for 'the real thing' again: 'Darling, my holos are so good you wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway. You'll be getting "the real thing", don't you worry.' He would. She'd made her career based on the realism of her holos, that was the whole point. For the poor and slaveless, they were an opportunity to live out the fantasy of having slaves. For the rich, they allowed other fantasies not possible in the real world. But they all felt real -- that was the whole point.

On Theurgy, it just so happpened that she was among those fantasies not possible in the real world. And didn't that just feel wonderful!

Not that it was stopping Frank from trying, my god! Trying the freebie angle now. 'The Federation idea of "fun" is very different from mine, sweet pea,' she said, half amused, half dismissive. His attempt to turn her joke back on her was kind of funny, though -- foreigners in Kinarvon were either slaves or being scammed for every last dejebbit; Frank would need to be a lot richer to even see a single toe. He'd need to own her, and that would cost more money than his poor little Federation brain could even comprehend.

But his imagination was free, at least. If she'd known how to monetise that she would've done it a long time ago.

'Well, anytime you find that latinum hoard you let me know,' she teased back. 'You could make up the rest in favours.'

The dance over, they parted, heading back to their drinks. For all his flirtation, and how close he'd been to her during the dance, Frank didn't try anything she'd have to stab him for which was a relief. She liked this outfit; getting it all stained up would be the worst.

His offer of a favour regardless surprised her, though. Maybe it shouldn't have -- he'd made it clear what he wanted from her, and she'd refused, so it was only natural for him to try and get it some other way. Business as usual, right?

'Thank you, darling,' she said graciously. She couldn't exactly fault him for trying. 'I'm sure I'll get along just fine.' Ugh, now he was comparing himself to the Grand Nagus? 'Sweetling don't put yourself down, you're much better looking than the Nagus! Set your sights just a little lower and you won't even need to pay for sex.' The Nagus had paid; Vaxus had primed her on how to negotiate, and she'd made a small fortune out of it. And it hadn't been truly awful. She'd been ill the next day of course, but it had cleared up enough for her to go to the party that evening and get so high she forgot everything anyway, so it had turned out fine.

Frank's list of places he'd visited was actually kind of impressive, she had to admit. At least to her. 'Ooh, you've just been all over haven't you? Where was your favourite? Did you get to, like, hang out and have fun? Or I guess not, with the war and everything. Did you ever want to stay somewhere longer?'

---

With many apologies for the delay! + for the record writing Xelia's opinions on money hurt she's so awful sdkfjgh

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #19 – June 28, 2020, 02:12:46 AM

[ Lieutenant Frank Arnold | I wanna know what Fun is!  ] Attn: @fiendfall
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Xelia and Frank were going to often differ on what constituted an advanced society. He believed in the superiority of Federation values, and their technology was an envy of many species, so he felt he had a leg to stand on in this conversation. Fun, well Fun didn't dent as well as a Phaser.

He gave a slow grin, and decided to pour a fresh drink, offering to her, "As I recall darling, you're the one who's got no intention of finding out exactly how imaginative I might be. After all, you've never ridden a Blether RX-45, or had one of my famous picnics." He grinned gently, "Nor have you received from me, a beautiful carving." He grinned cheekily and held up three fingers, each punctuating a point, "I have three talents, Jazz, Woodworking, and Lovemaking. You've only just scratched the surface with my Jazz dear Xelia." He gave a slow laugh then once more, by now somewhat intoxicated and bypassing the talk of Orion. His cheeks were rosy and he was in constant smile.

He gave a slow laugh as she accused him of being a Ferengi, and he motioned to his ears, "What, you don't think my lobes are beautiful?" He raised a brow, flashing her a wink, as he offered with a shrug, "I've had many good times, sans a credit spent!" He nodded gently holding up a finger as if narrating, "As I said, we Federalites..." That definitely wasn't a word, "...are quite advanced." He said that just to see if he could get a reaction out of her.

As she said she wanted paid up front, he nodded slowly, and then had to think about how to do that. He looked around aimlessly for a few moments for his PADD, ultimately finding it, and then he brought up the credits program. His chit was already loaded in it, because were it not he'd lose it. Slowly he navigated to transfer, and with a quick replication, he'd hand her a chit, with the prescribed value on it, "That should do you just fine yes?" He raised a brow, and at her statement about the quality, he offered lightly, "You have the advantage of near no one being able to compare." He laughed gently, flashing her a wink, "Like those places that offer the best Klingon cuisine outside of Q'onos, as if anyone could actually check."

He gave a slow grin, and offered, "If you place such a high value on my favors, I might be willing to trade some." He offered it to her  either way, saying lightly, "But is it not natural for an Engineer to shoot for the Moon?" An old expression, "Aim high, miss high, so to speak." He nodded gently, and his train of thought was slowly leaving him. He drained what was in his glass, and he offered, "I, should be turning into a pumpkin very soon." A very very old reference that was.

He held up a finger like he was going to say goodbye, letting out a long yawn, and then he answered her question, with a light, "I'll have to think about it, which means you'll have to see me again." He grinned, "I want to stay here longer now if that counts, however I fear I will miss morning duty if I do." He nodded gently, saying lightly, "But I'll walk you as far as the door?"

Re: Day 30 [2235 hrs] Ain't Misbehavin'

Reply #20 – July 02, 2020, 05:48:37 PM

[ Xelia | Holodeck 06 | Deck 21 | Vector 03 | USS Theurgy ] Attn: @uytrereee

Frank was tipsy, the poor little thing. But still as single-minded as ever. She rolled her eyes, teasing him: 'Careful, sweetling, the line between 'cute' and 'desperate' is getting very thin. Besides,' she waved a hand carelessly, 'if your imagination only stretches as far as lovemaking as you put it, then doesn't that prove my point?' She wasn't sure what picnics or Blether whatevers had to do with anything, but he'd said them in such a flirty way she had to assume they were euphemisms or at the very least were intended to devolve into sex at some point. 'It can hardly be fun if it's predictable now can it, darling?'

The money was good to have, at least, meagre as it was. Interesting that he was now offering to trade favours, when earlier he'd been so set against it. Next time she should definitely wait until he was drunk to start doing business with him, it made him much more amenable. She didn't really appreciate his suggestion her statement about her holos being as good as 'the real thing' was overblown hype or a lie or something, but he wasn't excactly wrong. He wouldn't be able to compare.

Still... 'Just because you won't be able to compare doesn't mean no one will, darling,' she said a little slyly. 'You should've gotten in on it when I didn't set my prices.' After all, Isel was on board, wasn't she? Probably the only person she'd slept with that she didn't now want to stab. Luckily for the Vulpinian.

Frank said something completely unintelligible about pumpkins (???) and then let out a long, exaggerated yawn. A sleepy drunk, then; the least fun kind, sadly. But whatever, Xelia had gotten what she wanted -- more than she wanted, she'd had an interesting conversation with a strange Human man and even been paid, so she was perfectly happy to leave it there. She'd go on the prowl to find something else to entertain her.

'You Starfleet types just love your schedules, don't you?' she poked fun at him, hopping down from her perch and balancing her empty glass on some random piece of machinery. 'Don't let little old me keep you from your fascinating duties.' As if covering yourself in engine oil and hitting things with a wrench were even half as fun as her.

It occurred to her she really didn't have a clue what engineers actually did.

They walked to the exit in tandem, Xelia turning as they reached the door to say her goodbyes. 'I'll get that holo to you soon, sweet pea,' she assured him. 'But in the meantime... try shooting for a different moon.' She grinned as the doors whooshed open behind her, stepping backwards through them to leave. 'I'll see you around, darling!'

An odd man, an odd Human, she thought as she walked away. She'd liked his music, and his company, though kind of predictable by the end, hadn't been boring. It'd actually been kind of fun at points. She'd definitely be seeing him around. But first, time to head back to her apartment and try out that alien herb she'd found. She was sure that would be fun, too.

--FIN