Posted by Ensign Karina Niles (Doctor) in Aboard the Starbase - The Likable Hornet

Posted by Gamemaster Conspiracy Theorist (Weaver of Webs) in Aboard the Starbase - The Likable Hornet

Posted by Lieutenant Orvos Legen (Chief Engineer) in Aboard the Starbase - The Likable Hornet
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

Having noticed Karina on her entrance, Ky’Laria decided the moment had come to let her know it. She cast her glance over her shoulder and allowed her silvery gaze to settle on the woman for a moment. “Doctor,” she greeted in a tone of mock surprise. “It’s starting to seem that half the ship shares our predicament.” In punctuation, the Kuras gave a thin, delayed smile.

-Ky’Laria (Alleged Crewmate)

Viyara turned somewhat on her barstool to see who Ky’Laria was talking to. Another member of the Athena’s crew?

Watching Ky’Laria out of the corner of her eyes while trying to be oblivious was making Karina uncomfortable. She had no idea why. But as the woman looked her way and called out teasingly, Karina shrugged indifference. “A pandemic of missing crewmen. How unprofessional of the Athena.” She nodded to Ky, a look in her eyes that held .... something. Jealousy… perhaps?

Karina
Doctor

“What predicament are you talking about?” Tikka asked, taking a sip of her water. Her attention flitted between each of these three women, her curiosity clear. “Are we the missing crewmen? I didn’t catch any of your names, I am Ensign Tikka, by the way. Are you in Science too, fanged one?” She looked at Ky’Laria, head tilted slightly. Tikka could not hide how anxious and excited she was about her assignment, excited to go there, anxious about how well she might do. What if people didn’t like her?

• Tikka

Karina left it to Ky to answer the question, her gaze taken back by the bartender who was before her.

Sensing an upturn in the flow of conversation, Ky’Laria leaned down toward Tikka and softly nodded, “Yes, chatty one.”

The bartender looked over the group and then leaned in whispering, “Rumor has it that the whole ship was swallowed up by a wormhole.”

Warming to the subject the bartender’s eyes sparkled, “Everyone seems to be talking about it, the whole place is in an uproar!”

Junior Gamemaster Conspiracy Theorist

The young doctor leaned forward a bit, her hand resting on the bartender’s in a flirtatious way. “Swallowed by a wormhole? You don’t say. I think you are pulling my leg, darling. I mean, ships have to fly into them, don’t they?” She bit her lip and looked at him with a soft smile on her face.

Karina
Doctor
(Flirt? whoda thunk)

As Ky’Laria observed Karina and the barkeep, her eyes lit up and a flash of pleasant surprise crossed her features. This wouldn’t have struck her exactly as the woman’s tack in a situation like this. But if Karina had chosen to work the bartender, then the Kuras considered herself free to work others. It struck her that the bartender’s open declaration about their ship would doubtless drive a wider interest in the conversation. Sitting upright on her stool, Ky’Laria reached out into the room with her honed senses, trying to pick out a quickening heartbeat, a deepening breath, or some other sign of excitement… or deceit.

The bartender scowled, “You sound just like the woman that was in here the other day, she thought I was smoking long ones as well, but I tell ya, the thing just reached out and grabbed them, lock, stock, and barrel”.

“A wormhole, ey?” Viyara asked, one eyebrow raised. If that was true the ship could be anywhere and it could take weeks, months or even years till they came back. If they ever returned. Which made the fact that they were here waiting for a ship that might never come back even more mysterious in her opinion. Not that she minded being her. On the contrary. So far it promised to be an interesting stay.

~Ensign Nazeen, Scientist

“The other side of a wormhole could be anywhere in space or time,” Ky’Laria casually remarked, eyes softly shut over a sip of her glass.

As the woman overheard her conversation with the bartender, she frowned. Karina shifted her back to the group Ky was with, her eyes all for the bartender. “A wormhole? But surely you can’t just ‘fall’ into one. I mean… they had to be there for a reason, right?” She was playing the confused innocent. Since she was young enough to play the part, it occurred to her to live it up and see if she could glean anything more from the willing bartender. She watched him and lightly traced a finger around the rim of her drink.

Karina
Doctor

Up to this point, the table of three had kept to themselves. However, upon hearing the Athena had been sucked into a wormhole, the redhead at the table stood up and moved to the bar. Her green eyes quickly assessing everyone present. “Did I hear someone say the Athena was sucked into a wormhole?” She wasn’t demanding, but her presence was certainly made known.

-Redheaded Woman

In a corner of the room, a young lady with her back to the conversation flinched slightly at the sound of the voice.

Junior Gamemaster Conspiracy Theorist

Ky’Laria’s eyes shot open, and she spun with calm but purpose to fixate on the woman who had flinched. The redheaded woman who had approached them did not need the Kuras’ attention; she was doing plenty to make her presence known. But this other woman’s reaction might have been an innocent coincidence… though the redhead hadn’t been that jarring.

Karina frowned. While she hadn’t seen the woman behind her flinch, she noticed the red head joining them. It troubled her that bars were the place for information. Their loudness being a two set phaser. One setting meant you didn’t have to worry about many folks overhearing, or caring, what you talked about. The other setting meant your voice had to be raised to be heard… and sometimes other people heard.

As the woman asked about the ship, she sat back a moment and looked at her curiously. “Well, he claims they just up and vanished into one. I, for one, don’t believe it.” Unfortunately, she did believe it. The question was, who sent the Athena there, and why? She took another sip of her drink and wished she either hadn’t come back so soon, or hadn’t left the Athena in the first place.

She felt like she had stepped into a right Ferengi mess.

Karina
Doctor

-Ky’Laria (Walking Sensor Array)