Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Va’rek (Engineer) in Lounge- Late Night

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Stark Nightstalker (Chief Intelligence Officer) in Lounge- Late Night

Posted by Civilian Marishka (Lounge Host) in Lounge- Late Night
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻
(snip)

Ghubari smiled widely as she played, a strange contrast to the moody tones her fingers coaxed from the grand piano. “That it is, and so am I. It only made sense though. I was used to having access to a piano and after our last ship went down, it only made sense that our new one had one too. And if I wanted something decent, well, best to make sure I picked it out myself.” She chuckled. “Interesting feat getting a piano on the ship. We ended up having to use the cargo transporters to beam it in here.”

Fl. Captain Koraia, CO

“Useful things, cargo transporters” Stark suddenly realized he’d spoken aloud and stopped suddenly.

Stark Nightstalker CIO

The Vulcan had been watching the keys as the Captain played a particular melody she’d used caught his attention and he seemed to forget the conversation going on around him as he haltingly copied it and then used a chord inversion and a relative minor key change to alter it slightly. The result wasn’t earth-shattering by any means because he wasn’t a proficient pianist, but the melody had a haunting quality to it.

-Va’rek

Marishka didn’t quite catch Stark’s eye but his comment did not go unnoticed by her. Instead she nodded and smiled encouragingly as Va’rek played.

• Marishka

Ghubari let Var’ek take over the melody, all the while giving Stark a smirk. There were times she wished the Caitian were telepathic so she could speak to him without announcing to to the entire room. But she was certain it was entirely unnecessary anyway. They both knew each other too well at this point.

Then, the captain simply formed an accompaniment to the new strains. “Late nights are when I come here. I play to clear my mind. Or simply be,” she said, not minding sharing such personal details. Early on in her time as a CO that would have been an absolute deal-breaker, but she had grown a great deal since then.

“Do you play music, Mariska?” Koraia asked curiously.

Fl. Captain Koraia, CO

Marishka nodded and permitted a slight smile.

“I play many instruments actually. I have even played this beauty a time or two. The CE and I are working out a new sound system as a matter of fact. He is quite remarkable at his job and I’m certain we will have this place comparable to the finest concert halls before you know it. But yes, I love the piano, the harp, and many many others.” she explained.

• Marishka

OOC: When is this thread in relation to the sim?

OOC I’m not sure but I’m thinking before?
IC
“Yes, they’re going to make beautiful music together”, Stark deadpanned as he looked his captain in the eye and raised an eyebrow.

Stark Nightstalker CIO

OOC: Yes, this is definitely before. I have a feeling anything post-sim will have a dramatically different mood, lol.
IC:
Ghubari just smirked at Stark. “He knows me too well. He also knows that my sitting here playing the piano with others is a rather dramatic turn in behaviour give that I stopped playing in public for a long time, and then when I started again, it was very late at night with the hopes that no one would be around.” She smiled warmly at Marishka. “I look forward to the new sound system. We’ll have to test it out.”

Fl. Captain Koraia, CO

“Oh, absolutely. I have several instruments that I’d love to test it out with and I do some singing at times although I’m told er have some excellent vocalists on board. So I might just set that aside for now.” Marishka said with a smile.

• Marishka

Koraia chuckled softly. “I’ve bene known to sing. In public too!” she said with a gleam in her pale amber eyes.

Julien entered the lounge, dressed in black slacks and a black simple T. His short black curls were glistening with moisture as he hadn’t bother to dry off after his swim in the pool. He looked up, surprised at the crowd and the atmosphere in the lounge and then is mismatched green eyes zeroed in on Marishka. With a slight smile he strode over to them.

• Julien

Stark took a moment to process the fact that this was the first time that all of these disparate people had shown up in the same place. His analytical mind went into overdrive, if the Conclave wanted to “clean up”, now would be an excellent time to do it. The next few seconds had him as tight as a bowstring.

Stark Nightstalker CIO

Ghubari watched Julien approach and simply gave a light smile. “Doctor,” she greeted with a slight bow of her head. Given that the engineer next to her on the piano bench didn’t know anything about their secret plans, she wasn’t about to give anything away.

Fl. Captain Koraia, CO

Still about two meters away, Julien finally spotted Ghubari as well, who had been so far invisible standing behind Stark. He controlled his features, but his left eyebrow did climb up shortly as he inclined his head to Ghubari. This… was a new situation alltogether. But then again, why shouldn’t Ghubari know. She was not Patricia after all, she was his friend, just like Stark, and he was done playing games. There were advantages to not being the Captain! Besides, with all the males in the room he felt a certain need to…

Marishka kept herself well composed as Julien entered the room but, perhaps, she would have to sing in public after all. Nodding, she caught his eye and smiled.

“Good evening. So glad you could make our impromptu soiree. I suppose that’s what we have here yes?” she asked turning to the small group that had gathered.
- Marishka

He strode on resolutely and when he reached Marishka his arm went around her waist, he pulled her in just a little and planted a soft, tender kiss on her cheek, just at the corner of her lips, acting as if this was the most normal thing to do. But of course, as each single time he touched her or inhaled her delicious addictive scent, his heart rate picked up a few paces.

“I’ve missed you.” he said into her ear and then smiled at the others. Finally his eyes landed on Ghubari’s, unapologetically. “Can’t miss a soiree in the lounge, I hope there’ll be cocktails with it.”

“Oh yes”, Stark said a little too quickly for his liking, “absolutely no hidden agendas and subterfuge here”. He flicked out a claw and looked at it intently.
Stark Nightstalker CIO

Julien’s eyes veered to Stark and his grin made the corners of his eyes wrinkle. “I don’t know about you, but I absolutely have a hidden agenda.” he said and winked at Marishka with a cheeky grin.

• Julien Smith

Marishka had a feeling Julien, at least, could hear her heart skip a beat. It was good to have him back in whatever fashion the evening lead to.

Turning slightly, she smiled and her silver eyes met his, “I believe I can find whatever you desire but, I think I’d rather stay right here and ask the staff to do it for me.” she said with a touch of imperiousness.

• Marishka

Stark tilted his head back and gave a short cough, the Caitian equivalent of a barking laugh. “No matter how much combat I experience, the war of words is still the art of champions” he intoned and bowed slightly, “I’m in the presence of greatness.”

Stark Nightstalker CIO

Having sat quietly for a few moments, the Vulcan saw an opportunity to make a witty comment and decided to see if his theory about comedic timing was accurate… He glanced over at Nightstalker and raised an eyebrow. “I believe the age-old expression is: The Pen is Mightier than the Sword.”

-Va’rek

Stark chuckled, “Well I do know seventeen ways to kill you with a pen so I guess that could be true,” pausing for a moment he continued “Actually eighteen, but several of them aren’t sure kills, you might survive…”

Stark Nightstalker CIO