Posted by Ensign Charlie Bailey (Doctor) in WWII Hangar Dance (Open Sidesim - All Welcome)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Amelia Manning (Executive Officer) in WWII Hangar Dance (Open Sidesim - All Welcome)

Posted by Ensign Charlie Bailey (Doctor) in WWII Hangar Dance (Open Sidesim - All Welcome)
Posted by… suppressed (12) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Harris couldn’t believe it had been three days already since Molly left with Lucas and now he was facing the prospect of his first weekend alone, minus the whole investigation debacle, in over two years. As a way to clear his head and have a bit of fun, Cal worked with Jersey the past few days to plan a Hangar Dance… Allied Forces / British style. He had spent the past two days ensuring all the correct uniforms were available for wear and carefully constructed his own. As he donned the olive drab US Marine Officers Jacket and turning to the mirror after buttoning it up, Cal was even impressed at his own handy work. Straightening the tie and tucking the cover under his left arm, Harris headed out to meet Jersey in Holodeck One.

Walking past several Junior Officers on the way to Holodeck, the uniform turned more than a few heads and had shipwide buzz in the time he took to get to the party location. Reaching the door, Harris first tapped his commbadge.

=A= All Hands… =A= Harris’ voice instantly reverberated throughout the ship. =A=… this is the Captain. I would like to cordially invite those personnel who might like to attend to a special themed party kicking off in Holodeck One in 30 minutes. Attire options are pulled into the computer, so donning previous special attire is unnecessary. I look forward to you all joining us in this little step back in time! Harris, out” =A= And with that, Harris stepped through the doors and into a large RAF Hangar fully decked out with Allied flags and a large brass band on the stage in front of the dance floor.

“Hi’ya Troop…” Came the playfully flirty yet highly recognizable voice of his Admin Clerk, Sgt. Brianna Reyes, only she was sporting the uniform of a US Navy Nurse… an Ensign. “… ya just get in?” She winked and Cal laughed. “This looks amazing Jersey…” The Marine beamed. “… and officer gold looks good on you Kid.” It was Cal’s turn to wink and Jersey made a playful gag face. “Not a chance Raven… I have no intention on commissioning. Not my style. Just figured I’d doll up for Bobby.” She smiled with a bright blush. “The boy’s earned it.”

(OOC: Anyone coming to the party just checks in at the terminal outside the Holodeck and select their country (US/UK/Canada), Branch (eg. RAF, USMC, US Army Corps, etc), and rank. This is an officer’s club dance, so all military folk would be officers. Ladies can choose military or Red Cross/towns folk. Let’s have some fun, shall we!

Harris & Reyes

Amelia had just finished her reports for the day when the comm came through. Lifting her face from the multiple PaDDs in front of her, she wondered what the ‘special themed party’ would be about. Well, there was only one way to find out…

Fifteen minutes later she was walking to Holodeck One. As she arrived at the door and tapped the pad outside, a few choices were provided by the computer. First one, country. That was not even a question, Manning thought as she tapped United Kingdom. Second, branch. Branch? Amelia furrowed her brow. The available list of branches was intriguing to her. It was only when one of the last options came into view, that Manning suspected what Harris had meant by ’taking a step back in time’.

It didn’t take long before Amelia finally walked into the holodeck. Her Starfleet uniform replaced by the classic blues of a Women’s Auxiliary Air Force officer. A Squadron Officer as per the braids on her sleeves.

In awe, Manning took a moment to take in the scene around her. The hangar… the brass band… the flags… it was literally like taking a step back in time to a moment centuries earlier. Lastly, she examined her own attire. The blue two piece jacket and skirt suit. The details on the King’s Crown buttons and on how the belt fastened around her waist on a left-to-right male fashion, as it would have been at the time. Manning was seriously gobsmacked.

Looking around, she spotted Harris and Reyes chatting. She straightened her tie before walking toward them. “This is becoming ridiculous!” Amelia said as she got close enough for the pair to hear. “One cannot even enjoy an evening of fun without Yanks in the room!” Was she exaggerating her British accent? Was that even possible? Manning added a playful wink. “This war doesn’t end soon enough.”

Lt. Cmdr. Manning, XO

Harris raised an eyebrow over his drink and Jersey turned from her spot at the bar next to him. It was clear from the details in both their uniforms that a lot of work went into this program. The US Marine Colonel nodded to the new comer and smiled to the “nurse” beside him. “Ya know Reyes…” A devilish smile crossing his face and the twinkling in his eyes couldn’t be missed, even in that room. “… before we got over here, the Queen’s Finest were gettin’ their pompous asses kicked all o’er the Channel!” He laughed as he pointedly spoke loud enough for the WAAF to hear him.

As she walked, Amelia appreciated the uniforms the other two officers were wearing. She wasn’t really familiar with Reyes, besides the few times she interacted with the woman every time she needed to see Harris in his ready room. As her eyes admired the Marine uniform worn by the Dresden’s CO, Manning couldn’t help but agree that there was something about the American uniforms of that period. She could see why so many young women at the time had found them appealing. Not to mention, Harris was good looking. Not as good looking as Pete, that was for sure, but good looking nonetheless. She could see what Wright saw in the man, and why many other female members of the crew envied the woman.

“Guess it’s a good thing Uncle Sam finally let us loose when he did, I kinda like ol’ George and that bulldog Churchill sure gotta brass set.” Then in the most southern accent he could muster, Harris added with a wink to Amelia. . “Though… the damn scenery here ain’t half bad.”

(OOC: For my UK/British friends in the club… understand that both Cal and in turn I am just screwing around to get a rise out of the British character in the “room”. As a student of history… /real/ world history, I have not and never have been a traditional obnoxious American that thinks “we alone” stopped the whole of Europe from ending up speaking German.)

Reyes scoffed and rolled her eyes as she hopped off her stool, smiling at the WAAF Officer with a look that clearly read she was about to be highly sarcastic. “Sorry for the Leatherneck ma’am…” Her New Jersey accent just as strong. “… I believe you all have a phrase for American boys like the good Colonel here. I believe it’s ‘oversexed, overpaid and over here?’”

Cal pursed his lips at the retort and quickly quipped. “More like the Brits are undersexed, underpaid and under Eisenhower.” The Marine said with a roguish grin.

Col. Harris, USMC & Ensign Reyes, USN

A smirk twisted Amelia’s lips. “You should add over-talkative to the list.” She said seemingly ignoring Harris’s remark. “I’m sure that if you talked less, Colonel…” Manning turned to face Calvin. “… you’d find you’d have some better luck with the ’not half bad’ scenery. After all, it’s not like there’s a line of swooning women at your door.”

Harris went to quip back with one of his patented come backs, only to find Jersey’s finger firmly against his lips. “Down boy.” Said the smartly dressed nurse with a smirk of her own. “No need to be so sensitive, Colonel. You’re not winning that fight… so it ain’t worth it.”

Walking past the pair and to the bar, Amelia ordered her drink. It took only a few seconds before she turned to the two Marines and laid her back against the bar with a bottle of Guinness in her hand. Usually a fervent whisky drinker, it would be the first time Harris had seen his Executive Officer drink anything that wasn’t hard liquor.

“Any woman that like’s her Guinness is fine by me…” The Marine said with a smile. “… so, what brings ya out tonight ma’am.”

Manning took the bottle to her lips before continuing. “I left the shop this afternoon hoping to find someone to take me dancing and maybe out for some… fun… later. Hopefully I’ll get better choices than the only loudmouth Marine in the room. Here’s to hoping.” She said crossing her fingers and taking another swig from her bottle. “What are you two fine Americans hoping to do tonight?”

S/O Manning, WAAF

“Got tired of listening to my Headquarters Company Commander whine about not getting the weekend off, so decided to come down and blow off some steam.” Harris chuckled as he looked to Jersey. “How ‘bout you hun?”

“One too many pinches from the Ward today. Thought I’d come down and dance a bit.” She smiled as she saw her Bobby come in in RAF Blue. “And the bringer of that fun just walked in, I’ll see you two later.” Like a snap, the nurse ran to her date.

Harris/Jersey

With a smile on her lips, Amelia’s gaze followed the young couple. As she saw them together, Manning couldn’t stop her heart from aching a little. She missed Pete. She had been missing him more than usual these days, and she wasn’t exactly sure about what had changed. Maybe is was simply more elapsed time since the last time they had seen each other… For a moment, her mind travelled back to her last memory of him that was not through the terminal on her quarters… It was him standing by the shuttle pad in Claremont… his hands casually in his overcoat’s pockets… his blonde hair waiving with the breeze…

Charlie smiled as she saw the message pop up on her console, it had been a long week and a dance seemed like a great idea to unwind. She gleefully looked through the list of options and decided she would go for a Navy WREN as they were known in World War 2. Her father had told her stories of his grandfather’s great, great grandmother, Jennifer Bailey, who had served proudly as a WREN, it was a very proud part of their family history and Charlie couldn’t think of anyone else she would rather go as. She took a look through their old family archive and found a somewhat faded but stunning picture of Jennifer. She replicated the correct uniform and after several attempts popped her hair up in a traditional 40s bouffant style and giggled as she saw herself in the mirror. She had never realised how much of a family resemblance there was until now. Proud as punch she headed to the Holodeck.

Amelia was brought back from her daydream by the opening of the Holodeck doors behind her. Quickly turning to see who was joining them, Amelia turned back to Harris. “Oh look, Colonel! It appears it won’t be the two of us anymore. I hope you feel as relieved as I am.” She winked at the Dresden’s CO. For Amelia, the time when both officers seemed not to be able to stand each other’s company were long gone, and lately she found herself enjoying the Marine’s company more than she cared to admit.

Calvin was thankful that, regardless of how they started off, his relationship with Amelia was finally developing and he was honestly enjoying the time he spent with the young Brit. “I know, right! I was starting to think we’d been forgotten!” The Marine laughed as he waved the Medical Officer over to where they were seated. “Come on over Lieutenant… join us.” He called to the young officer.

As the doors slid open she was somewhat taken aback at the glamour of the room, she had never seen so much bunting in one room. A little nervous as there weren’t many people there yet she cautiously made her way over to the small gathering of people. Plucking up the courage she approached the Captain. “Uh, thank you sir, this was a lovely idea…um, Lt Jennifer Bailey sir,” she said quietly as she saluted him.

Ensign Bailey (Doctor)

Manning hadn’t personally met Bailey yet, but she had seen her around the ship in a few different occasions. The smile on her face was warm as the nurse approached but Amelia let both the medical officer and Harris speak before she allowed herself to join in the conversation.

As she listened she took a large sip of her bottle of Guinness.

S/O Manning, WAAF

Harris gave the arriving officer a relaxed, two-finger salute and smiled warmly. “Of course, Lieutenant. I thought everyone needed to have some time to wind down after everything over the past few weeks.” Then he added. “Plus, it helps get me out of my slump since Molly went home on leave. I never got a chance to really say thank you for all your help, Ms. Bailey, after Captain Wright was injured. We are both very grateful.”

Charlie blushed a little and smiled back at the Captain. “You’re welcome sir, just doing my job,” she added quietly, she didn’t really like being the centre of attention.

Looking to Amelia, Cal smiled. “Amelia, this is the young lady that took care of Molly after her little Holodeck mishap last week.”

Harris, CO

Amelia smiled and nodded. The beer still in her mouth acting as an excuse for her not to comment. Manning was terrified of the Dresden’s CIO. After all, there was a reason why Intel Officers were many times known as Spooks to non-Intel personnel. And Wright had made Amelia understand the reference.

Charlie extended her hand towards Amelia, having not had the pleasure of meeting her yet. “How is Captain Wright feeling sir?” She asked Harris as she took another look around the room. She got the impression that Molly was not one to sit still, Charlie wondered how much of her advice to take it easy Molly had actually followed.

Dr Bailey

Politely, Amelia took Bailey’s hand and shook it. It was a more vigorous shake than the Doctor would have anticipated. “Nice to meet you, Doctor.” Amelia said with a smile. “Amelia Manning. Ship’s XO by day and…” she looked around “WAAF Squadron Officer by night.”

Taking a final swig of her bottle, Amelia let the two officers catch up for a moment, as she leaned against the bar and ordered another Guinness. It seemed that tonight, she was going to need them.

S/O Manning, WAAF

“Ah hell…” Harris chuckled. “… Captain Wright is doing just fine. She’s on Leave back home to attend to some business but I assure you, her Uncle will keep her in line.” The Marine smiled widely and after a taking a sip, added. “She needed this trip and… at least with her back home, the only trouble I see her getting into is using the wrong fork.”

Col. Harris, USMC

“No one has trouble knowing what forks to use.” Amelia scoffed in between sips. Her tone was not rude but rather surprised.

Harris scoffed at the comment. “Why da’hell am I not surprised you’d say something like that Manning!? Not everybody grew up with a sliver spoon in their mouth Amelia, I assure you.” The soft laugh made clear the Marine was simply ribbing the Executive Officer and not trying to be hateful. Just having a little fun.

Charlie chuckled as she recalled herself being in a similar situation recently at her little sister’s wedding. Mimi had married into quite a wealthy family and Charlie always felt uncomfortable round the in-laws, it always seemed like a lot of unnecessary pomp and ceremony to her. “I’m glad she’s doing alright sir, I hope you’ve been able to catch up on some sleep as well?” she asked as she took a drink from the bar and took a sip, she wasn’t entirely sure what it was but it was a cocktail and that was good enough for her.

Lt Bailey, WRNS

“Eh…” Calvin shrugged. “… resting isn’t something Starship Commanders are much accustomed to having, Ms. Bailey. To be honest, I don’t sleep as well when she’s away. If she’s here, aboard the Dresden, I have near limitless power to protect her… but....” The Marine sighed and took a sip of his drink, shoulders slumping slightly. “… when she’s not, I have to trust those she’s with to keep her safe. Thankfully…” A soft smile returned his face and he brightened slightly. “… the man she’s currently with, her uncle, is one of the people I most deeply trust and with his resources…” His smile widened as he looked up at Bailey. “… let’s just say, God help anyone or thing that tries to move against Lucas Holloway.”

“If he hasn’t, I’ll make sure he has.” Amelia winked playfully at Bailey. “After all, that is part of my job. Even if the good Colonel over here doesn’t want to acknowledge it sometimes and needs a little reminder.” Manning shot Harris a warm smile. The truth was, even if sometimes she didn’t want to acknowledge it herself, Amelia cared for the man. Overtime she had surprisingly found that they seemed to be more alike than different in may ways.

“So…” Amelia turned to Charlie. “… what brings a Wren out here tonight? It’s nice to see the British forces outnumbering the yanks here.” She said with a wink to Cal.

S/O Manning, WAAF

Harris rolled his eyes once more.

Harris, USMC

Charlie smiled warmly and gave her a little salute. “Yes ma’am it certainly is!” she replied, standing to attention then gave her a little giggle. “Actually, one of my distant relatives, Jennifer, was a Wren, and I thought it would be a fitting tribute,” she said proudly as she pulled a padd from her pocket with an old photo of Jennifer in her uniform. The resemblance was almost uncanny. “And you ma’am?” she asked curiously.

Lt Bailey, WRNS