Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Randal Farquharson (Jack of all Trades) in Gym- Saturday Night Fever (Open to all)

Posted by Commander Roman Alden (First Officer & Chief Science Officer) in Gym- Saturday Night Fever (Open to all)

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Rand Farquharson (Yeoman First Class) in Gym- Saturday Night Fever (Open to all)
Posted by… suppressed (14) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Morale was a tricky thing and her own confidence here had been had had its shaky moments. Rand’s suggestion that she simply put out a call to people if she wanted a dance night seemed simple, but Leah had a fear she had never had before in her life: what if no one showed up? How sad and pathetic would that be?

But then she took a page out of her own therapist notebook and reframed it: if no one showed up, she would have one hell of a practice session after not having danced properly in awhile. And you know what? She was good with that.

So after some organizing with the galley, Leah put out the invitation on the ship’s internal network:

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To: ALL CREW
From: Lieutenant (j.g) Hart, Leah (PhD, NP)

Re: Dance Party- Gym- Saturday night

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Hey folks,

I love to go out dancing and find myself missing it. Come on out to the gym after 2000 hours and we’ll have the place set up for a little party. There will be beverages and small bites. We’ll play a variety of music depending on who attends and what people like. Come have fun and be social. You don’t even have to dance if you don’t want to. There will be conversation as well.

~Leah

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Saturday night rolled around and Leah had the gym equipment tucked away and replaced with a couple tables along one wall for the food and drinks, plus a couple smaller tables with chairs in one corner in case people needed to sit for a bit. The gym could only fit 40 people in this set-up and that was more than planty in Leah’s mind. She didn’t need tons of people, but just enough to not feel alone here in her fun.

She had donned her favourite fitted green satin halter top that twisted in the front across her chest and was made of this awesome fabric that breathed amazingly well despite the shiny finish. She had a flouncy skirt that was black on top and white on the underside with an asymmetrical hem so it ended mid thigh on her left side and swept down to her shin on her right. There was a ruffle on the hem that meant when she moved you could see the different colour underneath. She completed this with gold high heeled sandals with a good heel base for dancing, and her hair was up in a high ponytail exposing the large gold hoops she wore. Dark makeup accented her eyes and accentuated a pale gold lipstick and dark mascara.

At 1955 the first attendees arrived and she had the music already going with an electronic dance selection. The lights were dimmed but not dark and she had brought in some bright coloured lanterns to cast some glow in spots. She twirled and gestured for people to come on in. She recognized one of her fellow nurses, and an engineer NCO. Leah flashed them a grin as they joined the fun, even as they chuckled at her antics. Someone had to get the party started and it might as well be her!

~Leah Hart, NP

Karl entered the gym and smiled widely at the changes, he’d never been much for dancing but he loved few things more than socialising. He wore simple dark slacks and a dark blue shirt and held an unmarked green bottle. He moved to the drinks table and placed the bottle down and grabbed a drink, greeting a few of his engineers with his usual warm smile.

Karl

Leah spied the new attendee and recognized the CE, even though they had not met. She had made it a priority to review the files of the senior staff, and so he was known to her in that way. However, the bottle made her brows like and her grin widen. She danced her way over, moving as if she had been born dancing (which wasn’t too far from reality). “Ohhh, you brought some fun to the party. What did you bring?” she asked.

~Leah Hart, NP

“The water of life, Aqua Vitae” Karl said with a smile then laughed “Brennivín from my hometown, burning wine if you will. Nordic spiced schnapps, chilled.” He spoke fondly of the alcohol “This was a gift from a cousin when I left Earth last time, just shy of 40%. Nice on its own but traditionally taken with fermented shark” He made an exaggerated look of disgust “We don’t hunt sharks anymore but someone managed to figure out how to synthesize the protein sequence for it, bastard”

“I might skip the shark, at least tonight, but you have me very much intrigued. You’ll have to pour me a glass.” Hart held out her hand. “I’m Leah, host of this evening.”

Karl shook her hand enthusiastically “Karl, Chief Grease Monkey” He said with a wide grin and started removing the wax seal from the bottle.

“It’s great to meet you, Karl,” Leah said with genuine enthusiasm.

Rende wasn’t sure she was really feeling up to dancing much, or that she should subject the crew to seeing that. However, she had encouraged Leah to promote and arrange social activities, so she was at least going to show up. Maybe, just maybe she’d meet a certain someone there who would make it an exceptional evening. She dressed in a pair of dark capri pants, tight snuggly below her knees and a sleeveless button down in deep burgundy. Her hair was loose rather than the tight bun or braid she used to keep her hair out of her way while on duty.

Rende entered the gym and scanned the area and then made her way toward the refreshment table to get a drink. She spoke to each person she passed, as long as they weren’t otherwise engaged. She knew them all. That was one thing that Rende had had Rand help her with. Reviewing the entire crew and being able to recognize them by face, know their name, and their work. She didn’t know many personally yet, but it was a start.

Cpt. Asam, CO

Leah caught the surprising presence out of the corner of her eye and waved with a wide smile at Rende, though she quickly returned her attention to Karl.

~Leah Hart, NP

Rende smiled and waved back to Leah. After she got a drink she’d make her way over. She’d enjoyed her chat with Chief Karl previously and hadn’t had a chance to really speak with him since.

Cpt. Asam, CO

Karl turned to face the Captain “Ma’am, you a big dancer?” he asked cheerfully.

Master Chief Karl - CE

Rende laughed, “Well, I have been known to take a turn or two on the floor. I’m not sure I’m quite ready to embarrass myself that publicly yet.”

Cpt. Asam, CO

“Nah, we’ll save that for me,” Leah said with a wide grin. “I can dance quite well, but I’m not sure if this crew can handle the fullness that is me in dance mode.” She was teasing, of course, but there was also that tiny part of her that wondered what people would make of the former championship dancer. It different without a partner, but she still always had fun out on the floor. It could be just her and music, even if she was surrounded by people.

~Leah Hart, NP

Rende smiled, “Well no time like the present to begin acclimating the crew to the fullness that is you in dance mode. This is a off duty social function. The point is to relax and have fun.”

Leah just flashed the captain a wide grin.

Rand took a breath, moving slightly closer to Roman’s side. Her hand was tucked into the crook of his arm. It was a party, like any other after party. The after parties were never her thing, but she had managed and this was smaller. She would be fine. She knew everyone that might be there. No strangers, no surprises.

Rand had many ball gowns for dancing. She wouldn’t wear a gown, tonight was too casual for that, but she did pick a dress. A simple green a-line with drop shoulders and a full skirt. Her hair was out of the normal bun and instead pinned up just on the sides with two rhinestone clips.

She glanced around for Hart. She didn’t want Roman to have to spend too much time worrying over others perceptions tonight. However etiquette dictated that they must great her. She was the hostess for the evening.

Yeoman Rand

Roman wore a nice suit, not over the top, but just right for the event. He wore a light blue button down, black slacks, and a black blazer, no tie. He kept his arm in Rand’s as he glanced around the room to see who had arrived already.

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

More people were arriving and Leah was doing her best to try to greet people while also paying attention to the conversation she was a part of. Catching two familiar figures out of the corner of her eye, Leah waved to Rand and Roman and returned her attention to Rende and the CE she knew only by his file.

~Leah Hart, NP

Karl finally managed to remove the wax seal of the bottle and grabbed a few shot glasses from the table and poured a few of the chilled drink “It works as both a sipping and as a shot but it has a bit of a kick, not unlike Vodka with a herby flavour” He took two shots up and carefully handed one to Hart “Care for a try Captain?” He asked.

Master Chief Karl - CE

“I’d be delighted Chief.” Rende took the second glass and sipped it first, getting a feel for the drink. Then she knocked back the entire thing. The kick raced down her spine and she grinned. “Now that’s dangerous. I like it. What is it?”

Cpt. Asam, CO

Leah eyed the shot and decided to jus go for it. She knocked it back and shok her head briefly, eyes wide. Then she laughed. “That’s amazing! Burning wine indeed. I’ll take another, Karl, if you don’t mind.”

Rand’s hand squeezed his just barely. “We should say hello,” she whispered quietly. The captain was there too. Rand scanned the area. Was there anything out of place, that needed attention, or any task that needed to be handled? There wasn’t of course. They could get their greetings out of the way, and then maybe they could dance a bit.

Yeoman Rand

Roman really did not want to. Hesitantly, he nodded. It would seem odd if he didn’t. He moved towards Leah and the Captain, still holding Rand’s hand. “Lieutenant. Captain.” He greeted.

~ Cmdr Alden, XO/CSO

“Hey! Glad you two could make it,” Leah said, surprised to see Roman here and wondering how much Rand had to convince him to come. “There’s plenty of beverages- including non-alcoholic- and food. And the music type changes frequently and I’m happy t let people change it to something they want to dance to.”

Randy entered the gym and exhaled slowly seeing that it was fairly popular today. He knew the rules and regulations surrounding required gym hours per week for officers and crew. He had intended to practice some Fesarian calisthenics and follow it up with a glass of ice cold tranya afterwards. The problem with that exact exercise was that they could be rather… suggestive? Exceptionally little was known about the First Federation and it was highly unlikely that the ‘Fesarian calisthenics’ Randy had read about in a back issue of Fleet Gossip, the premier tabloid in all of Federation space. Oh well…

He leaned on the wall and sighed; looking towards the treadmills to see if one were open.

—Randy, JOAT—

All the gym equipment was cleared away and the lighting dimmer. The music switched to a something with a swing beat that seemed a fusion of different styles.

~Leah Hart, NP