[snip]

Cross was having some well deserved relaxing time consuming her favorite alcohol… vodka . First the female doctor noted the dentist with marthese making their way to the bar and then Nkosenye, glass in hand she did her best to hide behind a gorilla and a rather small T-Rex hoping no one would see her in the ‘suppose’ costume.

At over seven feet in height, Nkosenye saw the doctor trying hide herself in the menagerie of oddities at the bar. Without looking in her direction, his low rumble of a voice said “Doctor Cross. Very nice to see you. I hope the igorila -” he said, using what may have been his native word for the gorilla, “- and lizard are good drinking companions. If you prefer different company, you are welcome to join me… if you like.” and his face turned to look at her. The perpetual scowl had been replaced, surprisingly, by an actual smile… small thought it was.

Cross gave a weary sigh and made her way nearer the CoS ‘’SSSSh… not so loud for I don’t want the dentist and the doctor to see me’’ she replied in a low tone ‘’Cannot fathom what possessed me to accept their invitation and’’ the female doctor did her best to make eye contact with the seven plus man ‘’ Don’t you dare ask me what my costume is suppose to be for I have no darn idea’’ and with that she drowned down what was left of the vodka.

Mthunzi looked down and said “Well… um… perhaps a table further away would allow for you to keep a lower profile?” he asked, a small amount of hesitation in his voice that was definitely not the norm. “But first…” and he motioned to the bartender who filled another glass which Mthunzi picked up and handed to Cross. “A refill. Shall we, Doctor?” he asked, gesturing to table in the corner of the lounge.

‘’You bet’’ the doctor replied ‘’Vodka and make it double’’ Cross replied without much hesitation and she made her way to the table at record speed.

Ade and Marthese arrived at the bar at the same time as Mthunzi. Ade made a nod of recognition to him before realising this costume made him completely concealed his identity. In actual fact, they had never really met socially, despite both hailing from the United States of Africa on Earth, though you couldn’t miss the man given his stature.

Ade caught the attention of the barman and ordered, “I’ll have a beer and whatever my companions would like, please!”

The female doctor gave a nod to the CoS ‘’Good afternoon Sir’’ while giving him one of her sweetest smiles ‘’Just orange juice for me please ‘’ mathese in her red Indian costume replied ‘’Alcohol dulls the senses and…’’ she put a hand over her mouth ,after all she was sure the others were there to have a good time and not get a lecture about alcohol .

Mthunzi nodded at the doctor and said “Good evening.” He then retrieved two drinks and made his way to the corner table where Cross was seated. “Doctor.” he said as he sat the drink in front of her and took the chair opposite her. He sat down glass filled with a bright red liquid in front of him, and then looked somewhat quizzically at Cross. “So how did you decide on that particular ensemble?” he said with a indication to her ‘costume’.

“Well, excessive drinking of alcohol is bad for the the liver, and will put on weight, which is bad for everything, but responsible drinking is good for the heart, and for the digestion, and beer is one of the few food sources of silicon,” replied Ade. “So, I’m just going to up and order some of that green stuff over there…”

‘’Thanks’’ Cross said as she heard the clink of the glass on the table,the doctor was observing marthese and her beautiful Indian dress ‘’She even have beads and.....’‘.
That was when she heard Nkosenye ‘’Its bad isn’t it?It looks funny doesn’t it?’’ Cross asked already knowing the answer for both questions ‘’Say’’ she said in a low tone ‘’Did Julias Caesar the Roman Emperor have a wife?’‘.

Then as usual she switched from one subject to the next ‘’If the Penguin comes to join us he’s the dentist and the Indian is a doctor’’ why Cross felt the need to divulge such trivial information to the CoS was anyone’s guess.

Nkosenye looked at Cross and listened as she asked a question, changed the subject, and then changed the subject again. Nkosenye waited for a pause, and then said “I know who they are. I try to be familiar with all members of the crew. Caesar had three wives, if I remember my history lessons correctly. The last one had a premonition of his death.” and he paused and looked at Cross for a moment and then said matter-of-factly “And I think you look quite beautiful, Doctor.” and he took a sip of his drink.

Cross’s eyes widened ‘’I do?’’ she asked, never quite remembering getting a compliment of this sort before and lo and behold the doctor actually blushed.She thought it would be better to change the subject ,maybe if there was more vodka in her system Cross would by now be sitting on his lap without a care in the universe .

‘’Say did you know that the small island were I grew up was once attached to Africa?’’ she finished off fluttering her eye lashes unnecessarily .

Nkosenye noticed the coloring of her cheeks but said nothing. “And what island would that be, Doctor?” he asked, genuinely interested in learning about her. He took a sip of his drink, but his eyes never left her.

Cross felt her cheeks burning ‘’M..M..Malta’’ was the only thing she could mutter while wondering why the sudden elevated body temp..... doctor or no doctor. This man was too cool for her liking,there was some thing that unnerved her He’s nobody’s fool Cross thought to herself ,glad Nkosenye had no telepathic abilities.

Nkosenye nodded slightly, his gaze not wavering. “Malta? I know of it, but never had the opportunity to visit. I have heard many wonderful things. My home is the opposite end of the continent. My people have lived there for as long as there is recorded history. KwaZulu-Natal, on the eastern side of South Africa and Lesotho. Do you know it?” he asked. There was a marked change in his demeanor. The usually stand-offish Security Chief had, at some point in the past few moments, been replaced with an actual person. A person who seemed to focus their entire attention upon Cross. His normal scowl had softened, and when he spoke of home there was a wistfulness in his deep voice that no one on board had heard before. He looked away momentarily to the bar and motioned for another round before turning his gaze back to Cross.

Cross thought it was not fair that the man kept paying ‘’This round will be on me ‘’ she spoke in a gentle tone , the loose locks of hair softened her face which still retained traces of youth.

My people have lived there for as long as there is recorded history. KwaZulu-Natal, on the eastern side of South Africa and Lesotho. Do you know it?” he asked.

She shook her head ‘’Unfortunately I never got the chance to visit the African continent though I had planned too..some thing happened that would change the course of my life forever’‘.

Tia had hemmed and hawed about joining the festivities. She hadn’t even finished her official check ins yet. But since everyone would be there, doing her medical and XO check in at this time seemed pointless.

The young, red haired, Romanian gypsy walked into the party and looked around. Her red dress (*) was simple yet elegant. Her hair, wild and unruly like a bonfire around her head when down, was pulled back with gold and red cord in a simple knot at the base of her neck. The gold was also echoed in a simple torc around her neck with a wolf head on one side and a ball representing a full moon on the other. The ends resting lightly on her shoulder blades as if watching, or guarding, her throat.

The protem Chief of Engineering was unknown to most of the ship, so she didn’t expect anyone to rush up and welcome her. After a moment to get her bearings, she headed for the serving area and waited till she had the chance to order a nice, cold, ale. It wasn’t very ‘ladylike’, her mom would probably have said. But her dad would have approved. She took the simple glass of amber liquid and moved towards the windows and a corner near them where she could see what was happening without feeling like she was a caged animal.

Few things escaped Cross as she scrutinized Tia ‘’Lt ‘’ she turned to the CoS ‘’Would you mind if we call the lady in red, I do hate to see her alone?’’ the female doctor asked ‘’ I do know that she’s relatively new and may be feeling well kind of awkward’’ Cross did wonder if he wanted someone’s else company beside her.

Nkosenye paused, looking intently at Cross, and then nodded and said “Of course, Doctor.” and then said much more softly so that only she would hear “But only if we continue our discussion over dinner tomorrow evening.” and without waiting for a reply stood up and said “Lieutenant Ezial. Would you care to join us?”

She felt her heart flutter and did her stomach do a somersault as well? ‘’Oh that would be lovely Lt’’ Cross replied with a wide and delighted smile

Meanwhile, down at the opposite end of the bar, Ade was left with Marthese. “Dr. Bugeja, may I call you Marthese? Your Indian Princess outfit is extraordinarily detailed. How did you manage to design and make such a thing at such short notice?”

‘’Sure ‘’ the female doctor replied as she stopped sipping the orange juice ‘’Oh this’’ Marthese looked down at her costume ‘’It was given to me at a festival that I had attended,you see I was born in Malta but mum died during childbirth with my twin brother and I. As dad had relatives on my mother’s side living in America he decided it was best to emigrate and leave us with our aunt who had no kids of her own’‘.
Mentioning her brother brought horrendous, atrocious memories and she was now left with a look that could only be described as the haunted haunting kind.

“Memories that are not so good, huh? Just ignore them. You know, big families can often not be so good either. I have brothers, sisters and half-brothers. I have a ton of first cousins… cousins everywhere at home, and everyone for miles around is a second cousin. It doesn’t mean we all get along with each other, there are disputes over land and valuables, and then there is all that sibling rivalry too… You moved around a lot though, that is not fair on a young child. Children need some stability.”

She heard him but took time to respond ‘’Do you have a brother who happens to be a serial killer Ade,a father that committed suicide when the police told him about his son and a sister who ran as far away as she possible could even though he’s incarcerated for life?’‘.

Ade took a while to answer. She wanted to shock him, but he refused to be shocked by her. Ade had lived long enough to have seen things that he couldn’t describe. Instead, he tried to lighten the conversation. He remembered a similar conversation with Marthese in Sickbay and was sure she needed some help for her issues. Strange that Starfleet Medical had completely missed them.

“I cannot say that I do, no… I was just saying that I do know about dysfunctional families. Two of my cousins are real Princes, but another has been imprisoned for pretending to be one. I also have a cousin banned from the Galactic 3D Chess Federation for cheating. I have yet another cousin who left her husband, is addicted to the Venus Drug, and now lives with an android on Mars.”

Ade, Dentist