AT/D04 - Officer's Lounge

[Aeryn Miller]

Hallowette quickly joined in with the lyrics and melody, and Aeryn had to admit that she was impressed with the pilot's voice, particularly the unique rasp to it, and how it complemented hers. Singing for Aeryn was something that she didn't want to think too much about, preferring to enjoy it for what it was, rather than putting any unnecessary demands on herself. So, as Hally became more confident and looped her arm around Aeryn's, the DH smiled and let the music carry her away, allowing her to forget certain things, things she still had to deal with emotionally. Now wasn't the time for that, and with the impending mission, Aeryn could force herself to push them away, to unpack when she was ready to face it all.

Maybe it wasn't healthy to do that, but it worked for her, as other things needed her attention more, and she wasn't about to break down, not when she had been in denial for the majority of the evening and even before they had arrived at the Nebula. No one knew yet, and she preferred to keep it that way, as she allowed herself to keep riding the music train. Devereaux added to the lyrics, while a glance at Mara showed that her friend seemed to be enjoying the performance.

Robin added her voice to the others as the song reached the final chorus, and Aeryn couldn't remember the last time she had this much fun. Well, she could, but she wasn't going to go into that, as her thoughts moved on to what they should sing next.

" That was a lot of fun," she said a little breathlessly once the lyrics on the screen disappeared. " What next?".


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[Hallowette Maxas-Darl]

As the song came to a close, the befreckled, slightly built hybrid, filled the space with loud musical laughter, the kind that flushes ones skin as it rolls forth. The newly cherry skin on the usually pale woman caused the trill spots that lines the contours of her face and neck seemed more pronounced, contrasting against the fresh palate on her skin.

Hallowette loved to sing, and often did so as she idled away at this or that task. She knew it was a human trope for someone to sing in the shower, and she was just as guilty of that as anyone. Singing in public had been something she had dabbled in during her life. Her grandmother on Trill had been particularly proud of her voice, even as she was rather unenthused about the rest of her. Over the years she had sung in everything from local pageant competitions, to the Youth Diplomatic Ensemble, to even the Academy choir. Despite all of that, she hadn't ever really considered herself worthy of pushing to see where it might take her, even though she did date a musician once as a junior who she collaborated with a few times, though he had turned out to be quite the asshole, so she left both him, and their projects.

So it was that at this moment, she could barely remember a time she had enjoyed just singing for the sake of it. Her new companions all sounded WONDERFUL together, and it inspired a part of her that she had neglected since joining the Academy - the side that enjoyed making and creating, and just putting joy out into the world.

"Sashuin (sas-shoo-een)..." she said, defaulting to the Bajoran word saved for close friends or siblings, "That was amazing!" She hopped up and down excitedly. Her arm was still placed through Aeryn's, though she barely moved the woman with her gleeful movements.

"Let's do another!"

She looked to Mara and gave her a playful pleading look, though she stopped herself short from asking her up on the stage to join them again - but the look on her face, and the silly scrunching of her ridged nose got the point across. She wanted the security chief to join the sisterhood on stage.

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[Mara Calleja]

Mara had emptied her glass as the song came to an end, and she could hear the conversation from the stage.

"That was a lot of fun," Aeryn said, a little breathless. "What next?"

"Let's do another!" Halowette was straight in, before breaking out the puppy dog eyes at the Security Chief.

Calleja laughed, the unfamiliar bark just that bit too loud. Ever the pragmatist though, she’d thought about it in the last few minutes and she couldn’t think of a song that she knew that the rest of the group would know as well.

“I can’t come up and join you,” she said, her voice carrying easily. “I don’t know any of the songs you’ll know, and I’m pretty sure you won’t know any of mine either. You want me to sing, let’s swap, I’ll come up. I think I know a couple that might work. Maybe we get a bit of back and forth on solo numbers. But after this, we’ll work on some together. You got my word on that.” She shrugged, broad shoulders rising and falling. “Offer’s there. Or you guys can just carry on. I’m fine with bein’ a willin’ audience.”

Mara was used to being the outsider and not having the same frames of reference as those around her. That’s how it tended to go. She hadn’t grown up on a Federation world. She hadn’t really been educated properly until well into her teens. And whilst she was catching up rapidly on things her friends would have been exposed to, there were still gaps to bridge.

Expecting the group to pick another song and carry on, the Bandaran shifted her weight in her chair. She meant what she’d said - she was just fine with watching on.

[Aeryn Miller]

In her excitement, Hally reverted to her native Bajoran before she agreed with Aeryn's sentiment and started to hop up and down. All the while managing not to shake her fellow redhead about. A feat in itself, but it was something that Aeryn appreciated all the same, although she couldn't help but get caught up in it. Hally then suggested that they do another song, while casting puppy dog eyes toward Mara, in the hope that the Security Chief would finally relent in joining them.

Mara's initial reaction was to laugh, a little loudly, before she explained why she couldn't come up and join them, which was understandable considering that everyone had different musical tastes. That's until she came up with a counteroffer, whereby she swapped with the group, allowing Mara to sing solo, as well as giving the others the same opportunity, and then work on something together once that was done. Which, to Aery, seemed perfectly reasonable, and considering this was about them having fun, she didn't have an issue with Mara's offer, and it was only fair that they all get a turn.

As much as Mara was a willing audience member, she deserved to showcase her voice as much as anyone else, so Aeryn knew what her answer would be. " I'm good with that, come on girls, let Mara have her turn, and then we can have a go at singing solos".

She didn't expect anyone else to disagree, as she let go of Hally and returned to her seat at the table, eager to hear Mara and maybe order another drink.

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