Beer and BBQ, part 2

Posted on Thu Sep 15th, 2022 @ 7:39pm by Commander Kyle Reece & Captain David Tonelly [Reece] & Captain Mattias Richardson [Reece] & Captain George Charles [Reece] & Master Chief Petty Officer Chuck Finley [Reece] & Staff Sergeant Liam "Swede" Reece [Reece] & Captain Gary Taylor & Commander Sthilg & Lieutenant Commander S'hib & Captain Samuel Woolheater & Lieutenant Commander Malakai Starr [Taylor] & Lieutenant Commander Savar cha'Salik hei-Surak Talek-sen-deen [Taylor] & 1st Lieutenant Joshua Young [Taylor] & Chief Warrant Officer Man'darr [Naxea] & Senior Chief Petty Officer Fernando De La Rosa [Taylor]

Mission: Season 5: Time Warp
Location: USS Elysium, Holodeck 3
Timeline: 20 June 2397 / 1800 hours
2822 words - 5.6 OF Standard Post Measure

PREVIOUSLY...

Mattias chuckled at his friend, then shook his head. I've seen a few technical readouts on her, sure, but that doesn't make me an expert on every deck and corridor." He laughed softly again. "Relax, he says. Suddenly, I feel like I'm not armed enough."

Tim nodded and smiled at Matti. "Well thankfully I know where we're going." He tapped his combadge. "The goose is on his way." Turning his head he smiled at Matt. "Okay, let's go." He said as he led Matt to the holodeck.

AND NOW...

*Meanwhile, on the Holodeck*

Josh was putting the finishing touches on the simulation. An outdoor venue, with benches and long tables. A gentle breeze blew the trees softly on a perfect late summer day. Smells of different foods filled the air. He looked at the chronometer, the others should be arriving shortly.

The door opened as Sthilg stepped through the door. Having taken it upon himself to prepare the centerpiece dish the gorn was pushing a holocart with a slowly roasted hog upon a spit. The glaze had come out to perfection and it would be the best center dish he could come up with. He hoped he'd do okay. He knew very few of these people, but he was giving Phoenix away. " Where would you like thisss?" He called to the human already at work.

Josh turned as the holodeck doors hissed open and he saw the Gorn pushing a holocart with a roasting hog on it. "Let's see, put it over here, to the side of the tables please sir. That way people can get to it and it still be out of the way." Josh replied and took a deep breath, "Hmmmmm! Smells delicious!"

" Been sssslowly roasting her for a day." Sthilg said as he parked the holocart over to the side of the tables. " Need any help with anything?" he inquired.

"Looks great as well." Josh added, "Um, I can always use help. You can bring out the coolers containing the beer and I got some wine coolers as well just in case one of the guys wanted one."


The holodeck doors opened and Sam walked in. He had on a pair of comfortable shoes, knee-length dark marine green khaki shorts, a red t-shirt with the SFMC logo on the front. In his hands he was carrying a case of beer. It wasn't the most expensive, it wasn't cheap. It was what most marines would call a draught beer. Typically they had this brand of beer at nearly every bar and outpost. On top of that were two wrapped gifts for the groom. On top of the gifts was a wooden box of Cuban cigars from one of the oldest and best cigar makers on Earth. Straight from Havana, Cuba. And on top of that was a football and a few frisbees (flying discs). Sam hardly knew anyone really. But that never stopped him from attending any parties so far.

He could smell the roasting porkage and he saw the festive setting. It was outdoors, nice day, perfect weather. Sam recognized 1st Lieutenant Josh Young and said to himself, ~oohh KAY; this'll be interesting~. He considered the last time he saw the LT. He saw Commander Sthilg and thought, ~Start with the familiar.~ He walked in and steered towards the BBQ pit and Commander Sthilg. "Commander? Good to see you again sir. How long have you known the groom?"

The gorn chuckled as he placed down one of the coolers. " It will be my first meeting him to be honest, but given I'm giving away the bride ssshe insssested I meet him."

Sam smiled and set down his armload of stuff, "You'll be giving the bride away? That sounds awesome! Woo-hoo! And all that! I don't really know anybody here. I recognize the faces but, this will be a meet and greet for me. I was so surprised to receive an invitation. Honestly. Hey? Good to see you Doc. I'm going to find out where to drop off these gifts. Where is Richardson anyway?"

"Not here jussst yet but he'll be here sssoon." Sthilg honestly replied with a warm smile on his reptilian face.

"Cool! Can I get you a frosty cold one Doc?" Sam asked as he opened a half-full cooler and put the suds inside. Helping himself to a can of something called "Gib's Beer: Not Your Daddy's Beer".

" Go ahead. " Sthilg said as he prepared the tools for carving the pig.

Sam reached waaaay down into the bottom of the cooler and felt around for a bottle. Finding one that seemed right, he grasped it and pulled it from the icy cold fathoms into the sunlight of the holodeck. The label read, "Hawking's Infernal Stout - Beer So Dark Light Cannot Escape Its Surface." Sam read the bottle and handed it to Commander Sthilg, "Here you go; this looks promising?"

Sthilg nodded as he twisted of the cap and gulped down a swig of the beer before letting out a long refreshed sigh. " That sssertainly hitsss the ssspot." He said with a smile.

"Oh hell yeah!" Sam said as he nodded and smiled back.

Orin was working on something down in the depths of the ship when he heard his PADD go off earlier. He wasn't sure who would have been buzzing him this late in the day, but he knew it must've been important.

It was an invitation to Captain Richardson's bachelor party. He remembered him from earlier, when he was introducing himself to all the diplomats onboard, Orin included. His shift was about to end, so he decided to accept the invitation. He would bring the good wine from the top shelf from Trill. The one only a few people knew about because it was so old that most people that made it probably wasn't around anymore.

Orin finished up his work in the diplomatic offices and headed back to his quarters to get into something more comfortable, as well as grabbing the wine from the hiding spot. Before too long, Orin was standing in front of the holodeck doors and walked inside.

He could smell the food instantly and made his way over to where it was. Orin could see several familiar faces, as well as some not so familiar faces. He walked over to the doctor and said, "Where does the fine wine belong?"

Sam heard an unfamiliar voice and turned to see who it was. He didn't recognize the man. He looked like he could be from the close protection detail and Sam thought he might be a marine. He nodded to the new guy and said, "I don't think we've met?" He extended his hand and noticed the spots on the newbie. "I'm Sam, how do you know Captain Richardson?" he said.

Hearing a voice call out for him, Orin turned around and looked to see the face of a marine. He truly hadn't met this person, so when he talked, Orin listened. Orin smiled and shook the hand of Sam and said, "Well, I'm actually one of the people the dear Captain gets to protect. I'm just glad that I got invited, honestly because we met just recently. I'm the new Chief Diplomat, Andrinn Orin. I know that you're Sam, but what do you do on the ship?"

Sam was impressed, "Oh? You're the...." he snapped his fingers as he put it together, "...yeah, you're the new CDO." Now, Sam should have just stopped right there. But he had a mouth on him and sometimes he just didn't know when to quit, "I...wasn't expecting you to be, y'know....so buff. I guess I was just thinking about some other diplomats. More....desk bound. More....ahem...twigs?" He kept going, "But you....I thought you were the close protection detail. Ha!" He smiled back, "First platoon CO. I'm a 'bush-wookie' by trade though. Just transferred here too."

Orin just chuckled as he listened to the man wearing something with the Marine Detachment logo on it. It was interesting and refreshing to have someone to talk to besides the Captain, who he met just recently as mentioned beforehand. The captain would be off meeting with other guests, whom he probably knew of for quite some time. So, Orin was happy to have made another friend that day.

"What exactly is a bush wookie? Never heard of that beforehand," Orin said, scratching his head in wonderment.

Sam took a drink of beer and said, "MMmm, sniper. You spend time building your camo from what's available. Grasses, leaves, ground cover and when you're done; hopefully, they can't see you or detect your life signs. If you're lucky enough to get a vitals dampener. You stand up looking like that and you look like a Wookie; get it? Bush wookie." He grinned happily and said, "Hey? Can I beer you? How do you know Captain Richardson?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind getting me a beer, that would be wonderful! Just don't make it that Trill beer because while we have long lives, we can't make a beer to save our lives. Get me some of the human stuff because if I'm going to drink, I want something a bit stronger than the usual stuff," Orin said, walking with Sam to get them.

Sam laughed out loud. As they walked together, Orin replied to the question posed by the sniper. He said, "Well, he's the head of Diplomatic Security. He's one of the people that makes sure me or my diplomats don't die. Good thing to stay on his good side."

"Yeah, you definitely don't want to piss off the guy watching your collective asses or his team. But, I can imagine that not everything you have to do is...popular?" Here he stopped at the cooler and looked at Orin before opening the lid. "Am I right Consular?" Sam said as he rummaged around in the cooler.

"Yeah, if he ain't watching my ass, then we'd be out on a limb without a paddle or whatever one of those Earth sayings is. I can't keep track of them all," Orin said with a small chuckle. Earth sayings weren't his best thing because he couldn't understand Earthlings to begin with. So many different things for different stuff, it was crazy!

Digging deep down into the cooler, Sam's hands found a lot of cans. Thin ones, fat ones, short ones, bumply ones. Ah! There were the bottles. The water was cold but he could handle the momentary icy chill. Reaching and finding two bottles, he withdrew his hand dripping with icy cold water. He flicked the icy water towards Orin and then read the labels:

"Devil Dog Beer: Man's Best Friend!" was one label, it was a dark stout. The other was an ale, The Grim Belcher Beer Baron: The Absolute Most Belch for your Buck - We Guarantee It! Sam twisted off the cap and handed the extreme belcher beer to Andrinn, "Oh! This has you written all over it!"

Orin took it and looked at the label before looking back at Sam. He took a big swig of the drink and just shook his head before saying, "Well, my fair man, if it does just that, then be prepared for all of the belching then!"

Sam grinned, "It's all good! I'm sure alcohol of some sort makes all kinds of negotiations go...smoother?" He laughed.

Malakai entered next, carrying two huge pans of shrimp on skewers that also had some veggies. There were also skewers of bacon wrapped shrimp along with some containers of crab meat and just for Matt, two lobster tails. "Seafood is here." He announced.

Wearing an open red Hawaiian print shirt and red/white water shorts, Man'darr entered the holodeck, having received the invitation and was happy to attend. He had been invited due to be close with Colonel Azhul. He recalled when he was younger, he would have put off such an event to train. Now that he was older, he enjoyed taking time off to relax. The smell coming from the grill made his stomach rumble. "I don't know what you all are having but whatever the Doc is cooking is mine," he boasted, grinning.

Sam said in a booming voice, "The Chieeeeeef!" Seeing the food Sam said, "Oh! SNAP! What is all the scrumptious?!"

Victor always enjoyed the smell of BBQ. Those years at the Academy, he always enjoyed the taste of anything grilled. Grabbing a cold brew of German beer he salutes a few.

After kissing Sapphire and promising not to do anything to embarrass her or him, Scott headed to the holodeck. Upon entering he saw several others already there, some he knew some he didn't. He was dressed casually in tan slacks, a teal pullover shirt and brown loafers. "Wow, something sure smells good!" He said by way of greeting.

Gary finally got to the holodeck. He had been delayed by the ship's business but now that was finished, and he could relax and have a good time with the others.

Triston had been surprised at his invitation but he entered behind the XO without a word and looked around. Yeah the youngest by a mile.

Savar and Fernando entered next, Savar was dressed casually, Fernando looked like a bum...a beach bum. He had on a big floppy tropical hat, sunglasses, a garishly bright Hawaiian shirt and cargo shorts with flip flops and his usual smile.

Man'darr made his way over to the grill, having grabbed a beer on the way. "So, the Captain is marrying Captain Richardson...is she knocked up? Mentally insane?" he grinned

The holodeck doors hissed open as Man'darr spoke, his booming voice carrying into the corridor and S'hibs ears. "Apologies for being late..." He snorted promptly to nobody in particular before ducking under the archway and into the holodeck.

He paused briefly to look around as the door closed behind him, vanishing silently as he noticed a few familiar faces, some not so much, at least Sthilg was here he thought while adjusting his long mustard yellow skirt to be a tad higher on the hips.

he wanted to leave already, sighing internally as the smell of burning fats and cooked meats assaulted his flared nostrils despite the smile he had forced onto his face as eyes began to fall onto his tall form and his out-of-uniform attire.

Notching S'hibs discomfort Sthilg put down his tools and after cleaning his hands picked up a green dish from inside the grills chill box. " Hello my friend good to sssee you. I know you wouldn't like the main disssh ssso I made you sssome vegetarian sssausagesss." The doctor said opening the dish to reveal the tubes of mushrooms, grain, tofu and Quorn mixed with breadcrumbs

"What? no floral displays for me to eat? or are we saving that for the wedding." S'hib remarked, his mood perking instantly as his full attention fell on the man who would deliver his first and most likely only child.

" I can get you one if you'd prefer one." Sthilg replied.

"No, no no... they taste better when I'm not supposed to eat them," S'hib remarked, grasping Sthilgs' shoulder with his left hand. "I'll make do with the sausages."

Damien was the next to arrive, carrying a bottle of whiskey, dressed in a red, floral Hawaiian shirt and brown shorts. He was completely sure why he'd been invited, but all the same, he wasn't one to turn down an invitation, especially when it came from a Senior Officer. Running a hand through his hair, he entered the holodeck, looking around at the scene. He smiled as he inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of all the various foods.

Looking around, spotting what appeared to be the main table, he quickly walked over, placing the whiskey bottle down, smiling at the Chief Medical Officer, his Assistant Department Head. "Doc, Commander." He said, inclining his head at both of them. "Good afternoon."

"And to you." He nodded back, his mouth already full from a half-eaten sausage still clasped in his hand.

Gary walked over and got a beer from the cooler. "Gentlemen." He said politely in greeting.

This time S'hib could simply nod and awkwardly wave before pointing to his mouth, chewing furiously so he could greet the man in return.

Gary nodded and smiled. "Understood Mr. S'hib. It's alright, don't choke."

The doors opened again and David rushed inside. As the doors closed, he looked at everyone assembled. "They're almost here!" He moved over to the table that held all the gifts and he put a couple small wrapped items there. "Everyone has a drink ready?" He quickly moved to the bar and poured three drinks. One for himself, the other two for Tim and the guest of honor, one of his oldest friends, Mattias.

~TBC~