Cadets Just Wanna Have Fun

Posted on 10 Mar 2016 @ 8:23am by Ensign Elisha Cherno & Ensign Kelly Khan & Ensign Quinn Mackie & Ensign Aidan Crehan

3,805 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: Outbreak
Location: Talons Lounge
Timeline: MD0 - After Final Confrontation || 1945 hours

Aidan had been stuck in the science labs for most of the last mission. People were saying that there had been sleeper agents for some rebel faction on board, the senior staff was splintered, and some were even in the brig. But everything had been settled now; at least that’s what he was told. He believed it when the security presence had gone back down to normal and he passed fewer security officers on his way to his quarters.

So now, people seemed a little more relaxed; especially off duty. It would be a great opportunity for him to do the same. He put on some slacks and a nice shirt and headed to the Lounge. Upon entering, he went to the bar and ordered a Saurian Brandy. After tasting it, and liking it, he found a table near the opposite end of the bar.

Kelly wandered into the lounge with a sultry song on her lips without caring who was listening. "Never know how much I love you, never know how much I care. When you put your arms around me, I get a fever that's so hard to bear.I get a fever that's so hard to bear, you give me fever when you kiss me, fever when you hold me tight. Fever in the mornin', a fever all through the night."

Wearing a white t-shirt and khaki cargo shorts, Quinn entered the lounge from the opposite end. He was thankful that his supervisor had finally put him on a regular work schedule, enabling him to have a life once more. And what better way to celebrate a normal life, at least a life as normal as this Starfleet/Consortium feud would have it, than to spend it in the crew lounge. Picking up an ale from the bar, Quinn wandered the packed lounge for a bit before spotting an empty seat with Cadet Crehan. My first night off and I get to spend it with Grandpa... great.

"Mind if I join you?" Quinn asked Crehan, approaching the seat anyway.

Aidan looked up and saw the Cadet he knew as Quinn Mackie, from Engineering. “Of course not. Quinn, isnt’ it? Please, have a seat.”

Kelly paused and looked around before she spotted a few cadets at the bar and wandered over towards them. She wore a pair of light gray slacks, a pink shirt with a tropical flower on it with a sleeveless gray vest over it that had Nova Squadron on the back of it and the San Francisco Academy logo on the front of it. Around her neck was a silver necklace with a treble clef note and her fingernails were painted with a musical score that went from her thumb all the way to her pinky. "Hey, do you guys want some company?" she asked.

“It’s fine with me,” said Aidan. He looked at Quinn, “You?”

"Fine with me," Quinn said with a smile, taking a drink of his ale.

"So did anyone hear that singing a moment ago? Or was it just me?" asked Aidan.

"Actually," said Selah as she approached the table, "it was her," she added, indicating the other girl. She grinned around at them all. "Nice voice, by they way. What can I get you?" she asked the cadet with no drink in front of her.

Kelly smiled. "I'll have a Borg Queen," she said. "Thank you," she told the lovely bartender and meant it. "I love to sing."

"You got it," said Selah. "I'll be back in a jiffy."

“That was you,” said Aidan. “You should enter a talent contest or something.” He took another drink of Saurian Brandy. It was sometimes difficult for him to ‘fit in’ with or relate to other cadets, no matter whether at the Academy or on a starship. After all, he had already lived an entire lifetime longer than most of them. Being El-Aurian had its perks, but it also had its downsides.

"Thanks," Kelly said as she looked at the older cadet. "I was in a duet at the Academy for fun, but nothing big."

It was only three minutes after she'd left that Selah returned with the Cadet's drink. "Can I get you anything else?" she asked.

“I’m okay for now,” said Aidan. “But check back in a few minutes. I may need another.”

Elisha also decided to check out the new lounge. She'd heard it was owned by a woman and that, if no other reason, made it worth checking out. She donned her normal off-duty outfit of skinny jeans, sandals and a peasant top and headed to Talons.

It seemed like a decent place- low lighting, soft music in the background, not too many people, but enough to call it hopping. Nice. She noticed the bartender waiting for her and crossed to the bar. "Hard lemonade," she said. "But, not too hard. You know, I don't need to get drunk, just..." she trailed off with an apologetic look.

"Say no more," said Selah. "One shot of rum in a tall lemonade." She winked, then turned to make the drink.

Her drink delivered, Elisha spotted some of the other cadets and wandered over. "Hi," she said shyly. "Mind if I join you?"

Kelly looked up as Elisha came over. "Hey there," she said as she sipped her drink. "The more the merrier!"

"It's a party!" Quinn replied with an awkward smile. One would think with as much time as he'd spent with Elisha that he'd get comfortable around her. Maybe by the time he finally made Lieutenant. I'd have to graduate first...

Aidan recognized Elisha from the science labs. He had only seen her in passing though. Stellar Cartography was quite a distance from Alien Archaeology and Anthropology. “And what a great place to have a party.” Aidan raised his glass and then quickly lowered it, realizing that probably wasn’t something that eighteen-year-old humans did.

"Party?" Kelly asked. "Well, maybe if we had some music going and stuff."

Elisha took the empty seat remaining at the table. "There's music," Elisha pointed out. "Granted, it's not loud, but it's music."

"Maybe you could sing again," Quinn smiled at Kelly. "Or maybe we should see if there's a karaoke setup around here somewhere?"

"If there's a good song to be played, I'm game," Kelly said.

"I love Karaoke," said Elisha. "Listening, not singing. I'm not a very good singer."

“I think it sounds like a fun idea,” said Aidan. “What era, genre, or culture should we go with?”

"Let's make it interesting," Quinn said in a rare bold move. "I could program a randomizer into the playback unit, that way no one knows what's coming. The worst performer has to buy the next round."

"It would feel like I was cheating if that's the bet, Quinn," Kelly said. "I've been singing for years."

"Would you care to change the bet then?" Quinn took a drink of his ale. "Surely there's something where the four of us have an equal playing field."

"Why don't we let the bartender decide who the best and worst is and we buy each other drinks just because?" Kelly suggested.

Quinn shrugged. "Guess that could work. Aiden? Elisha?"

Aidan was nearing the end of his Saurian Brandy when Quinn said his name. He swirled what was left and said, “That sounds, interesting. I’d be willing to give it a try.” He looked to Elisha.

"I am absolutely NOT singing in front of people," she said, mortified at the suggestion. "No way."

"Who wants to go first?" Kelly asked as she finished her Borg Queen.

"Come on," Quinn pressured Elisha. "It's just for sport." He almost mentioned that since there wasn't any Romulan Ale involved, then there would be nothing to worry about. Alas, that was not his secret to share.

“That it is,” said Aidan. “Besides, I’m sure you’re not the worst singer. Klingon opera, now that’s worst singing.” He had heard that many times and still could not appreciate it. He downed the last bit of Saurian Brandy. “What say we call the bartender over and see if she has the equipment?”

"No way," said Elisha adamantly. "You guys go ahead. I'm staying right here."

Kelly leaned over and whispered in Elisha's ear that someone else would have to have ears like a Vulcan to hear. "I'll tell Quinn you like him if you don't."

Elisha's eyes went wide and her jaw clenched. "No, it would be totally worth it," she said after a beat. "Go ahead. Anything so I don't have to sing in front of people."

"Okay, okay," Kelly said as she raised her hands. "I give." She looked at the others. "Looks like we're minus one singer."

Whatever the two young ladies had been talking about, it hadn’t worked. “Okay,” said Aidan. “I guess now we get figure out who goes first. Quinn? Kelly?”

Quinn waved Selah over. "Do you happen to have anything for Karaoke?" he asked. "Microphone? Viewing screen with LCARS access?"

"Actually, I think there might be something in the backroom," said Selah. "There's a whole bunch of stuff back there and I haven't had a chance to go through it, but I definitely remember seeing microphones and screens. If you guys wanna help me drag it out and set it up, you'll be welcome to use it."

Kelly got up and set her drink down. "Let's do it!"

Aidan followed suit. “Lead the way,” he said.

Elisha sighed. "All right, I'll help," she said. "But, I'm not singing!"

Selah led them to a backroom that was packed with a bunch of junk as well as a few good things. "I've really got to clean this up," she muttered. "Okay, there were two screens over here behind these boxes and if I remember correctly, there were like twelve microphones inside one of the boxes."

"I'll look for the mics," Kelly said as she began to sort through the boxes and moved stuff around. "Whoa...umm..yeah. Not touching that purple thong. Next box."

"Purple thong?" snorted Selah. "Oh, goodness, what was this place before I got here?"

Quinn gave no comment as he looked through a couple of the boxes near him. "Microphone!" he announced, holding up the item.

"Lucky," Kelly muttered as she discreetly buried the box with the purple thong under several others. "Who's grabbing the screens?" she asked as she headed over to where Quinn was.

"I got one of them," announced Elisha, holding up the monitor, which was almost too big for her to carry. "It's a little awkward, but not heavy."

"Here, I'll help you," said Selah, hurrying over and grabbing one side of the monitor. "Much better, yeah? If you guys can get the other one, we'll be all set. Come on, let's take this one out there before we drop it."

Kelly went over to where the other screen was. "Hey Grandpa, can you help me with this one, please?"

He had been called Grandpa for most of his time at the Academy. So he wasn’t all that surprised when Kelly said it. The nickname really didn’t bother him. He usually just reminded them that when they were wrinkled and bent over, he would look like he did when they were young, for the most part. “Of course, young one, I’ll help. You do realize though, that when you’re old and wrinkled, I will hardly have changed.” He smirked at Kelly as he picked up his end of the screen.

"How do you know I'm not a Q and plan on remaining young even when you're old and wrinkled?" Kelly asked after she lifted her end.

“How do you know that I don’t know that you’re not a Q? Hmm?” said Aidan, jokingly.

"If you did, you wouldn't said what you said and I wouldn't have responded," Kelly joked back as she turned and began to head towards the door with her end of the screen.

Aidan laughed. “You’re too smart for my own good.” He followed Kelly out the door, holding his end of the screen. “So, where do we set up?”

"How about over there?" Quinn gestured with his microphone, pointing to a clear area not far from where their table was. "It'll just take a second to sync this microphone with the speakers concealed in the ceiling."

Kelly started to back towards the spot. "Beep! Beep! Beep! Backing up here, clear the way!"

"There's some convenient hooks right here," said Selah, nodding to a spot on the wall just a few feet away. "This must be where this one goes. The other we'll just have to rig up on a chair until i can figure out if there's a stand or something for it. Here, let's see if we can get this up," she said to Elisha. With a minimal amount of work, they managed to mount the screen on the wall.

Aidan looked at Kelly. "Chair, huh?" He wasn't quite able to get to any chair let alone move it. Then he called out, "Quinn, mind to get a chair for us?"

He blinked, mainly surprised that he as the one engineer in the room wasn't asked to make sure the screen was properly set up and tied into the LCARS database. Then again, part of Engineering was to also come up with creative ways to make things work and stand up by themselves, so he supposed it was natural to procure a nearby chair so it would garner new life as a display stand. At least this would require any tools, just as long as the display remained upright. Quinn quickly found an empty nearby chair (it happened to be his own from earlier) and set it near where Kelly and Aidan were standing.

With a grunt, the tiny cadet moved over and set her end of the monitor on the chair. "Now to get it set up," Kelly said.

"That's easy," Quinn said, tapping the power stud and then breezed through the menus to sync it with the ship's computer. "Test one two three..." he said into the microphone as well. Hearing himself through the speakers, he looked back at his fellow cadets and smiled. "Who's up first?"

Elisha picked that moment to take one very large step backwards. There was no way in the known and unknown galaxy that they were getting her up there. No way, no how. Not even if they threatened her family. It's been nice knowing you Joel, but I just can't, she thought. Well, okay, if someone threatened her family she would definitely sing in front of people. But, nothing else could get her to open her mouth.

Kelly stepped forward. "I'll sing first," she said.

Aidan found a chair and settled in for the first round of songs. "Have at it, then."

Kelly took a breath as the a song called Transylvanian Concubine came up. She began to move her body to the beat as it started and smiled as she began to sway her head before she looked directly at Quinn and began to sing.

"If you want to know how to fly high then go now
To a place where all the concubines
Meet and converse with them, marvel at their pale skin
Wonder how they chew on their pointy

Teeth and hair are a beauty, they know it's their duty
To be countess in their hearts
Their minds that have to whisper, see in them a sister
Look into their eyes and you'll be in

Transylvanian concubine
You know, what flows there like wine."

When the song finished, she took a bow before she looked at the others. "Who's next?"

Aidan stood up. “I suppose I’ll go next,” he said. He was hoping for something he was familiar with as he activated the randomizer. “What in the… Stairway to Heaven?” he said as the song popped up. “I was looking forward to something a bit on the older side, but this is beyond me.”

The music started and the words came up on the screen.

“ There's a lady who's sure
All that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven
When she gets there she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
Ooh ooh ooh ooh and she's buying a stairway to heaven.”

Aidan wiped the sweat from his brow. He was sure that it didn’t sound like it was supposed to. “Well, that was…interesting. Certainly not my best performance by any means.” He walked back to his chair and sat down. “The stage is open.”

Elisha grinned at him. "It wasn't the correct notes, but it was in key, so there's that," she told him. "You've never heard that song before?"

"No," replied Aidan. "I haven't."

"That was really good for someone who never heard the song before," Kelly said as she finished clapping. "It has a nice melody." She looked at Elisha. "A shame we won't get the opportunity to hear your voice, but I guess the galaxy will have to do without the next UFP's Got Talent winner."

"I would never win a competition anyway," said Elisha flatly.

Quinn, in mock-heroic fashion, brought his ale to his lips and quickly gulped down the last couple of ounces. "I guess there's no putting this off any longer," he commented, placing the glass on the table. It hadn't bothered him that he didn't go first, or second, but unless someone else in Talons decided to take the stage, he wasn't sure he wanted to be last.

He rose from the table and walked over to the randomizer. Quinn tapped the button and picked up the microphone as he watched hundreds of titles flash on the screen, only to stare at the screen in shock. Holy King of Random... he thought, looking at those five damning words.

Before he had a chance, the discoesque music began to play, and words began to appear on the screen. Fighting embarrassment, Quinn began to sing in a broken tone that made anyone think he was just now hitting puberty.

"I come home in the morning light
My mother says when you gonna live your life right
Oh mother dear we're not the fortunate ones"

Smiling and stifling a chuckle, Quinn decided to take this moment to just embrace the moment for what it was.

"And girls they want to have fun
Oh girls just want to have ffuuuuunnnnnnnnnnn!

Quinn continued to sing, choosing to awkwardly dance across the platform, receiving all sorts of whoops and grimaces from around the lounge.

Kelly burst out giggling uncontrollably at the song Quinn got, but applauded madly when he did it and danced to it. "Bravo!" she called out. "Yeah, baby! Show us how to have fun!" She looked at Elisha next. "Hey, you have to sing one now. I mean, if Quinn sang that song, you're obligated to sing one."

Aidan turned to Elisha. "You know she's right," he said amid the whoops and hollers. Not to mention Kelly's giggling. "Quinn just sang that girls just wanna have fun. Come on, have some fun."

"Woo!" Quinn practically cheered as he returned to the table. "That was amazing! C'mon, Elisha!"

Elisha chewed her lip nervously. Yes, they had all sang in front of everyone. It had even been rather embarrassing for two of them. Would it really be so bad? Just one song? "Oh, all right," she relented, standing nervously and walking to the front. She took the microphone and tapped the randomizer. Wishing for sheet music to go with whatever song came up, she chewed her lip and waited.

The Wizard and I showed on the screen and she breathed a sigh of relief. At least she knew this song. She grinned as the music started and words showed up on the screen.

"When I meet the wizard
Once I've proved my worth
And then I meet the wizard
What I've wait for since... since birth!
And with all his wizard wisdom
By my looks he won't be blinded
Do you think the wizard is dumb?
Or like munchkins so small minded? NO!
He'll say to me I see who you truly are:
A girl on whom I can rely
And that's how we'll begin!
The wizard and I!"

By the time she had gotten to the end of the song, she had completely forgotten that there were people there. It was just her and the music.

"Held in such high esteem
When people see me they will scream
For half of Oz's favorite team!
The wizard... AND I!"

As she finished, the smile slid from her face and she was all wide-eyed terror, waiting for their reaction.

Kelly watched and listened quietly as Elisha sang, a look of awe on her face at the control the young cadet had in her voice. When she finished, Kelly began to clap. "That was amazing, Elisha! Now I know why you didn't want to sing...you're better than all of us!"

Elisha felt her face grow hot and she quickly replaced the microphone and returned to her seat. "No," she said. "No, you're just saying that."

"You are certainly better I am," said Aidan, amid his own clapping. "That truly was amazing."

"Encore!" Quinn cheered, lifting his empty glass.

"No!" said Elisha emphatically. 'That is NOT happening again! Ever!"

Silently, Selah came by with a new round of drinks for the cadets. She took Quinn's empty glass with one hand and replaced it with a full one with the other hand. She gave him a grin and a wink and was gone with all the empty glasses.

Quinn raised his new glass in front of the rest of the cadets. "Here's to our continued adventures," he toasted. They were cadets, and the likelihood that they'd still be here when the wormhole opened remained to be seen. At least they could find a way to enjoy the next few missions.

Aidan followed Quinn in raising his glass. "Here, here!" he shouted.

Kelly smiled and raised her glass. "Qapla'!"

Elisha grinned shyly. "Sláinte*!" she added, raising her hard(ish) lemonade with the others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OOC Notes:
*Sláinte - pronounced SLAHN-chuh

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