Tonight We're going to Party like it's 999ABY

[Ali Hadrix]

​

"I'm still waiting for my drink, Rahm." Ali reminded the bartender as he passed by her for the third time. She was sitting in a corner of the back kitchen, on top of a counter. She hadn't bothered dressing for show as she had for the promotion ball that had taken place a couple of weeks before. Instead she wore brown thigh-high leggings and black heels. To cover her pelvis she wore a grey tank top and over that she wore a nerf-skin vest. The only jewelry adorning her was a silver bracelet around her right wrist.
Rahm was returning from the bar for more bottles of wine, and he waved her off dismissively. "You drink too much, and you don't pay." Ali pouted her lips and leaned back, taking a deep breath and reaching for the glass sitting at her side. She downed the rest of the contents and tossed the glass into the trash receptacle nearby. Sliding down from the counter top, Ali felt the cold metal against her thighs and bottom, yelping in surprise at the sensation. She giggled to herself and stretched her arms over her head, a yawn bursting forth from her lips. Guess it's time to join the rest of the ponies at the show, she thought to herself as she made her way toward the kitchen's front entrance. Rahm the bartender returned from the wine cellar at that moment, with several bottles of red in his arms. Ali reached out and plucked one swiftly from his grip before he could complain, then silenced him with a sweet look and reached for a corkscrew.

Moments later Ali stepped out into the ball area, resplendent in her decidedly sultry, yet inappropriate, garb and admired the dress uniforms that seemed to overwhelm the lobby. Ali stalked passed the bar, swiping a clean glass along the way and stopped just long enough to pour herself some wine. As she did so, she looked around, catching sight of a cute little blonde biting into a strawberry. Ali smirked to herself, thinking about what the look on the woman's face reminded her of, then sipped at her wine and continued looking around.
Ali knew few of the officers and higher enlisted personnel attending that night, only a handful of them were from her own battalion. She recognized a General or two, and a handful of Majors, but the rest were strangers. Suddenly Ali realized that her attire would prevent anyone from recognizing her, so she slipped passed a certain Captain Avery and plucked the metal rank insignia from one of his shoulders as she greeted him kindly, then pinned it to her bra strap as she walked away.
Returning to the bar, Ali set down her bottle of wine and sipped at the contents of her glass, wondering if Captain Marc Solstice would be attending. He hadn't mentioned it in her their most recent communications, though that didn't mean much; they were merely acquaintances after all. Ali rested her elbow on the bar and drew her datapad from her vest pocket and sifted through her contacts until she found Marcus' name.

A. Hadrix: Are you coming to the ball?
She sipped at her wine and looked at the others sitting at the bar. Aside from the aforementioned blonde, whom Ali recognized now as Supreme Commander Kayleigh Tyven, there was an extremely drunk man she knew to be Thane Drexel. She only knew him by reputation, however; legend had it the man hadn't seen a moment sober since the day he signed up. Suddenly Ali's datapad vibrated and blinked; she looked at the message.

M. Solstice: I hadn't been planning on it. Why, you going?
Ali frowned, then sipped at her glass of wine and typed her reply.

A. Hadrix: I was thinking about it.

M. Solstice: Do you want to go together?

A. Hadrix: I just got here.

Ali lied for the second time, she'd been hiding in the kitchens for nearly an hour and a half before the event had even began. She'd skipped all the formal parts that had kicked off the celebration, but didn't want to miss the half-drunk speeches of the later hours. In all honesty, Ali hadn't really had much to do in her personal life; drinking and philandering only got her so far, and few women cared to stick around with someone who could be as unpredictable as herself.

M. Solstice: Give me half an hour.

A. Hadrix: K.

M. Solstice: What are you wearing?

Ali laughed to herself, perhaps a little too loudly. She turned in her seat and held her datapad at arms length, snapping a quick holoimage of herself before sending it to Solstice. The man replied almost immediately.

M. Solstice: There are times when I wish I had a shot with you.
Ali laughed again. Solstice was a good guy, but he was unfortunately, a guy.

A. Hadrix: I'll wingman for you tonight. With any luck, we'll both get laid.
Marcus' reply was short and funny.

M. Solstice: Should be easy considering we share the same interests.
Ali giggled and left a final "See you soon," before turning off her datapad and stowing it back in her vest pocket. Her glass of wine was running low, so she refilled it from the bottle she'd swiped from the bartender, Rahm. Marcus was a good guy, she liked having him around. They'd gotten together a few times since they'd first met at the promotion ball several weeks prior to tonight. He was smart, and a good Captain, though sometimes Ali wondered how dedicated he was to the Republic. Things he said made her curious, and while she didn't doubt his loyalty to his rank or his unit, sometimes she wondered if he wouldn't rather be off fighting the good fight in some other way. Maybe tonight she'd find out for sure.
Ali downed the fresh contents of her glass in a single swallow. But first, I need some entertainment.

 

[Gir Quee]

"The Labs are doing well enough," said Gir, after downing a shot of his brandy, "but truthfully, things are busy enough right now that I've deferred most of the decision-making processes to my brother. The war smolders on."

Kyies ruefully shook her head, "I don't think it'll ever stop. Not while madmen run the Sith."

"I don't think the Sith can really be reasoned with," mused Gir, "I wonder if they have a concept for peace, in a political sort of way. So what are you up to these days, master chief?"

[member="Slate Estrada"]

 

[Slate Estrada]

"The only reasoning I've seen with the Sith is when there's a blaster pressed against there temple..." The master chief added, with a blatant sense of hatred in his voice. This hatred had grown over recent years. The Sith had started as "just another enemy" and had through countless wars and death Slate now thought of them as murderers and psychopaths.

"Well with the recent... situation riots have been breaking out across the whole of Republic space and it surpassed the point in which the planet's enforcers could deal with it, so Army was called in." The situation Slate was referring to was the mysterious and seemingly unexplainable event where billions of people disappeared. "It's actually a luxury to get away from the war with the Sith. I'd rather fight Rebels and rioters any day instead of those putrid, merciless Sith Spawn." The meer thought of these beats was enough to make Slate shiver.

With a sudden relisation that he was killing the mood, Slate decided to change the subject. "So how did you two meet?" He said, replacing his frown with a warm smile. He wasn't good with small talk, but it seemed like a suitable thing to say.


[member="Gir Quee"]

 

[Keanu Shan]

Keanu walked into the ball room with uncharacteristic self-consciousness. Fidgeting with his uniform he glanced around, noticing that there had been some minor changes to uniform and rank. He hoped that no one would notice his was out of date as he made for the bar. He was unsure of what reception he might receive, many viewed his sudden absence in the Republics' time of need as a betrayal, but hey, home comes first. Ordering a drink he cast his eyes around the room searching for any old acquaintances he might be able to talk to.

 

[Mariya Pyne]

Thane was already plastered. How late was she? Or perhaps the better question was how early was he? She laughed and decided to play the game of double vision with the man. "Oh I'm glad you noticed her, she rarely gets the attention she deserves. Her name is Bailey." The blonde laughed, unable to contain it as Thane gave some kind of salute and toasted her, ending it with the ever classy cat call. She raised her glass and clanked it against his before laughing once more. "And to nights like these, where we can all relax and enjoy ourselves."

As she looked about the room to see the many faces she would nod to [member="Orick T'ane"] and [member="Gir Quee"], as well as [member="Slate Estrada"] and [member="Kiyron"], who all seemed to be enjoying their company and guests. With another twist of her head she noticed Fixx at the end of the long bar and waved him over. She was surprised he had made the event, but ever glad that he did.

[member="Thane Drexel"] | [member="Fixx Kearney"] | [member="Ali Hadrix"] | [member="Keanu Shan"]

 

[Kiyron]

[member="Orick T'ane"]

Kiyron felt and heard someone get very close to him and he instinctively stepped aside, pivoting on his heel to see who it was. Orick T'ane, if he remembered correctly, who had been quite the support when everything fell apart and they had to try and put everything back together again. He nodded his head and shook the other man's hand.

"Yes, I'm Kiyron. Good to finally meet you. You did good work, I heard. Nice to see you've officially joined us." He gave the room another survey, noting the Supreme Commander herself was in the room and enjoying the fruit. He'd have to remember to try some of it. And also to stay away from the drinks. It would be incredibly convenient for some Sith infiltrator to take advantage of the number of high ranking personnel here with much of their guard down and... cause a tragedy to befall the entire Republic. Which was why he had his blaster pistol tucked inside his uniform jacket.

"Liking the party?"

 

[Judah Lesan]

A military ball. These things were the events where you showed up, made sure the superior officers saw you, and took off. Ric had been raised by a military pilot, his father having been a fighter pilot himself. Ric knew that this was going to be nothing more than men in their dress uniforms, and ladies in dresses. Formal events were not Ric's forte. He peferred the casual atmosphere of the club or bar, but formal military events made him want to die, why? He had to wear a tie. Well ties be damned. He refused to ear one, and he refused to be the prim and proper officer. Ric was going to have fun and get to know some new people. After all, he was the newest "Angel."

Dressed, as if he was heading to a bar or nightclub, Ric entered the function fashionably late. Okay well maybe he was way late, but that didn't matter since it was mostly guys at this thing. What the hell kind of party didn't have women. If it was seriously going to be like this, he was going to head out and hit a club somehwere. At least there would be women there and he'd have a better chance at taking one home with him for the night.

The flyboy was the typical flyboy, and Corellian on top of that. If the woman was attractive, he was flirting with the aim of taking her home. Sure it gave him a certain reputation among some people. His friend [member="Jamie El-Eison"] gave him a bad time about it. She enjoyed it. First thing was first. Booze! The Corellian wasn't attending a party without booze, so he went to the bar. Leaning on the counter, he looked at the bar tender, and one he had their attention he placed his order.

"A shot of whiskey, a Corellian Ale, and glass of water please. Open a tab too and I'll pay out at the end of the night."

 

[Gir Quee]

"On the Argus," said Gir.

"I'm pretty sure we rubbed shoulders at the Academy..." countered the woman, quickly blushing, "I meant that figuratively."

"My memory isn't always the greatest," admitted Gir quietly, "she could be right. There's a lot going on in the galaxy, and even within the Republic itself, like you say."

This didn't really quite set the mood right either, I suppose. The galaxy's becoming a darker place. Gir glanced from Kyies to [member="Slate Estrada"], and in the process, caught [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]'s roving eye in the process. I really ought to get to know her a little better...But Kyies interrupted her thoughts.

"You two are no fun..." said the brunette, taking another sip of her drink, "I get enough of this at work every day..."

Gir let a sheepish smile crease his face, "Yes, well, there's that. Have either of you met the Supreme Commander before?"

Kyies shook her head. Gir's gaze turned to [member="Slate Estrada"]'s, "What about you?"

 

[Orick T'ane]

He smiled at the Kiyron, " It's a military party and I'm in a uniform I hate to wear... what's not to like. Honestly it's not that bad, there's a ton of names and faces I still have to connect so it's nice to stop and chat without enemy fire interrupting us." Orick saw the nod from [member="Kayleigh Tyven"] and returned it in kind. Well she parties just like she runs a fight, all or nothing. He noticed [member="Ali Hadrix"] wander through the hall and smirked to himself, he's seen her type before, she had trouble written all over the little bit of clothing she wore. I bet she's a devil in a fight though.

Orick turned back to [member="Kiyron "]and tilted his head, " How's the transition treating you? You were a colonel if I remember correctly, right? And now everyone is a marine, which honestly only changes the title, in the end every one fights the same way." He tapped his chin for a second, a bad habit he never quite got rid of, as he thought about how to ask his next question, " Have you given any thought to starting any new traditions for the men. Since it's all one big pot luck now, all of the old traditions should be gone as well."

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali checked her datapad every few minutes, waiting to hear from Marcus. It'd been twenty minutes already and Ali's bottle of wine was starting to look shy. As she put away her 'pad for the fifth time she saw a clean-shaven man in a plaid shirt and leather jacket sit down at the bar and open a tab. Ali leaned over the seat between them and gestured to the glasses the bartender was setting down before him. "What order are you going to drink those in, flyboy?" She asked. "There's only three types of people in the Galaxy, those who order the water because they need it, those who do because they want it, and those who do because they don't want to look like alcoholics to all the other sissies in the room." Ali hefted her wine bottle in one hand and tipped it towards the man and lauded them both, "Cheers and beers," then polished off the bottle before setting it down on the bar. "Rahm, I'm going to need another drink. Give me what he had, but screw the water. Wait..." As Rahm was turning away Ali smacked the bar to get his attention again. "Make the beer a Lomin ale, none of that Corellian piss." Rahm turned and Ali changed her mind again. "One more thing, make the shot of whiskey a glass of scotch." She smiled sweetly at the bartender, who had grown to hate her over the course of the night, no matter how low cut her tank top was. Rahm turned away for the third time and Ali left him alone.


[member="Ric Ardellian"]

 

[Judah Lesan]

Ric glanced over at the voice asking about his drinks. The first thing he noticed was the low cut top. There would be several reasons for why the top was so low cut, but right now Ric didn't really care. Granted there was one possibility that would make him care, but he wasn't going to let that ruin the many images flashing through his mind at the moment. Instead he quickly took the shot of whiskey, and set the glass back on the counter.

"The water is for whatever I want it for... in this case because I had to haul ass to get here before my C.O. caught me walking in late. Kinda makes ya thirsty you know."

Right... this one couldn't make up her mind. He noticed the wine bottle, now she was going in for more. Either she didn't care that anyone knew she clearly had a drinking problem, or she didn't know she had a drinking problem. Likely it was the first based on her question. The music in the place was starting to get to him a bit, could be any more cheesy. At least there was a DJ for this thing. It meant the party had more potential. Who knew, maybe it would be a good night after all.

"Cheers and beers!'

Ric raised his ale and took a swig. The chilled liquid slid down his throat way smoother than the whiskey did. Though if he was going to be pressured to admit it, the Corellian stuff the bartender had did taste like piss. His face soured and he slid it away.

"Gotta bad batch here Rahm. Give me what she's having, all of it."

His attention turned back to the brunette watching her slide the datapad away, and his eyes naturally taking another glance at what the top showed off. If they showed it off, men were going to look.

"Ric Ardellian," he said by way of introducing himself offering his hand to shake. "This might be a bit forward, but you keep checking that datapad of yours. You get stood up tonight?"

[member="Ali Hadrix"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali smirked and enjoyed the scotch as the man who'd introduced himself as Ric carbon-copied her order. I may not know how to not drink, but I sure know how to drink. She told herself, then wondered if the alcohol had thought that thought or if she had. She shook her head; Ric might wonder at the conversation going on silently inside herself. Ali glanced over at him and smiled bitterly. "No, he's just not..." Ali's datapad vibrated; she checked it.

M. Solstice: Got called in. Cant show. Srry. Txt me ltr.
Laughing to herself she returned it to the pocket in her vest. "As a matter of fact, yes, I've been stood up...sort of." Ali figured this point in the conversation, when the man was expressing interest, was always the best time let him know. "My date was a friend; he just canceled on me." Ali shrugged, then explained over the sound of music both unusually loud and unusually terrible. "I like women." She tilted her chin up toward the Supreme Commander, Kayleigh Tyven. "And aside from the dirty blonde yonder, there isn't much selection here." Ali sighed and leaned against the bar, looking out around the crowd. Most of the women in attendance were spouses or family of male service members, a trend that often worked against her efforts, but didn't always. She gestured around with her glass, then sipped at her scotch some more. "I'll give it another hour, and then I'm out." She said bitterly.

[member="Ric Ardellian"]

 

[Judah Lesan]

"Well damnit," Ric said out loud, "I had to guess there was a reason you're wearing that top so low cut with all these men around."

Looks like this wasn't the flyboy's lucky night, or was it? How many times had he heard the phrase, "I like women," and still wound up tangling in the sheets with person who said. Naturally though Ric did know when to stand down. He wasn't about to press his luck.

"You are quite observant about that. I was disappointed when I walked in and saw mostly guys in here as far as the single variety went. Seems like neither one of us are getting lucky with this crowd. If you're walking out the door, I might just follow you out. There has got to be some places around here with better selection."

Ric nodded to Rahm when delivered the drinks, and went right for the scotch. Clearly Ric went less for the ale anyway, but since this was an official thing, he was trying to not get stone dead drunk. That's what long weekends were for, and even then he had to be sober enough to fly if he was called on. He looked over to the blonde, yeah she was hot, but the gal he was sitting next to had her beat one hundred to one. That's how it went sometimes though.

"So does the brunette who likes women have a name, and would she be willing to let this flyboy fly as her wingman for the night?"

[member="Ali Hadrix"]

 

[Slate Estrada]

The Supreme Commander, Slate had heard a lot about her over the recent few months, but he was unable to meet her with the recent hetic months. She was attempting to reform many attributes of the Galactic Republic. However, her success had been limited with the absence of thousands of military personnel.

Like the major, Slate also shook his head. "No, I have been unable to meet her. But this seems like a perfect time to, shall we?" He asked, looking towards where Gir had seen her.

[member="Gir Quee"]

 

[Ali Hadrix]

Ali dipped her head and lifted her class again. "We'll share a cab then." She said, laughing lightly as she drank again. She held out a hand for Ric to take and shook his when it reached her. "Ali Hadrix." She told him kindly. Most men were put off when she revealed her orientation, and she didn't blame them. She knew what men wanted, it's typically what she wanted too. Just not out of them. She smiled politely and nodded at his proposition. "I would love to have you along; we'll see what we can do for one another." Ali let her gaze drift out amongst the crowd once more. "As long as our selection improves." Ali thought for a moment, her eyes catching sight of the Supreme Commander once again, talking easily with a small group, including the one superb drunk.
"Come on, Ric. Let's go meet that Commander of ours." Ali told him in a conspiratorial whisper as she grabbed her ale and scotch and slipped down from her bar stool. She walked passed her new friend and approached Kayleigh Tyven just as the woman was looking her way, waving to another individual Ali didn't know. She cradled the Lomin ale in the same arm she held her scotch and curtsied slightly, holding her hand out to the Supreme Commander.
"Ma'am, it is a pleasure to meet you, I am Captain Ali Hadrix," she turned to glance back toward Ric, "And this is my friend, Ric Ardellian. I just wanted to introduce myself and say how amazing of a job I think you have done for the Republic in the wake of this disturbing tragedy. I am fortunate not to have lost anyone close to me, but I know several who had." Ali attempted to hold the woman's gaze. She would either catch Tyven's fancy or not, either way it was always good to meet a commanding officer of her stature at least once. There's no way Ali could lose.

[member="Ric Ardellian"] [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[Judah Lesan]

"Won't know if we don't try," Ric said with a wink as he followed his new friend over to the group that was gathering.

Naturally his booze cam with him as he carried his way across the floor. His walk had a bit of a swagger to it, natural of his Corellian heritage. Some people thought it was learned, but they were wrong. Corellian's were simply born this way. That's what Ric told himself anyway. Okay so he knew he stood no chance with the brunette, but he couldn't help but admire the fact she had the perfect figure. Why did she have to like women!? Well at least she was going to help him out for the night, and he her. Who knew, if everything worked out well, they might play wingman again sometime. They shared similar interests after all... well so far two, booze and women.

The Supreme Commander, she was definitely cute, and Ali wasted no time in making introductions. She also brought up recent events, one which was seared in Ric's mind. He had seen it on the holonews. Corellia. Ric let out a sigh at the thought, he had yet to weep for his home, and he likely wasn't going to. No his resolve was to fight so that didn't happen to someone else's home. That was why he was joining the "Angels." Revenge was served best on a cold dish, and his would be very cold.

"Like she said Ma'am, I'm Ric, the newest 'Angel.' We all appreciate your leadership," he said looking her in the eye.

His smile was natural as he offered his free hand for a shake. So far this was as far as he was getting with women tonight. Though that was bound to change one way or the other. If not the ball there was the club down the strip. Right now, Ric just played it cool. Ali took her shot first so he was just there to keep her from crashing if she got shot down because the commander was interested in men rather than women.

[member="Ali Hadrix"] [member="Kayleigh Tyven"]

 

[J.Reaper]

reaper walked in to the main hall with his uniform, he was not used to wear this since he mostly wore his phase II armor, reaper looked around as he saw some familiar faces and some unknown, reaper was not very social of him since he was trained as an assassins then a soldier but still he was one, he walked over to one of the tables closest to the corners as he sat down by himself and looked around and examined the people that were in there, he then ordered a drink as he sat there thinking about different things, deep in his thoughts he saw memorie flashes of the battles he was in.

 

[Gir Quee]

Gir nodded, "Now's as good as time as any. I've only spoken to her on radio before."

"That sounds like you really know her well," said Major Kyies with a smirk.

Gir looked crestfallen if but for a few seconds, "You know that really hurts me deeply, I might have to see a counselor..."

"Yet you made it through boot camp fine..."

"Fair enough," said the general, "let's go meet her."

With that, Gir set down his glass to approach [member="Kayleigh Tyven"].

[member="Slate Estrada"]

 

[Slate Estrada]

"I suppose it is." Slate said before he chugged down the remains of his drink and got up from his stool. Because of this slight delay, he began a small jog to catch up with Gir.

When he was by the General's side he would speak to him once again, "Will the Major not be joining us?" He had noticed that Kyies remained at the counter and was now alone. By the sound of it there seemed to be some jealously coming from the Major, but Slate didn't know her and therefore it was an unfair thing to assume. It could've been some sort of joke between Gir and her.

As they approached [member="Kayleigh Tyven"], Slate waited for the response from [member="Gir Quee"].

 

[Gir Quee]

Gir briefly swiveled his head back to see Major Kyies, still sitting at the bar, nursing her drink. But already, another major had taken up talking to her. The general briefly squinted, and then recognized the newer major as being an old friend of hers; at least he'd seen his face in one of the holos she kept in her quarters on the Argus. At the time, he thought that the man had just been an academy classmate, though perhaps there was more to it than that? He turned his gaze back to [member="Slate Estrada"] as they waded through the crowd of Republic soldiers towards [member="Kayleigh Tyven"].

"I think she has an old friend that she's going to be catching up with...I think his name is Jodie or something like that..."