[Christmas Minisode] Constellation Christmas!

[Ashley Weir]

[Bar]

"Ah" Zex replied.  She nodded her head in agreement.  She still was not feeling very festive, but smiled anyway.

[Bar]

"Hi" Zex said to the woman she had seen before, but never formally met.  "I'm Zex, Medical Officer.  Would you car to join us?" she asked.

[Bar]

Ashley smiled warmly as the woman spoke up. She tried to think of the words to say, but none came to her. At least not in English. She could've signed a response easily, but she knew the odds that anyone in the room would actually understand sign were extremely slim. It felt like time slowed to a crawl, what was really less than a second felt like hours as she choose every word carefully. "Thank you very much. I'm Ashley Weir, but people usually just call me Ash. I'm a science officer, but in title only. My real specialty is language, verbal and non." Her tone was both friendly and shy at the same time. This was still all too new to her.  Other than her sister and one or two people she didn't tend to have friends. For awhile it was too hard to communicate with them without being able to hear them, and then even when she learned to read lips, she'd already gotten use to being introverted.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Bar]

Stafford stepped off of the freight turbolift, the one the bar and indeed all of the restaurants and establishments on the Promenade used to move bulk foodstuffs and equipment. With him was an ensign pushing an anti-grav sled. Piled onto the sled were presents.

"Ladies, gentlemen, trans-gendered species and individuals," The captain said in his husky voice. "The Columbus has received a shipment of entertainment provisions from a small, friendly species that lives in the North Pole region of Earth. They call themselves 'Elves', and their overlord is a generous fellow named 'Santa Claus.' Santa and the Elves have arranged for this shipment of homemade toys for you and yours. Step right up, everyone has one. Chief Tritter, get those kids up here first!"

[Hust Kinun]

[Bar]

Hust stood and left, trying to get out of social contact with others. What he did not expect, however, was to be dragged back inside along in a rush of people to the sight of the Captain. Not just any people, but Children primarily. He managed to escape, and stood to the side toward the wall near the door. He gave a wistful grin at the joy that the children seemed to have, finding them to be both overenthusiastic, but also the happiness was a needed change from the attacks and zombies they had experienced recently.

[Daniel Howell]

Accepting the proffered handshake, LK took his hand in a firm grip. "Good to meet you, Cmdr Howell... err, Josh. Not quite sure I can get used to that. We were drilled pretty furiously about rank at the academy."

A yell went up from a corner of the crowded bar. LK's attention was diverted to the sound and she frowned at the loudness. Then again, this was a Klingon bar and blood wine was flowing pretty freely. AND it was Christmas. She asked, "Do Klingons celebrate Christmas?"

Bar
"Well, it's just for the Christmas period, usually it is a good idea to maintain rank." Howell replied. He turned to where a yell came from a Klingon who had clearly had to much blood wine, which is not uncommon for a Klingon. He was also curious in response to the question that Reede asked about Klingons celebrating Klingons so replied "You know what, I have no idea if they celebrate Christmas. Through presents doesn't seem the kind of Klingon Tradition, does it." He finished with a smile.

[Bar]

Stafford stepped off of the freight turbolift, the one the bar and indeed all of the restaurants and establishments on the Promenade used to move bulk foodstuffs and equipment. With him was an ensign pushing an anti-grav sled. Piled onto the sled were presents.

"Ladies, gentlemen, trans-gendered species and individuals," The captain said in his husky voice. "The Columbus has received a shipment of entertainment provisions from a small, friendly species that lives in the North Pole region of Earth. They call themselves 'Elves', and their overlord is a generous fellow named 'Santa Claus.' Santa and the Elves have arranged for this shipment of homemade toys for you and yours. Step right up, everyone has one. Chief Tritter, get those kids up here first!"

Howell's attention then turned to the all to familiar voice of Captain Stafford. Dan listened to what the Captain said and couldn't help but chuckle a little. He though to himself Well, that's a first.

[Vem, son of Motag]

{Bar}

"I like to think of m'self less as a Klingon and more as a..." Vem's raspy voice paused as he selected his next phrase carefully, "spirit clinging to a meat suit the way a child holds on to a security blanket so he can't feel more comfortable about it. One day I'll shred the meat-suit and truly experience the fullness of existence..." He said this second part to LK Reede, once the Lt. Commander had answered.

"So, Á¢â,¬Ëœda easy answer is... yes." He said with a proud little smile.

A chirp let Vem know that he was needed- his present giving duty was about to start in the main promenade.

"You'll have to excuse me. I'm needed for the festivities." Vem said and gave a little bow before leaving. He'd heard the Captain's announcement and that was his cue.

[Christmas Display (Just outside the Bar)]

Vem arrived, all smiles and cheer. He still had a few gifts in the sack he had with him but he'd need the supplies Like had with him. He took a seat on the big red chair that had been set up for him and said,

"HO HO HO!" And did a fair imitation of the jolly old man, though his voice was a little raspier than Santa's normally was. He beamed wide and the kids began to gather.

Vem took the first present from the pile and held it up. It felt... rather light. Like... empty. Quickly he turned around, pretending to rifle through the presents while he opened that one. Sure enough- it was totally empty. The second one he did this too showed the same result.

He moved to Luke, discreetly, and said privately.

"Cap'en. I've got some bad news. Someone's... stolen Christmas!"

[Kirok]

[Bar]

Ashley smiled warmly as the woman spoke up. She tried to think of the words to say, but none came to her. At least not in English. She could've signed a response easily, but she knew the odds that anyone in the room would actually understand sign were extremely slim. It felt like time slowed to a crawl, what was really less than a second felt like hours as she choose every word carefully. "Thank you very much. I'm Ashley Weir, but people usually just call me Ash. I'm a science officer, but in title only. My real specialty is language, verbal and non." Her tone was both friendly and shy at the same time. This was still all too new to her.  Other than her sister and one or two people she didn't tend to have friends. For awhile it was too hard to communicate with them without being able to hear them, and then even when she learned to read lips, she'd already gotten use to being introverted.

[Bar]

"Nice to finally put a name to a face" Zex replied.  "This is LK Reede.  She is one of our Sec/Tac Officers if you have yet to meet her" the Delta added with a smile.

[Ashley Weir]

[Bar]

"Nice to finally put a name to a face" Zex replied.  "This is LK Reede.  She is one of our Sec/Tac Officers if you have yet to meet her" the Delta added with a smile.

[Bar]

Ashley offered another smile looking over to LK before replying. "It's a pleasure to meet both of you." She paused a moment looking to the bartender and then back to the women. "What should I have to drink? I don't really go to bars."

[Michael J. Tritter]

[Bar]

Stafford stepped off of the freight turbolift, the one the bar and indeed all of the restaurants and establishments on the Promenade used to move bulk foodstuffs and equipment. With him was an ensign pushing an anti-grav sled. Piled onto the sled were presents.

"Ladies, gentlemen, trans-gendered species and individuals," The captain said in his husky voice. "The Columbus has received a shipment of entertainment provisions from a small, friendly species that lives in the North Pole region of Earth. They call themselves 'Elves', and their overlord is a generous fellow named 'Santa Claus.' Santa and the Elves have arranged for this shipment of homemade toys for you and yours. Step right up, everyone has one. Chief Tritter, get those kids up here first!"

Tritter had a young boy in his lap, who had migrated their way over there. His son tended to run on the shy side. He had his left arm wrapped around the boy's midsection. Ryan was sitting next to them as well, he was to Michael's right. The two men made small talk back and forth, their youngest than slid her way over into Ryan's lap, the man ruffled her brown hair and chuckled quietly to himself. Ashley, their youngest, noticed the anti-grav sled come out and she gently elbowed Ryan in the stomach excitedly, she said "Look Daddy Ryan, look!" He grinned slightly and said, "I see it honey"

Tritter shifted to focus on it as well, he looked it over curiously, it was quite the display. Christopher, however, remained quiet for the most part, he was a shy boy and remained to himself for the most part. Tritter noticed he seemed to learn forward and focus on it, it was the young boy's way of showing his excitement. Tritter leaned down and whispered in the young boy's ear "Go on" and moved his arm out of the way, so the boy could hop down. It would not take long for Ashley to do the same, she was the more outgoing of the two.

Tritter got to his feet, looking over towards Ryan, gesturing for the man to come along with him, who would get up and make his way over towards Michael. Tritter looked down, noticing his son was staying next to him, whilst Ashley had made her way up to Captain Stafford. Tritter put his right hand on the young boy's back and started to guide him over to his sister, the boy needed some help to come out of his shell. Once Ashley got up to Captain Stafford, she would pull on the Captain's pant leg to get his attention, as she waited for him to answer her, the young brown haired and green eyed girl stared up at Captain Stafford.

[LK Reede]

"I like to think of m'self less as a Klingon and more as a..." Vem's raspy voice paused as he selected his next phrase carefully, "spirit clinging to a meat suit the way a child holds on to a security blanket so he can't feel more comfortable about it. One day I'll shred the meat-suit and truly experience the fullness of existence..." He said this second part to LK Reede, once the Lt. Commander had answered.

"So, Á¢â,¬Ëœda easy answer is... yes." He said with a proud little smile.

A chirp let Vem know that he was needed- his present giving duty was about to start in the main promenade.

"You'll have to excuse me. I'm needed for the festivities." Vem said and gave a little bow before leaving. He'd heard the Captain's announcement and that was his cue.

LK's eyes widened as the Santa-Klingon described himself as a spirit clinging to a meat suit. The comment got through that they did celebrate Christmas, though. A piece of information she kept meaning to ask Kahlotus back on Luna and never got around to. She shook her head just as Vem's comm badge chirped.

There was really no answer she could make that would appear intelligent so LK turned back to Zex and a new person that had just walked in.

Ashley offered another smile looking over to LK before replying. "It's a pleasure to meet both of you." She paused a moment looking to the bartender and then back to the women. "What should I have to drink? I don't really go to bars."

"Good to meet you, too," LK replied. "Me neither. But I was thinking of a glass of plain tea. But maybe I should try a blood wine. Never tried that before and this seems to be the right time to try new things."

"Ladies, gentlemen, trans-gendered species and individuals," The captain said in his husky voice. "The Columbus has received a shipment of entertainment provisions from a small, friendly species that lives in the North Pole region of Earth. They call themselves 'Elves', and their overlord is a generous fellow named 'Santa Claus.' Santa and the Elves have arranged for this shipment of homemade toys for you and yours. Step right up, everyone has one. Chief Tritter, get those kids up here first!"

As a flood of children rushed in, LK backed up against the bar. She hadn't thought she would be encountering kids on a star base. But there was a lot of things going on she hadn't expected. Ash, the science officer / language specialist as she called herself, appeared to have a hearing problem. She seemed to be reading lips. And there was a guy trying to sneak out of the bar. Probably shy and introverted. She certainly didn't expect a big Klingon dressed as Santa.

"Blood wine," she told the bartender looking at the napkin in front of her.

[Sevoc]

Sevoc finished up the brief write up he had and proceeded to the Promenade. He quickly found where the rest of the crew was gathered.

On his way in, he noticed Dr. McConnell was trying to make a quiet exit for whatever reason. He stopped her briefly.

"Dr. Mcconnell," he began, "I would like to thank you properly for assisting me in regaining myself. I also would like to apologize for any inconvenience it may have caused."

He knew it wasn't necessary, but felt the need to clear the air a bit.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

[Promenade]

Stafford titled his head and stared at Vem in abject horror before his confused reply was interrupted by a tiny tug at his clothing.

He looked down to see one of the Tritter children wanting to get his attention. He held a finger to Vem.

Stafford, with great difficulty, took a knee to address the little girl on her level:

"Hello my little love. I'm Captain Stafford. I'm a friend of your father's." He said and smiled just a bit. He was trying to catch Tritter's eye over his daughter's shoulder.

"Can you do me a favor and go back to your dads? And send Michael over to me. That's right, big daddy. Bigger daddy. Can you do that?"

[Michael J. Tritter]

[Promenade]

Stafford titled his head and stared at Vem in abject horror before his confused reply was interrupted by a tiny tug at his clothing.

He looked down to see one of the Tritter children wanting to get his attention. He held a finger to Vem.

Stafford, with great difficulty, took a knee to address the little girl on her level:

"Hello my little love. I'm Captain Stafford. I'm a friend of your father's." He said and smiled just a bit. He was trying to catch Tritter's eye over his daughter's shoulder.

"Can you do me a favor and go back to your dads? And send Michael over to me. That's right, big daddy. Bigger daddy. Can you do that?"

The little girl watched the Captain closely, she watched his mannerisms with the strangely dressed man closely. She than watched the Captain kneel, a wide eyed grin on her face and her eyes seemed to light up. She would reply with "Nice to meet you Captain! I'm Ashley" Once he mentioned about getting her dad, she beamed and said "Of course!" She turned away and ran back towards her Dad, she pulled on her Dad's pant leg. The large seven foot tall man kneeled down infront of the youngster and she said "Daddy, the man over there wants to see you", she would turn around and point briefly towards Captain Stafford.

Tritter looked over her towards the Captain, he leaned down and gave the child a kiss on the forehead "Thanks Honey, go stay with Daddy Ryan". He would rise to his feet, smoothed out his uniform and make his way over towards Captain Stafford. He would stop a few feet infront of the man, he would than state "Sir, you asked for me, how may I help you?" His tone was it's usual seriousness, with his ever present German accent.

[Alex Harmon]

[Junior Officer's Quarters]

Alex had so far spent most of the Christmas season doing various paperwork, stuff for Intelligence, stuff for transferring to the Sec/Tac department from Operations and he had finally had enough. Before he had been buried in paperwork, Alex had decided to get Captain Stafford a gift. He hadn't had a chance to thank the Captain for everything he had done, particularly during the zombie crisis. After much deliberation on what to get him he decided to have a relatively small plaque of the Columbus's crest made for him. Alex picked up the plaque, which he hadn't had time to wrap and headed to the Promenade to look for the Captain.

[Malcolm Adeyemi]

The little girl watched the Captain closely, she watched his mannerisms with the strangely dressed man closely. She than watched the Captain kneel, a wide eyed grin on her face and her eyes seemed to light up. She would reply with "Nice to meet you Captain! I'm Ashley" Once he mentioned about getting her dad, she beamed and said "Of course!" She turned away and ran back towards her Dad, she pulled on her Dad's pant leg. The large seven foot tall man kneeled down infront of the youngster and she said "Daddy, the man over there wants to see you", she would turn around and point briefly towards Captain Stafford.

Tritter looked over her towards the Captain, he leaned down and gave the child a kiss on the forehead "Thanks Honey, go stay with Daddy Ryan". He would rise to his feet, smoothed out his uniform and make his way over towards Captain Stafford. He would stop a few feet infront of the man, he would than state "Sir, you asked for me, how may I help you?" His tone was it's usual seriousness, with his ever present German accent.

[Promenade]

"Thanks for coming, chief." Stafford said. "I think we've got a case of grand larceny on our hands here. All the Christmas presents are missing."

The captain gave that a moment to sink in, and then said:

"I don't want to go kicking down any doors or stereotyping, but if I had to guess this is the work of Ferengi. They've always hated Christmas."

[Michael J. Tritter]

[Promenade]

"Thanks for coming, chief." Stafford said. "I think we've got a case of grand larceny on our hands here. All the Christmas presents are missing."

The captain gave that a moment to sink in, and then said:

"I don't want to go kicking down any doors or stereotyping, but if I had to guess this is the work of Ferengi. They've always hated Christmas."

Tritter listened quietly to the Captain, he pondered what they stated and than nodded slightly. Once they finished speaking, he would reply with "I understand, it could be them, but theres plenty of potential folks who would do something like that. We'll have to take this all for evidence and go from there, but we'll have to keep it on the down low. I know my kids won't mind, but others... I have no idea, perhaps Vem could make a good distraction? After the evidence is secured, we can begin our investigation" He looked over towards the oddly dressed Klingon for a moment, he figured the oddly dressed man could be useful.