Lt. Commander Ross - Consider yourself led on
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Hannah S
Jul 23, 2026, 11:19:26 AM (22 hours ago) Jul 23
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((En route to Starlight Ballroom – Deck 499))
At first he only noticed a familiar face – then he noticed the astonishing dress.
sh’Sonora: Oh, hello Sir! ::She waved her hand, antennae synced, but not raising her hand too high as the robes restricted her.::
Ross: Heading for the ballroom? Mind if I join?
It was a meaningless question – the robe (or was it a dress?) that Mi'shune wore left no doubt about her destination. She displayed a fantastic range of blue fabric and golden hand-crafted embroidery. The robe seemed to radiate a glowing light, as if the starlight itself had been woven into it. Ross had chosen a bad day to be underdressed.
sh’Sonora: By all means, Sir. You can join me.
Both officers stepped into the turbolift and Ross resolved to the usual smalltalk.
Ross: Did you enjoy your Shore Leave? Recovered from last mission's maneuvers?
sh’Sonora’s Inner Dialogue: oO Even his small talk’s pretty generic. Oo
sh’Sonora: oO Shush you. That means I’ll have to carry the conversation. Oo ::Smiling brightly, her antennae bobbing in friendly invitation, she spoke.:: I had a great time. It was mostly a staycation. Stayed in my quarters, watched some kung-fu flicks, maybe went out to see the sights I missed when I first got here. Like, do you know there’s an entire terran arcade centre here on this station? And there’s an Andorian quarter too, real nice, if not quite like back home. I even got to go to a Betazoid spa a week ago with Lieutenant Voss and S’Zurak and we had a great time.
It was always nice to meet people who were good at monologues – Ross smiled and nodded and smiled and nodded again... until the mention of Lyra, which struck him a little unexpected. Apparently it didn't go unnoticed.
sh’Sonora: Hey… aren’t you Lyra’s friend? I think she talked about you before.
He was thrown aside for a moment and blinked, before recovering a smile which could mean anything from Oh yeah, I think I've heard of her to We''ve been kinda stuck in an unlabelled romantic torment for a good year now.
Ross: Oh, she did? Yes, we've... spent some time together recently.
sh’Sonora: Ahhhh… cool! I think she hyped you up, but she didn’t speak much about you to me. You seem alright, and anything that makes her happy makes me happy, you feel me?
She had hyped him up? Ross had no idea what that entailed exactly, but it didn't sound like a bad thing. So he shrugged and nodded.
Ross: Yes, I... I feel you. I think?
The turbolift jerked to a halt and opened its doors, freeing him from a conversation he wasn't 100% sure what it was about. They had arrived.
sh’Sonora: So, what does a shen have to do to get a handsome man to escort her to the ball? ::She presents her arm to hold.:: Shall we?
Ross had to keep himself from cringing. Oh, that would look great, right? Ghosting Lyra for a week, only to lead her Andorian friend into the ballroom that was dressed up to the nines? Fantastic.
At first he only noticed a familiar face – then he noticed the astonishing dress.
sh’Sonora: Oh, hello Sir! ::She waved her hand, antennae synced, but not raising her hand too high as the robes restricted her.::
Ross: Heading for the ballroom? Mind if I join?
It was a meaningless question – the robe (or was it a dress?) that Mi'shune wore left no doubt about her destination. She displayed a fantastic range of blue fabric and golden hand-crafted embroidery. The robe seemed to radiate a glowing light, as if the starlight itself had been woven into it. Ross had chosen a bad day to be underdressed.
sh’Sonora: By all means, Sir. You can join me.
Both officers stepped into the turbolift and Ross resolved to the usual smalltalk.
Ross: Did you enjoy your Shore Leave? Recovered from last mission's maneuvers?
sh’Sonora’s Inner Dialogue: oO Even his small talk’s pretty generic. Oo
sh’Sonora: oO Shush you. That means I’ll have to carry the conversation. Oo ::Smiling brightly, her antennae bobbing in friendly invitation, she spoke.:: I had a great time. It was mostly a staycation. Stayed in my quarters, watched some kung-fu flicks, maybe went out to see the sights I missed when I first got here. Like, do you know there’s an entire terran arcade centre here on this station? And there’s an Andorian quarter too, real nice, if not quite like back home. I even got to go to a Betazoid spa a week ago with Lieutenant Voss and S’Zurak and we had a great time.
It was always nice to meet people who were good at monologues – Ross smiled and nodded and smiled and nodded again... until the mention of Lyra, which struck him a little unexpected. Apparently it didn't go unnoticed.
sh’Sonora: Hey… aren’t you Lyra’s friend? I think she talked about you before.
He was thrown aside for a moment and blinked, before recovering a smile which could mean anything from Oh yeah, I think I've heard of her to We''ve been kinda stuck in an unlabelled romantic torment for a good year now.
Ross: Oh, she did? Yes, we've... spent some time together recently.
sh’Sonora: Ahhhh… cool! I think she hyped you up, but she didn’t speak much about you to me. You seem alright, and anything that makes her happy makes me happy, you feel me?
She had hyped him up? Ross had no idea what that entailed exactly, but it didn't sound like a bad thing. So he shrugged and nodded.
Ross: Yes, I... I feel you. I think?
The turbolift jerked to a halt and opened its doors, freeing him from a conversation he wasn't 100% sure what it was about. They had arrived.
sh’Sonora: So, what does a shen have to do to get a handsome man to escort her to the ball? ::She presents her arm to hold.:: Shall we?
Ross had to keep himself from cringing. Oh, that would look great, right? Ghosting Lyra for a week, only to lead her Andorian friend into the ballroom that was dressed up to the nines? Fantastic.
But what other choice did he have? He managed a slightly pained smile and accepted her arm.
Ross: Sure thing. We'll make quite an entrance with your outfit. Astonishing fashion choice, Lieutenant.
sh’Sonora: Excellent. Lead on, my good man!
Ross: Sure thing. We'll make quite an entrance with your outfit. Astonishing fashion choice, Lieutenant.
sh’Sonora: Excellent. Lead on, my good man!
And so he led on. Gently he stepped in front of her, helping Mi'sh step into the corridor and towards the huge ballroom.
((Starlight Ballroom – Deck 499))
The room that unveiled before them was nothing but astonishing: It was huge, containing a classic polished wood dance floor, festooned with maroon draperies and garlands of small white flowers. Far above their heads, a large chandelier sparkled like a sky full of stars.
To one side there was an uninterrupted viewing window, giving the most spectacular view of the ships coming into dock or leaving the Starbase. To the other side was set up the bar and food area, and to the corner in between was a podium for speeches and awards.
Ross: I've never heard about this location before. It's pretty amazing how Command keeps coming up with venues. Let's grab a drink, shall we?
They walked over towards the bar.
sh'Sonora: And while you're at it, you gotta tell me a little about yourself. Lyra only told me that you... well... exist.
This time, his chuckle came easily and his smile was honest.
Ross: Ah, she's a great storyteller, isn't she. ::he leaned on the bar counter:: I mean, I'm an open book pretty much. There's not much to tell. Joined Starfleet three years ago, before that I was travelling a lot - I worked in cargo. I'm from Earth, Boston. And... ::he shrugged:: ...I could go for a Whiskey. How about you?
sh'Sonora: And while you're at it, you gotta tell me a little about yourself. Lyra only told me that you... well... exist.
This time, his chuckle came easily and his smile was honest.
Ross: Ah, she's a great storyteller, isn't she. ::he leaned on the bar counter:: I mean, I'm an open book pretty much. There's not much to tell. Joined Starfleet three years ago, before that I was travelling a lot - I worked in cargo. I'm from Earth, Boston. And... ::he shrugged:: ...I could go for a Whiskey. How about you?
sh'Sonora: ?
Ross ordered their drinks. Until now he had made a point not to let his eyes wander over the crowd of people that had arrived early.
Ross: You and Lyra graduated together, didn't you? Did you grow up on Andoria then, before you joined the Academy?
sh'Sonora: ?
Speaking of... while he listened to Mi'shune's answer, he dared to take a look around a room. And of course - there she was. Wearing the about most breathtaking dress he had ever laid his eyes upon - Lyra stood next to Alok, Ryden and Wyn, and as if she had felt his gaze, they locked eyes for a short second. He raised his hand for a short wave. There was no reason to be awkward, right? They hadn't spoken in a week, so what? ...right?
Luckily, their drinks came in as a distraction and he handed Mi'sh hers.
Ross: It's pretty amazing sometimes, how we all ended up here, huh? Boston cargo worker, Andorian merchant heir... ::he raised his glass:: By the way, I never thanked you for not crashing our shuttle the other week.
They clinked glasses and he settled back against the counter, watching how more and more people poured in. The big dance floor slowly started to worry him.
sh'Sonora: ?
Ross: You think there's gonna be dancing tonight? Is that a big thing in Andorian culture?
It was certainly a thing in the human world - but far less in Ross-world. How long he would be able to avoid thinking of Sasch while at the same time trying not to step onto Lyra's toes?
sh'Sonora: ?
***
Lt. Commander Evan Ross
Intelligence Officer
StarBase 118 Ops
O240009ER2
Lt. Commander Evan Ross
Intelligence Officer
StarBase 118 Ops
O240009ER2
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