Martel reached the doors to Odin’s Palace, took a breath and then entered. He was greeted with a vision from centuries past, even if stylized. Wooden furniture and paneling, a bar in the central area with tables in the outer reaches of the room. There was a definite ancient Scandinavian flair to the decor and Martel actually found the room and its atmosphere rather likable.

There were knots of people talking and Martel looked for any familiar face that wasn’t already engaged in conversation. After a few moments he saw the CMO, Doctor Frisco, standing alone and they locked eyes. She had seemed friendly enough in his few interactions with her and so he waved a little shyly and made his way over to say hello. On the way over he noticed the Ensign Stroyer off to the side, looking a little wobbly on her feet. Martel frowned slightly but continued to make his way to Frisco, keeping a weather eye on the unsteady young intelligence officer.

“Evening, sir.” Martel greeted, “This is….nice.” Martel pulled a face at the inane statement and then followed it with a self-deprecating laugh.

Sienna Frisco was not a fan of parties. Her experiences growing up on Vulcan had influenced her in specific ways—she was more studious than willing to let loose during her downtime.  It hadn’t been much of a problem in her early career, and it had been a benefit as she’d climbed the ladder in medical operations.  She was usually the one cleaning up after either fools acting foolish or someone had spirited real spirits into the mix.  Now, however…was another story.  As the XO, she had specific duties—things she had to do.  Attending this party and celebration was one of those things.  She glanced up at the voice of Lieutenant David Martel, the newest addition to the tactical and security team.  The look on his face gave way to a chuckle from the young officer.  She returned with a quiet smile, “That word covers plenty of sins, Mr. Martel.”  She angled her body to take in the rest of the room, “I’m mostly kidding…the hospitality team did some of their best work on this one.”  Frisco eyed him, “Were you much of a partier in your academy days?”

Martel made an innocent face, “ME, Doctor? I would never.”, Martel’s face turned into an impish grin, then realizing he may have crossed a line he coughed uncomfortably and ran a finger through the collar of his tight, black shirt.

“I mean, sometimes, ma’am. Many times I ended up being my brother’s keeper….or….sister’s…..if need….be.”, Martel’s voice trailed off as he looked closer at Ensign Stroyer. He jerked his chin at the ensign, who had a slightly confused and distressed expression, and asked Frisco, “Is Ensign Stroyer alright?”

Sienna chuckled, her smile reaching across the gap between them, “My younger days might look closer to yours than I care to admit.  As for Ensign Stroyer…”, she followed his glance, “There’s probably a few things on her mind.  Part of the XO gig is knowing was much about how everyone’s doing as possible.”  She gave him a nod to follow, “And you’re as warm and friendly as they come.”  She replied, her own quiet impish grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Naveah wasn’t sure why she had been invited to the party. During the encountered hallucinations, she had freaked out. During the recovery of the stolen Starfleet assets, she had let her team down by letting them get captured, and escaped rather inelegantly. Not a surprise the other two Ensigns had been promoted while she hadn’t.

She had tried the Klingon bloodwine for some liquid courage, and attempted to join one of the ongoing conversations, but quickly figured out that she – while finding the taste surprisingly intriguing – was suddenly talking far more than she usually did. Now, she was trying to figure out a way to get out of this party without losing the last shred of dignity.

Sienna pulled back and gave her conspirator the lead, for the moment.

“Oh.. hey.” Stroyer nodded at Martel, trying her best to at least pretend that she was doing okay.

Martel shot a friendly grin at Stroyer, “Ensign Stroyer, are you doing alright?”

“I.. look, I’m not drunk. Really. I never get drink, and besides, I didn’t even have much to drunk.”, she insisted, but fell silent as she realised that words were getting quite difficult.

Martel decided a bit of gentle humor might help, “Stroyer, I’ve had some ‘I’m not as think as your drunk I am, sir’ moments, myself,” Martel comically slurred his words, “so you’ll get no judgment from me.”, Martel’s was smile was both knowing and kind.

Frisco sidled up next to Stroyer, effortlessly trading her drink for chilled water. “This might help, Ensign.”  She flagged down someone walking by with a tray of appetizers and snagged several small plates of associated items.  Sliding the plates onto the high-top table, she snagged a mini corn dog and popped it in her mouth.  “This stuff works wonders, too.”

Martel was about to comment when his eyes widened as he looked at one of the plates being carried, “Tostones! My mom made these for me growing up!”, Martel was clearly delighted and snatching a plate of them, “You never see these at a function.”

Martel looked at his two companions and explained, “Plantains that are sliced, flattened and fried. Served with a garlic sauce, and this one has a little kick to it.”, Martel dipped one in the aforementioned sauce and took a bite, chewing contentedly. He offered his plate to Stroyer, “You should try one.”, Martel then Stroyer a wry sidelong grin, “Maybe try it with just a bit of salt first.”, Martel was considering Stroyer’s stomach might be feeling a bit too delicate for the sauce.

Sienna kept her mouth shut.  She’d worked with the hospitality team to find something to serve that would remind as many of them of home.  She’d learned over the years that in the process of breaking bread with others, connections stood a better chance of forming.  Frisco started doing her homework the day she returned to Valkyrie as XO.  She was going to do whatever she could do to help accelerate the glue between the crew.  She was keenly aware as XO she was going to have to have some tough conversations eventually.  The glue would need to hold them all together – through the good and the bad.

“Thank you.”, Neveah said, a little defeated.

Frisco slid another off the plate and into her mouth, “How about you, Ensign Stroyer?  What’s the one thing you could eat for the rest of your life and never get tired of?”

“Uh… I think sushi. It’s weird how there’s so much rice in it, which should be filling, but I can eat twice my body weight without even trying.”, she smiled, still a little intoxicated, but the food and water were doing wonders.

Sienna understood.  “My first trip to Earth – sushi was a wonder.  I love the heat from a good sauce.  Grew up on a steady diet of Vulcan cuisine…but discovering the universe of flavor…that was something.”

“I… look, I know it sounds stupid, but… I think I’ve been the only one so far who was brave enough to try the bloodwine, and… it’s replicated, right? It tastes normal, but I am pretty sure they’ve dialed up the potency to eleven.”, she said quietly.

Frisco frowned slightly.  The drinks hadn’t been her area.  She caught the eye of one of the more senior hospitality staff and called him over.  She whispered to him, and her brows went up a little more as he replied quietly.  She pursed her lips, her voice sliding into the sound of an annoyed XO, “Please rework the bloodwine content recipe on the double…and counsel them on the proper use of the synthehol formula.”

Martel’s eyes narrowed and he walked over to a table with drinks and found a mug of bloodwine. He took an experimental sip.

“Jesus.”, Martel made a quiet exclamation and gave a slight cough. He gave Frisco a look confirming the strength of the drink as he walked up.

“Definitely a bit of a punch in those, sir.”, he switched his gaze to Stroyer, “Are you feeling better?”

**Tag Stroyer**

One of Frisco’s eyebrows went up, and she surreptitiously slid a medical tricorder off her belt and into her hands, scanning the ensign.  Her levels were evening out, thank goodness.  She wasn’t going to need to call in her newly promoted replacement in the middle of a party.  She turned to Stroyer, “Looks like we had a rookie in charge of the bloodwine…they tipped the scales with a little too real of an effect.”  She walked to a wall replicator.

“Somebody might just be in for it.”, Martel said with mild amusement, then Martel turned to Stroyer, “Are you feeling better?”

*tag stroyer*

Frisco returned, and slipped a container into the hands of the ensign, “Take these before you go to bed tonight.  You’ll avoid the hangover…and me having to adjust the duty roster for your department.”  She smiled, “This wasn’t a you thing, Ensign Stroyer.  Someone accidentally tried to get us all very drunk.”  She cast a glance at the bloodwine table. The old mix was being carried off by a red-faced ensign and replaced with a new mix moments later.  She gave them both a nod, “Now, I’m going to make sure nobody else is going to need to be picked off the floor in an hour.  Enjoy the party…responsibly.”  The last line was marked with a exaggerated wink as she walked off.

“I suppose I’m supposed to go mingle or something, Im new here after all. Just wanted to make sure you were alright”, Martel eyed Stroyer, “I won’t be far if you need me, though. And look at the bright side Stroyer, you needed surprise bloodwine to feel off. I’m always a bit off naturally.”, Martel crossed his eyes, hit the side of his head with the heel of his hand, shook his head a couple of times and straighted his eyes out. With a friendly grin and a nod, Martel wandered off to a table laden with food.

Stroyer gave a nod, and decided to take a seat. Near the food, of course. And far away from any beverages.