RP: YSS Eucharis [Mission 27, Part 2] Night on the Beach (YE 39)

The Aptly Named "Ghetto-Rigged Tiki Bar"

While Natsumi was grabbing the last of the boxes of alcohol, Ramiro headed into the shuttle as well to grab a thick metal case filled with ice. He had made sure to pack something insulated so that it would stay cold. He also carefully placed a bag on top of the case, which made the loud clinking sound of glasses bumping into each other as he set it down the bag down. A few moments later he was setting the case of ice onto the beach next to his bar. He pressed on the case and shimmied it back and forth a little, digging it into the sand and then kicking some extra sand up against it for an added visual effect.

"Thank you ma'am" Ramiro responded to Natsumi as she finished bringing the alcohol. "That should be it. I've just got to organize a little."

He began picking up the boxes of booze and carefully lifting them through the gaps in the brances that held his bar together, and placing them on the sand underneath the bar. It only took him a minute or so to place all the boxes of hard liquor inside, at which point he began pulling out random bottles and swapping their locations with other bottles, muttering to himself as he went. "Scotch goes with Lorath Bourbon..... Wine, wine, wine, wine." Ramiro would occasionally pull out a number of bottles, setting them into the sand, before placing them one at a time back in the various boxes. After a minute or two he reached over for one of the boxes that he hadn't placed under the bar, which was full of beer, and he pulled out a dozen or so bottle. Kicking off the lid of the case of ice, he started digging the bottles into the ice. He then reached under the bar and grabbed three bottles of wine and dug them into the ice as well before replacing the lid. He then moved the other box that he hadn't placed under the bar, which contained a bunch of juices and mixers, next to the ice case.

He stood up, dusted some of the sand off his hands, and reached for the clinking bag. He started pulling out a number of different looking glasses, everything from highball glasses, to cocktail glasses, to champagne flutes, martini glasses, margarita glasses, shot glasses, and even a couple of shaker cups and a bar spoon. He set them all to one side of the bar, organizing and lining them up close to each other to make as much open space on the bar as possible. The then hung the bag, which still contained a large number of towels and speed pourers from the bar by just tying the bag to one of the branches.

Pleased with his set up, he called out. "Alright guys, bar's open once they incinerate that pile of wood. Anything and everything under the sun that you need, I've got."

Hanako's World
Beach

Black waves and green sea foam lapped at the sides of two small, knotted looms, as they sluggishly approached the surface. Turned a dark chrome-purple hue by the prevailing blue moonlight, Toyoe Tsuguka simply rose out of the surf, walking out of the calm night ocean like some kind of nocturnal Kaiju.

A one-piece athletic swimming suit, camouflage pattern. First time it had been used in three years. Combat webbing was strewn tightly around her brawny chest, but the SOCK knife was missing from it's scabbard, primarily due to being imbedded in the skull of the two-meter long alien swordfish bobbing along beside her. Got heavier and heavier as it was dragged out, until it needed to be baby-clutched to avoid the nose-needle snapping off.

Silent running operation, completed. Recall humanoid personality emulation. Run program. Boot up fine-scale facial empathy signalling system.

-"There do not seem to be any immediate threats in the area, Shosho Ketsurui."- A purely telepathic update. Her eyes were still mostly gazing at the robust fish, to ensure it's defeat was certain. -"If you require a higher degree of certainty, please issue formal orders for Mindy deployment."-

"Medical Santo Hei Tan Ann Pan." Continuing fluently, flowing into the next issue at hand. They darted their head over to the middle aged woman rather mechanically, then practically handed them the fish, arms extending outwards to their fullest. "An edible substance crossed my path. Could I have your opinions on it's aptitude for standard human consumption? A nekovalkyrja can eat many things. Unfortunately, I have not been trained to account for this factor."

Next thing to examine was the fire pit. Construction and combustion levels seemed satisfactory. Makeshift bar was at least moderately agreeable for it's purpose.

Majority of crew body language seemed to denote a state of relaxation. Perhaps slight anxiety? Bodily proximity needed to be reduced to confirm the results.

Nito Hei Yuuki was completing drink cycles at a elevated rate. Psychological diagnostic scheduled.

Bathing suit was getting colder, still wet and slick to her body. Perturbing.

The Beach

Tan Ann Pan tilted her head this way and that, still holding her drink and not confident about reaching out to catch the huge fish with an arm and a half. She eventually raised her eyebrows and said, "It's not exactly my field--this is the third planet I've ever been on. If it's poisonous, I can treat the symptoms at least, but I'd have to look up what happened to the last one who tried it to do more.

"Nice catch, though. Want a drink?" She held up the one she was holding, which she had yet to make any effort to bring to her mouth, its pieces of fruit still held in the grip of a tiny umbrella.

The Beach (?)

"There may be additional information on known wildlife on the local SYNC, if that helps." Effort was put into a slightly slower, softer tone, but truth be told, the red neko was having trouble sounding light hearted. Regarding their darker-skinned comrade, they had picked up a certain air of welcome professionalism, but almost everything else had seemed to remain a mystery. Right down to what the medic could even perceive about the world around them, really. "I could also take a picture of it, and send it to your eyes electronically. Like that thermal camera trick we did back home... It is quite unattractive, however."

"Intoxication through alcohol seems quite perplexing as an entertainment activity." Next item in the conversational agenda, drinking. "I suppose there is minimal danger with a qualified professional such as yourself in the vicinity, but..."

"To be honest, every single planet I have been on, aside from Yamatai, has been filled with things that have tried to kill me." A smile. Tsuguka didn't quite know how misplaced it was, eyes closing serenely whilst she bared slightly oversized fangs. "I do not want to become dizzy and useless. Isn't that how it works? Quite a strenuous experience, I hear?"

Hanako's World
Whose Beach is This?

"Marine creatures are seldom attractive," Tan opined. "For most of the same reasons as cave-dwellers, I gather; it's a bit hard to see down there. I'll take a look if you get it stuffed and mounted, though, it's only fair."

She held up her drink overhead in one hand, as if it was a trophy itself. "I couldn't agree more." It swung back down to chest level. "It can help with relaxation in moderation. The effects of the substance include vasodilation, disinhibition, and for some, euphoria, before the delayed reactions, poor coordination and sedation become problems. If you're dizzy or nauseous, you've had too much."

She moved the cup to her mouth, and then stopped, inches away, suddenly moving it back to its previous position, and resumed as if she hadn't stopped speaking. "... but for entertainment, it has to come down to the taste, I think. Wine tasters like to have fun figuring out where the fruit was grown, how it was stored, or for the less old-fashioned, simply coming up with all manner of adjectives to describe what they think it tastes like. I don't go that far with sake, but I like to think about what it would take to perfect it."

Hanako's World
Beach

Takao set down the logs he had far enough away from the pit that they wouldn't be burned. He looked over and saw Candon with a flamethrower and grinned as he took a step back to make sure his guitar was out of the path of flame as he took it out of the drawstring bag the body was in. He'd helped fetch wood and now it was time to be that guy and play the background music.

He plucked the strings, a few times on each one, and tuned it to his liking before playing a line of improvised chords before strumming once with an open chord to end the test. He sat down for a moment away from the fire pit so that it could be lit as he slowly started a calm, slow, tune to start until someone suggested something to him or someone told him to stop.

Beach

"Play Wonderwall!" a suspiciously Jax-like voice floated from the other side of the party.

Beach

Wazu rolled his eyes... everyone played Wonderwall and he was sick of it. He set his drink down and cupped his hands to his face.

"FREEBIRD!"

Sandy Coast of Hanako's World

"I'm freeeee as a biiiiird now," Mehitabel helpfully chimed in, hoping to avoid the dreaded musical noodling of every amateur guitar picker.

Hanako beach, far away in time~

"Logical." Tsuguka responded simply, finding agreement with Tan's sentiment. "Like reverse engineering."

Sitting down cross-legged into the surprisingly warm sands, sombre eyes closed for a moment, allowing her to absorb the background noise of laughter and wonky guitar preparations. The fish made a gross cuddling partner, but she wasn't going to let the sand ruin it either.

"What kind of drink is adequate for a novice?" Voice had a bit of mandatory sternness, as if this too was part of some training regime, with set tiers and skill levels. "Contextual information; Smokey or herbal flavours enjoyed. Saturated green colour... I guess your own favourite would suffice."

Beach

Freyja sighed and sipped her drink. A voice in her head surprised her. She turned to look at Jackson. "Junko's gone. I don't understand, I thought we were happy. But I don't want to talk about it." She responded. The alcohol was not working quickly enough.

The neko stood up and walked over to Jackson. "I have a request Jax-san." She bit her lip. "I don't know how to ask this.." She sighed and moved so she was almost pressed up against him. "I'm just going to whisper it, okay?" Freyja leaned in and whispered with her lips almost touching his cheek. "Please help me get drunk faster."

Beach

<Don't worry, I wasn't planning on trying to talk you out of it. I've been in this exact situation. I was gonna help you!> replied the catboy, instantly becoming aware of how scandalous this must have looked to anyone watching.

Jax beamed. This was going to be a cinch! Borderline alcoholic (aka- common Nepleslian/Minkan) versus two year old neko with no body mass. Still had to take into account the superior metabolism, but that wouldn't be a problem.

"First, get rid of this sad excuse of a drink- no offense, Wazu. It's finely made, but insufficient for her needs." Jax instructed, plucking the pina colada from Freyja's hands. He reached over and handed it to Tsuguka.

"Try this, Tugs." he suggested with a wry grin before returning his attention to Freyja. He reached over the bar and came back up with one of his handles* of rum, holding it out for her to take.

"Drink this and call me in the morning!" he snickered.

(*OOC: Here's a handle, for size reference.)

Sandbar

"I wouldn't call whatever this is 'good for a novice'. It's got whipped cream on it." Tan looked down at her drink just long enough to make one wonder whether she was going to start drinking it now, then turned her head, hastily located Tsuguka again, sat down nearby with her legs bent in front of her, and went on without minding the drinks or fish they held, or their reactions to them.

"Plain vodka would be a good start for a novice palate, I think. (Not so much a novice liver.) I brought some when we set out. After you've established a baseline, you could try the vanilla, the fruit flavors, even the... I still don't know what 'whipped cream flavor' means. I only kept the most unusual ones in our cabin, though, the rest are in Mango's care."

Stranded on the Strand

Saiga-chusa stepped onto the beach looking more ready for holiday at a resort or some kind of fashion magazine shoot, casting a striking figure in a pair of black swim shorts that stopped in the middle of his strong thighs, with a waist-length kimono loosely draped over his shoulders to match. A few old war wounds slashed scars across his chiseled Geshrin torso, and he clearly maintained little modesty regarding their presence. Like Wazu, he'd brought along sunglasses—ebony tortoise shell with silver rims and smoky gray lenses—which, unlike Wazu, he didn't discard when he saw it was nighttime out. The Type 28 Submachinegun that was strung on a thin sling and fell to his hip didn't really match his look, but it didn't exactly take anything away from it, either.

He'd just sort of watched the party site unfold on the beach for a few minutes, leaning in the shuttle's open hatch as the crew scurried in and out to retrieve supplies, himself surveying the area for anything important before finally striding across the open sand. All he'd noticed were the festivities getting started without him. Tsuguka had handled the seaward perimeter inspection in her odd way, which had obviously been very thorough, and the tree line was definitely a lost cause when it came to in-depth inspection.

Not that he actually expected anything bad to happen here on the world that bore his captain's name, in the middle of the most secure sub-sector outside of Core Yamatai. His sentinel's gaze was just a habit. Or maybe a hobby, at this point. The crew was probably more of a concern than enemy invaders.

"Not sure you need to try so hard, Jax-kun," Saiga muttered pleasantly as he passed the blonde catboy handing the jug of rum to Freyja. She was practically begging with the way she was done up in that little red thing, its volumetric perfection "tugging" over her blue skin in all the right ways. Saiga didn't think his quick taunt would make much a difference, anyway—if it was even heard—and proceeded wordlessly to grab a quick beer and a not-so-quick bottle of something else.

With a frosty can in hand, the Chusa smiled at whoever was behind the bar right then and grabbed a bottle opener. Quickly, he pressed one of its pointed metal ends against the aluminum cylinder, puncturing a hole down near its bottom edge. And then, just as quickly, Saiga pushed the new spout to his lips, cracked the can's actual top, and then sat the soon-empty vessel down on the makeshift bartop not two seconds later.

Another smile flashed to that nearby comrade and a selection was made from the arrayed cornucopia of booze—a bottle of Delsaurian Dusk of modest vintage—and Saiga was off again, this time following Tsuguka's trail of crusty, once-wet footprints across the sand toward the tidal pool and ocean beyond.

"Shosho," the Chusa nodded respectfully when he passed Hanako. "It's a great time already. Thank you."

Upon coming to the outside of the still pool, underlit by the bioluminescent life that filled it, he turned and followed along its edge. His kimono, sunglasses, liquor, and gun were thrown into a neat little pile when he ran out of beach and was forced to continue past it. More small scars and nicks marred the man's muscular back, revealed to the bluish moonlight cast down from above. All the way out and along the pool's barnacled seawall the SAINT officer walked, each step exacting and careful in its placement as not to cut his foot open and require the old Nepleslian's attention.

Saiga planned to get wet before he got drunk. It was safer that way.

Right in the middle of the rocky formation that separated the tidal pool from the actual ocean, the Chusa stopped. He looked out over the calm waters that stretched out before him for a time, peering up at the stars where he'd spent most of his life. And just when he'd decided—after all of his examination and firm consideration—that Hanako's World was worthy of its name, he dove into its warm waters and began to swim out.

"I will come with you," Hanako offered. She shimmied out of her exercise shorts and pulled her shirt over her head, and then neatly folded both and placed them on a log, which left her bare except for a small black spandex Type 29 bikini bottom. She paused for a drink of red wine and then darted into the ocean after Saiga. Once she was in she waded in place with her head above the mild, rolling waves.

Of course Hanako wasn't the only one showing some skin. Becker was now wandering the beach with a plastic cup in one hand, completely naked. After finishing the drink he also went out in the ocean and began swimming against the current as a kind of workout.

Chilling at the Bar

Ramiro watched as the first people came and went from the bar. His brow started to furrow with mild concern as to the number of crew members who were content to just drink straight from a bottle all night. He put on a disappointed face as he shook his head and let out a frustrated sigh. These people just need to get used to civilized society again, I guess, he thought the himself as he reached down for supplies. He figured if he wanted people to actually get creative and have some fun with their drinks, rather than just drink from a bottle, he was going to need to flair things up a bit. Setting a shaker cup on the bar, he poured in some ice lemon juice from a large bottle, and then placed bottles of blue curacao, white rum, and grapefruit liqueur onto the bar as well, stick a spout pourer into each one.

"Alright then," he called out, picking up the bottle of rum and throwing it at his head. "I brought the fixings for one of my favorites..." As he was saying this he reached up with the same hand that tossed the rom, and caught it just in front of his head, rotating it around his head before lowering the bottle and pouring into the shaker cup. "...A Pacific Wave," he said, finished the sentence as he finished pouring the bottle.

Sticking it back under the bar, Ramiro picked up the liqueur, this time tossing it over his shoulder, catching it behind his back, bringing it around to the front of his body to switch hands, rotating it back behind him, and tossing it from behind back over his shoulder to crouch slightly and catch it, upside down, just over the shaker cup. He paused to let the liqueur pour before returning that bottle under the bar as well. Grabbing the last bottle, he tossed it up a little, landing it on the back of his hand, before spinning letting the neck fall forward and catching the bottle into a pour.

He capped of the shaker cup, gave it a few quick shakes, and poured the entire contents into a lowball glass.

"Drinks up!" He called out.

Beach -> Shuttle -> Bar

Tsuguka accepted the tiny cream diorama in a glass with one coiled hand, but was mindful of the fact that Wazu had apparently left loads of similar cocktails on the bar as it was. It also looked suspiciously like junk food for her tastes. Neplesians had problematically experimental ideas about all this.

"Isn't that a higher percentage too?" Was the remark added as her eyes returned to Tan in front of her, observing the woman's subtle body language. They were, of course, also the third nep in the booze equation. "Is this a personal recommendation, or are you following guidelines? I guess you are still technically the most qualified opinion..."

A distraction. Watching the Shosho wade out into the sea made her a little paranoid, but it seemed like Saiga-chusa was adequately armed to defend her, at least.

Freyja downing drinks on a presumably empty stomach also made the red neko reconsider her priorities. Well, there were a lot of lemon and orange slices around... Time to put that underemployed domestic skill to some actual use?...

"Step one, I must begin preparing this fish. The alternative is awkward." Tan was probably missing out on the expression of Tsuguka piling all of the possible options in her head like an imaginary rolodex, but her blank tone said a lot, too. "You can join me at the bar momentarily, if you desire, Santo Hei."

Using that unique neko ability to stand up without using either their arms or legs, Tsuguka drifted back towards the shuttle in order to use the clean water dispenser on the comfort module. Cleaned. Head, gone. Tail, gone. Guts, in the bin. Just two massive stakes attached to a spine, now. Slices of fruit were wedged inside of the repeated parallel cuts along the flanks. As one last sub-task, it was not difficult to find an adequate support stick within all of the kindling that the group had gathered, so that Tsuguka could lean it across the fire at an angle with only one support.

Clean clean clean. Guts smell was unattractive. Knife back in holster. Hair smells sea-salty.

Stop the clock, four minutes and twelve seconds. Improvements could be made.

Returning to the bar, like she suggested. One eye on the cooking fish. Relocated Tan. Drinking exercise could now continue unimpeded...

Well, unless you count the semi-acrobatic display that this pale male Itto Juni was getting up to right as they met with the group again.

"Surely, that wasn't required to complete the task?..." Tsuguka observed flatly, failing at showing genuine curiosity by displaying absolutely nothing resembling friendly banter. "Most impressive, Officer Ramiro."

It took Wazu a moment of listening, followed by a quick spark of understanding. Tsuguka's line of thought starting to feel a bit familiar.

"The first task is creating the drink. The second is drawing attention to the drink...it looks like Becker and Ramiro both know it pays to advertise.

Wazu would fish out two small glasses, pouring two fingers worth of Vodka in each followed by a single ice cube.

"Consider this one," He offered, taking one for himself, "It is just potatoes that have been distilled repeatedly. No additional sugars, and as much of the bitter heads and tails have been removed. Clean, to the point... And it does not dehydrate quite as badly as the other options. More of that warm alcohol feeling. Less of the hangover after."

Just watching the rest of the crew start to strip and go swimming made Wazu feel like a bit of a perv.... Something he chalked up to more foreign sensabilities. The new SAINT officer was certainly cool, kimono, weapon, sunglasses, night,... His leaner body certainly looked closer to Wazu's than Becker... Massive, muscled, like a Yamatain's drawing of an IDsol: just enough smoothness that he wouldn't pass as nepleslian.

There was a certain attraction to the idea of just switching bodies, being someone else for a while.

"Tsuguka, Do you enjoy being so objective oriented?"

Beach, Bar

"Very, yes." Tan replied, regarding the vodka's percentage. "That's why I say it's good for a beginner, there's not much to taste in it. And yes, it's a personal opinion. The guidelines are paid for by the manufacturers on Nepleslia, so following them is in essence the same as doing whatever a billboard tells you is right."

She drifted back to Wazu's bar and set down her as-yet-untouched drink. "I'll have one, too. I just realized this isn't for me." As an aside, she added, "You know, nearly every man on the island was a fisherman, my mother must have been the only housewife who didn't know how to gut fish. I'm not sure what my father did, only that it involved far too many mysterious packages, midnight rides, and disappearances. And the bomb, of course."

Wazu would quietly reach for another glass... Ending up with a highballer in hand. Another Vodka-rock being poured them placed in front of Tan.

"... Of course, the bomb..." He repeated.