On The Floor I

Posted on Sun Mar 10th, 2024 @ 7:32am by Lieutenant Commander Lyra Cassiel & Lieutenant Commander Andrei Petrov

Mission: S1 Episode 7: Prime Factors
Location: Sikaris
Timeline: Date 2371-09-19 at 2300
5643 words - 11.3 OF Standard Post Measure

There was a little more than four hours before the set meeting with their Sikarian contact, so they were planning around three hours of fun. Lyra wasn’t entirely sure how this was going to go or if it would in fact be fun at all, but the truth was she was willing to take the chance. Clubbing had been one of the things she had found enjoyment and even some sense of escape from the brutality that was her life; she could just dance, let the heavy bass of the electronic music fill her ears, and forget everything for a little while.

She stood looking at herself in the bathroom mirror while applying the final touches of her favorite perfume and then finally walked out to join Andrei. It was immediately obvious that Lyra had dressed for attention - appropriate given the venue. The dress was a deep red that shimmered and shifted into varying shades of red when she moved as if it were made of sequined material, but it looked silky smooth and pleasant to touch. It had a halter neckline with two pieces of fabric cupping her well sized, pert breasts on either side which revealed a long swath of her flat, toned abdomen. She had always been careful to not become too chiseled and mannish, but the attention and care she gave her body was impossible to miss. The skirt had been left around fingertip length simply to accommodate that sumptuous backside that Andrei loved so much and her wanting to be able to move without revealing too much. The fabric hugged her every feminine curve like it had been painted onto her like a master. Gifted with beautiful hair from her mother’s side, she really didn’t have to do much except add a bit of volume with a bit of heat and patience. Her makeup was a bit heavier and darker given it was an evening look with a purpose, but it was elegantly applied and not caked on; the red on her lips complimented the red of her dress. Shiny gold strappy heels and simple gold hoops completed the look. She was a stunning woman.

“Ready, darling.”

Andrei had chosen the same eye-catching material as Lyra for his t- shirt, but with shades of black and gray, and it hugged his impressively muscular torso , displaying his strength and the attractiveness of his shape. Over it, he wore a tan suit jacket, designed to be worn open, and matching pants. A silver necklace with an onyx pendant adorned his neck and chest, and his cologne was woody and captivating. With his flowing, brushed hair and his eye patch, he looked powerful, attractive, wealthy, and dangerous.

He approached Lyra, his eyes finding her beautifully done makeup and her stunning body in the painted-on dress she had chosen. He had brought her over the edge several times with his mouth and his hands, but had denied her the prize between his legs; it also meant he had denied himself. Just looking at her, his pants bulged forward enough that it was instantly noticeable. It wasn’t the sort of thing he had ever had much luck hiding, not that he cared to. Attraction was attraction, after all.

“I will not tear this dress.” He said like a mantra, his serious visible eye dancing with desire.

Lyra’s eyes moved over him the same way he had looked at her. Handsome, powerful, and hers; it delighted her. She smiled at him unreservedly, showing her perfect white teeth, and stepped closer to him.

“We’ll see.” She practically purred, her proximity tempting. Her hands found his wrists and trailed down to his fingers. She had also been pleased to find the bracelet she had purchased for him had also made the cut.

“Shall we?”

“We shall” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his commbadge. “Petrov to Transporter Room One. Two to beam directly to my site-to-site.”

Andrei had called ahead and asked Petty Officer Courtney to find a place for them to beam in at a notoriously exclusive and shadowy club in Sikaris’ capital city. They materialized in a poorly-lit park in an obviously rough part of the city. The buildings which surrounded them were old and, in some cases, the windows were boarded up. Andrei frowned and looked at Lyra.

“Do you think we’re in the wrong place?”

Lyra’s brows lifted slightly, but she seemed amused by the situation rather than deterred. Her hand found his and for a moment she just stood there looking around. “No, we aren’t.”

She saw it then, a bright spot of paint on the side of one of the nearby buildings. A grin appeared on her beautiful face and she was instantly entertained by the fact that through thousands of light years and millions of years, marking some back alley seedy party seemed to be the same everywhere; she didn’t think about it past that.

“This way, darling.”

They walked toward the building together and as they approached, they started to feel rather than hear a low vibration. “Not your typical venue then?”

“Not at all.” Andrei said, looking over at her for an instant as he imagined how she had found herself in places like this.

They followed the beating vibrations until they came to an unmarked metal door. Andrei reached out and pounded on it rather loudly, hoping to be heard over the din of music within. When it opened, a dark-skinned Sikarian man with defined muscles stood there all in black. He was rather short, but clearly compensated by spending every waking hour in the gym. He looked both of them up and down, seeming like he was trying to make a decision.

“Hi there!” Lyra greeted, bubbly and feminine in tone with her dark eyes animated and focused on the bouncer with flirtatious energy. Her hand left Andrei’s and she flipped a bit of her hair over her shoulder. “How are you tonight?”

“Fine night. Fine night.” He said. The man looked at her, his dark lips pursing together skeptical even as his eyes scanned her longer. He then turned his eyes to Andrei, taking in the man’s size and then lingering on his eye patch.

“You must be our Terran visitors. People won’t shut the fuck up about you.” He said with an annoyed expression, stepping aside. “Welcome to the Alley. Straight downstairs. If you go into the doors you pass on your way, you might see something you don’t want to see.”

He eyed them again.

“On second thought, you two look like Grade A freaks. Go where you want.”

“Well there’s a reason they won’t shut up about us.” Lyra pointed out playfully. She reached out, touching the bouncer’s chest with just her fingertips and giving him a wink. “Thanks, handsome.”

Andrei watched the exchange stoically, without speaking. They walked past the man into a dingy entry area where a couch and table sat off to the side. They followed the way he’d indicated and started down a pair of metal stairs , passing rooms on either side which were unmarked.

He turned to Lyra and smiled.

“That act you played there was a surprise.”

“Was it?” She asked, lifting a brow and looking over at Andrei. “Why?”

“It was so light and bubbly. In a place like this, I would have thought you would just be..well, more like you.” He said as they descended further into the depths of the basement until they emerged on a landing made of metal grates suspended above a huge room which had been cut into the underground rock. Music, lights, sounds, and a sea of swaying bodies drowned out the end of his sentence.

He really didn’t know anything about this kind of place and it was strangely refreshing in one way, but worrying in another given he also wouldn’t really know what he had signed up for. Peasants weren’t worried about scandals or scheming, peasants just wanted to dance, drink, and maybe make one or two really bad decisions that would only really affect them. Lyra was a woman who could have her entire evening bankrolled by men looking to have what she would never give - but she’d make them believe they had a chance.

Perhaps she’d let Andrei pay for the drinks this time instead given his reaction to just the simple exchange at the door. Her dark eyes moved over the scene before her, so familiar even in this alien world. It helped that the Sikarians looked nearly identical to Terran on the outside. She gave Andrei’s hand a squeeze and gestured over toward the bar since speaking was nearly pointless over the loud, bass heavy music.

They walked together through the crowd on a procession of competing perfumes, sweat, and revealing clothing accompanied by the thumping music. They abandoned walking beside each other since there was a distinct lack of clear paths and progress could only be made by squeezing between people.

When they made it to the bar, they took up a position between a man and woman ordering their own drinks. He leaned over to Lyra and spoke loud enough to be heard.

“Have fun, love.” He said, the statement full of permission. He then turned to the bartender and ordered himself an amber drink that tasted like it was made of a lemon-like citrus fruit. Sipping it, he glanced at the woman next to him, attempting to become aware of his surroundings.

The woman immediately noticed Andrei’s interest and turned toward him, smiling a flirty smile and placed a hand on his arm. “Hey, handsome. Wanna buy this for me?”

Andrei had only looked at her before she latched on to him immediately. She was attractive and he didn’t see any friends around her which, in his experience, was unusual for a woman in such a place. His interest was captured as simply as it would have been months ago. He noticed it was no longer enough to have a pretty face and a nice pair of breasts.

“I’m a man who’s accustomed to getting what he pays for.” He said, looking over at her and giving her a charming half smile.

She didn’t reply immediately and instead eyed Andrei up and down skeptically despite his charm and charisma. “What do you want?”

“I want to have fun.” He answered, seemingly unaffected by her changing mood. “What else does someone come to a place like this for?”

The woman just rolled her eyes at the cryptic answer, tossed a few credits on the bar, and walked off with her drink.

The man who had been next to Andrei looked over and chuckled at him. “Ouch. This your first time in a club or something, buddy?”

“I didn’t see any reason to buy her a drink. Being attractive isn’t a substitute for having a personality.” Andrei said with a lift of his brow. “Or is it, when in a club?”

The man had been joking with Andrei, but suddenly that levity faded and his brows went up. “Wow really is, isn’t it?” He shifted closer to the Terran man and almost seemed concerned. “Why the fuck would we care about personality in a club? We are here to drink, dance, fuck if we get lucky. If you came to find a fucking girlfriend with a sparkling personality you came to the wrong place.”

“Hmm..” Andrei said with a look of disinterest. He was going to turn away from the man when he saw a dark-haired woman walk up on the other side of the man. She was radiant, with curly hair, striking gray eyes, and a noticeably shapely body she’d managed to squeeze into a tiny black dress. Andrei eyed her and then turned his gaze back to the man. “Well then, Romeo. Here’s your chance. Show me how it’s done.”

The reference didn’t hit at all with the Sikarian, but he seemed to understand what Andrei was hinting at when he saw the woman next to him. With a shrug, he shifted and turned his attention to her. He kept his body language relaxed while communicating interest, but not in an oppressive nor demanding way.

“Buy you a drink?” He invited simply.

She eyed the man as soon as he spoke to her, looking him up and down as if to judge if he was worthy. After a second, she smiled and sat down on the stool next to him.

“Sure. I'm drinking the special. It’s sooo good.” She said, elongating the vowel in the word so and smiling.

“Yeah, so I’ve heard.” He gave her an easygoing smile peppered with a bit of charm. His eyes rested on her eyes, briefly moved down her body, and then back up to her face where they stayed. “That’s a gorgeous dress.”

She looked at him politely with beautiful eyes for a moment before she responded.

“Thanks. People keep telling me it’s nice. I like it because of the parts it isn’t covering.” She offered a wink, confident and playful. “So, are you going to order the drink?..”

“Yeah, of course I am. Just waiting on one of these bartenders to come down. The one that makes them good though is flirting with some girl - hold on.” He leaned over the bar and looked down the way.

——

Lya quirked a brow at Andrei at his statement and then the way he seemed to disengage from her totally in favor of the other woman. Truthfully, after dealing with him for the past week, she decided she just wasn’t going to bother trying to figure out exactly what he meant. If he was going to be vague and cagey, tonight, that was a him problem. She trusted him enough to not throw their relationship away for some alien pussy at least.

She moved down the bar a few spaces and leaned on it, waiting for the bartender patiently and when the man arrived, she smiled. First drinks were usually free for women, so maybe it would be the same here. “Could I get the house special, please?”

Her tone wasn’t overly flirtatious, but there was warmth and projected respect for the hard work he was doing. You didn’t flirt with the bartender - everyone flirted with the bartender in hopes of getting free drinks and they just found it annoying more often than not. To please a bartender and get special consideration, you treated them like you were aware that their time was valuable.

The man behind the bar turned to her with a calm and curious expression. He had a beard of thick brown hair that was neatly trimmed and hair that swept to the side. He wore all black, and was thin, but athletic. His eyes lingered on her and traveled the trail from her face down to her stomach all in a second before returning to the top.

“Sure can. It’s popular tonight.” He said, a quiet pride on his face as he finished cleaning a swat octagonal glass. “I call it the Electric Elixir; shimmering spirits and neon dreams, infused with a splash of mystery and a burst of euphoria. Guaranteed to light up your night and keep the rhythm pulsating.”

He offered a smile, showing a row of white teeth which, while not being perfect, were well-maintained.

“Just be careful. Some of the women are saying it makes them shake right out of their panties.” He said, chuckling, “want to try it?”

“Yeah! Sounds great.” Lyra replied with a brighter smile of her own and that light, feminine voice while brushing a bit of her hair behind her ear. “Come up with it yourself?”

“I did, yes.” He answered simply at first as he set the glass down on the counter in front of him, added crushed ice, and filled it a quarter of the way with a maroon liquid. “Some people paint, I make drinks.”

“Making a good drink is an art.” Lyra agreed, her eyes going between his hands and his face all while a friendly smile rested on her lips. “I’m excited to see what you do.”

He took another bottle full of lavender-colored liquid and brought the glass up to half- full. Then he poured it full with a blue liquid and gave it a single stir to get the colors to marble together. Despite the fact they were all liquid, they didn’t mix together completely, leaving streams of maroon and lavender in a sea of blue. Lastly, he held a small silver device up to the glass and pressed a button. Immediately, the liquid started to shimmer in an almost electric fashion, with currents moving through the blue parts from red to purple and then back again.

He slid the glass to her and smiled.

“Hope you enjoy it.” He said, his eyes lingering on hers for a while.

Lyra lifted the glass and watched the drink swirl and shimmer, seemingly genuinely impressed. “Beautiful.”

Taking a sip then, she found the flavors to be fruity and pleasant, leaning more into citrus than berries with the acidic bite. She sucked the remnant of her bottom lip attractively and then looked at the bartender again. “That’s really, really good. Definitely a work of art.”

She chuckled and slid her fingers into the thick strap of her dress to pull out a small credchip from a small pocket within. “How much do I owe you…. You know, I didn’t catch your name.”

“It’s Yon. And I’m glad you like it.” He said with a genuinely pleased smile. “You want to open a tab or are you going the club virgin route and only having one?”

“Well, I don’t want to open a tab, but I highly doubt I’m only having one of these beauties.” She raised the glass slightly while handing over her chip between the tips of her fingers of the other. “I’ll pay as I need tonight. Thank you.”

He reached for the chip and grabbed hold of it, but his fingers lingered there for a moment, touching hers. Eventually, he let it go, leaving it in her hands.

“I don’t normally do this, but this one is on me. Let’s call it a welcome gift.”

Lyra frowned with concern for just a moment and then smiled with warmth, taking the chip back and sliding it into its hidden pocket. “Thanks, Yon. That’s really sweet. I’m Maddie, by the way.”

“That sounds a bit like a name women have here, actually. It’s pretty.” Yon said with a grin. “What brings you to The Alley, Maddie? Business or pleasure?”

“Pleasure, of course. I just want to relax and forget all of my troubles for a little-“

“Hey!” The voice of the Sikarian man standing next to Andrei cut into their conversation. “Could I get a drink please?!”

Lyra looked down the way with just a brief glance of annoyance and then looked at Yon with an apologetic smile. “It seems I’ve taken up too much of your time, I’m sorry. Let’s talk more when you’re on a break later, maybe I can even steal you away for a dance?”

Yon chuckled softly at Lyra’s apology, shaking his head slightly. This wasn’t his first time dealing with a rude customer, of course.

“No need to apologize, Maddie. It’s been a pleasure serving you so far.” He glanced down at the impatient man standing between Andrei and a dark-haired beauty before looking back at her with a smile. “I’ll definitely take you up on that dance. Just give me a shout when you’re ready and I can have someone cover me.”

He turned, then, and walked over to the man who had called him, leaving Maddie to enjoy her drink amidst the lively atmosphere of the club.

“Sorry about that, man. What can I get you?”

“Yeah I want the house special for her.” He indicated to the woman next to him almost with a note of pride. “Make it good, she’s worth it.”

Yon looked at the girl with a grin.

“That true?” he asked as he started to prepare the requested drink.

“Of course it is.” she said with a dark grin, her eyes moving to Yon with obvious interest.

Yon, for his part, stayed out of it. He chuckled at her response, prepared the drink, and then slid it to her. He looked at the man with a nod.

“I’ll put it on your tab.” he said matter-of-factly.

“Good thanks.” The man nodded and even gave a tip as an apology for being rude.

While this was going on, Andrei looked over at Lyra and offered a smile of his own.

“Maddie…sounds familiar.”

Lyra had wandered over to be back near Andrei and the Sikarian man while sipping her drink. When he spoke to her, she gave him a flirty smile. “Oh yeah?”

Her attention was mildly split from him though, her dark eyes moving over to the woman with obvious intent. Once she had the drink in hand and took a sip, Lyra immediately moved up when she started to turn toward the rude Sikarian.

“Oh honey, nooo…” Lyra wedged herself between the man and woman while facing the woman, a look of concern on her beautiful face. “This guy is a creep and you can do so much better. Come on, come dance with me and let’s see if we can find some fun together.”

She offered a hand and a smile, sisterly in her concern and want to help.

Though the woman was a bit surprised at first when Lyra came over, she soon realized what the woman was about and grinned. She sipped the drink and looked at the man who had bought it for her. She gave him a look that was half apologetic and walked away with Lyra almost immediately.

Andrei watched them walk away with interest. To say the other woman had caught his eye had been an understatement, and he was looking forward to the man crashing and burning so that he could speak with her. All in good fun, of course. Instead, the two men were left standing together. Andrei started laughing, eyeing the man.

“There you are. You have lighter pockets and no woman at your side and she has a free drink.” he said. When he spoke again, it was almost sympathetic. “Thank you for the lesson. It’s a real shame; she was incredibly sexy.”

“Hey, I would have had her for the night if that bitch hadn’t cut in.” The man scoffed, turning around to glower at Lyra as she and the woman moved off to start dancing a bit at the edges with other women who were holding their drinks.

Andrei looked at the man evenly as he insulted Lyra, reminding himself quite calmly that they were there to have fun. He forced a smirk, easily and shook his head.

“I guess I’ll have to take your place then, won’t I?” he asked, as confident as if he were making a suggestion that the sun should rise the next day. “I could give you a few pointers too, if you’d like.”

“Yeah, whatever.” The man agreed but he clearly didn’t care about Andrei anymore or their conversation, he was too busy glaring angry daggers at Lyra.

Andrei shrugged off the man’s indifference to his offer, satisfied that fate itself had made a fool of him already. Instead, he set his sights on the dark haired woman dancing with Lyra. He knew that a direct approach was unlikely to work considering her new environment amongst a bunch of women dancing in their safety circle. He also couldn’t predict what Lyra would do. It was better, in his view, to try something else. He was no stranger at picking up women, and this part of the game was the most fun for him. Well, the part that happened later was pretty entertaining too.

He approached with a confident swagger, as if everything that would follow was already given. He held a drink in his hand which he sipped, closing the distance between himself and the group of women. He caught the dark-haired woman’s eyes and locked on, licking his lips casually and lifting his head in an interest that matched her own. But, when he got there, he spoke neither to the woman, nor to Lyra, but turned instead to a brunette in a small blue dress.

“I couldn’t help but notice that man at the bar over there looking at you like you’re the most interesting woman in the club.” he said, his expression communicating something which he hadn't given voice to, and his visible eye resting on hers.

The woman - who was certainly not unattractive but was far from the most attractive out of the group of women Andrei had inserted himself into - looked up at him and blinked then immediately blushed. Her fingers went into her dark hair and she began to play with a strand, Several of the girls around her shifted in closer and they all immediately began to giggle and whisper. After a moment of that, she finally spoke to Andrei.

“Ummm hi. You’re really handsome. Did you want to dance?”

Lyra finished what was left in her drink, left the glass on one of the pick up spots, and then broke away from the group of women to wander off. Perhaps it was her own way of giving him permission to do what he pleased or perhaps she was annoyed he had come over, but with how she was looking around for something to amuse herself, it seemed the former was more likely.

Andrei couldn’t help but smile at her flustered response, pleased to see that his bold approach had yielded the results he’d expected.

“Thank you, darling. I’d love to dance with you.” he said, grabbing her hand and starting to move with her. He was a practiced, trained, and skilled dancer, and he knew how to move his body if he knew nothing else. He moved his hips with hers, smiling down at her, even as he noticed Lyra leaving. He hadn't accounted for that possibility and wondered if he had somehow ruined her fun by trying to add some interest. While it hadn't been his intention to do so, he certainly couldn’t go back now. He eyed the dark-haired woman and found she was already looking back at him, as were the other women in the group. The interest there was unmistakable, and he knew he had succeeded.

Lyra walked with a feminine confidence through the crowd while considering her options. A man like Andrei had a lot of pull in a place like this and he’d have no shortage of women to dance with or get attention from, but it was a woman like Lyra who ruled as it were. These clubs were built to cater to women to get them relaxed and loosened up enough to both lower their standards and have fun. In reality, she didn’t have to do anything other than exist to get attention and interest. She decided finally to move away from the fringes of the crowd where people who were still drinking were dancing in more tame ways simply to avoid spilling their drinks and instead moved into the much more active dancing crowd.

Here it became much more carnal. Bodies pressed into bodies, undulating, gyrating, rubbing, groping, pressing - they moved with the heavy thrum of the base that drowned out nearly everything else, it smelled of sweat, perfumes, colognes, and arousal. Lyra didn’t seek out anyone to dance with, it wouldn’t take long for someone to show up, so she just started moving with the rest.

It was no more than 10 seconds before a blonde haired man approached her, falling immediately into her rhythm and smiling at her. He was short, thin, and basically attractive, but had been standing in a group of attractive girls. It was immediately obvious he was one of those men who was the life of any party he was at. The women behind him grinned from ear to ear, all but cheering as he started to dance with Lyra. He looked at her with smart, lively, amused eyes.

If Lyra had ever been the type of woman to disregard a man because of his height, she would have seriously handicapped her ability to date or even have this kind of fun - especially when she was in heels given she rivaled even her lover’s height depending on which she selected. She didn’t really even need to consider the man for more than a few seconds when he appeared - she knew the type. She smiled at him and extended her arm out to let it rest over his shoulder, accepting him as a partner for the moment but also keeping him at a bit of distance while they felt each other out.

To the man’s credit, he was a great dancer, a trait he demonstrated with several moves which took obvious skill to execute and also had the added benefit of being comical and showy. The girls behind him giggled, but didn’t approach or interrupt.

“You’ve got some great moves!” He said over the music, “I love your dress!”

“Thanks, love.” Lyra smiled and shifted her hand to coax him closer to her, a reward for his skill and show. “Your friends seem to like to watch!”

“Oh, them?” He asked, grinning and shaking his head. “Yeah, they love to share like good little girls.”

He moved closer to her, his hands finding her without hesitation but not getting intimate or fresh. He merely fascinated their dancing together.

“I think you’re probably the hottest girl here.” He said in a way that was both boyish and unapologetic. That response did not prompt smiles and giggles from the girls.

Lyra laughed at that and leaned in closer, her body almost touching his but not quite.

“I don’t think your good girls liked that at all.” She whispered in his ear.

Her proximity to him was intoxicating in its own way, as he was certainly attracted to her. He grinned mischievously, his eyes twinkling with natural amusement.

“Well, who needs good girls when there’s someone like you around?” He asked in her ear,his tone laced with both flirtation and energy, “what do you say we give them something to watch?”

He pulled back with a wink, ready to continue dancing with Lyra in their own electrifying rhythm. Even as he continued to try and command Lyra’s attention, a dark haired man with a strong body and a goatee came up behind her, shamelessly dancing against the back of her and pressing himself into her ample bottom, which he’d probably spotted before making a beeline to her. His hands drifted to her hips and moved there in a skilled, but uninvited fashion. The man she was dancing with lost just a bit of his eager excitement at the new arrival.

Lyra felt the presence of the man before he had even touched her, but when he did, her eyes immediately moved out across the crowd to Andrei. He wasn’t that hard to find considering his height; not many here matched it. He had just swaggered over to a group of women with a charming grin on his face and pointed to one of them.

She looked away, dropped one hip, and simply stepped and slid out of the new man’s uninvited hold as if she had performed the maneuver a thousand times to get away from others before him. She was having fun with her little blonde toy at the moment, so her little maneuver carried her gracefully around him leaving him face to face with the interloper while she now danced back to back with him. She would see what he’d do and would continue on from there.

Encouraged by her stepping away from the other man, the blonde man celebrated by rocking his back and forth and grabbing her hand to give her a spin. The jealous women in the background whom he’d come with turned and pretended not to be watching. The man whom she’d stepped away from, however, frowned but was not deterred. Taking a more social approach, he walked up beside them and started dancing, trying to turn their pair into a threesome. Looking at her, he winked.

“You’re beautiful.”

“Thanks.” Lyra replied, but kept her body squarely pointed toward the blonde man and closed off to the other one - for now at least. She wasn’t going to dance the night away with one man, but she hated the stink of desperation. She slid her arms over the shorter man‘s shoulders to draw him closer.

The blonde hair man drew nearer, dancing confidently in her space despite the larger man’s continued presence.

“Whatever.” The man said, resentfully, and faded away as quickly as he had come.

Lyra just laughed and continued to move with the blonde man, seeming happy with just his company for now. If the other man had been run off so easily, he wasn’t worth her time in the end.


TBC