RPlog:Masquerade Ball: A Night on Yavin/Part 3

Kyrin moves away from the bar once she has her drink in hand, giving an approving nod to Inanna once she samples it and declares it suitable. When her name is shouted, she looks up and finds Shael on the other end of the shout. Folding her wings carefully to her back so that she doesn't crowd anyone, she makes her way to the other. "Shael," she greets cordially. "Interesting place here," she remarks politely, looking around at the people and fixtures with equal interest.

With an apparent snort, Ramyxth blows out his flaming drink through one of the two nostrils. "Its what they all say," he responds, ready to say more but caught by the helmeted mans comments, trying to make sense of it himself. Basic not being his own language, it makes the man's speech all that much more difficult. Only being here for one thing, to have fun and not stand at the bar looking bored, the tiki guy looks around some more. He blinks again at the count, its hot or cold with this guy. Finally he turns to the latest arrival, getting a little lost himself. Towards Shael's newest companion, he ponders, "So what, you here as well to stare and glare, or you ready to show your flare ... um, on the dance floor I mean." He takes another long drink through the straw through nis nostril

Inanna quickly cuts in front of the droid, taking over Juran's drink order, and the droid moves on to the next being - finding a Caridan Rum for the butterfly. "You know this is a cash bar, as usual, right?" Inanna queries the Head of Security. "I'll have to put this on your tab. And aren't you on duty now, too?" She has instructions from above, you see, and is serious about upholding them. As her sister gets up on stage and calls our her name, she wines a little, and turns to the server droid, "follow the instructions," she says, before leaving it to field Juran's request. And she sends a large nod across the room to her sister, and weaves her way through the crowd to join her up on the stage.

Hisssssss! Ka'una shows that this kitty can also go wild again, baring fangs, arching her back somewhat at the count. Not touching anymore, she still stays near them, and instead changes targets, brushing against Kyrin's legs, trying her best to get another purr-like sound. Her throat will be screaming at her in the morning, that's for sure. She can't help to give the blue skinned woman a curious lookover and grins. Such a contrast, red and blue.

"It can be," Shael agrees, greeting Kyrin with what may be a very unexpected (though brief) hug. "How've you been? Haven't seen much of you around! We should have a go at the simulators sometimes," the pilot declares cheerfully, inviting herself into the New Republic simulators. "Zik and Rook have both been giving me pointers, you know."

"Yus. I am on duty. See. I'm only askin' for /one/." This seems to be an extremely important fact for Juran. While he continues to fight with his helmet, tugging it before he then twists it from side to side, grumbling loudly. "i.. bloody.. 'ate this elmet.." he grunts, "I 'ate the wee things cause they dun 'old enough in em' for a proper drink, s'what I 'ate about them. pffbt. They're used. By dweebs."

The Birdie waits until Inanna has reached the stage and hands the microphone to her. "Applause for Inanna!", she does the cheerleading thing and claps for her sister, before leaving the stage to head back to the bar and all the other people she has or hasn't yet greeted. The blue-winged one is hard to miss and so she approaches her with a happy smile. "Kyrin! I haven't seen you since... well before Tara's birth! So nice of you to come!", she beams.

Kyrin accepts the hug from Shael graciously, returning the favor politely. "I have been well. Busy, as one can imagine," she replies, her speech formal as always, but that's a cultural thing. "I did not know they were giving you pointers. If I find some time, I may assist, if you would like." When she gets the kitty treatment, she leans down to offer a scritch behind the ears. And when The Birdie greets her, she flashes a slight smile. "Hello there," she greets Serenella. "I trust you and the hatchling are well?"

The_Count may like cats, but still, "Hiss all you want, just don't touch.", plus, there is something a wee bit disturbing about all of this. Wearing a cat outfit, ok, behaving like one, not so much."Baby, not hatchling, baby. And yes, how is she, is she sleeping better?", because hatchling evokes images of far too many scales. The question addressed to the 'Birdie' when she returned to this group.

Lepidoptera chuckles at the Pirate, "Hmm, dweebs. Well, I'd rather be a dweeb and use a glass than drink myself under a table and wake up two days later and be confused as to where I am or how I got there," she says. She turns to thank the bartender only to find the droid in the place of the woman who'd been there, but simply slides credits towards the droid and says, "Leave the bottle," and leans against the edge of the bar - with exquisite care - at the bar and carefully tucks her wings behind her and out of the way. She sweeps the room with a searching gaze, looking for a place to take her glass and newly acquired bottle of Caridan Rum.

Now even with the costume on, the Rebel Pilot could sense the butterflies true nature, his smile shifting to almost a predatory grin as he continues in the Skywalker imitation, "I went into Toshi Station for some power converters and the next thing I know...I am running off with some old man. " He tilts his head at the winged woman next too him, watching to see how she reacts. He vaugely pays attention to where the Chyleni has moved to, the future starting to clarify it's self to him as he senses his plans falling perfectly into place.

The bartender droid answers Juran with a matter-of-fact, "the orders are for non-alcoholic drinks only, in that case." It does leave the bottle out for Lepidoptera, accepting her credits.

Inanna takes the microphone from her sister, clears her throat and says "yes... Hello and thank you all for coming. As the little bird told you, we have a contest here for the best costume. We have two prizes... one is the House Pick, which she and I are going to choose. The other is the Guest Pick... which all of you get to vote on. Each winner will get a voucher for a future weekend stay in a suite at our Dianoga Hotel, and a stack of chips at our Lucky Krayt Casino... total of a seven hundred credit value. Not bad for putting on a costume and showing up, eh?" She smiles, looking around the room. "So for the voting... take a look around, Sel and I are exempt, but I see another cat, a butterfly, a totem, a tiki torch, a piranha beetle, a rebel pilot, an old-time count, and a near clone of my sister, I think... I miss anyone?" (these are the PC costumes on hand, of course). "Then make your way to our ballot box, and cast your vote. You each get one. I'll tally it up and announce the winners when we have everyone in." (ooc: page me with whose costume you vote for as your favorite.)

The Birdie grins at Kyrin's choice for words. "The hatchling is fine.", she giggles, nudging the Count in amusement at his correction, "She's doing fine... Luke's sent a Padawan to stay here with us, to keep her safe and in touch with the Force and all that... he's babysitting right now..." Then she falls silent to listen to her sister's speech.

Or scratching behind the lek, in this case, and ka'una can't help but close her eyes and enjoy the moment a little too much. She smiles wide, slowly opening her eyes again, and gives Kyrin's leg another brush before she actually gets on all fours, streetches, and sticks her tongue out at the count before she walks towards the bar. It's time for a drink. She leans against barcounter next to juran and Lepidoptera, before giving one of her droids a sign. "mmh..corellian whiskey." she states and takes a glance towards the stage, smiling, listening to Inanna's annoucement. As soon as she gets her drink, she goes for the ballot box, elegantly moving between the other people that might make their way towards it.

Less amplified, those who may ever have paid attention, might note that even lower his voice has the same reverb and echo in it. The tiki guy, somewhat lost in the conversation as the bar and apparently not heard, moves along towards the ballot box as well. Coming up not short of the stripped cat, Ramyxth asks her, "So, I'm not familiar with these masquerade things, do we revel ourselves after the votes, or do we get to continue enjoying the suspense?" His voice is directed at her, less amplified, but still with a slight echo.

Lepidoptera casts a sidelong glance at the Rebel Pilot, the Skywalker-like voice and actually chuckles quietly, "Oh man, no, tell me you didn't dress up like Skywalker," she says before chuckling again. "Okay, if you're going to go for the whole hero of the rebellion thing you have to be a great deal more.." she pauses, inhales deeply and settles for, "introspective. Say things that are deeply thoughtful, stuff like that." She grins briefly, "And, you're taller than him, I think, so maybe slouch a bit." She glances back at the droid, claims the bottle with one hand and the glass with the other, "Try not to get too drunk to walk," she adds with a teasing grin towards the Pirate in disguise.

Yanking and twisting at the helmet, Juran finally gets it off and lets out a breath. He lifts up a thumb, then the face-mask twangs back onto his bare face, as the string hooks itself on his hair. A grunt and his mask is shifted around, and he plants his helmet onto the bartop. He lifts up his bottle and pulls his mask off for a moment, taking a deep gulp of it before setting it back down onto the bar. "S'bettah." He states, before he then rubs his eye with a thumb. "Ahm' no drunk. I'm pleasantly buzzed.." He mumbles, starting to swagger his way over to the ballot box.

The pilot's voice changes, gone are any vestiges of the Skywalker's tone, "I never could mimic his mannerisms well anyway." It has been replaced by a High Coruscanti accent, " Though I would not expect your costume to be quite so....showy...for a Commodore." He takes a sip of his whiskey as he watches revelers make their way to the ballot boxes, he cared little for contests and the like, gloved hands cross across his chest, as he watches the crowd. "An Interesting lot, aren't they? This is a very nicely appointed vessel, much more plesent than my last time here. "

Ka'una umms, about to cast her vote when mr. tiki god reaches her, and she stops for a moment, thinking. "I...have no idea." she admits, blinking. "It's the fist time I take part in one." She softly sighs and whimpers. "It makes me feel bad about not having a mask. Even tho it's not my fault." With that, she slips the paper into the box, rather quickly for some reason.

Inanna sets the mike back on the stand for a minute and motions to the band to play another tune, as she walks over to the ballot box and watches over it. Once it looks like everyone has voted, she opens the back of the box to go through the slips of paper and count things up. She waves her sister over from across the room, to make their pick and finalize matters.

Lepidoptera turns slightly at first, smiling at Juran, "Right. Pleasantly buzzed for you is what would put most of the room snoring under the table," she says with a laugh. That laugh fades abruptly as she turns back towards the Rebel Pirate, a subtle change altering her posture and stance, even her tone of voice, though it's so subtle that only a keen eye would notice that the grip she has on the bottle of rum is now white-knuckled. "I'm not," she says in a voice that is pitched low and even, the inflection of humor and amusement gone and her voice runs to cool and empty. "I hold no rank that is significant, the only title I carry is one that I've earned. And that one cannot be taken away short of a medical review board and a panel of experts." She forces herself to lift the glass, takes a measured sip from the contents, "As to the decor, I'm no expert, it all appears bright and well done," she adds before she deliberately eases away from the bar and moves towards the ballot box to cast her own vote.

"If you would excuse me, I must refill my glass.", a quick half-bow to all those gathered around and participating in the conversation, something he is not entirely sure of. With that, Rasi takes a few steps back, and begins to wade through the crown intent on heading towards the bar, and once there, his order is quite clear. "Iced tea, Chandrillan brew with a touch of citrus.", unlike others, Rasi does not deviate from what he likes and is not one to try new things most of the time.

The smoke finally starts to wear off after he casts his own vote, the little fogger he had in the costume is running out of juice. Ramyxth shakes his large papier-mache head at the stripped cat twi'lek. Not so much 'shakes it' as he twists his hips lightly to make the appearance of shaking his head. "Nonsense," he booms lightly, the eyes still flickering red. "You choose a wonderful costume, stayed in character and had a great time. Why would you want a mask to cover up your face anyways?"

"Excuse me.", the Birdie mutters to Kyrin when she hears her sister calling for her and pushes her way through the crowd back to the stage. "Sooooo...?! Do we have a winner?", she beams at her sister.

Kyrin quirks an eyebrow toward the Rebel Pilot as she hears his speech shifting from farmboyese to something more cultured, and her movements take her to the ballot box before the voting's closed, barely, so she gives the sisters a polite smile as she drops in her vote and leaves them to tally things without any thought of interference. And when she finds her spot in the crowd once more, she awaits the verdict with mild interest, her eyes moving from elaborate costume to elaborate costume.

After voting, Juran turns to Lepidoptera, and then gives the woman two thumbs up. He then promptly remembers that his thumbs are integral to holding the bottle still, and he quickly keeps it close to his chest, giving it a few gulps before he begins to swagger back towards the bar, humming as he does so. "commodore! pfbwth.. Canna' just call ya t'mad doktor n' get it ower n' done wae?"

Inanna consults quietly with her sister for a minute, turning away from the crowd so they have a mostly private moment to get everything finalized. Nodding, the cat returns up on stage and take the microphone again, the band dropping off again. "Okay, the results are in," she says. "As I said, each winner gets a free weekend in a suite, and some casino chips. Let's start with a round of applause for the winner of the House Pick... the Massassi totem!" Inanna adds the name, too, "Ramyxth."

Ka'una smiles softly at Ramyxth after his words, fallign silent for a moment. The winner is announced, and she doesn't seem surprised by it. She just leans forward, and kisses him on the tiki mask. "Thank you, little tiki god. And congrats." With that, she drops on all fours again, makes her way happily to the bar where she stands once more, and grabs her drink, turning, leaning her back against it with a smile as she takes a slow sip of the whiskey. Funny how a few words can make somebody's mood go through the ceiling.

Finding one of those small tables to be, mercifully, empty, Lepidoptera sets the bottle of rum down, pours another measure of the rum into her glass and also sets that down as she turns towards the stage to applaud. Granted, she's picked a table that puts her as far away from the bar as possible, joining her compliments with the rest of the crowd as the first winner is announced. The voice, that's the thing that betrays the woman wearing all that elaborate silk, and it is distinctive enough to instantly bring back some not-so-old memories. With the refilled glass in his hands, Rasi leaves the bar and heads towards the conversing pair(er...trio???), stopping at an appropriate distance. "I was not aware that cadets made enough to warrant such elaborate dresses. Perhaps I shall head down to your corner of the woods, my bank account could always be fuller.", that rather odd introduction given, Rasi bows once more, to Lepi and the pilot with her.

"Congratula... Con... Congra.." Juran stumbles over the word, and he finally frowns. "Good on ye." And Juran wags the bottle at the Tiki God, and uses this as a most excellent excuse to take a very large drink from the bottle, his head tilting back as his adam's apple bobs up and down a few times. He lowers it, then covers his mouth and belches into it. And people say he doesn't have manners.

"Congratulations, Mr Ramyxth!", the Birdie cheers him from the stage and beckons him to come up the stage and receive his prizes from the sisters, holding out an envelope that contains the hotel voucher in her hands, while she waits for him.

Looking more at the striped cat than paying attention, he isn't sure he won anything, until the MC throws his name on for good measure. He might be blushing under his mask, or he might not be. He makes his way to stage, or where ever to claim prize. THe hand that had switched the fogger back and forth switches with the voice modulator and he throws his voice onto the PA system briefly, "I'd like to start off by thanking ...." He lets it trail off, and switches off the PA system and laughs lightly to those in his vicinity. Quietly again to those nearest him, the two sisters, he takes the voucher, "Sure, after I already pay for the suite." Even more quietly to the bird, he says, "And see, I didn't bring any trouble with me, great party, well hosted. My thanks to the head of entertainment for arranging this affiar."

Lepidoptera aims a look at Juran as he calls her 'mad doctor' for probably the hundredth time, though this time she doesn't respond by calling him a drunken-pirate as she's trying to disentangle herself from the crowd around the bar. She pauses to stare at The_Count, "Not having anything to spend my paycheck on means I can make these elaborate gestures from time to time," she replies to Rasi, recognizing his voice with the same skill that he used in recognizing her. She inclines her head slightly in a nod of greeting before she does weave through the crowd with a determined stride. Finding one of those small tables to be, mercifully, empty, Lepidoptera sets the bottle of rum down, pours another measure of the rum into her glass and also sets that down as she turns towards the stage to applaud. Granted, she's picked a table that puts her as far away from the bar as possible, joining her compliments with the rest of the crowd as the first winner is announced.

The Birdie chuckles and wraps her arms around the totem for a quick hug. "Thank you...", she says just as quietly and grins, "The voucher means that you'll just have to come back another time!" Then she steps back so that Inanna can give him the casino chips and announce the other winner.

Inanna gives the totem god a smile as he comes up on stage and joins the applause from the crowd for the winner. Then she turns back to the mike to keep things moving. "And then we have the winner of our Guest Pick. I'll say that there were a lot of you that got votes. But our winner for this is... the Lepidoptera." She happens to say this just as the woman sits... and seeking her out in the crowd, asks, "Will you come up here too? And let's have another round of applause for this winner."

Mad doctor? Commodore? *click* Those gears in Ka'una head make the connection, and she turns her head towards the woman at the table, just in time to smile and applaud as she becomes the second winner. "Congrats!" she shouts, biting her tongue not to add the name of the woman she just now recognized. She can't help but smile at this moment, seeing so many people she's not seen in a while.

Lepidoptera glances up, the look of surprise on her face is entirely concealed behind the mask she's wearing and she sets her glass down and nods, moving through the crowd towards the stage. It's careful work, those wins of her costume aren't exactly fragile but she moves with care so as to avoid messing them up anyway. Ascending the stage she bows slightly towards Inanna, "Thank you," she says, first to Inanna then turns towards the crowd, puts a smile on her face and repeats, "thank you," loud enough for the sound system to pick it up and convey her thanks to the crowd.

The Birdie is a bit clueless, this being the one person she doesn't know and hence can't identify. But she welcomes her on stage with a warm smile and holds her arms out for a hug, before handing over the envelope. "Congratulations!", she beams, "We look forward to seeing you aboard again!"

Once again, Juran thrusts his bottle up into the air. He looks like he's about to say something, but instead he just grins at Lepidoptera. "Congrats t'ye, Doktor Doom!" And he takes another long gulp of his bottle as he flops back against the bar, he'd sit, but that'd require finding a chair. So he just leans back and waggles his bottle at the woman as if it were some sort of trophy.

He follows along in silence when the Doctor draws away towards the table, and just as the woman does, so does Rasi put his drink on the surface. Rearranging his mask that had begun to slip since a few moments ago. A quick snicker is given when the next winner is announced, "Congratulations, Doctor, it is no doubt earned. I do not think I have it in me to dedicate so much time to clothing. You will thank me later for that invitation.", of course he offers the congratulations before she has to walk away to get the award.

Returning to the bar, Ramyxth ponders a moment without moving. Then he puts on the regular amplified voice that broadcasts out to 15 feet before sucked into the regular noise of the party (it would probably carry farther in a better setting). "I'd love to stay, but this thing is hot. I'm taking the mask back to my suite." The less amplified, "Anyone is welcome to the Grotto suite to continue the festivities in a less acoustically filled environment." That is for whoever is nearby and listening, not for the whole masquerade.

Inanna gives a nod and a smile to the butterfly now, and takes a moment to shake both winners hands, and pass them each a pouch full of casino chips. Addressing the gathered crowd one more time, she says "again, thanks to you all for joining us. The festivities will continue here as long as you like, so enjoy the food, drink and music... the casino is open if anyone wishes to gamble... if we can do anything to make your stay aboard the Angry Rancor more enjoyable, please let one of our staff members know." And with that, Inanna vacates the stage, and the musicians start up again.

Lepidoptera vacates the stage as well, holding the pouch of casino chips in one hand as she returns to the table where her bottle of rum, glass, and Rasi are all waiting. She has time, now, to respond to his statement. "Thank you," she says with a nod to go with her words, "for the invitation. And costume shops, Cen, are the key to doing something like this with style. You seem to have put some time and thought into your own," she adds with a pointed glance at his costume. Granted, the glance would carry more weight if he could see the expression to go with it, but alas, masks are still a wonderful thing. Ka'una smiles at Ramyxth, and lets out a soft purr at him. "I shall. I will need a..break sooner or later." She chuckles and takes another sip of her drink, before she ahhs and rubs her throat with one hand. "mmh..I'll be hoarse tomorrow..too much purring.." She tenses and relaxes her throat muscles a few times, before she smiles, pushing herself away from the bar, giving the tiki god another smile before she moves towards the small table Lepidoptera surely will return to.

Ka'una smiles at Ramyxth, and lets out a soft purr at him. "I shall. I will need a..break sooner or later." She chuckles and takes another sip of her drink, before she ahhs and rubs her throat with one hand. "mmh..I'll be hoarse tomorrow..too much purring.." She tenses and relaxes her throat muscles a few times, before she smiles, pushing herself away from the bar, giving the tiki god another smile before she moves towards the small table Lepidoptera surely will return to. And inded she does, just in time for Ka'una to arrive. She just lifts a hand, lightly points at the woman and grins. "Lynae. It's you, isn't it?"

The Birdie leaves the stage as well and quietly weaves through the crowd to catch up with her sister. "I'm going to check up on Tara.", she informs her, "I'll be back later to do some more songs... have fun, okay?" And with that she heads out.

"Believe it or not, these are all regular components of my wardrobe, never have I worn them together, but they are part of it.", further reinforcing that Old Republic reject Rasi seems to project, at least in his choice of clothing. "And I will consider myself the moral winner given that I actually made mine instead of having others put it together for me. I am s urprised that you agreed to come however?"

"It is," Lepidoptera replies to Ka'una, nodding as she speaks. "That's a great costume, by the way. I voted for you," she adds, "like i said, no biting!" She casts a look towards Cen, "I had thought to blend in with the crowd and enjoy myself. I had no idea I was going to win. I'm both surprised and a bit embarrassed."

Having hidden fairly well at the back of the crowd once she voted, Kyrin quietly sips the blue and silver drink she'd got from Inanna earlier, nursing it so she doesn't have to by another one quite so quickly. Cheapskate. As she goes back into mingling, she hears the tail end of Lepidoptera's comment and remarks, "Nice wings." It's a light comment, a hint of sardonic tones, but amused nonetheless.

Just now, quietly, cradling his bottle, Juran plots. His plotting is devious, for it has one master plan. To get up on stage and to turn this into a real party, none of this namby pamby playing musical instruments softly rubbish. Something harsh, loud, vibrant. Something you can really dance to. Oh yes. He's plotting.. And spilling rum on his mask as he lifts it up without shoving his mask out of the way, and he rapidly descends into muttering curses.

Ka'una softly laughs. "Ohh, thank you. I have to honestly admit, I voted for our tiki god..he was just..awesome." she says with a smile. "I still wonder who was beneath that mask." She smirks slightly, and licks her lips, eyeing the elevator. "I plan to find out. Definitely."

Inanna moves off to stand in the background somewhere for now, overseeing the serving droids at the row of food tables. The musicians continue to play, and it should be noted that they do play upbeat, tribal rhythms, very danceable music indeed.

Lepidoptera turns slightly and spots Kyrin, "Thank you," she says softly, "mine are whimsical. Yours, on the other hand, are the real deal and beauty in motion," she adds. She eyes Juran through the crowd for a moment, a speculative gleam in her eyes before Ka'una's statement draws her attention. "Well now, now he's a mystery man. You know what they say about those things. It'll be interesting to find out who he is, beneath that mask and behind the costume."

Ka'una grins. "Oh yes, quite quite." she says, takes another glance at the elevator, and takes another gulp of her drink..emptying the glass actually, before she sets it down and ahhs. "But before I find out, actually.." she says and smiles. "May I ask you for a dance? If you're okay with that. It's just good to see you again, doc."

"Are you truly sure you wish to find out?" Kyrin asks of Lepidoptera with a faint smile. "There are children present... somewhere. Or a law against such things, I should think." And after a moment, she gives Lepidoptera a slight bow with a twitch of wings, not so much because of a lack of respect for the person receiving the bow, but more for expedience's sake and the simple fact that she'd probably poke someone's eye out in these relatively close quarters if she did the thing properly.

Lepidoptera would turn a bit pink, truth be told, once she realized that the words out of her mouth sounded a lot worse than the way they'd sounded in her head a moment before she actually said them out loud. She coughs softly, trying to cover her embarrassment by taking a sip from her drink then nearly snorts it as Kyrin's remarks causes her to suck in a breath. Okay, now she's coughing for real and sets the drink down so that she doesn't spill it, "Kyrin," she says, a tone of shocked amusement in her voice followed by more coughing. Her face, again unseen behind the mask, is quite red at this point, laughing finally before she aim a look at Ka'una, "dance? Me? Those are two words that are not usually uttered in tandem. I don't. Which is to say I'm flattered, but I don't dance. Or know how, for that matter."

Finally appearing to have had enough of his mask, Juran yanks it off and tosses it aside, sipping and gulping his bottle a few times as if this relieves him. His nostrils flare as he breathes out, then smacks his lips together and rubs his palm and sleeve against his mouth, grumbling to himself. If he wasn't working, he wouldn't be pacing himself like this! At least he's trying to do his 'job'.

Ka'una smirks, laughs at the coughing, and lightly pats Lynae's back. "There there, don't suffacate doc. I can't quite fix -you- up." she states and grins, before she turns and nods to Kyrin with a smile. "Greetings. Or should I say..meow? I'm Ka'una. Considering..well." She glances at Lynue and then at the blue skinned woman. "The doc here admits to being the opposite of dancing, I wonder if you would like to?" she asks. "I promise my tail won't get in the way."

"She lies, and furthermore I have it from excellent sources that that is an activity the doctor excels at particularly.", Rasi says, appearing all of a sudden out of...well, somewhere, one presumes, or perhaps he was always around and decided to speak just now. The glass in his hand, once more brought up to his lips, is half-emptied by the time he finishes with it. "Though perhaps one one needs to be a grizzled, old Marine officer for the Doctor to grant a dance too."