Fashionably late, that's what she thought it was called. It wasn't something her mother had taught her. No, Jessie Callen was always terribly prompt and demanded the same thing of her children. It was actually something Jesa normally held herself to as well. But social occasions didn't really hold high priority in Jesa's demand of promptness. A simple disregard for social convention wasn't even the reason this time for Jesa's lateness. It was the decision required on makeup.

Jesa didn't normally wear makeup. She was a changeling, and it took her years of "growing up" to develop and refine her appearance, as much as adding changes now and then because all humanoids shifted details of their appearance from month to month and year to year. New skin grew to replace the old, environmental factors often affected the appearance and disappearance of blemishes of various types. Jesa became a detailed observer and artist in matters relating to physical appearance.

And in such an endeavor, it gave her pause to occasionally take the façade to the next level of realism. Normally, she scoffed at the idea of the vanity required to cover up one's appearance with a variety of tinted goop. Not to mention the number of folk remedies that held on even to this day regarding that which would enhance physical appearance. Thankfully Starfleet officers weren't the most vain bunch, but even those who normally paid little attention to their work appearance would be showing up to this gathering dressed in their best. The invitation had been specific about formal wear, and no dress uniforms.

So she foolishly opted to try makeup. Of course, the attempts to apply said material to her facial regions gave her a whole new respect for those who did use it and made it look so easy. Finally Jesa had just given up, tossing a can of the goop onto the counter and altering the tone of her skin slightly to make it appear as though she was wearing makeup. Upon looking in the mirror, she found the result quite satisfying, and without additives. After all, she was a changeling, she could change her appearance to how it suited her. Some things she just had to do the humanoid way, and some things, she'd just have to do the changeling way.

The reason which she was actually showing up was another mystery entirely. Normally Jesa wouldn't have made an appearance. She didn't appreciate socializing with the crew, and as Captain she had even further excuse to avoid social contact. But there was the off-chance that Buck might be there, and that warranted investigating. Though why she even thought it was a sizable chance he would appear she had no idea... after all, he tended to avoid social contact with the rest of the crew as much as she did.

Then again there were a few practical reasons for appearing. One, to not appear completely aloof and ignorant of the senior staff, much less the rest of the crew. And the second was for some promotions she didn't feel like calling a staff meeting just to make official. The amount of news regarding the Isannah at this point was only a few sentences long, and the hassle of reserving a conference room was just not worth it. And the last reason, by far the most fuzzy, was the fact she just felt she should make an appearance. And she needed no more justification than that, no matter how she was feeling.

But whatever the rhyme to her reason as to how she got there, at that moment Jesa was walking towards the lounge which the rest of her senior staff were currently occupying... without an escort. Jesa had considered trying to contact Buck in a more normal fashion, but he had very carefully been avoiding any face-to-face contact with her. The few messages she had left him had either gone unanswered, or were replied to in a very mechanical fashion. Jesa had decided just to leave it at that. She had little other choice. Though her heart cried out in protest, she silenced as best she could.

The double wood-paneled doors came up too quickly for Jesa to completely gather her thoughts before she knew she'd have to put everything aside and just go in. There were two circular windows set in the doors, at eye height, the Starfleet logo etched into the glass. The doors opened as she approached them, and she took an opportunity to stop just beyond the doorway and look around the room.

The conversation in the room muted as one by one everyone realized who the newcomer to the party was. Jesa stood there regally, just looking around. She was dressed in a dark blue dress, designed to harmonize with her hair color rather than be a striking contrast. It was definitely an evening gown, form fitting across the waist and hips, and falling a modest distance past the knee. Made of a smooth satin-like material, it gave play to light and shadow across the folds of cloth that lay draped across what otherwise would have been a too-plain circular neckline. Twin sashes suggestive of sleeves hung down the front and back of her dress past the waist from the shoulders folded to flair slightly. The gown was moderate in heaviness, and designed to be feminine and pleasing to the eye.

Her red hair gave a pleasing contrast to the blue, and it was swept up off of her neck and piled high atop her head. Interspersed with the strands of hair were small shimmering jewels of white and blue, small enough to be unobtrusive, but enough to catch the light now and then. She wore elbow length gloves, which were edged in a tiny bit of embroidery two hues lighter than the dress itself.

Whether the hush fell out of respect for their captain, or plain shock of the realization that Jesa could be a very striking woman in addition to a powerful presence, there was no telling. Most had never seen her out of her duty uniform, and the rest had never seen her in anything so blatantly feminine. There was really only one person she ever dressed up for, and he was absent. She seemed unaware, or at least unconcerned, of the attention she was getting. Jesa took another few steps, the heels of her high-heeled shoes clicking ominously in the nearly silent room.

There was an air of calm self-possession about her, but inside she really would rather not have come. The moment the doors opened she knew this had been a mistake. And now there was no going back. It was mechanical the way she was going about this. Her eyes roved over the scores of people in the room, looking for that one who meant more to her than anything. But she didn't find his familiar face. Of course his absence did kill any possibility she would enjoy being at this party. But then, considering it was put on by one Ensign Summers, one of the newer enthusiastic ensigns, there wasn't much of a possibility of enjoyment anyway. Though she did consider it a good morale booster---for others.

She was at least pleased to see that her dress fit in with the décor of the place. It seemed Summers had decided on something upper class, and either twenty first century retro, or a bad knock-off of some earlier era judging from the holographically projected architectural features. Most of the men were in tuxedos or old-style suits. Jesa never understood how in this culture formal attire for males all looked alike, while females had a staggering array of differing options to choose from. Women would recoil in horror if someone had a dress that even somewhat resembled their own, while two men having nearly identical suits was quite the norm.

Eyes were still drawn to her as she slowly crossed the room. Jesa would be lying if she had said their reaction didn't please her on some subtle level. It was nice to be able to turn heads in a room if she wanted, then again that was hardly a challenge to her if she really wanted to do that. The hum of conversation started up again as she approached the bar.

"Hello, Captain," the baby-faced Ensign behind the bar said with a grin.

Jesa had to do a double-take to wonder if this kid was old enough to be drinking, much less tending bar. She could have spent a moment to recall who he was, but she wasn't really up to the effort. "Hello, Ensign. Enjoying yourself?" she queried neutrally.

"Absolutely," he answered. "Would you like a drink?"

"No, thank you," Jesa answered absently, looking around the room again on the off-chance she missed him the first time around. Keeping her sigh of disappointment on the inside, she smiled and addressed the Ensign again. "Don't get stuck behind the bar all night. Make sure you get some time to enjoy yourself."

He flashed that youthful grin at her again. "Thank you, Captain."

'Sometimes I'm glad I'm not a telepath,' Jesa thought to herself. She only nodded in response and turned around, nearly running into Summers who had quite obviously been heading her way. "Commander! I'm glad you decided to come!" None other than Daren Summers said with a broad smile.

Jesa smiled in spite of herself. "Well, I had to make an appearance at least, make sure all you wild officers didn't get out of hand," she chuckled.

He looked at her once more, and looked like he was going to make a comment on her dress, but decided against it. Jesa looked around the room. "It looks like your party is turning out to be a success."

Summers smiled again. "Yeah, I think so. I mean, people seem to be enjoying themselves. We've already had some guest singers, though I don't think anyone considers themselves good enough to keep it up for long."

"That's too bad," she commented neutrally, watching the assembled officers. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. After a moment of watching she turned her attention to Summers, laying her hand on his shoulder briefly. "Thank you for giving this party, I think it's a good thing for morale. After all, there aren't many times the entire senior staff is assembled outside the briefing room or on the bridge."

He looked at her, not quite sure how to respond. Jesa just smiled a little, and then she caught sight of Ensign Keeves in a stunning but simple three-tone dress. 'If she's here, then Tyne must be here too.' her eyes searched over the crowd, but couldn't find him. When she looked back at Summers, she saw that he was watching her. She smiled "Will you excuse me? I wish to talk to our XO for a few moments..."

He nodded. "Of course." Jesa smiled again in response. "Thanks."

And with that, Jesa walked away.

The party had been going strong for the last hour or so, but Jesa was starting to feel uncomfortable for some odd and unknown reason. She had exchanged small talk with almost half of her senior staff, refraining from talking with Lysander. Jesa never liked the façade of small talk, it somehow seemed foreign to her, and not something she'd willingly engage in to serve any desire of her own, but sometimes it was what needs demanded. She saw it as a useful tool. She had tried to talk to Lysander, but he was busy being the life of the party, at least exchanging stories with some of the newer staff and she didn't want to spoil it for him.

She had received quite a number of compliments on her attire, which surprised her. Though she was wondering if wearing something such as this was a mistake, from the "That is our commander!?" looks on some of the officer's faces. Whatever grated on her so badly, she was getting quite tired of playing this role. It was time to make her next move, and then go on to sulking alone... or whatever else she needed to take care of.

When the song ended, she walked up to the three piece band that was playing, requisitioning the stage for a few moments. From the brief glance at their faces she knew them to be other officers from the Isannah. Jesa slowly climbed to the stage with two small black boxes in her hand, something she had gone back to her office for She stood for a moment silently, to allow the room to quiet. "Officers of the Isannah." She began, then paused with a smile. "Now don't think I'm going to ruin your party with official business, but I believe that most of you will approve this particular interruption."

"I first want to say that we have finally been issued orders, and we will be shipping on with the Isannah in two weeks. Additional crews from the Starbase have been assigned to make sure the refit is done in that period of time. I know this is particularly good news for those of you new to our crew and itching to try out your space legs for what might be the first time as Starfleet Officers." Jesa smiled. "Good job to those of you working on the refit currently, the reports coming across my desk are suitably glowing."

"Now, without further ado; the real reason why I stood up here... besides to hear myself talk. Would Baker and Dixon please make their way up here." she said. The two officers looked at each other, a little befuddled and yet somewhat hopeful as their eyes spied the boxes that Jesa held. The commander remained silent as she stood there, letting them make their way up. Then they lined up where she gestured, Dixon then Baker.

Jesa walked up to Dixon, staying to the side so those in the audience could hear her but so she could still look into his eyes. "Dixon, you've been a reliable member of this crew for quite a while now. You're always in the outskirts ready to catch us if we stumble... due to food poisoning or some other ailment; or patch us up if we're in the wrong place at the wrong time... and quite unceremoniously pelted with shrapnel."

She smiled "Perhaps if you were more a troublemaker, you would have been noticed that much faster, but then... For those reasons you wouldn't have wanted to get noticed, now would you?" she said with her eyes sparkling slightly in enjoyment of the look on his face "Just to show you good guys don't always finish last, this is your long over-due promotion. Congratulations, Lieutenant Dixon."

The commander handed him the box with the solid gold pip in it, and shook his hand. Her eyes met his and she nodded slightly in affirmation at what was clearly disbelief in his eyes. Quietly she moved on to the next one, Ensign Baker.

"Baker. You, also have been a member of this crew for a long time. Richards made mention of you in a report, and though you've been with me only for few months, you are an asset to this crew and are to be commended." A smile crept onto Jesa's face, "Though you might want to stay out of shadows, you tend to spook the newer staff. Congratulations, Lieutenant Junior Grade Baker."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present the newest Lieutenants of the USS Isannah." And she applauded, rousing a similar response in the audience. When the applause died down, Jesa smiled and nodded to dismiss them, then they all filed off the stage; the newly promoted officers receiving pats on the back and congratulations from their comrades... and far more importantly, from their friends.

Her duty done, Jesa smiled and spoke thanks to the band and apologies for interrupting them. She exchanged a bit more polite small-talk with various members and then departed, something she had wanted to do since she came into this room all evening. No one needed a depressive obsessive senior officer around when all the rest of the staff wanted to do was have fun and forget their cares. She had no doubt half of them would be falling down drunk before the night was out. And she wanted none of it.

Hearing the doors close behind her, Jesa let out a deep breath she had been holding for quite some time. Suddenly tiredness flooded her, and she leaned against the corridor wall, closing her eyes, looking for composure before she continued on her way. The door opened again and Jesa straightened into a more composed posture as she nodded politely at the greetings of another officer as he moved through. Jesa waited for him to leave and then closed her eyes tightly for just a moment before taking off strongly the other way down the corridor.

She needed... something, some hope that everything would be alright, and she wasn't finding it. She needed Buck, back here, holding her and telling her everything was alright. Jesa felt like the weight of a world was on her shoulders, with no one to share the burden with, nor even someone to tell about how she felt---and that did not make for a very festive mood.

Loaded: 06.07.2004