"Sorry to hear that, Montour dear. Just try to let loose a bit. A good dance gets a lot of that pent up stress in the body, makes you all happy like, flushed faced and free. 's why us women love it — sometimes more than men, I think."

"Come, let's test out your moves on the floor. If you find yourself movin' about, maybe facin' a different pretty young thing, go with it and say hi. Let's get you dance happy first, then see how people'll warm to you."

My big goal would be to have them have a good time. It would be like kicking puppies to take advantage of them to get into NME basements. And without Alexsandr for weapons backup, futile as well.

If Baldwin is more interesting than his naïf impression, and he's willing to spill about NME activities while under the sauce — while Montour finds a partner on the dance floor — then I will gladly be a listening ear. But I won't take advantage of them any more than a few drinks and a visible entourage. For now.

I will also be interested in shifting them to the Dance Hall at some point, perhaps later evening, to see how they fare. I want to read where they are more comfortable. Some "roll social X" involved for that can be handled by the GM.

Denny:

"Yeah, I'll be there," S'MOOV replies coolly. Her speaking voice is layered and synthesized, and her irises flicker gold and orange depending on how they catch the strobing lights. "Should be a fun time. If you like 'Binary Pork', you might like his new stuff. He's debuting his new album tomorrow…but it's kinda a surprise!" She pressed a finger to her lips. "Don't tell anyone!"

"By the way...thanks for the drink!"

Blinov:
The man the club kids call Dexter emerges from the crowd--tall and rail thin, even taller than the spiky-haired girl. His body is covered in illuminated tattooos, and he looks at you with a crooked cocky grin. He cracks his fingers and does a few stretches. As he extends his arms to his sides, you can hear the faint whirring of servos.

"Okay, little man. Dance off time," he smirks. "Let's see who the crowd goes wild for tonight!"

He begins to dance, and first his moves seem simple. Soon--without warning--he is breakdancing all across the floor and spinning on his head. For a brief moment he resembles a human tornado!

You attempt to match him move for move, but it's a bit hard to keep up…

(Please make a Physical Save! Roll higher than a 13 Since its been a while since we rolled, Rolz room is "stars without number")

Jolene:
Montour reluctantly finds his way to the dancefloor, and you lose sight of him for a while. Baldwin stares at you dreamily, absentmindedly squeaking his forefinger on the side of his glass.

"It's not what you think, you know," Baldwin says slowly. There's a touch of tipsy in his voice, but not overly so. "We're not NME's hired goons. Like, I know I probably come off as a mysterious tough guy, but I'm not a guardsman." He tries to flex a muscle, failing spectacularly.

"Heck, I was astonished that Newsun-Matsuri was even hiring medics, but lucky for me and Monty studying medicine is one thing that's actually legal on Asherah…"

OOC: Aww, I feel bad. I was going to dance with him on the dance floor... Oh well, I should describe things better.

"Ooh, combat medics! Handsome devils, holdin' out on me." Winks and clinks his glass with mine, and then takes a sip, "Your secret 's safe with me." Looks at Montour getting along on the dance floor, "Sorta feel bad 'bout sending him out fresh and new like that, like a spring chick. Think he'll spread his wings and fly? I might have to swoop in and rescue him in a bit, though I wanna give him a chance."

Touches his hand absently with the back of her drinking hand, glass in hand, "You'll let me know if you think he needs my help sooner, yeah?" Absently lets her knee press next to his leg.

"So no fun, but studying allowed. Heh. Wonder how Asherah ends up with families with only study groups."

" OH, you're totally welcome... ,"

Order's a drink for himself.

"How long have you been doing this kinda thing? Is it your full time job or just on the side?"

[Got a 20 in "stars without number"]

(Holy dance-battle Batman that's good Shipyard!)

Jolene:
"Eh, he'll be fine," Baldwin insists. "Montour's pretty good under pressure. Like, just today in surgery...he's ice cold. Hands so steady! I don't know how he stays so calm. Especially since th' boss doesn't tolerate screw-ups. Well, you met her, so you know!"

Montour makes an awkward turn into a trio of ladies, knocking one's drink to the floor. She curses at him in Russian and she and her friend storm off, leaving the Asheran medic bewildered.

"Yeah, on second thought, you might have to go rescue him," Baldwin suddenly agrees after assessing his buddy's dancefloor situation. "I would, but I don't wanna give him the wrong idea. He's totally in love with me," Baldwin notes casually, and takes a large gulp of his fourth gimlet.

Denny:
You spend the night chatting with DJ S'MOOV. She says she originally hails from Velorum, which resides in Concordat space, but she is quick to insist that she doesn't care about politics or the cold war between Concordat and the Protectorate. All she cares about is the music, which was her ticket offworld.

After leaving Qetesh she explains the Deadhog tour is heading to the Capital System for concerts on Atlas and Adonis, but then she's probably going to take a break for a while. "It might be my last tour, but I don't know," she adds with a sad shrug.

Blinov:
You can't pull off a lot of the cyber-enhanced moves that Dexter can manage, but you keep up ably. So much so, that you win the crowd over. The spiky-haired girl that roped you into this winds up the crowd. Exhausted, you finish your dance, and Dexter has been pretty well owned, stylistically if not physically.

"Damn little man--you have some balls," Dexter sighs, and walks away as the crowd drowns him out. The spiky-haired girl offers to buy your drinks for the rest of the night.

Blinov looks back at Jo to make sure things are still cool. "I'll take a hibiscus-flavored StagePhage soda then. No alcohol. What's with Dexter's cybernetics?"

Denny puts a hand on Smoo'vs shoulder, and moves a little closer

"Why do you say that, you can't give up music...no way, You'll regret it forever...If I could jam I would...but all that I was given is these hands to fix things...so  I make the most of them...You can speak to thousands, even millions...is there something going on at velorum that would make you consider giving it up?"

"Probably easy to seem cool under pressure when you're as tightly wound up as a leash pole lashed with a pack of rat terriers in a granary during harvest." Sets her glass down and shares a sympathetic look with Baldwin, "Yeah, I better go help. Now don't go on doing anything I might do." Chuckles at her own joke and heads off to Montour.

Trying to arrive to Montour's back, "Hey there tall, dark, and handsome, care to give me a dance?"

Blinov:
The girl crinkles her nose playfully. "Hibiscus? Really? I like honey-lavender myself," she explains, and gets your StagePhage. When you're both leaning at the bar drinking, she looks over at Dexter. "Him? Dex got upgraded on Humbaba, if you're lookin' to re-spec. Though, eh, I dunno exactly how legal it was, but PSSHHH!" She sloppily spits part of her drink. "Legal's nothin', right? If you wanna get cyberware: Humbaba, boy..."

Denny:
"You're telling me! Music is my life!" she says with a synthesized sigh. S'MOOV gives you a confused look when you touch her shoulder. When you mention Velorum, she has an expression best described as "that awkward moment when you realize you've overshared." She stands and begins to walk back to her DJ pod, pausing to turn back to you. "If you're going to the concert tomorrow...maybe I'll see you. Come find me after," she says cryptically, and returns to spinning some beats.

Jolene:
Montour looks up to you. "You mentioned another place...a Dance Hall? Eh...maybe it would be more..." He trails off, looking completely lost. Maybe it's the alcohol or it could be your persistent softness towards him, but Montour's softened towards you noticeably.

"You're gonna get attitude thrown at you anywhere in life. The trick is being like a duck to water and let it just roll off your back." Grabs his hand gently and moves him to the dance floor. "And now feel the groove, let go a spell." Tries to get him to find the rhythm.

"Close your eyes, slow down your mind, feel it in your gut and heart." Taps out the rhythm alternating between his tummy and chest. "Move to that, it knows what it wants. Listen, feel, a clarity in the chaos. Let the music take control. Dance." As he starts dancing, gently back away and assess.

OOC: Insert "Strictly Ballroom" and C+C Music Factory references here.

To Smoov

"You bet..."

Denny, then takes a gander throughout the area...making sure nothing odd is going on, and watches JoJo putting on the groove

Blinov mentally reviews his Tech/Medical knowledge of Humbaba's legal medical operations and products. Does it generally have a good reputation? If not, he'll share his low opinion of that planet's services with the girl (what's her name by the way?) in the smug tone of the professionally informed.

By the way, can I retroactively ponder what I saw of Dexter's cyberware, figure out exactly what it does and how well?

Jolene:
Montour looks down at his stomach as you tap to the beat. He begins to move more comfortably, but it takes a while.

Blinov:
The girl insists you call her Venus. She and Dexter and their small cadre of young clubbers traveled to Qetesh from Clio, where their parents are bankers (she doesn't hesitate to brag). They started following Deadhog's tour when it began on Clio, went to Thalia, and now to Qetesh. They plan on following it to Atlas and Adonis when it leaves as well. They have VIP passes for every concert, but clearly they have the creds to spare to do so. Venus flashes a red passcard proudly.

Dexter's cyberware isn't externally visible except for the 1-inch wide strip of exposed wiring around his bicep, but this is likely for fashion (think of it as the "tribal tat" of 3200). You can hear the servos however, and Dexter seems to like letting people hear his augmented muscles working. Your technical guess is twitchlock actuators implanted in all limbs to greatly improve coordination. You know these to be really expensive, never mind buying four of them.

From your medical knowledge you know Humbaba's public reputation--its home to some of the premiere medical facilities in the sector. However, your criminal experience has also clued you in to the other side of Humbaba's rep--the seedy medical underbelly of dangerous high-risk cybernetics, possibly even maltech. Humbaba lies outside Protectorate jurisdiction, and answers to no one.

Humbaban medical professionals have a custom of wearing masked biosuits in public, removing them only in the privacy of their own homes.

Denny:
As S'MOOV takes over for her assistant and the music changes, you scan the room to see Jolene giving dancing lessons and Blinov drinking with a willow girl with spiky hair.