It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year - 8.250

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

In space, time was something that chronometers kept up with, and if you didn't stop to keep up with them, you'd forget about it in some ways. Night looked like day, the seasons were meaningless, and it kept on and on and on that way until you found a planet to land on and get your bearings. There was always the Galactic Standard Calendar to go by, but unless you were on Coruscant, it was simply just another row of symbols on the chrono.

There were certain times, however, that you just knew. For Cirrsseeto, it was the time that, at least on Carshoulis, would be the transition between summer and fall on the southern hemisphere, where he was born and raised for the most part. The same time of year the leaves on the bayossa trees started to turn orange was the time that, since he was a young teenager, another change started to happen.

Kree-arr.

For three days, give or take, it turned even the most even-keeled guys into sensory-overloaded idiots. It always started the same way - with a headache, which Cirrsseeto certainly had this morning as he sat in the galley of the Challenger. That was sign one. Sign two was cottonmouth, which again, he was having in a bad way, as evidenced by the entire pitcher of water he was nursing at the table. For once he had no appetite this morning, but he knew that even that would go haywire as hell very soon. Whenever his headache started to subside, he'd start being able to smell everything. After that, it would only go downhill.

Worst of all, there really wasn't any time on the leave roster to do anything about it. He was stuck on the ship, and he'd have to sort out his very Cizerack problem somehow or another.

[Chaz de Coventina]

Chaz woke up sudden, like an electric shock. For a long, disorienting moment there was just flickering sensation, as though she only half-existed, stood with a foot in two worlds that weren't material enough to take hold and topple her one way or the other. The woman blinked, blankly. She had no idea where she was or --

Aware suddenly of a gentle weight in her hands, Chaz glanced down. She was holding a sturdy duraplast tray, upon which rested a small plate of toast and a bowl of stewed fruit, light curls of steam rising from its spiced broth. The doctor frowned; she had no recollection of actually picking up the tray, nor did she know just how exactly she'd wound up here - here being the breakfast line in the galley, as further observation revealed.

"I need to get more sleep," Chaz muttered, reaching out and snagging a carton of milk to go with her stomach's apparent choice of fuel. Sleep deprivation was better than the alternative explanation (she really was losing her mind) and she adopted it readily, taking solace in the fact that at least she was off-duty; running on autopilot while treating patients was asking for trouble, a symptom that was in no short supply within the convoy.

With a yawn, the slim redhead shuffled forward in line, scanning the tables out of habit to find a quiet, unobtrusive place to sit. Her eyes fell upon a familiar face in the far northwest corner. The otherwise empty northwest corner. Perfect.

"Hello Cirr," Chaz greeted quietly once she'd made her way over. She put her tray down and eased into the seat across from the Cizerack, offering him a weary smile. "How are you this morning?"

[Jason Na'moda]

Jason had risen early, in relation to his chrono, to test modifications to his fighter, putting the Nexu's Grin through its paces with various acrobatics on the fringes of the fleets. That wasn't to say that it wasn't a good excuse for a joy ride and with a impish grin he had skimmed the plating of the challenger, belly of the Grin nearly scraping the metal. Besides that, the modifications had held out, and the lack of rattling as he put the ship into a continuous tight roll was definitely a good sign. Bringing the Grin around, he headed for the Challenger, deciding that a good breakfast was well deserved.
Once in the galley, he helped himself to some meat and recently baked bread, still warm and soft in his hand. The aroma of which made him think of Naboo and his old master. Not dwelling on past sorrows, he concentrated more of the homely feeling it brought on and settled down at a table with his tray. Tearing the small bun apart, he savoured the smell for a moment before tucking a slice of meat into it and biting in. Glancing down the table, he noticed Chaz and Cirr seated not too far away. They both looked fairly frazzled, especially Cirr with his pitcher. Jason was loathe to spark up conversation right now, he hadn't really spoken to them in person before but he supposed now was as good a time as any. "Rough night?" He questioned, taking another bite, it seemed like a sensible question, but asked with enough of a sardonic tone that it wouldn't sound like he was mocking them. To be honest, he'd have happily joined them, life aboard the Wheel was just a little monotonous from what he'd experienced.

[Tera Uolmi]

Further back in the breakfast line, Tera was struggling with the logistics of trying to carry a tray full of food with just one arm. A sling held her left arm close to her body whilst with her uninjured right she held the tray at the centre-most point, squeezing it as tightly as any droids servo-grip, but as soon as she lifted it she could feel the sloshing and sliding that would inevitably turn the entire meal into a mushy splat on the floor. The tray dropped the half-inch back onto the breakfast counter with a clatter and Tera felt herself a split-second away from hurling her blue milk carton into the face of the droid who was dishing the rations out.

[Jason Na'moda]

Jason felt the sheer annoyance which radiated off Tera like a cloud before he heard or saw her. Instantly he glanced over, although not wishing to embarrass her unnecessarily by drawing attention to her small problem. Dropping his bread and meat, he held a finger up to the other two. "One second." And walked over to Tera. He leant against the counter, easy going as always. "Mind if I make your life easier?" He smirked slightly, although it wasn't so much mockery as trying to promote a better mood from her. Making it a shared joke. "It's not as easy as dogfighting with one arm behind your back." He was wide awake from his flight and was well aware that in a freshly woken state, broken bones were an unnecessary annoyance.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr inhaled...her.

Through her antiseptic soap she'd wrung her hands in. Through her antiperspirant, through every bit of pomp that women teased themselves with, he smelled everything the Doctor brought into close quarters.

"How are you this morning?"

The slightly husky lilt to her voice massaged down his ears, and Cirr found his claws extending and retracting, digging into the surface of the table slightly. The veil of his headache lifted with every nuance she brought near to him, and even her sleep-deprived and disheveled look seemed to ignite something inside of him.

In one fell motion, he swept everything off the table. His carafe of water clattered, spilling everything out. Gone too was Chaz's breakfast, knocked aside. Her eyes widened as he pulled her towards him, over the table to meet in a ravenous kiss. Cirr withdrew, filling both paws with her hair as he kept her close, running a greedy rough tongue from her jawline to her cheek. She, for her part, jumped into his lap, sensing it was useless to resist, as sharp claws made short work out of her surgical scrubs. A utilitarian bra was the last line of defense, but Cirr flashed his fangs and went in as he pressed Chaz against him.

Meanwhile, Tera took one look at the scene he was making, and another look back to the Jedi who was running interference. In a sudden blur of motion, she roundhouse kicked Jason in the face, sending him sprawling against the sneezeguard at the buffet line. Knowing what she wanted for breakfast, she sauntered over to Cirr and Chaz, and poured her blue milk all over her white t-shirt, while taking a handful of gravy and smearing it across Chaz's now-liberated and perky breasts. Cirr then...


...

...

!!!

Cirr blinked, realizing that Chaz said something to him, and he hadn't the foggiest idea what she'd said. His mouth was half open, and he closed it, as well as his eyes. Giving a deep breath in and out, he opened his baby blues again.

The water and breakfast were still on the table. Tera hadn't kicked the Jedi through the buffet line, and neither woman were flaunting wet and glistening breasts in his direction.

"jI'm sorrry Chaz, jI'm having a rrough morrnjing."

Hiding behind his carafe of water, he took another few gulps.

Realizing that she wasn't the only one who had spoken to him, he looked to the Jedi, wincing a little.

"That's a ljittle harrd to explajin."

Boy, this was the wrong time for Master Chief Kochanski to be transferred out of the Wheel. With his safety blanket gone, he needed a release.

[Chaz de Coventina]

During the long, awkward pause that followed her query, Chaz began to worry that perhaps something more serious than fatigue was hovering over the breakfast table. Cirrsseeto's slack-jawed expression, his dazed eyes and apparent disorientation - it was as though he'd experienced a generalized seizure of some sort.

Even more suspicious was his uncharacteristic retreat. In their brief association, Cirr had always been enthusiastic and engaged, his good-natured affability lending itself easily to conversation. Chaz narrowed her eyes.

"Cirr," She leaned forward and grasped his wrist gently, pressing down with her fore and middle fingers to locate his ulnar pulse. "Are you feeling alright? You look a bit..." Chaz glanced at him, frowning, "Peaked."

[Mara Tallen]

Bothawui had been nice.

Well, nice was a relative term, if one set aside the fact that no sooner had Dorn Force been assigned there, then they'd been raked over the coals over a mission gone wrong. Fingers were pointed, the team was eventually exonerated, but someone had to take the blame.

So naturally, Mara mused with a heavy dose of bitterness, it had to be me. Reassigned to the Challenger...forced back onto a ship that was going to be spending its time with the Wheel. Which meant the half breed Felacatian would have no relief from the stress of holding herself together.

But...at least there was no Charlotte. And no Xander.

And also, no John. Mara winced at the thought as she strode into the cafeteria aboard the Challenger. Fingers tugged the hem of her drab olive tanktop and camo-print shorts, smoothing each of them out as they were fitted snugly to her curves. The sneakers on her feet made little noise, and made it plenty obvious that she was headed to the weight room after she caught a bite to eat.

A large mug of caf in one hand and a plate of toast in the other, she cast her eyes around the room. There, in the corner...a table with two people she actually recognized.

Heading over, she paused at the end of the table and smiled at Chaz. "Hey doc...good to see you..." Mara said lightly, before turning her smile to Cirr.

"Hey there, Cirr. Long time no...you alright?" she asked, concern in her voice as she took the seat beside him.

[Tera Uolmi]

Bunking with the testosterone-supernova that was Rogue Squadron had allowed Tera to build up a higher than average tolerance of male posturing, but this wasn't any ordinary morning. More than that, she didn't want the rest of the squadron tiptoeing around her as if she were as brittle boned as a Vor. She spotted Cirr out of the corner of her eye.

“I'm fine. I just...” She tried again to manoeuvre the tray into her arms, but it was like trying to herd kittens. Impossible.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

"Peaked?! -aHRUM!"

Cirr winced as his voice nearly squeaked out, just about the time that Chaz had her hands at his wrists. Mara also decided to join the party, and sat right beside him. He tried to mask the surprise with a cough, and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Nah, nothjing's wrrrrong. Nothjing nothjing nothing."

He caught a purr in his throat, and tried to will it down with another few gulps of water.

He cast his eyes over to give Mara a gruff nod, fearing to let anything linger longer than a glance. Of course she looked good. Even if his libido wasn't about to burn a hole in the ground, he'd agree to that heartily. But now it was that, and the fact that she smelled like hot buttered sex. The incidental contact her leg made against his as she sat gave him pause, and Cirr eased his carafe down, and ran both hands from his chin up each side of his face, and back to sweep his ears flush with his head as he exhaled.

"Just a ljittle hot jin herrrre. Heh, jI rrrrealljy should talk to the chjief on thjis shjip. Cljimate contrrrrol jis forrrr rrrrrookjies."

His mind ran circles around him, daydreaming between Mara and Chaz making out to trying to rationalize the ludicrous possibility of actually talking out what was on his mind. Doc was into fun with pharmaceuticals, was it too much of a leap to think she might have a few other fun times on the side?

And Mara?

His purr deepened, suddenly glancing at Jason with a paranoid inner rebuke. How was one supposed to go about kree-arr when you were surrounded by people who could read your thoughts?

Quickly, he scrambled to think of something other than glistening, heaving breasts, other than breathy, husky moaning and gyrating hips, and other than bare, daintily-arched feet spread akimbo at his shoulders, and....


...

...

!!!

"So, how's brrrreakfast?"

He blurted out, slapping a quick smile on to cover for his lapse of attention.

[Lucy Gray]

Kylie approached the table that Cirr and the others were sitting at. She had just finished a workout and was famished. She was wearing a white tanktop that usually went under her flightsuit and a pair of short short tight tight tight black workout shorts. Her hair was sweaty and her cheeks flushed with the recent workout. Her hair clung to her neck and sweat glistened off her neck, rolling down the curve of her chest and disappearing down her tank between her breasts.

"Wouldn't you know it, that the cleaners aren't back with my uniform yet! All I have to wear is this old thing."

Kylie sat her tray down beside Cirr. "Hey Cirr, what's up? You looked a little flushed." Kylie sat down and then saw that the seasoning was on the other side of Cirr. She leaned across him to get to it, rubbing her breast on his arm. She just had to stretch a little further and stand up a bit. Her breast then ran up his arm and back down again.

Sitting down, Kylie began to season her breakfast of eggs and bacon. "Now that's good."

"Are you okay, Cirr?"

[Jason Na'moda]

There was something... Jason half turned his head, still paying attention to the injured rogue, while he extended his senses out of reflex. Something in the mess felt like it was beating a drum and yodelling at top volume. He had been tuning it out earlier but now it was like it had been turned up another notch, adding a sledge hammer and cymbals to the mix.

Jason snapped his head back around to look at Tera as she struggled and felt like congratulating her on her stubbornness. Never surrender, it was a good attitude and one he definitely remembered from squadron flying. And the hatred of showing any weakness, the distaste of leaving any chink in your armour that your wingmen could and would exploit in the in-flight banter. "You just.. need some help with the balancing act. That's cool." He smiled, finishing her sentence for her. A quick glance at the sweating Cirr and he realised what was disturbing the whole cafeteria in his mind. Or where it was coming from at least. Maybe a peek in his mind wouldn't hurt... no. Surely it would be wrong, a breach of trust... But whatever was bothering him was really bad. He twitched his attention back to Tera, splitting his thoughts four ways, one side for Cirr and his problems, one for helping Tera, one for admiring Tera's form, even strapped up as she was, and one for blinking at the 'potential' shown by the women who practically flocked to Cirr's table. Yes, a glance at his mind would definitely be worth it. For Tera, he decided in favour of using the force, even though he preferred not to show off. Old habits died hard. He took some of the weight and steadied it, making the surface solid as a rock while he picked items of food she wanted out of the serving dishes, not by reading her mind but instead her body language.

"My name's Jason by the way." He said as he finished loading with a Muja muffin. "Jason Na'moda. New to the place." He nodded to the table he had been at. "Come join the party. Although I think Cirr's the one with the magnetic personality." Referring to the substantial increase in members at the table after he had left to help her. As he sat down, he took the liberty of peering into Cirr's mind, having a look through his emotions. That was interesting. He blinked and for an instance he was seeing through Cirr's eyes, watching what seemed to be a sepia coloured orgy erupting in the middle of the mess. Then he was back on his seat, smirking as he bit into a fruit and looking at Cirr with his most piercing manner, conveying the sense that he could see what the Cizerack was thinking. Then he shrugged with a grin, looking away to take a bite of the fruit and saying to no-one in particular. "I don't give a damn." Though he was certain that Cirr would realise that it pertained to him. Jason wasn't one for moderation. The wildest times were the most fun.

[Mara Tallen]

Arching a brow, Mara was hard pressed to not eye the blonde pilot. It would have been a crime not to, considering she was dressed for being looked at...or working out. Both, really, amounted to the same damn thing in the redhead's mind.

Kylie, if she remembered her last conversation with Carré correctly, was one of the newer squad members. The Rogues seem to have a stockpile of the most beautiful people in the Alliance, almost as good as Dorn Force's.

A jolt of warmth spread across her skin as her knee brushed Cirr's, and reminded her sharply that her last dalliance was far too long ago for her beast's liking. Not now...she thought distantly, focusing on Cirr and Chaz and Kylie and whoever the new guy was...ok, mostly Cirr.

"Breakfast is alright...light one this morning. I'm headed to the weight room after. Wanna come? You're the only one who can spot me properly." Mara replied brightly, a rich purr rolling under her tone.

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

True to form, Jason had that look in his eye that he'd seen a few times from Jedi. That look where he was saying I've read that book before, and Cirr knew that he was outed. Even if Jason played it cool, he still felt somehow guilty for it.

Mara's purry lilt lit a fuse, and Kylie's incidental contact might as well have been a strike from a force pike, which caused Cirr to bolt up from the table suddenly and slap both hands on the table.

"Alrrjight!"

Maybe it was just a case of pheromones in action, but he was swarming with a lot more ladies around him than he was used to away from home, and not a one of them had a clue what was happening inside him.

With a small, almost polite cough, he gave the group of well-wishers a bewildered look.

"Thjis jis gonna sound rreally strrange jI know, but unless you all want to have sex wjith me rrjight now...you mjight want to fjind anotherr table to sjit at."

Of course, there was always the possibility that...hah, that would be the day!

[Mara Tallen]

Fingers rolled languidly through auburn locks as she turned and leaned back against the table, long legs crossed. There was no use trying to turn off the purr now, considering her beast wanted precisely the same thing as Cirr apparently did.

Tilting her head, she looked up at him and smiled, the tip of her tongue tracing her plump bottom lip. Elbows resting on the table behind her, long auburn curls ended up splayed across one shoulder.

"On the table? Didn't think that was your style, Cirrrrr. Always thought of you as morrre of the type to toss a girrrl over your shoulderrr and carrrry herrr off." Mara purred, glancing down briefly to see that her fingernails had elongated into short, sleek claws.

[Tera Uolmi]

Tera had just sat down when the big Cizerack sprang up out of his seat. The contents of her tray jumped as Cirr slammed both hands against the tabletop. Without taking her eyes off of the Cizerack, Tera picked up the muffin on her tray and tore off a small piece, popping it into your mouth. She watched Cirr a moment longer. Her tone and expression were deadpan.

“You're serious, aren't you?”

[Chaz de Coventina]

Well, uh.

It was a credit to clinic duty that Chaz was able to limit her bewilderment at Cirr's unexpected warning (... general proposition?) to a startled blink. One heard any number of things behind the curtain of an exam room - 'it was a dare', 'this has never happened to me before', 'It just slipped' - but coital shenanigans weren't exactly what one expected to find on the menu this early; and unless Cizerack society had an entirely different understanding of a breakfast special, there was something else at play here.

Perhaps more alarming than Cirr's clear anxiety and the sexual tension rolling off him in thick waves was the reaction it was garnishing. The present company didn't seem at all concerned by the direction this conversation was heading; Na'moda wore a Cheshire grin that wouldn't have looked out of place in a collegiate cantina; Tera looked as though Cirr had just proposed a discussion on the growth calculations used by moss farmers on Naboo; the sweaty, scantily clad blonde... well, that said it all, didn't it? And then there was Mara; Mara who was beginning to sound like the introduction to a bad porn holo, for star's sake.

She didn't have much knowledge of Cizerack biology specifically but it was common for many species to have particularly strong estral receptivity during certain times of the year. Of course, it was traditionally a female trait but there was no doubt that Cirr was showing all the symptoms.

And then some, Chaz mused wryly. The doctor cleared her throat delicately.

"I think," she said, "That perhaps we should go somewhere less public. Immediately."

[Lucy Gray]

Kylie had a bit of the eggs to her mouth when she realized what Cirr was proposing. She put the egg in her mouth and chewed, now interested in where this conversation was going. When it was mentioned that Cirr and Mara go at it on the table, Kylie was intrigued.

"I like a dinner and a movie just as much as the next being, but not while I eat my eggs. Take your foreplay over to that empty booth and when I'm done, then you can finish it up over here."

[Cirrsseeto Quez]

Cirr blinked in utter surprise. Well, he didn't expect that! Forrda women, from his experience, were waaay more indirect than simply bringing up sex at the drop of a hat. Had he known that his present company felt the same, it might have saved a lot of tension. A lot.

"Well come on, what arre we wajitjing forr?"

Snapping out of his flummoxed state, Cirr moved around the table, taking both Mara and Chaz by the hand as he led them out to find a more discrete location to root that particular pair. In a perfect galaxy, Tera and Kylie would hop-to and follow their lead, but Cirr was just fine with settling on two! That was two more than he usually had!

[Lucy Gray]

Kylie gulped down the rest of her meal as the Mr. Horny-Cat grabbed his the two girls and led... almost dragged to someplace more private. Not totally private, but more private.

"Cat scratch fever." remarked Kylie as she stood up. She grabbed her tray and was about to leave, but then stopped. "Hey Tera, I hear that our replacement fighters are coming in today. I think I'll check them out after I change into something more appropriate."

Kylie nodded to all those left at the table, policed the remains of her breakfast, and then left the lounge.

She turned left, heading down the corridor back toward her quarters. She needed a shower.