Dance Ten, Looks Three
Posted on Sat May 23rd, 2026 @ 12:18am by Lieutenant Amy Gordon & Commander Rhupert Tyree & Lieutenant Katya Davi
Edited on on Sat May 23rd, 2026 @ 12:19am
1,913 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Operation Kakori
Location: Rhu's Ready Room
Timeline: Two days after Avan's Colony mission end.
After Kat explained her idea about Velvet Vaudeville to Amy, the two of them went to see if they could convince the captain to let them try it. Maybe at the next station they go to for shore leave. It would give them a chance to do a dry run and see if it held any appeal. And if not, they'd be gone soon enough. Kat even considered changing her hair color, just in case.
They made sure he was in his ready room and rang the door chime.
Rhu looked up from his desk as the annunciator did its thing and he raised his eyebrows. They were six hours out from retrieving the department heads from the Adelaide and he'd thought they'd be busy. From the report Dayna had written, they'd been causing trouble per usual and something told him this might not be any different.
That they were showing up together didn't bode well.
Smiling slightly in anticipation, he said "Come in," and cycled the door.
Kat walked in first, as it was her idea and stopped in front of Rhu's desk. "Hi. Amy and I have an idea. Well, I have an idea, and Amy is going to help me do it. And Nyx. Maybe Ruby, too."
Rhu thought about that for only a second. He could tell Kat was blanking her thoughts but Amy's excitement was evident without feeling the emotions flow. Smiling, he gestured at Katya and said, "So. Instigator." Then his hand floated to Amy and said, "And co-conspirators. I take it this has nothing to do with initiating a Multi-Disciplinary Team of holo-physician programs, possibly known as a Kangaroo Court to get yourselves out of quarantine?"
"In our defense, we were there for three hours before we activated the EMHs. And two out of three said we were fine. The third wasn't sure." Kat suspected that one of giving her a tattoo because she could think of nothing else that would cause it--but that was only a guess. "No. What I...we...want to talk to you about is creating a vaudeville troupe." She hesitated a moment. "We could use it as a cover because no one is going to suspect a team of vaudeville players to be spies. And if they do, well, we could do shows on other stations to practice and that would get the word out, so it would also help establish a cover. Several of us sing and dance, and others want to learn. Plus, we kinda thought Richard would be a great stand-up comic."
Amy was quite content letting Katya give the plan, and explain it. Then she spoke, when Katya took a breath.
"I thought it a good idea so I stand with Katya one hundred percent. We've been going through the crew listing and ask if anyone would be wishing to participate." Amy gave Rhu a look of contemplation. "Speaking of which..." looking Rhu up and down.
"How about you joining in on this little vaudeville troupe?" The corners of Amy's mouth turning upwards.
Musing, Rhu leaned back in his office chair and swiveled for a few seconds. He touched a control on his desk and collapsing seats rose from the floor and he gestured for them to sit. "It's generally a good idea," he said finally. "Entertainers can get into many places and go unnoticed. For myself, I'm not much of a dancer." Kat had calmed slightly then some stray thoughts bounced past her control and he said, "Feathers, animal acts and the like. Though we can probably come up with something."
Then he smiled again and said, "I'll agree that this should be explored on a couple of conditions."
Feathers? Surely he didn't find her videos? Kat decided she would have to check that they were safely locked away in the ship's computer. She wasn't ready for him to see some of her experiments. Her later work, yes, but the early stuff... Taking a moment to control her thoughts again, she asked, "Okay. What conditions?"
Amy took a seat but not before once again, she noticed a bit of heat or sparks flying between Rhu and Katya. A bit of smile. "As what Katya asked, what conditions are you wanting?"
"Ooh good," Rhu said with some dramatical humor. Fixing his gaze on Amy, he said, "I love a volunteer. Condition One," he held up a finger and said, "Zuub."
Keeping his Cheshire smile, he glanced to Kat and said, "Condition two. Dayna"
Dayna? Kat grinned. That was MUCH better than having to talk to the doctor. She wanted to talk to her about music anyway. "Okay. About what?"
"Well, dancing of course. Part of the troupe. Some sort of performance," Rhu replied, keeping the smile.
"You want me to ask Zuub if she knows how to dance or has a skill we're not aware of? Well, I could do that, we really don't know much about what she can do, other than being a doctor and a rather-off the wall doctor as she has her own mind, and likes to experiment." Amy thinking of a few things she has heard. purple glittery gloop.
Kat couldn't help watching Rhu, an impish smile growing from her lips to her eyes. "You want us to talk to them about dancing. I can't see the commander in a kick line, but she does play the piano--just...not that type of music. The doctor, though..." Just the thought of the Andorian in a kick line almost gave her a fit of the giggles, but she controlled it--mostly. She was very glad she wasn't the one to talk to Zuub. Besides, she meant to talk to Dayna about music and just got too busy.
She shook her head and changed the subject. "And what role are you going to play in our little troupe? Manager? Or will you be the one to make sure our costumes are authentic? I can assure you, I've done plenty of research on the right type of fans. Balance is key, and ostrich feathers are definitely best. I'll be happy to let you try a pair of mine if you want." An image of Rhu with two feather boas and a pair of heels popped into her mind, even though she was pretty sure he'd rather watch the performance than be in it.
Rhu felt Kat's controls slip slightly and saw the twitch of her lips, though her mind was still locked down. To Amy he said, "Yes. Talk to them and lead with me thinking it's a spectacularly good idea for them both to be in a kick line. When negotiating, always over price so when you have to counter-offer, you've got your real goal up your sleeve. With my approval, Dayna may very well bite all the way and I'd pay money to see that show."
Smiling, he looked back to Kat and said, "As for me. I can help with the body paint as needed. But during performances, I can do a roaming mime. Out in the crowd is the best place to be to pick up intel. I'll have to brush up on my pick-pocketing though.." he added as if giving this great consideration.
"You'll make a great mime. You're very good with your hands," Kat replied with a Cheshire grin. She was still smiling when she added, "As for me, though, I don't wear body paint, but with an offer like that."
I may have to try."
Rhu smiled but decided they were starting to get off topic and pushing the edges of propriety that he worked hard to maintain.
He mostly lost. But he did try.
"Truth be told, I was part of a company that did a play in eleventh form. The actors all wore paint of varying colors and the furniture was all made of cake. A very rousing rendition of the Three Duchesses of Pwintell. His eyes still had a mischievous glint but he said, "I like your ideas. Put together your troupe. We might need them soon."
"I will. Thank you." Then Kat's eyes began to sparkle and an impish grin spread across her face. "I wonder if there are any vids of those performances floating around. Just the thought of a painted Rhu and furniture made of cake made her want to look. "Either way, I look forward to your performance. I hear mimes are very good with their hands..."
Chuckling, Rhu said, "I juggle flimsies more than balls these days, so I'm likely out of practice. But we'll work on it. We'll also have to make sure you have some room to work in. We have an empty shuttle bay for now," he added dryly.
Amy's eyes tracked the interaction between Katya and Rhu, once again she could see the sparks fly between the two of them, especially from Katya.
Yup she was going to stick with her own advice, stay out of that mix, even if she found Rhu attractive. There though was someone else who had attracted her attention as well. A certain Marine she had met, a smile dancing across her lips and a twinkle in her eyes. The thought briefly crossing her mind before she pulled it in not wanting that thought to come out to where Rhu could pick it up. Or was it already too late? Sneaking a look towards Rhu. He was attractive though...Amy shushed her mind. Focus woman, focus.
"That sounds like a great idea utilizing part of the cargo bay to rehearse." Amy getting her mind back into focus.
"We already know the acoustics and lighting in the annex," Kat added. "It won't be difficult to put up pipe and drape for a mock stage."
Rhu caught Amy's shuffling of emotions and facial features and decided the overall happy feeling he caught was a good sign. At least that's what she projected. "Right. Let me know where I can help. Is there anything else?" He needed to speak with both of them separately about Avan's colony soon, but those reports needed another reading.
"Not about this," Kat replied cheekily. "I'll let you know when we're ready to start group rehearsals." Now that the conversation was over, she felt comfortable enough to lower her mental shields. She wasn't likely to project anything embarrassing at the moment. Now she needed to speak to Daynah about the show...and find out what Amy was so happy about.
"And I will go talk to Zuub and see what sort of skills she has. I wonder..." Amy mused, "I wonder if she knows how to throw knives." Rubbing her chin. "A spinning wheel, could be a bit daring and dangerous."
On her way out, Katya sent a mental image of the end of her burlesque routine where she was walking off stage. Her back was bare. The rest of her was covered by a feathered headdress and a tail made of two ostrich feather fans, bouncing along behind.
Rhu blinked at the images coming from Kat, covering a smirk by coughing into his fist. "I imagine knives and Zuub are equally poisonous, in some regards. But still, it won't be dull."
"Vaudeville never is." Kat flashed him a cheeky grin as she walked out the door.
END
A joint post by:
Commander Rhupert Tyree
Master and Commander
USS Valiant
Lieutenant Katya Davi
Chief Operations Officer
USS Valiant
Lieutenant Amy Gordon
Chief of Intelligance
USS Valiant
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