Chapter 12
Archer found himself feeling some trepidation about this night out. God only knows what Shran had planned for them. Archer had a million different scenarios running through his brain, from a gentleman�s club with cigars and brandy to a strip club. Knowing Shran it could have easily been a combination of the two.
He pulled on casual clothes, jeans and jumper, with a coat and scarf for protection against the freezing cold. Once he was satisfied he went to meet up with Trip.
The engineer was in a sour mood and Archer didn�t ask him about it. He knew Trip was uncomfortable about the amount of time T'Pol had been spending with Shran, and the fact that they were trying to raise a child together, even if they were adamant about not getting together. It put Trip on edge. The fact that T'Pol had spent a good portion of the day with Shran that day had not helped.
�Maybe he�ll be in a better mood if this party is the right sort.� Archer thought to himself.
Meeting up with Malcolm, Travis and Hoshi (for Shran had invited them to come along as well) they all took the transporter to Andoria.
�Oh it�s beautiful.� Hoshi gushed, as they looked around. Archer had to admit that Andoria, with a star filled night sky, its gas giant and many moons, and sparkling ice fields was quite possibly one of the most beautiful sights in the universe. �This is where I�d love to come for a romantic holiday.�
�Wouldn�t you rather somewhere hot?� Archer teased, leading them along,
�Well, a romantic holiday over Christmas then.� Hoshi smiled.
They took the platform to the city and found the nightlife was as alive as the day life, except a lot of the outfits were distinctly more eye-catching. Andorians of many ages, from young to very old, were roaming about, chatting and laughing.
Standing by the railings of the path, looking over the crowd with disinterest, was Shran. He was dressed in an outfit very like the uniform of the Imperial Guard, (so every muscle was outlined in a way that made Archer feel rather jealous) but it was a different colour and made of the silk Andorians were so proud of, as opposed to the leather uniform.
�Evening Shran.� Archer greeted shaking the Andorian�s hand.
�Pink-skin. Ready to go?�
�As we�ll ever be.� Archer grinned. Shran smirked and then jerked his head to indicate they follow him. As they made their way through the city, going up and down various levels Archer�s head began to spin and he knew he�d never be able to find his way out of the city on his own.
�Shran! Shran!� Telev hurried over to meet them. Archer�s eyes slid over Telev and then he looked at Hoshi. The linguist�s mouth was hanging open slightly as she stared at Telev.
Telev was dressed in vivid red shirt and black trousers, both of which were so tight they might as well have been a second skin. His hair was styled messy and his handsome face was alight with eagerness. No one could deny that Telev looked good. Shran grinned at him as he arrived.
�You�re late.� he accused, �You were supposed to meet us at the platform.�
�I got held up by my sisters. You know what they�re like. Criticise, criticise, criticise.�
�I have a vague idea.� Shran snorted.
�Where�s Gral?�
�He�s meeting us there.�
�Gral�s coming too?�
�Of course. It�s not a party without him!� Telev laughed, throwing his arm around Shran�s shoulders. �I cannot wait to get that pig singing!�
�Ah go easy on him Telev, I�ll not have you killing the Tellerite ambassador because you want him to sing for you before you get too drunk to remember it.�
�Oh you insult me! Are you suggesting I can't hold my alcohol.�
�I�m not suggesting it. I�m stating it. You hold your alcohol like a child.�
�I do not!�
�Do too! You�ll be off your head well before we�re finished.�
�I will not!� Telev pouted at him, �I�ll show you.�
�Oh I�d love to see it.� Shran smirked, �You won�t last.�
�Ugh! I�ll show you!� Telev was all out sulking now, his lower lip sticking out slightly and his antennas drooping. Shran rolled his eyes with fondness and then shrugged him off.
�Come on. We�ll never get there if we don�t go now.�
�Queue?�
�Exactly. Besides, Gral will get all moody if we�re late.�
The place Shran brought them to was a large, multi-storeyed building which vibrated with loud music. There were balconies, which were already full of people, spread out over the walls, Archer counted twenty or more. Some large women were outside, by the main door, dressed in tight uniforms.
�Female Bouncers. Now that�s something you don�t see everyday.� Archer thought to himself. Standing beside them, staring rather hard, as if he was trying to see past the uniforms, was Gral. The Tellerite appeared to be drooling. If the women had noticed, they did not care.
�Gral!� Shran shouted over all the noise coming from the club. Gral turned around and he bared his teeth in a grin as they reached him.
�You're late!� he said.
�You�re ugly. It balances out.� Shran smirked as Telev laughed. Gral glared up at them, but the Andorians just smirked. �Come on! Lets go!� Shran grabbed Telev�s arm, and Gral�s shoulder and dragged them both with him into the club. Archer and his crew followed, feeling a little apprehensive.
�Ah love this place!� Trip roared, raising his drink in a toast. �This is the best place ever!�
�Absolutely!� cheered Malcolm before slamming down another shot of Andorian Ale. ��S the besssst placcce in th� �hole un-iver-sssssssss.�
�Agreed!� Archer clapped Shran on the shoulder, �Thanks for bringin� us here Shran. We owe you one!�
�Glad to hear it.� Shran smirked. The Andorian was holding his drink a good deal better than any of his companions. Telev had downed thirty shots and disappeared a little while ago. Gral was currently trying to chat up one of the women who�d surrounded the group upon arrival. Shran knew them all.
Upon arrival, Shran had gotten sucked into the crowd and the humans had hurried to follow him. The massive throng caused them to loose the guardsman though, because he blended in with everyone else. It was only when they were shoved to the bar by a ripple through the crowd that they spotted him again.
The club was packed with Andorians, all letting their hair down and partying. Apparently when Andorians went out, wandering hands were commonplace. Archer had lost count of the times he�d felt someone�s hands deliberately brushing over his legs, his backside, his torso or his arms. From the other�s reactions they�d been having similar experiences, with varying degrees of comfort. Poor Malcolm had turned into a beetroot at the first touch. Hoshi had gone pink and giggly, once she�d had a few anyway. Trip and Travis had stupid grins of pride on their faces. Shran just smirked whenever a hand brushed over him, not at all surprised or put out by it. Apparently he was used to it. Even Gral had squealed more than once in surprise.
The bottom floor had a lower levelled dance floor, and small raised platforms were doted all around with enough room for two people to dance on, provided they pressed against each other. On the upper floors were tables and chairs for people to sit around.
Colours were flashing around, light reflecting off the silk and leather of the Andorians. Fog swirled around their legs, and the ceilings twinkled with flashing lights. Yet there was nothing tacky or over the top about the place. Whatever it was that made a place like this work, this place had. Archer could see a lot of human teenagers enjoying themselves here. Hell, he was in his forties and he was having a ball. Then again� he looked around and was surprised to see people who must have at least been in their seventies (although it was hard to tell since Andorians didn�t seem to age like humans did) dancing around with people in their teens.
�What�s the age limit around here?� he slurred in Shran�s ear, having to get that close so the man could hear him over the music.
�What�d you mean?�
�How old do you have to be to get in?�
�Fifteen or over.� Shran answered, shouting in his ear.
�That�s pretty young.�
�Not as far as we�re concerned. I don�t know how humans work things out but once you�ve passed into puberty you�re allowed to drink, come to bars, mate, whatever you want.�
Normally Archer might�ve raised some objections to that but his mind was getting very foggy, so all he said was �Cool!� before he dropped the subject.
�Too bad T'Pol ain�t here!� shouted Trip, �It�d�ve been fun to see what she�s like wasted. I bet she�s a real good dancer.� The engineer�s eyes glazed over as he thought about it. Shran�s eyes turned glassy too at the mention. Telev arriving back disturbed their thoughts.
Telev was very drunk now, his cheeks flushed, his skin shiny with sweat, and his eyes blazing with fire. As he tottered where he stood, his arms shot out and wrapped around Shran who laughed as he held him up.
�I told you so!�
�Shurup!� Telev grunted, resting his head on Shran�s shoulder. Shran said something else, but Archer didn�t catch it, being too busy with jumping in surprise as a rather bold pair of hands began to run over his back and bottom.
�You know� I wonder what that Vulcan of Shran�s would look like in the outfit that woman�s wearing.� Gral slurred gesturing his clawed hand at a platform where a woman was dancing. Her long blond hair was flying, her hips rolling under the waistband of her skirt that rested very low down. Her top had a low cut neckline, and didn�t quite cover her flat, blue stomach and the skirt brushed her knees. It was rather hard not to drool at her.
�She�s not Shran�s!� Trip snarled, but once his eyes fixed on the woman it was clear he was too lost in a fantasy of T'Pol replacing the woman to continue the point. The idea tantalised Archer�s own mind, and he was too drunk to apply decorum and push it away. He didn�t even notice that Shran didn�t agree with Trip.
�The Vulcan�ll haveta share!� growled Telev, gripping Shran to him. Shran rolled his eyes. �C�mon Shran! Let�s dance.�
�No thanks Telev. You know I don�t like dancing like that.� Shran managed to shrug him off. Telev pouted for a moment before he suddenly grabbed Hoshi by the waist and lifted her into his arms. Hoshi squeaked in surprise, then began to giggle as she gripped onto Telev, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Telev carried her away to the dance floor.
�Should we be worried?� Archer asked Shran, leaning over to him again,
�Nah, I�ll get him away from her before things go too far.� Shran assured him. Archer nodded, then jumped as more wandering hands began to move towards his backside. Shran gave him a smirk that told him to go with it. The Andorian currently had a woman snaking her arms around his neck and whispering in his ear� or whatever she was doing with her tongue. Shran�s expression was one of amused disinterest. Archer found that strange considering the woman was gorgeous.
Archer�s head began to swim a little (or a lot) and he was finding it very hard to focus. Travis, Trip, Malcolm, Shran, Gral and himself were soon toasting everything in the universe as they downed shot after shot. There were the hands again�
Archer didn�t remember much of what happened towards the end of the night, or how he got to bed, but when he woke up, he had the mother, grandmother and daughter of all hangovers.
Groaning in agony he buried his face in the pillow. It took him a few minutes to realise that it was not his pillow he was hiding in. In fact he was fairly sure this wasn�t his bed in any way, shape or form. The pillows were covered in fur or silk and there was no hum of warp engines around him. It was also much cooler here than in his own quarters.
�Oh, you're awake.� purred a feminine voice �That�s good. I hope you�re ready for more of last night.� A hand travelled over his bare chest in a suggestive manner and a bare thigh brushed against his hip.
Archer almost didn�t look, he was that shocked and in dread. When he did look, he found himself staring into a pair of chocolate brown eyes that were laughing at him.
�You surprised me Captain.� Lissiel purred again, �I didn�t expect you to be so� insatiable or satisfying.� As Archer stared at her the only thing he could think was,
�Oh crap.�