A First Time For Everything - Do You Like Jazz?
It was an unusually quiet, sleepy evening on the station. Even for a weekday, the place seemed deserted despite almost minimal maintenance taking place. It was that time of the astrological year when everyone was in a state of limbo between vacation to other star systems or still working. Delta 4 was at such a location in space that the rush of holidaymakers wouldn't hit for another week or so and even then, it was a stay-over and exchange hub along the way to other systems, nobody wanted to go to this region of space for a holiday of all things.
There were a few bars on the station, a club or two, but The Halley's Comet was probably the grungiest looking yet also the most welcoming place to visit if one went inside. There were a few of the normal station crew about, sitting in groups chatting to each other about their work or the news from across the galaxy - celebrity gossip and whatever else took their fancy. A wolf and rooster shared a cue on the pool table, stopping only to sip their pints of beer and silently observe the status of the table.
Ripper sighed and kept his seat at the bar for the time being, looking at his holographic watch that lit up in a duck egg shade of blue to inform him that station time was currently @949.beats. To cope with such a variety of systems and the amount of travelling, inter-stellar space generally used decimalised time to be able to more easily adjust between systems. Each standard Terran period of 24 hours had been divided into 1000 units. All the stations ran by the same clock internally, but usually had a display of local times relative to day length on the nearby planets.
The zebra worked as the stations veterinarian. In that, he saw to any injuries, sicknesses and other physical or mental health concerns which residents or travellers might have. It had been a rather slow day which only served to provide the equine with a growing frustration that time didn't flow faster so that he could enjoy his midweek-weekend earlier. Nothing had come in other than a horse who insisted that the replicator on deck 7 was faulty and had given him some rather unpleasant stomach cramps. When asked what he had ordered exactly, the equine had mentioned having something else from one of the restaurants on the same deck but that it "couldn't possibly be that because it was too long after eating it". After providing him with some oral rehydration sachets, an anti-nausea pill and clarifying that microbes take some time to have an effect, the horse was sent on his way. The health code violation was reported to the stations captain and the business officer respectively. Sipping his beer and sighing after having reflected on his day, Ripper unzipped the sleeve vents of his blue and silver jumpsuit to let in some fresh air to his arms.
"Just another day at the office." He murmured. The bartender, a white rabbit in smart waistcoat, shirt and trousers by the name of Christian, smirked at him and poured another beer ready.
"Long day huh? Well, at least it's Tuesday, you know what that means." The equines' ears perked forward, giving a soft smile and blinking his weary eyes.
"Aye, jazz night."
Jazz night occurred every Tuesday at The Halley's Comet. Some band or solo performer would come on in, attempting to play smooth jazz on what was the sleepiest night for the bar. Some of it was good, some of it was bad, but it still helped to set a good chill mood for the rest of the evening. Perfect for what the zebra needed before his two-day break.
"Sure is. Got something lined up tonight you might like. New singer, from Nova 7 in the Gamma quadrant. Sings along to piano, not so much saxophone like last week." They both chuckled, the sax singer last week had really been something else, entertaining at the very least but perhaps not the most skilled.
"When's she on?" The zebra asked, glancing at the time again and moving to get off his stool as he finished the last of his first drink. Christian glanced up at the holo-clock above the bar, a nice neon pink in a shade that contrasted the blue on the zebra's bracelet.
"You've got time for a slash and to freshen up. About 11 beats if I recall, she's out back getting ready but isn't due on till then."
Ripper nodded and swivelled off his stool, gently pushing his glass back towards the bartender.
"Plenty of time, can I get a glass of water for when I return? Not really feeling the alcohol tonight."
"Sure thing doc."
About 6 beats later, the zebra returned to perch on his stool at the bar and took a sip of the fresh glass of water Christian had left him, along with a fresh pint of a lighter ale. He gave the rabbit a smile and polite nod of his head in thanks whilst he was serving the rooster from the pool table two fresh pints, it seemed like he'd lost the game and was now paying his dues. For the few beats left until jazz night started Ripper zoned out to watch the galactic news with subtitles on the screen above the bar. Same old same old, why couldn't people just get along? He didn't even register when a new figure made its way out from the backstage door in the corner, or that the piano started playing. He did however, notice when the lights dimmed and the spotlight focused on the empty stage complete with retro microphone, the light silhouetting the piano player for the night but highlighting the current lack of a main attraction.
Then, there was a rustle of the frayed red curtain, the to-be singer made her way out onto the stage. Ripper had been about to sip his fresh pint but paused with his lips on the glass and stopped short of tilting it enough to drink. He didn't normally notice these things but...she was stunning.
Silky black mane and tail straightened immaculately and hanging perfectly symmetrical down her back, except for a few strands of fringe that framed her face and curved perfectly round her equine muzzle. She wore a full-length black sequin dress that twinkled in the limelight, contrasting with her grey fur and complementing the sheen on her mane and tail. The dress accentuated all the right parts of her curvaceous physique in just the right amounts, not being overly tight, but leaving nothing to the imagination. Her body was relatively average for an equine female, thin but with the Goldilocks amount of padding. She was maybe an inch or two off being 6 feet even accounting for her wearing shoes on her hooves. Her eyes had the gentlest looking hazel tone that appeared so soft and caring as they scanned the room until they found the zebras own blue-green hues and switched to surprised, then piercing and... fiery? He broke contact, blushing under his striped cheeks and putting his drink down.
Usually the performers just drowned into the background of his evening... but not this week. Christian smiled as he saw the zebra turn his attention to the mare with his ears pricked forward and twitching with the music. He'd only seen this kind of reaction a few rare times with guys in the bar. This was the first time he'd seen this from the zebra in relation to a female and it caught him off-guard just long enough to completely miss an order, which he swiftly apologised for and dealt with. If he didn't know any better, the rabbit reckoned that sending the singer a drink after her set, supposedly from his regular equine client, might be just the right thing to do. That is, if the striped horse didn't already ask for one by the end of the show.
By the end of the show, the patrons in the bar were clapping, on jazz night that was somewhat of a rarity and Ripper found himself joining in having appreciated the ease and grace with which the mare on stage had presented herself and sung her heart out. Striking that delicate balance between keeping up with some of the songs but not straining her vocal range too much. She'd chosen mostly slower, lower key songs but it had suited the mood of the crowd and the station in general perfectly, the sultry tones and tinkle of the piano having brought in a few of the irregular patrons as they passed on by after their duty shifts.
"Hey uhh...Christian...umm...I know I don't usually ask this kind of thing but...could I buy her a drink? I think just a water for now?" He was quick off the draw as the musicians finished their set and the two figures now on stage bowed and headed off behind the curtain. Ripper wasn't sure why he had paid so much attention, nor did he understand why he felt a sense of urgency to buy the lady a drink, but he felt at the very least the nicest thing he could do was fetch the mare a refreshing glass of iced water.
"Sure zeeb, it's on the house. You want me to take it to her, introduce you maybe? Or are you gonna take it yourself?" Christians finger paused on the cold tap with a glass poised underneath waiting for a response.
"Uhh...nah it's OK I can take it... although...backstage?" He raised an eyebrow and pointed at the door next to the one that led to the bar and kitchen. Normally patrons weren't allowed backstage unless invited by the performers or permitted by bar staff for some reason.
"Pssh, it's not like I don't trust you or anything but sure. Head on back, she's in dressing room number one." With that the rabbit placed a chilled and iced glass of water on the bar in front of the zebra, a neat slice of lemon perched over the rim of the glass, condensation forming a chilled frosting over the outside. The rim of the glass was tinted a dark blue, a kind of indicator designed to detect whether a drink had been spiked, it would discolour and turn pink under vague contact with body heat if the drink had anything untoward placed in it. Since the zebra had watched Christian make the drink he was pretty sure it wasn't spiked, but the poor singer wasn't to know that neither of them had slipped anything into it.
Getting to his hooves and stretching out after being sat around for the entirety of the jazz session, Ripper smiled at his bartender confidant and took hold of the glass, giving a cursory glance at the backstage door.
"Thanks Chris, I owe you one." He offered, before heading over and through into the corridor, taking an immediate right to follow the walls down a few feet, then turning left again to face the door of dressing room number 1.
Taking a deep breath and exhaling, he steeled himself, completely unsure of the nature of the woman behind the door. She had seemed nice enough while out there, but people could behave completely differently behind closed doors and out of the public eye, especially performers.
Throughout the performance they'd made eye contact a few times, the zebra always breaking first and feeling a rush of heat to his cheeks knowing he'd been caught out. Her expression had softened each time though, going from its initial fieriness to a playful, sincerer glint. He just hoped her personality matched his estimate from the breath-taking experience of her singing. Raising his hand, he rapped three times with a knuckle on the chipboard door, no fancy pneumatics and doorbells like the living quarters here. Everything was incredibly still as he waited for a response, ears subconsciously twitching about trying to pick up any sounds, betraying his anxiety to anyone who might be watching. Thankfully, nobody was.
He managed to catch hints of those shod hooves heading over to the door, getting louder and louder as they approached. Then the latch undid. The door knob slowly started turning and the chipboard creaked open, revealing the same mare from stage looking a little tired but still with a polite, warm smile on her grey-furred muzzle. Time froze as the zebra felt as if he were seeing her for the first time all over again. It unfroze in an instant when she perked her ears forward and opened her muzzle to speak. Their eyes met once again and this time, he didn't break contact.
"Can I help you?"