Judgement – A Warm Welcome
by Alderman Yolanthe Ibalin & Cardassian Glen Sulla Parek
Post Details
ON
Parek found himself outside the Box of Delights. He had retired to his quarters after meeting with his superior, but had heeded the Starfleet Commander's advice and had headed down. A wall of sound, sights and smells greeted him, much different from what the Promenade deck presented him. All was tinged with the sharp sense of excitement.
Glancing this way and that, a little unnerved by the multitude of species here, he made his way carefully to the bar, avoiding eye contact with patron and staff alike. As he walked up, he put his hand down tentatively, and called out 'uh ... Kanar please?'
At the request, a statuesque woman a little way down the bar, turned sharply towards him as if recognising him, and then stopped. She was a dark grey, darker even than Sulla, with black hair that sucked out the light. She gave him a weak smile and headed towards him.
"Hi there. What sort of Kanar. I've got six varieties, including two that are scandalously expensive, and worth every slip." There was a faint wobble in her stride, and as she spoke, Parek got the faintest whiff of kanar. She'd obviously been sampling the six varieties quite freely.
'You seem to know your Kanar,' said Parek slowly, placing a few bars on the bar-top. 'Why don't you pour me your preferred variety?' He was intrigued by the female's skin colouration. Racking his brains he could not think of any species he had learnt of that was mammalian in appearance but sported that colouration.
Yolanthe looked down at the latinum. "That should just about cover a few glasses." she said wistfully, setting a fine glass in front of him, then turning to the shelf for the decanter. "The Cardassian Ambassador orders a case of this a month. It covers all my basic expenses."
'The Ambassador is well-remunerated as befits his position,' replied Parek guardedly, not quite sure of this person's relationship with his superior. He watched as she began to pour the thick fluid into the glass. 'Do you interact with him often?'
The grey sin became infused with a hint of pink. "I flatter myself to think we're friends." She said with a sad smile.
Parek pricked up his ears at the comment and smile, before taking sip of the Kanar. Feeling the liquid ooze down his throat he gave a grunt of appreciation, 'I can see why Getal would order a casefull. This is good Kannar.' He regarded the woman for a moment, 'what do you think of the Vr'ikar Gul?'
"He's very charming." Yolanthe said. "Very knowledgeable about weapons. And he loves Cardassia."
'Charming ... isn't a word I've heard associated with him yet,' said Parek, savouring another sip. 'But perhaps you know a side of him most others do not.' He inclined his head, 'and yes, he most certainly does love our homeworld - that much is clear in the reports I received.'
The tall woman shrugged. "I don't know why. Every Cardassian I've ever met has been charming and friendly. Tharek says everyone is biased, and I think he's right. They just see the ghosts of things past, I'll admit he can be a little bit... boisterous," she smiled fondly to herself, "when riled, but he's a passionate man, it goes with the territory."
Parek said nothing as he took another sip of this oh-so-fine Kanar. 'You perhaps have a more favourable attitude to our people than most. After all, we've done some pretty awful things in our past.' His brow contorted into a frown, 'perhaps we deserve the opprobrium the others,' here he waved his arm about vaguely, encompassing the universe in general, 'heap upon us.' He looked at his empty glass of Kanar, then pushed it forwards, 'another.'
She refilled it, then poured one for herself and took a long swallow. "From what I've learnt, most races have awful things in their past. I don't meet races. I meet individuals, and judge them as such." She took another swallow. "At least I try. And so far, no Cardassian has done me wrong. So to you, and all your kind." She held up the glass in a toast. There was a slight slur on her words.
'I can drink to that,' replied Parek, knocking back his drink. Picking up on her slur, he decided that discretion was the better part of valour in this case. He struggled for a moment to think of a topic of conversation, then alighted on one that seemed fairly standard the galaxy over. 'So, what's it like working at a place like this? Your boss accommodating?'
'I am the boss. I run-" She halted suddenly, and the grey of her skin deepened to a sooty black. "all this."
Noticing the change in skin tone once more, Parek knew not what to make of it. 'Ah, apologies,' he ventured, 'I did not mean to offend ...'
She shook her head. "I'm not offended, its just that I lost my best friend yesterday. I shouldn't even be out here, but I just need something to do. Take my mind off it, you know." She topped up his glass with more of the scandalously expensive kanar. "So what about your boss. Is she accomodating?"
'My boss? I don't know ... I've only just met him,' replied Parek, with a slight emphasis on the male pronoun. 'He seems quite stern in his dealing with underlings, but perhaps he's fair. I have no real idea.'
"Only time can tell," she said sagely, before swallowing down a large mouthful of kanar. "And if not, well." She shrugged. "I have a lot of kanar, and a sympathetic ear."
'If you keep serving this vintage, I fear I may be a fixture at the counter,' replied Parek with a smile, 'And I'm sure everything will work out for the best - they usually do.' Parek gave a nod, 'I think I'm going to like it here - so much different from Cardassia.'
"Then I'll keep serving the vintage. And you'll always have a warm welcome here, fixtures are always welcome. Especially when they drink a vintage that's close to half a bar of latinum a glass," she tried to give a mercenary grin, but her heart wasn't it.
Her skin tones he could not read, but he could generally read facial expressions. Taking another long sip of Kanar, he was silent for a moment before asking, 'pardon me for intruding, but is there perhaps something you would like to talk about?'
She smiled, a small bittersweet thing, and shook here head. "Nothing much to talk about. Let's just say if I had asked Tharek for help sooner, things might be different. But I was too proud, and my best friend paid for it."
'I'm sorry,' said Parek with genuine sympathy. 'It's not easy to lose friends, not at all. And I defy anyone of any culture to say otherwise and genuinely mean it. Still, there was a line I read somewhere that said if you remember the person's name, and their exploits, then they are not truly gone. A sort of immortality, I suppose.'
"I like that. Thank you."
Parek shrugged casually, 'you're entirely welcome Miss ... ?' he realised for all their conversing, he did not in fact know this woman's name.
"Call me Yolanthe." She wavered on her feet for a moment. "What can I call you?"
'Sulla,' he replied with a nod, 'Sulla Parek, Ambassador's Aide to Vi'Kar Gul Getal.' He smiled brightly, 'and now we know one another properly.' Scanning the bar he asked, 'could you recommend me a Federation beverage?'
"Federation Beverage. Hmm." She turned away and looked at her shelves, wavering slightly. "well, if you're working for Tharek I won't ask for when you're off the clock. So lets start gently. She found the bottle she was looking for, and a snifter to go with it. "Vulcan brandy," she announced turning round. "Warms you up nicely, and I know you probably find the station a little cold, and because vulcans aren't as fond as fun as some species, its not as strong as most brandies and similar." She poured a very large glass, her hand shaking slightly.
Taking an experimental sip, he nodded approvingly. It had a gentle burn that slipped down his throat and nestled in his stomach, spreading from there. Quite different to kannar it had to be said, but not unpleasantly so. 'It's quite good,' he stated and smiled, 'so you get all sorts in here from what I hear?'
"Everyone with latinum is welcome, as long as you aren't an arse to other customers or my staff," there was a hint of pride underneath the slurring.
'Ah, a respectably mercenary attitude,' Parek nodded with approval as he drained his brandy. 'Really quite good, considering Vulcans don't have the best reputation for having fun ...'
"No they don't", she allowed. "I guess if you're working at the Embassy, I'll be seeing quite a bit of you."
'Oh yes,' replied Parek with gusto. 'Embassy work pays quite well. There's plenty of latinum spare after my necessities are paid for. And the Box seems to be filled with a variety of different species - it's one of the reasons I got this transfer, you know, to meet new people, to see the Federation.'
"You'll certainly see a lot of it in here." She allowed. "But possibly not at its best. Real alcohol is a bit of a novelty to a lot of the younger parts of it." It sounded like a well used line. the statuesque woman was operating on automatic now, working her way down a practised list of small talk.
'That's fine - sometimes it's more interesting to see a person when their inhibitions have been stripped away,' replied Parek as he slid off his stool. 'Well, I'm afraid I've spent more than my fair share of time here. I best be getting off - no telling when a request will come through.'
"That I do believe." She gave another weak smile. "Give him my best when you see the boss."
'Of course ma'am,' replied Parek warmly, reaching for the remaining latinum in his pouch.
She shook her head. "On the house."
Inclining his head gratefully, Parek half-felt it was a clever business stratagem - clearly designed to draw back new customers. In this case, it had worked perfectly. 'Thank you. Should you ever find yourself in need of a Cardassian Ambassador's flunky ... ' he shrugged.
"I'll shout." she promised with a long slur on the 's'. "Take care, Sulla."
'And you,' replied Parek with a wave as he turned and left the establishment, his gait a little unsteady after all the drink consumed. He hoped it would not be difficult to find his way home ...
::OFF::
A JP by:
Yolanthe Ibalin
Owner & Bartender
The Box of Delights
&
Glen Sulla Parek
Diplomatic Aide
by Alderman Yolanthe Ibalin & Cardassian Glen Sulla Parek
Post Details
| Title | A Warm Welcome | |
| Mission | Judgement | |
| Author(s) | Alderman Yolanthe Ibalin & Cardassian Glen Sulla Parek | |
| Posted | Fri Mar 04, 2011 @ 1:27am | |
| Location | The Box of Delights | |
| Timeline | SD 35 1800 (backpost) |
Parek found himself outside the Box of Delights. He had retired to his quarters after meeting with his superior, but had heeded the Starfleet Commander's advice and had headed down. A wall of sound, sights and smells greeted him, much different from what the Promenade deck presented him. All was tinged with the sharp sense of excitement.
Glancing this way and that, a little unnerved by the multitude of species here, he made his way carefully to the bar, avoiding eye contact with patron and staff alike. As he walked up, he put his hand down tentatively, and called out 'uh ... Kanar please?'
At the request, a statuesque woman a little way down the bar, turned sharply towards him as if recognising him, and then stopped. She was a dark grey, darker even than Sulla, with black hair that sucked out the light. She gave him a weak smile and headed towards him.
"Hi there. What sort of Kanar. I've got six varieties, including two that are scandalously expensive, and worth every slip." There was a faint wobble in her stride, and as she spoke, Parek got the faintest whiff of kanar. She'd obviously been sampling the six varieties quite freely.
'You seem to know your Kanar,' said Parek slowly, placing a few bars on the bar-top. 'Why don't you pour me your preferred variety?' He was intrigued by the female's skin colouration. Racking his brains he could not think of any species he had learnt of that was mammalian in appearance but sported that colouration.
Yolanthe looked down at the latinum. "That should just about cover a few glasses." she said wistfully, setting a fine glass in front of him, then turning to the shelf for the decanter. "The Cardassian Ambassador orders a case of this a month. It covers all my basic expenses."
'The Ambassador is well-remunerated as befits his position,' replied Parek guardedly, not quite sure of this person's relationship with his superior. He watched as she began to pour the thick fluid into the glass. 'Do you interact with him often?'
The grey sin became infused with a hint of pink. "I flatter myself to think we're friends." She said with a sad smile.
Parek pricked up his ears at the comment and smile, before taking sip of the Kanar. Feeling the liquid ooze down his throat he gave a grunt of appreciation, 'I can see why Getal would order a casefull. This is good Kannar.' He regarded the woman for a moment, 'what do you think of the Vr'ikar Gul?'
"He's very charming." Yolanthe said. "Very knowledgeable about weapons. And he loves Cardassia."
'Charming ... isn't a word I've heard associated with him yet,' said Parek, savouring another sip. 'But perhaps you know a side of him most others do not.' He inclined his head, 'and yes, he most certainly does love our homeworld - that much is clear in the reports I received.'
The tall woman shrugged. "I don't know why. Every Cardassian I've ever met has been charming and friendly. Tharek says everyone is biased, and I think he's right. They just see the ghosts of things past, I'll admit he can be a little bit... boisterous," she smiled fondly to herself, "when riled, but he's a passionate man, it goes with the territory."
Parek said nothing as he took another sip of this oh-so-fine Kanar. 'You perhaps have a more favourable attitude to our people than most. After all, we've done some pretty awful things in our past.' His brow contorted into a frown, 'perhaps we deserve the opprobrium the others,' here he waved his arm about vaguely, encompassing the universe in general, 'heap upon us.' He looked at his empty glass of Kanar, then pushed it forwards, 'another.'
She refilled it, then poured one for herself and took a long swallow. "From what I've learnt, most races have awful things in their past. I don't meet races. I meet individuals, and judge them as such." She took another swallow. "At least I try. And so far, no Cardassian has done me wrong. So to you, and all your kind." She held up the glass in a toast. There was a slight slur on her words.
'I can drink to that,' replied Parek, knocking back his drink. Picking up on her slur, he decided that discretion was the better part of valour in this case. He struggled for a moment to think of a topic of conversation, then alighted on one that seemed fairly standard the galaxy over. 'So, what's it like working at a place like this? Your boss accommodating?'
'I am the boss. I run-" She halted suddenly, and the grey of her skin deepened to a sooty black. "all this."
Noticing the change in skin tone once more, Parek knew not what to make of it. 'Ah, apologies,' he ventured, 'I did not mean to offend ...'
She shook her head. "I'm not offended, its just that I lost my best friend yesterday. I shouldn't even be out here, but I just need something to do. Take my mind off it, you know." She topped up his glass with more of the scandalously expensive kanar. "So what about your boss. Is she accomodating?"
'My boss? I don't know ... I've only just met him,' replied Parek, with a slight emphasis on the male pronoun. 'He seems quite stern in his dealing with underlings, but perhaps he's fair. I have no real idea.'
"Only time can tell," she said sagely, before swallowing down a large mouthful of kanar. "And if not, well." She shrugged. "I have a lot of kanar, and a sympathetic ear."
'If you keep serving this vintage, I fear I may be a fixture at the counter,' replied Parek with a smile, 'And I'm sure everything will work out for the best - they usually do.' Parek gave a nod, 'I think I'm going to like it here - so much different from Cardassia.'
"Then I'll keep serving the vintage. And you'll always have a warm welcome here, fixtures are always welcome. Especially when they drink a vintage that's close to half a bar of latinum a glass," she tried to give a mercenary grin, but her heart wasn't it.
Her skin tones he could not read, but he could generally read facial expressions. Taking another long sip of Kanar, he was silent for a moment before asking, 'pardon me for intruding, but is there perhaps something you would like to talk about?'
She smiled, a small bittersweet thing, and shook here head. "Nothing much to talk about. Let's just say if I had asked Tharek for help sooner, things might be different. But I was too proud, and my best friend paid for it."
'I'm sorry,' said Parek with genuine sympathy. 'It's not easy to lose friends, not at all. And I defy anyone of any culture to say otherwise and genuinely mean it. Still, there was a line I read somewhere that said if you remember the person's name, and their exploits, then they are not truly gone. A sort of immortality, I suppose.'
"I like that. Thank you."
Parek shrugged casually, 'you're entirely welcome Miss ... ?' he realised for all their conversing, he did not in fact know this woman's name.
"Call me Yolanthe." She wavered on her feet for a moment. "What can I call you?"
'Sulla,' he replied with a nod, 'Sulla Parek, Ambassador's Aide to Vi'Kar Gul Getal.' He smiled brightly, 'and now we know one another properly.' Scanning the bar he asked, 'could you recommend me a Federation beverage?'
"Federation Beverage. Hmm." She turned away and looked at her shelves, wavering slightly. "well, if you're working for Tharek I won't ask for when you're off the clock. So lets start gently. She found the bottle she was looking for, and a snifter to go with it. "Vulcan brandy," she announced turning round. "Warms you up nicely, and I know you probably find the station a little cold, and because vulcans aren't as fond as fun as some species, its not as strong as most brandies and similar." She poured a very large glass, her hand shaking slightly.
Taking an experimental sip, he nodded approvingly. It had a gentle burn that slipped down his throat and nestled in his stomach, spreading from there. Quite different to kannar it had to be said, but not unpleasantly so. 'It's quite good,' he stated and smiled, 'so you get all sorts in here from what I hear?'
"Everyone with latinum is welcome, as long as you aren't an arse to other customers or my staff," there was a hint of pride underneath the slurring.
'Ah, a respectably mercenary attitude,' Parek nodded with approval as he drained his brandy. 'Really quite good, considering Vulcans don't have the best reputation for having fun ...'
"No they don't", she allowed. "I guess if you're working at the Embassy, I'll be seeing quite a bit of you."
'Oh yes,' replied Parek with gusto. 'Embassy work pays quite well. There's plenty of latinum spare after my necessities are paid for. And the Box seems to be filled with a variety of different species - it's one of the reasons I got this transfer, you know, to meet new people, to see the Federation.'
"You'll certainly see a lot of it in here." She allowed. "But possibly not at its best. Real alcohol is a bit of a novelty to a lot of the younger parts of it." It sounded like a well used line. the statuesque woman was operating on automatic now, working her way down a practised list of small talk.
'That's fine - sometimes it's more interesting to see a person when their inhibitions have been stripped away,' replied Parek as he slid off his stool. 'Well, I'm afraid I've spent more than my fair share of time here. I best be getting off - no telling when a request will come through.'
"That I do believe." She gave another weak smile. "Give him my best when you see the boss."
'Of course ma'am,' replied Parek warmly, reaching for the remaining latinum in his pouch.
She shook her head. "On the house."
Inclining his head gratefully, Parek half-felt it was a clever business stratagem - clearly designed to draw back new customers. In this case, it had worked perfectly. 'Thank you. Should you ever find yourself in need of a Cardassian Ambassador's flunky ... ' he shrugged.
"I'll shout." she promised with a long slur on the 's'. "Take care, Sulla."
'And you,' replied Parek with a wave as he turned and left the establishment, his gait a little unsteady after all the drink consumed. He hoped it would not be difficult to find his way home ...
::OFF::
A JP by:
Yolanthe Ibalin
Owner & Bartender
The Box of Delights
&
Glen Sulla Parek
Diplomatic Aide