A Night on the Town - Part I

Posted on Sun Feb 3, 2019 @ 10:55pm by Lieutenant Jason Haines & Civilian 'Arrival' Avis Larant Ms

1,393 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Doors of Perception
Location: Promenade / Dilithium Chamber
Timeline: MD 5, 1900 Hours

[ON]

Jason had showered, dressed in 'civies' that were stylish and appropriate for the Dilithium Chamber. Hidden as spare buttons on the insides of his sleeves were a couple of very small listening bugs that he had gotten from a black market dealer some time ago. Its origins could not be traced back to Starfleet. Given the interaction he had, had with the Radon crew and the events on the planet today, Radon was definitely on his mind. Checking his hair one last time, he went to 'pickup' Avis.

When her 'un-date' arrived, Avis deliberately tried not to answer the door too fast, tamping down her eagerness. When she did greet him though she had obviously given some thought to her wardrobe for the evening. Since it was hinted that this place they were going to might be a bit ...well, rough or risque, she still wasn't quite sure what Yolanthe had been hinting at, she decided not to wear something in the line of a nice dress but she still wanted to look good for him. So she was dressed in a form fitting pants outfit, subdued colors that said comfortable but still classy too. She also changed her vibrant red hair color to platinum blonde.

"Hello. Like a good military man, right on schedule," she smiled, eying him up and down, "You look very debonair by the way."

"You are looking quite nice yourself", he replied smiling back. "I wasn't sure what to wear, so I thought I would go somewhere in between slumming it and black-tie."

"No, you nailed it, you look great," she assured him, also pleased with hearing his approval of her efforts.

"So, I thought we could go to dinner first", Jason said. "I thought the new intelligence officer and an up and coming reporter just going right to the club might not give the impression we are on a date. I thought that 'The Place to Be', looked like a good restaurant, assuming you aren't allergic to seafood. Does that sound good to you?"

"Hmm, smart thinking. I like that. And I love seafood...well most seafood. Honestly a few planets have some pretty awful things swimming about in their oceans that I think taste wretched. But yes, let's hit The Place to Be then," and with that declaration they departed her apartment and headed for the elevator to take them to the appropriate deck. He seemed to know his way around better than her so she just followed.

Jason led them along, making some small talk. Once they got seated and ordered, he asked, "So, what are the plans for tonight? What are you going to be working to accomplish? I don't want to accidently work against you, especially in this place, from all I have heard."

"Hmm, what have you heard? It was suggested if I was looking for adventure to check that place out but my source wouldn't enter into any details. Just said I'd find out for myself and not to go alone," Avis replied.

"Mostly...to put it in military terms....call it a recon mission. Looking for anything that might lead me to a juicy story. Wander on in and keep my eyes and ears open."

"I haven't gotten too many specifics myself, but I've had both Starfleet and civilian sources tell me to tread carefully with Raddon", Jason said. "We can assume that anything that is said and done here can get back to those in charge at Raddon. Also, this place is racist. You need to be able to act like a supremacist without thinking about it. If someone mentions an Andorian, you need to be able to sneer or make a derogatory comment with meaning if the situation calls for it. If someone makes a crude joke about Bajorans, you need to laugh."

"Well, that is useful. Thanks. That's fine, I can play the racist bitch if I need to," Avis nodded. Raddon...she would have to do research on that once she got back to her computer.

"Also, how close in this date do you want me to be?", Jason asked. "Do you want us to be seen as friends, casual daters who don't care that the other is making the rounds, sight-seers, pimp and escort, etc. Depending on that, it will change how we interact while there."

Avis blinked, "Oh god, let's not do the pimp and escort one, please. I like the casual daters vibe. I'm not gonna admit in there as to my occupation, you going to do the same? Or might you already be known as a military man?"

"Well, if your plan is just to generally eavesdrop on people, the casual date story probably works", Jason said with a chuckle. "This would be easier though if you had someone specific you were going to focus on or a particular angle you were chasing. Might I suggest you use the cover that you are looking to write an article about all the entertainment establishments on the station so you at least have a reason to be asking any questions that you might."

"Oh, I could use that if I need to, thanks. But it's not like I am going to announce to all that I am there to write anything. Thus the whole casual dater cover. Mostly I want to look around, listen, eavesdrop if opportunity avails itself, and mingle. Let's face it, people ask questions of other people all the time. It's called curiousity," Avis shrugged.

"Trust me if I hear the right something or even witness something fascinating, then I will begin to focus. Right now it's too early for me to do anything like that," she smiled.

"Well, if that's the approach you want to take, I'll follow it", Jason replied. "Not sure I like it, but I will follow it."

Avis frowned but then shrugged, "Sorry, it's all I got. You got a better idea?"

After their food had arrived, Jason asked, "So, what are you trying to get out of tonight, just a random story or a contact? I guess it is just the Starfleet in me, wanting to have something to focus on. It can be hard for me to be on duty, so to speak, and be relaxing and having a good time."

Avis looked over their food, it looked and smelled fabulous. He was still in a one track sort of mind though it seemed.

"I already said I don't know, Jason. A good story shows up, I'll jump at it. Or a contact is made known, I'll pursue that. I can't very well know what I'm getting into until I show up at this place. Hell, I don't even know much about this Chamber and no one is really providing me with a lot of hard details. So just try and relax and have that good time. There is no rule we can't do both - enjoy ourselves and come up with some interesting info. And ..............if it's a dead end............then at least we had some fun? Can we try that?" she smiled.

Jason smiled and said, "Yes indeed. It has just been since Academy that I have been stationed somewhere where socialization was a real possibility. I spent a year at a training facility where I barely had time to eat and breathe between assignments. My last assignment was on a ship that was a row-boat compared to this station and made more to accommodate equipment than the crew. I've done more socialization in the past five days here than I did all of last year. So, please forgive me, I am just a bit out of practice in the whole relaxing and having fun arena."

"Well, all that makes me so glad I never did consider joining the service. I love my job, don't get me wrong but I do like to have a good time also. And right now I think that would mean we eat this delicious meal. Then head over to the Chamber. This could turn out to be quite an adventure, you never know," Avis grinned. Or a total disaster but she didn't utter that possibility aloud.

"Adventure sounds good to me", Jason replied, raising his glass.

To Be Continued ...

[OFF]

Avis Larant
Investigative Journalist
DS5

Lt.(jg) Jason Haines
Chief Intelligence Officer
DS5

 

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