The Lack of Leisure

Posted on Thu Sep 24, 2020 @ 2:32am by Civilian 'Key Holder' Yolanthe Ibalin & Lieutenant Roden Serav

1,105 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Et In Arcadia Ego
Location: The Box of Delights
Timeline: MD10 13:00

[ON]

Roden Serav adjusted his uniform, and scanned the vast jumble that was 'The Box of Delights'. He couldn't spot his wife among the lunchtime crowd of unfamiliar faces. He tapped his communicator, moving to lean against the wall near the main entrance.

"=^= Roden to Anashe Serav, where are you? =^="

"=^= Oh, is it that time alrea-, I'm sorry. I'm caught up in some paperwork for Mudiwa's school. Rain check? =^="

Roden sighed. "=^= Understood. See you tonight. =^="

He cut the channel, feeling at a loss. There were diagnostic reports to parse, and taking an hour away made him tense enough. The fact that his wife wanted to eat in this notorious flesh pot was the icing on the cake. He adjusted the sleeve of his uniform, and moved in towards the booths. Determined to keep his eyes away from the patrons, he focused on a table as far away from everyone else as possible. With one final tug on his uniformed jacket, he sat down and buried his face in a menu.

"That's a long face for so early in the day." A tall woman, practically his own height was looking down at him. At least she gave that impression. There was no visible pupil or iris, just pure white sclera. Her skin was a soft violet, and her hair darker shades of the same, falling in soft curls down her back. "Do you need to drown sorrows, or looking for a pick me up?

Roden realised that he'd been staring at the menu without reading it. "Sorry, I'm... Not one for leisure time." He glanced up at her face, struck by her appearance, and paused for a moment. Here was a woman that couldn't help but stand out. He put the menu down in defeat. "Just food will do. Whatever you recommend, as long as it's not still alive."

She laughed, and the violets flicked into pale blues. "I promise you, that whilst all our food is one hundred percent non-replicated, none of it fights back. The hesperat battered shell fish is good. Maybe an white beer to wash it down with. I've got a good barrel from Ktar in at the moment."

Roden gave a small smile. "Thank you but no, I might grab the wrong end of a plasma torch. The battered shell fish sounds good, with water." He drummed his fingers on the table and looked around briefly before leaning in. "The way this place was described, I was expecting something more..." He paused, trying to find the right word in English. "Lewd? I thought my wife was sending me a message."

She laughed, and the pale blue turned brighter. "Well, we can get pretty interesting of an evening, but the Lunchtime crowd is fairly normal. But if lewd's your thing, then we have all manner of programs for our holosuites, and a live burlesque show every few months. Madam Miaow is a personal friend."

The Lieutenant's eyebrows raised alongside his hands. "I'm afraid I'm far too boring for that!" He suspected that this was not quite the immovable impediment for others as it was for him. "I think my place is repairing the holodeck rather than utilizing it." He half-smiled and drummed his fingers on the table again.

"Never say never. We have a full range of programs, from those suitable for say, an anniversary night out, through to the latest Holonovels such as Dixon Hill, James Bond, Bloodbeard the Pirate. Toby the Targ, if you have little ones."

"Ah, my little one would certainly enjoy a run around the holodeck. She grew up on a science vessel, not a lot of spare time on the holosuites for children's games." He smiled and then started in realization. "Apologies for my rudeness- I haven't even introduced myself." He stood up and extended a hand. "Lieutenant Roden Serav, I'm the new engineer."

"Yolanthe. Welcome to The Box of Delights, where we have everything a being could possibly want to spoil the senses." She gave a little bow. "I thought you might be new."

Serav returned the small bow. "A pleasure. Yes, I landed yesterday with my family; we're all still finding our feet. Have you been here long?"

"Couple of years, give or take." A waitress approached, a Risan with long legs and a short skirt, and handed over a tray with his order. She gave him a wink, and then walked away with a swing in her hips. Yolanthe set down his food. "Long enough to get a handle on the place at least."

"Thank you. I'm hoping my daughter can have some semblance of a normal life here." He said flatly, eyes turning the statement into a question.

"Well, normal's a kind of flexible definition round here. But there's a school, I know. Lots of students. And I've seen plenty of kids of all ages roaming around, so she should at least have people her own age."

"And if she gets bored, there's always Toby the Targ." He said, picking at his food. "Thank you for the welcome, Yolanthe. I haven't had a chance to catch my breath since arriving here."

"That sounds normal, I find Starfleet types are really bad at taking time to themselves. I hope you're not going to be reinforcing the stereotypes?"

"My work is..." Roden paused trying to find the right word. "... It gives me purpose." He finished lamely. "I have a need to be useful, if that makes sense?"

"I get that." Yolanthe said. "But all work and no play makes Roden a dull boy. If cavorting in holosuites aren't your thing, the Station AmDram meets here once a week, also open mic and comedy nights. We can also take on remote broadcast of theatre productions and sports events. Its like you're right there. We've got a calendar on the station LCARS. And the gaming tables spin day and night"

"I'll keep that in mind." Roden said politely, and picked up a fork to start eating. "Please excuse me, I've got to get back to my station soon."

"Of course. And if you need anything else, just shout, we'll take good care of you."

Roden smiled his thanks and attacked his battered shellfish. Barely halfway through his communicator chirped with a message from one of the assistant engineers. He sighed, wiping his hands and mouth on the napkin before getting up to leave. He nodded to the waitress and waved at Yolanthe as he walked out, already interrogating the Ensign on the other side of the comm channel.

[OFF]

A post by:

Yolanthe Ibalin
Owner, The Box of Delights
DS5

&

Lt. Roden Serav
Chief Engineer
DS5

 

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