Ships, Chips and Dips

Posted on Mon Jun 20, 2016 @ 7:30pm by Civilian 'Key Holder' Yolanthe Ibalin

1,680 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Interlude - Day 1
Location: Promenade
Timeline: MD01 1900

::ON::


Ilana paused outside the Dilithium Chamber. She lingered just long enough to skim the menu posted outside and to feel strange eyes judging her. Ilana wasn't really paranoid, she was an oddity and though the judgemental stares usually came from Cardassian and Bajoran faces, she read the same hostility in those that came from the seemingly human clientele.

I should've gone to the Lotus Lounge, she thought, though it would have left her purse lighter than she would like. Instead she continued on her way. Ilana crossed the walkway that bridged the two sides of the promenade and found herself looking at an establishment she thought she'd feel more at home in.

The Box of Delights was busy, though not packed. There was a live band in the main bar, playing some sort of fusion music, elements of style and instruments from a dozen or more different worlds, and plenty of people were paying attention, though plenty of others were talking amongst themselves.

Yolanthe was presiding over the bar, throwing bottles back and forth with her assistant Pelin, and generally putting on a show, and plenty of people crowding the bar were just watching and not ordering.

When Ilana fought her way to the front, Yolanthe had to lean right over the bar to hear her order, between the shouting for more and music playing over the top, the bar was the noisest part of the whole bar. "What can I get you?!" she shouted to the part-cardassian, part bajoran woman.

Ilana had been considering the inevitable question - the display was impressive, but she didn't fancy anything too fancy, "can you do a Trixian bubble juice?" she asked as though doubtful that the sweet pink drink would be on offer.

"Of course," Yolanthe turned around, having to go a couple of meters up the bar to retrieve the current bottle. She was back a moment later, and poured a long glass of the foaming liquid. She topped it with a couple of bright red cherries and pushed the drink across the bar.

"There you go. Can I get you anything else?"

A smile crept over Ilana's lips then she lifted the glass and tasted the drink, "Its great. Usually they make it too sour. You should do this for a living," she said in a dry tone. "What's with the Human ghetto across the promenade?"

Yolanthe went a swampy grey green. "Honestly? I don't know. The owner likes to let pro human people make speeches out of it. You get other core federation species in their occasionally, but its the place to go if you feel under valued and under seige in our happy little melting point. To be honest, it used to be a bit of a joke, but since the Captain took over, people have got a bit more worried."

"Why? Is he one of them?" Ilana asked. Whilst she was aware that Deep Space Five was a Federation/Starfleet facility she hadn't given much thought to the hierarchy or who the captain was - she was just passing through.

"The opposite. She's a Romulan. Some sort of officer exchange, though no one really knows who she's an officer of. I've heard everything from their fleet to their secret police. But its all scuttlebut. When I first arrived here she was the Romulan Ambassador. But under those circumstances you can see why the paranoid and fearful might think their being taken over."

Ilana's eyes widened slightly, "A Romulan? That's unusual," she said as she turned the implications over in her mind, "Would they really put her in charge if she was a threat?"

"Now you're getting logic in perfectly good uneducated paranoia," Yolanthe's colouring went a sunny blue at the joke. "She's a Romulan, they're hard to figure out, but I doubt starfleet hands valuable frontier stations to just anybody."

Ilana laughed, "I shouldn't let facts get in the way of speculation," she said taking another sip of her drink, "I can't say I've had a lot to do with Romulans, they mostly keep to themselves."

"They do here too. I've not met the new Ambassador yet, though no-ones come in moaning about him, so he's either very discreet or not that awful. There used to be a bit of a state of war between them and the Cardassians for who know why, but that seems to have calmed down since the new Cardassian ambassador took over." She turned a dark yellow. "Now he is a classic Cardassian." And a nasty, petty little... she hadn't forgiven him for withholding Tharek's parting gifts.

"I've not had a lot to do with Cardassians either," Ilana said as she watched the bartender change colour - she'd observed the ealier changes and had formed a theory. "I don't mean to be rude, but does your skin change with your mood?" she asked.

"Well spotted." Yolanthe smiled, shifting to lilac colour. "Some people have bumpy heads. I get to glow like a lava lamp."

She thought about that. Ilana had often been told that she should hide her emotions, or more directly that she had no right to appear happy, so she'd learned to supress her sense of humour and expressions until she had left Bajor at least. Without those strictures she was very much an open book, though not perhaps as much as the bartender.

"I like that," she said, "I know I can trust you because I don't think you can lie without it showing. I'll not bore you with my story, but believe me, I've met my fair share of untrustables - its a relief to find someone who isn't that way."

"Oh, that's sweet," Yolanthe signalled to an attractive young Bajoran girl who sashayed over and grabbed a tray of drinks the statuesque alien had been filling up. "But it's not entirely true. Just because you know how I feel doesn't always mean you know what I think. Or what I'm going to do."

"True," Ilana agreed, "but its a bit like body language isn't it - it knows what you're thinking ... Sorry, I've got a bad habit of saying what I think, it just struck me that its an extraordinary method of expression for anyone who cares to take the time to read it."

"Thank you. My people evolved in a very loud jungle. Verbal communication isn't much good in that environment. It's also why we go green when we're scared. To blend in. Not that any colour blends in much here." She pulled out some more glasses for a new order. "And for the record. We are bad at lying because of it, so we don't tend to bother. "

"Don't worry, you're secret's safe with me. I've spent a lot of time observing people - I pick up on these things." Ilana paused realising that such a claim probably made her sound a lot more mysterious than she was, "I worked on several cruise liners in casinos weeding out the cheats and the scammers. A scanner can be fooled but the eye - not always."

The bokkais colours went palest pink. "You've been a pit boss? We're you any good?"

Having an innate lack of modesty when it came to her abilities Ilana answered without hesitation, "Extremely. No-one fears an apparent sot gambling away a fortune night after night. Its all a bit of game. I broke a ring operating across the Porphyrion Shipping Line," she said without giving details, pausing to allow herself a wry smile, "I'm living off the payment for that service right now."

"Small world." Yolanthe said, the pink turning to periwinkle. "I used to work for Porphyrion. Couple of years ago now. on Pride of Betazed."

"Small universe!" Ilana reiterated the point, "That's a nice boat, I saw her in dock when I joined the Light of Izar."

"Nice." Light of Izar had been similar to the Betazed but her route was on the other side of the Federation. "They were lovely ships. Filled with entitled arseholes though." Yolanthe said, voice warm with reminisces. "Glad I'm out. At least now I can toss out the arseholes."

For Ilana the relative scarcity of either Bajorans or Cardassians among the passengers and crew had been more than enough to make up for the occasional arsehole. "I'll go back, I suppose when I run out of latinum," she replied.

"Well, if you want to put it off longer, I could use a floor manager. None of people really want to do it. They like the tables."

Ilana took a few moments to let that sink in, it was always wise to have an income even if you had funds. She was at a loose end, and it never hurt to have an ear to the ground.

"How about a trial?" she suggested, "I'd like to get a feel for the place before I make any commitment."

"Works for me. You're welcome to hang around, and see what you see tonight. If you want a formal trial, we can set it up after." Yolanthe offered, the pink coming back to her skin.

"Best no-one knows I'm potentially part of the staff. Sneaking around appeals to some baser instinct," Ilana said with a half smile, "I only ask that any latinum I drop in persuit of playing a convincing role is returned to me."

"I can do that." Yolanthe agreed. "Well, the tables are over there. Yolanthe stepped out from behind the bar to point them out. "Dabo, Roulette, Tongo, black jack, poker, Roladan wild draw. I've got ten full time croupiers, and another twelve part timers. They all have their favorites and I accommodate. I want happy staff."

"That makes sense," Ilana took the final sip of her drink, "That really was good. I'll have a look around and let you know about a trial," she added.

"Good." Yolanthe stepped back behind the bar. "I look forward to hearing what you think."

::OFF::


Ilana
NPC by Louise

Yolanthe Ibalin
Owner, The Box of Delights

 

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