Hey, Good Lookin', What You Got Cookin'? - Part I

Posted on Fri Feb 6, 2015 @ 10:48pm by Tania & Lieutenant Commander Steven Wyman & Captain Tam "Demon" Haican & Lieutenant Kyle "Loki" Carter & Civilian 'Key Holder' Yolanthe Ibalin & Odessa & Alfrigg & Civilian Tianys Dalav’ni

1,546 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Eye of the Beholder
Location: The Veranda in the Bajoran Gardens
Timeline: MD 2/Lunchtime
Tags: Tu'Roc, Edward

The Veranda in the Bajoran Gardens in The Square Mile]

The location was a large gazebo carved from pale wood, its double doors opening on to a veranda entwined with flowers and foliage. The room inside, lit with lanterns, and the veranda were dotted with tables and chairs. Inside, in full view of the customers, the small staff of three wielded knives with clinical precision, and in a burst of flames transformed real ingredients into the most mouthwatering dishes anyone had ever tasted.

Nobody could quite remember when The Veranda first opened its doors. It must have been years because everyone seemed to know about it, and true to its reputation a queue would form each day, a snake of eager customers waiting to sate their appetites, or even just to gaze on the skill of the cook.

---

"It’s finally my day," Quirm said to her friend. "I've been in the queue every day for months but it’s always full. Here we are, fifth in line! I've heard it’s awesome!"

"Me too," her friend replied. "I had my lunch all this week on that bench over there. The chef is to die for. Wow. Do you think we'll get to see him up close?"

"I've no idea," Peridot replied. "I just want to get inside."

Edward Stapleton was taking his lunch break, ostensibly to get out of the office he used on the top floor at the Box of Delights, but much more to get a look at the opposition. Normally the Box didn't really worry about competition. Each new venue usually catered to a different set of tastes than the broad church of the Box of Delights. But this was different. There was, finally someone chipping away at the footfall, and he wanted to take a look before he hit any panic buttons. And so far he was impressed; the place looked great.

It was a food-hungry lunchtime crowd, not the people the Box really aimed for, but he felt it was worth taking a look. The queue snaked around the nearby trees. So it already scored badly on either capacity or staffing, but those were issues all too easily fixed.

He craned his neck to look and saw the attractive pair maitr'd'ing at the podium and realized that no one would mind the wait. The man would give Blake a good run in the attractiveness stakes, and he didn't think anyone could top the woman. Right now he felt good about being single again.

"The civilian world, the one place where rank carries no weight," Steve groused from his spot near the back of the line. He'd tried to get a reservation for two, only to be told that it didn't matter what his rank or position is, he'd have to wait in line like everyone else.

"I think you might have had a better time of it if you hadn't threatened to cut off their ODN access if they didn't give us a table," Welshy remarked, glancing up the line toward the fighter pilots near the head. "I think that promotion might be going to your head."

Scoffing at the thought, Wyman looked at his wife like she had a screw loose. "I'm just trying to do something nice for you. After the random illness, the Guardian platforms, the bombing, the crazy telepath kid, and everything else that's happened since we were posted here, I think you deserve it."

Now it was Ceridwen's turn to scoff. "Please! We have each other, and we have Gwen. I don't need a fancy meal."

"I don't deserve you."

"Duh." At that, Welshy stuck her tongue out mockingly.


[Inside The Veranda]

Tania rested her elbow on the podium and her chin in the palm of her hand. Her pale brow wrinkled slightly.

"Look at them all, they're like pets at feeding time," she observed as her dispassionate gaze roved over the growing queue. "Do you think they're loyal pets?"

"Loyal to their stomachs, I think." Odessa didn't bother looking up from a last minute adjustment to the menu. "It may grow to something more. If fed well..."

"Just feel the energy they give off. They don't even realize it. It pleases me to see them waiting in simple-minded adulation. It will not be long now before we can channel it and draw our sister out of hiding," Tania said.

Alfrigg stood, tense and rigid as always, with his hands balled up at his sides. His head slowly swiveled as he surveyed The Veranda and its noisy crowd. "How do you know they would even come to a place like this?"

"I know that they are close. She in particular, but like we are veiled from them, they are veiled from us, or at least they will be until my clarion call forces them to show themselves." Tania's laughter pealed out like fresh spring rain.

Alfrigg exhaled sharply. "We have waited so long. Soon we will see them again. Face to face." His watchful examination of the room stopped and his eyes softened and fell downward for a brief moment. Then just as quickly they resumed their cold disposition.

"Let’s not get excited," Odessa warned. "We've failed to finish this a dozen times. Count it a success now, and you curse it."

"Shall we let our little pets eat?"


[Meanwhile Back in the Queue]

"Yeah, so this is the place," Lieutenant Edward “Snake-Eyes” Munroe informed the two newly arrived Starfighter Group Officers. "I don't remember the line being this long last time."

If Munroe had thought hard about it he couldn't actually remember the first time he'd come here either. It just seemed like this was the place most of the 327th Starfighter Wing pilots went now.

"Food's great, it's kind of... well. that is to say, it's sort of... " Munroe suddenly realized he wasn't sure what type of cuisine it was either. He just knew he liked the food and didn't want to look dumb in front of the two senior officers after he'd suggested they eat there. "Well... you know, it's a fusion-type place"

Kyle smirked and gave Munroe an approving nod. He had spent some time with a Bajoran during his Academy days and was already quite fond of hasperat souffle. "Sounds good to me."

Tam entered The Veranda and looked around. As he did so, he reached out with his mind, as he normally did, and felt nothing but happy feelings from the patrons. He looked over to Munroe and shrugged slightly. "Sure feels like a nice place."

"Yeah, we've been coming for...er...ages "Munroe said, heading for an empty table. "They really seem to make you feel at home, somehow..."

Kyle noticed the line start to move and ushered Tam and Edward forward. "So Munroe, you've been here before what's good?" Kyle asked as they made their way into the restaurant.

"Well the meat dishes are really good" the Fighter pilot replied "And so are the veggies ones, pretty much everything on the menu tastes great" He wasn't exactly sure how the meals were so good, they just sort or were...

Kyle noticed that Munroe didn't seem to know the names of the dishes, but maybe that was okay since he was obviously enamored with the food from prior experience. "Well, that's good to hear."

Tam grinned and shrugged. "Hey, so long as it tastes good, does it really matter what it's called?"

Tu'roc, despite the queue, proceeded in, clad in dress armor, for lack of a better word, his awards hanging on leather flaps from either shoulder pad, closely flanked by his personal guard.

"Hey, who's the Klingon bigwig trying to cut in line!" Munroe said as a group of Klingons attempted to push their way to the front.

Tam looked back at where Munroe was referring and saw the Klingons approaching, shoving people out of their way as they went. Tam's features darkened noticeably. He had no love for the Klingons, not after what happened to his family. As the two Klingons reached the trio of pilots, the Betazoid physically blocked their path, completely ignoring their presence.

Valkris bared her teeth and snarled, "Out of the way for my Lord Tu'roc."

Tam casually looked over at the female Klingon. The look on his face showed how unimpressed he was with their presence. "You can get back to the back of the line where you started." He looked down at both Klingons, as they were both several inches shorter than he was.

"Yintagh," Valkris growled, squaring up to the man. "We don't take orders."

Tam scowled at the snarling woman. Without warning, he reached into her mind with his. Back off, before you make me angry.

Normally she'd have attacked, but for some reason she lacked her normal drive, something in the air maybe. "You'll live to regret that," Valkris hissed, before she pushed past him. Next time they met she would not be so accommodating.

Tam was not impressed by her empty threat. Any time you wanna dance, come find me, Romulan lover.

"Consider it a date," she snarled over her shoulder. "My last one died from a stomach wound."

TBC

 

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