Discovering Section 49 Alpha

Posted on Thu 27th Dec, 2012 @ 3:13pm by Colonel Horatio Drake & Commander Paul Graves PsyD & Lieutenant JG Xavier Lee

1,745 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: http://sb109.sim-station.net/index.php/sim/missions/id/3
Location: Deck 600: Upper Promenade, Orchids & Jazz
Timeline: MD-02: 1830 Hours

ON:

The day had been rather uneventful and anti-climatic. Everyone seemed slightly confused, and even nervous, about Captain Dobbs visiting the station and not announcing his reasons. Admittedly even Drake had jumped on the band wagon and noted down some concerns in a log. But the first full day of him being here had passed and nothing had happened. He had been taking things easy - roaming the starbase, visiting the medical decks, frequenting the holodecks... nothing out of the ordinary.

It seemed that everyone was starting to relax and things were starting to get back to normality... whatever that meant.

Drake had found himself asking Paul if he wanted to join him for a few drinks in Orchids & Jazz... every part of him was saying that this wasn't a good idea... but then again this wasn't anything more than a friendship... was it...?

He now found himself sitting in a booth - the table seemed to be perfectly carved and made out of some ornate wood, whilst the seats felt upholstered in leather and so comfortable one could fall asleep. He was eager to meet Jade out of a formal situation... but it seemed busy and he wasn't sure whether she'd be around.

"So, what are we drinking?" Drake asked the Counselor, as he browsed through the drinks menu.

"Hm...I think I'll have a beer," Paul said. "What are you going to have?"

First, breakfast yesterday, and now, drinks this evening, Paul thought. Drake was being awfully chummy for a man who, before the Bretagne incident, had had no use for counselors and had not been shy about saying so. So was this Drake's way of asking for help, by meeting at anyplace other than the Counselor's office, Paul wondered? Or did he really just want to enjoy the company of someone he liked?

To his surprise, Paul found himself rather hoping it was the latter, though he suspected it was probably the former.

"I don't know yet... there's a couple of things that I fancy trying. I'll ask someone when they come round." Ashton took a cursory look around, wondering whether he had to go to the bar to order. Noticing waitresses milling around, he stayed seated.

"So, what have you been up to today?" At this point Ashton should have now been getting steadily on with his scotch, in his quarters, by himself with some loud music. This was starting to feel like an out of body experience... for one thing, he was still sober!

"Well, I met the new Chief of Strat/Tactical today..." Paul said.

The dinner hour was getting underway when Jade came out of her office. She wore a white, slightly-off-the-shoulder dress with her signature three lavender silk orchids climbing the left side of the skirt. Her eyes scanned the servers, seeing them all busily engaged with customers. She glanced around at the tables on the first floor and noted that about three-fourths of them were filled. A rope blocked access to the second floor, for the moment.

With satisfaction, she began to make the rounds of tables, stopping to speak to customers here and there. After a few minutes, she arrived at the table where the base commander sat with the Chief Counselor. She smiled and said, "Good evening, gentlemen. A little off-duty plotting going on tonight?"

"Plotting our drink selections," Paul said with a brief smile at Jade. She looked rather nice in the white dress this evening, he thought. "What beers do you recommend?"

"I never recommend beer at all, but if you'd like to try the Amber Falls Ale, I'd love to know what you think of it," Jade said, smiling. "There are a couple of other ales, of course, but I really think you'll like the Amber Falls. More of the feeling of old Earth, which is really where ales, beers and mead developed. Other cultures have similar paths of intoxicant development, but I don't think anyone does it as well as humans."

"Also, what's the difference between the Stardrifter and Starduster? Are both alcoholic?" Ashton asked with interest.

"Oh, yes," the El Aurian assured him. "The only non-alcoholic drinks served here are the Lemon Squash and Coca Cola. Starduster was created by the Ferengi, and they are the ones who order it almost exclusively, so only order it if you are feeling adventurous." She winked at him.

"Stardrifter, on the other hand, is popular among both humans and Bajorans, as well as several other humanoid species. It packs a whallop, but leaves the drinker feeling mellow, I've observed. I keep Sober-All in my office, if you are feeling a little wobbly at the evening's end."

"I'll try the Amber Falls Ale," Paul said to Jade. He didn't deign to mention the Michelob, which he'd tasted--once--while at Starfleet Academy. It was sort of like drinking water into which a colored Crayon had been placed to soak.

"I'll see what we can do about that," Jade promised. "I imagine we can figure out something." She turned as the commander spoke up.

"Well, that clears that one up! I'll definitely have a Stardrifter, if I may?" Ashton's smile was getting bigger by the minute. Not only was this place amazing but all of their drinks were alcoholic, with an owner who knew exactly what she was talking about.

"And could you tell me about the Fox Wine?" Paul asked. "Where is that from?"

"Now that's an interesting story," Jade began. "You know that I am El Aurian?" At their nods, she continued, leaving out an entire history of facts. "When I arrived on Earth, I lived with a family near Atlanta, in the southern part of the North American continent. The family had owned a winery for over 300 years, and descendants still run it. The one I carry is the Arctic Fox wine, a blend of Muscadines and Scuppernongs. If you like grape wines, you'll find nothing better in the galaxy. Either of you care to change your order?"

"I'm fine with just the Amber Falls Ale and then the Arctic Fox Wine," Paul said.

"Actually, I'd very much like to try the wine, if I may!" Ashton hadn't had wine in quite a while and was suddenly eager to taste it once again, after Jade's vivid description.

"Excellent choices. I'll send Serena around with your drinks shortly. Enjoy your evening, and if there's anything I can do to make your stay a more pleasant experience, please don't hesitate to let me know." Jade bestowed a final smile on the two men before moving away. She used her mini-PADD to flip a quick order for their drinks, with the table number, to Serena before stopping at the table of another guest.

"So, you were saying that you met Lieutenant Lawrence today? How did you find him?" Ashton shifted his weight on his seat.

"I found him to be...very reserved," Paul said. "He was cooperative but not very communicative. One moment, his manner was quite chilly; the next, he relaxed a bit and was friendlier. Anything beyond that would be best discussed in your office, I think."

Ashton laughed involuntarily... it felt good to laugh after so long. He thought back to when the Lieutenant had insisted on being transported directly to Ops.

"Yeah... I know what you mean!"

It had felt like only seconds but, as promised, the drinks were there. Serena was a slight human woman, with the most hypnotic red/brown hair patterns Ashton had ever seen.

"Your drinks, gentlemen," she said, with an accent that was hard to place.

"Thank you." Ashton waited for the rather large glass of wine to be placed in front of him - delicious.

"Thanks," Paul said as Serena placed a pint glass full of ale in front of him.

Serena smiled at his response and asked, "My name is Serena, and I'll be serving you this evening. Are you interested in ordering dinner, or perhaps appetizers?"

"I could do with a ham and Swiss sandwich," Paul said.

"We can do that. And for you, Sir?" Jade's assistant asked the commander, as she sent the sandwich order to the chef.

Ashton had taken the first sip of wine and it was delicious. He was already a couple of scotches down and he had no want or need to consume food. It was always the same, whenever he started drinking, food was the last thing on his mind. But he had to, at least, pretend to be normal and grabbed the menu.

"Um... oyster, in the half shell, please!" He looked up, smiling. He was sure he could manage a starter.

"Excellent choice, Sir. Jade has these imported from Beltane II, and they are delicious." Serena didn't mention that she'd never tried them, and didn't intend to. Those who liked them were generous in their praise, however, so she felt safe saying they were delicious. "I'll have those orders out for you shortly." She walked away, unaware that the braided patterns in her hair were strangely hypnotic to the base commander.

"Brave man," Paul said, as Serena departed. "I've never been able to stomach oysters. I'm looking forward to the sandwich, though. One round in the gym, and I'm starving."

Ashton smiled at the remark... he could have replied with a whole host of things... but decided simply not to. "So how go things in your department?" He ventured into changing the subject. Was he actually going to bring in more personal things to the conversation? Like how he felt about Paul? How did he feel about him?

"Lee to Drake." The urgency was evident in his voice, something that Drake hadn't heard in a long time... instinct took over.

"Drake here, Lieutenant," he replied.

"Sir, I'm on deck one thousand and thirty... something doesn't add up down here. You need to get down here, sir," Lee spoke clearly and concisely.

"On my way, Drake out," he said, smiling at Graves and nodding. An indication that he could join him if he wanted to.

The tone of Lee's voice over Drake's combadge shifted Paul from relaxed to alert, and the rest of what Lee said spelled trouble. It was never good when an officer wouldn't give specific details of a problem over an open line. Lee's explanation was alarmingly vague. Paul nodded back at Drake and got up from the table as Drake did. Whatever this was, it required attention now.

OFF:

 

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