Once More Into the Breach

Posted on Tue 12th Jun, 2012 @ 6:06am by

761 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: http://sb109.sim-station.net/index.php/sim/missions/id/1
Location: Orchids & Jazz, Deck 400
Timeline: MD 01, 1445

Two more days of hammering and this place should be ready, thought Jade Lantz. She was tired and covered in construction dust, her long dark hair wrapped on top of her head and held with a brass hair pin. First she dusted off her black jeans and shirt, then she looked up through the opening that would be a circular staircase to the loft area of her latest version of Orchids & Jazz. The fourth version in five years, she thought, shaking her head. Who would have imagined that once she managed to achieve her dream, she'd have to move it all over the galaxy, even into a starship at one point.

For years, Jade had carried a mental picture of what she wanted her club to be, what it should look like. She'd finally built it five years in the past, only to have the entire station transported across the galaxy, and all of her plans come crashing around her ears. The next two versions had been smaller and quite successful. Here, in Starbase Protector in Theta Fleet, she was recreating that first dream, though, just a it should be.

Recessed lighting gave a brighter than Earth-moonlight glow to the lounge. Gray-green carpeting kept the soothing atmosphere intact. The premium orchids, which were already delivered, were planned for nooks and crannies built into the bulkheads and forms around the room to help provide privacy to customers. She wanted each table to be completely in its own world.

Black faux-granite-top tables with silvery legs would soon crouch below the orchids. The first floor tables had built in couches, covered with matt-black faux-leather, in a semi-circle around the table. In the second floor loft, smaller cozier tables had two intimately placed black and silver chairs.

She approached the long bar against the rear wall. It was backed by shelves filled with bottles of liquor. It had cost a fortune, but she had a beren-wood surface installed as the bar top. It was light-weight, but very durable, water-proofed with a golden stain which brought out the intricate swirls of the natural wood. She ran her hand along the bar every time she passed, for the sensual feel of it.

She hopped her slender rear end up on one of the black and silver bar stools and propped her booted feet on the silver railing. In front of her knees, the same carpeting crawled up the side of the bar. Jade looked at the lighting behind the shelves of liquor bottles. It helped foster the feel of the 1940s jazz era, though the music to be played ranged from the 1920s through the 1960s. She'd replicated the bottles herself, modeled on pictures in public archives. The alcohol served would match the bottles, all from the 1940s. It was replicated, but not in front of the customers, and synthahol, except for a few cut crystal bottles kept in a locked glass case. Those were the real thing, as a reporter she'd once known put it.

Gleaming handles extended above the bar top, indicating where water and soda would be added to drinks. No beer here and only Amber Falls ale, made by her chef. Amber Falls was blended from honey meade and the finest barley ale she could supply to the wonderfully creative woman who created the meals for her restaurant. People could get beer and ale anywhere, but Jade knew there was a large percentage of people with nostalgia for the pre-warp, pre-Federation era. She played on that, profitted from that, even though she didn't agree with it. On the other hand, she loved jazz.

Jade turned the stool so her back was to the bar, and swung one leg back and forth as she imagined the final steps that would bring Orchids & Jazz to life once more. A small band shell stood at the opposite end from the bar. It was large enough to hold a six-person jazz band, and a platform next to it held a baby grand piano. It was already in place, and she'd played a song or two to be sure the tone held the warmth she wanted. It did. Good planning and lots of bribes paid off.

A disturbance on the corridor side of the lounge drew her attention. The front wall and entrance had still to be added, but the staircase needed to come in first, and that was happening right now. She tried to hold down a bubble of excitement as she left the bar stool to direct the workers. It was all beginning again!

 

RSS Feed