A Ferengi And An Orion walk Into A Bar

Posted on Mon 14th Nov, 2016 @ 2:49am by

920 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Cloak & Dagger
Location: Lower Lounge
Timeline: MD3 - 1800 Hours

"Tell me again why you named this place, Lower Lounge." An Orion woman, with long brown hair stood five inches taller than the Ferengi she was talking with. She was behind a sleek, modern bar, pouring two glasses of Andorian Ale.

"It sounds official. It sounds like a place a Starfleet officer is designated to be. Civilians too. Everybody's welcome in the Lounge." The Ferengi poured a large glass of Jestral tea, a bright golden liquid from a tall glass bottle. He placed it on a tray.

The Orion woman grabbed the tray and brought it over to a group of Betazoid and Trill counselors and medical officers. It wasn't a coincidence that the Orion was interacting with the customers. She hoped to use her pheromones to increase drink sales. Even the Ferengi manager was swayed by her influence. She was a partner at 40%. That was pretty high as far as Ferengi were concerned. Nez wasn't interested in her romantically, at least he tried not to be. But he couldn't help but feel the side effects of close proximity to an Orion woman. It was something he wanted to talk to the doctors about, except it was embarrassing.

A track from Frocus 3 played over a sound system. It was gritty, maybe even funky. The 'after dinner' crowd was starting to show up at the bar. Many tables were still empty. It was the bar's grand opening. The Ferengi and the Orion spent the morning handing out flyers at one of the busiest parts of the Promenade.

They hoped the drink list would speak for itself. Nez figured there was room for a bar that served drinks from around the quadrants, catering to an alien crowd. He set an aggressive pricing strategy, making his bar one of the more affordable on the station. He expected an interesting crowd. That may not be a bad thing.

He always kept his ears open. He needed to meet people, especially ones with connections. If there was a chance to earn some profit on the side, he'd give it a shot. Tassaa and her shuttle would definitely come in handy. They could move shipments or ferry people over short distances without prying Federation eyes.

"I tell you, we need to expand into food", Nez said.

"I like Andorian fast food."

"Where can we find a chef that cooks Andorian fast food?"

"This is a big station. Host a try out. In the meantime, we can replicate pub food."

"Ah, but there's no glory in that. Replicated pub food... Bah!"

"This isn't a country kitchen. People know what they get when they come in here. Besides, replicated food isn't bad."

"Yeah, but Chefs draw a crowd." The Ferengi poured two tall glasses of Risian Wine, slowly. "We'll post an ad and look for help. Who knows who we could rustle up."

The Orion lifted the tray and went off with the two glasses. "But you better not make them a partner."

"Yeah, yeah." The Ferengi thought about how he could bring on another partner if he wanted to. He just didn't feel like debating it.

Tassaa came back after handing off the drinks to two young crewmen. The Bajoran lady was an engineer, the human male was a tactical crewman. The Orion's hormones seemed to be having a negative effect on the girlfriend, who seemed to be reacting with jealousy. The human sat, staring forward, afraid to look at the cheerful Orion who knew what was going on and played it up.

She touched the guy's shoulder and he almost jumped out of his skin. The girlfriend stared at him in the eyes, mouth opening slightly.

Nez knew it was a gamble, having an Orion as a partner. The two met at the Academy. Right away, Nez tried to recruit her into going to business after their service. They forged a connection and stayed in touch. Now it was opening night and they were partners. They both served their time in the Federation. Nez was a salty, old Marine who started out enlisted. Tassaa was a security officer, a regular space cop.

The SFMC keeps in contact with Nez. They recently tried to negotiate him back into service. There was a spot for him on the Merrimack, a Steamrunner class vessel. The talks broke down and Nez used the excuse that he wanted to command a larger detachment and get a promotion to Major. But really, the Ferengi had a business idea and a potential partner already in place. He could already sniff the profit.

Tassaa finished her service a year after Nez. They'd spent the last few months travelling the quadrant in search of inventory.

"You really think we'll be able to handle this bar just by ourselves?"

The Ferengi just chuckled in response to his partners question. "Let me convince that couple to try another year of the Risian Wine." Nez leaned down to grab a chilled bottle from a sleek, modern wine cellar under the counter. He presented it to the young couple, smiling deviously.

"This is a really good year, you must try it." Nez was busy being a Ferengi. Meanwhile, a merchant captain who sat at the bar became more and more flirtatious with Tassaa. She smiled at him, but tried not to pay him any mind. She had him buying lots of drinks though, and his tips were pretty good. He was getting quite drunk off Vulcan Brandy.

"This is where the party is at tonight", the drunken captain exclaimed.

 

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