Promenade in Three Quarter Time

Posted on Tue 12th Dec, 2017 @ 3:53am by

1,545 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: A Phaser as Deadly as a Candlestick
Location: Signs of the Prophets, Deck 641
Timeline: MD 2, 1430

As president of the Promenade Shops Association, Jade liked to take time to meet owners when she could. She ran her eyes down the latest list of owners. Several were Bajoran, but her eye paused on Meryret Penre. Bajoran names were patronymic first, but Meryret didn't sound like a last name. So was it Ms. Meryret or Ms. Penre? Or was she even Bajoran?

Jade read the name of the shop. "Signs of the Prophets," she murmured. "Definitely Bajoran, and possibly very religious?" She debated for a few minutes, thinking of a Vedek she'd known who had no sense of humor and berated anything that seemed at all enjoyable. She knew most weren't like that, and it was unlikely the shop owner was a Vedek anyway. "I think we'll go check this one out," she said aloud.

A few minutes later, she stood outside the shop, on Deck 641. The entrance was situated between two large windows behind which hung wind chimes, small, delicate bells, and wall hangings in shades of russet and gold, picked out with the circular Bajoran 'sunburst' design that was their representation of the Celestial Temple. A light fragrance of spicewood and ginger tea floated through the doorway.

The shop contained racks of books, small figurines of historical Bajoran religious figures and the B'halan Bantaca spire, prayer rugs, jewelry, altar cloths, figurines of the ten Orbs, and meditation music. The books were surprisingly low tech, a holdover from the days of the Occupation.

Comfortable chairs and benches were scattered throughout, and there was a table near the center of the shop where the ginger tea was kept warm in a dispenser.

Inside the shop, Penre Meryret noticed the woman looking in and realized with surprise that it was the lady who ran Orchids and Jazz. The music was not really to her taste, but she did like the orchids and the food. Meryret strolled over to the shop entrance and smiled. "Good morning. Would you like to come in?"

The woman was quite lovely, Meryret thought. She had thick brown hair, full lips, and large, arresting eyes of a greenish-gray.

Jade nodded. "I was about to, but I got distracted by the displays." She stepped inside the shop, looking around at the pleasant visual effect of the displays, and breathing deeply of the rich scents. The woman was definitely Bajoran, and many of the artifacts displayed appeared to apply to the religion followed by most occupants of that planet. Deciding on a few minutes of conversation to get to know the woman, Jade ambled over to the display of books.

"I haven't seen many shops carrying actual paper books, though Pale Moon Books, in Tivoli Gardens, is one such," Jade commented, looking through the titles available.

"I always used to prefer paper books, but the first time I got an electronic reader, I fell in love with it," Meryret admitted. "The books I sell here are printed versions of books we used to hand-write and stitch together ourselves during the Occupation. I still have some of the ones I wrote. Most of the ones here are devotionals to the Prophets, but I also have some poetry, some essays, and even a few of the more popular novels and children's books we used to barter for.

"I haven't met that bookshop owner yet, but I've heard of his shop. The Promenade decks alone are so numerous that I almost think it would take a lifetime to explore them all. And, of course, shops come and go, so there's always something new to explore, even after you'd swear you've seen everything."

Meryret leaned her head to one side and then asked, "Is there some particular faith that interests you? Most of my merchandise celebrates the Prophets, but I do have a section devoted to major non-Bajoran religions, as well."

"Oh, no, not really. I've had a long interest in hearing about other people's beliefs, however." Jade set the book of poetry back on the shelf, making a decision about the woman. "Actually, I came here today with an entirely different purpose in mind.

"I don't often get out to see other shops, and, as you've said, there are a lot of wonderful places. I’m the president of the Promenade Shops Association. Are you aware of it?”

"I had heard that a group of shop owners was starting up. It seemed like an excellent idea to me, so that we can have a voice when decisions must be made that affect the entire station," Meryret said. "I haven't heard anything beyond that."

"It's a step up from what we've had in the past," Jade said. "We haven't actually had much of a voice before, but since there is such a large civilian population here, we've been accorded some voice in staff briefings and knowing what's going on. It's much better than being in the dark about everything on the station."

"Well, we take up some 100 decks and bring in considerable revenue to the station, notwithstanding Disney and Tivoli Gardens," Meryret pointed out. "I would think that would merit us having some say in matters, so I'm glad to see it happening."

Jade moved along a shelf, studying the types of art and knick-knacks that the shop carried. "This is lovely," she said, picking up a carved wooden animal figure, not quite bird and not quite horse, but a perfect blend of each. The wood was dark, but it looked velvety, though it was smooth and cold to the touch. "I don't think I've ever seen anything like it before."

Meryret smiled. "That's a verdanis. It's an animal from Bajor that we ride and race. I'm told they were sometimes eaten during the Resistance, but there was the same kind of cultural reluctance to eating them as I've heard people on Earth have to eating horses. When you ride a creature you develop a relationship with it that, for the most part, makes consuming them distasteful unless you really have to."

"Umm, sort of like eating your pet, I imagine." Lantz put the beautiful carving down and ran her hand along a shelf and picked up an earring. "Tell me, is there anything left of the caste system on Bajor?"

Meryret blinked at the sudden change of subject. "Not really," she said. "There are a few hold-outs, but for most of us, the Occupation forced us to all learn labor that wasn't necessarily what our D'Jarras would have dictated for us. By the time the Cardassians left, enough children had been born who knew nothing of the D'Jarras and to whom they made no sense, that we have chosen to abandon them, for the most part. The last attempt to restore the D'Jarra system failed by a significant margin. I don't foresee the question arising again."

Meryret gestured farther into her shop. "Would you like some tea, Ms. Lantz? I'd be interested in having a cup and hearing more about this association of yours and what part you think I could play in it."

"Interesting. Times change everywhere, I suppose." Jade put down the earring and turned to follow the Bajoran woman. "As you can imagine, if you’ve owned your own business for very long anywhere, shop owners are not immune to … hmmm, disagreements I guess would be the best description. We have rules and rights for all shops to keep things balanced, but there’s always something that comes up which isn’t covered."

Meryret poured some ginger tea into a cup and offered it to Jade. "There's sweetener and cream if you like them," she said. "I usually just put honey in mine, but it's too messy to use here in the shop." She poured herself a cup and inhaled deeply of the scent before taking a sip.

"That's quite good," Jade said after her first taste, and she took another sip before putting the cup down. "I'll send a bulletin to your computer about our next meeting and the agenda we’ll cover. I try to keep meetings to an hour, but sometimes that isn’t possible. Sadly, I really must be going, but do you have a box of this ginger tea for sale before I do?"

Meryret smiled. "I will be happy to contribute however I can. And let me show you where the teas are." She walked with Jade over to the third aisle from the left, where not only teas and tea supplies could be found, but also a small collection of wines and candies from various worlds.

"Oooh, Galadian Chocolates! I'll take a box of those, too. That could make me a continuing customer for a very long time!" Jade laughed.

Meryret chuckled. "Always happy to oblige. My favorite are the Vulcan mint lozenges. Trust Vulcans to deny that they would ever consume anything so illogical as candy, but call it a sore throat lozenge, and then it's permitted. I think that's half the charm of those lozenges, for me."

She walked with Jade to the check-out counter, scanned Jade's credit chit, and handed Jade her purchases in a bag. "It is a distinct pleasure doing business with you, Ms. Lantz, and I look forward to working with you on this Promenade Shops Association project, too."

 

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