Behind new doors

Posted on 27 Oct 2020 @ 7:36pm by Civilian J'Tan & Lieutenant JG Rosaline Belikov

Mission: R&R - after facing the Planet Killer
Location: Starbase 308
Timeline: R&R day 3
1248 words - 2.5 OF Standard Post Measure

ON:

J'Tan had taken his time to find just the right place he thought could annoy this woman and a ferengi pleasure lounge seemed just the right spot. In fact they seemed to be his new favourite aliens having met through these Federation.

"More romulan ale friend," the bar keep smiled a long toothy grin at him.

"Oh yes, keep it coming. In fact how much for the bottle and an additional glass?"

"2 no no no 5 slips,"

"3 and I'll trade you a few recipes from where Im from and sell like hotcakes in my bar," J'Tan barted. He could tell the other alien was interested.

He pulled out a little flask and offered it to him. "Pernaddan tulip liquer. I doubt you have encountered them. They sell silk too but this ... my friend. All the ladies love it in a cocktail and the guys want it to impress the ladies. I can set you up with some imports if your interested.

Rog sniffed in the flasks direction then tentatively took it off the alien and took a sip. His eyes opened happily. "Oh I think my boss will be wanting to talk. 3 slips," he grinned and scurryed off to fetch the bottle and requested glass.

J'Tan relaxed back in his chair and nodded to himself. Yes he was in company he could certainly do some business with with this race.

He had sent a message encrypted, offering information that would be useful to the pointed eared female. He had to admit he was enjoying annoying her but she really did want to get what he knew this time round.

walking into the bar, Rose looked around for J'Tan. His message had been unexpected but that was normal for her to be contacted by an intelligence asset out of the blue. Spotting him off to one side, Rose took a deep breath and made her way over to him, "so what's this all about? your message was a little vague"

" I prefer things that way," the purple alien stated. The Ferengi returned.

"Ahhh mr J'Tan, you have brought a guest. A very beautiful one. I assume this other glass is for you," he grinned his toothy grin further and leared at her. "Such elegant arms," he muttered walking away .... "I bet she does amazing oomax ...."

"Whats oomax?" J'Tan didn't miss a beat. These Federation aliens were still very much strangers to him.

“It’s a ferengi sexual practice where a female gently rubs the ears of the male” Rose explained taking a seat across the table from the Ferengi, “their ears are very sensitive and while they can be an advantage, they’re also a rather obvious target”

"Fascinating," he said seriously pulling a PADD out. "I must write that down in case any decide to come visit the crossroads."

"Only females do it for males. Not the other way round too?" he asked. "What of your species, do they like their ears rubbing too?" he asked.

"not as much, the ears can be seen as an erogenous zone, but Ferengi have far more sensitive ears than most species" Rose answered.

“Also fascinating....” he looked at her for a moment as if wondering about that before catching himself and changing track. “So I suppose you want to know why I asked you here?”

"that would be more constructive than talking about Ferengi anatomy and the wonders of oomaxs" Rose said, sitting back in her chair, "at least this time we don't have a killer machine to deal with"

"You won't have any more, something blew up where the rest were," J'Tan told her suddenly sliding a device across. "Recordings from some colleagues of mine. They were a few systems over. The gravitational fall out made for a rocky few days. They combed back and well that's what became of that planet. The who ... we have no clue.

“I'm still up for more talk of this Oomax though," he said cheekily. "Sure beats news of a huge planets demise."

“You called me down here to talk about Ferengi mating practices?” Rose asked rhetorically, “I doubt it, so please can we get to the point of this meeting? Otherwise I have other matters to attend to”

“No, I didn’t even know about ferengi mating practices until he said ooomax earlier and you explained it to me,” J’Tan said incredibly. “I called you down here to let you know first of all villeania has been destroyed and I have coordinates of a place I think you federation need to visit. Word is you have awakened the dark ones fury. Ancient stories I know might lead you to an ally. I thought an Intel officer such as yourself might make use of such information.”

"You want me to investigate ancient legends? Not really my area of expertise but if you think it's worth looking into, i'm sure the Captain would agree" Rose said, more than a little curious about these stories, "what can you tell me of this dark one?"

“Dark ones,” he corrected her. “Legend is they dominated and ruled the universe a long time ago. Many races tried to defeat them. Many were wiped from existence or fled. Coordinates there for a planet with ancient temples of a race and mention of your dark ones. Your people might be able to discover more than the odd treasure hunters and looters in our quadrant have. Rumour had it sometimes a light being appears giving out warnings of them too,” he shrugged.

Rose thought for a moment, “these Dark Ones, are they possibly Iconians?” She asked, recognising a similarity in their descriptions.

"I am not familiar with your Iconians but the stories have never titled them as that. I would say not," he said simply.

"Tell me, why is this Federation of your a good thing? People are starting to debate you where I come from."

Rose thought for a moment, “well if you’re looking for a sales pitch, you’re asking the wrong person. To be frank, the Federation has had its rough patches and just needs some time to pick itself back up. Between fighting nearly every power in two quadrants along with the Dominion, Starfleet and the Federation have taken a few good licks”

"Well actually I'm struggling to find which way I as a bar tender should be endorsing you to my punters when you come up in conversation. Sounds like your not as nice as you put on if your in conflict so much," he muttered. "I'll just stick to telling them you have some hot races. Nice ears and spots and that."

Rose gave a sigh, “if that’s all you want, than I shall lay your mind at ease. The Federation may have been in many conflicts over its many years, the average civilian often barely notices. The Cardassian war, the incidents with the tzenkethi, the Tholians, the first federation, through all of these events our economy was hardly effected. For anyone outside of Starfleet itself, life in the federation is little more than paradise. Hundreds of species across thousands of worlds all working together for a common cause. We’re excellent trade partners and am willing to share what we have with others”

"You I think do not fully believe everything you just said, "J'Tan said simply.

He stood up. "Anyway I have clearly taken enough of your time up. Till next time."

Rose smiled, “please, don’t be a stranger”

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