It's not a date

Posted on Fri Nov 2nd, 2018 @ 10:08pm by Maria Garabaldi & Jacaranda

4,151 words; about a 21 minute read

Mission: Episode 96 - A Visitor From the Past
Location: SB 400: Not sure where
Timeline: MD-10 Evening

A Mission Post by Jacaranda & Maria Garabaldi
Mission: Episode 96 - A Visitor From the Past
Location: SB 400: Not sure where
Timeline: MD-10 Evening

Maria had changed for the evening, professional, it is a business meeting, you had those at eating places all the time, as she stood in front of her closet trying to find an outfit she didn't hear Jaca come in with her advice.

Jaca was almost ready to go pick up Roberto when she walked in surprisingly quiet considering her ever present smith's boots. She watched Maria sift through her closet. "Still say the clothes my Aunt sent would work fine.", she said.

"I want to talk business not show my business.' Maria said as she picked out a pretty decent looking outfit. "Besides I may need to face people in public again and dressing like I'm going to dance in a Riisian club, doesn't help.'

Jaca snorted, "Riisians don't know the first thing at Living Deliciously. They barely manage a handwave in the general direction."

Maria chuckled as she got out a light green dress that the shopkeeper said would bring out her eyes more, and even if this was business, she deserved to look good doing it. “We just found it wierd, when Peter and I went, it was...an odd planet.”

“I’m a little partial to Wrigley’s World or Argelius.”, Jaca said, “And that dress works….to a point. I can get my stitching bag to make some adjustments.”

Maria’s eyes narrowed, “What sort of adjustments?”

Jaca’s eyes literally lit up. “Weell….to start, we can take this up here…”, she started as she pointed out the hem, “And add some nice cloth of silver or gold stitching along here to show off your hips….and...take this down here…” The Djabuul woman was on a roll as she ticked off adjustments to the point it was almost dizzying to hear.

Maria raised her hand like a traffic cop, “Woah, ok...one step at a time, let’s try and keep SOME dress...and I’d like to not fall out of the dress after a sneeze or something. But…” Then her smile got a bit mischievous, “Why not show off a bit? I do believe I am entitled am I not?”

The words were barely out of Maria’s mouth as Jaca grabbed the dress with a speed that was blink and you missed it fast, and tore downstairs to the forge almost like a happy dog getting hold of a sock to play with. “Trust!”, she called out as she kicked open an arm of the forge to reveal a bodyform stand and got to work with an eager gleam in her eyes.

Maria looked concerned, what did she just agree to? That was the first thought that went in her mind. The other one was “oh jesus I’m going to get two strips of cloth that I’m falling out of.”

Jaca was in her element, happily creating. She made adjustments here and there, deftly stitching in the hand spun metallic threads in patterns while clipping in tiny chips of gemstones for a little panache.

As she finished her preparations for the night she quickly slipped in to sweatpants and a t shirt so she could see what the hell Jaca was doing and how bad would it be. While she was willing to live a little, there were limits. She padded down to the forge and paused.

Several inches had been removed from the hem and replaced with delicate bejeweled chains that still gave a sense of modesty until someone decided to go all out dancing. Metallic semi-knotwork patterns were placed to enhance the appearance of the wearer, and the neckline glittered with gemstone chips to flatter the color. Jaca had paused at this point to ponder adding any embroidery to finish things off.

Maria took in the dress and exhaled, “Wow….ok I owe you a ton of apologies, I expected something…. Less cloth, but wow. That looks amazing.”

Jaca snorted. “I am nowhere near as skilled as my Aunt.”, she said, “Now she’s able to weave feathers into a gown so exquisite it makes eyes bleed from wonder.” She handed the dress over, “Try it on.”

Maria changed quickly, though the heat from the forge was still nice dried some of the beads of water off her but she fit in nicely then checked it, it was a little heavier than before but it again was actually pretty nice, it would go with her heels for the evening. “Ok this, I like.” She commented then looked down, Ok not too bad, a little but not where she’d worry about one good sneeze turning dinner in to an indecent exposure charge.

The chips of gems sparkled, and the metallic threads enhanced as Jaca hoped, “Do I need to take it in anywhere, need to be more form fitting?”

Maria shook her head, “Never been one for very tight clothing, just felt off to me. So this is great thanks. I owe you big time.” Surprisingly she hugged her friend before grabbing her clothing to finish getting ready.

Jaca was about to offer some of her skin jewelry when there was a knock at the door. She went over, opening the door just enough to peek through with a wild eyed look. “Yeeeeess?”, she purred.

Kyorl had changed to a nice shirt/vest outfit with a glittering jewelled earring. He blinked at the greeting, “Greetings.”, he said, not expecting a Djabuul to answer, “I’m here for Maria.”

Having given him an appreciative eye, she said “I hoped you were.”

Jaca opened the door to let him in, “Now, what were you planning for the evening.”

“Dinner and some possible business arrangements.”, Kyorl said matter of factly.

Jaca gave him a disappointed look, “That...it?”

With that little he knew of Jaca’s people, Kyorl started to tread very cautiously, “A nice dinner and working out some mutually beneficial business arrangements.”

Jaca now looked more like an annoyed cat, “Seriously. Just...that?”

Kyorl didn’t want to misstep since this was the person who would be likely making some of the items he’d be profiting from, “Perhaps...drinks with dinner?”

Jaca snorted. “I am condemned to be surrounded by those who have no concept of Living Deliciously.”, she muttered before saying, “You two have the entire night before you and that’s all you’re planning?”

Before this got insane and turned in to Jaca explaining what EXACTLY she needed to live deliciously and how to do that.Maria appeared having done some makeup, styled her hair a bit more than her usual ponytail or twist and up so she looked less severe then she may have looked in the initial meeting, plus the heels gave her a little more height, and earrings completed the look. She gave Jaca the ‘mom’ look.

“Thanks for getting the door now go get Roberto, he’s almost done with school for the day.”

Kyorl gazed at Maria appreciatively, which had Jaca positively bouncy out of her skin. She was about to make a comment when she was promptly shooed out, still quite bouncy as she headed down the Promenade.

“Your partner’s….definitely interesting.”, Kyorl said with a soft smile.

“Jaca is an experience.” Maria smiled back, “She means well, but she’s still learning the filter thing. It’s a work in progress.”

He chuckled, “That it is. Now, I wasn’t sure where you would prefer for dinner so I didn’t make reservations anywhere.”, Kyorl said, “Any preferences?”

“Surprise me.” She said simply, “I’m not picky.”

“I passed a steakhouse that smelled good enough to wet the appetite.”, Kyorl suggested, “There is a nice selection of choices here.”

“That sounds like a great idea.” While she did appreciate a good Italian place, she knew that a place like that Good Fellas she would find herself judging the food by how she ate and how her family made things, they had a slight issue at a place coming out here when her criticism of the sauce, which was watery by any standards, reached the Klingon chef.

They walked in and the hostess settled them in a more isolated booth reading this as ‘date’ so give them privacy.

Kyorl looked around briefly before looking over the menu options. Interesting decor, he thought to himself. “I know nothing of Texas cuisine.”, he said, “What would you suggest?”

“You can never go wrong with a steak, my uncle Biagio, he runs a place back home, says that there are three true tests of a kitchen, a simple medium rare steak, french fries, and fish and chips. Simple to make, but require good timing and skills. If you get those and they’re good, the rest of the menu will be great.”

“I will keep that in mind.”, Kyorl said with a smile as he decided on whatever the Tomahawk chop was, “I admit, everything does sound interesting.”

Maria still puzzled over the menu then looked at him, “So what are you having?”

“I was thinking this Tomahawk with the salad and baked potato.”, Kyorl said, “Since this is getting written off as a business expense, sky's the limit.”

“You do know how big a Tomahawk chop is? “ She remembered this exact conversation with Peter one stopover on a colony, “We’d have to split it probably, unless you’re really hungry.”

“I can eat quite a bit, but not sure about that much.”, he chuckled as Maria gestured how large the steak actually was, “I’ll be happy to share unless you were thinking something else.”

“I think they carve it at the table, so it would be ok to share. Besides, then there’s room for pecan pie. I heard they serve a great one here.”

“I’ve had pecans before.”, he said, “A pie should be quite good.”

There was something involving sugar, she half remembered, “So save room for dessert.” She cautioned him. They would split the 40 ounce steak.

Once their order was placed, Kyorl was ready to get a better sense of his future business partner. “I admit I’m interested to know what made opening a curiosities store appealing.”, he said, “Usually places like that are run by elders clinging to nostalgia.”


“I’ve always been a history geek, it’s what I studied at the Academy, This was a way to get out see the universe more and get a new start.” She paused, “And when I met Jaca on Earth, we hit it off and she was interested, so we set it up.”

“I have the feeling if you shook a sparkly cat toy at Jaca, she’d find that interesting too.”, Kyorl joked.

“Probably.” Maria responded, “And we’ve been open a few days, and it’s going well. She sighed wishing Peter could see this. But such was life.

One didn’t need pointed ears to tell the shift in Maria’s breathing. Kyorl wasn’t going to pry. He thinking of how to change the subject as something caught the corner of his eye. He turned to see out the window, Jaca dancing along with a small child on her shoulders, steering her by the horns. “It appears things are very interesting on this base.”, he said as he watched them go along.

Maria turned around and caught, what had been dubbed, dance train go by. She muttered in Italian something which could be translated to ‘I’m going to kill her.” Then turned back, “It is definitely that.”

“Am I correct in guessing that was Roberto?”, Kyorl said with a bit of a smirk.

“That’s my son.” She had pride in her baby boy, “3 years old.” She paused, “I think Jaca’s a good influence on him or he’s a good influence on her, not sure.”

Generally when humans mentioned Academy it meant other Starfleet or the Sciences one on Vulcan. Considering Roberto’s age and Maria still being quite in shape, he figured she meant Starfleet. “It makes sense to not have children on starships. Too much chance of danger.”

She paused, thinking how to phrase it, “Yeah….I had a rather harsh lesson on that one.” Then she explained about the Hierophant and Captain Jack Custer and how she was now a widow because he had to play macho games with the gorn.” When done she paused, “Look sorry to dump that but, that’s why I’m not in Starfleet, and why I’m looking for business partners.”

Kyorl took a sip of his water, “I understand how difficult a situation it is.” He paused briefly, “In my instance, my grandfather was a minor senator who made a drunken comment that was overheard by the wrong ears. Free trading’s been our lives since and in this business, building new partnerships is vital.”
She nodded, “I figured I have to take care of my son. He’s number one.” the steak was delivered and cut tableside , so they had the meat on a platter with two plates with sides.

“I can think of half a dozen species that would look at that as a snack and ask where the rest of the food was.”, Kyorl joked.

Maria laughed, “In my family they might wonder the same thing. “ She did the ‘mom’ thing and cut and served meat to both of them before pausing and looking embarrassed, “Sorry.”

Kyorl merely smiled, “Am I correct in presuming it’s been a while since you’ve had a not-family gathering meal?”

“It’s been a few years.” She actually flushed embarrassed, “

“It’s okay.”, Kyorl said as he started to eat, “Let us talk business.” It seemed like a good idea to get started on the reason for the dinner, “I think it might be easier to start with what goods are considered off limits for you.”

They discussed the limits, there were rules working on a Federation station, some things were very much no go, any beam weapon, phasers, disruptors, energy blades, because it was too risky. Older weapons edged and projectile were ok, the usual restricted worlds, Talos 4 was a big one, the obvious ones, nothing involved with slavery, no slave collars etc, the Federation had its rules and since they were the landlords, they were followed.

Everything was on par with what Kyorl was expecting, then he decided to bring up the curveball. “I read the certifications your partner has for her skills.”, he said with a brief pause to take a sip of his drink, “There is a substantial market for some of the more….special creations her people make.”

Truth was that the Djabuul puzzle boxes were very highly prized amongst groups like the Obsidian Order and Tal Shiar because of the potential deadliness that could be designed in, and that was only the tip of some of the darker possibilities within the Djabuulese craftworks. He didn’t even want to think about any of the biological crafting they were rumored capable of doing.

“Yeah, we’ve been told, but right now, we operate on this station under the sufferance of Starfleet, and the liaison for civilian merchants made it clear we start selling the other things kiss our lease bye. “ She shrugged, “THey bend on some stuff, but when you get in to the...more specialized… they get strict.”

“I still had to ask.”, Kyorl said, figuring he’d talk to Jaca later to get a feel for how amenable to bending she might be.

“No argument there.” She responded, “No harm in asking. But there’s a lot of other things she can make, and what you find we can work out a percentage for consignment.”

“Sounds good.”, Kyorl said, “I’ll have a separate contract drawn up with the details.”

She nodded and they talked some more, she told him stories of growing up with two brothers, both of whom were troublemakers in the best of situations, Lorenzo for example, who was now studying Engineering, once hacked her schoolwork, and her other brother who was in 5th grade and still loved to send her fart jokes over comms. The jokes usually consisted with the sound of farting and his giggling.

Kyorl enjoyed hearing her stories, and shared quite a few of his own growing up. His grandfather was still alive, and still able to rant at length about his disgrace when he’d drank too much ale. His father was in charge of the small fleet of trading ships the family owned, an uncle tended to the accounting books. Kyorl had plenty of stories regarding his early start where things didn’t quite roll as smoothly as possible. More than a few times he’d ended up running from an irate mugatu or pack of targs.

His stories made her laugh, it felt good to laugh, she had been so dour, publically, except around Roberto and Jaca, while she was polite, she had not laughed in a long while and...it felt good.

Kyorl had just finished telling the tale of him and his brother having to sneak into a Klingon impound dock to free the ship they shared at the time which at one point resulted in the highly memorable distraction of his brother greased up and fully nude sliding down a ramp between the legs of a patrol of very surprised and later confused Klingons when the waitress had come along to give them the polite closing time ‘You don’t have to go home but you can’t stay here’ reminder.

He was enjoying Maria’s company very much though, “Well, shall we go for a walk and continue our talk?”

“That sounds like a good idea.” She had been enjoying the conversation and figured a walk in the gardens would be a nice way to digest the steak and let that pie and coffee settle.

There were few others in the Arboretum this late. A few botany non-coms were tending the plants while some were either enjoying the quiet time or having a quiet stroll.

“This is definitely one of the nicer arboretums I’ve seen.”, Kyorl said as they slowly walked, “Starships tend to lack in selection in my opinion.”

She chuckled, “Yeah, my last posting it was just a few things, but here, there’s a massive variety, Roberto loves the Cardassian faunae, says they’re ‘cool’. It’s also a chance to think.”

“To think?”, he asked with a raised eyebrow worthy of a Vulcan.

She nodded, “to think.” Then there was a pause and slight stammer, “About...y’know, things, stuff, stuff, things, and stuff.” Oh that sounded absolutely bloody horrible, how was it still sounded like an awkward teenager. She had been through Starfleet Academy, and could still run the obstacle courses, but when it came to conversation with a guy she sounded like a babbling teenager with zits and a training bra.

“Ah.”, Kyorl said with a soft smile, “It sounds like a concept we have.” The Romulan phrase sounded like one of those one needed surgery on their larynx to pronounce correctly, “The translation is roughly ‘chasings things in your head’.”

“Yeah pretty much.” She shrugged., “But it would make me sound so neurotic I wouldn’t blame you for running the other way.”

“Now why would I run?”, he said.

“Well,” she paused, “I’m a slight mess, as you can see, and you might not want to risk your business on a crazy person.”

Kyorl laughed, “I would expect some crazy after all, you have a Djabuulese as a business partner. They might be contagious.”

That got a chuckle, “Though I was already nuts before I met her.” Then she sighed, “But she has strangely enough been more stabilizing then you’d think.”

He looked at Maria thoughtfully. She was very much an intelligent and competent businesswoman. There was also she had a stable partnership with one of a species that was notoriously hard to get a handle on. She had a strong sense of family, and what he’d seen of her son, looked quite happy. As it was, she captivated him enough past the usual business meeting of small talk and details. Where this would go remained to be seen.

“She’s become family save for blood, you might say.”, he commented.

“Pretty much.” She said simply, “Besides, I keep her sane she reminds me that I need to live life.”

“It is never a good sign to tattoo your grief marks.”, Kyorl said, thinking of his people’s custom of grief paint. The ones who chose to tattoo their marks and cling to their grief always came to a poor fate.

There was a pause then Maria actually facepalmed, “Oh Jesus Christ I’m doing it again.”

“Doing what again?”, he asked with a hint of a smile.


“Getting all depressingly somber I’m a black dress away from being my grandmother.”

Kyorl laughed. “The occasional cloud makes us appreciate the sun all the more.”, he said.

She chuckled then looked at the simulated day/night cycle. ….”uhh….is the sun coming out? Or is it just me.”

“Well, it was late when we left the restaurant.”, he said, “And we’ve been so busy talking I haven’t thought to check the chronometer.”

She checked her chronometer and blanched at the time. “Oh god we’ve been out all night…” A rather colorful batch of Italian profanities.

Kyorl was still smiling, “Is this a problem?” To his knowledge, Jaca was minding Maria’s son.

“I’m coming home in the morning, wearing the same clothing I wore last night…” She stared at him, “And if I know Jaca she’ll be up waiting…..” Hopefully she didn’t have to draw him a map.

“Was there a curfew I was supposed to know about?”, Kyorl joked, “Best we get you home or we’ll face her ire.”

“It’s going to be worse than that. She’s going to….let her imagination run wild.”

Kyorl laughed harder and escorted Maria home.

Once they arrived she smiled, “I did have a good time, even if I’m neurotic on ways.”

“That’s okay.”, he said with a smile, “I’d like to do this again sometime.”

“Sure.” With that she headed inside. While she did have a good time, it was possibly too early for that.

Sneaking upstairs quietly. ‘Oh thank god’ she thought, she’s not home. She won’t know I was out late. She looked in the fortress, there were weird drawings and Itchi was dead asleep doing his little snort.

Then she headed into the kitchen and began to clean up a bit, the plates showed ok, Pancakes, oatmeal was used healthy enough, too much syrup, but Roberto did love his syrup. Miracle of Miracles, she got the picky 3 year old to eat his veggies, she would have been happy if he just ate the meat.

As Maria turned around to head to her room to change, Jaca was standing behind her, eyes going off like sparklers and a literal grin stretching from ear to ear. “Sooo, finally you are starting to Live Deliciously!”, she said, ready to burst out of her skin from raw joy.

Maria startled, “Jesus woman.” then she sighed, “I just lost track of time talking is all. Nothing….Happened.”

“Ah...so talking is what the humans are calling it now.”, Jaca said, still grinning, “I want all the details, don’t skip anything from the first nibble on.”

Maria just stared at her, “Sorry to disappoint you but we talked means just that. We talked.” She looked at her friend, “So maybe I didn’t live deliciously like you think, but right now, I have Roberto to think of, and I don’t know if there is room for a relationship of any kind.”

Jaca was pretty certain Maria was lying to her face. Since she didn’t have the Elders gift of being able to know another’s mind, she would have to gradually worm it out of her friend. “You can still Live Deliciously, relationships or not.”, she said, carefully laying out the start of what she was sure was a masterful pattern of wordcraft to find out the truth, “But I will let you keep your body pleasure tales to yourself. Store opens within the hour.”

“Right now I need a shower and nap, not necessarily in that order. Get me around noonish if I don’t surface. As for other things I will explain more later.” Or try to, she thought.

That was enough for Jaca at this point and with a very happy trilly song on her lips, she headed down to open shop.

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