Work Can Wait

Posted on Sun May 12th, 2013 @ 7:55am by Crumm Widdy & Lieutenant Anandra Delair

1,496 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 82 - The Aggressor
Location: Skyline Lounge, Starbase 400
Timeline: Following: "Free at Last"

ON:

Counselor Delair had heard about the renovations and changes made at the Skyline Lounge and after what seemed an unexpectedly long trip, she intended to resume her usual activity of finding herself a quiet little spot to sip a drink and work on her reports. It was fairly late in the evening, well after dinnertime when she walked into the Skyline, somewhat awestruck by the new changes. She took a seat at the far end of the bar where she hoped to stay out of the way of other patrons, as the place was sure to fill up as the evening progressed. Setting her usual tote of PADDs & personal effects down on the bar with a sigh, she waited for the server to approach before she ordered a "Romulan Ale, please."

"A very assertive order, Lieutenant. One sounding so sure is typically inclined to prefer real Romulan Ale versus its replicated counterpart." Crumm Widdy had made an art form out of reading his customers. This most recent patron had deliberately selected a section of the lounge designed for peace and quiet. Crumm was sure to be friendly, but not invasive. He reached under the bar, groping about until he was able to find the bottle of clear, blue liquid. He poured a generous portion into a glass and slowly slid it in front of the Officer. He leaned in closer, leaning on an elbow. "Crumm Widdy at your service. Would you care for something to eat with your Ale?"

Anandra lifted a brow at him over the PADD she'd begun to read. "I do prefer the real thing." she said, straightening her posture slightly. "Counselor Anandra Delair," she said, offering him a hand and a bit of a smile. "It's good to meet you, Crumm. And no, thank you I don't think I'm hungry." She brought the glass to her lips, the familiar burn tickling her senses as she indulged a sip. "I haven't seen you around here before," she noted, looking the Bolian over. "Not that that's saying much at a Starbase this size, but, are you new?"

"Why yes, I just recently arrived here to open this particular venue." Crumm presented a small dish of spherical objects with a light coating of some sort of powder. He seemed to conjure the bowl out of thin air. "I know you did not request a full meal, but if you should decide on a light snack, trocta nuts produce an enzyme thought to counteract some of the less desirable side effects of Romulan Ale. And they're delicious, of course."

"I like what you've done with the place," she began, looking at the contents of the small dish that seemed to materialize from nowhere. She smirked, finding that the rumored Bolian flare for hospitality was strong in this one. "Alright, I'll bite." she said, succumbing to his offer of a snack as she scooped one of the unusual nuts from the dish and ate it. "Mm," she noted a very pleasant flavor as she chewed, which seemed only to accent the ale with which she washed it down. "Remarkably delicious." she smiled brightly at her blue-skinned counterpart, setting her PADD down and making a point to engage him in conversation now that he'd broken the ice. "Welcome to Starbase 400, Crumm." she said, looking about the somewhat busy lounge before meeting his gaze again. "It would seem you chose a fine place for such a venue. Where are you from?"

Crumm stood back and clasped his hands in delight that the Counselor had enjoyed his offering. "Thank you, my dear", he said in response to her warm welcome, "I am very excited to be aboard. This locale seemed chock full of untapped potential." He soaked in the electric mood flowing through his establishment. "It seems fortunate for me that I was correct." He topped off her Romulan Ale with a playful wink. "It's a far cry from my home on Bolarus IX, but I've developed a taste for travel and adventure over the years." Crumm set a gazeful look upon the Counselor before pointing a quizzical finger in her direction. "El-Aurian?"

She smiled infectiously back at him as he spoke, making his excitement quite apparent. Anan decided right there that she liked him, at least as a host, and thus she would find that conversation came easily. Her beaming smile quickly turned to a look of mild astonishment as Crumm pointed a finger at her. "Right you are, Crumm. How did you figure..?" she asked coyly, trying to recall the last time, if such a time existed, in which someone correctly guessed without a single hint.

"Well, Counselor, you entered my establishment and found the most secluded section in order to attempt to complete some work." Crumm gestured towards the PADD she had brought with her. "I engaged you in conversation like any good host would. Most other customers would have exchanged pleasantries and returned to their work. Instead, you set your work aside and engaged me in a discussion. You seemed compelled to...listen." He emphasized and drew out the word 'listen' and accompanied it with a look of jovial certainty. "And, well, I feel one good listener can always spot another."

"You are certainly observant, Mr. Widdy." she complimented. "And I'm sure you have a great eye for character - I may call upon you if I need your perspective on some of your clientele. Not that I like to pry, but observation can prove..enlightening." She propped her chin on her palm, looking at him. "You'll have to tell me about your travels sometime as well. I like to say it was my own sense of adventure that brought me here." she said with a wistful sigh. "But truly I owe the best of everything," she said, gesturing to the room around them. "All of this, to Starfleet."

Crumm made a similar gesture around he lounge. "And I owe all of this to you, Counselor. And all of my customers." He returned his attention to her. "And speaking of my customers, I will do my best in providing perspective on matters at your request. Without violating bartender/customer confidentiality of course", he said with a wink. "Are you finding yourself in the middle of a perplexing problem as we speak?"

"I couldn't call it a problem, not yet anyway. Hm..more of a feeling, really. I can't quite put my finger on it." she laughed sheepishly. "I don't know, I suppose it could be that I just haven't settled in yet..and I'm still absorbing all kinds of new information and meeting new people..but I can't shake the feeling, whatever it is."

"A mystery! What can Lieutenant Delair be feeling that is giving her pause?" He raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious. "If my new El-Aurian friend, with all of her intuition and borderline empathic abilities, is sensing something she can't quite pinpoint, then this requires further introspection." He had a look of intense investigation, but quickly dropped the charade and returned to his comforting smile. "Or perhaps it's nothing, and you're just in a period of acclimation." He clasped his hands over hers looking at her over the rims of his spectacles. "Just remember, Counselor; even the best of listeners needs to be heard from time to time. This door is always open for you."

A laugh bubbled out of her at Crumm's antics - it was impossible not to find his jovial attitude uplifting. "You know, you'd make a great storyteller if this lounge thing never worked out." she said, losing an ounce of levity before she continued. "And you're too kind, really. Thank you Crumm, I will keep that in mind, that's a promise."

"What is dinner without a show?" Crumm laughed a little. "Of course, the price of a story is another story. One from me means one from you, my dear. I consider myself well traveled, but my exploits must pale in comparison to one who has several lifetimes worth of travels to share."

"C'mon now, I've only lived about one lifetime thus far," she said with feigned insult, as if he'd taken her for far older than she was. The smile that soon followed insisted that there was no real insult taken, however. "You have yourself a deal Crumm, effective immediately ..upon my finishing of these reports, anyway." she said with a gesture at the PADDs scattered about her area of the bar.

"There will be plenty of time to banter about, but I see you have work to do and I have distracted you for far too long." Crumm gave a slight bow to excuse himself. "And I know you weren't interested this time around, but I took the liberty of uploading my menu to your quarters so that you can review it on your own time. It's been a pleasure, Counselor."

Anan bowed her head respectfully in response. "Thank you Crumm, the pleasure's all mine."

OFF.

RSS Feed