Recipes and Concerns

Posted on Fri Aug 2nd, 2013 @ 4:00pm by Captain Torilla Yamaguchi & Crumm Widdy

1,270 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Mission 84 - Blockade
Location: Skyline Lounge - Starbase 400
Timeline: Concurrent with present mission
Tags: Crum

"Recipes and Concerns"

Lt Commander Torilla Yamaguchi
Chief Strategic Operations Officer
Starbase 400
-
Commanding Officer
USS Venator

Crumm Widdy
Restaurant Owner
Skyline Lounge - Starbase 400

***** Skyline Lounge - Starbase 400 *****

Lt Commander Torilla Yamaguchi sometimes stood heads and
shoulders above most of the crowd as she was so tall at six foot
even and she weighed in at two hundred pounds, she was what
many would call 'an Amazon woman'. Whats more, she knew it
too, she also had a very lovely womanly figure which attracted
attention so she tended to wear cassocks and jackets to hide it,
she sometimes found the attention rather annoying.

In her right hand, she held a PADD in her hand, with a list of
Hallian food recipes that she wanted to pass along to the owner.

She entered the lounge as she looked around at the bustling
crowd as she smiled, she went over to the bar. "Evening Barkeep."

Crumm did not expect to see Torilla again so soon with PADD in
hand. Her knowledge of Hallian recipes must have been more
extensive than he had assumed. He beamed at the prospect of
creating and sampling new dishes. "Hello Lieutenant, are you
here for business or culinary pleasure?"

Yamaguchi smiled at the Bolian. "Actually... I'm here for a little
of both." she responded as she produced her PADD. "Is there
somewhere we can chat?" she inquired as she felt it wise to not
discuss busness in front of the crowd.

Crumm bowed his head slightly and extended his arm, leading Torilla down a small corridor into the back of the lounge. They came to a door and he secretively punched in a code on a pad before the door whooshed opened. "You can never be too careful with recipes," he said with an embarrassed smirk.

Torilla smiled to herself as she followed the Bolian through the bar
and a few minutes later they were in his office which looked as tidy
and well maintained as her desk in her own office.

"Please have a seat so we can discuss what it is you've brought with you today." Crumm sat in his simple office chair and pulled out a PADD with eager hands. He brought the device to life and gave Torilla his full attention.

Yamaguchi sat down in one of the chairs that he clearly kept for this
reason as she produced her PADD. "Have a look at these and let me
know what you think.. My mothers recipe for Black Nova cake and her Shortcake cookies are in there too." she explained. "Though... I'd
recommend being careful with the Black Nova cake, its rather heavy
on the calories..." she commented. "I only eat it only after a long day
or a brutal workout."

"Black Nova cake, you say? Sounds very exotic." He considered the desire of many of the crew to 'watch their weight'. Such notions weren't a priority in Bolian cuisine, but he respected the dietary needs of others. "I have means to reduce calories, but I would not alter a recipe without your consent. Taste should not be compromised, but the taste buds of other species often prove to be far more sensitive than my own."

Torilla nodded, clearly in agreement. "Indeed." she responded with a smile.
It was a recipe she created from two separate cakes." she explained.
"Alright... but your right... others are more or less sensitive to flavor.."

Crumm took inventory of the recipes provided by the officer. They were all relatively exotic, but seemed simple enough to duplicate. He took their surroundings into consideration. A closed door meeting seemed hardly necessary for an exchange of recipes. Crumm gave Torilla a knowing look. "Are these recipes such a closely guarded family secret, or is there
more going on here requiring such privacy?"

"No. Its just never wise to discuss business in front of customers." she responded with a smile. "I do not wish to start rumors or innuendo."
she added. "Never good for business.." she added.

Crumm laughed, holding his side some. "You are a shrewd businesswoman, Commander. You would make the Ferengi proud." He retrieved four PADDs from his desk and laid them in front of Torilla. "And speaking of the Ferengi, I've learned quite a bit from them." He gestured towards each PADD. "I'll need your thumb print here, your retinal scan on this one, your verbal agreement over there and your concession to third party arbitration on the final PADD." Crumm smiled.

"Would you like a blood sample too?" she inquired lightly as she lifted the four PADD's. "Lets see what the fine print has to say..." she peered closer. "Mmmm.. permission to distribute.... why would you want to give them away?" she inquired as she looked at him, her dark eyes shone under the lights.

Crumm laughed at Torilla's remark. "I apologize if this all seems like overkill. I have relied on the trustworthiness of business partners far too readily in the past at my own peril. You can never be too certain when it comes to business." He tried to read her face, but came to no concrete conclusions. "I understand your apprehesions, Commander, but this is for my protection. If you want, you can take time to scrutize the arrangement parameters and you will see it is fair and handsomely rewards your participation."

Torilla raised an eyebrow as she watched him carefully. "I'm a Starfleet officer My good man, I also live here and I do wish to be able to visit your establishment and not worry if I'm being overcharged for my food." she explained.

She read over the four PADD's extremely quickly as she regarded him. "Some of my family also live here and... I'm not a business partner as I'm not looking for a stake in your business... however... we can discuss some level of partnership but not at present."

He grinned sheepishly. "Let's see how this particular arrangement works. You have no need to worry about being overcharged as you and yours are guaranteed a discounted rate as stipulated in Section IV, Article B, sub-section 6." He realized how much he was sounding like a Ferengi and shuddered at the idea. "Any mutual suspicions aside, Commander, I run an honest business and you strike me as a direct and honest Starfleet Officer. I doubt either of us has anything to worry about and this will hopefully be the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship."

Torilla raised an eyebrow as she looked at the Bolian. "I tend to get sleepy when I read boilerplate jargon. " she commented lightly. "Assume I have no idea of what you just said.... would you mind... dumbing it down for me, I tend to want to blow things up rather then cook things.." she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry... my skills lie in other areas... finances is something I leave to Jake."

Crumm couldn't help but giggle a bit. "If I were to 'dumb it down', I'd basically say I cook the food, sell the food, and pay you 30% per dish. That is in addition to your handsome retainer, of course." Crumm paused and smiled. "Are we happy?"

"Mmm... It almost sounds too good to be true." she commented. "But yes, I'm happy." she smiled at the owner of the establishment. "Besides, my family love this place." she rose to her feet. "We have an accord then.." and with that the two of them shook hands.

Torilla smiled. "Well.. I'd best get going... got children to look after and work to do..." and with that she turned and departed.

***** Here's where the fun begins - Anakin Skywalker *****

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