Let's have some fun

Posted on Fri Apr 12th, 2019 @ 1:37am by Lieutenant Shri Thais & Lieutenant Iona Vrell

2,318 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Mission 6.5 - Obtaining New Crew
Location: America/Starbase One
Timeline: 2296/02/12 - 1400

Shri was not in the mood to unpack, far from it in fact. She'd put up a few things, such as her uniforms, but the rest could wait. Why unpack when she could still relax on the Starbase? She started to make her way off the ship, watching the crew as she did so, trying her best to not bump into anyone.

Feeling excited about her new possibilities, Iona set out to explore the starbase. She'd heard there was a store somewhere selling 'exotic' books and she wanted to find it. In her haste to locate said store, she didn't quite pay full attention to her surroundings and bumped into someone. Grabbing their arm gently to make sure they didn't fall, Iona gasped. "Oooh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention! Are you alright?"

Nearly falling when she was bumped into, but glad for the hand to help her, Shri gave a small smile to the woman. "I'm fine, it's not a problem. Difficult to not bump into people when the crowds are this big." She righted herself, "You seem to be in a hurry."

"Err... not really a hurry, per se... Just wanting to find a store I heard about on my way here, before I have to report in to my new assignment," Iona smiled and removed her hand from the woman now that she was standing properly on her own. "Have you seen a store selling antiques?"

"You know you're asking a lot, because there are many antique stores on the Starbase." Shri shrugged. "Depends on what you are looking for."

"Books, mostly," Iona chewed her lip trying to think of what her friend had told her. "Oh, the one I'm looking for has a statue of some strange mythical creature from Ancient Greece, a chimera I think it was called, just inside its doors."

Knowing quite a bit of history, Shri grinned. “I did want to check that place out, even just to look around. But as to where it is? I think we need to find the chimera...I’ll join you if you want some company. I didn’t get a chance before the ship got here.”

Grinning, she nodded. "Company is always nice. What ship are you stationed on?" Iona asked, looking around the various shops nearby. She didn't see a chimera, so she turned back to Shri and shrugged. "And which direction do you want to go?"

Pointing back to where she'd come from, Shri pointed to the America. "Over there. Well, new assignment, haven't really done anything yet."

Looking in the direction that Shri had pointed, Iona grinned. "Funny thing, that's my assignment too! I just arrived, haven't been to the ship yet. My friend told me of the shop and said it had some of the antique books I have been looking for, so I came straight here to find it."

"Oh, well seems like we will see a lot of each other. But as for where to go...pick a direction and hope we find it?" Shri wasn't sure what to make of this girl yet. "Oh, I'm Shri Thais."

"Iona Vrell," she smiled and held out her hand to shake Shri's. "Nice to meet you. I'm your new doctor," she smirked as they shook hands. "Right... how about we go this way?" Iona gestured to the corridor that branched off to their left. "It looks promising..."

Shri gave a small smile, nodding down the corridor and followed Iona. "Chief science here. And if nothing else, something smells good down here."

"Hmmm... it does... if you're hungry we could stop for a bite to eat. I could eat," Iona shrugged. It had been far too long since she'd been on a station and she was certain more than her spots seemed weird to her fellow shipmate. "And I will apologize now, I tend to be a bit disjointed in my conversation when I get excited about something. So, if I'm being weird, just poke me or bring me back to the original topic..."

Tucking her hair behind her right ear, which now was visible and was very Vulcan looking, Shri grinned. "I'm all for weird. I am a scientist after all."

"Well, we'll make a great pair! I love research," she peeked into an antique shop and frowned when she didn't see the chimera. The smell of food was getting stronger though. "And I do have a science degree as well. I am a botanist as well as a general surgeon and general specialist in medicine. I'm debating on another degree. My ancestors all hailed from science and medical backgrounds, so I gained a lot of general knowledge from them. And well, education is never a bad thing."

She walked past a clothing store and then a small dark shop that seemed to be closed. And finally, right across from the cafe that was luring weary travelers with divine scents of baked goods, the antiques shop with the chimera statue. "Ahhhh! Here it is! Ooooh, I'm so excited to find some new treasures! And then we should eat because that food smells absolutely divine!"

"Shopping and food, isn't that an old past time?" Shri looked around the store. "Oh...I could completely blow my budget in here..."

"Possibly? I'm not sure, I grew up on Trill, I don't know Earth customs," Iona admitted as she wandered through the store looking for the books. "Oooh, this is weird," she said holding up a mermaid figurine with black pearls and sea shells. "Never know what you're going to find in places like this..."

Finding a purple dolphin that looked like it was jumping out of a wave, Shri decided it was coming with her. "Um, I'm only half human so...I'm not sure either. But, it sounds like a plan."

"That it does," Iona put the mermaid down and moved deeper into the store. There were several things she wanted to bring with her, but were far too big to fit in her quarters. "Oooh, Shri, look at this! It's an old microscope! And look, there's a small telescope too," she waved her new friend over. "I think I'm going to buy them, they're just so neat!"

Gasping at the old telescope, Shri gave a small frown. "Do they have another telescope? You can have the microscope, but I'm loving that telescope." She moved around Iona and grinned. "On second thought..." she said as she pulled out a few posters, "Old star charts. I needed some decorations."

"You can have the telescope to go with those star charts," Iona said with a nod. She couldn't help but grin in this place. It made Vrell very happy indeed. "Oooh, look at this chair... oh, my quarters are going to be absolutely stuffed with things if I don't get out of here soon. But I haven't found my books yet. And I need a new shelf for them..."

"Go find your bookshelf," Shri said as she took the telescope, "Then the book. Or...the other way around? I think the captain might not appreciate all this but, if she wants to keep us on board...let us personalize, right?" She found a dreamcatcher in purple, which just happened to be her favorite color.

"Well, so long as we don't bring too much back, she can't be mad," Iona said, moving around the shop until she found the books. "Ahah! Found the books!" She hummed happily as she rummaged through, finding five of the books she'd been looking for. She found a further three extra books that just looked like interesting reading. She plopped them down on the counter and asked the shopkeeper about bookshelves. He pointed her in the direction of several and she chose a tall, thin shelving unit that looked fairly old, but was still in excellent shape. "Alright. The books, shelf, that wonderful old armchair, and the microscope."

The clerk nodded and presented her with the final price. "Oooh, that's a bit much!" Iona winced. "Really, four bars of latinum. I'd barely want to give you one for this lot," she frowned.

"Three then," the shopkeep said haughtily. Obviously not happy that the Trill woman was haggling with him.

Iona smiled sweetly, this man obviously was greedy and thought the women wouldn't haggle. "Two, take it or leave it," she said. When he didn't answer, she took a step back. His face faltered slightly, but he still didn't say anything. She shrugged and turned to leave. "Alright, I guess we're leaving empty handed today, Shri," she said. She'd barely taken two steps when the shopkeep called out to her.

"Fine! Two!" He said with a grumble. "And two for your lot as well, unless you want to add more?" He gestured to Shri.

"Two, and you'll have it delivered to the USS America? Flag them as belonging to Lieutenant Vrell, and hers as belonging to Lieutenant Thais." Iona returned to the counter and the shopkeep grumbled as he nodded. Smiling, she pressed her thumb against the reader attached to his console to pay for her items. "Thank you!"

Grabbing one last dolphin statue, Shri chuckled, "What she said, I know the star charts are worth it." She pressed her thumb to the reader as well and left the pile for the shopkeeper to deliver. "Come on, Iona. I think that food is calling."

"Definitely," Iona said giggling as they made their way out of the shop and into the cafe across from it. "Ooooh man, I thought I was going to lose it there, I'm never that bold!" She giggled as they waited for the hostess to seat them. "I just hate when shop keepers think they can gouge their customers though. Four bars of latinum for what I got? No way was I going to pay that. Three would have been acceptable if that was the first offer, though," she smirked.

“Oh I likely overpaid for mine. But, they are far too beautiful to pass up.” Shri followed her nose and looked around at the food being served while they waited. “Ok, I’m more hungry now.”

The hostess arrived and apologized for the wait. Despite being off the main concord, the little cafe seemed to be quite busy. The hostess grabbed two menus after confirming they weren't waiting for anyone else and walked them to a table near the back of the cafe. The place had a nice, old-world type feel to it and Vrell was able to pick out a few things here and there that were little details that just made the whole atmosphere. "Thank you," she said to the hostess and took a seat at the table.

The waitress came over and introduced herself as 'Ruby' and took their drink orders. Once she sashayed off, Iona raised an eyebrow to Shri. "She's quite flirty," she said in a hushed tone.

Smirking, Shri nodded. “That is true. But that can always be fun.” Glancing over the menu, she looked deep in thought. “What oh what do I want...”

Returning the smirk, Iona knew this one would be fun. She too glanced over the menu and hummed. "Would you like to share an appetizer with me? I was thinking of trying the mozzarella sticks," she said raising an eyebrow at Shri. "Or we could get the appi plater, try a bit of everything?"

"The everything. I've had mozzarella sticks, but not the others that are on this list." Shri looked down the rest of the menu. "So many things, I don't even know what to pick. Likely something I will regret later on."

"Same here," Iona chuckled as she went through the rest of the menu. "So many exotic foods available," she muttered. "What about this... it's Terran food I believe? Battered fish and chips?"

Wishing there was a picture, Shri shrugged. "Oh why not? It sounds good, and I know at least what fish is."

"Hmm, well, it sounds interesting," Iona shrugged as well. When the waitress came over with their drinks, Iona smiled sweetly at her. "Thanks Ruby, we're ready to order if you're ready," she said.

"Of course, darling, what'll you have?" Ruby whipped out her notebook and pen.

"To start, we'll share the appetizer sampler platter. For my main I'll have fish and chips," Iona smiled. "Shri, what are you having?"

"I'll have the same actually, thank you Ruby." Shri smiled and handed the menu back.

Ruby jotted down the items, and turned to Shri with a knowing smirk. "And will you ladies be sharing a desert too?"

The Vulcan blood in her made her cheeks appear slightly green. "Um, dessert might happen but not sure about shared."

Iona chuckled after Ruby sashayed away again. "Does she think we're on a date?" Iona looked down at herself and chuckled. She was wearing one of her sleeveless dresses with the chiffon skirts. This one was a pastel green. "Well, I guess I am dressed for one..." She smirked at Shri.

Looking at her own outfit, Shri chuckled. "Both in dresses," she nodded to her own purple dress. "Can see why she'd think it I suppose."

"Well, friends can have lunch dates, yes?" Iona asked, curiously.

"Far as I know they can." Shri said with a shrug. "But, anymore? Who knows what others think. I guess our outfits could say date."

"Ah well, let them think what they will. We won't be here long enough to care," she grinned. As she was about to say something else, Ruby trotted over with their sampler platter. "Thank you," Iona said, still grinning at Ruby as she told them to enjoy and sauntered off to flirt with another table. "Looks interesting," she added, looking down at the plate of food before them. "Tuck in!" She plucked a mozzarella stick from the plate and dipped it in the marinara sauce before nibbling off the end.

 

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