Two-Faced
Posted on Sat Apr 19th, 2025 @ 1:45am by Lieutenant Commander Riavria & Lieutenant Vriq'ta Esrad & Commodore Wilkan Targaryen & Lieutenant Commander Ash Randall & Lieutenant Chase Moore & Lieutenant Stacey Moore & Lieutenant (J.G.) Dylan Blake & Commander Zhora zh'Roothi & Administrator Kuzos
3,998 words; about a 20 minute read
Mission:
Tosk
Location: Forecastle Tavern, USS Enterprise
Timeline: 2439-03-11, 00:45
Inspired by similar rooms on both the Constitution II and the Galaxy Class, the Enterprise's Forecastle Tavern was the primary social center aboard the starship and was the largest single compartment used for personnel support purposes aboard the ship. Consisting of multiple levels, and in keeping with the Commodore's penchant for naming parts of the ship after ancient sailing terms, the Forecastle was named after the upper deck of a sailing ship forward of the foremast, or, historically, the forward part of a ship with the sailors' living quarters.
The Forecastle took on many of the same responsibilities of a Galaxy Class ship's Ten Forward Lounge and had a dedicated wait staff that were on duty all hours of the day. Over 100 tables of varying size and configuration were available for guests, which could also be reconfigured into any pattern needed by the crew. The main level was a bit more raucous than the upper level of the room, similar to an old-Earth saloon and dominated by conversation while guests ate or relaxed. The lower level featured a fully stocked bar with both alcoholic and syntheholic drinks alongside the replicators.
The upper level of the Forecastle was a bit more sedate than the lower ones. More of a lounge area than a restaurant, the upper level had a battery of recreational games, including three-dimensional chess, and was a quieter area than the main floor. The large, panoramic windows were the main draw of the room though and permitted a staggering view of the ship's passage through space.
Unlike most starship captains, Commodore Wilkan Targaryen hadn't been against visiting the ship's lounge because he knew the power that came from the crew seeing the captain of the ship among them. On most ships the captain sequestered himself away in the Ready Room or the Captain's Lounge, usually playing a flute or reading Shakespeare. Wilkan didn't like that idea. By going to the lounge, he got to know the crew, and they got to know him. With the Enterprise's mission to the Gamma Quadrant, far from Federation space, it was even more important of a prospect.
"Your drink, Sir," a young Haliian woman waitress said as she put the Commodore's drink on the table.
Wilkan looked up from the window at the waitress, "Thank you, Shianna. How have you been?"
"Fairly good, Sir, thanks for asking. How are you?" She asked with a broad smile.
"About the same," the El-Aurian answered. "I see that you're a little busy tonight. I don't want to hold you up."
She nodded, "Yeah. Things picked up after the Hunters departed. People are finally starting to relax. Are we going to get underway again soon?"
"Just some minor maintenance. We're going to be heading out here within the next few hours." He picked up the multi-colored drink and looked at it for a moment, "I said surprise me, so what's this?"
Shianna motioned toward the glass, "That's a Modela Aperitif, Sir. It's a bright and sweet drink, made from a couple different drinks, but has a bit of a kick. I hope you don't mind, but it's a mix of both traditional alcohol and synthol. We didn't have all of the ingredients."
"We may have to ask the Karemma when we visit them for their replicator protocols to help you guys out," the Commodore answered, "or transfer the Quark 2000 from the Quark's Express to here. Quark always claimed that his replicator gave beverages a zing." Commodore Targaryen left out the connection between the two though. Decades ago, while working with the Romulan Relocation Effort, Wilkan had worked with a young Engineer from the Cerritos who told him the story of the Quark 2000 and the Karemma attempt to arrest Quark for his appropriation of their technology.
Then he realized the look on the young woman's face, "I didn't mean that as a slight. This drink is delightful."
That helped the Haliian a bit, "Thank you, Sir. I have to get back to work. Excuse me."
From her body language the Enterprise's Captain knew he'd had a bit more of an impact on the young lady than he meant. He'd have to work on that in the future to, hopefully, eliminate some of that edge. Even though he was a captain he didn't always think before he spoke.
Looking out the window at the alien stars of the Gamma Quadrant, he wondered what else would come on this mission.
Lt. Cmdr. Randall flagged down Shianna as she took a seat nearby to Commodore Targaryen, not presuming to join the Commodore but taking up station near enough to be motioned over, if he was of a mind to. "Black Label, neat. Make it a double, please." She ordered, quietly. Ash preferred a 12 or 18 year old, single malt, scotch but Black Label was a certainty and the Tuansee didn't feel like partaking in an interrogative before 'settling' for Black Label anyway. The Chief Engineer would have brought her own but wasn't inclined to break into her personal hoard, a full case of Glenfiddich no less, on the first day of a five year mission.
Entering from the upper-level door, Lieutenant Vriq'ta Esrad looked around the platform to see if he'd recognized anyone. It had only been a little while since the Commodore had notified him that he'd been selected to take over as the Chief Science Officer aboard the Enterprise. He was excited for his future, but he was also a bit scared about what was to come. Everyone thought that Lieutenant Sulu would be the one to get chosen for this position, but for some reason the Commodore had picked him, and he wasn't about to let him down.
Seeing the Commodore, Vriq'ta started walking toward him. He was about to sit at the couch opposite their commander, when he quickly detoured and toward another seat near to Commander Randall. The Bolian Scientist walked up and motioned toward the chair, "Is this seat taken?"
Lt. Cmdr. Randall looked up at Lt. Vriq'ta Esrad, the bright, green, eyes of the small felinoid regarding him for a second or two, blinkety-blink-like, and shook her head, ever so slightly, in the negative. "It is not. Feel free to have a seat." She replied, quietly, and glanced the direction of Shianna and waved her over.
"Ah, thank you," the new Chief Science Officer said as he sat down opposite the Chief Engineer. "I haven't been here before. Didn't quite realize how popular a spot this place was," the Bolian said cheerfully as he looked at the menu PADD and gave his order to the Haliian. "Thanks for letting me have a seat."
The Chief Engineer thought about the words of Vriq'ta Esrad, for half a second, and smiled, without the act looking predatory. The felinoid had an impressive set of teeth hiding in her mouth and was, very , practiced at it not looking like she was about to take a bite out of someone when she smiled. "I am, happy, for the company and conversation." She replied, as she nodded a 'thank you' to Shianna as she brought the Black Label, double, she'd ordered. "Congratulations on your advancement to Chief Science Officer. Your department is going to be, very, busy I think." She mused.
"I'm really looking forward to it. I've served on 11 ships so far, but never before as Chief Science Officer. I hope that I'm ready for it," the Lieutenant answered as he accepted his drink from the waitress. "This ship is a lot to live up to, and a lot of the people who served before me in this role became famous explorers."
"In deed, our predecessors in the roles we, currently, hold are, dare I say, legendary in their respective fields." Ash agreed, in an amiable tone as she took a sip of her scotch and spent a few seconds enjoying the complex interplay of tastes and aromas. "The Captain must have a great deal of confidence in your ability to fill the role of Chief Science Officer. We're about to explore what, for us, is a great unknown full of wonders to be found; peoples, places, things unimagined. Not that we have explored, in entirety, the Alpha and Beta Quadrants, far from it, as new peoples, places and things are discovered all the time. However, WE have a bit of a monopoly on exploration of the Gamma Quadrant for the foreseeable future so, I say, enjoy the ride." Ash pontificated as she took another sip of her drink.
The blue skinned alien nodded in agreement and spoke happily, "I certainly intend to. I've been waiting for a mission like this, a chance to really push beyond what is known and unknown in the galaxy. No one's been out here in ages, it's nice that we have the opportunity to be the first." He played with his drink, "Do you know the Captain well? What's he like? I know that we've not been on ship long, but you two seem to have a dynamic."
"A dynamic..." Ash repeated, quietly, and took another sip of her drink and then finished it while she contemplated the possibilities of the moment and held up her, now empty, glass to get the attention of Shianna and signaled with 3 fingers for a refill. "I have served under the Captain before." Ash admitted, after a few seconds more silence and glanced the direction of the Commodore. "I won't presume to tell you what the Captain is like other than to say he has a talent for being in the right place, at the wrong time or, the wrong place at the right time and, to trust in the plan. There is, always, a plan." Ash elaborated and smiled as her second drink, 3 fingers of scotch this time, was brought to her by Shianna.
The Bolian watched the Commodore leave the upper level before answering the Chief Engineer, "Has he ever been in the wrong place at the wrong time, Commander?" It was an ominous question, but the new Science Officer was genuinely interested as the ship entered Warp.
The engineer nodded. "Yes." She replied, simply, while she contemplated her drink and then looked to the Bolian. "We just experienced that phenomena. It is how we ended up with Administrator Kuzos and his entourage of personal, flying monkeys on board. It might seem like a case of, right place and right time, but it is not. Administrator Kuzos is a white elephant...a 'gift' we had to, graciously, accept at the forcing of Star Fleet Command citing the, greater good, of opening diplomatic relations with the Dominion." Ash explained, quietly, assuming Vriq'ta knew what the term, white elephant, meant.
Vriq'ta nodded along, wondering if he'd struck a nerve with the Chief Engineer of the Enterprise. Having a representative of the Dominion aboard seemed to be a challenge for a lot of the crew, he was a bit surprised to hear it coming from a member of the Senior Staff though. Before he answered he looked around a moment, spotting the Vorta Administrator entering the lower level as the Engineer spoke of him. "There's your friend now," the Lieutenant chided.
Ash looked the direction of Administrator Kuzos and nodded. "It would appear." She commented, and took a sip of her drink and watched while the Vorta made his way to the bar. "We would have ended up with the Administrator in our midst, eventually." She commented, quietly. "How he arrived here is what matters, not that he is here. I do not care, one way or the other, but you can bet the Administrator does." She added, then took another sip.
"Do you think that the Commodore trusts him?" It was a blunt question, but a fair one. "Do you think any of us should trust him?"
Ash grinned, widely, at the question. "THAT..." She enunciated, crisply, "...is a good question. Consider the conditions under which the Administrator is aboard. The answer would be the same if you asked me if Kuzos trusts the Commodore, by the way. There is no choice in the matter except for, perhaps. the adage of 'trust, but verify.'" She elaborated, quickly.
The Bolian watched the Administrator with the Doctor near the bar, "Sounds like this mission's about to get a whole lot more interesting." He downed his drink, "Thanks for the company, Commander."
Ash held up her drink in salute to the Bolian Science Chief. "A pleasure chatting with you, Lieutenant." She responded, wondering if her, somewhat cryptic, answers to his question had put the man off and then, mentally, shrugged. It didn't, in the long run, matter.
On the lower level Lieutenant Junior Grade Dylan Blake sat alone feeling a touch gloomy as he stared into his glass and watched the small bubble of his draft beef rise then and burst upon the foamy top.
The dejected junior officer was too preoccupied in the rising gasses he failed to notice the arrival and occupant of the adjacent table. Commander zh'Roothi watching him momentarily before pulling him from his stupor.
"Are you conducting an experiment or drinking Lieutenant?" she asked moving her seat closer.
The younger man visibly flinched at the interruption. "Commander!" he responded looking rather flustered. "I'm sorry I didn't see you."
She waved him down. "Take it easy, I'm only teasing."
"Oh," Blake relaxed a fraction but still looked on edge. Sitting beside the Executive officer was unnerving even in a relaxed atmosphere zh'Roothi could recall her own memories of such occasions.
"Good work with the shields," the Andorian said noting his discomfort. "The hunters tactics were efficient in disabling their prey. Us included," she sighed heavily.
Blake nodded numbly at the praise.
"Despite our power and the influence we conduct, out here, we're fish out of a barrel" zh'Roothi continued.
"Water," the human corrected her automatically. "Fish out of water. I think you're getting two phrases mixed up. Shooting fish in a barrel is a very different expression."
"Huh," the Commander nodded and picked up the icy drink that had been deposited on the table top. "I don't really understand the expressions, properly because Andor is far too cold for most creatures including most marine life."
Blake chuckled, his nervousness seemingly dissolved. "We're not talking about actual fish ma'am it's just a metaphor."
zh'Roothi scoffed and lowered her glass. "You pink skins say some strange things."
"Pink skin, wow," Blake continued to smirk. "I've not been called that since I was six. If you wanted to offend me Commander you'll need to try harder."
It was zh'Roothi time to laugh at the younger man's comment. It felt good to laugh and lay aside her responsibility for a short time. "Maybe you could give me some pointers to make interacting with Kuzos more bearable."
"The Vorta?" Blake suddenly stiffed and his joking demeanour soured instantly. "Nah, you're on your own with that one. I think most of the crew would rather see him spaced than speak to him."
Though he voiced her own thoughts out loud each time her path crossed with their Dominion adviser zh'Roothi shot him a disapproving look: "Regardless he is our guest and should be treated respectfully."
Perhaps the drink had made Blake cocky or overconfident, either way it wasn't completely enough as he downed the last and stood as if to leave but not before his last comment: "Isn't that be contradictory? You want us to treat him respectfully, yet you want to insult him at the same time? This is why I prefer to stay in engineering, away from the bollocks of politics. Things down there look complicated to an outsider but I assure you it's far easier than dealing with some back stabbing bastards."
He paused as if realising what he'd just done. "Enjoy your drink ma'am." Blake added lowly before departing.
The Commander stared at his retreating form wondering how she'd caused his mood to shift so. Uttering another sigh she slouched and observed the room. Even at this late hour there were more crew present that she expected. Movement above caught her eye: the upper level too appeared to be well occupied.
Reaching for her drink zh'Roothi swirled the contents before taking a heavy sip grateful for the real alcohol served here - and based on how turbulent things had been so far they'd all be grateful soon enough.
"That's quite a story, Lieutenant," Commodore Targaryen said to Lieutenant Rrawran. "I don't think I've ever met a Rorworr before."
"We're not very common in Starfleet, Sir," the furry alien answered.
Wilkan nodded, "I don't doubt it." The Enterprise's Commander glanced at his PADD, "You'll have to excuse me though, Lieutenant. It's one in the morning and I'm on duty tomorrow."
"No problem, Sir," the Security Officer answered. "Until next time."
Targaryen lifted his glass, "Until next time."
The El-Aurian rose from his seat in time for his communicator to chirp. Reaching up to accept the call he walked toward the exit, "Targaryen here."
As the Commodore walked, he heard the message and stopped dead, looking out the window into the far reaches of space.
Chase walked towards the lounge Stacey beside him. He was tired and thought of their dealings with the hunters ran through his mind. He knew he had to let go and smiled at his wife. “I’m looking forward to relaxing.”
"A relaxing time on the Enterprise, we both know that it's not going to happen." Stacey said with the big teasing grin on her face. Ever since they arrived it's been one commotion after another or so it seemed like. It was nice though to enjoy this night. She was close by Chase's side, smiled and she took a look around the room and saw the captain. For the moment though she just wanted to be alone with Chase. She had a sneaky suspicion of that Chase would want to go visit the captain.
"Good point." Chase grinned. "We didn't really have time to take a deep breath before we were in the middle of something." Regardless, he liked being on this ship. "Where shall we sit?"
Kuzos walked into the lounge and as he did, maybe he imagined it, but it seemed the atmosphere suddenly got colder and the talking less vocal and finally stopped as all eyes swiveled to him. He paid them no mind as he walked to the bar. "Excuse me, you barkeep, do you have any Elderberry wine?"
Behind the bar a civilian worker walked opposite the Vorta behind the counter. He lifted a datapad up to the bar and placed it before the Dominion Liaison, "These are the available options. I don't have elderberry wine available right now, unless you would like replicated."
"A pity. Well, no matter." Kiuzos mused as he scanned the datapad. "What of these? The Cabernet Sauvigon, Pinot Noir and the Merlot? I've given you three choices, surely you should have one."
The bartender grabbed a glass from below the bar and a bottle. As he started to pour, "This is a limited-edition bottle of Chateau Picard that was provided to us upon launch. It's an elegant Cru Bourgeois Bordeaux that is an 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Merlot blend." He pushed it forward, "I hope that you like it, Administrator. Its got a subtle smoky and spicy taste with a bright, fresh, clean-tasting style."
Kuzos smiled graciously as the bartender gave a brief history of the wine. "I am sure I will and thank you for the brief history lesson as well. I know of Chateau Picard and their history in producing excellent wines. No doubt this will be equally extraordinary."
"You may be disappointed," a voice said from behind the Vorta as it approached the bar. A middle aged Romulan woman stepped forward to the bar and set an empty goblet atop the illuminated stand. Placing her hands next to the glass, "Kali-fal."
"Doctor, that's your third glass tonight," the bartender protested.
The Romulan nodded, "An astute observation. I am not on duty tomorrow; please provide the drink and remember it is traditionally to be served warm."
The bartender sighed as he poured, "Alright. This is the last time though, got it?"
"We shall see," she answered as she accepted the drink. Lifting it to her lips the aromatic Romulan beverage forced open her sinuses right before she took her first sip. Savoring the drink momentarily, the Doctor commented, "As it should be."
Kuzos looked between the bartender and to the Romulan the bartender addressed as doctor. "Thank you for the wine." He said to the bartender before turning his attention to the newcomer. "Disappointed in a wine from Chateau Picard? It has a reputation for producing some of the finest wines. I am curious, what makes you say that, Doctor?" His tone inquisitive wanting to know the reason for her bold statement.
"It's overrated," the Doctor answered as she sat down the Kali-fal, "just like the proprietor behind it."
"A bold if rather simple remark. Perhaps it your opinion that is overrated" Kuzos noted as he took a sip of the wine.. "I take it you are not a fan of Jean Luc Picard."
"The very embodiment of Starfleet, one who makes eloquent and generous promises on behalf of the magnanimous Federation, how could any Romulan be a fan?" She asked pointedly as she lifted her now empty glass trying to get another. "He had no understanding of Romulan ingenuity, resolve, self-sufficiency. He took advantage of us at the very moment where we doubted ourselves, enticed us with empty promises, only to scatter, confuse and divide all Romulans." Seeing she did not get the attention she wanted, she set the glass down and flicked it away, knocking it over the edge and to the deck behind the bar. The glass shattering as it impacted.
"And the fact that you are a Romulan doesn't bias your opinion in the least? You are to be commended and here you are serving on the latest incarnation of the ship he once commanded. How do you feel about that Doctor?" Kuzos posed as he took another sip of his wine.
Riavria smirked, "I probably feel the same way that you do about being here. We're creatures of habit, we do our duty even if it's not what we want for ourselves."
"Touche Doctor and you are correct I am here because Founder Odo believes it is in the mutual best interest of all that we have this alliance. I have no hatred for the Federation or Romulans. I go where I am told." Kuzos answered with a shrug of his shoulders as he began to enjoy the conversation.
"And I no hatred of the Dominion," the Romulan woman answered, "but, I will be honest, I have no love for them or the Federation either. I am here because of duty, and because my husband is assigned to one of the vessels out here. I couldn't be assigned with him, but this will do for now."
"I appreciate your honesty, Doctor." Kuzos replied with a smile. "I can identify with it, relate to it. I am Kuzos, Vorta Captain er administrator for the Dominion and you are?"
The Romulan answered after a small stumble, "Doctor Riavria, Chief Medical Officer of the Starship Enterprise, and more than a little drunk it seems."
Kuzos nodded. "Yes, so it seems. The barkeeper did warn you. Do you need assistance to return to your quarters?"
"I'll be ok," the Chief Medical Officer said with a chuckle. "This isn't the first time I've been drunk." She rose to her feet and waited a second, "See, all good now. Worst that'll happen is I may drunk hail my husband."
Kuzos nodded, "Then I wish you a pleasant evening. Thank you for the conversation and your company. Both were most enjoyable. Until our next meeting."
Walking away, Doctor Riavria nodded in agreement, "Until then."
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