Not One of the Regulars

Posted on Mon Mar 22nd, 2010 @ 4:31pm by Vice Admiral Iluvar & Ensign Velia Moretti

Mission: Episode 1.2 - "A House Divided"
Location: The Orient Express, USS Pandora
Timeline: MD05, 2148

ON: [[The Orient Express, USS Pandora, MD05, 2148]]

A low din of voices filled the room, giving the welcome appearance that the Orient Express was teeming with the usual crowd. Since the trip from Starbase 386 to the Romulan Neutral Zone was scheduled to take around two weeks, more of the crew were finding themselves with free time to spend on recreation. The last few nights had been rather busy and this evening was looking to turn out very much the same way. Although it meant that he was probably going to have to put in a little more time, Greg (NPC) didn't mind the chance to interact with members of the crew.

"One Andorian Cider and two Bolian Firestorms," Greg said with a smile as he delivered the drinks to their respective owners with a slight flourish. The three crewmembers at the table gave nods of assent and a few words of appreciation before returning to their conversation. Greg withdrew from the table and turned to check on another group a few tables away.

Velia entered the lounge hesitantly. The last time she'd been here hadn't gone so well, and she didn't relish the idea of meeting anyone who could be curious as to the CMO's not-quite-a-whispered outburst or the strange content of the glasses. She was starting to feel that gnawing in the pit of her stomach that came from not having anywhere to direct her attentions aside from books that she wasn't quite content to read ... again. A quick observation found a table situated a distance away from the louder area of the lounge which suited Velia just fine.

Out of the corner of his eye, Greg noticed the newcomer taking a seat at one of the more distant tables. He nodded politely to excuse himself from the conversation at the table he had just served and started toward the new arrival. "Good evening," he said as he approached the table, "have I seen you in here before?"

Considering her past excursions to the Orient, Velia certainly hoped not. "Nope," she said maybe a hair too quickly, "can I just get an iced tea please?" Thankfully, it didn't take a whole lot for her to appear uninterested in chit chat. It didn't really matter the setting, small talk was tedious.

"Certainly," Greg replied, flashing a smile at the woman. Despite her prompt response, he was pretty certain he had seen her in the lounge before. Then again, he didn't have a perfect memory and could have been mistaking her for someone else. In the end, it probably didn't matter all that much anyway. "I'll have that right out for you," he told her, turning and starting toward the bar.

Well, at least there was that to be said about the lounge. Prompt and cheery service. Velia couldn't help but think that the server looked very young to be spending his days on a Starship and briefly wondered if he was serving out some sentence. She returned her gaze to the lounge to once again ensure that her brooding would continue on uninterrupted. The young man was right, and in no time had appeared back at her table with the glass. "Thanks." For as long as Velia could remember, service personnel were the limit at where her ability to be rude ended.

"Anything else I can get you," he asked, looking down at her from where he stood to one side of the table. It hadn't taken long for him to learn how to read the guests that walked into the lounge. With a little luck and the guidance of Yuris, he had gotten pretty good at it. Greg had a pretty good feeling that, even though this woman might not admit it, she was looking for something in the lounge that she couldn't find in her quarters, the gym, or the holodeck.

"I'm pretty sure there isn't," she said flatly as she raised the tea to signify that his helpfulness where she was concerned had been fulfilled. Thankfully the half a breath that would have carried a 'now run along little boy' had been successfully wrangled back. Her current state of mind was being fed by the feeling of not being useful in some capacity, and that was in no way the fault of the sunny smiled young man that Velia felt looked just a little too happy to be working.

Greg nodded politely, figuring it was best to leave the woman to her own devices, if that was her wish. Excusing himself, he turned and headed back over toward the bar. He paused along the way to collect empty glasses from a table that had recently been vacated. Holding the glasses in one hand, he used his other to wipe down the table so that new guests could use it again.

"Looks like its going to be another good night," Yuris remarked as Greg deposited the glasses on the counter.

"Yeah," Greg agreed, turning so that he could survey the room, "I'd say we could expect a few more nights like this, considering how long this trip to the Neutral Zone is supposed to take." He leaned against the bar and turned his attention back toward the El-Aurian across from him.

Yuris nodded in agreement as he pulled the glasses down from the counter and began to wash them. Without looking up, he asked, "Did the woman in the corner get what she needed?"

"She just ordered an iced tea," Greg replied, "When I brought it to her, she said she didn't need anything else." It wasn't unusual for Yuris to ask about the different patrons, though it always seemed like he knew more about them than Greg did. He figured it probably came with the territory of being the lounge host.

A smile crossed Yuris' face as he shook the water off a glass and set it aside to dry. "What a person says and what they need can be two very different things," he said, looking up at Greg with a slight twinkle in his eye, "Why don't you pay her another visit?"

"But she just..." Greg began, but the look he received caused him to trail off. With a short laugh, he realized that he should have known it would have been pointless to argue. "Alright," he conceded, "I'll give it another shot."

Turning from the bar, Greg stepped to one side to avoid a passing crewmember as he made his way back toward the woman in the corner. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do when he got there, but he'd gotten pretty good at playing things by ear. It was clear that she could tell he was returning and she didn't really seem all that thrilled about it, from what he could see.

Velia was occupying herself by running over a list in her mind of things she could do to keep boredom at bay and be something akin to productive while they made this particular leg of their journey. She'd considered brushing up on her encryption where Romulans were concerned just for the fun of it, or possibly even drag Myrin into a match in the gym when she realized that Server Sunny was headed back her way. What was it people saw in her that just screamed to them that she was friendly? He was still a few feet away yet as she held up her glass, indicating that she wasn't close to ready for a refill. Internally she rolled her eyes. Weren't service personnel supposed to be tuned to their clientele?

The look the woman was giving him caused Greg to pause for a moment and he almost turned back. Yuris words had been vague, but he had a feeling that if he went back without speaking to her, the El-Aurian would just send him again. Fixing a smile on his face, Greg approached the table and put a hand on the chair across from the woman. "Mind if I join you," he asked, pulling the chair out.

Oh for the love ... Velia shrugged. Really, what had she expected? She did come to the lounge. "Sure, why not." She sipped her tea and studied the young man. "So what are you in for?" In her experience, the quickest way to get rid of unwanted company was to ask a few short uninterested questions and then just stare at them in silence until they were uncomfortable; she wasn't sure if that would hold true with this boy ... servers were nearly as curious as counselors sometimes.

"They tell me I'm too chipper," Greg quipped in reply to the woman's question, sensing the need for some humor, "so I guess I'm regulated to serving tables and waiting on strangers." He smiled in the woman's direction, hoping that this was some sign that he was on the right path.

"They may just be right," she raised an eyebrow at his smile. "Let me guess ... the boss doesn't want unsatisfied customers and your service at my table, while efficient, fell just short of how long you should converse to ensure I feel "welcomed"," she stated using air quotations around the word 'welcomed'.

Greg blinked. The woman was very perceptive, even if her perceptions were tainted with sarcasm or cynicism. It wouldn't do him any good to confirm or deny such a statement, so he just flashed another smile and waited for her to pop the next question.

"So how long are you here for?" She drank again. If they must sit here, she could help the process along by draining her glass so that he had a reason to go.

The young man shrugged slightly, replying, "It'll probably be a late one tonight, what with this crowd. My shift goes until after closing, when we're all cleaned up. I can't really complain, as there hasn't really been that much down time the past few days."

Velia had meant at her table; she wasn't asking after his day planner and her face conveyed that. "And tell me, how does one get into the gratifying career of handling saliva covered glasses and sanitizing table tops?" Though she was trying to be stand offish, she actually was interested in his answer. The general populace wasn't a whole lot of fun and it took a certain kind of person to aspire to do it.

Looking around, Greg leaned in a little closer and lowered his voice, as if what he had to say was some classified secret. "You have to know people," he whispered conspiratorial. Leaning back, he watched the woman's face for her reaction. He found that most patrons responded well to humor and wit, both of which this woman seemed to possess in the form of sarcasm.

Velia nodded solemnly as though assuring him that his secret was safe in her knowledge. "And," she leaned into his personal space now, "do you feel that is something you exceed at," she glanced for anything that would clue her in to his name. Actually, maybe she'd spend some time tracing the names of some of the more interesting crew members she'd met. That was always a fun way to spend some time.

"I'm learning," Greg replied, folding his arms across his chest as he watched the woman, "Yuris knows a lot more about this trade than I do. I think I'm doing pretty well, though, considering I haven't been doing it nearly as long as he has." He paused, realizing that since she they had started talking, neither one of them had introduced themselves. It wasn't something Greg usually concerned himself with and something told him that the woman seated across from him would just as soon remain anonymous.

Now she smirked. The question begged to be asked and so she allowed it. "And, young server, what does your trade training tell you about me?" This was a loaded question and she knew it. He either could be honest, and risk a 'dissatisfied customer' or he could give her some placating line. He seemed like he'd be the former, but with his boss keeping an eye out ... she couldn't be completely sure.

Greg couldn't help but smile a little at the question. He could tell that it was meant to trip him up and she knew it. If there was one thing he had learned, it was that the old saying "the customer is always right" only went so far. There came a time in every conversation where the truth was always preferable to something sweet to placate the customer. At least, that's what Yuris had told him. He had a feeling that there weren't as many in customer service who felt the same way.

"Honestly," the young man said, folding his hands on the table and looking directly at the woman, "You're someone who doesn't want to be noticed. Life is more a spectator sport for you, but you aren't hesitant to get involved when the situation demands it. That's why you've been asking me these questions. You'd much rather be left alone to observe." Concluding his assessment, Greg surveyed the woman with a small smile. He may not know the specifics, but like he had said, he'd become a very good judge of character. There was still much he had to learn, but he was pretty confident that he'd at least gotten the general idea across.

"Hmm," Velia found herself nodding. "You may just have a future in this industry yet." She turned her gaze pointedly to the man behind the bar. "And if you can gather this, I should suppose he can too so, why did he send you back over here?"

Glancing over his shoulder, Greg followed the woman's gaze toward where Yuris was smiling and speaking with a Bolian that had just approached the bar. She had found a valid point in her question about why Yuris had sent him back and he had been wondering the same thing himself. However, he also knew that Yuris usually had good reasons for doing what he did, even if he didn't tell anyone what they were at the time.

"Nice try," Greg said with a smile, turning back so that he was facing the woman again. He shook his head slightly at the fact that he had allowed himself to be so easily distracted from the conversation at hand, realizing that was exactly what she had intended.

A struggling smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she drained what was left of her tea. "Well would you look at that," she intoned as she slid the empty glass across the table to him. "It would seem I'm in need of a refresher."

Greg's smile slowly faded as he stared at the empty glass for a moment. The woman was nothing, if persistent. "So it would appear," he said, reaching out to take her glass as he rose to his feet, "I'll be right back."

Velia waited until he was a few feet away and concentrated on refilling her glass then slipped from the table and headed for the exit. Whatever the point was to having him come back to the table, she hoped Yuris was satisfied. And though she wouldn't admit it to herself, Velia was a little bit satisfied too.

OFF

A JP by

Ensign Velia Moretti
Intelligence Officer
USS Pandora

Yuris Eldar (NPC)
Orient Express Lounge Host
USS Pandora
Played By: RAdm Iluvar

and

Greg Letsky (NPC)
Orient Express Lounge Staff
USS Pandora
Played By: RAdm Iluvar