Star Trek: Starbase 777 - market-stalls

What was better for an advertising campaign than a cute little decorated market stall? There was a stack of flyers beside the magician's stall as they performed tricks for passerby to gather attention - small sparks from the tip of their wand, flowers from their sleeve, anything that would really get eyes on them. Maggie's show would be happening in a few months, so it was good to start putting themself out there! Their top hat disappeared from the stall with a little burst of sparks, and with a little flourish of their hand, they twirled the brim around their finger before plopping it back up onto their head, hoping to attract at least a few more eyes.

Mephis enjoyed retail therapy - a bad habit picked up from the Ferengi he grew up with. You wouldn't know it from looking at his belongings, though - organised, and not numerous. This was primarily because he also enjoyed selling objects, too. It wasn't some kind of side gig - more a way to have something, enjoy it for a few months, then give it to whoever else might enjoy it. A merchant hobby. A way of being part of the flow of the great material continuum. Point is, he was here to pick up trinkets, and trinkets he had bought. Sometimes, as well as goods, the market stalls offered services, too, and one caught his eye. It looked like the service this person was providing was... Entertainment! The magical kind! He approached the stall. "Hey. You a magician? I had a brief phase once when I was young where I was obsessed with becoming a magician. I can still do the coin thing - look." He reached forward and pulled a coin from Maggie's ear. "Probably not that impressive to you considering you probably know exactly how I did it, though. You puttin' on a show?"

Maggie perked up as they were approached, leaning forward a little as they listened intently. First person that'd passed by in a few minutes, so naturally, they were excited. They giggled behind their mask. "Of course it's still impressive! It takes a lot of practice and dedication. I love finding other people who learn tricks and stuff. I've been setting up for a few months now. I've got a little spot on the entertainment promenade, and the stage is finally ready, so I've been rehearsing day and night. The name's Maggie the Magnificent, if you've ever seen it!" Punctuated with a little flourish of their wand, a rose popping out of the end and offered to the person on the other end of the stall. It was something they did for just about everyone that bothered to say hello. "For most people, it's a little tricky with close-up stuff, but I started out doing street magic," they pulled a card from their deck, talking even as they pressed it between their hands and turned them, "then I moved on to tours, and now I think I'll be here for a bit. So," they parted their hands, a little 'kaboom' motion revealing them now empty, before they clasped them together again and revealed a folded up flyer cupped between. "I need to keep practicing the big stuff. But it's fun this way, y'know? Helps me keep in shape. Remember my roots outside of flashy lights and cool effects." They smoothed it out to offer to the man. (edited)

He accepted the rose with a small smile, definitely intending on giving it to Allan later. It was a pet name both he and Eshen, the flower fanatic that he was, had taken to calling him. "Haven't seen it, but I can be a bit of a shut-in sometimes. Maybe if I got out more often I'd see more exciting stuff like this." He watched Maggie's trick intently, torn between trying to figure out how they were doing it and just letting the magic happen, before deciding on the latter and enjoying the show. He took the flyer, unfolding it and giving it a glance before putting it in his pocket. "I used to watch videos of this stuff all the time. I was going to call myself the Magical Mister Mephistopheles, or Magic Mo. Do you ever post your stuff online?"

They were a little disappointed, but the magician didn't let it show. It was popping their metaphorical little bubble of fame. They were a much smaller name than they thought they were.. "Ah, I haven't the faintest idea of how to run a Spacetube properly," Maggie giggled a little awkwardly, rubbing the back of their neck. "I've got recordings of a few things up, though, yes! I like that. Magical Mister Mephistopheles.. It's certainly alliterative?" Hopefully that was the right word. "And really fun!" Infinitely more original than "Maggie the Magnificent", but they didn't exactly choose it. They had Vaia to thank for that. They hummed in consideration before tapping against their top hat, drawing out three cups and a ball. "I'll tell you what-- I'm sure you know how this one goes, so you win the game and I'll give you a free ticket, okay?" They beamed. "What do you say?"

Mo wasn't a good litmus test for how popular you were. He just wasn't hip with the times, unless the times were the paleozoic era or when the dinosaurs were around. He liked Earth history, but only the times when humans weren't around. Unless they were doing some funky little magic tricks, of course. "Thanks. A free ticket? You're on." As Maggie presumably placed the cups on the table, he added, "Let me know if you need any help runnin' spacetube. Or maybe ask my partner, Allan Allen. He's as tech-savvy as me, but he has a little more free time." Less so since becoming ACEO, though.

"Thanks for that," Maggie tipped their head to Mo to acknowledge him, then covered the ball with one of the cups and started to shuffle them around. It was easy enough to track them in their little circle, back and forth and past eachother, and once it was down, the ball should be under the cup to the left. "Your call, Magic Mo," they chirped, leaning back to give him a chance to guess.

He kept an eye on the ball, following it as best he could. He was grateful he had sharp eyes - unless anything was too close to them. He was a bit long-sighted. Then again, it was probable this was all a trick, and the ball wouldn't be under the left cup, but he didn't want to overthink it too much - it would lose the magic that way. "Left?"

"Hmm, let's see.." They made a show of tapping their wand against the top, then picked up the cup. There was no ball underneath, but rather a ticket-- the old timey sort, paper with the 'Admit One' on it. "Hey, look at that! You got it!"

Aha! The plot twist! Of course they would have a trick up their sleeve - in the cup. He laughed, a low, raspy sound, which some had told him was soothing but had once been uncharitably described by an enemy as the sound of a dog with a throat cold. "By the GMC, I sure did." He picked up the ticket. "Nice trick. I've gotta move on, but I'll be lookin' forward to your show, alright?" (edited)

Maggie laughed, mostly out of delight that they'd gotten him to do the same, waving Mo off. It was a delightful little interaction, but they didn't want to keep him. "Thanks for dropping by. I'll see you there!"

It had been a long day for Verelan, despite the fact that her shop had only been open for a few hours. Trying to teach a young Risian Caracal any sort of manners was proving more difficult than anticipated, so she'd left it with the babysitting program for the time being in order to give her head some peace, and her shop some business. She'd been distracted though, and had spent most of her time cleaning and waiting for someone to enter. After a while she got sick of it, and now she was wandering the market stalls to see if they had anything she could use to coax her new pet to behave at all. She hadn't seen anything yet though, and her hopes were low by now.

Vialara had been out for most of the day, having gotten her usual coffee, done a brief bout of wandering around the environmental ring and experiencing some warmth and outdoors, she had now found herself for the best part of an hour wandering around the vast number of shops available on 777 looking to expand her spring wardrobe a little. She had been browsing the market stalls for a little bit now, having picked out one or two new accessories that had caught her eye, yet another little treat to brighten her week. But as she was finishing up her latest purchase, something else was drawing her attention on the next stall over... It wasn't any of the products they were selling, but the very attractive woman who was browsing them. She had seen the woman before quite recently, but she couldn't quite place- Oh! Magnificent Maggie's Show! They were one of the two people who were talking to Maggie after the show... Verelan? Was it? They finished up their latest transaction and made their way over to the next stall. "Anything exciting catch your eye?"

"Not really," Verelan responded on autopilot, giving one last look to what this particular vendor was selling before turning towards the sound of the voice. It was vaguely familiar, so she felt at least comfortable enough to keep her guard down like usual. "Nothing I can't get better for cheaper, anyway. Why, were you looking to make a recommendation?" Verelan didn't actually recognise the person standing beside her, though she felt she probably should have, but she wouldn't ever dare complain about gorgeous women coming up to her. It certainly was more exciting than fruitlessly wandering these stalls, and she was a massive lesbian before she was a person, sometimes. Oftentimes.

Vialara gave the woman a gentle smile as she turned to her, it didn't seem as if Verelan had immediately recognised her, not that they had ever interacted properly. The two were only in eachothers company for a matter of moments before Vialara has snuck off back into the crowd again, but the thought of the Romulan had lingered in the back of her mind for a little while afterwards. "No, I didn't have any suggestions. I was just coming over to take a look at something that caught my own eye, in fact." The other items in the marketplace were quite boring in comparison to the very rare find of a beautiful woman in a suit, it was often hard to say no... And especially these days, Vialara seemed to find it harder to turn down the prospect. "I'm always quick to grab something I have my eye on, before somebody else snatches it up... You'd never want to miss out on a potentially wonderful opportunity. People do always tell me there's some wonderful things to see wandering around this market."

The gorgeous woman's response had Verelan raise an eyebrow, unsure of whether she was readng into things too much. It very much sounded like she was being flirtatious, but then Verelan had never been picked up by the market stalls before... or was that because she usually did the picking up?Either way, she was keen to see where it went. "Wonderful things indeed," she told Vialara, her eyes flickering up and down very very briefly before refocusing on her face. By virtue of being short and not wearing heels outside of special occasions, Verelan was currently looking up at her, so the brief look down was extra obvious. "I'm usually a bit more picky, though of course, sometimes you can't risk regretting your doubt later."

"Mhm, that's true... Although I probably have enough regret for one lifetime, I don't think I'm gonna let myself add to that, I'd much rather just enjoy things." She said with a gentle smile, as she held out her hand. "I don't think we've been properly introduced, I'm Commander Vialara Dreaxa, Chief Medical Officer." The CMO already knew the other woman by name, but it did seem like introductions were in order, plus she wasn't 100% sure if it was actually 'Verelan' or if she was confusing the name with somebody else... "I saw you at Maggie's show a couple of weeks ago. Was tempted to say Hello, but you seemed preoccupied. So, I just thought I'd jump at the opportunity now. Any chance you'd wanna maybe, get a coffee sometime?"

"Vialara... a lovely name for a lovely face," Verelan said, taking the hand offered to her, though instead of shaking it, she bent down and brought it up to her lips to press a kiss to the back of her hand, right above the knuckles. "I'm Verelan Rhhaein, owner of Authentic Romulan Affairs. And, I'd be delighted to join you for a coffee sometime. Although-" she pretended to think for a second, though it was pretty clearly an act, "I do seem to have an opening in my schedule right now, if you're amenable?"

As the Romulan leant down and kissed her on the back of the hand, Vialara's cheeks flushed an ever so gentle pink colour, a very quiet 'Oh~' escaping her lips as she did so. "Authentic Romulan Affairs? I think I've walked past that a couple of times, I've never actually been inside though... Perhaps I should stop by sometime." She said with a grin, as she looked down at the woman who had now become exponentially more exciting to her. "But, I think my schedule just became free all of a sudden, now that you mention it, Coffee sounds wonderful. I know many good spots we could go to."

Watching Vialara blush slightly at her... affectionate introduction, gave Verelan the sort of satisfaction that broke her face open in a lopsided grin. "I think you definitely should, I'll be sure to make the experience a memorable one if you do," she said, absolutely uncaring for the double entendre even if she was mostly promising to present Vialara with a fancy tea on the house and perhaps a little tour of all the lovely things in her storage that she didn't keep on display, since the woman seemed so fond of... pretty things. "Ah, it's always nice when the schedule allows for chance meeting like this. Lead the way, you're clearly more expert on the subject," Verelan said, rarely if ever going into a café or coffee place, unless she was in the mood for a sugary abomination done right. As a veritable tea connoisseur, that was not an admission she wanted to put into the world though, so the secret would be between her and everyone who ever saw her drink one of those things.

Vialara smiled and turned on her heel, as she stepped up to walk beside Verelan as they did so, a cute (but yet still slightly shocked) look on her face as the two walked side by side through the market. "I would like to come visit your store. What sort of things do you sell? I must admit I've only ever really glanced at it, I don't think I've even looked in properly through the window." She said with a quiet chuckle. As they continued down the promenade a little, passing by many other little stalls she had already browsed through, she turned back to glance down at Verelan. "The name implies you sell 'Authentic Romulan Affairs' but I must admit my knowledge comes to a rather abrupt stop when you start branching outside of the federation species, I've never really met a lot of romulans until recently. I don't want to accidentally offend you by guessing what sort of things you sell."

Verelan hummed, thinking about what to tell Vialara. "Well, I got my start two decades ago with selling my family's ale. You'd be surprised at how well it sells in the Klingon Empire... ah, but I'm sure my tales of price gauging in my early years aren't something I should bore you with." She stole a glance at Vialara's face, and decided to change course slightly. "Over the years I've branched out, though. Made a few Ferengi friends, inasmuch as you can trust a Ferengi businessman to be a friend, and they helped me add a few things to my catalogue here and there. Now I also sell cultural artefacts, cloth and tapestries and games, occasionally I sell books, and some old tech here and there when I can get my hands on it." That was a slightly sanitised version of what she did, completely omitting the many items of non-Romulan make that she sold for the right price to the right people. "Most of all though, I'm in the business of having connections. If you need something specific, I probably know someone who knows someone who can get it for me. A businessman is only as good as his connections, and mine span the entirety of the Alpha and Beta quadrants." That wasn't a brag. Okay, maybe it was just a little bit, but more than that, it was the truth, and the most important part of her business model. If she'd wanted to live off just selling ale, she'd have stayed in the Klingon Empire all those years ago. "So if you ever find yourself wanting something rare or hard to find, Miss Vialara, you now who to call on. You're always welcome in my shop" she said lightheartedly, not so much joking as she was trying to come across more playful than like she was selling something.

As Vialara listened to Verelan chat away, she seemed a little concerned at first, the concept of Romulan Ale wasn't new to her, but it wasn't something she was interested in, and it seemed that Verelan picked up on that as she spoke, having quickly switched the topic to something else. "Quite a diverse array of things, then? I really must stop by, even to just sample all of the wonderful stuff you have for sale. You can give me a tour of all the things you have on offer." Vialara continued down the promenade a little more, leaving the range of the market stalls and now out into the more open space where she could focus more on her newly met friend instead of glancing around at the nice things on offer every so often. "But, I will certainly keep that in mind, there might be a few things I miss from my days back on Betazed that you can't quite find nowadays. Gliqqigug does a wonderful job of finding my coffee for me, but I don't know... Maybe a well renowned and expert businesswoman such as yourself, could help me locate such rare and exotic items." She said with a gentle chuckle. "I'll have to come up with a little list, test your knowledge."

"My personal expertise is far more in the teas, darling, but I'm sure I can find the right person for your needs, if I can't already meet them," Verelan promised, with an easy assuredness that pervaded her entire being even on the worst of days. It was easy being green, at least for her, and she wasn't going to pretend otherwise. "So you usually get your coffee from Gliqqigug's, then? Is that where you're taking me today?" she asked sweetly, batting her eyelids as she followed Vialara without hesitation or protest. It wasn't hard to, for this major lesbian, as people showing an interest in her, both her face and the person wearing it, was almost more intoxicating than the Romulan ale she sold in her shop. And that, needless to say, was some Strong Fucking Stuff.

"Well, I have high hopes that you'll exceed my expectations of you." She said with a gentle chuckle, as she gave Verelan a sly smile. The two walking side-by-side as they did so, Vialara looking very interested in the romulan wandering beside her. Nowadays she found it very hard not to be attracted to any good looking women she saw on the station, but it wasn't exactly a bad thing... "But you're already doing very well in that regard, my dear~" As the two made their way further, she looked over at Verelan as she asked about their destination. "We can have a little wander by Gliqqigug's if you'd like, but it's usually quite busy, they're quite a popular spot for coffee, it's in quite a nice place on the corner of the promenade.. but I see no harm in us heading up that way for a look, there's plenty of cafes we could choose from up that end of the promenade anyway if it's a little... Crowded. We can just head elsewhere. I know plenty of places I could take you."

"I will let you lead me. You seem to have your mind set on something, so I think I best not contradict you," Verelan said with a smile. She enjoyed not having to think about what to do or where to go, truth be told, struggling with picking three meals a day on the best of days (especially when defaulting to hlai stew or gagh only got you so far into the week before you were sick of it). Having this gorgeous woman think for her didn't sound so bad. And if that train of thought led her to some other trains of thought she'd perhaps best leave unvoiced until later, well. At least that left plenty of future topics to broach.

The two continued walking for another ten minutes or so, before the reached the end of the promenade where all the coffee shops were, it was just about midday and the promenade was absolutely packed with people going out for coffee and lunch. "Wow, look at the queue for Gliqqigug's... And the seating area is almost completely full. We'll struggle to find a table at this rate." She glanced down the promenade slightly, it was definitely just as busy elsewhere... She gave Verelan a glance. "I've just had a thought, I have a couple of bags of that coffee back in my quarters I managed to steal away from Gliqqigug the last time I was in the shop, I wanted some so I could prepare it myself for my late shift this week... If you're okay with my slightly inferior coffee making skills."

"Hmm, seems like that is the only viable option... you'll have to introduce me yourself, then, and take me to find the real deal some other time. Such hardship," Verelan joked, smiling widely. Getting taken to Vialara's quarters, score! Potential second date? She'd just have to wait and see, but somehow she didn't feel like Vialara would mind too much, as long as she was on her best behaviour. Or her worst behaviour, depending on how the afternoon went. But she'd feel that out the more time the two of them spent together. No need to rush greatness, after all, and Verelan had every intention of making this great.

Vialara smiled across at Verelan as the two made their way past the end of the market stalls, heading towards the turbolift now. "I promise you I'll take you out for the real thing another time... I don't think I'll have any issues with seeing you again sometime soon." The two smiled and stepped off into the turbolift, heading for the Commander's quarters. She didn't know what the romulan had planned for when they got back to her quarters, but from the previous interactions, it didn't take a massive leap to figure it out. Vialara certainly wasn't complaining at the prospect of such things, however~

Here at the market stalls, Kakabam was a broke bitch, but window shopping was free, right? They were sipping their bubble tea that had drained the last of their latinum. Kakabam was pretty new to using currency to buy things as they lived very bare bones most of their life. As a monastic student they were forbidden from indulging in any sort of luxuries, not that there were many things to spend money on in the jungle of a Vulcan colony world. There were certainly things to buy on Vulcan, but Kakabam didn't see a need to when all of life's needs were provided for free. Sometimes they would splurge on some hand crafted items though, Kakabam loved supporting local artists and Vulcan had no shortage of artisans. Today, Kakabam was dressed in their V'Shar uniform as per usual, with the short skirt variant! They liked the added mobility skirts gave them and of course they got to show some leg, how scandalous. They walked very slowly, wanting to get a look at all of the things on display.

There was plenty to look at, as Kallek was quickly discovering. No amount of blueprints would equate to the feeling of actually being inside such a station, and the people only added to that. Despite his very obviously Starfleet attire, this newness made him just as obviously out of place - almost comically so. He stood stiffly aside from the market's bustle, even as his gaze wandered over the wares nearest him. The glimmer of earrings in the artificial lights sent a pang of homesickness through him, and Kallek slowly trailed towards the vendor. They were much fancier than his own, without any house indicated, and he privately wondered if they were meant to be customised after purchase, or they were just a simplified commercialisation. Would it matter...? Lost in his musings, he realised belatedly he'd been standing there like an idiot, and tried a smile to the merchant as he stepped away - narrowly avoiding a collision with someone in the process. "Ah, pardon. Apologies."

Kakabam may have looked like they were absentmindedly sipping their bubble tea, but they still had their wits about them and nimbly dodged the other person. They were naturally light on their toes and it was a good thing as this person seemed to be equally tall as them. Kakabam always felt bad if someone shorter than them misstepped because in most cases the shorter person would be the one going down, not Kakabam. Looking at the person's features Kakabam realised they were most likely Cardassian-Bajoran, a pretty common combination. They knew those Bajoran nose ridges anywhere because their son was also half Bajoran. "It's alright," Kakabam's more casual speech added a bit of ambiguity to their own species, although perhaps it wasn't so uncommon for Vulcans to speak less than formally in that day and age. "Do you have your eyes on anything?" They asked out of curiosity with nothing else to do. Kakabam was broke and had lots of time to kill whilst Riki was at school.

Kallek was certainly fortunate to be taller than most, and it was in crowds like these he was reminded of that. At least there was no collision. First impressions, and all that. He turned his shy smile to the stranger, now, and smooth-scaled ridges lifted with it. "Nothing in particular, no," he admitted, words slightly stilted. He wasn't looking at them so much as towards them, and his gaze drifted further as he spoke. "I'm just.. seeing all there is to see. Are there any stalls you're fond of?" His gaze flitted across the plaza once again. Frankly, he had his eyes on a lot, but he knew that wasn't the question. Tap, tap, went a finger on his thigh. Somehow it was more comfortable to be cramped in the back of an access shaft than standing in the open like this. "I haven't been on the station long, so I'm not familiar with its shops."

"I just got here as well," Kakabam told the stranger, trying not to stare but it was a force of habit. They stretched their legs a little, having moved a little too fast when trying to dodge the collision. What mattered the most is that their bubble tea was okay. "I was curious about the Bajoran earring displays. My son keeps breaking his," Kakabam said as their eyes drifted to one of the jewellery stalls that had some samples of different metals and designs for earrings. There was a section dedicated to specifically Bajoran earrings with a large selection of different gems and adornments available. "I am one of the MADD officers on the station, my name is Kakabam, yes real name," Kakabam did not smile, but they were trying to make a joke. "And you are?"

Those brow ridges rose higher, somehow, and Kallek withheld a question that would probably have been at least a little intrusive. "Plenty to choose from. There's probably something stronger they could have it made from," he agreed. The concept for super-durable earrings passed fleetingly through his thoughts. "Kallek, which is also my real name. I'm just an engineer." If he was continuing the joke, it was hard to say. Turning away to examine the variety of earrings, Kallek glanced back to continue conversing. "Which part of it does he break? The chain? There are other links that won't snap as easily on a small scale." This was great! Common ground, and something he knew about anyway. If only every conversation was this easy..

"My son is 6 and extremely active. I will admit, Bajoran style earrings are one religious item I am surprisingly not well versed in. I can tell you all about thobes or head wraps," Kakabam proudly wore their V'Shar uniform which just so happened to look similar to what they wore whilst studying under their monk teachers. It made them happy, they loved religion from all cultures and were proud to be living in an era in which they could dabble in many different faiths with ease. They looked at a few of the silver clasps with thick round chains. "It is nice to meet you Kallek. That is a pretty name," They said to him with an affirming head nod. "It's usually the chain. The circular clasps always come undone," Kakabam bent their legs to be eye level with one display model that featured reinforced rings. "My son does have a family earring design. It is not hard to replicate," Kakabam explained. "I will sound ignorant, but what inspires the design of an earring? Aside from traditional. If one was to make their own.. the reason I am asking is I would like to make a child friendly version for my son to wear that won't break as easily and I would like a matching one. I think he would like for us to have something like that." (edited)

Kallek blinked, taking a moment to process this information, and then reached to delicately remove his own earring. He held it in his palm so that Kakabam could get a better look at its design. The clasp and chains were in an unusual arrangement to accommodate his more reptilian anatomy, and a small gem hanging from the dropped portion caught the light with subtle movement. "It's not ignorant. I imagine most people don't know the meaning of the shape, even those with Bajoran friends. It's called a d'ja pagh. If you're familiar with the concept of pagh already, you might understand why it's worn as an earring." He ran a finger of his free hand along the ridge of his ear before continuing. "It should follow the vital line. The details are usually just a matter of preference now, but they used to indicate caste. Even within a family's standard, I've seen a lot of variation, and a lot of different explanations for the parts..." Pausing, he looked thoughtful for a moment, glancing up and then back down. "A curb link chain might do better on that scale than your standard cable. You could create your own unique standard, since you're, well.. not Bajoran. Or if you'd like to follow suit with your son, it wouldn't be improper."

Kakabam took a few tentative steps closer to the Bajoran-Cardassian so they could get a good view of the earring. He noticed the unique shape that seemed to fit perfectly with the angles of the ear of which it attached to. Seeing the person touch his ear made Kakabam do that same to his own ears. His ears were already adorned with earrings, two small golden loops on each lobe and a few cuffs around the sides. The tips of his ears curved upwards as was typical for many of their species. "I am familiar with the basics of Bajoran faith. I studied a number of religions during my time at university," They told the kind stranger.* "I see, so even amongst families there is variation," Hearing that made Kakabam happy as it meant that it wouldn't be bad if Riki's new earring deviated a little from his old one. "My son and I are Romulan, he's half Bajoran. We would need a shape that could accommodate our pointed ears," Kakabam told Kallek. "Your earring is beautiful, by the way. I have a picture of my son's current earring," Kakabam said as he grabbed his PADD to show the other. It was a typical silver cuff and chain with a large green emerald-like stone dangling. The metal swirled down the chain to replicate what appeared to be the Cardaasian logo. Orange and green gems decorated the cuff. "I am not too knowledgeable about the details, but I think my son would do better with a smaller gem and perhaps shortening the chain?"