JL | Dani Atara and Lt. Evan Merlin | Secret Identities, Pt 2

Posted on Tue Feb 13th, 2018 @ 10:11am by Danielle Atarah

Mission: The Round Table
Location: Cold Station Theta

-- Continued --

"You dance with the Admiralty!" Dani mocked a scoffing chuckle, "How brave. I guess I prefer the non alcoholic versions," she smiled; she never really liked alcohol, and she now only drank with Zett around, but her smile lopsided again as she threw another weirdly shaped cracker into her mouth. "I mean the Admirals," she winked, "and the drinks."

"I am the Goblin King," he said easily. The hand with the glass ball stretched in a wave which encompassed the entire area. "I dance with everyone. Emperors or Admirals, or any servant, if I so choose." And then the impish grin was back, overlaying his serious face like a mask under a mask. "And thus far, I've found that Admirals are more palatable when they're somewhat saturated with alcohol."

"Good observation, King Kent," Dani snorted, "and it would've helped, if only you had some alcohol around." She, of course, would probably not partake; Zett wasn't here, and Dani never liked ingesting anything event remotely mind-altering at all, and her only exceptions were with the Trill herself. "I could bring some pretty decent bottles from the Bristol, if you'd like to pamper yourself with the civilian stamped good-stuff."

"If that is solely for it's alcoholic content, I fear that it's mostly wasted on me, sorry," the Goblin King said with a twinkle which indicated he wasn't sorry at all. "However, for the taste alone I might take you up on it. Maybe one bottle. It'll probably last me a year or more…" he grinned again, "depending on how many visitors I get."

"Alcohol is overrated," Dani nodded, making a mental note, with some measure of amused wonder, to go over the bio scans that she took earlier, stored neatly in her scanner's databank. "Deal," she plucked a PADD as if from nowhere in her suit and tapped it. "If you're in it for the taste, I have a Remi Martin XIX, aged 120 years. I must say though, that baby needs heavy duty care and under no circumstances will you ever -" she looked at him, suddenly mockingly severe, as if i wass the most important rule in the universe at the moment, "-- ever ever -- mix it with anything. This drink is for enjoying high scale taste. perhaps, if you insist, on the 'rocks', but it is," 'more expensive than you'd make in 10 years of Starfleet provisions', she thought, but didn't say, amused with herself, "absolutely not for mixing around like a reckless college kid. Kapisch? That's no joke, Kent, it's s-e-r-i-o-u-s. If you agree to these terms, it's yours." she smirked, wagging her finger at him.

He considered the offer, one hand under his chin while the crystal ball slowed down, dancing slowly, dreamily across his other hand, wrist, arm and back. Finally the sea-coloured eyes from behind the mask fixed on hers again, and he nodded gravely. "It would be an honour and a joy to sample."

She smiled and nodded, tapping on her PADD, ordering the Bristol chef to beam a small bottle down. "It will be a few minutes. The chef up there is great," she gestured in the general way of where the Bristol was likely floating, not docked, up outside the station, "but he takes his time picking through the inventory." She winked, not actually expecting any of this to take too long, considering the ship was hers, and the stakes, whether she liked it or not, were high for the crew. "In the meantime, we could hunt for glasses to use."

"Allow me." He sauntered to the bar, looked around, nodded in satisfaction and walked back. He hadn't moved his hands at all, as far as Dani could see – though admittedly, his clothes could be obscuring from certain angles. Yet once he returned, one moment both hands were empty, the next moment they weren't.

"Nice trick. At this rate, if you continue pulling things out of thin air, I might have to change your name to Dr. Strange," she smirked, and winked, turning to pull out the mid-sized bottle that, in that time, materialized next to her, and twisted the top, breaking the seal. "Alright, superman, this is the real deal," she poured to both glasses, "taste it slowly. Savor it." She picked one glass and sniffed it appreciatively. If she drinks, she'll take a single sip only, breaking her habit to never drink outside of Earth. She hasn't decided if she wants to yet, but the smell alone was worth it, she thought, twirling the drink in the cup and examining the man, waiting for the reaction with the satisfaction of someone who already knows what the reaction would be.

"I've considered it, but I think the guys at Admin will go ballistic when I change it again. I'll just add it to the collection," he said with a smile. He looked at her as she poured the drink, giving her and the ancient ritual his full attention. He picked up the second glass, his movement almost an exact copy of hers, swirled the liquid gently and smiled at the aroma. Curiously, there seemed to be a small bubble of privacy around the two of them, as if they shared a pocket universe which was just outside the realm of merrymakers around them.

And in that timeless moment he took a delicate sip, and smiled. "A moment to treasure," he said softly, looking over the rim of his glass at her. There was nothing seductive in the look, not even flirty. But the comment rang sincere.

"Alrighty, then, Kent," Dani's smile lopsided, but her eyes remained honest as she examined his reaction with a nod. "You pass. I like you." She winked and took a small barely noticeable sip from her own glass, swirling the drink in her mouth, barely enough to get the alcohol effect, but definitely enough to fill her mouth with its taste. "Here," she handed him the bottle with a small bow, "now that I know you will appreciate it like a decent person, it's yours."

"By accepting the gift, you honour the giver," he said gravely. As the bottle was placed in his hand, the glass ball rolled over his wrist and somehow ended up in her hand. "Please accept this in return. It's but a crystal, nothing more." He smiled, and now that twinkle was back in his eyes. "Or maybe not."

Dani laughed and accepted it, bowing dramatically in return. "I shall cherish it as if it was my own child," she rolled the crystal in her palm, almost like his own previous trick, making it vanish inside her puffed cape-jacket sleeve with a wink. "I'll be seeing you around, Kent. Don't be a stranger."

And with that, and another wink and a bow, she twisted her arm, removed the glasses, clicked the little button that shrunk back her cloths and expanded her cape, and floated away, grinning.

--

Lt. Evan 'Weirdo' Merlin
Chief Strat Ops
Cold Station Theta

Danielle Atarah
Privateer, Ex-Engineer
Earth Syndicate