Joint Personal Log || Cmdr Dahe'el, Norbert Bernard III & Jayde Ramsey

Posted on Sun Sep 28th, 2014 @ 5:41am by

2,649 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Are You Touched?
Location: After Dark

=/\= Engineering, USS Vindicator =/\=

Cut short...

Almar played over the words in his head as he made his way through stack after stack of paperwork left in his office while he was on leave, then they had cut it short. The Cardassian was annoyed to say the least, he'd been enjoying the time he'd spent on the beach, the natural light and warmth of the resort had energised him and for the first time in a long time, he felt alive, he had something else to live for beyond his duty and it felt good.

He placed down the padd in his hand, another report filed by the ever diligent Ferengi that the fleet had seen fit to assign into his department, she was certainly proving to be a handful, but she did an excellent job, Almar couldn't complain about the state of his ship and her systems since Zola had arrived, some of the other more... lax crew had even managed to increase their efforts, afraid of being shown up by a Ferengi.

Gathering a number of the padds left on his desk, Almar stood and exited his office and made his way to the turbolift, giving the nod to a set of lieutenant grade pips he saw along his path, the indication that they should take command of the department until he returned, it was another new face, but the Cardassian was more concerned about finding a much more comfortable way to continue with his paperwork.

=/\= Somewhere, USS Vindicator =/\=

The soft tapping of heels upon the ground was all that was heard from her as the dark haired female moved along the halls. Check in had gone smooth enough, as did finding her quarters. As small as they were, Jayde thought to herself with a wiggle of her nose. One would think a ship this size would have bigger quarters for their people. Then again, she was a civilian, second class supposedly to the fleet officers.

It would be alright though, after all she didn't plan on being in there often, or long... if she could find the right man to move in with. First things first, though, was finding the lounge and meeting the man that ran that place.

=/\= Engineering, USS Vindicator =/\=

It seemed like hours, but was only seconds until the turbolift arrived and the doors separated to allow Almar entry, he moved to the back and placed his free hand on the rail, "After Dark." he called out, intending to see the changes that had been made to the Officers Lounge for the first time and hoping against all hope that it was still the haven of peace and serenity he had designed it to be.

Opening onto Deck 2, the walk to the lounge was quick and the Cardassian found himself stepping through the door and into a world he had not seen before.

=/\= After Dark, USS Vindicator =/\=

She'd made it to the lounge, likely just shortly before the Cardassian, and was standing there looking around. A hand smoothing down over the short black pleated skirt that she had one, one that went well with the purple and black top she wore. She was supposed to be a bartender after all, best way to add to business and get tips was to dress to show. Green eyes took in the lounge for a few minutes as she pondered the fact that she could have really used some liquid courage right now.

-Gah Ramsey, get a grip girl, you've got this.- Jayde mentally scolded herself for being so nervous. This wasn't her first gig, she could play this roll just as well as she had in the past, if not better this time. After all, now she had contacts, experience, and drive.

The sight of the officer coming in brought her to give the Cardassian a once over before a charming smile was offered. "Commander" She said boldly, yet sweetly.

"Yes?" Almar replied as he came to a halt just inside the door and fixed his gaze on the woman who had addressed him, clearly a civilian, since the vast majority of Starfleet officers didn't often address him in anything less than an official capacity, "Can I help you, Miss?"

"Oh, nothing Sir. I just thought I would say hi. After all, is that not the polite thing to do when meeting someone new?" Jayde said with sparkle in her eyes as she watched the man with a bit of interest.

"Perhaps, but that has not always been my experience when dealing with Humans," the Cardassian replied as he turned slightly and gestured towards one of the tables with what appeared to be quite comfortable chairs, "If you would, I do not mean to be rude but I have paperwork to be dealing with, I just wanted a change of scenery, my office can get quite... tiresome at times."

"Sure, no problem. Want anything to drink? I can get it for us.." Jayde said with a slight glance over to the bar, after all it would give her a chance to check it out.

"Tea please, hot with sugar and a slice of lemon please," Almar replied with a slight smile and a nod to the woman as he placed his stack down on the table and pulled out one of the chairs to sit down.

Norbert Bernard III, Lounge Manager of The After Dark was standing behind the bar counting bottles when he noticed a slender, Black haired woman approaching. Her appearance wasn't all that noticeable to Norbert except for her green eyes.
As she stepped to the bar he made an uncomfortable eye contact with her and sort of quirked his head. Unfortunately his only bartender had disappeared several days prior on Qonos, which didn't bother Norbert so much because the man was a fool anyways, but David had taken with him several crates of alcohol including Norbert personal stash of Meds and Stimulants. All of which was worth quite a bit of money. However with David's sudden absence it meant that Norbert now had to cover the bartending, which didn't come easy to someone who had never actually worked a real job before in his life.

"Welcome to The After Dark", Norbert said somewhat sincerely. He was actually getting better at the customer service portion of his job once he realized that the profits he could make here at the lounge might actually enable him to get away from the lounge. "What can I get for you?", he added.

Piercing greens looked at the man she now stood before, unfortunately for him she had no problem making and holding eye contact, studying him a bit or perhaps she was simply feeling him out in her own way. Jayde couldn't help but to wonder what this man was doing behind the bar, he clearly wasn't comfortable there nor confident, though that could work in her favor as she kept that sweet smile of her's. Pink tip of her tongue trailed over her lips absentmindedly to bring a glossy moistness to them before she spoke.

"Hot tea with sugar and a slice of fresh lemon for the Commander" Having decided to toss that part in there to make Norbert think she was someone important, she was new and female, this man wouldn't know... right? "And an Amaretto for me, the real stuff not the synthetic stuff you likely will have tried to pass off. Don't bother telling me you don't have any, all bars keep that secret stash of the good stuff hidden for it's special customers, and I can afford it." Only then did she break the hold she had on the man's eyes as she lifted one hand, as if checking out the well sculpted nails. In her own way, dismissing the man to get the drinks for her.

Norbert wasn't impressed. He leaned his head over and glanced at the Engineering Chief before focusing back in on Jayde. She wasn't wearing a uniform and was dressed in cheap clothes with heels. 'Definitely not Starfleet', Norbert thought to himself. She was either a civilian or a thief. Probably both.

"Payment First", he said holding out his hand for her credit card.

She hadn't gotten to be as good at things as she was by not paying attention, she'd notice the man's attitude and gave a roll of her eyes as she flipped out the card. It was the type of card that would let him know that she clearly had the funds to pay for the good stuff, and anything else she likely wanted. Handing it to him as she spoke. "You know, you really need to work on your attitude, cause the one you have will screw up any thoughts of getting good tips... or anything else for that matter."

Norbert ignored the comment and scanned the card. "Jayde Ramsey", he said out loud before handing it back to her. "That better not be stolen", he added as he reached over to the replicator and pounded a couple keys. Several seconds later the requested tea appeared and Norbert placed it on the bar in front of Jayde.

"And a glass of Amaretto for you" he stated, pulling the triangular shaped bottle filled with a thick brown liquid from underneath the counter. "The real stuff, not the synthetic stuff", he added sarcastically as he snagged a square shaped glass with his other hand and dropped a single spherical ice cube into it then began pouring, stopping once the glass was two thirds full.

Norbert slid the Amaretto across the bar-top stopping an inch from the tea. "Haven't seen you in here before", he commented, "You with the Commander then?". He said motioning with his head towards the ships Chief Engineer.

She smirked a little hearing the man as she tucked her card away, before lifting her glass for a snuff to make sure it was indeed the good stuff and not something he'd refilled the bottle with. Not that she ever did that... no of course not. Smiling as she looked at Norbert. "No, I'm not with him.. just arrived here on this Ship and happened to run into him on my way into the lounge to find the manager."

Norbert's head spun up and met her eyes. He wasn't that behind on payments, there's no way they would be sending someone after him so soon, especially not on a Starfleet Vessel. He decided to be cautious regardless.

"And why do you need to see the manager?", he asked flippantly, attempting to appear un-phased by the statement.

"Oh... I have my reasons, perhaps after my time with the Commander I'll hunt him down. Or if you see him, let him know I'm looking for him please." Picking up the tea along with her drink, she turned with that sassy toss of her hips and started off.

"Hmmm", Norbert grunted as she walked back towards the commander. He immediately grabbed the PADD from the counter and entered in the name she had given pulling up whatever information he had access too on who she was.

Reaching the Commander, she placed his tea down on the table for him before slipping the chair out across from him to sit down. "Sorry it took me so long." She said softly as to not disturb him.

"I'm not surprised," the Cardassian replied with a light chuckle as he picked up the steaming mug and took a quick sip, "My race might have impaired hearing compared to you Humans, but even I could hear the conversation between the two of you."

A slightly sheepish look caught her as she looked from the Commander to Norbert and back again. "I've dealt with enough bartenders to know the tricks of the trade. And the way he looks, I didn't trust him not to pull something." She said with a slight shrug.

"There have been rumblings about him already throughout the crew," Almar replied as he pulled out one of the padds from the stack and went back to work with a slight smile, "He's an interesting character from all accounts, but I haven't had the pleasure, or displeasure of having to make his acquaintance."

"Any idea of his name?" She asked curiously as she peeked back to the bar. "Just so I know who my competition is..." Although she had little doubt she could out serve him in a bar setting like this one. Of course, she could probably out wit the twit with no problem either.

"Competition? He's the manager, Norbert Bernard the Third," the Cardassian replied with a light chuckle as he picked up the mug again with his free hand and took a longer drink this time.

Well hell...Lifting a glass she took a good drink of it, hell she'd have downed it if wasn't for the Commander sitting there. "He's the manager..." She glanced back to the man at the bar once more before looking away as she tried to figure out the best move now. "Good to know..." If only she'd known that ten minutes ago!

"I should probably let you get to work and go play nice with the man now. After all, I was hoping to get a job here." She said slightly sheepishly.

"Good luck Miss...? I didn't catch you're name." Almar replied as he looked up from the padd he was working on.

"Ramsey... Jayde Ramsey. And thanks, I get the feeling I'll need it now." Swallowing down the rest of her drink she smiled to the Cardassian. "Don't work to hard."

Turning, she took a deep breath and headed back towards the bar. So much for playing the sweet one... now she was just going to have to swing it.

"Hmmmm", Norbert mumbled as he read what little information on Jayde Ramsey that he could find. "ex-starfleet, then worked out of Starbase Zetari as a trader", he felt a little more relieved, he was probably just being paranoid anyways.

He noticed through his peripheral vision that she was returning to the bar. "I take it the Amaretto was satisfactory?", he asked reaching down for the bottle, "Refill?".

"It was, but I think for now I'll pass on the refill Mr. Bernard, we need to talk." Jayde replied as she watched him with a serious look on her face as she pondered the best way to handle this mess she'd gotten herself into.

"It doesn't do well for a lounge mangier to be behind the bar, there is more important things you could be doing. So, now that you have seen I don't take attitude from anyone, I can get along with the fleet officers, and clearly I know my way behind the bar, after all how else would I know about that stash. Lets talk about my pay and hours shall we?" Jayde said without missing a beat.

Norbert smiled and laughed at himself for being so paranoid. He did like this green eyed woman's confidence however and he was certainly short staffed at the moment, "Fine. You will be paid the same as everyone else, and as for your hours", he handed her a wet rag. "They will start right now, those tables need to be bussed", he pointed to several tables on the far side of the lounge.

Taking the cloth with a smile. "Alright fine, but I'll expect a raise in 30 days and a bottle of Amaretto as a bonus once a month." Before he could answer she was off with that sassy toss of her hips to make her way over to the table. A playful wink to a couple of guys who were chuckling, having overheard some of the black haired girls words.

(End Log.)

Commander Almar Dahe'el
Chief Engineering Officer
USS Vindicator - NCC-78213-E

Norbert Bernard III
Lounge Manager
The After Dark

Jayde Ramsey
Bartender Extraordinaire
The After Dark

 

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