The Quest for Coffee

Posted on 15 Jul 2021 @ 4:54pm by Ensign Zyrra Vehlin & Lieutenant Theodore Winslow

Mission: M2 - Sanctuary
Location: Promenade
Timeline: MD-04 0940hrs
1623 words - 3.2 OF Standard Post Measure

The quest for good coffee on a station the size of Obsidian Command was a quest in itself. With not only a promenade but also the crew replicators and even some of the luxury facilities in the diplomatic quarter, there were plenty of places to try. If there was one thing Zyrra had learned early on in her academy days, it was the importance of finding a good source of coffee. Her Andorian tastebuds needed the right blend - not too bitter, but fragrant and earthy enough. Any good scientist recognised the importance of fuelling the brain, of course.

In the last few days she had explored almost all of the options the Promenade had to offer - even one of the establishments that hadn't fully opened following the attack yet. There were some that had potential; a former Bajoran Vedek had opened a nice little place, but the smell of Raktajino was off-putting. And the Ferengi-run space offered a decent product but their service and prices were inconsistent.

So it was that she had almost exhausted all of the most readily available options in the civilian-run parts of the station. Her last bet was 'Ebony Malts', apparently using beans grown on the planet below and shipped to the station. Supposedly that meant they were fresh, but she wasn't sure that made a huge difference.

Approaching the entrance to the new establishment, she caught sight of a familiar face. It wasn't clear if he was going her way or not, but the polite thing to do was to greet him.

"Lieutenant Winslow?" she tilted her head. They hadn't crossed paths since the attack, which wasn't surprising given the size of the station they lived on. "Ensign Zyrra Vehlin. We met a few weeks ago. During the attack."

The security officer glanced to his left at the polite tone that called his name stopping him in his tracks from his path back to his quarters. He almost chuckled at the woman and how she reintroduced herself. It would have been hard to not remember someone who had leapt the promenade deck alongside him without much more faith in him and their task and advice other than do not lock your knees. Not many security officers would have done that let alone a scientist.

“Good Afternoon. It would be hard to ever forget you, Ensign.” He greeted back. “How have you been?” He wondered.

"Busy," she replied sharply. Her antennae shifted backwards involuntarily as she realised she was mildly snappy when on a caffeine low. "I mean...it's been very busy with the clean-up and the investigative work alongside it all. And Commander Zahn. Just...busy."

The Security Officer raised an eyebrow at the sharpness in her tone. "It had been very busy. Would you like a coffee Ensign or something stronger? We never did catch up after our action." The man said softly thinking that maybe she needed a moment to decompress.

"Coffee." Her answer was short and sharp. She flushed a little in embarassment - not that it was easy to tell with Andorian skin pigmentation. "I mean...yes. Coffee." She pointed at the nearby vendor. "I was about to try. You can join me?"

“If you do not mind me looking this?” He wondered indicating his gym clothes. They were fresh on as he had not been yet but some people did not appreciate the look.

Zyrra glanced over his appearance. At first she was confused at his question; of course she didn't mind. It wasn't like she was Vulcan and could smell every little odor coming off the man. Maybe he was just being polite. All she could do was stare back blankly for a minute. "I don't have a problem unless it stops me getting coffee," she said honestly.

Theo let out a bark of laugher at her honesty before returning to his stoic look and indicated for them to continue. "I would never keep a woman from her coffee." He assured.

"Good. It would be the last thing you did," Zyrra confirmed quite honestly, turning back towards the Ebony Malts coffee house. The scent of fresh beans had been calling to her for the length of their conversation thus far. She tossed a quick glance back to see if he was following, then approached the counter. A tiny human woman was peeking out behind a counter that had clearly not been designed for her more diminuitive stature. "Coffee," she declared. "Your finest blend." The woman blinked at her in surprise, and looked at Theo, to see if he had anything to add.

"I am pretty sure I could take you, Ensign." Theo teased ever so slightly as the person taking the order looked at Theo and showed a flirty smile as she recognised him.

"Usual Lieutenant?" She wondered looking up.

"Please Roxanne," He said quickly offering a shrug to Zyrra. He liked coffee.

"What's 'the usual'?" the young Andorian asked, suddenly intrigued. Someone who had a regular order at the as-yet-to-be-confirmed best coffee place on the station probably knew more than she'd given him credit for. She thought about grilling him on temperature differentials, bean quality, even the appropriate stirring implement. But then he needed to prove that he knew his stuff first.

"Well for this time of day a large iced frappe." The woman behind the counter teased disappearing with a wink.

"She meant a Bajoran spiced latte," Theo grumbled hoping he was not going to get a frappe.

Zyrra laughed out loud. "Usual, huh?" she giggled. "Do you try that one with the ladies often?"

"I was... that was..." Theo flustered through before taking a deep breath and shaking his head. "I just like coffee and come to this place often." He did not need to mention that he was becoming a familiar person for a lot of people being chief of security.

Pinkskins... Zyrra rolled her eyes as her own order came out. She cradled it for a moment, inhaling the aroma and embracing the scent. "Yes. Yes, this is much better than the swill they have in the other place. This..." She took an experimental sip. "Oh yes, this will do nicely." Her eyes flashed at Theo, her finger pointing at the kiosk. "I'm claiming this one. You might have found it first, but it is mine now."

The security looked up from his coffee and raised an eyebrow at the woman. It was decent coffee but could they not share the place? "Ensign..." Theo said lowly with a smirk crossing his face. "I will fight you and win for coffee. Do not tempt me on this."

Zyrra's eyes narrowed, her antennae flicking forward in immediate challenge to that statement. "Normally I would be sharpening my Ushaan-tor at such a bold response, sir." She pouted a little. "Name your terms."

The Security chief actually let out a small laugh at the pout she gave him. "Well, I am Chief of Security for a reason Ensign. Being bold is sometimes part of my job among countering threats." He teased taking a large gulp of coffee. "We can share the place. Maybe even meet here for coffee sometimes." He offered. "Or we can duke it out if you really want to but seems a little extreme after we started our friendship fighting off borders."

"Share?" Zyrra blinked. The word was almost foreign. Almost. "Well, I've seen you fight, and though it would be a close-fought battle I'm fairly sure I could take you. But...it would be improper for me to embarrass the Chief of Security on his own turf." She extended a hand in typical human tradition. "Your offer of truce is accepted. I will, as you suggest, share."

Theo nodded looking amused more and more by the second but accepted the handshake neither less. He was relieved he really did not want to have to fight for the coffee. “Well now that truce is assured would you like to sit down and have our coffees?”

Zyrra mirrored his nod. "I suppose so. I was the one who approached you, so it would be poor custom to ignore that." She took a seat at a small table for two and motioned to his drink. "Bajoran spiced latte. Interesting choice. The spice might be a little too much for my tastes. But a reasonable selection all the same."

"You can be as rude as you want." Theo was not bothered by rudeness, he could be pretty gruff himself. He was fully aware of his standoffish nature. "Well, I do like that to change things up sometime. Try something a little different."

"As a scientist, I approve of experimentation," she nodded abruptly, taking a sip of her drink and taking a moment with her eyes closed to appreciate the flavour. "Ah yes. Much better than the swill available from the Officers' Lounge. Not too synthetic." She opened her eyes and fixed him with an intense expression. "This is certainly a front-runner for the best coffee in the system."

The man did not shrink under her expression just merely stared back just not at intently. "The swill in the officer lounge was what sent me out in search of something more." He admitted. "If you ever need something replicated though. I have a good programme. I will add it to the shared recipe files. Just search for my name." It was a solid recipe from his favourite coffee bar back on New Roanoke.

"I don't normally prefer replicated variety, but..." she mused on it. "I will make an exception in this case. Given the evidence so far." He was at least agreeable when it came to coffee. And that was a good start to things.