Crossing Over

Posted on Tue Sep 8th, 2015 @ 12:41am by Lieutenant Riley Sukotav & Ensign Reva Madhava

Mission: Further Challenges
Location: Lao's

Brother Antonio stepped off the transport and stopped to look around. The surge of people that seemed ever present in the docking bay flowed around and past him as Spencer joined him. Something about the two hooded men seemed to encourage the passengers and crew to give them a little space.

“I prefer our other mode of transportation, but this avoids questions,” Antonio murmured. “I think it may take several minutes before my legs want to work again.”

"The other is faster." Spencer agreed, looking around them. "How shall we find our friend Riley here?"

“The computer. We might inquire of his department chief, perhaps.” Antonio looked in the direction that foot traffic seemed to be moving. "We have to check in and inquire about quarters. I’d also like to see this Dr. Crane as well.”

"We'll start with quarters then Dr. Crane should be easy to find," Spencer joined in the flow of traffic, expecting Antonio to follow along.

They reached the desk and once they’d checked in, Antonio waited as Spencer made arrangements for quarters.

“That should do it,” the crewman smiled at them. “May you have a pleasant and peaceful stay.”

“Thank you,” Antonio answered. “The blessings of the universe be upon you.” He turned to Spencer and nodded.

Walking away, Spencer snickered. "Blessings of the universe?" He checked their quarter assignments and directed them there, with only one wrong turn. "This Federation is generous with their guests," he commented, walking around the suite.

“Indeed. I think it’s the hoods,” Antonio answered. “The hood also means they expect some sort of religious mumbo jumbo.” He laughed too. “When was the last time you were out in the real world?” He peeked into the bar in the corner. “Nice.”

"Pour me a drink, Brother. I'm going to see who I can pull up on this console." Spencer sat at the desk and addressed the computer, looking first for Dr. Crane. It asked him to clarify: Earl or Julian. "Huh. Father and son in the same place."

Antonio pulled out two glasses and after opening and sniffing several bottles, filled the glasses with one. He carried them over to the desk and passed it to Spencer.

“Julian,” he said. “The son. Born 2079.” He sipped the whiskey and smiled. “Not bad. It’s drinkable anyway.”


Rolling his eyes, Spence said, "I know it's the son we want. I was simply commenting that both are here." He paused then added, "Looks like the son is in guest quarters, too. A few floors up, couple sections over."

Antonio pulled a small device from deep in his robe. He pressed the control and after a moment he nodded. “According to our records, he is having dinner with a nurse this evening, a Lt. Payne.” He tucked the device away once more. “Can I buy you dinner?”

"Indeed, you may! Shall we go now or too early?"

“Now. They are due there in half an hour. That will give us time to settle in and eat and linger while they do...whatever it is they intend to do. Request a table at a place called Lao’s. They serve something called chinese food. Have you ever heard of it?”

"No. Hopefully it's more edible than what Klingons eat," Spence put the request through and stood. "Ready?"

“I am. Let’s go see what all the fuss over this doctor is about.” Antonio turned and led the way out.

*Lao’s Chinese Restaurant*

They arrived at Lao’s and were shown to a table. Antonio looked around and then spotted the aquarium that ran along the wall.

“Spencer? Look. I simply must see.” He rose from the table and hurried over to watch the fish as they swam back and forth.

Was the man daft? Spencer watched his fellow cult follower gaze amazedly at the fish behind the glass. He strolled over. "Lovely. That blue one, in particular."

“It is, isn’t it?” Antonio watched as the blue fish made a slow circle, then was joined by a smaller red one. “Sometimes, I miss the real world, Spencer,” he murmured. “Are you ready to try to decipher the menu?”

"I hope these are not on the menu," Spencer looked at the fish again. "Rather small meal, if so." He wandered back to the table and opened the menu. Small stick figure script preceded images of the food. "Um.. Hmm."

Antonio sat down across from him and looked around the dining room. Their table had a good view of the rest and was near the edge so they could talk without being overheard. The setting suited him very well. Finally, he looked into his own menu. "It seems to be a lot of vegetables. Perhaps I’ll just close my eyes and point?”

"Perhaps I will ask the server to order something appropriate," Spencer decided to go a possibly safer route. When the server came, he smiled and did just that. She recommended something called sake to drink and dumplings for dinner. What could be bad about dumplings? He went with the suggestions.

“Sounds good to me.” Moments later, the sake arrived and Antonio filled the two tiny cups. “Well, here’s to success. Or at least finding something interesting.” He downed the liquid and coughed. “I..suggest sipping…”

Spence sniffed the liquid then sipped it. His lip curled in disgust. "This must be an acquired taste." He tried it again and shook his head.

That got a laugh from Antonio. “It has a nice warmth going down though. Or perhaps that's a holdover from the whiskey.” He fell silent as a man entered the dining room, accompanied by a smaller woman with long brown hair. “He’s here,” Antonio whispered.

"Oo! Exciting!" Spencer did not turn to look. Instead, he was tasting the sake again, trying to determine why people might like it. For him, it tasted a bit like ...battery acid. Somewhere around his six or seventh sip, he casually glanced toward Julian Crane and his date. "She's cute," he commented. "Can't see why people drink this stuff, though."

“Maybe it’s an acquired taste...like the doctor there. She is lovely. I wonder...never mind.” Antonio took another look at Julian, a brief one. “I know what my research said but he’s not what I expected, now that I see him in person.”

"Smaller, perhaps? Most people are smaller in person than I imagine them to be." Spencer shrugged, sipped the sake one more time then set it aside with a shudder. The server brought their food and he, recalling that she had recommended the sake, eyed them suspiciously. When the server left only two sticks instead of proper eating utensils, he stared at them a moment then used one stick to stab a dumpling and get it to his mouth. At first, it was as if he'd taken a bite of a slug: soft, slightly chewy exterior and a juicy interior (not that he'd ever eaten a slug). He waited to see if the unpleasantness would continue.

Antonio watched him expectantly, waiting either for a nod of approval or for Spencer to spit out the food. Their stay on 900 was all of two hours old and already it was turning out to be most interesting. He stole another glance at Julian and his date and now noticed the young woman had black eyes. Betazoid. They would have to be careful there. He turned back to Spencer, who was still chewing.

“Well?”

Slowly, Spencer nodded then said, "It is an interesting taste. The texture is a little worrisome, but no, the taste is good. Try one."

Antonio did so and once the dumpling had been chewed and swallowed, he nodded. “Indeed. A little gooey perhaps but delicious. Our server had better taste in food than wine it seems.” He finished off another dumpling, then leaned in closer to Spencer. “I need to do a little research when we retire. I am curious what part the woman plays here. She did not appear initially, but things change as we well know.”

"Women always mess things up. But... are you saying we may have changed the timeline? By going after the child Julian?"

Antonio shrugged. “That I cannot say, but anything is possible. Even the slightest change then could have effects now but I suspect that he is being affected by her and not by us.” Antonio smiled. “Perhaps it’s the low-cut dress?”

Spence twisted slightly and noticed that the dress was low and the revealed cleavage was rather enchanting. When he turned back to Antonio, he nodded. "Yes, that is possible. I am glad that our Order does not allow females in our ranks. They would be distracting."

Antonio raised his eyebrows as he looked back to Spencer. “Do I need to lock you in your quarters for the duration of our visit?”

"No, of course not!" Spence scoffed and sipped at the sake. He grimaced and followed it with a dumpling. "Now that we have seen him, let's find Riley and do what we came to do."

“Very well.” Antonio finished off the last dumpling but skipped the sake. He rose and led the way from Lao’s, moving past Julian and Ophelia. As they passed, he murmured some mumbo-jumbo that sounded like a blessing. It was mainly for Spencer’s sake - one last view of the cleavage he couldn’t have. Deep within his hood, Antonio laughed softly as they stepped outside.

"Ass," Spencer breathed the insult at Antonio as they walked to a nearby console. He accessed crew information and requested Riley Sukotav's whereabouts. The answer, that Riley was off the Station, upset him. "Off the Station?" He looked at Antonio.

“That was not the case when we left. According to what I saw, he was supposed to be here. He was in the brig for attempted murder.” Antonio’s voice was strained. “This is not good. Let’s get back to quarters and see where we stand. There is one other we might want to take a look at while we are here - the young doctor’s mother. She is responsible for the loss of Adrian, though granted, he failed at his mission in a big way.”

Nodding, Spencer asked, "What of the rest of the Discovery Team? Gunnar and her people were heading to the Colony, weren't they?"

Antonio nodded as they continued their walk. “They are. Two are already there, the rest are slated to leave within a few days. There is time to take a look at all of them while we are here. Perhaps contact will bring something more to light.”

"Yes. The records showed that Commander Gunnar caused Adrian's death. I was shocked when I read that. Particularly since Commander Winter and Antos were present and did nothing to stop her." He shook his head.

“Then perhaps, while we are here, we will have them answer for that.” The lift had deposited them on their deck and now he moved at a more rapid pace. “I think we will be bit busier than we expected.”

*************
Antonio
Spencer