Welcome to 2376!

[Maris Viren]

As much as Maris hated herself for holding such an opinion, Maris was beginning to like the space station more than her home planet. For one, the change of scenery made things much more interesting, both for work and pleasure. However, Maris often made the mistake of combining the two. The bar was difficult to stay away from, but it was not the promise of intoxication that she found so tempting. What drew her in was the seemingly endless list of alcoholic beverages, most of which she had never heard of. Though she had only been on the station a few days, she still could not help but wonder if she had already built up the reputation of a raging alcoholic.

For now, Maris sat alone at the bar and quaffed something called a 'hard cider.' It was nice, pleasantly dry, otherwise uninteresting, but still nice. There was a little nagging voice inside her head that told her she should be doing something more productive. It said that now was not the time for drinking; now was the time to play the part of a reporter and snoop around. The voice of twisted reason, however, spoke louder. This could prove to be time well spent, seeing as most people tended to let their guard down when in recreation mode, especially when alcohol was involved. Besides, she worked best when relaxed, and nothing was more relaxing than enjoying a drink.

Judging from how she felt after just one of these 'ciders,' she knew she would likely have to enjoy a few more drinks before feeling relaxed. Well, fortunately, that problem could be solved quite easily. Maris quickly downed the pale yellow liquid in her glass and gave it a brief, yet thoughtful, look before flagging down one of the Ferengi waiters. Nothing wrong with having another drink, maybe something a bit bolder this time. Was gin supposed to be any good? That one sounded interesting.

[Emiya Remal]

Emiya Remal was wearing civilian clothing. She'd just changed into it, and, to her, it always felt a bit odd wearing something other than the Starfleet uniform. At least for the first hour or so. After that she would ease into it as though she'd never put on a uniform in her life.

She was to be spending two days on the sation before heading out for Earth (with a few stops along the way). For the past three weeks she'd been debating with the Bajoran government about a Cardassian the Federation had taken into custody. They beleived he might have been a war criminal. He was - but not during the occupation. It had been difficult to deal with the Bajorans and was glad to have a few days off before she hed to catch her shuttle.

Decidely bored in her quarters she'd decided to check on the promenade, which had lead her to Quark's a loud gamling establishment. They also served drinks. Emiya was glad she'd brought a few slips of latinum with her. She was quite good at Dabo - mostly because she always watched the table. Females generally had an advantage in the game.

But before she was going to gamble she was going to have to get, at the very least, tipsy. That way if she lost she could blame the drinks.

She'd entered the bar and sat down, telling the bar keeper she'd like anything that was "fruity, blue or Romluan". It seemed like good criteria for a drink to meet. And if it met multiple ones so be it. Would it really be such a tragedy? No. Not by any means.

[Maris Viren]

Maris carefully eyed the newcomer, though, as far as she could tell, there really was nothing remarkable about her. She was a Trill, female, and wanted a drink. Maris could assume nothing more without a closer inspection, but experience had taught her that the the people who looked perfectly innocent were often the ones you needed to look out for. With this in mind, Maris quietly listened to the Trill, though all she heard was a drink order. Still, that was enough to catch her attention.

"Might I make a suggestion?" she interrupted. "Kali-fal is quite nice, you don't mind a drink that's a bit astringent." Maris tried to speak pleasantly and politely, though her words still came out sounding a bit caustic. She quickly decided against trying gin, something familiar would be just as good, especially with a drinking partner. True, the Trill was a total stranger, but drink with a stranger was better than drinking alone--even if Maris was not particularly social.

"Barkeep!" Maris called. "One bottle of Kali-fal, vintage 2371, at least." She turned back to the Trill. "I find that anything younger than five years is much too harsh." Maris carefully pushed aside her empty glass and laid a few strips of lantinum on the bar. Her fingers felt like they moved a bit slower and number, perhaps that cider packed more of a punch than she realized. Well, it would explain her somewhat more amiable mood.

[Emiya Remal]

Emiya merely raised her eyebrows at the Romulan's boldness. She shrugged, a quick grin forming on her face. Why not? It was both Romluan and blue. She nodded her approval to the barkeeper.

"Thank you for the reccomendation," Emiya nodded, looking at her new found friend. She had no idea what she could be getting into - this Romulan could be trying to get her drunk to get information on the situation with the Cardassian that was in custody (good luck to her if that were the case. Emiya was a forgetful drunk, hardly able to remember her name, much less details about a prisoner or bajor), they could simply be being frindly, they could be a drunk (it seemed somewhat likely given the glasses around them...) - who knew? The possabilties were endless.

Emiya nodded her head a few more times. She was a fairly social person, but this situation struck her as odd. Something about it just didn't sit right with her.

"My name's Emiya," she offered, if only to break what could have become an awkward silence. Emiya had enough trouble dealing with comfortable silences, not to mention uncomfortable ones. No it was much better to fill the air with awkward chatter than awkward silence. At least then you could say you'd tried to make the situation less awkward.

[Maris Viren]

"Emiya," she repeated, making a mental note to remember that name, even though she did not recall knowing anything important about anyone with that name. "And I'm Maris." Giving her name to a total stranger was not something Maris was entirely comfortable doing, but she knew that--in this situation--keeping to herself would be nothing short of stupid. Besides, she was still fairly confident that few on this station would associate the name Maris Viren with more than just a drunk journalist.

The bartender soon returned with a bottle of bright blue liquid and two small glasses. Maris handed him the slips of latinum as soon as he set down the items and his hands were free. The only sign of gratitude or thanks she gave was a small nod, and her attention was soon turned towards the kali-fal. Maris slowly poured some into her own glass and gave the beverage a quick examination. Before taking her first sip, she gently swirled the glass, took a deep sniff, and then finally took a small taste. The ale was a bit below her expectations; the flavor was a bit stale, but that was only a minor flaw.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are doing on this station?" Maris knew that her question was a bold one, but she tried to present it as nothing more than a piece of idle chatter. She took another sip of her ale as she waited for an answer, and she went over a few theories in her head. Starfleet was a very likely possibility, or she could just as well be a civilian. Well, it was impossible to make any inferences just yet.

[Emiya Remal]

Maris, Maris, Maris. The name bounced around in Emiya's head for a few moments. It seemed familiar, but she couldn't place it. chances were she was simply thinking of someone else named Maris - or even something close to it.

As the ale arrived Emiya's eyes grew a bit wide. Perfect. It seemed perfect. Emiya wasn't the type of person to learn what made a particularly liquor great, so the small sip she took seemed just right. Very... alcoholy. Emiya wouldn't have been able to come up with a beeter adjective then that. Vaugly she wondered how intoxicated she'd be by the end of the night. Hopefully it'd be enough so that she wouldn't remember doing anything stupid (which she was bound to do when drunk).

"I'm here on a brief break. My transport isn't arriving for a few more days. I spent the last few weeks on Bajor, dealing with their government," Emiya looked around quickly, trying to see who might be listening. If for some reason there was a government official from Bajor in the abr (which she doubted) then it'd be best not to say anymore. There wasn't, as it turned out.

"It was a pain. We had a Cardassian," she fought the urge to say Cardie, a bad habit her father had, "in custody and Bajor wanted him. I can't go into specifics, but it was impossible for him to have been on Bajor during the occupation. They still wanted him," she rolled her eyes.

"So, what are you doing here?" Emiya asked in a very light hearted way, particularly compared to her last statement, which had had a slightly solemn tone to it.

[Maris Viren]

"Me?" Maris answered, trying to act surprised and flattered that someone had taken an interest in her life. "I'm not doing much of anything special; I'm just a journalist." It was a well-rehearsed lie, and Maris didn't feel at all self-conscious telling it. There were even times when Maris felt as if she really was nothing more than a journalist. However, this was not one of those times. The Trill was proving to be quite interesting to Maris' true self: the spy.

Maris turned her attention back to the ale. She took another hearty, and her first glass was almost half-empty. Her head was not spinning yet, but she could tell from the way that her body relaxed and her mind calmed that she was moving away from sobriety. Maris tried to hide these early signs of intoxication by sitting with her back straight and rigid and by keeping her facial expression from softening. As much as Maris enjoyed inebriation, she knew it was a weakness, and not a wise one to show.

"You're a diplomat, I take it? Or you work for one?" Maris asked, even though she felt like she was stating the obvious. She thought it would be best to take things slowly. "That's an honorable line of work, or at least it can be. Some are almost as bad as politicians." She paused. "You're not like a politician, are you?"

[Emiya Remal]

Emiya took another small sip of the alcohol, enjoying the flavor of it. She wasn't a person who could really hold their liquor, but she wasn't even tipsy yet. After another glass though there was a good chance that she'd seem, at the very least, a little off. Once she and a friend had slipt a bottle of Kanar. Emiya had woken up the next morning on Risa.

As her new friend told her she was a Journalist Emiya nodded her head. Probably with the Federation News Service. Actually, never mind. There was a chance that Maris was with the romulan News Service. Well, whichever it was, Emiya would have to watch her tounge. At least while she was sober. After a few more drinks she doubted she'd remember anything about her job.

"No, I'm not like a politician," Emiya laughed lightly, though she was a bit offended by hte comment. Her father had known many politicians, being a high ranking judge on Trill. Emiya rather liked politicans, or at least she did when they were sitting in her living room. When she was working they could be a pain, she supossed.... "I'm a good diplomat. Or, at least I like to think I am!" Emiya gave another small laugh at her statement, as she reached for her glass and took another sip - a larger one than the last few sips she'd taken.

[Maris Viren]

Maris chuckled quietly. "Of course you think you're a good diplomat," she said softly. The alcohol had the effect of making her tongue much loser than normal. If she was in her right mind, she might have been more careful about keeping such a harsh and condescending comment to herself. However, intoxication had a strange way of turning thoughts into words. At least what she had said was mostly harmless.

Once again, Maris turned her attention back to the ale. "Are you feeling alright?" she asked, as if such a sudden change in topic was perfectly normal. "It is a difficult drink to pace yourself with, and I'll admit that in my younger days, there were quite a few mornings when I woke up surprised that I had actually found my way home." Maris reached for the bottle and refilled her half-empty glass back to the top.

"Oh! And there's something I meant to ask you." Her heart began to beat a bit faster; she was about to make a rather bold move. Maris tried to hide her nervousness in the same way that she tried to hide her intoxication: sitting up straight and keeping herself stern and even. "Do you mind telling me more about that Cardassian? I understand if it isn't something you can speak about, but I am curious."