: Posted by Civilian Esmee (Barkeeper) in Lounge Bar - Esmee and K'Mar
: : Posted by Lt. Cmdr. K'Mar Aldur (CO) in A quiet few minutes with Esmee - during Award ceremony
: <snip>
: : : "Prefer later, I would," replied Esmee. "Been long, the journey has. Tired, keeping up appearances. In need of stocking up and a clean, this lounge bar is. But like to know where, since the safe house, been you have also?"
: : :
: : : Esmee had once established a safe house in Romulus; part of a network of safe house locations that were used to assist refugees in escaping the Romulan Star Empire, but also later, where new agents could be settled into their secret life.
: : :
: : K'Mar nodded. "Another long story. Let's meet tomorrow after my shift. I'll come here and we can find a quiet corner, ok?" he asked.
: :
: : - K'Mar
: : OOC: we can start this thread now, bearing in mind that he has quite a huge event in front of him. Tomorrow after his shift he'll be Captain, which he doesn't even dream of now :-)
: OOC: Okay, we'll continue straight on...
:
: IC:
: The following day Esmee was cleaning the lounge and bar during the quiet period just before the change of shifts. Today would not be as frantic as last night's award ceremony. Most of the crew were still recovering from overdoing it; more from a lack of sleep and overeating than from drinking heavily, now that many in the Federation drank Synthehol.
:
: This gave her the time she needed to stock take and make a list of the maintenance and repairs required. There were just two humans sitting on the bar stools. Other species rarely sat on the bar stools. She could read them easily. They were rookies, newbies, and their aura radiated apprehension - an anticipation of adversity and a suspicion or fear of future troubles. Esmee would have liked to have said something to comfort them, but she knew nothing about the ship's movements and missions. In any case, she didn't wish to flag up her abilities and draw attention to herself, and so far the two crew had not spoken to her except to order two Raktajinos.
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: As she bent down to take some glasses from the dishwasher, one of the Ensigns looked at Esmee and thought out loud that she was quite beautiful for an older woman; a little like his mum he thought. Esmee smiled back at him and wondered if he only knew the truth. She could have sworn that these recruits were getting younger each year, but she was probably just getting older. She couldn't remember being as young and inexperienced as they were, but she did miss her parents and her family almost as much as they did.
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: Many would not be able to deal with frequently receiving such personal comments, but Esmee had learnt to deal with it. She is more likely to put herself in someone else's shoes before passing judgement. Values and extenuating circumstances take precedence over policy with her. She seeks out the good in everybody.
:
: It also helps with security in the bar. She immediately knows when a customer has bad intentions or is about to pull out a weapon. Then she has other skills she can employ that can safely remove the weapon from out of harms way. There has rarely been an incident in a bar she has run while she was working.
:
: The two Ensigns suddenly got up and left in a hurry. She read fear in their thoughts again; this time about being late for their shifts and the admonishment of their new department heads. That left the bar completely empty and for the first time in hours, Esmee felt like she could be herself. It would be a short lived break though. The beginning of one shift meant that it was also the end of another. The turbolifts would be in full use and the corridors crowded. In a few minutes the bar would begin to fill again.
:
: -Esmee

Right then K'Mar walked in giving her a slight smile. He looked around and saw that the place was empty. "Computer, lock doors for 10 minutes, no override accepted." he said. Then he walked over to her and set on the closest stool. The red uniform and the pips still felt weird for him. It had all been so sudden.
"There. Ten minutes Esmee, if you want to relax." he said softly.

- K'Mar