Shopping Around

Posted on Sat Oct 23rd, 2021 @ 11:21pm by Lieutenant Alisha Reno
Edited on on Sun Oct 24th, 2021 @ 5:53am

1,794 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Handling the Fallout
Location: Starbase Promenade

Alisha looked sadly at the remains on her plate from what was sure to be her last real meal for a while. Well, okay, last hot, fresh meal not cooked by herself for a while, because she could indeed cook pretty well, just not like this. The slight bulge of her belly was the most potent indication of the fact that she'd just eaten a large country fried steak, with mashed potatoes and a white cream gravy, with steamed veggies on the side. Now all that remained was a single slice of zucchini and a small dollop of gravy. Perhaps if Jane would be available, if they ever came back through this way, she'd bring the pilot to this place. As it was, she was absolutely certain she shouldn't do what she was about to as she waved the waitress over, "May I have a piece of strawberry cheesecake for here, and one to go as well." She requested with a smile while the waitress grabbed the plates to clear them.

The rest of her shopping was yet to come, so it wasn't a matter of not being able to work off the calories, besides, she did tend to get enough exercise as it was from just her workout routine and the pressure she put herself through just to get things done. The slice of cheesecake and the to-go box slid onto the table as well as the bill, which the civilian-dressed woman placed a card on top of. Alisha had a black streak through her blonde hair and green contact lenses in her eyes, just a basic disguise to prevent too many people from paying her too much attention. As the waitress took the payment away to process it, Alisha tucked into the delicate slice of sweetness and mere crumbs remained after a couple more minutes, the belly bulge slightly larger and she sighed in pleasure. Her card came back and she tucked it away, grabbing her to go box and leaving a couple slips of latinum as a tip to the waitress as she walked out of the restaurant with a smile.

Her eyes and senses were on the swivel as she made her way down the promenade towards her two primary destinations. The first was a bakery that she'd spotted on her way to the restaurant, one that had advertising on the outside for 'Authentic Home Baked French Pastries.' She flashed a smile as she walked through the open door, "Bonjour!" She called to the man behind the counter, but continued in Standard, her French all but exhausted. She knew how to say 'Hello', 'Thank You', 'Your Welcome', 'Goodbye' and 'Where's the refresher?' in a LOT of languages, but fluency? Federation Standard, Japanese and a rather obscure language from the depths of Trill that was taught to some undercover agents to pass on information, usually written because the script was compact and so more information could be passed for the same physical space as Standard. "Might you be able to help me?"

"Goot Evening!" The bakery owner said jubilantly, happy to have a customer that appeared so... Happy. "Of course I can help you, Madame, I offer only the finest of delicacies here at Michel's, all of them made fresh daily in the old fashioned way. Getting the ingredients isn't the easiest, so please don't be turned off by the prices, each one is a masterpiece!"

"I can tell!" Alisha had come to that basic conclusion from the delicate sniffs she'd taken upon entry. The smell of a butter-laden croissant was distinct and led credence to his boast of made fresh daily. The prices, too, were as obscene as he claimed, yet the number of the treats that were missing still pointed to a nice brisk business that probably still gave him a tidy profit even with the likely shipping costs with the best of ingredients. "I see that you've got an amazing looking selection and my transport leaves in the morning, so I absolutely MUST get several snacks for my travels." If she didn't tell him she was a member of Starfleet, he might be a bit more... Generous, after all, civilians who were willing to spend this much just on a fancy were likely to return on their way back through.

Indeed, he perked up at the hint of a larger order and paid close attention to her, "What might I get Madame?" He asked, voice conveying that he was at her service and hers alone. "I can't recommend my eclairs enough, they have won the patisserie award from the station's competition for the last six years running!"

"Then I'll certainly need a dozen of those, if they're going to be that addictive. Perhaps a dozen of this lovely croissants as well, and macaroons..." Her eyes opened wide at the selection, knowing she'd need an extra week or two of workouts unless she could contrive to get Jane to eat most of them, "An assortment of those little tarts, some pralines, and mix in another dozen of a mix of those others if you could, please." This would be expensive. It wasn't that she couldn't handle it, her successes in movies and the music she'd done under the name Elena Girardi with those rights from the movie ensured that she had the financial resources that she likely couldn't spend if she did live to be a hundred-fifty.

For his part, the baker was already in motion, "This may take a while, Madame, if you would be so kind as to give me about twenty minutes to put your order together, I would be in your debt."

"Oui, of course, Monsieur." Alisha curtseyed shallowly, "I've got to make a trip to the grocery as well... Would it be convenient for me to return in a half hour to settle things and pick it up?"

He nodded eagerly, "Absolutement, Madame. A half hour, indeed."

She smiled as she flounced out of the bakery and down a couple doors to her next stop and grabbed a basket that she dropped her extra cheesecake into it as she began to peruse the produce section. Within a handful of minutes a beautiful head of broccoli and several bunches of herb, a couple heads of garlic and a bit of bacon were in the basket as well as she headed towards the dairy section, snagging a box of fettucine noodles on her way past the pastas, whipping cream, a block of parmesan cheese and butter had joined the vegetations. It was only twenty-five minutes as the now more heavily laden woman sidestepped a ragamuffin that clearly had been trying to pickpocket her and re-entered the bakery.

"Madame, you appear to have several bags already!" The baker exclaimed, looking at her loadout and the four boxes of his own that he'd be adding to her load, even as she reached in for the same card to hand over to him. He took it with both hands before tapping it to his terminal and the obviously prepared bill of goods, "Are you going to be all right getting this all to your quarters?

With a slight cringe, Alisha nodded, "It's not far.." She demurred, gauging what she was carrying and the rest that was now in front of her, then nodded again as she began to rearrange the contents of the bags to be able to fit two boxes in them, leaving... "Thank you, Merci, Monsieur." She thanked the baker as he provided another bag for the last two boxes and presented it to her with her card in a flourish.

"No, Madame, merci beaucoups. Please enjoy them and come again if you are ever in the area." He bowed to her, his day made with the smile she flashed him.

Alisha took several minutes and a couple near-drops as she made her way back on board past the gatekeeper that was Tristana and had unloaded all of her groceries and smacked herself in the forehead. She had to quickly put everything away and didn't even look at the security officer as she bustled past out her again and back to the grocery store and this time spent a good twenty minutes back in the produce section, picking out mangoes, pears, peaches, several different berries and some apples and oranges. Once again she was loaded up as she made her way back to the ship and her quarters, vowing to just replicate a large basket rather than draw Tristana's ire and dubious looks from a third trip out.

That left her finally able to put the fruit basket together, which mostly just involved piling fruit onto the basket, filling in spots with the berries and smaller fruits, then swapping around the pastries in the boxes, occasionally 'sampling' the delights. Finally it was all ready to go and Alisha balanced two boxes on one hand as she handled the deceptively heavy basket of fruits in the other and made her way down a few hallways to the door with the name of Jane Sinclair on it. She used her pinky finger to press the chime, then waited for a couple minutes, but there was no answer.

She glance up and down the corridor briefly, then put the basket down and got to work. It only took a few seconds for her to dredge up the memory of override codes to get into certain places on starships, then input the one that would just barely get through the security on quarter's doors of a department head of junior grade rank. If Jane had been a full Lieutenant, Alisha would have had to use a higher code, one that might get flagged in the security system, and wouldn't THAT be annoying...

The door slid open, Alisha grabbing the basket and slipping in before anyone saw her. She caught a glimpse of a bed through one door and was tempted to investigate, but resisted it. That was a private space, not for her curiosity. Instead, she set the boxes on the counter, along with the massive basket of fruit, setting them to be opened easily as soon as Jane saw them, then smiled. Then she left just as quickly as she'd entered, trust was something to be earned and at least she'd let Jane know she was going to possibly use the code to get in, so it wouldn't be that big of a surprise.

She smiled as the door locked again behind her, that should keep her for the evening and there was a dinner tomorrow. It wasn't a date, just a dinner with a friend. Of course... What to wear? That would be the tricky bit.

Posting By:

Lieutenant (jg) Alisha Reno
Chief Intelligence Officer
USS Myogi

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