LtCmdr Jovenan – “Don’t disappoint your loved ones with cheap presents, visit Garbo’s Real Estate and Jewellery Store!”
Jovenan
((Brew Continuum, Deck 3, USS Artemis))
Jovenan swirled her cup of green tea. The tea-leaf dregs gathered at the bottom of the cup, moving along with the liquid until meeting in the middle and forming a circular pile under her careful, continuous guiding. When she stopped, the fine powder continued movement, forming a shape vaguely resembling a spiral. The replicator didn’t form those whenever she had her regular cup, instead, she had chosen to visit the café on the ship for the luxury of genuine brewed tea. She moved her gaze from the cup to the PADD on her hand, rolling the list of recently received messages. None were urgent, in matter of fact, she felt like she had figured out all her standing work matters already on the way to their destination. New ones would come before the shoreleave was over, but for now, she felt like she had earned her better cup of tea. She raised it to her lips and sipped the drink, breaking the form at the bottom.
Her eyes wandered from the PADD to the entrance. On the ship this small, it wasn’t unexpected to see familiar faces entering any part of it. Most of the time, she might have given her closest colleagues a quick greeting when seeing them somewhere on the ship, if even that, in the fear of bothering them. Brew Continuum was, however, primarily a social place, and Jovenan didn’t mind as much exchanging a few more words than that. So, when she saw Commander Munro, one of her newer acquaintances who was – by her own words – getting closer to becoming a friend with her, Jovenan raised her hand for a wave.
Jovenan: Commander, if you’re not expecting to meet someone, would you like to join me?
Munro: Response
She smiled and gestured to the chair on the other side of the small table. She raised the PADD to a steeper incline against her chest, as if she was hogging all the space with the small device.
Jovenan: I was just reading through some communiqués I have received, nothing important. ::looks at PADD, slightly puzzled:: Some Ferengi businesses seem to have started sending mass messages to everyone on the ship after we arrived here. Have you seen some of these?
Opening one of the messages in her inbox, she turned the PADD around and offered it for Commander Munro to read. The screen had a large image of a Ferengi individual with a red suit and what Jovenan had thought was an unusual amount of white facial hair for their species. A group of humans were celebrating his appearance by throwing slips of gold-pressed latinum in the air. She peered over and scrolled down so that the First Officer could see the more such impersonal yet attention-grabbing posts. Many of them featured the colour scheme dominated by reds and greens and whites, and all of them had text that seemed to almost bounce off the screen.
“Celebrate Human End of Year Present Day with Bogg’s Clothing Emporium!”
“Alpha Isle’s Only Traditional Christmas (Or Equivalent Alternative) Market at Zak’s Megastore, only for limited time!”
“Your Offspring Will Be Sad If You Don’t Buy Them DaiMon Yanzo Action Figure With Powersuit In Three Different Colors And House, Batteries Included For An Extra Price!”
Munro: Response
Jovenan: I think they’re targeting us with these specific kind of messages because of our large human crew compliment. Although, I don’t remember seeing this much… whatever this is when I was in the Academy in San Francisco. ::shrug:: Or maybe I didn’t pay enough attention, since I didn’t have anyone to give presents to back then.
Munro: Response
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11