LtCmdr Jovenan – Closing off for the night
Jovenan
((Elysium, Deck 6, USS Artemis))
K’Wara: Oh, I bet. I just hope they don’t let loose too much - Ferenginar isn’t exactly a vacation spot for the weak of heart, or pursestrings.
Jovenan: Fair. Even Risa was far too outrageous to some of our senior crewmembers. They wouldn’t have left the ship once if the Captain hadn’t held the awards ceremony on the beach.
“Too outrageous” was somehow an understatement. Vitor, another friend of hers and some others had in matter of fact tried to avoid the entire system by going to an adventure elsewhere. What Jovenan left out was that she had been one of the people who had ended up not beaming down until the Captain ordered her and the rest of the staff to do so. Her decision to avoid the “pleasure planet” had multitude of reasons, ranging from Risa’s outwardly similarity to her own culture and the issues that came with that, to the highs-and-lows she was experiencing with her relationship with Vitor at the time; some reasons she didn’t fully understand herself either. As for her reasons to not state that out loud to the two other officers, they were much simpler: she didn’t want to out herself as someone whose vibes didn’t entirely align with the new First Officer’s and the new Chief of Operation’s.
Munro: That's a shame, Risa is a lot more than pleasure beaches. So I should make at least one visit to Ferenginar - for fun - mandatory to the entire crew? It can be my last order as acting Captain. Ferenginar is a lot more than gambling.
Jovenan tried not to reveal her feelings about “mandatory fun”, but as for the last sentence, she found herself agreeing. Few planets were just one thing they were famous for.
Jovenan: Gambling isn’t my thing, but I might try out shopping with actual money. You don’t get to experience that in too many places, and it’s not like I’d use latinum elsewhere.
K’Wara: Good call. Since someone recently gave me a new office, I guess I’ve got to look into decorations too... And new clothes. Dress like the job you want, after all, so gotta get even fancier now.
Munro: They have some of the best tailors in the galaxy. I might get myself a new Ferengi power suit. Perfect for my next tense negotiations.
… yes, it was definitely the clothes and decorations Jovenan was the most excited about. Not treating the experience as an introduction to a new level of resource management. She was definitely going to enjoy shopping for the flashy new things and not for the thrill of inputting figures to an optimisation equation.
K’Wara: Just make sure to not bring your pips along for shopping. They overcharge Lt. Commanders and above. ::realization:: Well, more than they overcharge everyone else, of course.
Jovenan: Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. Have you been to Ferenginar before?
Munro: Years ago. When I was a junior officer. Back then it wasn't so friendly to women, it was changing with Grand Nagus Tom's influence and I've heard they've changed. Women generate profit :: chuckles :: the way to any Ferengi heart.
Jovenan drank some more of her rapidly cooling hot chocolate. As much as people still had suspicions about the Ferengi or joked at their expense – pun unintended – they had made much progress in the last decades. She hoped that the change wasn’t merely superficial but deeply ingrained to the public consciousness; she had yet to experience a world where she was treated lesser because of her gender, and having to face that on a shoreleave when she was supposed to be having rest and relaxation would have been awful.
K’Wara: ::sips whisky:: Explains why they loathe Starfleet visits so much. Too ‘philanthropic’ for their tastes.
Jovenan: ::shrugs:: I’m sure they appreciate the latinum stipends we get.
Suzie was beginning to wriggle in Commander Munro’s arms. Evidently, the feline was making its opinion about the establishment and the company known to them.
Munro: I'm going to have to get her back to our quarters. She's getting fussy. We should do this properly when we're not in dress whites.
K’Wara: Oh, absolutely. ::points at Ava:: You also owe me a bar recommendation. Bonus points if the bartender is willing to model.
Raising her eyebrow a little, Jovenan had a quick peek at Lt K’Wara before turning back to Commander Munro and her cat. Model? What exactly was their new Chief of Operations doing to the bartenders, and was it something Jovenan even wanted to know about?
Munro: Don't party too hard, Chief. I hear Lt. Vailani has a stack of PADDs waiting for you :: nods to both of them ::
The Commander stood up with the cat in her arms, nodding to both other officers. Jovenan responded to the nod with the same, affording Suzie a wave. Having done that, she raised the cup of hot chocolate to her lips.
K’Wara: Workaholic vessels... ::to Jovenan:: Guess I better hop to it, Commander. Can’t enjoy shore leave properly if there’s a mountain of PADDs waiting for you on the Ship.
Finishing her drink, Jovenan placed the cup back on the table and wiped her lips with the back of her hand. Like a cool person.
Jovenan: Don’t worry about running out. If you do yours well and fast enough, they’ll award you with more of it.
K’Wara: ::unamused expression:: Oh yeah, I do remember something about that… ::smiles:: Good night, Commander Jovenan.
Jovenan nodded to the other officer, responding to the smile. Once they were gone, she turned around to face the thinning crowds still mingling together. She didn’t feel like initiating another chat with anyone else this evening, in matter of fact, keeping up the facade of some level of social competency with the two more outwards-orientated officers had proven more taxing than she had anticipated. Besides, she noticed that there weren’t too many people remaining in the lounge that she felt fully comfortable just approaching and talking to without a topic in her mind. Returning her cup to the bartender, she realised an unwanted thought wriggling in the folds of her brain:
oO I wish Gila was still here. Oo
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Lieutenant Commander Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11