Lt JG Imril - This Way To The Undercity
Chris Taylor
((Ferenginar))
Cole: I’m starting to think the real escape room is just… leaving Ferenginar.
Imril laughed.
Imril: Of course, they’ll let us leave. How else can we go back out into space and tell other people what a good time we had here? Today’s customer is tomorrow’s billboard. If that’s not a Rule Of Acquisition, it should be.
Imril spotted one of the landmarks they were told to look out for, a gold-plated statue of a Ferengi figure on a one-man roundabout boat laden with lanterns and treasure chests. The lanterns were arranged around the whole of the boat’s circular rim, suggesting advice to be prepared to find profit in whichever direction it lay. Imril turned down a long road full of more stores. Waving their companion to follow.
Imril: Then again, it would be easier to talk up all the fun I had at Bryyk’s Boffles if I ever set foot inside the place.
Cole: Honestly? Getting lost feels on-brand for the experience. If we’re doing this, we might as well commit.
Imril: Before we can escape a place, we must first wander blindly into its clutches.
She lifted the last of her Cardassian Dog in a mock toast before taking another bite, gesturing vaguely forward with it.
Cole: This is already more fun than shopping, so yeah ::gestures with her half-eaten dog:: I’m in.
Imril leaned in conspiratorially close. Whispering for show (as if the radar-eared Ferengi walking by couldn’t hear every word.)
Imril: Don’t tell the locals , but I haven't really thought up anything I needed to buy and take up to the ship. ::leaning away and resuming a normal tone of voice:: I prefer racking up experiences, anyway.
Natasha glanced around again, at the noise, the neon, the constant negotiation of space and attention. Ferenginar demanded energy just to exist in it, and she was acutely aware of how draining that could be alone.
Cole: Besides, it’s nice running into a friendly face out here. Ferenginar can be… a lot.
This elicited another laugh from Imril, one of gentle surprise.
Imril: And Earth isn’t? I mean, consider San Francisco. Turn enough corners, and you’re in a completely different city. A completely different culture! Not that that’s a bad thing. Saved me on transporter and shuttle credits when I wanted to get out of the Academy grounds and see something different. New Life And New Civilizations, just a motorbike ride away.
Cole: Response
Of course, not all humans were from Earth. Including the one they were travelling with.
Imril: Luna? I went there a few times for training, but never really had the chance to look around. What’s it like living there?
Cole: Response
The street was ended by another running perpendicular to it. On the other side, directly opposite the street they’d been traveling, was the local entrance to the Undercity. A large alcove situated between audacious storefronts. Brightly lit ramps were set into the stone floor, one for a crowds of people going down, and one for people coming up. Their glittering walls were brightly lit, suggesting that a person had no reason to fear any dark spaces below. Circular lifts were there, too, offering access to smaller numbers of patrons.
On the street level, signs of tangible neon and weightless holopixels promised sights and spectacles galore down below, as well as more than one chance to win back some of the latinum which may have slipped out of one’s hands. Ferengi and other barkers worked the milling throngs, offering tickets and souvenirs at 'discount' prices.
Once the pair of them got to the alcove proper, Imril spotted a sign for the place they were looking for. Connected, of course, to an arrow pointing down.
Imril: There it is! ::Points to the Down ramp:: Or, more accurately, there.
Notably, the ramp featured lines of grating, presumably to prevent any renewed rain from chasing after them.
And a toll booth. Because of course there was a toll booth.
Cole: Response
Imril: I'll cover it.
It didn't seem right to make Cole pay to walk down a path that she didn't know she'd be taking when she met up with Imril. They produced more half-slips and handed them over to the booth attendant. Giving one of the resultant tickets to the security officer.
Cole: Response
TAG/TBC
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Lieutenant JG Imril
Engineering Officer
USS Artemis-A
A240110I12