Lt. Commander Caedan Nkai - Streets Where the Riches of Ages Are Stowed
Quinn Reynolds
((Souk, The City of Cotral, Palanon))
The invitation had been an interesting one, to visit the marketplace in the city of Cotral, and Caedan couldn't pass it up. He and Theo had appeared in its midst, deposited by the Gorkon's transported beam right in the middle of the bazaar. The Rodulan had reeled momentarily, the sudden "noise" of the bazaar assaulting his telepathic senses. But after this long travelling the galaxy and being cast into adventure by Starfleet, he was quick to right himself, reinforcing his mental barriers and shutting out much of the din.
Though to be fair, there was as much to entangle all his other senses, too. A rainbow of colourful stalls stretched in every direction, the vendors and visitors just as vibrant. Chatter was loud, punctuated by the cries of hawkers, while buskers entertained the browsing shoppers and earned themselves some tips and appreciation. The smells of street food made his stomach rumble, and the Rodulan was glad he had a light breakfast.
Along their exploration, the Starfleet pair paused by a stall run by a Barzan woman, watching as she threw handfuls of a shimmering dust into the air and invited people to stand inside the resulting haze. Theo, filled with curiosity, reached his hand into the cloud. The effect was immediately visible, a captivated smile, muscles relaxing, the silken taste of caramel ice cream in his thoughts.
Merchant: A Ventraxian Relaxation Cloud, sir. ::she said, her grey eyes twinkling.:: It stimulates tactile pleasure responses and heightens serotonin levels in the brain. Everybody needs one of these after a long day at the office, wouldn't you agree!
Whittaker: Depends on the job, ::he replied, still grinning in wonder.:: What do you think, Caedan? Do you think the Admiral would approve a request to cast these throughout the Gorkon?
Caedan grinned at the joke, imagining a cloud of the vapours hanging over the entrance to every crew lounge and rest area in the Gorkon. It would certainly make for a relaxed crew, apart from the Vulcanoids who, if he was remembering right, would be left sneezing for hours. It made him think of Valesha and Chris, and how they were faring on her quest to find her brother. There'd been no news, but that was expected; it was difficult to get comms in and out of the Shoals.
Nkai: I'm half-tempted to suggest we sneak one into her Ready Room whether she approves it or not.
Merchant: Do we have sale, sir? ::the merchant reached down for a small brown leather satchel resting on her hip. As she opened the flap, Theo could see slips of latinum, a number of Federation credit chips and even several ruby coloured Vlugtan isiks. Apparently the Barzan's wares were popular with consumers.::
In anticipation of an incoming sale, the Barzan woman opened the flap of the currency satchel on her hip. From the wealth inside, she was clearing doing a roaring trade — latinum, isiks, credits — and the twinkle in her eyes she expected to do more. Unfortunately for her, it wasn't going to come from the two men in her sights, and Theo provided a polite smile with his refusal.
Whittaker: Perhaps I will stop by later.
No, he wouldn't. Caedan smiled at the woman as they moved away, and undeterred, she shifted her attention to the next set of potential customers. At another stall, a Chelon chef was cooking a dish in a huge glass pot, blonde wisps of steam and a sweet smell that seemed to stick to the roof of his mouth. As they passed by, Theo turned toward him with a wide-eyed expression of delight.
Whittaker: I have never seen anything like this before. It's incredible! ::He gestured ahead of them with a wave of his hand.:: The images in the Gorkon's database do not do it justice.
Nkai: No, they don't. ::He smiled back, his obsidian gaze returning to the market, roving over the stalls.:: Then again, pictures rarely do.
Whittaker: There has not been anything like this on Earth in centuries, since before World War III I imagine. ::He paused.:: I wonder if those bazaars were anything like this one.
Nkai: Maybe. ::He chuckled.:: Only with fewer aliens.
Still taking in the incredible mix of stalls — from traditional Bajoran wood carvings to the latest PADDs from Ash'lie — it took Caedan a few moments to notice that Theo's gaze was still fixed on him, watching and wondering. Questions bubbled beneath the surface of the human's mind,
Whittaker: Was there anything like this on your homeworld? Or… is there now?
Caedan exhaled in thought, realising that he had no idea if there these days. He imagined so. For most Rodulans, the Occupation was not nearly long enough to purge the memories of their old way of life, and they were nothing if not a traditional people — even Krzexxi modernists like his family. There had probably been a mad scramble to reinstitute the old markets and bazaars.
Nkai: There used to be, when I was a kid. We used to go to the one in town, had the best swuit sticks you've ever tasted. ::A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.:: That stall has a lot to answer for; started a lifelong love affair with the things.
Whittaker: Response
Nkai: Honestly, I haven't been home in a long time. The years just keep marching past and I don't know where they go.
That wasn't entirely true. There were large sections of his life where the choice had been taken out of his hands, trapped somewhere or other by circumstance. And for the rest, he'd never been quite sure how to go home, to a world that wasn't the one he remembered and a family who seemed to prefer him at the end of a communications call.
Whittaker: Response
Nkai: What about you? What's Archer Four like? I swung past it once a long time ago, but you know me. ::He grinned.:: The only thing I saw was the nightlife.
Whittaker: Response