Lieutenant JG John Kendrick - Wanderers (Part 1: The Cardassian)
Jon Van Pelt
((Transporter Hall, Lightside Station))
In a blue whirlwind John arrived on one of the many transporter platforms inside the Transportation Hall of Lightside Station.
As usual he took a quick peek down at his feet to check if he was still in one piece. He had left his uniform in his closet and instead had chosen to wear a beige pants and a leather jacket over a white t-shirt. It gave him that rough and cool look.
After another exciting yet stressful mission he felt he needed some distraction. Lightside Station with its many clubs seemed to be the perfect getaway. A drink. A dance. Anything actually that could help set his mind off of things would be perfect. Tonight he was just John Kendrick. Together with his uniform, he had left the Lieutenant JG behind in his quarters.
As he stepped down from the transporter platform, he took a quick look at his golden chronowatch – a gift from Wren, his father’s accountant, for his 14th birthday. According to the Ferengi it was an antique, worth quite a fortune - if you could find the right buyer who was interested in these things of course.
It was 2100 hours station time. Nightlife aboard the station was slowly getting started. He smiled, already imagining that cold draft beer he’d be holding in his hand soon.
He turned left and headed for the security checkpoint.
((Commercial Section, Lightside Station))
John strolled through the Commercial Section. Life aboard the station never seemed to stop. From early morning till late at night, it bustled with activity. It truly was the station that never slept.
Hundreds of people from planets across the Aavaro Wilds and beyond were roaming through the various market stalls as salesmen tried to draw their attention to their merchandise.
Hot food, groceries, candy, electronics, jewelry and even small animals. It seemed there was literally nothing you couldn’t find here.
As he moved through the crowd, the smell of food suddenly became too tempting to ignore. Just as he was about to step aside to a market stall selling something that resembled a hot dog, out of the corner of his left eye he suddenly saw a flash of colors that looked familiar.
Just as he turned his head, he thought he spotted a Cardassian. In itself it was no surprise to find a Cardassian here, after all the Union had ruled the Wilds until the end of the Dominion War. But there was something about what the Cardassian was wearing that drew John’s attention.
Instantly forgetting about the gnawing feeling in his stomach, his attention was focused on the back of the head of this Cardassian, strolling only a couple of meters in front of him.
John started to push his way through the crowd, trying to catch up on the man, apologizing here and there if he pushed someone too hard out of his way. Right when he thought he’d lost track of the Cardassian, he caught a glimpse of him walking into a place called O’Callahan’s Pub.
((Entrance, O’Callahan’s Pub, Lightside Station))
As John raced into the pub, he was determined to stop for no one or nothing… until he suddenly found himself standing still. As he looked down, he saw a big green hand resting against his chest. Finding himself unable to put another foot forward, he looked up at this big, bald Orion bouncer standing at the entrance, blocking his path.
Orion Bouncer: We’re in quite the hurry, aren’t we?
Not expecting to be stopped in his tracks like this, John found himself at a sudden loss for words. “The Cardassian”, was all he could think of. He quickly realized he couldn’t just tell the Orion he came storming in here, chasing a stranger.
Orion Bouncer: Don’t tell me you’re one of those telepaths who can’t speak?
As he looked John up and down, his eyebrows turned into an angry frown. John felt the Orion’s hand grabbing his shirt as he pulled him closer.
Orion Bouncer: I don’t have time to play silly games, little one.
Realizing he was just one step away from being shown the door, he knew he had to give the man an explanation.
Kendrick: ::stammering:: I was meeting up with a couple of friends here tonight.
He looked down at his chronowatch and smiled apologetically.
Kendrick: And I was running late. My apologies.
The Orion looked him straight in the eye, no doubt trying to assess if John was speaking the truth. Suddenly he felt the Orion’s hand letting go of him. The muscled bouncer showed his white teeth as he smiled and padded John on the shoulders.
Orion Bouncer: No worries little one. The night is still young. There’s still plenty of time to get drunk and enjoy an evening with friends.
John felt a sense of relief rushing through him. He was going to get inside the pub. But was he going to be able to find the Cardassian?
((O’Callahan’s Pub, Lightside Station))
As John walked into the pub, it felt like he was thrown back in time, to a part of Earth’s ancient past.
As he looked around, he noticed that the pub consisted of three different levels. The walls were painted in a dark brown color. The furniture was equally dark. It seemed a lot of natural materials were used like wood and leather for tables and chairs.
Down on the ground floor was the bar area with shelves filled with all kinds of liquors, decorative glasses and mugs.
The entire pub was decorated with different sorts of symbols and paintings, probably referring to a place on Earth John wasn’t familiar with.
He quickly realized it wouldn’t be easy to find a dark haired Cardassian in a dark place like O’Callahan’s Pub.
As he looked up and walked further into the bar, he almost bumped into an older waiter with a big mustache carrying a plate of glasses with some kind of black colored beverage. Most likely some kind of beer, John thought, but not a beer he recognized.
Waiter: Watch we’re ya going you fool!
Kendrick: ::startled:: Oh, I’m so sorry.
This was already the second time he was so caught up in his own head, he wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around him. He knew he had to get his act back together if he wanted to find this Cardassian without getting thrown out of the Pub.
He just stood there for a moment and looked attentively at the dozens of guests. Suddenly his attention was drawn upwards to the pub’s third level where he noticed an older man - he appeared to be human - with white shoulder length hair, blowing smoke rings up in the air.
As John looked up, the older man looked down. Their eyes met and John would’ve sworn the man smiled at him. Before John could give him a polite nod back, the man turned away again as someone appeared to be addressing him. And that’s when John saw him. That ‘someone’ was the Cardassian he was looking for. And now he knew why he was so eager to follow the man down here to the pub. Subconsciously he had recognized the marine blue jumpsuit in just one glimpse: the Cardassian was wearing the uniform of his father’s company, the Universal Trading Company. But what was he doing so far out here, in the Aavaro Wilds?
TBC in Part 2: The Wanderer
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Lieutenant JG John Kendrick
Security
USS Juneau, NX-99801
J239801JK3