CORRECTED: Haip - "Sticky Labels" (NT)
Amanda Nordstrom
OOC: Managed to miss the Bree post, so edited it to flow properly. My apologies.
IC:
((Starbase 118 - My Favourite Bar - Stock Room 1))
Haip watched his brother scuttle off at the sound of Bree’s sharp call. Of course Freg would do her bidding. The man was smitten, wallowing in his desire, attempting to curry favour with every simpering, pandering word that rolled from his mouth. With a sigh, he turned to the cabinet and tugged open the door. Freg had demanded he add the flavour enhancers and oversee the transport. All in all, it was an easy job, just not one that Haip cared to do. It was boring. Oh so boring. Instead of spiking the festival drinks, he should be poring over his latest manuscript, polishing his writing. This was the one. This was the book he was sure to get published - he just had to actually finish it. Freg, however, had other ideas, much to Haip’s chagrin.
A rainbow of colour greeted him, light glinting off the various glass bottles that resided within. None of the usual occupants were labeled, each one containing some mysterious concoction of which only Freg knew the name. Those were not the containers that he needed to worry about. The new vials were smaller and more nondescript than the others, both exactly alike. Haip paused as he stared at the twin receptacles. Which one was the flavour enhancer?
Picking up the two vials, Haip turned them over to inspect them with some difficulty. Some sort of sticky material caused them to cling to his hands. They, unlike the others, were at least labeled. The first was marked as ‘nectar of love’. ‘Nectar of love?’ What in the name of the Grand Nagus did that mean? Was that what was wrong with Freg? Haip shook his head, then read the other. ‘Flavouring’. Yes, that was what he needed.
Haip attempted to return the ‘nectar of love’ to the cabinet, but when he pulled his hand back, the bottle stayed with it. Once again he tried, but whatever sticky stuff was on the outside wasn’t letting go. Switching his attempts to the flavouring bottle, he tried to put that down, but it too remained fastened to his skin. Looking between them, one in each palm, Haip vigorously shook his hands, but to no avail. The bottles held fast. It was time to try a new tactic. Turning away, Haip moved over to one of the crates and, using the edges as an anchor, attempted to scrape the stubborn vials off. That seemed to do it. Carefully, he picked up the bottles again, that time by their necks, but the labels were missing.
Haip: Huh?
Where were the labels? They had just been there! Haip set them down and turned his hands over, then sighed. Yes, there they were, stuck to his skin. Without the bulkiness of the bottles, his fingers were less encumbered and he had an easier time finding purchase. Carefully, he peeled back first one label, then the other. As he lifted the first one to return the first label, he looked first to one bottle, then the other. Both looked exactly the same. Same size, same shape, same colour. Which was which?
Haip: Uh oh.
Freg wasn’t going to be happy. Not happy at all. So what was he going to do?
Setting down the labels as best he could without allowing them to stick to the crate, Haip continued to stare at the twin bottles. How could he tell which was which? He needed to be sure to get the right one. Gingerly, so as not to have the whole sticky situation once more, he pried open the first bottle and sniffed at it. The aroma was actually pleasant. A little sweetness tickled the tongue as one breathed it in. Well that was nice. Haip closed the bottle and checked the second one. Immediately, he placed the top back on it, nose scrunched up and tongue sticking out. Ugh. How could that scent possibly have anything to do with enhancing flavour? No, it was obvious which was which. With great care, Haip returned a label to the unpleasant smelling liquid and placed it back upon the shelf, scraping it off his hand in order to get it settled in its place.
Finally, Haip turned toward the vats of drinks that sat waiting. Twisting open the bottle that remained, the Ferengi tapped on the vat and the lid opened with a clunk.
Haip: Doesn’t take much.
He muttered the words his brother had spoken to him before leaving him with the task. Freg had been very particular, forcing Haip to repeat him three times with each instruction.
Haip: Just a drop or two.
Haip elected for two. The hold upon the vial was rather precarious, as he didn’t want the dratted thing to keep sticking to him, but he managed to add only two drops despite that. That one done, he closed it and moved on to the next. Then the next. Down each row, forward and back, each lid thunked open, revealing either Springwine or juice, then thunked closed. Bree’s and Freg’s plan would, hopefully, spur people to scramble for more, leading to a higher profit margin as they begged them to sell their remaining stock. Haip had just opened the last barrel when he lost his tentative grip upon the vial and it plopped right into a barrel of kava juice. The ferengi mournfully stared into the dark liquid then closed the vat. Well, that one was going to be particularly tasty. That’s what they wanted right? People would surely come clamouring for their wares after a sip of that particular batch. Knowing Bree and Freg probably had something else for him to do, Haip sighed and made his way to the front of the bar. He would have rather been working on his book...
*******
Haip
Ferengi
As Simmed by
Lt. Cmdr. Alora DeVeau
Science Officer
Starbase 118 Ops
M239008AD0