#6 Cats, Anew

Posted on Thu Jan 26th, 2023 @ 10:01pm by Lieutenant JG Billi & Kitten Dawson
Edited on on Sat Jan 28th, 2023 @ 3:46pm

Mission: Mission 9 Deal with the Devil
Location: Cats
Timeline: current

ON:

Billi, being who she was, liked to visit other businesses on the Promenade when she could. She wore her black form fitting uniform pants and the knee-high boots with legs tucked into them like back in Pike's day (SNW pants). However, being off duty and Orion, she wore her purple bikini top (bio pics), with wristgaurds made from an Orion alloy that glinted in the light from certain angles. Her hair was done up in cornrow breads against her scalp, the same alloy being used for the ties to keep the braids tight and secure, with the same glint of wealth that her wrist guards supplied. To say she drew eyes her way while walking around the Promenade was no surprise, being a culture known for their carnal appetites, but she ignored it as she had done since she joined the Academy. Thankfully, over the years, she had learned to control her pheromones to keep the males around her from going into delusional aggression and fighting each other for the right to approach her first; to claim her theirs. But, that was not why she was on the Promenade. The Cats; there it was. Billi felt the need to check up on the resident since her business was back up and running, and to see if she was faring alright after all that had happened.

Stepping through the entryway and coming to a stop just inside, Billi glanced around. Not only out of curiosity for the decor, and to see if Miss Kitten was in view, but to also know her environment. Situational awareness was a must, always, not only as an Orion clan chief, but also for being an Intelligence infiltrator. Some habits should never fall to the wayside.

Kitten seeing Billi walk in walked over to meet her "Hi, nice surprise, it's been a while. Did you ever catch those pirates?"

Billi went immediately into social mode and gave a smile to the woman as she stepped further inside to greet her properly. "Not yet. Commander Taavis and Lieutenant Kehlani returned with some missing Starfleet property, but that's all I can say on the matter." Routing the conversation back to social and not duty, Billi asked a query. "How are you holding up, Kitten?"

"I'm good, my boyfriend and I had a long talk over trying to re-open and we agreed to give it a try. So far business has been good," Kitten replied "Let's have a seat and can I offer you anything to eat or drink?"

Moving with Kitten, Billi kept glancing around, liking how the woman decorated and set her establishment up. "If you have some Earth wine, a merlot, that would be nice. As for food I'm not really hungry." Kitten took them to a table for two, which reminded Billi of her own business, The Emerald, where she had a 'managers' table off to the side for talks such as this. When Kitten motioned to a chair that was the one Billi sat down in, letting Miss Kitten have her chair as manager. "You've done well. The place seems warm and cozy. I'm glad for that."

"As long as you don't turn me in what with my being a minor, I do have the wine, Digger ordered it." With that she headed to the kitchen and returned with the glass of wine and set it on the table and then too a seat "I had a few things left in storage, we bought some and I replicated some," Kitten commented "I'm you were able to get somethings back. And yes the place is cozy. I've not ordered silverware as don't think currently I needed it.What do you think?"

Billi sipped the wine, finding it agreeable to her taste buds, then held the glass while she leaned back. "There are some beings who will not touch food with their hands. Vulcans tend to eschew using their hands to eat. But, the average Vulcan also doesn't eat meat. Play it by ear, I say. If a majority of customers ask for dining utensils then you can correct that. Don't hesitate to ask if you need some. I have plenty in storage for the Emerald." Billi found it amusing that Kitten was still harping about not being of age for alcohol. Humans too often worried about the little things.

"Thank you and I'll keep that in mind, as for touching the food with hands. We wear gloves when cooking and preparing food," Kitten said "I've thought about adding a jukebox too."

That got Billi's attention, her brows raising a tad. "Really? I love Earth music. And, I'm pretty good at performing it, too. Some of it is perfect for an Orion. But, in regards to your menu, what do you offer, mainly?"

"Burgers, French fries, pizza and nachos," Kitten said getting up and walking over to the door and returned with a menu and handed it her and the resumed her seat. "I'm open to suggestions if you think I should expand my menu."

Perusing the menu for a minute, Billi looked up as she set it aside. "Looks good. I had a burger joint I fancied near the Academy campus. With the amount of personnel here you'll do good. I'll even help a fellow business woman and talk Cats up. Emerald serves a variety of dishes so if you and your staff ever want to do a food exchange with mine then we can set it up. My people get tired of munching on what they serve so a change for a staff lunch would be nice, as I'm sure your staff would agree. We even have gagh, alive or replicated, if your people like worms and Klingon cuisine. We get that from Gre'thor's Kitchen, the eatery within Kehlani's Klingon lounge." She sipped more wine, about half finished with it now. She was enjoying this moment of camaraderie.

"I had gagh once," Kitten said "My boyfriend loves it. And yes I think an exchange would be great, thank you. My staff is small right now but I do plan to hire more. I need a cook so Digger can get off the grill and out of the kitchen"

Billi downed the rest of her wine, setting the glass aside as she swallowed and then smiled, leaning forward on the table and her forearms. "Talk to Ensign Resch. Griffon is his first name. He loves to cook and has dazzled my staff with his culinary talents on a few occasions. When he isn't on duty, of course. He even sauteed some gagh for us, which made it taste that much better for those not into wriggling, live morsels. I prefer it raw and alive, but I am me." She leaned back again, giving a sigh of contentment. "It's good to see you recovering, Miss Kitten. My visit was to see how you were faring and I am pleased it is going well."

"I'll speak to him and thank you. It's coming along, I've got some more things on order for decorations. Perhaps I should try gagh again, Digger prefers it alive. But I think for me it has to be dead. He even loves Blood Wine, I've never tried it," Kitten admitted "Your a good friend, thank you."

"Thanks, I try," Billi responded as she got to her feet. Her smile was still there, and being called 'friend' had given her a warm, fuzzy feeling. The whole reason for her joining Starfleet was to prove that not all Orions were cretins, that there were those among her people who were honorable and altruistic. "Friends look out for each other, little sister. Orions are quite fierce when those they care about are in harm's way."

Kitten stood as well, perhaps it's time this Kitten shows her claws. "On Earth we ran with a street gang that helped law enforcement. Out here we run a restaurant and Digger's into marketing when he's not on the grill."

Oh dear, thought Billi. "If you meet a man named Sean Silk be careful about admitting that. He is usually in the company of a large Gorn male, named Rusty, and is about eight feet tall. Mister Silk is, shall we say, an opportunist. He will not hesitate to use others for his own gains. Just some friendly advice, there." She did not dare admit to her own criminal background, which thankfully had never been recognized by Starfleet or Federation security. They knew she had ran a clan of her own but not much in the way of her own doings was known. And, why she got accepted to Starfleet instead of shoved back out the door. But, it did provide her a bonus for understanding how criminals worked and conducted business, leading to her Intel training. Maybe...no, never mind, she thought.

"I'll keep that in mind, I've not met too many fleet officers. I stay away from the command deck after the treatment I got when my restaurant was trashed," Kitten said.

Billi gave a nod. "Par for the course, Kitten. You weren't the only one in need. That, and we were still picking up the pieces all over the station. I'm sure it wasn't intended to be harsh but emotions were high at the time. As my mother used to say whenever I felt slighted due to my own misperceptions; let it go." Having said that Billi pulled away from that line of thinking and gave Kitten a friendly hug, stepping back when done. "Anyway, I have to get going. Commander Taavis is back and I want to hear about her adventures. Be safe." Turning from the woman, Billi proceeded out the door and took a left towards her own place, The Emerald. It was at the apex for the horseshoe shape here in Shadow Way, and one had to walk around the open chasm that looked down on another portion of Promenade. The club Bliss, which Taavis owned, was directly across that chasm from Cats, so she had no choice but to walk around.

OFF:

Word Count: 1667