Formality and Form
Posted on Mon Mar 9th, 2020 @ 4:42pm by Cornelius Warner MS & Seshi Macae
1,939 words; about a 10 minute read
Mission:
Canary
Location: Silver Tongue Brewing
Timeline: MD07 1145
The smell of traditional earth pub food filtered through the open concept brewery, accompanying laughter, chatter and the sounds of old Pop Punk band Fallout Boy accented any spot a gap on the din might occur. Flannel sleeves rolled up, Cornelius was chatting with a couple of Starfleet Officers that had wandered in from the cold, having apparently ended their late night shift, he was teasing them for the late hours they chose to pull, while filling up their coffee cups. His denim apron was tied up around his waist, the top half hanging off, which he had tucked a cloth into to wipe his hands. He took a sip from his own coffee cup, the blend imported from Earth actually, another thing he took time to enjoy, and relaxed. It was a beautiful morning so far, the sun had risen, illuminating the snow, and making the area around the brewery absolutely glow. He'd set aside a quieter table closer to the back, with a small, discrete "RESERVED" sign.
He'd stayed up a little later, getting a good feel for the Council Woman in question, reading her history, her career to this point, and he had to admit, he was quite pleased. She seemed like a reasonable woman, one who was doing her best for the colony first, hers and her own second. He hummed along with the lyrics of the song as he looked around, making sure everything was, at the very least, clean. Agreeing with his cook that he was fretting too much, he took one last sip of his coffee and placed it down. He only had to wait.
Royal blue was the color of the day. Seshi strode into the establishment with a prideful step, pausing just inside the front door to take in the scenery. She was not stranger to breweries, but they always had their own unique quirk. The Silver Tongue was not an exception to this. "Hm."
She had done her own research, previously scouting out Cornelius once she discovered that the Captain's bubbly yeoman made regular stops, leaving many hours later with a pair of growlers. Seshi had yet to surmise if the young Orion was after them for herself or for the Captain, but she had not seen Captain Mahone for a fair bit of time.
Her eyes rested upon the man behind the bar, or at least one of them. He looked the part of management, what with the surveying eye and coffee in front of him. The other staff looked busy on their tasks, helping the patrons or otherwise cleaning and readying for the coming night. She continued making her path to the bar, curiosity getting the best of her.
"And you must be Mr. Warner, yes?"
Pulled from his own thoughts, Cornelius turned to the woman standing across the bar from him. A warm smile crossed his face as he placed his coffee down and extended a hand. "I am, and you must be Mrs. Macae," he returned. He gestured to the quieter corner of the bar. "I am under the impression that you wished to meet, I have set a quiet space aside for us," he added and moved to walk around the bar itself.
"Oh please, Seshi." She took the offered hand with a similar smile. "Especially now that we have the formalities mostly out of the way." Tilting her head to one side, her gaze wandered over to the table. It was a professional gesture for him to have the table set aside, but she had seen bigger companies do less whenever she was about. She turned to Cornelius, with a small nod. "Yes, we should speak. I feel the brewery is going to attract quite a bit of business, and I'd like to speak on that. Positively, of course."
Pulling a chair out for the Councillor, he turned and seated himself at the opposite side of table. He took a careful sip from the water already placed on the table, quietly behind the scenes when the woman had arrived. "Well Seshi, you had my interest, now you have my attention," he said, a coy smile on his face. "But before we get down to business, can I grab you a drink besides water?" He gestured to the bar. "Of course I have my own beer collection, a few guest taps from around the Federation. Soda, if you prefer, coffee if you need, and tea, though I only do loose leaf, no bagged tea here." He considered the central pillar, adorned with bottles. "And what is a bar without something harder, though I will warn, there is no synthahol in my collection. It doesn't taste right," he added, a wink to match.
Seshi had her chin rested on both of her hands as she listened in. Her smile turned wistful, eyes wandering to bottles behind the counter. "Oh, I think I've had enough of the harder liquor with the homemade concoctions at the Saloon. I believe we've finally managed to breakthrough, and he's created more than a few that make the Saloon more than... stereotypical shall we say." She contemplated the taps for a moment. "How about a glass of what you're most proud of right now?"
"Done," replied Cornelius, sliding off the chair easy, and heading for the bar. He wiggled his fingers, muscle memory taking over as he pulled one of his glasses and placing it on his star sink to cleanse the glass of any debris, as his considered his tower. His left hand finally rested on the 11th Hour Alibi, a farmhouse ale that had been surprisingly popular, considering it being a recent addition. For himself he poured an Exaggeration double IPA, and returned to the table, placing the glass down in front of his guest. "11th Hour Alibi for you," he said, and seated himself. "Our beers are named for different types of lies," he added, "a bit of a tease from time I spent in a Romulan embassy as a bartender myself."
As the glass was set in front of her, Seshi considered the beverage for a prolonged moment. "That's quite the theme, and one you shouldn't be running out of names for I would think." She made note of the pale-color and rising bubbles before she deliberately picked up the glass, closing her eyes and taking a whiff. She seemed to already have an impression of the beer, but waited until after she took a sip of the drink before she said what was on her mind. "How refreshing, even in this weather."
"You honour me," he said, with a mock bow, and a coy smile. "Both with your appreciation of beer, and of kind words."
"Well, as much as I'd like to sit and relish this beverage, we should get down to business." Seshi set the drink on the table, gaze meeting Cornelius. "Although, I do see why the business in your establishment is as it is. It is part of the reason I decided to come. You've made a name for yourself, even within the older residents." Her eyes flickered to a table of particularly loud individuals, clad in light teal scientist gear. "We've had requests at the Saloon to provide some lighter refreshment than the varieties of alcohol that we have been able to procure, and while beer brewing is very much something I am absolutely certain the owner would love to take on... I was hoping we would be able to come to some sort of arrangement to have some of your highly reviewed beverages served at the Saloon."
"I would be flattered. Though, I will be honest, my stock is a little low," he said, regarding the large fermenters behind him a little sad. "I don't believe in my goods passing through a transporter. Something is lost in the affair, and as a result, while particularly more expensive, it means I am able to maintain perfect quality control. That said," he paused and straightened a fork on the table, "I have the issue of transport here. Some of my supplies were ruined, which should be rectified in the coming weeks. All that said, I should be at a point where I could reliably supply you in, say, two weeks. I would even by happy to allow the owner, your father if I am not mistaken, to come over and have his hand from time to time. I love trying new recipes, and having someone to bounce ideas off is always wonderful."
Seshi tilted her head to one side. Nothing about her life was a secret. Before she left Earth, she made sure everyone knew who she was and where she came from so nothing came back to bite her in the rear. But the knowledge that she and Aarav were related was something she neglected to leave out of most conversations since their arrival to the colony itself.
"I see I was not the only one to do a little research," she admitted. "He is. And seeing as I am not the young woman I once was, I can only imagine it will only get more difficult for him. Which is part of the reason why I fear for his attempts at taking on such a labor-intensive project." There was a moment's pause as her eyes narrowed. "As for your supply, let me see what I can do about making all of that less of an issue for future shipments. Perhaps I can have a word with the science team as well. I'm sure someone has a desire to see what crops we can sustain past the few we have managed with this soil." She had little doubt this would be a difficult task, seeing as sustainability was at the forefront of the minds of many aboard the colony itself. "I wonder if we could even have Starfleet lend a helping hand, seeing as they seem so keen to do so in other matters. Regardless, there are plenty of resources that can be utilized."
Cornelius smiled warmly. "I would greatly appreciate it ma'am. Anything I can do to help the colony prosper, the more I would love to be of assistance. On top of that, I have some friends who handle shipping relations, maybe I can try and make things easier for imports and exports?" This was one of the parts he enjoyed about his career, when he could just focus on the Brewery. "I would be happy to explore options for grains too, a lot of them are good for soil reclamation as well."
"That sounds suitably scientific." Seshi made note of taking the news to the appropriate colonists the first moment she could. With all the hustle and bustle surrounding the various discoveries everyone seemed to be making, she imagined another one would round out the excitement and possibly create more good than harm. "I foresee us being able to work together on multiple endeavors for the good of this colony. Hopefully I can get our dear Civilian Director to help me with a strong arm or one of his patented looks. Then we all win."
"Wonderful," replied Cornelius, sitting back and comfortable. "Then, with business out of the way, should we eat?" he asked, gesturing to a staff member to approach, ready to take the Council woman's order.
Seshi smiled a warm and thoughtful smile as she took a look at the menu set upon the table. It only took a moment of consideration before she looked over to the wait staff. "There is very little here I won't eat. How about one of your favorite dish?"
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