TEST DRIVE #3 - Alien Bazaar/Ten Forward

[tenforward_m]

#1

Option 001. Alien planet, marketplace: So you're new to this whole space travel thing. The ship is cool and all, but there are hundreds of alien worlds out there. You want to explore. To see what the universe REALLY looks like.

Well, here's your chance! Your first stop is this lovely indoor marketplace, which looks kind of like a mall. There are stalls one after the other as far as the eye can see, and they sell all kinds of things: food, clothes, trinkets, animals, fabrics, jewelry, perfumes, books, etc etc. Some things look human, easy to recognize; other things look very alien. There are two levels, and constant chatter as people hawk their wares and discuss prices.

Do you want to explore? Poke at the weird shops? Buy a gift for a new friend? Flirt with someone at the food court? Maybe you see a pickpocket, and must run to the aid of the victim. Maybe there's some other villainy afoot. After all, a crowded marketplace is a good place for villains to lurk, causing trouble. Whether you're a hero or just an unassuming traveler, there proves to be some adventure for you on this planet.


2

Option 002. Aboard the Enterprise, Ten Forward: You have no idea what just happened. One minute you were home, and now you're on a spaceship, in the middle of a crowded room. It looks like a bar. There are people eating and drinking, some in uniform, others not. Some are clearly aliens.

You've managed to land in Ten Forward a long bar with barstools and a bartender, tables sprinkled throughout, and the far wall is nothing but windows out to space. It looks like a nice lounge, low conversation making the room hum.

Better ask some questions and find out where you are, or just tap the closest person on the shoulder and try to make friends. The bar is open.

Comments

Sakuta Ryūsei | Kamen Rider Fourze | Bazaar

[fatefulmeteor]

Well... This was new.

Ryūsei had just opened the door to the Rabbit Hutch, stepped through it, like he had done so many times... only this time, he found himself in another place entirely...

It wasn't ridiculous to assume that this place was on another planet, or even dimension. The corridor connecting the Rabbit Hutch Moon Base to Amanogawa High School was created by Astroswitches and Cosmic Energy. Who knows what could happen.

Still, he's not panicking. Not yet. There'd be a way home, he's sure of it.

As he wanders around the bazaar, taking in the various sights, he has something blue in his right hand, partly obscured by his fingers.

Re: John Geary | The Lost Fleet | Ten Forward

[mirabile_mireille]

And here's someone who looks like she's in from 1954, though she's been aboard for a while now. For all that these strange appearances, these sudden arrivals, are becoming an almost everyday occurrence here, she still doesn't like it--the confusion, the fear, the agitation.

She doesn't like people upset.

"It's all right," she says quietly. "It's safe."

Re: Adama | Battlestar Galactica (1978)

[pyrrha_pandora]

Hey look, it's a Pyrrha--wrangling a squirmy toddler who isn't particularly happy about being carried, but she doesn't want to let him walk around on his own, not here. He's fast and who knows how safe it is for little kids?

"I used to know a guy who made ambrosia," she says, opinion completely unsolicited. "I never got to try any, but people always said it was really good."

[electro_kinetic]

"I thought ambrosia was a food," says Noriko as she stops upon hearing the question, and seeing the bottle.

Hey, not that she knows what on earth the guy's asking for, but it's conversation.

Re: Sakuta Ryūsei | Kamen Rider Fourze | Bazaar

[just_a_chemical]

It's so strange to Eleanor: being on the surface of a planet, being in a bazaar, being around so many normal and healthy-seeming people. Oh, she remembers shops from when she was a child, but to be in one again--well. She'll get used to it.

For now, she's just looking at a stall full of assorted secondhand trinkets and mechanical things. She has no idea what most of them are, or how they work, but they can't be that hard to take apart, can they?

"Hey, does this look broken to you?"

[home_fires_burning]

It is nice to be out and about, isn't it? Well, shops are basically the same everywhere; the currency may be different, and the exact items for sale, but they have the same feel and the same sales pitches.

So here's Sigyn with a bit of money, looking for a nice dress for her husband.

"Oh, that's a lovely color. These seem well-made, too."

Re: Sakuta Ryūsei | Kamen Rider Fourze | Bazaar

[tanteiotaku]

Of course things had been going too well, so now Shotaro had a situation on his hand. Somehow Fang had gotten off the Enterprise and had only just escaped being added to the inventory of some guys with big ears that were speculating on how much latinum he would fetch.

Fang was on the warpath, hopping from stall to stall, trying to escape him. But like hell he was going to risk leaving him behind on some random planet. He tried his best to keep up, occasionally reaching his hand up to hold his hat in place when needed. "Fang! Stop! Come back here!" He saw an opportunity to corner it, though. Hopefully Spider's web would hold. That guy, was that a school uniform? Something like that. "Hey, you there! Distract the robot!" He pointed at the small light blue dinosaur emitting occasional highly digitized roars.

Meanwhile, he stuck Metal into Spider "Metal!" it called out, accordingly.

[just_be_quiet]

"But..." He trails off. He doesn't know how he is supposed to react to that. He is already missing his home and he hasn't even been here for five minutes.

"That's not really fair. I get sick real easy. And... and I just started my summer vacation!" Hey, interrupting a child's summer vacation is pretty much a crime. Q should feel very sorry.

Irian t'Aumne | Star Trek Online AU | Bazaar

[aehallh]

In her own world — or, perhaps more accurately, her own time period, some forty years ahead of this one — Irian never has any time to do something like shopping for its own sake, or for pleasure. Even if she did, she likely wouldn't. Unfortunately, she's the sort of officer who rarely spares herself any time to take shore leave or do much for fun; all her life, she's been a career woman, even though the career itself has changed over the years.

In this case, though, it's either stay on board the Enterprise or go do something that might be mildly more entertaining. Since she has nothing as yet to do on board ship, except being watched by security officers who — understandably — probably still half suspect her of being a Romulan spy, the prospect of a few hours at the marketplace wins out.

She's not really expecting to find anything of use here, let alone anything from home. New Romulus is a beautiful world, and more and more every day her people continue to make it theirs, but there are no replacements for ch'Rihan and ch'Havran (do they even call them that here? she wonders). Irian would never admit aloud to being homesick, but she is, all the same. She's browsing the various stalls and kiosks, examining things here and there with a vague, aloof sort of interest, at least until she comes across the scarf. It's the color that catches her eye first, crimson and rust, dyed in a pattern that's very traditionally Rihannsu; she reaches out a hand to examine it more closely, and her demeanor loses a bit of its aloofness to sheer surprise as she finds herself caught off guard by how fine and delicate it is — as if she's barely touching more than air. Irian knows counterfeit tivish by feel; this is the real thing, and she runs it gently through her hands, cautious not to catch the fabric on anything. It's at least a little ridiculous to feel so suddenly sentimental about a scarf, of all things, but it's almost impossible to find genuine tivish at home anymore, after the fall of the Hearthworlds.

She wouldn't wear a piece like this herself — though she thinks, a bit absently, of her ship's surgeon, who collects scarves like some Terrans collect old Earth money — but, perhaps, it might be worth having anyway.


[ ooc: Since Irian's AU is a little complicated — info and stuff is in her journal. :) ]

Re: Irian t'Aumne | Star Trek Online AU | Bazaar

[bet_on_the_river]

Booker's never been much of one for shopping--you buy what you need, what you can afford, and that's that. The sort of asceticism that comes from not having much money, and not seeing much point in self-indulgence anyway.

But he's won a bit at cards lately, so he's got some money, and since they don't charge for anything on the ship, what else is he going to do with it? He doesn't need anything, and if he doesn't spend it on things for other people, he'll just end up finding whatever passes for alcohol hereabouts.

"Those scarves are nice," he says. "Do you think a teenage girl would wear one?"

Re: Irian t'Aumne | Star Trek Online AU | Bazaar

[notacrimelord]

Mind not the giant purple slug with vaguely humanoid features that stops to peruse the same wares; Hutts admire well-crafted things both for aesthetic reasons and monetary values, and everything there seems to be well-made. "Interesting."

Oh, right, it speaks.

[00_7]

"I must agree with you," Bond says, inclining his head towards the fabrics before them - all very much touchable. "There's no comparison to using all the senses to one's disposal in a new environment."

His lips quirk.

"There is almost something too easy about asking the replicator for something." Too easy and too ... inelegant. And Bond is willing to bet this Phryne Fisher is like him in that regard.

[spideys]

'Hey, it's okay.'

The tone in his voice (American accent, definitely) is soothing and sympathetic. It belongs to the young man (lanky limbs, unkempt hair, brown eyes, glasses) from the next table over who swings his feet from off the surface and back to touch the floor. He puts what looks to be a dense textbook down and approaches in as defenseless a manner as possible.

'This isn't my Aunt's house either. You got a name, buddy?'

[just_be_quiet]

Andrew sounds like he's from somewhere in the New England area. Maybe north of Boston or south. It's a little harder to place exactly.

Andrew would be curious about the kind of textbook. He is a big reader and enjoys science. His first love is math because it makes sense in a way people don't.

"Andrew." His mouth wrinkles around the edges. "What is this place? The people are um.... "

Different. Strange. He thinks one might be an alien but he isn't so sure of that.

[spideys]

'Yeaaah.'

Peter chuckles, crouching so he's more or less on Andrew's level. He's kind of a tall guy as it is, but with kids he feels like he towers over them.

'Kinda weird, huh? And it's about to get weirder.

'Hi Andrew, I'm Peter and you happen to be on a spaceship.'

[just_be_quiet]

It likely does not help Andrew is small and could stand to put some weight on. He hates being reminded of this fact so some responsible adult will get to have fun with that one.

"Seriously,," Andrew squeaks. Yeah he squeaks he hasn't hit puberty yet. "That's really cool! But I thought NASA wasn't getting funded very well anymore."

Oh he pays attention to that stuff.

[spideys]

Peter's eyebrows go up for just a moment before he's smiling at the kid.

"No, you're right about that. This isn't a NASA ship though. You're on the USS Enterprise."

Because, yes, that is supposed to mean something!

[just_be_quiet]

Yes, he is one of your people Peter. All hail the nerds and geeks! They who read things for fun and know other interesting things that normal people may not notice.

"Well if we're not feeling the difference in gravity.... it wold have to be pretty advanced," Andrew reasons after a moments thought while chewing at his lower lip thoughtfully.

He blinks at the name of the ship. Sadly? Andrew comes from a world without Star Trek. That's a little sad. "But there are a bunch of ships with that name. Is that.... You think that should mean something to me, don't you?"

[reginald_barclay]

Q should feel sorry. He won't, though. The feelings of insignificant lifeforms are not his concern.

"We... we have excellent doctors here," he says.

And he should know. He goes to sickbay regularly. They've yet to find anything wrong with him.

"And it's... like a vacation? You don't have to go to school here. I think."

[spideys]

All hail the nerds and geeks, indeed!

There's a small shrug, but Pete's smile is still in place. He can't say he isn't a little disappointed that he won't get the chance to geek out with someone about Star Trek and Captain Picard, but hey ... you win some, you lose some.

'Guess you've never seen Star Trek, huh? That's okay. Point is, this ship is pretty awesome.'

[just_be_quiet]

The problem is they're not his doctor. He likes Doctor Kendall. He might be sort of old but he is also fairly grandfatherly. It's nice given he never got to meet his real grandparents.

"Yes but I don't think they're going to be like Doctor Kendall. He's... nice. Even if he keeps telling me I should eat more," the small boy points out.

He frowns a little more. "I guess. I just wish Bernie was here. I don't.... I don't really have any friends. He's my dog.... And. And."

He looks very uncomfortable. He and Barclay can form the Mutually Uncomfortable society. "What if it takes longer than two and a half months for you to fix this? Someone might make me start school here, I.... don't know how that would work out. This ship seems um. More advanced than stuff back home."

He has to stop himself but he looks like he might be vibrating with nerves.

[just_be_quiet]

"No." He is very straight forward about this.

"It's weird because well.... I get sick easy so I don't go out much. My Aunt and Uncle are pretty protective. I feel like I should have heard of it." But he hasn't. That isn't such a big deal however since they will get to see much of it first hand.

"Is this like... the future? Or is it a weird experiment?"

[aehallh]

There's a voice from somewhere beyond her shoulder, and Irian turns her head to regard the speaker — a Terran man, or else someone who looks very like one. Her first reaction to that question is to be uncertain that a human girl — she imagines he must be asking for a daughter, or another young relative — could properly appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into such a piece. But she suppresses that, for the moment. His interest, at least, is appreciable.

"I would hardly be the one to ask," she says, dryly. She hasn't been a teenage girl in a long time, and moreover, she's a soldier, not an expert in fashion. Irian leans over, carefully putting the tivish scarf back from whence she took it. A loose strand of her hair falls into her face; idly, she brushes it back behind one pointed ear.

"But they are quite expensive. These were made by my people." A very slight frown crosses her face. "Very rare to see something like this outside the Empire."

The shop owner must have very good connections. Romulans only rarely trade with other races, and it's unusual for even something like this to make its way out of Imperial space.

[aehallh]

Irian's immediate first reaction to such a creature, naturally, is at least a bit colored with revulsion. Of course, it's hardly the Hutt's fault he looks like an overgrown version of some of the creatures that were always eating the colony's crops back on Virinat — but Irian is used to people who look strictly humanoid. Working with the Federation, as she has done in not a few circumstances back in her own world, only does so much to allay the gut feeling that there's something very wrong with someone who doesn't look at least a little like she does. Maybe that's just a bit of the old Romulan xenophobia talking, the ingrained attitude that most aliens are either going to try to kill you or steal from you. She's never quite got rid of it.

In any case, she succeeds at keeping the emotion off of her face, with the care of long practice at hiding her feelings. Her brows arch slightly. "I would say these are worthy of a better descriptor than that," she says. Tivish is extremely difficult to properly produce, and more difficult to dye without ruining the weave. But she'd hardly expect him (she's guessing; the voice sounds masculine, despite her initial tendency to think it instead of him) to know that.

[notacrimelord]

"Would you?" The slug-being turns to her, watching the woman with eyes that evoke both reptiles and felines. "Enlighten me, if you would."

It's deep tone is almost perfectly neutral, with just a hint of curiosity, and it keeps a polite distance from the human.

(Which is a good thing, considering hutts are... rather fragrant; not in a dirty, unwashed sense, but a natural musky odor that while not a stench, is strong enough to upset sensitive stomachs.)