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

[queenofthenile]

"It certainly is, Mr. Bond."

She hasn't actually stopped smiling since she looked up to see him, but it's continually shifting: here, touched by faint amusement; there, flashing white and genuine. For all she stands out, Phryne prefers a chameleon's approach to expression. Never give everything away -- where's the fun in that?

"Oh, I suppose one bazaar is much like another. To be frank, I haven't seen anything quite like this since Marrakesh."

Melbourne is shockingly limited when it comes to open air markets. She lends him another enigmatic smile. "Perhaps I was hoping to stretch my legs off the ship. Holograms and storybooks come to life are all very well, but I much prefer that which I can touch as well as see."

[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.

[queenofthenile]

"I quite agree. Anything else results in an incomplete picture."

And there's so much to enjoy, particularly when it comes in the form of a sternly handsome man in a well-cut suit. She folds the rich red cloth, holds it under one arm. "Whose workmanship am I to admire from a machine that spits out items from nothing? The engineer who designed and built it, I suppose, but it lacks a certain personal touch."

It isn't as though she's never bought prêt-à-porter before -- sneaking it under the eagle eye of Madame Fleuri -- but her current frock is couture, designed and created specifically for her. Phryne isn't flighty, but she certainly has a fondness for beautifully-crafted things, and clothes are no exception.

[00_7]

Bond might and can say the same thing about Miss Fisher, in her own classic dress. There's definitely an elegance there, and a confidence too. She's clearly strong-willed and independent, someone with an intriguing personality and perhaps, even more intriguing past.

(She reminds him, upon this assessment, of someone he once knew long ago. She, too, was elegant and confident ... and she'd taken every last bit of him that was left.)

"Hm. And that's the thing, isn't it? The missing ingredient: personal touch."

[queenofthenile]

"Really."

She doesn't precisely take a step nearer, but there's a subtle shift of her weight and focus towards him, as if they're in a crowded room and she needs to lean close to be heard, and gives him a glance that might be called coy, if it weren't so amused. "Are you a hands-on sort of man, Mr. Bond?"

[00_7]

Bond can dole out a glance that stands at an equal level with Miss Fisher's coy-yet-amused one.

And he does.

With an added quirk of the lips, faint but there.

"Well, Miss Fisher, there's no better way to tell if it will be the right fit."

[queenofthenile]

"Well. I do appreciate a man who knows what he likes."

She takes a step away from the stall, but glances at him over her shoulder, inviting him to accompany her. "And how to get it."

Both of which qualities Phryne herself has perfected very nearly to an art form, which is why she doesn't think he'll pass up her silent invitation.