TEST DRIVE #1 - Ten Forward

[tenforward_m]

You know how you were standing there, back in your home world, just minding your own business?

Time to forget all about that.

Instead of doing whatever the heck you were just doing, you're standing in the middle of this very stylish, sedate barroom. Happily, you're not alone there - in fact you're surrounded by people who seem to be as confused as you are...and some of them look a little, well unusual

Now would be a great time to do....well, something. Ask some questions of the person nearest you, throw a fit, stage a coup....maybe do a little exploring? No matter what you do, you're going to be here for a very long time.

For others might call it the USS Enterprise, but for the foreseeable future, you'll be calling it home.

[OOC: this test drive's open until the next app period.]

Comments

[splendid_roman]

He couldn't help but smile back. This woman did seem to make the whole situation more relaxed. "No, thank you," he replied, but chuckled. The Doctor would be a welcome sight, but a doctor wasn't quite the same.

[she_listens]

She inclines her head, not pressing him further on his exclamation. People say all kinds of things when they see Ten Forward for the first time.

"Perhaps a drink, then?"

[splendid_roman]

"A drink would be perfect." He became more animated at the suggestion. There was nothing that a good cup of tea or pint of beer couldn't solve. "Whatever beer you have." He didn't want to put her out too much.

[she_listens]

He could always put her out a little, and might prefer to in the future, once he realizes she has a wicked sense of humor beyond that calm exterior. She plays with the idea of giving him a Romulan ale.

No, she'll save that for another time. He's new, after all.

"I can do that. Step this way," she says, returning to the bar. It isn't long before she's setting a tall, pale ale in front of him.

[splendid_roman]

He had a sip of the drink and was surprised. "That's good," he said, putting the glass back on the bar. For some reason he hadn't expected anything on a spaceship to taste good. It was a spaceship after all.

He dug a hand in his pocket and came up with a handful of loose change and a couple of pound notes. "I'm not sure I have the right currency." He looked worried, thinking that they probably didn't take 1960s money on a spaceship.

[she_listens]

She smiles.

"Of course it's good. Don't sound so surprised," she says, hinting at playful indignation. She waves off his money, shaking her head. "Don't worry about it. This one is on the house."

It only seems fair, considering he's just been uprooted from his comfort zone. Though, Guinan gets this feeling that his current situation isn't too far off from being on the Enterprise. She explores that feeling a little, and waits for him to speak.

A good bartender, after all, listens.

[splendid_roman]

He put his money back in his pocket. "Thank you." He smiled and had another sip.

"I never knew spaceships could have bars. Good idea, though," he added quickly, not wanting it to seem like a complaint about this bar. "There's nothing quite like a good beer."

[she_listens]

She smiles like she has a secret.

"Even Starfleet officers need a place where they can relax from time to time. Most Galaxy-class starships like the Enterprise will only carry synthetic alcohol; it has all the taste of the real thing without any of the unfortunate side effects," she explains. "But I always keep a few special bottles behind the bar, just in case."

[splendid_roman]

Ian almost didn't know where to start with questioning that. There were more ships? But the alcohol was top of his mind. "Synthetic alcohol can hardly be the real thing." She must be talking about alcohol-free drinks. Maybe they'd got it to taste the same, but it wouldn't be the same. And if you didn't get drunk at all what would be the point?

He frowned at his drink. "Is this one real or synthetic?"

[she_listens]

Her eyes sparkle.

"Which do you think?" she asks.

There are those who claim they can tell the difference, and those who believe there's no difference at all. The beer Ian has now is, in fact, synthenol, but Guinan wants to hear his opinion.

[splendid_roman]

He considered the question carefully, looking closely at his drink, then smelling it and finally having another sip. "It's not a brand I've tried before," he concluded, although he'd already worked that out from the first sip. But beer was beer, even if the tastes were slightly different. "I think it's real, though."

[she_listens]

She nods.

"Then does it really matter whether it was exposed to a natural process of fermentation, or a synthetic one?"

[splendid_roman]

"No, I suppose not." He still peered at it, wondering if it was real. "But it's not the taste you drink beer for, but the effect. If the effect is different, then what's the point?"

[she_listens]

"Things are a little different aboard the Enterprise. We don't have too many portholes you can stick your head out of if you need to be sick."

Again, calm amusement radiates from her features.

"Synthohol won't make you sick or debilitated, and you won't form any addictions, but the enjoyment stays the same. Tell me, are you a scotch man?"

[splendid_roman]

"I wouldn't say no to a good scotch." He was still looking at his beer considering the effects, or lack of, of this synthohol. "So you can drink as much as you like without being sick and without getting a hangover?" These days he didn't tend to drink that much, but something like that would have been really useful when he was a student.

[she_listens]

She holds up a finger, excusing herself momentarily. She returns with two empty glasses, and two unmarked bottles.

"That's right. And you have zero chance of forming an addiction."

It has its benefits. Guinan still likes the good stuff, but when you've been around as long as she has you're allowed a few vices.

She pours a splash from one bottle into a glass, and does the same with the other bottle and glass.

"Here, taste these. Tell me which one is synthehol, and which one is real scotch."

[splendid_roman]

They looked the same - he hoped she remembered which was which. He had a sip of one, which tasted just like scotch, and then the other. Which also tasted like scotch. "If one of them really is synthehol then it's very good."

He tried another sip of each before pointing to the one on the right. "I think that one's not quite as good as the other." Probably. But he had a 50/50 chance of choosing the right one.

[she_listens]

She smiles brightly, pleased.

"You have a discerning palate. That's right."

Some will swear up and down that the differences are unmistakable, but the reality for many will come down to a 50/50 chance like Ian's.

"Sometimes, just the taste and smell of a good drink can have a placebo effect. It relaxes us, much the same as the real thing."

She leans in conspiratorially.

"But the real thing is always just a little better."

[splendid_roman]

He smiled, glad he was right, and had another sip of the real drink. "I suppose so," he agreed. "And there's something about sitting in a pub with your friends. You don't necessarily need the drink to relax you."

[she_listens]

"That's true."

She didn't see him come in with anyone, but the nice thing about Ten Forward is it isn't hard to make friends.

"I'm guessing you're used to travelling."

She takes up a rag and starts cleaning the bar top, but her attention stays with him.

[splendid_roman]

"I am. I've been living a life of leisure, seeing the world with some friends." Even on a spaceship he wasn't too sure about telling someone that actually he travelled the universe.

He sipped at the scotch and chuckled. "I've been in plenty of pubs, but never done the stereotypical thing of chatting to the bartender."