Recipes and Concerns

Posted on Sun Feb 23rd, 2020 @ 9:25pm by Fleet Captain Torilla Yamaguchi & Crumm Widdy

Mission: Mission 5: Skyfall
Location: Skyline Lounge - Starbase 400
Timeline: 2000Hrs - January 2nd, 2389

Lt Commander Torilla Yamaguchi sometimes stood heads and
shoulders above most of the crowd as she was so tall at six foot
even and she weighed in at two hundred pounds, she was what
many would call 'an Amazon woman'. What's more, she knew it
too, she also had a very lovely womanly figure which attracted
attention so she tended to wear cassocks and jackets to hide it,
she sometimes found the attention rather annoying.

In her right hand, she held a PADD in her hand, with a list of
Hallanan food recipes that she wanted to pass along to the owner.

She entered the lounge as she looked around at the bustling crowd as she smiled, she went over to the bar. "Evening Barkeep."

Crumm did not expect to see Torilla again so soon with PADD in hand. Her knowledge of Hallian recipes must have been more extensive than he had assumed. He beamed at the prospect of creating and sampling new dishes. "Hello Lieutenant, are you
here for business or culinary pleasure?"

Yamaguchi smiled at the Bolian. "Actually... I'm here for a little of both," she responded as she produced her PADD. "Is there
somewhere we can chat?" she inquired as she felt it wise to not
discuss business in front of the crowd.

Crumm bowed his head slightly and extended his arm, leading Torilla down a small corridor into the back of the lounge. They came to a door and he secretively punched in a code on a pad before the door whooshed opened. "You can never be too careful with recipes," he said with an embarrassed smirk.

Torilla smiled to herself as she followed the Bolian through the bar
and a few minutes later they were in his office which looked as tidy
and well maintained as her desk in her own office.

"Please have a seat so we can discuss what it is you've brought with you today." Crumm sat in his simple office chair and pulled out a PADD with eager hands. He brought the device to life and gave Torilla his full attention.

Yamaguchi sat down in one of the chairs that he kept for this reason as she produced her PADD. "Have a look at these and let me know what you think... My mother's recipe for Black Nova cake and her Shortcake cookies are in there too," she explained. "Though... I'd recommend being careful with the Black Nova cake, it is rather heavy on the calories..." she commented. "I only eat it only after a long day
or a brutal workout."

"Black Nova cake, you say? Sounds very exotic." He considered the desire of many of the crew to 'watch their weight'. Such notions weren't a priority in Bolian cuisine, but he respected the dietary needs of others. "I have the means to reduce calories, but I would not alter a recipe without your consent. The taste should not be compromised, but the taste buds of other species often prove to be far more sensitive than my own."

Torilla nodded, clearly in the agreement. "Indeed," she responded with a smile.
It was a recipe she created from two separate cakes." she explained.
"Alright... but your right... others are more or less sensitive to the flavor.."

Crumm took inventory of the recipes provided by the officer. They were all relatively exotic but seemed simple enough to duplicate. He considered their surroundings. A closed-door meeting seemed hardly necessary for an exchange of recipes. Crumm gave Torilla a knowing look. "Are these recipes such a closely guarded family secret, or is there
more going on here requiring such privacy?"

"No. It's just never wise to discuss business in front of customers," she responded with a smile. "I do not wish to start rumors or innuendo,"
she added. "Never good for business.." she added.

Crumm laughed, holding his side some. "You are a shrewd businesswoman, Commander. You would make the Ferengi proud." He retrieved four PADDs from his desk and laid them in front of Torilla. "And speaking of the Ferengi, I've learned quite a bit from them." He gestured towards each PADD. "I'll need your thumbprint here, your retinal scan on this one, your verbal agreement over there and your concession to third party arbitration on the final PADD." Crumm smiled.

"Would you like a blood sample too?" she inquired lightly as she lifted the four PADD's. "Let's see what the fine print has to say..." she peered closer. "Mmmm.. permission to distribute.... why would you want to give them away?" she inquired as she looked at him, her dark eyes shone under the lights.

Crumm laughed at Torilla's remark. "I apologize if this all seems like overkill. I have relied on the trustworthiness of business partners far too readily in the past at my peril. You can never be too certain when it comes to business." He tried to read her face but came to no concrete conclusions. "I understand your apprehensions, Commander, but this is for my protection. If you want, you can take time to scrutinize the arrangement parameters and you will see it is fair and handsomely rewards your participation."

Torilla raised an eyebrow as she watched him carefully. "I'm a Starfleet officer, My good man, I also live here and I do wish to be able to visit your establishment and not worry if I'm being overcharged for my food," she explained.

She read over the four PADD's extremely quickly as she regarded him. "Some of my family also live here and... I'm not a business partner as I'm not looking for a stake in your business... however... we can discuss some level of partnership but not at present."

He grinned sheepishly. "Let's see how this particular arrangement works. You do not need to worry about being overcharged as you and yours are guaranteed a discounted rate as stipulated in Section IV, Article B, sub-section 6." He realized how much he was sounding like a Ferengi and shuddered at the idea. "Any mutual suspicions aside, Commander, I run an honest business and you strike me as a direct and honest Starfleet Officer. I doubt either of us has anything to worry about and this will hopefully be the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship."

Torilla raised an eyebrow as she looked at the Bolian. "I tend to get sleepy when I read boilerplate jargon," she commented lightly. "Assume I have no idea of what you just said.... would you mind... dumbing it down for me, I tend to want to blow things up rather than cook things.." she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry... my skills lie in other areas... finances is something I leave to Jake."

Crumm couldn't help but giggle a bit. "If I were to 'dumb it down', I'd say I cook the food, sell the food, and pay you 30% per dish. That is in addition to your handsome retainer, of course." Crumm paused and smiled. "Are we happy?"

"Mmm... It almost sounds too good to be true," she commented. "But yes, I'm happy." she smiled at the owner of the establishment. "Besides, my family loves this place." she rose to her feet. "We have an accord then.." and with that, the two of them shook hands.

Torilla smiled. "Well... I'd best get going... got children to look after and work to do..." and with that, she turned and departed.