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"Chocophoria"
Rating: PG-13 Series Note: This story comes after my fics "Captain Mayweather's Mission" and before "Boomer Bust", so Travis, Hoshi and Malcolm have been promoted to Lieutenant, Lieutenant and Lieutenant Commander, respectively. Warning: Hawaiian shirt eyesore alert! Please read and review! Thanks! One The shop itself was nothing special, just another stone structure in the middle of Dnayu Three's Marketplace. Yet the smells coming out of it were heavenly: rich, dark and full of temptation. A group of children stood at the duraglass window, pressing their noses against it as they watched the baker cut thick slabs of sweet brown candy with a steel knife. They made chittering noises as the baker sliced the slabs into smaller triangles, wrapped them in clear plastic, and stacked them in full view of the children. Other customers came into the shop at a steady pace and left with brightly wrapped packages. "Is this it?" Crewman Liz Cutler asked. She stood across the street from the shop and took a deep whiff of the delicious smells. Her smile widened as she looked at her friend. "This is it," confirmed Lieutenant Hoshi Sato. Her dark eyes sparkled with excitement as she read the characters on the sign next to the door. "Exactly where the minister said it would be." "I think I'll camp out permanently here. This is wonderful! It's like some kind of perfume." Liz took another deep breath, much to the amusement of the nearby shoppers. "Come on, Liz, let's see what they have." Hoshi adjusted the shopping basket over her arm and crossed the street, Liz close behind her. The other shoppers gave them bright smiles and bobbed their antennae in greeting. Hoshi pushed the door open and stepped into the room. A glass display case ran along one wall. Each level held multiple trays, with Dnayun desserts piled high in pyramids. CrƒÀme-filled pastries, sugar-coated candies, rainbow-colored jelly cookies...Hoshi gazed at them with wide eyes. At the end of the case was a plate of the brown candy triangles, next to a cup of mocha sauce. Canisters of powders and bags of mixes were stacked on the shelves, each prominently displayed in their glory. The sellers replaced the sold items as fast as their four hands could move, but they were just keeping up with demand. Hoshi tried to decipher the list of ingredients; she recognized "sweet", "love", "yummy (or something like that)" and "dessert". The baker waved his four arms at them from behind the marble counter. "Come in and be welcome! Warm your hearts at my hearth!" he called in Dnayun as he pressed his hands together and bowed in a gesture of hospitality. "Please, allow me to serve your needs. What are your desires?" Hoshi tried not to blush at his words, for his deep voice caressed them like poetry. This language was rich in hyperbole and innuendo as well as its culture, so she decided to take the words at face value. She turned her attention to the delicacies on display. "We have heard of the wondrous items in your shop, Master Baker," she answered in the same language. "and were curious as to their making. Is it true your delicacies are as delectable as they tell us?" "May I recommend the mokka, my Lady? I cooked it just this morning." The baker gestured towards a pitcher filled to the brim with the brown liquid. Hoshi nodded, and he deftly poured some of it into two mugs. He gave Hoshi one of the mugs and gestured for Liz to take the other. Both women bowed to the Master Baker, then took a deep gulp of the liquid. A bloom of pure ecstasy erupted on Hoshi's tongue and she saw stars. The rush of contentment was so strong that it startled her. That quickly turned into delight as she peered into the depths of her half-full cup. "Wow. That was¡X" "¡Xamazing," Liz finished, her word little more than a sigh. The Master Baker laughed, a deep rumble in his chest. "The first taste is bliss, then it becomes a constant friend. It will always be a comfort to a tired soul or a loving heart." "Waxing poetic?" Liz asked, her voice still hushed. "The mokka is more than a dessert. It is an art, My Lady," he objected, with no judgment or malice in his voice. He blinked, his long lashes sweeping across his cheeks like tiny feathers. "I can see that," Hoshi said, as she watched the same group of children pay for their desserts and file out the door with their treasures. She grinned at Liz and added, "Well, I suppose we ought to decide what we want to get." Liz sighed and regarded the selection with an eager eye. "Hmmm...decisions, decisions..." They spent the next twenty minutes with the Master Baker and his assistant, as they described every confection in their shop. Twenty different kinds of candy alone, plus the cookies, bars, pastries and drinks. Hoshi chose a bag of cookies, an assortment of fudge, and a liter of the liquid mokka. It was enough to replenish her secret chocolate stash and then some. Liz decided on a small tray of sweet pastries, a wrapped container of cookies, and some thick slabs of solid mokka. "Chef can make a killer cheesecake with this," she said happily. "If we run into him in the Marketplace, we'll have to tell him about this shop!" As Liz paid for her purchases, the Master Baker drew Hoshi aside and pressed a small tray of candy into her hand. They were shaped like little gold ingots, wrapped in shiny maroon foil. Hoshi counted nine rows of ten ingots...ninety pieces of candy. "Share this with your friends," the Master Baker said. "This tray is meant as a token of comradeship and togetherness." "Thank you, Master Baker," Hoshi said with a grin. "I'll be sure to share it with the crew." When she and Liz made their way back out into the warm sunshine, Liz asked, "What's with the free tray of candy?" "The Master Baker asked me to share with the rest of the crew," Hoshi explained. "I'll probably ask Chef to distribute it during Movie Night this week. It's a token of friendship and hospitality." "That was really nice of him." Liz smiled as a familiar figure made his way out of the market stands. "Chef! Over here!" Chef turned his head at Liz's shout. His broad face brightened at the sight of them and he made his way to their side. He balanced a clutch of baskets in both arms; Hoshi and Liz saved them from flying out of control. Hoshi glanced at the unfamiliar fruit and vegetables, with tubes of spices wedged between them. Chef had been making good use of their stop to replenish his food supply. "Are you ladies enjoying yourselves?" he asked. "We just found the best chocolatier this side of Antares," Liz told him. "You'll never believe the kind of stuff they have in there..." As she rambled on, a flash of fabric at a nearby stand caught her eye: a thin, gauzy material cut into a sleeveless dress and hemmed with delicate gold thread. The same design was in several different colors, a fiery red, a royal blue, and a delicate lilac. "...Well, I should check this place for myself, then. Point me in the right direction!" "Less than half a kilometer back that way," Liz replied, inclining her head behind them. "You can't miss it with all the people coming in and out of it, Chef." "All right. Thanks for the tip, ladies!" With a wave, he headed in the direction of the Master Baker's shop. Hoshi grinned at the new spring in his step. To go where no culinary chef has ever gone before... "How about if we check out that fabric stall?" Hoshi said. "I thought I saw a dress there that would be great for my next shore leave." Liz looked at the dresses hanging on the stall frame and gave her a wicked look. "Red dress, chocolate, British armory officer...hmm..." Hoshi blushed, but only laughed with her best friend. Lieutenant Commander Malcolm Reed sighed as he sat on the steps leading to the market's main fountain. He shook his head in disbelief as Commander Trip Tucker lounged on a nearby step and chatted animatedly with the native Dnayuns, who seemed in awe of Trip's hideous orange-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt. An artist had set up his easel and was painting his rendition of the eyesore. "Your shirt should be classified as a dangerous weapon, Commander," Malcolm said with dry humor. "Or at least an unsightly magnet." "Hey, I'm minglin' with the locals, just like the Cap'n told us to do," Trip shot back without rancor. "We just found a common point of interest." "Ghastly costumes qualifies as an interest?" "You know what they say, ¡¥when in Rome...," Trip replied with delight. He turned his attention to a young Dnayun female who was a fabric designer to answer her question about the material of his shirt. Perhaps he'll start a trend. Dear God, save us from the thought. Malcolm allowed himself a slight smirk, then brought his attention back to the crowd. It was high noon, the busiest time in the Marketplace, and the farm workers came by for the midday meal. The aroma of the food stands tickled his nose and his stomach rumbled in response. He promised it something later. "Many pardons, sir," a sweet voice said in his ear. "Will you accept a token of hospitality?" Malcolm jumped in surprise, his hand going for the nonexistent phase pistol at his hip. An attractive Dnayun perched on the step above him. She wore a gauzy summer dress that left little to the imagination, her hair done in a careless style, her large aqua eyes enhanced by cosmetics. Two of her hands were on his shoulders, one lay casually at her side, the fourth touched his cheek. He blinked as he felt the blood rush to his face. "Ah¡Xwhat kind of token, madam?" he stammered. The woman chuckled and pressed a card into his hand. The green Dnayun script glowed on the silver rectangle, but Malcolm guessed it was a name and a number. A disk wrapped in red foil was attached to the lower right hand corner. He smelled a rich aroma coming from the disk and identified it immediately: Chocolate. "If you have the time before you leave, follow the directions on this. I promise you¡X"her sultry voice grew husky at the next words, "¡Xyou will not be disappointed." He swallowed hard and replied, "I'm sorry, but I must decline your generous offer. I'm promised to someone else." "Then this will serve you in good stead for whomever you are promised. She will be a lucky woman." She gave him a cheeky smile, then wandered off, leaving a bemused Armory officer behind. Trip came up and stared at her until she vanished into the crowd, then turned to Malcolm. "Whoa. Did I just see her try to proposition you? Hoshi's gonna kill her." Malcolm rolled his eyes. "I firmly and politely rebuffed her offer, Commander." "Hoshi's got you trained, Malcolm. She's got you trained good." "Commander," he said with a note of warning in his voice. "If you're implying that she's ¡¥housetrained' me, I would beg to differ. We aren't married." "Yet. Mark my words, Malcolm." Trip stretched and turned his head towards the food stalls. "How about some lunch? The smells coming out of there's pretty good. Let's check out what they have." "Good idea." Malcolm got to his feet, stuffing the card in his pocket. Despite what Trip implied, he was still his own man, not subject to a woman's whim. Not yet, Trip repeated in his mind. He brushed off the incident and followed the commander to the food stalls. |
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