Posted by Civilian Jezem (Upstanding Citizen) in Side sim: Dinner at Jezem’s

Posted by Civilian Thyr Th’arialat (Resident) in Side sim: Dinner at Jezem’s

Posted by Civilian Jezem (Upstanding Citizen) in Side sim: Dinner at Jezem’s
Posted by… suppressed (13) by the Post Ghost! 👻
It had been a week and a half since Shivan had seen Jezem. And a lot had happened in that week. Shivan’s shop was… Not exactly set up, but he’d used the metal and materials Eryn had left to start him off with to make some of his first merchandise. His injury was doing better, still sore, but at little risk of reinjury.

During the over a week Jezem was gone, Shivan had stayed at the apartment above his shop. Now that he was back… Well, Shivan remembered how Jezem had acted before he left and decided to drop by. He considered just walking in like he still lived there, but instead, he decided to be polite and rang the doorbell of the stately house his friend and his friend’s husband lived in. Judging by the time, Argam should be home and Jezem should be finishing cooking, unless their schedule had changed.

~ Thyr

The door chime, a soft series of musical notes, rang and Jezem looked up from the kitchen counter. Before he could do anything, Argam hopped up from the living area couch, “I’ll take care of it, dearest.” Jezem resumed his artful plating of their dinner, but kept an eye on the door just in case. Argam opened the door and smiled upon seeing Shivan, “Thyr! Come in, come in. You don’t have to ring the bell, we’ve told you many times you are welcome. But come in, we were about to start dinner.” The Ferengi lead the way across the threshold and to the new dinning table.

Jezem pulled a third plate from the cabinet and began to plate the food. Tonight’s dinner consisted of a savory, meaty curry served over caramelized chunks of starchy vegetables. Made with enough Orion spices to make even Jezem’s eyes water. He placed fresh sprigs of mint-tasting herbs on top and poured three glasses of a thick yellow drink that could soothe the fiery burn of orion spice. Jezem balanced the plates and a tray for the drinks on his arms and carried them over to the table.

“You look healthy and remarkably in one piece,” Jezem casually commented while setting the table.

Jezem

Shivan stepped into the house and followed Argam. So they really did replace the table. Then again, if he were obscenely rich, he probably would too. He took his usual seat. “I am capable of taking care of myself.” As long as ordering cheap takeout and not getting knifed counted as taking care of oneself. “Where’d you go? You disappeared for a week.”

~ Thyr

“Of course you are,” Jezem answered in his best patronizing tone. He did note that Shivan seemed to be healing well, and boasted no new injuries. That’s good. He was worried. Not worried enough to hire a tail on the Andorian or talk Argam into dropping by, but still. It was nice to see Shivan well. Jezem took his seat beside Argam and began to eat, “I went off-world visiting several of the nearest trade hubs and stations.” He began, “Made a few inquiries, lined a few pockets, and called in a few favors. I hoped to learn how far the Syndicate was on your trail.”

Little did Jezem know it was to someone else’s credit that Shivan boasted no new injuries. He’d nearly gotten into a fight with a Klingon and been rescued… By a Starfleet psychiatrist. His luck truly could not be worse. Shivan chuckled darkly. “After my final job went south… I had to cross them pretty good to save my own backside. We can hope they’re nowhere near finding me.”

He paused to take a few bites of curry, “I couldn’t find much but I learned a bit about their movements. They’re not active in this sector, just so you know. I’m also happy to tell that you’re getting your money’s worth out of that identity. And that you owe me, I took the time to clean up your trail some and strength your fake’s legitimacy.” The heat of the curry made Jezem’s eyes well with tears. Jezem took a long gulp of his drink to bring cool relief.

Jezem

Shivan visibly relaxed a little at the news. “Good. I.. I didn’t have time to tidy everything up, so thank you.” Finally some luck on his part. They weren’t close. They weren’t active here. And his new identity was throwing them off. He took a bite of the curry. It was hot and Shivan’s eyes welled too but he ate without complaint, taking a second bite before a drink of his beverage.

~ Thyr

“Eryn is the type to keep her word. With her keeping your other debtors off your back that means we have time to plan.” Jezem stabbed one of the crispy vegetables with a bit too much force. While out and about Jezem attempted to make contact with some of his old associates but no luck. All of his points of contact were either out of date or no longer associated with the person he hoped to reach. When he and Argam cleaned house in preparation for life in Federation space, he’d cut all his non-Syndicate connections without second thought. “How is the shop coming along? What is your break even point? Have you vetted your suppliers?”

Jezem

Shivan nodded. “She will keep my debtors off my back unless I do anything illegal.” He took another bite of the curry. It was very spiced, but so good. Then he stared at Jezem. “My what? Vetted my suppliers? I haven’t… I don’t have suppliers yet. I have a couple chunks of metal and some handle materials. I’ve made some things that’ll be sellable and I’ve started cleaning up the shop.”

~ Thyr

Argam alternated bites of curry with sips of his drink. It seems he couldn’t handle more than one bite at a time. He stopped mid-bite to stare wide-eyed at Shivan, “But then how will you restock your merchandise after a sale? You’ll need a steady supply of metal and crafting supplies to ensure a smooth operation. I could-” The Ferengi trailed off after a sharp look from Jezem.

A look that Jezem then turned upon Shivan, “Did you create a starting inventory so you could track how much you used to make each product?” With which he could use to estimate how much raw supplies he’d need which he could then use to calculate cost of supplies.

Jezem

“Not exactly, but I do know how much metal I started with. I needed to know how much I had to know how many things I could make.” Shivan shrugged at both of them. “I was never good at all this business garbage.” Jezem knew that. That was why Jezem paid his dues.

~ Thyr

Jezem groaned, a look of long-suffering upon his face, “Alright. I don’t know what I was expecting. No, actually I do know what I expected. I had expected you to do the bare minimum of research into running a business.” Jezem’s fingers flexed around the utensils in his hands, “Tomorrow, I’m going to sit you down and lecture you on the basics of running and managing a business.”

Jezem

“UGH,” Shivan groaned, taking another drink of the drink. “Fine.” Business stuff was so boring. He hated when Jezem did business stuff. He finished his curry in record time and then finished off his drink. Jezem’s food was amazing. He rubbed his own head and looked between them, “Eryn set it all up, I don’t know anything about businesses.”

~ Thyr

“Which is why I’m going to teach you until I’m satisfied you can balance an account book and calculate your break even point. This is your cover business, your deal with Eryn to manage this shop. I have my hands full helping Argam with his business dealings I don’t want to be managing yours as well. If you want to keep your neck clean and stay afloat on this colony then you better come prepared to learn.”

Shivan sighed childishly. “I hate finances.”

Jezem stood to clear empty plates from the table. He shuffled around in the kitchen for a bit before returning with bowls of shaved ice doused in creamy, floral tasting syrup and topped with crumbles of dried berries. “Anything else I should know about?”

Jezem

“No.” The answer came too quickly. Shivan was usually a great liar, but with all the help Jezem was giving him lying to him made him feel bad. “Dinner was good, as usual, Jezem.”

~ Thyr

“No?” Jezem had set down his and Argam’s bowls of dessert but purposefully held onto Shivan’s. He gave Shivan a look. A look Shivan would remember from their Pavlajia days. The look of the captain assessing the information given to him and deciding if it was trustworthy or not. Jezem kept hold of the bowl, “I can’t imagine you spending all your time working in that shop. Did you go anywhere? Meet anyone? Do be specific.”

Jezem

“I went to a bar.” Shivan told him the name and location of the place. “It’s a shady place, but I broke no laws.” He was beating around the bush. Jezem would end him when he found out.

~ Thyr

“You broke no laws?” Jezem pounced on the admission, his gaze intense. “That’s an interesting remark to make about visiting a bar, which isn’t illegal in of itself. Did you see anything you shouldn’t have? Talked to anyone you wouldn’t want to be seen with?”

Jezem

“Not by choice!” Shivan said, squirming under Jezem’s intense gaze. “I got pushed around by some Klingon and this guy decided he had to help me.” Shivan glanced between Jezem and Argam. “I have no idea what someone like that was doing there!”

~ Thyr