Checkin In

Posted on Wed Dec 3rd, 2025 @ 8:09pm by Lieutenant Irynya & Ensign Noah Balsam

Mission: Port of Call
Location: Pathfinder Station; Regency-Balancar Luxury Suites
Timeline: Mission Day 18 at 1730

[Regency-Balancar Luxury Suites]
[Pathfinder Station: Upper Esplanade Deck]

It was a reminder that the Ferengi Alliance and their allies were co-signatories for the Pathfinder Compact. And it was a sign of changing times but one that Noah hadn't really seen up until now. The pristinely polished, metal-lustrous broadwalk was still a skeleton, with just a few shops and engagements open. A Tholian in a fascinatingly sunstone-like encounter suit hovered near their couture shop with Tholian silks- the price tags in latinum were eye-watering and well beyond an Ensign's ship credit allotment. But that wasn't what Noah was focused on.

They were not dressed... conservatively. But Ferengi culture was rapidly changing, obviously. The two Ferengi females- actual off-world Ferengi females- stood in uniforms with gaudy accoutrements and baubles. Their silvery long-nailed fingers gestured gracefully and yet somehow graspingly at the grand entrance of the Regency-Balancar Suites. Noah did an awed little turn just inside the entrance as the ceiling rose three open levels with balconies, an illusory holographic blue sky and sun making this feel like an odd, secluded garden. Strange plants- one of them Noah swore was singing- were planted in ringing planters along the path that guided them around a large Horgahnesque fountain- which was not currently operating.

A small, rather corpulent Ferengi with enormous, smooth ears stood behind the welcome desk. "Welcome weary travelers, to the Regency Balancar Suites at the mouth of the Barzan wormhole. Do you have a reservation?" He asked in a gravelly voice that suggested on his off-hours, he used snake root.

"Good afternoon," Irynya responded, her tone honey warm. She, too, was captivated by the space they'd walked into, but perhaps for different reasons than her companion. Even false sunlight felt like a reprieve and something loosened in her chest a bit as she stepped up to the check in desk. "We do. It should be under Irynya, for seven nights." She caught the Ferengi's eye and fixed a traditionally Risian open expression onto her face that all but screamed What is ours is yours. Only someone paying close attention or who knew Irynya well would have caught the intelligent glint of steel beneath it. "Prepaid, of course," she added.

"Ah yes here we aaaaaare," The little Ferengi's voice had gone raspy and breathy as he leaned toward his amber-lit holographic console. It looked to be a Ferengi interface. "Irynya and plus one," his small sunken eyes regarded Noah and then shifted back. "From the starship Sojourner." He tilted his head back almost like he was going to sneeze, but instead brought the heels of his palms together in a grateful gesture, "And yes I see prepaid. You are in the Azores suite," and he made two sweeping gestures- one at Irynya and one at Noah. With a rounded and softened computer sound, the hotel scanned them and started creating their access subroutines. No keys, no cards.

The Ferengi eased back, "Enjoy your stay travelers. Whatever you need, just request the Companion and they will take care of all of your needs. You may program your Companion's appearance to anything you desire. They can guide you through the process." He leaned forward, "Anything else? Luggage? Special beverages or special food orders?"

Irynya considered the question, peeking back at Noah who was behind her and, she expected, still taking in the lobby around them. She had soaked in the giddy engineering geekiness that he seemed to exude the whole way to the hotel, sinking into the normalcy of it with no small amount of quiet gratitude. "Nothing at the moment," she finally replied, "but I will absolutely let you know if that changes." She smiled demurely at him, bringing her own hands together in a mirror of the gesture the Ferengi man had made a moment earlier.

Turning to Noah she grinned. "Shall we?"

Noah mirrored the gesture as well, albeit with far less panache and flow as the Flight Controller. His seemed stiff and copied, and as he did it, the Ferengi's face went from pleased and enchanted by the Risian to, 'yes ok, you get points for trying little man, now go.'

"Um, yeah. Yeah," Noah agreed as he scooped at his hair near his ear in a vain effort to put it behind its shell. He'd kept his cylindrical satchel on his hip, its strap across his narrowness. "Uh what floor is the uh... Azores Suite?" He asked Irynya confidentially.

Yet with a soft, unobstrusive sound, a localized voice spoke to them, "Azore Suite, travelers, is located on the third mezzanine. Proceed to lift Beauregard." And the voice seemed to waft in a suggesting direction as if guiding them.

Noah blinked and set eyes on... lift... Beauregard. "Why not just call it lift B?" He murmured to himself even as he did another awed and confused little spin in the central lobby. He had further questions. His brows rose in a mimic of perky the minute Irynya looked at him. "I mean... it-its charming... uhh... charmingly strange."

Iry's Risian composure cracked at Noah's brow raise and she pressed both lips together to suppress a giggle. "Come on," she said, a chuckle slipping past her lips despite herself as she moved to follow the incorporeal voice toward the lift which was tucked into a narrow alcove to the right of the check in desk. A small sign indicated that they should cross to the other side of the lobby if they were looking for lift Albanese.

The doors parted for them a few steps ahead of their arrival, revealing a curving transparent wall on the side of the car that faced the circular lobby, giving them a view out to the dry circular fountain and the greenery spotted throughout. The holographic sunlight flitted through the pane competing with a warm overhead dome light that looked almost as if it were made of some kind of translucent leather.

Gathering her bag to herself, she stepped to the side to make sure Noah had plenty of room and then looked for the control panel to indicate their destination. No panel, however, was to be seen. Instead the doors closed and the lift started automatically into motion.

"Ok then," Iry said with a grin, before turning so she could peer down at the lobby from the open window.

It was a short lift ride, but the feeling of height that they had first experienced from below left the flight controller with a broad smile. The tallest thing she'd encountered in recent weeks had been the two deck height of the shuttle bay. This was taller and combined with the movement of the lift tickled the pit of her belly until they came to stop.

"This way please." The disembodied voice returned and, again, gave the impression of movement. Eyebrows raised Iry gave Noah a sidelong look then, stepping through the now open lift doors, followed.

"I swear this is like... Hysperia," Noah murmured upwards as, again, he was looking at the ceiling and the architecture. "For all we know, th-this Companion is a knight we're supposed to bone with." Noah stopped suddenly having almost walked in to a pillar. He sighed with a bit of pent up exasperation. With a turn, he deliberately followed Irynya and the disembodied voice. This wasn't exactly what he'd been expecting. A low key Starfleet feeling but maybe a bit better facility. A nicer replicator menu of choices and variations. Maybe an actual water shower or tub, like the Captain had anytime he wanted. But this. This felt more like the hotel was wanting you to forget you were on a as yet incomplete Starfleet-run station.

Another pillar. Noah had caught himself looking up again. He breathed in- again. It was just so... big. Irynya had already settled, it seemed, at the door of their room. A faint pulse of light had scanned her. "Welcome. Please indicate the time of day you would like to begin your experience." The voice was soft, honeyed, obviously designed by the travel and service industry. "This is done to help prevent time lag." It offered up.

"Early evening please, umm, 1700 hours," she answered giving only a moment's consideration to the gendering of the voice. To her, the syrupy warmth sounded feminine, but considering just how attuned the place was them at this point she would have to remember to ask Noah if it sounded the same to him. "Mind that last column," she teased as he sidestepped just in time for the voice to return its confirmation. "Time setting for1700 hours."

The doors whispered open to reveal... it wasn't Starfleet standard either. It was obviously immersive using holography. The common area had a series of lush green planters and large, oversized even, wicker furniture with seats and pillows on terracotta. It made up a sitting room, of sorts. But obviously the main event was the view- not an interior bulkhead but a panorama, wall to wall, ceiling to floor. It was verdant but cliffy, descending to a sea of azure and green that Noah didn't have words for exactly. The facade of the room's "window" seemed to be suggestive of a stucco whitewashed building with red clay tiles.

Noah noticed some of the more alien touches that showed where the hotel chain came from. A complimentary bottle of Syrup of Squill sat on the cafe-style table with two raised seats. It had a tag on it, making Noah wonder if said Squill was free. And at this point did it matter. Noah liked Squill. Freshly dried and salted green grub-like rolypoly shapes lay in a small nobby wooden bowl- Gramilian sand peas, sort of a take on beer nuts or corn nuts.

The hotel was clever- or Noah was happy to let Irynya think so. But he'd made his own discreet inquiry. Next to the bottle of Syrup of Squill was a bottle of Risian liqueur: Ram-jari'i.

For several long moments after stepping inside the room, Iry paid attention to nothing outside of the view. It wasn't Risa. She knew that much. But the stunning green cliffs and the turquoise water felt so familiar that for a moment she was intensely homesick. They appeared to be well above the view--perhaps meant to simulate a sub-atmospheric station that, for all rights and purposes, would be hovering below cloud level. If it wasn't that then they were certainly meant to be on an extremely high peak looking down.

The greens and turquoise seemed to glow with the setting of the sun. There were still a few hours left of light if the holographically produced natural lighting was to be believed, but already rays were slanting over the space and the far horizon was edged with pink and orange that encroached on the blue sky. "Wow," she breathed, almost unconsciously sloughing her bag off of her shoulder and onto the floor next to her feet.

Finally, she turned to Noah, wondering about his own reaction to the view. "This..." she said, a touch of awe and embarrassment in her tone, "is a lot more immersive than they let on."

Noah edged to the end of the room where the holography suggested such vista and height. "It's-it's impressive. I think this is what they mean when they say starbases have a lot more rendering resources for their re-creation centers. Um. What we base holodecks on." His nose wrinkled. A pair of birds flew by- seabirds. They made their shrill, squealing cry.

Grinning, she moved to stand next to her friend, tucking herself against his side and sliding her arm around his waist in a half hug. "Thank you for coming with me," she said and, for the first time since leaving the ship there was a hint of something more complicated in her tone. Something of the happenings they were claiming space from clung to her for a moment and she was grateful for Noah's solidity in that moment.

"Sure, sure, um... I mean... this is a lot to do alone." Noah blinked. He blinked again at her. What he was thinking wasn't voiced. "Uh, it's very you. This room. I think. I mean they even have those um... on Earth they're leis." He pointed at the two necklaces of small lily-like purple and white flowers. "I'm... uh... gonna guess when this place does their full opening, DS9's Promenade is gonna look a bit like... um..." His nose wrinkled, "Shit."

"That might be an understatement," she responded, voice still edged with the awe, but now crisped with amusement.

Noah smiled in to a cheek. "Um so... unpack? See you out here in ten minutes?"

She nodded, but first held up a finger. "One sec," she cautioned before triggering the first door to open so she could peer into the room. She situated herself to shield as much of the view into the room as she could and then scanned the space until she spotted what she was looking for. It had taken Sheldon and Dravor's help to pull off, but she'd managed to get his guitar smuggled out of his room and off the ship an hour or two before they left. Not that he was definitely going to want it, but she wanted him to have the option if the muse struck. "Ok," she said, backing away slowly until the door closed again. "That one's yours." She grinned almost conspiratorially then turned, snagged her bag, and headed for her own room.

Noah's eyes widened, "Oh! THERE it is!" He exclaimed as he strode up to it. "Whew ok... I thought I'd left it in the auditorium..." he grimaced with an eye squint, "Uh, again. If I'm. Uh. Honest." He looked up to see Irynya had already moved in to her room. Noah resumed his satchel- and his wandering instrument- and walked in to his own room. Once the doors closed, he looked at the wall. It was a continuing vista of the Azores from perhaps 3,000 meters up.

"Hey.... um... Companion?" A being a bit like Index appeared, though less androgynous and more fully realized as a member of the Balanchar species.

"Yessir. How may I help?"

"Can I change the view?"

"Of course Sir. This view is the native default of the Azores Suite. What would you prefer?"

Noah didn't ponder long. "The view of the wormhole. Uh you know. Out in space. From space." He opened his satchel and pulled out the first of his gray sweat pants. The view instantly changed to open, unfiltered outer space, a bevy of unknown stars. Unneeded further after a long moment of Noah's silence, the Companion disappeared.

Irynya's own room was a mirror image of Noah's in layout. A large bed covered with pillows and a fluffy pristine white comforter dominated the wall opposite the view. She hefted her bag onto the bed and then perched at the end of it, looking out. Noah was right. The room felt as though it was made for her. For a moment a niggling worry pawed at her. Clearly the hotel knew she was from Risa. It was in her reservation information. She wondered if they might have assigned them a different suite if the reservation had been Noah's. There were many things that she hoped would happen while they were away from the ship. But being in a space that felt safe and cozy to both of them was high on that list.

She sighed and flipped open the top of her bag before upending its contents on her bed. She surveyed the pile then quickly sorted them into various allotted spots throughout the room. She set her toiletries on top of a chest of drawers to stick in the bathroom later and then returned to the common area five minutes before she'd agreed to meet Noah. This time she took in the room itself. It felt like a protected courtyard. Far cozier than the hotel's lobby, but still meant to give an open air feel. Or maybe like sitting on a covered porch. Fingers dusting the different surfaces she circled the room, peering at the plants and wall decor. Finally she stopped at the table taking on the bottle of Squill before spotting the familiar delicate curving design of a bottle of Ram-jari'i. Her eyes widened and she reached for it, marveling at such an unexpected detail in the midst of the opulence.

With a quick twist she unsealed the stopper and lifted the bottle to her nose. Warm almost caramel notes were edged with the tang of alcohol and spices that reminded her of nights surrounded by friends at home. Authentic Ram-jari'i. She blinked and restoppered the bottle before setting it back on the table.

Whispering doors opened and Noah ventured out. He slowed, seeing that Irynya had already beaten him back to the common area. "Everything um okay?" Noah asked. "You look..." He studied her face, "Surprised?" He joined her and a swaying lanky arm picked up the bottle of Squill. "I love this stuff on groatcakes." His mouth formed its thinking frump and he studied the plants and place setting which had a very Ferengi feel. "What's that?" He asked.

"Ummm, it's Ram-jari'i," she said, the perplexing surprise that she'd felt on recognition coloring her tone. "Authentic Ram'jari'i actually. It's a liquor from back home. I haven't had it in..." she trailed off, trying to recall when she'd last had it. Had she gotten the opportunity during their protracted shore leave? She didn't think so. "Possibly since before I was assigned to the Adelphi. Marteli, Elwe, Wrena, and I used to share a bottle on girls nights. It's common at joinings too." Her eyes narrowed slightly, surveying the room. "They really did their homework, didn't they?"

Noah blinked and after a moment nodded, "Wow... y-yeah they really must have. Maybe they recognized your name as Risian. Or something." Noah looked back at the Squill.

Picking the bottle up again she scanned the label and then removed the stopper again and held it out for Noah to smell. "Maybe we can have a glass together?" She asked. It was sweet and she knew how Noah felt about sweet things, but the thought of sharing a bit of home warmed her. "When we're ready to stay in for a bit?"

"Sure," Noah took the stopper and, placing it under his ample proboscis, he inhaled. It smelled like most alcohols to him- like alcohol. He didn't have a fine palate. But he definitely detected some unusual warming spices or herbs that were just off from a Human familiarity. "I don't think I-I can describe that smell. Except that its boozy and sort of sweet and warm. I think the closest thing it'd be to me is um, like..." He rolled a hand as he gave the stopper back. "A sweet wine maybe?" His eyes discerned and blinked.

"Yeah. Whenever you want you know?" Noah agreeably confirmed. He just his hands on the backs of his hips in his oddly limber way. "But um. Should we go?" His head gestured toward the door- and his bangs fell over his eye for the effort.

Eyes tracking to the door, Iry's lips curled into a knowing grin. "We should," she agreed as she returned the stopper to the bottle. "Do you think," she asked, rounding the table to stop in front of Noah as a stray thought occurred to her, "that we should look at the message from The Game first?" Tilting her head slightly she met her friend's eyes. "I mean... in case it's something to do with the station? So we can keep our eyes out? We could save it for later, too."

"Oh! Uh right! Yeah one second." Noah turned on his heels with his lanky strides and the hiss of a door, he was back in his room. And then he was back out with the PADD. He turned its end to Irynya and offered it out to her."

She accepted the offered PADD, thumbing open the message as she shifted to stand closer to Noah. With a quick glance up at him she settled so her back was to his right arm, leaving him to peer over her left shoulder as she held out the PADD so they could both read.

Like the last challenge, what appeared on the screen was minimal with only a modicum of anything resembling instructions.


After the blue sin in the bird’s small belly,
and the hidden sign in the fire’s bright heart,
seek the chill cradle where star-sharks dream.
Choose one unborn and whisper its name on cold skin—
wake no watchers, disturb no kin.
Leave as a shadow… and bring back stolen light:
one still where your letters lie beside the sleeper’s number.

Iry's brows furrowed as she read and then reread the missive. The nature imagery was interesting, but clearly had to be metaphor for something else. Unless there was such a thing as a star-shark that she'd never heard of before. Twisting so she could look up at Noah she asked, "A riddle?"

Noah's brows knit, flabbergasted. "I... guess?" His hand rested on the PADD and he read it and reread it again. "Star sharks? Dream?" His nose wrinkled at its ample brudge. "Do they mean like... space whales? We could ask Xenobiology if there are any nests of them in the DQ. But I..." Again his confused look, his shrug. "Leave as a shadow and bring back stolen light? Leave like a shadow says something sneaky to me. But I could be... um... wrong." He squinted. "Our letters?"

The Risian read through again, quietly, and then offered Noah the PADD before pacing across the space to the door of her room. She stopped, planting her hands on her hips and tilting her head to stare at the ceiling. For a moment she chewed on the inside of her cheek and then turned back to look at Noah. "Food," she said firmly. "It's dinner time anyway. Want to go find food and we can think on it?"

Noah set the PADD down with a gentle clatter. His fingers, hovering over them for just a second, widened. It was like he was sensing work, and then holding back its field for just a moment. "Y-yeah. Let's go see if we can find something to eat. Hopefully something more than Replicated Meal #241." He pushed his hands in to the pockets of his sweats. He frumped a full bottom lip at the PADD again. He was wondering if he should've brought it, or would it now hang over their head.

That was when his commbadge chirped. His nose bridge flexed at the sound with the full sense of intrusion it caused. But being a good little Ensign, he went for it. "Wuh-one sec, sorry." Noah found it and palming it, he tapped its satin luster shape. "Balsam here."

"Ensign, I'm sorry to bother you. I understand you're planning to leave the ship for shoreleave shortly. I'm Lieutenant Fedel, Corps of Engineers, Starfleet. I'm trying to reach your Chief Engineer or her Assistant."

Noah bit his lip, his stance wavering as if someone settled all the weight back on his shoulders. "Um." He rubbed his nose, "We're um... operating without a Chief for the moment. Can uh... I help?" He asked, looking apologetically- and fatigued- back at Irynya.

"Sure." Fedel seemed the optimistically upbeat type. "I have orders here to begin repairs on the Sojourner's primary computer core. But I also have a parallel order that the Core module is supposed to be hot-swapped."

Noah's gaze turned to a restrained scoff of confusion. "Um. It was damaged. I don't know much about a module swap. I-I don't think I... know much more than that. Sorry."

"It's fine," Fedel stated, "I'll do some poking around. Enjoy your shoreleave. Fedel out."

Noah tapped his badge off and then literally turned his palm down and let his badge spill back in to his things. He turned back and joined Irynya. "Sorry. So..." His big brown eyes blinked and he rubbed his nose again. "Um, food?"

Iry watched the exchange with a carefully neutral expression, trying to decide if she should comment on Noah's place on the proverbial departmental food chain. But more, she wanted Noah to be able to unplug and was reluctant to admit to herself that she had absolutely zero control over that. For good or ill, work was likely to follow both of them while they were off ship. It was part of being a member of a small crew.

"Everything ok?" she asked, standing and eyeing him head to foot as if his body language might answer her question before his words did. "You know you can send them to Shelly right? He's been Acting Chief in the way I was when Timmoz was injured. I mean... you're never ready for that, but..." she trailed off. Sheldon, too, was probably in need of a break. She sighed, frowning. "They should probably be contacting Tork anyway... shouldn't they?"

"The Ferengi officer we rescued?" Noah blinked. He felt a strange well of concern. Tork had acted rather... chaotic... in their last encounters, and even the name brought back the feeling. "I-I didn't know if he was staying or not." Noah sighed and pinched his nose. He walked back over to his commbadge and picked it up. He moved to tap it and froze an inch over it. "You-you know what... no. They can handle it." he dropped it and spanned out his hands and fingers, "They can handle it." he echoed.

"I don't know much about the food options. We did a chiefs get together at the Orcadian Gem. It's a bar." Irynya made an odd face as she said this as if the thought of being included in a gathering of department heads was ill fitting.

"Fine. Let's just..." He moved toward the door, turned to walk backward and added, "Let's just get out of here..." He added and then he finished his turn to walk forward again.

Eyes wide at the shift in her friend's tone, Iry did a quick glance around the room as if checking to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything before she half jogged to catch up with Noah's longer strides. "Hey," she said, putting her hand on his arm to slow him. "Noah?" she asked filling his name with unvoiced questions.

He slowed after a moment. And then he stopped. The general cacophony of the hotel's nearby lobby was rising and they were, again, surrounded in an eclectic mishmash of Balancar, Ferengi and mercantile gaudiness. A couple from the ship passed them but Noah only recognized them as Yeomen but out of uniform. He turned his eyes to the Risian.

Stepping closer so that the couple could pass them Irynya met the warm dark of Noah's eyes. Tired. He looked tired. And she thought, maybe, she could see an echo of the grief that had been almost like a presence in its own right just after they were rescued a few weeks prior. She chewed the inside of her cheek, forehead creased with concern as she studied him. "Hey," she finally said, this time with a softening tenderness, before closing the bit of space between them and wrapping her arms around his waist, one hand sliding up his back to tug him close in a hug. She had just enough time to think about how easily her head fit right into the crook between his neck and his shoulder, before she continued. "Vacation is for fun things," she murmured into his tshirt. "Ok?"

He nodded a tired agreement. "Yeah, uh, yeah definitely," his voice was soft, a little on the high end. He had a narrow waist and it wasn't impossible for a person as petite as Irynya was to get a purchase on it. He hugged her back. His head touched the top of hers.

Tightening her arms for extra emphasis she squeezed him quickly before slowly, almost reluctantly, releasing her hold. She unthreaded her arms long enough to peer up at him, searching his eyes again only this time with less concern and more friendly familiarity. "I bet there are some eateries run by Delta Quadrant races here. I mean... surely there are some. Feeling like trying something new or should we look for something familiar?" As she asked she shifted to his side, close enough that her shoulder brushed his as the resumed walking.

"Let's just see what we see. You know." He tapped his nose. "Follow these."

A Post By:

Lieutenant Irynya
Chief Helmswoman

&
Ensign Noah Balsam
Systems Specialist