The restaurant is clean and quite modern (bearing in mind the local tech level) and of reasonably good standard.  Tylen and Shui are soon seated, and studying menus.

Real menus, printed (in both Anglic and Bilanidin) on paper (or a good facsimile thereof), as opposed to displayed on datapads.  While this means they aren't fully interactive, with images of items and full details of ingredients available at the touch of an icon, there is a certain degree of style to them.

The waiter leaves them alone, briefly, while they decide what they want to order...

Shui hesitates, a moment away from faltering.  In her search for appropriate clothing, she might very well have gone overboard; Mr. Orgesh obviously wasn't expecting this kind of dinner dress despite his own ensemble.  Casual but classy, he cuts a fine figure for evening dining.  But if she has overdone things, this could turn into a disaster...

...but it doesn't.  Tylen makes a perfect recovery, extending his arm, and Shui slips her hand into the crook of his elbow.  "Certainly, Mr. Orgesh.  Do lead on."

And into the restaurant they walk.

Ushered to the table, properly seated, Shui takes in the atmosphere of the place.  It matches Tylen, at the moment: restrained, a touch casual, but with class.  She can't help but smile at the comparison.  The steward touches the menu with her fingernail, running it down the list of food.  "A beautiful establishment," she murmurs, prefering the hardcopy menu to the fully informative digital sort.  Shui isn't here to examine the ingredients of the food; the dinner is merely a single part of the experience.

"Normally I would ask if you patronize this restaurant often," she continues, a ghost of a smile touching her lips as she flicks a glance over the wine menu, "but given the situation, no." The doctor pauses for a moment.  "'Normally' not really being the proper word either," she confesses ruefully.  It has been years and years since Shui has gone out to dinner with someone of interest.

Their wine list is quite acceptable, and she feels certain Tylen will choose a good one.

She lets her gaze wander around the restaurant again.  "A nice change from our last spaceport, where we picked up Ms. Taylor," Shui muses.  "I see you found the clothing stores," she notes, one eyebrow quirking slightly.  "I always thought you made a dashing figure, Mr. Orgesh, and you have certainly proved that correct tonight."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:18, Tue 03 Jan 2012.

Tylan chuckles and he feels Shui's hand anagains his elbow, and allows the arm to drop back to his side so that the pair of them can walk along together.  "Mr Ogresh still?" he asks lightly, smiling at the thought of a going on a dinner date with a girl who is formal enough to call him by his last name.  "Must I ply you with wine just to get you calling me Tylen?" he asks mischievously.

"It is pleasant" Tylen agrees with the steward's analysis of the restaurant as he joins her in looking at the menu.  "Anything special you fancy to start with or shall we ask for a plate of the mixed anti-pasta?  Perhaps a couple of Bruchetta to go with them?  I am sure they must have  meat free anti-pasta platter somewhere." he says studying the menu more carefully.

"Much better than Frenzie." Tylen agrees as the doctor talks the stop where they picked up Keryn, "But it was that stop at Frenzie that sent me shopping today.  I now have a nice set of  clothing marked up as 'SECURITY' in large letters.  It might help if we ever need to keep civilian hordes at bay again." he says casually.

Before turning back to the menu.  "A single course in the middle or shall we go for the works with pasta and then a main course as well?" he asks willing to take his lead from  her  "And red wine or white?" he continues asking her preferences.

"I saw Ash in  the work wear shop." he comments casually, interspersing everyday conversation into the discussions about dinner.  "He was looking at some sort of uniform patches for the Margin's crew ..." he says neutrally
This message was last edited by the player at 20:01, Tue 03 Jan 2012.

"Tylen, if you wish.  No wine necessary." Shui surrenders with a smile, at least for the night - after all, they're supposed to be on a date, and he might not enjoy the formality.  For her, it's a matter of culture and course, but other worlds aren't so stiff as her own upbringing.  "Hmmm..." She examines the menu again - a show, really, as this is Tylen's call.

"I would be more than happy to share the Antipasto Misto Platter with you, Tylen," she stresses on the name, glancing up with quirked lips, then returning to the menu.  "Bruscheta as well."  No cheese on either.  She can, of course, eat cheese, and will if necessary here; she avoids it for health reasons, but a little dairy won't harm her, to be sure.  "As for the main, for myself, I lack the capacity for pasta and a main course..."  A small, slightly embarassed smile.  "But the Chargrilled Mediterranean Girasole looks divine," she decides.

"You, on the other hand, need your calories, so choose what you will, 'Mr. Orgesh' - doctor's orders!"

As for the wine...she leans back, the smile fading as she taps her lips, trying to guess his own preference without appearing to do so.  "Red, I think - just for tonight," she decides.  It's not her usual, but Shui finds red palatable, and Tylen appears the sort to prefer that shade.  She'll leave to him to choose the exact kind.

As is proper.

"Frenzie was appropriately named," she murmurs in consideration.  "And yes, I believe we could have benefitted from such a uniform at the time...though mobs often seek out authority figures to bedevil."   There's a moment of concern; by putting on a security uniform, Tylen might very well make a target of himself.  Shui laughs, a touch nervously.  "I hope we have used up our 'excitement quotient' for the next few years."

"Mr. Tescali?"  One eyebrow rises.  "Really?"  She still feels badly about how his physical went, when her temper got the better of her.  Ash no doubt had only the best of intentions, and did not deserve the sharp(er) edge of her tongue.  "Well, I could certainly find room for such on my laboratory coats.  If the patches are the removable, static-hold kind, I could place one on a jacket."  Her lips twist into a thoughtful moue for a moment.  "You would prefer not, Tylen?"

The slight rise to her tone makes it a question, but only just.

"Yeah.  I'll stick one on my tee shirt." the gunner makes one of the more polite options from the suggestions that had occurred to him concerning Ash's logos.

"Oh, one course works for me.  After all we need to leave room for a dessert." he says with a grin as he scans the menu again.  "they must have Tiramisu on here somewhere ..." he says hopefully.

However when the waiter comes back to the table, he orders the anti-pasto misto along with the tomato bruschetta as a starter, followed by Shui's pasta and a fillet Rossini for himself - all accompanied by a bottle of a Barolo style wine.

"Oh I agree.  I would much rather have it quiet. When everyone is behaving themselves, I get to sit around and drink coffee" he says with a grin "And perhaps load or unload cargo occasionally." he pauses for a moment, before adding "And the company with the coffee is certainly more desirable than some bloke pointing a gun at me."

Taking a sip of the wine that the waiter brings Tylen nods in acceptance, so the waiter can fill both glasses.  "And can we have a bottle of water as well please." he asks the waiter.

Taking a proper sip at his wine he savours it for a moment, before returning to the idea of Ash's uniform patches.  "Part of the idea with the security uniform is not to look like a ships security man -  but to give the impression of something much more official than that -  where ever we are.  Ship design uniform patches don't help me with that at all." he finishes with a shrug.

"Still.  That's enough work for today.  Its rare enough to have a chance to spend time  away from  the ship socially, so we should make the most it." he says with a grin.

He pauses for a moment before continuing.  "So tell me then.  How did you go from juvenile car thief to Doctor and steward aboard a star faring vessel?" The 'juvenile car thief' is said lightly and is clearly a deliberate attempt to tease her.

Mr. Orgesh certainly seems less-than-enthused about the patch idea.  Shui makes a mental note on the issue as he moves on to discussing the menu, and hides her smile behind her own as he desperately searches through the list of food on the hunt for sweets.  At times serious, at times whimsical, at times grim...and at times boyish.  Such a mixture of a man!

Food is ordered and the wine as well, to Shui's satisfaction; Tylen is not indecisive, to be sure.  Certainly some might consider her old-fashioned, but the offer to go out was his, and she's curious to see what he makes of it.  It's far preferable to 'I'll ask you out, but you decide everything' - rather than polite, she finds that somewhat immature.

"Ah, I had a feeling the conversation would turn to coffee," she notes, "it being a thing of such import on the Profit Margin."  One corner of her mouth quirks up.  "As for the company...better than a man pointing a gun?  High praise, indeed, Mr. Orgesh."

After a quiet laugh, she tastes the wine, nodding at the flavour.  "A fine choice, Tylen."  The Scout, it seems, still has thoughts about Ash's patches idea, and she ponders them as he speaks.  Logically, yes, it makes sense; if he wants to look more official, it would take more than a show of affiliation.  "Perhaps," she ventures, "one could add the patch to the uniform.  It makes sense in that case, does it not?"  And provides a good compromise, to boot.

She can't help but try to seek a peaceful solution.

The talk turns from business, and the Steward nods to Tylen's suggestion.  This isn't a time for discussion of work; he asked her out to a restaurant for entertaiment's sake, rather than to discuss their employment, and the day to day life aboard the Margin is something both of them experience.  But that means...

"How did you go from juvenile car thief to Doctor and steward aboard a star faring vessel?" 

Shui snorts - delicately - an obligatory laugh at the label. "Oh, that."  Another sip of the wine, and she waves her hand in a meaningless gesture.  "Spur of the moment decision, really."

The park bench is cool beneath the young woman, the breeze playful as it strokes her hair.  Leaning back, she enjoys the warmth of the sun on her forehead, a counterbalance to Autumn's chill.  But beneath her sunglasses, her eyes focus on the small family playing on the grass.

Her gaze skips over the boy, crying out and running in circles, waving a toy starship in the air.  She pauses for a moment in consideration of the father and mother, sharing a tender glance as they lay out the containers of food.  Looking further, she notes the surrounding men in dark suits with their earpieces - security, linked to the air-car high above, constantly scanning the surroundings for threats.

Finally she studies the older man.

He sits hunched around his granddaughter, toying with her hair, a silly smile on his craggy face, obviously completely besotted with the solemn young girl.  His leathery lips press against her forehead for a moment, his granite-hard eyes softening as she murmurs something in his ear.  Roaring a laugh, he holds her in the air with spade-like hands, gentle despite his strength; she squeals in delight and her parents - his son and daughter-in-law - glance over with fond smiles.

The young woman looks down at the plastic pass in her lap; a security clearance for a maid in the house of a high official of the government.  Her own face stares back.

She closes her eyes.  Smells the breeze.

Standing, the young woman quickly walks away from the happy family, leaving the high official with his grandchildren.  Behind her, the photograph in the pass stares blankly up at the sun; then the automated lid of the trashcan slowly lowers to cover it in darkness.

Shui purses her lips, considering how to explain.  "I wanted something...different than my family.  Without their support, though, I was forced to take positions on freighters that other people wouldn't wish.  Cleaner, general assistant, environmental technician - waste disposal, really - that sort of thing.  Fortunately, I had a rather...broad education, and found it easy to adapt.  On these trips, I studied with the crew - apprenticeship, so to speak - and was lucky enough to fall in with people willing to train me.  Eventually, my education was sufficient enough to pass the proper tests to achieve certificates; with them, it became a simple matter to find better-paying employment and official training."

She offers a bright smile.  "And here I am."

"I would ask the same of you, Tylen, but we already have the answer to that question."  Shui considers a moment, then nods.  "A simple one, then.  Why the Profit Margin?  As an ex-Scout, certainly you could have had your pick of vessels.  Was it luck?  Happenstance?  I would understand these things. Or did something draw you to the ship itself?"