"The Problem With Peace"

[Travis Kroells 0]

“The problem with peace”

 

Business was down. Mog regarded with a frown as he entered the Holy Grail. Those who were present were almost entirely Starfleet Officers or Klingons, with a random smattering of civilians. The Ferengi walked past the bar into a back room where Travis sat behind a desk, reviewing a data padd in one hand and held a stiff drink in the other.

 

“Travis, it’s barely noon.”

 

Mog’s voice distracted Kroells from his papers. He smirked and took a drink before standing. “You would be too if you’ve had my week.” The two outstretched their arms, putting their wrists together with hands tilted outward, fingers curled in, the traditional Ferengi handshake.

 

“I can see...” Mog trailed off as the two businessmen sat. The Ferengi grabbed the decanter off Kroells’s desk, pouring himself a couple fingers before continuing. “What the hell did you do to all my customers?”

 

“They’re all gone.” Kroells shrugged. “The Romulan’s have all but pulled out, not that we got much patronage from them anyway. Starfleet has reduced it’s presence as well and those officers still around are running full time to repair and upgrade the station, which has so far been shoddy work at best.”

 

“What do you mean? The Hew-mons seem to be handling things quite well here.” He glanced through the tinted window in Travis’s office out onto the bar floor. “Besides, you should watch what you say. Those Starfleeters are your best customers.”

 

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you’d gotten here a few days earlier.” Kroells sighed and took a drink, turning to look out the window as well. “Half the station’s fusion reactors were down since I got here. Couldn’t activate the Grail’s holographics, or use any of the holosuites due to ‘power conservation’. They only got them up and running in the last week. And you want to hear the cause? A faulty sensor somewhere in the system. I swear, I’m amazed the station doesn’t just fall on Avalon sometimes.” He took another drink, finishing off the glass before standing. “Come on, I want to show you something.”

 

The two left Kroells’s office, and headed up a set of spiral stairs to the Grail’s second floor. It was empty, and construction equipment lay everywhere. Mog held a sigh of relief that Travis hadn’t remodeled too drastically. Now that he looked at it, it didn’t look like he’d changed anything. The main bar, and the dabo tables were still down on the first floor, while the second served more as a formal restaurant. Kroells had spent the last of his winnings fixing the place up for the reopening, but he didn’t seem to get much more accomplished then a new coat of paint.

 

“I don’t get it. You haven’t changed anything.” The Ferengi moved around the lounge area, examining the surroundings.

 

“That's because, all the upgrades are beneath the surface.” Travis moved over to a control panel, and input several commands. “I had the entire lounge outfitted with holo emitters. It’s basically a massive holodeck now. I can rearrange, reconfigure, and change the scenery to fit however I want.” The old familiar scenery of the grail suddenly disappeared, replaced by the ruins of an ancient castle. The tables and chairs were now made of stone, surrounded by a crumbling courtyard. “So, what do you think?”

 

“Do you have the latinum to hire my consul?” The Ferengi ran his hand over a table, feeling the smoothness of the stone. It impressive engineering, but none of that mattered. The only important thing was if it drew customers or not.

 

Kroells sighed, as he deactivated the program, and the lounge reset itself. “Business has been down lately. Peace has been bad for business. Everyone is too busy to drink and gamble from fear of Scorpiad annihilation.”

 

Mog chuckled. “You never learn, do you?”

 

“What?”

 

“Rule of Acquisition #35: Peace is good for business. You’ll find a way Travis. I didn’t teach you this much to allow your business to flounder in its first months, and that‘ll be a slip of latinum as well.”

 

Kroells didn’t reply as he, pulled the latinum out and stuffed it in the Ferengi’s hand. He made his way back down to the bar, Mog not far behind. He acknowledged a couple of half drunk officers sitting at the bar before moving back into his office. The two sat back down, Mog picking up his drink, while the human poured himself a new one. They sat in silence for a while, observing the customers before Travis finally spoke. “So how long are you staying?”

 

“Just a few days. Long enough to drop of our shipment and re-supply the ship.”

 

“What, no attempts to steal the Grail from under me?” Kroells said with a smirk.

 

“No, not yet. Besides, you’re not desperate enough to sell yet. Besides, I’m waiting to see what happens to you after the Excalibur returns.”

 

“What, you heard about Mark too?”

 

“Yeah, didn’t he shoot you last time?”