1st Story - Ten Forward

[goldencobra]

One minute, Henry had been sitting on a bus to Boston, the next, he was standing in a room with lots of other people having experienced a large flash of light. Looking around, he realised he had no idea where this place was. It wasn't in the book, it hadn't been described by his father and he certainly wasn't back in Storybrooke.

Glad that he still had his bag, he clutched it tightly and moved to stand in a corner out of the way. Closing his eyes for a moment, to stop himself from panicking, he took some deep breaths before opening them again and taking a proper look at his surroundings.

First thing he noticed was the bar. It spanned the length between the two sets of doors and behind it was a smiling woman. On the other side of the room were...well they looked like windows but all he could see out of them were white dots on a black background. And between them, only chairs and tables, people and drinks. And no one he immediately recognised either.

Moving towards the strange windows, he touched one, unsure if he wanted to believe what he thought he saw. They looked like...stars.

Comments

[abyssum_invocat]

Sitting just in front of one of those wide, strange windows on the stars is a girl about Henry's age. She's quiet, steadily marking dots on several long strips of punch-card paper, with a music box mechanism beside them on the table.

It's clear she's writing something involved, by the sheer length of it, but the melody's not obvious just yet. It probably wouldn't be to anyone not an opera fan, but don't blame her for that. It's what she's grown up with. But sooner or later even the most studious eyes need a break, and while Sinthia rubs hers she lifts her head back up, catching sight of Henry.

Well. Someone her age wouldn't be bad, she supposed. She doesn't know quite what to do with the idea, but it's worth exploring. Maybe.

"You don't have to stand in the corners."

[a_quick_study]

It's almost always busy in the bar.

That's what makes it such an interesting place. If you notice things, like Jonas does, you can sit off to one side, apparently engrossed in a history of the Federation on the PADD from your room, glancing up, occasionally, and still getting a feel of what's happening.

Which is why he spends a lot of time sitting in the bar, working his way through some of the more interesting varieties of tea he's discovered, and observing.

He doesn't have much of an aim yet, except for learning what he can about this place and the people in it, which for now, might be enough.

He misses the boy's sudden appearance, but he doesn't miss seeing him move across to the windows, staring at the still stars outside.

"Hi," Jonas says, softly, from his table not so far away from the boy. "Are you okay?"

[tea_earlgrey_hot]

A man in command red enters Ten Forward tonight. He has asked Guinan to keep him apprised of any changes as they happen, and not very long ago she contacted him to let him know the number of new visitors had suddenly begun to increase again.

He pauses a few feet inside the room, shoulders straight, striking an imposing figure, and takes a careful look around the room. There are indeed many faces here tonight he does not recognize, but gratefully their luck seems to be holding in that no one is yet causing trouble.

He purses his lips, and moves forward, unwittingly walking in the direction of the young boy.

[she_listens]

The smiling woman is still behind the bar when Henry eventually makes his way to her, asking if they take credit cards.

"Credit cards?"

That's an awfully grown-up question, even if it is a few centuries outdated.

"No," she chuckles. "But you don't need them. I'll be happy to get you whatever you want."