Dinner and buisness

Posted on Tue Jun 16, 2026 @ 2:29am by Civilian Thavas Th'Omtala & Lieutenant Annora Tessaro

1,194 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Jubilee
Location: Hogan's Hoagies
Timeline: Day 1

On:
Situated in the heart of the Promenade, Hogan’s Hoagies was run by Saul Hogan, formerly of the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. A row of booths lined the right-hand wall, while several tables filled the remaining space. Off to the left stretched a long serving counter of dark quartz, flecked with copper that glinted under the overhead lights. Above the counter, an electronic signboard displayed the full offering of sandwiches and sides.
An old-fashioned chalkboard easel sat between the counter and the drink replicator, its colorful text announcing the daily specials drawn from a rotating list of favorites. Beside it, a display rack was filled with individual-sized bags of chips; while the chips themselves were replicated, the physical act of opening the bags appealed to the regulars. To the left of the chip rack stood a drink replicator featuring a specially curated menu.

Tucked into the back half of the restaurant were two heavy-duty ovens where the bread was baked every morning and afternoon. Hogan didn't stick to a single style; the cooling racks held everything from sourdough and marbled rye to soft, traditional hoagie rolls. The sandwich fixings were a mixture of fresh and replicated, but regardless of their origin, everything was sliced on-site.

Regulars came and went as their schedules permitted, while many others were drawn in by the aroma and curiosity over just what a ‘hoagie’ was. Hogan had arrived thirty minutes earlier than usual that morning, knowing the meeting would eat into his prep time. By the time the other merchants appeared, the pre-lunch production was already in full swing.

Rhuaxi had checked in before heading to the Tiers to pull the morning’s fresh produce. Kaelen manned the ovens, sliding pans of carefully formed dough into the heat, while Thon restocked the chips and ran a quick diagnostic on the replicators. Once Rhuaxi returned with the crisp greens, she began the methodical process of slicing and placing them into the appropriate bins. When finished with his maintenance tasks, Thon pivoted to replicating dense blocks of cheese and heavy rolls of meat to run through the industrial slicer.

As the daily special was the Warp Core Breach, certain ingredients were being heavily stocked: sharp horseradish mayo, spicy brown mustard, thick-cut spicy salami, and slabs of sharp cheddar. Hot banana peppers and pepperoncinis finished off the standard fixings for the special, with room for customers to add up to four extra toppings if they desired.

By the time the first person arrived for the meeting, the area was a regular beehive of activity. The scent of warm bread mingled with the scent of fresh produce and the rhythmic, mechanical whir of the deli slicer.

“Come on in,” Hogan said, a large coffee mug in hand as Thavas arrived. “I pushed some tables together in the middle for us to sit at. Feel free to grab a drink from the replicator.”

Thavas strode into Hogan's Hoagies. "Greetings, Mister Hogan," the Andorian Tailor said. "I see I'm not the first to arrive. Thank you very much for hosting this gathering!"

"You're more than welcome."

A few more merchants walked in, taking their seats at the table. Hogan recognized Eepe Azdu who ran a Bajoran themed establishment known for their Hasperat Quiche; and Garakka who's shop, Bulkhead 9, sold a little bit of everything.

Once he felt most the people showed up who would attend such a meeting, Hogan addressed the dozen or so merchants.
"Thank you all for coming. With the expected surge of visitors to the station, I thought we should meet to discuss general plans and strategies. We're already planning on extended hours, and a few themed specials. Curious to hear the plans and ideas from others."

"I won't be able to do much in the way of bespoke work," Thavas said. "But we've prepared our racks with outfits and individual pieces, as well as many small accessories that would travel well. Much of the off-the-rack items are designed to fit off-the-rack or with a minimum amount of alteration, things we can complete quickly. And of course people will be able to purchase textiles by the meter for their own work or for a tailor of their choosing back home to work with. And we've been saving scraps of fabric and will be setting up a space outside of our store for children to do arts and crafts for a small fee."

There was some nods of agreement from those gathered around the table.
"That sounds reasonable." Garakka chimed in. "With the expected foot traffic it's not feasible to have custom pieces made before the visitors leave for home. The arts and crafts is a good idea, draw the parents in through the children. On a different note, I talked with station security. They agreed to rotate a few extra patrols across the promenade to help deal with the influx of visitors. Most of us have been in the business long enough to see trouble brewing. We either call it in or activate the silent alarm."

Thavas had a fairly large hrisal legally concealed in his robes just in case Security took a while to get there, but he'd rather not gut anyone if he didn't need to. "I'm not so worried about problems with customers. The very first incarnation of Sartorial Splendor was on Farius Prime. Anarchists don't really do police, so I learned to get by. However, I've come up in the world since, so I will call Security or hit the silent alarm before dealing with the problem myself."

Garakka looked over at the Andorian.
"Sounds like quite the place to run a shop. I'd love to hear stories some day. Maybe once all this comet stuff is over. Obviously we can act in self defense should the need arise. Either way let's hope the extra visitors are peaceful. I've added some comet themed items to the shelves, but nothing too major. Don't want to be left with a surplus in a few weeks."

"That's part of the reason I didn't go into the merchandise business." Eepe chimed in. "Yeah, some food trends come and go. However, for the most part they remain steady. We've pared down our menu a little to simplify things and expanded our operating hours to include an earlier breakfast and later supper. Convinced my cousin to come help out. I can focus more on the food preparation while she handles the customers."

Talk continued for several more minutes as other shop owners chimed in with their preparations or concerns about the influx of people. As the conversation wound down, Hogan glanced at the chronometer.
"I'd say that wraps up our meeting. It's almost time to open anyway. Thank you all for coming, and best of luck out there."

"Thank you for organizing this," Thavas said. "A pleasure to see you, as always. Perhaps we'll speak of my adventures another time, and perhaps yours as well." One never knew what a person might let slip in friendly conversation, and Thavas was always interested in learning some new secret.

Off:

Civilian Merchant Saul Hogan
(NPC- Annora)

&

Thavas Th'Omtala
Master Weaver/Master Tailor
Proprietor
Sartorial Splendor

 

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