Casino Royal

Posted on 06/28/2020 @ 8:17pm by

Mission: S1E3: Visit to Starbase 375
Location: Starbase 375 Casino
Timeline: Day 1 at 0000

"It is in games that many men discover their paradise"
-Robert Wilson Lynd-

ON:

In the vast darkness of space it sometimes can be hard to know what time it is. Like when to start your duty shift for example. Or, sometimes more importantly, when to end it. That's why time is very important when serving on a spaceship or starbase. And as we are all told at some point, time is money. Some economists would argue that currency is something we make up to trade. Because we cannot buy and sell the true currency. And that is time. There is a time to work. An time to sleep. But more important, a time to play.

Starbase 375. A Regula type starbase. A major starport with a civilian population of 4-6,000 at any given time. All of then working and playing together. There are many different types of entertainment facilities to be found on Starbase 375. Most are highly recommended and approved for all to have a wonderful time on their off hours. Like lounges, or arboretums. Places like theaters, or auditoriums. Catch a live concert. Listen to some Klingon opera, maybe some Andorian jazz. They even have an ancient style movie theater. You can watch movies from any era you wish. Or, they also have entertainment facilities on starbase 375 that, not being illegal, are not exactly highly recommended. They are considered more enter at your own risk establishments. The Casino Royal was just that sort of place.

The Casino Royal was a very beautifully decorated place on Starbase 375. It was huge. A cargo bay that was converted to be one of the premium gambling establishments in this part of the quadrant. It was decorated in red. With wood paneling. It was a very attractive room. Starfleet allowed it to be on the station because the owners paid A LOT of money to be there. And, people came from far and wide to play here. It was a good way to keep track of people. People with lots of money and little morals. It was 2 levels. You had the regular casino downstairs with table games and other forms of wagering. Like off track betting for just about any major track in the Federation. And the regular poker room. Upstairs, you had the Casino Office, Count room, and the high limit poker room. For this, you needed to be escorted up.

It was early evening and the Casino Royal. From the outside, the mirrored reflective doors looked slick. Just like a real fancy establishment. Before going in, The man decided to check out his look. He was of dark complexion and bald. He was in a old style tuxedo with a red velvet jacket. Black bow tie and cummerbund. wearing dark sunglasses. He smiled knowing his look was perfect. Then, he walked in.

First thing the man noticed was that The Casino Royal used private security. He couldn't tell if they were armed. But probably not. The man walked up to the security guard at the reception desk.

"Good evening sir. Welcome to the Casino Royal." He told the man. "Are you new here? Can I direct you anywhere?"

"Yes please." Said the man in the tux. "Where is your high limit poker room?" He asked.

The security guard, a Human male, looked surprised. " Yes sir, you need to be escorted up. I will call for an escort. But before I do, may I have your name please?" He asked.

The man in the tux took off his dark glasses showing his brown eyes. And then he said "Delmar. Lucius Delmar." He told the man.

Within minutes, another security man came to escort Lucius to the high limit room. They walked almost across the entire casino. Until they came to an enclosed lift. it resembled a glass elevator. They arrived on the second floor. They exited the lift, and walked straight a very short distance to another room. This room was beautiful. Again, colored red. It had a manned private bar. And on the other end of the room, it's own teller cage. In the room there was a beautifully adorned poker table designed to seat at least 30 players. Currently, there was people 5 playing. The security man spoke to a man in a suit at a small desk beside the door. The man looked at Lucius and extended his hand

"Sir, I am the Pitboss. My name is Charmine. If you please?" And he lead Lucius to the table. And addressed the rest of the players. "Gentlemen, may I present another player. Mr Lucius Delmar." He said as he pulled out the seat for Lucius to sit.

As Lucius sat down the dealer addressed him. " The buy in is 1 strip of Gold Pressed Latinum Sir." He said.

Lucius smiled and from his jacket pulled out 3 strips. Charmine snapped his fingers. And a pretty Catillian lady came over

"May I get you chips for those Sir?" She asked. Lucius smiled and handed her his stripes. Then, he looked at Charmine. "Would you call over the barman please?" He asked.

The bartender came running over. He looked at Delmar with anticipation of his order.

Delmar said "I'll have 3 measures of Gordon's, 1 measure of Vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it over ice and then add a thin slice of lemon peel." He said. Then the barman went to make the drink. It was then that the Catillian lady came back with his chips. The other players smiled patiently as Lucius was getting settled.

The Dealer then looked at Lucius as he spoke. "New player calls the game" He said

"I think I want Stud" Lucius said.

The other players seemed to be happy with the choice. Then the dealer shuffled the deck. He offered the cut to Lucius. And the hand was dealt. Lucius, and the rest of the players were dealt 5 cards. He looked at his cards. He was holding the 3 of hearts the 8 of spades, the 8 of diamonds, the Ace of Hearts and the Ace of Clubs. Lucius looked. He showed no emotion or expression. Even though what he was holding was commonly refereed to as a 'Dead Man's Hand.' He looked at the other players for early signs of tells.

"So, Mr Delmar is it? I've never seen you here before. Are you new to the area?" Asked one of the players?

"You might say I'm here for work." He said. "Oh, call me Pops. Everyone does."

The first man called at took 2 cards. The second person folded. The third took 1 called and took a single card. Pops called the bet and took 3 cards. The other 2 men folded. There were 3 men still in the game. Pops looked at his cards again He kept his Aces and threw the rest. He got The 5 of hearts, 2 of spades. and the Ace of spades. Pops was kinda hoping that the death card would bring him luck. One more person folded. It was down to Pops and one other player. The pot wasn't huge. But worth it.

"Alright Gentlemen, please show me what you have." Said the dealer. The 2 men laid down their card at the same time. 3 Aces. His opponent had 2 pair. (7's and 9's) Pop's gave his cards to the dealer and collected his winnings. Pop's knew he got lucky with his first hand win.

The table played for a few hours. And all 6 men were pretty close with winnings. Pops did discover a few things in the time he played. He discovered their tells. He was happy because he knew that he had all the men he was playing with. He knew he was going to clean up.

Then, a beeping went off on his wrist. Pops automatically felt defeated. He knew exactly what that was. It was his alarm bell. Time to come back to the ship. Pops knew that there was a potential to make ALOT of latinum. And He was ready to stay. But, then he started thinking about his promise to Cash. His promise to his team. And his promise to Commander D'Anvers. With a heavy heart he called over the Catillian lady. "Cash me out please" He said.

"You going so soon?" Asked one of the players. "But you are taking your latinum." He said smiling.

"You will see me around. The pleasure is all mine Gentlemen." He said. Then the Catillian lady came back with his latinum. Not BAD. He actually won 50 slips. And with that, he left the room and was escorted back to the main casino.

As he made his way back to the main doors giggled slightly. And when he was outside, He looked himself in the mirror. He checked himself out one last time. "OH Baby, you STILL got it." He said heading back to the ship.

OFF:

Ensign Lucius (Pops) Delmar
Engineer
USS Crazy Horse