[shinkai]

Year 12 in the Reign of Neferkheprure-waenre, King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Living in Truth, the Lord of the Two Lands, Son of Re, Akhenaten, Living Forever...

Having secured passage with a trader on his way to Pharaoh's jubilee, Shinkai stood on the barge as it glided along the tranquil waters of Ancient Egypt's interstate highway, Shinkai turned to glance at Young Ensign Redshirt, who was now dressed in a simple white linen kilt wrapped around his hips. The red shirt itself had been replaced by an item more appropriate for the setting- a collar made mostly of red jaspar and faience beads with gold accents. YER shifted awkwardly, with the beginnings of a sunburn picking up where the collar left off to complete his outfit.

Guarding the bar's collected treasures and Pharaoh's tribute, the Riker boys smiled to themselves at YER's discomfort. They were more confident in their kilts, the form-fitting white pleats standing out against their tans. Shinkai couldn't help but notice that their gold collars brought a sparkle to their eyes in the Aten's light. Terilynn would be pleased with their new attire.

Not long before reaching Akhetaten, the barge was overtaken by the graceful Aten-tjehen. Onboard the royal barge were Pharaoh's mother, the regal and beautiful Queen Tiye, along with a handsome young man Shinkai was sure was Akhenaten's younger brother. She waved at the future King Smenkhkare as he smiled and tossed a gold and lapis lazuli collar at her while the royal family passed the trader's barge, also on their way to the Jubilee.

Servants greated Shinkai at the dock and she instructed them to help the twins and YER with transporting their goods to the new bar. They made their way toward a villa, located in the South Suburb on the Royal Road near the studio of the famous sculptor Thutmose. The gate had been supplied with a lintel naming the villa as Ten Forward XXX. A small altar stood between the gate and the main building.

Shinkai felt the temperature drop a few degrees as she stepped through the formal entrance into a large pillared room. Clerestory windows provided plenty of light, allowing the Aten's rays to illuminate walls painted with brightly colored scenes of life on the Nile. Wooden tables and chairs inlayed with gold and faience awaited the patrons who would soon arrive for the sed-festival. Wooden stools shaped like lotus flowers surrounded the bar, which was made of pink granite quarried from the same source as Pharaoh's own sarcophagus and similarly trimmed with figures of Nefertiti at its ends. Behind the bar, rows of shelves sat below a mural of the Aten with its hand-tipped rays offering life to the royal family.

To the right was a large doorway opening up to the courtyard where more tables sat between gardens and a reflecting pool. To the back of the courtyard was the entrance to the massage parlor and an almost Japanese style open-air bath, all tended to by servants clad in sheer linens and sparkling jewelry. There was also an enclosed but well lit restroom facility with all the fixtures made from gold and electrum. Shinkai laughed to herself as she thought of how her friends would react to solid gold toilets after the... um... less than palatial bathrooms of previous bars.

The others were just finishing stocking the bar as the servants sorted out the chocolates, beverages and baked goods to be placed among the tribute from other foreign dignitaries who were also there for the celebration. A young girl was helping YER set up the vast collection of Ten Forward's momentos when she yelped as a small lump of fur fell out of a crate of pool table accessories and landed at her bare feet. Shinkai picked up the tribble, noticing that it hadn't survived the trip and wondered how long it had been dead. She asked one of the servants to summon a priest to make funery arrangements.

An older man with a leopard skin across his shoulder was brought in a few minutes later. He looked confused at the request and explained that the traditional methods wouldn't be possible for this tiny creature. He and Shinkai reached a compromise that included the necessary prayers, wrappings and a gold coffin for a modest fee. She paid him and he took the little critter to be ushered away to its afterlife.

After a good night's sleep and a bath, Shinkai went about setting up the rest of the bar's contents. YER gave Pink2 a tune up, the Rikers placed the jukebox and Zephram Cochran's statue near the door to the storeroom, and Shinkai swept up debris from unpacking. She sensed someone else there and looked up to see the priest carrying a gold ball. He handed it to her and offered blessings of life, health, and prosperity before turning to leave. She studied the little coffin etched with its prayers and the king's cartouche and reignal year, then placed it among the other relics from the previous bars.

People were milling about outside as they waited for the parade that would bring Pharaoh and his family to the Great Temple for his jubilee. Shinkai was greatful that His Majesty was allowing the people of Ten Forward to celebrate their bar's 30th incarnation along with his rejuvination festival. She looked around and saw YER tending to his sunburn, and the Riker boys were awaiting their mistress's arrival... and the opportunity to show her the new massage parlor. Walking over to the jukebox, Shinkai took a quarter from Zephram and selected something she hoped would be fitting for the occassion.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=bqHIbTNYRW8

[Apocalypse]

Aaaaah this thread!
Nice song.

[shinkai]

The Cult phloxing rock. And I bet people expected me to pick that Bangles tune...

[Apocalypse]

Barbara, on 19 September 2010 - 03:19 PM, said:

you are so wrong .... public/style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif

Yep, I'm completely wrong about my own personality, with which I have lived my entire life. I've done enough personal headshrinking in my darker days to qualify me for a Ph.D. in Psychology and a hell of a lot more introspection than the average person. But nope, you who have known me for all of two years through the internet must have a much more extensive grasp of how I would behave in a certain situation.

shinkai, on 19 September 2010 - 03:23 PM, said:

The Cult phloxing rock. And I bet people expected me to pick that Bangles tune...

I must listen to more of this music at some point.

[shinkai]

Yes you should.

And there's no shame in not wanting anything to do with kids. Most of us who think of ourselves as childfree, not childless, would do our best to be responsible parents if the situation were forced upon us. We wouldn't be jumping for joy over our fate, but we certainly wouldn't take our frustrations out on our kids. We'd give them all the respect they deserve and try to bring them up right. It's just not what we want life to throw at us, that's all.

[Apocalypse]

shinkai, on 19 September 2010 - 03:31 PM, said:

And there's no shame in not wanting anything to do with kids. Most of us who think of ourselves as childfree, not childless, would do our best to be responsible parents if the situation were forced upon us. We wouldn't be jumping for joy over our fate, but we certainly wouldn't take our frustrations out on our kids. We'd give them all the respect they deserve and try to bring them up right. It's just not what we want life to throw at us, that's all.

Man, what with the Cult and this, you are just my best friend today.

[The_Colonel]

The shimmering and sound from the trans-dimensional thingamajigger faded and Colonel Garren took a look around. "Very nice. I think I'm gonna like it here. Pink2, I'll have a Flaming Andorian." Garren took the drink Pink2 proffered and headed out into the garden. "Shinkai, I think you've outdone yourself. This is gorgeous! I'll take one of those massages but don't send out one of those young girls. I need a real massage from someone with strong hands and someone with some maturity for afters in one of the quiet courts off the main garden."

[shinkai]

No problem, Apoca

Also, I'd post more Culty goodness, but I can only get mobile links from youtube. Special thanks go out to trekkin' for hooking me up with a computer-friendly link that you guys could enjoy.

Thanks, Colonel. Glad you like it
*sends over a selection of servants to choose from for that massage*

Ok, so I wanted to put "*sends over the best lookin dude she could find*" but I wasn't sure how you'd take that

[The_Colonel]

shinkai, on 19 September 2010 - 03:54 PM, said:

No problem, Apoca

Also, I'd post more Culty goodness, but I can only get mobile links from youtube. Special thanks go out to trekkin' for hooking me up with a computer-friendly link that you guys could enjoy.

Thanks, Colonel. Glad you like it
*sends over a selection of servants to choose from for that massage*

Ok, so I wanted to put "*sends over the best lookin dude she could find*" but I wasn't sure how you'd take that

I would have laughed and sent him back. I'm not blind but I am most decidedly HETERO. I will however make a selection from the ones you DID send and thank you very much. *Chooses a svelte 25 year old (nice erm . . . hands )*Never was much of a Cult fan but that song was OK and appropriate.

[raptor]

You performed a quite extensive writing job, Shinkai.

You deserve a little extra.
This is better than all kinds of Meh : Raptor serves dark brown Belgian beer for Shinkai, Trappist, made by monks. And there is a link : the first christian monasteries started in the Egyptian desert, somewhat 1800 years ago.

[shinkai]

Yay for dark beer
Thanks bunches, raptor

@The Colonel: it's all good. Glad you found someone appropriate to your tastes.

[TeaKirk]

Hey guys!!!!!!!

[shinkai]

Welcome to Ancient Egypt, Tea

[ensign edwards]

*Admires the architecture.* Nice place, shinkai.

*Sneaks a Horus statuette onto the bar.*

Quote

you are so wrong ....

Nothing wrong with not wanting kids, so long as one takes adequate precautions to not end up with them. Which I'm sure Apoca does.

Quote

And there's no shame in not wanting anything to do with kids. Most of us who think of ourselves as childfree, not childless, would do our best to be responsible parents if the situation were forced upon us. We wouldn't be jumping for joy over our fate, but we certainly wouldn't take our frustrations out on our kids. We'd give them all the respect they deserve and try to bring them up right. It's just not what we want life to throw at us, that's all.

I reckon that's true in a lot of cases. My father didn't really want to have a kid, but he did a good job with me.

[shinkai]

I'm just glad I didn't grow up with parents that tried to pressure me into giving them grandkids. I was ten years behind my siblings and unplanned, so I guess that was enough to hold them over until my sister had her daughter.

I wasn't forced to hear a lot of arguments about "you'll want them one day." They may have just expected me to follow the social norms without the directives. I did get bombarded with a lot of that about marriage, though. I almost want kids more than a husband.

And just so we're clear, I don't want a wife either
I just prefer the solitary life.

[marika valeris]

damn!! You already reached the XXX tenforward????

marika goes on the bar and looks unsure at the ISIS statuette!- that is the fertility godess-watch out SHINKAI!!

hi shinkai!

[shinkai]

Yeah, that last one went pretty quick, didn't it?

This being Akhenaten's Egypt, you probably won't find a lot of Isis around these parts.

Plenty of Nefertiti filling that role, though. And don't worry, guys. Akhie only shut down the Amen priesthood, not those of the other gods. He wasn't quite the dictatorial monotheist everyone thinks. He just hated the Amen cult.

Also, barring physical attack, I don't think I have anything to worry about with fertility risks. But all manner of creations (artistic, etc) fall under that category anyway so for that stuff it's nothing bad

[Apocalypse]

ensign edwards, on 19 September 2010 - 05:47 PM, said:

Nothing wrong with not wanting kids, so long as one takes adequate precautions to not end up with them. Which I'm sure Apoca does.

Not that, ahem, I'm even in that position at the moment.

shinkai, on 19 September 2010 - 06:11 PM, said:

And just so we're clear, I don't want a wife either

No comment, just thought this was humorous.

[Plazmataz]

Apocalypse, on 19 September 2010 - 06:53 PM, said:

Not that, ahem, I'm even in that position at the moment.

He's the definition of sexually active adult.

Apocalypse, on 19 September 2010 - 03:18 PM, said:

Don't vilify me because I don't like children. If I ever have any of my own I'm not going to torture them, I would try to raise them right. And even if I did hate them I'd never let it show... I don't even do that with adults.

Unless that adult is me.

[Apocalypse]

Plazmataz, on 19 September 2010 - 07:28 PM, said:

Unless that adult is me.

Yeah but I only let the hate shine through because there is an equal part fondness.