Try It Once

The Code

Inara wasn't lying when she said she was only wearing a tank and jeans that night. To fancy it up a bit, she did break out the ballet flats. Her ankle was still a bit sore from the day before. She also pulled on a cute cardigan so that she wouldn't get cold in the bar. At 28 degrees, she piled on the gloves, scarf, extra poofy coat and a set of ear muffs. The bar was close to her work, but not near her home which was a good 40 minutes away, so she drove. The bar was lively for a Saturday. Nancy was in the booth waiting for Inara.

"No one else got it?" Inara asked as she took a sip of the water that was already waiting for her.

Nancy shook her head. "And we are supposed to tell them we didn't hear anything," She whispered.

"How did you hear?" Inara continued her questioning.

"Waitress passed me a note." Nancy reached into her purse and handed Inara the piece of paper.

Congratulations. You and the one who left early have been selected for Round Two. Meet back here tomorrow at 8:30 pm for Round Two. Tell No One. As a hint, I would brush up on your Codebreaking 101 and Ferengi Rules of Acquisition. Good Luck Ladies.

"Codebreaking and Ferengi?" Inara said confused. "What do you know about this club Nancy?" She said club with air quotes.

"Not much. It's an urban legend. I am sure the owner or the bartender is just humoring us so just enjoy the fun. It sure beats drinking wine talking about Scandal."

"Though to be fair, Kerry Washington is fabulous. I would kill for those cheekbones!" Inara smiled. "And Olivia's life is so gossip-y!"

"Here. Here." Nancy smiled and they both clinked their water glasses. The waitress smiled at them.

"Good Evening. My name is Amanda. I'll be your server today. Can I start you with something or are you guys waiting for others to join you?"

Inara folded the note that Nancy had given her earlier. She wrote on it. It's On. Then handed it to The waitress. "Could you give this to Nog or Quark?"

"Nog or Quark?" Amanda looked at her like she had a third boob.

"Yes. Your bartender should be able to assist you." Amanda took the slip of paper, but held it to her side like putting it into her pocket would burn a hole in her pants. "Water is fine for us now."

Nancy laughed. "Nog or Quark?"

Inara shrugged. "First two Ferengis that came to mind."

"I had to google it last night. You are such a geek. I can't believe you could pull out those names off hand."

"I firmly believe that I was born too early. I should have been born in the Star Trek Universe, on Vulcan though Earth would have been acceptable as long as I graduated the Academy and was stationed on a starship." Inara said almost dreamily.

"But then you would never have married Ryeowook. How is your husband?"

Inara laughed. "Unfortunately, I could not handle his beauty and had to decline his proposal. However, we have decided to stay friends."

"Friends or Fuck Buddies?" Nancy asked astutely while giggling.

"Semantics. How could I ever turn him down? He is perfect after all." A new waitress arrived at their table with a tray filled with shot glasses. She placed the tray down on the table but didn't say anything to them. Out of her pocket, she laid two envelopes one each in front of the ladies.

Inara noted that the glasses were set in three rows. Nancy went to grab one when Inara held up her hand. She turned the tray. The first row had two shot glasses filled with clear liquid. The second row had three shot glasses half-filled with red liquid. The last row had eight shot glasses with an Amber colored liquid just barely filling 1/3rd of the glass. Inara opened her envelope and Nancy did the same.

Unfortunately, we have run out of Romulan Ale. Please accept this tray as a down payment for our transaction instead. We will be waiting on the agreed upon payment.

Signed, The Grand Nagus.

"Is more people joining us? This is too many for just two people and what do they mean about payment? I thought we already paid the entry fee." Nancy asked.

"I think it's a code," Inara responded after pondering their situation.

"Well, the drinks are filled to different levels." Nancy tried. "Do you think we are supposed to drink them?"

"No, I think it has to do with the numbers."

"Are we allowed to work together this time?"

"They didn't say not to and the Ferengi would always use any assets available until it is no longer profitable for them." Inara smiled.

"There are thirteen," Nancy said.

"Or two, three and eight," Inara said. "If it was 13 wouldn't they all be filled with one liquid?"

"Ok. So two, three and eight. Do we think they are stand in for letters or do we google the Ferengi rules and see what it says for each of those?" Nancy asked. Inara just stared at the glasses thinking. Nancy pulled out her phone. "Okay, Rule two is 'You can't cheat an honest customer, but it never hurts to try.' Charming. Rule three is, 'Never spend more for an acquisition than you have to.' And Rule eight is, 'Keep count of your change.' I like that last one." Nancy and Inara sat in silence for a while. Inara looked at the waitress who took a position not far from them watching their conversation intently.

"How many Rules of Acquisition are there Nancy?" Inara broke their silence.

Nancy picked back up her phone and scrolled through the list. "Oh, wow. There is a lot. It says 286 on this site."

Inara smiled. "So what is 238?"

Nancy smiled back. "The truth will cost." Nancy furrowed her thick brows. "That sounds creepy. I like the other three better because they all sound like real advice."

"So what are you going to do?" Inara asked.

"My husband will be here in..." She looked at her watch. "... twenty minutes. I'm going to go pee. Then I am going to order some food and when he gets here all three of us can finish off these drinks. I was never good at puzzles anyway. You were the one that figured out the passkey. If anyone can figure this out, it's you." Nancy smiled and scooted out of her seat leaving Inara to stare at the shot glasses.

The first passkey was a simple substitution cipher so it actually didn't take her much time to decode. She was just always working so it was the first time she could make it to the bar. Well, technically she probably could have gone earlier, but most days she just wanted to go home and sleep.

"I'm not going to spend too much time on this in case I am over thinking it," Inara said to the waitress who started to walk towards the table when she spoke. Inara took out her wallet out of her purse and slipped $13 into the envelope and handed it back to her.