AN: Since it's Christmas/Yule/the holiday season, I decided to write this little interlude. References are made to it being winter, as it seems to be the general consensus that the world of Deep Dish 9 and Alpha City are somewhere in "North America". (I apologize to any and all Southern Hemisphere readers who may be upset by this . . .) I hope you find it as delightful to read as I did to write. Merry Christmas, happy Solstice, and a happy new year!
Bonus Scene!
The Dominion's Holiday Party
"I have a present for you," Ziyal said.
It was late in the holiday party. The pot luck had been a surprising success. In addition to the pizzas that New First, Third and Fourth had made, there had been grilled vegetable kabobs brought by Damar, a crock of smoked mini sausages in barbecue sauce, also brought by Damar, a platter of almond tea cakes that Ziyal and her father had baked, and a curious tray of burnt lumps which might have been cookies at one point, but were now far beyond salvaging. No one had wanted to disrupt the proud beam on Weyoun's face when he had brought them in, though. After dinner, they had all gathered around the break room table, drinking perhaps too much eggnog and sharing stories of the store. Even the Founder had shown up; she stood in the far corner of the break room, quietly observing the festivities. After a time, Ziyal had gotten up and bounded over to the Christmas tree, under which she had stashed her messenger bag. She returned to stand in front of the group, hands behind her back, hiding something.
"If you recall, a while back I put a box back here in the break room and asked all the staff to submit things about Christmas: poems, stories, thoughts, that kind of stuff. Well, for my winter term project I took all those, and I illustrated a bunch of them, and I made a book!" She drew her hands out from behind her back and proudly presented a slim, hardbound book with the Dominion's Pizza logo on the front. The logo was covered in Christmas lights, and emblazoned across the top in gold letters were the words A Very Dominion's Christmas. "Some of you submitted things anonymously," she continued, "and some of you left your names, but they're all so wonderful and they were all so much fun to draw. It's for you—for all of you. It's a present for the store. And now, if you don't mind, I'd like to read some of them to you." She sat back down at the table, opened the book, and began to read . . .
The 12 Days of Christmas
by Weyoun
On the first day of Christmas, the Founder gave to me: the greatest job in the galaxy.
On the second day of Christmas, the Founder gave to me: two Cardassian minions, and the greatest job in the galaxy.
On the third day of Christmas, the Founder gave to me: three health inspections, two Cardassian minions, and the greatest job in the galaxy.
On the fourth day of Christmas, the Founder gave to me: four hundred mislabeled pizza boxes, three health inspections, two Cardassian minions, and the greatest job in the galaxy.
On the fifth day of Christmas, the Founder gave to me: five Alpha City locations! Four hundred mislabeled pizza boxes, three health inspections, two Cardassian minions, and the greatest job in the galaxy.
On the sixth day of Christmas, the Founder gave to me: six different kinds of pizza, five Alpha City locations! Four hundred mislabeled pizza boxes, three health inspections, two Cardassian minions, and the greatest job in the galaxy.
On the seventh day of Christmas, the Founder gave to me: seven identical twin brothers, six different kinds of pizza, five Alpha City locations! Four hundred mislabeled pizza boxes, three health inspections, two Cardassian minions, and the greatest job in the galaxy.
On the eighth day of Christmas, the Founder gave to me: eight Dominion's t-shirts (one for everyone!), seven identical twin brothers, six different kinds of pizza, five Alpha City locations! Four hundred mislabeled pizza boxes, three health inspections, two Cardassian minions, and the greatest job in the galaxy.
On the ninth day of Christmas, the Founder gave to me: nine ketracel-white suppliers, eight Dominion's t-shirts (one for everyone!), seven identical twin brothers, six different kinds of pizza, five Alpha City locations! Four hundred mislabeled pizza boxes, three health inspections, two Cardassian minions, and the greatest job in the galaxy.
On the tenth day of Christmas, the Founder gave to me: ten hardworking Jem'Hadar, nine ketracel-white suppliers, eight Dominion's t-shirts (one for everyone!), seven identical twin brothers, six different kinds of pizza, five Alpha City locations! Four hundred mislabeled pizza boxes, three health inspections, two Cardassian minions, and the greatest job in the galaxy.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, the Founder gave to me: eleven jugs of tomato sauce, ten hardworking Jem'Hadar, nine ketracel-white suppliers, eight Dominion's t-shirts (one for everyone!), seven identical twin brothers, six different kinds of pizza, five Alpha City locations! Four hundred mislabeled pizza boxes, three health inspections, two Cardassian minions, and the greatest job in the galaxy.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, the Founder gave to me: twelve pounds of mozzarella, eleven jugs of tomato sauce, ten hardworking Jem'Hadar, nine ketracel-white suppliers, eight Dominion's t-shirts (one for everyone!), seven identical twin brothers, six different kinds of pizza, five Alpha City locations! Four hundred mislabeled pizza boxes, three health inspections, two Cardassian minions, and the greatest job in the galaxy.
Christmas Victory
by Fourth
Victory is life!
Getting the shopping done before Christmas Eve,
That is victory.
Stringing up the lights before the snow falls,
That is victory.
Finding the perfect wrapping paper,
That is victory.
Putting the star on top of the tree,
That is victory.
Not burning Christmas dinner,
That is victory.
Finding chairs for all of the relatives,
That is victory.
Remembering all the words to The 12 Days of Christmas,
That is victory.
Not drinking too much eggnog,
That is victory.
Telling stories of Christmases past,
That is victory.
Going to bed before Santa comes,
That is victory.
Waking up to find the milk and cookies gone,
That is victory.
Seeing the faces of the children as they open their presents on Christmas morning,
That is victory.
Victory is life!
"There is nowhere I would rather be on Christmas than here, with my good friends Damar and Weyoun, and my beautiful, wonderful daughter, who is the light of my life."
~ Skrain Dukat
Deck the Store
by Weyoun
Deck the store with Christmas trappings! Fa la la la la, la la la la!
In the boxes, white we're wrapping! Fa la la la la, la la la la!
Even Odo can't expose us! Fa la la, la la la, la la la!
Running drugs is such good business! Fa la la la la, la la la la!
Homemade Kanar Nog
("Damar, you didn't leave your name, but we all know this is you.")
This Terran holiday drink is easy to make, and is made even better by the addition of kanar.
Recipe makes 12 servings.
Ingredients
~ 4 cups milk
~ 5 whole cloves
~ 2 & 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
~ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
~ 12 Terran chicken egg yolks (do NOT substitute Regova or Taspar eggs in an attempt to make the drink more "Cardassian"; they do NOT work)
~ 1 & 1/2 cups sugar
~ 2 & 1/2 cups traditional brown kanar (I use my own, but store-bought is acceptable; find a newer vintage, as the older vintages tend to give a bitter aftertaste to the nog)
~ 4 cups light cream
~ 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Directions
1. Combine milk, cloves, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, and cinnamon in a saucepan, and heat over lowest setting for 5 minutes. Slowly bring milk mixture to a boil.
2. In a large bowl, combine egg yolks and sugar. Whisk together until fluffy. Whisk hot milk mixture slowly into the eggs. Pour mixture into saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for 3 minutes, or until thick. Do not allow mixture to boil. Strain to remove cloves, and let cool for about an hour.
3. Stir in kanar, cream, remaining 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, and nutmeg. Refrigerate overnight before serving.
"Christmas is a Terran holiday. Its origin is religious and ancient. So why should we celebrate it? Well, we do live in Alpha City, which is mainly populated by Terrans. And it seems that Christmas seeps into everything. Christmas has become not just about religion; it's become about love. And goodness. And joy. And it's not only Terrans who embrace this; the Federation doesn't have a monopoly on these things. This time of year, in the dark and the cold, we remind one another that we are the light and the heat, and we make each other bright."
~ anonymous
Dominion's Pizza
by Weyoun
You had better watch out,
You had better not cry,
You had better not pout,
I'm telling you why:
Dominion's Pizza is coming to a location near you!
We're making some offers,
We're checking the price,
We're signing the lease,
Oh, this strip mall is nice:
Dominion's Pizza is coming to a location near you!
We know what you desire,
We make our pizzas right,
And if do inquire,
We might throw in some white!
So . . .
You had better watch out,
You had better not cry,
You had better not pout,
I'm telling you why:
Dominion's Pizza is coming to a location near you!
"All I want for Christmas is Kira Nerys."
~ anonymous
("Father I just couldn't resist drawing you staring at Kira again . . ."
"Now Ziyal, how do you know I wrote that?"
"Really Father, it's obvious. And you should have typed it if you're going to use that excuse; I recognized your handwriting.")
"I haven't had this much fun celebrating a holiday since . . . well, I've never celebrated a holiday. Not until Dominion's Pizza came to Alpha City. I like holidays! There should be more."
~ Weyoun
The Softly Falling Snow
anonymous
The night is quiet
save the hooting owl perched
high in the tree.
Winter nights are always quiet.
The hush
is one of calm or
is it one of anticipation?
The stars would burn in the crystal sky
if I could see them.
The stars shine brighter on winter nights.
But a blanket
covers the sky
covers the ground
is covering me.
And there is music in the blanket.
Music in the hush.
I can faintly
hear the beauty
of the softly falling snow.
Ziyal closed the book delicately and looked up. She smiled at the people around the break room table, this ragtag bunch of ill-fitting personalities who had become her family. Slowly, she slid the book into the middle of the table. "Thank you," she said softly. "Merry Christmas."
(AN addendum: The actual eggnog recipe that Damar's is based on comes from allrecipes dot com; it's called "Amazingly Good Eggnog". I've not made it, but I'm sure it's delicious. If you would like to make your own, you don't have to go to the website; you can just follow Damar's recipe—the only difference is (clearly) the kanar. The original recipe calls for rum, if you're into that sort of thing. Happy holidays!)