BARS, PUBS, AND ASSORTED WATERING HOLES
The Dragons' Lair, in San Francisco, USA, on Earth, was established August 5, 2337, seven months to the day after the establishment of the Terran Defense Force (TDF). It has ever since been chiefly a hangout of members of the TDF. Also of a few people in Starfleet, especially a certain breed of Starfleet Academy cadets. The 'Lair is something of a hub of information about what's going on in the world and the galaxy, as a fair many people who have and/or need information come here to trade it; fringe characters as well as a number of wise intelligence officers for various legitimate and quasi-legitimate organizations such as Starfleet, the TDF, the Maquis, and whatever foreign powers we're not currently at war with. Occasionally perfectly normal folks just out looking for a drink wander in off the streets, but they are slightly in the minority in the 'Lair.
In addition to those who want to find out more about the outside world, there are sometimes those who want to completely forget about it all, and just simply sit and drink in a nice little pub, talking with their friends, or sitting quietly with their friends, or perhaps all alone. Forget the outside world and all its problems exist. A night or three of this can be very therapeutic for people whose lives are a great deal more complicated and stressful than most.
In 2342, the Dragons' Lair was bought by Ray Doocott and his wife Cassandra. In 2345, an unofficial group called the Inner Circle began to form at the 'Lair. The first member was Duncan Decker, then a TDF pilot who helped develop the TDF's first Dragons, and suggested naming them after the Dragons' Lair. There have been several overlapping Inner Circles over the years. The Inner Circle is always comprised of people who are close friends of Ray & Cass, and each other, and are also adept traders of information, with some degree of influence in events in the outside world (and generally the galaxy).
Back in the pub's earliest days, it was sometimes used as a secret meeting place for some of Earth's top military strategists in planning for battles in the Romulan Wars. Over the years, many varieties of clandestine meetings have taken place there, from the planning of surprise parties to secret romantic rendezvous to the hiring of space pirate crews to the planning of battles in various interstellar wars, etc. It is at times (generally these times will be before dark) a very nice family sort of establishment. In fact, the owners have lived upstairs of the pub for centuries. Many generations of children have been raised there. But it is also at times a rival (and one with an older history) of even the Dragons' Lair in San Francisco as a place of information trading and high intrigue. Which makes it so much the more enjoyable a place for adventurous children to be raised, including Jax DeSabel's cousin Jacen Monihan (grandson of Travis & Shanna). Jax spent much of his youth visiting his cousin there...
The chief bartender at the Fourth O' March is Meriadoc Favreau.
The sort of people who frequent the Fringe are themselves often referred to as the Fringe. That is, of course, people who operate somewhat outside of mainstream galactic society. Pirates, smugglers, bounty hunters, and assorted underworld types. And then, not all such people even know of the existence of the cantina chain called the Fringe; only those who have been brought to one of the outlets by someone who's been there before. And no one will bring you there unless they are completely certain you can be trusted. And considering trust isn't something these people have in spades, and not something which is often particularly easily earned, the existence of the Fringe has always remained a secret from anyone who shouldn't know about it. Even intelligence agencies such as that of Starfleet don't know about it; and even if one of their operatives does find out, they can usually be trusted to keep it a secret from their own organization.
It is not likely that anyone knows the location of every Fringe outlet, nor even most. There may be a few Fringes though, that are known to pretty much everyone who knows of any of them. At any rate, a list of planets wherein the Fringe can be found will not be made available here. People rarely mention planets when talking about the Fringe, anyway.
It was bought in 2275 by Jacques Montreaux, as Diefenbaker was ready to retire, and had no heirs to pass it on to. Montreaux was very aware of the place's reputation, and interested in being involved in such an exciting place. But over the years, the former variety of business began to cool off. There was some activity concerning Klingon-Federation relations in the 2290s, but by the dawn of the 24th century, the Orchidée Noir was simply a quiet little pub like many others in the area, with rarely if ever anything especially interesting happening there. Eventually even ordinary business dwindled, and the establishment was closed in 2320, when Montreaux retired and passed the business on to Jacques Jr., who had no interest in running a bar and couldn't find a buyer.
In 2350, the property was refurbished and reopened as le Nouveau Orchidée Noir, by Jacques Montreaux III. He hoped it could become what the original place had been a hundred years before. Or if not a gathering place of Federation Councillors and ambassadors, at least of underworld types: smugglers and black market merchants and hackers and such. Galactic travelers; interesting, exciting, and in their own way influential people. In order to attract this kind of clientele, he subtitled the bar "Jackie's Alcôve de Xenoalcool et Secrets," thinking his target market would be interested in a place to drink alien beverages and discuss clandestine enterprises.
Of course, the people he was hoping to attract don't generally go to places that advertise that that's what they're about. How can a place be good for discussing secrets if it's got "secrets" in the name? Still, business is alright. People who like to imagine they're involved in galactic intrigues come in and have their little fun. And it's more than adequate as bars go. It lives up to at least half of its sub-billing: It is one of the best places on Earth to obtain alien drinks (including some contraband).
The place is generally referred to by its patrons simply as "Jackie's." Another interesting fact is that in the early 2370s, Jax DeSabel was banned from the place for life. Which is quite a coincidence, since the bar's name can be abbreviated as "non Jaxes."
Every proprietor of Sandrine's for the past three hundred years has taken the honorary name of its legendary founder, Sandrine Normand, who established the bar in the troubled twenty-first century. She had created an environment that was clean, safe, and quintessentially French, in an era when those qualities were hard to come by. She was revered by her patrons, lived well over one hundred years, and died at work, making an aperitif for a wealthy horse breeder half her age who found her the most vital and appealing woman in all of France. She had presented him the drink, smiled and said, "A votre sante, mon cher," and then keeled over behind the bar. The end was swift, painless, and elegant, characterizing Sandrine accurately.
(Description taken from chapter 8 of Jeri Taylor's novel, Pathways. Its inclusion here is not intended for any kind of personal profit.)
The Dragons' Lair was a popular hangout for people in the TDF (which in 2377 was renamed the Federation Guard), and in fact TDF Dragons had been named after the 'Lair. Now the TDF had newer ships called Teluros, so Cass thought if turnabout is fair play, she should name the new pub after the ships. Additionally, both Phoenix generally and the pub specifically would be havens from the war going on elsewhere in the galaxy. Hence the name Teluros' Haven.
The inner circle from the 'Lair currently are among the new inner circle being formed at the 'Haven. In fact, just about anything that could be said about the 'Lair could actually be said about the 'Haven, such as its status as a place to exchange information...
The chief bartender is Garrison Schickele, who once a week also tells stories he's written himself, humorous tales of his fictional hometown of Loch Myers. (Okay, I totally ripped off the "Lake Wobegon" concept from Garrison Keillor, I admit. Other things I stole include the name of the pub- it's also the name of a radio show on NPR. The pub owner's name comes from that show's host, Fiona Ritchie; and the actress Tara Fitzgerald. The bartender's name comes from Garrison Keillor and Peter Schickele. The fictional loch I've named after Mike Myers. Well hell, kids, ya gotta come up with names from someplace, yeah?)
Pictured: Saurian brandy, Wee Bairns scotch, Cardassian
kanar, Romulan ale, Vulcan port, Klingon bloodwine, Aldebaran whiskey.
If anyone knows where I can find pictures of other Star Trek beverages, or clearer images of anything already here, please let me know.