The Fraternization of Fries

Posted on 16 Apr 2012 @ 3:09pm by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lamar Darius & Lieutenant Lilou Zaren & Ansen Pawlak

3,289 words; about a 16 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo, Deck 2, Mess Hall
Timeline: MD 02 - 1320 hrs

[ON]

After stowing his gear and belongings away in his quarters, Master Chief Petty Officer Lamar Darius made his way through the Galileo's corridors and towards the mess hall. He had been busy all morning packing and preparing for his new assignment, and now found himself starving after skipping his normally-routine breakfast. After a few wrong turns through the hallways on Deck 2, he finally arrived at the main mess and entered to the smell of fresh-cooked hamburgers and fries. That's what I'm talkin' about, he said to himself with a nod of approval as he moved to the nearby service line, grabbing a tray and waiting patiently behind several other crew to be served his meal.

Despite her grumbling stomach and the promise to her fellows on the Alpha shift to bring them some carbs to hold them over until the end of shift, Lilou very nearly balked and fled the mess hall. It wasn't that crowds made her nervous - though they did. Or that she knew she had more important things to do that stand in what looked like an enormously long line - though, that too was true. Rothgra was in sickbay, recovering. They were short-handed. And she'd been given, just that day, a whole new set of responsibilities to go with her shiny new title. But she'd been given leave to be here, sent rather forcibly as it happened, and she was hungry having skipped her breakfast in favor of getting out into the starbase and getting things done as soon as possible. No. What made her flee was the sight of the huge man almost a foot taller than her, whose broad shoulders were straightened in just such a way that they screamed 'marine'. She knew that stance. Far too well. But they were in a very crowded mess hall. The worst that could happen was she'd scream a lot, kick him, and run away. Locking her arms at her sides, she forced herself to stand behind him and took a tray.

Lamar finally arrived at the front of the line and eagerly piled a couple ramekins of ketchup on his plate in anticipation of the upcoming feast. He whistled happily as he peered behind the service line at a freshly cooked batch of fries being taken out of the fryer.

The heat of the grills and fry machines was enough to keep even the perpetually cold chef warm, so Ansen had stripped out of his normal layers to a short-sleeved shirt and a grey knit cap. "Happy Earth-Appreciation Day," he said as he reached Darius. "What can I get you?"

Earth Appreciation Day? Damn, I forgot to call my ma...again, Lamar grumbled to himself before turning his attention towards the chef. "Two burgers well done, extra cheese, bacon, jalapenos, and no tomato." he said enthusiastically. "And maybe a separate plate for the fries." he said with a grin and an appreciative nod. "Busy day, huh?" he remarked casually as he glanced around at the crowded mess hall.

"Very," Ansen agreed, turning to put more patties on the grill and then tap the replicator to provide the requested jalapenos. "What sort of cheese? I've got cheddar, white cheddar, Jack, oscypek, Swiss, Raclette, Camembert..." he trailed off, thinking. "Well. Almost anything you can think of. Miracle of modern science." As he spoke, he made up two of the other orders that had been placed, plated them, put them on trays, and slid them down to the pick-up area. "You're either new on board, or you usually only eat from the replicators and I've lured you in with my fantastic menu. Which is it?"

"Just transferred a few hours ago. Lamar Darius, Chief of the Boat." he said curtly to introduce himself. It was commonly known amongst the crew that the Chief of the Boat was the senior-most NCO on the ship, and a liaison between the enlisted crew and the officers.

"Welcome aboard, Lamar Darius," Ansen greeted him. "I'm Ansen Pawlak, Chef of the Boat. One letter different, but it means I get to wear whatever I want." He flipped the Chief's burgers over and grinned. "Not that the uniforms aren't fascinating to look at." He winked at Lamar, then at the small, nervous, rumpled young woman just behind him. "And you? I've only seen you once and you didn't touch the hot stuff."

"Ah... oh," Lilou cleared her throat, uncomfortably put on the spot. "No. I don't eat... flesh. So..." She cleared her throat again. "Lilou Peers. Engineering."

"You're the one that fixed the replicators."

"Yes. The operations chief and I figured that one out."

"Nice work," Ansen watched her frown at the list displayed behind the counter. 'Earth Appreciation Day Menu: hamburgers, fries, pierogies, raclette with round potatoes, kielbasa, chow mein...' "Paczki?" she tried pronouncing the word, wondering if hearing it would tell her what it was. "That's.... Bajoran?"

"Polish," Ansen laughed. "Deep fried donuts filled with orange marmalade and covered with powdered sugar. Not a replicator involved; those are hand-made from scratch. My recipe." He considered her. "Here. I'll get you one."

"No, that's o-"

"On the house." He lifted a lid off of a heated ceramic bin and pulled out a pastry about the size of two of his fists, gleaming and smelling fragrantly delectable. He put it on a plate and then, smiling, did the same again and gave one plate to each of them. "Tell your friends. A well-fed crew is a happy crew. Now, what can I get you?"

"Fries. Two plates. And... I can get a salad from the replicator."

Ansen shook his head. "No, no, no. You don't eat meat, yes?"

"Yes. I mean, no. I don't. What?"

"Pierogies," he piled seven steaming dumplings onto a plate and passed it to her. "Meatless, guaranteed to put meat on your bones." He turned back to the grill before she could protest again. "Cheese choice, Chief?"

"Oh, um..." replied Lamar. He had been preoccupied with staring at the engineer next to him, not sure what to make of the young woman. She seemed a bit tentative and confused, but had the appearance of someone who had been knee-deep in plasma coils all morning. "Surprise me." he finally said to Ansen.

As the chef prepared his burgers, Lamar turned towards the Trill woman. "No meat, huh?" he asked in a rather casual tone.

Lilou glanced at him, ducking her head. "No, never took to it." Her shoulders hunched a little, subconsciously, under his stare. "Sir." She prodded one of the dumplings on her plate. "Not that there's anything wrong with it- if other people- I just don't," the marine's attention was throwing her off balance. "I'm sure it's great. So... you know... carry on, with the flesh-eating. Not that- I mean. That's..." She winced. "...not what I meant. It's..." She felt her cheeks growing hot. Spirits, she thought, just get me out of here without another broken arm. "...been a long day, sir."

"Ha!" he chuckled, "I feel the same way about vegetables." he replied with a grin. "Lamar Darius, Chief of the Boat." he said to introduce himself, sticking his hand out for her to shake. "You said your name is Peers?" he asked, trying to remember her conversation with the chef that he overheard just moments ago.

"...yes, sir," she inclined her head. "Welcome to the boat, sir." She considered his hand nervously; it was almost the size of her head and calloused as though he'd spent a lot of time fighting. Tentatively, she lifted her own to shake and found it dwarfed by his.

Ansen looked at the two of them and smiled to himself as he set the plates of fries and burgers on the countertop for them. The girl still looked nervous, but at least she didn't seem terrified any more. And Lamar Darius seemed like a good, solid guy; Ansen had lived his life on first impressions and he knew the look of a scared mouse when he saw one. Fear, so far as he'd seen, had never helped anyone. "Enjoy your lunch, sir and sir; there's still a few spots over at the counter seating. I'll tag them for you," he winked at them and pressed a couple buttons. Two places at the counter turned from green to little red reserved markers. "Enjoy! Now who's next?"

Lilou had been entirely prepared to haul her tray back to the Engineering bay, but now that seemed cowardly and churlish. "I guess... were you on the station long?" she asked.

Lamar gave a polite nod to the chef, Ansen, before turning back towards the small woman next to him. "Eighteen hour layover...not too bad." he answered with a shake of his head, then started to move towards the open counter seats in an attempt to not clog up the line. "Let's go get a seat." he said as he looked back to Lilou.

Lilou emitted a little half-hum of acquiescence, following the Chief to the red-lit chairs that immediately turned green on their arrival. Setting her tray down, she climbed onto the taller than average chair and began cutting up the pile of dumplings she'd been given. They were filled with spinach, mushrooms, potatoes, onions, and cheese and smelled... well. Really rather good, despite her reservations. "Have you spent much time on stations, sir? Before this?"

"Stations?" he replied as he put his tray on the counter and took a seat. "A few. As well as several starship postings. I was stationed aboard Starbase 47 for two years a while back. What about you?" he asked, putting his burger together and taking a large bite. "Mmm.." he mumbled, savoring the juicy flavor of grilled beef.

"Spent a little time on them," she said quietly, spearing another dumpling. "You were in the marines," she said finally, keeping her eyes on her plate. It wasn't so much a question as a statement. She could see it in him, even if her internal alarms hadn't started chiming the moment she'd laid eyes on him.

"Eight years." he replied with a grin, putting his burger down and wiping his mouth with his napkin. He grabbed three fries and began to casually munch on them. "How'd you know that?" he asked curiously.

Lilou's brows drew together slightly as she prodded at her food, opening the dumplings with a fork and spearing the filling. "I worked an Algonquin-class before this; learned to recognize the posture." She could feel her heart beginning to pound harder in her chest. Her face felt hot. The muscles in her back and neck were tightening by the moment, tensing and releasing in a nearly dizzying way. No reason. No reason at all, she told herself. He's just eating. He's just one marine. He had nothing to do with it. Just... She forced herself to inhale and exhale, tried to regain a sense of balance. If there's an issue, I'll just get someone else to report it. Willis and Troxx together, maybe. They could handle it. Make sure they have cutters handy, just in case. Shouldn't be an issue. Worse in groups. She wasn't hungry; her stomach felt like a frozen boulder had shoved itself inside, but she stuffed the remainder of the pierogie in her mouth just to keep herself from talking.

"My posture?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "Why, thank you." he added with a grin, then looked Lilou up and down. "You have good posture also." he said, then took another few large bites of his burger, following up with some fries. Lamar noticed that the woman seemed a bit timid, maybe uncomfortable, and he wasn't really sure why. Nonetheless, he was intrigued by her seemingly shy demeanor.

Almost as a reflex, she straightened her spine. A quick glance showed he didn't seem to be making any kind of comment on her. Just trying to make conversation. Be friendly. Spirits, but she was so unskilled at friendly conversation. And practicing with a man who could and might rip her arms off her body didn't seem like a smart choice. Decisively, she filled her mouth with a dumpling.

"So what's your story?" he finally asked, pausing to take a long swig of his soft drink. "You mentioned something about your previous posting, does that mean you just transferred to Galileo as well?"

"Story?" Lilou asked, croaking a little between bewilderment and the cheese in her throat. "I don't- I mean, yes, I just... well we all did, didn't we, since it's a new ship and all." She cleared her throat and took a swig of her drink. "I came aboard on Earth," she finished, cheeks burning. "Well, I transported there and then came aboard. Where were you before the station?" she quickly rambled into a question.

"New ship, huh?" he mused quietly before attending to the rest of his burger. He had obviously missed that memo in his transfer letter. "That would explain why everything looks so crisp," he remarked as he glanced around the large mess hall, "Most ship's I've been on were old, bunch of wear and tear on 'em. Old ships of the line converted into troop transports." he shrugged. "I've only been in the Fleet for a year, my last posting was the Lexington serving as a Corps liaison." he remarked as he finished his first burger and moved onto the second, pausing briefly to wipe his mouth.

"Right." Lilou watched him polish off the first burger and begin on the second with a single blink. "Me, too. Old ships." She snagged one of the fries from her plate and nibbled on it like a nerve-rattled rabbit. "What class was the Lexington?"

"Nebula." he answered simply, "Much larger than this little thing." he added, once again glancing around the room. "I've never been on a ship this small. Well, shuttlecrafts yea, but not an actual starship." he added with another grin.

Lilou nodded. Talking about the ships was like talking about old friends, which was comforting, but she couldn't forget that the man she was talking to was a marine. Prone to violence. Trained for it. Exercising that function was like stretching for men like that; they didn't think twice. At least they never had in her experience. "She's the smallest I've been on, too. There's a comfort in that," she added, prodding at her food with her fork. "So few people. Such intricate mechanics."

Lamar chuckled and took another large bite of beef. "Fewer people is a blessing, means I'm only responsible for the seventy or so enlisted personnel aboard, not close to five-hundred like the Lexington." he remarked casually as he once again took in Lilou's appearance. He found her to be quite nice on the eyes, with dark brown hair, greyish-blue eyes, and an attractive line of spots running from her temples down the side of her cheeks and neck, disappearing beneath her uniform.

"If you don't mind me asking, where are you from? Peers doesn't seems like a very traditional Trill name..." he asked, his voice trailing off in curiosity.

Lilou glanced at him, brows drawn. "It was my father's name and he's... well, maybe not traditional, but he never mentioned having changed his name at any point." Chewing her lip, she went back to moving the pierogies around her plate. "I was born on a research station, grew up there... do you know many Trill?"

"Not many." he replied with a shrug, "Most of my time in the Corps was with Humans. A few Andorians and Klingons here and there, but most of us were Terrans." he said, then took another swig of his drink. "To be honest, I've been liking the change to Fleet life the past year or so." he added, "I get to work with a lot of people I would never otherwise meet."

Lilou nodded, glancing at him sideways. "Very true." She cut open another pierogie and fished out the insides with her fork. "You're from Earth then?"

"From Philadelphia." he answered with a nod, not sure if Lilou was familiar with the city. "What about you? Are you from Earth also?" he asked after wiping his mouth.

Oh, yeah, Lilou thought, shrinking in on herself more. She loved marines. "No," she murmured quietly, desperately trying to control her voice. "I was born on a research station. In space." Maybe it wasn't fair. Maybe, as she'd discussed with Drusilla, the problem was entirely her own; she had a tendency to over-focus on details, filing them and storing them for future reference. It had always gotten under her skin when she had to answer the same question twice, even though... well. That was basically her life, wasn't it? People wanted to know generally what was wrong with something, or learn generally about another person. She lived for specifics and it often took a few tries for her to reach any kind of communicable common ground. Sometimes, she could reason out an excuse for it; her superior officers were usually thinking about a wide variety of things, not just the question they'd posed, and it wasn't logical for her to get up in arms over their lack of attention to detail. But this ex-marine was eating his second sandwich... "What is Philadelphia?" she asked, trying to steer away from more talk about herself.

Lamar finished up his second burger, taking a final large bite and chewing for several moments before responding. "Philadelphia is the greatest city on Earth. Hell, the entire Alpha Quadrant, if you ask me." he said with a grin, wiping his mouth and setting his napkin down on his plate. "I'd love to tell you about it but I have to get back to my post right now." he said as he sucked down the last of his drink. "When are you free next?" he asked, hoping to arrange a time to see the Trill engineer again.

It was a grand claim, Lilou thought, considering she'd never heard of the place. And she'd spent several years on Earth. Paris Delphi, San Francisco, New York - those were places she'd heard mentioned. But Philadelphia? Where on Earth was it, she wondered. What made it great? "Free?" she asked, confused. "Ah... well, I'm on Alpha and Beta, so... late?" She looked at him, perplexed, "Why do you ask?"

"Beta shift, huh?" he commented quietly. "Well, I'm scheduled on Alpha but I usually do a late night walk through of the ship around 0000 hours," he said as he stood up from his seat and looked down at the young engineer. "Want to join me when you get off? I could use some help finding my way around. First day on board, ya know.." he asked with a small smile.

Lilou swallowed, a little uneasily. "I..." She wracked her brain for a way to explain how terrifying the prospect of being alone with a marine on a mostly sleeping ship was to her, but he was her superior officer. And saying anything to the effect would only make her look like more of a victim, which was never the right way to approach the fight-minded. Forcing herself to straighten her shoulders, she nodded sharply. "As you say, sir. I can meet you here."

"Great." Lamar said enthusiastically. "See you tonight then." he added with friendly eyes, finally collecting his tray and drink and disappearing into the crowded mess hall on his way out.

[OFF]

--

MCPO Lamar Darius
Chief of the Boat
USS Galileo
NPC'd by Saalm

MWO Lilou Peers
Assistant Chief Engineering Officer
USS Galileo

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