A Two-Pack of Soda Crackers

Posted on 09 Sep 2015 @ 6:58pm by Lieutenant Min Zhao & Commander Andreus Kohl

1,016 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 09 - Empires
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 6, Operations Office
Timeline: MD 03 - 1607 hours

[ON]

Upon stepping out of the turbolift, Andreus Kohl took strides to cross one passageway, and turned left down another. His mind was still somewhere back on the Bridge, trying to make sense of patchy sensor readings collected by damaged sensor pallets. So preoccupied was his mind that he banged his shoulder on the corner of the bulkheads. Kohl breathed out a pained "oof" --struggling not to drop the small, brushed-nickel box in his hands-- as he stumbled in the opposite direction. He managed to righten his posture as he approached the door he was looking for and pressed his free hand on the contact for the chime.

Another day almost done, Min sat going over the latest reports from her department, trying to figure out how to manage the crisis she was facing with supplies. The replicators were back online so foodstuffs weren't a problem but a couple of cargo bays were emptied by hull breaches so some of the stores they carried were lost, some unreplicatable which meant they were going to have to do without.

Hearing the chime she keyed the door to open. Seeing Kohl there she smiled. "Commander. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Stepping into the office, Kohl was hesitant in his movements and his speech. He clutched the box to his chest and he slowly approached Min's desk. "I don't know if I'm supposed to know yet, according to your cultural beliefs," Kohl said, "But Jared made a certain announcement to the science department as a whole."

Min nodded, a wry grin crossing her face. "He spilled the beans did he?" She motioned for Kohl to sit in one of the few chairs in this closet that passed for an office. "It is true, and yes we were going to tell everyone when things calmed down." Min leaned back a little in her chair. "What he doesn't know, and I just found out this morning so don't say anything please? is that we're not having one baby, but two. I'm expecting twins."

"Twins!" Kohl exclaimed with naked surprise. It brought a beaming smile to his face as he dropped himself into a chair opposite Min. "You have my best wishes, but I'm not sure if that'll be enough to keep up with twins," Kohl remarked. He placed the metal box on the desk between them, and he said, "I suppose I should have brought you two tins of biscuits."

"I appreciate the sentiment Commander." Min took the box and opened it, taking one out to try. They were quite good. "Finding out there were two was a bit of a shock. Actually finding out I was pregnant again so soon after Lian's birth was more of a shock."

Kohl leveled Min with a questioning expression of pursed lips and a raised eyebrow. "In my xenobiology training, fertility was never one of my specialties," Kohl said as a quick caveat, before, "but I believe twins is a perfectly natural consequence for certain activities..." He grinned at Min and offered a suggestive shrug.

"Pregnancy is a natural consequence of such activity," Min responded, chuckling a little. "Multiples don't run in my family so the chances were lower." Min leaned back in her cramped office. "Good thing we built the EBH otherwise I'm not sure how Jared and I will cope with jobs and family. The idea of having three children under 18 months age is a bit daunting."

"You're in luck," Kohl remarked excitedly. He spread his arms wide open. "You're surrounded by a literal village of highly-trained, service-oriented people without very many entertainment options for their off duty hours.

"That's how they happened in the first place," Min remarked, a sly grin flashing across her face. "But yeah, I'm sure there's some crew who'd be willing or able to help us."

That sly grin elicited a hearty chuckle from Kohl. "In the meanwhile, I'm spending my off-hours on scientific continuing education," Kohl said in a mostly-teasing self-depreciating manner, "and translating old Romar family recipes into replicator patterns. I'm not sure which is more foolish." He drummed his hands on the desk beside the box of biscuits. "It's a recipe my ancestors traditionally baked up for women who are with child. Or childs."

"Helps with nausea and cravings I'd guess?" Min asked, "The nausea I'm not enjoying. Lian I had the mildest nausea as she's part Bajoran. A little queasy at times. But these two are kicking my butt."

"Oh, in recent generations," Kohl remarked, "I would suspect the tradition is simply an excuse to eat sweets. We have safe hypospray concoctions for nausea these days. Ahhh, the joys of pregnancy, huh?"

"Sometimes though the old remedies work better. My mother had folk remedies passed down from her grandmother that worked better then the newest medication from the Federation."

In a hopeful timbre, Kohl asked, "And what would your grandmother have recommended for pregnancy-related nausea?"

"Ginger-ale and Soda crackers. Been a staple of women in our family going back to the 21st century according to my grandmother. Soothing on the tummy and easy to digest. And a staple for me with Lian."

Kohl smiled at that. "I do hope the ginger-ale and soda crackers will carry you through this trimester without too much discomfort. If the twins don't make you nauseous, the length of the repair requests surely will," Kohl said. He pulled a dramatically apologetic face, considering how many of those requests had his name on them. Kohl rose from his chair and gripped the back of it between both of his hands. "I should get out of here, so you can wrap up your duty shift," Kohl offered.

"That's normal for Operations. When isn't my list from engineering longer then my arm?" Min smiled at Kohl. "I won't hold you Commander."

As he headed out of the office, Kohl said, "And I'll try not to add anything more to your list tonight!"

[OFF]


Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Chief Science Officer
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Min Nicholas (née Zhao)
Chief Operations Officer
USS Galileo

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