Breakfast of Champions Part 1/3

Posted on 10 Aug 2012 @ 11:59am by Lieutenant Kiri Cho & Lieutenant JG Brayden White Ph.D. & Ensign Im'er Mor'an & Ansen Pawlak & Ambassador Si'tar Del'an

3,931 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: Episode 01 - Project Sienna
Location: USS Galileo - Deck 2, Mess Hall
Timeline: MD07 - 0530 hrs

[ON]

Kiri followed behind Doctor White, trying to put together what they talked about in any sort of order. That he cared about her in some way but not in the ways she was looking for. She had tried social interaction with him and been rebuffed and yet here they were. Heading towards the messhall to have breakfast together, why was that? There was also the fact that now she was walking along side him to do something, she didn't feel so alone. The ensigns eyes were bloodshot, from lack of sleep and crying on several occasions in the last few hours. It was better now, but still not good. Her understanding of making friends was wrong, but that didn't change how more than anything now she wanted them. Other than her face, the girl's uniform was perfect, her hair loose around her shoulders.

Brayden kept his attention on her out of the corner of his eye as he walked her up to the mess hall. He needed to get her out of her head and the best way to do that was action. People. And perhaps by observing the way she interacted with others, he could be more helpful to her. Or just being present and supportive might help her to open up.

Mor'an looked up when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Ensign Cho and Dr. White had just entered and the poor girl looked miserable. Dr. White, Mor'an had obviously met, but the Ensign she had not. She waited until they turned in her direction and raised a hand in greeting, the gesture at the same time inviting them to her table.

Brayden was curious to see the Tarkannan wave them over to her table. She hadn't seemed like she ever wanted to lay eyes on him again the last time she'd strode out of his office. Still, he accepted the greeting at face value, waving and nodding for Kiri to come along. "Mor'an," he greeted her with the appropriate gesture. He'd done some studying since their last meeting. "Have you met Ensign Kiri Cho? Kiri, this is Cadet Im'er Mor'an."

Resorting to basic programmed actions Kiri sailed on autopilot while her mind was spiraling, Kiri bowed her head, hands together in her lap. Her voice not much more than a whisper she spoke towards the ground, "It's nice to meet you." Waiting a few more seconds she looked up rather meekly, feet routed to the floor.

Kiri needed something, but just what Mor'an was not sure. She greeted the girl with a gesture before turning to Brayden. She was pleased that the doctor had greeted her the Tarkannan way. He was one of the few who had done so at all.

Ansen heard voices in the mess hall in the middle of his breakfast rush preparations and cocked his head to the side, checking the clock. It was a bit early for breakfasters. He'd come to expect them to start showing up around 0630 or 0700, given the last several days, but... maybe there was a meeting or something he hadn't heard about? Curious, he slipped over to the serving window and peered out into the mess hall. The younger Tarkannan from the Captain's dinner was seated out there, talking to Brayden and a bereft-looking young Trill. Ansen didn't like to think of himself as nosy, but he was a chef and a bartender and a linguist, and his brother had been in Security for basically all of his life: he couldn't help but be interested in what people were up to on board. Quickly he threw together a few plates of the morning's offerings: roasted tomato slices, sliced avocado, and thin sliced grilled salmon on grilled sourdough with a little bowl of cream cheese; sardines, Polish sausage, sliced pickles, Twarog breakfast cheese with little bowls of salt, moon sugar, and the last of the Tarkannan honey; all with a basket of fresh baked rolls and a selection of jams and jellies. He piled the three plates, the basket, and jars onto a tray and nudged out of the kitchen, carrying the offering over. "Early-riser special," he murmured, setting the tray down on the table for them. "I can make eggs to order." He smiled at Mor'an and bowed his head, "We haven't officially met, but I thought you might appreciate this," he pointed to the little bowl of Tarkannan honey. "Last of it on the ship. You can take it away with you, if you like."

Mor'an as taken note of the honey long before Ansen had mentioned it. She returned his smile with a broad one of her own. "Thank you very much, Ansen," she said, leaning closer so she wouldn't have to raise her voice, "I have been deprived of my honey for far too long. Thank you for the salmon as well."

"Can I get anyone anything? Coffee. Cocoa. Tea?" He offered, smiling at the girl he hadn't yet met. "You and I haven't met," he offered a now free hand for her to shake.

Kiri looked a little startled at the man with semi messy hair and a beard, taking his hand gingerly, with a very weak grip. She struggled to look him in the face, "I am Ensign Kiri Cho." After letting go she cast her eyes over the tray. While eating food was a rarity for her, she also tended to be picky when it came down to it. When she ate, it was her mothers or grandmothers cooking, or even her own. To have a stranger cook for her was very weird, almost unwelcome, but what had she expected? There were all these things she didn't know about, others she didn't trust. Did she even want to eat any of them?

"I'm Ansen," Ansen introduced himself with a slight smile as he shook her hand. He was dressed in a pair of jeans and a dark grey, hand knit sweater, with a well-used apron tied around his waist. "Nice to meet you, Ensign." He noted her uncomfortable glance at the food provided. Maybe she was a vegetarian? Or one of those folks who didn't eat any animal products? Well, there was still bread and jam there, but... "If there's something you'd like specifically, I can do pretty much anything in that kitchen."

Kiri took note of his name but as he went further she looked rather flustered, "I don't want to cause you any trouble," Her voice showing quite a bit of concern towards him having to go any length at all for her. Maybe she should just make her own if she had to. It wasn't right to eat ration bars while everyone around her was eating real food. They would think she was weird, they wouldn't like her.

"Trouble?" he asked with a smile. "I'm a chef; I live for the kitchen. Anyway, I would not have offered if I didn't want to do it. So?"

Feeling rather adrift Kiri looked to Brayden for some sort of guidance, he would know more than her. He had also been the one to invite her here, to leave without his allowance would be mean, disrespectful.

Ansen followed her gaze to the counselor and looked between them expectantly. The girl looked like she needed a large meal and a stiff drink, but she also seemed to be abnormally flustered at his offer. He was pretty used to people making requests and orders... That was his job. The idea that anyone would be put off by that or by the idea of food in general didn't even occur to him. Maybe he'd interrupted something.

"It has naught to do with you, I think," Mor'an said to Ansen. She had gotten good at reading people since spoken words were secondary to her in nature. "Kiri," she purposely called the Ensign by her name instead of her title, "You are not used to this food, this life in general, are you? Neither am I. You can ask Dr. White about that." Kiri was only a couple of years younger than Mor'an, and obviously fresh out of the Academy -- something Mor'an herself was not -- but though Kiri had graduated, Mor'an felt a need to shelter the girl, make it known to her that she was not alone in this strangeness.

The doors swished open and Commander Remington walked in, making his way over to the food and looking it over casually. Anyone else might have been impressed by the culinary display laid out, but Will hardly seemed to to take notice of what was there as he picked up a plate and filled it in a rather haphazard manner. He nodded to the others in the room, even Brayden, when they made eye contact. Mor'an even got a slight smile.

Ansen smiled slightly at Mor'an, then rocked back on his heels. "I'll just..." he pointed back towards the kitchen. "If there's anything more or different you'd like."

Brayden had thought for a moment about asking for a cup of the coffee like the one Ansen had brewed for him previously; it had far exceeded replicator standards. But he hadn't wanted to interrupt Kiri's interactions. She was making eye contact, speaking when spoken to, but he could see the wheels behind her eyes turning at every step of the way. As though she were interpreting the words and actions of the others instead of simply listening and responding. She was putting an enormous amount of effort into what should have been relatively simple and making it all much more difficult for herself in the process. Her reaction to the food and Ansen's offer was another curious thing; the way she looked at him, it was almost as though she wanted to flee. Brayden nodded. "Thank you," he said meaningfully.

Ansen slipped his hands into his pockets and headed back towards the kitchen, stopping by the lieutenant commander on his way. He knew pips when he saw them and he had a good memory for faces. He'd seen "Good morning, Commander. Anything I can get you this morning?"

Will looked up at Ansen and smiled at him politely. "Ah, no, thank you. This is quite sufficient. Just some coffee from the replicator and I will be content with my breakfast."

Ansen gave him a thumbs up sign and dove back into the kitchen again.

As Ansen drifted away back towards the kitchen, Brayden checked in with Kiri again; eye contact and breathing. "How about a spot of tea?" he asked her. She'd agreed to join him for breakfast, so he could only assume that her discomfort was from meeting new people and not from the idea of food. "Or we could grab something and take it away if you like," he added, giving her the option of an out if she truly needed it. He wanted to encourage her and support her effort to socialize, but not at the risk of inducing a panic attack.

Kiri found herself glancing quickly between Brayden and Ansen, not really sure what to do at all. The food on the table did not really appeal to her, the bread might be passable, maybe the fish depending on what it was. It seemed to her it would be much nice to eat what she wanted alone with Brayden but that wasn't the point was it? There were two new people here, ones she didn't know, ones she should try to make friends with. What if she failed again? What then? Her sides started to shake a little, her breathing shallow. For a moment the young woman wobbled before deciding, she couldn't leave. Closing her eyes a tiny voice spoke up, "No thank you," She trailed off as if someone had just smashed into her brain. He was an officer? He never wore his rank around her, he had said he wasn't when they first met. She had acted wrong towards him, disrespectful and weak, it was terrible, her voice quavered, "Sir." Remaining still her mind staggered around until it came back to topic, leaving her standing stock still for several seconds.

Food, that was what she was asking herself, food. What did she want, if it was no trouble, if it got her away from this situation without running away. She wanted her mothers cooking, failing that she wanted to cook it. She wanted egg and rice, dumplings and noodle soup, sliced greens and a slice of watermelon. If she had to eat really food, right now that was what she wanted. Her mind somewhat made up she glanced back over to Brayden who she now regarded totally differently, "I won't be long." Then she headed over towards where Ansen had gone, feeling extremely apprehensive.

Ansen had just gotten back to preparing the rest of the breakfast offerings for the usual hour when the door to the kitchen swung open and the girl appeared. Kiri Cho. What happened to you? he wondered. "Think of something you wanted?"

Trying to gather herself Kiri found it hard to look at him, somehow she forced herself to meet his eyes, "Yes, but," It seemed very silly now she was asking, "Would you mind if I cook it?" That she was aware of this was the only kitchen on the ship.

Ansen felt a little dismayed; he'd brought his A-game with that offering and something had been found lacking. Had there not been enough variety? No, that wasn't the issue. She wanted to cook it. Which meant either she didn't trust his skill set or she didn't trust him. Or she was just having a shitty day and needed to regain some sense of control. It wasn't his job to psychoanalyze; it was his job to cook. Only she- he stopped himself before beginning a thought cycle and laid down the knife he'd been using to chop onions. "What do you need?"

The list was quite long, going through bowl by bowl in hear head she replied, "Two small pan of boiling water and one of oil, white rice, two chicken's eggs, vegetable stock, onion, potato, leeks, a small amount of beef strips, thin noodles, flour, salt, water, maybe some spices, some green vegetables and a slice of watermelon," Looking slightly ashamed she added, "Is that too much?"

He shook his head. "No, not too much," he told her, though it was a lot. And he could guess by the list what she was planning on making, and that it would take considerable time. Again, he wondered why she'd chosen to leave her friends to come in here and cook what he could easily have done for her. "Would you like to do it all on your own, or would you like a hand with it?"

Still looking rather tense Kiri considered it, was there something else at work here? By asking to do the work was the undermining him? Was she? But she wanted to do this, to eat her way. Still, it wouldn't hurt, to have help. Reading her conclusion she answered, "If you want to help, it would be welcome," She smiled slightly and took a deep breath.

Ansen turned and gathered the requested items. "Fried rice and a noodle soup, co?" he asked. "You probably want garlic and ginger in the mix as well. I can chop." He set the water to boil and began dicing garlic and onions and ginger for her. "Late night or early morning?" he asked curiously.

When she was at home, things like that were always to hand anyway, it was strange using someone else's kitchen, she didn't really like it. Taking a small mixing bowl she folded up her sleeves a little. Following that she poured in a small amount of flour, fighting to stop herself while she replied, "A late night," She shot him an uncomfortable glance as she started to add water with one hand while mixing with the other. Trying to get a flour she wasn't used to up to the right doughy constancy. The water was heating up, once it had done so she had to remember to add the rice to one and the stock and vegetables to the other.

Ansen noted the look she gave him - uncomfortable and reserved - and backed off. If she didn't want to talk to him, he wasn't going to make her. He finished chopping, set the spices into separate piles, and went back to his own work. He generally enjoyed having people in his kitchen - the conversation and the shared experiences made him feel more a part of the crew. And he liked cooking with other people, seeing their techniques and gleaning new tastes and flavors from them. But she didn't seem interested in any kind of conversation, so he'd let her use his only space on the ship, do what she wanted, and pretend he wasn't there.

It didn't take very long for her to end up with a solid dough, that she placed on the counter. Twisting and rolling she was able to kneed the dough quite elegantly, without much obvious effort. After a long silence she was the one that spoke up, "What do you like to do other than cooking?" It seemed that he didn't want to talk to her, but she was meant to try right?

"Drink," Ansen answered, layering portions into stasis field trays for the breakfast buffet. "And knit. Talk to people. Study languages. Watch films. The usual, I suppose." He racked the trays beside the serving window. "You?"

Kiri felt that he was being rather short with her, that he wasn't enjoying talking to her. Coming across as shyer now she answered in turn, "Mathematics, Songs, Astronomy, that's all right now." She closed up somewhat, feeling a little pained. The dough done she took a rolling pin, floured it and started to roll some very thin sheets. Once that was done she turned to him again, her face a little red, "Is there a knife I can use?"

Ansen looked at what she was doing and fetched her the appropriate knife, "What sort of songs?"

Were people really that interested in the songs she liked? That was two people that had asked after that when she brought it up, maybe was a topic that she should focus on. As she started to cut the sheets into squares, each the same size she answered, "Traditional Earth songs, some spoken Klingon ones as well." Once six sheets were all ready she at once started to make the soup and boil the rice, pausing only to pass her hands over the waste remover.

"batlh maH ghbej'jyoqIjDaq vavpu'ma' DImuvpa'reH maSuvtaH Qu' DamevQo' maSuvtaH, ma'ov," Ansen sung the final lines of the anthem like a beat poem, eyes closed, gently bobbing his head to the rhythm of the language. When he was done, he opened his eyes, and grinned. "Not many folks who appreciate Klingon lyrics. Maybe you'd like some of my country's songs too."

It wasn't exactly the most uncommon of songs, everyone that knew anything about Klingon music knew that one. While it was okay it was hardly the Dirge for Turg, or Victory at Tamoc Prime which she considered masterpieces. None the less, he had shown a shared interest that was something they had talked about. Even if he seems slightly hostile in his answers, it might be something. As Kiri started to deftly chop vegetables very finely after waving the knife though the remover again she answered with a small smile, "I wouldn't really know about anyone else," Then pausing for a moment she asked, "What country are you from?"

"Poland, Earth," Ansen answered, unaware of her judgements, as he went about the rest of his preparations. "We're a nation that has seen far too much of war, yet we all seem to favor the Klingon culture in some way. Perhaps it's their sense of valor and honor."

"I see," Kiri checked the rice and the soup before turning her attention to making her dumplings and heating the oil. She knew most of the nations of Earth by name but only history in passing. There wasn't any way she felt she could speak for the people she knew. Everything tended to be so homogenised outside of her small village. Now she was rather stuck for conversation so interjected, "I don't really like Klingon food."

"It does take some getting used to," he agreed, idly keeping an eye on what she was up to as he did his work. "Was it the fish?" he asked after a moment. It was still troubling him that she'd outright refused any of his offerings.

Kiri looked at him quizzically for several seconds for she realised what he was talking about. Realising she looked startled and started to trip over her words, "Oh, I, I just because," Visibly swallowing she tried again, "I am, uh," How did you say that you trusted no one else to cook for you without actually saying it? "Fussy, just I like to, I'm not used to anyone other than my family cooking for me," She looked rather guilty and somewhat apologetic, but not remorseful.

The girl had never been to a restaurant? Never eaten in the mess hall at the Academy? How had she managed that? Ansen wondered, turning back to his own cooking. "Replicators all the way, co?"

From her experience with the doctor Kiri didn't think that telling him about her diet would be a good idea. People just didn't seem to understand it, "In a way yes." Diced vegetables started to splatter into the water as she turned to making the dumplings.

"You're Terran?" he asked, "Chinese?" He tapped his ear, "I'm good with languages." He'd never met a Terran Trill, but it wasn't an altogether surprising circumstance. He imagined there were a lot of non-humans who had made Earth their home.

"Yes," She nodded her head, she pursed her lips before turning back to the chopping board. Taking the small pieces of cooked beef along with some of the remaining vegetables and ginger and with a quickly cracked egg she started to seal them into little fans.

Ansen was quite adrift. She wanted to talk to him, she didn't want to talk to him, she wanted to, she didn't. He didn't expect everyone to like him, but she was in his kitchen. The least she could do was be polite. Strange. He turned back to his work. The dumplings could have been finished in half a second with the right tools, but she'd wanted to do it her way. While she took the long way round, he racked trays of breakfast pierogies, grilled salmon filets and vegetables and cut them down for serving trays, and checked his preservation jars for the best of his jams and pickled vegetables and fruits.

Dropping the finished dumplings into the heated oil Kiri took a breath to check on the soup and rice again, considering straining the rice shortly. First though she turned back to Ansen, not really wanting to interrupt him but needed to ask, "Could I have a colander, and a spider, if you have one?" Then with her right hand wringing her wrist, "Have you been to China?"

[TBC]
-------------------------


ENS Kiri Cho
Science Officer/Sensor Specialist
USS Galileo

Cadet Senior Grade Im'er Mor'an
Red Squad Intern
USS Galileo

Si'tar Del'an
VIP
played by Psylus Anon

LTJG Brayden White
Counselor
USS Galileo
NPC'd by Kestra Orexil

Ansen Pawlak
Chef
USS Galileo
NPC'd Lilou Peers

RSS Feed