Breakfast of Champions Part 2/3

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

1,734 words; about a 9 minute read

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

[ON]

He shook his head. "Met some people from there while my brother was at Academy," he said as he fetched the requisite tools. "Never had a chance to learn more than a few basic phrases. Let's see..." He absently tapped his thumbs against his collarbone, thinking. "Nihao. Ni shi cong nar lai de?" he intoned, replicating the exact inflections and tonalities from the memory of his one conversation with the Mandarin speaking students.

Kiri had set her translator to not work on Mandarin, Klingonese or Rihannsu, when spoken to her but everything else normally came through as Mandarin anyway. It was nice to hear someone else actually speak it, it made her smile a little. Turning off the heat on the rice and the soup she poured the first pan into the colander over the sink, "Guangxi Provice, Yangshuo County, Gomashi Village," For a place she had spend the last four years getting away from, she was missing it a lot right now.

He smiled a little. "That means... nothing to me," he regretfully told her in Mandarin, turning back to his grill. "What is it like? Trees? Water? Small? Large?"

Watching the cold water from the tap wash over the rice for a few seconds she sounded rather mournful, "Wide shadow rivers, hundreds of mountains like domes covered in trees as the water washes between them. Older style buildings that rise up the mountain, not very many people compared to most places, most of them human." Turning the tap of she shook the rice and slid it into a small bowl. The rice puffed up a little as she cracked the second egg over it, stirring it turned it yellow as the still warm rice cooked the egg. After a quick taste and seasoning the light green soup joined it in a similar bowl. Finally she started to fish the dumplings out of the oil and onto a draining sponge. It was almost done.

Ansen listened carefully to the sounds beneath the translation, filing them away carefully. "It sounds like a beautiful place," he replied. "I grew up with concrete, bricks, and far too many people. The forests around Warsawa were beautiful, but we didn't enjoy much time there. I forget, sometimes, after so much time on ships, what the green is like."

Sliding the finished dumplings onto the plate next to the soup Kiri turned to him again, her cooking finished and her time here almost at an end. Clearly thinking hard for a moment she added, "I spend most of my life looking up, now I look back, I miss it." Clearly a depressing subject for her Kiri quickly switched to a fake smile, "I can put this in the replicator and have it scan it for another time can't I?" Her experience with replicators was rather limited, even if she understood the basics.

It was more complicated than that, rather a lot, but waved her over to a molecular scanner. "We do portion and chemical/mineral composition here. Then we send the scans along to the chemists. They break it down into chemical scripts. Then someone in Operations translates that script into code and they input that into replicator system."

"I see," She seemed rather disappointed, "I don't really have time to do that." Placing everything on a tray she left if for a second as approached the replicator, "Computer, may I have a pair of Chinese chopsticks, bamboo with jade coloured lacquer, ten inches long with a slightly dimpled grip. With a case to match," While the replicator worked she turned to look back at Ansen, "Thank you for your help."

"Right," Ansen said as she gathered her things from the replicator. "Any time, co?"

Tray in hand Kiri bowed her head and spoke while looking into her food, "Thank you." She didn't know what to think of him but taking him up on his offer when she had more time seemed a good idea. With a small smile and another bow she made her way out and back to the others around the table.



Meanwhile, in the mess hall, Remington had acquired a haphazard plate of Ansen's eatables and gone to his favorite corner, by the window with his back to the wall so that he could see both the stars and the crew with no more than a turn of the head. It was the same place Brayden had found him in at lunch a few days ago. He had his coffee in hand and took out his PADD to read, letting the others go about their business regardless of him.

Brayden watched her go with a quizzical tilt of his brows and then sat down across from Mor'an, picked up a roll, and began smearing jam on it, wondering if Kiri was taking action for herself or trying to avoid sitting in a conversation. He'd have to wait and see what she was up to. At least she hadn't fled entirely, that was a good sign. He nodded to Remington as the commander caught his eye, then turned back to the Tarkannan, "Thanks, for sharing your table with us," he said with a slight smile.

"I wanted to get to know Kiri," Mor'an admitted, glancing towards the kitchen. "We have not met previously." She glanced around the hall, as if assuring the only other person in the room was Remington, and dipped her finger in the little pot of Tarkannan honey. As ceremoniously as she could with honey dripping down her finger, Mor'an licked the sweet, sticky substance from her finger and closed her eyes to savor it. "One of the things I miss most about home," she said, "The honey." She opened her eyes as if suddenly realizing how uncouth she was being by eating honey straight with no utensil but her fingers.

"I had a chance to taste some before your dinner a couple nights ago. It's brilliant," Brayden agreed, unconcerned by her honey-eating methods. "Unlike anything I've had before." He smiled, licking a bit of blackberry jam from his thumb. "I'd have liked to see you get to know her too. She'll be back soon enough, I should hope."

"Maybe I will seek her out," Mor'an said, fingers now clean, "She needs someone." She turned her attention now to the salmon in front of her. It was different than the fish on Arun R'lantha, but still...it was fish.

Brayden inclined his head, crushing a piece of the cheese Ansen had provided over the jam on his roll and taking a bite. He didn't want to say too much, but he also didn't want to undermine a potential connection - despite the fact that Kiri had fled from it. "It's a small ship," he said quietly. "And we have a long way to travel together. I think we'll all find we need each other sooner or later."

"Perhaps," Mor'an said after a moment of studying the pink fish before her, "But I think she needs someone now. It would seem she has difficulty with people." She locked eyes with Brayden. "Not a good thing on a ship of this size, as I am sure you know."

Brayden silently took a bite of his bread, not breaking her gaze. "I would encourage you to follow your instincts as they seem finely honed," he said obliquely. He couldn't in good conscience comment on Kiri's state to anyone other than his direct superior in counseling. He only wished the girl were here and not off God knew where. "Do you usually get in here this early?" he asked.

"Yes," Mor'an replied, "I am an early riser. Idleness is inexcusable."

"When did everyone decide that sleeping through the night was idleness? Why wasn't I informed of the policy change?" he asked, mostly joking, although the number of people who seemed to work non-stop on this ship was a bit fatiguing just to think about.

Mor'an smiled at his joke, though it did take her a moment to realize he wasn't serious. "I do sleep through the night," she said, "I ensure that I get enough sleep, otherwise I will not be able to function. However, if I rise early I can complete my meditations and rituals before breakfast and have plenty of time to do my regular duties. It is simply a balance."

Remington was back at the food table refilling his plate with a meager second helping of random tidbits indiscriminately added to his plate. Somehow Del'an was with him, though how she got there without being noticed was anyone's guess. She had a small piece of salmon, some cheese, and fruit. The commander and the elder were talking together, Will with a thin smile on his lips and Del'an with her face impassive. Together they moved to join the other two at table. Del'an did not wait to be invited but sat gracefully next to Brayden.

"May we join you?" Will asked, taking a seat next to Mor'an when he saw the other Tarkannan sitting already.

"Of course," Brayden agreed, waving them into the spare seats at the table.

"Of course," Mor'an said, not looking at Brayden but rather looking down at the pot of honey before her. For no longer than a few seconds she seemed at war internally, before finally stifling a sigh and pushing the pot of honey within Del'an's reach. "Ansen was kind enough to think of us. It is Ta'rkan honey."

Del'an looked at the honey pot and then at Mor'an. "How did he acquire honey from Arun R'lantha?" she asked, reaching out to take a spoonful of the sweet food.

"I'm not sure how he did it, exactly," Brayden answered her, though he wasn't sure the question had been intended for him. "But he did mention it was fairly difficult and he was only able to procure a small amount. Pretty proud that he had, too. I gather it's not the easiest item to get a hold of?"

"Not beyond Arun R'lantha," Del'an replied.

[TBC]

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ENS Kiri Cho
Science Officer/Sensor Specialist
USS Galileo

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

Lt. Cmdr. Chauncey William Remington III
Chief Operations Officer
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

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