An Interesting Lunch

Posted on 31 Jan 2019 @ 10:03pm by Chief Warrant Officer 2 Oliver Sylver & Petty Officer 1st Class Heinu Reteif
Edited on on 22 Feb 2019 @ 7:14pm

1,607 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 17 - Crystal of Life
Location: USS Galileo-A - Mess Hall
Timeline: MD -85, 1648

[ON]

The mess hall was a bit more than half full, and all of the tables were occupied. Heinu Retief stood with a tray filled with far different fare than at the tables around him. It was steaming visibly, and Heinu's mouth was watering. It smelled amazing. The only problem was that there weren't any open tables.

Oliver Sylver looked up from the table he was on, the spoon between the bowl and his mouth. He lowered it and let out a loud whistle, raising his hand to the Petty Officer who looked desperate for a table. He grinned when he got his attention. "Come and sit down here, plenty of space." Because no one else seemed to be offering, people either talking or looking at their PADDs. With Verity working, Oliver had gone to the mess for a meal instead. Downside of dating a Chaplain, his hours were unpredictable.

Heinu smiled and folded his long frame into the chair. "Thanks," he said, "it looks like I chose the wrong time to visit the mess." The botanist cut into the chop, ensuring that he got every bit of glaze he could onto the meat. He took a bite and smiled at the flavor. It was perfect.

Oliver nodded with a small smile, taking more of his soup before he considered it. "It is rush hour," he said after a moment's pause, long enough to swallow. "I try to avoid it, but sometimes you just got to eat, you know?"

"Yeah," Heinu said, with a sigh, "most of the time I end up eating my lunch in the lab. Usually my lunch is from the lab." He tilted his head to the side and shrugged. He took another bite. After he had finished chewing, at least mostly finished, he said, "Want to try a bite? It's pork chop with a rub made of dried Lorandan Plos, and a couple varieties of piper nigrum and other spices."

Oliver smiled warmly at the other man offering to share the food but shook his head to decline. "I don't think it would go well with my vegetable soup," he admitted before he chuckled. "I'm trying to cut down on things after the party. My body needs a bit of a break, even if it is replicated. It's a mental thing. Thank you for the offer though."

"Sure," Heuinu said, "more for me. You know, I've never really understood the drive to cut back on the things we enjoy. There are times and places for enjoying them, sure. When I can enjoy a succulent chop like this one, I do." He took another bite in illustration of his point.

After he'd finished that bite and a sip from his glass, he asked, "So, Chief, what do you do aboard this lab in the sky?"

"I'm a pilot," Oliver said as he chuckled, shaking his head as he considered it. "So whenever you scientists want to go down to a planet in a shuttle, I'm one of your guys..." he winked and sat back. He liked this young man, he seemed...nice. Warm.

"Ah," said Heinu with an air of mock wisdom, "so you are responsible for guiding us across celestial currents." He took another quick bite. As he chewed the food, he mimed steering the helm of an old sailing ship. "Don't you get bored sitting at a console on the bridge? What is there to do but stare at nothing?"

Oliver laughed warmly and shook his head, smiling gently as he watched him. "No, there's so much to take into account when flying. Speed, power...the slightest fluctuation can drop you out of warp. And there's also a beauty in the stars."

"Doesn't the computer do all of that work for you?" Heinu asked. He was completely ignorant of how most parts of a ship worked. He'd never really cared to find out. He enjoyed his lab and leisure time too much. "Mostly I just let the computer do all of the math for me," he admitted, "it's easier that way, and I don't have to worry about forgetting to regroup this or that."

"The computer does a lot," Oliver said and leaned closer to him, his eyes shining. "But don't you feel...a bit of excitement at doing something yourself? With the computer just...doing its thing without doing it all?"

"Sure," Heinu said, "but the things I enjoy doing don't involve math. Math is not fun. Math is the opposite of fun. I remember the physics courses during school. I have absolutely no interest in plotting vectors or tracking relative speed." He gave a disgusted sound. "If that's what you like, then you can have it. Weirdo."

Although the words could have been insulting, Heinu's good natured attitude made it clear that he didn't blame anyone for liking something as odd as math, he simply didn't share the interest.

"It's not maths. It's instinct for a true pilot," Oliver countered with a grin, shrugging lightly. "Each craft has its...personality. And they all behave differently. Even the same class...it depends on who tuned her, what parts she had replaced, what was put together with a prayer...getting to know what you are flying is half the fun of being a pilot. But what about you? What do you love about what you do?"

Heinu lifted his fork. There was a bit of pork skewered on the end. "I love eating my work," he said. He was completely serious, though with a bit of a joking tone. "I'm a botanist," he explained, "and with some exceptions, plants make for good eating. I get to see and experience a plant's entire existence, from seed and root to dinner plate. It's exciting." He grinned. "Also tasty." The lanky man took a bite of his food, relishing the flavor.

Oliver couldn't stop laughing at the words, nodding in agreement. "I do appreciate food, where it comes from and how it tastes. There's enough Emergency Rations in me to really appreciate how good food can taste..."

Heinu's expression shifted from pleasure to a grimace. "Oh, don't say that," he said through a mouth full of half-chewed food. It was understandable, though garbled. He took a moment to swallow. "Emergency rations should be considered torture. I don't know what Starfleet was thinking when they created them." The grimace was replaced by a mischievous smile. "Actually, they were probably saying 'How can we take all of the joy out of eating, so that in an emergency despair kills people before the emergency does.'"

He laughed softly, watching Heinu almost fondly. "You know...some people call them MREs. Meals Rejected by the Enemy. And you get used to them..." he said with a small shrug. "Hunger is a funny thing. Morale is even more funny."

"Seriously," Heinu continued, "the people who made the rations had to try to create a substance that is so disgusting. They didn't have the decency to make them flavorless, instead they made them taste of depression and death."

Oliver smiled gently as he tilted his head, considering it for a moment. "Maximum calories and nutrients for the minimum mass. Which means...it tastes off. But...could be worse. Starving is worse."

"Maybe," Heinu said, around another bite of pork. The doubt in his voice was pretty clear. "Maybe I'll pack some dried spices in my emergency kit, just in case." Come to think of it, it was an interesting challenge. Was there some combination of herbs and spices that could actually make the rations palatable?

The lanky botanist polished off his food after skewering the final piece of meat on his fork and running it through what little juices remained on his plate to soak up all of the flavor possible. "If you ever need something to improve a meal, stop by the botany lab. I pride myself on having something that will appeal to almost anyone."

Oliver looked at him with surprise before he smiled. "I would like that," he admitted. Being an orphan, he had sort of eaten what he had been given. And then the marines had truly ruined his palate, but as he got older he now got a better appreciation of...nice food. And Verity helped with that too. "I...like cooking. It's...something I can follow a recipe and it turns out okay."

"Good!" Heinu said. His smile was broad and he laughed. "I would have hated to think that you didn't have any hobbies. Hobbies, and good food, make life worth living, eh?"

Oliver laughed with him before he shook his head. "It does. So what are your hobbies then, Heinu?" he asked with interest. "I mean, except offering your lovely herbs to strangers?"

"Nothing in particular," Heinu said, and shrugged. "Mostly what anyone does. I listen to music, read, visit the Holodeck. That kind of thing." He wiped the corners of his mouth with a napkin. "Not math. Math is never my hobby."

"Mathematics has never been anyone's hobby," Oliver said playfully, eyes shining as he sat back, finished with his meal. "Only an instrument of torture. Or challenge for those who enjoy it."

Heinu grinned. "Yes, indeed." He stood, his lanky frame unfolding from under the table. "I'm afraid I need to get going, but it has been a pleasure to speak with you."

Oliver nodded before he smiled easily to him. "It has been a pleasure," he said softly, chuckling. "I will see you around."

[OFF]

--

PO1 Heinu Reteif
Botanist
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Ghoc]

CWO2 Oliver Sylver
Conn Officer
USS Galileo-A
[PNPC Vansen]

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