Dinner time!
Posted on Wed Jul 26th, 2023 @ 9:02am by Lieutenant Njalia Sayffier
Mission:
R&R: The Reprieve
Timeline: Shortly after docking
814 words - 1.6 OF Standard Post Measure
Njalia tucked her datapad away, not obsessively reviewing the status of the repairs for an hour would not kill her. SHe stepped into the mess and looked around, unsurprisingly it was quiet, many people having already gone aboard the station. Which she was looking forward to as well but there was so much she felt she needed to put in process first, life as an Ops Officer was always busy.
It looked like she had arrived before the good doctor, so she grabbed a cup of Andorian The and took a seat where she was easy to be seen and resolutely refused to look at her datapad.
Cassia looked tired as she walked through the mess hall doors. Maybe she'd had a long, exhausting shift in Esquimalt's sickbay. Not entirely unexpected, perhaps, given the crushing number of casualties resulting from the vessel's last mission, but even more so for her. Hell, she couldn't remember when she'd last eaten today; all she'd done was tend to patients save the occasional sip of water. "I hope I'm not too late." She said as she approached the Andorian's table. "My duties in sickbay keep me busy. What would you like to eat?"
Njalia stands and looks over Cassia. "Well, my dinner tradition with a new peer is that we each order one of our favorite dishes from home and share them as a way to learn about each other. Would that work for you? You certainly look like you need some 'comfort food' as the Terrans say."
Indeed, Cassia could certainly have used something familiar in her belly. Something from home, hmm? Well, she could certainly think of one thing she missed in particular. "I hope you don't mind eating the inner lining of a pig's stomach." She said, crossing the room to the replicators. The plate she was holding upon her return contained what appeared to be tripe cooked in some kind of reddish orange sauce, possibly something with tomatoes in it. Either way it looked appetizing and certainly smelled appetizing - two good things going for it, at any rate. "Roman tripe. Mother made me this sometimes. I like how it's chewy and salty and sweet and herby and... all that." She said. "How about you?"
Njalia smiles. "For me, bluefish pie topped with herbed cheese and a side of baked tumi, much like Terran potatoes," explain Njalia taking the tray from the replicator. "I grew up on the coast, there was a lot of fish in our traditional diet."
"That sounds wonderful. You know, I've heard rumors that Andorians like to make their food blue. Mostly in jest, of course. I never believed any of them." Cassia smiled, savoring the scent of the delicious-looking pie on Njalia's tray. She'd eaten a fish pie before; it'd been a tuna pot pie a friend made her for dinner once. It'd been one of the best things she'd ever had from the best things from Earth. This pie, however, looked about ten times better with golden melted cheese on top, paired with the sweet-smelling tumi root at the side. She'd never had that either, but she could only guess at how sweet it must be, storing all those nutrients to survive the freezing colds of Andor. Assuming, of course, it was from Andor.
Njalia smiles. "That is sometimes true but the bluefish is naturally blue, a boring but accurate name. Most humans like butter on the Tumi, there is extra herbed butter for that if it appeals. I like it with just a little salt." She sits down. "Your dish looks quite intriguing as well, I look forward to trying it." She added a slice of pie and a serving of tripe to her plate. "The only thing I have found that I do not like in food, is food that is still moving, like Klingon gagh."
"You aren't alone. I personally despise gagh. I'd never eat anything that's capable of slithering down my throat while I'm still eating it and choking me to death." Cassia chuckled. The pie on her plate was a startling shade of cobalt blue, which might've put off a few others until she tasted it - and then she smiled and began to devour the cheesy, salty, surprisingly melt-in-your-mouth delicious pie. "Wow." She commented. "If you know how to make this, I would love to learn. It's even better than the Terran quiche!"
The Andorian nodded and gave a pleased smile. "It is based on my grandmother's recipe, she said that it is the Vulcan sost root that really brings the flavors together. She served in Star Fleet too," she noted. She spears a piece of tripe and tries it. "Perhaps a little chewier than my ideal but nice, the flavor is very good." Njalia takes a sip of tea.
[Unfinished due to Cassia's player leaving. But posting what had been completed.]
