Food for Thought

Posted on Thu Feb 9th, 2023 @ 7:48am by Ensign Ziahli Lorel & Ensign Kateyo Fenn

Mission: Wrath of the People
Location: Messhall, USS Athena
Timeline: Some time back before Kane started blowing up people. I MEAN, OBJECTION.
3014 words - 6 OF Standard Post Measure

One day, Zia decided as she gazed out of the lounge's viewport, she would have enough sway amongst the ranks that filled the offices of Starfleet HQ that she wouldn't have to resort to making amends over whatever the dinner menu was aboard a space-docked ship. Surely, and this seemed a reasonable supposition, there were restaurant-grade facilities available to the Admiralty. The upper echelons of security personnel, or the high-ranking members of Starfleet Intelligence, the administrative staff. Important people got to eat important food; it made for a decent enough story, in any case.

Failing that, Earth itself, even if you confined yourself to San Francisco, had enough options that you could eat a different course in a different place for a month and still not sample it all. None of it sounded as appealing as having access to the Admiralty's private meal service but retracing her old stamping ground wouldn't have been a bad option. Aspirations aside, and they were lofty without being misguided because the Betazoid certainly had the work ethic to take a good stab at her ambitions, it would have been nice to just explore a change of scenery that wasn't full of Romulans trying to shoot her head off. She hadn't been given leave to go wandering around yet though, and some things couldn't wait for privilege to trickle down the ladder. It hadn't been that long ago that she'd called Earth home, with only a few months between graduation and deployment for her to have ducked back to Betazed to break up the four-year streak. In the barrel that carried the names of people relegated to 'skeleton crew' for the first shift, her name had likely been balled up amongst the scunge right at the bottom.

As it had turned out, her intended dinner date hadn't fared much better.

Hopefully, Trill appetites adjusted decently to starship food; if nothing else, she could recommend the ice cream sundae. Chin propped up in her hand, Zia stared at the impressive up-close view of the docking clamps and tried to imagine what it would be like to be an Admiral. It sounded...complicated.

Teyo entered the mess hall and as though on queue, his stomach growled loudly and angrily. He clutched his stomach as he looked around the room for his dinner date. Is this a date? He internally questioned for the hundredth time since receiving her request. She was in her uniform and so was he, so maybe it wasn't, but that didn't mean that his natural charisma and good looks couldn't turn the tide in his favour.

"You're looking very sultry tonight," he commented as he fell into the seat opposite Zia.

A pair of raised eyebrows called immediate doubt into play regarding the sincerity of the compliment. After all, she was wearing the same uniform she'd put on that morning and had just about managed to grab time to brush out her hair and clean her teeth. Either the Trill had very easy-going standards or she'd somehow pulled off a miracle. Either way, Zia realised as she shook her head with a grin, it made a change from self-congratulatory admiration. "I'll have to be more unintentional about it in the future then."

"In the future?" Teyo questioned, an eyebrow raised and a smirk etched on his dark face. "A bit presumptuous, wouldn't you say? Don't believe all the rumours you hear, I liked to be wined and dined before committing to a second date."

"Nobody said you'd be invited," Zia pointed out, returning her chin to the cup of her hand. "Though I think I do still owe you, what was it, an entire private moon's stash of vintage red? Or are you a white wine connoisseur?"

"A little harsh but kinda fair," Teyo retorted. He liked when someone was able to keep up with his banter and Zia seemed like she had no issues on that front, in fact, it seemed as though she could teach him a thing or two. "Honestly, any wine will do, as long as it's old and expensive. Now shall we order, my stomach is currently trying to eat itself," he moaned as his insides growled again.

"Absolutely, I was going to start gnawing on the table leg myself."

Zia sat up as a menu was placed in front of her, a slow unfurling that forced her back into her seat to roll her shoulder back until her neck cracked. Her fingers laced together pressed against her chest as she made room for cutlery to be laid and she smiled her thanks before returning her attention to the man seated opposite.

"So," she ventured. "Speaking of moons and promises, it occurred to me that I didn't ever really thank you properly for rescuing me from certain doom." The Betazoid quirked an eyebrow at her own expense. "Actually, I'm not sure I remembered any of my manners in the end." Outbursts such as the one she'd had in Sickbay were so rare that it seemed almost unfair that it had become part of his first impression of her. She was her grandmother's protégé, however; suppressing her telepathy was tantamount to open attack.

"Mmm?" Teyo replied, only half listening as his eyes focused on the range of food on the menu. He was imagining them all in his mouth, sweet, savoury, sour, spicy, he didn't care, he just needed to eat. "Oh the brig thing," he said, looking up as his brain caught up with the conversation. "No biggie really, rescuing damsels is what I do, ask anyone. On second thoughts, don't," he added, thinking of his declining reputation on the ship. "How's your head?"

"Still attached to my shoulders, which is more than a few Romulans had in mind." The response was pragmatic in nature and sought neither sympathy nor reassurance. Instead, Zia grinned and directed her own gaze at the menu. "Telepathy seems fine again, so I guess we file it under 'mysterious radiation' and toss it into the too-hard basket. Remind me never to holiday in the middle of strange nebula."

A thoughtful frown turned her attention towards more pressing matters.

"I think I'm in the mood for something I've never tried before." After several passes back and forth across the menu, Zia's eyes lifted to study Fenn's face as he contemplated his own choice. "Any suggestions?"

"Well I think I'm going to have a hasparat, extra spicy," Teyo replied, his mouth almost watering at the thought of the Bajoran delicacy. "Think you can handle the spice or is a bland Vulcan soup more you speed?" He asked, teasingly.

"Well, I definitely don't do bland." The Betazoid's nose wrinkled at the prospect before she glanced up. "In anything," she added, which may have been an observation of her current trends in socialising or simply a warning not to get too complacent. With a single huff of laughter, Zia turned her attention back to the menu. "There's always the option of skipping right to dessert."

Teyo raised an eyebrow, he was fully intrigued by her statement. Either she just fancied something sweet or she was eager to get to the fun stuff. Either way, he could accommodate. "Let me guess, a blue Andorian chocolate mousse, with a shot of Raktajino?"

That was the trouble with dessert menus; choosing just one thing, when you knew it would be rich enough that you should probably limit it to just that, took forever. "I tell you what," Zia eventually said as a replacement for a direct response, "You choose main course, I'll try whatever you throw at me." She paused a moment to reconsider her wording. "Within reason." Setting the menu aside, the Betazoid laced her fingers together and rested her chin atop. "We can worry about dessert later."

"Agreed," Teyo replied, maybe a little too eagerly. "Though if you ask most people, I don't really know what within reason means," he added cheekily. He beckoned over one of the waiters and gave their orders. "We'll get two Red Spice curries, extra spice, a large jetkii rice, and some soaking bread," he said, hoping she would appreciate the classic Betazoid dish.

Zia watched the wait-staff leave, amused perhaps at an undercurrent just below the surface, and then brought her attention back to bear on her company. "So, what did you do to get stuck with first babysitting watch?"

He rolled his eyes, "you name it, I did it," he said a bit too smugly. "Late for my shifts, not completing duty assignments, insubordination, oh and Finn hates me," he threw his hands into the air as he added that last part, in a 'whatever' kind of way. He was truly torn about whether he was going to miss her or not. "How about you?"

"Uh, throwing temper tantrums at senior officers probably didn't work in my favour. Oh, and some Romulans tried to kill me and I didn't come off medical watch over the telepathy thing until it was a bit too late to pack my bags." And Zade hates me? That sounded less feasible, Zia quite liked the Trill. "Though I suspect it's a case of last in, last out. Not enough hours on the clock to be considered for anything remotely resembling fun." Zia picked up the ice-water she'd been nursing whilst she waited, and smirked over a sip. "I guess we'll just have to make our own."

"Oh? What did you have in mind?" Teyo asked as he leaned back in his chair and puffed his chest slightly.

The telepath's expression showed consideration for the undertone of his question despite the fact that Zia, sitting back in her chair, opted to indulge a far more practical approach. "Well, that depends on what's already on offer." Clarifying that statement became essential to taming the weave of his thought process. "Are there any organised crew activities or are you all left to fend for yourselves?"

"I'm not really for group activities," Teyo said, his eyes twinkling somewhat. "I much rather spend time one-on-one with someone special or maybe in small groups of like-minded people."

"And what sort of mind would one need to be in possession of to be considered compatible with Ensign Fenn?" Zia laughed, shaking her head. "There's a whole crew of people here, surely there must be something happening on the social clubs front?"

"Well let's see," Teyo replied in mock thought as he sat upright. "We can join the counsellor in a boring fencing class. Pass. Or there's the boring Ops guy with the super hot wife, I'm sure he'll engage us in a game of chess. Pass. Oh, let's not forget Mason who's probably crying somewhere about something totally irrelevant. Triple Pass. I suppose we could drag Dash into our fun though I don't think he would appreciate the ratio, he's not quite there yet." Teyo added, almost cryptically.

The roll of the Betazoid's eyes was instantly condemning. Still, she hesitated before she spoke, curbing a natural tendency for rebuttal by considering her mounting theories about the other Trill. It would be very easy to point out that spending time with Kevan was automatically a group date because his ego rode shotgun but that would involve perpetuating an attitude that had so many reflective surfaces, it was no wonder very little got past it. From the sound of things, Fenn hadn't twigged yet that pushing the other man's boundaries was tantamount to taking advantage of self-delusion.

She just smiled.

"So nothing on the weekly roster to bolster energy reserves and allow people to relax. That needs fixing." With a quick glance around the space, a deeper scrutiny not necessary because she'd already given the matter some thought, Zia added, "There's plenty of space in here to set up a dancefloor."

"A dancefloor?" Teyo repeated, his eyes lighting up. Though in truth he wasn't sure his reaction was at the thought of her body moving to the sound of a hypnotic beat as the pair grew closer and closer, or because their food had just arrived and the aroma penetrated his nose so fiercely that his stomach growled again. He wasted no time spooning some of the rice into the red-coloured curry and breaking the bread into two sizable halves. "Do you dance well?"

Still turned in her seat to visualise her plans, Zia answered vaguely, "Well enough to suit myself," which was probably how she'd answer a lot of merit-based observations. It was hard to be proficient in something so diverse, after all, and as confident as she was in herself, the Betazoid wasn't prone to boasting. "There's space enough too for a small stage if they rearrange things, and that widens the scope for different kinds of live music."

Turning back around, Zia took a look at the food the Trill had ordered them and, tilting her head slightly to drink in the vivid shade of angry vermillion, raised her eyebrows. "You weren't kidding about the spice."

"I never kid about spice," he replied, shielding his mouth as he talked. The last thing he wanted was for her uniform to be covered in bits of half-digested food, he had his faults but lack of table manners wasn't one of them. He swallowed his mouthful and winced slightly as he felt the spicy aroma hit the back of his throat. "Yeah, this doesn't disappoint at all, you enjoying it? Don't worry if you need to add something to cool it down, no judgement here," he added with a wicked grin.

True to her heritage, Ziahli had a palate that craved creaminess. It wasn't something she'd phrase quite like that in present company given the absolute guaranteed attempting at misconstruing her meaning that would follow, but she definitely wouldn't have denied that her preference for sauces and flavouring fell more into the cheese, cheese and more cheese category. Or chocolate, if it was meant to be a dessert. As stereotypical as it was, the Betazoid embraced her cultural predisposition and indulged as often as possible.

But she liked challenging her comfort zone.

The food was rich. Strong. Purposeful. The flavour on the first bite was actually very good, it was the process of chewing that began to unpack its potential for surprise. The initial burn constricted her throat a little but it was the ensuing sneeze, followed by another, and subsequent laughter that really embellished her first impression.

"This is the culinary equivalent," she gasped, reaching for her water, "of riding a crate over Janaran Falls."

"A crate? Over where?" Teyo asked as he handed her a serviette. He had to admit he was more than impressed that she was continuing to eat the meal when clearly uncomfortable. It really was a testament to her determined nature, or maybe she was just super stubborn.

The thing about discomfort was that it was often temporary. And sometimes it was something you had to push through if you wanted to improve; your stamina, your resilience, your concentration. Zia was very rarely a victim of outright pride, though she was as susceptible as any to its insidiousness, but she was stubborn when it came to her own initial desire to give up. Just the whiff of impending failure was enough to power her sails and the second mouthful, as was so often the case, wasn't as provocative as the first. It was somewhat partially due to the fact that her tastebuds hadn't recovered enough to even participate.

"Janaran Falls, on Betazed. Riding a crate over them is this whole urban legend rite-of-passage scenario. I think some tourists did it once and now everyone has a story about how someone they know nearly died."

"Ah," was Teyo's only reply as he shovelled another forkful of food into his mouth. He searched his memory trying to recall if Xav had ever mentioned this to him; if the Betazoid had, the Trill hadn't been listening, something he was accused of often. "Did you ever do it?" He asked after gulping down his mouthful, his stomach thanking him for the nourishment it had been craving for so long, his bowels, not so grateful. "Is it as fun as it sounds?"

"I'm not sure that riding anything over a waterfall sounds fun." There was something about the Betazoid's tone that didn't quite ring true, a slight wistfulness that suggest she possibly wished such a venture wasn't such a sure-fire way to send yourself to an early grave. Risk-taking was one thing but it was a pretty big waterfall. "Well," Zia amended, "that's not actually true. The part where you go over the waterfall sounds like a heap of fun. It's the landing at the bottom that'd be the problem."

"And there was me thinking you were a risk taker," Teyo said. "Why else would you be here with me?"

"Oh, I enjoy taking risks. But the point is to make sure you can keep taking them, I don't think certain-death needs to be part of the qualification process. This," she pointed down at her plate, her mouth now so utterly aflame that Zia wasn't entirely sure her tongue was even managing syllables correctly, "is viable risk taking. Petitioning for some adjustments in here to create room for a dancefloor and live music, also decently risky." Her eyes gleamed. "After all, if it provides a ripe and fertile playing field for the incorrigible Kateyo Fenn to strut his stuff, someone's bound to say something."

"Incorrigible?" Teyo repeated, a smile forming on his face. He had been called many things, had many nicknames, but this one he approved of, this one he liked. "Oh hun, you have no idea!" He locked his dark eyes with hers and then took another mouthful of the spicy dish and let the heat consume him.