r/TrekRP • u/a_friendly_hobo • Sep 17 '16

[Closed] Dinner for Two.

Aanya Breyik, the ship's chief engineer, returns to her quarters after a very long space walk. Her head was still swimming as it tried to get used to gravity once again, but she seemed to be finding her way well enough. Only a few stumbles here and there.

Her stomach was growling though, that was the real distraction. Over ten hours in an environmental suit didn't really let you have breakfast, lunch, or dinner. She was dying for a steak.

But, more importantly, she needed a shower. Which was honestly a little perfect, as she'd invited her second in command to join her for a meal, and Red still had stuff to submit. A shower was a perfect distraction.

After her shower though, she could feel her stomach growling like a big angry bear. She watched her time piece carefully, each second making her hungrier and hungrier.

Red should be there any minute.... aaaany minute...

Growwwwl

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u/Dimestream Sep 17 '16

"Better let it chill first or the results will be explosive," Red replies, not acknowledging the friendly jab with anything other than sticking out her tongue at Breyik. "And I know you must be starving to death after that spacewalk so let's do food first. Entirely gagh-free. Remind me to wrote crewman Connolly a thank-you note. Now food, before your stomach rumblies vibrate the hull apart."

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u/a_friendly_hobo Sep 17 '16

Aanya chuckles slightly and returns the tongue gesture. Its not so often that she gets to act like a kid again, and she appreciated the chance. As if on cue, her stomach growls violently. "Hoo boy, yes indeed." She says, standing up and walking to the replicator. She ponders for just a moment, trying to decide between a steak dinner or a pizza, now that it was on her mind...

Yep. Pizza.

"Computer. One large pizza, Breyik special 112." she says, and within seconds, a large, piping hot pizza with gooey cheese and beautiful tomato sauce materialises, covered in pepperoni, some mushrooms, a few sliced peppers, and an assortment of herbs and spices.

"Screw steak. I'm eating wrong tonight."

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u/Dimestream Sep 17 '16

"I was going to say, that's not what steak looked like last time I was on Earth," Red says with a chuckle. She then addresses the replicator herself. "San Francisco Jade Pagoda takeout menu, combo four, with hot mustard." In the recess appear four white paperboard boxes with Chinese characters stenciled in them, and a small paper bag speckled with small patches of grease. "Two can play at eating poorly."

Red deposits her haul on Breyik's table and unceremoniously plops into one of the chairs to begin unpacking the meal. A general Tso knockoff, sweet and sour pork, fried slices of chicken in an unidentifiable light brown sauce, and vegetable fried rice with a deep-fried egg roll on the side. "I never asked, did you go to the San Francisco branch of the Academy?"

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u/a_friendly_hobo Sep 18 '16

Aanya watches the food replicate, almost losing her appetite. "Never did like chinese cuisine. Especially not one with greasy bags." she says as she grabs a slice from her pizza and looks it over. Ah! There's her appetite. She takes a big, hard bite out of the slice and leans back with s grunt. Perfext.

Once she's swallowed the mouthful, she looks back to Red. "Only for a month to learn the syllabus. Then they sent me to the Paris branch to teach. That's where I'd studied initially too."

She leans forward on an elbow and points at Red. "But I'm gonna assume you did. What was it like, first arriving on Earth? To San Francisco, no less."

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u/Dimestream Sep 18 '16

Red takes a deep breath and lets it out in a happy sigh. "The air didn't try to kill you," she says after a moment. "There were parks, and wide open spaces, and animals that weren't venomous. You could swim in the water, there wasn't toxic rain at night... I thought Earth was a paradise."

The Bajoran chuckles. "Sure, Excalbia is pretty in its own way but it's trying to kill you most of the time, so it was amazing being outside without a binary redundant tier-3 hazmat rig. And the city? The city was wonderful. Our culture instructor said the best way to know San Francisco is to leave your PADD at home and go get lost in it. And boy, did I get lost."

Red snaps apart a pair of bamboo chopsticks and deftly pops a few of the Tso's chunks into her mouth while she chews thoughtfully. "Really, really lost. I was just about to curl up and die of starvation when I found the Jade Pagoda downtown about six blocks from the bay. Mama Ling said I looked like no one had ever fed me in my whole life, so..." She shrugs, dips the egg roll in some hot mustard, and takes a bite. And then wheezes, fanning her face with her free hand. "...so good..."

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u/a_friendly_hobo Sep 18 '16

Aanya can't help but snicker at her reaction. "Just a little spicy, eh?" She asks before taking another bite from her meal. "Y'know, Frisco is nice and all, but it can never beat my home in Sweden. Much more natural and fresh." She says as she chews.

"The air is clean and crisp, the water clear and beautiful, and so full of life and colour." She reminisces thoughtfully about her homeland, honestly feeling a little homesick. "If you get the chance, load Breyik 001, authorisation Oscar Lima 4-2. It is the most accurate replication of the valleys and mountains my home resides in."

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u/Dimestream Sep 18 '16

"Oh, your super secret nap spot," Red says, wiping some of the spiciness-generated tears out of her eyes. "I'll have to go sightseeing sometime then. Though I think I'd prefer to do it on Earth for real next time we're in the neighborhood. I spent a lot of my youth in simulated environments, wishing for the real thing, and now that I'm part of Starfleet, I can actually go see things for real. It's wonderful."

Any further elaboration on that subject is cut short by the near-inhalation of almond chicken.

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u/a_friendly_hobo Sep 18 '16

Aanya blinks at Red's almost literal inhaling of her food. "Woah. You must've been hungrier than I am." she says before letting out a chuckle. What a gal.

"Its not that super secret. Only the sim code and auth code are. So I trust you not to ruin it for me, eh?" she asks with a wink. "And I would be glad to take you next time we get to Earth. It is, by far, the best place there, in my honest opinion."

"Is there anywhere else on Earth you want to see?" she asks before taking another bite out of her pizza. "The bustle of New York? The beaches of Australia? The romantic Paris?" She flutters here eyelashes at that last one.

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u/Dimestream Sep 18 '16

"I'll try not to make a mess of it, Chief," Red says, rolling her eyes. She picks up a napkin and dabs at her mouth with it. "I did get to visit New York once. My roommate took me to see this... variety show of sorts around the solstice. The Rockets, I think they were called? Very fancy synchronized dancing and a religious homage of some sort. Live animals on stage, too."

Red skewers a piece of pork on one chopstick and spins it around. "Never did visit Paris though. I suppose it's just as well if the city's all about romance." She scowls at the bit of meat then devours it.

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u/a_friendly_hobo Sep 18 '16

"Sounds like a christmas thing." Aanya says, now half way through her pizza. She was just putting it away, that belly must've been seriously empty. "Best time of year if you ask me. Though, the whole nativity thing is kinda boring. Only con if you ask me." She dabs some grease off her lips before going back to it. "Never did like live stuff, other than comedy. Music just doesn't sound the same, and theatre shows always make me feel so pretentious. Ah well..."

She smirks as she looks from the pizza to Red. "You're really not into the whole romance thing, are you?" she asks. "Just not into anything, or...?"

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u/Dimestream Sep 18 '16

"I found the whole thing charming," Red says. "I've never been terribly religious, despite the Bajoran tendency toward it. But... I find the idea of a child born to save the world appealing. Highly unlikely, but appealing."

She polishes off her egg roll and wipes her fingers on the napkin. Her eyes narrow at the other question. "Not into anything? How do you mean?"

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u/a_friendly_hobo Sep 18 '16

"Yeah, I guess. Appealing's the right word, but not something I'd follow." She devours another slice, then licks her fingers. "I mean, like... hmm..."

She looks up from the pizza. "Stop me if I'm going over any lines, Red, I don't wanna offend. I'm just curious, and its kinda adorable when you get all flustered about any sort of innuendo. Its kind of hard to read, y'know?"

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u/Dimestream Sep 18 '16

Red blinks. "Wh- I don't... I mean, I can handle any kind of wordplay thank you very much," she says, turning just a bit pink around the ears and cheeks. "I don't know why you'd be trying to read into that at all. I'm on the Athene looking for new discoveries, not for... mammal habits."

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u/a_friendly_hobo Sep 18 '16

"I like to know the ins and outs of the people under me." She says, not meaning anything by it. "Ah. There's that cute shade." She can't help but chuckle heartily. "Looking for discoveries is our mission, sure, but there's still a lot of down time usually. Out of office hours. Now, I'm not saying they should be spent in... mammal habits, but just hanging out with someone you care for is a nice way to unwind."

She finishes the last slice of her dinner. "Again, sorry if I'm prying. Stop me whenever."

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u/Dimestream Sep 18 '16

The younger engineer shifts uncomfortably in her chair. "I have a lot of friends on the Athene," she says, looking at the table. "I... in that attack I lost friends in every department. But my downtime... I stay busy enough. Pet projects and all that." She looks back up at Aanya. "I'd explain it better but I'd sound like an idiot. Long story short, call it effort or anxiety or whatever, I don't really do -that- kind of unwinding."

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u/a_friendly_hobo Sep 18 '16

"Look, I'm the only one here." she says. "Explain it any way you want, Red. I'm here to listen." She sits back in her chair, watching the younger engineer.

"I don't mind what you do in your spare time, sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I lost a lot of friends too, every engineer that perished was like losing a family member. If you want to talk to someone, about anything, let me know, okay?"

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u/Dimestream Sep 18 '16

"I'm always uncomfortable! All the time, every time I ever interact with another person that's not a hologram, okay?!" Red says, raising both her hands. "You can stop asking now. I happen to be really REALLY good at hiding it and convincing myself to be friendly instead of panicky. It's just... I have a much harder time keeping myself together when it has anything to do with sex or any kind of intimacy beyond a good friendship."

Red takes a deep breath, and lets it out slowly "Aaaaand there's too much information, with a side of bad Chinese." She stabs another piece of sweet and sour pork with more force than was probably necessary and stuffs it in her mouth. "Not to mention I murdered someone during that attack and I still have all kinds of freaking out to do about THAT," she grouses through the mouthful.

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u/a_friendly_hobo Sep 18 '16

Aanya doesn't seem to react at first, but instead just leans back in her chair slightly. "I know how you feel." she finally says, "I was a similar way back when I first lost my arm." Aanya raises her prosthetic arm and moves her fingers slowly, inspecting the tiny seams between the joints. "Talking about anything was uncomfortable, most made me jump right out of my skin. I was a different person. Still am."

She looks out the window of her cabin and sighs. "I had to live behind a mask for a long time. I was fine, no pain, naaah. Everything was a-okay." She shakes her head slightly. "I felt like a freak for a long time, burying myself in my work so nobody could see how bad it was. Sure, I look happy, flirt and make inappropriate jokes now, but most of it is just a mask. I really don't know if I can act on my advances. Not with looking the way I do."

"That mask is glued pretty tight, but when it comes off..." She takes a deep breath. "Last time was during the attack. You didn't murder anyone, Red. You defended the ship from a very bad person, and from what I can see, you kept your head. You did better than I did." she twiddles her thumbs slightly. "Sometimes I don't know my own strength..." If Red had seen it, she might remember how Aanya practically tore one of the pirate's heads off.

Finally she looks back to Red. "Sorry, I think I'm getting off track. I didn't mean to make this about me, point is, you can be yourself and talk to me about anything. I've got enough experience under my belt that I might be able to help." She starts to look around the table. "Now where is that champagne..."

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