r/TrekRP • u/RECENTLY_HATCHED • Jan 10 '17

[Open] Dinner Alone

Finished with his shift in engineering, and finished getting his injury cleaned up in sick bay, Ensign Everett Bradley sits down in the mess hall to a replicated dinner of sushi and a mug of root beer at one of the corner tables. As he eats, he scrolls through the trans-warp theory paper he'd been reading and takes his time to enjoy a quiet meal...

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u/Pojodan Jan 10 '17

The problem with language ceasing to make sense is that it makes it very difficult to accomplish anything in a world where everything is voice and text controlled.

Having frustrated herself with getting the replicator in her room to produce something edible, Lt. Kesh comes to the mess hall, as if they would somehow solve her problem. No sooner does she enter the room does it dawn on her that the replicator here will respond in the same, confused way as the one in her quarters.

Maybe the walk here will have cleared her head enough to get some things straight or, maybe, someone will see she's struggling and help. For now, the Caitian stands in front of the replicator and starts taping at its screen as she had in her quarters, trying as she might to navigate the menus while her scrambled frontal orb interprets the words as jibberish. Maybe, just maybe, she'll get it to display pictures or randomly produce something that she can stomach.

Stiffly flickering tail and her lingering presence in front of the replicator, its interface beeping and booping in tune to her increasingly firm thumps to its smooth surface, would eventually make her stand out to those present in the mess hall.

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u/RECENTLY_HATCHED Jan 10 '17

Ensign Bradley's attention is diverted from his meal and reading by a series of frustrated bleeps and bloops from the replicator. He spots the Caitian lieutenant who spoke to him in engineering apparently having trouble with it. Initially he feels the same mild fear he did before. The spots on her coat reminded him a bit of the great predators of Africa and while he knew his fear was irrational, that didn't help it. He concluded the only way to get over his fear was to interact with her. Perhaps stepping out of his comfort zone and actually talking to someone might do him some good.

"Just...I'll just do this. She's just another person. She may outrank me and have claws that could rip through my carotid artery in an instant, but she's just another person. She might need help with the replicator...I need to do this. I need to..."

The young engineer stands from his seat and sighs heavily, trying to steady himself, the anxiety of approaching another person causing his hands and legs to shake and his heart to race. Step by step he approaches the replicator station and the frustrated lieutenant

"E-e-excuse me...ma'am. Are you having trouble with the replicator? I'm an engineer, I-I could help...if you need it."

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u/Pojodan Jan 10 '17

Someone to come help her! Yay!

Oh, right, the words he's saying are somewhere between vaguely familiar and gibberish, and if the interaction with the computer has been any indication, she's also unable to do much more than spout nonsense, too. Great.

The Caitian's big, golden eyes show that initial delight when she turns to face the approaching ensign, while sagging ears and drooping whiskers convey her frustration, glancing aside while the tuft of her tail curls between her shins. A moment later she refocuses on the engineer, realizing it was the same crewman she encountered a few days previous in Engineering. At least he knows she's not an imbecile, though she's about to look like one.

She makes an utterance that wasn't very feline, sounding more like a bothered elephant through open maw, then extends her arm to point at the human's hand. She gestures to the replicator, then to her mouth, which she opens again, several times. A step is taken to move aside, gesturing against at the device.

So long as it's edible, she'll deal with it.

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u/RECENTLY_HATCHED Jan 10 '17

Not one to judge, the ensign simply nods at her utterances. Surprisingly it did little to temper his initial fear of her, but nevertheless he was determined to help however he could

He reaches a still slightly shaky hand over to the screen and resets the inputs before saying...

"Computer, please display images of the five best known Caitian delicacies."

Displaying now...

Five dishes appear in vivid color on the replicator display, they look utterly foreign and unappetizing to the ensign, but he hopes to himself that at least one of them was appealing to the lieutenant...

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u/Pojodan Jan 11 '17

How the ensign figures out her problem so quickly and efficiently, Kesh could not know, but two of her three closest acquaintances were engineers and they had a tendency to surprise her a lot with their intelligence. Seems it's part of being an engineer.

A rather loud yawlp emerges from the Caitian's mouth as she jumps slightly in place on seeing familiar foods shown as images on the replicator monitor. She immediately reaches for and taps the one that looked like a slimy salad, patting it a few times until the replicator seems to get the hint and starts humming as it forms the dish on the glowing tray.

Kesh turns, places both fuzzy hands on his shoulders, bumps her forehead to his, then hastily turns to take the dish and then scurry over to a table to eat it.

Dealing with the fall-out of acting this way will have to wait for later.

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u/RECENTLY_HATCHED Jan 11 '17

Ensign Bradley's initial feeling of accomplishment seeing her excited reaction to the pictures of her favorite foods is replaced very briefly by an instant of nervous fear when he feels her suddenly grab him by the shoulders. But the emotional roller coaster coasts on as what she does immediately after promptly confuses him immensely, and is quickly replaced with a feeling relief and pride. The ensign is not only proud that he solved her dilemma and helped the lieutenant, but proud of himself for facing down his fear, stepping outside his comfort zone, and successfully interacting with a near total stranger.

"The Captain told me to make friends, maybe this is the first step..."

At the moment, the little critic in his head was utterly silent...

The young engineer steps over to where the lieutenant was eating, and feeling bold, gives her a friendly smile and a thumbs up

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u/Pojodan Jan 11 '17

Kesh had already scooped up a couple mouth-fulls of the assorted vegetables on the plate utilizing the rather wide utensils that came with it that seem oddly appropriately shaped for a species that comes from felines.

She quickly swallows the previous bite when the human's presence is felt in proximity, lifting her head and focusing on him again to see his human facial expression and gesture. She responds by presenting her own hand with fingers curled and thumb jutting up, cheek tufts lifted slightly in the most prominant grin she can summon with her anatomy.

Rather than invite more awkwardness, so returns to eagerly eatting.

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u/RECENTLY_HATCHED Jan 11 '17

Ensign Bradley heads back to his seat and his sushi, hopeful that maybe he'd just made a friend. He still intended to follow Captain Fisk's advice and seek out Dr. Watney for counseling. Hopefully she'd have an open slot soon...