An Evening Meal

Posted on Fri Oct 20th, 2023 @ 4:45pm by Lieutenant Commander Annalise Faulkner & Lieutenant Marikit "Kit" Urso & Lieutenant Asher Stagg & Lieutenant JG Orion Wolff & Lieutenant JG Jonathan Forrest
Edited on on Fri Oct 20th, 2023 @ 5:04pm

Mission: S1 Episode 6: Joy and Ashes
Location: Officer's Mess; Gladius
Timeline: Date 2371-08-31 at 1830
6133 words - 12.3 OF Standard Post Measure

The lights were dim in the Officer’s Mess. They’d made the decision long ago to forgo the bright aesthetic of a fully-functioning starship for a more practical energy-saving measure. The blue glow of an upright console produced a glow on the faces of the few officers already gathered in there. Life in the Delta Quadrant had been a tale of battle, death, and uncertainty. Over the past four months, they had lost 14 of their crew, a third of their numbers, and the others were typically split between living like it was their last day and preparing to get home at any point.

The door to the Officer’s Mess slid open slowly, another symptom of the low power mode they were using, and a handsome man in his mid thirties entered. Since they’d arrived in the Delta Quadrant, Lieutenant Asher Stagg had allowed his beard to grow out a bit and had even managed to find a crewman who could give him his newest tattoo. He had a harsh face; one that signaled strength, competence, and a disagreeable nature, and the dark gray muscle-shirt he was wearing showed his strength and power. He moved toward the counter with energy and looked across at the crewman who was on rotation to cook food on that particular day.

“Give me whatever slop you’ve whipped up, Joll.” he said to the Bolian man standing over the pot.

“Oh, I used much less seasonings, Lieutenant. Much much less. I bet even your next complaint will be that it's far too bland.”

“Glad you believe in yourself.” Asher said without a smile as a spoonful of thick orange soup was laddled into a metal bowl. Ash put his hand up to stop the Bolian from putting another in. “Let’s just start with that, sparky. I’m not committing to two spoonfuls.”

He moved to a table by one of the three forward-facing windows and sat down, not bothering with any of the officers he saw gathered there. He was social, but he didn’t force social interactions and would generally strike out on his own and leave the rest up to others.

For around five minutes, he was left alone in the relative quiet of the Officer’s Mess. There was a lingering eeriness in the atmosphere and despite the fact that the Gladius was - for the first time in a long time - in good shape, their past conflicts and the ghosts of their fourteen lost crewmen still cast a pallor on the entirety of the ship. Their journey had been a difficult one, but the past months since the death of Captain Mendoza had brought stability back to the ship and crew. No longer did they behave like petty, conquering pirates taking unnecessary risks in the name of glory. No, now they were focused on preservation and making the journey home.

Quite a journey it would be on a ship of this size with so few people.

The door opened again, and immediately Asher’s ears were assaulted by Joll’s voice interrupting the relative quiet with excited exclamation. “Ohh! Oh, Captain!”

He immediately ladled several scoops of the food he had made into a bowl and rushed it toward the beautiful blonde woman who had just walked in. “Here you are, Captain. I promise it is better than last time. Guaranteed! I hope you are well.”

Annalise certainly did not show the exasperation she was feeling at being assaulted immediately on walking into the room. Instead, she put on a pleasant smile and took the offered bowl. “Thank you, Joll.”

“You’re welcome, you’re welcome!” The Bolian grinned widely, lingered just long enough that he effectively trapped the woman from getting into the room, then seemed to realize what he had done and awkwardly retreated.

She was still in uniform as she was more or less whenever she left her quarters. Her long legs were put on display as were her arms as she and most of the crew had opted for the sleeveless variant of the uniform - the Gladius was kept slightly warmer than average everywhere but in the crew quarters. It helped conserve power but still offered respite at the end of the day. Her crystal blue eyes moved down to the stew in her hand and she sighed internally. This was not going to be good, but it was food and that was the important thing.

As she looked up, she brushed a few stray strands of her blonde hair back behind her ear and started to move to one of the vacant tables, but when she caught sight of Stagg sitting alone, she adjusted and moved to his table.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Mind? I’m practically begging you to.” he said in a joking tone, though his face hardly communicated anything beyond the slightest amusement. He watched his bowl as Annalise sat down next to him, contemplating his next move. He sighed deeply. “I’ve been looking into this bowl of Joll Surprise and…well, let's say I’ve faced the Cardies in battle…I’ve faced the Klingons hand-to-hand. But this scares the fuck out of me, Annie.”

“What is it they used to say? ‘Close your eyes and think of England’?” She settled into the seat and crossed her legs, pulling her bowl closer but also pointedly not looking at it, instead looking at Asher.

“I’ve never been to England.” he said, matter-of-factly, though a smile was in his tone. He plunged his spoon into his bowl with gusto and looked up at her. “Well, on the count of three then; come on…”

“You know, I’m the captain. You should be taking the hit for me.” Annalise pointed out playfully, a smile tugging at her lips. Nevertheless, she dunked her own spoon into the bowl, gave it a few stirs, and then pulled it up. “One…”

“I’m not going to have you watch ralf down all this slop by myself.” he said, studying her gestures, prepared to move with her. “Two…”

“You’ll do as I say and like it.” She teased and brought the spoon up to her lips. “Three…”

She opened her mouth and paused just long enough to make sure he actually was going to eat it with her, her brows raised and her eyes on him. When he did, so did she, and gods did she regret it.

“MMEEEERRRRR!!!” came the half rage, half retching sound from Asher’s mouth. He stood up, his cheeks puffed out and his swarthy face starting to redden. His first tightened up and his eyes darted to the Bolian behind the counter. “MMMMEEEERRRRR!!!”

Annalise had her hand over her mouth but she stood too, using her other hand and holding it up between her and Asher to get him to stop, and then pointing down with a finger to bid him to take a seat again all while she worked to swallow and keep down the spoonful of stew she had taken.

Grunting, he sat back down in the chair. He forced the bite down and shook his head.

“I’m going to kill that fat blue fucker, I swear.” He said with a shake of his head. Tasted like he ate a spicy meal and threw it back up into the pot.”

Once Annalise was sure the bite she had taken wasn’t going to come back up, she unceremoniously grabbed up both bowls and walked them back up to Joll who was now looking rather alarmed. She dumped them back into the Bolian man’s pot, then went around and collected the rest of the still mostly full bowls of the rest in the room much to their confusion but they also looked incredibly relieved.

“C-Captain i-is there something w-wr-” The Bolian began to stutter out but stopped when Annalise raised her hand and with the other grabbed the lid to the pot.

“Crewman, while I appreciate your efforts in this department, Bolian food is simply inedible to Terrans. With that in mind,” she picked up the entire pot of stew from over the counter and then handed it to the confused Bolian, “you will take this and it will be your rations for the next few weeks. I’m sure you’ll be able to… spice it up for yourself. Now, please leave.”

Joll, blinking stupidly, waddled out of the mess while carrying the pot with him. Annalise sighed after him and went back behind the counter herself, opening the storage unit and looking at what was immediately available to her.

“Seems I missed whatever culinary disaster Crewman Joll managed to inflict upon this time,” The cultured, refined voice of the ship's Chief Science officer cut through the gentle din of the ships engines and power conduits. Orion Wolff gave Annalise that always charming smile of his, his sandy hair still neat and tidy without a stray lock out of place, looking ever the noble even despite their current circumstances. His deep blue eyes were bright even with the hardships they had suffered at the incompetent hands of Captain Mendoza and his ill-conceived quest for glory and honor of the Empire, commendable goals but wholly irrational and wasteful given the circumstances they found themselves in.

He was wearing the sleeveless standard uniform, he filled it out quite well, despite not being quite as muscular as Asher, it was obvious that he took care of himself, though he didn’t seem to peacock like some others might, instead carrying himself with a quiet confidence in his stride. He watched their Captain as she searched for something to eat, a situation that was becoming a concern with their dwindling supplies and limited replicator use.

Another reason that he was here as he laid out a sealed package on the counter, while he held a couple of more in his hand. “I come bearing gifts, fruits of my labors in the Science department, I believe I have found a sustainable method of supplementing our stockpiles, though with our situation being what it is, I would need final approval from you, Captain.”


“I hope that’s a big pack of steaks, Orion. Or else you’ve already lost us.” Asher said as he followed Annalise behind the counter. He stepped in front of her, picking up the package from the counter and analyzing the paper himself. “Chain of command still applies, buddy. That means you bring your mysterious brown packages to me first.”

The statement was delivered with total confidence and calm and no sign of irritation was on his features. He himself had stuck his middle finger up to the rules enough that it felt strange enforcing this one, but he was determined to do his job, at least out here in the middle of nowhere.

“Of course, Lieutenant,” Orion didn’t show any hint of irritation or the like as he looked to the other man and laid out another package for Annalise, keeping one back for himself.. “They aren’t steaks but I was able to synthesize nutrient rich protein wafers that at least in this version should taste like chicken and gravy instead of the bland cardboard from the ration packs.”

“I’ve sampled them in the lab and they are edible.”

Annalise looked up from where she was crouching to see Asher picking up the package and Orion holding another. For a moment, she just looked at them; they were both quite handsome and she enjoyed having something nice to look at. Her mind, however, wasn’t there. She set back to her task and began pulling ingredients out of the storage unit.

“Asher if you don’t vacate this area, you’re getting enlisted to help.” She warned.

“That’s what I’m here for. I tasted the last meal you made, and….let’s just say even the greats have Sous Chefs.” He said, and then turned his gaze back to Orion. “Tastes good, right? I’ve had some trauma recently when it comes to eating other peoples’ cooking.”

“It tastes like damp cardboard, Asher.” Orion deadpanned while holding the other mans gaze. “I wouldn’t have brought it down if I didn’t think it wasn’t good and unlike Joll, I know to make sure to sample the flavors of my meal.”

Annalise rolled her eyes at Asher’s comment about her cooking but also didn’t rise to the bait. She knew she could cook and did it well enough. It was a part of her household when she was growing up - her father was a hard working owner of a small but very successful textile business. The fabrics they had provided were luxurious and also all made by traditional handicraft. Her father was quite dismissive of most technology except for what was truly necessary in day to day life and that extended to replicators. Naturally this meant that dinner was cooked nearly every evening at home and Annalise’s mother had taught her and her twin sister from an early age how to cook; it lessened the load on her and gave her daughters a skill that many men could come to appreciate and made them feel special when their wife had a hot meal ready after a long day.

As she began to pull out ingredients, she picked up a bag of small mozzarella cheese balls and tossed them up to Stagg. “Well then, cut those up into small bits and put them in a bowl.”

Asher complied without a word, catching the bag she tossed him and pulling out the mozzarella balls inside. He grabbed an appropriately sized knife and began to chop them with relatively practiced hands. He hadn’t cooked very much in his life, but had an adventurous palate and liked to make food on occasion himself. Probably not as skilled as Annalise, but back home he definitely would know his way around a grill.

Continuing to move around the kitchen, she pulled up a large pot which she set into the sink area and activated the water to fill it. While that was happening, she looked at Orion. “Thank you for figuring that out. We’ll see how they taste, I imagine, but at least you made an effort. Though why doesn’t anyone ever try to make something sweet?”

“I could prattle on about molecular biology and the science of taste, but I’ll spare you both the long answer.” He smirked a little as he saw Asher’s eyes glazing over and gave Annalise a warm, charming smile he hadn’t had much time to use as of late. He watched her moving around the kitchen area with the same ease that she might have piloted the Gladius or took command after the idiot Mendoza had died of the universe finally being unable to stand his abject idiocy. He was thankful they still had a view worth admiring. “I'm still coding the flavors for wild berries, but something sweet is coming, but like cooking science cannot, and should not, be rushed."

“Though I promise you that once I have everything ready, you’ll be the first to know.”

“Using replicator rations for chocolate is normally a waste, and we haven’t kicked enough Vidiian or Kazon ass to be able to splurge.” Asher said as he scrapped the cut cheese into the bowl and slid it toward Annalise.

“Chocolate is never a waste, Asher.” Annalise pointed out in mock horror as she took the bowl and put it to the side. She then handed him a bundle of basil. “I need you to take off all of the leaves on this.” She glanced to Orion. “If you want to be useful, help him do that.”

She didn’t wait for an answer from either and turned to pull out chicken breasts which she began to season and set up a pan to cook them in. Obviously she had a goal in mind, and just like the way she worked, she was quite focused on it.

Orion watched Annalise momentarily, amused at how she threw out orders in the kitchen as quickly as she did on the bridge. However, he found it doubly amusing given that she ordered the son of a High Lord of Terra to complete what many in the nobility would consider ‘servant’s work’ by preparing a meal. However, he was a bit different since he immensely enjoyed cooking. It was a science all its own and had been one of his few personal hobbies that he’d developed without his father immediately crushing and forcing him to forget it as being wasteful.

He was behind the counter again before taking the bundle of basil, splitting it between him and Asher as he started his task. “Chocolate is never a waste, there are many medically proven benefits to consuming it, though as in all good things, it should be enjoyed in moderation, and if teaching a Vidiian or Kazon they require the guiding hand of a Terran, isn’t something worth celebrating, I don’t know what is.”

“I’m more of a beef jerky man, myself.” Asher said, taking the pile he was given and getting to work on it. Beyond the counter, the other hungry officers inside the mess were intrigued to see the three senior staff members preparing the food and conversations began to flow between them on the topic. It was clear that many of the formalities which were present in the Alpha Quadrant or on a larger ship were slipping around there. They had been through too much; they were too few. More often than not, first names were slipping out even on the bridge. Asher liked it, but he knew some others wouldn’t. “And I use quite a lot of my replicator allotment on that delicious treat.”

“Well there’s no real accounting for taste.” Annalise quipped with good humor, adding olive oil to the pan and the seasoned chicken soon after. “Come now, gents, pluck faster. Impress me with those dexterous fingers.”

Once again, Annalise's comments drew a coy smirk from Orion as he glanced at her. Though the norms on the ship had slipped for many, there was still a line or two that deeply ingrained decorum and severe physical reprimands from an etiquette teacher wouldn't allow to crumble even under these unusual circumstances. His pace did increase to finish with his bundle of basil, turning to help Asher with what he still had. "I suppose jerky is an acceptable treat for celebration, though I feel it's better supplementing the atrociously awful rations packs that meet the nutritional requirements of Terrans in the field, I think they made them taste that way so that we'd all end up even angrier at the enemy for us having to endure that."

“And what do you have in mind for tonight's meal, Anna?”

“Tomato pesto chicken pasta. Quick, easy and tastes good.” Annalise replied while cooking the chicken in batches. With a name like Annalise, she was used to a plethora of nicknames used on her, though she had always found it fitting that Stagg used the more playful, peasant leaning Annie to Wolff’s more noble Anna. “If anyone has any complaints about that, Crewman Joll will be happy to share his stew again.”

“I’m surprised the Crewman’s cooking hasn’t killed someone yet, given some of the differences between Terran and Bolian biology,” Orion replied and sounded like he was about to start instructing a class about said differences, though thankfully seemed to let the anatomy lesson drop as he moved over to a console as he began to type away before they would hear the muted sound of a transporter beam.

When he turned around, he was holding a dark glass bottle with a dark blue wax seal at the top and a label that marked it as a Chianti Riserva. He began looking for something to open the bottle with as he looked at his companions. "Since we are going to eat such a fine meal made by our imminently talented Captain, I thought the occasion might warrant something extra."

He wafted the cork under his nose and smiled at the scent, a subtle oaky aroma mixed with hints of vanilla as a warm smile formed before he moved to find three glasses. "Have either of you had the pleasure of tasting a Chianti Riserva?"

Jonathan Forrest, the ship’s Chief Helmsman, had stayed past his shift because his replacement had fallen ill, more than likely a hangover, he suspected. So, he was late getting to the get together.

“That smells delicious,” he said over the rumbling of his stomach as he stepped into the room.

“Seems we both lucked out missing Crewman Joll latest culinary attempt,” Orion chuckled as he looked to Jonathan as he seemed to join their little party. “Though it seems you’re a bit late coming off your shift Jonathan, something wrong at the helm?” He questioned while pouring the four of them a glass of Chianti.

Jonathan took the offered glass and took a long sip before replying. “The ship is running fine, no issues there, but Mattews was late. Again. Claims he was sick, but he was acting like he was recovering from a hangover. I’m seriously considering putting him on report and discipling his ass.”

Annalise started to say something but was able to stop herself; it was no longer her place to manage the flight control department - not like that. It would become her place if it was an ongoing issue of course, but she couldn’t help that kneejerk feeling of it was her department and her responsibility. It wasn’t anymore. She finished the chicken and put it off to the side, covering it to keep it warm, then dropped the pasta into the now boiling water.

“Glad to see you here, Jon.” She offered up genuinely and poured the cherry tomatoes into the pan she had used for the chicken. “You gents can all go and sit down, not really much else you can do for me for the rest of this. Thank you for the help.”

“Sure, we can go over to the table with Orion’s bottle of thousand-crown royal fart wine and we’ll catch you when you’re done.”Asher said with a grin as he lifted the drink to his lips and sipped it slowly. He was low on sophistication, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy what was in front of him, no matter where it came from or how much it cost. As the three men started off for the table where Asher and Annalise had just been sitting, he cocked his head to Jonathan.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less of you, Asher.” Orion sighed and shook his head at what many of the nobility back on Earth would have certainly considered boorish behavior. Though in their current circumstances, refinement wasn’t always the best answer and the other man had proven himself useful on many occasions during the ships misadventures.

“This is the second time this week Matthew’s has hit the clock behind schedule, right?” he asked. He sat down in the seat closest to the window and leaned back in the chair. “You can tell him if he doesn’t get his shit together and start coming in on time, I’m going to ring his bell and throw him in the fucking agonizer booth.”

“Right, second time this week and third time this month. I’ll be sure to paint him a very clear picture of what his future holds if he continues to fuck up.”

“I’ll take pleasure in escorting him there myself the next time it happens.” He took a sip of his drink and leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes. He opened them less than a minute later. “I think I’m going to go work out after we eat. Anyone want to join me?”

“I don’t know, Johnny. Wouldn’t want to embarrass you.” Asher said, throwing his broad shoulders back onto the chair on which he was sitting. A half smile sat on his face.

Orion smirked a little at Asher's not-so-subtle display and good-natured attempt at comradery, while the traditional barriers between the ranks had mostly fallen apart due to their current circumstances, it still wouldn't change a Terran's ego and need for dominance. There always had to be a top dog. Unfortunately, Asher was constantly barking the loudest.

They weren't in a normal situation as he sipped his wine, relaxing back with that casual ease he carried himself with even during these trying times. "If you get any broader, Asher, we'll have to start expanding doorways or watch you shuffle through them sideways."

The door to the mess opened again and this time it was a woman who walked through. She was wearing jeans and an old graphic shirt with some new rock band logo that hung off her shoulders and exposed the black straps of her bra. Marikit “Kit” Urso had little time to try and play above her station and try to be ladylike. That wasn’t for her and never would be; that’s why she was an engineer. She was perfectly happy that way. When her brown eyes fell on the three men at the table, they lit up and her full lips opened and turned up in a grin. She spoke with a voice that had a slight natural rasp.

“Oh did I make it in time for the dick measuring contest?”

She walked over to the table with an easy swing in her barely there hips. She wasn’t very blessed in the figure department, but she had a cute face and was pleasing enough. “Alright, gentlemen, let’s whip them out.” She opened her arms as if in invitation.

“If any of you do that, I’m going to come over there, chop them off, and throw them in the blender.” Annalise spoke up from the kitchen and then turned on said blender to both drive home the point and mix up the pesto.

"I'll die a happy man if I can go to the grave never having seen Asher's cock." Orion replied as he glanced at Marikit as she stood beside the table. Was she a great beauty that men would kill for? Scheme grand schemes to possess as their own? No, she wasn't. She was pretty, but not remarkably so. She’d have likely been house staff back on Earth and treated as a disposable pawn when someone needed to be sacrificed.

Even the lowliest of noble houses would likely have been quite horrified if the scion of their line brought her home as his wife or even a potential match, though he knew plenty of noblemen who would have pounced on her merely for the outrage and scandal it would cause. "Besides, we must keep a little decorum where we eat, even in our present situation."

“I would but, Captain’s Orders.” Asher said with a laugh, smacking his thigh gently. “Though they say bigger isn’t always better, don’t they.”

The XO and security officer turned his naturally narrowed and dangerous gaze to the Chief Engineer. He would be lying if he said it was the first time he had set his eyes on her, but he had been trying to be good for once in his career. He had imagined her in his bed wearing a pair of his oversized shirts more than once.

“You strike me as the sort of girl who might prescribe to that generous line of thinking, Kit. Motion of the ocean and all that.”

“Me? No. Definitely a size queen. Like the ones that look like they’ll break me in half.” She flashed a pearly grin and gestured to her petite body before she took a seat. “Don’t worry, Ash, I’m sure you’ll find someone who appreciates your pencil dick someday.”

Asher chuckled, throwing his head back in a totally comfortable gesture. Shaking his head, he looked over at an Ensign sitting at the next table.

“I was asking for a friend, actually. But I appreciate your optimistic attitude…..I mean my ‘friend’ appreciates your optimistic attitude.” He looked back at her again as his nostrils started to fill with the smell of Annalise’s cooking. “How’s things in engineering, grease monkey?”

“Significantly less greasy now that Wolffy here hasn’t visited for a while and gotten his hair gel all over my consoles.” Kit smirked and sat back, placing her hands behind her head while she leaned her chair on its back two legs.

“Uncultured barbarians, and here I thought Terrans surrounded me.” The Science chief made an exasperated sound while shaking his head. He paused momentarily to sip his wine before smirking at their chief engineer. “Hair gel isn’t greasy. It either hardens in contact with the hair or becomes tacky on a surface like a console; you would be thinking of an inferior pomade, or perhaps the culprit sits right beside you, given your penchant for slinging around a grease gun like you are laying down sector covering fire against a Klingon horde.”

“But how useful has slinging weapons been for us?” Asher asked.. “Can’t solve every problem with a beaker kit, can we? And who cares if I never learned to read?”

“Alright, alright. Enough.” Annalise called from the kitchen. “Come and get your food all of you. I’m not a waiter.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” Kit replied and her chair hit the deck with a thump. She was up in an instant and walked over to the counter where Annalise was pulling out helpings of the pasta and putting them in bowls for the officers in the mess. “Oh shit this looks good.”

Kit took her bowl and returned to the table to immediately dig in. She wasn’t really one for niceties.

Orion followed after returning with a bowl of his own, though he was bit more focused on the niceties; Making sure everyone had a fresh glass of wine, napkin in lap, and making sure to wait for Annalise since it would have been impolite as he looked to Asher addressed his previous comment.

“I’ll admit that our current predicament certainly showed the shortcomings of an overaggressive posture; I blame that on the shortsightedness of our previous captain; as for solving problems with beaker kits, I’d argue that some of the most useful things we’ve discovered have been from the Vidiians and their sciences, at least when we’ve been able to salvage their databases, while I’ve only been able to examine fragments of it, their research in the field of molecular biology appears to be quite extensive and if I could get my hands on a fully intact computer core…well let's just say the results would be astounding.”

“I agree that Mendoza was a Grade-A asshole and he did a shitty job as Captain.” Asher said after returning to the table with his own bowl and deciding to wait with Orion. Even an old dog could do a new trick every now and then. He looked at Kit and only grinned, though his look lingered a second or two longer than what would be normal. “But cracking open alien technologies might land us in a situation even worse than the one we find ourselves in. After all, a phaser rile didn’t get us out here in the first place.”

“No, it didn’t, and I have been studying the anomaly that pulled us into this part of the galaxy,” Orion glanced out the window to the rust-orange expanse of a nebula floating in space, the surface illuminated by streaks of energy discharges. He momentarily pondered the phenomena before turning his attention back to Asher. “The wave was exceedingly powerful; it moved beyond the realm of what we believe to be capable regarding warp travel, though we have no way to recreate it given that the necessary power is beyond our current technology; perhaps if we had a Dyson sphere to draw from we could attempt to recreate the wave.”

“Though think of what we could achieve with a technology like that; if we could harness its potential, we could make whole fleets disappear, scattered to the winds like so much chaff, and I’m sure that if it was tweaked, any ships we targeted could also be destroyed outright.” Orion smiled, it was subtle, but anyone could see the evil intent, and some might say glee, behind it as he looked at Asher. “That is the power we could attain with scientific inquiry, and if we go in the opposite direction, we have some of the most devastating weapons potentials at our disposal in the forms of bacteria and viruses,”

“The Vidiian zombies, for instance, the disease they are infected with, shares some similarities with leprosy from Earth, both virulent and incapacitating diseases, though the Vidiians zombies seem to have lost their higher brain functions, reducing them to little more than feral attack dogs.”


Kit reached over and poked at Orion’s shoulder. “Where’s the switch to make the science stop?”

“Yes, yes not everyone shares my enthusiasm for it, though I didn’t expect the boos to come from someone who works with science of her own.” He chuckled and shook his head as he looked at the Engineer.

“I think she just didn’t mean to sign up for your lecture series, Ri.” Asher said with a smirk. Their interactions were always good-natured and honest. If Asher was anything at all, it was direct.

Annalise had been listening to and half watching the exchange between her senior officers while she finished handing out the meals to the rest. It was a blessing that they all got along together - they had their spats and rows of course, but in the end they could all sit down at the end of the day not hating each other. Finally she grabbed her own bowl of food and headed over to the table to take a seat next to Kit. She didn’t fail to take notice both Orion and Asher had waited to start eating and Kit… well, that was just Kit.

“Time and place for everything there, Wolffy. Including science.” Kit declared while waving her fork accusingly at Orion.

Jonathan had been amused by the whole dick measuring discussion, but really hadn’t seen a need to contribute much. Not because he was shy, far from it. Nor was it because he felt inadequate in that regard, he considered himself to be well proportioned and equipped when it came to such things. He really had no desire for another guy to see his dick, that just wasn’t who he was. Besides he knew it was just banter.

In addition he was a junior officer, a junior officer who very much wanted not only to be a senior officer but to command his own ship. He’d been an Imperial brat for all of his life and knew the importance of a good reputation. For the moment that meant he was reserved, or at least he was maintaining the appearance of being reserved.

He swallowed the rest of his drink before going and taking a bowl of food and returning to the table to start eating.

“Grub is pretty good, Cap. Don’t think I’ll have to run for the toilet this time.” Asher said, looking at Annalise.

Orion quirked a brow at Asher’s toilet comment and he wondered if they’d gotten a little too comfortable with each other. Then again Crewman Joll’s cooking was a unique culinary experience. “A truly delicious meal Anna, thank you for cooking and I hope you are enjoying the wine.”

“I’ve never had a higher compliment, Ash.” Annalise replied dryly though there was a slight tug of a smirk on her lips that turned into an actual smile which she gave to Orion for his compliment. While she knew these interactions weren’t generally appropriate - especially for her as a commanding officer - Annalise knew that their situation was very different. They were twenty-odd people thousands of lightyears from home on their small ship. This family was all that they had and lines would inevitably be blurred. She just hoped she could keep the much needed balance between authority and familiarity.


END