Food Network

Posted on Tue Sep 13th, 2016 @ 12:51am by Crerok

1,055 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 93 - Warrior VS Warrior
Location: SB 400 Promenade
Timeline: MD1 1620

ON:

~One duty shift down,~ thought Isen as he exited the turbolift.
It had certainly been a busy day, what with the rumours of the Fleet Admiral having been attacked, numerous starships having been dispatched at once, and his department head leaving on one of the said starships.
To say he'd been left with a foot up his behind, might have been the appropriate Human expression. It was a good thing the Lieutenant Commander was so thorough with the current repair schedules. All he'd had to do was follow it. So far.

If this was going to be the norm though, then he felt sorry for the security department, keeping all the coming and goings. Actually, with Marines aboard he felt sorry for them anyways. Starfleet was a peacekeeping and scientific organisation, and planet militaries like the old MACO's had been disbanded when the Federation formed. It was a shame the rest of the galaxy didn't know that in the last 50 years. Seemed conflicts were everywhere now.

Shaking his head. he went back to the present thoughts. Finding an off-duty place besides his quarters, the gym or the holodeck to go to.
Lieutenant Quan had been good enough to name a few places off the myriad found on the promenade. Of course Isen's interest peaked when he heard a Romulan restaurant was open. They'd been hard to find even before Hobus supernova.

It didn't take long for him to find it. Probably not one of the more popular places, judging by the lack of customers at first glance, but looks were deceiving. Romulans were good at that part sometimes.

A women's voice proceeded her arrive into Isen's view. "Jolan Tru," she said in Romulan. "Just yourself Lieutenant...?"

Isen beamed a smile and nodded. "Isen. And aye, just myself." He noticed a little grey in her hair. Probably older then he was by far.

She gestured towards an empty table for two, and they both walked over. Isen took notice of the layout of the place. Light browns and greys, mixed in what could be reminiscent of a Romulan soup house, once described by a trader. Even a few standing-only tables in one corner.
The green lettered menu display switched from one of the dialects, Rihannsu, to a few other languages. He didn't recognise half of the things decorating the place though. There was still so much he still didn't know about these people.

Sitting down, Isen took a moment to talk to the woman, while glancing at the scrolling menu. "Interesting. Is all of the food non-replicated Miss...?"

The older woman still wasn't smiling, but seemed to be giving Isen a deep look, he only got from starship councillors."Crerok. And yes, when possible." She paused, and Isen could almost swear he saw a scowl, but her face went back to a neutral stance. "You'll find I also have, shall we say, variations of our traditional foods. Might I interest you in anything to start?"

"Oh, right...um..." Isen felt on-the-spot not really knowing what he was looking at. "Well, I've only had three dishes before. So, I'll start from there eh. How about the aafvun'in'hhui?"

The smug look on Creroks face momentarily melted into a smile. "Of course."

It was only a few minutes when she returned with a clear bowl and set it down on the table, seemingly looking at isen's reaction.

Luckily, the Lieutenant had experience with this, and picked up the bowl with his hands and sipped from it, like the Earth Japanese did. He rose a little in his seat. "Strewth! This is better than I remember."

Crerok nodded in approval. "Not many members of Starfleet know of mollusk soup, let alone order it as is. Will that be all for now?"

Taking another but larger gulp of the soup, he set the bowl back down. "Actually, I've got a personal question if you don't mind?"

The smug look returned to the Romulan. "Go ahead."

Licking his lips Isen looked around for a moment. "I've just been recently assigned to this station, so I reckon you could say I'm looking get my um, what do Humans say, get my foot in the door, with some people around here. It's been a while though since I was anywhere close to the old Romulan borders, and I've lost touch with old contacts in..."
He caught himself. He had no idea about any of this Romulans past history, but the fact she was at a Federation starbase could mean something. Bad or good though remained to be seen.
He continued anyways. "Well, I was rather curious, if you happen to know any free traders and all who might be able to pass along inquiries that official channels can't get to?" Isen held up his hands for a moment. "Nothing dodgy. But they might have been refugees back in '87. Not very Pact friendly, mind you."

Crerok still stood in-place. "For a moment, I thought you were going to ask for Romulan Ale shipments." Another smile crept on her face, and faded again. "I believe I can ask some of the merchants about this. However, I'll need names and as much detail about what they did before the nova."
She leaned in a little. "Tell me Lieutenant, what is it you do here?"

Isen recognised that posture. Traders looking for something. He found no harm in it. "Assistant Chief Engineer. Why?"

The Romulan stood straight again. "I could always use help with some of my cooking equipment, and it's maintenance. Temperamental, when attempting to mix Romulan and Federation technology. And, low on any of your technicians priorities, I might add."

Isen took another gulp of the soup. "Well, if it helps keep you operating, I can come in on my off-duty hours once a week. Should be no trouble, unless it gets nutter around here, or I find myself on some away mission."

"Agreed then," said Crerok. "I'll send a message to your quarters later. For now..." She motioned to the table. "..enjoy your food." She turned around and left.

That had gone better then Isen hoped. He just he hadn't put his foot in his mouth, rather than in the door.
He wondered what the foot fascination was with those Human expressions. Not knowing, he went back to the bowl in silence.

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