Till We Meet Again

Posted on Sun Sep 19th, 2021 @ 4:06pm by Ensign Skylar Southgate & Lieutenant Mila Lynn & Sublieutenant Renee Hernandez

1,720 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Chapter V: The Calm Before The Storm
Location: Mess Hall, Ourainavassa
Timeline: 238702.22

Mila smiled as she led Skylar into the mess hall. It had only been a few hours since she had sat here with Perez and Ash, and here she was, bringing another new face in. It was the lull between the time where the late eaters took lunch, and the early eaters took dinner, so the mess hall was almost entirely deserted. A few technicians were sat at a table in the corner, drinking coffee and playing cards. Mila watched them for a moment, as one of the four men dealt the cards to the other three. Then, they seemed to be haggling over something, until one player gave a triumphant yell and showed the cards in his hand to the other players. "Grand Ouvert!", Mila thought she heard him shout, to which the other players reacted with groans.

Finally, she shrugged, and turned her attention back to her companion. "Well then, welcome to the mess hall, or Chez Renee as some people have started calling it. There's replicators in the back, but everyone just uses those for drinks. If you're here, you're not going to want replicated food. You'll want the real thing."

She smiled at the woman who stood at the bar, seemingly also watching the card game unfold. "Renee over there is the one in charge here. She can let you know what's on the menu, if you're hungry."

Skylar looked around the mess hall with interest before heading over to the bar. Although it was, initially, going to be her treat, it looked like Skylar had managed to get herself a free meal. Although Skylar didn't have to eat, she and the other synths chose to for social reasons more than anything else. After reaching the bar, Skylar placed her clasped hands on the counter.

"What's on the menu today, please?" Skylar asked.

"Well, I have a slew of Japanese recipes from Earth that Perez shared with me that I haven't tried yet. And we also have some stew..." Renee smiled.

Mila chuckled. "Yeah, I recommend staying away from the stew. The Japanese stuff is quite good, though."

Renee shook her head, "I'm going to have to sneak some stew into your food if you keep stopping me from serving it..."

Skylar was almost repulsed by the suggestion of stew, failing to hide her dislike of the dish. While her siblings and some of the children at the synth colony enjoyed stew, Skylar was one of a few colony members who couldn't stand it. The one and only time the scientist had ever tried it, she'd found it incredibly bland, sloppy and greasy. Her attempts to pretend to like it failed to convince her siblings.

"Yeah, after trying it before I think I'll pass on the stew. I'll have some yakitori, please" Skylar requested.

Renee smiled, "A wise choice. I'll be right back with your food. How about you Mila?"

Mila shrugged. "Not really hungry, to be honest. Just some miso ramen will do fine, thanks. And I'll take some green tea with lemon to go with it." She turned to Skylar. "You did make an excellent choice. These are all traditional Japanese recipes that had been handed down through generations that one of our newer crewmates gave to Renee, since they are not a very good cook themselves. You'll enjoy it."

"I'm sure I will. Could you do me a cup of breakfast tea as well, please?" Skylar asked, turning away from Mila and giving her drinks order to Renee.

Mila smiled. "Right, then. Shall we find a table, or just take a seat at the bar?"

"I've already got my eye on that table over there" Skylar said, with a nod to Renee before heading over to the table which she'd selected. Ensuring she took the seat facing the door, Skylar sat herself down and took another look around at her surroundings. Like her sister Taryn, Skylar liked to know what was going on and who was coming and going.

"This mess hall seems nice" Skylar commented.

Mila nodded. "Yeah, I've seen far worse. I think it's a combination of things. Renee makes this place feel less like a mess hall and more like a friendly diner, and the general atmosphere on the ship is pretty familiar, more like a small cruise than a big, anonymous military vessel, you know? This place has become home."

"It's always good when you feel you've found somewhere you can call home. Where we live is the same, it took us a while to put our own mark on the place, but we got there in the end. If I'm honest, I'm looking forward to getting back there after the past few days. I don't mind replicator food too much, but it's never as good as what our chef puts together for us" Skylar replied, glancing over to the bar before looking back at Mila again.

Renee returned with their food and smiled, "I'm glad this has become a home for you. Quite frankly, I never would have ever imagined that home would be an advanced Romulan Warbird..." and seeing Ash again....

"Unexpected maybe, but who knows where their place in the universe is. I think we all can just be glad to say we have found a place to call home, really." Mila took her ramen and a pair of chopsticks and tried it. "Oh, this is brilliant. One of Perez' family recipes?"

"Yes it is. I kept true to the recipe, but I'm sure over time I may add my own flair to it," Renee said proudly. "This is a good life. I enjoy talking to people, cooking, making sure my customers leave here better than they were when they walked in."

Aware that the chef who'd just cooked her food was watching, Skylar took a bite of her yakitori, taking a few moments to savour the taste before nodding her approval.

"This is good, very good. If you could give me the recipe I'm sure I could make it worth your while" Skylar said, before taking another bite.

Mila chuckled. "I'm not sure Perez would appreciate Renee selling their family recipes on without prior consultation," she said, continuing to enjoy her soup. "So, Skylar, you mention you work a lot with your brother. So you go around selling custom gadgets, or what is it you do?"

Skylar nodded. "That's where the work seems to be at the moment"

"I'm glad you enjoy it. And once I come into possession of recipes, I'm not sharing them.... sorry," Renee said. "Custom gadgets?"

"Like I said, I can make it worth your while" Skylar said, a serious expression on her face.

Renee smiled and then met Skylar with an equally serious face, "No."

"Renee already said, she's not selling. You'll have to ask Perez. They're the source of the recipes, after all." Mila pushed the now empty bowl of ramen away. "Thanks, Renee, this was excellent."

"You're welcome, Mila. And Skylar if you want more of the food, you can always come back for seconds," Renee grinned.

"Good point," Mila added, before pulling out a PADD from her inside pocket. "Or I could ask Perez for you, if you really want to insist."

"That won't be necessary, Mila. Neither will the seconds" Skylar said, before resuming her meal.

Renee looked over at Mila, "Oh, you're getting stew hidden in your food forever now..."

Mila shrugged. "Hey, if you want to get more closely acquainted with Lucy, do what you want. Make sure to ask Ash how that's ended for the last few people who did."

Renee raised an eyebrow, "You are hanging out with Ash too much...."

As she finished her meal and pushed the plate away, Skylar's expression changed to one of bemusement. She didn't really have anything to add to the conversation, so chose to stay quiet and contemplate. Sure, the food she'd just eaten was nice, but Skylar was sure Lennon could provide her with her own version of yakitori instead.

"So, Skylar," Mila said, deciding to change the subject. "Are you going to be sticking around then, or will you be heading off soon?"

"You know how it is, places to go people to see. I'll be off once you've got your scanners" Skylar responded.

"That's a shame," Mila replied. "We could certainly use someone of your skill on this crew."

Skylar smiled. She liked feeling valued, and while she appreciated the sentiment, this particular opportunity wasn't really up her street. Then there was the fact Daisy had rejoined the crew, so that further reinforced the synth's decision not to join the crew as well, even temporarily.

"Thanks, but it's not really my thing. I'm sure your boss will find someone as good as, or better, than me though" Skylar responded, finishing off her cup of tea.

"You say that, but you are definitely the best tinkerer I've come across so far." Mila shrugged. "Well, if it's not for you, we can't force you to stay. But I am sure you will always be welcome should you change your mind."

"I'm a scientist Mila, my brother does all the tinkering" Skylar commented, making preparations to depart.

"You want any food for your trip? I can pack you up something," Renee offered.

Skylar smiled. "Thank you, that would be lovely. I guess I'd better have some more of those yakitori, for two if you don't mind please. My brother has eyes bigger than his belly"

"Of course. I'll even pack him some stew to go with it," Renee smirked.

Mila chuckled. "Sounds like my own brother. Well, don't hesitate to get in touch if you're ever in the area. Or if you need some help from aliving calculator."

"Oh we'll meet again at some point I'm sure, my brother and I are usually here every month to six weeks. Most of our regular customers and preferred suppliers are based here, after all" Skylar responded, picking up her mug and slowly spinning it around in her right hand.

"I shall be looking forward to it then," Mila replied as she checked the time on the large display above the counter. "Ah, I better get back to my duties. It was lovely to make your acquaintance, Skylar. Thanks for the good food as always, Renee."

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