Buffet and Booze

Posted on Mon Oct 26th, 2026 @ 9:48pm by Captain Freya Mannerheim & Lieutenant Commander Mila Lynn & Subcommander Kaiae t'Lien & Centurion Nancy Gable & Lieutenant Ashix Zirda & Sublieutenant Juno Langley & Major Ashley Rogers & Lieutenant Commander Savin & Centurion Hatham tr'Krotash & Lieutenant Seira t'Reiza

4,542 words; about a 23 minute read

Mission: Chapter IX: Shady Business
Location: Command Staff Dining Room, Ourainavassa
Timeline: 2387-10-19, evening

"It once was common for commanders on Romulan warbirds to dine with their senior officers every night. That's why this room exists." Captain Freya Mannerheim stood inside the command staff dining room of Ourainavassa, recalling what Subcommander Kaiae had told her ages ago, and smiled. During both Raven's and her own tenure as the ship's commanding officer, this room had been utilised in all manners of ways, from secondary briefing rooms to offices to simply storage. But it was about time that the room was returned to its original function. During the refit at Cera, it had been completely refurbished. The large table in the centre of the room had space for twelve diners, and smaller tables lined the back wall, below large viewports showing space passing by at warp. The walls were adorned with paintings of the scenery of the now-destroyed Romulan homeworld, but the centrepiece was an aerial photograph of Haven Colony, serving as a reminder of what the crew was working for.

For the first use of the room, Freya had decided to mix it up a little. Rather than seated, menu service, she had put together a buffet with specialties from various cuisines. Some, of course, had to be replicated, but quite a significant number of the dishes on offer had been cooked by herself, from the recipes of her own homeworld to some more exotic fare that she had learned during her travels. Alongside the food, she had acquired a selection of wines and spirits both from merchants on Drozana and her own collection, and supplemented it with some bottles 'liberated' from behind Renée's bar. She had explicitly told those she'd invited that there was no dress code for the occasion, as she worried some might take the opportunity to get their dress uniforms out of their lockers.

Freya glanced at the chronometer to confirm that her guests would be arriving shortly, before pouring herself a generous glass of ice mead from her own home planet as she waited.

The door slid open a minute or two later admitting Kaiae, sans uniform and in the same black-silk-with-silver-trim tunic and pants she'd had purchase for her during the supply/repairs run to Cera and had been wearing most often lately, carrying a bottle of something deeply yet iridescent blue in an elegant crystal bottle that she set down near the rest of the alcohol selection. One item among the food layout caught her eye and led to an amused smirk of sorts. "...We'll see if anyone actually eats the stew, this time; given it was made by a more trustworthy source..."

"I'll certainly have some," Hatham said, inhaling as he entered. He had put on a somewhat nicer tunic for a Captain's dinner, but given that he didn't have a lot of clothing to choose from, the only more formal option would've been his old uniform. "It smells really good. As does the Vindaloo."

"Maybe we should put some with an appetite to match your size toward the back of the line so the rest of us get some," Gable teased as she came in behind him. She'd also opted for just slightly better than usual civilian clothes - a nice wrap tunic with some embroidery on the edges over dark leggings and boots.

Hatham just laughed. He was used to jokes about both his size and capacity for putting away food and largely took them as compliments on having an impressive physique. "My father raised me to never hack off the doctor who might have to put me back together, so I will wait for you to fill your plate," he said, with an 'after you' gesture.

Just behind Hatham, Mila walked in, having swapped her usual CDF uniform for an elegant, sleeveless dark green dress that ended just above her knees, paired with black tights and black sneakers. "What about me," she asked as she tapped Hatham on the shoulder with a grin. "Considering how much smaller I am than you, and all that."

Freya laughed. It was nice to see the crew in such a relaxed mood, despite the task at hand. "There's plenty of food, and if the stuff on the buffet runs out, there's always the replicator. Or the stew. Which was once again made by a Terran. Me, this time, but still."

In her usual outfit of a t-shirt, ripped jeans, Juno was next to arrive. She was glad she wasn't the first, after Freya. It had saved her from the small talk she detested. She reminded herself she was only here for the free booze, food. Approaching the replicator, Juno ordered a pint of Ktarian beer. She would have something stronger later. Beer in hand, Juno selected a corner away from everyone else to enjoy it. For now, she wanted to quietly observe. The buffet could wait. An earlier snack had seen to that.

Seira entered shortly thereafter, wearing one of the nicer outfits she’d picked up during the trip to Cera - none of them were nice nice, but she hoped this one at least threaded the needle between ‘enough to be appropriate’ and not overdone vs whatever the captain had meant by specifying there was no dress code for the occasion - the sort of thing people sometimes, she had heard, did when they wanted to see who was astute enough to read between the lines and pick something appropriate regardless. Trying not to look - hopefully - too much like she was as awkwardly ill at ease in the room as she felt, she made a beeline to stand near Mila, glanced at the available drinks, and poured herself a glass of rum.

The desire not to socialise remained, yet Juno found herself in conflict with it. After a short period of debating whether she should engage Mila in conversation, she decided she would. Juno walked over to the blue-haired woman, beer in hand. Only when she reached Mila, she didn't know what to say. "Nice outfit." she eventually, awkwardly mustered. It seemed like a safe bet. And in truth, Juno did think it was nice. On Mila, anyway. It wasn't something she'd choose for herself.

"Thanks," Mila replied with a smile. "I see you're staying consistent with your style." She chuckled, then turned to Seira. "Hey, S. Have you met the newest member of our merry band of misfits yet?"

"My other style wouldn't be appropriate for this occasion." responded Juno, taking another sip of her beer.

"I have not." Seira said to Mila, then turned to Juno and gave a little dip of her head in greeting and smiled at the other woman, who looked to her eyes at least to be somewhere around the same age or life-stage and herself and Mila were. "Hello. I'm Seira, the ship's pilot."

Although a smile was not returned, a nod was. It wasn't to be rude to Seira. Juno just didn't smile, for anyone. "I'm Langley." she responded. "Tactical officer."

"For now, anyway," Mila added by way of explanation. "She works for that Ferengi whose stuff we're chasing." She looked Juno up and down, then smirked. "I wouldn't mind you sticking around after this, Langley. With my brother leaving, the average age on this ship has become a bit too old for my liking."

"I'd consider it if I didn't have another job lined up." began Juno, sipping her beer again. She was looking forward to entering the employ of Taryn, her associates. "Until then though..." a pause. "...I'm all yours."

Mila laughed. "Glad to hear it."

Opting to wear loose pants, shirt and long sleeveless robe, all in varying shades of a deep shiny blue-grey, Savin walked into the room. The many folds and layers left him enough room to properly conceal his dagger. His eyes traveled across the room, taking in all those present, while firmly asserting his mental walls to protect his own sanity. He noted neither Jerant nor NVeid has arrived yet and he found himself wondering if either hybrid would.

As more people arrived, Freya looked around the room and nodded to herself, before holding up her hand to get everyone's attention. "I know we're still waiting for Major Rogers, and maybe Ashix will actually turn up to a non-work thing for once. regardless, I just wanted to thank you all for coming. Our Chef may not be with us on this mission, but I tried my best at putting together a nice selection regardless. There's cards by every dish, written in both Standard and Rihannsu, about what they are and such. The dishes with white cards are, unfortunately, from the replicator, but those with a red border I've made myself. I made foods from Earth, from my homeworld of Nygard, and I tried my hand at making a Vulcan soup as well. Savin, you will have to tell me if it came out any good. Oh, and I made the beef stew that seemed to be very popular for a while, Terran Starfleet recipe," she added with a cheeky grin. "Of course, it's really just a simple goulash, but it's very flavourful, so I get why people liked it so much. Help yourselves to drinks as well, if you can't find a liquid that's to your liking you can always replicate it from the dispenser over there, as Miss Langley has already done. And yes, the replicator in this room makes real alcohol."

The Captain raised her glass. "So, enough talk for now. A quick toast then. To the success of our mission. Dig in, people."

Kaiae raised the glass of the ale she'd poured herself, downed an appropriate sip of it, then put a generous portion of something the card by the dish called 'vindaloo' onto her plate; it smelled deliciously spiced.

Mila looked at Juno and Seira, then at her empty hands. "Well. Since neither of you thought to bring me a drink, I'll have to get myself one, eh?" With a chuckle, she shook her head before heading off to the drinks table. A moment later, she returned with a glass of light blue liquid. "Ice mead," she explained to Juno. "Originally created on the Captain's homeworld of Nygard, but also very popular on Cera."

"She's too damn cute." thought Juno, taking a look at the drink in Mila's hand. Mead wasn't really her thing. But each to their own. "At least I know what to get you next time." she responded, dryly. Although Juno's attention was firmly with Mila, the thought of food began to enter her mind.

Seira glanced at the mead, then at the food lineup, and loaded her plate with what seemed to be some sort of balls of meat.

Mila glanced at Seira's plate and pointed at the pots beside it. "Those go with the mashed potatoes, and the gravy. Köttbullar, they're called, a specialty from Earth's northern regions originally, but apparently a furniture corporation of all things made it popular across the whole planet." She shrugged and filled a bowl of stew for herself. "I still don't get what all the fuss was about when the other Rogers was on board and helped made this stuff. It's tasty."

"The 'fuss' is that she was clearly untrustworthy and could have taken the opportunity of being part of cooking it to poison the dish." Seira added the other two items Mila had indicated onto her plate. "The dish itself wasn't the problem, just the source."

"Do you really think Renée would have even given her the chance to try?" Mila laughed as she took a seat towards the middle of the table, then indicated the chairs next to her. "Come on you two, sit down and let's eat."

Savin smiled at the mention of plomeek soup. "You assume I have a taste for it," he answered cheerfully as he suppressed a shudder, "but alas I do not. I have never liked it as it has no taste." Still as a vegetarian he dearly hoped there would be a bit more variety than a bland tasteless Vulcan dish. "That stew you mentioned, do you have a vegetarian option for it?"

"You could probably run a small bit of it through the replicator to analyze and make one." Kaiae, for her part, was thrilled to finally have access to meat again relative to the much more limited rations available in the early days of the colony. "As for plomeek soup, you should try our version sometime; it does not consider spicing to be the enemy and is far less bland. Though it often includes meat; but that's easy enough to ask the replicator or the chef to omit."

Freya chuckled. "I tried the Vulcan recipe. Once. I recommend you try my version, it's got some Romulan influence, but also a few twists of my own. But if you prefer something else, try that curry over there, next to the vindaloo. It's less spicy, and vegetarian."

"I am open to trying new dishes, but I cannot consume meat. Not because I do not wish to but because doing so not now when I never had any, would make me quite ill. I do not wish to take that risk," Savin offered politely. "I also cannot consume anything with lactose or fish, unfortunately. I am allergic to both." He wondered if it was wise to share this but he would rather be safe in eating what he could.

"If you aren't sure about ingredients, just scan something." Kaiae shrugged her eyebrows. "Usually kind of rude to do openly; but in this case I don't think anyone would mind." She topped up her glass and then took it and her plate of vindaloo to the table and sat down in one of the two seats directly to the side of the head of the table.

"Thank you, I did not wish to cause offense," Savin answered while purposefully opening his tricorder and scanning the dishes for their ingredients. While it wouldn't do to offend, it wouldn't do to get very sick at a social gathering either. He took a few helpings of what appeared to be vegetarian options then chose a random seat at the table.

"I'm certainly not offended by not having to treat food allergies," Nancy remarked, scooping curry and vindaloo onto her plate. One thing she appreciated about living among Romulans was that they liked their food spicy just like she did. "Though I may have to worry about others over-eating," she said casting a teasing a smile at Hatham. "You're a big guy, but that's enough meat to choke a flock of mogai."

"I've been on restricted meat rations long enough, I think I could eat a flock of mogai," he replied with a grin, then tipped his head in a brief attitude of thought. "Properly cooked and seasoned, of course."

Kaiae laughed at the overheard remark, but despite how good the food on her plate both looked and smelled, didn't start eating yet, waiting for the rest of the table to seat themselves first.

Freya laughed as well as she sat next to Kaiae with an equally loaded plate of vindaloo. "Well, Hatham, so long as you don't eat this particular Mogai, feel free," jokingly referencing Ourainavassa's classification.

The heavy, rhythmic tread of boots announced her arrival a moment before the doors slid open. Ashix Zirda stepped into the dining room, her traditional Ex-Borg appearance and remaining, exposed cybernetic implants catching the warm light of the refurbished space. She instantly swept the room, cataloging the layout, the exits, and every occupant present with clinical efficiency.

"I was under the impression this gathering was optional," Ashix stated, her voice flat, unvarnished, and entirely devoid of apology as she walked in. "However, its has been noted that my absence from non-work functions was mathematically anomalous over a prolonged deployment. I have elected to correct that inefficiency."

Without waiting for a formal invitation, she scanned the buffet spread with a quick glance, bypassing the complex culinary options before selecting a single glass of unadorned water from the refreshment table.

"Glad you decided to make it," Gable said cordially. She wasn't a counselor by any means, but she'd been concerned about the xB integrating more with the crew.

The Captain looked up from her plate. She had a feeling she knew who had informed Ashix of her 'miscalculation'. It seemed the addition of a counselor to the crew was already paying off. "Glad you have joined us, Ashix. Feel free to take any of the open seats."

The table of food looked inviting. Very inviting. Juno approached it, considered the available options. Some were obviously more popular than others. After half a minute or so, she made her choice. Instead of helping herself to some of the seasoned chicken legs, thighs, Juno removed the whole platter from the table. After securing the platter on one hand, like a waitress, Juno used her free hand to carry her beer. "Finders keepers." she thought. Once sat down at her seat, Juno tucked in.

The Captain raised an eyebrow at Juno grabbing an entire tray of food, then shrugged. The grilled chicken she had taken was, after all, quickly replicated if anyone else wanted some.

Mila chuckled as Juno sat down with the massive platter of meat. "Hungry, are we?"

As she finished eating a chicken leg, Juno placed the bone down on the platter. "No. I'm Langley." responded Juno, dryly. She then picked up another chicken leg, proceeded to eat it. The seasoned, crispy skin was delicious. As was the tender, melt-in-the-mouth chicken. "I might consider sharing..." a pause. "...if you let me get your next drink."

"Fasten your seatbelts, crew, we have a comedian on board," replied Mila, rolling her eyes. "I'm good with what I've got, should be plenty. Doesn't mean I wouldn't appreciate you bringing me a drink, though."

"Of course you wouldn't." responded Juno, bluntly. After taking a swig of her pint, she resumed eating the chicken in front of her. A sudden change in her mood led Juno to consider making an early exit, with the platter, once her pint glass was empty.

Mila rolled her eyes yet again, then glanced at her empty glass. With a shrug, she got up and walked over to the drinks table. A moment later, she returned with a bottle of rum and two glasses, one of which she placed in front of Juno. "Hope you like rum," she stated as she filled both glasses and put the bottle on the table in front of them. "If you don't, well, your loss, more for me."

The remainder of the Ktarian beer was swiftly dispatched, the empty glass placed to one side. The rum was eyed with caution, Juno being unsure what Mila's game was. Deciding to play Mila's game, Juno took a sample of the rum. Several seconds later, it too was dispatched. "Not bad." she commented.

"I know," Mila replied with a smirk as she took a slow sip from her own glass. "You'll find that applies to life on this ship in general. Give it a chance. Like I said earlier, I wouldn't mind you sticking around, would be nice to have another person anywhere near me in age on this cruise."

"So you've already said." responded Juno. "As I've already said, I have another job after this assignment."

"I would second that; if it falls through." Seira, currently the other member of the officers aboard dragging the age average down alongside Mila, took a sip of her own glass of rum.

"See," Mila tilted her head towards Juno. "I'm not the only one who thinks so."

Admittedly, it was nice to feel wanted. Juno hadn't experienced the feeling for as long as she could remember. She chose not to express her gratitude with words, but a nod. Her mind, however, remained made up. Sanctuary at the synth colony beckoned. At least there, Juno wouldn't have to run any more.

Savin observed the people around him, taking in their expressions and bearing, noting that some looked more comfortable than others. He smiled as Ashix appeared, glad the ex Borg decided to take his advice. His gaze shifted as a young woman confiscated an entire plate of oddly shaped bits of food and he arched a single eyebrow in quiet surprise. While he watched them, he wasn't trying to get a grasp on their conversation, but he wouldn't deny being curious.

Ash walked in quietly, she had lost track of time trying to track their target. Reaching out to old contacts definitely brings out a psrt of her that she thought she left behind. She nods at everyone as she took in the sights and smells of the meal in front of her. She is definitely spoiled by being on this ship, if nothing else, they all eat quite well. "Sorry, I'm late. Hope Hatham didn't already eat everything..." she winked at her friend with a smile.

"Hey, it's not just me," Hatham said, setting down two plates piled with generous samples of everything (except the plomeek soup). He tipped his head toward Juno and the entire platter of chicken in front of her. "Looks like I've got competition."

Ash looked over and raised her eyebrows, "Well, Renee told me to tell you that if we are too polite to eat all of the Captain's food, there's leftovers in the Mess Hall for midnight snacks."

Hatham swallowed a mouthful of meat roll with a swig of ale and grinned. "Guess I know where I'll be once I'm hungry again later."

Freya raised an eyebrow at the mention of Renee. "Wait, I thought she stayed behind on the colony? Oh, right. That young Romulan she sent as a cook instead. Haven't tried his cooking yet. I've been busy trying out all these recipes to make sure I got them right." She looked over at the buffet, which was starting to clear out - except for the plomeek soup. "Well, I know what I won't bother to make again. Even the stew is more popular than the soup."

Ash walks over to the soup and swirls the ladle, "Maybe we can use it to get the smugglers to talk once find then..." She smirks, "Can't be wasteful. You spent so much effort on it."

Choosing not to join the crowded dining tables, Ashix remained near the perimeter with her glass of water, maintaining an unobstructed vantage point of the exits. While she had successfully eliminated the anomaly of her absence, she had no intention of participating in social pleasantries as they were no longer her forte as they were prior to her assimilation.

Kaiae caught sight of Ashix standing still where the rest of the senior staff had seated themselves at the table - as much as she might have been wary what seemed to be like ages ago when Mila had first brought the Sikarian aboard to join the crew without vetting her first, the woman had more than proven her worth since. “Lieutenant, please, sit.” Kaiae smiled slightly and gestured to an empty seat at the table.

"No thank you, Subcommander," Ashix stated, her tone flat and unyielding. "Proximity to the perimeter optimizes my field of vision for structural ingress and egress points. Sitting among the assembly introduces unnecessary positional vulnerability."

"Perfectly understandable," Hatham agreed, having overheard the conversation. "But I've found that one can take a seat with a good view of the room and doors while still engaging with valuable allies."

"Vantage points and allies serve distinct operational purposes, Centurion," Ashix noted, her voice level and devoid of warmth. "An ally requires trust, which is a calculated variable; a clear line of sight to an emergency exit is a constant."

Hatham boomed a laugh. He'd never imagined liking a Borg, but the xB was growing on him. "True. but if you pick your seat early, you can have both." So saying, he took a seat with both clear line of sight and direct path to an exit, leaving a spot beside him that offered the same.

"Or you could try to relax," Savin suggested as he observed the conversation from his own vantage point. "Trust is earned but there will never be any if an effort is not made to gain it. And the chances of emergency are always present, which a transporter could also be used for if the emergency is dire enough."

Turning to Mila, Juno decided to make her an offer. "If you get bored of our present company..." she began, quietly, "...feel free to drop by my quarters later."

"Recreation is an inefficient use of processing cycles," Ashix stated dryly, her integrated ocular and neural components catching the warm ambient light as she shifted her gaze back toward Savin. Holding her glass of water, "I have logged my attendance. My operational requirements elsewhere are far more pressing than forced relaxation."

"Recreation is a learning process," Savin countered pleasantly, "it is essential to all living creatures. Consider it an experiment to conduct, to observe interactions with different people, and how different species interact with each other. And different interactions have different impacts on operational efficiency."

Mila listened to Savin and Ashix for a moment, then turned towards Juno. "You know, I might just take you up on that offer."

Ashix’s integrated ocular and neural components caught the ambient light as she directed a cold, analytical stare toward Savin. "Framing recreational inefficiency as a data-gathering experiment does not alter its baseline metrics, Counselor," Ashix replied flatly. "Observations lacking a quantifiable tactical objective remain waste. My presence here has satisfied protocol; further optimization of this evening requires my departure."

Kaiae raised an eyebrow at most of the recent conversation participants in turn - mostly Savin and Ashix, as Hatham and Juno already appeared to be dining - and pointedly stuck a utensil in her plate of vindaloo with a grin. “I recommend eating.”

"Excellent recommendation," Savin agreed, deciding that for now to get Ashix to remain longer and actually relax was perhaps a bridge too far.

The Captain smirked. "Right, everyone. You heard the Subcommander, and I'm making that an order. Go eat!"

Once everyone seemed to have eaten their fill, Freya stood and clinked her spoon against her glass to get her guests' attention. "Everyone, thank you for following my invitation and coming by. I intend to make this a more regular thing in future, operational situation permitting. Though, when Renee is back on board, she'll be the one handling the catering. Don't take this as me kicking you all out, of course, I just wanted to say a few words before you did leave. This crew, at least, those who aren't new, have been through a lot, and you all have come out on top. I have a feeling that, together, we can achieve anything we set our minds to. The galaxy better not mess with us." She raised her glass. "So, a toast. To the continued story of the Independent Romulan Warbird Ourainavassa!"

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