A Hearty Breakfast
Posted on Wed May 31st, 2023 @ 3:16pm by Lieutenant JG Kaydren Aukai & Lieutenant JG Aurora House of Kor & Lieutenant S'Tera & Lieutenant JG Sairal Ardas Etes Yas
1,328 words; about a 7 minute read
Mission:
Good Will Tour: Mountain Home [Part Two]
Location: Triton Seabase: Mess Hall
Timeline: MD26: 0800 hours
Kaydren, Sairal and S’Tera usually waited for the mess hall to clear out before having their breakfast. Mostly because their foods were stored in stasis pods, fresh meat and usually all you could eat.
The S’ti’ach looked up as the double doors opened. There wasn’t a sign or anything, but most of the crew avoided the place during the carnivorous campaign against their food, living or not. “I thought I was the only blue one invited to the breakfast bash,” Kaydren said, rather loudly.
“No,” Etes Yas responded with an almost proper British accent, “you’re just the only one with poor enough manners to shout it from the top of your lungs this morning.”
Standing on his haunches, but pulling himself down a bit so as not to be imposing, Yas approached. “I’m Sairal Ardas Etes Yas, marine botanist. I do believe I’ve seen you around, Lieutenant Aurora, isn’t it?” he asked kindly.
Aurora had mostly been minding her business until Kaydren's loud comment and Yas' question.
"Eek! Oh...hhi Yas. Yes, you've seen me around. I'm not one to stand still for very long...I've even fallen out of my bunk a few times! [What the heck Aurora!? Stop blabbering!]" Aurora felt her face flush bright blue.
“Yesss,” Yas agreed. “Watch out for Kaydren’s o’oli beetles, quite the nasty bite on your hide. I find it easier to eat them than flick them away, once they’ve had a taste and all.
“Most people avoid the mess hall this time of day. In point of fact, we are looking into moving the feeding time to coincide with some holodeck time, so we can hunt in natural fashion.
“Tell me dear, do you eat live? I know you are part Klingon and they are known to eat many of their foods SS still living. I SS say, I could go with a bit of heart of Targ now that I’ve thought of it…”
“Listen lady, you ain’t part of my polycule, so don’t even think about eatin’ my o’oli beetles, got it, Bub?” Kaydren asked pointedly as he nabbed one of the shiny blue bugs and squeezed it. “Ooh! It’s perfectly ripe. I’m taking this home for the forest. Maybe I get some o’oli beetles to propagate in there.”
"That sounds like fun! I'm a cross eater actually. When I'm with vegetarians, I eat what they do...but give me something I can chase down and...growl! Now see here, bigmouth! I'm sick of your interrupting! Either shut your mouth and eat, or do you want to fight me for your dinner!?" Aurora was sick of being pushed around by someone smaller than herself!
“She’s feisty!” Kaydren said with vigor. “I could see her growing’ on me…” Kaydren walked away, grabbing a scazz lizard and gnawing its head off.
“I do believe he’s invited you to sstay. In fact, you may not be part of his polycule, to be honesst, I’m not sure what that iss. Either way, I think he likess you, a bit,” Yas explained. It was what he did, as a former professor, but his time at the Academy called for him to also take some field time.
“Try an o’oli girlie! Go on, just pick ‘em right out of the air.”
Aurora blinked, then, actually curious, grabbed one of the o'oli and crunched down.
"Hm...that actually tasted pretty good! My thanks Kaydren," Aurora nodded to Kaydren, feeling much better about how things were going.
“Well, it’ss affirmed. If Kaydren allows you an o’oli, he surely likess you,” Yas said, his laughter sounding like a cross between boots on gravel and a hissing noise.
Aurora felt a slight blush creep up her neck.
“Where’s the cat? She’s missing’ out on the fun!” Kaydren asked.
S'tera walked in. "I heard that! Why does everyone refer to me as"The Cat"? I'm a Caitian." she stopped. It was too early for this. "Anyway, I'm hungry. I'm dying for some good meat for breakfast!. Morning by the way!"
"Morning, S'tera! And it's cute!" Aurora giggled.
“If I gotta stand bein’ called cute, you can deal with bein’ called a cat. It’s basically what you are anyway, a big cat! Now eat your breakfast before it goes bad…oh wait! It never goes bad!” Kaydren chuckled. “Half of it’s spoiled and we wouldn’t even know.”
“Yes, Kaydren,” Yas responded dryly. “How very droll. Now be quiet and eat, hmmm?”
Aurora stifled a chuckle and settled down to eat.
"Yeah, Yeah!" she said as she got some meat out of the stasis fridge. "Mmmm, I'm getting hungrier by the second." She sat down next to Aurora and began cutting into her slab of meat. "Mmm, needed this!"
"Heck yeah!" Aurora yipped happily as she dug into her squid and crab pâté.
Kaydren’s extra set of arms came out, his spikes on display as he crouched low in his seat before springing on a gecko. A juicy morsel if you could get one. Yas haunched himself into and eating position, tearing apart what was left of a cow’s leg. The group of live eaters all seemed happy.
“What does everyone think of this crash business?” Yas asked. “I’ve heard scuttlebutt there’s some large spiders involved. Clearly Kaydren does not have arachnophobia, does anyone else?” he wondered.
Aurora froze for a second.
"What!? A crash? What crash was that again?" Aurora asked through a mouthful of food.
Aurora had been focused on her food...so she was a bit confused.
“Come on, kid,” Kaydren responded. “Keep up with the news. A fighter crashed on the wrong side of the mountain. The Romulans didn’t bother to tell our pilots not to divert from their specified flight field. The other side of the mountain has some type of screwy geological readings.”
“The fighter went down while returning to base. There were no survivors. And I don’t believe in the spider scuttlebutt. However, if there are spiders, just put me in a heat suit and I’ll gut them with my talons,” Yas responded, his dry British accent was even, to alleviate the concern about rumors of spiders.
"Yeah heard something about the crash. heard all hands were lost. Too bad! Nothing is foolproof, not even with all the tech and safety equipment we ahve these days!" S'tera said.
"Oh...yikes. Dang, what is with these Dothmars not giving people a heads up about something like that!?" Aurora growled.
“I ain’t scared of spiders. On S’ti’achii we have spiders over six feet wide.” Kaydren laughed. “The S’ti’ach are still the dominant predators on S’ti’achii.” He clicked his own talons in and out repeatedly, on four of his six appendages.
"Ssix feet wide!? Dang, that's as big as a Motemetha!" Aurora's eye's bulged. "I would not want to meet that big a spider, thank you!"
“Water? Probably not my best medium, but I could still gut a big fish or two. Predators, I’d have to escape because I’m not good in water. There’s one ya got on me, kid,” Kaydren admitted.
"Great, now I wanna go deep sea fishing!" Aurora giggled as she smiled at Kaydren.
"Now there is an idea, Aurora. Deep sea fishing! I do love fish. Any kind of meat is good but fishing can be fun!" S'tera said.
“Not on me you sassy lassie!” Kaydren whooped and laughed thinking it the best joke all morning. Yas grumbled laughed and chewed at the same time and the four of them made an odd bunch, but that was Starfleet, wasn’t it? Since the NX-01 a bunch of oddballs everyone.
It was the universe was built on. One oddball meeting another for infinity if we were lucky!
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