Meet and Eat

Posted on Friday June 7th, 2019 @ 11:50am by Lieutenant Carmina Barbossa & Lieutenant Chris Wayne

Mission: Welcome to Union Mining Station Number 42
Location: Mess

Chris was fresh from showing the stations archeologist to her lab when he heard an all too familiar rumbling in his midsection. "Dang it! I knew I should have eaten on the Yam. Chris, you're an idiot."

He facepalmed. "One problem though, where's the mess hall? He asked to himself. A Moclan ensign must've heard. "It is a deck down, Lieutenant."

"Thanks." Chris said. The Moclan nodded and went on his way. Chris headed down and went over to one of the nearby synthesizers. "Computer..uhh." he began. "Grilled chicken salad, French dressing. Sweet tea"

He waited until it appeared. "Looks good." He said to himself as he looked for a table.

Carmina had been sitting at a table by herself, nursing a mug of coffee when she watched the man come in and order food. She winced as she heard the order. Oh not the chicken she thought knowing that in recent days there had been a slight issue with some items, namely the chicken not quite getting the right texture.

She flagged down the man passing by looking for a table, gesturing for him to join her. "You can sit here if you'd like. I wouldn't mind the company. Oh and don't worry is the chicken is a little...sandy" she said sucking in her bottom lip. "It's perfectly safe to eat. We're still working on adding human foods to that thing...hasn't quite gotten texture and flavors down just right on some items" she said with a smile to follow.

"Oh and you don't have to eat in the Mess. There's a few bars and establishments on the other asteroids. I personally would recommend The Dead Canary. The décor is all simulated and it's kind of upscale and garish at the same time, but it's been a hit with Earth historians."

"Best offer I've heard all day." Chris said, taking himself a seat. "Thanks by the way. I'm Chris." He smiled as he put his plate down. Sampling the chicken he instantly winced. "Yeah. It's a mite dry" He chuckled.

She reached across the table offering her hand. "Carmina" she said pleasantly enough. "Would that by any chance be Lieutenant Chris Wayne, Chief Science Officer?" she inquired. "I'm still getting to know crew...I mean it's not like there's a whole station worth" she said sarcastically.

"You caught me." Chris said. "Nice to meet you Carmina."he smiled

The Executive Officer was quick to pleasantly smile as she shifted from her pleasant informal tone to one slightly more formal as she took a sip from her mug and leaned in. "I had the pleasure of already meeting with one of your science officers, an archaeologist. She's already planning on assembling a team to explore some of the planet...of course given passing approval from the governing body and station command."

Chris nodded. "Yeah. She asked me to recquisition a shuttle for that." He replied as he took another bite of dry chicken. He pushed the plate away. "Too dry." He laughed.

"Do up the proper paperwork for it and have it on my desk and I'll be sure to approve that requisition as soon as possible" replied the Executive Officer. "I don't want to delay her little expedition too long. She seems to be itching to get down there."

"So am I to be honest. The whole "geologist" thing I suppose." he smiled. He set a mental reminder to do paperwork. He just toatally ignored the dry chicken. He took a sip of tea. "Well, at least it didn't mess tea up. Id've been mad." he laughed

"Small miracles" replied Carmina in regards to the tea. "Hopefully with Engineering and Operations personnel arriving on the station we will soon be able to get everything working properly and chicken will actually look, smell, and taste like chicken" she added.

Smiling she pressed on. "Yes, a Geologist on a station as Chief Science Officer. What did you do to get that punishment?" she teased him. "I mean lucky for you we have a planet not too far from us, but I cannot fathom how painful it must be to be a Geologist stationed quite literally on a station, and I mining one at that."

Chris winked. "It'll be an adjustment I'm sure. But I'll just have to muddle through somehow." He laughed.

"I suspect you'll be joining your Archeologist one her expeditions as often as you can" said Carmina. "Anything to get your hands into some soil and some actual air into your lungs. A station isn't really the ideal place for a Geologist."

"I may tag along a few times now that you mention it." He chuckled. "Gather a few samples. Ya never know what you might find."

She nodded in response. "That is true. So much remains unknown that we don't really know what we will uncover. Hopefully, we are able to work things with these people and feel comfortable enough having Union personnel on the surface."

"I certainly hope so too." Chris nodded