Carpathia IV: Episode 54 - Pushing Buttons
Mess Hall, NCCS Shadowdancer
Two days into the trip to Draconis and the voyage was going smoothly. Glitches were minor, a blinking console here and a bad relay there, nothing that a quick check by the repair teams couldn't handle. Most of the crew's time was spent settling back into their routines, heavily disrupted from what is now known as "The Ksenva Incident."
Coming off duty at the same time, Teren and Nalma decided to grab some food in the mess hall together. Like everything else on the ship, the mess hall received a full overhaul, and, as one of the largest rooms on the ship, it received special treatment. The first thing anyone would notice upon entering was the shiny brass rails demarcating the lineup area. Elsewhere in the vast kitchen and dining area, everything that wasn't new was throughly polished to an original shine. Most remarkably, it was quieter. Though filled to near capacity, the room had the volume level closer to a luxury restaurant. Whatever sound deadening material the engineers added to the room was working brilliantly.
Standing side by side at their ordering kiosks, Teren and Nalma began making their selections.
Nalma: Meals are my favorite times around here. Carpathia is amazingly good at turning vegetables into all kinds of things.
Teren: Oh? What are you having, then?
Nalma: Vegetarian Shrimp and brussel sprouts with almond butter.
Teren paused and looked at his menu screen thoughtfully.
Teren: Shrimp, huh? That sounds pretty good, actually. I think I'll do a surf and turf.
Teren and Nalma made their selections from their kiosks and grabbed their trays, stepping away so that others could put in their orders. Service, as always, moved quickly and the servers continuously called out the numbers for the people waiting.
Teren: How are you finding the upgrades so far?
Nalma: It feels like a new ship in a lot of ways. Response times when I input commands are faster. Sure, it's only a few milliseconds, but it's definitely noticeable.
Teren: I noticed that too.
Nalma: I'll have a better idea once we get a chance to do some weapons tests.
Nalma kept an eye on the counter as the servers continually called out the numbers. While he was watching, he caught sight of Cinnai, one of the tokki servers. He always had a bad attitude and a face to match, with a constant sneer and lazy eyes, looking as though he could barely be bothered waking up for the job.
Nalma: Ugh, Cinnai. He always gives me guff whenever I order human food.
Teren glanced and caught sight of Cinnai as well.
Teren: Oh, that guy. He's unpleasant to everyone.
Nalma: Me, especially.
And then Nalma's number was called by the one he dreaded most.
Cinnai: Number 744!
Nalma rolled his eyes, making sure that he was facing Teren and not the counter when he did so.
Nalma: Crap.
Nalma reluctantly turned away from Teren, hoping that, today, he could get his food without further comment. It was not to be. Cinnai saw him coming and his face immediately turned into a greater sneer than usual. Nalma held out his tray, but no meal was forthcoming.
Cinnai: Oh, if it isn't the high and mighty Lieutenant I'm-too-good-for-tokki-food Silaron.
Nalma bit his lip, doing his best not to say something he might regret.
Nalma: Just give me my food.
Unfortunately, this was not to end here, as Cinnai turned away and swapped Nalma's plate out for another, this one with a concoction with what appeared to be seaweed with some sort of pungent red sauce on top. Cinnai couldn't even do Nalma the courtesy of placing it on his tray, but actually tossed it the last couple of inches so that it landed with a clatter, splattering sauce all over Nalma's uniform.
Still, Nalma kept his composure, though now this little scuffle was drawing attention. He took the plate of tokki seaweed from his tray and placed it on the counter.
Nalma: Look, I like all kinds of food, but today, I'd like shrimp and brussel sprouts with a side of almond butter.
Cinnai grunted and took the plate away.
Cinnai: Fine. Just cut off your ears, why dontcha.
Reaching behind him, Cinnai put the seaweed plate down, replacing it with the plate that Nalma originally ordered. Nalma prepared to receive his food violently once again, but Cinnai was relatively gentle with it. With food on tray, Nalma wasn't keen to have any more interaction and turned to walk away, but he only got halfway around when Cinnai just had to blurt out one more comment.
Cinnai: You're almost as worthless as that skinny one with the stick-up ear.
With no question at all to whom Cinnai was referring, Nalma's grip on his tray tightened to the point where it was a real possibility that he might break it. A second later, he tossed his tray onto a nearby table and whirled around, fist in the air, aiming at Cinnai's eminently punchable face. Before his fist could connect, Teren reacted swiftly and caught Nalma's arm just before it launched.
Nalma turned in surprise to see Teren's shaking head.
Teren: He's not worth it. Let's go.
Nalma hesitated, still fighting a burning desire to pummel Cinnai's head a good six inches down into his torso. Ultimately, the decision was largely made for him, for Cinnai quickly disappeared into the kitchen area, leaving Nalma's options to acquiesce to Teren or actually follow Cinnai. Nalma chose Teren. Ripping his arm from Teren's grip, Nalma turned away, back to his tray, splattered with his dinner. Huffily, he picked up his tray and snatched some silverware from the utensil area and found a seat facing away from the counter area. While Nalma used his spoon to rearrange his dinner in a more presentable form, Teren joined him.
Nalma: You'd have put me in the brig, wouldn't you?
Teren: Depends, but I'm glad I didn't have to do any more than I did. If it makes you feel better, he would have deserved it, regulations or not.
Nalma grunted as he shoveled several sloppy, oversize spoonfuls of food into his mouth. It was a meal he was looking forward to, but now he just couldn't enjoy it.
Teren: If it comes up, I'll be sure to emphasize his attitude and derogatory remarks.
Nalma slowed his eating as his tension started to return to normal.
Nalma: Thanks.
Teren looked down at Nalma's uniform, still splattered with the red sauce from the tokki meal that was thrown at him.
Teren: What is that red stuff?
Though Nalma knew what Teren was talking about, he instinctively looked down at his splattered chest.
Nalma: A common sauce on Tokkastra. It kinda tastes like a combination of tomatoes and strawberries.
With brow furrowed, Teren apprehensively reached out and took a dab on his finger. He gave it a sniff—it smelled terrible—and had a lick. His wincing at the flavor did nothing to hide his distaste.
Nalma: Yeah, hardly any non-tokki like it.
Teek's Quarters
Another normal day passed for Teek. It was not the most interesting job, making sure that the Shadowndancer flew straight and true—it mostly did that on its own—but having the immense power of one of Carpathia's most prestigious ships right at his fingertips felt empowering. Indeed the most stressful part of his day typically occurred his his quarters, off duty, and finding several missed calls from home on his console. Today was no different when tapped the switch to wake up the screen.
Teek: Three more missed calls.
Teek deleted the messages as usual, keen to ignore them and focus on what he wanted to do next. A trip to the holosimulator? A soak in the sento? Perhaps, he thought, Tamati could be off duty. He always found Tamati's easy, breezy attitude comforting.
Comforting, however, was not the beep from his communication console indicating a call was coming in. Predictably, from home. Teek grunted through his gritted teeth and accepted the call.
Teek's Dad: There you are!
Teek: Dad, I have a job and my own life. I can't call you every day.
Teek's Dad: Pbbtht. Don't be silly. Now, tell me, did your commodore get his cookies?
Until now, Teek managed a semblance of composure whenever he spoke to his father, but this was more than he could handle and the rage finally took hold of him.
Teek: Yes, he got the fucking cookies! I told you not to send them and you did it anyway! You have no idea how much you embarrassed me and I don't think you'd even care if you did!
Teek's Dad: You can't talk to me like...
Teek: I can and I will! What are you going to do to me? Take away my video games? Throw out my toys again? Show up on my ship? Oh, I'd love to see you try that so I can have Commander Unas throw you right out on your ass.
Teek's Dad: Now listen...
Though momentarily, Teek forgot that his father's face was a projection on a screen and not the real thing when he balled up his fist and drove it right through the monitor. A crackle and a bit of smoke were all that remained. The call was over. Future calls were over, for now. Though Teek would have to figure out how to explain why his communications monitor was now in a ruin, he felt a strange, serene calm wash over him. Perhaps, he thought, a soak in the sento would be nice.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
