Carpathia IV: Episode 269 - Fried Green Tomatoes
Minnie's Quarters, NCCS Shadowdancer-A
On any other day, Quenya's visit to Minnie's quarters would be a coronary-inducing experience, but on this day, the day after dining with Admiral Zhang, she was able to stride confidently right inside without fear. As Minnie ushered her in, Quenya marvelled at the size of the Chief Engineer quarters, much bigger than the old Shadowdancer. Sure, she had been to her office on several occasions, but that was a separate room with its own entrance from the hallway. This, her living space, was a full condominium and Quenya couldn't help but look all around as Minnie directed her to the dining room and lounge area, where Ramei and Sylvar were already waiting.
Minnie: Have a seat. The meatloaf is already in the oven.
Quenya: Thank you! Do you need any help?
Minnie: You go relax. I've got this.
Quenya had a look at the coming spread, spread out all over the stove and counter. Scalloped potatoes. Succotash. Vibrant, green tomatoes resting next to a pair of eggs and a bowl of cornmeal. She wasn't sure about everything that was coming, but it was a certainty that it was going to be amazing. It took Ramei, raising a pilsner of beer over his head, to break her from her reverie.
Ramei: To the victorious Cadet! You even got Admiral Zhang's attention. That's something else, you know.
Quenya blushed and headed to the lounge area, where Ramei and Sylvar relaxed in the plush sofas. Quenya found herself an empty spot and sat.
Quenya: It's been a crazy couple of days. I'm happy to be able to relax a bit.
Sylvar: You had a tour of the Neptunus yesterday, didn't you?
Ramei: Right! We want to hear all about it. We aren't going until tomorrow.
Quenya leaned back and wriggled her way deeper into the soft cushions. She was about to answer, but, before she could, Minnie presented her with a bubbly, golden drink.
Minnie: Aperitif?
With a smile, Quenya took the glass with both hands.
Quenya: Thank you! What is it?
Minnie: Vanilla-pear cava sparkler. Give it a try.
Quenya nodded and took a sip.
Quenya: All tingly inside! Is there alcohol in this?
Minnie: Just a bit of Licor 43. Not to worry. You'd have to drink a lot of these before you'd feel it.
Quenya: In that case, cheers!
Quenya took a proper drink this time, not just a sip, while Minnie headed back to her cooking.
Quenya: Where were we?
Ramei: The vashta ship! Now spill.
Quenya: Right! You'd never know it was a vashta ship when you're on the inside except for two things. When you're near the outer hull, it's all angular instead of curved. The best part is the bridge. They kept the original vashta bridge shape, even with the captain chair on top of the pedestal and the water feature in the back.
Sylvar: That was the only good part of the whole ship.
Quenya: The best part is what they learned from studying the ship and from that time it went into autobattle with the Shadowdancer.
Sylvar: I hope something good came out of my mess-up.
Minnie: Sylvar, how many times do we have to tell you that wasn't your fault!
Sylvar: I can't help it! I was in charge!
Ramei: Now, enough of that. What did we learn, Quenya?
Quenya: The ship's computer was not only designed to target anything not vashtari, but it is also incredibly difficult for it to target anything with a vashta hull design.
A moment of silence as the others pondered this revelation. Silence, except for the sliced and cornmeal-encrusted tomatoes hitting the frying pan.
Minnie: So, theoretically, we could build ships of that shape and be immune to damage.
Ramei: They'd probably adapt quickly to that.
Minnie: Probably, but you never know. I'm just thinking out loud. Sylvar, did you know about this feature?
Sylvar: I didn't. I'm much more familiar with the hardware than the software on those ships. The software is Voxx's expertise.
Quenya: They said he was instrumental in figuring out that part. It seems Ksenva figured out a bypass for that too, because they shot at you a lot.
Sylvar: Badly, as I remember. It's the only reason we were able to make it all the way here. We thought they were bad shots, but now I wonder.
The sound of intensifying frying hit their ears as Minnie flipped the tomatoes, along with a distinctly wholesome, earthy smell.
Minnie: We'll have time to study later. For now, what have you been getting up to since the race?
Quenya: Strangely, not much. Working and studying. When Captain Valro gave me the assignment, I sometimes imagined what I'd do if we won. Then, when it happened, I just wanted a nap.
Ramei: I've felt that way after intense situations.
Quenya: It's only just now starting to feel real. I think the meeting with Admiral Zhang triggered that. You know, I expected her to grill me about my work and studies, but she wanted to talk about food, family and hobbies.
Minnie: That's a good sign! She's all business with people she doesn't like. She only talks hearth and home with people she does like.I'm looking forward to watching your career. You'll have your own engine room like this one before you know it.
Quenya: Oh, I can't even think about that. Too much to do!
Sylvar: Oh, come on. You know you've imagined yourself in charge of an engine room.
Quenya scrunched herself up and took a sip of her drink.
Quenya: Well... Maybe a little.
The door chime pinged just as Minnie started scooping the sizzling fried green tomatoes out of the pan.
Minnie: Hopefully, that's either the bridge crew or medical. Come in!
The door slid open and in stepped Sorchae and Tamati.
Tamati: Smells good in here!
Sorchae: Fried green tomatoes, I should think.
Minnie: Got it in one! Have a seat. I'll get your drinks for you.
Tamati: Thanks very much! The bridge crew should be along in a few minutes. They're just getting a few things sorted.
Ramei: Translation: meetings.
Sorchae: Going over the upcoming mission schedule. Not that we have a good track record of completing missions lately.
Tamati: Demigods will do that. I actually hope we meet Aionaptara again. I want to learn more about him.
Minnie rounded the counter, holding two drinks, the same that she gave Quenya before.
Minnie: Here you go! I hope the others get here soon. The meatloaf will be done in 10 minutes.
Tamati: Need any help with anything?
Minnie: Come to think of it, yes. We got a gaggle of bridge officers showing up soon. Do you know how to make a vanilla-pear cava sparkler?
Tamati rounded the counter and stove, joining Minnie at her side.
Tamati: I haven't, but I could certainly learn.
Minnie made a quick turn and opened a drawer, pulled out a sheet of paper, and turned back, slapping the paper on the counter in front of Tamati, a process that took two, maybe three seconds at most. She then returned to her cooking.
Minnie: I've already puréed the pears, so all you need to do is put it all together.
Tamati glanced at the paper, few words indeed, and then took stock of the ingredients, all conveniently ready to go on the counter.
Tamati: On it, Chief!
Minnie smiled as she went back to dipping the tomatoes into the egg wash. At that time, the door chime rang again.
Minnie: Enter!
This time, it wasn't just one or two people, but the entire bridge crew that spilled through the door, all bringing cheer and appetites.
Aire: Sorry we're late!
Joust: Oh, fried green tomatoes! Can I help?
Minnie: If you know what you're doing, then sure! I've almost got a new batch ready for frying.
Joust: On it, Chief!
Joust made a gleeful jog to the stove and, once there, discovered that his torso only just breached the top of the counter.
Joust: Say, you wouldn't happen to have a box I could stand on, would you?
A fair amount of snickering passed through the room while Minnie fetched a wooden orange crate from her cabinet and put it on the floor. While Joust got to work frying the tomatoes, the rest of the crew started to mingle.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Colourbrand
Falke2009
