Meal Pack

Posted on Thu Sep 8th, 2022 @ 5:34pm by Cadet Third Class Aarfa Barakzay & Cadet First Class Pallas

Mission: The Goddess
Location: Mess Hall
Timeline: Backpost -- sometime after "Intimidation"
3336 words - 6.7 OF Standard Post Measure

Pallas was famished. The Cadet First Class had fully expected that she would be diving right into things when she started her assignment, but having skipped breakfast entirely was quite unusual for a young woman so committed to routine. Then again, it was unusual times for the entire Gladiator crew, given the recent attacks and need for repairs. As such, the cadet was staring at her PADD as she waited in line for the mess hall replicator, reading a shipwide guidance from Dr. Svidi about updating biofilters to account for unusually high allergen levels impacting several of the crew members. Pallas was so focused on the scientific report that she did not notice that there was another cadet in line with her.

Though she noted the other cadet, knowing it was an upperclassman, Aarfa did not venture to speak first. Besides, her focus was on the replicator and the promise of a nice large plate of meat. Despite a few good meals since her rescue, she was still underweight and the memory of hunger fresh in her mind, so much so that her tail wagged as the line advanced.

Distracted by her reading, Pallas unwittingly stood now in front of the open replicator but did not step forward, holding up the line behind her including the excited, tail-wagging cadet directly behind her.

Great. She's either distracted or can't decide on an order. Aarfa thought unhappily, but held her tongue and waited. She wasn't a pup with no patience after all. Though as the moment stretched and she felt people behind her begin to shift impatiently, she debated clearing her throat, but her stomach ended internal debate with a loud rumbling growl. "Er," Aarfa ducked her head. "Excuse me."

She heard the growling first, before the words, shaking her out of her focus. Looking up, she saw that she was at the front of the line, a taunting gap having opened between herself and the desired purveyor of sustenance. She turned, beginning to apologize even before she turned around to see the Kainan who had called for her attention. "Oh, I'm very sorry! I was completely distracted. Please," she said with an apologetic bow and a step to the side. "Go ahead of me." Pallas's eyes flickered first to the other cadet's midsection, the source of the rumbling that had drawn her out of her reading, and then up to the Kainan's collar, recognizing finally that this was a fellow cadet, albeit a second-year. "I know how little time we get for meals," she noted.

"It's all right," Aarfa replied, still a bit embarrassed at how her stomach had drawn attention. But at least the other cadet hadn't reacted as if a hungry wolf was behind her. "If you know what you want, please, go ahead and order."

"I'll be fast about it, then." Pallas stepped up quickly to the replicator. "Large jambalaya, extra spicy; jalapeño cornbread; and a large lemonade, ice." The meal materialized on a tray with utensils, and she pulled it out of the replicator and stood to the side. "I'm sorry for the delay. Please, go ahead."

"No problem. I'm sorry my stomach decided to be rude," Aarfa said half-joking as she stepped to the replicator. The other cadet's food smelled so good, her mouth was nearly watering as she ordered. "Two T-bones, rare, large meat lover's pizza, extra meat, green bean casserole, extra bacon, ham omelet with cheddar, and a large water, cold." The tray that materialized was platter sized and still completely covered by her order, but Aarfa took it with practiced ease. Aware that humanoids tended to lift brows at that kind meal, she threw a small almost apologetic smile at the other cadet. "My species has a high metabolism."

Pallas's eyes widened at the enormous order. "Impressive." She waited until after the Kainan got her food to introduce herself. "I'm Pallas. Would you like to eat together?" She motioned to an empty table nearby. "I'm just here by myself. I didn't realize there were any other cadets assigned to the Gladiator right now; there weren't any on the manifest when I came aboard. Did you just get here recently?"

"Aarfa Barakzay," she replied, with a polite head dip. "I'd love to join you. My assignment is ...complicated. I was on the Gladiator under Captain D'Jax, but after the attack I was the only survivor found." Her head fell, ears and tail drooping. "I'm technically still being evaluated, but I know the scent of the attackers," she insisted firmly, putting her platter down perhaps harder than necessary. "I will be accompanying the team that goes to find those who were taken and stop those responsible."

"I'm very sorry to hear that. And for the loss of your fellow crew." Pallas put her tray down gently and took a seat. She looked at her food, feeling sheepish about starting while the subject of conversation was so grim. "It's quite something to ask a cadet to go on such a dangerous away team mission. Unusual, actually, for a Cadet Third Class to be posted on a starship in the first place, isn't it? I would have imagined you'd normally be at the Academy, still taking classes."

Aarfa swallowed a sigh. "I was at the Academy. The branch campus on SB621." She was sure the cadet would've heard about the terrorist attacks and the unstable ancient energy source uncovered on the planet below. "When the station was abandoned, reassignment to a ship was supposed to be a temporary measure until space was available at an Academy site. I admit we were excited about it though. After everything that had gone wrong, it seemed like finally a little luck." She stabbed a piece of omelet with her fork, then looked up wryly. "I won't blame you if decide to avoid being around my kind of luck."

Pallas's eyes went wide at the mention of SB621. Of course she--along with the entire Federation--had heard about what happened. "Oh wow. You were there. I... apologize for not thinking of that. What happened to you all, that never should have happened. And then to end up here." She put a hand on Aarfa's arm. "I imagine you had friends who were lost, both on the Starbase and here..." She looked down at where their fork was, and realized that not only was she digging up very recent trauma, Pallas was also getting in the way of the very hungry cadet's stomach. "Eat. I insist. There's plenty of time for talking afterward. And don't worry," she said with her best reassuring expression, "I don't believe in luck. At least not the kind that follows anyone around."

"You had no way of knowing, and no reason to have known," Aarfa replied shaking her head. "I'm sorry to have turned what should have been a friendly get to know you question into something fraught. I'm afraid I'm no good at dissembling or, apparently holding back or eliding; my people tend to be upfront about things and with everything that's happened my progress in adapting to humanoid social standards is ...somewhat wanting." She dipped her head, then picked up the forkful of food. Her anticipated enjoyment had lessened with the memories brought to the fore, but it was sin to waste good food. "I'll eat. How about you tell me about yourself?"

"No need to be sorry. Trauma is trauma," Pallas said with sad eyes and the deep empathy of another survivor. "Whether it is fresh or old, it can seep into our thoughts, regardless of what we're doing or who we're talking to. Talking about it sometimes helps. And you shouldn't assume your people's social standards are different from all other humanoids. Humans, maybe, but... among the Romulans, the warrior nuns of the Qowat Milat have a core practice called 'Absolute Candor'; they are honest in all things, regardless of how it impacts themselves or others. And bluntness is also valued among many of my people, the Andarans, though that is an evolving process; it wasn't that way a century ago. If you're interested and they end up assigning you to the Academy campus on Earth, try Professor Pretunsh's Intro to Xenoanthropology class. I really loved that one."

The Andaran took another sip of lemonade, enjoying the combination of cooling and sweetness. "But, you're right, talking about something else can also be useful. Something about myself? This is my fourth-year Training Cruise, obviously. Not what I expected it to be so far. At the Academy, I studied xenoanthropology, which I already mentioned, exobiology and engineering. I applied to the Academy thinking I wanted to be an Engineer, but now I'm trying to keep an open mind; it seems like there's a lot of possibilities. I was co-captain of the Academy's boxing team last year. What else? Oh, right, I'm from Andara, I mentioned that. I never left the planet until I left for the Academy and Earth."

Aarfa had finished her omelet and made inroads on her pizza as Pallas spoke, nodding and following along. "I'll keep Dr. Pretunsh in mind. I don't know that I'll ever get to the campus on earth, but there may be remote links for the class. Xenology is interesting. I think I've heard of Andara somewhere, but I'm afraid I don't recall the specifics." She dipped her head. "Sorry, I'd never been off my homeworld before the Academy either and we're relatively new to the Federation so there are so many new peoples to learn about it becomes a blur sometimes."

"Tell me about it," Pallas nodded in agreement. "I'm sure it was the same for you, then, when you first got to the Academy. I had met Starfleet officers who came to Andara to help stabilize some of our... problems. But the sheer number of different sentient species, it can definitely be overwhelming. So, what about you? I know you're still a second-year, but what have you been studying so far that has caught your interest? And what do you like to do outside of classes? You can give me a chance to eat now," she flashed a good-natured smile.

The pizza was half finished now, so that seemed fair. "I started out wanting to be a pilot, like my uncle Rufus, who's a helmsman on the Vesta. I learned to fly flitters as soon as I was old enough, and I still enjoy it, but after... well, I've turned to security. I found I had a ..deep impulse to protect others and to track down threats - not just in the sense of physical action, but in recognizing the threats, seeing how they operate and why, so what they intend can be prevented." Aarfa paused a moment, realizing she was heading back into heavy subjects, and also that her Kainan tendency toward a certain intensity that humans sometimes found alarming might be coming out. She swallowed a piece of pepperoni and switched to the other questions. "Outside of classes, I practice Dalraw, a Kainan martial art. It's not like boxing, more a grappling style like judo or ch'na. I also run, and snowboard, anything involving speed really," she admitted with a quick grin. "I got to try basketball. That was fun. I think I'd like to play more, or maybe try some other fast paced team sports."

The other cadet took the opportunity to make headway into her jambalaya, and had just taken a big bite of cornbread when Aarfa finished talking. She took a big swig of lemonade and rinsed it around her mouth so that her mouth wasn't too dry to talk. "What are flitters?" she asked. I also run, just to train, not competitively or anything. If you'd like a running partner, I'm always up for it. Even though boxing isn't technically a team sport, we always ran together in San Francisco, so I'm already missing having someone to help me keep pace." Going from being part of a team and being surrounded by other cadets constantly to being pretty isolated on a starship was a big change. The start of her training cruise had been so eventful that she hadn't had time until just now to really process that. "Also," she laughed. "Snowboarding? I can tell why you started out wanting to be a pilot. All of you are adrenaline junkies, right?"

Aarfa had swallowed a chunk of steak and had to quickly wash it down with water to keep from choking on a laugh. "We're not all adrenaline junkies," she objected, then flashed a quick smile. "Just my family. And flitters are small aircraft that can switch between gliding and powered flight. Going from pure flight - just the wind holding you up like a giant raptor - and then swoop! Power dive," she held her hands out, moving them in illustration to dart in and grab a slice of pizza. She lifted it grinning. "Though we usually don't use them to hunt. That's on foot, normally in pack. It sounds like your club ran in a pack too. I'd be glad to join you for one here."

"Sounds... terrifying," Pallas admitted. "Not much one for flight myself. I barely passed basic flight. I sort of still think that the instructor was taking pity on me and that I didn't actually achieve the minimum score." She shrugged. "That's why we need such a broad array of cadets, I supposed. Infinite diversity in infinite combinations, like the Vulcans say." She pondered the comment about hunting. "What do you mean that you hunt on foot? Is hunting still something your people do frequently? For sport or for sustenance?" It was surprising to her to hear of sentient species with access to replicators still hunting. "As for running, do you get up early? I tend to run around... 0500 or 0600 hours. But I know you're still recovering; just let me know anytime you are free and want to go for a run and I'm happy to join you. Unless I'm on duty, obviously."

"Strength through many strengths," Aarfa said with a nod, but despite the reference to IDIC, braced herself to explain hunting since she knew some species considered it barbaric. "We do hunt. Some of it is sport, for instance coursing, though that uses remote operated drones rather than live prey. But we do hunt and eat what we catch, though it's not truly for sustenance since we have replicators. It's more cultural, part of our social fabric." She tipped her head. "It's hard to explain to non-predator species. My roommate first year was Cait and people were surprised how well we got along. I guess there's a human joke about 'dogs and cats living together', but we kind of bonded over hunting and how our species perceived it versus how many of the others did," she recounted wryly. "But if you're not put off
I'm recovered enough to run, and I can make early. I can usually jog at 35-40 kilometers/hour but I should probably take it a little slower at first."

"Put off by hunting?" Pallas shook her head. "Maybe I am not as ethically evolved as some other species, but it seems to me that there are very few sentient lifeforms that are not at least omnivorous, biologically speaking. Some, but not many. Vulcans and others, including some humans, have adopted vegetarianism, but what does that even mean in the time of replicators? So long as hunting is not cruel, and there is a cultural significance for it, I don't see who I am, or anyone else is, to judge. My bigger concern," she said as she leaned back in her chair, "is how fast you are. I may have bit off more than I can chew asking to be running partners. 35 kmh for a jog?" Pallas laughed. "I can maybe get to 30 kmh sprinting on my best days, maybe 35 for a few seconds going full tilt if I'm training for that specifically. For a distance, day to day? More like 15, maybe 17 kmh tops. You'll basically be walking alongside me."

Whew. She should have expected someone who studied xenoanthropology would understand, but it was still a relief to have it confirmed. Jogging might be the bigger issue. "Not walking - my walking pace is more like 8 or 9 kmh, but I've learned to slow it down. It's rude to get out ahead of the pack unless you're racing. We did jog in PT, so I know how to slow down to what's comfortable for you. I'm more of a sprinter anyway, so if you normally do 5 km or more I'm fine with going at 15."

“Remind me to get you on my team if I ever need to do a relay! Glad to have you as a running partner, then. I know it’s not the same as your pack, but I do think we need to build as much community as we can in places like these. I don’t know how it was for you but sometimes for me and some others at the Academy on Earth, it could feel hard to fit in sometimes. I’m always happy to make connections when I can.”

"Packs take many forms," Aarfa replied. "There's pack you're born to, pack you're placed in, and pack you choose. I chose Starfleet. I was placed on the Gladiator. Both are my pack, so you are too. Not everyone sees that, of course - I know what you mean about not fitting. If I had a credit for every time a human reacted like I was one of their mythical werewolves or Big Bad wolf..." she chuckled, one ear rotating back, eyes widening a bit. "I don't hold it against them. I do have big teeth after all, and for a Kainan 'big teeth' is actually a compliment, so usually we wind up friends. My people are very social so making connections makes me happy too."

"I would hope that after over 300 years since their own first contact, most humans would be more accepting and less... well, stupid. I am sorry that you have had that experience, it is completely unacceptable for anyone to be making you feel unwelcome. And I am aware that the ways that I've been made to feel an outsider is completely different than what you have to go through, given the dominance of humans in Starfleet and my external human-like appearance." She put down her utensils inside her empty bowl and wiped her fingers on the replicated cloth napkin. "I really do appreciate the way you think about packs. I'm honored to be a part of your Starfleet and Gladiator chosen packs. Andarans... we can be social, but I'm not sure it's perhaps as deeply held a practice as it is for the Kainan. Our modern history shows how antisocial some of us can be. So when I say I'm honored, I mean that; I'm happy to be connected to you."

"Most are fine. It's just a startle reaction to a big predator and they get right past it so I don't really feel unwelcome. A few keep seeing me as beast, but that's rare for people who stay in Starfleet," Aarfa explained, and smiled. "Few species are as social as we are. We can literally go insane in extended isolation, but it doesn't mean our history doesn't have some dark eras with different packs warring with with others, or individuals trying to rise through pure violent dominance. Thankfully, we've outgrown that." She paused and licked a bit of beef juice off her finger. "No matter where your people may be in that growth, you certainly seem smart and dedicated and empathetic. I'm honored to be connected to you too."

"And we will continue to be connected. Including at 0500 tomorrow for our run. I'll do my best to try to keep up, and you do your best to slow down," Pallas laughed.


- END -