Italian Night

Posted on Thu May 12th, 2022 @ 6:51am by Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Ensign 'John Smith' & Lieutenant Samantha Leyton & Captain Stenn & Commander William Gerhard & Lieutenant Avira zh'Kenarh M.D. & Lieutenant JG Ethal Reade

Mission: Mission 6 - Memory
Location: Mess Hall
Timeline: Day 298 20:00
4040 words - 8.1 OF Standard Post Measure

It was a long time after the mess hall had been closed for the night when Beth walked in happy to be finally getting to her evening meal despite it being halfway through the beta watch. She was dressed in casual civilian clothes of a black and white dress as she wanted it to be an informal dinner among the majority of her senior officers. She had requested a catch up with everyone that she could leaving Sloan and Santana on duty to run the ship. Smith had suggested the get together at their last catch up and it seemed prudent to take him advice after all he had not been wrong yet.

She turned as the compartment door opened revealing the first person who was joining her.

William entered the mess hall rather awkwardly as he realized he was the first to arrive. He was dressed as informal as he could get with his sparse selection of civilian cloths. As he spotted the captain in her black dress, he realized that he may be underdressed. He nodded a greeting to her as he tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Evening, Captain. Looks like I'm the first," he said.

“Indeed you are,” Beth said smiling still. It was odd to see him outside of uniform but that was why she had requested everyone to be in civilian clothing. Needed to change it up. “Prompt as every. How has your day been?” She wondered not having seen him all day. She had been holed up in her office trying to organise her thoughts when she had a headache.

"Pretty uneventful, except there was one item of note. Crewman Jones asked me to review the internal sensors from earlier today. Apparently he and Petty Officer Tremblay were in the hydroponics bay. They both heard someone enter, but they couldn't find anyone. The logs indicated no one had come in the room, but he was pretty insistent," he said remembering the discussion he had had with the young crewman.

“Well, that is…” Beth started as the door opened again bringing someone else in.

Avira had checked twice with Nurse Daglish to make sure she wasn't making some sort of faux pas when going to this gathering. She was wearing a white blouse over black slacks. It had felt weird to go anywhere without her lab coat on but she had taken Lottie's word for it that this was the appropriate attire. As she entered and saw the Commander in a dress she wondered if she had been expected to wear one of those as well. She couldn't really remember ever wearing one, it reminded her of a robe. "Good evening all." She quickly made her way over to the nearest seat and sat down.

"Hello, Doctor." Beth greeted smiling at her relieved that the woman was wearing civilian clothing. It made her wonder more and more how they were going to recycle and reuse clothing in the future and if anyone onboard knew how to sew properly.

Entering the Mess Hall next was Samantha, donning a casual sleeveless blue/pink floral print dress. It was one of two dresses she actually had--deciding against wearing her normal off duty clothes to the dinner--she had originally debated on wearing grey slacks with her white ALF t-shirt but went with the safer option of the dress. "How is everyone?" she greeted as she entered.

Stenn followed in behind Leyton. He was wearing a dark blue loose tunic, with mid-arm sleeves, belted at the waist with a length of embroidered cloth, over light gray pants and leather slippers. In his time on Earth and the Military he had become more accustomed to Human social functions, although the need to make small talk could still be problematic.

"Good evening Captain" He said, approaching Leroux.

Beth had just been about to greet Leyton when Stenn walked in. "Good evening to you both," Beth said with a bright smile to them both. "It is lovely to see everyone wearing something other than uniform." She mused able to see each person's personality in their clothing choices.

Ethal was one of the last to arrive at the dinner and she was dreading it. Her first informal dinner with the senior staff, she had no idea what to wear, how to act or what to talk about. On the inside she was stressing out but to the outside world she seemed normal, or at least her normal. Ethal went for more of a casual look in her outfit. She wore a grey round neck T-shirt with tight-fitting black jeans.

As she looked for a space to sit down she caught a glimpse of what others chose as their attire. Some made her feel underdressed but she was glad with her choice regardless.

Smith walked in with Jeans on and a smart t-shirt on. It was clothing that he found in the quarters that he had taken over as Morale Officer and they had fitted perfectly so it would seem something else had aligned for him. "I am the last person?" He questioned looking perturbed that he had been so late for once.

Another dizzy spell overcame Avira as the last person entered the room. She wondered why Smith was wearing Aurelius' clothes. Then she wondered how she knew those were his clothes. Then she wondered who Aurelius was and was sure that those had been Smith's clothes all along. Then the whole thing seemed to slip her mind.

Samantha turned at Smith entering as she got a small headache as he did so as the clothes seemed familiar, but the thought faded. "Don't worry, Ensign. You're still on time," she grinned at the officer.

Stenn turned to see the person entering behind him. He did not recognize the blonde-haired Human male. He was aware there were still a few crew he did not know, having not met all of them before his coma. He presumed this to be one of them, although he had expected to recall all of the officers, he did not know this one.

"Glad to hear," John said brightly as he looked at everyone. "I am glad everyone came." He could not help but smile at everyone who had come, he thought that Stenn would not come so it was a pleasant surprise. "I thought we could all have a meal together as we have not had the chance really since we lost people." He knew that Sloan and Santana were working but neither of them seemed to even notice him really so it would be easier to work with the people here.

Stenn nodded to Smith. "I do not believe we have met Ensign," He said, offering the man his hand in Human fashion.

John looked at the Vulcan and down at the offered hand and shook it. "I do not believe we have properly other than in passing Captain. I was part of our flight department last time you were awake." He revealed smiling still.

"I do not recall you Ensign" Stenn replied honestly, feeling the man's handgrip tighten slightly, for a moment it seemed Smith was focusing his gaze rather intently. But it passed quickly enough and Stenn continued "But thank you for the invitation to share a meal" Releasing the handshake as he did so,

“Well it is good that I recall you Captain.” Smith said easily watching the man. “Everyone is invited. I could hardly leave you out now could I.”

Since his discussion with Leroux about the ongoing effects from the telepathic link established by the sentient tower, Stenn had been maintaining a strict mental discipline, concentrating on his emotional control. For a moment during the handshake it had felt like Smith was a churning ocean of mental energy. Stenn moved off to collect his thoughts for a moment

William had been mingling with his colleagues and now looked towards John as he addressed them. There was something familiar about his clothing, but the all familiar pang from his forehead returned and he sighed slightly. He had been dealing with this familiar sensation for a while, and he was debating on going to sickbay to see if there was something he could take. It had been making his mood sour lately, but it had not affected his work.

"I didn't think Cranston had the time to make another meal today," Samantha spoke with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I am cooking," John said brightly already moving to where the galley was. "It is mostly cooked. Mister Cranston helped me earlier as I helped him prepare the main meal for the crew."

"Oh," Samantha replied simply, hoping that Smith was at least a competent cook. She had grown accustomed Kyle's cooking. Smith mentioned that Kyle had helped so it had to taste good, so she told herself as she watched Smith enter the galley.

William sat at the table across from Samantha before looking after John. "You cook now? That is news to me, especially since you couldn't make yourself a sandwich back on the Johannesburg."

"Kyle has been teaching me and you forget that I had to learn when we did not have a cook and we all pitched in to make food." The Morale Officer shot back with a wink towards his friend as he disappeared off.

"Seriously William he cannot cook?" The Captain asked looking to the Armoury Officer concerned.

"I can neither confirm or deny that fact," William replied with a wink to the captain. He remembered that John was a fairly decent cook. "Let's just say it's a good thing I'm not cooking," he added.

Beth frowned and down the glass of moonshine she had. It was either going to be a good night or disaster.

Stenn wandered over and sat down by zh'Kenarh. "Good evening Doctor, I believe this evening may be an interesting experience for both of us..." He said somewhat cryptically.

Avira frowned slightly, it wasn't the first time she had shared a meal with her human colleagues. But she realised that Stenn hadn't had the same opportunity for most of the voyage. "I am sure it will be fine. I have grown quite familiar with human cuisine, I am curious to find out what they have prepared for us."

"Italian is a form of Human cuisine focusing on wheat pasta, with a range of vegetables such as tomatoes, peppers and herbs, as well as meats and dairy-based cheeses" Stenn replied "I sampled some during training on Earth, it is not unpleasant, although high in carbohydrates" Stenn commented

"I was not aware you were savvy to the cuisine being served tonight." Avira certainly hadn't received that memo. "Even so, a lot of different options to choose from still."

"Speaking of which, what is on the menu tonight John," William asked before taking a sip from his glass. He looked up expectantly as John reappeared from the galley with a large tray of food.

"Bolognese, both meat and vegetable varieties, pasta and garlic bread which is all made by yours truly," Smith announced as he put the pot of pasta and bread down on the table and went off to get the sauces. He soon returned to make the table overflowing with food. "Would anyone else like some of the alcohol that engineering gave us?" He wondered already moving to fill Beth's glass.

William allowed John to fill his own glass as he looked at the food that had been placed on the table. While not a expert on Italian cuisine, there was something about the food that struck him as off. As he looked over the plates, he couldn't place what was bothering him about the presentation. He took a sip from his filled glass and felt the moonshine hit and burn slightly as it went down.

“Not used to it there William.” John teased moving on to the science officer. “More?” He wondered.

Ethal looked at John and shook her head "I'm not a big drinker and I still have plenty." She raised and gestured to her glass of moonshine. She had only taken the drink in politeness and only taken a few sips out of it. "Thank you for the offer regardless." She wasn't sure why but she could not look John directly in the eyes like she could with her other colleagues and there was a pit in her stomach when he was neer.

"Just that Italian is not a cuisine I'm overly familiar with. But I'm always willing to try new things," William replied as he let John top off his glass. He was beginning to feel the booze in his head slightly loosening his tongue.

Samantha took a sip of the offered moonshine after her glass was filled. She had personally never tried moonshine as she took a slow sip of it. Causing her to close one eye, making a face in the process and cough. "Holy shit," she coughed, covering her mouth with a napkin as the liquid burned its way down her throat and into her stomach.

Having declined the offer of moonshine Avira was simply sipping water. The grimaces around her were indicative of the fact that she probably made the right decision there. Besides, she was going to be on call tonight, so it was best for her not to partake.

Stenn likewise declined the alcohol. The smell was sharp in is nostrils, but not sharp enough to cover to odor of the food. Something smelt rank, most likely it was what Smith had called meat bolognaise As a Vulcan Stenn was mostly vegetarian and the smelly, oily, odd red color, lumpy sauce Smith offered was certainly not to his taste. He took some pasta and a small portion of the vegetable sauce. This smelt better than the meat version, at least, although it did not look particularly appetizing either. It was the same odd red color and seemed to contain a strange variety of roughly cut vegetables, Stenn could recognize what appeared to be potatoes, sweetcorn and cauliflower, as well a number of beans and possibly carrots or some other sort of root vegetable. He recalled from MACO training that many of his Human colleagues enjoyed something called Mac and Cheese which was apparently Italian cuisine too, this meal looked nothing like that.

He tried a spoon full of pasta and sauce. It was not good. The pasta seemed very hard and undercooked, the sauce was sour tasting and salty and like the pasta the vegetables was hard and underdone, the potatoes even seemed to be raw. He managed to swallow the mouthful, then put the spoon down and took a long drink of water to remove the taste from his mouth. He would not be eating any more of the food on his plate. He lifted a piece of what had been called Garlic Bread. Garlic he knew was a pungent and flavorful Earth plant, of the onion family. The bread though seemed to be spread with some oily substance and covered in slices of uncooked garlic bulb, he did not try it and took another drink of water instead.

Looking around he saw others at the table seemed to be enjoying the food he noticed, eating happily. The differences between their species was quite fascinating. Vulcans consumed simple food, but it was generally wholesome and nutritious. This meal appeared to unpleasant and uneatable to him.

Avira was unfamiliar with how this particular meal should taste, but having partaken in other meals with her human colleagues she was quite sure this wasn't it. She looked across the table and saw one of her colleagues happily eating away at the sour salty slop. Not wanting to seem improper and impolite she took another spoonful. In the back of her mind she felt something urge her that this tasted exactly like it ought to. Her face turned to a scowl, if this was exactly what it should taste like then she didn't know why this cuisine was lauded for its refinement.

Another spoonful was guided to her mouth, the saltiness extracting the water from her mouth. She drank another sip of the water, perhaps that's why the others were insisting on drinking the moonshine with this, to make it palatable. There was a crunch as she bit down on a particularly uncooked bit of spaghetti. She took a moment to chew through it and shook her head a bit. She didn't want to cause a scene by not finishing her meal, but was already regretting the amount she had scooped onto her plate.

As she ate a couple of more mouthfuls one of the more cooked strings of the pasta slid from her spoon and drenched in the red sauce landed square on her white blouse. She looked at it, incredulously. Just what she needed, a huge stain on her best white shirt. She let out an Andorian expletive, a little too loudly for polite company, and grabbed the string of paste with her hand to unceremoniously dump it back into her plate. She felt the pressure on her mind increase, telling her it was ok, something to laugh about. She started to chuckle uncomfortably, something that evolved into a louder laugh. Exactly why she thought it was funny eluded her.

William looked up as he chewed the strangely crunchy spaghetti. He saw the bright red sauce on her shirt which contrasted with her blue skin. He smiled slight at her before offering a napkin across the table to her. Avira's laugh and accident seemed to lighten the tension around the table as everyone seemed to relax some.

Beth smiled over at the doctor as she saw the red sauce on her white top. She laughed good-naturedly at the woman but could not help but wonder what the grimace was about on her face. The food was good and the company better. “Was it on a cool wash and if it is still there if you put it under the lights in hydroponics it will come out. Sunlight gets rid of tomato stains.” Beth assured thinking of her husband and all the shirts she had, had to rescue from tomato meals that had ruined items.

"I was always taught it was a vigours scrub from a pumice stone that got red stains out," William said before stopping his chewing. There was something about the taste that just didn't seem right, a very metalic yet briny taste. He struggled to figure what it was but he couldn't place it. He continued chewing and looked up as his colleagues looked at him. "My time with relatives up north in the tundra," he said by way of explanation, "We washed all our clothes by hand."

Slowing her chewing at the crunchiness of the undercooked pasta, caused Samantha to look down at her plate. Taking a bite of the meat, it too was crunchy, indicating that it was burnt, as well as the taste of it. 'Either Cranston is a terrible teacher or Smith isn't a very good listener. Rations are better than this,' she thought as she forced the food down.

As everyone carried on eating Beth paused and found herself staring at the food confused. Something was wrong but she could not figure out what exactly it was but something was telling her to stop eating, stop drinking the moonshine and then it was gone. No … no it was still there, fighting for her to listen to the voice inside that was telling her that there was danger. “I…” She opened her mouth but nothing came out despite wanting to tell everyone the food was awful despite everyone acting like it was perfectly normal.

“Captain…” John said from the seat next to her as he saw blood coming from her nose.

William looked up and saw the captain had a look of worry on her face. He saw the bright red flow coming from her nose and met her gaze with alarm, "Your nose." He then looked over at Avira who was starting to rise from her chair.

Seeing the captain's nosebleed, caused Samantha to stop eating as she looked at the captain in concern. "Are you alright, Captain?"

Stenn calmly handed Leroux a napkin to stem the flow. As he did so he caught the look on Smith's face. the man was almost smirking he thought.

Beth took the napkin with a mumbled thanks as she put it to her nose. "I believe I am okay. I guess I am joining the group of people affected by nose bleeds at the moment." She said quietly blushing a bit under everyone's gaze.

It had taken Avira a moment to navigate around the table, and she was now at the Commander's side. She kicked herself mentally for not bringing her med-kit, Lottie had told her not to. "I want to get you to sickbay and run some tests." She tried to say it quietly but the chatter around the table had died down to the point where even then everyone heard her.

William nodded in agreement at the doctor's advice before he stopped. There was something about what the Captain said that peeked his curiosity. Others had been getting nosebleeds? He felt like this couldn't be a coincidence. "I think that's a good idea captain," William said in agreement as he wiped his mouth with his napkin.

Beth wanted to argue but nodded. She rose steadily from the table with all the grace that she could muster. “Excuse us. Please continue.” Beth said embarrassed as she left the table.

Samantha hadn't heard of others getting nosebleeds. "Lieutenant Reade, I want you to work with Doctor Zh'Kenarh and determine what is causing these nosebleeds. She wasn't buying the coincidence explanation--not so many within a short amount of time.

"Of course Lieutenant." She said concerned about what was going on with these nosebleeds. She was glad for the fact she really did not drink much of her moonshine as now it was back to duty and the last thing she wanted to be was intoxicated.

At everyone looking around distracted John cough politely. “The Captain said for us to continue. Let’s enjoy.” He reminded.

Samantha looked at her food though she had lost her appetite, she somehow felt compelled to continue eating despite the food tasting terrible.

William looked around at the others as they began eating again, before he also felt compelled somehow to resume eating as well. He put another bite in his mouth and began chewing. He felt the awkward tension around the table before he swallowed but felt something catch in his throat. He coughed slightly, bringing his napkin up to his mouth to cover it as he reached for his glass. He took a few sips washing down the food before he looked up to find eyes on him. "Excuse me, something went down the wrong pipe."

Stenn sat quietly. He looked down at his plate, just after the Captain and Doctor had departed, at Smith's insistence everyone had sat back down and resumed eating. He had briefly felt an urge to give the meal another try, and even lifted a fork full, but as he raised it to his mouth the unpleasant nature of the food became apparent again. He lowered the fork back to the plate and looked around the table. The rest were again apparently enjoying it, although he noticed Smith was not eating either.

When Gerhard began coughing Stenn took advantage and stood up, lifting his plate from the table. "It was an... interesting experience" He said evenly. "I have duties to attend to, so, good evening to you all" He nodded to the those at the table and headed for the galley. It was a mess back there, used pots and pans, ingredients strewn around, the chefs would have a busy start cleaning this up before breakfast. He dumped the food from his plate in the recycling chute and placed the plate and cutlery in the sink. He turned to exit back through the mess hall but decided to leave via the galley door instead.

The whole situation had been most uncomfortable.