Breakfast of Champions

Posted on Wed Mar 4th, 2026 @ 11:40am by Ziu'Liherasefra & Captain Bethsabée Leroux & Petty Officer, 3rd Class Lottie Daglish

Mission: Royal Mail
Location: Messhall
Timeline: MD 451, Morning
2164 words - 4.3 OF Standard Post Measure

Beth had not meant to interrupt the pair but it was hard not to when there were not many spots in the dining room. The compartment was normally fall at meals times but with a few more people on the ship than normal it was noticeable. She grabbed a bowl of salad and the resequenced protein to add to the healthy meal. She slipped through the tables and offered a calm smile that she hoped gave over she was just wanting to eat her meal and get out of there. “Can I join you both?” She wondered quietly.

Unlike many of the crew, who may have found the Captain's presence cause for discomfort, Hera's bright smile was immediately welcoming without conveying any reluctance at having to shift over a little to accommodate. By now, she was used to talking to Beth, accepting that one of the reasons the older woman had consented to keep her on board was to assist with local knowledge. Ongoing difficulties with the translator integration had made the last few days a good deal more problematic for Hera than when they'd been offline entirely but, so far, the day hadn't presented any strange attempts to make her say things she hadn't meant.

"Of course, have this seat."

Lottie smiled at the captain and shifted closer to Hera. She had no issue with scooting closer to the woman in the slightest. “Thank you.” Beth said smiling at the quirk of phrasing. The universal translator was fighting for its life right now with the other new species onboard. “How has your mornings gone?”

"It's only just started," Hera offered, already concerned once again with navigating food onto her fork. Whereas it wasn't like Lottie at all to run late, Hera was still trying to get used to the regimented nature of duty shifts and was more often the culprit of these rushed mornings, when shifting her priorities from snuggling in bed to actually getting dressed was a feat in itself. "But I believe it will be a good one." Ever since communication had been partially restored, the young alien's mood had improved significantly. It still felt strange to be slowly moving in the opposite direction from home but at least it wasn't quite so lonely anymore.

The captain smiled at the woman and started on he own food. She took several bites of the food savouring the taste now that she was no longer having morning sickness or the strange metallic taste in her mouth. “I would give a lot for a slow morning.” Beth realised softly.

The response seemed to surprise Hera; not because it seemed odd that the Captain would desire such things, but because she seemed to be saying she wasn't currently able to manage them. The Ziu'ni had learned enough to understand how busy the day-to-day ship operations could get but Hera was nothing if not a poster child for abandoning obligations that only sought to drag you down. "Perhaps you should schedule yourself one," she suggested, smiling with all the optimism of one who truly considered it that easy.

“Because it would mean moving other people’s routines around,” Beth explained gently before Lottie could. The nurse smiled a little at her girlfriend’s view of things. If only it were that simple, it would mean a lot fewer night shifts, that’s for sure.

Hera seemed puzzled, her brow knitted in a familiar expression of concentrated confusion as her first instinct was always that she'd simply misunderstood. Lottie seemed to accept the Captain's response without question, which was cause enough to hesitate, but eventually curiosity and the insistence of her own brand of logic refused to remain unspoken.

"Would the crew not make adjustments to let you rest?"

It didn't seem to fit with Hera's opinion of this group of people, who were overall visibly supportive of each other and, aside from a few outliers, not inclined to complain much about doing their fair share of the work.

"They most likely would, but it's a lot of cogs in the machine to change," Beth said, knowing it was likely not as hard as she thought and Gerhard would be more than willing to change but she felt that it was improper to ask.

By now, Lottie at least was growing used to the expression of whimisical confusion that denoted Hera's attempts to decode the social hierachy on board. Whilst she had grown up in a society of strict discipline and rigid adherence to tradition, Hera wasn't as familiar with the concept of career-based command structures as her people otherwise would have required of a representative mediator. She'd certainly witnessed them, she'd just never tried to integrate into one, and the longer she spent at it, the more perplexing it seemed in places. One thing was certain, personal sacrifice seemed to be covetted and the Captain seemed the worst culprit of all for placing her own needs far below everyone else's.

Sitting up a little straighter, the Ziu-ni drew back her shoulders, a stance her parents might have raised an eyebrow at if only because it reflected a lot more of her cultural upbringing that Hera usually liked to submit to.

"It is not a terrible thing if it makes the machine run better though, yes? It is only as strong as its most worn-down part, I think, and you are a very important part. There is no machine if you break."

“Hera has a point.” Lottie stated smiling at the her girlfriend’s argument. She really did know how to handle this problem better than she gave herself credit for.

“I appreciate that you think I am important enough to worry over.” Beth said kindly leaning over to touch the woman’s hand. “I will give it some thought.” She promised which made Lottie smile. It was progress in her opinion that the captain was even considering it.

The beaming smile on Hera's face was likewise pleased, and at least for now, the promise seemed to molify her enough to move the topic on. "Perhaps there is room for you to join in with the boarded games. The group has been trying to teach me how to play Clue. Lottie is very good at it."

It was Beth's turn to look horrified and then amused at the invitation from the woman. "I will certainly add it to my list of invitations if I have an urge to join large groups," Beth said, smiling more calmly as she felt Lottie breathe a sigh of relief next to her. Beth was not known to just join enlisted gatherings knowing that they deserved privacy. "What other games have they been teaching you?"

A moment of thoughtful chewing gave Hera time to recollect. The concept of board games had been entirely foreign to her when Lottie had first introduced her to the social group; games of chance were more familiar, as the concept of gambling seemed to be universal, but the Ziu'ni had become instantly fascinated by the concept of strategy confined to a playing board, and was rapidly proving to be very quick on the uptake.

"One is called Risk, I believe?" The hesitation saw her look to Lottie for confirmation before continuing. "And the one where everyone must cooperate." A knitted brow cleared instantly as the name came back to her. "Pandemic. I very much like being the Dispatcher." The jury was still out on whether the rest of the group agreed with this.

Beth sipped on the mint tea that was really helping her nausea. She would have to thank Darru and find out what crew member suggested to him him to bring it to her. She did not know which crew member but she was thankful for that kindness when it really had gotten her though a lot of bad days. “I like pandemic. I also like dungeons and dragons but I love one of the old Earth variants of it before it got rule heavy and expanded to much and everyone chose their own version. Have you tried that? You just need dice.” Maybe that could be a present for the woman seeing she was being so kind at the moment to her.

As was common when her interest was piqued, Hera sat up straight in her chair and gave the Captain her entire attention, which left her cultery poised mid-cut and her expression buoyant with curiosity. "What is a dragon?"

Beth smiled and wiped her fingers from the beard she had been using on her soup and pulled out her padd from her pocket and brought up a dragon on the screen. “They come in many different shapes and forms.” Beth suggested smiling. “They are from Earth mythology.” Though if some people had their way with DNA splicing they would find a way to create them from Pterodactyl DNA somehow."

The scrape of a chair brought Hera around the table, close enough to peer over the woman's shoulder but also close enough to be considered by some, perhaps, to be a little too close to the vessel's Commanding Officer. Personal space was a concept the woman was still working on; humans weren't not as strict about it as her own people but they were a good deal more fussy about it than Hera herself.

For now, her rapt attention was far too focused on the creature on screen. "I know these, back home they are called Zar’kai." A hesitant finger hovered over the image, as if to touch it but stopping just short. "Mythology." The word seemed to trouble Hera for a moment. "A...fictitious creature? Do these not exist at all on your homeworld?"

Lottie sat a little straighter as her girlfriend invaded the captain's personal space but she did not seem to be bothered by it at all. The Captain smiled at the woman admitting that they did indeed have dragons on her homeworld. “Unfortunately not. People over the years have tried to prove the existence but afraid not.” She admitted. “But tell me about them on your world? These Zar’kai.” The word sounded fun on her tongue she would need to make an effort to try and learn more of her language so she was never isolated again.

Her gaze still fixated on the screen, Hera seemed almost distracted as she spoke. "There are several species, though none quite as large as this. The mountain Drak’kai are the larger, more solitary. Their numbers are sparse and their territories are protected. The Luro'kai are much smaller and wide-spread; they are aquatic mostly, though they build their family dens on land, close to the shore."

Once again, a pang of unexpected homesickness caught the Ziu'ni by surprise. Exile had been her own choice, she had complicated any return home well before meeting Lottie and embarking on an adventure that set her on a course away from Aona. As unlikely as it was that she would have travelled home any time soon, there was something to be said about rendering it impossible that provoked complicated feelings.

“Fascinating.” Was all Beth could think of to say. In all her imagining what worlds would be out there she had never imagined dragons despite her love of them in games and books. What a strange feeling to find something amazing and not having imagined it. “You will have to tell me more about them when we both have time.”

"Of course." Snapped from her reverie by the surprise of the Captain's request, Hera smiled just a little too late to entirely mask her wistfulness. "I should like to hear more of this Dungeons & Dragons too. Perhaps you could teach us."

“You should speak to Ensign McManus as well. I hear he runs games often I am a little rusty.” It had been a good year since are had played properly but she would be happy if people wanted to play.

“He does. He once tried to get me to play.” Lottie admitted.

"Then it's a date," Hera declared, with the kind of confident enthusiasm that Lottie would instantly recognise as being particularly difficult to thwart. Though the communication issues were still present, they were not nearly as severe as they had been and the nurse wouldn't have been wrong to suspect her girlfriend occasionally leaned into the mischief of letting people believe she was a lot more ignorant than she actually was. This had all the hallmarks of a Hera-style scheme; her bright smile didn't leave a lot of room for arguments. "Perhaps we can make time this week, it would allow us to also invite our guests."

Lottie just smirked a little as she watched the Captain nibble a little more in her food. She did not think at all that the older woman had any idea the can of worms that she was opening up but it would be fun either way.