Ensign Tho’Bi - The Cook, The Frozen One, and The Distilled Purple Biomass

[Tobi]

((Boraxian Food Container, Six-Rail Elevator, above The Seedery - ‘NewHope’))

The shuddering hexagonal container continued to climb; they were now the equivalent of six decks in the air. Post-seizure weary arms dragged the Andorian onto the container. He could sense it shift and buckle under his weight, and heard the protracted grind and whine of metal parts exceeding tolerance. 

Shimmering in ever-shifting metallic tones, the hexagonal PADD was nested among the pink tear shaped fruit. The Andorian Engineer reached out and snatched it. He then tapped his combadge. 

Tho’Bi: =/\= Lieutenant Commander Silveira ::beat:: I have the PADD =/\=

Silveira: =/\= Response =/\=

Dark blue eyes looked over the edge of the rattling container and down to the Seedery below. Eight decks high and rising.

Tho’Bi: ::quietly:: Uh Oh.

Dark blue eyes then looked up to the very snug elevator shaft, and its entirely not Andorian friendly shape, cut into the rusted and algae covered ceiling; that he and the hexagonal food container were approaching, and faster than he'd like.

Tho’Bi: ::quietly:: Uh Oh. 

Tho’Bi: =/\= Need a little help! =/\=

Storm: =/\= Little busy, Tho’Bi. =/\=

Silveira: =/\= Response =/\=

Paler, but better, blue hands tucked the Hexagonal Boraxian PADD into the large flat pocket on his tunic; the Boraxian PADD just finding space alongside his own Standard Issue Starfleet PADD.

Ten decks high and rising. 

With his fellow Away Team members all occupied with the rogue Boraxian, the young Andorian Engineer needed to find his own way out of this jam and fast; if he didn't want to be crushed between fruit and bulkhead.  

Eleven decks high and rising.

Without an Engineering Kit, his phaser would have to. His fingertips worked the phaser control to its narrowest beam and set the phase pulse and intensity for cutting wrought metals.

Fiiiiizzzzz! The tight beam of blazing orange light sliced through the stacks of pink tear drop shaped fruit like they were little more than thick air. The sweet smell of caramel caught the young Ensign’s nose.   

Buuuzzzz! The tight beam of blazing orange began cutting through the wielded joint, running along the two bottom pieces of the hexagonal container. Molted orange oozed along the joint with the line of the phaser. 

Twelve decks high and…. Almost there. Death by fruity bulkhead.

Caramel and caustic molten metal mixed in a sickening odour; halfway, the two bottom sides shuddered and flexed. The Andorian braced his legs against the flanking sides, left and right. Drops of pink fruit juice began dripping through the phaser cut and down to the Seedery, twelve decks below. 

The battered old hexagonal container entered the snug elevator shaft.

In the failing light, the Andorian crouched down while maintaining his leg brace as well as he could. His chest pressed against fruit, he was about to lose all headroom.

Clank! The two bottom sides split about and swung open, spilling pink teardrop shaped fruit down onto the seedery bellow. The Andorian slid deeper into the vacant container, nearly losing his footing as he did.

Crunk! The hexagonal container reached the top of the access shaft, just brushing the back of the Andorian Engineer's head.  

Sparks flew off the two hanging sides as the hexagonal container scraped along the horizontal lift shaft. Bright yellow sparks, fizzing and spitting into the dark, dank air.

Shunt! The Andorian had only just begun to contemplate his next move, when the container suddenly stopped; slamming into the side, hard; he scrambled to regain firm footing, but it mattered not, as the container was tipped onto its side and out he tumbled. 

((Kitchens, Boraxian Vessel ‘New Hope‘))

The giant pot dominated that end of the old kitchen. There it sat; huge and rotunda, bubbling away all day, every day. The pink fruit dropped in from the delivery shoot above, and was boiled down to a dark purple paste; the paste was sweet to taste and rich in natural energy. It served as a staple, to be spread across any number of carbohydrate based foods.

Splosh! The sight of a one meter ninety centimeter giant blue alien tumbling into the giant pot, sent the old Boraxian cook scrambling for cover. He peered around the corner of a heavy, built in work surface; to his surprise, there was no chilling alien scream, no thrashing about in the panic of agony; instead, the big blue alien simply stood up and calmly climbed out of the boiling liquid.

Tho'Bi: Hello ::beat:: I am Tho'Bi of the Starfleet Vessel, Artemis ::bows slightly:: 

The Andorian Engineer could not remember the Boraxian greeting at that moment. 

Tho'Bi: Erm… Knowing me, knowing you.

The old Boraxian cook looked blank-faced at the tall blue alien. He pointed one of his top two arms in the direction of the huge pot of boiling liquid.

Dark blue eyes looked back at the pot for a moment.

Tho'Bi: Oh, yes. ::looks at old Boraxian Cook:: My people can live in extreme temperatures ::beat:: though we prefer the cold.

The mention of the word ‘cold’ drew a trio of gasps from behind a long workstation, deeper into the corridor-like kitchen, laden with vegetables of various shape, size, and condition of chopping.

Tho'Bi: I need to get back to the Seedery. 

The old Boraxian cook remained silent, but turned and pointed at the wall behind the gasping workstation. A Master System Display was etched into the wall. Lines of shimmering liquid metal stretched out across it. It appeared to show the path of motion of containers from and to the Seedery. 

Tho'Bi: ::pointing at a purple line:: What is that?

As he did so, he noticed the familiar faces of the three Boraxian children from the Computer Core crouched behind the workstation. The Andorian was not the only one to notice something in this moment, the old Boraxian cook caught a glimpse of the Hexagonal PADD tucked into the blue alien's tunic. He rushed between the Andorian and the workstation. 

Boraxian Cook: ::hissed:: The children must not see that!

The manner in which the Cook himself immediately looked away, suggested very strongly to the Andorian that the children were not the only ones. He bowed and stowed the Hexagonal PADD securely in his tunic; zipping it shut.

The Boraxian cook took the Engineer by one of two arms, with one of four arms, and led the tall Andorian to the far end of the kitchen; a vat of purple liquid sat in one corner, beside it, a large shaft, cut into the wall.

Tho'Bi: ::awkwardly:: The…. Children are scared of me.  

Boraxian Cook: ::quietly:: They think you are the Frozen One. ::beat:: It is a story we tell our young …so they learn to be safe around airlocks and docks ::beats:: The Frozen One lives in space, in the cold and the dark. And if it can, it will drag you out …into the cold and dark …and you will be frozen …and you will stay forever in the cold and dark …with the Frozen One.

The Andorian shifted on his feet without purpose. 

Tho'Bi: Oh.

Boraxian Cook: Your purple line ::points at shaft:: It carries the distilled biomass of our discarded crop back to the Seedery to be used as a nutrient for the soil.

Tho'Bi: ::smiles impressed:: nothing is wasted. 

Boraxian Cook: Of course not! ::points at shaft:: this is the quickest way to the Seedery ::shakes head:: but it's not meant for people. 

The Andorian placed a foot on the bottom lip of the circular shaft. It was just big enough for him.

Tho'Bi: ::quietly:: Okie Dokie. 

The Boraxian Cook lent in close, in a sudden impulsive move.

Boraxian Cook: ::hushed urgency:: I don't want to know where you found that thing, but it is dangerous to have it. ::shakes head:: Get rid of it! But not here!

The Andorian nodded in reply and clambered, black Starfleet boots first, into the smooth, if worn and dented, shaft. His antennae sensed the three children watching him cautiously. He turned to the old Boraxian cook just long enough to utter one last thing, before disappearing down the purple biomass shaft.

Tho'Bi: There is no spoon. 

The shaft boomed and bumped to the sound of the big blur alien's accelerating descent, as the old Boraxian cook looked around at the ceiling racks of hanging utensils.

Boraxian Cook: ::exasperated:: There are lots of spoons! 

Twelve arms pointed at the different spoons hanging around from the ceiling. The old Boraxian cook looked at the pointing children and threw up his arms in mock-frustration. 

Boraxian Cook: ::mock-anger:: Get back to work! 

The old cook grinned at the three children and they smiled back; as they set about their punishment for sneaking into the Computer Core, chopping vegetables. 

((Purple Liquid Vats, The Seedery - ‘New Hope’))

The three other members of the Away Team stood with the rogue Boraxian in hand; all of them dwarfed by the large, deep, vats of purple liquid that stood around. A large shaft opened a couple of meters above the largest of the purple cats. This large vat then fed into all the other vats by way of pipes.

Meris: Where's Tho'Bi?

There was a sudden deep rumbling from within the shaft.  

Silveira/Storm/Meris: Response 

A flash of pale blue, Starfleet black and gold, ejected from the shaft.

Splooooooosh! Purple distilled biomass liquid erupted out of the largest vat and rained down around it. With a swish and a swell, a pair of antennae and then a pale blue head appeared from out of the purple distilled biomass liquid. 

Tho'Bi: ::to Silveira:: Sorry, Sir. Had to take a detour.

Silveira/Storm/Meris: Response 

 

Tags/TBC

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Ensign Tho’Bi

Engineering

USS Artemis-A

A240203T11