[Backsim] Lt Jovenan – A toast for tomorrow
Jovenan
((Holodeck 2, Deck 2, USS Artemis))
Silveira: There are a few things I learned not to mix it with, but curiously it is quite universal. I have used it on several dishes from Vulcan to Bajoran recipes. It's a matter of trial and error and risking different ingredients. In time and with practice you get it right.
Jovenan was amazed by Vitor’s culinary knowledge, nay, culinary wisdom. Even his description of when to use or not to use Terran food item known as “olive oil” showed that he possessed some notable expertise in the field. Very much unlike Jovenan, whose limited experience in the kitchen had hindered her performance today.
Jovenan: That does sound good. It’s amazing how you know how different flavours work. ::pause:: I hope I didn’t use too bland or weird tasting ingredients in my salad. Do you think we should have, like, spices on the table in case you don’t like it?
Silveira: We can always add a few to accommodate our different palettes when we try it, but we should first taste it like you cooked before making any changes. ::He began peeling the fruits he replicated, cutting it in thin slices.:: Now I try a lot, you don’t get to cook well unless you fail miserably and taste some of your awful concoctions worse than slug cola.
Sadar: I’ve made some cooling pellets. The Mizarian taste palette alternates between sweet, uhh… Salt and bitter, so eating what you call ‘spicy’ food is very much not something I’m used to. ::scratches her cheek:: They’re just for soothing the burn after eating though.
Jovenan responded with something of a polite smile. Each culture had their preferences in what the food tasted like, so while she wished her two friends could enjoy her simple dish, she acknowledged that they may prefer to add something to it or to flush it down with something. She, herself, hoped that she would like each of the dishes and not having to insult the others by “correcting” the flavour.
Jovenan: Got it. I guess I’ll take a sample to check that it tastes like it should and hope that you don’t find it too strange for you.
Silveira: I am sure it will taste great.
Waiting for Vitor’s wondrous main course to take form, Jovenan tasted a little of each of the food items she had made; the salad was okay, the dressing recognizable even if ever-so-slightly on the bitter side, and the drink was passable. Satisfied with the adequate quality of her creations, she turned once more to the other two.
Jovenan: I think I’m ready now. Is there something I can do to help, or do I ::look around:: try to find a dining table somewhere?
Vitor continued with the hasperat rolls for a few extra seconds before raising his head to them.
Silveira: We can just ask for a proper lunch table, remember we are in the Holodeck. Have you finished as well, Sada?
Ah, yes, just create a dining table. Jovenan’s main motivation for asking was the possibility that Vitor might have prepared one for them, one that would be following all the traditions and rituals related to dining in a professional kitchen such as this one. Since he hadn’t done that, she assumed there weren’t really any old code to follow, and any table would do.
Sadar: Yes Sir, the puddings are kept in the cooling unit. They do taste better cold.
Silveira: The Hasperats are ready and I just need to load them on the plates. Since you both deserve a proper plating I will only take a few more minutes to make a nice presentation. None of you are allergic to strawberries I hope.
Jovenan shook her head. She had tasted strawberries during her years on Earth while in the Academy, and at least at the time, she hadn’t noticed any negative reactions from her part. Sadar, instead, seemed not so eager.
Sadar: I-I-I, uhh, I really c-can’t eat strawberries. They, uhh, don’t agree with Mizarian physiognomy. At all.
Oh. Jovenan became suddenly worried that some of the ingredients she had used might cause allergenic reactions to her friends. The two other officers hadn’t tasted Edo food before, to her knowledge, and she hadn’t done a cross-allergenic analysis on the ingredients either, so there was no way of knowing how they’d react. Who would have known cultural exchange was this risky?
Vitor frowned for a moment before responding.
Silveira: I know, just to be on the safe side I can use one of the protein bars from the Fleet’s combat rations.
… Combat rations? Jovenan exchanged a confused look with Sadar as Vitor approached the replicator again. Sadar didn’t remain dumbfounded for long, as she soon looked up into the empty mid-distance.
Sadar: Computer, dining table with three seats, please, and, uhh, appropriate table dressing for three people?
Jovenan tried peeking in on what Vitor was doing with the combat ration bars, while the holodeck created a table for them to eat by. Only a moment later, he was ready with his dish and turned to the other two. Jovenan looked on curiously at the hasperats; he had somehow turned the ration bars into beautiful decorations!
Silveira: I hope you like them. Now let's set up a table, I can’t wait to try what you both cooked.
Jovenan: They look amazing! Mine are just here, I’ll move them on the table!
Sadar: Oh, uhh, I’ll fetch the puddings once we’ve finished your dishes. ::wrings her hands:: Umm… Can I pour you some glasses of water?
Silveira: If you please.
They moved their respective dishes on the table before sitting down. Together, they each tried out the meals, and the flow of compliments for each other’s makings was nearly overwhelming. The food they ate was from very different cultures, yet they all shared it together and enjoyed each other’s company. Despite Sadar’s reserved nature, Jovenan noticed her smiling as well.
It had been a rough year for each of them. They had seen much evil and destruction, they had cried and mourned. Some of them had lost a person they cared about, some of them had nearly been killed themselves. All of them had to struggle with fitting their morality with their actions and with the ugly truth that governed the universe. But, on days like this, they also smiled and laughed, and raising glasses with their friends, they could see that the sun would rise again, and that the tomorrow was bright.
End scene
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Lieutenant Jovenan
Chief Science Officer
USS Artemis-A
E239911J11