Lieutenant Amelia Semara - Taste Test

[Max]

(( Intelligence Suite, Deck 18 - USS Khitomer, Dry-docked at DS33 ))

It was hard to place what, precisely, she hoped for from Ras when he stepped through that door.  Who knew... He was smart.  He could have solved her fiddling riddle where even she struggled to see through her own mangled metaphor.  Amelia knew better, though... Whatever happened next was her move.  In fact, she was ready to say what needed to be said, right up to the moment he caught her pancaked in a stretch on the floor of her recently redecorated intelligence suite (den seemed a lacking rename now - perhaps lodge?).  She could understand why he didn't come down here for her, but for work instead...  It still stung.

Semara: Right, yeah, that.

She turned to him after plucking the Golden Leaf of Semizad from the reading table where she left it to put it back into her hair.  Her lips slanted in one corner, wishing for a smile.

Semara: Alrighty, then.  :: A breath. ::  Let's start with what you've got on the Velithari and their tech.  'Tween the two a' us and Engineerin', we're gonna need to be makin' recommendations to the diplomatic corps that might shape what they can and can't share with 'em.

Hair pinned back, she kept moving to collect some refreshments.  If she kept moving, it was less painful.

His humming sounded like an old engine trying to start with grit stuck in the gears.  Or maybe that was the way his aura shied away from her like she was a dangerous thing coloring her perception.

El'Heem: Uhhh…yes so…the Velithari are a highly Matriarchal insectoid species….yada yada you know all that. Through Chief Ohnari and Ensign Melville-Kilpatrick’s analysis on their samples taken from Captain Rana, they’ve determined they are highly resistant to the entire gamut of radiation including Sencha Wave Radiation. I believe the next steps for that finding will be to rope in the Starfleet Medical corp as well, but primarily the use case will be Starship shielding for the Alpha Isles.

While he spoke, she started on the tea.  She'd brought down a stash from her quarters even before redecorating - having an ample selection was a requirement in her book.  Her own inherited hot water pot stayed in her quarters, so she took another she'd had lying around somewhere and stashed it down here.  The dark stone pot didn't look like much, sitting there with its minimalist curves, but an artisan back home in Nantahala had collected the rock, carved it, then polished it into a simple shape.  The minerals that glittered in the pot's surface compressed by geological forces made the material virtually indestructible... and very nearly unworkable.  The particular combination of acid, plasma, and incredible precision that made the pot possible was a secret known only to the artist.

Semara: I heard some a' that, but... the entire gamut.  :: Beat :: They've evolved somethin' that makes the Khitomer's anti-Sencha hull platin' look paltry.  And we gotta energize ours to be effective, 'sides...

She gathered a few loose teas to put on a tray, careful to neatly arrange them.  Every movement with purpose when serving tea, as her mama had always taught her.

El’Heem: Yes. It’s the kind of finding- ::beat:: it’s going to turn the tide of the war.

The tray landed silently on the table.  Amelia tried to keep the way she glanced in his direction brief.  She plucked the hot pad from the tray, and poured the water.  With a practiced hand and a craftsman pot, the water funneled out in a perfectly undisrupted laminar flow, the sound of water creating a satisfying, perfectly steady rise in quiet pitch.  She lifted and lowered the pot out of habit, the motion forcing her to keep focus on a steady hand.  Better than focusing on him.  Which was probably the point of the ritual.

El’Heem: As for the organic technologies of the Velithari, direct application remains to be seen but there is promising predictive use case in gel pack efficiency. ::pause:: still haven’t cracked that whole…thing.

One of the teas sitting on the tray she'd gotten for Ras  in particular.  Normally she'd ask what he wanted, but in this case, she simply wanted to surprise him.

Semara: :: A huff :: Don't remind me.  :: Placing a tea-filled ball in a mug, then sliding it over. :: Here, try this for me?

Betazoid cuisine had a way of being sweet or spicy or rich with fats.  It could be intense or subtle, simple or complex... But one thing that still took her nose and taste buds for a journey was the powerful and pervasive umami of the Kressari palette, and how the earthy tones seemed to weave their way into everything like mycelium.

El’Heem: ::softly:: You’re impossible. Tea from the Verdant Belt? ::taking another sip:: You never cease to amaze Amelia Magnolia Semara… ::trailing off::

When he finally lifted his eyes to meet hers, she smiled, letting the way his feelings felt like hearthfire and cider wrap her up in warmth on a cold fall day.  For a moment, the nighttime scene behind the screens almost felt real.  She nodded with a little chuckle.

El’Heem: Shall I continue?

Catching his gaze, Amelia wore the sort of delighted, sparkling grin she always did when she succeeded in royally spoiling someone she cared for.  Only the longer this one lasted, it grew a little more coy in the corners of her lips and a little more mischievously pleased and narrow around the eyes.

Semara: 'Bout me?  Or the Velithari?

She couldn't hold in a tittering, musical giggle.  There was something so delightful about watching his eyes turn different, beautiful shades to accompany the riot of feeling he gave off.  And knowing she hadn't ruined things so much that she couldn't still tease him...

El'Heem: Response

She stood slowly, and turned back to the lab with a coquettish shrug, before she relieved him of his distress.

Semara: I know.  I'm impossible. :: Beat :: But I really do need help with two big problems.  First one.  We know what we want from the Velithari, obviously.  But what can we offer 'em?  They were interested in torpedoes, naturally, but I ain't sure if that'll be enough in trade, or how much we can offer there.  Large-scale cooperation and trade ain't gonna work, maybe for generations. Nevermind the technology gap, there's the societal aspect to consider, too.

The suite wasn't so large - she could still sneak a glance from the small oven over to him, just to see if his eyes still matched the undertone of his whirling feelings.  She wished he could feel hers.

El'Heem: Response

Oven mitt in hand, a tin of pastry and fruit came out of the oven, filling the room with tart steam.

Semara: And on the technology gap: what's your take - will they ever be able to develop warp technology?  'Tween their filament-filled nebula and their subspace-radiation-absorbin' ships... I ain't sure one way or the other.  I s'pose they ain't too far from short-range interstellar travel...  Could we use that to justify openin' early diplomatic relations and trade?

El'Heem: Response

She carried the desert back into the room, and after putting a hot pad on the freshly-replicated table, she set the hot tin down.  The heat and crumbs would do the over-pure wood good.  Give it love and life and a history that wasn't manufactured by a computer.

Semara: It's Toscra, actually.  :: A more thoughtful twist of her lips. :: For Ensign Morda... He mentioned havin' a likin' for it.  I think this mission... :: Beat :: No one wanted to fire that torpedo, but...  I'm a little worried about him.  Not 'worried' worried, mind you, but...  I thought he'd like somethin' comfortin' from home.... If I can ever get it right. :: A huff. :: This is already my third test bake.  Tricky to get right. :: A hopeful look. :: Stick around? Help me taste test after it cools... And we're done decidin' what to tell the diplomats 'bout the Velithari.

A little smile played on her lips.  Hopefully another reason to keep him here once business was done... In case her flirtations weren't enough.

El'Heem: Response

Tag / TBC...

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Lieutenant Amelia Magnolia Semara

Intelligence Officer

USS Khitomer - NCC-62400

A239710MA0