[Backsim] LtCmdr Azura Ada - sometimes the association isn't free at all

[Azura Ada]

(( A "Trusty" Diner, Carbon Creek, Pennsylvania, Earth ))

Seleya: Apologies if I over explained it all. What’s the story behind your ‘fear’, Commander?

Ada: Not at all. Thank you for explaining, I value the opportunity to learn more about you and your people. But ::she looked Seleya in the eye, with a slight smirk:: call me "Commander" again when we're off duty and see what happens. ::She laughed:: Call me Azura, because that's my name.

S'Rorr smiled at her, and Azura took delight in the Caitian's kind efforts to mimic humanoid facial expressions, and returned a felinoid staple in addition to a smile: a slow blink. 

S'Rorr: S'Rorr or Rory. Whatever's easiest to pronounce. Anything but 'Doc'.

She nodded gently.

Seleya: Response

Ada: I get it. I had to adjust to Commodore Rajel's insistence to be addressed as "Jalana" at all times. Felt weird. But you asked where my fear of heights came from, but I don't know actually. I couldn't point to any events in my childhood, but I know that getting blown off a mountain in a research station when I was on sabbatical didn't help with that. ::She pat her abdomen.:: Still have the scars from that one. How about you, S'Rorr? Lose a fight with a banana split sundae?

S'Rorr devoured his meal at an impressive rate. 

S'Rorr: You must not know me well. I'll never lose a fight with a sundae. But no, maybe it's part instinct? They kind of look like they should be alive. A slow squirming yellow slug with razor teeth, like a big leech.

Ada: Hm. I guess if I grew up around slugs like that I might feel the same way. Funny how our minds make these connections. Oh! Yes, someone--the Edo people!--have this tree fruit with a flared base that looks just like a bu--t, anyway, you get my point. 

She went back to her biscuits and gravy. It was perfect: the biscuit dough was slightly overworked. The gravy was too salty, and the proteins in the sausage had gotten slightly tough from overcooking. The bfloral notes of the black pepper overwhelmed her nose. It was the kind of meal that had to be served in a diner like this. Anywhere else, it would lose its charm. For all her travels, she never found anything else that could capture the magic of an east coast diner.

Seleya: Response

S'Rorr: There aren't any creatures like that on Cait, but actually.. Caitians aren't originally from Cait. It was a colony established by the ancestor we and the.. Kzinti.. ::said with no love:: .. share. But maybe on our original homeworld, something like that. If I'm the only Caitian that doesn't like weird yellow fruit, I'll eat my hat.

Ada: Just making a mental note that you'd rather eat a hat than a banana.

The fact that Caitians and Kzinti were related wasn't something she thought of often, but it was always a surprise to remember. The two societies occupied such different places in her mind.

Seleya: Response

S'Rorr: ::pushing dishes away slowly:: Aaaah.. That was good! I can feel the sugar. You know that coffee drink didn't give me much hope for this place but I've turned around completely.

Ada: You're getting it. It's a distinct culinary tradition in the region.

Seleya: Response

S'Rorr: If you'll excuse me for a moment, then. I'll see if the kitchen will let me borrow their replicator to make some extra supplies for me.. I'll meet you outside.

S'Rorr headed off for more supplies, and Azura struck up conversation with Seleya as she worked on her meal.

Ada: I'm glad you could join. Both of you. It's easy to feel sequestered away in the labs as a science officer, and I'm eager to know y'all. Though I bet Intelligence can be like that too?

Seleya: ?

Azura finished her meal, and sipped the last of her coffee.

Ada: So it's not all clandestine missions with black catsuits? Huh.

Seleya: ?

When Seleya finished her meal, and the server came by to grab the dishes, she got and started collecting her kit, and they walked out front to meet with S'Rorr.

(( Outside the diner ))

The cool winter air was scented with hints of smoke from wood fires, and people meandered around the town, looking at the shops and restaurants. The kitsch of it was endearing. Once, a place like this would be called a "tourist trap," but without the exchange of money as a concern, the town was instead a deeply genuine expression of enthusiasm about this legend of Vulcans living on Earth around a hundred years before First Contact. 

Azura rallied her comrades.

Ada: Alright. Everyone ready?  We'll beam to the trailhead--it reduces strain on the local ecosystem instead of driving or flying to it.

Seleya/S'Rorr: ?

-- 
Lt Commander Azura Ada
Chief Science Officer
USS Valkyrie-A
PODcast team member
ASDB team member

C239510LD0

(she/her, character)
(she/her, writer)
 
 
“For the wise person looks into space and knows there are no limited dimensions." --Zhuangzi