Breakfast Encounter

Posted on Mon Mar 25th, 2024 @ 2:30pm by Lieutenant JG Rebecca Bluegarden & Lieutenant T'kara

1,466 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Mission 5: The Price of Paradise
Location: Hilton Hotel, Starbase 10
Timeline: M5 MD04 (2268.07.26) 0700

The Hilton Hotel located at Starbase 10 was a rather nice excursion. It was nice to be able to have a moment to breathe in between something assignments; a luxury rarely afforded to the common Starfleet officer, so it was something Rebecca was going to take full advantage of:

The room was of a comfort typical to Hilton hotels, that's why Rebecca's mother always preferred to stay at them whenever they went racing. Something Rebecca would continue for her own racing career, as she came to realize her mama was right: Hilton hotels give a racer the best night's sleep before and after the race.

But perhaps even better than the best night's sleep was a hearty breakfast on race morning, and that was Rebecca's first order of business when she awoke the next morning.

After pulling on her uniform, Rebecca made her way down to the lobby, where the smell of a fresh continental breakfast met her nostrils. Grabbing a plate, Rebecca proceeded to get right to work in preparing her breakfast: First, some blueberry waffles to put on one of the waiting waffle irons, then while those cooked, Rebecca loaded her plate with scrambled eggs and bacon before grabbing a cup of cereal and a yogurt from the mini fridge (Rebecca always hated that the yogurt was only available during breakfast hours, and always made sure to grab a second one to consume later) and finding a table for her treasures before going back to collect her now completed waffle. It was at this point that Rebecca also fetched herself some juice (another breakfast hours-exclusive item Rebecca wished was available at all times) to wash the first rounds of her breakfast down with before returning to her table to dig into the food.

T’kara stretched and looked at the chronometer on the wall of the room. She had slept in; her normal 0530 coming and going some two hours before. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, looking around the room. Her uniform sat on the dresser, where she’d placed it. She slid out of the bed, reluctantly, grabbed her uniform and padded to the refresher. An actual shower was a luxury that they didn’t get aboard ship; they had to make due with a sonic refresher instead.

Fifteen minutes later, T’kara emerged fully uniformed and ready for the day. She made her way downstairs and was instantly drawn to the breakfast area. The array of pleasant smells coming from the area promised no end to the luxury.

T’kara helped herself to fresh fruit - another denied luxury on the Midway. This wasn’t re-sequenced…this was the real thing! She also found the fruit juices and tried a healthy portion of something sweet and sticky but tart. She poured another glass and headed for the seating area.

She noticed the new (to her anyway) helmsman sitting at a table and thought to be sociable.

“Mind if I join you, Lieutenant,” T’kara asked around a mouthful of strawberries.

Rebecca looked up at the officer asking to share her table.

"Sure, there's plenty of room here." She responded, her own mouth full of waffle. "Here, let me get some of my stuff out of your way..."

Rebecca condensed some of her dirty dishes to occupy less of the table space to allow the other Lieutenant to sit. As she did so, some of Rebecca's placemat was revealed; the portion that was revealed contained her old racing number: 53. The number was stylized in a manner that it could be seen as a sports number, which was exactly what it was.

“I’m T’kara,” she said, placing her plate of fruit on the table. She pulled out the chair and sat down, starting to eat her fruit.

"I'm the Chief Navigator," she added, offering him a friendly smile as she took a sip of her juice, “but don’t hold that against me.”

"I have to confess, I'm a bit spoiled with this fresh fruit and juice. It's something we don't have the luxury of aboard the Midway," she continued, chuckling a bit as she took another bite of her breakfast.

"Rebecca Bluegarden, Helmswoman." Rebecca responded. "And girl, I understand what you're getting at: Ain't no getting fresh waffles on board starships either. And I do love me a good waffle. Reminds me of simpler times, traveling around with my mama. She used to race cars before she died, and we travelled all over to different racetracks, and the one thing I always looked forward to was stuffing my face with a nice fluffy waffle before heading out to the track to watch my mama race."

T’kara nodded and munched on a slice of some kind of melon as she listened to Rebecca. Not caring for the aftertaste, she set it aside for the moment preferring to sip some of the unidentified juice.

"Agreed," she said after swallowing her bite. "There's something about the taste of real fruit that re-sequenced stuff just can't match." She selected a slice of pineapple from her plate, savoring its sweetness. “I’m sure it’s that way for the waffles, too.”

“How are you finding your assignment on the Midway? Everything ok,” T’kara asked around a bite of Andorian mixed berries.

"It's quite a change coming from a smaller vessel but it's a challenge I'm embracing," she paused, taking a sip of her juice. "I must admit, I was a bit nervous at first, but everyone has been so welcoming," she smiled warmly.

"I gotta admit, I probably ain't too qualified to share your sentiment, T'Kara." Rebecca admitted as she began to shovel the cereal into her mouth. "I've been on Connies since the Academy, and once you see one, you've seen them all."

Rebecca swallowed her mouthful of cereal.

"I will admit, though, I am looking forward to the pool being in better shape than on my other ships." She said. "I ain't no engineer, but with how common it is to find the pool on a Constitution class cracked or leaking, it sure seems like a design flaw to me."

T’kara nodded, amazed that someone got Constitution duty straight out of the Academy. She’d known that some of her classmates had gotten similar orders, but she was glad she’d come up in smaller vessels, first.

“I don’t think I knew we had a pool,” T’kara admitted. She would have to investigate…a dip after work hours would be nice, from time to time.

"The more you know, am I right?" Rebecca responded. "Though, word of advice, early morning and late at night are the best times to swim, as there's nobody in the pool at those times. Otherwise, you have to deal with perverts checking you out and inviting you back to their quarters for 'coffee.' Not saying I'm speaking from experience or anything, but trust me when I say that most of them do not intend to actually give you coffee."

T’kara nodded knowingly at Rebecca’s comment.

“I’m Rigelian; an oath of celibacy on file was a prereq for me to be able to serve,” she casually mentioned.

“And I don’t personally care for coffee,” she said, returning to her breakfast for a moment.

“But a swim after duty sounds like a nice way to unwind,” she said around more of the mixed berries.

"Ah, what I wouldn't give for an oath of celibacy sometimes." Rebecca sighed. "Don't get me wrong; getting compliments on my natural good looks is a great thing; but then you get creeps who ain't lookin' ya in the eye, and are more fixated on your chest."

"But, that's neither here nor there." Rebecca said dismissively. "I'm sure an evening swim is a lovely option to have available, and I look forward to taking advantage of it before the Midway's pool cracks."

T’kara forked the last of the mixed berries into her mouth and nodded at Becca’s last comment. An evening dip after her gym routine did sound like a nice end to any day, let alone one of the stressful days on Midway that were becoming more routine and frequent. Seeing that her plate was finally empty and not wanting to go back for more, T’kara stood to leave.

“Thanks for the company, Lieutenant. It was nice to talk with you. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to gather up my things before I leave for the Midway. Maybe I’ll see you aboard,” T’kara offered.

"I'm sure you will." Rebecca smiled. "I mean, I am the new girl on the Midway after all." She gave a wink.

END

Lieutenant T'kara
Chief Navigator

Lieutenant JG Rebecca Bluegarden
Helmsman

 

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