Fruits of Foreign Worlds

Posted on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 @ 10:18pm by Ensign Tobias "Toby" Dienstag & Lieutenant JG Marcel Knowles
Edited on on Fri Jan 27th, 2023 @ 11:14pm

0 words; about a 1 minute read

Mission: Mission 2: Rendezvous At Starbase 10
Location: Starbase 10 Promenade
Timeline: M2 MD01 (2268.6.03) 1100

As soon as the Midway docked at Starbase 10 a good portion of the crew, plus all of the "passengers" disembarked among them was Ensign Dienstag. Toby was only to happy to get a breath of fresh air away from Dr. Meddow's latest crackpot theory or the Camp Commandant breathing down his neck. He couldn't believe Dr. Karashka wanted him to set her up with Lt. Thraxina... Talk about opposites. Dr. Amato still had another duty shift to get through before being allowed shore leave so Toby figured he'd better "see the sights" on the Starbase.

The promenade section of Starbase 10 was filled with a variety of civilian owned businesses. There were almost too many choices. He could read most of the names of the businesses, but one he couldn't decipher. The young officer shrugged and headed towards the business. His curiosity was certainly peaked.

The first thing he noticed was the exotic scents of foreign cuisines and ethereal music. He looked down at his sciences teal uniform and wondered if he should have worn something else, oh well... He walked inside the restaurant.

In the middle of the business was a massive stage suspended from the ceiling, under which was circular bar. The details on the walls were ornate, baroque even. He waded through the resturant towards the bar and sat down in an empty stool.

Just a stool away sat Marcel Knowles who despite having spent some time exploring the starbase, had yet to give this place a go. He had ordered a cocktail, a negroni as he sat on the stool and looked over to the man next to him. They looked seemingly of the same age group, a year or few difference.

"I'm not a fan," Marcel confessed in an attempt to make small talk. He smiled. "Of baroque that is. The art is okay, but the music period just isn't my thing" he explained. Seemingly, the man was a science officer or medical. He hadn't thoroughly examined the uniform.

The young ensign chuckled, "I'm from Austria originally, so baroque art and music is bred into me," he commented, looking at Marcel, "I was surprised to find another human in here, let alone another Starfleet officer. This place's sign was the only one I couldn't read on the promenade."

"If you can pick up a little Klingon, everything else is Spanish" teased Marcel, poking a little fun at one of the easier languages from Earth that one tends to learn at least a bit of. "Sometimes, you just need to ignore the signs and just let your feet carry you into the unknown. Besides, everything is food if you are daring enough to try it" added Marcel.

He smiled at the science officer. "Australia?" He looked at the man. Interesting he thought. He knew of it though he had not personally been. "Isn't that the place on Earth where everything is trying to kill you?"

"Austria... you know, Habsburgs, Strauss, Gustav Klimt... Sigmund Freud... Or dare I mention it, the Sound of Music," Toby responded with an eyeroll. Everyone expected him to say crickey even though they should expect him to yodel. "And languages have always been pretty easy for me. I'm a computer language expert so human languages are about the same," he added.

"Oh!" Marcel felt like an idiot for moment and shook his head. "Austria, right. The hills are alive and all of that" he added with a chuckle. "I know where that is, but I haven't been. I have been to Germany though as a student" he added trying to find some sort of connection to make. "My German is rusty though. I've had more use out of my Klingon than my German."

"So have I really..." Toby responded, his wide eyed smile returning, "I spent most of my life in Baltimore, Maryland and the Klingon has come in handy aboard ship. How about you? where do you hail from?"

"I'm a Martian," replied Marcel. "Not exactly from the pages of a Bradbury novel granted, but I am from Mars nonetheless. That was where I was born, raised, and spent most of my life until I attended university and joined Starfleet" he explained. "I suppose I'm technically Human because look at me, but I get my Austria mixed up with Australia" he added shrugging.

"I've never met a Martian before... I'm sure you get confused with little green men all the time," Toby responded with a laugh, "And getting locations on Earth isn't mixed up... The human diaspora has lended itself to that. Aboard ship I've met folks from Alpha Centauri, Cestus III and even Deneva... It's us Earthers that are the rare ones it seems... Captain Faust is from everywhere apparently, having grown up the son of Starfleet officers."

"Oh, you are from the Midway then?" Lieutenant Knowles inquired raising a brow and smiled. "I was doing a little reading on Faust and the crew. He seems interesting. I am genuinely looking forward to meeting him in person, what's it like being on the Midway?"

"She's a good ship with a good crew," Toby responded, "As corny as that sounds it's true. We've only served together for a few weeks but given our first test under fire we may as well have served together for a few years... Helps when you already have some friends aboard like I did."

Marcel picked up his glass and took a sip. "Three weeks, not bad. I was hoping I had not missed much. I was worried that coming aboard would take some time to get integrated with everyone, but it sounds like for the most part everyone is still feeling each other out?"

Toby nodded.

The environmental controls officer noticed his new acquaintance hadn't really introduced themself to him. "I'm Marcel by the way," he added politely.

"Oh, yeah, sorry..." Toby responded, "Ensign Tobias Dienstag but everyone calls be Toby... Well someone people call me worse things but..." He started to laugh.

"Tobster" said Marcel teasingly. "Well, nice to meet you officially Toby, are you going to get anything to drink or eat?" asked Marcel.

"Now that's a new one," Toby responded, laughing. "Ah... I'm not sure what even to order since I can't read it... How about what you're having?"

Marcel nodded. "Right. Okay then, I'm just drinking a negroni, an Italian cocktail. I haven't ordered anything to eat yet, but if you are feeling adventurous..." his eyes looked at Toby. "We could split something. I have no idea if we will like it, but at least we can compare notes."

"Sure, may as well," Toby responded he looked at the menu, "How about this?" He pointed at the menu at something in some foreign script, "I see the Andorian word for mild in there, so maybe that's a place to start. And how about a Banana Daquery with it?" He looked at the bartender who was patiently waiting.

Interesting choice thought Marcel who couldn't help but chuckle a little, covering his mouth for a moment. "I like your gung-ho way of doing things, just point and hope for the best" commented the lieutenant. "At least it will be mild" he added.

"Thanks, it's usually how I get myself into trouble," Toby commented, "At least the fru fru drink won't backfire on me the way something stronger would and yes... I am old enough to drink." Toby would always get "carded" since he looked about 15 on a good day. His youthful features and doe eyes were his downfall in those situations. "Considering mild could be hot still for a human pallet who knows," he responded, "Of course the Andorians aren't known for their favorable cooking this could end up being something like bread pudding or Soylent.... Of course this isn't an Andorian restaurant. I guess we'll find out."

Marcel took Toby's hand and placed it atop the menu page where Toby had found the food item that he had ordered for them. "You were right," Marcel said gently moving Toby's index finger across the Andrian words. "This does say mild" stated Marcel.

He then kept moving the finger across the page "This, however, seems like it might mean something else. I think the closest translation I can think of is...aphrodisiac?" Marcel let go of Toby's hand. "I'm not sure what we are getting but I think it's considered a mild aphrodisiac."

"So long as they aren't... Prairie Oysters or Heart of Targ I think we'll be alright," Toby chuckled, "And after our first voyage I could probably use an aphrodisiac."

Marcel shuddered at the thought. "It could be some sort of shellfish or even a fruit," he noted. "Aphrodisiacs come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and flavor profiles" he noted. "Was your first voyage particularly bad?"

"You could say that, we had to deal with a distress call," Toby responded with a sigh, "Encountered the Orions, got boarded and some of our officers were kidnapped. Then we had to retrieve them from a slave trading station. It wasn't fun to say the least but... I did enjoy have something to do anyway."

Orions thought Marcel. "Of curse. Your shakedown brought you towards the Triangle, not surprising you'd run into some Orions. I am glad that worked out alright. Do you not usually have something to do as a science officer?"

"Well, usually not so many away missions and Commander Heartfilia was kidnapped so I got a lot of bridge time which was neat," Toby responded with a wide grin, "I graduated 2 weeks ago... Can you tell?"

"From the academy or from high school?" Marcel shot back with a grin of his own. "I haven't been out all that long myself, Tobster. A few years, but I've been putting in the work to make rank and escape being stuck as an ensign for several years."

"The academy," Toby responded rolling his eyes, "And yeah I understand that. The Capt ain keeps tapping me for away missions and I've been enjoying that is all I'm saying."

"I hope he taps me too," commented Marcel. "For landing party duty. I love being aboard a starship, but there's nothing like being part of the team sent down, stretch your legs on some alien world."

"A derelict tug and a nasty slave trading station," Toby responded, "No strange new worlds yet I'm afraid." The bartender returned with his beverage and the meal they ordered. The food was a blue squid of some sort with a white sauce. Some unidentifiable flora accompanied the squid.

God I'm hoping that sauce didn't come out of that squid thing thought Marcel eyeing the food and then looking at Toby. "Don't suppose you brought a tricorder with you, I'd love to get a reading of what that is or at least was" commented Marcel. He picked up a fork and cautiously poked at the squid.

"Maybe we should hit up a burger joint after this or something," Toby responded, after raising an eyebrow while looking at the squid. His eyes got wider as the squid bounced back when Marcel poked it.

"Oh we're doing this, Toby" teased Marcel, grabbing a knife and cutting into the flesh of the squid and bringing the fork to his mouth. He chewed and continued chewing before swallowing. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but it was not awful. "It isn't as bad as it looks."

The ensign looked down at the squid for a moment and then sighed... He picked up his fork and followed suit. He stared at the blue piece of rubber stuck on the tynes; sniffed it and then attempted to chew it. The rubbery fish was impossible to chew and he ended up swallowing it whole, causing his eyes to water. "Whatever you say, " he choked out.

Marcel patted Toby's back. "There you go. Now you can say you've tried it. Wash it down and let's book it the hell outta here" he added.

"So you were punking me," Toby responded with a chuckle as he dropped the fork onto the plate in a rather dramatic fashion. "Come on, there's a burger joint that the Captain says is a great haunt," he said as he dropped a credit chip onto the bar.

"I wanted you see your face trying to eat it," Marcel teased and pushed the plate of blue food away. "Burger joint it is, Tobster. Lead the way, Ensign."

"Ja wohl Herr Leutnant!" Toby responded with a chuckle.

 

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