Posted by Cadet Ven Miya (Doctor) in Side Sim: Time for food! (All welcome)

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade T’Saie (Chief Medical Officer) in Side Sim: Time for food! (All welcome)

Posted by Cadet Aaron Williams (Doctor) in Side Sim: Time for food! (All welcome)
Posted by… suppressed (3) by the Post Ghost! 👻
(OOC: this thread takes place on the day BEFORE the main sim happens. Hopefully this will avoid any confusion with events that are taking place in the main sim right now! Everyone who’s on board the Challenger is welcome, but it’d be especially good to see cadets from different departments chatting to each other. Please grab a seat and join in - or if anyone wants to be the cadets who are already at the table, that would be great too!)

It was the end of another day aboard the Challenger, almost a week since Miya had first come aboard. The Bajoran had just finished a shift in sickbay but her stomach informed her - loudly - that she couldn’t head to her quarters yet. With a sigh, she made her way to the mess instead and, after queueing at the replicators, walked away with a tray of hasperat with a side of extra-spicy sauce, accompanied by a glass of water. She’d learned early on that the Challenger’s replicators must have been programmed by someone who didn’t enjoy Bajoran quantities of spice, so the sauce was a regular part of her food order.

As it was time for the evening meal - for those lucky enough to be on a day shift, at least - the room was busy. In the far corner, Miya spotted a table with a number of empty seats and made her way there. “Mind if I join you?” she asked the cadets who were already sitting at the table. Her stomach chose that moment to growl again; she hoped they hadn’t heard.

[Cadet Ven Miya]

Cadet Conroy flashed a grin at the newcomer to the table. ” By all means, more’s the merrier, right?” He was slightly stressed from old memories brought up in his reporting for duty, so had selected a comfort dish from the replicators, old fashioned earth chili, the scent of spices wafting over the table, and of course, a side of cornbread. Well a bit of cornbread was left after Issac had torn into it. Well, He thought to himself, pleasant company is as good a distraction from my own thoughts as anything. He motioned to the seat across from him. ” I’m Medical Cadet Issac Conroy, and may I ask for your name?”

“Thanks!” Miya grinned back, sliding her tray onto the table and sitting opposite the cheerful cadet. “Hey, I’m a medical cadet too! I’m guessing we must be on different shift patterns in sickbay - or maybe I’m too new to have seen you around; I’ve been here just under a week. I’m Ven Miya, from Bajor.” Sometimes that hint about her planet of origin helped people recognise that Ven was her family name, so they’d know to call her Miya. If it didn’t work, she had grown used to pointing out her given name in a gentle way. With so many species in the galaxy, it could be hard to remember naming conventions all the time.

Her nostrils twitched at the spicy scent wafting from his meal. Not as spicy as hasperat, she thought, even the Challenger’s somewhat insipid version, but tasty nonetheless. “That smells good,” she said, nodding towards the dish. “What is it, if you don’t mind me asking?” She enjoyed trying different types of food; if this sounded like something she’d enjoy, she might choose it for breakfast tomorrow.

[Cadet Ven Miya]
One of the cadets presents at the table responded instead of Issac: “It’s chili! That’s a plate from the earth, with beans and spice. It’s quite an old recipe actually. I believe you Bajorans like spiced plates ?”He had sawed the cadet smile when she was searching for the plate. “Why don’t you take a chair with us ?”

For a moment, the cadet continued to eat his fried rice, until he realized he hasn’t told his name: “Oh sorry, I haven’t introduced myself properly. I’m a medical Cadet. Aaron Williams, at your service. Nice to meet you!”

T’Saie wandered into the mess, eyes fixated on the PaDD she held. She wasn’t one to usually take brakes as they’re inefficient and unproductive however every-so often she would allow a moment to tend to her dietary requirements. Her work was important to her, almost as much as her research which had carried over from her training on Vulcan.

As she approached the corner, still yet to divert her eyes, she took a sharp turn to the replicators. “Pok tar, Vulcan mocha, sweet.” she ordered, usually unappeased at the replicators attempt at Vulcan food. Finally her eyes diverted to pick up both plate and cup, she swiftly span around, skilfully not dropping or spilling any of her cuisine while her eyes scanned the mess for a table, she much preferred a quiet corner table..

● T’Saie - Lt. Jr. Grade, Chief Medical Officer, Nurse Practitioner. ●

“Chili?” Miya repeated the name. “Thank you. We do like spiced food on Bajor, you’re right - I’ll need to try chili some time, if it’s hot enough. And if it’s not, that’s why I use this sauce!” She dolloped a large spoonful on her hasperat and wrapped it up again, listening as the cadet introduced himself.

“It’s good to meet you. I’m Ven Miya, also a medical cadet, recently arrived on Challenger and just beginning to settle in.” Glancing from Aaron to Issac, she frowned slightly. “I feel like I should know you both from the Academy, but there are so many classes and so many cadets, it can be hard to keep track of everyone!”

There was one person, however, that she recognised immediately in the crowded mess hall: Lieutenant T’Saie, food and drink in hand, clearly scanning the room for a place to sit. Although Miya would have preferred to get to know her fellow cadets without their department head present, her background would not let her ignore someone in need - even if that need was as simple as finding a seat at a table. “Look - the lieutenant’s here. I think we should ask her to sit with us, if she wants.” She gave a quick wave in the direction of T’Saie, trying to catch her eye across the busy room.

[Cadet Ven Miya]

Noah entered the mess, his head dropping slightly. He was exhausted, having struggled to sleep the past couple of nights. But he knew he needed to eat and so he queued up and got to the replicator and ordered something warm and filling. Pork, sweet potatoes and dumplings; a better memory of home. He glared at the replicator in annoyance; since he’d arrived he’d fiddled with it endlessly. First he’d reduced the standard level of spice in all the food, it was put way too high in his opinion. Secondly, with far greater difficulty, he’d continued to change minor settings little by little to try and get the replicated food to taste more…well…real. He’d spent hours reading up on experimental academic thesis on extracting more flavour from replicators but nothing had worked yet.

He was convinced that the problem was solvable.

Noah walked past a few tables, absent mindedly, until he came to a stop at the table full of medical cadets. He panicked as he realised he hadn’t picked an empty table but now, realising it’d look weirder to suddenly walk away, he forced himself to sit at the table.

“Um....hi. I’m Noah. I work in engineering.” He forced a smile and looked from face to face until his eyes settled on Miya as recognition dawned. “Yo! Miya! I didn’t know you were on the Challenger !”

• Cadet Noah Parata