Posted by Civilian Char’les Harv (Officer’s Mess Chef) in Officer’s Mess- Dinner with the Captain

Posted by Civilian Sair Songz (Counselor) in Officer’s Mess- Dinner with the Captain

(snip)

Her light brown eyes watched his retreating form for the second time this evening but this time she was pleasantly mystified. The man was certainly unpredictable, even if the call had meant a certain outcome. With a small snort to herself, and ignoring the looks form the others in the mess that had been watching the evening unfold with probably far too curious eyes, Sair went about finishing her food, not wanting to waste the chef’s efforts.

When she felt done, Sair simply gathered the plates and moved over to the kitchen, poking her head in even though she felt like she was intruding on Harv’s territory. “Here, I’d thought I’d help. Feel the least I can do,” Sair said.

~Sair Songz, CNS

The Chef was busy tending to a large pot of something and didn’t look up. He just said “Set it on the cart outside. And the thanks was you ate the food. The rest is unnecessary.” in a gruff tone.

Harv

“Perhaps,” Songz said softly and turned to remove herself from the kitchen. But she paused and turned back to Harv, a hesitant expression on her face. “I’ve heard that you have an open policy in the Officer’s Mess, that all are welcome. But I don’t feel welcome here, Chef. Words matter for my people. What we call a place, matters. If you wish people who are not officers to feel welcome to eat here, might I suggest you consider a new name for this space? Something that doesn’t exclude a huge portion of the people on this ship. I’m not Starfleet and people keep saying it doesn’t matter because my role make me a member of the senior staff. But it does matter, because I am Kobliad and I am a member of an exchange program. I’m not a citizen of the Federation and I still feel very much like a guest here, and on my world guests absolutely do not interfere in another person’s space. It is a huge sign of disrespect. Maybe how I feel will change in the future, but that day is not today.”

She gave him a bow of her head and slipped back out, setting the dishes on the cart and headed for the door, the tail of her magenta black embroidered wrap top swinging against her thigh.

~Sair Songz, CNS