Posted by Civilian Char’les Harv (Officer’s Mess Chef) in PreSim - Event Horizon Station - Time Off For Good Behaviour

Posted by Commander Shedda Mal’athar (Executive Officer) in PreSim - Event Horizon Station - Time Off For Good Behaviour

Posted by Fleet Captain Alexander Cochrane (Commanding Officer) in PreSim - Event Horizon Station - Time Off For Good Behaviour
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)
That was absolutely NOT what Shedda wanted to hear. She wanted Alex to say it was a joke or there was something in it he was allergic to, or Harv was going to give her food poisoning for pissing him off over something that Shedda wasn’t even aware of.

Shedda had dated plenty. She’d just never found anyone that was interested in knowing her and not an ‘Orion Woman’. Oh! Oh crap, did she miss her inhibitor? She thought back… No and even if she did, she had the ability to control it. She should get checked by Hudson anyway.

First, curiosity got the better of her and she lifted the box lid again to look at the cake. Maybe it was a remote detonator? No, Harv would never ruin his food that way. He had too much pride in his work for that.

Cmdr. Mal’athar, XO

“Tyrisian chocolate souffle between layers of Terran raspberry cake with a mirror glaze of dark chocolate from Hiand VII. Hope you like it.” Harv said from the doorway of the kitchen.

Harv - Chef

Shedda looked up and met his gaze. She very carefully closed the lid and, taking it with her, walked over to the counter. She leaned against it where it was closest to the kitchen doors. I’ve been told I am picky, but that doesn’t seem to be an issue for you,” she said poking fun at herself. Albeit badly. “So I’m sure I will. Thank you.” Her fingers tapped the edge of the box gently. “It’s beautiful. It will be a shame to cut it.”

Cmdr. Mal’athar, XO

Harv looked at her a moment and then said “Well, you don’t really have to. When you decide to eat it, set the box on something a little smaller than the base. Then just push down on the sides and the box will unfold and the cake will- if I did it right- split into four pieces and fall on its own plate made from the sides of the box.” He shrugged a bit uncomfortably and then said “I had to get one’a the Engineers to help with that, though. You wanna ten tired cake made outta cremé freche, I’m your guy. Anything that isn’t edible though, I’m kinda at a loss.”

Harv - Chef

She absolutely did not have a fluttery feeling in her stomach and her heart was not trying to race. She swore if Alex and Harv were pulling a prank on her, she’d knock them both on their @sses. She debated whether to just ask Harv if Alex had put him up to this, but then if Alex wasn’t yanking her chain, she’d really insult Harv. “Well I can piece together broken pottery, but I always burn eggs, so,” she shrugged.

Shedda stared back at him for a moment. Well what was life without a little risk. “You know, it’d be a shame if you didn’t get to see if this all works out the way you hoped. When you’re done here, why don’t you stop by and share it with me.”

Cmdr. Mal’athar, XO

Harv looked at her for a long moment and then said “Well, I can’t tonight. There is a that birthday party for Ens. Vecks. And I won’t be done till a little after the dinner rush tomorrow. But, um…” and he swallowed very hard and very noticeably, “… well, uh… maybe if you haven’t eaten by then that is… maybe I could…uh… bring something for us- or just you, just you is good too- um… something to have for dinner?” It was just barely noticeable that the chef’s hands were shaking.

Harv - Chef

Shedda was going to kill Alex. Now she’d made Harv uncomfortable and put him in an odd position, and she’d made a fool of herself. She should have made that deal with Alex. Harv didn’t want to have dinner with her, he wanted to just give her food and leave it at that. She could be watching Alex squirm over an unwanted date right now. “You don’t have to bring me food, Harv. I just,” Shedda took a slightly nervous breath, choosing her words carefully. She didn’t want to insult him, but she didn’t want to make him feel pressured. “thought you put so much effort into it, it would be nice to share. You probably tried it while you made it though.” She carefully picked up the box. “Thank you for the cake. It was sweet of you.” She refrained from saying the invitation was still open. She didn’t want to make him feel even more uncomfortable than she’d made him already. “I’ll get out of your way. You have that party. Thanks again.” Shedda turned from the counter feeling like a complete idiot, but tried to save some pride by not looking like she felt like it.

Cmdr. Mal’athar, XO

“Oh… yeah… okay, then…” Harv said softly while staring at the floor and then he shrugged a little. “Yeah, I should… um… sure, Commander. See ya.” and he sighed heavily and walked into the kitchen, the door swinging quietly shut behind him.

Harv - Chef

Shedda glanced back and smiled. “See ya, Chef.”

He might have briefly when she stopped for coffee the next morning, but she didn’t stay to eat, which wasn’t too unusual. She didn’t eat every morning.

She avoided lunch out of pure embarrassment. She missed dinner, maybe hoping he would actually show up and share the cake with her. She told herself she was being stupid, and owed Alex something embarrassing.

Cmdr. Mal’athar, XO

=/\= XO to the Conference Room for Mission Briefing. =/\= the computer said at seven thirty that evening. She then received a file showinng a nebula cluster around a red giant. Scant data came with it, so that was probably what their next mission would entail.

Cochrane, CO

Well that was just as well. Shedda stood from where she was reading. She glanced over the file and transferred it to a PaDD. She moved into her bedroom, shedding her casual wear and slipping back into her uniform. She attached her combadge as she stepped into her boots. She picked up the PaDD on her way out the door, with a last glance at the still boxed cake. Just as well.

At the lift she stepped on, glancing over the file as she did, “Deck 1.” The lift took off. A moment later she stepped off and turned down the short corridor and stepped into the conference room.

Cmdr. Mal’athar, XO

There was no one there.

But what was there were two places settings, three trays covered with silver domed warmers, and two glasses of something with ice. Before she could react, the door slid open and Harv walked in. “Whaddya mean the chicken is undercooked?!” he barked, and then stopped short and looked at Shedda, his eyes going wide in surprise. “Commander? What are you doi-” and his questions was cut off by the vid screen activating.

Harv - Chef

Shedda stopped and a sense of utter dread coursed through her as Harv walked in. He was as surprised as she was. As soon as she heard the vid screen activate she knew what Alex had done.

“Since you both are too nervous to do it yourselves, I am using my prerogative as Commanding Officer to do it for you.” Alex said. “Dinner. The two of you. Sit down, eat, get to know one another. That’s an order. Cochrane out. ” that was all.

Cochrane, CO

Shedda stared at the screen and had a strong urge to go rip the bulkheads down around Alex’s door and drag him out. What she would do after that she wasn’t sure. Her face flushed an almost dusky purple. She wasn’t sure if she felt shaky from low blood sugar or anger at Alex. It wasn’t going to help anything if she broke her PaDD. One breath and a count to ten. She turned to look at Harv, but was at a loss of what to say.

Cmdr. Mal’athar, XO

Harv stared at the vid screen for several heartbeats… which wasn’t all that long considering how fast his heart was pounding. His eyes narrowed and his jaw set. “That arrogant piece of sh-” and he caught himself. He looked at Shedda and said “Look. I don’t know what he expects or is thinking… or if he even is thinking… but I know you don’t wanna be here. Go ahead and go. We’ll just say dinner was fine and that was that. If we fight it, he’ll just dig in like a Halfillinñan tick. I’ll clear this up. Have a good evening, She-, er, Commander.” He turned away from her and began to pick up the dishes and set them aside.

Harv - Chef

Shedda looked taken aback by his vehemence. Something sharp twisted in her gut. The man really did hate her. He couldn’t even use her name. It shouldn’t hurt that her effort to at least make peace with the man had gone unnoticed. It shouldn’t remind her of all those failed dates at the Academy, but it did.

She knew what Alex was thinking. She’d told him he was wrong and he didn’t believe her. “I’m sorry Chef. I’ll talk to him. There is no lying to him. He’s watching the security feeds to make sure we stay. I don’t know what he’s up to. Just… just leave everything. The Captain has already taken enough of your time on an association you don’t want. Go enjoy your evening.” Well, that settled the question on if she was being stupid about saving the cake. She was stupid, he wasn’t planning on accepting her invitation. She stepped toward him, taking the dish he was holding. “I’ll take care of it. It’s the least I can do.”

Cmdr. Mal’athar, XO