Posted by Ensign MJ Shau (Security Officer) in Real food

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Finn Grady (First Officer) in Real food

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Areiana “Areia” Blackford (Chief Medical Officer) in Real food
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻
<snip>

Finn was glad to see that the restaurant was a hit. It was nice to see the crew getting some time to relax and socialize. He turned back to the cook. “Well, Tennessee whiskey over bourbon actually. You mean to tell me you have something like that behind the bar? You might be my new best friend.”

Lieutenant Commander Grady - XO

Over in the corner there was a discordant note of a couple having an argument.

“I will not be quiet.” The woman hissed back at what must have been her partner who was frantically trying to de-escalate the argument.

– GM Amadeus
USS Chimera

Areiana’s mouth practically watered the moment she spotted the Maid-Rite sitting in front of her. Her eyes lit up as the familiar smell reached her, and she couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear.

“Oh goodness, thank you!” she exclaimed, picking it up eagerly. “This reminds me of home.”

She took a moment to admire it before finally taking a bite, savoring the familiar taste. For a moment, the sterile corridors and humming machinery of the starship seemed to disappear, replaced by memories of home, familiar places, and simpler days.

“I haven’t had one of these in ages,” she said between bites, clearly delighted. “You have no idea how much I needed this. Sometimes it’s the little things that make a ship feel a little less like a ship and a little more like home.”

She chuckled softly and took another bite, looking genuinely happy as she enjoyed the unexpected taste of home. she was about to take another bite when she heard the raised voices. She raised a eyebrow listening

Areiana Blackford

Lieutenant Junior Grade Chief Medical Officer USS Chimera

Mike walked over to the couple “ hey what’s the problem. You both are old enough to know that there is a time and a place and here and now is not the time or place. Look around there are a lot of your senior officers here if I need to, I will get them to talk to you, but that would ruin their meal so either calm down or get out” he said to them

(Mike really gets annoyed when people ruin the mood for everyone else)

Mike Isekai (Ships Cook)

MJ finally spotted Mike as he moved over to deal with a bickering couple. He couldn’t help but smile at the interaction as the man worked to de-escalate the situation. “He would have made a decent security officer.”

With the cook himself busy elsewhere, MJ spotted a woman who seemed to be managing the dining portion of the lounge. “Excuse me, ma’am. Can I just grab a seat anywhere, or are you seating guests as they arrive?”

Ensign MJ Shau - Security Officer - USS Chimera

Lisa saw the young ensign and said “you must be Mr. Shau. Mike said you might make an appearance he put some fresh fish into the smoker this morning it’ll take me a few minutes to prepare your Curda for you just sit anywhere and make yourself comfortable”

Lisa (waitress)
Mike Isekai (Ships Cook)

Before Mike had wandered off to deal with the bickering couple, Finn indicated that he would take his drink neat and then sat back to wait. He glanced over to make sure the situation was not getting too out of hand and nodded to several of the other officers that had made their way to the lounge.

Lieutenant Commander Grady - XO

As Mike was also dealing with the couple bickering, he took the bottle broke the wax seal. I removed the cork. He then poured the golden brown liquid into a nice glass, walked it over to XO and placed it on the table. Then he walked back over to the couple. “ now I suggest that you both leave if you don’t want me to interrupt your superior’s meals to deal with your problem” then he turned back towards the kitchen to make xo his barbecue sandwich with a buttery, toasted bun, freshly chopped onions, and pepper jack cheese.

At this time, Lisa has also entered the kitchen to prepare MJ Curda.

Mike Isekai (Ships Cook)

Areiana watched Mike carefully as he dealt with the couple, finishing the last bite of her sandwich before reaching over and picking up another fry. She chewed slowly, her attention never completely leaving the situation in front of her. She wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin and leaned back slightly, studying the way Mike handled himself.

He was doing surprisingly well.

There was a calmness to the way he spoke to the couple, even with the obvious tension between them. He didn’t raise his voice or let himself get drawn into their argument. Instead, he kept his tone steady and professional, giving each of them a chance to speak while still making it clear that there were limits to what he would tolerate.

Areiana couldn’t help but be impressed.

He actually has a knack for this.

She took another fry, watching him for another moment. If Mike had ever decided to go through the Academy, she thought he probably could have made a pretty decent officer. Maybe not the loudest or most commanding person in the room, but he seemed to have the kind of patience and level-headedness that mattered when things started getting difficult. He knew when to listen, when to speak, and, more importantly, when not to make a situation worse.

A small smile crossed her face.

She glanced back toward the couple, making sure neither of them was about to do anything that would require her to intervene. For now, they seemed to be settling down, though Areiana wasn’t about to let her guard completely drop. She had learned long ago that people could go from calm to angry again in a matter of seconds.

She folded her napkin and set it beside her plate, casually keeping an eye on the situation.

For the moment, though, Mike had everything under control.

And Areiana was perfectly content to let him handle it.
Areiana Blackford

Lieutenant Junior Grade Chief Medical Officer USS Chimera

“I see you are admiring the way Mike defused that situation as well,” MJ said as he approached Areiana’s table. “He is quite disarming… if a bit unconventional.” He looked away from Mike and met the Chief Medical Officer’s eyes, his expression relaxed. “Mind if I join you? Meals are normally a communal activity, and all the buzz surrounding this restaurant has me taking my meal break a bit earlier than I planned.”

The Security Ensign was average in height but had a broad, muscular build. He had small, neatly trimmed curls on his head, though the sides were cut clean and blended into a short, stubbly beard. MJ also had tanned skin and the traditional Risian marking on his forehead.

MJ hadn’t had much interaction with Lt. Blackford, but he was trying to change that. All the talk with Skye had reinforced his desire to reach out to more of the crew. To make the Chimera more than just a ship.

He pulled out the chair and took a seat, offering the other officer a faint smile. “What did you order? I’ve heard good things, and Mike promised to make me something from my home world when I met him in the corridor. He said I was too skinny.”

Ensign MJ Shau - Security Officer - USS Chimera

Areiana looked up at the ensign with a warm smile, giving a small nod as she listened to him. “Yes, I was just thinking the same thing. He really would have made a good officer,” she said, her voice carrying a hint of admiration. “He seems to have the right temperament for it, too. Sometimes you can just tell when someone has that natural ability to lead.”

She brushed a loose strand of red hair behind her ear before reaching over and pulling the chair out for him. “Here, sit down. You look like you could use a break.”

Once he had a place to sit, Areiana glanced down at the food in front of her and smiled. She picked up the sandwich, turning it slightly as though giving him a better look at it.

“This,” she explained, “is called a Maid-Rite sandwich. It’s a specialty from Iowa. Basically, it’s a loose-meat sandwich. Nothing particularly fancy about it, but it’s one of those foods that’s really popular back home.”

She gave a small laugh, clearly amused by the ensign’s curiosity. “If you’ve never had one before, you’re definitely going to have to try it. It’s one of those things that sounds incredibly simple until you actually taste one. Then you understand why people make such a big deal about them.”

Areiana settled back into her chair, taking another bite before continuing. “I grew up with these, so I guess I’m a little biased. But there’s something comforting about having food from home, especially when you’re stationed so far away from Earth.”

Areiana Blackford

Lieutenant Junior Grade Chief Medical Officer USS Chimera

The women started to really get mad for reason and as Mike did his best she tried to slap him. His movement was very fluid and before the woman knew she was on the ground with her arm was locked behind her back.

“DON’T attack anyone just because you’re not getting your way. You are a Starfleet Officer not some spoiled child now I’m going to release you and you’re gonna leave my restaurant and don’t ever come back in here unless it is for standard meals.”

He then released the woman pull her up to her feet and walked away to the corner to try and cool off

Mike Isekai (Ships Cook)

Walking through the crowd there were certainly a few familiar faces with whom the ensign had exchanged a word or two. Amongst them, MJ, one of the few crewmembers she knew better than the rest, not mentioning Chimera’s CSO, Nytha’rae. The sound of tennis shoes was muffled by carpet beneath the soles, light reflecting against those spots framing her face. Shepherd found an empty table on a nearby corner, sitting down to set her PADD aside. It had been weeks since the last time she had bothered emerging from the biology labs, taking care of remaining tests while Nytha’rae remained unavailable. Performing the tasks of a senior officer by herself had proven to be exhausting. Some social interaction or being surrounded by people couldn’t hurt, right?

From all people that were standing in the room, Skye certainly had grown accustomed to starship life ever since she was 12 years old. She had spent most of her life onboard a Constitution Class vessel called U.S.S. New Jersey. Surely enough, it happened to be heavily different from the rural village of Heran’zul where she had spent the first few years of her life. Trill had always remained a neutral planet when the federation found itself deep in conflict against certain species. Some of them to be known as Romulans, Klingons, or even Cardassians. Skye herself happened to be a child of two worlds, the same way Ambassador Spock had once been. Too Vulcan to be recognized as human, and too human to be recognized as a member of Vulcan society.

The 23 year old had been attempting to read the room ever since she got there, but socializing for Ens. Shepherd had never been one of her greatest skills. Leaning back against the chair’s backrest, blue eyes were just scanning the place for new arrivals, anything to begin a conversation without making the scene awkward. Apparently, a fight had blown out of proportion as a man screamed from the opposing side of the room, what a way to start that evening…

Ensign Skye Shepherd
Science Officer
U.S.S. Chimera - 98730 (Mjolnir Class)

OOC: I’ve actually had a Maid Rite when I lived in Illinois. I think it was on a road trip or something, we were in a relatively small town at the time.

Pretty good, but I think a part of it is what you’ve grown up with. Like Californians swearing up and down about In-N-Out… or Texans and Whataburger.

IC:

“It’s amazing how memories and food often seem to be linked. When Mike asked me about my favorite dish, my mind immediately returned home to Risa. That’s not to say I didn’t have some amazing Earth food during my time at the Academy. I still think about a restaurant I discovered in my third year. They had an amazing spaghetti carbonara.”

MJ paused for a moment, smiling. “Although, come to think about it, that is tied to some rather fond memories as well.”

Ensign Shau’s face shot to the side suddenly.

He was immediately on alert when tensions with the woman rose again. MJ stood and started approaching the disturbance to de-escalate the situation, but Mike was fast and addressed the situation promptly.

The Security Officer continued approaching, but Mike helped the woman up and then broke off contact and moved away. MJ moved closer, placing himself between the woman and Mike, just in case she tried anything. He didn’t say anything to her, trusting his presence and the calm look he gave her to be a sufficient deterrent.

He remained there for a moment, watching her carefully and giving her the opportunity to leave without further escalation.

OOC: Well, that escalated quickly!

Ensign MJ Shau - Security Officer - USS Chimera

Mike returned to the kitchen and started to angrily cook, but as he was cooking, he started to relax then he started to smile as he cooked. Before he knew it, he has cooked Andorian kebab that he quickly started to share with the people to try

Mike Isekai (Ships Cook)

Areiana heard the woman raise her voice from across the mess hall. The sudden outburst immediately caught her attention, and she turned toward the disturbance, watching for a moment as the situation unfolded.

With a quiet sigh, Areiana set aside what she had been doing and stood from her seat. She made her way toward the woman, her expression becoming increasingly serious with every step.

Normally, Areiana had a warm and approachable appearance. Her friendly smile and calm demeanor made her seem like someone people could easily talk to. But that sweetness disappeared when she needed to take control of a situation.

She stopped a short distance from the woman and crossed her arms over her chest. Her posture straightened, and she fixed the woman with a firm, unwavering stare.

The change was enough to make even a grown man think twice about arguing with her.

“Ma’am,” Areiana said calmly, though there was unmistakable authority in her voice, “I don’t know why you’re getting so upset, but there are people here who are simply trying to eat and relax.”

She glanced briefly around the mess hall, where several crew members had stopped their conversations to watch what was happening before returning her attention to the woman.

“I understand that you may be frustrated or upset about something,” she continued. “And if there’s a medical issue involved, I’d be more than happy to listen.”

Her expression softened slightly, but her arms remained crossed.

“If you’d like to talk about what’s bothering you, I can take you somewhere quieter. We can have a little conversation, and you can explain what’s going on without an entire mess hall listening in.”

Areiana paused, giving the woman a moment to respond.

“But yelling isn’t going to make the situation better,” she added, her voice still calm but considerably firmer. “So let’s take a breath and figure out what’s actually wrong. I’m here to help, but I need you to work with me.”

Areiana Blackford

Lieutenant Junior Grade Chief Medical Officer USS Chimera

Finn had been quietly sipping his liquor watching the other officers handle the irate woman. He nodded approvingly as he watched the doctor work to de-escalate the situation. He would certainly step in if he needed to but so far, everything looked to be under control. He turned his attention back toward the kitchen.

“Mike, what is that smell? Are those kebabs? Send one of those my way.”

Lieutenant Commander Grady - XO

OOC: Since our GM is out of pocket, what do we think about resolving the conflict with the upset officer?

I don’t want to narrate something if it was more than a throwaway scene from the GM, but I also don’t want to have MJ return to his meal until its resolved.

Ensign MJ Shau - Security Officer - USS Chimera

Mike brought over some of the Andorian kebab with a small jar of lime juice for the XO and gave a plate to the lady who tried to attack him earlier “Listen lass I don’t know why your having a hard time eating good food but if you don’t want to talk to your bosses you can always talk to me. As a bartender and am sworn to an oath of the bartenders before me to never repeat what is said or to pass no judgement and just pour you an another round of your favorite drink”
He gave her a plate of the Andorian kebab with the lime juice “try eating it will make you feel better” the women took a bite and broke down in tears. As it turns out, she was home sick and she missed her grandmother‘s funeral.

Mike Isekai (Ships Cook)