Posted by Ensign Iyun Riani (Scientist) in Side sim: Iyun and Petrakos Greek Holodeck

Posted by Lieutenant Junior Grade Achilleas Petrakos (Chief Science Officer) in Side sim: Iyun and Petrakos Greek Holodeck

Posted by Ensign Iyun Riani (Scientist) in Side sim: Iyun and Petrakos Greek Holodeck
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

“Well first off, relax. I was joking. I did have to finagle a trade but it was worth it. This dinner is going to be fantastic. If you want to help me prep though, this stuff…” Achilleas indicated towards the ingredients that need slicing, dicing, and chopping, “Needs to be cut up. Most cut into diced pieces or strips. I’ll start with boiling the grape leaves and heating up some pans as well as cooking the rice.”

CSO Petrakos

Relax. Right, Ria thought as she walked over to the food. Out loud she said, “I’ll try.” For a moment or two she simply looked at the various food items. She didn’t like to randomly start with one thing. There needed to be an order. So before she started to cut anything, she reorganised everything in front of her so that each ingredient was lined up neatly in front of her. To the far left the parsley and all the way to the chicken on the far right. She then reached for a large knife and started chopping the parsley. It probably became evident fairly quickly that she was no novice to this, but indeed knew exactly what she was doing. She worked quickly and precisely, the fingers of her left hand always positioned in such a way that there was close to no chance that she could hurt herself seriously even if the knife should slip or she wasn’t paying close enough attention.

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist

Achilleas watched Ria for a minute and was very impressed by her food prepping skill. Having decided that he was leaving prep in the right hands, he started heating up a couple of pots and pans. Over the course of the next hour or so Achilleas asked Ria for different prepped ingredients to add to the mix or seasonings to dash on top. He had to take a minute here and there to wipe the sweat off his face but cooking was always enjoyable for him so a smile lingered throughout.

It seemed that Ria relaxed more and more while working alongside Achilleas. By most standards she was probably still tense, but compared to almost any other time he had seen her, it was quite a change.

Plating the stuffed grape leaves alongside the chicken and rice, Achilleas handed one to Ria before he carried his own over to the table and sat. “So what do you think Ensign?”

CSO Petrakos

“If it tastes nearly as good as it smells and looks, it will be a feast,” Riani replied without hesitation as she walked over to the table. After putting her plate down, she slipped onto the chair opposite from Achilleas. Only a small twitch of the muscles in her face and neck and the slight vibration of the table indicating that she’d managed to bump her knee against one of the table-legs. “Thank you for cooking this meal and providing all the ingredients,” she said before bowing her head for a moment, her eyes closed and her lips moving ever so slightly yet without any sound escaping from them. Looking up again, she smiled shyly at Achilleas and the dropped her gaze to the food on the plate in front of her.

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist

Achilleas did not notice the knee bump at all, he was however pleased to see Ria as relaxed as he’d ever seen her to date. He smiled in return and asked, “A prayer to the Prophets?”

“Yes,” Riani replied with a smile and a nod. While she had been asked more than once how being a religious person and a scientist went together, it was nothing she was ashamed of. And form her point of view they went together very well.

Achilleas nodded in understanding, “I was raised Greek Orthodox, though I’m not a practicing member. The stars and science held my attention and I’ve never reconciled the beliefs together.”

“It’ difficult for a lot of people,” Ria nodded. “To me it’s never been a contradiction, but rather two sides of the same medal.”

“I guess that it isn’t really an issue of it feeling contradictory, but more that it wasn’t my faith. I didn’t choose it but grew up in it. I am willing to acknowledge that a higher power put into place the system of astrophysics which normally run the universe, but where it’s the Prophets, the Q Continuum, or an even higher power, I’ve not decided which to put my faith in.” Achilleas mused.

Ria nodded thoughtfully. “I find it interesting how different people feel about about the faith they grew up in,” she replied.

Achilleas shrugged and grinned, “I’ve had different concerns my whole life. If at some point my peering into the workings of the universe reveals someone or something behind the curtains, well I’ll need to reassess my position then.”

Having lifted his fork, he set upon the chicken and rice first before cutting a section of the grape leaf and trying that as well. “Mmm… we’ve really outdone ourselves here. Thank you for being such a great assistant chef.”

CSO Petrakos

After eating a bite of the dolmadakia with some tzatziki, she nodded. “This is really good. As for being a good assistant chef, you have to tank my parents for that. They taught all of us to cook. Well with regard to most of my siblings they still are.” A soft sigh escaped her lips and her expression turned a little subdued and melancholic. Taking a bite of chicken and rice she chewed slowly as she looked past Achilleas, her eyes unfocused.

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist

“What are you thinking about?” Achilleas asked softly as he continued to eat his dinner.

CSO Petrakos

Ria blinked a couple of times and then shook her head as she returned to the here and now. “I’m sorry. I’ve been thinking about my family,” she replied in a soft, almost timid voice. Her cheeks were turning pink as she spoke and she had dropped her gaze to her plate.

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist

“It’s perfectly alright. Would you like to share? It’s alright though if it’s private.” Achilleas skewered another grape leaf section and ate it.

CSO Petrakos

Her fork loaded with some rice and chicken hovering in mid-air, Riani replied, “I’m not sure how much there is to tell. We’re very close. Always have been. I’m the oldest of five. Mijiam is 17, Zairr is 15, Ammin is 12 and little Sona 6. She is the baby of the family.” A tender smile played across her face at the mention of each of her siblings. “My mother works for the Bajoran militia and my father is an engineer. They worked on Deep Space Nine for many years. So most of us children were born there.” As she continued talking her expression became a little wistful, yet the smile never fully left her face.

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist

Achilleas nodded thoughtfully between mouthfuls of chicken with rice, “I am the youngest of twelve children myself. My three oldest brothers and sister work at the olive farm back home. We were all pressed into service to learn the job as teenagers, but only the three decided to stay behind. I’m the third to enter Starfleet but the only one in the science field. The other two entered counselling and security. My parents decided to retire on the farm with my grandparents, but before they did my father worked in marine biology where he met my mother and they fell in love.”

CSO Petrakos

Riani smiled softly as she listened to Achilleas talk about his family. “Eleven siblings. And I always thought my family was rather large,” she said with a hint of surprise and then continued tenderly, “It’s wonderful having several siblings.” Looking down at her plate again, she blinked a couple of times and then took a sip of water, her gaze still mostly averted. Get a grip on yourself, she chastised herself. The last thing she wanted was to spoil everything by starting to cry.

~Ensign Iyun, Scientist

Achilleas started to look a little worried, “Are you okay? We can change topics or open another bottle of wine, whatever you want.”

CSO Petrakos