About a week after the arrival of the Europa’s new XO, anyone passing by the general crew quarters would see a paper notice proclaiming that a hand-made dinner would be hosted in the Officer’s Mess at 1800 ship’s time, with anyone welcome up to a capacity of 20 - first come, first served.

Sure enough, at 1730 Stephen Stous was hurrying around busily, an apron on his waist, a spoon in his hand, and standard kitchen equipment before him. He’d been practicing cooking ever since he’d heard about his transfer to the Europa, in an effort to make more connections there than on the Venture.

This particular recipe he had practiced on himself twice since his arrival on the ship. His first attempt could only be described as a dumpster fire, while his second had gone relatively smoothly beyond his overuse of salt. As the time approached, Stephen’s nerves grew as his eyes darted from the cutting board in front of him to the door behind him.

~ Lt. Cmdr. Stephen Stous - XO