Neither One Thing Nor The Other

Posted on 17 Apr 2017 @ 4:57am by Commander Marisa Wyatt & Ensign Miraj Derani

1,580 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Episode 14 - Statecraft
Location: IKS DuJa'Q - Mess Hall
Timeline: MD10 1730

[ON]

Another day done, Miraj went looking for food. The mess hall in the main section of the ship was always open, and now, ten days in to their journey, she was getting to grips with what was and wasn't safe for her to eat. She looked thoughtfully at the options, checking them against the translation on her padd, and trying to decide what she wanted to eat. In the end she went for some sort of meat and the bland vegetable that went with it. It should be safe enough and sat down.

Marisa enjoyed lunch in the mess hall. For one thing, it was a good place to get a feel for how people were doing in general and second, because they had salad. Especially when she had a variety of vegetables to choose from. It was an unexpected luxury and she took full advantage.

She took her salad and looked around for a table.

Miraj looked up whilst carving a chunk of her mystery steak and saw the Councellor looking for somewhere to sit and waved. She'd only met the counsellor formally so far, and hadn't really got to know her. Now was a good as time as any, and the evening was free.

Marisa smiled and headed over to the table. "Thank you," she said to Miraj. She set her plate down and sat. "How are you doing?"

"Good." Miraj beamed. With Luke up and about and not mad at her, things could only get better if they could get away from this ship and go somewhere romantic. "What about you? Klingons lining up for therapy?"

"Klingons have no use for a counselor," Marisa said. The thought made her smile. "I'm not sure I'd want to hear what they'd say to a counselor anyway. But I keep busy enough. I'm glad things are going well for you. I am also glad that this ship has better produce than Kreanus. It makes the day go better."

"I'll take your word for it. I'm no good with Klingon food. I've eaten the same four things for the last week and a half." Miraj shrugged and took another piece of 'steak'. "This seems okay though. Hopefully I won't be puking my guts up in four hours time. I never can tell with most things. Curse of being not one thing or the other. Never know how I'm going to react to things."

Marisa nodded. "I like thinking of it more like being the best of both worlds. While that isn't physiologically true, It does help."

Miraj thought about that whilst she chewed. "I never really thought of it that way. To be honest, I barely think of the other world at all. Let alone being the best of it."

"So how do you feel?" Marisa asked. "If you don't think of the other side much, how do you feel like you don't belong to the first?"

"I didn't say that," Miraj pointed out. "but it does throw me lots of crazy curve balls. Weird drug reactions, strange food tolerances. You never know what's going to happen when you try something new." She examined the counsellor. "Do you have the same thing?"

"In a way. Physically, I'm Vulcan. Psychologically, I'm Human. That causes its own problems. I'm too human for the Vulcans and too Vulcan for the humans. I've slowly adapted to some human cuisine, but there are still some foods I can't eat."

"I can't eat bananas, of all things." Miraj nodded in sympathy at not being able to eat all the human food. "Apparently there is a protein or something that Boslics can't metabolise. But mostly I'm okay with anything from earth. Its non-Boslic, non-human foods that trip me up usually. Jumja is delicious when I eat it, but I regret six to eight hours later. Eating here the last week has felt a little like playing Russian roulette."

"That's why I stick to fruits and vegetables as much as I can. Meat is iffy for me, but I've accustomed myself to some terran meats. Klingon ones make me ill," Marisa admitted.

"There's only so much fruit I want to eat." Miraj cut off more of her mystery steak, and looked at the tough brown strands of muscle. "Given the lack of decent bathing facilities, I don't want to end up with the runs."

"Good point. I admit that as much as I prefer Terran cuisine to Vulcan, I really miss a good bowl of Plomeek soup." She poked at her salad. "And some croutons and dressing for my salad." She paused to grin at Miraj. "And an honest-to-goodness Terran steak."

"I second you on that." Miraj waved her fork and spoke around a mouthful. "This is no cow." She dabbed it into the pale green sauce, that was reasonably edible, and the only thing making her want to keep pushing the food down. "Did you know a lot? About your Vulcan half I mean."

Marisa nodded. "I spent my childhood on Vulcan. My mother wanted me to be a proper Vulcan, but I never quite fit in. We then moved to Earth, where I also didn't quite fit in." She shrugged. It was something she'd learned to deal with. She looked at the dish Miraj had before her. "Yes, that is nothing like what I would call meat."

"Ive never been to Cort." Miraj said, a little wistfully. "Then again, before the Academy I'd never been to earth either."

"Where did you grow up?" Marisa asked.

"My dad's salvage ship, Forlorn Hope" Miraj explained. "We travelled a lot, so I've grown up all over. We'd be retrieving this drifting hulk, or recovering that crash remains. I think I'm the only person I've ever met who's family GP was a Medical Examiner."

"It makes for an interesting story," Marisa said. "Did you have the chance to learn about your heritage?"

Miraj scratched her head. "I don't know. I was interested in my mother, but I never really thought much about Boslics as a species. Does that sound bad? I never really thought of them like myself."

"As you didn't grow up around them, no, it doesn't sound bad," Marisa assured her. "Because you traveled so much and met so many people, you probably have a better understanding of humanity than most."

Miraj snorted. "I wouldn't say that You don't meet a lot of humanity doing salvage. If they're still kicking, its not salvage. We had more morgue space than guest rooms."

"Yes, but you had to sell your salvage, right? That involved interacting with other species," Marisa pointed out. "And you may have spent a day or two on a world while you bartered."

"Well, I didn't do the selling. I usually went exploring with my brother. We'd play with whoever we found. Humans, yes, but no more than any other species." Miraj paused recalling the blissfull freedom of her childhood. "What about you? did you travel a lot, when you were young?"

Marisa shook her head. "No. I was supposed to behave like a proper Vulcan and devote myself to my studies, to meditation, and to controlling my emotions. Play was limited to mental games and puzzles. I did not learn to play until we moved to earth. I think you were very fortunate."

"But you had your mum." Miraj said, obvious longing in her voice. "I didn't have that. I've never met mine. I don't even know if she's still alive."

"Yes, I did have my Mother. And Father." She was fortunate in that, and in the support she received from both parents. "Have you tried to look for your parents?"

"No-one's seen my mother or her ship in seven years." Miraj sighed. "I've scoured every source of information I can legally get my hands on. The last sightings had her working towards the Typhon Expanse. After that, no one in the federation seems to know what happened to her."

"I'm so sorry," Marisa said, wishing she could give Miraj a hug.

"Its not so bad. I mean, I never knew her, so I don't iss her, so much as want her. If that makes sense. " Miraj looked away for a moment, until she had her feelings under control. "What I really need is access to Romulan records. They may well have seen more of her. THeir Neutral zone is close to the Typhon Expanse."

"It makes sense to me. If you need help, I am fluent in Romulan," Marisa said. "If nothing else, I can read any records you find."

Miraj brightened. "That would be excellent." She finished her steak. "Is there anything I can help you with? I'm not good for much, but I can follow instructions."

"Not at the moment," Marisa said. "There's not much I can do on teh Duja'Q. But when the opportunity arises, I'll let you know."

"Lets hope we get sent to Romulan space soon then," Miraj said brightly, picking up her empty plate, "And if you need a gopher between now and then, just shout."

"I will. Thanks!" Marisa said. "Thanks!"

She watched Miraj go and then continued eating her salad. When they got back to Federation space, she'd see if she could call in a few favors with some of her Romulan scientist friends. They might know a thing or two.

[OFF]

Ensign Miraj Derani
Chief Flight Control Officer
IKS DuJa'Q

Lieutenant JG Marisa Sandoval
IKS Duja'Q

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