Conversations at Lunch

Posted on 01 May 2018 @ 8:05am by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Azra Ghoc & Petty Officer 3rd Class Raine Ni-ya

1,098 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Episode 15 - Emanation
Location: Avondale Shipyards - Mess Hall
Timeline: MD 104; 1320

[ON]

Azra Ghoc wasn’t aboard Stalingrad most of the time. It had gotten to the point where almost all of the systems aboard had been stripped. Life support wasn’t even active aboard most of the ship, only engineering, the bridge, and turbolift one. Although she was assigned to the old Steamrunner, she was there less and less frequently.

She sat in the mess hall, eating the food prepared by the ‘chefs’. It was particularly uninspired today. Of course, anytime cooks had to prepare food for a large group of people, that would be the case. She ate the spaghetti and meatballs, wishing that replicator rations were in greater supply.

Raine looked around the mess, taking it in. She could have gone to the bar, but then again she had spent a lot of time there. So she had gone to the mess instead and replicated herself a shake that suited her body's needs. Since solid foods was not something she could process. She tried to spot a free table and found one with only one occupant. Female. Cardassian. No. Wait. Not full-blooded, not by the look of her. And Raine was good at spotting genetic differences. She walked over to the table, looking at the woman for a long moment. "Mind if I join you?" she asked her, tilting her head slightly.

Azra hadn’t ever seen anyone of this woman’s species. The bald woman had hexagonal scales that covered her head and hands formed an unusual pattern. “Please, take any of the seats. I’m Azra Ghoc.”

"Thank you," Raine said and sat down, watching her. "Raine Ni-ya," she added in introduction, studying the features of the woman. She found the patterns of her face fascinating. Clearly strong DNA there.

“Nice to meet you. Did you get that replicated?” Azra had just noticed the thick beverage in her dining partner’s hand. Some species had special dispensations for replicator use, and at this moment the Cardassian woman was jealous. Especially as she shoved another bite of poorly seasoned tomato sauce covered noodles into her mouth.

"Yes," Raine looked at her shake before she took the straw and sipped it. "I can't process the solid food, so I have a...special pass for the replicators. I think I'd be able if they blended the food into a soup, but my medical doctor thought it was best if it was keyed into what nutrients I need. For now..." she rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Do not worry, you are not missing out. I have poor tastebuds and even I can tell this is not enjoyable. And it is green. Green is a strange colour to drink."

Blended food did sound distinctly less appetizing. Azra took a final bite of her spaghetti and shoved the plate away. "Where are you from," she asked, "I've never encountered anyone of your species before?" Although Azra hoped she didn't offend the other woman, she also had found that straightforward curiosity was far better than trying to dance around a potentially difficult subject.

"Cereijan," Raine said as she met her eyes. "I am from Dereijan. And yes, we are very unimaginative with our naming of things..." she chuckled before she tilted her head. "And you are half Cardassian and half...human?" she guessed.

Azra nodded. She was impressed by the deduction. Most people saw the pale skin and characteristic ridges and assumed that she was full Cardassian. "What gave away my human side?" she asked.

"Small things. Your bone structure under the ridges are more shaped like a human. I am going to guess your skeleton has more human characteristics than Cardassian, at least by looking at your face and neck. You still have the ridges, of course..." she gestured to her own throat. "They must be somewhat uncomfortable though, with human measurements." Raine felt the same way, the uniform was uncomfortable against her sensitive scales.

"Most people don't realize that the custom collars on uniforms are the most obnoxious part of being part Cardassian. I've had to program the custom template into the replicator. For some reason it's not a standard pattern." She smiled. "Other than the blended foods, how is it being a Cereijan in Starfleet?"

"Most don't know what I am, which is nice. Those that do are either already friends or...less than impressed," Raine admitted as she watched her, holding her eyes. "There's a lot of touching here. It is strange. I am not...fond of it. But I suppose it has its advantages over how strangers must be treating you, even so many years after the War."

Azra shrugged. "It's actually not so bad. Sure, there are some people who see me and react poorly, but the war has been over for more than fifteen years. Most tempers have had a chance to cool." She finished the ice-water that came with her food. "The assumptions that really get to me are when people start asking me what it was like growing up on Cardassia during the war. Or how my parents viewed the Dominion. I was raised on Earth by my mother. I have no idea what it was like on Cardassia. Hell, I've never met my father, how should I know what he thought of the Dominion?"

Some of the Cardassian-hybrid's frustration had slipped into her voice. "Sorry," she said, after taking a deep breath, "too many people assume that I'm more connected to the war than I was. Honestly, the only side that I really followed were the Maquis."

Raine watched her for a long moment before she chuckled, sipping her lunch before she shook her head. "Don't apologise," she said after a moment's silence. "I wouldn't if I were you, because you have nothing to be sorry about. You are right. Assumptions are...to say the least...annoying. Because you hear it all the time. For those that ask, they seem to think it is the first time you have heard it when it is the thousandth. Besides. Why should you care what they think, you know your own mind and worth. What they think or believe they think is..." she considered her next word carefully. "Irrelevant. It won't get you to your goal, whatever it may be."

"That's a fair point," Azra said. She stacked her glass on top of her tray and got ready to stand. "It was nice meeting you, Raine. Hopefully we run into each other again."

[OFF]

CWO Azra Ghoc
Boatswain, USS Galileo

&

Crewman Raine Ni-ya
Science
USS Galileo

RSS Feed