Early Breakfast

Posted on Sat Jun 24th, 2017 @ 7:14pm by Captain Tim Williams & Counselor Melony Taylor

Episode: Conference on Berengaria
Location: USS Highlander - Mess Hall

Melony decided to wander down to the mess hall and start cooking breakfast or perhaps even make dessert for tonight's tea, the kitchen always had several jobs to keep her busy within the early hours of the morning when she was struggling to sleep.

Although insomnia wasn't particularly helpful for her, the chef was certainly happy to let her have free reign and occasionally wake up to a spotless kitchen as well as dessert and breakfast already made. She smiled as she thought of the stew that he had cooked as a thank you the last time she had done this and opened the doors to the mess hall.

Unusually for this time in the morning, the room was not empty. The captain was stood at the view ports, tapping absent-mindedly on a glass of orange juice as he looked out at the various ships in drydock, floating in orbit above the red globe of Mars, seemingly lost in thought.

"Well Good Morning Captain, I didn't expect anyone else to be up quite so early, hope your sleeping ok?" Melonly asked.

"Hmm?" Tim looked around as he was pulled from his thoughts, and refocussed them back into the here and now. "Oh, Counsellor," he said. "I'm just a little pre-occupied, I guess. I always feel... restless whenever an engineering team other than my own start messing with the systems on my ship." He gave a little smile and a shrug. "An old engineer's pride, I guess. What's got you up so early?"

Melody gave a thin smile her eyes losing a bit of light, "Ghosts in notes Captain. I can't sleep as well after reading some of the casefiles I've got; always leaves my mind racing. I should know better by now." 

Her expression became more of a genuine smile "Breakfast Captain?" She questioned already pulling out ingredients for pancakes and syrup.

Tim chuckled. "Sounds good to me. But it's on you if Chef finds out you've been messing with his pans." The Highlander's chef was well known for being very protective over his cooking equipment, and had chased a few ensigns out of the galley a few times for daring to help themselves.

Pulling out the mixing bowl and frying pan Melony laughed "Aside from his own knives I'm allowed free reign in here Captain, hell I bought him some of the spices he uses." She looked at the Captain absent midedly pulling out the ingredients she needed, beginning to crack the eggs in to the bowl. "You ever want to get on Chefs good side bring him some cinnamon, he's forever running out of the stuff, I swear he puts it in most things he eats." she rambled absentmindedly as she whisked the pancake mixture.

"Yeah I tried that once," Tim said, sitting on one of the stools on the opposite side of the galley's breakfast bar. "Turns out I'd confused an ordinary bit of tree bark for a stick of cinnamon, and he didn't notice until he'd already started to grind it into his coffee. Tried to ban me from the mess hall for two weeks after that."

She winced "I don't blame him you ruined his coffee, but I'm guessing you didn't just stay out of the mess hall like a sane person, he cooks what your eating you know I dread to think what meal he tested on you after that, trust me the ban was probably the easier option," she said as she flipped over a pancake and slid it onto a plate.

Tim scoffed. "Of course I didn't stay out of the mess hall. It's my ship isn't it?"

"So what did he cook you then?" Melony asked, gleefully.

"Well he found this new kind of fish on Fornax four that he wanted to try... he kept saying it smelled really bland so he was tossing all sorts of spices into the pot when he was cooking it. I definitely got the impression that he was disappointed that it didn't burn my mouth off."

"Speaking of it being your ship - and engineer's pride - you're beginning to tread on a few toes. I get that it's your ship, but honesly do you want everyone to think your as bad as the Chef and his kitchen?" she said sliding over some pancakes with syrup and blueberries on. "I think you need to get away; if you're not here you can't step on any toes," she said pointedly handing him a fresh glass of orange juice.

Tim grumbled at that. "I don't like leaving my ship in the hands of yards engineers. The last time I did that, they returned the ship back to specs - I had to spend two weeks putting the modifications I'd made over several years back in place. Besides, we're getting some great new technology added in - how can you expect me to stay away from new toys?"

Melony rolled her eyes "You do realise that the new technology will still be there when you get back. Besides I didn't think you would want to miss out on Dragons."

Tim's ears perked up at that. "Wait. Dragons?"

"Yeah on Berengaria they can grow up to 200 metres, and I'm sure we'll see quite a few of them outside of the time we spend at one or two lectures at the Conference." Melony said hoping he'd be more preocupied with the Dragon part to realise he'd have to attend the lectures whilst going to Berengaria.

"I have always wanted to see the dragons of Berengaria..."