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Side Sim - Sometimes Dinner Is Just Dinner; Sometimes It's...

Posted Dec. 7, 2021, 10:53 a.m. by Lieutenant Commander Si'Rek (Chief Operations Officer) (James Sinclair)

Posted by Commander Siadra Enai (Executive Officer) in Side Sim - Sometimes Dinner Is Just Dinner; Sometimes It’s…

Posted by Civilian Liara Enai (XO’s Daughter) in Side Sim - Sometimes Dinner Is Just Dinner; Sometimes It’s…

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Si’Rek (Chief Operations Officer) in Side Sim - Sometimes Dinner Is Just Dinner; Sometimes It’s…
Posted by… suppressed (15) by the Post Ghost! 👻
Si’rek had spent the past two hours cleaning and clearing things up and making room for guests… guest? He wasn’t sure which. But he had moved things around so that they, whomever ‘they’ turned out to be, could sit comfortably on the floor and lean against large, brightly colored pillows. A low table with a circle cut in the middle sat in the midst of pillows, and copper-colored cups sat on a tray around a similarly colored pitcher. Si’Rek himself was dressed in a loose white shirt and light gray and flowing pants with no shoes. Music played softly, and oddly metallic yet soothing sound far off in the background. He looked around and made sure everything was agreeable, then he went to the copper pot sitting on a small induction stove top and lifted the lid. A cacophony of aromas came forth in a steam cloud, and Si’Rek inhaled deeply and smiled.

Si’Rek, Chef and Interior Decorator

Siadra had been debating all day whether she should take Liara with her or go alone. There were good reasons for both and in the end she had decided to take her daughter with her. After all, things would get difficult and dangerous for all of them sooner rather than later and having a nice and relaxing time all together would surely do them some good. Not to mention that Liara would be upset if she knew that her mother met Si’Rek and didn’t take her with her. And if she were honest with herself, having her daughter there might also make things easier with regard to the emotions she had sensed from Si’Rek the other morning.

Either way, it was exactly 1800 hours when mother and daughter arrived in front of Si’Reks quarters. Liara was dressed in a navy blue sailor’s dress, white tights and matching navy blue slippers. For once her hair was braided into two thick pigtails. Her mother on the other hand was wearing a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a simple white blouse with short, puffed sleeves. After Liara pressed the chime, they waited for Si’Rek to open the door.

~Siadra and Liara

The door slid open and Si’Rek stood in the doorway, smiling. “Hello and good evening, ladies!” he said happily and gestured for them to enter. “Please come in and make yourselves to home. Hello, tor’que…” he said with a glance to Liara, “…how is my favorite Engineer-in-training? Are you learning to use that tricorder I gave e you?”

Si’Rek

As the doors opened, Liara bounced forward, her arms opened wide and basically flung herself at him. “Si’Rek!” she exclaimed and giggled. “Yes, I am and mummy is helping me. I missed you.” With a happy smile she nestled close to him and showed no intention to let go any time soon.

~Liara

“Good evening, Si’Rek,” Siadra replied softly as she watched her daughter and him. Stepping into his quarters she looked around and inhaled deeply. “That smells amazing. Thank you for cooking for us. It’s been a while since we had something that wasn’t replicated,” she laughed.

~Siadra

Si’Rek smiled and shooed Liara into the room. “It has been a while since I have had the opportunity to cook, so thank you both. Please make yourselves comfortable. I have drinks on the table. Everything tonight is food and drink from my home world, tor’que. I hope you both enjoy it. Its not many who have tried Takaran cuisine.” He moved to the pillows and took a seat before pouring a dark reddish-purple liquid into the cups. He handed a cup to everyone before raising his glass. “To life-long friends.”

Si’Rek

Liara giggled and skipped a little with every step as she entered Si’Rek’s quarters. Her dark, curious eyes took in everything around her before she finally settled down on one of the cushions. She then took the cup from him and as the two adults raised theirs she just peered into hers and sniffed the content with interest, before taking a generous sip.

~Liara

“Thank you,” Siadra replied as she took the other cup from Si’Rek after settling down comfortably, her legs crossed. Raising the cup in unison with him she echoed, “To life-long friends,” before taking a first sip. She took her time to savour the drink before swallowing it. “How do you feel about telling us a little about the food and drink you prepared? Or would you like us to things first before sharing what it is?” she asked curiously. Seemingly more relaxed than she had been since they received their new orders.

~Siadra

Si’Rek smiled. “Of course. The drink is called Gwaibanberry juice. Its most similar to the Terran blackberry with a bit of lemon. For dinner, we have Takaran flatbread, made by me. You will use that instead of utensils.” He looked at Liara and smiled and said “On my homeworld, we actually eat with our fingers!” and he laughed slightly. “You scoop the food up with your fingers, put it on the bread, and then eat. The food is meat and vegetables marinated in Takaran spices and fruit and citrus juices. We rarely use fire or heat when we prepare food, so everything here is cooked… but by natural chemical processes, not heat.”

Si’Rek

bump

Siadra smiled and then took another, slightly more generous sip of the juice. “I really like the taste of this. Thank you for sharing all of this with us,” she said warmly as she reached for Si’Rek’s hand with her free one to give it a gentle squeeze. She wasn’t entirely sure about the not using utensils part as she had never really liked to eat with her hands, even as a kid. But she was willing to put her mild discomfort aside and try something she hadn’t in a long time. After all, she might actually like this or at least not mind at all. You never knew until you tried, after all.

~Siadra

“You eat with your hands?!” Liara asked, looking surprised. “I have never been allowed to eat a meal like this with my hands!” A hint of mischief crept into a her smile as she reached for the flatbread, but she before she touched something else seemed to fully register with her and her expression turned into one of confusion as she looked at Si’Rek again. “How do you cook without heat?” she asked curiously, a small crease appearing between her dark brows again as she tried to figure out that question.

~Liara

Si’Rek grinned at Liara as he returned Siadra’s squeeze. “‘Cooking’ just means to make something edible and or safe to eat. Most species accomplish this with heat. That heat kills any little bacterias or such that may contaminate the food. And sometimes it just makes things taste better than it does raw. My people, because of how our bodies function, don’t have that much of a concern, so we never really bothered to use fire. But we did learn how to make things taste delicious with various fruits and vegetables and herbs… all of those together make marinades that do the same thing as heat. It kills any impurities and makes the food safe to eat. If you were ever on my home world, you would have maybe one or two things that were cooked over heat… and those are not common at all, and come from our learning from other species and cultures.”

Si’Rek

With her lips slightly parted and her black eyes full of wonder, Liara looked up at Si’Rek in awe as she listened intently. She didn’t say anything though as she tried to fully understand and wrap her head around that concept. Of course, she was mostly used to food that came from the replicator. But on the Four Winds her class had prepared food a few times. And it had always required heat. So she had thought that was how all cooking and baking was done.

~Liara

Placing one hand on her daughter’s shoulder while reaching with her other hand for Si’Rek’s, Siadra commented, “It never ceases to amaze me to hear and learn about how different cultures and species do things.” A warm smile played a cross her pale face and for the first time since they had received their new orders, she felt like she was fully in the moment and able to relax. Nodding towards the food in front of them, she added, “And I can’t wait to try everything you have made for us. Thank you so much, Si’Rek.”

~Siadra

“Truly my pleasure. Now… first course is Mahit’dna. It is a pickled fruit dish. You are supposed to eat everything, rind included, but I have never been a real fan of the outside of the fruit. But I am definitely the odd one in that. Almost everyone I know loves it.” He reached into a bowl and lifted a round, purple apple-looking object from the bowl; letting the liquid it sat in drain away. “Like this…” he said and pushed his fingers through the soft outer skin and breaking it in half exposing the pulpy, yellowish-orange ‘meat’ of the inside of the fruit. “Now you two try.” and he gestured to the bowl.

Si’Rek


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