Posted by Lieutenant Steven Leon Marsh (Chief Science Officer) in Officer’s Mess - A Welcome Dinner (all welcome)

Posted by Lieutenant Commander Stephen Stous (XO) in Officer’s Mess - A Welcome Dinner (all welcome)

Posted by Lieutenant Steven Leon Marsh (Chief Science Officer) in Officer’s Mess - A Welcome Dinner (all welcome)
Posted by… suppressed (9) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(snip)

=/\= Dvorak to Stous, =/\= came the Captain’s voice over the comm system. He waited until Stous answered.

Stephen nearly dropped a ladle-full of food as he heard Dvorak’s voice and scrambled to respond. =^= Stous here, how can I help? =^=

=/\= What’s the dress code for the thing you’re hosting? =/\=

Stephen’s anxiousness disappeared, immediately replaced by a huge, genuine smile. =^= So long as you have clothes on I don’t much care, sir. But I’d recommend against a full dress uniform. =^=

=/\= Understood. I’ll be by shortly. Dvorak out. =/\=

– Johann Dvorak, CO

Vora had to tamp down on the reply she would have said had everyone in the room known each other a little bit better, but still she couldn’t help but think, Clothes, usually. It was funny to think that a few years ago she’d never even consider just a sassy comment, in public no less, but there were many subtle ways that Zorell had grown and this was one of them.

~Vora Zorell, Sciences

“Good,” Marsh winked at her as he grabbed a wine opener and began to uncork the bottles. The wine did best when it breathed a bit. Since everyone was here or just about everyone it was time to get the beverages out to the guests. “Cass,” he handed her a glass. Marsh knew what she liked best and made sure to bring a bottle just for her.

Marsh

Cassidy accepted the glass with a grin and inhaled the red liquid. “Thank you,” she said before sipping and it was indeed the lighter bodied gamay she liked. She was not a wine connoisseur as she had told Sienna, but she did know what she liked and didn’t. And then Steven explained all the details that she tried to remember but didn’t always have the context for. “Lovely, as always,” she remarked.

Abrams, COS

“As is the company,” he replied taking a sip of his own preferred choice. “So what’s on the menu for this shindig.” While Steven wouldn’t make a fuss about what the course was, some of his selections went far better with specific things. With the advent of replicators, dinners like this typically didn’t serve a single dish. When one was cooking it tended to stay in the realm of a single meat or two. Depending on what was being served would depend on the next bottle he opened for the masses.

Marsh

SNIP

At that moment, Stephen was beginning to deposit his work on a series of plates. “For you fine officers, I’ve made Kjøttboller on a bed of boiled oskoids with some mashed lokar beans, all in a cream sauce made from the oskoid sap and some redspice.”

He’d put in a significant amount of effort to tailor the recipe to a diverse group of lifeforms, especially Betazoids and Vulcans. His past dealings with the Ferengi had also had an influence, as had the traditional dishes of his youth.

Stous had realized that the traditional Norwegian “Kjøttboller” was likely not a dish his crewmates were all that familiar with, and had considered clarifying what it was. But in the end, he’d thought their reactions would be interesting to hear. So all he said to follow up was, “Well, for the main course, anyway,” and smiled.

~ Stephen Stous - XO

“I have no idea what that all is but I will try anything once,” Zorell said as she moved closer, inspecting what he was doing. “Need any help?”

SNIP

“I think I’m okay, but thank you.” He continued serving, and after a moment of semi-awkward silence made an attempt at further conversation. “So, Vora,” he enunciated her name clearly, as if to make sure that he knew it, “how long have you been on the Europa?”

~Vora Zorell, Sciences

“Twelve years,” Zorell said. “It was my first assignment out of the Academy and I know it’s unusual to be on one ship so long, but I’ve been fortunate to find a home here.”

Marsh was not sure what exactly the food was before him but given his knowledge of wine and pairings with food he could surmise a few things based on the looks of the cuisine and the name of it. Kjøttboller on a bed of boiled oskoids looked to be some sort of meatball and based on the name it was most probably Scandinavian. Swedish meatballs tended to be more savoury than the classic italian ones and less spicy than Middle Eastern Meatballs. This meant Chianti’s and Rosé ‘s were out.

Since the dish had some sort of creamy gravy a Pinot Noir or Bordeaux would probably pair the nicest. Grabbing a few bottles, Marsh began placing the screws into the corks to let the wine air a bit before pouring.

Marsh

Stephen eyed Marsh’s decision-making process with curiosity. Though not a complete stranger to alcohol, he had never been one to spend time choosing a particular pairing. As he began to lay down the plates on the “mega-table” he’d formed with the help of a passing Ensign, his thoughts wandered back to Cass’s advice of learning certain topics more intimately. Perhaps I’ll begin some collecting of my own, he thought.

“Well, everyone, please get your drinks and grab some seat.” He started to move notably slower, remembering that at least one person was still on their way, that one person being someone he didn’t exactly want to disappoint.

~ Stephen Stous - XO

Vora eyed the drinks table and immediately went on the hunt for something she knew was non-alcoholic, though she was quite happy with just water. She slipped an arm around Cass and gave her friend a squeeze. “Hey, so have an updated timeline on the wedding. Six weeks. But we have a special thing to do first.”

She leaned in and whispered into Cass’ ear.

~Vora Zorell, Sciences

Abrams managed to contain her reaction though her eyes did widen slightly.

The doors parted and the Captain walked in. Despite his question about the dress code, he was dressed in his ordinary duty uniform. Probably because he had just got off the Bridge.

He started to say something, but then paused as he realized he had no idea where around this table he should actually try to sit… it was a moment of awkward indecision that one did not typically observe.

– Johann Dvorak, CO

Cassidy whispered something to Vora before stepping away, moving over to the table and looking to Steven to join her.

Abrams, COS

What was that about? Johann wondered, noticing that his girlfriend’s fiancee’s friend was whispering something about something.

Steven hooked the bottle of wine he and Cass most preferred between two fingers and sauntered to the table where she was standing. Setting the bottles down, he took a step back and pulled out her chair.

As he helped her move towards the table, he leaned down towards her ear. “I hope you don’t plan on staying until dessert because if so you should not have work that outfit making you the most delicious thing at this table.” So much of their time on the ship was professional and on duty. Times like this were nice to slip out of their rank and file and just be an average couple about to be married.

Always mindful of discretion, Vora was also in a place where she understand a bit more of the subtleties. So with a glass of juice in hand, she moved over to Johann, slipped her free hand in hers and gestured with her head to a couple open cchairs before everyone sat. It was her way of saying it didn’t matter where they sat so long as they sat together.

~Vora Zorell, Sciences

MMarsh

Great, I’ve been rescued, Johann thought almost non-sarcastically. He took the hint and made his way.

Stephen smiled broadly as he looked around at the crew’s faces, all still quite new to him. He made eye contact with the Captain, giving a slight nod in his direction and glancing at two empty seats on the opposite side of the table, both already set.

Johann gave Stephen an appreciative smile.

“Well, don’t wait on me or anyone else. Dig in!” He set down the last plate and sat down himself to begin eating, finding the first bite to taste just as he’d hoped it would, the consistency, salt, and… well, just about everything juuuust right. Could use some more redspice, though, he thought.

~ Stephen Stous - XO

Noting that Marsh had done so for Abrams, Johann also held out a chair for Vora, intending to seat her in it. It was something highly courteous and gentlemanly, and therefore old fashioned and out of style. But he still liked doing it, and the fact that someone else did it gave him an excuse to do it too.

– Johann Dvorak, CO

Steven took a bite and savored it. Replicator food was delicious and perfect which is why this meal tasted far better. With replicated food one knew always what they were getting because it lacked variations. This meal had all the delicious subtleties that occurred when it was made by hand: A little more seasoning than one might expect, a little less salt than one preferred but all in all an exquisite meal that made one miss being home and appreciate the food that much more.

Marsh