Andorian Cafe Lunch

Posted on Wed Jun 26th, 2019 @ 9:24am by Commander Rita Paris & Lieutenant Commander Thex sh'Zoarhi

Mission: Fractured Fairy Tales
Location: USS Hera, Deck 24, Chief Engineer's Office
Timeline: 2396, Post-Tribunal

The chief engineers of the USS Hera, Lieutenant Commander Thex sh’Zoarhi let out a slight sigh as she looked over the list of repairs that needed to be done after the ship’s battle with the pirate queen. The worst part of this was she now couldn't join in to help the repairs, as her baby bump getting clearly visible. Even with the two still in their eggs, they were already growing to a fairly large size. She pitied her Anear bride, and what she'd be going through after the transfer.

Hearing the doors open a smile spread over her face as her best friend stepped through the doors. "Hello, Rita, what can I do for you today?" the Andorian asked with her friendly tone.

The gold-clad commander with the easygoing smile noticed the baby bump that was steadily growing, and it brought that much more of a smile to her face. When she had first arrived in the future, she had manifested most clearly in Engineering, which had been prophetic given the relationship she would develop with the cheerful and welcoming Andorian. Thex had been her guide to some of the larger concepts of the future, like replicators and holodecks and history, for which she had remained forever grateful. When she had no friends in a far-flung future, Thex had been the first one to offer that hand to her, and Rita Paris would never forget it.

“The usual… making my rounds, getting updates. Honestly, given the battle we were in, she sustained reasonably minor damage, considering they were firing penetration projectiles at our hull. Here’s to our Miss Dox’s fancy flying… that reminds me, I need to put her in for a medal,” the frank first officer mused as she made a note to herself on her ever-present PaDD.

"Well, I can assure you my men and the holoprograms at the fortress will have her good as new within a few days," The andorian said leaning back in her chair letting out a slight sigh as her hand moved over her bump. "Pity I can't make sure it will be done in that time."

Looking up from her typing, Rita realized that she’d been correct. Andorians were known to be workaholics, defining themselves through their work and thus their work ethic tended to be exemplary. Which in the case of one Thex sh’Zoarhi, insuring that the USS Hera stayed in absolute pristine shape and functionality was a major portion of her own self-image. Knowing that there were literally holes punched in the hull had to be driving her crazy. The fact that given her delicate condition she was unable to personally direct and participate in the repairs would become downright depressing for her.

Thus what truly brought the old-school officer to the chief engineer’s office today.

“What do you say we go get some lunch? I don’t know if Andorian girls get weird food cravings like we human gals tend to, but one thing I know is you gotta feed those little munchkins. Not like I know someone who lives on protein bars while she overworks herself…” Which was a direct quote from Thex’s latest checkup with Doc Dael.

"That would be great. " The pregnant sapphire girl said as she stood up from her desk, tugging the very large uniform jacket down to she walked over to her friend. Being able to do nothing but sit here was driving her crazy. "We're lucky, we don't the weird food cravings. Our metabolism just goes into overdrive. So what are you thinking of, Rita?"


“Welllll,” Paris said with a smile as she led the way out of the office and into Main Engineering proper, where gold-clad engineers bustled here and there, all moving with a purpose to effect the repairs while also performing the standard maintenance that was always a part of engineering life aboard a starship. “I know Earth cuisine, but I don’t know what’s good and bad for your sprouts. So how about we take an eating tour of Andor today? You can explain some of your delicacies, and we can give the replicator a workout. Or test the chefs…”

"That would be nice. There was a very nice andorian restaurant on the beachfront of San Fransico, run by one of the old andorian ambassadors." The chief engineer said with a smile on her face.

“Orrrrr we could go have a nice lunch on the holodeck if you’d prefer,” Paris changed course smoothly. After all, one just occupied a holosuite for an hour while the other occupied the officer’s mess. But if Thex had a preference, this was about her, and Rita would be happy to oblige her. Besides, San Francisco was Rita’s hometown, she loved the sea air, and Thex know it.

Even trying to do something nice for the blue babe she managed to turn into something nice for the giver of the gift. That was Thex.

“C’mon. I’ll bet we can still get a holosuite at this hour, and I could do with some sea air.” Moving through the compartment, Rita nodded with satisfaction. “I remember the first time I came through here… that sea of black and charcoal uniforms. I was so worried I was in some splinter Terran timeline until I saw you. I’m so glad those dark uniforms are gone and we’re back to being brightly colored, standing out as the good guys.”

"Lead on then, my friend," Thex replied with a smile, thinking back to the time they'd first met. She'd been wearing the utility jumpsuit that had been yellow for as long as Thex could remember. "The bright colors do make the ship look nicer. Help see the stains my team will have gotten whilst working." The andorian said with a grin.

“Well, at least we don’t look like the gestapo anymore,” Rita muttered. “It’s important, you know? I remember when we went from everyone in gold uniforms to the tricolor scheme for the three branches, and there was so much argument over them. But in the end, the message was that we needed visibility. Same reason Starfleet doesn’t use cloaks- the good guys don’t hide in the shadows, they stand in the light, and they are clearly easy to find, because we’re here to help.”

Pausing to secure a turbolift, Paris chuckled. "At least I missed that awful jumpsuit era before the black uniforms. Ugh!”

"Urg I could imagine having these two wearing one of those things." The andorian said moving her hand over her belly. She knew Rita was trying to take her mind of her not being able to work and it was helping. "Though from what I've seen, the miniskirts must have taken some getting used to." She said with a friendly wink as the two of them stepped into the turbolift.

Tapping at the screen of her ever-present PaDD, Rita flipped it over to reveal an unattractively uniformed set of officers.




"This crew came to the Academy to show us the uniforms we'd be graduating to wear. I was trying to build up some enthusiasm for it. Even came with a badly cut jacket. Everything was badly sized and droopy in the fleet, apparently. No, it was literally a fashion choice they made because someone in Starfleet thought it would help. No lie."

For a change, Rita Paris' pace wasn't martial. It could barely be considered in haste at all as she spent some time with her friend, telling her a story. Because witht he eventful life she'd led, Rita Paris did tend to have some stories. to tell. And tell them she did, like it or not. "One day about three weeks before graduation, a Starfleet publicity team came to review the cadets, because they had new uniforms they were going to institute. They picked about a dozen of us, me included, and we modeled for Starfleet promotions for them. I had a poster- it was me, wearing this, looking up to the stars with my hands on my hips like a superhero."

At that, Rita stopped in the corridor, placed her hands on her hips above that small waist and beamed a smile to the universe. Coming down the corridor, Crewman Barrett saw the prettiest officer he'd ever seen. The uniform made it obvious who she was, but in that moment, he couldn't remember the First Officer's name if he had to. Which made him start to panic. And because he was panicking, he was trying really hard not to freak out. But it was the Commander, there was only one of those, with the old-fashioned hot uniform, the first officer...!

For reasons unknown to himself, he found himself drawn into an erect and proper military salute. Save for the fact that his eyes were darting about a bit in panic. The anachronistically uniformed officer noticed him, snapped to in a salute of her own, whereupon by Starfleet regulation, he was at ease. Mujel Barret knew all of this from boot camp, and had adapted to shipboard life after having come aboard at DS9. But he'd never just snapped to and saluted before, and he wondered What the hell...?

'Report, Crewman," Paris looked Crewman Barrett in the eye and cocked her head a bit quizically, emphasizing the question thile she fixed him with those big OH holy wow look at her eyes they're like oh wow there's the chief engineer oh crap that's my boss oh yeah, she's preggers...

Slowly he turned, realizing that the Commander was still waiting for an answer. "I... I'm really sorry but I forgot the question, what, what did you want to know, ma'am? Commander ma'am?"

"Dooo yooou knooow whooo yooour seectiooon chiiief iiis...?" Paris spoke as if she were in slo-mo, which only served to freak Barrett out that much more. He'd heard the ship was weird, but he figured, we're all Starfleet, right? He'd never broken out in a cold sweat before, but he was having a learning experience.

Thex was doing her best not to burst out laughing at the whole situation, but the sapphire engineer kept her cool and spoke with a polite and professional manner. "Crewman, if you have nothing to report than main engineering has several tasks that need doing." Hopefully the reminder of work would snap him out of his state.

“Uh… her. Them. Chief, uh, sh’Z…er.. uh.. Thex. Ma’am. Commander,” Barrett stammered.

“So you came to attention, which means that yyou’ve come to report in an official capacity, Crewman. So what exactly were you planning to report, I am curious?” There was the hint of a smile playing at the corners of the curvaceous commander’s cheeks, as she played this out.

For his part, young Mr. Barrett’s mind was racing as his panic level rose. His boss and his bosses boss. All he needed now was for the Captain of an admiral to come along and ask him a simple question that he couldn’t answer, and he’d be ready for captain’s mast. Struggling mightily, he managed to stammer out an answer at last.

“The, uh, the matter reclamators on deck 8 are working again, Commander,” he blurted out, instantly regretting having spoken at all.

For her part, Paris understood the crewman’s plight, so she decided to make it a moment. “Good work, Crewman. While there are more illustrious and noteworthy tasks to be performed, in the annals of the USS Hera, we will forever be grateful that Officer Country and the VIP Quarters were not awash in waste. For that we offer you our sincerest gratitude.”

When the Commander stuck out her hand for a handshake, Barrett was still dazed and confused by it all. But he had just enough presence of mind to take the offered hand and shake it numbly.

Releasing the handshake after the two perfunctory pumps, the fulsome first officer nodded with satisfaction. “Well done, Crewman. Carry on…”

Never had Barrett been so happy to be issued a command he both understood and could fulfil, and after a nervous glance at the chief engineer, he scooted down the hallway in a walk that was one step shy of a full-out panicked run to get away from the first and second officers.

“See? This is why I have to be judicious about stuff like that. If I’m not careful, I stun the unwary,” Rita joked, although it had actually happened pretty much exactly that way.

"Oh, I've noticed," the andorian said, still having to resist laughing herself. "Must be easy to do whilst being the model of one of Starfleet’s classic uniforms.” The andorian’s stomach let out a slight grumble. She was really feeling hungry.

“Has its moments,” Rita quipped with a little piper’s smile as she resumed walking, arriving at Holosuite 14. “All right Thex, I believe this is your cue, since you know where you’d like to go, hm?”

Thex nodded as she walked over and pressed a few command buttons into the console. The door slid open as the two Starfleet officers stepped inside the holosuite. The restaurant was a bright blue and white mixture in swirling patterns and shades, from the furniture to the walls. Andorian tapestries and artwork hung from the walls giving a good representation of andorian history. "Welcome to the Lek,i Rita." The sapphire engineer said as she looked at her friend.

“Well, it looks fun… how about now you take me on a tour of the local cuisine, since I’m rather ignorant of it. Is all Andorian food served cold?” she asked as they were escorted to a table by the demure hostess, who handed them menus. In one column they were written in Andorian, and in the other, Federation standard, with explanations of the exotic cuisine.

" Rita, we're not that primitive," Thex said jokingly with a grin as the waitress returned with a plate of several slices of a warm fresh brown bread. "Ah, Hari. Don't worry, it's very similar to what the humans call soda bread." The sapphire engineer said as she took a slice and placed it on her own plate. "Well, I think we can skip the Shaysha... For the starters how about the Akharrad which is a nice selection of andorian seafood or the Duuploni which is a nice warm vegetable soup? "

Taking a piece of the hari, tearing it, sniffing it then taking a bite, Rita nodded. “By all means, you are the guide, so I will follow your recommendations. You order it and I’ll try it!

Thex nodded and asked the hostess for a plate of both of them. It'd didn't take long before she returned placing a large plate of deep fried seafood and two smaller ones of the rich green soup. " Try the Duuploni first Rita. I've heard people say it's like a slightly salty winter vegetable soup."

"Sure, sure. So... Thex, can I ask you a personal question?" At a nod from the Andorian officer, Paris pressed her point. "What's it like... what's it feel like, with your little passengers onboard? I haven't done it, but I want to. Can you feel them? Can you hear them?"

Thex let out a slight grin as she put a few of the fried seafish on her plate. " I don't really know how it goes for humans, but it feels like I'm carrying around two very bloated stones. They are still in their eggs at the moment, but when I'm asleep I think I can hear them singing."

"That's sweet. I... don't know if it is like carrying stones for us, since we don't make eggs, ours just travel in a sack of flesh while they grow inside," Rita explained in simple terms- after all, biology wasn't the most appetizing lunch conversation. "You have an entire sensory range I don't, since you can sense electromagnetic fields with those antennae of yours, so I didn't know if maybe the little ones somehow communicated with you that way. Just, if I say something stupid, please don't be offended- I'm ignorant, but asking, right?" Rita laughed a bit at that, as she popped one of the fried seafood bits in her mouth and crunched into it. "Mmm, s'pretty good..."

"Perhaps, and you don't need to apologize Rita," Thex said as she took a few of the seafood bits. "None of the books I've read mentioned it. Maybe it's a gift from being in close proximity to Hera, giving me another gift from my two little amazons."

“Uh, Amazons?” Rita stopped crunching the fried seafood mid-mouthful. “Whuh makes you fay dat...?”

"Figure of speech, Rita, not literally," Thex said with a grin on her face. "Though the two are nice and strong according to the doctor, for natal Andorians."

"Thex, on this ship the word Amazons literally means something. Have you seen the Security team? Because proximity and blessings from Hera mean something very specific. So, just... be careful, eh? Not that Hera means any harm, I just don't think you want your kids to be born as blue Minotaurs or living lapus lazuli, you know?" Rita waved idly as she spoke. "Because these seemingly silly concerns are quite realistic in the here and now on the Hera."

"Yeah, you're right. I guess I keep forgetting that we have a goddess on board. None of that is mentioned in the Academy," Thex said as they finished the last of the starters. "Okay, how about for the main course we have a few redbat steaks with a nice salad?" The andorian asked her friend.

"I'm in, let's try it out," Rita replied, content to be taking a relaxing lunch with the chief engineer that didn't involve discussing past, current or pending calamities. "So when you you... uh... 'hand off' the sprouts to Tathaa? She carries them to full term and delivers, right?"

"Yeah," Thex said feeling slightly embarrassed by this often asked question. "I'll transfer them to her, and she'll carry them for the last three months." She explained leaving out the messy details that weren't polite to mention over dinner.

"I'm sorry, Thex," the human woman expressed, realizing that somehow she had crossed a boundary. "I did say I am only asking out of ignorance, right? I just want to be supportive and I thought asking questions would help show that. I didn't mean to ask anything personal or embarrassing. I'll drop it."

"No, it's okay Rita. I know you don't mean any offense. Just having to explain andorian reproduction procedures to the ship does get repetitive. I wonder if these two if the girls will have picked up their father's biological traits. Would make everything easier," the pregnant engineer said as the main course arrived. A selection of fried redback steak along with some tuber root fries.

At that, Rita was conflicted. She wanted to ask what Thex meant by their father's biological traits, but she had just complained about having to explain Andorian reproduction procedures, so it seemed as if it would be rude to ask. A noncommittal answer would work best, so she just offered, "Hope for the best, I guess."

"Indeed," Thex replied as she took a bite out of the redbat steak. "Ah, that is good. Though you can tell it's been replicated. One of the things I miss from home is the freshly caught redbat."

"Well, if it's any consolation, I can't tell the difference..." Rita offered, taking a bite.

"Well, I hope you like it. It's better if it's been hunted...." The andorian began before realizing one of the few happy memories of her childhood was rising to the surface. The feeling of snow under her feet, wind on her cheek, her charan smile as she brought back the freshly killed redbat to him and the feeling as he ruffled her long messy hair as her little hands tried to pull the arrow from it's breast.

Realizing she'd been staring into nothingness she polite swallowed. "Sorry about that... memories from back home."

At that, Rita considered asking about Andoria, but if Thex was touchy about people asking her about the Andorian birth cycle, she didn't want to press her on it. She took a polite bite of the redbat, noting the texture and the taste as she rolled it around in her mouth. It was... interesting.

"So how is the artifact project coming along, any new breakthroughs?" Rita changed course.

"No luck so far," Thex said, even though you could tell getting her mind to her engineering work was helpful. "Still going through all the Greek letters we can make element combinations with. I'm sure we'll have the trident working sooner or later. I wonder what it will be able to do?"

“Probably command all sea life in the area, which would be handy on a starship, right?” Rita chuckled, then struggled for the next conversational topic. “So how’s life with three roommates after being a solo act for so long?”

"Very well, other than waking up by someone coming or going for the shift," The blue girl said, blushing slightly with a happy grin on her face. "I'm having some changes made to the room to give us some more space. Going to need every bit of it with the girls due in a few months. At least they'll be four of us."

“More hands will definitely be useful with two on the way,” Rita agreed picking at the various dishes, sampling as she went. “But don’t forget we have full nursery facilities now, and day care. So even with four of you, it won’t be nearly the hardship it could be.”

"I know, and I'm sure we'll be using them. Two girls are going to be a handful even with our very large family and the goddess of motherhood on board," the andorian said with a grin, holding up her glass as she patted her belly. "Here's to the crew of the Hera... the best family I could ever hope for."

Plucking her glass off the table, Rita Paris raised it to clink against Thex's. "I'll drink to that."