JPL | SciO & EngO | Ens Kharg & LtJg. Mallow | "Not Dead Yet"

Posted on 241711.11 @ 2:53am by Ensign Ayissa Kharg & Lieutenant Hober Mallow

Mission: Reconstruction and Refocus
Location: Quarters

After a busy day, Ayissa finally found herself hovering outside Lt. Mallow's door. Moderate guilt for having sent him running the night before had been lingering in the back of her mind, nipping at her in the few quiet moments she had had. Balancing a plate carefully in one hand, the other tentatively reached forwards to press the chime. Belatedly, she realized she had not bothered to check his whereabouts before coming over here. Though, given his prior reaction, she had not anticipated he would have gone anywhere else. Giving a tiny shrug to herself, she stared at the door before her, as if the intensity of her gaze might will it open.

Mallow had sampled a plethora of alcoholic drinks from an eclectic mix of Federation cultures, but this still had not prepared him for his first experience with Klingon Blood Wine the previous night. Since before his time in Starfleet the Engineer had tested his Wadi biology's limited ability to process ethanol, but damn the Klingons. Embarrassed, Hober had skipped a trip to sickbay and instead opted to brave his painful lesson in bed. Recognizing the chime of his door, he stood up slowly and shlepped to the door cowering in his thick sleeping robes.

"Come in," he said as he approached.

Stepping in a little sheepishly, Ayissa took one look at Hober and knew that it was just as bad, if not worse than she had feared. "I..."

Swallowing down the nervous lump in her throat that still away the rest of her words, the Ensign took another step to close the distance, tentatively offering the plate she had brought with her. On it was what appeared to be an omelette of some variety, though the scent of bacon lingered fairly strongly. The word 'sorry' was spelled out across the folded egg in olives.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." Was finally managed, though she pointedly avoided meeting his gaze; her own firmly focused on the wall just over his shoulder while she tried to ignore the guilty blush that heated her pale face. Anything she may have wanted to inform him about the events of that morning were pushed aside. He could probably wait to hear it at least until tomorrow.

Mallow couldn't help but smile, and chuckled softly at the arrangement of olives. An arm reached out from his blanket armor and accepted the plate, he waddled over to his table and chairs and sat down, "Please come sit, thank you for this, but don't be sorry. I should have asked about the wine before drinking it. Wadi process ethanol extremely fast, we don't do well with high concentrations, which should be evident from my appearance."

"I should have mentioned it's strength, as well." Ayissa said, apparently bound and determined to at least accept some level of guilt in the matter. "I'm so used to others being turned off by the taste alone...I don't think I've ever seen any non-Klingon take more than a sip."

"Though I guess I know to not to offer to take you drinking. Even if it would be a cheap date." She added, a touch of humor creeping back into her features. Taking the empty seat across from him, she nodded at the plate now in his possession. "That should be more to your liking, if the Wadi palate really is as you say. Dad's hangover recipe. Bacon, anchovies, onions and eggs. I thought olives would be a nice touch."

Mallow picked off an olive that made up the bottom of the sorry, and popped it into his mouth, "Oh those are good. Olives you say?"

"Mmhm." Kharg nodded. "There are a couple different flavors of them. But I've always preferred the black ones, myself."

Snaking her arm across the tabletop, she filched one of the pieces that made up the 's', promptly popping it into her mouth. "You might actually like a lot of Klingon food. If not so much the wine."

"I know very little of Klingon food, let alone the culture." Hober said sitting up straighter, feeling a bit better having the company to distract him from his unfortunate self-inflicted ailment, "You are Klingon?"

"Half." Ayissa admitted, lifting a slender hand to poke at the ridges of her forehead. "Though I truthfully don't look as much like it as is typical. Klingon blood is generally very strong, showing up even a couple generations down the line from where it entered. But..." She shrugged a little. "Somehow I was the odd probability. I look significantly more like my mother. Most people cannot even tell that I am of the same family as my siblings, when we are together."

"Ah, but you still got the Klingon penchant for Blood Wine." Mallow dispensed with any grace and simply ripped off a piece of the omelette and took a bite, "Ohhh I've had bacon before," he said, reaching the familiar taste.

"A decent amount of tastes, for sure." Kharg agreed, allowing a self-satisfied smirk to flick across her lips as her offering was consumed. "Little of the culture, though, I admit. My father is a scientist, not a warrior. As were his parents. They left Qo'noS to pursue their more academic tendencies and never seemed to have any regrets over it."

"So what's your story? Carrying on a parental legacy of science?" Mallow inquired with a smile, and tore another piece off the plate.

"I suppose." Ayissa responded with a nonchalant shrug. "I wasn't exposed to much else in my youth, and I have a natural inclination for it. Seemed a logical route to follow. Eventually I'll likely take over the business, when my parents choose to retire. Until then, I wanted to explore on my own for a bit, maybe learn some new and better techniques."

Hober nodded, "Fair enough."

"What about you? Don't see many Wadi... anywhere, really." Was inquired in blatant attempt to shift the focus off herself for the moment.

"We come from the Gamma quadrant, and don't make the trip in bulk. Fun fact a relative of mine was apart of the first delegation to meet the Federation on Deep Space Nine ages ago...I personally came to the Federation originally on a stupid dare, and I did not plan on staying in Starfleet this long to be honest." Hober explained starting to pick at his hastily applied paint on his forehead.

"Sounds like a pretty weighty dare," the Ensign chuckled softly. "But you must have found something worth staying for, considering you are still here. And on the Enterprise, no less."

"I stayed for the challenge. The Enterprise was luck." Hober said popping more of the food into his mouth.

"Same. For the luck of the draw in placement. Still, I think I'm enjoying it so far. Mostly."

Placing her hands flat on the table, Ayissa pushed herself back up and onto her feet. "However, I should probably let you get back to resting up. Now that I've determined I did not accidentally poison you. Too badly."

Mallow chuckled softly, "I thank you for the food, it is great. Please excuse me if I don't get up."

"Completely excused." she grinned, giving a small wave as she headed for the door. "See you soon. Probably?"

"We have to build the Lionza machine remember," he said with a smile.

"Right," Ayissa laughed, stepping out the door. "Hope that doesn't go to her head. Good night, Hober."

=/\=

Ensign Ayissa Kharg
Science Officer
USS Enterprise

Lieutenant Junior Grade Hober Mallow
Engineer
USS Enterprise