Does Eating require time and space?

Posted on Thu Oct 21st, 2021 @ 6:26am by Ensign Edward D'Gracefull & Lieutenant JG Miraj Derani

Mission: Season 5: Episode 2: Operation Save Humanity
Location: Mess Decks
Timeline: MD8 : 19 H 30
1584 words - 3.2 OF Standard Post Measure

ON

Ed stood over the large console, that was covered with various P.a.d.d's. He was hungry, and had hit the Snooze on his alarm three times, before remembering what the alarm was for. "oops!" Ed said, then quickly sent a memo to Ensign Derani.

[Ensign, have you eaten yet? I have more questions? some answers, and a few choice words. If you have time, and have not eaten, care to meet me on the mess decks. I am starving.]

After looking at that for a second, he started to wonder if it would sound like anyone with in five meters was in danger of loosing digits. So he tried again.

[Ensign, have you eaten yet? I have more questions? and If you have time, and have not eaten, care to meet me on the mess decks.]

There that looked safer and less likely to upset a non-engineering mind set.
Pushing send, Ed went back to looking at the list of things that were broke. The list of things, that did not work. Then last but not least, the requests for additional equipment, to replace other things that may or may not be working right.


Miraj was walking back from the flight, sim, looking at her latest data from the QSD simulations when the message arrive. There was probably enough data now to jusitfy a stick conversion and her latest session just added to the conclusion. Though she should probably make Neri do it first to see how well normal people could handle it. But seeing the message, her stomach reminded her just how long it had been since... whenever she had eaten last.

Two minutes she replied, altering her direction as she walked without looking up.


Ed headed to the mess decks, grabbed two trays, and went to the replicator. Feeling really really hungry, Ed ordered, turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, a jellied berry on the side, not sure why someone would jelly a berry, but he figured he would try it. 2 - one-liter containers of half pineapple half orange juice.

4 thick-cut slices of roast beast, but it did not say which beast it was. A banana creme pie. He really liked bananas. Listening to his stomach rumble, he added a large bowl of salad, with chicken, although why the salad was afraid, he would not hazard a guess. He would have to ask some one. He added a small bowl of shredded Colby jack cheese. That sounded like it would go good with popcorn...

He just managed to get all this food onto his two trays, but then his stack of 5 P.a.d.d's had to go in his engineering coveralls. He was glad for all those extra pockets. Looking around, ED looked for someone with pink hair, which could not be too common. There were two people with ping hair. One looked like a monkey type and not a standard human. Then again what was standard anymore...

Ed took a guess and hoped that Ensign Derani was a small female not the big monkey type person. Walking over to the table he asked, "Ensign Derani?"

She looked up at him from her chocolate milkshake, pink bunches swinging with the sudden movement. "Yes?"

ED Looked down at the small person with a huge amount of pink hair. Ummm what was the protocol for sitting at another person's table? He panicked for a second, then his brain kicked in. "May I join you Ensign Derani?" Ed asked then realizing he had forgotten to introduce himself. he gasped "I'm sorry. " He came to attention, well as best as one could carrying two trays heaped up with food. "I did not introduce myself. I am Edward Garnla Gnomomer Chel'Sata, from the House of EL, line of D'Graceful. but just call me Ed!"

Ed stood there feeling like a heel.

"Hi Ed." Miraj waited for him to say something, but he stood there. "Sooooo. Do you want to sit down? Those trays look heavy. And there's plenty of space. Enough for four people really, so you can take as much as you need. Do you need me to help?"

Ed quickly sat down, feeling a bit off. Normally he could think on his feet, it must be his hunger. As he set his trays down, he said everybody complains about replicator food, but I love it..." As he dug in, he asked, "Is the coloring of your hair natural, or chosen? The reason I ask is my vision spectrum is shifted slightly towards the Ultra-Violet, so I have a harder time seeing reds and oranges, except for the red alert, which has 50 other frequencies mixed in for other races that don't have normal vision."

"Its natural." Miraj replied. People were always fascinated with her hair. "I'm half boslic, my mother's hair is lavender. We're kind of colourful that way."

Ed said, "I like colorful, everything in Starfleet is so drab, I recommend more color, but they said no. Now Risa Seven, they know colors, even the Black is alive, I can see several brilliant sub-frequencies on most of their welcome signs for visitors. I was there for a supply run and spent several nights camping. The nights were alive with colors. Diving was even better. The night-time colors were spectacular." Ed smiled as he remembered his times there. "I hated leaving, but alas work must be done!"

"I wouldn't say its drab." Miraj looked around at the mess hall. "Its... minimalist." She sucked on her milkshake. "Are you expecting someone else?" She nodded at the piled high trays. "Do you want me to move?"

Ed looked down at his tray. "This is my lunch," he said. "I am expecting an Ensign Derani, know where I can find one?" He then smirked and started digging into his food. He ate rather large amounts at a high rate of speed. After taking several drinks of his glass of citrus juice in between his large gulps of food, he paused and asked, "So does it glow in the dark? Is it easy to manage? My sister used to get up an hour before us boys on the farm, to put her face on. I understood the whole prepping for us guys thing... We probably wont notice and just don't care!"

Miraj looked at him shoveling away the food, somewhat impressed, and then his words settled on her. "Oh, so you're from the past? Like Ensign McBride? Or are you an escapee from the Mirror Universe?"

“No not that I know of.” , Ed said, “but I do have an older brother in the brig…The only thing I could find out is…. A couple renegade admirals, a time ship, and running amuck… do not mix well! But the rest of my family is normal, well as normal as the three stooges. My oldest sibling is a mad scientist, I keep telling her she needs a mad control group… for with out a control group… your not a mad scientist… You are a mad engineer! “ Ed quit talking long enough to shovel a good portion of his food in his mouth.

Miraj didn't understand much of that. But it was another rude joke about a sister. It seemed he didn't like women much. Best to keep this business. "So, you said there was a bunch of stuff to do in the Shuttlebay?"

Ed pulled out his oversized Engineering Padd, and began to display various equipment upgrades planned in the hanger bay. Sliding it around so she could see it, he said," Most of it is the Fighter squadron's stuff, only a few items are yours."

Miraj reached out and flicked along the list. it was mostly standard stuff, like improving the coatings on the deck tiles to make them more resistant to scratching and denting from landings, but a couple of headings caught her eye. They were the more complicated changes, to the Atmosphere cage around the
bay doors that let large items of matter through, but not small things, like breathable air. She frowned. "I thought this was done." She tapped her finger on it and turned the padd to Edward. "I remember signing for something. Some parts or something."


Ed said, "Well they ordered the parts and supplies to do the job, that was signed for, but the job it self was never scheduled. You guys have been rather busy for a while now, even regular maintenance has been deferred until there was time to get it done."

"We'll I don't think we've had a dock in a while. Nothing more than a day or so at least. Not since I've been on board. which is only a few months really. Would you need a dock to do that sort of work though? couldn't we just seal off the shuttle bay for a few hours?"

"We can do it peace-meal, one section at a time, due to the large hanger bay, the flight crews would just have to use the starboard half while the port half was under refit, and vice versa."

"Okay." Miraj agreed. "When do you want to start?"

Ed said,"How about tomorrow we mee3t for lunch, and after that assuming that no major problems come up, we start after lunch?" Ed had just finished speaking, when he was paged to main Engineering. "Got to run, see you tomorrow!"Ed grabbed his two trays, hustled over to reclamation, dumped his trays, and sprinted out of the mess deck's."

End Transmittion