| Miso Broth © Xeen march 2003 Hoshi's rant G this is the second instalment of the series 'The Enterprise Incident' (a sequel to Trip's Log) * Part 2 * "KKKKkkkkkkkkkkk-shtokk' arrr! Plak'tar nob k-ree!" Hoshi opened her eyes. That was it! She finally got the pronunciation right – as far as she could tell… She listened intensely to her last recording and almost smiled. Now she had to decide whether it meant "be ready to die" or "get your plate ready", but that was the easiest part, she guessed. She switched off the padd and turned back to her notes. She was kind of old fashioned somehow when it came to cooking. That one was worthy of all her attention. It was the very first Japanese cooking lesson she will teach on the flagship Enterprise. Her smile broadened as her long fingers were running on the ancient book. She enjoyed teaching back on Earth and truly missed her students. Here she was new to the task. She made a mental correction: she was actually the first one on the job. Ever. She had to take care of a tremendous amount of things and being up to the task as well, not to mention to get rid of her inner fears. If she was not so frightened all the time, maybe she should have paid a little more attention. She turned out to be the real crybaby lately…. Not that she was unhappy to be part of the crew of Enterprise. She was a very crucial part to it… and she knew, just as she knew from the beginning that she was likely to hate the biggest part of it! Don't get her wrong. She did like building that universal translation almost from the scratch, not being with the away team testing it. But… part of the job. She did enjoy being the diplomatic kind but not using her skills in that matter with the crew of Enterprise at stake. But… part of the job. She did fancy a little walk and research down on strange new worlds, but not being randomly beamed back on a volatile transporter. But… part of the job. She pressed her hands on her temples and took a deep breath. What could possibly go wrong in the kitchen? Probably nothing apart from facing Chef's ironic smile during her "class". She pressed the command on the wall and the door slid open. "Hi!" she said. She had never been so embarrassed in her life. Her four students immediately focused on her expectantly. "We will begin with a vegetarian dish since Sub Commander T'Pol is taking that class with us." "This is no obligation, ensign," the Vulcan immediately reacted, one eyebrow almost rocketing under her hair. "This is no official training, you are not requested to take into account that I am a vegetarian." "You have informed us that you won't be attending all the classes so I extend it as a courtesy and will arrange around your schedule." "Very well, ensign. In that case, I thank you," T'Pol said with an imperceptible nod. "I strongly suggest that we attend this class on a first name basis. Calling each other by our rank or salutation seems inappropriate. Shall we proceed Hoshi?" "Err… I suppose so. Today we will start with the basis of family cooking in Japan. Miso…" * She should have known better. Make some research just in case Vulcan physiology should require special restrictions. She really wish she could travel back in time! She had discovered an amazing woman when they were stuck in the catwalk but she did not even try to find out more about Vulcans simply because she thought she was such an expert. What happened by her only fault has proved her wrong. She was no expert at all and far too involved in that semi platonic affair with Trip. Commander Tucker, that is. And, yes. She knew that there were no such things that semi platonic affairs but there were the regs right? And he seemed to be quite a ladies' man… To make a long story short, she eventually forgot that T'Pol was definitely NO human. The grapevine said that she was cold and an efficient professional and not interested in any "fraternisation". In other words, there was not the slightest chance of her becoming a friend to Hoshi and therefore she was. There was not the slightest chance that a relationship between the captain and the sub commander ever occurs. Not only because of the chain of command -she quite made her point repeatedly, emphasizing she had been assigned to the human ship by the Vulcan Counsel, even if she was to follow the captain's orders. When Hoshi thinks it over, she changed right after the monastery incident and almost totally stopped patronizing him right after they were taken into custody by that Coridan faction. They seemed to have come to a silent agreement. Well, the captain was not fooling anyone aboard. Not only was he tempering his anger but managing kindness to the sub commander. Whatever he learnt when they were down there, he was careful not to touch her, - well, sort of – he never quite touched her, Hoshi thought. Somebody told her once that Vulcans were actually touch telepaths and she had put that away in a remote part of her mind. But if it was true, T'Pol, in a way, was always alone. She must have been alone years ago in that Vulcan compound in San Francisco, a junior intern with a promising career ahead. She was even more on the Enterprise even if the crew was getting used to having her around. How would the crew react if the captain… She nodded absently. She should have seen it coming: the sub commander taking the captain away to a secret mission, the captain and the sub commander whispering in the dark in the catwalk, his face when Phlox told him about the disease, hers when he was taken away with Trip to that penal colony? On the day it happened, she recalls staring at them speechless, mostly like everyone else did on the bridge. Fortunately, the captain took her away immediately in his ready room. She would have let her hands fall from the keypad to her lap and stare. It took only a moment for their lives to change and then it was over. As if in a dream. Anyone could hardly say anything has happened. Who would have thought only two years ago that the sub commander would ever be… Oh my! That was the captain's fault in the first place, she thought with a deep frown on her face. What was that idea in the first place to insist on celebrating everyone's birthday! No, she was being unfair. That was real cool. The whole matter was really hers! Why did she have to volunteer to make the bl…y cake? To make it up to Travis? Who would have thought that Vulcans had a sweet tooth for chocolate and the tendency to get intoxicated with it? She probably overdosed or something. How will she be able to look T'Pol in the eyes with a straight face. She should have seen it coming… To be continued in Chocolate Chips |
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