The Eifie & The Klingon (Part 1)

Posted on Mon Mar 20th, 2023 @ 7:31am by Lieutenant Rea & Lieutenant Commander Moklor ‘Shell Squid’

1,132 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Sand Sea Fun and Surf
Location: Pilots Lounge

Lieutenant Rea the new Acting Chief Engineer had been very busy since she had come aboard. The Tokyo had taken serious damage in its battle and even a three week schedule looked a little tight to get everything done. Regardless, the midriff bearing Eifie had come to terms that this assignment wasn't going to be easy.

She was heading down to the lower decks. Usually on a Starship these decks would be occupied with engineering systems and maintenance bays. However the Tokyo instead had its flight deck, pilot areas and marine barracks.

As the turbolift zoomed down the shift, Rea reached up to wipe the aqua coloured fluffy ears on top of her head. At first, her unusual appearance had caught people by surprise. There was this little alien engineer, with blue fur covered ears like a rabbit, the same colour hair tied back and a specially cropped Starfleet Uniform revealing her midriff.

The doors opened and Rea walked out into the pilots lounge, the engineering kit she had brought tightly gripped in her hand.

Moklor's large shape would be hard to miss, even as he sat along the edge of the lounge. It wasn't everyday when somebody noticed a freshly posted Klingon Lieutenant Commander in the colorful uniform of the Starfighter Corps.

He looked up as Lt. Rea entered. Moklor had never seen anyone of her species before. He turned his attention back to his meal, stirring a spoon through a replicated baghol soup. A glass of firewine sat at its side.

His plan was to continue his meal. There was a lot he'd been wanting to know about the Tokyo. Perhaps a conversation with this engineer was in order. "Excuse me, Lieutenant", Moklor said while sliding towards the edge of his corner booth.

"Would you care to join me? There are things I would like to know about the Tokyo." Moklor looked up from his booth as he spoke to her.

The ears on Reas head twitched slightly. Her species had encountered the Klingons before and it had never been good. However, they both wore the Uniform now. "Sure", she said slightly nervously.

Moklor left his meal as he took a step closer. "First, perhaps a visit to the replicator is in order?" He pointed to one nearby. "And what brings you to the pilot's lounge?"

Rea smiled. "Well, I was going to work on some of the power systems that run behind this room. But I can take a break" she said in response as she turned towards the replicator.

"Certainly", Moklor said while taking a glance down at his bowl of soup. "At least a quick bite." He took the firewine in his left hand and sipped. It had a hot, spicy flavor strong enough to cause slight pain. Moklor wouldn't have had it any other way.

Rea quickly replicated one of her own recipes from her home planet. It was a strange looking dish. A small bowl of grey liquid, and what looked like caviar on the side, except they were bright pink. Several seaweed like leaves on the other side of the small bowl and a triangle shaped spoon.

Taking the tray from the replicator the Eifie smiled. "I'm so glad I got to upload my own food into the computer. Some of the Human food is... so strange to me. That stuff they call bread, upsets my stomachs."

"Bah, yes", Moklor said with a chuckle. "There were times when Starfleet did not program Klingon dishes as well. It is good to carry your own files", he said smiling.

"How do your recipes fair?" Her food interested him, causing his stomach to rumble. He lifted the bowl of soup to his lips and took a loud sip.

"It is a fair representation" Rea replied. "But doesn't taste the same as the real thing..." she told him. "Are we eating then working?" She enquired.

"It appears so", he responded. "I thought you might grab something while you work. Your cuisine appears more... Delicate. However.

Rea sat down opposite. Gently she used the spoon to place some of the pink caviar like eggs onto the leaves, before gently rolling them up and dunking it into the grey soup like liquid.

"Want to try?" She asked.

"Perhaps a small taste", Moklor replied. He wasn't sure what to make of the food, though it did intrigue him. His nose took a gentle whiff, trying to garner hints of the soup's scent.

"Be my guest" Rea replied as she slid the plate towards him. "It's an acquired taste, Humans say it tastes like some of their Fish apparently."

Moklor used his jagged spoon to artfully scoop up one of the eggs. He dunked it into his soup, swirling up a spoonful around it. He lifted and swallowed the bite. "Not a bad pairing", he said, cautiously smacking his lips on the bite. "What is it meant to be?"

"It's meant to have a stronger flavour. But that comes from uts freshness" Rea explained. "It's a popular dish called Filia. It's a common 'good food' that we eat" she added

"Thank you for sharing", Moklor replied. "Food is good for the spirit. It nourishes the body, but also the soul." After a moment of reflection he added, "My soup is but a simple dish. It reminds me of the food I ate when younger... Just a child upon an old B'rel starship." He chuckled quietly.

"You grew up on a starship?" Rea asked curiously.

"Indeed", said the gruff Klingon with a hint of warmth. "It was a great experience. I learned so much. How to fly a starship... Routing power through EPS conduits. Such Klingon ships train the youngest warriors to handle the more mundane tasks. But it is good knowledge."

Raising his spoon for the next bite, Moklor asked, "What was your childhood like?" He had often wondering what growing up was like for non-Klingons.

"It was fairly standard. My mother raised me like she did my sisters before me. I was destined to be an engineer from birth. I was fully literate in most engineering principles by the time I was three years old." Rea explained. "I should explain that we mature very quickly by most other species standards. Our breeding practises are different too, I was bred to be an engineer from pre-conception."

“Very interesting”, Moklor said as he listened. He thought about how different her life must have been. “A career in Engineering is often left to the downtrodden. Some are slaves, hired by a House to work on their ships. Such tasks interfere with the way of the warrior. There have been some in the House of Moklor who did pursue such a career. They still fought as a warrior when the time arose.”

To be continued...

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