The Hesperat Soufflé Incident

Posted on Thu Oct 12th, 2023 @ 5:01am by Lieutenant Reeza Cuyu & Lieutenant Commander Rayek trLhoell & Ensign Ryan Mackenzie

4,016 words; about a 20 minute read

Mission: Into The Void
Location: Cuyu Quarters
Timeline: post Star-Crossed Voyagers

After their afternoon excursion to the Astrometrics lab, Reeza reminded them of dinner at hers, and offered to Doria to invite her new friend Ryan. When the three agreed, she sent a Comms message to the young Ensign, and led them to her quarters. It was nearly dinner time, and then the girls would need to go to bed, because it was school and work the next day for everyone. She opened the door, and put on the light. "Come in," she said, her voice sing-songy. She had already done most of the prep for the Hesperat souffle-all she'd need to do is bake it, and pray it didn't fall. The Counselor settled the children on the couch with quiet toys to wait, and a cup of juice each. To Rayek, she spoke.

"Can I get you something to drink? Fresh, I have Uttaberry juice, water, sparkling water, and milk. Of course, there's the replicator if you'd like a Synthale or something. I do also have Bajoran ale, actually, in the fridge," she said. She wasn't much for drink, but once in awhile, she liked it and she didn't care if other people did, either, just so long as they were mature enough to handle themselves. "The Souffle shouldn't take long, about thirty minutes. Feel free to make yourself comfortable." However that would look for a Romulan, she had no idea.

This was only the second time Rayek had entered Lieutenant Cuyu's quarters. He watched standing by the doorway as she settled Soja and Doria on the couch. Rayek's first thought was to ask for a replicated chai tea, but the Romulan paused at the offer of a Bajoran ale. Somehow it seemed only fitting given but he didn't want to drink alone.

Reeza realized that Rayek was still standing in the doorway. She shook her head, but spoke up. "You can come inside, sit down. None of us bite," she said. "I broke Soja of that already," she said. "About that drink, I think a Bajoran ale will sit nicely with the Hesperat. How about it, Commander?" She, too, preferred to drink the company of others, even though she never did anything to excess.She had an idea. "Doria, would you like to invite your new friend Ryan for dinner?" She was trying to move past the Arboretum thing, and she KNEW, logically, that Doria needed more people in her life than Reeza and Rayek, though the thought of not being able to help and protect Doria at all times bothered her-the same for Soja, as well. She took her role as Mother figure seriously, and that included their new charge. "You may use my Comm badge to call him," she said.

Doria moved her hand, still watching to make sure it was really OK. Reeza nodded, and Doria smiled a little. ==/\==Master Mackenzie, would you like to come to our quarters for dinner?==/\==

The reply was both surprised and cheerful. ==/\==Hi Doria! Sure. I'll be there in a few minutes! ==/\==

Reeza smiled. There would be plenty of souffle for everyone, but she'd need to replicate more salad ingredients. Oh, well. "I will start to bake the souffle, then," she said. "Please excuse me. Children, if you need anything, I will be in the kitchen, and of course, you can ask Commander trLhoell, as well," she said. Two heads just nodded, lost in their game.

Rayek nodded at the further ushering, and moved to sit at one of the chairs. "Yes, I think I would enjoy to try a Bajoran ale, assuming there is nothing in it that is detrimental to my physiology. I have a sensitivity to nuts - almonds in particular," he offered up in answer.

When Reeza moved off towards the kitchen, Rayek adjusted his chair's position so he had a view of both the children and the Lieutenant in the other room. He was impressed that her quarters had an actual cooking area. On both Katra and the Amalthea, the kitchen appliances had to be special requisitioned and were only provided to senior officers or their families.

Reeza reappeared after a moment, a bottle of the Bajoran ale in her hand. It was already open. "Do you prefer a glass?" She asked. "I can get one. As far as I know, it's made from Jumja roots and tree barks, with traditional Bajoran hops. I don't think almonds can even grow in Bajoran soil," she said, with a shrug. "But I am not a scientist." She wouldn't know. "I do know that my brother, who has a lot of sensitivities, can drink it fine. I am glad that Mr. Ryan will be joining us," she said, to Doria. "In a little bit, I'll have you girls set the table, but not yet." She said, disappearing into the kitchen again. Soufflés were difficult-they needed a lot of watching so they wouldn't fall.

"A bottle will suffice. Thank you." He accepted the ale from her setting it on a nearby table while he pulled out his PADD and did a quick check with the ships' computer if any of the ingredients found in a Bajoran ale had negative reactions to Vulcanoid physiology. Nothing came back as a concern. Putting away his PADD, Rayek then picked up the ale and took a small sip testingly. The flavor was strong but pleasant. "The ale is quite good, thank you."

Rayek continued to enjoy the youthful company of Soja and Doria while they played. He wondered how well his son would have fit in with the two older girls. The thought made him a wistful and he tried to distract himself from the feeling by drinking more.



Ryan had been in the armory calibrating the last of the hand phasers when Doria's call came. Another security officer, Ensign T'Vril was there as well, as she'd been assigned to help with recalibration. When the call came, she naturally overheard. Ryan had gone back to his work when the Vulcan spoke up. “Do you have appropriate attire for a gathering like this?” she asked after a few moments.

Ryan looked up quizzically. He’d planned on wearing his usual off duty clothes; unaware of any “rules” governing how to dress when going to a dinner invite. Seeing his confusion, T’Vril continued. “It has been my experience observing Human social customs that when one is invited to dinner, that they dress formally and bring a gift of some sort.”

“But I’m only going because Doris probably invited me.” The boy countered. “And I’m gonna be hanging out with her anyway, not Counselor Reeza.”

“I understand that Commander Rayek will be attending as well.” T’Vril answered. “Perhaps it might be wise to, as the humans say “dress to be impressive”.”

That caught him off guard. Ryan hadn’t thought about the Romulan being there. Maybe being a little more formal than shorts and a t-shirt would be better. But the only formal clothes he had was his whites, and he damn sure wasn’t wearing those oppressive things.

~ 30 minutes later ~

T’Vril had helped him replicate a suit from his measurements on file. Ryan hadn’t worn one in… he couldn’t remember the last time. But this one was red with a black plaid pattern, and had a vest. The shirt was some variation of white… cream or something. He’d chosen the tie himself although he had no idea how to tie it. Luckily there was a human Chief passing by the quartermaster’s store who knew. Finally, he’d replicated a pair of dark brown leather shoes with laces. T’Vril had furrowed her brow in disapproval, like Vulcans do at the tie, but she’d said nothing about it.

So finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Ryan stood outside Counselor Reeza’s door in his suit, and holding a potted plant. He was going to get a gift for Doria, as it had been her that invited him, but T’Vril insisted that the gift was for the owner of the house. And what did he know about human dinner customs anyway?

So now he shifted the plant to one side and rang the bell.

Her chime went off, and she stepped into the anteroom. "Doria, please check the door. I believe that your friend Ryan," she said, an interesting look on her face. Reeza couldn't decide how to feel, so she decided to feel nothing about it. It wasn't her business, exactly, and it WAS in Doria's best interests, so she said nothing, and returned to the kitchenette after a quick smile at Ryan's appearance. He was fancy. Someone must've mistold him about dinner customs; she was Bajoran and not human. She herself was simply wearing the same khaki pants and striped blouse she had been wearing all day. She finalized a few things, and stepped out again, in time to hear Doria.

[I]Master Ryan. This one is glad you could come,[/I] Doria said. [I]Mistress Reeza is in the kitchen, but you can sit down, if you'd like. [/I]

Soja, for her part, was simply watching the scene with a mixture of childish delight and wonder. Reeza cleared her throat and glanced at the Commander. "Doria, it would be polite for you to introduce your friend," she said, gently. Of course, she knew the kid from being up in the tree with Doria the other day, HOWEVER, a more formal introduction might be a good place to start moving on from that.

Doria just looked from Reeza to Rayek, but then said "This is Master Ryan. He was the boy in the tree who broke this ones ankles".

Reeza fought an urge to laugh, but instead, smiled. "Nice to meet you, Ryan. That is Cuyu Soja, my daughter, and of course, you know Commander trLhoell," she said, pointing to each in turn. "The food won't be much longer. Would you like something to drink? Doria and Soja have juice. The Commander and I have adult beverages, but if the Commander is ok with it, you can have some Synthol or something..." this was out of her league.


Ensign Mackenzie's arrival at the Cuyu quarters in a suit with a potted plant in hand had Rayek raising an eyebrow curiously. He had not expected this to be a formal dinner. At the unnecessary introduction to Ryan, Rayek's confusion grew but he inclined his head in greeting. "It is good to see you Mr. Mackenzie."

At Reesa's suggestion of synthol for Ryan, the Romulan gave a shrug. The Only was considered enough of an adult to hold a commission in Starfleet; he could make his own decisions. "Unless he's on shift - which if I recall correctly, his shift just ended - he's free to have whatever beverage he would like. He's not a child. He's a Starfleet officer."

Finally his curiosity grew too much, "Did we interrupt some formal gathering you were intending to go to? What is the plant for?"

The Onlie cursed T"Vril as he scanned the room. Not for the suit per se....it was pretty swanky. But he'd spent replicator rations on it when he was saving for other things. Namely a replacement nacelle for his model ship. And she was apparently very wrong about the formal dress thing. Probably the whole gift thing too.

As he considered hsi situation, Reeza's offer snapped him back to the here and now. Was she offering him....beer? Ryan was at a loss on the drink question. His legal status notwithstanding, he'd never been offered, nor had he thought to ask for beer ..real or otherwise. It was just one of those things that seemed like a pointless exercise. Like asking a grup on a date. Not that he had any interest in doing so, but even if he did...it was impossible to fathom it happening.

"I umm...juice please." He finally managed. And then to Rayek... "Hi Commander. Um. No. I..." He took a second to decide whether to explain the whole thing. It wasnt like he was throwing the Vulcan under the bus, she was being helpful. "T'Vril said that there was a custom. So..." then he remembered the plant. "Oh...this is for you Counselor. Reeza." He offered the plant to her. "Thanks for letting Doria invite me. Even though she got hurt last time we met."


Reeza smiled. "Thank you, Ryan. You look nice, but I think Ms. T'Vril got her wires crossed. It IS a custom, but not for Bajorans. It's mostly a Human thing, and generally, you're told if it is formal or not," she said. She took the plant. "Perhaps Doria would like to care for this," she said, placing it carefully on a console table. "Sit down. It's nice to see you again," she said. She was trying to take to heart Rayek's words-that Doria needed Ryan because he understood, it was best for her. Reeza knew this, in her heart of hearts, and knew that she wasn't really the android's parent, but still. It was hard to not see her as a little girl, but as a true individual. "This is my daughter, Cuyu Soja. I am sure you have seen her around. Soja, say hello," she said, disappearing for a moment, then reappearing with a glass of juice for Ryan. "It is Uttaberry juice. Doria refuses apples," she said, apologetically. She tried to appear like a competent mother-her worst fear was being seen as unfit.

The Onlie looked at the other girl, this one younger than even Doria looked. “Hi Soja.” He smiled in greeting. I’m Ryan. Then to Doria, “Hi Doria, Are your ankles better?”

Ryan took the drink when Reeza offered it. He had no idea what an Uttaberry was, or what kind of juice it made, but he had drank Sluggo Cola before, and if that didn’t kill him, he doubted an Uttaberry was going to. And even if he didn’t like it, he was determined to pretend he did… unless it was just completely gross… and then he’d just do what most people did. Set it down and “forget” about it.

Rayek took in Ryan's explanation and fought to keep the smirk from his features that the Vulcan got the Bajoran customs wrong. At Reeza's polite comment on the Onlies' attire Rayek quickly nodded in agreement. "Yes, the suit.. is quite distinctive. It... suits you well."

Ryan looked at the suit. He supposed it was pretty nice. Although he’d rather have picked on with pinstripes. A book he’d read about the old mobsters on Earth had pictures of them and they all had pinstripes on their suits. They looked like big shots. But the quartermaster had insisted he get the red one with the plaid pattern. “Really sets off your hair.” He’d said, whatever that meant. And it was much more comfortable than dress whites anyway. “Yeah, the quartermaster said so. It’s got a vest too. He said it was the “in” fashion for kids on Earth right now to wear.” He shrugged.

At the comment about Doria's refusal of apples Rayek looked perplexed. He was tempted to ask but thought that if Doria felt that strongly about the fruit that there might be some embarrassing story to go along with and to be honest he didn't wish to cause Doria any further discomfort. He had already been the one today to inform her that her home and 'Masters' were long gone.

"The potted plant... what manner of plant is it?" Rayek inquired. Was it a succulent? A flowering plant, or just ornamental greenery?

Again he shrugged. “I dunno." The lady in hydroponics said it's a good houseplant, and even if the person doesn't have green thumbs they can take care of it."

Rayek nodded at this explanation, but struggled think of a suitable response. He was not comfortable in most social gatherings. The addition Ensign Mackenzie in a plaid suit made this dinner a social gathering.

"I didn't bring a host gift.. or dress up for dinner as I was watching over Soja and Doria while Miss Reeza was busy." He pointed out; then continued on explaining. "We just returned from a visit to the Astrometrics lab where Doria was introduced to Earth and Bajor."

From the kitchen, Reeza interjected. "It was fun, you should come along next time. You do look nice," she said. She was always dressed a bit more formally than most-today she was wearing khakis, a printed blouse, and was barefoot, but earlier had loafers. Her long brown hair was down, tumbling in wild waves to near her waist. She'd worn just a small amount of makeup-some blusher and a pale lipstick-and that was all. It was definitely not a formal thing. "Don't worry, Commander, you look fine," she said. "Doria, Soja, please wash your hands. We're going to be eating soon," she reappeared then.

With the call for the girls to wash their hands, Rayek opted to go with to assist Soja if needed, but found that Doria did that role quite proficiently getting the younger child a stood to reach the sink more readily. After the girls were done, Rayek also washed up before returning to the kitchen. "May I assist with anything, Miss Reeza?"

She shook her head. "No, thank you. The trick will be to NOT drop it on the way to the counter for serving; if that happens and it falls, it's basically now just dip, and we replicate dinner," she said. She'd only managed soufflé one other time, and it was probably a bit out of her wheelhouse, BUT she was hoping. "I appreciate the offer, however," she said. "Children, please help our guests get seated and then we can eat." She said. "Doria, you may use the replicator if you'd like for something to drink for yourself, Ryan, and Soja," she said. "Please be careful."

At being directed back to the table to be seated, Rayek returned to the dining area and contemplated where he was supposed to sit. While he was inclined to sit at the far end where he had a clear view of the room and exit, he had seen Reeza use that seat previously - and suspected it was considered 'her seat' as head of the household. The next best seat for sightlines was the one her right but that chair had a booster seat attached. Clearly it was intended for Soja.

The Romulan suspected that one a normal day Doria would sit on the left hand side where it would be easy for Reeza to serve up her meal. That left only three seats remaining... beside Soja on the right, beside Doria on the left (but figured that would be where Ryan was most likely to sit) or at the opposite end of the table from Reeza. Rayek recognized the end seats as one of authority. 'Head of the Table'

>>Doria would approach the table as it was the alloted time. Moving to a seat to the seat that would be assumed for Kyan as she wanted to be around Rayek and he could help her with any needs while this would free up Reeza to serve and help Soja. She would look up to Rayek with a smile before returning to a neutral facial expression before offering a hand to him but also looking to Ryan.

Reeza came out from the kitchen, carrying plates. They usually ate "family style," that is-passing the food vessels around to serve themselves as much or as little as they chose. She never forced food onto the children-if Doria only took a tiny amount, she only took a tiny amount. If Soja ate five servings, it was fine. She passed them out, along with silverware, and placed a plate of bread on the table in the middle. She disappeared again, and reappeared with a serving tray of cooked Katterpods and salad. Finally, she reappeared with the soufflé. "HOPEFULLY. It won't fall..." she said, carefully placing it on the table, as well. She got some serving spoons and utensils from the pocket of the apron she wore, and carefully dug into the creamy dish. "It looks good. Do you want to start it off, Commander?" She asked Rayek. "It's traditionally done by the male of the household, but since we don't have one..." she trailed off.

Rayek’s pensive expression turned to a smile as Doria offered out her hand to him. He gave it a brief squeeze before gesturing for Doria and Kyan to sit. Before he could sit down himself, Reeza emerged from the kitchen and offered him the honor of starting them off. He acknowledged this with a serious nod. “Certainly. Thank you.” He accepted the served dish, moving to the other end of the table to sit and took a sample bite. In Romulan culture, this was done to show to guests that the food was not poisoned. He wondered if it were the same in Bajoran.

“This is delicious.” He stated truthfully, nodding his approval of the dish that for nearly ten years he had been avoiding because of a single insignificant incident back at the Mars Academy. “I hope seconds are permissible. I already know that I will be wanting more.”

"Thank you, Sir, for that. Ritual is important when you can keep it," she said. "I appreciate it. There will likely be plenty," she said. "Cuyu Soja doesn't like Hesperat particularly, and Doria doesn't eat a lot in general," she said. "Is it spicy enough? I have to keep it pretty mild for the children, but there's more of the spice mixture if you'd like it," she said. "And you, Ens. MacKenzie," she said.

At the offer of more spice, Rayek grinned. Because Tess was still nursing their 8 month old, on and off when her duties as Captain permitted, Rayek often didn't cook with too many spices lest it transfer over through the breastmilk. Despite scientific evidence to the contrary, the couple had found that Fvienn was sensitive to such and got gassy with spicy foods.

"Though, it is excellent as is, the opportunity for addition spice is not something I will pass up." Rayek stated.

She rose to go back to the kitchen. The spice mix was found, and brought to the table. "Here you go," she said. "I usually just sprinkle it on as I go, but you're free to use it as you wish. I already portioned myself out some-habit." Her husband hadn't been particularly fond of spice, but Reeza didn't mind. She liked spicy things, in general.

The Romulan applied the additional spice mixture atop his meal generously.

His next mouthful had bite and the Romulan smiled to Reeza as he nodded his appreciation. "Thank you for inviting me over to share this meal with you and the children."

Reeza smiled a little and nodded. "You're welcome. We're both trying to navigate Doria's care along with our professional duties. It's nice to have a second person to help with her," Reeza said. Specifically Doria, though she was glad he took an interest in Soja. However, Reeza wouldn't rely on him for her care-it was her responsibility and her worst nightmare was someone thinking she wasn't fit.

"I understand, and as I've told Doria... I will be here to help for as long as I can." Rayek reaffirmed.

The Romulan then offered the spice mix to the Onlie.

The meal was a very pleasant experience for the Romulan. He enjoyed watching Soja picking at her vegetable much like how his own younger sister used to. Soon however it was time for Reeza's daughter to go to bed and Doria went off as well.

"I'll clean up the dishes." Rayek offered and set about doing exactly that while Reeza tucked in Soji and Doria.

Reeza nodded. "Thank you, if you're sure," she said. "I will help the girls get to bed." She left the kitchen, seeing the Only out as she did.

 

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