Toxicity

Posted on Sun 2nd Jul, 2017 @ 1:41am by Lieutenant Commander Andrew Eberstark

818 words; about a 4 minute read

Mission: Unity Week
Location: Promenade
Timeline: Unity Week Opening Night

Chlamydia Addams moved through the crowds, following the smell of frying noodles. Among the food booths lining Cactuar Square was a booth with an awning displaying a silk-screened image of a white-haired woman in a kimono wielding an archaic forestry implement amongst a grove of bamboo. Hangul writing appeared underneath, but Hangul was not among the scripts Addams could read. The smell of frying noodles got stronger as she approached the booth, and Addams joined the rear of a queue. As the man in front of her glanced back, she smiled. "Why, Lieutenant Eberstark. Fancy meeting you here."

Giving a nod while trying to keep his attention on the line in front of him but not appear impolite to the CMO, Andrew grinned, "That makes two of us, Commander. If you told me this would be the place I would find myself drawn to for a bite, I would have called you crazy but yet here I am," taking a sip from the drink he was carrying, "I'm hoping it goes well with Raktajino. Did the scent get the better of you as well, Doctor?"

"Oh, I often eat at the Ripper Sisters' restaurant," Addams answered. "They and their business partners are wonderful cooks and hosts." She smiled and looked at the familiar logo on the top of the cloth booth. "I hear they're serving beoseos yakisoba; I couldn't resist the chance to come and try it."

All Andrew could do was give a slight shrug, "Honestly, I have to say I haven't fully enjoyed the different cuisine the Starbase has to offer. But, I felt like taking a night off and walking around the opening night of this festival may start to change that," looking back at the station where a larger crowd seemed to gather behind them, "I guess we picked a good time to stop by. Another 5 minutes and I think we would have to wait until midnight."

Addams glanced around and nodded, but didn't comment.

Trying to steal a look at what was being served, Andrew turned back to the Doctor, "What did you say they were making? Sorry, I'm not going to pretend to try and pronounce it and look like a fool. More to the point, what is it?"

"Ah, a very perspicacious question. One should never make the mistake of thinking that, because one knows the name of a thing, one knows what it is." She smiled, revealing a mouth full of surprisingly sharp-looking teeth. "Yakisoba is a fried noodle -- a kind of buckwheat spaghetti, if you will. The noodles and the oil are most of what you're smelling. There will, no doubt, be various vegatables stir-fried with them... carrots, perhaps sliced cabbage, water chestnuts. But the truly interesting thing about this particular dish is the 'meat' they're using... beoseos," she pronounced the word BO-saht, "which originally simply meant 'mushroom,' but..." she smiled, and shook her head. "Dear me. I'm monologuing, and you're likely not even interested."

Smiling, Andrew raised an eyebrow at the the thorough answer, "Oh, don't worry," motioning back to the stand, "I usually prefer to know what I'm eating before I eat it, so I very much appreciate the description," shrugging, "Besides, I tend to be interested in the details. I'm looking forward to trying it more now. Usually, I would prefer an actual meat with my main meal, but I'm curious as to how the mushroom will serve as an appropriate substitute," As they got close to the head of the queue, Andrew asked, more intrigued in the cuisine, "Do most of their main dishes contain some sort of meat equivalent?"

"Protein is important in an immigrant society," Addams noted. "and occasionally difficult to get. This particular mushroom has an added benefit. It contains a molecule which binds to axon terminals in a synapse, slowing activation. One plate will have roughly the same depressive effect as a glass of wine, but because the molecule is non-Terrestrial in origin, it clears more slowly from the blood."

Andrew gave a shrug, "Well now I'm even more interested to try it. Sounds like it's just what I needed for relaxing night," looking down at his mug, "Perhaps I shouldn't have coffee with a dish known to be a depressant to Humans. You wouldn't by any chance know of a good drink to pair with it do you?"

"Stimulants and depressants are not always a good mix," Addams said, agreeably. "For myself, I find that water is a good choice when experiencing new recreational effects."

Nodding, as Andrew made his way to the front of the line to order, " Good advice. I guess I shouldn't get too adventurous in one night."

Placing his order and sliding to his left to allow the Doctor to order, Andrew asked, motioning towards an open table, "Care to join me to continue this conversation?"

 

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