Recognizable Food, Etc.

Posted on Wed 8th Apr, 2020 @ 4:29am by Lieutenant Damion Ildaran & Elizabeth Anderson M.D.

1,131 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Resolution
Location: Brown Sector Market
Timeline: MD -3

"Recognizable food would be good," Damion said with a chuckle. "As long as it isn't Ferengi food, I suspect I'll be happy." He followed Elizabeth out of her Brown Sector office, past the desert tree, and toward the market area. "I did see some tasty-looking wrap-things when we came through earlier."

"Now that's a contradiction in terms, buddy," Anderson laughed. "You can't have recognizable food if it's wrapped up inside something. I'm going for ... ah ... maybe a fried or roasted vegetable? That seems safe. Definitely not hasperat!"

"You can see what's inside a wrap; you just have to look at the open end," Damion said. "And you can usually smell what's inside it. You don't like hasperat? It's really not bad. They serve a milder version of it in Orchids & Jazz sometimes at the lunch buffet."

"I don't like it," Anderson said, shaking her head. It doesn't matter what's in it. Also, I'm not taking my food apart to find out what it is. I'm eating something I recognize." Suddenly, she laughed. "Can you stand how picky that sounds? Considering what I am, it doesn't matter what I eat, but I've developed some definite likes and dislikes." As they headed into the market place, she shook her head. "Who would ever have imagined!"

"You're partial to lemon pie," Damion mentioned. "I remember it surprised me to see you eating, the day I met you on the Hermes, because our EMH back home never did. I'm glad there are things you like and dislike. That's one of the things that makes people interesting to each other--differences of opinion and finding out the reasons why."

"Oh, yes, but only certain lemon pie. Of course, Orchids & Jazz makes the right kind. Marin explained it to me. She uses sweetened condensed milk instead of ... well, some kind of gel stuff that some people use. To be completely honest," Elizabeth confided, "I might have been known to replicate some of the milk and just eat it with a spoon. It's decadent, of course, but ... worth it." Her whole face lit up with her smile of conspiracy.

They stopped as they came to the entrance to a food court. It was nothing like the upper reaches of the station, the Promenade, or even Tivoli Gardens. There were four carts around the area, each offering different kinds of food and drink. A few tables with mismatched chairs stood in the center. As Anderson looked at the different food options, she ran a playback of their recent conversation. There was something ... ah, yes, there it was! "EMH? You had an EMH in that terrible place? I'm surprised."

"He was a very older model EMH," Damion said, "dated from the 2370's, at least, and acted nothing like you when I knew him. I'm told he was a back-up copy discovered in some black-market technic the Alliance leaders acquired." He walked around the food carts with Elizabeth, looking at the food on offer and inhaling appreciatively. "Smells good, whatever this stuff is--and I see they've got tea."

"Oh, well, as long as they have tea," Elizabeth teased him, "you'll survive." Leaving the topic of the EMH momentarily, she commented, "I think I can enjoy any of this, and probably best not to ask specifics. Pick whichever one appeals to you, and I'll be fine with it. But, doesn't that look like apple pie to you?" She pointed at some covered plates to one side of the cart in front of them.

"It does," Damion said. "If you're getting one for yourself, would you get me one, too?" Damion took Elizabeth at her word and chose a couple of different foods from the vendors. "I learned to love Earth tea when I was in Scotland," Damion said. "Up until then, I'd mainly just had basil tea or other herbal teas." He held out the two plates of food for Elizabeth to look at more closely. "Do these look like something you'd be willing to try?"

One dish contained long, thin noodles mixed into a medley of some sort of ground beef and chopped vegetables mixed in a red sauce, and the other looked like something Damion had learned was called 'street tacos' on Earth--small circles of soft flatbread folded in half and filled with shredded lettuce, crumbly white cheese, and shredded meat, drizzled with lines of a creamy sauce.

Anderson shrugged, "Sure, looks completely edible. On closer inspection, I'm not sure this is apple, but it's some kind of fruit, and I'm guessing it's going to be delicious."

The vendor interrupted with a smile, "You are correct, Madam. Not apple. It is a fruit that grows on bushes in our gardens, and tastes similar to apple, but looks nothing like it. If you like apple pie, you will like this."

"Oh, you have gardens, then? I don't mean to be nosy at all, but we haven't seen many trees or plants outside of a few courtyards scattered throughout the deck. I wondered, but I was trying not to be nosy."

"We do have gardens, yes, for growing food. They are on another deck, and many of us tend those plants with great care that many of us do not starve. If I may ask, what is your interest in our neighborhoods?" There was no sense of dislike or anger, only of caution, as the man politely asked his question.

Glancing at Damion, the counselor answered, "I'm going to open a counseling clinic on this deck. My office is just around the corner, actually. Services are free for anyone who needs help dealing with trauma or children with educational difficulties, things like that."

"Ah," the man nodded, but made no other comment.

"I'm helping her get her office fixed up. Name's Durant. I've been down here a few times before, to do repairs," Damion said, extending the hand that wasn't already carrying food. "You know anybody selling some good yarn down here? I do knitting and crocheting in the evenings."

The man shrugged. "It depends on what you want. Good is ... subjective. I can point you toward a couple of spinners and dyers, but you will have to decide if what they make suits what you want."

"Fair enough," Damion agreed. "How much for two similar-to-apple pies and these two entrees?"

"3 Federation Credits or 5 slips of Latinum," the man replied. "Either currency is good here."

"And if we add those bottles of lemonade?" Elizabeth asked.

"Those are made here. I'll throw them in this time. If you like them, tell your friends," he smiled lazily, leaving her the feeling of sarcasm without actually being sarcastic.

"You might be surprised at how many friends I have," Elizabeth grinned back as she reached for the bottles and Damion paid.

 

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