Title:
Miso
Broth
Fandom:
Enterprise
Summary: Hoshi's rant
Pairing:
none
Rating: G
Author: Yes!
Flaming:
NO ;o)
Archive: if you ask for this story to be archived on your
site I will probably say yes but please ask!
Disclaimer: Trek ain't mine. What a shame… Just playing.
Author's Note: this is the second instalment of the series 'The Enterprise Incident' (a sequel to Trip's Log)
Part 2
Miso Broth© Xeen
"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