Veggie stew. The staple of space voyages for the past sixty years.
Private First Class Khoa Duc of the United Nations Space Marines sits down on the bench on the Space Marine enlisted mess aboard the SDF-4 Liberator; the simulated gravity system tugging on him and everything in the room. He sets down a bowl filled with vegetable stew.
He looks at the dinner crowd, all of them wearing MARPAT camouflage with their family names on nametapes.
"Another day of work," he says to another Space Marine, Private Fred Fuller.
"No kidding," replies Private Fuller, scooping up some veggie stew, which has sliced carrots and peas and celery and radishes and onions. "My uniform's getting' dirt even though I changed before I got here." He briefly recalls the previous six hours doing maintenance on the Stonewell Bellcom VF-25 Messiah veritech fighters, about a hundred of them on board this robotech space battle fortress.
"I hope I can get shore leave for the planet below."
"Yeah. Though I'd have to stay at the base lodge, renting a cheap motel will cost me half a...wait, Khoa."
"What is it?"
"Do you hear that?"
"Hear what?" asks Duc, confused.
He looks at Fuller's eyes, whose pupils contract.
"Is there something wrong?"
Fuller throws the bowl of vegetable stew right at Duc's face, covering it in thick sauce and pieces of vegetables.
Private Duc puts his hands up.
Private Fuller leaps up and lunges at him, knocking him to the deck.
Soon, a brawl breaks out, with fists and feet flying.