Try the Sauce

Posted on 17 Nov 2021 @ 12:01am by Chief Petty Officer Ozanna Isuri & Lieutenant Commander Roman Kavalar

Mission: M2 - Sanctuary
Location: Planet Obsidian, Kalara, Seed Vault Reception Hall
Timeline: MD08 party time
1576 words - 3.2 OF Standard Post Measure

Entering into the seed vault Roman paused and looked around and surveyed his surroundings, wearing dress uniform was never his idea of a good time but when the orders said you had to attend and he had no reasonable excuse to offer to decline..., here he was. Civilians, fellow Starfleet officers and from what he could see some brass as well. A resigned sigh escaped his lips, he was a pilot and his focus was on aerospace operations, this was not his forte. Some of the faces he saw he recognized from OC., he'd met them but his contact was sparse and now as he reflected on it, perhaps he had withdrawn from anything he had to unless it had to do with his duties unintentionally. He did that sometimes, he liked to watch and observe, keep his own counsel and see how situations play out.

Walking over to the nearest buffet he looked for something to drink, not sure what anything was he raised a glass to his lips and took a cautious sniff looking at liquid that was red. A cautious sip later while perhaps not really a pinoir it was dry and drinkable if a little clingy as it went down. Next as he moved along was some food, his taste were basic but his nose drew him to something that reminded him of sausage rolls. Leaning forward he took a cautious sniff then picked one up, immediately he looked for the tomato sauce but wasn't sure what sauces were what so decided to stay on the side of caution.

Turning from the table and taking a bite from what might be a sausage roll and surprisingly was close enough his next task was now what to do as he slowly moved away as those behind him closed in on the buffet to fill his recently vacated space.

As if reading his mind, a woman with short cropped dark hair and a natural grin, intercepted the pilot with her own sauce dish extended. "Oh, you have to try it with this. It's some kind of relish. Really good. You've got to help me out or I'm likely to polish it off all myself." She gave him a moment to acclimate, watching the stoic man's eyes process since he had up until this time only ever met her, Ozanna Isuri, over comms on various flight runs while she had her little team running the USS Wasp around the system checking ghost signals— right up until the fateful moment they'd gone into battle together and he'd covered her ass while the Wasp made a few stings before being run off in a dizzy spin. She never had to say her name though, as she telepathically sensed when recognition dawned over him. "It's good to finally meet you in the flesh."

Frozen non-reaction turned to uncertainty then a flicker of recognition as Roman remembered her voice. He was good with voices as his gaze flicked from the sauce dish before him to her smiling face, seeming to compel him to reciprocate as his features began to relax and he felt the tension in his face begin to fade. "You're from the Wasp, I recognize your voice", he stated as a slight grin appeared. "I agree its good to finally meet. I'm Roman Kavalar if you don't already know, well you know what I do", as he caught a whiff of the sauce and his nostrils flared while he breathed in more of its aroma, "Oh I'm gonna try that sauce for sure". Without hesitation Roman dipped the end of his food into the sauce, then raised it to his mouth and bit cautiously, then another bite shortly after that, "Mmmmmmm, not bad, not bad at all", as some pastry surrounding the meat interior broke away in flakes.

Ozzie scooped some more of it up to her mouth with some type of pita and munched it down, muttering with wry humor "I hope this doesn't make us married or something in their culture, sharing dishes." She finished and swallowed. "Religion and practices are weird like that. I ought to know, growing up in a Betazed temple. Like bathing communally and pouring wine over statues— It all feels like it's perfectly common until you leave home and find out it's not a thing for most people."

"No...", Roman replied as his voice trailed off, some of his reserve returned at the mention of a Betazed temple. "You're a telepath then", he stated flatly while beginning to look uncomfortable, "Do you mind if I ask how sensitive you are psychically", as he seemed to lean back ever so slightly. Any thought of food gone from his mind as he looked around before returning his attention to her.

"Pretty decent. Maybe better than average, but I've especially honed it thanks to my folks." She started reloading her plate as she talked, trying to sound matter-of-fact, so as not to further put Kavalar off, "Like I was saying, my mom is a Betazed high priestess of the order of Altha, my dad is a police detective and a former veteran of the defense force of Betazed. He served during the dominion occupation and was part of the psionic contingent. So he knows a few tricks. They both do. But I also know how to mind my manners around the telepathically blind. So. I'm not going to take advantage of anyone."

Roman shook his head, "Oh no I'm not concerned about your abilities, far from it", he paused trying to search for the right words, "Its just that, that well when psychic sensitives are around me and if they are particularly sensitive or they're trying to connect they can sense a sort of fuzziness. They can still connect but its like", as he struggled to explain himself, " Like being on a scratchy comms channel that gets worse over time to the point it hurts to maintain the link. I think its to do with some of the medical study work I was dong with Dr. Ted Darkron a number of years ago. Anyway those with heighten psychic abilities say they can pick up a fuzziness around me and I just wanted to explain that to you before it happens and to say sorry in advance". Roman paused, it was at that point one of two things usually happen, either the other person found a reason to depart or they looked at him like he was odd and then he would withdraw into himself once again to observe from without. "More sauce ?"

"Yes, please." Ozzie accepted the refill and finished another bite, considering the curious case. "At a party like this I probably can't hear the static from anything else. Kind of like telepathic tinnitus, if I understand your description. If it gets troublesome I can try countermeasures." She looked around a little. "You flew solo? No date? None of your wingmen?"

The moment passed and his sense of possibly being rejected or at least being considered overly odd allowed him to relax as he slipped back into normal conversation, "Oh my pilots, well scheduling conflicts with short notice for this shindig and we're still under staffed for the area we have to cover. You might see some senior pilots but other than that, pilots tend to avoid events like these where there's senior officers and a high diplomatic presence. No pilot wants to be that one that made a scene and ended up on long range patrol until they came off the naughty list. And no, no date, you ?". Romans eyes casually swung round, seeing a sea of faces, this was outside of what he normally like to be in, it seemed somewhat more claustrophobic than say in his pilots cabin in a fighter but he was never a socialite.

"Not so much. Haven't had the chance to make any new friends. I've been on patrols since arriving. What with the runs in the outer rim lately, everyone on my team aboard the Wasp is kind of sick of each other. Once we pull into dock, my guys can't stand my face another minute."

Ozzie stood by and ate a little more while watching a new game being set up in the hall. She looked at it curiously. It involved throwing something like spiky polished turtle shells by flipping them in the air, aiming for some marks and then tossing rings to either cradle them in the open bowl or ring them around the short spikes of the back of the shell if it were upright.

A darkskinned Obsidinite, obviously loosened with alcohol, put a shell and a set of rings into Kavalar's free hand and clapped him on the back. "Come! play Bar-a-Zee! I need another man on my team! You look like you have a sharp eye and a good arm!"

Wondering if he would accept or find a way to duck out of the pushy invitation, Ozzie watched the pilot be led away and discerned that she wasn't invited because she was a woman. She shook her head, a little miffed, but decided it was just as well. She could always beat Kavalar at some other game, another day. Perhaps on his own turf, down in the fighter pilots' den.

Ozzie looked down at the relish still left on her plate. "I guess I'll have to finish it all on my own after all," she said with feigned resignation.