Mess Hall - Day 46 (evening) - Very Open

[lieutenant_ko]

Ko was always a little thrown off by how many people were in the mess hall. Humans seemed to be eating all the time, while Dexians ate once every two or three days. He still wasn't quite used to coming here, not least of all because there were so many conversations going on at once. It was one of the loudest places on the ship, and every time he

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[eatabean_bedone]

Keenser slipped through the crowded mess hall silently, focused on one thing and one thing alone: getting food. Earlier, he'd been too busy helping prepare for the mission to bother taking a break for lunch, although if he knew Ko's opinion regarding the eating habits of the Human crew, he'd have agreed fervently. Humans seemed to eat every meal as if they'd never have another meal ever again; like Ko, Keenser had a slow metabolism, although he'd adjusted his eating habits in accordance with serving on a mostly Human ship. It was just easier in the long run to follow the Human eating schedule, although where Humans tended to react badly to missing meals, Keenser often skipped a few meals with no negative results whatsoever. The downside to that, of course, was that Human beverages like alcohol and coffee tended not to affect him very much, but he had ways of getting around that, mostly involving beverages from his own home world, which were specifically designed for his people's metabolic rate.

Unlike Ko, Keenser opted for a small plate of fresh vegetables and a small portion of fish; greasy Human food didn't sit well with his stomach, which was just fine with him. Grease belonged on axles, not in stomachs. He did, however, enjoy one Human concoction known as iced tea, which as he understood it was made from boiled leaves. Sugar, on the other hand, was an unnecessary addition.

Plate of food and drink in hand, he set off in search of a place to sit, and found an empty seat next to someone he didn't know - not that it ever mattered to Keenser whether he knew someone or not when choosing a place to sit. He sat down without bothering to ask if the seat was available, and began eating, paying more attention to the conversation about the warp drive over at the next table than he was to his meal.

[lieutenant_ko]

Ko took note of the small, strange-looking green alien walking through the mess hall, but didn't pay much attention to him until he sat down in the empty chair beside him. Eh? Most people left him alone when he was eating; one of the ensigns told him this was because he gave off a leave me alone vibe, but he didn't really know how that made any sense. Most humans weren't telepathic anyway.

He's short. And green. He grunted at the creature, and then realized that might not be interpreted as meaning anything at all. "Who're you?"

[eatabean_bedone]

He glanced up at the man he'd decided to sit next to, fixing him with the blank stare that tended to unnerve most people who didn't know him too well. "Am Keenser," he replied, as if that explained everything, before returning his attention to his meal. He didn't even bother to ask the man who he was; right now, he honestly didn't care. He was far more interested in his food right now.

[lieutenant_ko]

Ko merely stared back, not at all unnerved. He didn't see much point in being intimidated by someone so tiny. The answer was fair enough, he supposed, and he grunted again but didn't bother to introduce himself. If Keenser wanted to eat in silence, it was really all the same to him.

[eatabean_bedone]

Eating in silence suited Keenser just fine. He liked silence. Silence meant not having to think several words ahead to make himself understood. Gachet* Standard. Leave it to humans to think up a language so complicated it tripped over itself. Not quite thinking about it, he asked Ko to pass him a few napkins, and only realized right after he'd spoken that he'd been using his native language. He cleared his throat, and repeated in Standard, "Napkin, please."

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Gachet: Pronounced GYA-sheht, emphasis on the first syllable, a decreasing pitch on the second. Does not translate to Standard. Assumed to be a curse word.