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    © 2004 Andrew Dormeier
"Oh, terrific help, terrific. At least we have the ghost drive working again." Artemus' stomach made a deep rumble, "Before we decide what to do with the other repairs, let's get cleaned up and eat something."
"I never get used to that." "To what?" "Your stomach cavity acting like that, and you having no control over it." "Ha! Ha! Whatever, let's eat." Artemus stepped out of the autoshower and took off his breather and nosepiece. He took a deep breath of fresh air and pulled on some undergarments and a blue and white jumpsuit. He picked up his comms relay from his bed and opened the sliding hatch to the hallway. As he walked the short distance to the kitchen he could smell the aroma of food wafting down the corridor. The kitchen was warm from the cooking. Falinor moved between two heatpads and the cooker, adding things and checking on taste. Pete sat patiently on the side of the center countertop. The room that doubled as a dining area was an elongated rectangle. The end closest to the prow served as the kitchen, with four tabletop heaters, a medium-size cooker, and several smaller appliances. There was a central counter, as well as counters around the walls for food preparation. The aft end of the room had a larger table with several chairs around it. On the aft wall was a viewscreen. When Falinor moved to the starboard side of the kitchen, Sol slid past him to stand next to Pete. "What are you making?" Sol asked. Before Falinor could answer, Pete spoke up. "He's making tandren steaks, fried frothel stalks, and some mixed broiled vegetables." Artemus' stomach rumbled again, "Almost finished? I'm starving." "It will be ready momentarily," Falinor replied. "It would help if you got the drinks." Sol opened the refrigerator and pulled out a container of loktar milk and another of hijiim juice. "Thanks for making steaks, Falinor. Next time I'll cook something a bit more like what we used to eat back home." "It is no problem. You did, after all, fall fairly hard on the deck earlier." Pete's ears raised slightly in a gesture of inquiry. Artemus ignored him and pulled out two large glasses and a small, shallow dish from a wall cabinet. He moved the milk, juice, and cups to the dining table and began pouring milk into the tall glasses and juice into the dish. Falinor came over with two plates which each held a large oblong steak, 3 frothel stalks, and a small amount of vegetables. Pete floated over to the table in his small seat that nullified the floor gravity generators. Falinor went back to the kitchen and returned with a smaller plate full of broiled and fresh vegetables, and one fried stalk on the side. They thanked the Creator for the food and began eating. They had almost finished eating when there was a sudden jolt in the cabin. Artemus and Falinor looked at each other briefly, then got up and ran to the bridge. Pete continued to nibble on a red leaf. |
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