Hey Stranger
Posted on Sun May 24th, 2026 @ 12:56am by Ensign Sebastian Roydon & Ensign Zoey Armstrong & Ensign Emily Bowman
2,500 words; about a 13 minute read
Mission:
Episode 1: Shadows of Diplomacy
Location: USS Scharnhorst, Mess Hall
Location: USS Scharnhorst, Mess Hall
The mission had started, but they were still a couple hours from reaching their target. Zoey walked into the mess hall and joined the lunch rush. She looked around, and found a familiar face. "Hey stranger, fancy meeting you here." Zoey said, with a warm smile, as she got in the mess hall line. She had heard about the cooking of Eliana Kellan the ship's chef and wife to the captain. In front of her in line was Head Nurse Emily Bowman.
Emily turned and grinned. "Hey there, yourself," she said. "I was going to replicate something, but I've never been on a ship with an actual chef before, so I figured I'd give it a try. Welcome to the queue."
"Replicated food, oh you poor soul." Zoey said, wondering who in the right mind would want to eat that garbage. "I understanding, from early Earth tradition is they used to be very common to have a whole Chef team aboard a ship. I guess replicated rations are efficient and don't require a 24-hour staff but since our society is not a monetary society anymore I don't see the point of them maybe on something like a small Destroyer I could see maybe not having a chef but people need real food with real taste." Zoey suggested to her dear friend Emily. Not under her watch was she going to allow this lady to eat replicated food.
"Yeah well early Earth ships didn't have replicators. Besides, having real food means you have to store tons of perishables. Not every ship can do that," Emily said. "And it's not like I've never eaten natural food. Don't go all culinary snob on me just yet." She stuck her tongue out.
"You're trouble; I can work with that," Zoey said with a warm playful smile on her face. "Before you book your next date with the replicator at least give Eliana a chance to wine and dine your taste buds."
Emily smirked. "Uh, hello? Why do you think I'm here? You think I just like standing in lines?" she moved up as the line moved forward again. "I take it you've been getting your taste buds 'wined and dined' frequently?"
"I make it my life's point to avoid that replicator. I only get tea or coffee from it. Nothing more." Zoey told Emily. Her biggest fear is being assigned to a ship without a chef, and being forced to use the replicator.
"Well, kudos," Emily said. "I use mine to replicate sex toys that can attach to the walls, ceiling and floor of my quarters." She tried to hold back her reaction to the look on Zoey's face, but wound up bursting out laughing. "Man, I wish I had a holocam to capture that expression," she said, laughing as she moved forward again.
"I was about to ask you, if that was an academy prank? You had me going!" Zoey said, with a big sigh of relief. She was fooled for a brief moment, thinking maybe that happened to her.
"That is not worthy of an academy prank," Emily said with a wry smile. She picked up a tray, having finally reached the beginning of the line and stared making her selections. "Those required much more creativity."
"Your tone suggests you might have a worthy story." Zoey, said hoping that Emily would fill her in. She also had the impression that Emily was not as sweet and humble as she first led on to be during her visit to sickbay.
Emily shook her head and gave an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. The NDA I signed is in effect until the Professor retires and both cephalopods have passed away." She snickered and received her lunch, giving their chef a cheery, "thank you!" and stepped aside, waiting for Zoey.
"People still sign those things?" Zoey said trying to be humorous, she was intrigued but she knew it was probably best to drop it, and to say something funny like she just did.
Emily grinned and as Zoey came up beside her, walked over to an empty table. "So, speaking of wined and dined, met anyone worth having dinner with? Other than me, of course." She grinned and took a bite, her eyebrows shooting up as real beef stew flooded her tastebuds. "Okay, I fully concede you are correct about the real food thing," she said.
"So many choices, it's overwhelming." Zoey said with a playful smile on her face. "Okay all joking aside, not yet. But lunch is looking promising," she said with a big warm smile, Zoey wondered how she got so much attention. First Sebastian, then Thoande, then Cha'joga and now Emily.
"Nn-nn-nn," Emily said. shaking her head and waving her fork. She swallowed her mouthful and took a sip of her drink. "Lunch is just lunch. Dinner is dinner. You can have lunch with anyone. Dinner is for those who are worth seeing after dinner." She held up her glass in salute.
"That is one way of looking at it, but friends can also have dinner together. But I will admit that if you're in a relationship, it's usually exclusively for the couple but if you're single you said you can have dinner with your friends." Zoey said, feeling like he was playing a little devil's advocate. It wasn't really her intention but, she didn't want anyone to feel like they couldn't have lunch with her just because they weren't dating.
"Case in point," Emily said, noticing Sebastian noticing them as he entered the mess hall. "Someone very interested in dinner, not lunch."
"Him? As if!" Zoey said nodding her head in disbelief that he would even be looking their direction. From her perspective she had shot him down already. If he was foolish enough to come over then he would be, shut down again.
Emily snorted. "Worked his charm on you too, hm?" Emily said. "He watched our security chief leave Sickbay and was practically drooling, then gives me a 'hey, beautiful' and what I'm sure he thought was a charming smile." She gave him an amused glance from across the room. "He's proof positive: cute is useless without confidence." She shook her head sadly.
Sebastian noticed both ladies looking at him, he didn't realize that they were down talking him. They were kind of stroking his ego with the fact that they kept staring, and it looked like they had smiles on their faces. He took that as an invitation to come over and say hi.
"Hello ladies." He simply said after going through the line and getting his food, he just sat down in an empty chair next to them. A little confident and a little arrogant at the same time. Just naturally assuming they would want to talk to him.
Zoey thought his move was a little too rehearsed, she wondered how long he practice that little stunt. She also wondered if he thought that really actually worked on women. She just gave a half hearted smile, as she looked over to Emily trying not to roll her eyes.
Emily looked back, but her eyes were too full of mischief to roll. "Hello, Sebastian," she said, smiling sweetly. "To what do we owe the visit?"
"I am just enjoying the day, and just wanted to say hello to you both." Sebastian said, trying to sound smooth and relaxed. He hoped his charms were working on both ladies.
Zoey remained silent for the moment, she was curious to see how far he would take this little charade of his.
"That's so sweet of you," Emily said, her voice extra sweet. "We were just sitting here talking about the difference in intimacy between having lunch together and having dinner together. Would you agree there's a difference?"
"Oh absolutely there's a difference, it's the level of intimacy that dinner has over a lunch gathering. I personally like having dinner with beautiful ladies like yourself. But I'm also realistic I know that not every dinner is going to lead to further engagement shall we say. But I do enjoy the company and getting to know everybody better." Sebastian tried to say as he sat down to join them.
So he just gave a quick glance over to Emily like how dare you, but then she turned to face Sebastian and smiled. "Is that so. I suppose that's one way of looking at it."
"And how would you look at it?" Sebastian asked, generally curious to what her response would be. Even though things have been going great between him and Kaayu, anyway they weren't exclusive yet and he shouldn't close down other potential opportunities.
Zoey had a big smile on her face, trying to get him to slip up and just admit that he was just a little Playboy. "I'm just trying to suggest that people can go to dinner and just be friends, there doesn't have to be a romantic interest." Zoey said, as she looked over to Sebastian then at Emily.
"And I'm saying that that's poppycock, and that if you ask someone to dinner, that's a romantic gesture," Emily countered. "That's why you can't have dinner with two women at a time. People would think you're playing one of them. That'd be like, whistling at a woman while then flirting with another one at the same time," she gave Sebastian a pointed look. "Thank goodness this is just lunch, or people would really think you have no shame." She gave him an innocent smile.
"Are you speaking from personal experience?" Zoey called out. She smirked at Emily. All joking aside she was curious.
Sebastian grinned, as he waited for Zoey to respond. He personally did not want to answer the loaded question that Zoey asked Emily.
"Well I wouldn't want to be so rude as to call someone out like that," Emily said, looking at Zoey, "but someone comes to mind. I know a guy who openly ogled an officer, then called me 'beautiful' and said I should buy him a coffee. Can you imagine?" she said, keeping her eyes fixed on Zoey. "Fancied himself quite the playboy, I suppose." She snickered and grinned. "At least he has good taste."
Sebastian wondered if Emily was talking about him. But he kept his mouth quiet and just listened in to the two ladies gossip to each other.
Zoey grinned and Emily, "I wonder how he finds the time to juggle to ladies like that. Maybe it's even more. I wonder how anyone would want to get into a relationship with someone like that. I know I wouldn't want my partner to act like that." Zoey said trying to be generic and cold hearted with her response. She was trying not to look at Sebastian when she said it making eye contact only with Emily.
"I might at least have some fun with him first," Emily said, her eyes sparkling. "Ya know, if he's cute enough." She winked dramatically at Zoey, then looked at Sebastian, batting her eyes. "So, dingus, figured out we're teasing you yet?" she said, grinning.
Sebastian did not appreciate being called a dingus; he just stared at her. He didn't need to be here for this, but deep down he couldn't just let her win. If he stormed off, her dingus comment would just be a victory for her. "What is your problem with me? I was just trying to be friendly."
Emily sat back in her chair crossing her legs. "You were being more than friendly; you were mass flirting," she pointed out, smirking at him. "But let's get to the important question: how'd it go with Ensign Redhead? Did you successfully pull off a date?"
"I don't need to put up with this." Sebastian said deciding it wasn't even worth his time or effort, and his friendship with 'Ensign Redhead' was non of their business. He didn't care anymore if it made him look like he was being insecure or childish he would just have to deal with it.
Emily watched him stand up and put her hands out. "Oh c'mon, don't be like that, I'm just giving you a hard time."
Zoey tried not to laugh as she watched him stand and leave. She was grateful that he left. "You hurt his feelings, I think." She called out and she kept watching Sebastian leave them that's all he didn't even bother eating, he just put his tray down and left.
Emily had just wanted to bust his balls a bit, but she'd meant it all in good fun. As he glanced back at them, she had a genuinely regretful look on her face. "Crap, now I'm going to have to apologize," she said.
"Why do you want to apologize to him, he was coming across as a Playboy. Okay maybe I'm being being a little sensitive but, sorry, he needed to be put in this place." Zoey pointed out to Emily. Then she went on to say. "If you feel like you owe me apology, that's your right but I don't think it's necessary. Especially after the way he acted. He can't flirt with every girl on the ship and think that we're just going to tolerate that type of behavior. I get the feeling that he's never been told no or been rejected anything since this cute little charm of his is beneficial to getting him what he wants. It seems a little entitled to me.
Emily shrugged. "Playboyish? Yeah. But I don't think it was malicious, I think he's just overcompensating." She gave a shrug. "Shame, really, he doesn't need to. I just figured we'd give him a hard time, didn't really want to hurt his feelings. I suppose he's a bit sensitive."
"Well you bring up a good point; just don't know if I can apologize to him. He hit on me, he hit on you, he hit on Kaayu Shir. Is there anybody on the ship he hasn't hit on?" Zoey ask what's a serious look on her face.
Emily shrugged. "Well, he didn't flirt with my boss, but then again I'm not sure he had the chance. Hopefully he accepts it and I don't have to get embarrassing," Emily sighed, turning back to her food. "But, if I do, I'll make sure to do it for both of us. What're friends for, right?" She raised her glass.
Zoey wasn't trying to be cruel with her comment about how he started it. But on the same thing she couldn't in good conscience keep stringing the man along. She figured if she did all she be doing is misleading him and taking advantage of him. And her conscience wouldn't let her do that.
"Funny," simply replied Zoey, after thinking about what her response would be. She took a bite from her plate of food, has it to him just shook their head and laughed.
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