Comfort Food and Cover Stories - Part II

Posted on Tue May 19th, 2026 @ 8:45pm by Ensign Nyx Calder & Lieutenant Katya Davi

1,327 words; about a 7 minute read

[PREVIOUSLY]

Nyx made a thoughtful little face and counted on her fingers, pastry still in one hand. “Depends how we’re measuring damage. Commander Earl Grey (Rhupert) found out I’m not scared of weird orders, Lt. Trellis from the Pioneer had to survive forty-six hours in a runabout with me naming things, Daynah let me into her office and somehow decided that was a good idea, and I may have made Doctor Zuub’s antennae do things I’m pretty sure weren’t in the medical manual.” She paused, eyes flicking up like she was genuinely doing the maths. “So… emotionally? Light-to-moderate casualties. Nothing fatal. Yet.”

[CONTINUED]

She grinned and leaned back into the alcove, looking far too pleased with herself. “Luna caught me running illegal Gravball through a very tasteful subspace detour and ended up watching the match in my quarters, so that one’s either damage or recruitment, jury’s out. And then there’s the colonists trying to rip the Adelaide open, which was less ‘emotional damage’ and more ‘hello, trauma, my old friend’. So yeah.” She took another bite of pastry, chewing once before adding, “I’d say I’m settling in beautifully.”

Kat chuckled. "I'd say you're definitely one of the family. The Addams family, but still..." Earl Grey, huh? She wondered what Rhu had done to deserve that. And the idea of Zuub's antennae doing anything like that was potentially traumatizing, so she settled on the one thing that really caught her interest. "Who tried to rip the Addy open and why?"

Nyx blinked. “I don’t know who the Addams family are, but I’m choosing to hear that as a compliment. Feels safer.” She shifted her mug between both hands, the grin fading a little when Kat asked about the Adelaide. “And yeah, the Addy thing… that was the colonists. Not all of them, I don’t think. Just a desperate little knot of them who decided our hatch looked like their ticket off-world.”

She glanced towards the viewport for a second, jaw working like she was deciding how much humour to pour over the ugly bits. “They were sick, scared, angry. Bad mix. They tried to pry open the emergency access, then got the landing grid tractors on us and threatened to pull the ship apart if I didn’t let them aboard.” A small shrug, too casual to be fully honest. “I talked. They threatened. I got creative. The Addy got loose. Nobody threw me out of an airlock afterwards, so I’m calling that a successful first impression.”

"We walked through part of that mess to get back to the ship." Kat shook her head. "I kinda feel sorry for them. That's not the best place to live. But they were really angry. And...afraid?" She paused, remembering. "I hope they make it work. But there are so many shortcuts that need to be corrected."

Nyx’s grin faded properly this time. She looked down into her mug, thumb rubbing at the edge like there was something stuck there.

“Yeah,” she said quietly. “They were afraid. Angry too, sure, but fear does ugly things when it’s been sitting in people too long.” Her mouth twitched, but it wasn’t really a smile. “I know that look. The whole ‘if I’m going down, I’m taking something with me’ thing. Not proud of knowing it, but… yeah. I get it.”

She glanced back towards Kat, voice softer than usual, less sparkle on it. “Doesn’t make what they did okay. They could’ve killed people. Could’ve killed us. But I dunno… part of me keeps thinking, if you leave people scared and sick long enough, eventually they stop asking nice.” A pause, then she let out a small breath. “Hope they get a real chance to fix it. Not the shiny report version. The actual version. Clean air. Trust. Someone staying long enough to put all the broken bits back where they belong.”

Kat nodded slowly. "Yes. They need supplies, updated equipment. Everything there was second-hand and barely working. I tried to clean the air filters because that was all I could do. But...yeah. They need help and hope. But they won't take it from us. Or they can't, because of the Cardassians. So, yeah. I get it." And now, with as angry as the colonists were, she wasn't sure they'd get another chance.

Nyx pulled a face, sharp and immediate.

“Yeah, well. Cardassians,” she said, like that explained most of it. “Trust them to take a bad situation, make it worse, then stand around acting like everyone else should be grateful for the privilege.”

She leaned back against the alcove wall, mug resting between both hands now, her voice quieter but still edged.

“I don’t blame the colonists for not trusting anyone with a badge or a ship. Not with spoonheads breathing down their necks. Doesn’t make what they did smart, but…” She shrugged, eyes flicking back to Kat. “Fear plus Cardassians? That’s never gonna produce well-adjusted decisions.”

"No, it isn't." Kat thought for a minute. "There's something seriously wrong on the colony, and I have no idea what it is." She finished her ice cream and set the bowl down. "You know, there's plenty of this in the freezer if you want. We have an ice cream maker."

Nyx glanced at the empty bowl, then at Kat, and gave a small shake of her head.

“I’m good, but that is dangerous information to give me,” she said, pointing vaguely towards the freezer with her mug. “You tell me there’s an ice cream maker on this ship and suddenly I’m not a pilot anymore, I’m a lactose-based security incident waiting to happen.”

"So, I shouldn't mention the popcorn popper, huh?" Kat asked, trying not to smile. She liked Nyx and her irreverent humor. "Or the butter?"

Nyx turned her head slowly, eyes narrowing like Kat had just revealed classified weapons specs. “Kat,” she said, very carefully, “I need you to understand that you are now personally responsible for whatever happens next. Ice cream maker I could walk away from. Barely. But popcorn? Butter? On a ship this small?” Her grin crept back, crooked and bright. “That’s not a snack cupboard, that’s a morale hazard with calories. You’re lucky I like you, because lesser people have been blackmailed for less.”

Kat laughed out loud. "A woman after my own heart. They're my two favorite comfort foods. The replicator is not the same as the real thing. I'm glad someone else appreciates the finer snack foods." She stood and picked up her empty bowl. "I've ordered more fresh butter. We have a little left in a fridge in the room we use for fresh supplies. I'll put another bag of popcorn kernels in there, then you can make your own popcorn." She grinned at the pilot. "I look forward to working with you." Both on the ship, and as part of the Vaudeville team.

“Yeah,” she said, softer now. “I look forward to working with you too. Ship stuff, snack crimes, whatever weird little showgirl conspiracy you’re quietly building in the cargo bay.” A beat, then the spark came back. “But if I find out you’ve been hiding chocolate somewhere as well, we’re either best friends or enemies. Haven’t decided yet.”

Nyx settled back into the alcove as Kat left, claiming the last bite of her pastry with a pleased little hum. For the first time since coming aboard, the Adelaide didn’t feel quite so much like someone else’s ship. Maybe not home yet, but close enough to make her stay a while.

A Joint Post By:

Ensign Nyx Calder
Chief Flight Control Officer
USS Valiant

Lieutenant Katya Davi
Chief Operations Officer
USS Valiant

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