I had never been to a fancy dress uniform dinner party. I had never had a uniform before let alone a dress uniform, so I guess that isn't surprising. When I saw the sheer number of utensils, I admit I panicked a little. Then Mother Ahmisa had to go and apologize for not having a full set, and said she hoped it would be all right if we made due.
Not having a full set?
There were utensils on either side of my plate that I had never seen before. Sure, there was the usual array of forks, spoons, and knives. Which was confusing enough since I was used to using a spork on the rare occasion that I used a utensil at all. Ration bars don't lend themselves to fancy eating. But to have three forks, two spoons a knife, and another knife-like... thing... Like a bent knife, and a curved scoopey thing sort-of like a spoon with the sides trimmed off, and the sides sharpened.
Cmdr. Barona finally noticed my confusion after a few moments and took over.
"Everyone find your seats please." she announced, and everyone found their place - Mother Ahmisa had even provided name tags - and stood behind their chairs. I did likewise, not knowing what else to do. "The Captain has a few words."
Drat. I was sure Cmdr. Barona was getting me back for surprising her.
"Um..." I said, "Now that we have real uniforms, and well... welcome to The Haul-o-caster!" It was lame. I know nothing about public speaking. I don't think I've ever seen anyone DO public speaking. I was way out of my element, but the way the crew carried on cheering and clapping, you would have thought I'd have delivered a masterpiece.
Barona took over once again "Everyone be seated and enjoy."
What little I knew about Morgaites, I had expected to sit through a string of prayers to... Well, I didn't know who exactly, I didn't really know anything about the Morgan religion. It's just reputed to be strict and demanding. But what I saw was people, spacers, much like the ones I had met before. Well, perhaps better dressed. The uniforms were fabulous, but there was the same camaraderie that I recognized from other times I've seen crews gather. These were my people. I am a spacer, and these are my people.
It was a new feeling for me, a feeling of belonging. Sure, I always felt like I belonged aboard the Haul-o-caster, and belonged with Pete, but this was different somehow. Pete was my Captain, a father figure. I belonged with him because in a way I belonged TO him.
This crew was different. They chose to be here. From what I could tell from the service jackets that Cmdr. Barona and I went through and from her comments, any of them could have found a position on nearly any ship in the Morganite fleet, yet they chose to volunteer for a birthing on the Haul-o-caster. And by extension, they chose me. Then backed up that choice by standing up and defending the Haul-o-caster against their fellow Morganites when Admiral Foster tried to take the 'rus system nav data by force. I was happy when that incident was resolved without having to resort to violence, but I saw the look on my crew's faces. Not a one of them was about to stand down.
I was thankful for the time I spent with each one of these crew members during our Captain's dinners, and the tutelage from Cmdr. Barona to prepare me for them. Without it, I would surely have made a fool of myself. This dinner was far more formal, yet I was able to relax a little bit and enjoy it. At least I knew how to use a fork, after that first Captain's dinner, Cmdr. Barona showed me the proper way. Who knew that there was a "proper" way of using a fork? It has a pokey end, and a handle. Obvious, right? Not so much. I had used a spork, but according to Cmdr. Barona, a spork isn't a proper eating utensil, and I was probably using it wrong too. Ration bars are a lot easier to eat. No need for a utensil, you just unwrap them and eat them out of hand.
The food was amazing. Some of it I had no idea what it was, and there were a few things that Cmdr. Barona or Mother Ahmisa would quietly warn me not to eat very much of since my system wasn't used to "real" food. After a short time, Cmdr. Barona got up saying she was going to relieve Lt. Tine so that he could join the party, but Lt. Cmdr. Dorn quickly asked if he could have the honor.
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