A little chef

Dustin’s body moved on it’s own accord, closing the distance between him and the suddenly undressing woman, hands reaching to keep her top closed as he did so. His brain meanwhile was rapidly trying to process an appropriate response to the situation beyond preventing the woman from exposing herself. Closing Naera’s top, his brain caught up right around the time that he realized his face was very close to hers - and that the woman in front of him had blushed a deep olive with embarrassment. “Sorry…” she said in a quiet voice, eyes glancing to the side. “Should have checked, not all biologicals like botanicals even if our bodies are largely the same shape and…”

Trea’k interjected at that point, the insect woman gently relieving Dustin of his grip on the other woman’s clothing. “I doubt that the captain has that concern, Naera, rather it is his human sensibilities. They are a very reserved species when it comes to intimate matters I have found.” Then, turning to Dustin the Vex’ess woman smiled before continuing “Would you mind waiting outside for a moment while I speak with Naera alone, captain? Additionally, I will need to requisition her another top from the automat as she appears to have broken some of the fastenings on this one.”

Dustin nodded, glancing down concernedly at the Caenii woman as he left to stand in the corridor. As he waited he turned over the woman’s request; while her final gesture had been excessive, she seemed determined to do whatever it took to get a place somewhere that would let her strike back at a galaxy that had hurt her. With all that in mind, he suspected that even if he dropped her off with the other survivors there was a good chance she’d just hitch-hike to Earth to try and get a job aboard one of the other vessels humanity would be sending out to hunt for hostiles. He sighed. He really needed more than just his own thoughts and Trea’k’s advice on this, but he was pretty sure he knew what the others would say.

Trea’k opened the door again a moment or two later. Behind her he could see an abashed looking Naera, the woman twisting her hands together around the remnants of her old top and largely staring at the floor. Returning to his seat and giving her a smile he flickered his gaze across to the insect woman. “Counsellor, what is your advice here? What do you think would be healthiest for Naera?” Trea’k gave a dissatisfied shrug. “I’m not sure if I’m honest, captain. Healing comes in many forms, and occupying the mind with practical actions can be beneficial for botanical species especially. On the other hand, seeking vengeance for vengeance’s sake would be actively harmful. If you intent to acquiesce to Naera’s request I would insist that she agrees to a long term engagement with my services until such time as I feel appropriate for her to stop.”

The green-skinned woman looked up hopefully at that point, and Dustin suppressed a sigh. “Naera. I understand your desire for ****, believe me…” his gaze drifted to the wall, thoughts of teenage nights daydreaming about hunting down those responsible for his parents’ deaths coming to mind before he shook his head to clear it and continued “…but there were two things in your little diatribe that struck with me.” Naera flushed, her hands moving to slightly lift the bottom of her top for a second before glancing at Trea’k who shook her head. Letting the fabric fall back down, the Caenii gave Dustin a hesitant smile, seemingly hopeful that his words were going somewhere positive.

Coughing to cover how unsure he was about her actions and making a mental note to talk to the ladies later about why Naera seemed so gung-ho with exposing her chest as a bargaining chip, Dustin continued. “Firstly, that you just wanted to help deal with any aliens, not just the ones that attacked your home. That, unless Trea’k is going to correct me suggests that you are at least partially coming to this from a caring rather than vengeful place.” The insect woman nodded thoughtfully, so he pressed on. “The other is that you’re a trained chef. I did hear that part right, correct?”

Naera nodded, confidence returning. “Damn right. Best chef on the colony… at least…” her gaze fell and her words trailed off. Trea’k reached out and rested a hand on the other woman’s shoulder for a moment, before the Caenii looked back up and continued explaining. “Back… before, I had a small restaurant. Nothing too fancy, all my own work and recipes, but it was really popular with senior officials. That’s how I was able to have my own shuttle, licenses for those weren’t easy to come by. If I’d not had that…” Her gaze fell again, and it was Dustin’s turn to comfort her, wrapping her hands in his and squeezing gently.

“You don’t need to continue. Cooking for a large crew is very different from catering a restaurant, and even on a mixed planet like Myrthoxis you wouldn’t have nearly as many different culinary issues to consider.” He paused, trying to find the right words. “I’m willing to let you join the crew - on trial - from now until we reach Earth. Tell me I’m wrong, but if we dropped you off anywhere else you’d just try and get a flight there to sign up anyway, right?” Naera’s far-too-spiky teeth were on full display as she grinned in reply; Dustin realized now that he was closer that they weren’t fixed - instead, they seemed to be something she could fold up or down rather like a snake’s fangs. Admittedly, snakes only usually had two or four, not an entire mouth full of razor spikes, but still.

“You’re right captain. So, I’ve just got to impress you in the time it takes to get to Earth and then I can stay on after that?” She said, at which Trea’k raised a hand. “And regular meetings with the counsellor, you don’t need to remind me.” Naera added before the Vex’ess could say anything. Dustin gave the situation one final mental check over and then nodded. “Yes. We’ll review the situation on the final flight to Sol space, so you’ll know before we arrive in Earth orbit.” Standing, he glanced at Trea’k. “Is that acceptable, counsellor?” She nodded in reply, picking up a tablet and scanning it. “I believe so captain. Now, Naera, we still need to conduct the rest of your session; once we’re done here I’ll get someone to show you round the galley. Or would you rather she just cater for us first, Dustin?”

Dustin scratched his chin thoughtfully before crossing the floor to stand by Trea’k. “Both, I think, if I understand you correctly. Give our new chef the parameters for feeding the senior staff, get Meli to double check things - but let her cook in the main galley not the ambassadorial one. Let’s give Naera here as much space as possible to cook in. I’ll send the others a message to let them know we’re dining with the crew tonight.” Then he leaned down and without thinking about the propriety of this situation kissed his lovebug.

Trea’k returned the kiss slightly more fervently than he’d expected - he guessed he’d clearly done something right in how he’d handled the Caenii’s concerns as he turned and nodded to the green-skinned woman, noting as he did so that her cheeks had taken on that darker green hue of a blush. Saying his goodbyes for now, Dustin left the room - although, as the door closed behind him he was pretty sure he heard his newest crew-member ask “so… how comes a member of staff ended up getting that kind of a goodbye kiss from the captain?” He debated returning to the room to tackle that situation, but decided to trust in his counsellor to ensure the matter was settled smoothly. It was only when he was three decks away that he remembered Trea’k’s comments about him getting new partners along with how ready Naera had been to expose herself - and started to worry.