Adventures in breakfast

Posted on Sat Jan 31st, 2026 @ 1:45am by Lieutenant Varkl Brukh

922 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Echos on the Deck
Location: Officer's Mess
Timeline: 1 day after "A Tellarite Among Humans", 0700 hours

The base computer woke Brukh at 0600, to which it got a rather rude reply on what it could do with it's processors. The grumpy Tellarite rolled over dropping hairy legs to the floor while the rest of him remained on the bunk, he laid there for another 5 minutes before finally taking the effort to sit up.

Blinking groggily and rubbing his large 3-fingered hands across his face he focused on the desk across the room and remembered where he was, and what the day held. He had sent a memo last night to all Engineering staff to meet in the engine room at 0800. that gave him just about 100 minutes to get ready. "Ugh." he sighed after a long deep series of breaths, as he pulled his bulk into the upright position and wandered toward the lavatory.

30 minutes later, and in a clean uniform he sat at the desk, activated his computer terminal and transferred notes for the meeting to a tablet. Rising again he adjusted his uniform unconsciously, and exited. A short trip down the elevator found him entering the Officer's Mess for breakfast where a series of intriguing aromas attacked his acute olfactory system.

Brukh had spent little time among Humans in the Shipyard, there were some there, but the majority of the staff were his own people. While on Earth during his year's training was mainly spent on campus in study, he did not take time to 'explore', to use the Human colloquial term. There were a few 'field trips' to some manufacturing plants, and other areas of architectural interest, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, and Alcatraz Island museums. He had only sampled a small variety of Human food while there.

Pausing at the entrance to let his senses recover, a crewman approached and escorted him to a table. "You must be the new Chief Engineer, we were told to expect a Tellarite member of staff so prepared a traditional menu for you... or would you like to try something new?"

"I will start with what you call 'the traditional meal', and we can go from there." Brukh said gruffly. The crewman scurried off and returned a few minutes later with three dishes and a carafe on a large tray. Placing each dish on the table, and pouring a glass of orange liquid from the carafe before also placing it on the table. He then retreated to attend others arriving.

The dishes were a variety of fruits and vegetables - one he recognized containing some leafy greens from his homeworld, the second contained a few from Earth that he recognized in meals while he was there, and some others of unknown origin. The last was half of an orange-fleshed object that smelled very sweet. He dug into the dishes with relish, starting with the items he knew and occasionally popping one of the unknown items into the mix. A few times he motioned the crewman over to get names for some of the items; a yellow toroid-shape called a 'pineapple', and the orange half he indicated was a 'cantaloupe melon'. The liquid in the glass he recalled trying before, something the Humans called 'orange juice' - rather un-inventive of them to name something after it's color, but the taste was adequate.

As he was nearing the end of his last plate the crewman arrived to remove some of the empty dishes, Brukh wiped his mouth and tilted his head upward, "That was most adequate to start," he belched while pointing toward another officer dining nearby, "what is the flat objects she is eating?"

The crewman observed where Brukh was pointing and grinned, "Pancakes with butter and maple syrup" he replied. "Would you like to try some?"

"Yes. Bring me 12 of those pan-cakes, and I will see if they taste as good as they smell."

While waiting he continued with the 'cantaloupe', savoring it's aroma and sweet taste. The next dish arrived as he was finishing the last bite of the melon, the crewman set the plate down and picked up the now empty plate that once held the cantaloupe, "you ate the rind?" he questioned slowly.

"Don't you Humans eat that part?"

"I suppose some might, but most don't since it's not as flavorful as the inside."

"You Humans have odd tastes." Brukh smirked, "I admit it was different from the rest, but still very savory. Now as to these pan-cakes, what do they contain?"

"It's a type of bread, made from ground grain - in this case wheat. The syrup is sap from a type of Earth tree, and the butter is made from cream.. that is part of Earth bovine mammary fluid, that has been..."

"Ah yes... I recall now. I think I had some of it while on Earth with something called 'scones', and a steeped beverage with leaves."

"You must have been invited to tea with someone from England." the crewman chuckled.

"A group of us were, yes... an interesting event." He picked up the small pitcher full of thick brown goo and poured it liberally over the stack on the plate until it pooled at the bottom, then grasping a knife and fork in either hand he stabbed into the mound raising a large dripping wedge to his lips. His eyes opened wider as the flavor matched the aroma his nostrils had detected. "MMMM" he uttered while chewing.

The crewman smiled broadly, "I'll tell chef you liked it", as he turned and went to the kitchen.

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Lt Varkl Brukh
Chief Engineer
Sentinel Station

 

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