2023-09-24: The Secret 'Ingredient'
- Cast: Yurika Misumaru, Maya Jintek
- Where: United Emirates of Orb
- Date: U.C. 0097 09 24
- Summary: Yurika, Howmei, and Maya talk about food and cooking!
<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.
Owing to how much the Nadesico is focusing on loading up on supplies to an exacting degree and schedule...the crew of the ship isn't actually eating on board over the past week or two! For head chef Howmei and her crew, it's almost been rather boring once their end of the stockpiling is done, and Howmei herself has launched an expedition into the shops of Orb to try and sneak aboard anything that isn't just Dense Pre-Packed Rations.
But just before she marches off...!
"Waaait, wait! I wanna go with you!" A breathless Yurika's suddenly sprinting as fast as she can in heels to catch Howmei by the shoulder, bent forward and holding her big wide hat in the other hand. It's the middle of an old-town plaza that most of the Nadesico's crew has been using as a meeting point when not on duty, so it's not hard to notice her outburst!
Howmei, of course...knows well of Yurika's reputation when it comes to kitchen affairs, and geeeently tries to nudge the captain's hand downward. "Don't you worry one bit, Captain. I'm looking for the exotic, hard to work with stuff anyway, and I'll make it right clear that it's gonna be expensive stuff. As in 'stuff that I'll have your head over if you try to use it yourself', hahahah~"
Pouty and defiant, Yurika huffs out, "I definitely - it's not that - I do get what you're...saying...I know I don't usually...make anything edible. But! But!!! ...I kind of just...assumed...tagging along with you would at least passively help me understand! Cooking's something I wanna get better at, yes!!!"
There's a little bit of ongoing haggling between the two - Yurika's stubborn-ness meeting with the head chef's begrudging attempt to try and avoid any Hijinx ensuing on her day off...
<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.
Maya was excited. Nervous too, maybe even a tiny bit nauseous, but mostly excited. After all, the Nivalis project had finally progressed to the final phase - live testing! And it looked like she was being assigned to a spaceship as well! She'd never left the atmosphere before, and now it looked like she was going to be leaving the solar system! OK, yeah, that WAS a very big first step, so maybe the nerves were justified. Lots of things could go wrong, and the reason for the expedition wasn't just for peaceful exploration or anything. But she'd definitely be moving forward to achieve her dreams.
Admittedly, she was a little lost, and it looked like everyone was really busy with the preparations. She'd meant to go and report directly to the Captain and find out what was expected of her, but she wasn't in her office. This was apparently quite a regular thing. 'We'll notify you when she's back, so don't worry about it.' was what she had been told. Since she didn't have any official duties yet, Maya decided to head down to the plaza and maybe see if she could get to know some of the people she'd be working with from now on.
No sooner had she arrived than she heard a little scene brewing, along with the words 'Captain'. Wait, had she found her? It was one thing meeting her new Captain in a formal and expected setting, but in a more casual environment? How was she expected to behave here? It seemed like an argument about food at least, so nothing super important, right? Yeah, it was just something casual and friendly, so she could be casual and friendly too! "I'm sure its fine, right? It's not like you can fail at cooking in the shopping part of things." Er, actually, technically you could if you bought the wrong thing, Maya chided herself, but that wasn't what they were talking about. Right? "And if you can, well, maybe I can help stop that from happening?"
<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.
Obviously in expecting to meet 'a battleship captain', an energetic, pouty girl in her 20s wearing a sundress and sunglasses like she's going out on a date isn't what most expect, but - - - what in the Universal Century is exactly expected or precedented? Between news like 'a giant apparition atop Jupiter' and the rapid dissolution of the entire era-defiing government, what exactly is abnormal anymore?
An unfamiliar face breaks Yurika out of literally pulling Howmei this way and that, the captain tipping forward, pushing those big round sunglasses down to gaze deep into Maya's soul. "Hmmmm? Hmmmmm!? Something about your face is famili-" The flash of recognition from some recent personnel paperwork she's processed hits Yurika, and the captain moves to stand more upright. "Aaah! I think you're a recent transfer! Oh gosh oh gosh, I didn't think I'd need to make a first impression suddenly, Howmei how's my hair - oh, is my necklace off, and I didn't forget to tie the bow on the hat, did I-"
To each one, Howmei gives a resigned little "you're fine, you're fine!", and now it's her turn to gently push Yurika's shoulder back to earth.
"...W-well anyway! Hi, yes, I'm the Nadesico's captain, Yurika Misumaru!" She's about to give that usual big V-sign of signature before she pauses and improvises...a two-fingered heart-shaped traced in the air? "...And I've never really, uhm, done much of my own grocery shopping before, so knowing what to get and how much of it is a little disorienting! Mostly used to eating military rations or just going out to eat places. It's a little pointless to get all dressed up every day and then eat at home by yourself, after all! But since you seem to know things, and you seem pretty grounded to me, come tag along with us! You might help me get normal ingredients since you're not like Miss Howmei here who'll buy some crazy exotic Greek beans in case one person ever orders it!"
Defiantly, Howmei puffs, "They're gigantes plaki, they're very delicious, and I have had someone request it. Hmph!"
<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.
In comparison, Maya was dressed in her new Nadesico Pilot uniform, freshly ironed, and her hair very properly combed for making good impressions. She HAD heard that the Captain was eccentric. Talented, young, and politically connected, sure, but the first one was the one that came to mind immediately now that she had finally met her. Still, this didn't have to be a bad thing. Eccentric could mean a lot of things, after all, and at least she seemed friendly!
She couldn't help but grin, and even giggle slightly at the enthusiasm on display and was now more relieved that this was a more casual encounter. If this were in Yurika's office she'd be more torn about feeling like she had to stand on ceremony in some way. "I'd be happy to join you. Maya Jintek - I'm looking forward to joining your crew!" It sounded like Howmei was the ship's chef, and at least right now she looked like the reliable sort. She held off from copying the heart symbol of the captain - it was VERY cute, however. "I don't think there's anything wrong with some more exotic ingredients either; variety is important after all." She'd never had those giant plankies before, but they sounded like they'd be good.
"So, what's on the supplies manifest? And what do you consider normal, Captain?" Maya asked, interested in getting a baseline from the woman. She didn't know them too well yet, so for all she knew normal could be really plain, or she might have some sort of obsession with chicken nuggets and hamburgers. "I'm guessing we'll be needing a lot of things that can last a while, given where we're going... I do hope that we get to at least start with some more fresh ingredients, though. I've not really eaten military rations before, and I've heard they're kind of... not good?"
<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.
"Maya, Maya - got it!" A big thumbs up as Yurika commits the name and face to memory. "I'll be counting on you from now on, so you can count on me back!"
"And I'm the head chef, as you probably guessed. Everyone just calls me Howmei! I can cook absolutely anything. Anything at all!" Howmei leans around Yurika's shoulder to give a merry little wave in turn, as she concedes and leads the pair along the streets to the natural target she's got here in Orb - a specialty spice market! A somewhat tightly cramped, extremely colorful and very aromatic place, almost a little noxious with the menagerie of esoteric ingredients for sale.
"Well, we're here cause the supplies manifest was too bland! We're overstocking pretty intensely, even more than we did for the Mars voyage, since we can't just supply for our own ship - we need emergency rations in case another ship goes down and we're housing the survivors, and that started crowding in on Howmei's precious pantry space..." Yurika, for her part, is poking at various big ginger bulbs and flicking the occasional leaf. She has no idea what any of this stuff is, like at all. (Howmei does! She is asking the shopkeeper for a laundry list of extremely specific ingredients.)
"Weeeeell...normal for me is...hm. The food on Mars is nostalgic, but it's also been a real long time and I've forgotten a lot of it. Military rations are pretty familiar...and I've also eaten a lot of pretty typical Neo-Japanese food since that's where I went to high school and a lot of early training. I've tried a lot of different stuff! I'm not fussy at all! But I've never learned how to make it very well...I think other people have stronger and more discerning palates too."
Rubbing the back of her head a little awkwardly, she tries sizing up Maya a little more closely, but soon concedes, "Ah, where'd you usually come from, Maya? I...uhm...don't remember your specific details or anything, so I forget where you might be from, ahahaha...~"
<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.
Definitely the good kind of eccentric, Maya decided as the Captain made her declaration. She was far from what she expected of a battleship captain, but it was honestly quite nice, and it made it seem like it'd be easy to adjust to the environment versus something that was far more formal. It was probably still a good idea to not be 'too' informal, as she was still new, but at least she didn't have to worry about doing something that would get her in trouble by accident in some way.
"Thank you , Captain! And I look forward to trying your cooking, Howmei! Do feel free to give me recommendations as well!" She listened intently as they explained the situation, easily dodging through the spice markets. Maya approved of all the extra effort they were going through in order to make the expedition as safe as possible. Sometimes private enterprises skimped on the essentials in the name of cutting costs, but there was a reason she was proud to have been accepted by Nergal - they had a great reputation, and her experience with them so far backed that up. "On the plus side, all those extra supplies mean we could splurge a bit if there's no disaster..." Maya mused, before realising Yurika, despite her attitude, was still the Captain. "Er, not that I'd suggest wasting valuable resources on parties!"
It was interesting to hear what the Captain had to say about her taste in food, though. Maybe she was a little disappointed that she wasn't a complete gremlin, but it did serve to make her more human. Maybe a little sheltered, but not too much.
She probably shouldn't have been surprised that the Captain asked about her as well, but it still caught her a little off-guard. Only a little, though. "Well... I'm an Orb citizen, and I've spent most of my life here, but I was born in Australia, actually. Sydney was my hometown." Maya's hand unconsciously went to touch her pointed ears as she remembered her father who had been caught in the colony drop. "It's OK to talk about; I was still pretty young at the time. Because of that, though, I do try and keep my heritage in mind, even if Orb is my home. Maybe I'll try and make some lamingtons for you someday!" Maya smiled, remembering cooking with her mum - it was mostly her licking the chocolate - before sobering up as she realised something about what Yurika had said. "I've never had Martian food... is it as bad as they say it is there?" She knew about the attacks, of course, but the Nadesico had been there, and they'd surely know more about what's going on.
<Pose Tracker> Yurika Misumaru has posed.
A little wince as Maya brings up being from Sydney - something Yurika can...almost relate to, though the struggling state of Mars isn't quite as bad as what Sydney endured. "I'd love to try those, even if I have no idea what a lamington is!" Yurika smiles dazzlingly, before racking her brain on just what exactly she had to eat on Mars...
"Yeah I think most of the food there kind of sucked!~" Yurika concedes, laughing as she remembers from way back when. "Making Martian soil arable at all is still a long and arduous process, that so much food tasted kinda gritty and chalky, that stuff from the high quality agro-pods was always so expensive. Really, some of the best food we got was when the Federation sent ships and had lots of spare rations, which doesn't say much great if MREs were kind of a luxury! Ahahaha~"
Settling upon a little bench, Yurika sighs wistfully. "...But it was...nice. You know. Quiet. Nothing much ever happened, but it meant anything was possible. It was never that easy a place to live, but there was no reason to fight over anything, and I still remember helping make sure nobody was fighting even when I was just a little girl. Hearing how messy Earth's history was - still is - Mars felt like it was gonna be a fresh start. A place that could be this whole big symbol of getting over our past, since we had to get along with old Zeon vets to survive. It sucks that the Jovian Lizards had to make such a mess of the place - but I guess it's even worse that you couldn't really go back to your hometown no matter how hard you tried. A-ah, but if you're attached to Orb, it's a really nice place, I like it here!"
Oh so abruptly, though - a somewhat reedy, nasally voice calls out from the market's entrance. "Captaaaaaain? Captain Yurikaaaaaa? You went this way didn't you? A bit of a situation happened aboard the ship-" It's the Nadesico's accountant, the man only known (maybe genuinely named?) as Mr. Prospector, fussing away at his calculator as ever. "Y-you see there's a mixup with the type of rice we stocked, and it turns out we're liable to owe several hundreds of thousands of Gilla unless we authorize a return..."
"Aaaah! Always something like this, just when I was getting along with-" Yurika bolts up in frustration and marches Prospector's way, before pivoting around and giving Maya a little wavewave. "Sorry to cut off our meeting - it's good to meet you though! Always a mess before a big mission - but I think we'll have plenty of downtime out near Gallia-IV to talk more to each other! Until theeeen!~"
<Pose Tracker> Maya Jintek has posed.
"Oh, I'm sure you'll love them - they're spongecakes dipped in chocolate and coconut, and you can also put in fillings like jam or cream if you want!" Some people got a little heated about them, claiming that only the plain kind were 'proper' lamingtons, but in Maya's mind, they were all good. It was funny hearing about how Martian food was actually not so good after all. A whole lot of arable land got wiped out in the colony strike, and even though Melbourne had been in a whole other state, the impact left... well, a bit impact on the availability of food. Her family had done its best to make sure she always had food, but she did remember small meal portions and hunger. Though they'd had each other at least. For a time, anyway.
"Haha, yeah, fair enough, I can definitely relate with the rations, even if it has been a while." Maya joined the captain on the bench as Howmei continued doing all the real work. They were DEFINITELY being helpful! Absolutely! By staying out of the way of the professional! It was really sad to hear about Yurika's hopes for Mars and how they'd fallen through with the attack of the Jovian Lizards. War seemed to come for all unfortunately. But while it was sad due to the loss involved, it was also hopeful. Zeon vets getting along with the colonists, working together to build something better. She still hated Zeon for what had happened, and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to completely overcome it, but she'd also learned about why and how this had happened. If the Federation had've been less oppressive, then they might not have felt pushed into such a drastic and over the top action.
Maya shook her head a bit at this, as someone else called out to Yurika. She remembered him as being there at her interview, actually, though his name eluded her. Something to do with mining? Either way, it looked like the chains of leadership had bound up Captain Yurika as much as any other person of rank, and dragged her away for something important. "It was a pleasure, Captain! I look forward to talking more and serving under you!" She waved to the Captain as she marched off in a huff before turning to Howmei. "I'll help you out with the rest of this. Now... would it be too much trouble to add some desiccated coconut to that list?"