Zero Michelin Stars [Jettis]

[Kali Reyes]

[Mess Hall]

Kali looked at her tray and frowned. See, this was why she seriously wanted to requisition a chef. Sure replicators were the apex of the galaxy's repertoire of inventions, but a lot of it left to be desired. Her 'thanksgiving' combo comprised of a sad piece of turkey, a spoonful of vegetables, and last and certainly least, a jello-like substance dubbed cranberry sauce.

Her nose twitched in distaste on her way to a less crowded table. 'Happy Thanksgiving!' some of her crewmen would say in greeting as she passed, but she definitely didn't see anything happy or thankful for the meal.

"This seat taken? Well it is now," she said to the lone officer on the table and sat across from him. She was much too preoccupied with her utensils and how best to tactically take this meal down without tasting most of it. Then she looked up and realized who she was sitting with. "Jyur, right? Please tell me I'm right."

[Jettis Jyur]

[Mess Hall]

Jettis sat in a far corner, away from most others, poking at his.... well, whatever you could call it.  He would much prefer making a real thanksgiving dinner, complete with real food. As much as he adored space, Replicators just couldn't quite get it right. It was like store-bought cookies versus your grandmother's homemade ones. Even after all these years, he could still remember the very distinct taste and smell, it almost made his mouth water...

And then he looked down. Sighing, he ran a hand through his hair with a humorless chuckle. This would definitely take some getting used to. How had he let Zero talk him into coming down here? He could almost hear his brothers' voice in his head now. 'You can't mope around in your room all day, not on Thanksgiving. Come down and socialize, the food will be good! And, it will help you adjust.' Since when was he the ship's counselor?

Jettis was pulled out of his sullen thoughts at the sound of a voice in front of him. Turning to glance up at her, he quirked an eyebrow upward, shrugging lightly. "Don't mind at all." As if to offset the vague note of insincerity in his voice, he motioned toward the empty bench, offering a smile. "Yeah, it's Jyur." He confirmed, with a nod of his head.

"So, what brings you to the table of anti-sociality?" He quipped, chuckling almost to himself. Forcing himself to dig his fork into what Starfleet deemed "food", he took a sizable chunk, masking his look of disdain by also taking a drink of his water.

[Kali Reyes]

"You weren't kidding with the table," she said and gestured to the waste receptacles nearby with her fork. "Everyone's all grouped up like ants and the queen isn't interested in schmoozing today." Jyur was new at least. She liked new shiny things.

Kali visibly shuddered at his voluntary chewing and pushed her tray aside. "Yeah, I can't eat this. I bet they feed the prisoners out in Rura Penthe better."

[Jettis Jyur]

He smirked at Kali's response, glancing over at the groups of tables filled with people. Some not even sitting at a table, but rather standing up in order to keep talking with a specific group, rather than move across the entire Mess Hall in search of an empty table.

He nodded at her prisoner comment, swallowing and setting down his cup. "Yeah. Or at least something less..." he paused, gaze flickering around the room, as he searched for the right word. "...Less flawless. This just looks like someone took a picture of a thanksgiving dinner and copy-pasted it into a 3D printer. Tastes like it too." He immediately took another sip of water, effectively shutting himself up before he continued his rant.

[Kali Reyes]

She grinned and gave him a little wave of her hand. "Well that's being modest. I've got a personal replicator that prints out widgets that looks more appetizing than this. Not exactly a Thanksgiving meal you're used to, I bet."

Though she supposed it may be. A lot of people on the ship were aliens and probably just as oblivious to the Terran holiday. Hell, most humans probably didn't celebrate it being an American holiday to boot. Thanksgiving was a blip on the ship's radar - and a sadly replicated meal in the grand scheme of things. People were already putting up garlonds on the doors for another more popular holiday coming up.

Her tummy grumbled in sympathy, but the turkey just looked so dry.

[Jettis Jyur]

He chuckled, forcing himself to cut up another piece of the turkey. "No, not what I'm used to. Although, it has been a while since I've been to a planet that even celebrated Thanksgiving. I have to say, Prixin was one of my favourite holidays." His eyes lit up and he grinned. "Beautiful scenery, wonderful food, and a peaceful celebration of Family. That's what a Holiday is all about." Grinning, he shoved another piece of turkey in his mouth, grimacing slightly as he remember what he was eating. Ignoring it, he swallowed it as quickly as possible.

"What about you, Reyes? What's your favourite Holiday?" He tilted his head to the side, curious eyes moving up to lock onto Kali's.

[Kali Reyes]

"What, no outbreak of smallpox?" Kali teased and stuck her chin on the palm of her hand. "Because nothing says homely like a little historical genocide." The poor turkey sat, untouched and turning cold. Jyur's question made her look up thoughtfully at the ceiling, which desperately needed to be filtered for dust. "Hmm. I dunno. I'm not really a holiday kind of gal. Never really had much reason to celebrate them."

There were a few memories that struck a chord. Like when she was six years old and her godfather took her to her first actual Thanksgiving dinner with his family. Well, not family family. He never had that, but they were all colleagues and the occasional merc for hire - and it was probably more familial than anything she shared with her own father.

"I like New Years," she finally decided. "Partying, drinks, kissing a stranger at the strike of midnight. Mushiness optional. Hell, the memory too if I drink the right stuff."

[Jettis Jyur]

"In my defense, I was there before that." He scrunched his nose, mimicking her movements and resting his chin in his palm. He went back to choking down the rest of his turkey while Kali thoughtfully pondered his question.

He looked back up, nodding when she gave her answer. "New Year is.. quite the time." He murmured, words ending up more condescending than he had intended. "Quite the fun time, that is. Depending on who your company is, that is." He corrected, smirking slightly at an unspoken memory. "But I believe it's an Earth custom to only remember New Years through a shaky video and a drunken Personal Log. So I think you're okay."

[Kali Reyes]

He sounded unamused by her answer. It never really bothered her before, nor now, so she only sat there and let him fumble through his save. Kali wasn't the classy silver Federation maiden a lot of the more distinguished ladies on board were like and she's long since accepted it.

Keeping things at arm's length was just so much more appealing.

She hissed through her teeth in self-sympathy, remembering her last drunken personal log. "Oooh. Can't do that anymore. Not with my shiny new pips and all." Sometimes she wondered if it would have been better if she just stayed a simple crewman - under the radar and not under the thumb of her superiors as much as she was now.

"Haven't celebrated New Years on Earth since I was sixteen. It was in Monaco and drinking was definitely legal there." Her eyes glittered at the memory. Sky races in Circuit de Monaco, high-end clubs, the cheeky locals - man, did she need shore leave yesterday.

[Jettis Jyur]

"Video evidence doesn't tend to be wise, no." He pressed his cup to his lips, not yet taking a drink of it. "Amusing though, when you see it the next day." He chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "Monaco? I can imagine." He set his cup back down. "Most of the time I celebrated New Years in Germany with my Father. Although, I did a couple times on a Starship-" He paused for a few moments, looking thoughtful. "It was more fun in Germany, to be honest."

[Kali Reyes]

"Monaco was like a pit stop compared to Risa though," Kali pointed out with a lazy flick of her finger. The cranberry sauce jiggled angrily at her. "You can go down for what you think is an hour and find yourself half-naked on a beach weeks later. Can't get away with that on a starship, that's for sure." If she heard the catch in his statement, she didn't make it known. "Now Germany? I didn't think they'd have it in them. I know they still do beer-fests out there, but that's about it. Don't think you went there to party, I bet?"

[Jettis Jyur]

A large grin spread across his face, accompanied by a deep chuckle. "Ah, Risa. Good times, good times." He murmured, but for obvious reasons, didn't elaborate further than that. "I can't say I haven't turned a two day trip to Risa into a two week one, though." Folding his arms across the table, he leaned on them, propping himself up slightly.
"You'd be pleasantly surprised at a German party. You might not think streamers and  party poppers and sparklers, but what you would call 'alcohol poisoning', they would call 'the first round.'" Another chuckle escaped him. "But no, I was not there to party. Not specifically anyway." Leaning back in his seat, he absently pushed his plate away from him, focusing his full attention on Kali. "More visiting an... Acquaintance."

[Kali Reyes]

Her eyebrows scored upwards in surprise and then she laughed. "No kidding? Well hell, I'll have to put Germany on my bucket list then." There were few loves in Kali's life and that was drinking until she couldn't remember her name and found the sweet abyss of blackout.

When he leaned back, she kept the equilibrium by leaning forward. "Sounds very... secret-y," she teased. "Care to share with the class or is it one of those 'I'm just trying to act all nonchalant and mysterious about my personal affairs' schtick?"

[Jettis Jyur]

"I thought that might catch your interest." He gave her one of his signature lopsided, half-grin. Complete with him folding his hands and resting his chin on his knuckles in a 'tell me more' fashion.
Shaking his head slightly, he chuckled. "No, not really. Just visiting my daughter and her mother, and my sister." He shrugged, as if that sentence didn't mean anything. "What about you? Any living family? Immediate family that is."

[Kali Reyes]

Kali nodded absently along. Family men were pretty common on this ship, but it was hard enough as it was to remember spouse names or how many kids they had to drum up the small talk. But that wasn't the point.

The moment he asked if she had any family, she immediately zoned out and couldn't respond. You would think it'd be easy by now; she's had over twenty years to practice. Dead father, deadbeat mother, someone should play her the world's smallest violin.

"Nah. Bet it sucks being so far away from them," she replied, almost tacking the last sentence on like that.