Ethom: Part 1/3

Posted on Mon May 11th, 2026 @ 11:52am by Lieutenant Colonel Jesse Moriarty & Tavrek Harland

2,640 words; about a 13 minute read

Mission: Prologue
Location: Tavrek's Quarters
Timeline: Early 2389

Tavrek was in his quarters, standing in the area he had made into a little kitchenette, by the replicator. He had promised to cook. So...he was doing it. Unfortunately, he had grown up with his human mother cooking. It had been specifically food from her culture, the rest was replicated. But it had been adapted by Tavrek to suit his vegetarian diet. Where there would have been a soup with meat, there now was a version without. He had added potato dumplings to it as well, for a little bit of more bite to go with the vegetables. It was a hearty soup of root vegetables, seasoned well with pepper. For him, it reminded him of times of warming up while looking at the stars. Dessert was the true test though. He hoped that Moriarty would enjoy it.

The chime sounded as Jesse came to a stop outside the quarters. Someone had told him once that he should take a gift when he went to dinner somewhere. But he had no idea what it should be. Especially on a ship with personal replicators. So he held a data chip. The military man was just about on time, only a minute or two late. He wore black trousers and a dark red turtle neck sweater, his lightly curled dark hair tamed back behind his ears.

Tavrek brushed flour off his hands and onto the apron he wore, that covered the dark green tunic he wore with his dark grey trousers. "Come in," he called out, but he was already walking over. The quarters themselves weren't spartan, but neither were they overflowing with things. There was a teapot and cups, carefully displayed by the wall. Holographic candles, right now off, in various parts of the room. And on a shelf, small rocks and stones from various worlds...just displayed there without context.

Jesse let himself in and glanced around with curious eyes. "Something smells good..." he hadn't meant to say it with surprise, he just hadn't expected it.

"It is the soup," Tavrek said with a smile as he walked over to him. He stopped and looked at him, smiling at what he saw. "You look very good, Jesse." He met his eyes, holding them.

Jesse looked down at himself with mild surprise before he realised he was probably just being polite. "Thanks, I...realised I don't really have much beyond comfortable clothes and climbing gear," he gave a half smile, offering the chip over. "It's a holodeck programme I made. Stained Glass. It's an abandoned cathedral, set up as a training programme. Running, obstacles, parkour...in case you wanted to...do more training."

Tavrek took it with surprise, unable to stop the small smile. He had not expected a gift, yet now it was in his hand he was...pleasantly warmed by the gesture. "You didn't have to bring it...but it sounds intriguing. Does it come with someone to make sure I don't injure myself?" he asked Jesse, with warmth as he met his eyes.

"No guts, no glory," Jesse replied with a small smile pulling at his lips, giving an innocent shrug with it all the same.

He chuckled warmly, watching Jesse closely. "Want something to drink? Dinner won't be long," he said and led him through. He carefully put the chip on his desk, so it would be safe.

"A beer would be great, thanks," Jesse followed him without even thinking, sliding a hand into his pocket as he looked curiously at the food spread across the kitchen. "No...I can get it, you've got your hands full here. What do you want?"

"I'll have a beer too," Tavrek said as he moved to stir the soup, checking on it before getting the pan out. "Thanks, Jesse."

Jesse nodded as he moved for the replicator, getting two cold lagers. He passed one over, tapping his own to it before taking a mouthful, sighing with satisfaction. "So...did you really make all of this? Or did you just replicate it and pretend?"

"I replicated the ingredients," Tavrek admitted as he sipped his own, sighing as well. "Ships don't really...take well to storing food. Not enough to always cook with."

"Of course," Jesse shook his head quickly, not having expected real ingredients. He still saw cooking as a kind of witchcraft in all honesty. "I respect anyone who can do this."

"I had a very patient tutor," Tavrek admitted as he checked the heat of the pan by putting his palm over it. "Ah, should be fine now..." he moved to where he had little round bits of dough with flecks of green through. He added a mixture of seeds on it before he started to roll the dough out. "My mother thought it was useful. My human mother, that is."

Jesse watched him as he leant back against the kitchen counter, unable to relate to the experience. "And was it?"

"No," Tavrek glanced at him, giving a small smile and a chuckle. "But it made her happy...and taught me to do this." he put the dough on a hot pan, looking at it.

"I have to say, anything that can make food smell that good is worth it," Moriarty chuckled, shaking his head as he watched on. Ever couple of years, he'd think he should learn how to cook. But he never did.

Tavrek smiled as he reached out, using his fingers to turn the bread. He pressed down, gently, tilting his head. "This flatbread was apparently in my family. Dill. Some cumin seeds. A good bread with wholemeal and white flour."

Jesse smiled weakly for a moment, a flash of memory to his own childhood and the simple flat breads they made. Just with different flavourings. "From your ancestors to the stars."

"And beyond, maybe," Tavrek whispered and put it on a plate, before he added another one to cook. "You can try it, if you want..."

Jesse hesitated, wondering if it was spoilers, but he reached out and pulled a small piece off to try. He nodded, moaning softly with approval. "I'm grateful to your ancestors."

"So am I," Tavrek said with a warm chuckle, giving a nod of approval at the other man trying it. "So this is a traditional soup...with potato dumplings in it. Not that traditional, not together, but I have always enjoyed it..." he turned the bread and motioned to the table he had set. "Unless you prefer the sofa?"

"No, this is good, thanks..." Jesse carried their drinks over before taking a seat, looking at how he'd set it. It looked...posh. Like in a restaurant. More than just his knife and fork slung on it at least. "You know how to do this right..."

Tavrek chuckled softly, nodding as he took the serving dish for the soup, carefully ladling it into it before he carried it over. And then went to get the bread. "It was my job," he said, lightly, "At home. But also...I think the ritual of it appeals to the Vulcan in me."

"Yeah...they do seem to make a ritual out of everything. I guess that's what happens when you have a longer lifespan to fill..." Jesse arched an eyebrow, a glint of humour in his eyes as he glanced to him.

Tavrek laughed softly, nodding as he ladled the soup for them both. "Oh, yes. And when your major contribution is logic and meditation..." he winked, to show he didn't mind. It was part of who he was, but not all he was.

Jesse chuckled softly with him at the reaction, leaning into breathe the scent of the steam that rose from the bowl. "Does ritual make it better?"

"Honestly? No," Tavrek said and smiled as he sat down, watching him. "Cooking, I have learned, is more instinct than logic."

"But a ritual sounds more important, huh?" Jesse teased him with a slight chuckle, reaching for his spoon...and then stopped. "Speaking of..." he paused, in case there was anything they were meant to say or do.

Tavrek watched him, slightly confused for a moment, before he smiled. "Ah...nothing from me, just enjoy the food."

Jesse nodded firmly, taking a spoonful. He took his time, enjoying the first mouthful as he closed his eyes and moaned warmly. "It's like home," he murmured to himself.

Tavrek watched him with a small smile, enjoying just seeing the other man enjoy it. He tried some, smiling at the familiar flavour before he reached out for some bread to dip in. "It is my favourite, on the quiet."

"No fancy embassy dinners for you then?" Jesse chuckled knowingly, having served his time playing guard at enough diplomatic events.

"Oh no...I rarely get to go to those," Tavrek said with a smile, shaking his head. "No, I get the meetings instead. Fancy embassy dinners...were never my thing."

"Ah...plates of stale sandwiches and lukewarm coffee then," Jesse sighed softly, shaking his head as he tore some flatbread off. He knew the kind. "You need to get yourself an officer's commission."

"That means becoming Starfleet. I never liked being tied down," Tavrek said with a small, playful smile as he picked up his spoon again. "No, I like...the flexibility of taking my own moral stands."

Jesse searched the man's features for a long moment, trying to imagine a life like that. Was it freedom or shackles? He wasn't clever enough to know. "Sounds tiring," he finally admitted.

Tavrek glanced at him, meeting his eyes before he smiled. "To me...it's not. But I suspect that to a soldier, it might be. Whereas...I find that...chain of command, the orders, the missions...tiring."

"So why a ship then?" he asked with a stab of genuine curiosity, reaching for his drink to pause long enough for the answer.

"Ah..." Tavrek made a face, but there was a gentleness in his face as well. "I was working as part of a group... Cultural Integration Division, they called us. A fancy way to say setting up what you need for...first contact, second contact, those things. I had an assignment. Did the work. And handed it over..." he met his eyes and shrugged. "It went bad. Ended bloody. And maybe the truth was, it got....too much for me. Too grand a scale. A ship is...smaller, contained."

Jesse frowned as he sipped his drink, taking his time to watch him. He wasn't quite sure what he meant, but he didn't need to. The result had left its mark, that was what mattered. "And different."

"And different. And I am outside the eco system. Ignored by most, until the Captain's Yeoman found me," he said with a chuckle, watching Jesse.

"Oh, you're in trouble now...you'll have paperwork and coffee coming out of your ears..." Jesse teased him with a grin, shaking his head fondly all the same.

"She's a tea drinker," Tavrek said with a warm smile, looking at him before he sipped his beer. "I am trying to decide what is your comfort drink."

"Scotch, mostly..." Jesse arched an eyebrow at him, but chuckled softly as he started to eat again. "This really is good, it's got so much flavour in it."

"I'm glad you like it," he said with a smile, looking down at the words. "I was partial to a single malt last time I went to Earth."

"It's definitely better than moonshine," Jesse grinned, shaking his head lightly. "Not...that I would know anything about that..."

"I would," Tavrek said, raising an eyebrow as he met his eyes, smiling. "Quite a lot, really. I grew up on a science base...creating alcohol is just another scientific process."

"Hm...I'll know who to go to when I want to start my own home brew then..." Jesse quirked an eyebrow at him before laughing, reaching for more bread.

Tavrek watched him with a small smile, eyes warm as he studied the human. "I feel it could be a joint enterprise. We could see how far we could push it. Maybe expensive looking labels. Say it came from outside the Federation..." he said dead-pan.

"Invent a planet," Jesse suggested, chuckling as he dipped the bread in the soup before taking a generous mouthful. "See if anyone questions it."

Tavrek laughed, watching him with awe before he nodded. "Fascinating," he breathed, just at the way Jesse...thought. And he suspected he would be right. Few would question it. Few would wish to offend.

"It's a good retirement plan, when we're ready to quit the drifting life," Jesse shook his head with a wry smile, because he couldn't truly see that happening.

"And where would we go?" he asked, watching Jesse for a long moment. "With our retirement plan, once we have enough gold-plated platinum to live the high life outside of the Federation?"

Jesse met his eyes as he took another spoonful, giving himself time to think. Because that was the real question. Nowhere was home anymore. "Would you go to Vulcan?"

"No," Tavrek gave one firm shake of his head at that. "Not to live. I have visited, but never spent much time there. I didn't study there."

"Earth then, maybe?" he studied his face as he tried to guess where the man might feel at home.

Tavrek held his eyes, a small smile coming to him. "Maybe, but...Earth can be a bit suffocating in its own way, can't it?"

"Not really spent much time there," he frowned as thought on it, shaking his head. "I trained there, but...the bubble was small, you know?"

Tavrek sipped his beer, considering it as he watched him. "Maybe the truth is I was raised on a station. Solid ground's...alien to me by now."

"I can understand that," Jesse replied quietly, shaking his head as he sat back, letting out a long breath as he contemplated it. "I've been on the move for more years than I was settled now. It gets to feeling...different."

"And your relationships with people, making friends...feels different when you're more transient," Tavrek said, watching Jesse in return. "I remember growing up...friends would leave after a year or two, when their parents were transferred."

Jesse just stared into his drink for a moment. His own growing-up had been done under Cardassian occupation. He blinked before shaking his head lightly. "Must have been hard work," he replied honestly, at the energy it must have taken to reinvest each time.

"You adapt," Tavrek said as he looked at him before he grimaced. The age...he knew he had mis stepped, that Jesse's...growing up on the colony had been different than Tavrek's peaceful research station. "I suspect you know more than me about it."

"Just different, not more," Jesse replied quietly, shaking his head slowly as he looked to him, taking a deep breath. "I...don't usually tell people about it. It's...odd, knowing that you know."

Tavrek nodded as he held his eyes before he gave a small, reassuring smile. "I won't tell anyone. If you want it...private, it stays private. I just couldn't...unhear it. And...maybe I was showing off a little to a handsome man."

Jesse gave a soft, relenting smile to that, shaking his head lightly as he looked to him with shining eyes. "Can't blame you for wanting to show off your skill. It's pretty damn impressive.

Tavrek chuckled softly, watching him before he nodded. "I got a good ear. Lately...I've tried my hand at the Creole languages of colonies...especially outside of the Federation, where once Standard was the main language but time and distance has changed the language."


TBC in part 2:


Tavrek Harland
Translation Specialist
USS Guinevere

&

Lt. Colonel Jesse Moriarty
CO Ground Forces
USS Guinevere

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