Star Trek: Starbase 777 - parfait-of-the-heart

When his colleagues said that the aptly named dessert parlour served the best fruit ice cream on the entire starbase, Maran decided that he simply had to take a look - after duty, of course. So he'd come all the way and waited in line, which, by the way, snaked down the corridor - not that he was surprised at all about it. Ten minutes of waiting impatiently later he was very nearly at the front of the line with about six people in front of him - which he was insanely glad for. Thank goodness the crowd of patrons seemed to be thinning; there wasn't anyone behind him, by some miracle.

Aria had been traveling through the shopping levels of the station to check off stuff from her list of things she needed for joining the baking club. Sure, it was likely that equipment was to be provided in the event that the group were to meet in one of the mess hall kitchens, so it didn’t make much sense to go out of her way to purchase things, but what if she wanted to practice in her quarters? In the…short amount of time that she spent in there, but hey! It gave her an excuse to go there, didn’t it? In any case, Aria had done her best to put little green check marks in each of the empty boxes. It made her feel quite productive, after having a very productive day. It made perfect sense for her hobby to be just as productive, right? It did to her! She passed by the parfait parlor on her way upstairs, though when she lifted her gaze from her PADD, she found Maran. This was one of the Jem’Hadar which she had seen in the chatroom discussing potentially joining the baking club, just like her, correct? The outfit certainly matched the profile picture. She had to make sure, as in the event that she had made a mistake, it would make potential social interaction quite awkward. She shuffled forward and offered Maran a smile, “Greetings! May I inquire as to whether or not you are the Jem’Hadar who wished to join the potential baking club which was discussed in the chatroom?”

@Sam

Finally! Three people in front of him and he could get that peach parfait that looked so good on the menu! Maran'agar was secretly glad to not need to stand in line any longer - at least, until the strange pale-skinned ensign with blue hair came up to him and spoke to him. What she asked him was somewhat jarring, too. Maran blinked and stared at her. Hell, he couldn't even remember off the top of his head that he'd talked about that on the starbase's public chatroom before! "Yes. That's... me." He replied, seeming a bit confused. "Why?"

The android's face brightened when Maran confirmed that she was correct. Another individual who was interested in a hobby which she was interested in pursuing! It would thusly be pertinent to form a connection with this person outside of the chatroom, despite the facilitation of communication that the chatroom was capable of. Face-to-face discussion was always superior to that of texting! Tone was hard to determine over text. Well- Tone was hard to determine for her in general, but nevertheless it was easier to explain herself and request elaboration while speaking to someone in person! "Affirmative! This means that you are Maran," She shuffled slightly to keep in-step with Maran as he moved up in the line, "I had determined that it would be important to speak to potentially interested individuals to ensure that the discussion of this club would become actualized! I am very interested in pursuing a hobby, as I have yet to do so outside of...mm...creating lists." "You similarly are one of the individuals who stated previously that you have had experience in baking," Well, a disastrous experience, but nonetheless, "I wished to inquire as to if you had suggestions of what to purchase for baking?"

This weird blue-haired woman wasn't human. That much was for certain. The way she talked gave it away, even if her appearance somehow didn't. "Um. Eggs. Flour... oil... butter?" Maran replied hesitantly. Full confession: he didn't really know (and, until now, hadn't really needed to care about) what exactly went into baking anything, period. "Creating lists. Lists of... what, exactly?" Then he finally reached the front of the line, and he took a moment to order a peach parfait from the short Edosian woman working at the counter.

@Sunny

“Affirmative. These are ingredients that are often found in confectionary created through baking. Though, the question I posed mostly referred to that of supplies which to purchase, such a stand mixer, or whisk! These are supplies which I had found in a cursory search would be useful for certain baked goods.” She glanced at the Endosian woman who asked for her order, shaking her head before trailing behind Maran. “I often create lists of the things which I need to accomplish for the current day, or what I wish to accomplish if I am not currently working a shift. Otherwise, I do not have many things of interest to pursue. I have been looking into purchasing a bonsai tree for the pursuit of relaxation! Lieutenant Commander Peterson had affirmed my interest in doing so. Similarly, it would give me the opportunity to spend time in my quarters outside of my allocated charging time,” She nodded, still brightly smiling. No, Aria was not human, though she had the appearance. At least, cosmetically. Her skin was stark white, her joints were exposed and glowed a bright blue alongside her eyes, and with every movement she made while in conversation there was the low whirring sound of her servos clicking into action. She was certainly a sophisticated piece of technology! (edited)

A closer inspection of this strange blue-haired girl revealed exposed mechanical joints and a low clicking that was audible throughout. This strange woman was an android. Not quite made the same as the one or two he'd met who'd pass perfectly for human without prior knowledge, of course, but similar. For the umpteenth time since arriving on the starbase Maran'agar was reminded starkly of the near infinite variety of beings out there in the universe - of all kinds. "You want to take up baking as a hobby." He summarized. "Well, I suppose that is where the baking club that was discussed briefly will help, I suppose." He thanked the Edosian, who passed him a surprisingly large parfait in a cup, filled and topped with peach preserves and fresh peach slices on top. Mmm. Delicious. "What do you have on your list. If you do not mind my curiosity." Read a book, eat something, make a friend, he guessed. Things like that that formed the basic facets of individual life, maybe. An inkling that she and he might not be that different after all had begun to take root in his mind; he saw so much of his younger self in her.

“Affirmative! I wish to take up baking as a hobby. This would in turn raise my current count of hobbies from potentially one, in reference to the lists, to two! Therefore, I would then be able to occupy my time spent outside of the medical hub,” She nodded to punctuate her statements. A baking club would definitely help out, especially because she didn’t know anyone else outside of the people who discussed it who would be interested in teaching her how to bake. In fact, one or two of them offered to teach her how to bake in the first place, which she would be very appreciative of! “My list currently has upwards of 15 items on it, as well as two separate copies that are in alphabetical and categorical. Items include work-related accomplishments, such as moving up a rank from ensign, as well as personal accomplishments, like visiting another planet. More recent additions include wanting to purchase a bonsai tree, as I had mentioned previously! Joining a baking club is also included within the item of wanting a hobby, which has multiple subsections depending on which interest I would want to pursue.” She was…very thorough, to say the least!

Maran dug into the parfait with a spoon. The dessert was quite possibly one of the best things he'd ever tasted - peach flavor permeated the entire considerably sized plastic bowl, from the cream to the cake layers to the peach jam in the middle to the fresh and candied peaches interspersed generously in between... it was heavenly, to put it one way. "I suppose we may be seeing each other somewhat more, then, assuming this baking club ever comes to fruition. I'm sure finding the resources and space for it might not be so difficult. And I still don't have your name."

The ensign watched very curiously as Maran started to eat his peach parfait, intrigued by his reaction to the food as well as just quietly wondering what exactly it was. It dawned on her that she hadn't really seen parfaits before. She could piece together the separate ingredients and form a potential opinion on what it could taste like, if her mind were capable of fully synthesizing it outside of just what she'd been told about taste. She knew what peaches were, that's for certain; A very sweet fruit that had a bit of acidity to it. These words, though, had little affect on the tongue she had that only helped her speak. But she kinda got it. "Oh!" She didn't give Maran her name! "I am Aria, or Robotic Medical Aid Unit: R1-A. My name is derived from my identification. I am an ensign serving aboard this base in the medical department as a general nurse." Well, she also forgot to give all that information as well, so she thought she might as well cover all her bases, "Similarly, I realize I do not know your name either, outside of the username which you have used in the chatroom. May I ask what your name is?"

So this strange blue-haired woman was an android. Once again Maran'agar found himself wondering who exactly had built her - and whether they'd had any inkling of what people preferred to see in their caregivers. He could just imagine a child or very young patient looking up at this strange pale-skinned woman with blue hair and glowing eyes and exposed metal joints being terrified of what they were seeing - not that he would know. And her name. Once more he could not help but find a bit more similarity between them - if anything her designation made it sound like she was one of a mass-produced hundreds, if not thousands, made to operate in a medical setting and nowhere else. How different was she really to a Jem'hadar like him, he wondered. "Maran'agar. But, as in the station's chatroom, simply Maran will do." He replied. "I assume you've not been on this starbase for long. Or served for long in general."

Aria hadn’t yet treated young patients, so it hadn’t occurred to her that the sight of her might frighten some people. Despite the uncanniness, her face and expression was very bright and happy, so one would hope that that would be enough to provide warmth and comfort to patients. At least, that’s what Aria had hoped. She practiced her smile in the mirror for weeks, making sure that she looked kind enough for patients to approach her. Or, people in general, really. “Maran. Affirmative! I will refer to you as such,” She nodded and saving the name to her database, “You are correct, I have only been aboard the base for a short amount of time. It is my first posting after graduation!”