Ethan walked slowly down the promenade, his hand around the back of his neck attempting to work out a kink he got while in a Jefferies tube for the last several hours. The work on the Hippocrates has been progressing more slowly than he first anticipated, with more and more systems needing overhauls and replacements, as well as several more needing more minor repairs than was first imagined. The past several days comprised of double, sometimes approaching triple, shifts. 

He didn’t mind the work, actually he thrived on it. After all, he was an engineer, and hard work and long hours were generally part of the job description. But he had to take a break, he heard his stomach growling and knew it had been hours since he last ate anything, so he decided to head back to the same spot he had been a few days prior where he met Linha. Walking into the establishment, he took his place in line waiting to order his next meal. 

After her shift ended she thought about just going back to her quarters to finish preparing for her exam tomorrow. As she walked she realized her stomach was growling she decided that dinner was first on her agenda for now. Walking down the promenade she looked at a good restaurant and walked in she looked around to see that she wasn’t the only one thinking the same thing.

She began walking through to find a table until she saw a familiar person she had met earlier that day, walking up to him she smiled. “Is this seat taken?” Linha asked looking at Ethan.

Ethan smiled as he saw Linha approach his table, having just sat down with his beverage. He stood up and motioned to the seat across from him, “Please.” He retook the seat and grabbed his Andorian ale and took a small sip before going on, “I was kind of hoping I’d run into you here again, though I have to admit it was the food that brought me back over anything else.” He laughed as he put his drink down on the table.

She smiled as she took a seat, “I was just going to go back to my quarters to study but my stomach started growling so figured I’d stop in to get something to eat before turning in.” She replied as the waitress walked over to their table, she looked at the menu for a moment until she found what she liked and ordered it. Nothing too fancy but something that reminded her of her mother’s cooking.

Ethan smiled, “Same here. Been pulling double and triple shifts on the Hippocrates recently, it’s a real mess down there. It feels like for every system I fix, two more seem to go offline. Doesn’t feel like the work will ever be done.” He sighed, then grabbed his drink and took another sip. Picking up the menu, he gave it a quick scan before he asked, “So, what do you recommend from here? I’ve only been here one other time, as you know.” He smiled, putting the menu on the table. 

“You can try what I am having it’s like a beef stew,” she said as it was something close to the human stew type soup. Her mother made something like it once and she enjoyed it.

“Hmm, sounds good! I think I’ll have that as well.” He motioned for a waiter to come over to their table so they could place their orders, then sat back in his chair, “So, what has Starbase Bravo been keeping you up to the last few days?”

“Exams, classes, and working in the Infirmary.” She replied even though it sounded boring to most, she on the other hand enjoyed every minute of it. Every minute she was working she was gathering first-hand experience that would no doubt help her once she was finished with the Academy and onto the next portion of medical training. “What about you?” she asked just as their food arrived, the unique smell made her smile. 

Ethan paused as their food arrived, taking a look at what they both ordered, “Wow, this looks great.” He took a few bites before replying to Linha’s question, “Work, work, work. This is my first posting, came here right after the academy. I’d say it’s nice to be done with the school work, but the learning never really ends, especially for us engineers.” He laughed as he took a few more bites. 

Smiling as he seems to be enjoying his meal, “so how does it taste.” She asked as she took a bite of her own food. “I actually might be an odd one but I enjoy the challenges that come with the classes.” She admitted, she had always been a bookworm and can be seen burying herself either in a good book or just reading studying materials when she wasn’t busy with other things.

“It’s fantastic, probably the best place I’ve tried on the station since I’ve been here. May have just found my new spot.” He said smiling, taking another bite. He listened to Linha as she talked about school, and then nodded himself, “I enjoyed school too, but I think I enjoy things much more now that I get to actually put into practice everything that I was studying. That’s the thing I love about engineering the most, learning how things work and why they function, being able to take something apart and put it back together, who knew I’d have fallen in love with this subject.”

“Usually how it is ya enjoy something after you get finished,” she replied with a smile. “I guess I enjoy it too with doing two cadet cruises one onboard a starship and now one onboard a starbase. Guess they want me well rounded with the two,” she said with a shrug as she really didn’t know what their reasonings were.

Ethan nodded, then took a few more bites and finished up his food, then asked, “So, have you given any thought of what kind of assignment you want to apply for when you’re through the academy?” He leaned back in his chair and put his hands in his lap, “I initially applied for a starship, but was assigned here instead. I was a little discouraged at first, but honestly, I’ve really come to love my posting here. All the different ships that come through that I get to work on, kind of an engineer’s dream come true.” He laughed. 

“I haven’t really given it a thought yet as there are still four years of medical school after the Academy with residency in there somewhere, so I still have a while to decide.” She said with a smile, “though I’ll be happy with whatever assignment I get.” She added as she continued to eat her meal as they chatted.

He nodded, “I hear that, I thought I didn’t want this assignment, but in the end I love it, so you never know.” He laughed and glanced over at the wall, noticing the time. Putting the menu back in its holder on the table, he said, “Well, I need to get back. It has been great catching up with you again, glad we ran into one another.” He smiled.

“Same,” she said as she got up from the table and they both exited the restaurant heading in different directions. She was enjoying it here so far, meeting some new people and getting to know the department more which was huge on a station like this.