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[mr_gaeta]

Gaeta wasn't expecting to find a door this soon. Part of him, despite knowing (and knowing of) several people from Galactica who'd successfully reached Milliways, may have even expected that he wouldn't find a door at all after leaving Colonial One.

That could account for a lot: the way the door rocks backward with the full weight of Gaeta's shoulder behind it, the galley tray in his hand, the more casual civilian clothes (gone is the suit; gone, too, are the layers of someone living in a cold climate), the mildly dumbfounded expression as he stares around the room. After a moment, he heaves a sigh and makes for the nearest open seat -- in this case, one at the bar. His tray drops onto the bartop with an unceremonious clatter.



"Can I please at least finish my frakking dinner first?" he asks a beat later, too tired for the curse to carry any real heat. He gets no reply except a second napkin with a long string of zzzzzzzs scrawled across it, and so, with a quiet exhalation of, "Fine," he gets up and makes his way around the bar.

Eventually:

HAPPY HOUR
Hot Lunch
Coffee 43
After Dinner Mint

EXHIBIT A: A meal from Galactica's galley.
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(Here sits his unfinished dinner beneath the chalkboard.)

Offer suggestions to make it edible & drink half price.

It looks, for the record, like globs of something that might be mashed potato substitute, a bowl of wilted and depressed-looking greens, and a sickly-colored soup.



[tinytag: trudy chacon]

[OOC: ffffff. My body does not want to respond to pithy back room threats, alas; I am crashing and crashing hard. Mea culpa for bailing an hour early -- however, new tags are very much welcomed, and all slowtimes will be picked up!]

Comments

[hear_the_voices]

Anna looks at the meal skeptically.

"What's edible mean?"

[mr_gaeta]

"Able to be eaten," says Gaeta, leaning his elbows on the bar. More wryly, "In this case, eaten without gagging on it."

It's likely his aversion to the meal has less to do with the food itself and more with extenuating circumstances.



Then again, maybe not.

[hear_the_voices]

Anna's nose wrinkles up, and she looks at the meal even more skeptically.

"I guess if you were really, really hungry, maybe you would want it?

"Really, really, really hungry?"

But she's not at all sure about that.

[wheatencrown]

Demeter frowns at the meal and Gaeta,

"Spices and fresh fruit and some real meat. I'll make you something better in the kitchen, for now eat this."

She hands him a loaf of warm bread before bustling towards the kitchen.

[mr_gaeta]

Gaeta blinks after her.

Blinks down at the bread in his hand.

Sets it behind the bar, with another quiet sigh, and throws a quick glance over his shoulder before leaving the loaf be.

[wheatencrown]

Its not too long before she returns and sets a large bowl of lamb stew in front of him that smells spicy and sweet,

"There, proper food."

Then she moves in front of the Bar and actually sits down.

[stillbecoming]

Buffy looks at the sign. Buffy looks at Gaeta's dinner.

"Edible for a human being?"

Gaeta has not defined his terms.

[mr_gaeta]

"Edible for a human being, yes," he confirms.

Very dry, a beat later: "I should have thought to specify."

[stillbecoming]

"There's an art to fine print," Buffy agrees. "Maybe a clause about how it can't come back up again, too?"

She throws another wary look at the -- we'll call it food.

"Vegan?"

[youask-why.livejournal.com]

"Frak, Gaeta."

Sharon's voice is quiet, but not hesitant. Wherever the door appeared for her, it was before she'd had the chance to change out of her flight suit.

"We can have real food here."

[mr_gaeta]

He straightens a little without thinking; his uncertain smile, by contrast, hesitates rather a lot.

But it's still a smile.

"Sharon," he greets her. "Yeah. It's, ah, one of the perks, I guess."

[youask-why.livejournal.com]

She smiles back, though it's also small. One hesitant moment gets away from her as she glances back to Gaeta's unfinished meal, but looks back up, and takes a seat on one of the stools.

"I don't suppose they have real coffee back there, too?"

[hallelujahpilot]

[ooc: will be slow as I am bashing my head against an OOM, but :D?]

Gaeta's dinner looks about as edible as most of the dinners that Trudy had back on Earth (the Marines - both US and RDA - got much, much better food, albeit still mostly substitutes made from protein). So much so, in fact, that he gets a whistle of sympathy from the pilot as she rests her crutches against the Bar.

[mr_gaeta]

[OOC: :D!!]

Gaeta's mouth twists into a crooked cousin of a smile. "Duly appreciated," he says. "And, ah -- "

He gestures to the crutches.

" -- reciprocated. Are you all right, ma'am?"

[hallelujahpilot]

"I'll live!" She says, cheerful tone skipping around the line of being genuine and faux. "And I'll...be able to fly in only four months, so."

Grumblemumble stupid tibia being an important bone in the body mutter.

She leans over slightly, and dips a (perfectly clean!) finger into the bowl of soup, just wiping some off the side. She brings her finger back to her mouth, sucks off the soup, and makes a face.

"Reminds me of home. Y'want my advice?"

[simon_doctor]

It's the word Galactica on the Specials board that catches Simon's eye.

He starts in that direction before seeing who's behind the bar.

[mr_gaeta]

Having reached an ebb in the flow of customers, Gaeta's gone back to eyeing the tray, chin in one hand.

He suspects he would have long given up and traded it in for better food, if some tiny stubborn corner of his brain wasn't so determined to spite Kara Thrace and finish his godsdamn dinner.

He doesn't notice Simon's approach right away.

[simon_doctor]

"-- Felix?"

Simon's on the other side of the bar, looking faintly concerned.

[a1enzo]

O_o

"Uh," says the green kid. "I'd have to digitize it to make it edible for me... but I'm not sure that would help."

Help edibility for either of them, that is.

[mr_gaeta]

"Digitize?"

It's two parts politeness to one part what the frak.

[a1enzo]

"I'm a computer program," he explains. "I can't eat matter. Though I'm not sure that's what this is," he adds, eyeballing it.

[mandercommander.livejournal.com]

Bonzo notices the half-eaten food. He stares at it for a moment.

Oddly familiar...

"Try some spices. That's what we did at Battle School when we could." Not that spices were available in large enough quantities to make everything they were served taste even remotely good, but it was always worth the effort if dinner was just bad.

[mr_gaeta]

Battle School: he notes that, considers the possibilities (military training?), and moves on for the time being.

"Any spices in particular?"

Galactica's in a similar quandary when it comes to the availability of that sort of thing.

[ol-yellow-eyes.livejournal.com]

Upon his return from the Library, Data is drawn to the activity he sees going on around the Bar.

"Excuse me," Data says, addressing the man behind the counter. "Are you the Barman?"

[mr_gaeta]

Gaeta turns. The eyes -- and the odd pallor to the other man's skin -- get a second glance, but no comment.

(As he prefers to remind himself whenever possible: he's seen stranger.)

If anything, it's the uniform that gets Gaeta's attention, and prompts a slight, welcoming smile. "I am at the moment, sir," he says. "How can I help you?"