Second Sitting
Posted on 28 Oct 2022 @ 8:38 by Senior Chief Petty Officer Benjamin Adler & Command Master Chief Petty Officer Hector Gonzales & Chief Petty Officer Samantha Gibbons & Senior Chief Petty Officer Franklin Dover
Episode:
E1: A Historic Voyage
Location: The Goat Locker
Timeline: Date 2025-05-04 at 1900
There had been a lot going on aboard the boat this evening and a few of the Chiefs had things to attend to for various projects around the boat. That left a few of them missing the main seating of dinner which was as traditional as it came on a Saturday night in the submarine service. Pizza and wings. Freshly made pizza dough and all by the culinary specialists in the galley. It also included the usual suspects to go along side... jalapeño poppers, mozzarella sticks, and other fried delights.
"Incoming!" the doc announced, after rustling up a second seating for the chief who had missed meal time. Behind them paraded a couple of CSSs carrying pizza, wings, fried foods, and pitchers of drinks for the chiefs. After all a cranky chief was a good way to ruin your day.
Sam had been off duty for about an hour and was sitting in the Goat Locker working on some documentation for her family history that she had been accumulating, she was trying to put things in some semblance of order. She glanced up as the door opened and saw Doc enter followed by a small parade of her junior enlisted, the smell of fresh warm pizza filling the room. Moving her documents to the folder she put them in her satchel and went over to help set up food.
She looked at Doc “I’m sure that there will be several that will appreciate the food.” She said as she took the platter of fried food and set it down. Walking over to one of the cabinets she grabbed some napkins as plates and cutlery were set down, stopping CSS3 Everett “Don’t forget to put the ham and green beans in the cookers when you get back so that they are ready for mid rats.” Sam knew her team well and knew that they had everything under control. It was her job to make sure that everyone was fed and she took that job seriously.
Sam grabbed a slice of still warm pizza and sat down at the table again to enjoy the warmth of the pizza.
Ben was next to poke his head in the door. He was on his second read through of Canticle and had plopped the book down, still open, at the Doc's announcement, following the tantalizing smell of cheese, red sauce, and carbs paired with fried everything. Even the most introverted of men have to eat, he rationalized, sliding into his seat and reaching across to snag a slice of pizza along with a pile of the various and sundry fried foods.
"Evening," he said by way of greeting, bobbing his head slightly to those assembled as he did before popping the end of a fried stuffed jalapeno in his mouth and biting into it, appreciating the ooze of warm spicy cheesy goodness in that first bite.
"Careful Ben. These jalapenos may be too spicy for you to handle," Hector said as he placed another in his mouth before sharing a laugh with the others. The uniqueness of the chiefs mess allowed for a relaxing of protocol. "Sam, are you sure you don't want me to talk my wife into sharing some old family recipes so we can spice up the cantina," he asked looking towards the chief cook and bottle washer.
Sam grinned "I'm open to new things." She said "If your wife is willing to share, I'm willing to cook." Sam loved trying new things and if food made the crew happy, she was happy.
"You'll have to me borrow that book you keep reading," the doc said. He had noticed that strange engineer had gotten to the end of the book and clearly restarted it from where he was in the pages throughout their deployment so far. "Must be interesting."
As if it were a point of pride, Ben snatched another jalapeno popper from the middle of the tray and stuck the whole thing in his mouth, freeing the stem with his teeth and then chewing. The burst of hot cheese mixed with the spiciness of the jalapeno caught him in the back of his throat threatening to make him cough, but he doggedly chewed through the sensation, eyes watering as he did. When he'd finally managed to chew it well enough to swallow he turned to answer the corpsman's question. "All yours anytime you'd like," he said, his voice sounding just a little bit raspy with the lingering need to cough. "I've read it before. Here." And without a thought he popped the book closed and offered it to the doc.
"Thanks," he said, taking the book and looking it over before holding it up for a moment as if in cheers. He leaned toward Ben's ear so that he was sure that nobody else heard. "If you need some antacids on the sly let me know."
The tall engineer's eyebrows crept up at that, but he nodded, a bemused sort of smirk settling on his face. "Let me know what you think once you read that," he said.
"Will do," the doc said, motioning for those seated around the u-shaped table to shift over as he slid himself into the booth. He reached over and grabbed a plate surveying the items before them on the table. It was one of his favorite meals underway.
Sam slid over to make room for Doc as she took another bite of her pizza.
Hector took a bite from his pizza and gave Sam a thumbs up as he chewed before he washed it down with his glass of tea. "Just keep this food coming Sam. My wife has always said I come home heavier than when I leave," he offered as he looked around and laughed with his colleagues.
Sam nodded "Of course!" She said as she finished her slice and reached for a couple poppers and some mozzarella sticks. "My dad tells me the same thing. I look heavier when I come back. I tell him he's hallucinating." She said laughing "And then make him a cheesecake."
Though Ben didn't have family at home to commentate on his state following a tour, he could easily imagine that kind of input. They ate well and the submariners received the best food in the fleet. He'd finished his first slice already and was already reaching for another along with some of the various fried loveliness that accompanied the pizza and as he did he found himself wondering how much, if at all, the a minor shift in the weight of the crew due to being well fed impacted speed and drain on fuel. It had to be some infinitesimally small number, but it couldn't be zero either. Absently he took a bite of his pizza, staring a bit off into the distance as his brain set to an attempt to calculate.
"How's everyone faring on this trip so far? I haven't heard anything too serious around the boat," Hector asked as he looked to his fellow chiefs. His question served two purposes: first, to make conversation, and second to see if his fellow messmates revealed any information he needed to be watching for.
"Mess is squared away COB." Sam said "Looking forward to the rest of the cruise and hoping nothing goes sideways." She added taking a bite of the mozzarella stick. She looked around the table at the others to hear if they had concerns.
"Nobody's grown a third eye," the Doc shrugged.
"Yet," Ben muttered, absolutely deadpan and then, when that earned him a few looks, he cracked a sheepish grin. He'd learned long ago that his sense of humor wasn't everyone's cup of tea. "New reactor means that, so far at least, everyone's pretty happy and still appropriately thrilled with the new bells and whistles. A bit of a squabble between two of mine about a week ago to do with someone accidentally slamming a door and waking the other up, but it's sorted now." He shrugged, taking another bite from his pizza and chewing thoughtfully, trying to dredge up any other complaints the COB might find helpful.
"I recall that incident, thankfully it didn't hurt morale too much," the doc said. "With the amount of planned stops we have I'm hoping the homesickness and the underway blues are kept to a minimum this cruise."
Hector looked over at Ben at the mention of another squabble amongst the crew. "Do you recall the two individuals? Just so I can be sure to keep my eye on them," he said before taking another bite of his food. Their stop in New York would offer potential chances for liberty amongst the crew, and he didn't want scores being settled in town if he could nip it in the bud first
Ben swallowed quickly, taking a swig from his drink before answer. "Seaman Recruit Parsons and Seaman Apprentice Nunez," he answered quickly. "Though I do think they'll be alright. I caught the two of them discussing how they were each going to take down Seaman Apprentice Keen in cribbage on their last shift."
Hector nodded as he committed the names to memory. He was pleased to hear that the traditional cribbage matches were still going strong. "Keen is surely the one to beat on this boat. So surprising that a kid so young can be that good," he said before taking a sip from his drink.
"Indeed," Ben responded a bit pensively. "Taking him down a peg... no pun intended... seems to be a matter of pride for several of the folks on my team."