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Aanya chewed thoughtfully, then made a face. “Hmph. The center is still flavorless. But I think it’ll take a lot more simmering to get the flavor right through everything, and we don’t have time for that.”
As if on cue, several people poked their heads into the room to see if the food was ready.
“Five minutes,” Mary called out, and the hungry faces disappeared. “I’d say it’s pretty dang good, considering cooking isn’t my forte.”
“Seriously. All I’m really good at is pasta,” Aanya said. “Andwe were working with an incomplete and expired spice mix. It’s not perfect, but it’s close enough.”
“It smells delicious.” I was salivating already.
There were no such thing as authentic recipes anymore, hadn’t been in years. Here at the base, we took turns cooking, and were subject to the whims of whoever was in the kitchen that day.
I was good with machines; guerrilla cooking—a term we’d made up for the “make it work with whatever you have on hand” style of cooking we were forced to do—was not my thing. On my days, it was rice and beans with tomato sauce dumped on top. It was serviceable and perfectly edible, but I didn’t get people impatiently poking their heads in through the door for a bite.
I helped set up the bowls and utensils so the serving would go smoothly.
“How many portions do you need?” Aanya asked.
“Two, please. For me and Jask’l. He’s trying to talk Pip into going up to the mothership right now.”
“Not one for Kan’n as well?”
I grimaced. “Loose Cannon can grab his own damned bowl. He claims he hates human food anyway.”
“Ooh. Trouble in paradise?” Aanya waggled a brow.
“Paradise? As if. It’s been hell since day one!” Realizing I was a bit loud, I lowered my voice. “I know I’d said Kan’n was hot when he first arrived, but that was before I realized he’s a total douche canoe. Pip is wrong. There’s no way we are mates. Life just isn’t that unfair.” At least, I hoped it wasn’t. “Like, didn’t you hear? Apparently I brainwashed his shuttle and turned it against him.”
Mary snickered. “Yeah, I was there for that little dustup. He doesn’t particularly like anyone here. Lok’n thinks he’s going to leave the moment Pip is operational.”
“Haax’l thinks the same thing,” Aanya agreed. “Kan’n asked him if there were any hunter groups whodidn’twork with humans, and was disappointed to find out that there are human scientists working even in the supply and food production facilities now.”
Ha! I bet he was. “He thinks all humans are just waiting for the right moment to turn on our Xarc’n allies. I mean, I get it. He was wronged by humans. But that doesn’t make usallbad. According to Heather, the settlement in Albuquerque only had him imprisoned for a few months, but he makes it sound like he’d been in the dark for years.”
“He did hide from other hunters and was afraid to connect to the Xarc’n network,” Aanya reminded me. “So technically, hehasbeen in the dark for years.”
The hungry faces appeared at the door again.
“All right, all right. It’s done,” Mary said, removing the lid to the rice pot and fluffing it.
Everyone lined up, eager to serve themselves. We had eventually found that to be the easiest and best solution, since not everyone was on base at the same time. Everything from food to coffee got made in a giant batch and left out, and whoever was hungry just helped themselves and cleaned and returned their own dishes after.
Whenever the dish supply became low, we’d go around searching for them, and anyone found with excessive dirty dishes in their workspace or living quarters got stuck with latrine duty for a week. It was actually a very effective deterrent.
I grabbed my two bowls and made my way back around to my shop. I found Jask’l sitting at a bench in the indoor training area just adjacent to my shop, taking notes on a device.
“Any luck with Pip?” I asked, setting his portion of Almost Butter Chicken on the bench next to him.
“After talking with Pippa, he’s willing to go as long as you come too.” He clipped the device back on the belt that also held up his loincloth. “I believe it is a good idea to have you there. The more humans we have helping out with the shuttles, the better. There is always a backlog of vessels needing work done. Our warriors are tough on their shuttles.”
He picked up the bowl and the spoon. They both looked humorously tiny in his hands, even though Aanya had given him the Xarc’n-sized set which were supposed to be serving utensils.
“I’d love to head up to the mothership and see how you work. I watched a few of the training videos, but nothing beats hands-on practice.”
Kan’n stepped out from his shuttle. He took one look at the bowls in our hands, then up at us, and stomped over. “No. You can’t go.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “No one asked you. And the last time I checked, you weren’t my keeper. I can go if I want to. Besides, Pip wants me there.”
“Only because you brainwashed him.”
