By Yeoman Vincent Rogers

Mess Hall Cook

<<Stardate 47307. 16-Blue Shift>>

<<Mess Hall-Deck 10>>

Vincent watched the Klingon studying the menu. The Klingon was fairly large, even for one of his own kind. His long black hair was tied up in a military fashion that went well with his Starfleet uniform. By the looks of the fellow, Vincent guessed he was a security officer. The Klingon looked like he would rather kill a troublemaker rather than just detain him.

Vincent averted his glance, but not before the Klingon could notice. The security officer eyed him with a suspicious glance which was enough to make Vincent's neck hairs stand on end. The sight of the Klingon's bared teeth didn't help matters either.

"S-so, what will you have?" barely escaped from Vincent's mouth as his hands beaded with perspiration. The Klingon gave a loud huff, probably to intimidate the weakling Terran behind the counter.

"I will have the gagh, preferably very fresh. " replied the security officer. It was the head cook's idea to serve a nice parting meal, as a way to cheer away the gloomy feeling that was dripping from the walls. Vincent agreed, hoping that some good food would at least help pull him out of the depressed feeling overhanging his thoughts.

Vincent walked over to the food replicator and entered in the code to make the Klingon's meal. He had never heard of gagh before, but it was listed on the menu. Besides, Vincent thought, it couldn't be too bad if the boss said the food was supposed to be nice.

What came out made him jump all the way to the counter. Worm-like creatures crawled all over the plate, like spaghetti brought to life. The light reflected off their mucus-covered skin, giving them an almost glowing aura. Vincent's heart pounded in fright, and his stomach kicked around several organs as it swirled around and around. How could anyone eat anything like that, Vincent thought.

The security officer bellowed in laughter watching Vincent's first reaction to the Klingon delicacy. Slowly, Vincent approached the plate, somewhat afraid to touch it. His stomach felt like it was playing around with the antimatter particles in the warp drive. Closing his eyes, he picked up the plate and carried it over to the Klingon, praying the whole time that one of those things wouldn't crawl off of the plate.

The Klingon laughed some more as Vincent pushed the gagh across the counter. The others in line, along with a group of onlookers that started to gather, laughed along with the giant Klingon. Vincent turned away in disgust, trying to force the image out of his mind. Vincent's assistant, Frobo, took over his job until he could recover.

Vincent sat down in a nearby chair, rubbing his forehead and trying to get the worms out of his mind. If he had known what to expect, he may have acted differently, perhaps even thrown in a bit of colorful commentary. But having no real experience with Klingons, Vincent had no idea what he was getting into. When most of his faculties had come back to him, Vincent stayed in the small chair, rubbing his forehead and mumbling one thing...

"What did I do to deserve this?"