General Mess Hall

Soldiers, naval bridge members, medical crew, and other personnel shuffled through the Mess Hall. Some were getting their first meal for the day, having not eaten at all the entire day. Others, were probably finishing their last meal of the day before heading off to duty. Most of the personnel seemed to be unaware of the battle outside, or at least the threat seemed to be vaguely present. No boarding attempt had been made as the pirates were already too fearful of the little ion batteries ready to slice through their boarding craft. Thus Marines and other ground personnel had it easy.

Many metallic tables dotted the halls, each of which was partially seated with one or two members. They sat there conversing with their crew mates while enjoying the ship's MREs. Meals Ready to Eat, delivered directly through the automated chef system. The automated chef was a cylindrical tower located at the center of each of the tables. The tower had several hatches, one for each seat of the table. The tables themselves had small screens with a menu of the day's meals, personnel could access these screens, and select an appetizer, entree, and desert.

Most of the meals were Federation standard, but the Salient had a wider range of humanity's culinary delights.

Reynolds, no longer in his combat suit, was sitting at a table and ingesting a burger. The bread was a mixture of soy and wheat, while the meat was a slice of vitaminized turkey. The turkey was dressed in dijon mustard, with some fresh lettuce and tomatoes. MREs were expected to meet a certain health standard to maintain servicemen peak efficiency. Foods that were greased or fattened to the brim were not allowed.

Reynolds was thoroughly enjoying his burger, as Weifert approached his table and took a seat. Weifert opened the menu interface located on the table, and immediately skimmed through the selection. He sat there deciding, while Reynolds peered over at him.

"Any word from the Captain?" Reynolds finished his morsel before taking another bite.

Weifert shook his head as he pressed a selection from the menu.

"Cap is visiting one of the prisoners that was on board the frigate," Weifert waited for the automated chef to deliver his meal through the cylindrical tower. As the machine silently whirred and hummed, pulling the meal from the shelves of a cryo-refrigerator, Reynolds took another bite.

"Did the other team get back yet?" Reynolds spoke with his mouth full.

"Yeah, the team returned back completely, except for the big guy in the suit...Thaddeus?" Weifert paused, "Whatever. Captain Dunaway's coming home by himself." Reynolds paused before he was about to take another bite.

"By himself?"

"Yeah, he's flying through space with that suit," Weifert nodded as the automated chef slid out a pressure sealed MRE pack through one of its hatches.

Weifert immediately cut open the pack and pulled out his beef steak with mashed potatoes and peas. On his side, a can of juice slid out from the table. He grabbed, then popped the can and proceeded to pour the drink down his throat.

"The wonders of technology, right?" Reynolds took another bite of his turkey burger.