Uncharted System 38

[Sombs]

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February 14nd, 830 A.S. - Uncharted System 37

The thick green stem of the plant spiraled tightly around the plastic stick that was ensuring the plant would not fall victim to the abnormaly huge fruits it carried. Fine wires made sure the leaves would not steal each other's light, while the hydroponic lamps made sure the plant would not need to starve at any point. Transparent nutri-gel allowed Becky to see the roots of the plant digging further and further into the cubed pot. But the big eye catchers were the fruits: The texture of a strawberry, orange in color, filled with a deliciously sweet, almost liquid white flesh. The taste was widely described as a melting pot of honey, strawberry and milk cream, while the rather thick peel reminded of marchpane, with the consistency of a paprica. Truly a marvel of genetical engineering, the Curacaoan Passion Fruit, exclusively grown on Curacao due to the oxygen-rich atmosphere, the unique light refraction of Cortez' blue sun and the harmless layer of terraforming gases mixing with the stray hydrogen of the Barrier, as well as a very strictly sanctioned license allowing only Orbital Spa & Cruise to cultivate it, somehow made its way into the far, far distance the Apahanta had brought between herself and Sirius.

Now, the plant was more than three dozens of jump holes away from where it used to grow, and with a hydroponics bay able to simulate the previous conditions of its home in Sirius, three trays of Curacaoan Passion Fruits were able to bear fruits for the first time outside of Sirius. And they were bigger, healthier and most likely even tastier than the ones in Sirius, given there was no need for pesticide and other chemicals.

Becky eyed the big fruits, slightly nervously. She didn't know much about these fruits except for why they were considered extremely expensive in Sirius. So expensive, most of the people visiting Curacao would not be able to get their hands on a single one of them. In fact, there was a time when Orbital would only distribute them to the most influental and richest visitors of the planet. It was more likely that someone would sell fakes.

It was a bit of a wonder, she thought. Not only was she here, probably farther away from Sirius than anyone else, part of a crew living on this mostly self-sufficient warship. But this incredibly exclusive fruit was dangling right in front of her, without anything stopping her from simply grabbing one, just to try it. The only thing that made the plant a forbidden fruit to her was the fact that she knew those plants are somewhat of a gift from the Captain. And the fact that she did not know when these fruits would actually be ripe for the picking. So she just stood there, all alone in the middle of the night in the hydroponics bay, which had become a hydroponics deck over the course of the years since the embarking from Sirius. It was warm in here, specifically in this section of the hydroponics deck, as most plants in here shared a similar preference of a sub-tropical climate.

It was not without reason for her to be here at this time. According to the Apahanta's internal time zone, Valentine's Day had hit. It was a bit difficult to be creative with the limited resources the ship would offer, especially if it was supposed to be a surprise. There was no privacy at the workshop in engineering, and the crafting module always documented what was 3D-printed and how much of what resource was used. There was also always someone at the canteen, so using the kitchen in secret was definitely impossible. Luckily the ship was big enough for every crew member to have their own quarters, so Becky figured she could prepare something in her own room. All she needed was the materials and the tools, and in this case, the main ingredient was right in front of her nose. Her finger carefully traced the texture of the fruit, tenderly poking it to see if it would just happen to fall off from light pressure. It was a naive thought, she could just twist the fruit out and nobody would look into it. Or would someone?

Sighing, she grabbed the fruit and pulled slightly. It was big enough to fill her palm and gave in very slightly to the pressure. In a way like a tomato, she thought. Coincidentally, "in a way like a tomato" was the color of her cheeks turning, right when Becky realized she was no longer alone in here. She saw her just in the corner of her eye: Sombra was there, about ten meters away from her, staring at her. The sudden surprise made her rip the fruit off the plant, with little resistance, and now she was caught in flagranti. Slightly panicking, she looked at the big fruit in her hand, then at Sombra. The curacaoan woman with the long black hair returned a smug expression. "Big plans for today, huh?" Sombra asked, coming closer, smirking like an imp.

"Don't tell anyone, alright?" Becky begged, somewhat defeated, instinctively hiding the fruit behind her back as if it was any good now. "Fuck, you really surprised me here. Stalker. Didn't make a single sound, either."

Stopping next to Becky, Sombra fingerpistoled the woman with the silver-dyed hair in her side, making her flinch at it, almost causing her to drop the fruit. "So who's the lucky one?"

"That's a secret," Becky returned, giving her an apologetic look.

"Not for long if you don't tell me," Sombra said in a teasingly threatening manner, poking Becky in the side once more, which made her flinch again and take a step back.

"I'm not going to tell you," Becky insisted, her expression turning into a slight frown.

"Welp, as long as it's not Noel, I don't care." Sombra turned to the plant, inspecting it. "You know, we don't really know how intense these are. Nobody has tried them yet, but according to Ez, they will likely be a lot more potent than those on Curacao. Lucky timing, though, given today is Valentine's Day."

"Have you ever tried one?" Becky asked, feeling less threatened now. Sombra could have easily fucked her over here.

"A few times, with Ez." While talking, she inspected some of the other fruits, grabbing and twisting them slightly to check for any imperfections. "I didn't know you have someone. Since when is that?"

Becky bit her lower lip. "Well, uhm, technically not yet. It's a work in progress."

"How much progress so far?" Sombra inquired, picking one of the fruits herself.

"...Erh, I'm sort of going for an insta-kill here, if you catch my drift." Becky gulped, looking at her fruit. "Uhm, did you eat them raw or prepared?"

Sombra smirked at her once more, like a smug devil, or Anna Heinrich at a modular installation during her prime days. "You're going all-in on this? Pretty brave. That can horribly backfire, you know?" she said, but seeing how much Becky was blushing, she figured she shouldn't tease her too much.

"I'm sort of feeling like I can risk it. I wouldn't try if I had a bad feeling about this." Nervously kneading the fruit slightly, she exhaled. "So, do I eat it raw or do I prepare it?"

"You can do either," Sombra began, raising the fruit and pointing at the upper area, where it turned slightly white. "You can eat everything of this, but the flesh is slightly harder and tasteless up here, so I'd cut it off. Generally, it's a curacaoan custom to eat the fruit from both sides at the same time with your partner. Or partners. That being said, the raw fruit is quite intense, and given this one is supposedly even stronger in effect, I'd not overdo it. Ez usually cuts the fruit into slices, then dips them into a bowl of hot chocolate, lets the chocolate cool off and then we ate it like a chocolate thin. You just put it on your tongue and let the chocolate melt and then it releases the fruity, thick juice all over your mouth, making it feel all tingly. And a few minutes later you feel the effect kick in and then, well, you'll be busy for a few hours."

"I guess I don't need to worry about the calories of this thing, then." Becky slightly grinned at Sombra, who nodded.

"Dehydration is more likely going to be an issue. And sore knees." Just as Sombra said that, the ship's omnipresent rumbling sound caused by the engine got louder. The lights shifted from blue to red and the ship began to vibrate. ""... What the fuck?"

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