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"Luxury Breakfast"
[previous post was "Reality of Dreams"]
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Setting: MASQUERADE DREAMS, Main Dining Area
Stardate: 30152.0700

Ya'Han made her way to the dining area with a certain sense of nervousness and uneasiness.  The events of the night before and the unexpected visit of a shadowy character in her room had made the black haired Chief of Security hyper vigilant.  The added fact that she had been heading for breakfast had only made matters worst, her more recent experiences with this specific early day meal not having been as great as many had claimed it would and should be.

It had been a late start for the Chief of Security who had remained in her room well past her normal hours, but Ya'Han was surprised to find very few people present in the ship's main dining area.  It appeared that being onboard a luxury cruise liner meant, at least for some, that getting up in the morning had been an elective activity.  Then again, taking into account the Black and White Ball from the evening before, it made sense that a fair number of people had needed several more hours of rest before starting the day.

Keeping a close watch on those few around her, the black haired woman made her way to the imposing breakfast buffet.  In this age of food replicators and artificial nutritional supplements, it had been quite a shock to see such a wide range of fresh foods having been made available to her and the rest of the guests.  Even her own memories of official breakfast when she was but a child back on NYLA IV failed to rival with the layout set by the kitchen and staff of the MASQUERADE DREAMS.

"What do you mean these eggs are imported from RISA?" a woman a few meters ahead of Ya'Han demanded in a very irritated manner, bothering on full blown anger.  "The brochure clearly stated that all food items would be *fresh*, so explain to me how something *imported* can be *fresh*?"

The black haired woman could not help but inwardly laugh at the woman's outrage. It was truly amazing to see how some people could act and react in certain situations.  The worst of it was that Ya'Han could recall one of her own brothers being very much like this lady was, possessing a idea of self-importance that stood well above all else.

Ya'Han's shoulder sank ever so slightly as her thoughts went from her brother to the sister who might be onboard the MASQUERADE DREAMS.  So far no one had been able to confirm or deny her actual presence on the luxury cruise liner, which meant that the conflict that raged within the self exiled thirteenth daughter would unfortunately continue for some time.

"Princess."

The black haired woman had been so caught up in her thoughts and memories that she had not heard anything other than that one specific word.  Fearing that it had been directed to her, Ya'Han quickly looked around in an effort to locate the person who had spoken it.  The eyes of the Chief of Security fell upon one of the servers on the other side of the counter, his own eyes locked on her.

"Excuse me?" Ya'Han asked in a hushed tone, very much afraid that she had been recognized although the title used did not fit as her father was a High Sovereign and not a King.

"My apologies," the man rapidly said in a trembling whispered voice, his eyes having quickly found the floor between his feet.  "It was not my place to express my personal opinion of some of our guests.  I humbly plead for your forgiveness."  To say that the man had been scared would have been a huge understatement, and the way his entire body shook only hinted to just how terrified he had so quickly become.

Ya'Han turned her eyes back onto the woman who had still been in the midst of her argument with another server before returning her attention to the shamed man trembling on the other side of the counter.  "I assure you that you have nothing to apologise for as I did not hear you say anything inappropriate, be it to me or anyone else."

The server's head very slowly came back up as a nervous smile tried to become visible.  The Chief of Security understood all too well the need for the crew to be respectful of the guests at all times and this regardless of what might be said or done, but Ya'Han had learned the hard way how people such as him could be made to regret the slightest of indiscretions.

"Thank... thank you Miss," the server said as he tried to calm himself down in the hopes of ending his body's tremors.  Before either could say anything more another guest came in to stand directly next to the black haired woman.

"You will *not* believe what happened to me last night," someone said in a half whispered voice as they slid in next to the Chief of Security, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder as if the two of them had been long-time acquaintances.

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Hanali Han

Ensign Ya'Han
Chief of Security / Chief Tactical Officer
USS ANUBIS, NCC-18501