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Ever since Iris had suggested breakfast, Sa'Rahn couldn't shake the hunger inside him that seemed to grow with each step he took. He could have sworn his stomach was rumbling louder than the last, each time it ached for a meal. It was already well after 13:00 hours. Taking a shower and getting dressed took far longer than he had expected. In hindsight, it would have been quicker to just take a sonic shower rather than the conventional water one he had. But the sonic pitches always hurt his ears, leaving them with a headache and ringing he knew wouldn't go away for the rest of the day. The only downside was how long it always took to dry and groom his fur to his liking.

Sa'Rahn continued to readjust and struggle with his uniform's belt, as he made his way to the mess hall on the upper levels. It was a little tight on this particular uniform. It probably wouldn't last much longer, but would have to do for now. He would immediately cease his fiddling with it whenever he passed another crew-member in the hallways, often greeting them with polite smile and nod, or a 'hello' or 'good afternoon', and receive the same in return. Most of the time he would take a quick breath in and try to suck in his stomach as best he could. Most of the starbase crew already knew Sa'Rahn quite well however, leaving his efforts mostly pointless.

Finally giving up on his appearance, speculations of his day's venture ahead tumbled into his thoughts. The U.S.S. Alpha-Caitian IV, a Kelvin class cruiser, was currently parked outside the starbase, prepping for a two-week long journey to the border of the Alpha Quadrant and back, where there had been a recent discovery of a decrepit K-class station, apparently. During his usual fleet officer management duties a few weeks ago, Sa'Rahn had been contacted by the research team aboard the U.S.S. Zane DeTigre, informing him of the discovery. Sa'Rahn had somewhat always dreamed of running his own starbase, no matter how big or small it might have been. Being an Admiral in the Caitain Star Pride fleet was certainly a privilege! But he wanted something that could branch off of that, something he could call his own. Perhaps this supposedly abandoned station might be his ticket to getting what he wanted.

Due to Iris' surveillance and house arrest by the Department of Temporal Investigations, she wasn't allowed out of the quadrant. That would change. Soon. Hopefully. But for now, they would have to part ways for a short time. The mission was not to transfer to the station itself yet. The thing didn't even have viable life support online, so he was told! But rather an in-person check-in on the situation itself.

While being an Admiral had its perks that Sa'Rahn quite enjoyed, such as his unlimited replicator rations that satisfied his appetite, it did mean he had to endure seemingly pointless and petty tasks merely to fulfill an obligation to the title. So, if to acquire the station in the future he had to see the ghostly shell of it now in person, and nod approvingly or shake somebody's hand because they were too lazy to come to him or message him the appropriate paperwork, then so be it he figured.

As he neared the ramp to the mess hall, he awoke from his thoughts momentarily as he noticed a familiar figure walking along in the same direction a little bit ahead. It was the fleet's counselor, his friend, "Jagara!" He spoke up, shuffling a little faster to catch up to him.

The blond Caitian was a good foot taller than Sa'Rahn, mildly slim and handsome, though the tips of his fur greying a bit from age. He had been sauntering towards the messhall, not paying much mind to where he was headed as he read over a padd he held between his long fingers. At the calling of his name from the familiar voice, he lifted his view up to see his portly companion stepping up to meet him. "Afternoon, fatso." Jagara responded in his thick accent.

Sa'Rahn smirked at the insult. Jagara would always play the obligatory fat joke or name-calling whenever the chance arose. He chuckled and threw his arm up on to Jagara's shoulder. "I haven't seen you in a few days now, bud. How have you been?" Sa'Rahn slowed his pace to match Jagara's stride, catching his breath from his small jog as well.

After a quick disgruntled glance, Jagara shrugged off Sa'Rahn's hand and replied, "I'm precisely the same I was a few days ago when you asked me then, too. Overworked, underpaid, and getting fed up with all the idiots we employ on this station." Jagara returned to his padd.

"So normal, then. Got it." Sa'Rahn awkwardly nodded, clasping his hands behind his back. He wasn't blind, he could clearly tell that Jagara was busy in his own business. He realized he was probably more often a fat annoyance at times than anything. But, since he was shipping out for the Alpha Quadrant later today, he had formulated the idea on-the-spot that maybe Jagara would care to join him for breakfast before he left. "So uh... you busy, or...?"

Before he could add more, or even finish his sentence, Jagara threw his head back and groaned loudly at the thought of his own schedule that awaited him, causing a few crewmen passing by to glance. "I have 3 sessions this afternoon..."

"Oh! Well... that doesn't sound so bad?"

Jagara turned his head back to speak to Sa'Rahn as he continued making his way up the ramp to the mess hall and lounge. "Lieutenant Abhrams was caught in some sort of lewd misconduct with Ensign Tr'elle in turbolift 16D this morning. Then there's Jefmyre who got in a fit with some Ensign last night. And two of the new Cadets who apparently had a fling and just requested 'couples therapy' an hour ago, so I'm especially looking forward to that hormone-fest..." Jagara paused as he stepped up to a mounted replicator in the mess hall. "Coffee, nepeta brew, 2 creams." He ordered, leaning one hand on the machine, the other hand rubbing the bridge of his snout.

"Er, yeah I can see how that last one won't be fun." Sa'Rahn was admittedly thankful he had passed on the opportunity to become the fleet's counselor a few months back. With Kenneth on leave of absence until further notice, the position opened up. Sa'Rahn certainly fit the qualifications, but ultimately decided he preferred his current position as the fleet's coordinator. It often spared him from the interchange of drama among ranks, and allowed for him to spread his time more. Like for this upcoming mission. Or for Iris. In an attempt to lift Jagara's numb spirits, he decided to shift the subject at hand back to what he wanted. "Well, if your counselor-ing doesn't start for a bit... I was on the way here to get myself some breakfast, if you care to join?"

"Breakfast? It's 14:00 hours, mate!"

"Oh, well... I just woke up a few hours ago, so it's morning for me. Besides, I'm an adult, I can eat breakfast whenever I want!"

Jagara's lips tensed as he considered the offer a moment, looking back at his hefty friend. He wasn't due for the scheduled sessions for a few hours, plus he had skipped lunch in favor of compiling reports for the dilithium mine that were overdue. He could spare the time for a quick bite. "Eh, fine. Breakfast for lunch. Why not..." He picked up the ready coffee he had already ordered before placing a new one. "Uuuh, one Bollian cheese omelette. Warm."

The request jogged Sa'Rahn's memory, as he felt the urge to casually ask, "By the way how's the uh... the diet going? Finding it 'manageable'?"

Jagara's brow furrowed and his ears flattened, irritated by the comment. When he had accepted the role as the fleet's counselor not long ago, he had, in tandem, agreed to a supposedly prescribed diet that came with it. It lifted all restrictions on replicator rations to accommodate for the requirements. It was originally meant as jest aimed at Kenneth, but had inadvertently been written up as part of the position's mandatory fulfillment.

Jagara was tempted to retort with where Sa'Rahn could shove it. He never would have agreed to the position had he fully contemplated just how much the diet entailed, or how it would affect him. It had only been about a month, but he could already feel his belt getting tighter around his middle. He silently cursed himself for ever accepting it at all. "And... a small side of Terran french toast." He added to the order with a snort.

Jagara glared at Sa'Rahn as he picked up the fuller-than-he-wanted tray from the replicator. "I don't know why I put up with this farce... do you enjoy watching me suffer?"

"Well, with Snow and S'ttel buried in their own duties most of the time, that really only leaves you and me to represent the face of the fleet, ya know." Sa'Rahn explained, slowly growing the hint of a grin across his mug. "Can't have you lookin' all skinny and buff. You'll make me look bad."

"You're a sadistic shra, you know that?"

"Never said it was a perfect plan. Besides, don't tell me you don't enjoy it! I'm slowly rubbing off my bad habits on you." Sa'Rahn chuckled, elbowing Jagara as he stepped past him to order his own breakfast next, almost bumping the coffee off his tray. "I'll have... A stack of four... no, six large chocolate-chip pancakes with maple syrup, topped with whipped cream. Extra buttery." Sa'Rahn paused, scratching the fur of his chin. "And include a side of Terran bacon. Crispy." Jagara sighed and slowly shook his head in bemusement. He was about to say something concerning the absurd size of the order, but was promptly interrupted before he could do so. "...And also a blueberry muffin, and large glass of orange juice to wash it all down."

His mouth in a grimace, Jagara finally spoke up after patiently waiting to make sure his friend had finished the excessively long order. "Mother's Cubs... I can feel my arteries clogging just listening to that! Are you quite done?"

"Yeah, I guess... I was kind of wanting to maybe add some ice-cream on top the pancakes, but, ya know... the Doc tells me to cut back." Sa'Rahn joked, not taking his hungry gaze off the request still materializing.

Jagara rolled his eyes and turned to find a table the two of them could sit at while they ate. He was careful not to spill his coffee while setting the tray on to a nearby table. The food was merely to socialize with his friend. But the coffee, and the spike of nepeta he added, was to endure the counselor sessions that awaited later.

Seconds after seating himself, Sa'Rahn promptly approached with his own stacked tray. Jagara watched, unamused as Sa'Rahn struggled to force himself into the small booth seat. "You're like some kind of children's cartoon character..." Jagara teased, sipping his coffee.

Sa'Rahn merely shook his head at the remark, too hungry to make a retort, not that he could have come up with a decent one on the spot anyway. "These booths have always been too small. Kenny had trouble with them too... I should make a request to engineering for them to be re-placed."

"Good to see our Fleet's provisions being well spent to accommodate your waistline..." He started to eat his omelette. "Anyway..." Jagara openly began to converse, not entirely sure where to lead his words at first. "I... haven't been keeping close track of all the Fleet's holdings on the regular, but I did however catch wind that we've taken action to restore a station that was recently found on the edge of the Alpha quadrant. I take you had something to do with that?"

"M'esh." Sa'Rahn tried to reply, his cheeks stuffed with pancakes. After swallowing everything in his mouth in one giant gulp, he answered a second time. "Yes. I've been told there are some interesting finds on that station. Things dating way back in the Federation apparently. I authorized a restoration operation to try and salvage and repair the station and its contents." He gulped down another large helping of his pancakes as he continued. "Who knows. Maybe we'll get lucky and something other than old space dirt in there."

"I can imagine it would be a delightful bonus if you so happened to stumble across a spacious office you could call your own in the process."

Sa'Rahn knew what Jagara was egging him on to, but favored to savor the bursting flavor of chocolate-chips and whipped cream his tongue bathed in a moment longer before responding. "The team sent me some schematics of the station and orbit trajectories last week. I'm sure there are any number of quarters that could be transformed into an office if the need be..."

"There's one with a large window facing a planet, isn't there?" Jagara raised a brow, knowing when his friend was dancing around the obvious. "No doubt with one or more replicators within arms length I'm sure."

Sa'Rahn glugged down some of his orange juice before answering, "Oh come on, Jaggo. It's only fair. S'ttel has his office at the Solane Spire, Snow her own at the Embassy. You inherited your office at the Dilithium Mine after Kenny went on PTO. Don't I deserve some place I can call my own after all this time?"

Jagara merely shrugged as he finished his omelette. "I would have believed you'd already had found a place here. It's a far more convenient location. You're closer to Cait, better facilities too... and, past all the grease you're consuming, I can smell Iris' scent on you." He paused, glancing down at the second plate, the french toast he had been pressured to order. He stared at it with utter disdain before finally sliding the it in front in defeat. "She's all over you. I take it you two were together last night?"

"She spent the night. I told her about the news of the station. I think she was excited. Maybe..." Done with the stack of pancakes, Sa'Rahn paused as he used some of the bacon to wipe up the remaining whipped cream and maple syrup that pooled on the plate before eating it. "We probably won't see each other for a little bit, so... you know. I'm due to leave to inspect the station later today. I should be back before the end of the month, though."

"I'll try not to throw a party while you're missing." Jagara said flatly. There was a brief minute of silence at table as the two continued to eat. Every muscle in Sa'Rahn's body relaxed as he relished in the salty bacon flavor filling his mouth. Jagara, meanwhile, continued to muddle away at finishing the french toast he didn't want, doing so not without much displeasure. "So... I've been considering putting in a request to shift my duties to the 3rd wing of the fleet."

Sa'Rahn woke from his bacon stupor upon hearing the statement, and swallowed to respond, "The 3rd wing? Down on deck 12? But, why?"

Jagara gestured out to the mostly vacant lobby of the starbase. "This, this is why. No one's here anymore... you've said it yourself multiple times in the past. This wing of the fleet has dried out. The majority of work on the starbase was completed years ago. Only key members work here now, along with the sorry group of cadets I'll be counseling later..."

The 3rd wing had little to no overlapping operation hours that the 7th wing did. Jagara would, in affect, be leaving a significant part of the fleet behind if he transferred. "Have you, you know... thought about this? You're gonna be leaving a lot of the people you work with."

"It can't be any more dead than up here..." He muttered. "It's just, in the air... everyone feels and acts distant. Rahn, besides you, no one's even said 'hello' to me the last couple of days." Jagara paused, the last piece of french toast between his fingers. He looked disgusted at it before tossing it back onto the plate from whence it came, pushing the rest aside.

"I... what can I do for you, Jag? I can talk to the crew.. I can advance you your next paycheck if that'd help..."

"You got fat clogging your ears, don't you? I don't want pity from the crew or a handout. The point is no one gives a cath around here anymore." Jagara ceased his miniature rant when he noticed his voice raising.

Sa'Rahn continued to eat while Jagara sat across from him, arms crossed and sipping his coffee. Neither of them spoke a word for what felt like minutes The lull was finally broken when Sa'Rahn finished off the last his breakfast with a hearty belch. Jagara visibly cringed at the sound. Rather than embarrassed, Sa'Rahn let out a happy sigh now that his hunger had been more than sated. "And he remains intact, after all!" Jagara teased, shaking his head. "I swear, one of these days I'll come up here and just see bits of you splattered all over the walls..."

Sa'Rahn bared his teeth as he wheezed and laughed at the jab. As his chuckling died down slowly, he rested his hands atop his belly, thumping his fingers rhythmically as he thought for a minute. He wanted to persuade Jagara to stay in his current wing, cancel the transfer request. But, he knew arguing with him after he had already committed his mind would be of little use. Best he could do was support the decision. With one final hiccup of a laugh to finish off, he sighed and asked, "So the 3rd wing then? ...You still going to come and visit us Caits up here, I hope?"

"I suppose I might." Jagara shrugged. It took a few seconds to register, but the question, request, gave him some comfort inside. He considered his friend a moment and smirked a little, furrowing his brow. "You going to continue to enforce this diet on me if I do, aren't you..."

"Was that ever a question?" Sa'Rahn replied without hesitation.

"Shra."

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-To Be Continued