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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/IneenAldrop on 2024-10-30 17:51:16+00:00.
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HSTM-Part 29 'Distress Call'
Alien cooking wasn’t exactly as hard as he might have first thought. Paulie rummaged around for the ingredients that he had available. Some various meats and alien vegetables from what he could tell, he had learned quickly that some of them didn’t exactly agree with his constitution and he had memorised their every detail and set them to the far corner of the refrigerator. That way he could ask their names and not buy them in the future.
He had always been a little hesitant to try new things, but being in a place like this under circumstances like he was. Well it was throwing his food caution into complete disarray.
He grumbled as he chopped a few vegetables with the knife he had pulled from one of the cabinets. It was nice to see that despite the advancements made in technology and society that things were still done the old fashioned way sometimes. He whistled as he worked, the simple task soothing his frayed nerves like a cooling balm. It had been an interesting day by all means, and he would be perfectly fine just taking some time to relax and watch some more of the alien opera he had discovered.
As he was thinking about it he popped the finely chopped vegetables into the stewpot he had set upon the stovetop and turned it up to a medium heat. The last few days had seen him experimenting with both his cookware and his cooking, stretching his skills to their limits. But he would not have had it any other way. The relative challenge of unknown food combinations and unfamiliar ingredients were testing him like his first year in culinary all over again. He had to admit it, he was enjoying himself.
The soup came up to a boil as he watched and he tended to it slowly. Throwing in a few of the spices and dashes he had decided he liked best. He tasted it a couple times and when he was satisfied with the result, he pulled it off the heat and poured himself a large helping and walked into the main room with the steaming bowl.
Paulie spoke up, “TV, resume program.”
With a slight fizzing sound the device warmed back up and he was once more immersed in the sounds of some beatific alien orchestra. Sounds from instruments he didn’t have names for pierced his heart and mind as the symphony rang out pure and true. He ate his soup slowly, immersed in the sound of the music until another sound broke him out of his blissful trance.
The door knocked.
“Program, stop. Standby mode.” The screen flickered as the sound died off abruptly. Mack had just been by and he had not been scheduled a meeting with Flurn. So it was either Jakiikii or an uninvited guest.
He crept towards the door, once more standing to the side. He had seen too many movies where people got shot through a door to fall for such a tragedy.
As he took up a safe position he called out, “Hello? Who’s there?”
Almost immediately he had an answer. “It’s me, open up. I brought you something.”
He smiled as he recognised Jakiikii’s voice. Throwing open the door, Paulie greeted the termaxxi warmly. “Oh, come on in.” He gestured inside and she hesitated slightly, almost so little that he might not have noticed it had he not been paying attention. But he had.
She stepped inside, once more carrying a bag of something in two of her left hands. He watched her as she stepped past, at least two of her six petal-like eye flaps turning to glance in his direction.
He followed the six-armed woman into the main room and watched as she slowed, seeming to look about with her head. He noticed the small fleshy bumps just under her chin wiggle slightly and she turned to him. “What’s that smell?”
Paulie nodded to the table and the half-eaten bowl of soup that sat upon it. “I was actually in the middle of lunch when you came by. I made some stew.”
He watched again as she seemed to follow the scent to the kitchen. He walked in after her as she looked almost longingly at the pot as she seemed to scent the air again. “You mixed moff and synthetic sparrack sap? May I.. have some?” She asked him, hopping from hooved foot to foot in the manner she did when excited.
Paulie smiled, she was simply too cute in that pose with her two middle arms under her chin and her smallest pair clasped together over her chest in a pleading manner. He nodded, “Of course. It should be..” He paused. “Hold on, you can’t eat solid foods.”
She nodded sadly. “Yeah. But could I try some of the broth at least? It smells so good, and all I ever drink is sugary things. I tried some stalp broth once with Mack, but it didn’t smell nearly as good as this.” She leaned closer to the pot, the tapered tip of her long hollow tongue protruding from her petite mouth almost like an excited puppy.
He chuckled again and grabbed a bowl from the cabinet before he stopped. “Hang on..” He looked around the countertop for the acoustic emulsifier and plugged it in.
She cocked her head, her eyes flattening closer to her elongated snout as she asked curiously, “What are you doing?”
He shrugged. “I see no reason why I can’t use this thing to blend. That way you can try the broth and the soup. Right?”
She clapped her larger hands together as she nodded, a flash of white crossing her light-bending skin as she hopped a little more. “Oh! Yes, how fun.” She stepped closer to him as he poured a small measure of the remaining soup into a cup and placed it in the machine.
Paulie had learned from previous explorations that the device was capable of more than simply making emulsions. No, it could blend, puree and in some cases it could even whip. He pressed the settings and then jabbed his thumb into the main initiation switch. The blue button depressed with a click and the machine immediately went ballistic, the soup inside pulverised by sharp acoustic energies till it more resembled baby food than the stew it had originally been.
Pouring this and a measure of the broth for her he awaited her reaction with only slightly bated breath. He wasn’t sure exactly why her opinion was so valuable to him, she was a friend sure. But they had really only known each other for a few days at best.
He watched as her long bubblegum pink proboscis slipped from her mouth and into the broth. With a slightly rhythmic pulsing, her long hollow tongue flexed and in doing so forced the concoction up and into her throat. He wondered if the interior lining of the organ had taste buds along the entire length or if they were just situated near to the tip. He was about to ask her when his communicator beeped insistently, he ignored it for the moment.
He gave her a little smile and she nodded. “This is very good!” She spoke with her mouth and tongue still in use, the thin gill-like openings at her lower sides fluttering as she spoke from low in her chest cavity.
Paulie nodded. “Yeah. I just kind of threw…”
His communicator beeped at him insistently again before he could finish his statement and he frowned. Who could that be? It had to be Mack, the alien detective was the only other person that had his communicator address. What could the detective need him for now?
Pressing the button to answer it, Paulie was immediately inundated with noise as the sound of crashing could be heard through the small speaker. He tensed, immediately on edge as the miriam’s face appeared on the screen, he looked even more disheveled than he had before. Bright blue blood leaked from the corner of his small mouth and his sharp teeth flashed as he grimaced in apparent pain.
Paulie and Jakiikii stood, alarmed as the man barked, “Paulie! They zalcing attacked me. I managed to push them back, but I need help.. what? What is Jakiikii doing there? Nevermind.. I am on the third floor, hurry. I think they are preparing for another..” He was cut off by a loud roaring noise and the screen went black.
Paulie looked around the room frantically as he thought he felt the floor shudder slightly underfoot. Jakiikii seemed even more distraught, the termaxxi woman rushing to his side as he ran into the kitchen.“
Oh! Oh no! Mack, what are we going to do!? Paulie?” She seemed at once angry and frantic, he whirled and grabbed her shoulders. Jolting her slightly as he felt three of her arms wrap around his.
“We are going to go down there and save him, that's what we are going to do. Come on, we need to move!” He shouted before grabbing the knife he had been using earlier off the counter. It wouldn't be much use against guns if Mack’s attackers were armed. But it was far and away better than nothing.
He wasn’t thinking, he wasn't in the state of mind to deal with something like this. But nevertheless he reacted. Jakiikii followed him as he burst from the room and into the hall, he looked left and then right. Unsure as to the best course of action. He turned to Jakiikii, “Where is he, how do we get to him!?”
She hesitated and then pushed Paulie to the right. The pair of them took off at a dead sprint, Paulie taking a moment to tuck the large knife into his belt as they bounded down the hall in great leaping strides.
As they rushed down the hall, Paulie went over the possibilities in his head. Mack could be dead already, the link had cut...
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