The promenade was pretty active. People were busy going about their business, and for quite a few of them business was sitting down in the common areas next to the replimat and eating.

  Most of the dishes looked like a stew. Many people were busy reading a padd while blindly taking bites of their lunch.

  Three unknown Ferengi were sitting together. One was loudly complaining about replicated tube grubs before another offered him a shaker of seasoning. The first reached out to grab it but the spice bottle was pulled back and replaced by the other hand palm up. A strip of latinum was exchanged and the spices liberally shaken over the plate of food.

  A Bajoran couple walked past me. They were being cute and sharing a jumja stick. The props for the show were gummy candy that were melted and poured into a mold. The process apparently tempered the candy and made them impossible for the actors to bite into.

  The Bajoran couple were having no such issue, and made good progress devouring the sweet treat.

  The jumja stall wasn't much further ahead. After waiting in line for a few minutes I was able to purchase one for five BPGC.

  Jumja does have the texture of a slightly denser gummy candy, with a pulpiness of a mango. The flavor was a shock of tart cherry and kiwi followed by sweetness like I had just filled my mouth with maple syrup.

  That was unpleasantly sweet. If that's the flavor profile Bajorans love, I will need to focus on deserts. I do recall something about their love of spicy foods as well, so perhaps they chase extremes in flavor.

  I wonder how sour candy like mega warheads would fare. Perhaps tamarind spicy candies, or hot and sweet barbecue.

  Hmm. Slow smoked pork coated in a jumja syrup. That… that has some possibilities.

  The Assay office was just ahead. The man standing at the counter was the same attendant from yesterday, his face a bit fresher than the day before.

  I walked in but they were a bit busy. A freighter captain was arguing about storage and a few people were behind him waiting in line.

  I used the padd to set an appointment for an hour later, using instructions on a helpful screen on the wall.

  With my newfound free time I headed to the replimat. It was near lunchtime so many of the tables were filled. What I wanted to do was replicate samples from each item on the menu, one or two bite samples of each type of recipe available.

  “Computer, please create a dish with samples of a variety of menu items.”

  “Selection Unavailable please make a selection from the menu.” The computer responded.”

  “Computer, just give me the most popular Ferengi lunch item”

  “Selection Unavailable please make a selection from the menu."

  “Computer, just give me the most popular Bajoran lunch item”

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  “Selection Unavailable please make a selection from the menu”

  “Tell that idiot computer you want Grolanda Stew,” said a voice behind me in line. “ If you can handle spicy food you should try the Hasperat.”

  A bit embarrassed, I turned to thank the person behind me. It was Chief O’Brian.

  “Thank you sir, something spicy sounds great. Computer one order of Hasperat, and a raktajino”

  “No credit account linked. Please deposit 23 BPGC using padd authentication.”

  I tapped the padd to the replicator and the funds were removed from my assay office account.

  I went to find a table with my plate and mug of hot klingon cappuccino, raktajino, but all the tables were now full.

  “Mr. Egman there is room here if you don't mind the company.” Said Chief Miles O’Brian as he pointed to an empty chair at his table.

  Miles O’Brian was the blue collar everyman on the show. He was brought over from the next generation to be a familiar face to attract viewers. On the Enterprise he was in charge of the teleporter room. Here on Deep space nine, he keeps the station from falling apart.

  “Thank you, It would be an honor”

  “Bah, I'm just a plain and simple repairman. By the way, it's none of my business but you might reconsider having raktajino with that.” he said pointing to the hasperat.

  “Oh, do the flavors not go well together? It’s my first time eating either of them. I am quite excited to try them.”

  “Fair enough, but the klingon coffee has a way of amplifying the spice to where it feels like your mouth is a plasma conduit.”

  “Oh. Interesting.” I set down the mug, and considered for a second before drinking the raktajino. The hasperat was a cold wrapped sandwich, so I figured it could wait until I finished the coffee.

  “Oh this is very good, the flavor of a very dark roast coffee mixed with something like a mushroom blend and the slight iron taste of blood and chocolate. Very acidic lots of floral notes in the after. Is that a goatmilk?”

  “I believe it is a targ milk, but thats a neat trick there.”

  “Professional hazard sorry, I tend to think and talk about food constantly.”

  “So the rumors are true then, you're a chef? It's impossible to beat real food, replicated is fine, but it's just not the same.”

  “Chef is a strong word there Chief, but I do love to prepare food. I collect recipes. I have a great deal of traditional recipes from Earth. Hoping to collect more from all the people who pass through. I'm thinking about offering a free meal to anyone who brings me a new recipe from their home.”

  “ Do you know any traditional Irish recipes? I've got a few that I wouldn't mind trading for a good meal or two.”

  “I would happily make that trade for any recipe I don't have yet. As for what I can make, I make a fried ball version of colcannon.”

  “Colcannon really? What potatoes do you use?”

  “Yukon Gold usually. With a mix of cabbage, scallions, kale kerry gold butter and crispy bacon. I then roll that into balls, do an egg wash and some panko crumbs.. Why are you scowling?

  “I don’t appreciate being made fun of, Yukon gold potatoes have been extinct for over three hundred years.”

  “Is that so? I have a ten pound bag of them in my cart stored at the assay office.”

  “Really? How?”

  “My wife was always into gardening, I had a portion of the backyard for the grill. The rest of it was covered in every kind of herb and berry you could imagine.”

  “Married, that’s wonderful. Will she be joining you on the station?”

  “Widower, and she’s never too far away” I pat my chest, tear up a bit and then try to shake off the emotion.

  “I bet you a bottle of Guinness, versus whatever alcohol you have out here, that in my cart is at least one 10 pound bag of 100% yukon gold potatoes. You can have the doctor scan them if you want.”

  “Deal, take your hasperat to go. We are headed to the Assay office.“