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[ The vouchers on offer have been put to good use. Witness one Vulcan wrapped up in a couple of high-neck, long-sleeved sweaters where he sits in front of the screen. There's no way of regulating the temperature as accurately as he could on the Enterprise, so the curtains are also drawn to stave off the encroaching cold and, in the comfort of his own abode, he's donned a thick cardigan that looks like a customized blanket. ~~Winter, nngh.~~ So while Spock looks a lot fluffier, his tone is just as businesslike as usual. ]

Many of the foreign recipes I am familiar with have little bearing on the available ingredients in the market and as such may not be employed here. I would be grateful for suggestions on supplemental dishes and am willing to provide recompense for any assistance provided. On a different note, if there are any individuals with an inclination toward telepathy, I am curious as to whether any of them know where it would be most opportune to try and establish a meld with the turtle. That said, they would be welcome to participate in a psychic foray being made. I was told that this has never been attempted by a great number of minds and find the unexplored concept fascinating.

I am familiar with the weight of a great many consciousnesses and amenable to hosting temporary mental immersion with others.

[ In other words, Spock is happy to be the Red Ranger in a group setting where other minds might need to rely on him for direction or support. He goes on, lifting a hand-written stack of notes off his lap. ]

Ellie, I have compiled more information concerning space and attached a short questionnaire to serve as your homework. Please contact me at your earliest convenience to collect your personalized astronomy file.

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[ He nods gratefully, as though her generosity has duly been recognized. ]

I cannot partake of the human tradition for roasting marshmallows, but I am willing to find some for you if you believe they would prove a satisfying dessert. My captain would know more of this ritual.

[she appears satisfied with that nod]

I'm gonna head over there-- but I definitely want an explanation when I get there of why you can't roast marshmallows. Even though I've never really had marshmallows either.

So maybe the whole thing from the top, alright?

I will explain in full, Ellie. [ Nodding once. ] Do you require snacks when you arrive?

[ At the very least, his mother got him used to the notion of those. Thank goodness for his father's tempering or mini!Spock might have been exceptionally round. ]

Hmmm.... Yeah. I expect lots, and lots of snacks. A girl's gotta eat.

[she's mostly teasing. Except about food, Ellie would never, ever turn down free food. As it was, she was already skinny as a rail, by virtue of where she came from]

So, I'll see you in a bit, Mr. Teacher!

Very well.

[ Whenever she bounces on in, he's done her the courtesy of opening the curtains to let the light in and has set a bowl of raisins and freshly sliced fruit on the coffee table, next to a wad of papers. The latter is wrapped in brown paper and tied in string, so she can keep them together in her backpack neatly enough.

There might also be a glass of milk there. She's very tiny, after all. ]

[when she does bounce in, there's nary a peep of complaint about any of this. In fact, she grabs the papers and begins looking them over, eagerly absorbing the information on the page.

The milk is well appreciated too, and raisins are handy for munching while reading]

So what am I gonna learn today, huh?

[ He seats himself in an armchair nearby, tricorder on his lap to keep him busy while she works. ]

As with all accomplished students, you must first do the required reading. I have written about the planets in your solar system. There is a pencil with which to write down your answers on the questionnaire and an eraser, should you wish to correct yourself.

[ His usual Starfleet students wouldn't be given that much leniency, but Ellie is quite different. She gets the special limousine treatment here and is allowed to cruise through any mistakes. ]

[She nods, completely oblivious to how much leniency she was being given, Ellie immediately began reading, in between munching raisins and sliced fruit. In fact, she's pretty deeply into it, circling words.

Studying?

Or maybe just things she thinks are cool, who knows.

It's a few minutes later before she speaks again]

By the way... You never told me why you can't eat marshmallows. Is it a Vulcan thing or what?

[ He glances over a couple of times, mostly attending in companionable silence to his tricorder readings until she prompts him. ]

Vulcans cannot eat sweet food, it makes us very ill. [ Intoxicated, but he omits that. ] As does meat. I prefer either bland or spicy food.

So no meat or sweet food. So, that leaves... leaves. And bread?

[okay, no she knows there's more food than that. But, really, it's hard to imagine. She'd have never guessed.

In fact, she marks off the first portion of her questions, before going back and rereading to double check, and then continue on for the next portion]

Just messing with you. But that's interesting... So, what's life like for you back home? What type of food do you eat there?

[ He waits for her to clarify that she's "messing", accustomed to the tone of sarcasm and letting her exercise it. ]

When I lived on Vulcan, my favorite food was plomeek soup. It was dark green and very thick, and it had little flavor, but it was very filling and had a strong scent. Currently, I live aboard the Enterprise. A starship has synthesizers which can replicate any food of your choosing if you know how to program an entry card correctly.

[if only she knew how much he was figuring her out already..]

So how do you program an entry card?

[she knew she should be reading, but like she'd ever heard of an entry card. Or plomeek soup. Questions really only ever beget questions sometimes, and so she officially looked up from the reading and back at him]

I bet you'd like vegetable stew though. Joel made it a few times when we were traveling, and I've had it in the Quarantine Zone a few times.

[ He remembers the fascination with Everything At Once as a child and that was with his half-Vulcan heritage. A Vulcan child here would sit quietly and do their work, but Ellie requires substantial freedom as a human and the room to "grow" in her own way.

Humans are odd like that. Spock doesn't begrudge her how she learns, it's very much her choice and he respects that. ]

It is a matter of recreating the correct computer coding so the synthesizer knows how arrange the atoms of your meal. A vegetable stew, for example, would be difficult to factor in so many ingredients but not impossible, whereas ... a plate of fries, is easily done.

[ Thinking of Jim's modifications to the ship's menu. FFFF. ]

You could eat them whenever you wanted, day or night, simply by pushing in the right card.

[Everything At Once is definitely her motto for this lesson. She gives him a look that is at once a 'you're joking' look and also a look of exaggerated jealousy]

So you're telling me that all you have to do is make an entry card, and bam, any food you want, as long as it's simply, all day long every day? That's how this works?

So, how do I get one of those and a thing it works with?

[she grins and goes back to the paper, reading and marking it up. Who knows how her note taking system works. Notes were not something she often took, and she'd know once he graded her questions how she was really doing]

It could be a complex dish, if you wished for something from Earth that you have never tried before. Roasted snails, perhaps.

[ Lips twitching, he smooths them out and his fingers flicker over the tricorder screen. ]

If ever I am ordered to build one by my captain, you will be the first to know and place suggestions as to which foods you would like on demand.

[she was listening intently, but she grins finally at his suggestion that she'd get some input. She could agree to that.]

Okay. Good.

[it seems her questions are exhausted, and she goes back to the papers, her focus intently on them and the questions at the end. She's never been more motivated to be a student in her life]

[ He lets her work in silence, unwilling to disturb her. The farthest he goes is into the kitchen to prepare another dish of sliced fruit that he sets down beside Ellie before returning to organizing the filing system on his PADD, fingers flickering over the transparent screen like their own lightshow. ]

[maybe about 30 to 45 minutes later, Ellie finally closes the test with a triumphant sigh. She was satisfied with her answers, and with what she'd learned.

Well, she was at least. Who knew if Spock would be.

But all things considered, that was easy for her to pick up and latch onto easily. She stands up, approaching him, and then holds out the paper]

Annnnnd done.

[ Sitting forward, he takes up he pencil and turns slightly so she can watch him mark it. ]

We shall see how well you have done.

[ He ticks the correct answers and wherever he has to hesitate, asks her this and that with a hint as to the correct reply before writing down the helpful addition underneath her own. There are no crosses, nothing is edited, only annotated further. For around ten to twenty minutes, until she is satisfied, Spock repeats this trend right to the last question. ]

[he was way more thorough than any of her teachers ever were in the Quarantine Zone. If you could even really call them that. She'd remember the answers once she studied more (and believe it, she would study so much)]

So... How'd I do?

[she was somewhat anxious, though the tenor was slightly different than the last time she'd asked that question of someone]

You have sixty-eight percent correct, which places you above average. An impressive score for a beginner.

[ He hands her back her test with his notes neatly penned in at the sides. ]

What would you prefer to read today, anew?

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