Caviar to Lobster! ALL IN ONE!!

The Chromium inlaid pod doors opened with a whizz, letting in warm air. Dave felt an excruciating pain as the cryogenic fluid thawed resurrecting him. His chest seemed to collapse as he coughed out the liquid ventilation fluid, letting in fresh air which seemed to pierce his pulmonary tissue. A jolt of electrical impulse rushed through his body, revving up his vitals.

His eyes seemed to pop out owing to the great sudden pressure difference, and he felt a sharp pain gradually receding. The light flowing through the small round porthole almost seemed to blind him and at his first attempt to rise, his head jerked hard into the door. His senses gradually flooded back and he regained his balance. Just for a few seconds Dave felt completely obscure, his mind seemed to float in an abyss, much so that he forgot his purpose aboard The Voyager Starfleet.

The realization hit him all of a sudden and everything came rushing back to him, and it hit him like a truck out of the blue. 

He and Elise were one of the select few chosen to set up a small colony in the planet AuroraH1. The planet was 43 Million light years away but it just seemed to be a heartbeat. All which Dave knew was that he had slept and had slept long. His wife and Daughter were dead long and for all he knew, it could be possible that Humanity has collapsed in this long span, and that there was no turning back now. He quickly took a bath and doned the Starfleet Uniform. It was equipped with programmable quantum technology, thus changing texture and thickness according to his will.

It almost felt like yesterday, that he had kissed his daughter goodbye and hugged his wife as she sweetly whispered, "To the Stars"

All that was gone now and all that remained was very futile. The realization was bitter but yet was invevitable. He knew his purpose but yet at that moment, reality seemed to blur out. He needed to stop overthinking this and directly went to check on Elise's pod. 

It was a short walk across the main deck, into Bay 2.

She was already awake, and was looking into the porthole eagerly and hadn't heard Dave approach her. 

"Elise", Dave called out, his voice seemed to echo through the door. "Isn't she beautiful-" she replied turning back looking into his deep blue eyes. He quickly looked away, her hazel locks reminded him always of His wife and he really wanted to cut off all ties back to Earth and focus on the task ahead. "How much time until we hit terra firma?" He asked. "We still have two more hours for the auto-pilot to set us up and then we will switch to normal" she replied, her eyes seemed to look right through his hesitation.

He wrung his hands and looked up at her, "Lets get the ship fired up shall we? It's been dormant for about 86 years". "86 and a quarter earth days" she corrected him.

"Alright I'll get the fusion reactor started, you check on the eco-bio bubbles" replied Dave with receding colour from his face.

The miniature eco-bio bubbles were self sustaining ecosystems built under the main deck. Complex quantum DNA Miniaturization allowed a real life large scale ecosystem to fit into a small area, almost the size of a table tennis board. Even though surreal they always seemed to freak Dave out and reminded him of life, and hence he avoided them. This controlled simulated environment made hin question whether the observable universe itself was a simulation, then this would mean everything is a dream and perhaps after his death he could reunite with his wife and daughter.

Elise nodded agreed in unison, "That would take us about an hour. Lets meet at the cafetaria and see what we have".

"Yeah, food as if" Dave replied rolling his eyes. 

All of their packed supplies had already been scarce and they weren't sure of the bio reactor and hence had decided to cryogenate themselves until they reach AuroraB1.

"It's all we have" replied Elise, looking up eagerly, "Atleast before we establish a Plantation".

The words "It's all we have" seemed to hum around Dave as he briskly sauntered through the connecting Dock . The connecting dock was attached to the Lower end of the starfleet and was fitted with reinforced plexiglass and provided a panoramic view. It was by far Dave's favourite place in the entire ship. The corridor was slightly slanted and it provided a unique experience. At the moment the ship was orbiting AuroraH1 at a breakneck Mach 6 speed. Dave was still a bit muzzy from the adminstered Anesthetic in the respiratory fluid and preffered to stick to the supporting railings.

The Azure of aquamarine spread out before him and whizzed past, and everything seemed a blur. The ecosystem was still primitive though developing. A swarm of emotions flooded him, he and Elise were to kickstart life in a distant planet. Perhaps this was how life began on Earth.

He gradually reached the end of the corridor. It led into a huge hall providing entry to the control room. The reactor was the heart of the starfleet and it provided the required energy for it's functioning. It was one of a kind producing 10⁵ Giga Watts of energy per second. It would help propel the massive vessel and help with the landing and all it needed was a simple flick of a switch. Dave seemed hesitant at first, but soon he set the parameters and started the reaction. Even after a period of 86 years of dormancy the reactor fired up in a blistering glow, and just for a second it seemed that the reinforced plexiglass might not be enough. The reactor functioned smooth and after a few safety net checks Dave finally decided to head back to the cafeteria.

The cafetaria was probably the only place in the entire StarFleet which had a similarity to it's purpose. It strangely connected Dave to his past and intertwined it with his present. Food has been probably one of the most important aspects of his life, it has taught him important lessons and more over it had provided him refuge during difficult times.

All of their canned food had been used exhausted and now what they had was "Mega Calorie Pills". They were bite sized pills providing the body with useful enrgy and at the mean time providing the exact taste of the food which the person had in mind of. These became very popular before the onset of WW3, in which food rations were subject to loot and raid. 

Even though the concept of fine dining was pretty far-fetched and perhaps non-sensical, however Dave felt it rather preferable to wait for Elise to return before munching on it himself. After all even kale smoothie tasted better with company.

He had tried them only once during habitat training, and his experience was terrible. His thoughts were distorted and so was the taste.

Elise walked in through the hatch, with a look of concern on her face. "What's the status about the bio-bubble?" asked Dave eagerly. He knew she had a stoic personality, and when she was scared it meant business. "Well 3 of the minature eco-systems have survived. But the genetically engineered bacteria have escaped" she replied biting her lip.

"Well the reactor's working smooth- that's a start" stated Dave trying not to show concern. "Anyway dinner's ready" replied Dave pointing to the Mega Cal pills. The label read From Caviar to Lobster all in one! Elsie looked at the small box with apprehension. "Well that will last us for a month I guess" she replied.

"The bacteria were supposed to catalyse the plant growth, but yeah looks like it has taken too it's heels" she said. 

Dave knew what she meant and what that would mean for them unless they found a solution to counter it. Instinctively he put a hand on her shoulder, and motioned her to sit. He took a packet of the Mega Cal pills and flipped them reading the minuscle instructions, "You know what they say these things work on your mood- and your thoughts; might as well give it a proper try" trying to hide the unsettling feeling.

She tried to point out the fact what the absence of the bacteria implied, but Dave simply tore out the wrapper and fed her the pill. He clasped her hands and tried to reassure her. Though she knew it meant that they might be the last surviving humans on earth, Dave's reassurance waned her to enjoy every last bit of what was left.

Dave unwrapped his pill and ate it taking a moment to look at the beautiful arms of the lobster.

The hazel of Elise's hair reminded him of his camping trip just during fall with his father and uncle. They had caught fresh trout and had roasted mushrooms. That night Dave learnt How food can reunite people. It began with his father's long drawn quarrel and ended with the clink of beer bottles over the crackling embers. The taste of the trout filled him engulfing his toungue, followed by the sweet rancidity of the mushrooms. He soon pictured himself arm-in-arm with Will, Jake and Cobbie back when he was at Texas, for a brief spell after High School. Juice ran down his chin as he munched on the steak, jesting at Will. He then found himself with his daughter at the state fair just before the war days. They had cookies and ice cream, followed by roasted corn. The visions somehow got tangled up and he could gradually relate it. He clasped Elise's hands tighter as he gulped down the last bit of ice cream.

He liked out at the horizon, finally understanding the meaning of the phrase, "You cannot enjoy the beauty of sunset, with an empty stomach".

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: This has been my first attempt at reedsy. Well I know it's little off-track. Feel free to post what you think. Constructive criticism always welcome!]