27 days until Mars arrival

Arachna clicked gleefully as she climbed through the air vent. Yesterday's discoveries about her psionic abilities were a boon. She could influence these Yumen's mental states—their emotions—through her thoughts.

It turned out that not all Yumens were psionically sensitive, however. She found she could influence roughly one in five, and there were varying levels of responsiveness within that group. Still, it had made her life much more interesting.

Especially when combined with her discovery of air ducts.

Today, she'd decided that she needed to explore the Starship Eschaton. To her great surprise, the ship was conveniently fitted with a series of air ducts that made traversing the ship very straightforward.

Did these Yumens plan on having a Krath stowaway? The air ducts were the perfect size for her and reached every level and room in the entire ship. Perhaps the Yumens had subconsciously designed it for the Krath without even knowing? After all, Yumens were meant to be eaten by Krath, so it would make sense for a transport vessel to contain Krath conveniences.

Scampering through the duct, she caught a whiff of something strange and delicious. It wasn't Yumen flesh but different. Something she didn't recognize from inside her instinctive memory banks. What in the horde could it be?

It was a mixture of sweet and savory aromas, unlike anything she'd ever thought possible. Not Yumen, not Xitherium, not better nor worse. Simply different. Pleasant.

She crawled toward a grated vent in the air duct. Peaking through the vent, she took in the peculiar sight. An entire room of Yumens dressed in white aprons with big fluffy hats on their heads. They bustled back and forth, moving strange tools, jars, and other things.

One Yumen held a large roller, which he used to flatten out dough. Another stirred an enormous pot filled with orange and green vegetables along with bits of cooked flesh from a creature she didn't recognize. Steam rose from the vat of liquid, permeating the air.

It smelled delicious.

Arachna desperately wanted to try some of this odd Yumen food. The room was filled with five of these strangely dressed Yumens. They looked so busy. What was it that they were preparing all of this food for?

Maybe if she caused some sort of a disturbance, she could find a way to take a nibble or two.

"Rupert, the pies ready?" one of the men in white said.

"Yes sir," another responded. This Yumen, known as Rupert, held a flat metallic square that held six circular objects. Each object was coated in a light brown, flaky crust. Arachna could smell the aroma wafting from these pies. They were each slightly different - sweet, savory, scrumptious. There was a hole in the center of each pie that revealed different colored Yumen fruits - red, blue, yellow, and more.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

These Yumens certainly enjoyed variety in their meals. Even in this simple kitchen there had to be over a hundred different types of foods. Each main course was a mixture of over a dozen different ingredients. From her finely tuned sense of smell, she sensed that even the crusts of the pies themselves contained a finely synthesized mixture of pulverized Yumen plants combined with chemical compounds. So complex. So interesting.

She wondered if that made the food any better. Krath food, by contrast, was very simple. Xitherium came from one place — coral. When Krath ate live food, it was from a single organism. Not dozens of foods combined in all sorts of different ways. No condiments or toppings, though perhaps the idea was not half bad.

There was something appealing about the Yumen food. How to gather some of it? Why not try out her psionic abilities?

Closing her eyes, she focused on the chef stirring the pot of steamy hot soup. He was plump and one of the few Yumens she'd seen with facial hair. The man had a flat nose and light brown skin.

Fear.

Why did she automatically choose to project fear as if by default? She wondered if there was another emotion she could try imparting to these Yumens. In any case, nothing happened. The man apparently was numb to her psionic powers.

Moving on. The next chef was female. She was busy unloading a large metal barrel from a wheeled metal dowel. It contained some form of liquid, though Arachna wasn't sure exactly what kind it was. The metal barrel was vacuum sealed and effectively trapped in its smell, even to her senses.

Again, Arachna projected fear—nothing. This second Yumen was also immune to her psionics.

From her perch inside the air duct attached to the ceiling, Arachna eyed the man who'd held the tray of pies. Rupert, was it? He was a rather large man who was busy placing the pies inside some sort of hot metal device—an oven. The word came to her mind. It was sort of like an engine except for this room, this kitchen.

Rupert was playing with several knobs and buttons on the device. A display of strange numbers appeared on a small digital screen. The screen beeped. He immediately opened a second door to the oven and pulled out a different set of six pies.

Horde, the man must be cooking a feast. The first six he'd been preparing were now being cooked, but the second six looked absolutely amazing.

Heat apparently did wonders for Yumen food. Arachna wasn't sure exactly why that was but the pies smelled far more delicious now that they'd been inside that oven. What hidden wonders these Yumens had.

Arachna wanted to focus on fear but caught herself. Perhaps instead of projecting fear, she'd try something else. It would be an interesting experiment.

There was only one other emotion that she could summon at the moment. It came after staring at all the delectable foodstuffs. She thought it was appropriate since Rupert appeared to be a man who enjoyed food.

Hunger.

The Yumen known as Rupert placed the steaming hot pies on a metal table against one of the walls of the kitchen. He stared at the pies longingly.

"Don't get any ideas," another chef said without turning her head. "These are for Commander Rip's holiday party."

Rupert clutched his stomach while his eyes remained fixated on the pies. It let out a loud growl. Apparently, Arachna's psionics were working on this Yumen.

"Rupert's got a hankering for some pies," a second man said. "I'd say I do too."

"Why don't we all take a break and eat some?" Rupert said aloud. "We can make extra and they'll never be the wiser."

Another chef nodded his head. "You're the boss, and it is about lunchtime." He looked at his watch.

"We'll let's all take a break then," Rupert said, waving with his hand for the others to follow. He grabbed a pie and walked out of the room.

[http://www.atticusandrews.com/wp-content/uploads/Che-9-B.png]