Whiskers and Coffee

Posted on Thu Jan 29th, 2026 @ 6:13pm by Captain Doran'atar & M'b'rr

1,230 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: Laying the Groundwork
Location: Whisk & Hearth

There'd been rumors about one of the cafes on board flying about since the day it opened. Something about the best damn coffee and hot chocolate in their neck of the galaxy - a bold claim, of course, surely worth investigating. So Doran'atar decided to seek it out at the end of his shift. Surely if at least fifty percent (or so he'd heard) of the crew he currently had on board ranted and raved about it, there had to be some meat to the rumors, right?

Well, as it turns out, there seemed to be. Walking through the doors at 1805 hours in the evening, the cafe was already teeming with personnel - not to mention the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafting through the air that Doran'atar was almost sure made up easily half the appeal of the place. At least no one tried to stand up and do the whole formalities thing. He joined the long, snaking queue leading up to the counter - with just two baristas at work, he had to hand it to them for somehow, somehow, handling the rush all by themselves.

In addition to the two people working behind the main counter handling drinks, the door to the back bakery was constantly opening and closing as another girl flew in and out with trays of pastries. No matter how she tried to get ahead on things, the evening rush always required her constantly restocking.

She'd just put out a fresh batch of chocolate croissants and watched them disappear quickly. She smiled and rushed back to grab another try of goodies, coming back with bear claws and sticky buns. This repeated as she continued to keep the cases stocked, while the line of patrons continued to empty them. By the time the line was beginning to shorten, she'd finally caught up with stocking her shelves, and she could go about greeting customers. She smiled and chatted up a few and looked up with surprise as Doran'atar approached. "Captain!" she said, excitedly. "This is quite a meow-nor, nya!"

"No more honor than any of my other crew. I am here as a customer. That's it. No special treatment necessary." Doran'atar grunted as he stared at the menu hovering above her head. "I'll have... a hot chocolate with marshmallows. And the peach cobbler." A cafe that sold desserts like that? Honestly, Doran was surprised. Clearly this establishment took the satisfaction (and continued patronage) of its customers very seriously indeed.

"Mrright away!" M'b'rr said, rushing into the back. As she reemerged, she carried a tray with a small, pie plate on it, the golden brown, flakey crust of the pie inside promising a delicious treat. As she came around, the barista set down a large mug. The dark brown, steaming liquid inside was hidden and kept warm by a mound of marshmallow swirled like a snowcap on top. A few peppermint shavings decorated the snowy mountain, and a cookie swizzle stick was sticking out of one side. M'b'rr added it to her tray and smiled at the captain. "Follow me, nya!" she said, leading him towards a quiet corner of the room and the next free table. She set the tray down and put out his treats, gesturing towards an empty armchair by the fireplace. "Please, enjoy yourself, Sir," she said, smiling.

Admittedly, Doran hadn't expected this much customer service - but hey, it wasn't as if he had any real control over the civilian staff here anyway. He shrugged and followed behind the Caitian to the armchair, sat and picked up the cup of hot chocolate. God, the smell wafting off of it was simply heavenly. He closed his eyes as he caught the first whiff of the minty, chocolatey aroma of it.

"Thank you." He said before taking his first sip. "I think I'll be coming back quite a bit more often." Indeed, the hot chocolate was some of the best he'd had. Ever. Perfectly sweet and chocolatey, the marshmallows were toasted to perfection and he could swear the peppermint somehow lifted up the entire drink. "Your name is?"

"M'b'rr," the Caitian purred. "Meowever, most call me 'Amber' as it's easier to promeownce to non-Caitian tongues, nya."

"Amber. Alright. It is nice to meet you." Doran'atar replied. He'd never met a Caitian as literally feline as her before, but he would've been lying if he didn't, in his heart of hearts, find it pretty cute.

"How long have you worked in this industry?" He asked before biting into the peach cobbler. That too was amazing, honestly - easily one of the best he'd ever had.

"Abmeowt eighteen years," Amber said. "Practically since I could stand. My mother taught me how to make bread, and I could not get enough, nya!"

"So this entire cafe - from the decorations to the furnishing to the lighting and even the food - is a project of personal passion." Doran summarised with a crack of a smile. "That much is obvious. It takes genuine love for the craft to make something as good as all of this is." After a short pause he added, "We need more of that in the universe. People who are passionate and dedicated enough to something to want it to succeed as best we can. It is something even I struggle to muster when it is most needed."

M'b'rr smiled and purred in approval of his understanding. "Exactly, nya!" she said. "So meowny have lost that spark of passion in them, and I hope they can taste a bit of it in what they eat here. I'm very glad you can."

"Speaking of baking. My ship will be hosting a great number of foreign delegations. Many of them will not be friendly." Doran added in a somewhat gentler tone this time. "But I am told that food - or in this case well-made baked products - is a window to the soul. I may ask you and your staff to help cater for these unfriendly delegations one day. Would you be agreeable to that?"

"Absolutely, nya!" M'b'rr said, excitedly. "I would be honored to be able to assist! Simply let meow know as best you can ahead of time who is arriving, and I purrromise I will have something they will enjoy, nya!"

"Good. I'm glad to hear it. I will contact you and your staff soon," Doran replied. "Don't worry. I will try to be punctual. I won't take up any more of your time; your customers matter more than I do at this moment anyway."

M'b'rr gave him a sweet smile. "Commander," she purred, "you are one of my customers. Here, you matter just as much as anyone else."

"I think the slowly growing line of customers at your counter may say otherwise." Doran stabs a thumb at the steadily lengthening queue in front of the ordering counter. "Go on. I will see you around anyway. I may contact you with my 'order' of your works soon."

"Nya!" M'b'rr said in concern, looking behind her. "I'm sorry, Commander, but yes I should attend to that queue. I look forward to your first order. You have meow word, it will be meown time, nya!" She gave a slight bow and a smile and rushed back towards the counter, disappearing behind it and into the kitchen.

 

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