Walta does not know everything about plants and gardening, but they can pass an hour like this easily enough. She ropes Sandra into helping water the plants too.

Sandra will gladly be roped in.

After that's done.

"I think I'll head for my room, unless there was something else you'd like to talk about. It's been a busy day."

"Yeah, I can imagine it has. I'll clear out the cabin for you real quick."

She leads the way back downstairs and starts lugging out the boxes in Sandra's room. Nick is visible through the open door of the bridge. He glances back but returns to his watch.

Sandra gives a grin in return. She helps Walta clear out the cabin. "Do you happen to know what time it is? I lost track of time."

"Uh... Should be around two, maybe three? The clock's on the bridge if you want to double check."

"No, I'm good. Thank you. When is dinner?"

"Whenever you or I or Cap'n makes it. I could make something in a couple hours of you don't want to."

"I should be able to, I've learned to cook a pretty wide range of stuff."

"Ooh, I kind of want to see some foreign meal, maybe I should show you how to use it right now."

"That sounds great! Let's go!." Sandra surges towards the kitchen.

They go to the galley. First, a tour of the available ingredients. Lots of vegetables (mostly Earthly and recognizable, a few not, like 'sweetsticks' which are some kind of Cloudbank carrot), a few fruits and nuts and cuts of various frozen meat. "Try not to use too much meat, though. It's pricey."

The place is reasonably organized. Their plates and utensils are all wooden, as are most of the other surfaces.

And then the tools... There is a walk-in freezer with some ice inside, but no fridge. The sink is recognizable and countertops are countertops. But the stove is... Strange. "It uses hot water from the boilers. Gets around the whole fire-kills-everyone thing. That's why the galley is so far back in the ship - closer to the engines."

Sandra nods "Low meat won't be a problem, I went through a vegetarian phase." Then, to herself. "Hmm... What could I make?" After a pause. "Chili! I'll have to cut the meat in half, but that should work."

She then turns back towards Walta. "Do you happen to have any spices?"

"Hmm... Some. Some of it's my own stash, most we grow in the greenhouse."

There's a decent variety.

Sandra will select a few spices with just enough kick to be interesting without actually being spicy. "Any dietary restrictions I need to be aware of?"

"...I kind of hate onions? I don't think there's anything else."

"No onions. Got it." She pulls together her ingredients, she's got something similar to the right ingredients, tomatoes, red beans, garlic, a small portion of meat, spices and some lemon juice. "It'll take a bit to brown the meat, then we can let it simmer until dinner." She sets to work, humming while she works.

No lemons are available. There's a local fruit that is sour enough and might serve as a substitute, though.

"So chili is some kind of stew?"

Yeah, that will work, hopefully. "Uh huh, 'chili con carne' it comes from a place called Spain, where my mother's ancestors came from. It's easy to make, has a lot of variation and doesn't require too much time. I'll show you how to make it." She'll lay out her process and recipe.

"Honestly, I usually just boil or steam things until it looks like real food. Heh. Maybe for lunch tomorrow I'll show you how to make frypods."

"I have a... complicated family situation, lots of people, most of them can't cook. That job fell on me, fortunately, cooking is a lot of fun."

"It is! It just takes a while. It's just that there's so much else to do and I'm tired by the time it's time to cook."

"I understand, I'm not quite like most people, I haven't been tired in a very long time. The opposite problem really, I've got so many thoughts and feelings buzzing around that I don't have time to feel tired." 

"I think that would make me tired by itself. You have to let go and do nothing once in a while."

"Yeah." She taps her forehead. "I'm a little differently wired, up there... It's not always a boon, it used to drive me and the other people around me crazy. Dealing with a person who doesn't stop very often can be frustrating."

"Lucky for you Cap'n and myself are both at the more active end of the spectrum."