Delphine slides away as Sebastian goes back into the fridge. He grabs a carton of eggs and carefully walks back to his station. He begins grabbing eggs out of the carton to crack them over a separator, but he jolts as he touches them. The shells are freezing. He’s sure that they’re frozen, but miraculously the eggs come out of their shells just fine. The separator catches the yolks, allowing the whites to seep into the bowl below. Sebastian whisks the whites and adds them to his batter, then carefully sprinkles handfuls of his dry ingredients into the mixture.

Polard’s voice booms from the other side of the kitchen. "The oven is preheated! Get a move on, Sebastian!"

The pressure from the head chef is intense, but difficult to take seriously. The crew knows that Polard is an incompetent leader. He’s the loudest and clumsiest in the room. His only feat in this kitchen has been his ability to stick around long enough to be put in charge. With the restaurant’s manager off-planet most of the year, Polard’s word is final. He hasn’t even appointed a sous chef because he seems content with being the only voice of authority. Chef Polard is happy to lead his crew into the heart of the storm, as long as he’s the only one giving the orders—the perfect captain for this sinking ship.

Sebastian hastily pours the cake batter into a large pan and brings it over to the convection oven station. He scrubs through the six active ovens, toggling through oven lights until he finds a vacancy. He places the cake inside and starts a timer for fifteen minutes. Delphine approaches with the finished icing.

"Here you go." She says with a cheerful demeanor.

Sebastian’s drained expression remains unmoved.

"We’re going to have stragglers." He responds flatly.

Delphine’s facade cracks as her eyes squint with irritation. However, her optimistic smile persists.

"Last orders coming in! Let’s get these out!" Polard yells.

In unison, every cook in the kitchen responds: "Yes, chef!"

The formal use of ‘Chef’ is proper etiquette in kitchens like this one. However, Chef Polard is particularly insistent that he is addressed by his title; to the point that most of the staff don’t even know his first name. It makes the whole formality unnecessarily taxing.

With no orders left to address on their side of the kitchen, Sebastian and Delphine begin cleaning their stations. Sebastian is well-practiced at organizing his space, so he finishes cleaning within a few minutes. The downtime allows Sebastian’s mind to wander. He observes the kitchen that surrounds him. The chaos. The mess. These things don’t bother him as much as they used to. However, the fact that he is vastly overqualified for his current position still bites. He has been a practicing professional chef for over six years now. He’s worked in three kitchens over the course of his career. The Mare is easily the worst kitchen Sebastian has ever worked in. But after almost a year of working here, he’s accepted this mess for what it is.

To cope with the state of it, Sebastian often imagines The Mare as a ship on a voyage. A ship that glides upon the surface of the ocean; like those he would read of in history books about the Old World. Most nights are relatively smooth sailing, the only drag being the mundanity. Then there are nights like these.

At the restaurant he worked at prior to The Mare, the enforcement of cleanliness was strict. The state of this kitchen would have been deemed unacceptable—because it is unacceptable. The space was tidy, and the workload was reasonable. The lead chef was also an admirable leader. Come to think of it, every aspect of Sebastian’s last job was much better than this one. Though in all fairness, it was a five-star restaurant called The Alter. And it was on the Moon, in the Lunar Capitol city of Mare Crisium, nonetheless.

Sebastian also had something to look forward to after a long shift. Someone special waiting for him. But those days have come and gone.

Nights like these used to mean something.

The timer goes off. Sebastian returns from his disassociation. He walks over to the oven and takes out the cake. He places the pan on a rubber mat to cool. Once he gets a good look at the cake, his heart sinks.