[color=0072bc][i]"Cooking is like painting or writing a song. Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors - it's how you combine them that sets you apart."[/i][/color]
		[i]— Wolfgang Puck[/i]

	Marco Castillo had spent most of his day near The Jalopy awaiting the captain to arrive and address the group. He was sitting on top of his crate, which contained his weapons and equipment for the kitchen (which he 'borrowed' for his sister). Then, the turian officer gave off the news that the captain was dead and the ship was now theirs. He also told that they had an hour to load up and leave the dock, so he begun to carry his crate to the hanger as the loading ramp slowly came crashing down.

Soon enough, he made it to the hanger with the crate as he waited for the vessel to depart for Ilium. He saw the turian pilot headed to the cockpit and hoped that the turian knew how to fly this piece of crap. When the turian disappeared, he looked down at the crate until he felt the ship leaving the dock bay and going to the atmosphere. 

A couple minutes had passed by as the crew tried to deal with the sudden shift, their captain was dead and they didn't know the condition of the ship. Now, it was their job to check around the ship for the contracts and to give a report of the ship. After Marco's first meeting ended, he went to his respective duty at the kitchen. Many would think that being a cook aboard a ship is a useless job; however, he would say that he could be feeding the crew their last meal. 

That's why he signed up for the position of the cook, that must have been why the old captain contacted Marco. He had been running his sister's restaurant for years before and after he joined the Alliance, mastering in preparing foods for all species in the Citadel. [color=7ea7d8][i]"Being a cook was a lot harder than it was a hundred years ago"[/i][/color], Joanna said to Marco after his first day on the job as he had complained about it. They have to prepared foods for different species and know the foods that each species can and can't have. Despite his complaints, he kept going and eventually he loved the job and became the head chef of the restaurant.

The kitchen wasn't in the best condition as the kitchens that he has been in, but it had anything that a kitchen needs to have. He began to check out the fridge as he opened it and discovered the limited amount of food. They need to earn some credits before they run out of food; despite the limitations that the kitchen offered, there was food to satisfy everybody from the humans to the krogan. Then, he realized that the crew had a batarian. 

Marco sighed as he had to deal with them since the attack on Mindoir, the horrors of it still scared him. He got over the fact that all batarians were the cause of Mindoir, humans had done similar things to each other in history; however, it was the first time that he had seen one without his weapon nearby. That also meant that he had to find out the foods that batarians can't and can eat.

Looking around the common area, he saw a data pad on the top of the counter top. The light gray counter top was made out of cheap steel and he felt the coldness of it as he reached for the data pad. Marco opened it up and saw files with the names of the species that made up the crew, and he quickly saw “Batarians”. Then, he tapped on the icon and it loaded a list of foods that Batarians can have. The list was easy to read and it went something like this:

	[i]Batarians have sharp, obviously carnivorous teeth. Predatory, they're ominvores but eat a great deal of meat. The list of foods that they can and can't eat should be easy enough for you to get at a local market (hopefully).

		[b]B'garn[/b] (like Terran pasta) 
		[b]Er’thak[/b] (which may be served minced) 
		[b]Goro Root[/b] 
		[b]K'nar Cream[/b] 
		[b]Keron Pie[/b] 
		[b]Kruottolk[/b] (an exotic dish resembling balut in nature, made from Qlygh eggs) 
		[b]Larmo fruit[/b] (like a large yellow grape, but less tart) 
		[b]Raksha[/b] 
		[b]Sharamik Eggs[/b] 
		[b]Thurai[/b] (a meat that refers to a specific cut from a large, stupid aquatic animal commonly used as livestock) 
		[b]Tsyplionok[/b] (poultry) 
		[b]Va'shanosh dal[/b] (as a seasoning) 
		[b]Yora[/b] (a tiny blue fruit with a subtle sweetness; difficult to grow, and arguably more difficult to peel)[/i]

Marco Castillo was confused by some of the names of foods, like Thurai and Larmo fruit. Thankfully, the list had provided with pictures of the foods. Then, he saw the drinks that the batarians were able to drink and it made him thirsty for something to drink. He walked away from the counter top and headed towards the fridge to make a drink inspired by his home country of the Philippines, Mojito de Mayon. It's based on the cone-shaped volcano in the Philippines province of Albay and it's made with vodka, sugar syrup and muddled lime then topped with a cone of shaved ice. It comes in strawberry, cherry, passion fruit and mango flavors, but the strawberry is recommended as it makes the drink look like there's lava erupting from the "volcano."

He opened the fridge and grabbed the limes, the strawberry, mint leaves, simple syrup, ice, mint sprig, and strawberry garnish. The vodka and grenadine were hidden in the shelves about the dishwasher, right next to the cups as they grabbed them and set it down on the counter top next to the fridge. He was ready to make it and it only took a couple of minutes to make. It looked good despite the kitchen having none of the newer equipments. He carried his Mojito de Mayon with him as he grabbed the stool with another hand and sat on it as he sat the drink near the data pad. 

Then, he got back to work as he started a new file and writing on the report on the kitchen and the simulation of the supplies. That was when the krogan walked towards the kitchen.