Stardate undefined - Supplemental

David returned a few moments later carrying two pouches and two small containers of water. He stopped in front of Jana, staring down at her for a moment. Jana looked away, not wanting to be the subject of his attention. From the corner of her vision, she could see him hold out both of the silvery packets.

"Some kind of chicken or some combination of healthy, freeze-dried vegetables?" There was a forced light-heartedness in his tone that made Jana want to scream at him.

She grimaced at the choice. "Chicken," she finally mumbled, just loud enough so that David should be able to hear her.

David withdrew the other package and then offered her one of the containers of water.

"Thanks," she croaked out softly, wanting to wince at how hoarse her voice sounded. She unsealed the container and gulped the water down greedily. Stopping to take a breath, she looked down to realize that the container was now only about one-third full. She looked up sheepishly and was relieved that see that David was intent on opening his food packet and had probably not noticed.

Taking another deep breath, and feeling somewhat rejuvenated by the water, she began working at the seal of her own packet. She pulled at the tab cautiously, remembering her unfortunate experience during survival training. Back then, she had opened her packet a little too vigorously, managing to spray herself with a layer of brownish-green goo. She still held a grudge against Lieutenant B'hela for refusing to replace it. It was not the later hunger that still irked her, but the memory of the increasing stench as the organic paste had begin to grow sour.

This particular packet opened went without such incident. She reached a finger inside, ignoring the texture that reminded her of improperly puréed baby food. Removing, she sampled a taste. It was not as awful as she had expected, but it was a far cry from even replicated cuisine. Still, it was nutritious sustenance—and far better than the alternative.

Jana ate slowly, filled up somewhat by the sudden intake of the water. She tried not to think of what other personal necessities would become urgent within the next few hours. Leaning her head back against the bulkhead, she swallowed, closing her eyes. It felt good.