As a young orderly pushed a cart into the dining area with Kiri close on his heels, she realized she forgot her beret.  Damn.  This entire ship and mission had her off center.    Tucking several loose strands of soft platinum behind her ears, she had no choice now but to serve with out it.  No one seemed to take notice as she moved gracefully around the large table setting a small dinner salad in front of each of them.<br/><br/>For the moment, Kiri listened keenly to the sounds of the first course on the other side of a narrow partition.  Not wanting too much a delay between courses, she needed to be pay attention to the rhythms in the conversation as well as the content.  She nibbled lettuce and smiled at the orderly sharing the small table, but did not encourage him to conversation.<br/>