"And once again we become a vulnerable target in the vastness of space," Lazarus mused to himself as he picked himself up off the floor. "I'll have to do some extra compensating for such contingencies, it would seem."
He surveyed the damage done within his domain with an expression of amusement, sighed dramatically, then began the process of setting his fallen props upright. At least he hadn't quite got around to lighting the candles yet, and he chuckled as he imagined what his Mess Hall could have looked like right now if he had.
The short excursion to Denmar's surface had been a fruitful one for Lazarus. Having come to the conclusion that the dining environment he wished to provide this crew required a few basic additions to the Mess Hall, he had spent an afternoon perusing the shops and gathering together everything he would need to begin turning the pictures in his mind into a reality he could live with.
"Computer, play some mood music for me," he yelled as he stooped to stand the first fallen planter upright. "Something to both soothe the soul and accompany the labors of creative endeavor."
<Specify parameters,> the computer replied in its most unimpressed monotone.
"Well, I thought I just did that," Lazarus mumbled as he retrieved a frond that had broken off a palm tree and stared at it thoughtfully. Raising his voice quite a few decibels once again, he continued. "I must have the harmony of dissonance surrounding me as I rebuild my cafe, you silly machine. Give me Shostakovich." He paused for a moment and frowned in concentration. "Make it a cello concerto. Symphony #15 will do quite nicely... oh, and turn the volume way up!"
A happy smile filled his face as the movement began. Lazarus set a table back onto its legs, replaced its tablecloth and centered its candle on its top. Pausing once again to sway contentedly with the music, he began planning all the necessary outings into the Virgo's various departments necessary to maintain his new surroundings. He guessed he would have to make use of Science to educate himself about caring for the greenery he had returned from the planet with, and Engineering to assist with the anchoring of the new tables and planters. He also needed to have a proper separate bar, complete with barstools, constructed and installed.
His eyebrows rising with the swell of the concerto's cellos, Lazarus dropped to his back on the floor and began waving the palm frond still in his hand in the air. Thus, happily conducting his own private symphony for the time being, he postponed the clean-up of the Mess Hall for a bit later. The crew would simply have to make do without the benefit of his cuisine for a few more hours.