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RP: Cirrus Station [Episode 5] A Unique Encounter

MoonMan

MoonMan

Inactive Member
A Cirrus Station Rest Area was simple enough in concept. These rooms were small inlets located throughout the station, placed there to facilitate a busy lifestyle aboard the Cirrus as everything from a Scientist to a Security Officer. The rest stops consisted, usually, of a single round table set with a few chairs, a large potted plant in the corner, and BioNutri-Snack and Cassefin Reservoir vending machine duo and a single digital bilboard which acted as both advertisement and station bulletin board.

Out of the several 'rest areas' located throughout the Cirrus Research Station, however, one in particular was set aside for a special occasion; a short meet-up between selected Cirrus Station Security members for a new assignment.
 
Private Third Class Akio Noboru, former Santo-Hei of the Star Army of Yamatai and former Peacekeeper Recruit of the United Outer Colonies Peacekeeping Forces, stood near the outer wall of the refreshment station eating from a tinfoil bag of potato chips, watching carefully for any ominously looming, epic-rapeface-wearing Station Administrators to attempt to take away the last bastion of tasty food on the entire station in some sort of psychotic huff. Finishing off the last of the salted wedges, Noboru discarded the bag in the proper container nearby and stepped through the doorway, entering the Rest Area wearing an innocent face.

Noboru had joined the security team about two weeks before, after being discharged from the UOCPF for attempted mutiny (he still swears by the fact that 'the officer in charge wasn't moving fast enough') and since flying to Nepleslian space. Once there, he enlisted with the Cirrus Station crew and was assigned to the security force. He didn't fit in as first- white haired guy, blind as a bat in direct light, formerly a sworn enemy of Nepleslia and all that- but over time he won over the group of security officers he had been working with and contented himself with minor security jobs.

Until today, of course.

Noboru stepped over to one side of the room (located as far away as possible from the vending machines, of course, he had long since learned that anything made by the station's 'eccentric' Administrator was to be given as wide a berth as possible) and stood there.
 
Oh my god... This... it... it tastes so GOOD. were the words that melted gloriously in Kokuten's mind. The Staff Sergeant turned Squad Captain was enjoying a delicious cigar, the first one he had in almost a few months. Vanderhuge had given him a whole box of Kennewesian Cigars(12, now 11) as goodbye gift and he was enjoying every second of the succulent 'Kengars'. Having things like smokes and alcohol were not too acceptable on the Cirrus, but sometimes it felt good to be bad, at least, to Kokuten Gaiasis Chiaki the 5th.

Though, it was out of character for him to do such things. Being 'Dr.' Chiaki, he usually needed to keep a clean outward health to properly inspire his patients. Yet, that was not the case as he was assigned here. Here, on the Cirrus Security Station, he was not his hard-earned-title of 'Doctor', but rather a Squad Captain. So, it was his logic that if he were to be titled like a Marine, he might act like a Marine. His only advance on that so far was just smoking the cigar without approval.

As he walked into the Rest Room, he regretfully put out the Cigar, throwing it in a nearby trashcan. Not a very good start on being bad.

He spotted Noboru standing over by himself.

"Hello! I suspect you're here for the briefing?" Kokuten said cheerfully to the man.
 
Noboru was perfectly fine standing on his own, taking in the look of the room. It was all very different from Yamatai, with more angular and bulky structures than graceful, arcing curves. He was completely unaware when Kokuten walked in, and the guy caught him off guard. The hair-triggered security guard almost turned and jabbed the medic right in the face with a heavy fist, but instead nodded in his general direction as he responded. "Well, I'm definitely not here for the refreshments." Noboru grinned, walking over to Kokuten.

"I think I've seen you around... Kokuten, right?" Noboru extended a hand for a shake. "Akio Noboru, Cirrus Station Security." He looked over at the garbage can and looked carefully, eventually catching a thin wisp of smoke rising from the top of the can. Sniffing a bit, he scented ash and cigar smoke on the Chiaki- slight, but not undetectable. "Err, Kokuten, I don't mind your cigar habits, but..." He looked at the station doorway, scanning around a bit.

"If Cassifin catches you with one of those she'll gut you like a fish and hang your entrails from the hangar railing like... What's the phrase you use in Nepleslia? 'Stockings on Lewis Pasco Day'? Yeah, that sounds about right."
 
Kokuten laughed for a moment, at Akio's awareness of the Chiaki's own scents and his caution.

"Hah! Well, it's an absolute pleasure to meet you too, Noboru." The Doctor extended his hand for a shake. "I don't worry about Cassefin, my friend, despite what people say, think, hear, feel, know, experience, and happen to come by, there are always much worse things that can happen to a person in this galaxy." He chuckled again, his eyes turning a light bluish color.

"I reserve myself to that fact and enjoy my old habit in spite of said consequences, if you could consider it a consequence." Kokuten grinned, his eyes bluish color gaining a very light shade of red on top of it. Besides!" Kokuten chuckled again, "I can blame it on extinguishing the flammable scientists in my previous position. They often smell like cigars after we've hosed them down."
 
"I'm guessing your previous occupation was either fireman or G.I, by that description," Noboru said, chuckling. "Well, it's a pleasure meeting you, Kokuten."

The security officer looked around the room, rubbing the skin around his ears- as it often did, the skin was beginning to chafe from the constant rubbing of the welding goggles' strap, and it itched constantly. He finished scratching after about a second before looking back at Kokuten. "So," the security chief continued, "Why d'you think we're here?"
 
Still fresh enough out of boot camp to often be teased, Lance Nemo, Private Third Class and Technical Sentry on the station for just over a week, entered the break room in the middle of the already on-going conversation. Quietly standing off to the side until Kokuten finished his sentence, Lance chuckled at the image that entered his head.

“Flammable scientists, eh? You’d think they would have sense enough to stay away from flame if that’s the case.” he commented, approaching the other two but keeping a respectable distance incase he wasn’t all that invited. Having only been the station for just over a week, he was naturally expecting the worse and was waiting for somebody to jump out from behind a doorway and gun him down for some obscure reason, probably not shining his boots enough, or possibly even having a wrinkle in his uniform, not the worst way to die, he could after all be burned like some poor flammable scientist.
 
"Well, at best, I believe we are just here to serve a purpose." Kokuten said simply, though in a way that did not sound like it was mocking Akio, "It would be wasteful for us to sit around and do nothing, no?"

Lance caught his attention before his previous sentence, but know only visually noticed him. The black metal and LED colored eyes of the medic seemed to inspect the shy soldier for a moment, before Kokuten beckoned him over.

"Hello! Burning scientists aside, I don't believe I caught your name." He smiled warmly at the man, not exactly sure of his distanced intentions.
 
Noboru, whose eyesight was worse than Kokuten's by a fair measure (though not too bad when covered by goggles and in a shady area), had only recently noticed Nemo's presence, namely by when Kokuten gestured for him to come over. He followed suit with Kokuten's query.

"Yeah, you don't have that world-weary look about you. New guy?"
 
Lance stepped forward and offered up his hand for a shake, "Private Third Class, Lance Nemo, just shipped in a little over a week ago from basic, so new guy fits perfectly." he responded.

"I don't believe I recognize either of you, though, thats not saying to much." he stated, half-asking with his voice.
 
"Experience of the Military isn't exactly a factor here on this station, my friend. Whether you are fresh from boot, or been serving with the Imperium since it's creation, we all carry the same status here." Kokuten repelied to the man, and the took his hand in a firm grip and shook it,

"Staff Sergeant Kokuten Gaiasis Chiaki the 5th, Doctor, Soldier, Medic, Practitioner of Neurology. It's very good to meet you Lance." The Medic smiled as his eyes reverted back to the standard green color.
 
"Well, that's reassuring to hear from a superier officer" he responded.

"So, as far as I've been able to gather, we're either all getting reassigned or it's all a clever ploy by the station administrators to lure us into a single room and gas us... or gun us down, which, from what I've gathered, shouldn't be to unexpected." he stated, half-joking, half-serious.
 
Lance chuckled in response to that.

"Why shouldn't I? If I'm right, then I die knowing that I was right, and if I'm wrong, the worst that can happen is that I'm pleasently surprised. A win-win situation if there ever was one." he responded, a slight grin cracking his face.
 
Private Third-Class Richard Matthews entered the room. His eyes showed, quite clearly, that'd he'd probably woken up about 10 minutes ago. He blinked a few times before noticing the others.

Since coming to Cirrus, Richard still hadn't gotten his internal clock to sync properly and had been late for 4 different meetings. Not this time, he had promised himself. This time he was gonna be on time.

Seeing the others, hours of practicing in front of his bathroom mirrors kicked in.

"Hello, Sirs! Good to see you, Sirs!"

He proceeded to salute. This wouldn't of been a problem if he remember to salute with his right hand. Or at least if he had remember to take off his self-heating skillet. Neither of these happened.

Fortunately, the skillet had cooled of since his breakfast, but a frying pan to the face hurts regardless of temperature. He lowered his pan, revealing a rather reddened-face.

"...Ow..."

He shook his head and salute with his right hand, ignoring a strip of bacon he had apparently forgotten to take out of the skillet stripped across his upper lip.

To there he was, a Private Third class, half-asleep, with a rather red face from impact and a pork-stache, standing in the door of the room, frying pan for a hand saluting at everyone. Quite the entrance.
 
Noboru chortled out loud at Matthews' entry, looking at him half with amusement and half with annoyance.

"Matthews, you might want to get rid of the fry-pan and pork stache before Cassifin catches you or the Head Administrator'll put your head on top of the station like a hood ornament. By the way, good to meet you; and stop with the sir crap, the only ranking officer here is Kokuten and he's just a Staff Sergeant." He looked towards the self-heating skillet the soldier was holding in his hand and chuckled again, still looking the soldier over.

"And, well, you have an edible moustache. Might want to dispose of that." The ex-Yammie laughed again as he walked over to the soldier. "P3C Akio Noboru; shipped in from UOC space two weeks ago. Pleasure to meet you, Matthews."
 
Kokuten chuckled with Akio as Richard began his clumsy enterance.

"Ha! He's right, I'm flattered by your respect, but I don't need it." The Medic waved a metal hand to the man. "Besides! Don't you all know? This is a 'Research' Station, not a Military Station. We're practically civilians, I almost felt like coming in my turtleneck, instead of the pullover, if it weren't for the fact that it felt so official."
 
Richard blinked, taking the information in. "Oh. Sorry. Still not used to this place. Anyways, I'm Richard. Richard Matthews, P3C. And uh..."

Come on, Richy, say something good, keep the conversation going...

"...This is my skillet..."
 
Lance had raised an eyebrow at the strange and apperantly clumsy, or maybe just forgetful, person that was Richard Matthews. "Really? You sure thats a skillet, because I'm almost guessing that it might just be a potential weapon in your hands..." Lance responded sarcastically with a slight grin.

"Besides Kokuten, we're still military even if it is a research, we have to at least pretend to be civilized." he stated somewhat dryly to Kokuten statement.
 
"Just don't think about going fisticuffs on me while you're holding that thing, Matthews," and here Noboru grinned, "and we'll get along just fine." He looked towards the doors. "Welcome to the Cirrus, by the way," He quickly added.

"And when is our mysterious message-sender going to show up?"
 
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