A small, Child-like figure made her way through the hallways of a freshly-built, uncompleted vessel. The vessel, about destroyer-sized, was a maze of compartments and corridors, bulkheads and bulk-storage, but there was noting inside except the mechanical workings, bare floors, and empty rooms. Lightly-booted feet made soft thuds on this unfinished floor, and long, dark, purple hair mixed with chocolate skin and a dark uniform made the figure almost disappear into the shadows, if it weren't for the light green shoulders and blue piping on the uniform.
Dyna Shevi made her rounds, inspecting the ship whose future crew she would be in charge of, and responsible for. A solid crew needed a solid ship, and the young ex-Neko knew that, as well as how to spot defects in workmanship. Momentarily, she stopped to inspect a weld, crouching down and becoming even less visible in the dimly-lit ship.
Dyna would feel the floor she stood on shake, as a pair of heavy boots struck the floor with determined stride. A massive man made his way down the hallway, a stern look in his eye, as well his iron jaw. Stromm Kumorok Dekomir regarded the walls of the unfinished ship with little concern, in only it was little like that the Nepleslian ships he used to call home. The over-sized Nepleslian stopped as he spotted a small figure in the shadows. For a second he only stared, almost as if awaiting for a response.
A loud clearing of the throat sound was heard, resonating off the metal of Stromm's jaw.
Dyna almost wished for her skin-vision from her previous body back, but thought against it, rather enjoying the unique advantages her current self gave her. However, she was not afraid, or even concerned.
"Dekomir. Stromm Kumorok." she recited, having accessed the station's database to see who else had come into the ship after she had. The tiny figure rose, becoming... well, not much larger. "You have been assigned to this as of yet unnamed vessel. under my command." The girl turned around to face Stromm, a sweet smile on her face, bright, white teeth contrasting with her dark complexion, fang-like canines obvious but not large enough to seem threatening. She looked all of nine years old, and sounded it, too. One would think her a lost child were in not for the Lieutenant Commander patch on her uniform.
Stromm stared at the girl silently as she recognized him. In his experience with former Origin officers, he learned that much of anything concerning physical appearance meant nothing. The young girl was wearing a uniform and a rank for a reason, likely because she was capable enough to be worthy of such a rank. In response to her statement, he simply stomped one foot to the ground into a stance of attention, bringing a saluting hand to his brow. The force at which he applied his foot to the floor would have been enough to bounce someone as small Dyna off the ground.
If it weren't for the fact that Dyna knew how to use even the toned-down Yamataian version of gravity control very well, and had changed her center of gravity to keep herself firmly planted despite the man's best efforts. She continued to smile sweetly, before saluting back, and turning her attention once again to the ship.
"This is going to be our home for a while. I want to make sure it is strong enough to protect us. So, I'm wandering around like a lost little girl, inspecting everything. It's kinda fun, almost like playing. But, playing alone is never fun. You wanna help me?" she asked, cocking her head to one side curiously.
"No." Stromm growled between his teeth, keeping his stance at attention. At the very last moment, he added a begrudging, "Ma'am."
At heart, the Nepleslian wouldn't have minded assisting the officer, in fact, she reminded him of his nephews back home. It could be a fun time, but Nepleslian pride always seems to get in the way of those things, especially in the case of a Dekomir. Perhaps if they had been off-duty, it would be a different story, but whilst at work, Stromm felt little need for 'playing'.
"Well, you're no fun." Dyna complained, pouting slightly as she crossed her arms. Her pointed neko ears twitched slightly as she heard a noise elsewhere in the ship; it sounded like a box falling over, the contents spilling out and thudding to the ground. The ex-neko turned in the direction the sound had come from, and put her hand underneath her uniform jacket for a moment, pulling out a Zen Arms Little Killer pistol, and readying it.
"How about you help me investigate that sound, Master Sergeant?"
Now this was more like it! Obviously, killing things with children was more appropriate for the work environment. So, in a nodding agreement he fired the blade out of his forearm and pulled out the regular sized .45 Zen Arms pistol.
Quietly, Dyna padded towards the source of the noise, which turned out to be the storage room for that deck. The door was closed, and showed few signs of having been opened recently, if one had the patience to count the number of dust particles and calculate the time it would take for each one to travel to its current resting place, but this was not any information the two origin employees would care to find out.
Dyna pushed the button to manually open the door, and revealed another dimly lit room, with a stack of boxes near one end. As expected, one of the boxes had fallen off the stack, the contents, which appeared to be small parts of the cargo management system, were strewn about the floor. A skittering sound could be heard behind the pile of boxes.
"Allow me." Stromm declared as his steps carried him toward the sound behind the boxes. With a powerful swing of his leg, the Master Sergeant kicked the boxes to the side, and then brought his pistol up to aim at whatever had caused the noise, his blade ready to lunge at whatever was going to confront him.
The Nepleslian's efforts were rewarded with a smallish, bug-like creature that had been chewing on one of the boxes, a tentacle-like bud sticking out of its abdomen. The thing hissed and screeched, and jumped at Stromm, but it seemed to not be functioning properly and missed by a good half meter, whooshing past both his blade and his gun, but the sound of a bullet being fired from behind Stromm would result in a screech, and the wet sound of a splattering creature hitting the ground.
Reduced to only its head and a couple of legs, the small creature laid on what was left of its back and made a horrible noise, wriggling its tiny legs in an effort to right itself and escape.
Stromm almost put a bullet through the creatures skull as it came at him, his sights had just lined up on it. Though, it was the Lt. Commander who was faster on the draw and the massive sergeant only watched as the mutated bug squirmed on the ground. A small, reverberating grunt came from Stromms mouth as he walked over to the tiny beast and curb-stomped it into the deck's floor.
"What in Dizzy's tits was that?" Stromm spat, looking back and down at the tiny officer.
"A Mishhu parasite. they take over your mind and control you like a puppet." Dyna clarified, Grimacing at the creature before stomping it out, the thing squealing and finally dying underneath her boot. "They hitched a ride on a ship that came into port a few weeks back. apparently we didn't catch all of them."
"What kind of shitfaced mop-up team doesn't do a full-biological scan of a ship?" Stromm spat, his iron jaw snapping closed with a loud clank. The fact of having a Mishhu parasite burrowing into his body at night while he slept did not sound too appetizing to him. His blade slid back into his forearm and he holstered his pistol. His dune-spice blue eyes gazed down on his commander with a bit of distaste.
"Well, there's a reason OriSec was created." Dyna pointed out, slipping the little killer back into its concealed holster stitched into her jacket, and straightened her uniform. "Simple volunteers weren't enough to keep us safe, so we've beefed up security. That's why you and I are here in this ship."
The young girl, or old neko, depending on how you looked at it, stepped back and bent down, curiously inspecting the remains of the parasite. "Nasty buggers, these are. I want to kill every last F***ing one of them."
Stromm didn't speak for a moment, it occurred to him exactly who he had just killed this parasite with. Someone who had the body of a child, and the mind of an adult. His head honcho looked like a child, but at least was reasonably an adult. This person, however, was not exactly that, so he stiffened up into a stance of attention.
"Permission to speak openly, Ma'am." came Stromm's gruff voice.
Dyna stood up straight again and smiled "Permission granted. At ease, man." she said, swiftly saluting Stromm in proper Nepleslian fashion, as she looked up from her lower vantage point towards the giant man's head. she waited patiently for what he had to say.
"What the hell are you, exactly?" Stromms face twisted into what appeared to be disgust, though that may have been due to the solidity of his jaw.
"I am a yamataian. Nine years old. I Used to be a Nekovalkyrja. I served the Star Army of Yamatai in four separate wars since my creation and have received many honors for my combat performance. When I was honorably discharged after serving my term, I opted to try another lifestyle and live as my own age, rather than a false age bestowed on my by synthetic genetics."
"You served honorably in battle, and then opted to be turned into a five-year-old?" asked Stromm, a twinge of respect detectable in his voice, along with the curiosity.
The small girl smiled a deadly smile. "It looks like old habits die hard."
"Forgive me, ma'am, but you are unsettling." Stromm grimaced his silver teeth showing. "If you are to play a role in combat, why not use a body that is more suited for it?"
"If I am to play a role in combat, Why should I do what is expected by the enemy?" Dyna asked in return. "Looking and acting like a child has certain... advantages."
"You think the Mishhu are going to hand you a lollipop and send you on your way?" returned Stromm, apparently not fully grasping the reason behind her decision.
"Underestimation is a powerful tool. When a person looks at you, they see a big, strong marine. someone to be feared and respected. When that same person looks at me, they see a little girl. Someone fragile, to be protected, or ignored. But that person would only be right half of the time." that deadly grin grew on Dyna's face again, before swiftly and discreetly switching to a sweet, childlike visage once more.
Dyna spoke again, the business gone from her voice, now the sweet sound of a little girl again. "Because I'm just a small, little girl."
"You expect the crew to respect a small, little girl?" Stromm addressed her gruffly again, somewhat unaffected by her expressions, outwardly. Inwardly, the Sergeant was questioning if transferring into OriSec was a smart idea. Clearly, everyone was insane, inept, or children.
Dyna brushed a few fingers through her hair, straightening the long, deep violet locks for a moment before gathering her thoughts and responding to Stromm's statement. "That is why you are here. You are my Executive officer. I know my disadvantages, and so I chose someone who could help me compensate. Naturally, the biggest, strongest person is a proper choice. The fact that you also happen to have the proper background and experience made you a shoe-in."
"So I am a figure-head to serve for you in your role to command?" Stromm didn't appear to be displeased with the notion, but at the same time, he wasn't pleased either. "I am an infantry commander, not a Starship Operator, perhaps you would benefit more from a person with 'proper' talents."
"I'm not a starship captain. This ship is merely a vessel and base of operations for our security unit." the ex-neko grinned at the Nepleslian man, before moving on. "An Infantry commander is exactly what is needed someone with the skills and the ability to lead people properly in a fight against a foe. I am hoping you are the kind of commander who uses each individual to their unique advantages, instead of as chess pieces on the board of war."
"I will use them as individuals and chess pieces. I do what I will to ensure the success of an operation. I am not someone who lets petty morals guide his decisions in battle. My soldiers are there to suit their objective. If that objective is to fight, then they will fight. If that objective is to defend, they will defend." Stromm responded proudly, his arms resting behind his back. "They will only die if that is their objective."
"And that, Mister Dekomir, is exactly why your application was chosen for this task." Dyna smiled, walking over towards the stack of boxes, closer to Stromm. "Now, Let's make sure there are no more of these pests in here. I don't want one to take over a worker and sabotage this vessel before we even get a chance to kill more squid scum."
Stromm grunted using his leg to kick over a few more boxes ungracefully. He liked this girls style, rough and tumble, which was as Nepleslian as it got. By the time they made sure all these things were dead, he half-hoped he could gain some respect for a nine-year-old child. Mostly because it would be easier to listen to her.
"I heard no more skittering." said Stromm drawing out his pistol, "Where do you suggest we look?"
"My guess would be to try and find a similar pile of boxes in the other Cargo bays." Dyna suggested, though she figured that they were probably confined to this room and probably all came from the one box. "I have already requested the rest of security to start searching the other unfinished ships, as well as any component boxes."
"I see, then." Stromm said, firing his sword out of his forearm. He walked box to box, shoving his boot into each one, daring for a skittering sound to be made. It felt like a hunt, a hunt for alien monsters who infected you and turned you into slaves. Yet, that risk seemed to make it a little more enjoyable.
Stromm was lucky the boxes were full of durable equipment, or his methods of searching would have caused several hundred KS in damages. As it was he simply made a lot of clinking noises of metal pieces hitting each other. No more bugs came out of the boxes, and so Dyna headed towards the door.
"Let's search the other compartments. There's plenty on this deck, and I can get my inspection done along the way."
"Good enough, lead the way, Ma'am." agreed Stromm, keeping his pistol drawn but following the footsteps of his commander.
The ensuing search, as Dyna had suspected, turned up no more Parasites. The other four decks lacked parasites as well. After a good hour of searching, with nothing more found, Dyna decided it was time to leave the ship. Her objectives completed, the ex-neko made her way across the plank leading from the Hangar of the Kouken to a mobile scaffolding that allowed technicians to access the ship while it was in the artificial gravity block of Dawn station, and stopped when she reached the other side. Turning around, she looked over the dull Grey hull, for now unfinished and unpainted, a shell of what it would become.
Stromm had been disappointed at the results of the search, even though it did help reestablish some of his faith in the other members of the clean-up crews. He followed his new commanding officer until they reached the outside. As she turned and looked back at the ship, the Master Sergeant could notice the maturity in her gaze. Those eyes seemed to possess something beyond a child for that moment, which seemed to be enough for Stromm.
"You appear anxious." Stromm said, looking back at the ship, "Is your thirst for a fight that dry?"
"It has been too long since I've felt at ease. I bought a gun not because I needed it, but because I enjoyed the feel of it. Born to be a soldier, a life of peace just wasn't enough." Dyna smiled warmly, turning away from the ship and making her way down the scaffolding to the deck.
"You are not alone in that aspect." Stromm said, keeping in tow with Dyna. He was reminded of how his father brutally trained him into the warrior he was today. It wasn't quite the Neko's lifestyle, but for a Nepleslian, constant war is a life with out freedom, or joy. Neither of them seemed quite likely to find what they desired in their lives outside of a battle. He shook his head, beating off the memories of his father.
"Lieutenant Commander," Stromm stomped his foot down again, in similar fashion that would cause most people to lose balance. "Do you require me for anything else?"
"Not right now, Master Sergeant. You are free to go." Dyna answered, back to her business-like tone. It sounded odd, in that little girls' voice, but seemed to fit the individual. Mature, yet in a vastly different wrapping. "The next time I will need you, we will be heading off on our vessel's maiden voyage." the girl kept walking, but stopped after a few steps. "However, you are free to see me during our free times."
"I may take advantage of that, ma'am." Stromm saluted her again, though he was unsure exactly why he would need to see her for any more than their jobs itself. "It has a been a pleasure, Lieutenant Commander, I hope our cruise holds similar potential."
Dyna Shevi made her rounds, inspecting the ship whose future crew she would be in charge of, and responsible for. A solid crew needed a solid ship, and the young ex-Neko knew that, as well as how to spot defects in workmanship. Momentarily, she stopped to inspect a weld, crouching down and becoming even less visible in the dimly-lit ship.
Dyna would feel the floor she stood on shake, as a pair of heavy boots struck the floor with determined stride. A massive man made his way down the hallway, a stern look in his eye, as well his iron jaw. Stromm Kumorok Dekomir regarded the walls of the unfinished ship with little concern, in only it was little like that the Nepleslian ships he used to call home. The over-sized Nepleslian stopped as he spotted a small figure in the shadows. For a second he only stared, almost as if awaiting for a response.
A loud clearing of the throat sound was heard, resonating off the metal of Stromm's jaw.
Dyna almost wished for her skin-vision from her previous body back, but thought against it, rather enjoying the unique advantages her current self gave her. However, she was not afraid, or even concerned.
"Dekomir. Stromm Kumorok." she recited, having accessed the station's database to see who else had come into the ship after she had. The tiny figure rose, becoming... well, not much larger. "You have been assigned to this as of yet unnamed vessel. under my command." The girl turned around to face Stromm, a sweet smile on her face, bright, white teeth contrasting with her dark complexion, fang-like canines obvious but not large enough to seem threatening. She looked all of nine years old, and sounded it, too. One would think her a lost child were in not for the Lieutenant Commander patch on her uniform.
Stromm stared at the girl silently as she recognized him. In his experience with former Origin officers, he learned that much of anything concerning physical appearance meant nothing. The young girl was wearing a uniform and a rank for a reason, likely because she was capable enough to be worthy of such a rank. In response to her statement, he simply stomped one foot to the ground into a stance of attention, bringing a saluting hand to his brow. The force at which he applied his foot to the floor would have been enough to bounce someone as small Dyna off the ground.
If it weren't for the fact that Dyna knew how to use even the toned-down Yamataian version of gravity control very well, and had changed her center of gravity to keep herself firmly planted despite the man's best efforts. She continued to smile sweetly, before saluting back, and turning her attention once again to the ship.
"This is going to be our home for a while. I want to make sure it is strong enough to protect us. So, I'm wandering around like a lost little girl, inspecting everything. It's kinda fun, almost like playing. But, playing alone is never fun. You wanna help me?" she asked, cocking her head to one side curiously.
"No." Stromm growled between his teeth, keeping his stance at attention. At the very last moment, he added a begrudging, "Ma'am."
At heart, the Nepleslian wouldn't have minded assisting the officer, in fact, she reminded him of his nephews back home. It could be a fun time, but Nepleslian pride always seems to get in the way of those things, especially in the case of a Dekomir. Perhaps if they had been off-duty, it would be a different story, but whilst at work, Stromm felt little need for 'playing'.
"Well, you're no fun." Dyna complained, pouting slightly as she crossed her arms. Her pointed neko ears twitched slightly as she heard a noise elsewhere in the ship; it sounded like a box falling over, the contents spilling out and thudding to the ground. The ex-neko turned in the direction the sound had come from, and put her hand underneath her uniform jacket for a moment, pulling out a Zen Arms Little Killer pistol, and readying it.
"How about you help me investigate that sound, Master Sergeant?"
Now this was more like it! Obviously, killing things with children was more appropriate for the work environment. So, in a nodding agreement he fired the blade out of his forearm and pulled out the regular sized .45 Zen Arms pistol.
Quietly, Dyna padded towards the source of the noise, which turned out to be the storage room for that deck. The door was closed, and showed few signs of having been opened recently, if one had the patience to count the number of dust particles and calculate the time it would take for each one to travel to its current resting place, but this was not any information the two origin employees would care to find out.
Dyna pushed the button to manually open the door, and revealed another dimly lit room, with a stack of boxes near one end. As expected, one of the boxes had fallen off the stack, the contents, which appeared to be small parts of the cargo management system, were strewn about the floor. A skittering sound could be heard behind the pile of boxes.
"Allow me." Stromm declared as his steps carried him toward the sound behind the boxes. With a powerful swing of his leg, the Master Sergeant kicked the boxes to the side, and then brought his pistol up to aim at whatever had caused the noise, his blade ready to lunge at whatever was going to confront him.
The Nepleslian's efforts were rewarded with a smallish, bug-like creature that had been chewing on one of the boxes, a tentacle-like bud sticking out of its abdomen. The thing hissed and screeched, and jumped at Stromm, but it seemed to not be functioning properly and missed by a good half meter, whooshing past both his blade and his gun, but the sound of a bullet being fired from behind Stromm would result in a screech, and the wet sound of a splattering creature hitting the ground.
Reduced to only its head and a couple of legs, the small creature laid on what was left of its back and made a horrible noise, wriggling its tiny legs in an effort to right itself and escape.
Stromm almost put a bullet through the creatures skull as it came at him, his sights had just lined up on it. Though, it was the Lt. Commander who was faster on the draw and the massive sergeant only watched as the mutated bug squirmed on the ground. A small, reverberating grunt came from Stromms mouth as he walked over to the tiny beast and curb-stomped it into the deck's floor.
"What in Dizzy's tits was that?" Stromm spat, looking back and down at the tiny officer.
"A Mishhu parasite. they take over your mind and control you like a puppet." Dyna clarified, Grimacing at the creature before stomping it out, the thing squealing and finally dying underneath her boot. "They hitched a ride on a ship that came into port a few weeks back. apparently we didn't catch all of them."
"What kind of shitfaced mop-up team doesn't do a full-biological scan of a ship?" Stromm spat, his iron jaw snapping closed with a loud clank. The fact of having a Mishhu parasite burrowing into his body at night while he slept did not sound too appetizing to him. His blade slid back into his forearm and he holstered his pistol. His dune-spice blue eyes gazed down on his commander with a bit of distaste.
"Well, there's a reason OriSec was created." Dyna pointed out, slipping the little killer back into its concealed holster stitched into her jacket, and straightened her uniform. "Simple volunteers weren't enough to keep us safe, so we've beefed up security. That's why you and I are here in this ship."
The young girl, or old neko, depending on how you looked at it, stepped back and bent down, curiously inspecting the remains of the parasite. "Nasty buggers, these are. I want to kill every last F***ing one of them."
Stromm didn't speak for a moment, it occurred to him exactly who he had just killed this parasite with. Someone who had the body of a child, and the mind of an adult. His head honcho looked like a child, but at least was reasonably an adult. This person, however, was not exactly that, so he stiffened up into a stance of attention.
"Permission to speak openly, Ma'am." came Stromm's gruff voice.
Dyna stood up straight again and smiled "Permission granted. At ease, man." she said, swiftly saluting Stromm in proper Nepleslian fashion, as she looked up from her lower vantage point towards the giant man's head. she waited patiently for what he had to say.
"What the hell are you, exactly?" Stromms face twisted into what appeared to be disgust, though that may have been due to the solidity of his jaw.
"I am a yamataian. Nine years old. I Used to be a Nekovalkyrja. I served the Star Army of Yamatai in four separate wars since my creation and have received many honors for my combat performance. When I was honorably discharged after serving my term, I opted to try another lifestyle and live as my own age, rather than a false age bestowed on my by synthetic genetics."
"You served honorably in battle, and then opted to be turned into a five-year-old?" asked Stromm, a twinge of respect detectable in his voice, along with the curiosity.
The small girl smiled a deadly smile. "It looks like old habits die hard."
"Forgive me, ma'am, but you are unsettling." Stromm grimaced his silver teeth showing. "If you are to play a role in combat, why not use a body that is more suited for it?"
"If I am to play a role in combat, Why should I do what is expected by the enemy?" Dyna asked in return. "Looking and acting like a child has certain... advantages."
"You think the Mishhu are going to hand you a lollipop and send you on your way?" returned Stromm, apparently not fully grasping the reason behind her decision.
"Underestimation is a powerful tool. When a person looks at you, they see a big, strong marine. someone to be feared and respected. When that same person looks at me, they see a little girl. Someone fragile, to be protected, or ignored. But that person would only be right half of the time." that deadly grin grew on Dyna's face again, before swiftly and discreetly switching to a sweet, childlike visage once more.
Dyna spoke again, the business gone from her voice, now the sweet sound of a little girl again. "Because I'm just a small, little girl."
"You expect the crew to respect a small, little girl?" Stromm addressed her gruffly again, somewhat unaffected by her expressions, outwardly. Inwardly, the Sergeant was questioning if transferring into OriSec was a smart idea. Clearly, everyone was insane, inept, or children.
Dyna brushed a few fingers through her hair, straightening the long, deep violet locks for a moment before gathering her thoughts and responding to Stromm's statement. "That is why you are here. You are my Executive officer. I know my disadvantages, and so I chose someone who could help me compensate. Naturally, the biggest, strongest person is a proper choice. The fact that you also happen to have the proper background and experience made you a shoe-in."
"So I am a figure-head to serve for you in your role to command?" Stromm didn't appear to be displeased with the notion, but at the same time, he wasn't pleased either. "I am an infantry commander, not a Starship Operator, perhaps you would benefit more from a person with 'proper' talents."
"I'm not a starship captain. This ship is merely a vessel and base of operations for our security unit." the ex-neko grinned at the Nepleslian man, before moving on. "An Infantry commander is exactly what is needed someone with the skills and the ability to lead people properly in a fight against a foe. I am hoping you are the kind of commander who uses each individual to their unique advantages, instead of as chess pieces on the board of war."
"I will use them as individuals and chess pieces. I do what I will to ensure the success of an operation. I am not someone who lets petty morals guide his decisions in battle. My soldiers are there to suit their objective. If that objective is to fight, then they will fight. If that objective is to defend, they will defend." Stromm responded proudly, his arms resting behind his back. "They will only die if that is their objective."
"And that, Mister Dekomir, is exactly why your application was chosen for this task." Dyna smiled, walking over towards the stack of boxes, closer to Stromm. "Now, Let's make sure there are no more of these pests in here. I don't want one to take over a worker and sabotage this vessel before we even get a chance to kill more squid scum."
Stromm grunted using his leg to kick over a few more boxes ungracefully. He liked this girls style, rough and tumble, which was as Nepleslian as it got. By the time they made sure all these things were dead, he half-hoped he could gain some respect for a nine-year-old child. Mostly because it would be easier to listen to her.
"I heard no more skittering." said Stromm drawing out his pistol, "Where do you suggest we look?"
"My guess would be to try and find a similar pile of boxes in the other Cargo bays." Dyna suggested, though she figured that they were probably confined to this room and probably all came from the one box. "I have already requested the rest of security to start searching the other unfinished ships, as well as any component boxes."
"I see, then." Stromm said, firing his sword out of his forearm. He walked box to box, shoving his boot into each one, daring for a skittering sound to be made. It felt like a hunt, a hunt for alien monsters who infected you and turned you into slaves. Yet, that risk seemed to make it a little more enjoyable.
Stromm was lucky the boxes were full of durable equipment, or his methods of searching would have caused several hundred KS in damages. As it was he simply made a lot of clinking noises of metal pieces hitting each other. No more bugs came out of the boxes, and so Dyna headed towards the door.
"Let's search the other compartments. There's plenty on this deck, and I can get my inspection done along the way."
"Good enough, lead the way, Ma'am." agreed Stromm, keeping his pistol drawn but following the footsteps of his commander.
The ensuing search, as Dyna had suspected, turned up no more Parasites. The other four decks lacked parasites as well. After a good hour of searching, with nothing more found, Dyna decided it was time to leave the ship. Her objectives completed, the ex-neko made her way across the plank leading from the Hangar of the Kouken to a mobile scaffolding that allowed technicians to access the ship while it was in the artificial gravity block of Dawn station, and stopped when she reached the other side. Turning around, she looked over the dull Grey hull, for now unfinished and unpainted, a shell of what it would become.
Stromm had been disappointed at the results of the search, even though it did help reestablish some of his faith in the other members of the clean-up crews. He followed his new commanding officer until they reached the outside. As she turned and looked back at the ship, the Master Sergeant could notice the maturity in her gaze. Those eyes seemed to possess something beyond a child for that moment, which seemed to be enough for Stromm.
"You appear anxious." Stromm said, looking back at the ship, "Is your thirst for a fight that dry?"
"It has been too long since I've felt at ease. I bought a gun not because I needed it, but because I enjoyed the feel of it. Born to be a soldier, a life of peace just wasn't enough." Dyna smiled warmly, turning away from the ship and making her way down the scaffolding to the deck.
"You are not alone in that aspect." Stromm said, keeping in tow with Dyna. He was reminded of how his father brutally trained him into the warrior he was today. It wasn't quite the Neko's lifestyle, but for a Nepleslian, constant war is a life with out freedom, or joy. Neither of them seemed quite likely to find what they desired in their lives outside of a battle. He shook his head, beating off the memories of his father.
"Lieutenant Commander," Stromm stomped his foot down again, in similar fashion that would cause most people to lose balance. "Do you require me for anything else?"
"Not right now, Master Sergeant. You are free to go." Dyna answered, back to her business-like tone. It sounded odd, in that little girls' voice, but seemed to fit the individual. Mature, yet in a vastly different wrapping. "The next time I will need you, we will be heading off on our vessel's maiden voyage." the girl kept walking, but stopped after a few steps. "However, you are free to see me during our free times."
"I may take advantage of that, ma'am." Stromm saluted her again, though he was unsure exactly why he would need to see her for any more than their jobs itself. "It has a been a pleasure, Lieutenant Commander, I hope our cruise holds similar potential."
