RP: Cirrus Station [Episode 9] The Silver Lining

[Kokuten]

Kokuten's smile widened in half-joy, and half-shock. Cassefin's laughter encouraged him in the fact he had cut some of the tensity, but unsettled him in the fact he had never seen her enjoy something simple. It seemed to shift the atmosphere some within the room, evening out with the pleasantness of their host. Still, there was certain uncomfortable air floating over each side of the table, one was on the left where Fidela hunched beside Stovaa. Then on the right where George and Max were sitting, though he didn't know which, not wanting to look in that direction to confirm it. So, he decided to alleviate one side.

"Ah, Mistress Montreal." Kokuten spoke openly to gather the attention of the table, the title spoken with a little flourish of tone. "We've yet to introduce one of the potential scientists present here. She was not present in previous meetings, so she's a stranger here. Miss Jacinto, would you like to introduce yourself?"

Fidela looked at Kokuten with a little caution before shifting her eyes up to the one person she seemed to trust in the room, Stovaa. She squeezed his hand and took a deep breath.

"Right, well." Fidela composed herself, "My name is Fidela Jacinto, I am a graduate of Fortuna University, with a degree in Theoretical Physics." She paused for a moment, licking her lips, "I... ah... graduated Summa Cum Laude..."

 

[Stovaa]

As the squad's captain gave Fidela her break, Stovaa's attention turned back to look at the girl, flashing her another of his trademark half-smiles that seem to imply he cares about the petty nature of his fellow man and giving her a reassuring not. He squeezed her hand back and whispered "Thesis?" under his breath.

A thousand other things ran through his head, but he managed to silence most of them. Lewd comments, naughty jokes, images of Cassefin in a bodice holding a whip demanding all the snivelling worms in the room call her Mistress...

 

[Kokuten]

"Oh! Oh yeah!" said Fidela as she stiffened again, somewhat surprised by the suggestion brought up by Stovaa. She looked up towards the ceiling, before scanning over the table. It was hard to judge whos eyes were on here, and she was hoping she was getting a decent gaze from Cassefin. She then looked over at Blake, then Tweak. She was wondering if they harbored any ill-intent for her behavior earlier. Then, she brought her eyes to Max, wondering if he would at least give some attention, he was nice enough. "My thesis was: Perspectives on Quantum Non-Locality. I won't go into details, because it's kind a convoluted to anyone who hasn't taken the introductory courses. Still, it was a long work, and I got top-marks for it. In fact! I never scored lower than 89 in my entire College Career, and that was because my friends kept me up all night. The walls are paper thin in my apartment, and you can hear everything! It's infuriating! If they want to--..."

Suddenly, Fidela realized she had gone off tanget. Kokuten chuckled a little bit at that, his eyes turning blue.

"Nevermind, the reasons are irrelevant..." She drummed her fingers on Stovaa's fingers, and looked up at him from the corner of her eye. "Thank you."

 

[MissingNo]

Realizing she was becoming distracted, Tweak's earlier suspicions about the dinner returned as she studied her glass of water. There were many substances that could be slipped into H2O that were visually undetectable until it was too late. And, now that she was thinking about it, even more could be incorporated into the foodstuffs.

Fidela taking the floor was a little surprising to Tweak. The barista had seemed at least as nervous as Tweak about being at the dinner, though with a bit more reason since Fidela hadn't really been invited by anyone...and, by what she had mentioned earlier, she was angling for a job at Cirrus. Tweak was a little curious how that strategy was going to work out and why Fidela had decided on it in the first place, so her attention turned toward the barista for the time being. What had happened earlier at the cafe didn't really cross her mind; it had been a misunderstanding, however devastating, and had been more or less resolved.

While listening to Fidela give her piece, Tweak brought the wineglass closer to herself with one hand before dipping the tip of her other hand's pinky finger in the glass just enough to get a single drop of water on the gloved digit. Balancing it there for a moment, she tentatively brought it to her mouth and licked the water off, her highly sensitive tongue sending data that her TOC quickly analyzed for drugs and other additives like nanites and micro- and sub-micro-scale, non-water particulates.

 

[MoonMan]

Off to Tweak's side, George was watching intensively as the freespacer neko delicately dipped her slender finger into the crystal glass and lightly dabbed the delicious droplet slowly onto her outstretched tongue. Although it seemed innocent enough, the act seemed to slow down to a crawl in the gentleman's eyes. The Nepleslian did his best to seem like he was not staring, but to those who were paying attention it was painfully obvious.

"...Uh... it's... just water, Tweak," George finally worked up the gumption to speak as Tweak tested the beverage, unaware of her actual intent. The neko, of course, did not find anything out of the ordinary; a stable beverage consisting of hydrogen, oxygen, a couple trace minerals and vitamins. Plain old mineral water, a higher quality than most. "If you want somethin' else to drink, I think we'll, uh, be able to order it... when the guy gets here," George continued on with his assumption, tossing a few sideways glances around to see if he could catch their waiter, in hopes of seeing a set of menus.

---

As Kokuten started to make mention to Stovaa's guest, Cassefin's eyes widened a bit in disbelief when he proclaimed her Mistress title aloud, her head shaking side to side shortly in horrified disapproval as the vowels rang out. Unable to do nothing about it, however, she merely placed a palm against her forehead in embarrassment as he finished, and remained like that for most of Fidela's introduction.

The others around the northern end of the table, however, seemed very interested. Laj and Marrisa remained relatively quiet through the entire length of Fidela's introduction and thesis, although while Laj seemed genuinely interested, Marrisa's attention span shrank thinner and thinner as she grew visibly bored by the young ladies speech, finally leaning forward onto a single elbow and yawning loudly. Purina looked positively impressed, however, and nodded along with Fidela's points with an enthusiastic smile, and even Cassefin drew herself out of her circle of embarrassment to listen in on the young ladies thesis. "That's quite impressive, miss!" Purina congratulated Fidela as she sat back down, giving her a small round of applause as Marrisa looked sideways to the pink-haired Administrator and rolled her eyes.

Laj also gave Fidela a hand, chuckling along with Kokuten as the woman began to grow sidetracked near the end. "My my. Makes me wish I knew what all of that was about. My degree kept me mostly in the business economics end of the campus," Laj confided with the table, clasping his hands together one last time before letting them stay at the end of the table. "But, Miss Jacinto, are you really so eager to leave the Lady so early in her career? The coffee bar not to your liking, perhaps?" Laj teased the lady slightly, shooting her a sly smile at her apparent lack of fidelity towards her current position.

---

Blake's misguided boldness to Nell's advances didn't go unnoticed; all though Fidela's presentation, Nell couldn't be bothered to pay the young lady much attention as she continue to shoot Morris with half-hearted affection. When he asked her what kind of music she enjoyed, however, the silver-haired tomboy gave a short, nervous laugh; Blake's own taste in music dwarfed her simple tastes by many leagues. "I... uh... ya know... I like a lil bit a' everythin', yeah..." Nell allowed her voice to trail off before moving back to the offensive. "So, where ya from big guy? Got a rich family back home or somethin'?" Nell asked, instantly associating his supposed knowledge of finer music to family wealth and prosperity. Odette, who was sitting next to her, gave a nervous chuckle for her smaller friend, apparently aware of how shallow such a question sounded whereas Nell seemed to not notice at all.

 

[MissingNo]

The Nepleslian did his best to seem like he was not staring, but to those who were paying attention it was painfully obvious.

"...Uh... it's... just water, Tweak," George finally worked up the gumption to speak as Tweak tested the beverage, unaware of her actual intent. The neko, of course, did not find anything out of the ordinary; a stable beverage consisting of hydrogen, oxygen, a couple trace minerals and vitamins. Plain old mineral water, a higher quality than most. "If you want somethin' else to drink, I think we'll, uh, be able to order it... when the guy gets here," George continued on with his assumption, tossing a few sideways glances[...]

"It's clean," murmured Tweak to herself before looking at George. "Huh? No, just testing it...it will be okay," she said, keeping her voice quiet. "Germs and everything..." Her eyes turned back to the glass, staring at it a moment as if it were hiding something, then shrugging and looking around the table once more. It was tempting to use a fork or something and the water to draw on the tabletop, but Tweak knew that wasn't likely to go over well.

 

[Kokuten]

The young Las Apagos girl relaxed as she saw Purina clap and praise her accomplishments. Tweak's smile gave her a little confidence, knowing that even the uncomfortable moment from earlier hadn't dampened her view on her. Fidela was almost brimming when Laj showed his interest. It was seeming like her presentation went well.

But, she froze as mentioned the coffee bar. It seemed like she didn't expect the prestigious Senator to even notice a little BADASS BEANS barista such as herself. Not only that it seemed he found her desire to leave her job a little unbecoming over her. It was now she noticed Marrisa's apparent disinterest. Worse so, the one person she was aiming to please had her face in her palm in what seemed disappointment. What happened to the successful speech she had a while ago? Fidela's head dipped quietly, not sure how to work up a response to that.

"W-well... You know..." started Fidela, feeling the room close in on her a little bit.

 

[Lamb]

'Awesome, she didn't notice!' Blake thought, wriggling his fingers now successfully close to hers. Now all she had to do was take a quick breath, or dare pinch her nose, and the young Morris would have her own hand wrapped over her mouth under his.

The payload of relief dropped alongside a new fear, which built new tension in the head of a young artist just trying to avoid microbial encounters for one night. He needed her hand near his, so he could be quick enough to block the incoming spray of germ-infested mucus. But, what if she decided she was no longer interested in him? Then she'd move away, and unless she moved further away he'd still be in range of deadly microbial attack. And defenseless.

'Oh no, I'd better keep answering her questions, or...or...or something!' his mind shouted to him. On the outside, his face fell ever-so-slightly at the mention of rich parents. His broad grin became more of an easy smile.

"Why yes," he said, trying not to grit his teeth, "My biological mother was constantly beaten severely by my father and very impoverished, so she gave me up to her employers, the Morris family. They're... not all that well known, but they have a lot of money from their investments. Of course, now they're mainly doing mining, which is why they moved to Nepleslia Prime. So, in a way, I'm from Roger Wilco on Core because I grew up there. On the other hand, I spent my last few years after the succession on Prime."

As he went on, Blake's smile picked back up, especially after the mention of Prime. "So, where do you come from? How affluent are your parents? We have to take turns exchanging information until we both know a whole lot!"

 

[Stovaa]

"Nothing wrong with moving up in the world, Senator. Chicks need to fly the nest sometime."

The wonderous double nature of that statement let him seem both supportive and chauvinistic at the same time, depending how you looked at it. He took a long sip from his waterglass before turning back to Fidela and speaking quietly to her.

"Well done. Ignore Cassefin's pose, she does that a lot. Especially when we're on duty."

 

[MoonMan]

George laughed nervously along with Tweak's answer. "Ha ha... yeah, germs, I know right?" His voice trailed off weakly as he turned his head to Max once more, shrugging in frustration and giving the gentleman a look that seemed to plea for assistance. What do I do now? George began to wordlessly mouth in Maximillian's direction, searching for an answer on his face.

---

Laj chuckled lightly at Stovaa's defense of Fidela's fidelity. "Yes indeed... yes indeed," the man agreed with a short nod. "Although I'm sad you want to leave the Lady so soon, I of all people should know the importance of progression, after all. I apologize, Ms. Jacinto, I was only making a bad joke."

The Vinross Yu-Cranker CEO turned back towards Cassefin, his face alight with a relaxed grin. "Miss Montreal, although she has only worked here for a very short time, Ms. Jacinto has proven to be a very dedicated worker," Laj began while Cassefin looked on, her face showing that she was listening quite intently to the gentleman's words. "Although I can't comment on her necessary knowledge of the field she wants to be a part of on the Cirrus, I can say that she has my highest recommendation."

Cassefin looked a little distraught for a short moment. On one hand, it seemed so out of the ordinary; the very reason why Fidela was even here still eluded Cassefin, although from the sideways glances she was giving Stovaa and Fidela, the administrator had a fairly well-educated guess. Although, on the other hand, Fidela's thesis showed she had some understanding of her theoretical physics degree, and Cassefin could always use competent individuals on her science teams. The recommendation from Laj was also fairly impressive...

"...well... I suppose there might be some positions open on the Cirrus," Cassefin finally answered after her long pause of silence. "If you don't mind, pull me aside after we're finished for the night and I'll see about expediting your application, so that you may board the Cirrus before she leaves Fortuna's orbit."

 

[Kokuten]

"R--Really!?" Fidela squeaked, her eyes shooting wide at that. She was overcome with disbelief, joy, and what seemed the urge to cry. It seemed like several pain-staking years of studying and hard work were now paying off. The girl squealed, bouncing in her chair, shaking Stovaa's hand back and forth in excitement. Though, she quickly realized she was gushing, and she looked around the table embarrassedly at her outburst, before calmly acknowledging Cassefin, "Thank you very much, Miss Montreal." Fidela then gave Stovaa's hand a gentle squeeze, whispering to him, "And thank you."

Kokuten had silently watched the little situation with a small grin, entertained by Fidela's overall nervousness. Though, as she finished, his eyes rolled back in Laj's direction, before looking down at his glass of water.

"His personality is rather disarming, don't you think?" chuckled Kokuten rather quietly to Cassefin, as his head swiveled in the direction of Max's side of the table. It was hard to gauge where exactly then tension came from this side of the table, but George didn't look too comfortable.

 

[Aendri]

Max shrugged back at George, rolling his hand to indicate the other man should just keep on going. He had no clue what Tweak was doing, or what the two of them were talking about, but it was a definite step up from George just sitting there moping without talking to her. Max wasn't paying too much attention to Fidela, since he wasn't a scientist in any sense. He was keeping an eye on everyone from the other party as best he could though, and another one on Purina (though he wasn't quite sure where all these eyes were coming from).

 

[MoonMan]

Cassefin could only nod her head to Kokuten's observation as she smiled softly at Fidela's excitement. Laj was doing a very good job of deflecting a lot of the subtle aggression around the table, there was no doubt about that. "He seems so very relaxed, but still keeping a professional air. I think I envy him, a little," Cassefin mused back to the captain, idly crossing her palms into her lap.

---

Nell listened to Blake's short life summary with great interest at first, but as he went on to detail the less-than-lovely parts Nell began to take on a rather skeptical look. She laughed weakly along with Blake at the end of his explanation, on the wall whether the man was trying to be humorous or not. "Uh, yeah. I'm from Funky City, born an' raised, yannow? Eastern inlet near the coast. My folks were, uh.... afflah'ant enough?" Nell answered with a bit of a twist at the end of her statement, mispronouncing affluent rather blatantly. She cleared her throat harshly and started pressing him again. "So what made ya get into the security biz? Free ride 'round a big space station, yeah?"

---

George wasn't too impressed with Max's 'help', consisting of a simple hand gesture indicating him to continue. George gave him an aggravated look, as if to convey Continue with WHAT, I ain't got nothin' left!. Of course, George didn't get much of a reply with that, and in turn had to reengage Tweak with a different approach all together. "So, ah, Tweak. Have you-"

Before George could go on, two waiters approached the table from the opening inlet, carrying armfuls of thick, leather-bound menus. The men passed them out silently, Laj and Marrisa looking quite excited to finally be receiving the menus for the evening. "Ah, terrific," Laj said as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. "I made sure to hire some of the best chefs in Nepleslia to work The Lady's opening night... I'm sure we're in for some fantastic cuisine."

Appetizers

Asparagus Velouté
Asparagus Cream Soup with a touch of Albini sea salt

Tropical Prime Fruits
Marinated with Lime Juice and a Touch of Green Tequila

Cured Kohana Salmon and Candied Tomato
Dill Cream, Stewed Apples and Grapes in Lemon Dressing

Grilled Portobello Mushroom
Marinated with Virgin Olive Oil and Aged Balsamic Vinegar

Heart of Rok'Veru Lettuce Salad
Zucchini and Vine Ripened Tomato Fritters
Choice of Blue Cheese, Thousand Island, Ranch, Balsamic Vinaigrette, or French Dressing

Gazpacho Andalouse
Chilled Tomato Broth with Diced Plum Tomatoes
Peppers, Cucumbers and Zita Coast Herbs

Entrees

Broiled Nepleslian Lobster Tail
Served With Drawn Sweet Butter and Nexim Lemon

Sweet and Sour Shrimp
Large Azorean Mammoth Shrimps in a Tangy Sweet and Sour Sauce
Served with Scallion, Garlic and Shrimp Fried Rice Noodles

Grilled Fillet of Yamataian Sea Bass
Presented on Young Spinach Salad

Broiled Lemon Rosemary Infused Prime Orangewing
On Pan Seared Potato and Mushroom Hash

Linguini with Los Apagos Sausage, Bell Peppers and Mushrooms
Served with Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese

Grilled Gold City Strip Steak from Black Angus Beef
Accompanied by Three Peppercorn Sauce

Side Dishes

Baked Potatoes with Trimmings

Sautéed Medley of Fresh Kohana Mushrooms

Yukon Gold Mash with Yamataian Wasabe Horseradish

Creamed Spinach with Garlic

Steamed Broccoli

 

[Kokuten]

Relaxed with a professional air? was Kokuten's first thought at that, looking first at Laj, and then down at his left hand, eying the circuit on it. I do admit, he's very much that, something I strive for. A pair of metal fingers rubbed on the tablecloth as Kokuten thought on this. It began to dawn on him that Laj was acting much like himself. The smile, the genial nature, and even the unobstructed kindness to those around him. Kokuten did it to mask his own objections and discomfort, to encourage others, as well to settle the people around him. But Laj...

Those gunmetal black fingers of his closed into a fist as it all sank in. The sick sensations of suspicion and doubt rose in his stomach, along with it's emptiness. Laj's personality was disarming, just as disarming as his own. While usually such goodness would actually draw the LED-eyed man's favor, knowing what he knew only made it feel like the senator was trying to make them vulnerable.

Luckily, Kokuten's burden lifted somewhat when the waiters came out with their menus.

"Ah! Thank you!" said the Captain, receiving his menu, and nodding his head respectfully to the waiters handing them out. He wasted no time in splitting up the leather-bound list, and his eyes quickly scanned over the items, taking in each title and description with the utmost delight. Each option seemed appealing in its own way, but only a certain few made his mouth water behind his usual smile. His eyes went to each dish he wanted.

"Mmm..." went Kokuten, thinking aloud, almost murmuring it, "The grilled portabello, the linguini with a side of cream spinach. Ho ho, yes. This will be a very good dinner." The Captain put his menu down, a contented look on his face as he waited for the waiters to ask for their orders. "Your Chef's are not ones to disappoint, Senator Vinross-Yu." He said, nodding his head at the man, with a short grin, hiding his suspicions.

----

Fidela merely stared at the menu quietly, her excitedness fading in the face of potential food. She looked at the list, and then up at Stovaa, and then back at the list. Her glossy lips formed into a pout as she scanned over it again.

"I don't know what I want." said Fidela, before looking up the most familiar person she knew out of this group, "What are you getting?"

 

[Stovaa]

Fidela then gave Stovaa's hand a gentle squeeze, whispering to him, "And thank you."

The Id-Sol smiled silently at the young girl, a genuine smile crossing his face for a second. He had to admit, even to himself, he did not expect it to go this well. He'd really expected it to involve a lot more negativity and alcohol.

The waiters tore him away from his train of thought and he moved his hand from where it rested in Fidela's lap. He glanced through the menu, his brain narrowing down the meals to the ones he could imagine himself eating. He'd had a few nice meals before, mainly at the elbow of whichever criminal or politician he was guarding at the time. The biggest difference between the two was that criminals paid better and were more likeable. Apart from that, they were pretty much the same.

The Appetizers were simple. He scanned the list twice before a single word struck his noticed. TEQUILA. He could barely remember the last time he had tequila. He realised that he actually couldn't remember much about that night at all. It was probably all the tequila.

He couldn't decide on the entree though. Just going for someone because it said 'steak' seemed a bit of a waste, especially as it was such a classy restaurant. The sweet and sour shrimp and the sea bass was tempting, but he wasn't sure...

"I don't know what I want." said Fidela, before looking up the most familiar person she knew out of this group, "What are you getting?"

"Honestly, my dear? I'm not entirely sure..." he said, not looking away from his menu. He sighed and lowered it before turning to her. "Probably the tropical prime fruits and grilled sea bass fillet. Too much choice for you to decide, or can you just not pick something out?"

 

[MissingNo]

Tweak looked over at George just as he turned to Max, gave a subtle shrug to herself as she couldn't see what he doing, and suppressed a sigh. Reviewing the whispers between Kokuten and Cassefin was informational (and a little amusing), but not incredibly interesting, either. The whole thing with the job offer was concluded. The water was clean. Now what?

What was she supposed to do at this dinner, anyway? Tweak figured that her sole purpose here was if things went wrong, and she really didn't want them to go wrong...but it was so very boring when they went right. Stupid catch twenty-twos...

"So, ah, Tweak. Have you-"

Before George could go on, two waiters approached the table from the opening inlet, carrying armfuls of thick, leather-bound menus.

"Huh?" Tweak looked back at George, but was met with a menu stuck in front of her face. She blinked, accepting it and setting it on the table in front of herself, thanking the waiter with a short nod. "Have I what?" she asked, flipping over the menu and scanning the options before looking back again at George.

 

[MoonMan]

George forced a grin as he thanked the waiter for interrupting him with the arrival of his menu. The Nepleslian heaved a sigh of disappointment, disengaging the failed conversation as he lazily looked over the menu. He found himself wishing, for fleeting moments, that Lenny was around to at least put him at ease.

"Huh?" Tweak looked back at George, but was met with a menu stuck in front of her face. She blinked, accepting it and setting it on the table in front of herself, thanking the waiter with a short nod. "Have I what?" she asked, flipping over the menu and scanning the options before looking back again at George.

The man instantly shot up from his menu abruptly when Tweak began to speak back to him, wide-eyed like a deer in the headlights. "UH! HAVE YOU..." George spoke rather loudly in his rush to give her an answer, before quickly recomposing himself as he cleared his throat. Upon opening his mouth and drawing in the breath to finish his question, however, George paused with his mouth open. His hesitation was accompanied by a sudden flash of realization behind his eyes, and George's previous enthusiasm seemed to drain out of his face. "Have you... ever had any food like this before?"

"Yes," an encouraging word from off to George's right sounded out after the Nepleslian man's question. George turned his head slightly, catching a glimpse of Marrisa Cranker, her elbows resting atop the table with her chin lightly placed on top of her entwined fingers, smiling smoothly at both George and Tweak as she listened in on their conversation. Apparently finished with her private conversation with Purina, both of the ladies had taken to watching the other conversations around the table. "What have you had, Miss Tweak? What kind of food did you have back on your old colony ships? This stuff must be quite new to you," Marrisa spoke, appearing greatly interested in what Tweak had to say as she grinned widely at the disguised neko.

---

As the waiter began to take down orders, Cassefin perused through the menu, her browline beginning to furrow bit by bit as her eyes followed through each of the menu items. From her expression, none of the items on the menu seemed to appeal to her 'special' diet plan. "Um, excuse me..." Cassefin waved towards one of the waiters, who approached her with an accommodating smile as he asked how he could assist the red-haired woman. "Do you have a... like, a guiltless grill kind of thing? Or like a menu for specialized diets?" Cassefin whispered in a low voice to the waiter, sounding very unsure about her question as she held the menu up to her mouth in hopes that nobody else would be drawn in by her query. Unfortunately, the waiter shook his head, informing her that the items on the menu were the only ones currently served that night. "Ah... well, thank you anyway," Cassefin said, sighing in disappointment. She opened the menu again and laid it down on the table top, glancing over the items once more, looking quite unsure of what she should order.

"My good man," Laj waved at the second waiter while Cassefin occupied the first. "I think I will have the portobello and the lobster tail, please. With a side of the broccoli," Laj said, not even bothering to open the menu; apparently he was already quite savvy as to the contents of the leatherbound list. "I would also like a bottle of Adricsh Sanguine, the best date you can get for me," the slick Nepleslian CEO finished as his waiter hastily jotted down the order on a small electronic tablet in his hand.

---

Purina looked through the menu with a sweet smile, taking visible delight in the variety present in the restaurant. After a moment, Professor Popjoy looked up from her menu and looked over to Maximillian. "It all sounds so very good, doesn't it?" Purina said in a low tone to Max, scrunching her shoulders upward in glee. "What are you going to get, Mr...?"

 

[MissingNo]

Tweak cringed as George's voice rose abruptly as he tried restating his interrupted question, resisting the urge to see if he drew any attention. She forced herself to focus on the question, not the eyes that may or may not be watching. She wasn't nervous if it was just him. And answering the question was easy--

"Yes," an encouraging word from off to George's right sounded out after the Nepleslian man's question. George turned his head slightly, catching a glimpse of Marrisa Cranker, her elbows resting atop the table with her chin lightly placed on top of her entwined fingers, smiling smoothly at both George and Tweak as she listened in on their conversation. [...] "What have you had, Miss Tweak? What kind of food did you have back on your old colony ships? This stuff must be quite new to you," Marrisa spoke, appearing greatly interested in what Tweak had to say as she grinned widely at the disguised neko.

There. That was trouble. Not an out-and-out fight -- which was a very good thing -- but still trouble. Tweak glanced from George to Marissa, then looked back down at the menu while her thoughts kicked into overdrive, taking only a second or two.

Why was she not panicking? Well, she had known that her cover was in danger before agreeing to attend. This was essentially an attack, so Tweak figured she must have slipped into the soldier mentality that kept her calm during the missions. She had wondered about that part of her recordings before, that change in behavior that seemed to take over.

But that was a tangent, back to the matter at hand.

She knows. I know she knows, and-- Tweak stopped herself there. That wouldn't do any good. What would, though, was answering Marissa's question without breaking the "soldier's calm". She would have to act normal, though, which meant shy and eccentric. So, somehow she had to return to her nervous state while keeping her wits about her.

"Well...ummm..." Tweak started, keeping her voice down and drawing the words out a little as she continued to study the menu. "I have information on many of the ingredients, but I have never had the opportunity to try them. And they come from so many places..." Her eyebrows suddenly went up and she tapped her finger on one of the dishes. "We have a Kohanian on Cirrus! He probably wouldn't like the mushrooms," she mused. "I love mushrooms...but I wonder if he would like the sal-mon...sal-man...sul-mun..." Tweak's voice trailed off into murmuring to herself as she played with the word's pronunciation. As she did, Tweak noted that the thought of cooked mushrooms really did appeal to her. Weird. Fortunate, that she didn't hate them; mushrooms were a fungus and most likely to be available on Freespacer vessels (according to a quick search that tagged results in her notes).

Then Tweak's face pinked with a faint embarrassment as if she had realized she was ignoring her host and fellow guest and she looked back up at Marissa, then George. "Um...what are you going to get?" she asked the both of them, her voice still quiet.

 

[Lamb]

"Big space station's nice and all, but I was actually expecting to be on the front lines in the war." Blake selected his reply to Nell carefully here. Basic training was such an intense time for him. He worked harder than anyone is his class but he still came out terribly. "I was in Infantry, then in Starship Operation, and finally the Care Corps. That meant I got trained as a bodyguard. I'm not really sure how all that set me out at Cirrus, but I have a feeling it was because my superiors didn't like me."

Blake tossed a glance to Nell as the menus arrived. Inside, he exhaled. If she was reading the menu, she would have to sneeze on it instead of him. Not wanting to interrupt her decision process, he simply signaled to the waiter what he wanted by tapping the appropriate selections: Cured Kohana Salmon, Prime Orangewing, and the Kohana Mushrooms on the side. Suddenly, as if fears were the key to his psyche (Aren't they for all of us?), he stopped worrying about her mucilaginous maliciousness and began giving in to his curiosity. The Uniques were always pretty, demure, sophisticated women in classy outfits. Nell Sarahs was very close to pretty, hardly demure, and intentionally unsophisticated. Perhaps she was being groomed to replace the insane overly violent former Unique Captain. Perhaps she was just really good at shooting stuff. He decided to ask. "And what, my dear lady, might I ask sent you into your current line of work? You seem somehow... different from the others. Perhaps, to use a really bad joke, you're a Unique among Uniques."

 

[Aendri]

Purina looked through the menu with a sweet smile, taking visible delight in the variety present in the restaurant. After a moment, Professor Popjoy looked up from her menu and looked over to Maximillian. "It all sounds so very good, doesn't it?" Purina said in a low tone to Max, scrunching her shoulders upward in glee. "What are you going to get, Mr...?"

"Keno. Ensign Maximillian Keno, though I go by Max. I'm not entirely sure, actually. Several things all sound good. However..." Max's eyes flicked down the menu once more, his well-trained memory filling him in readily after he set the menu down to look back at Purina. "I suspect I will be trying both the salad and the steak though. What about you?"