• If you were supposed to get an email from the forum but didn't (e.g. to verify your account for registration), email Wes at stararmy@gmail.com or talk to me on Discord for help. Sometimes the server hits our limit of emails we can send per hour.
  • Get in our Discord chat! Discord.gg/stararmy

RP: Cirrus Station [Episode 9] The Silver Lining

Claire was a little late in ordering anything. As usual she seemed to refuse to eat anything she didn't make herself or otherwise procure sealed. That said she gave Stovaa a smile, "Hey hon, you mind sharing your drink? Just a little bit, I got here a bit late and all..." It was the flimsiest of excuses and made little sense, but the look in her eye suggested she was all too aware of this and likely didn't need it pointed out.

When it came to weapons talk she perked up a bit, interested in hearing it. "Spare no expense eh? Plasma weaponry is nice, if a bit slow." Her gaze turn to Marissa briefly. "Though I do like it for getting through armor." Her smirk was brief and barely noticeable before her attention returned to the Unique girls. "We don't get such fun toys though. Only security for a research station, after all. We have to make do with our skills for anything serious... Kinda miss the marines for that." She pondered a bit on the memory, looking thoughtful for the fact she had never mentioned it before.
 
"Yeah," Tweak murmured with a tiny smile. She looked thoughtful. Despite being there only a short time, Tweak had already gone shopping, spent time with her friends, gone dancing, tried a new drink...as well as been horribly embarrassed on at least two occasions...but those downsides were completely overshadowed by one, bright memory.

She had been happy.

"I think I know what you mean," she added, looking down at her device again.

MoonMan said:
"But hopefully our foes in the future will not have the ability to turn invisible. But we could deal with them if that was the case with the new function."
Tweak didn't react at the targeting array explanation, though (like everything else) it was being recorded and analyzed by her TacOpSys. Consciously, Tweak wasn't paying attention, so all Marrisa got to see was a shy girl talking with a nervous, awkward guy. However, as the co-founder returned her attention to her employee's explanation, Odette's final remark triggered a warning flag in Tweak's tactical mind.

The right side of her mouth twitched, as if to smile, but otherwise she didn't show any sign of hearing the comment. Fortunately, a waiter cut in, having realized that there was at least one drink order absent from the list for that table. Tweak looked up at him and shook her head, thanking him with a polite nod, the water was enough...as he left, Tweak mentally sighed. Things just kept getting worse, didn't they?
 
"Oh," Laj said in slight surprise, still quite happy to oblige Kokuten with an answer. "I consider all of my contracts important, Mr. Chiaki. From the smallest production firms on the far reaches of the colonial expanse, to the largest premier research facility in Nepleslian space," Laj lazily held out his arms in an encompassing gesture, letting out a short chuckle as he drew them back in and leaned forward a bit. "I wouldn't be co-owner of one of the biggest companies in our universe if I didn't treat all of my contracts appropriately."

---

George gave Tweak a look of shock for a moment, as though he were in utter disbelief that they just held a conversation, despite the brevity. He quickly snapped out of the daze, however, and returned to her a short laugh before moving back to his glass of water. When the waiter approached him to pour a more potent drink, however, George declined.

Cassefin, on the other hand, pulled one of the waiters off to the side of the table and whispered to him in a hushed voice, pointing over to the silver cart full of liquid courage. The gentleman gave her a peculiar look, nodded once, and then walked over to retrieve the large green-glass bottle of Nepleslian Cleaning Alcohol that Kokuten had ordered minutes earlier. Cassefin's face flashed with content and slight anticipation as the waiter retrieved her drinking glass and expertly poured the clear liquid into its confines, setting the glass down in front of Cassefin once more.

---

When everyone was about ready to wet their whistles with the newly-arrived beverages, Laj took the opportunity to clear his throat loudly to garner the attention of the table, taking his wineglass into one hand as he rose from his seat.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Laj spoke with authority, beaming at the table as spoke his piece. "Before we all get too far into our drink, I'd like to say a few words. I'd like to thank all of your for coming out to meet us here tonight, of course; tonight is the grand opening of The Lady of the Ocean, and to have you all as my guests of honor is quite the honor in and of itself.

"Tonight is a night for celebration, of course, for this brand new casino, but I also feel that I must mark it as a night of commemoration, as well," Laj's voice took a slightly more serious tone, and his grin faded along the edges as he turned his gaze to his right, at the two lovely Uniques, and trailed his eyes across the table. "As many of you already know, our office here on Fortuna was attacked recently by a terrorist organization who, from what I could tell, didn't agree with out environmental policies. We lost a handful of very brave men and women as a result. I am please and very grateful to say, however, that our losses would have been much more gruesome, had it not been for the efforts of your little team of heroes, Administrator Montreal," Laj piqued his voice back up a notch, motioning across the table with his wineglass-laden hand. "You all have my most sincere thanks for what you did to help Ms. Sarahs and Ms. Swann to regain control of that area during the attack."

"Donny Lawson and his excavation team were lost in a tunnel collapse, and several clerks at the front desk were shot as they attempted to signal for help from local law enforcement. Also, we lost one of our most dedicated captains during the attack," Laj continued on as both Nell and Odette seemed to be drawn down in slight depression at his words. "Yeah, Cap'n Lisa..." Nell said with a saddened sigh while Odette sheepishly rubbed her forearms, an uncomfortable feeling settling down her fair skin. Laj nodded along with their reminiscing. "Yes, Lisa Bell was a real one-of-a-kind person. Strong-willed, smart as a tack, a natural born leader. She died protecting very important Vinross Yu-Cranker assets after she was forcibly separated from her team... I am happy to say that she apparently succeeded in her ill-fated mission. A stellar example, right to the end. Her family, as well as the families of all of our brave fallen, have our deepest condolences."

Laj looked down at his wine glass in a short moment of silence, swishing the liquid around slightly with small gestures of his hand. "However! There will be some one last bit of good news for tonight, a sign of promising future, for both The Lady and our lovely young Ms. Sarahs here," Laj's solemn look turned back into a sly grin as he motioned with his free hand over to Nell. The silver-haired woman opened her eyes wide for a second in shock, unsure of what her employer could possibly mean. "With Captain Bell now unable to serve, her position needs to be filled; her squad needs someone near her same caliber to take the reigns she has left behind. Nell, you have been a part of Lisa's squad since it was formed. You were both a great security woman and a great friend to Bell. In light of this, as of tonight, under my authority, you are hereby promoted to the rank of Captain of Bell's squad."

Nell couldn't do much beyond letting out a surprised squeak after realizing that she had just been praised and officially promoted by one of the richest men in Nepleslia. Odette smiled warmly and placed a comforting hand on Nell's shoulder, perhaps in hopes that she would snap out of her embarrassing shock-induced paralysis. "I-I-I accept, sir! If ya'll will have me!" Nell threw a hasty salute, to which Laj simply chuckled and waved at her to dismiss the formalities. "It's settled then, Captain Sarahs. In light of your new position, I've also taken the liberty of regrouping your leave days in include tomorrow. You will be drinking tonight for Lisa, as well as yourself; you wouldn't want to disappoint her, right Nell?" Laj winked at the silvery-haired young woman, who had to use every ounce of self-preservation from saluting a second time. "Yessir, Mr. Vinross Yu! I won't letcha down!"
 
Kokuten satisfied himself with that answer, even if it was still not the one he was asking for. Twice he asked why he was trying to contract with the Cirrus station, and twice he replied why he was present for said contracting. Laj was either dodging the answer, or he simply did not understand him, which was perplexing thought. He was about to take another sip before he caught a glimpse of the Green Bottle tipping into the glass of someone he did not expect.

Cassefin was getting her own glass of Industrial Cleaning Alcohol? The blatant health nut from Cirrus station just ordered a glass full of pure ethanol. Kokuten's eyes turned a sharp white.

"Cassefin, are you aware of what was in that bott--..." whispered the Captain hurriedly before Laj called for the toast, stealing his attention and his words for the moment. Wasn't this the same woman who got tipsy off of mixed drinks? He thought with a little strain, forcing his focus on the man holding the eyes of the celebration.

Even further shocking him, Nell was being promoted to Captain of Bell's old squad! He did not know the woman immensely well, but he knew that something seemed wrong here. From what he recalled from his experience at the sink-strip, Nell wasn't near as qualified Odette seemed to be. In fact, the silver-haired girl almost seemed a bit of an air-head in comparison. So... Why promote a subordinate past a superior soldier and officer to an elite position of command? One in particular that seemed to be used for more than simple security. No, this celebration only served to unsettle him more into questioning what the hell was going on.

"Congratulations Ms. Sarahs!" smiled Kokuten, his hands clacking together in a supportive applause. "I guess that essentially makes you the best of the best, hm?" That crumpled up mask of a response felt like poison off the end of his tongue. To which he rid of his tongue by bathing it in more alcohol, down a bit more of his cup.
 
Claire was not in a drinking mood tonight for some reason, and had merely ordered water. Whether or not it was related to her paranoia about eating out was unknown. Nevertheless she took a sip from it when the whole toast started. She never did get the full story from the rest of the squad what they had all done to rescue Popjoy... something she had hoped to hear from her on today's trip. Perhaps they would speak later.

She tried to hide her smile the best she possibly could. And to be fair, she succeeded fairly well. But notably when the mention of Bell came up the corners of her mouth twitched up once before her poker face returned. She did not have a solemn or uncomfortable look on her face at all. If she felt any remorse for killing the woman, it was nowhere to be found in her expression or demeanor.

Then came the promotion. Her lips and cheeks made no movement as Nell nervously accepted the promotion, but her eyes widened. She stared at who was to be the newest captain... and only she and her brain spider knew what went through her head. If the machine could feel, it would likely shudder though. Nonetheless, she took a polite sip and perhaps for the briefest of moments, a smile showed through the water she drank, disappearing as she sat it down again.

"Yes... Congratulations, girl." Claire's smile was polite, and nothing more.
 
Tweak mimicked everyone in the raising of the toast, then only mimed taking a sip of her water, setting the glass on the table when she was done. She didn't feel thirsty. All she really wanted to do now was leave, but she managed to pretend to be happy for the silver-haired Unique.

Nothing had happened yet, but Tweak couldn't shake the feeling that things were going terribly, terribly wrong.
 
"I knew it!" Blake shouted aloud amongst the toast. Then he realized how stupid that seemed. He though maybe he should explain that earlier he was suspecting the Nell was being bred to replace Captain Bell, because she was almost as oafish and brutal as the late Captain Bell. Oh no, he wasn't falling into that trap again, letting his opinion make him look like a big jerk.

So, he blushed a little and made a quick explanation to Nell once the excitement calmed down, "You know, because of how unique you are. For a Unique. Heh."

The smile he wore now was bashful and nervous. In a way, he wasn't really sure if his 'tactful' answer was any better than his insulting one. Now feeling delightfully stupid again, he decided to move his water glass under the table and release a small packet of powder into it. He didn't mention this action to anyone, and he hoped no one would be under the table to witness his addition of prescription-strength pain-killers to the water in his glass. Still, he felt himself calming down already as he hastily downed the glass of water and jumped back into the social fray.

"So, Captain Sarahs," he asked with extra emphasis on the 'captain',"What's your first order of business as Captain? New uniforms? Squad-wide calvary training? Mandatory travel events?"
 
Odette raised her glass with glee as she watched her good friend's promotion from the sidelines. "Congratulations Nell. I suppose now that we're of equal rank, I can't boss you around anymore," the fair raven-haired woman joked. "I'm sure Lisa would be proud."

Nell rubbed at the back of her head in embarrassment as she grinned widely at the congratulations being sent her way. "Eh heh heh, aww shucks, thanks ya'll," the silver-haired woman spoke of her appreciation as she sat back down. She turned back to Blake as he gave his own personal congratulations, smiling coyly as she pressed her finger against her lip and looked up into the clear, star-filled sky over Fortuna. "Weellll... since I ain't gotta go work tomorrow, I reckon' I'll just really enjoy mahself tonight, yannow?" Nell slapped Blake on the shoulder lightly with a giggle before reaching for her drinking glass. The waiter off to the side approached her with the drink she had requested earlier, seemingly eager to take advantage of her new position with a celebratory night of drunken revelry.

---

Kokuten said:
"Cassefin, are you aware of what was in that bott--..." whispered the Captain hurriedly before Laj called for the toast, stealing his attention and his words for the moment.

"Hm?" Cassefin turned to her security captain as he spoke, but just as his attention was diverted towards Laj, so was hers. The administrator's stolid gaze softened a bit as she smiled and toasted along with the rest of the table at Nell's promotion. The word of Lisa Bell being brought up on occasion didn't do much to stagger Cassefin's resolve, although the slight twitch of her brow line did reveal she was aware of the name, at the very least.

When all was nearly said and done, Cassefin began to raise her glass to her mouth to take a drink of the clear, highly potent brew. A short smile left over from seeing Nell's excitement still across her face, she turned her soft crimson gaze lazily back to Kokuten, still pondering what he was attempting to say before Laj took the table's attention. By the time she had turned to him completely, the rim of the drinking glass was already pressed between her lips and, in the short seconds afterward, small amounts of the powerful liquor disappeared past through them.

The reaction was almost immediate. Cassefin's eyes widened in shock, and a throaty gurgle emanated from her bare neck as she suppressed the liquid from gaining any further ground down her gullet than it already had. The Administrator's eyes seemed to shoot from side to side, object to object, person to person in such rapid succession as her cheeks began to distend as she forced the liquid away from her throat and pooled it into her mouth. The powerful alcoholic beverage was not any more agreeable there, however, and as a natural reaction, her body began to process ways of getting rid of the foreign contaminant.

The most logical of actions won in the end, as Cassefin expelled what air was left over in her lungs through her mouth, forcing the liquid out of her pursed lips and puffed cheeks. The velocity of the exiting fluid through the narrow funnel produced a fine mist, which instantly set upon in the direction Cassefin had been facing; which was, unfortunately, directly into Kokuten's face. After she was done essentially spitting an unhealthy quantity of Nepleslian Cleaning Alcohol into the captain's very personal space, Cassefin brought her hands to her mouth and cupped them over, gagging a bit and reeling from the traumatic event.

"What the hell-?!" Cassefin proclaimed, her words muddled and distorted by her enclosed hands over her mouth as she attempted to recover from the ordeal, attempting to speak in between sputters and coughs. "Oh my god... my mouth! What the hell is that stuff?! What did you make me drink?! Aaauugh!" Any jovial emotions Cassefin may have had from the last topic of conversation had evaporated into confusion and aggravation, her peaceful meditation shattered by a foul element, introduced by none other than the victim of its forceful expulsion.
 
Kokuten sighed a bit, glad at least that if they ever had to deal with Gold Squad in the future, it would be in the good graces of Nell. He wasn't sure exactly how they truly felt about the Cirrus, but he hoped the silver-haired woman had enough exposure to know better. Personally he had had enough of whatever boiling water that spilled over the edges of the silent conflict. The thought of finding a new place to work seemed appealing altogether. At the very least, he was getting a nice vacation of it, even if it was for one night.

The reaction was almost immediate. Cassefin's eyes widened in shock, and a throaty gurgle emanated from her bare neck as she suppressed the liquid from gaining any further ground down her gullet than it already had.

Cassefin's gurgle caught Kokuten's ear, and then his eyes caught the visage of a woman who had just put something in her mouth that she didn't want. In this case particular, judging by the jostled glass of Nepleslian Green, it was the alcohol. No! Damn it! Why would you drink out of an unmarked bottle!?

Kokuten put a hand up, and opened his mouth to speak, hoping to catch the Head Administrator in time.


Clrack! went Kokuten's eyes as they rammed shut, blast shutter of eyelids only allowing a drop of alcohol past them before the closed. However, the Captain's mouth wasn't near as fast enough as his entire face was soaked in a mixture of saliva and alcohol. He could taste a dulled sensation of alcohol on his tongue, and he could feel the back of his throat burn. Liquid streamed down his face, soaking in his eyebrows, hairs, and most tragically, his beard. Normally, this kind of alcohol would run right off, but with the spit in the mix, it stuck to his face.

He spent a few seconds there, face fixed on Cassefin, frozen in position. The Captain began to think on what just happened. His boss had just spit alcohol into his face, ringing an amount his mouth for extra points. She had not only embarrassed herself, but him, in front of not just their enemies, but his own squad! The urge to mention the Cassefin's failing in this rose hard, but he determined that quick drink would fix that. So, he simply grabbed his own glass of Industrial Cleaning Alcohol.


Kokuten's eyes slowly opened at that, revealing them to be a reddish-orange, and locked solely onto her. His thumb rose to swipe the alcohol out of each his eyebrows, before bringing that hand down his face to wipe off as much of the mixed substances as possible in one go. He blinked a few times, and gently shook his head. Then, he brought his glass's edge to his lips, before speaking his answer.

"Ethanol."

And then he took a sip.
 
Stovaa obliged Claire's request for drink sharing by distracting a waiter then swiping an empty glass and tipping some of his pint of whisky into it.

"There ya go. Only the cheap stuff, but it goes down easy."

He took the promotion of Nell to Captain silently, nodding and raising his glass in silent toast. He kinda liked Nell. He'd feel kinda bad about killing her, but life was tough. Kill or be killed.

When Cassefin sprayed Kokuten's face with alcohol? Stovaa was attempting to be quiet. A second of quiet disbelief before a snigger grew into a belly laugh which he couldn't stifle.
 
Now that everything on the table was turning into a big mess, Blake sunk down in his seat with a sigh and emptied the rest of the medicine-containing packet into his upturned mouth without even hiding it this time. He didn't look at Nell again to see if she noticed, even if she was the only one paying attention to him. He didn't care what happened next. Maybe it was because the painkiller was already taking effect, or maybe it was because he felt the situation was hopeless. He tried to listen to the band again, even though they'd long-finished his song and moved on to something else.

Although it was to no-one in particular, he said aloud in a bitter, rambling tone, "Now, you should watch this part: this is the part of the evening where the whole thing goes to shit and I have to jump around on a train shooting Junkers with a bee-bee gun, then carry Administrator Popjoy out of a room full of armed men shooting at us, and get into a swordfight all before finally making myself look like a complete and utter fool in front of an attractive woman all without even trying."

He finally glanced over at Nell, a harsh look on his face. His sunglasses wandered back down his nose to reveal stressed, hopeless eyes.

"You're really a very beautiful woman, and you're very nice, but I'm tired of hiding it: I'm deathly afraid that you're going to sneeze on me."

'Might as well go ahead and take care of the part where I make a fool of myself.'
 
As things quickly went in a downward spiral into chaos, Claire's smirk became genuine. She nodded a quick thank you to Stovaa and took a bit of the drink, fairly confident that if he could ingest the alcohol safely, so could she. The Geshrin paused after swallowing, her eyes shifting to each event as it happened nearly all at once. Cassefin's usual hilarious reaction to anything unexpected... the results of said reaction moving to punish Kokuten... and his incredibly restrained response. Then Stovaa's magnified version of her own feelings on the matter... Blake's awkward attempt at confessing his feelings to Nell....

This sort of thing was happening all within the time frame of several seconds, and it was beautiful. As much as Claire wanted to add to the growing mess with some antic of her own, she refrained, sipping quietly from her drink with a smile on her face... She had to wonder... would she enjoy this?
 
"Ethanol?!" Cassefin stammered, her throat burning and her eyes watering excessively from the acrid taste. The woman coughed a couple more times as, from across the table, the other patrons began to crack smiles at the unfortunate events opening before them. Laj, Oddete and Purina seemed to be more subtle about it while Marrisa was, quite boisterously, laughing at Cassefin's misfortune. The victimized red-head didn't seem to notice or particularly care, however, her frustration vented in a different direction. "Ethanol?! Who in their right mind would drink that?! Why would you even order it?! Eungh!"

---

Nell gave Blake a sympathetic look as he spilled his doubts onto her, followed by his mentioning of a peculiar fear he had been attempting to avoid since they had started talking. "Huh? Sneeze on ya?" Nell tilted her head and gave him a skeptical look. It took her a couple of seconds to recall back to when she had first actually had contact with Squad 35 back on the Sink Strip, specifically the point in which she sneezed, rather forcefully, into her helmet. A rather embarrassing moment, to be certain, but Nell had a knack for utilizing her selective memory to alleviate such grievances from her past.

"Oh! Naaaawww," Nell reassured Blake with a wide grin. "I mean, yeah, Fortuna's got mah allergies actin' all up like a buckin' bronco, but I got some medicine an' junk an' I'm doin' fine," she explained, chuckling in retrospect at his concern. Did he actually think she would sneeze on him? "'Sides," Nell finished off her words of comfort with a reassuring slap on the back, her canary-eating grin widening significantly. "Ya ain't doin' too bad, I mean, ain't screwed up a whole lot. Could be worse, yannow?"
 
"Because my alcohol tolerance is that of your standard Marine." whispered back Kokuten in a snarl, his hands grabbing at a tablenapkin. Unlike Cassefin, he could hear the laughter howling across the table from the single person it came from, and slowly pushed his eye-color into the red range as it began to pull up everything that had gone wrong so far.

Though, for a few seconds, his eyes and face disappeared behind both his hands, as he cleaned his face off with the table napkin. When he finished that, and his face was somewhat better off, his eyes revealed to be back at the same normal green. He tried to straighten as much of his beard and hair as he could, but there still seemed to be a few strands which jutted out of palce.

"I'm able to drink copious amounts within control, and Nepleslian Green happens to be a drink that actually allows me to feel the effects of inebriation! And the taste mind you, is acquired, the bitterness is just stale scrape on your tongue, but it's actually quite refreshing on mine." continued Kokuten in whisper, before jutting a finger into her side, "Now answer my question, who drinks out of an unmarked bottle!?"
 
Tweak discretely brushed off the remnants of the fine mist that had settled on her after finding its way around Kokuten's head upon Cassefin's explosive expulsion of the accidental drink.

The dinner was like watching someone inflate a balloon, wasn't it? One watches the balloon grow bigger and bigger, wondering where that critical point would be where the material would take no more and break. As a group, the tension was still within tolerable levels, but on an individual level, Kokuten was reaching the end of his rope. Though the captain could contain his reactions, his vitals betrayed his true stress level.

The 'spacer neko glanced over at him, wondering if she should do something, if there was anything that she could do at all. For her, the dinner was teetering between ignored into boredom and finding herself under an uncomfortable scrutiny. Neither state was preferable. Not that she was expecting any different, and Tweak had only agreed to attend because Cassefin had requested it. So she would stay for as long as she could stand it.
 
"I thought it was mineral water, you insensitive prick!" Cassefin revealed the reason for her grievous error in judgment. She was slowly recovering from the drinks adverse affects on her sensitive mouth, but her red face still showed quite a bit of residual embarrassment and agitation. "Like that Don Pierrienon stuff that comes in green bottles. How was I supposed to know you ordered cleaning supplies instead of something actually drinkable?"
 
"Well excuse me, Mistress Cassefin," whispered Kokuten back harshly at the insult onto his character, his eyes beginning to flare up again, as the green slowly transitioned to yellowish-green. Why was this happening to him? Yes, it was cleaning supplies, but it was what he was drinking! Did having unique tastes warrant such strain? He continued on, trying to keep his civility in check, "I just thought someone with a college degree would have the sense to ask what's in the bottle first, instead of blindly drinking and spitting it out in someone's face!" Kokuten hated being agitated like this, which only served to intensify his frustrations, so he added along with that statement, "Oh, and perhaps have the common sense of spitting it back in their glass."
 
Okay, time to separate.

Slipping a little into what she had earlier termed "mission mode", Tweak rocked side to side in her chair a few times, then sighed dramatically before turning to Kokuten and tugging his sleeve. "Heyheyhey," she said, her nervous tic actually managing to sound hyperactive rather than...well, nervous. "I need to walk. Do I have time to walk before the food gets here? C'mon, I want to go walk outside, just a little bit? Please?" Her voice was still quiet, but in a "stage-whisper" sort of way.
 
Kokuten's attention was stolen right over his shoulder as he looked at Tweak. The sudden suggestion was an unusual gesture from the Freespacer, but much a welcome one. He took her tugging hand in his and nodded quite fervently.

"You know what? Yes, I would like to take a walk." said Kokuten, his eyes dulling back down to a comforting green, before quickly pushing his chair back. "Let's go for a walk. Walks are healthy, helps build the appetite, good for the health." The Doctor was making an effort to escape as best he could, before Cassefin drove him further up the wall.
 
"Goodgoodgood..." Tweak got up with Kokuten in tow, lagging just a moment long enough to give Cassefin a look of pleading...Let us go, please, just to keep this from making a scene, she thought, hoping Cass was able to understand her reason for leaving the table. Then she continued playing the "energetic Freespacer", and clomped away from the table in her big ol' boots as quietly as she could. After all, she still didn't want to draw every single eye in the place.
 
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…