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RP: Cirrus Station [Episode 9] The Silver Lining

Claire smiled calmly as the dinner ended. In her mind, it had been very fruitful... very informative indeed, whether her enemies realized it or not.

Her thoughts strayed to Kokuten's behavior and she frowned mildly. Laj must have given more direct information to him for him to start acting the way he was. She would probably try to ply that out of him later... the results would be interesting either way.

For now, she smiled as Fidela got all worked up, she reached over and patted her bottom lightly. "Go get em, girl. We'll be looking forward to seeing you on the station."
 
As the food arrived, Tweak realized she never ordered, except for her drink. Her menu was taken when her drink had arrived. Fortunately, one of the waiters noticed and asked her what dish she was waiting for, and then took her request, returning with it rather quickly.

As she ate (the device thingy turned out to make a rather interesting eating utensil when configured appropriately), the 'spacer neko remained quiet for the remainder of the dinner, finishing her meal swiftly. Not to say she didn't enjoy it, but she did so at a rapid pace.

Upon finishing, Tweak cleaned her "sporkni" and returned the device to its original configuration as an addition to her bracelet, barely noticing Laj making his closing remark and leaving, followed by Cassefin excusing herself to talk over the job request with Fidela. Once the leaders had left, Tweak glanced around the table one more time as she clipped the device back on her wrist. Everything seemed to be wrapping up, so she got up and pushed her chair against the table while checking her dress and coat, making sure she had everything.

The last third of the dinner had passed rather uneventfully, she thought. But the night wasn't over yet. She still needed to talk with Kokuten.
 
Blake finished his Orangewing with a contented sigh. In fact, the whole meal was expertly prepared in just the way he liked. Throughout the entire meal, he'd delicately taken piece by piece of the different courses onto his fork, and then carefully into his mouth. An incredible challenge, considering the large amount of painkillers he'd ingested before the meal.

Of course, because of the incredible challenge that it was to eat, Blake was able to silently avoid any further dinner conversation while he carefully ingested the portions before him. Naturally, he felt disappointed to Nell's departure, as that left him without a subject for the night. Following her departure, he excused himself silently from the table, and made his way down to the nearest elevator.

In the elevator, the young Morris considered other potential subjects for the evening. He had to art. The station was so clean and boring, there was very little for him to represent there without breaking at least two of the station's rules. He could approach Kokuten, but the poor Captain was feeling ill. He could approach Tweak again, but he had a sneaking suspicion (and an equally suspicious bump on his shiny head) that she still didn't like him very much.

Bing!

The elevator doors welcomed him into the hall where his hotel room was found and the young man ushered himself gladly through the well-decorated corridor. Finally finding his room, Blake jiggled the handle. Nothing. Maybe the unlocking process hadn't finished yet. Maybe he wasn't close enough to the lock. So, Blake tried again to open the door to his room, this time pressing hard against the door as he pulled against the handle. It was turning out to be a bad night for art.
 

Cassefin led the young lady down the stairs and off to the side, carrying her coat slung over her arm. The woman sighed with relief when she came to a stop near a large potted plant, the restaurant lobby now fairly empty save for a handful of patrons trickling out as they left for the night.

"So," the red-haired Administrator said, clearing her throat and giving Fidela a quaint smirk. "You want to work on the Cirrus Research Station. If you know that much, you also know how prestigious and important our work is to Nepleslia. So I'm going to assume that you are really serious about this and are going to give it your all, because that's what I require from all of my employees," Cassefin nodded along with her own preaching, looking quite proud of herself and her explanation.

"It just so happens that I am looking for a few more assistants for one of my bigger projects in our astrometric geometry field," the woman crossed her arms in front of her, watching Fidela as she spoke. "You'll have to start at the bottom in data processing if you want to move up. I'll also require one or two things from you before I let you work for me. Understand?"

---

As Blake fumbled away at his door handle, the man would suddenly feel two hands clasp themselves firmly onto his shoulders. Try as Blake might, the hands would not allow him to turn, keeping him facing his door as the one behind him held him back wordlessly.

"Hey there tough guy," a familiar voice crooned softly behind Blakes head. "Where ya think yer off to, hmm?"
 
Fidela kept hot on Cassefin's heels as she struggled with her own, having found that she had bent her own heel getting out of the chair. The brown skinned girl seemed to hobble with a limp, trying to keep her balance. Only her supreme anticipation for the next few moments was keeping her from cursing in a steady stream of whining frustrations. Though as soon as Cassefin turned to face the girl, she straightened up and smiled.


The smile slowly became wider. It was an unconscious response to the fact that this really happening! Fresh out of college, and finally getting a job with her degree was one of her personal goals in life, and now, it was about to get realized!


Fidela's fingers began to curl together tightly behind her back. The excitement was beginning to burst from within her! Bitch work? Yes ma'am! Anything was better than pushing coffee beans in some name-brand coffee place under the thumb of some pompous tech graduate! Her lip tucked under her teeth as she tried to hide her exhilaration.

"Yes!" she slipped, letting some of it out in a joyful outburst in response to her new boss, before she slapped a hand over her mouth, "I mean. Yes. Yes ma'am. What would those two things be?"
 
Blake stiffened in place as the hands wrapped around his shoulders with a firm grip belonging typically to an overly expressive fat uncle. The door, now loose, swung slowly open in front of him, exposing the perfectly clean and dimly lit room beyond. He let a sigh escape from his lips when he spotted his cigarettes sitting invitingly on a small table near the door. 'Okay, so this is my room.' He thought, 'So, what did that question mean?'

"Uh... Could you repeat the question?" Blake said. The drugs were earing off, but the confusion still lingered. Why would someone want to know where he was off to like that?

"Was I supposed to be going somewhere else?" he added, twisting his head to make some sort of awkward eye-contact with the mystery speaker. He couldn't see them of course, the sunglasses he'd been using as a social escape net all night were for once obstructing his view instead of theirs.
 
No one seemed to notice Tweak leave, which she preferred. She noticed a few patrons give her looks, ranging from surprise and curiosity to snooty "Oh, one of those people"-type expressions before turning back to their meals.

---

Outside of the restaurant, Tweak facepalmed. Where would Kokuten be? He said he wanted to talk with her after the dinner, but not where to meet him. She lowered her hand and gave a small sigh to calm herself, heading away from the lines at the front of the restaurant.

Once away from the people, as she was going over the memories of what happened over the course of the evening and copying them to her memory drive (there was no way she was ever chancing loosing those memories!), Tweak stumbled on something Kokuten said before Laj had inquired about Tweak's placement on Cirrus.

She facepalmed again. "Oh yeah...he said he was going to his room," she mumbled, changing her course to head to the elevators.

---

The entry request alert sounded at the room assigned to the squad captain. Tweak stood outside the door, one hand fidgeting with her bracelet and its attachment as she waited for a response.
 
Tweak's sensitive ears would likely pick up on a mild groan coming from inside the room. A familiar voice faintly called back. "One second. Shit." it rolled, before a few awkward steps heavily tromped to the door. With an awkward handling of the knob, the door opened revealing the occupant, likely not as Tweak expected him.

Kokuten was not exactly the most pleasant looking gentlemen as he had been for most the day. He stood there in the doorway, shirtless, allowing everyone to see his cybernetics meet his skin in it's hastily grafted form. He still wore his slacks, but they were somewhat wrinkled, with his bare feet poking out from under the hem. At first, Tweak was welcomed with a disgruntled, red-eyed stare, before he blinked, seemingly recognizing the person infront of him. The red slow glazed back to an oddly shaded green, before he ran a hand through his lightly muffed hair.

"Ah, hey there... Tweak." The Doctor, obviously inebriated from tone, expression, and smell, looked back into his room. "Um... Come in. Yeah, come in." He beckoned at that, wavily stumbling back into his room, which was rather well-kept save for the tossed aside jacket and turtle-neck, shoes nestled carelessly over them.

He lumbered onto his bed, which seemed to be slightly disturbed. On the nightstand, was the now empty bottle of Nepleslia Green with a single shot-glass cohorting at it's side. The young man began speaking to her in Yamataian, as he gave his toe an unusually long stare.

"I apologize if I'm not too seemly." he spoke, wistfully mouthing off in his native language, "But I'm still coherent."
 
The captain's appearance stunned Tweak for a second, but she accepted his invitation to enter after a moment's hesitation.

Kokuten said:
He lumbered onto his bed, which seemed to be slightly disturbed. On the nightstand, was the now empty bottle of Nepleslia Green with a single shot-glass cohorting at it's side.
Click to expand...
The smell of the industrial alcohol was strong. She absently noted that he must have an insane tolerance to the stuff if he had actually finished the ENTIRE bottle...were humans really so resilient?

Kokuten said:
The young man began speaking to her in Yamataian, as he gave his toe an unusually long stare.

"I apologize if I'm not too seemly." he spoke, wistfully mouthing off in his native language, "But I'm still coherent."
Click to expand...
"It's nothing..." Tweak replied in kind, using Yamataian, her eyes still looking anywhere but him as she gathered her thoughts. His cybernetics were distracting...yeah. The tinker in her kept wanting to map out the mechanics of the things...maybe see if there was a way to improve them a little...

"Whatwha...um...you wished to talk to me about something?" she asked, her speech reverting back to Trade.
 
"I did didn' I?" replied Kokuten, slurring back into Trade, looking up at Tweak with a very discerning expression on his face. He was silent for a few moments, as if he was trying to figure out how to tell her his thoughts. Then suddenly, he fell back on his back, look up at the ceiling.

"I don' quite remem--..." he started, but just as he was revealing he didn't recall ever asking, he shot back up his metal arms nearly throwing him up into the air. "Oh!" He paused in that position for a few seconds, his hands up in the air, with a look of shock on his face. Then he broke out into laughter when he realized how funny that was, and neglecting what embarrassment he may have felt.

"Eh heh heh..." The Captain finished, now swaying gently from side to side, "Right, I dihd have a few things to assk you." He crossed his legs and raised a finger. "Your mind works like a brain recorder, righ'?" Another bit of mirth broke through his lips when he realized he had said that wrong, "Is it possible t'turn that whole thing wit' Laj into a small video playbahck? And!" He started into his next set of words, throwing his finger forward to point at her to emphasize the importance of his words, before he realized how bad an idea that was.

When he was inebriated like this, his brain often neglected to accommodate for the extra weight in his arms. Even though his eyes were cybernetic, his brain was still dragging his vision along, and that showed as he continued to stare rather plainly at Tweak as he tipped over.

THUD!

Suddenly, Kokuten realized he was upside down on the floor. The back of his head was experiencing a very pained sensation after it had bounced off the when he fell on his back. Even so, his legs were still on the bed, and that counted well enough for grace in Kokuten's book at this very moment. He thrust a finger back up at her, dragging him along the floor a little bit, turning his neck in an odd direction.

"Do not tell anyone about what Laj told us this evening." he said, with iron-hearted determination in his face and tone, even as he failed to move himself from the floor.
 
Cassefin Montreal smiled weakly at Fidela's enthusiasm. She recalled fondly the days where she also was so eager to please; she also remembered how very short that time was in her career. "Well, I'll need an information form filled out. Your name, career history, proper identifications, all of that. I'll have that ready for you on the Cirrus and you can fill it out there. We won't be in Fortuna's orbit for long; you should gather all of your things and find a shuttle to the station as soon as possible."

"I also have something of a request, if you don't mind," Cassefin added with a calming smile.

---

The hands grasping Blake's shoulders turned him around, putting his back to the door and continuing to hold him against the wooden panels. The unknown assailant was a familiar face; Nell Sarahs, a little red in the face and looking quite proud of herself as she clasped Blake, denying him an escape. The woman had a peculiar look about her expression, smiling slyly as she raised her eyebrows softly at Blake's questions. "I dunno... are we goin' somewhere else?"
 
Tweak listened until her peripheral vision alerted her that Kokuten was falling over, but she was too late to rescue him. Fortunately for him, the floor was in the perfect position to catch him...

Wincing at the very uncomfortable-looking (but hopefully not damaging or dangerous) angle of Kokuten's neck, the 'spacer neko bent over to take his hand and try helping him up, leaving the squad captain's query about her memory formatting abilities alone for the moment.

Kokuten said:
"Do not tell anyone about what Laj told us this evening." he said, with iron-hearted determination in his face and tone, even as he failed to move himself from the floor.
Click to expand...
Tweak's hand froze mid-reach. After a second, she recovered, confused.

"What? Why?"
 
It was too much, Fidela could hold it in no longer as the smile spread wide on her face. The only restraint she could muster was biting her lower lip, still obviously showing her delight. There was so much to do in so little a time, but the end result would be glorious! She'd be on a moving space station, traveling the galaxy! It was all a bonus on top of working on one of the Head Administrator's personal projects!

Yes yes yes! First lab assistant, then lab tech, the lab head Fidela's brain salivated on the very thought of it all. She'd work on her own theories on the side while she did her data crunching job. Then, she'd present them to her supervisor, catch the attention of the boss once more and get her own project. She'd be respected! She'd be admired! Everyone would know the name, Fidela Jacinto! It sent chills up her spine!

"I also have something of a request, if you don't mind," Cassefin added with a calming smile.
Click to expand...

"Of course! Yes ma'am!" hopped Fidela, clapping her hands together, eager to please her new boss.

----

"What? Why?"
Click to expand...

"There are things I'd like to... Boughlh..." groaned Kokuten as he brought both of his hands to his forehead. The Captain gained a rather sickly looking expression as he tried to push on in a more struggling tone. "Things... Things I'd like to confirm... Laj could be telling the truth, or he could be full of shit, and the last thing we need are more lies and sutter'fudge... subterfug... subtpbhlf... secrets circulating around. When we tell everyone, I want them to know the truth."

He brought one of his hands down over his face, whining his next words, almost murmuring them, "I'm reaching my limit with this sort of bid'ness."

The Captain brought his hands to the sides of his head and looked back up at the Freespacer. It was a quiet stare, but despite the drunken swirl on his face, he appeared to be judging her own expression. He smiled.

"I cahn always rely on you, Tweak." his mood suddenly changed, somewhat warm, if not wistful, "I've always wondered how far a friendship between a Freespacer and a regular Nepleslian such as myself could go, cultural differences and all. But... Oulghf..." His expression suddenly twisted, before he he rolled over on his side, and appeared to make some failing attempt to push himself off the floor.

"... I don't remember being booked a room in a funhouse..." he said, referring to the swirling visions of his own domicile. The soldier's hands slid across the floor, making him fall flat on the floor again. He let out a little whimper. "The floor moves as if it was made of water..."
 
Blake ushered Nell a weak smile upon being pressed into the door. He wasn't sure whether he was nervous that she was about to attack him, or just aroused. So, he went both ways.

"Well," the young artist suggested, "There's comforts to be found in my room. Perhaps we could go... share a glass of tea? Or whiskey..."

The sunglasses slid down his face even more, tumbling down to the floor at his feet. There, they would lie ignored by him, their possible duties for the night exhausted. In light of this, Blake maintained his nervous expression, but tried to make his eyes as shiny as possible. (Though one is uncertain why, as they were certainly already quite reflective thanks to the effects of the now wearing-off painkillers he'd ingested at dinner.)

Then, mustering the full amount of suggestive courage, Blake did the easiest thing he could: He gave Nell full control.

"Well, we can do whatever you want. After all, you're the one holding on to me, aren't you?"

Suddenly, Blake had a feeling that he'd just sealed his fate.
 
Cassefin, with a sincere smile, uncrossed her arms and placed them at her hips, her head turning to the side a bit as she gave Fidela an angled glance. "Under no circumstances are you to ever, ever, sleep with Stovaa Drakon while you are under my employ," the fiery red-head stated bluntly, her smile steadily growing more serious. "No weird touching, no kissing. If fact, just no sexual contact of any type. At all. "Try and use me and my station to get a little tail... how impertinent," Cassefin muttered to herself under her breath, her mouth wrinkling a bit in distaste.

"This is my one condition for your employment. Do you still wish to work for me, miss?"

---

Nell lazily rolled her head to the other side, still grinning ear to ear behind her silvery gaze. "Ooohhh, I guess I am holdin' ya a lil'," Nell agreed in a singsong voice as she began to slowly ease her face up to Blake's, her smile growing increasingly with every inch gained. "Whatever I want, huuuuh?"
 
That made sense. The confusion left Tweak's face and she kept her hand extended, waiting for Kokuten to take it.

Kokuten said:
The Captain brought his hands to the sides of his head and looked back up at the Freespacer. It was a quiet stare, but despite the drunken swirl on his face, he appeared to be judging her own expression. He smiled.
Click to expand...
Tweak let her hand fall back to her side. Kokuten had either ignored or didn't notice her offer to help him up. He seems so sad like that, she thought, watching him. Then another thought occurred to her. Is he feeling like I did? she wondered, recalling the memory of her request to be kept from combat and assigned engineering missions instead. He is a medic, not a field commander.

"But I'm--," Tweak murmured, almost saying not a real Freespacer before stopping herself. Not that it made a difference in the friendship, but Kokuten's statement wasn't entirely true. Well...did that matter either? He was drunk. Maybe it wasn't what he meant.

As the captain squirmed, the Freespacer-adopted neko knelt down and picked the man up. She hated seeing him like that...he deserved dignity. After carefully laying him on the bed, and being quick about it so he wouldn't have a chance to object, Tweak sat down at the foot of the bed and looked down at her hands, fingering the bracelet and its attachment.

"Why are you drunk? I mean...I guess Nepleslians drink more, but why did you drink so much?"
 
Blake allowed a simple smile for Nell's part in the argument. The young artist was partly star-struck and partly nervous. He replied in kind, trying to expand his possibilities on chance she neurotic, "Anything you want, in the entire galaxy."
 
Fidela's smile dropped at that, hearing Cassefin's demand, a cold, somewhat horrified face meeting her. Her face instantly lit up in a red glow, looking around at the passing people, her fingers intertwining nervously over themselves. She coughed out a little nervous laugh before diverting her gaze off her boss.

"Wh-what? What sort of demand is that?" she said almost robotically, her smile straining off the side, "That wasn't gunna happen in the first place! We weren't gunna do it! I mean, it's not like he's unattractive, but my god that's so unprofessional." She waned on, taking a sudden interest in a wall on the far end of the lobby, "I would never use my position to coax that kind of thing out of him! I'm not that kind of girl." She became a little smaller, hunching a bit and sticking one arm behind her, whilst nibbling on the tips of her fingers on her other hand. What's with everyone assuming I'm like that? thought the woman dourly. The red on her face mixed with the embarrassment of her expression, before a somewhat defeated look came over her, as her pride had been struck immensely.

"...do I look like that kind of girl?"



----


A bit of surprise washed on Kokuten's face as Tweak pulled him up off the floor. He would've said something, but she moved at the speed and grace of an EMT. The Captain laid himself on his side, looking back towards the girl, before going flat on his back. His eyes looked straight up at the decorative and stylish ceiling, it's aesthetic pleasing even to his drunken eyes.

I doubt she's ever been druken proper, and even she had, she likely doesn't remember it. thought the Captain to himself, trying to think of a way to respond to Tweak's question. In fact, he made the Freespacer wait for a few seconds, before he threw something out.

"Life has ah way of kicking my ass up a flight ohf stairs, Tweak." mewled Kokuten drunkenly, his hands washing over his face pulling on his features. His eyes switched to a somber blue. "Every tihme I feel lihke I'm getting somewhere, I get yanked off my high horse, drug tr'oo some mud and thrown somewhere else. Tonight, learning 'bout Cassefin, hearing how our co-workers will never get justice for their deaths, it drug me down a bit." He rolled over on his side, putting his back to her.

"My mind iss' like a mountain, strong an' resilient, if I may so. Though, once I trip, and allow myself to fall ohf the side of that mountain, I start tumblin' down. I start reminding myself ohf my faults, my fears, h'until I hit low so deep, the only comfort I can find for cushioning my fall is alcohol." He gripped his other arm and tugged at it a bit, "My past comes at me hard first, then my present. Such as my command."

The Captain sighed.

"Durin' the Kennewes Offensive, I spearienced one of the few combats where I wass in the thick oh the fight. Though, when the bullets came down on us, and shells went exploding everywhere, I could only find myself cowerin' behind cover, taking pot-shots every now and then. I was so scared shitless of dying that I nearly lost my mind. If it weren't for Sergeant Rui, I would've given up, and huddled in fear.

"It's why I was so skehptical of bein' a 'Captain' once my superiors became incapacitated back in my old squad. My Staff Sergeant rank was purely because I was a Marine who was an extremely proficient medic. Furthermore, I eventually found myself in charge of this squad, which harrowed me further. Already, I found no confidence in my ability to lead people, but now I had to lead on a Squad that was recognized throughout the station. There were expectations of my position as Captain of Squad 35, and Cassefin made a point to label those expectations.

"I figured it wouldn't be so bad, we were a security squad, but the moment I took command was when the Unique incident happened. As soon as people started dying, I wanted to run and hide, but I couldn't, as it was my responsibility to take charge. So... I shakily grasped my position, and sucked down all my fears, and pushed forward, and I've been pushing ever since. It's gotten easier, but I can never shake the thought of sending someone off to face something I'm too afraid to face myself. Stovaa, Claire, Blake, Noboru, Method, Serra, and especially yourself. I'm afraid to command you all into these situations, despite how brave and successful you all are."

He curled up a little bit, sighing once more before hunching his shoulders up.

"In short, I'm a coward who let his fear and stress catch up with him, and needed an escape from his problems." said Kokuten somewhat quietly, his charismatic flair absent from his voice, replaced by someone more meek. "Sorry if I dragged on."
 
"You have done very well." Tweak gave Kokuten a sidelong look as he finished speaking. "You may have been scared, but we have always completed our missions and everyone on the team has come out alive. And," she continued, turning to face him, "we are all misfits, in one way or another. That we have become 'infamous' to anyone outside of the station is a testament to the team, and even more so to its leadership!"

"I know how you feel, though. We are both stuck doing something we don't want to do. And I'm always afraid too." She looked down at her fidgeting fingers again. "Actually, that's what I wanted to talk about...but it can wait," she murmured to herself. "That's beside the point, though. If...if you don't want to lead us...well, if I can ask to be left out of combat, then you should be allowed to do what you want to."
 
"No!" Kokuten bolted up quickly, at Tweak's suggestion to exclude herself from action throwing himself forward. Face first into her lap, continuing with a muffled, "Don' dou that."

He hastily, and clumsily flipped himself over, in a very awkward position to continue his conversation. It didn't seem to bother him too much, as his eyes seemed to try and find out which of the three Tweaks he was seeing were the real Tweak.

"I rely on you, and everyone else as much as I rely on myself. I know you don't like fighting, and the situations we're caught in, but I've told you already, I count on you." said the Captain sternly, finally finding the Neko's red eyes. Though it softened a little bit, before he realized he may have altered that from the statement before. "Your presence on and off duty helps, a lot!"

He squirmed a little bit, a little dreamy-drunken smile on his face. After adjusting himself a little more, he got into a more comfortable position.

"Nekos are awfully comfortable, it seems." he asked, looking up at her with somewhat expectant eyes, "Do you mind?"
 
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