Meanwhile~!
ON: NSS Nerkat
The ship was for the most part silent. Almost creepily so. The crew that would man the vessel were on shore leave much like their marine counter parts, although a handful were on the ship. Mainly the cooks to help feed the workers and make sure the kitchens are to their liking. Officers, of course, had to linger on the ship. At least in this case. And so Tamara sat, at the side of her bed in the Captain's suite, holding a portrait of her dear late sister in her hands lightly. She wasn't suffering a bout of melancholy, just... Well, boredom.
Esther Belmonte sighed and sent Tamara a message with her datapad that read:
Esther said:
Need some company? I'm your XO, and I'm right down the hall from you.
Tamara blinked a little and sighed as the datapad at her side beeped a almost inaudibly. She set the frame down where it usually lingered and picked up the pad. Her eyebrow twitched a bit.
Might as well.
Tamara said:
If you wish to come, then fine.
"Commander Esther Belmonte, ma'am." Esther Belmonte gave a loose salute, as she stepped into the Captain's Suite, dressed in full Naval Corps attire. The officer wasn't particularly familiar with the feel of a uniform, but without the complement of sweaty marines, the ship actually seemed a little colder, so she wore everything. "The Nerkat seems a little dead, doesn't she?" She asked rather pointlessly, attempting to start a conversation.
Tamara was in basically the same get up. Its not like she had all that much in way of clothing these days, even with the extra funds. "I suppose she is... Or maybe just lonely." She said dreamily, then snapped her head around to face her XO and she stood upright from her bed side. "Hmph. You're older then me and probably have more experience than me and I still get to command over you. Psh."
"Well... I've lost two ships already. It's why your commission to an officer rank was higher." Esther sighed, leaning against the nearest wall. She pulled a flash from her jacket, unplugged the container and took a sip of the distinctly alcoholic contents. Delsauria Dusk was always nice, even if it wasn't vintage. "Care for a drink?"
Tamara shrugged lightly, "Sure, why not." She said in a neutral tone. "... Oh, and by the way. Being that we have no tactical officer on board for the marines... Yet at least, you'll be watching over them in his stead. Apparently with me, too. Just to get that out of the way." She waved dismissively in the air for a moment before dropping her hand again.
"Delsaurian Dusk, fine stuff." Esther closed the flask and tossed it to the captain. The thought of having to babysit poorly behaved marines was slightly alleviated by the knowledge that these people would be veterans, and former crewmen of the NSS Alliance. Whatever other misgivings she had were cut by the alcohol in her system. "Well... I've dealt with pirates and mercenaries before, so rowdy marines shouldn't be too much of a stretch. Any idea what happened to the TO we were supposed to get?"
Tamara shrugged lightly and fumbled with the flask catching. She ALMOST lost it, but almost isn't a she did. She opened the flask and took a bit of it the drink in her mouth before capping it again. "Nope. Probably to spite me or you or something. Or they simply didn't think we needed one, I don't know." She spoke in a some what neutral tone.
"Well... if it becomes too much of a hassle, it's a relatively easy matter of finding one of the crewmen who's honed himself to be competent enough for the position. And I doubt the Central Corps will mind, as long as we're not overstepping our boundaries." Esther said quite coolly, rubbing her hands together. It felt like the conversation was oddly cold for her tastes. A change of topic might be in order. "Have you met our ship AI, yet?"
Tamara shook her head a little at the question after listening to the other woman's words, "We're not getting THAT many marines anyway, so they'll probably be herded around by other T.O.s... Anyway, In passing, yes... But otherwise no I haven't."
"She seems nice enough, if a little cold, but I guess that's the way most Drei are." Esther yawned quietly, placing her hand over her mouth.
Kat walked down the corridor, carrying a tray for the CO and XO. Since she was the ship's AI, she knew where they were and that they were meeting, so she had decided to bring them something. Upon the tray was a tea pot, two cups for the tea, a few pastries, crumpets, and some butter and jam. The avatar stopped outside of Tamara's bedroom and knocked lightly on the door.
"Actually, they usually have a child's curiosity about them. At least when about their physical forms." She shrugged lightly for a moment, Tamara's hostile personality remaining while concealed for the moment. "Come in."
Kat entered the room. "Good evening Captain Novikov, Commander Belmonte." She set down the tray near the two women. "I brought a snack for you," Kat said, gesturing to the tray.
"Thank you Kat. Would you care to join us?" Esther asked politely, her cheeks slightly reddened from her consumption of alcohol, though she still felt very little of a buzz. It probably would have taken the whole flask to put her under, especially after years of hard drinking against assorted vagabonds. "The Captain and I were just talking about the behavior of Drei AI systems. Funny timing, you have."
Tamara tweaked a white brow over to Esther before shaking her head lightly. The albino woman, though, nodded to the AI. "Thank you..." She then handed the flask back over to Esther, having forgotten it for a moment.
"Okay, commander," Kat replied. She filled the two cups with the hot tea she'd brought, before she stood aside. She'd been invited to stay, so she might as well.
"Thanks." Esther said to the Drei, picking up the cup of tea. Drunkenness would have to wait. "So what shall we talk about?'
Tamara shrugged lightly, her silver brow twitching a little. "I don't know. You came to
me. Not the other way around." She didn't pick up her tea, although she did glance over to it. Maybe later, m'yes.
"Well... from the records we received, the crew is solid, professional and effective. We have a bunch of psychotics, drunkards and womanizers filling the upper echelons of the marine complement, but it's just more of the usual." Esther sighed quietly, noting the awkwardness of the conversation and her CO's why of dealing with people.
And they call me rough around the edges?
Tamara sighed a little and nodded. "Then we'll have to smack them around a bit before they flirt with us. Or at least me, if you want that sort of thing." She paused for a moment and shrugged again, glancing over to the Drei avatar for a moment.
Kat cocked her head to the side, wondering why the CO was looking at her. She took a brief look over herself to see if something was wrong with the uniform, but she didn't see anything wrong. "Can I help you, Captain Novikov?" she inquired.
The albino captain shook her head a little and picked up her tea cup, taking a quick sip of it. She winced a little and set the cup down before looking to Kat again, "No. Just idle curiosity."
Esther sipped her tea, noting that even without sugar, it lacked the bitter quality she was used to. The XO brushed her warm orange hair to the side and grinned a little. "Well... this crew served with my sister, so I think I can trust them. Speaking of which, I'll be heading out and meeting them myself later. I have it good account they're in Los Apagos under invitation from one of the crewmembers."
Tamara nodded lightly, drumming her fingers on her thigh silently. "Alright, then. I'll be staying here... Haven't been on too many military vessels, after all..." She spoke neutrally once again. Not in a monotone voice or something devoid of emotion, just not anything on the positive or negative sounding scale.
Kat waited idly, obviously not participating in the conversation. Since she wasn't adding much in the way of talking, she picked up a plate with a pastries on top, and offered to the CO and XO.
"Thank you." Esther said, taking a buttered crumpet from the tray. She took a bite and chewed, before resuming the conversation. "Though, I thought it was rather strange that we were never assigned an Intelligence Officer, yet. Which, in retrospect... is good, because it means the IPG doesn't have a reason to watch over this ship. Or they've gotten tied up in more important affairs and have let their watchdog agencies grow lax." She finished, taking another bite out of the moist and savory bread.
Tamara tweaked a brow again but shrugged none the less. She shook her head to Kat, though, declining anything. "We're just a ship still... Its not like we're a flagship, so I suppose we don't need out own various officers. Or at least aren't high priority for them."
"Hrm..." Esther pondered for a moment, before returning an inquisitive glance at the Captain. "Everything else aside, have you heard anything of our assignment?"
Tamara shook her head a little, but then paused. "... Actually, yes. Apparently as soon as the marines come back from their leave we'll be going out on a assignment. Otherwise, thats it."
"Right..." Esther sighed, massaging her temples. "...I figured it would be like this again. Well... I suppose I'll get going now..."
Tamara nodded lightly. "Very well. Have a good time, I guess."
"Take care, Captain." Esther said, giving a short salute and exiting the room, flask in hand. It seemed the rather short conversation had spared her from finishing the silver container's contents. "Well... let's see about the rest of the crew, then."
Tamara nodded to Esther and looked over to the avatar, looking her up and down for a moment with muted interest. "You can go too, if you wish. Tray as well, although thanks for the thought."
"Are you sure there is nothing I can help you with Captain?" Kat asked, before she wanted to commit to leaving the room. Her hand rested on the edge of the tray, ready to take it if there really wasn't a need for her to stay.
Tamara shook her head and wandered back to her bed. "No. Thanks for the thought." She spoke simply before making a dismissive gesture with her hand.
Kat nodded and took the tray. "Have a good evening Captain," She said as she turned and left the room.
Tamara grunted lightly and fell back into her bed with a sigh.
END'd
Back to Los Apagos...