The Next Morning
The Eucharis's heavily-used fold drives brought the veteran warship into the HX-12 system with a WHUMP noise echoing through the ship as she appeared in a shimmer of teal and white sparkles that faded to reveal her usual appearance with her distinctive red paint and heavily-patched hull, her blade-like main array, her piles of gun turrets, and her glowing teal blue aether plasma engines.
Engineering
Cherry, dressed her protective jumpsuit, fanned at the burning smell and mild smoke looking for whatever just broke. The answer came when Mango called to complain that the power to the dining room was offline, which was going to allow the chicken strips and waffles to get cold. "Hold on, I think it is just a blown relay. Give me ten minutes," she answered before hanging up the phone.
Captain's Suite
Hanako pushed her giant fur comforter aside and slowly rotated and put her feet onto the carpeted floor of her small cabin, following the curved ceiling into her closet and emerged with a duty uniform and set it on a wooden chest. She entered the small bathroom. A sigh escaped her lips as she pissed, closing her eyes and mentally going through the latest feeds and mail that had downloaded into her brain during the night. Flush. After a shower with her cherry-blossom-scented shampoo she toweled herself off and started working on her multi-hued hair.
A tone sounded followed by Blackberry's monotonous voice. "Good morning, Shosho. We have arrived in the HX-12 star system," the starship operator said in Yamataian.
"Thank you," Hanako said as she pulled up her underwear, then tights. Soon the rest of her uniform was on, including the reassuring heft of her pistol belt, and she was ready to face the crew.
Wardroom
The regular, annoying chirping of a waffle iron and the bubbling hiss of a deep fryer emanated from the galley as Mango made chicken and waffles for the crew. Out on the bar there were strawberry, blueberry, and cherry syrups for the waffles that were full of fresh fruit. Also available was fresh oranges and hash browns made from potatoes grown in the cargo bay. Jalapenos, cheese, and ham chunks were mixed into them. Milk and orange juice were available to drink. Unfortunately due to the electrical issue, some of the food that was supposed to be hot was getting cold.
Hanako entered and got a plate with a little of everything on the buffet and started eating the lukewarm food with her communicator, reviewing what she knew of the HX-12 system. In YE 31, the YSS Eucharis rescued Tasuku Yarani, an old YSS Sakura crewman here just before the start of the start of the Second Mishhuvurthyar War. It was just before the First Battle of Nataria. Suddenly she smiled. "Lime," she called towards the kitchen.
The bright-green-haired day cook stepped out of the galley, "Yes, Shosho?"
"I remember the last time we were in this star system, you made a rich chocolate chip-filled chocolate cake, iced with creamy fudge-swirled chocolate cream cheese and walnut chunks and topped with a puff of chocolate whipped cream and a chocolate-coated cherry. I called it an orgasm on a plate!"
"Haha! I remember it! That was four years ago! And we went into battle right afterward. I think the leftovers got ruined in the fight," Lime laughed. "Such a horrible day that was, the start of a long war that is only now coming to an end."
"Could you make it again?" Hanako begged.
"Of course, captain!" Lime grinned. "I will have it done for dinner."
Hanako nodded and Lime returned to the kitchen. She thought to herself the last time she'd had that cake was about the time she met Sune. He had just transferred in for a ship called the Bouken and the old first officer was jealous of him.
She recalled from the logs that the atmosphere of HX-12 II contained toxic levels of CO2 (+30%) and that the primary 'buffer gas' (argon) of the atmosphere was highly narcotic at 2.2 times standard atmospheric pressure. Tasuku and the Golden Apple away team had described it as a thin, hot, and "nasty" yellowish choking haze in a perpetual sandstorm and spore clouds. The terrain in most areas was desert or savanna, due to low water levels and crowded with fungus spikes and mushrooms. The source of the distress call transmission had been an antenna on the top of a steep ridge and a cable led back to a crashed freighter (that was not the Goban or a Star Army ship) at the bottom of the cliff, partially surrounded by sand buildup.
This little out-of-the-way star system had a lot of memories connected to it, she realized. Next there were logs from other ships. The only thing of note was that last year, the 12th Fleet had entered the system and found an NMX base but the occupants had self-destructed it.
She put of the information she put into a summary and put it up on a the volumetric screen as the day shift began to arrive for breakfast.
The Eucharis's heavily-used fold drives brought the veteran warship into the HX-12 system with a WHUMP noise echoing through the ship as she appeared in a shimmer of teal and white sparkles that faded to reveal her usual appearance with her distinctive red paint and heavily-patched hull, her blade-like main array, her piles of gun turrets, and her glowing teal blue aether plasma engines.
Engineering
Cherry, dressed her protective jumpsuit, fanned at the burning smell and mild smoke looking for whatever just broke. The answer came when Mango called to complain that the power to the dining room was offline, which was going to allow the chicken strips and waffles to get cold. "Hold on, I think it is just a blown relay. Give me ten minutes," she answered before hanging up the phone.
Captain's Suite
Hanako pushed her giant fur comforter aside and slowly rotated and put her feet onto the carpeted floor of her small cabin, following the curved ceiling into her closet and emerged with a duty uniform and set it on a wooden chest. She entered the small bathroom. A sigh escaped her lips as she pissed, closing her eyes and mentally going through the latest feeds and mail that had downloaded into her brain during the night. Flush. After a shower with her cherry-blossom-scented shampoo she toweled herself off and started working on her multi-hued hair.
A tone sounded followed by Blackberry's monotonous voice. "Good morning, Shosho. We have arrived in the HX-12 star system," the starship operator said in Yamataian.
"Thank you," Hanako said as she pulled up her underwear, then tights. Soon the rest of her uniform was on, including the reassuring heft of her pistol belt, and she was ready to face the crew.
Wardroom
The regular, annoying chirping of a waffle iron and the bubbling hiss of a deep fryer emanated from the galley as Mango made chicken and waffles for the crew. Out on the bar there were strawberry, blueberry, and cherry syrups for the waffles that were full of fresh fruit. Also available was fresh oranges and hash browns made from potatoes grown in the cargo bay. Jalapenos, cheese, and ham chunks were mixed into them. Milk and orange juice were available to drink. Unfortunately due to the electrical issue, some of the food that was supposed to be hot was getting cold.
Hanako entered and got a plate with a little of everything on the buffet and started eating the lukewarm food with her communicator, reviewing what she knew of the HX-12 system. In YE 31, the YSS Eucharis rescued Tasuku Yarani, an old YSS Sakura crewman here just before the start of the start of the Second Mishhuvurthyar War. It was just before the First Battle of Nataria. Suddenly she smiled. "Lime," she called towards the kitchen.
The bright-green-haired day cook stepped out of the galley, "Yes, Shosho?"
"I remember the last time we were in this star system, you made a rich chocolate chip-filled chocolate cake, iced with creamy fudge-swirled chocolate cream cheese and walnut chunks and topped with a puff of chocolate whipped cream and a chocolate-coated cherry. I called it an orgasm on a plate!"
"Haha! I remember it! That was four years ago! And we went into battle right afterward. I think the leftovers got ruined in the fight," Lime laughed. "Such a horrible day that was, the start of a long war that is only now coming to an end."
"Could you make it again?" Hanako begged.
"Of course, captain!" Lime grinned. "I will have it done for dinner."
Hanako nodded and Lime returned to the kitchen. She thought to herself the last time she'd had that cake was about the time she met Sune. He had just transferred in for a ship called the Bouken and the old first officer was jealous of him.
She recalled from the logs that the atmosphere of HX-12 II contained toxic levels of CO2 (+30%) and that the primary 'buffer gas' (argon) of the atmosphere was highly narcotic at 2.2 times standard atmospheric pressure. Tasuku and the Golden Apple away team had described it as a thin, hot, and "nasty" yellowish choking haze in a perpetual sandstorm and spore clouds. The terrain in most areas was desert or savanna, due to low water levels and crowded with fungus spikes and mushrooms. The source of the distress call transmission had been an antenna on the top of a steep ridge and a cable led back to a crashed freighter (that was not the Goban or a Star Army ship) at the bottom of the cliff, partially surrounded by sand buildup.
This little out-of-the-way star system had a lot of memories connected to it, she realized. Next there were logs from other ships. The only thing of note was that last year, the 12th Fleet had entered the system and found an NMX base but the occupants had self-destructed it.
She put of the information she put into a summary and put it up on a the volumetric screen as the day shift began to arrive for breakfast.
