RP [PISCES Station] Moments In Between

Orie received a response back from the KAMI: The consumption of sentient life forms is prohibited on all Star Army of Yamatai ships and facilities. The following eating establishments do not serve consumables cloned, synthesized or otherwise derived from sentient life forms.

Accompanying the computer's telepathic message was map of Pisces Station with the restaurants highlighted. Most of them were in Concourse D, though there were a few in the hub as well. Nearby options included a 'Nepleslian-style' steakhouse, several restaurants specializing in traditional Yamataian foods and an Elysian eatery with a totally unfamiliar list of menu items.

Most of the restaurant menus reflected the eclectic palate of a mixed space faring culture, with dishes ranging from curries to barbecue to naturally impossible synthetic concoctions. There seemed to be a disproportionate number of seafood restaurants, but that probably wasn't surprising, given the station's proximity to the aquatic world Albini.

"You can vote!" Orie whirled on the other two to explain the options, once the map was transmitted to her. "KAMI says we're safe, because eating people here isn't allowed." She briefly considered trying to display the map on her skin just for fun, but settled on the more practical solution of transmitting it to the other two. "I, er, really don't have a preference, as long as we avoid steak..."

"Aww but Steak sounds great right now!" Renko sighed and shrugged. "I'll settle for a fish dish tho, maybe Fish and Chips?"

Renko looked expectantly between the other two, waiting for a yea or nay.

"I like fish," Isuzu agreed with a slight nod.

Actually, though, as much as she did like fish, she was starting to get a bit tired of it; even the cafeteria seemed to specialize in seafood. The black-haired Neko cast another considering glance at the Lorath ship on the other side of the wide view portal. "Or maybe... giant... bug?" she finished haltingly, her eyes widening.

Any response her companions offered was lost on Isuzu as she moved closer to the window. There, sitting at the foot of the transparent durandium plate, was the largest insect that she had ever seen. It was over a foot long, and looked rather like a huge mutant scorpion, except that it didn't have a tail. Perhaps it's not venomous, then? Isuzu mused.

Not that she'd never seen a real scorpion before; Isuzu only knew what they were because there was an armor squadron in the 5th that had used the nasty little beastie as their symbol. As she knelt down for a better look (from a safe distance), the bluish-red monstrosity twitched its thin, whip-like antennae and raised two tightly banded claws, though it didn't move to attack. Perhaps it was just annoyed that she'd come to interrupt its moon-bathing?

"Where did you come from?" the Neko wondered aloud, her brow furrowing in confusion.

"Huh?" Orie followed Isuzu's gaze, then stared blankly at the crustacean for a few moments. Having no firsthand experience with animals, she wasn't sure what to make of it either. "... maybe it's a pet?" She waved happily at it when it raised its claws. "I think it likes you."

(( Edit: fix'd lobster discrepancies! ))

"Hmm..." Isuzu pursed her lips pensively; that actually made a lot of sense. Only the hardiest of vermin could escape a space station's environmental systems, so any animals that came onboard would have to be owned by someone. Plus, the MEGAMI wouldn't let anything dangerous just wander around inside the station, would it?

Seeing as she still was swathed from the neck down in body armor and the thing didn't look like much of a threat with its claws tied like that, Isuzu bent down to pick it up, returning to the group with the creature cradled in both hands. "Who would keep this for a pet, though?" she asked, holding it up to look for tags.

A chilling thought suddenly struck the small Neko. "<The Eyfrlurpjakar doesn't own you, does she?>" she asked in a wet, gurgling string of nonsense syllables, peering at the creature in trepidation.

(OOC: Lobster courtesy of: viewtopic.php?f=61&t=1355&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=60 ^_^;...)

I hope I said that right. Isuzu hadn't met any actual Mishhuvurthyar to practice on since she'd downloaded the Mishhu language pack. This, she decided, was absolutely fine with her. She'd decided to learn Mishhu on the off chance that she'd need to use it during the conference, but she didn't feel any great urge to test her fluency.

Also, while the sounds she was making seemed strangely appropriate for conversing with... whatever this thing was, the damp, spiny creature didn't visibly respond when Isuzu spoke. It also didn't seem to take offense at being held, so Isuzu allowed herself to relax a little.

"I don't know... I think it's kind of cute. You know. In a spiky giant bug kind of way." Orie tentatively reached out and patted its head. When Isuzu spoke to it in Mishhuvurthyar, she added, "... do you need a drink?" To her, the language sounded like somebody trying to clear their throat after eating a block of cheese.

If the creature was somebody's pet, it seemed like they'd be nearby--it wasn't exactly going to set any land speed records, after all. Nobody nearby looked like the type to keep a pet crustacean, but it was still worth a try. She started directing bystanders to the lobster. "Do you know who this belongs to?"

Ren simply stared quizzically at the creature. To her the fact its claws were bound was no different than peace-bonding a weapon. It may very well be intelligent as far as anyone could know.

"Perhapses we should ask Kami about it? Maybe we can find out it's language or...if you are correct who owns it."

Most passerbys didn't seem to know how to react to the slightly comical sight of three Star Army soldiers wandering around with a lost lobster. Those that Orie managed to flag down generally just shook their heads and proceeded on their way, throwing the trio strange looks as they departed.

While Isuzu didn't think it necessary to escalate directly to the KAMI, Ren had a point. Logging into the station security subsystem once again, Isuzu ran a search for live animals brought onto the station that matched the description of the creature she was holding, and their owners/destinations. The search results identified the creature as one:

Secure Node D22-47-J12 said:

Lobster: carnivorous crustacean; food item; imported or aquafarmed on Albini.

Click to expand...

It also identified a list of businesses that had live lobsters in their inventories. The closest one was a restaurant not too far from where they stood. "It's called a 'lobster,'" Isuzu explained, peering at the creature measuringly. "It's edible; probably came from there." She indicated the restaurant with a nod.

Kumiko was wandering around the station, more than slightly confused at Hanako-sama's response. She quickly pulled up a map of the station, and looked for somewhere she could go to eat. She also sent out a telepathic public message, hoping someone she knew would answer. Anybody from the Celia around?

Kumiko received a response in the form of a station-relayed message:

Kuroaki Isuzu said:

There are several of us in Concourse D2. Looking for food.

Click to expand...

A marker also appeared on Kumiko's map, displaying the sender's location.

"It's...edible?" Ren curiously poked the creatures carapace. "An exoskeletal crustacean from the depths of a sea hummm?"

After a moment of thought Ren Suddenly announced, "I desire to try one!"

She promptly turned in the direction of the restaurant and began to march in that direction determinately.

The restaurant was furnished 'pub style,' with a long bar dominating one side of the room while small round tables and chairs filled the rest of the floor. The lighting was softer and warmer than the standard station hallways, and the bar looked like it might be real wood too. Behind the bar, a large board displayed the restaurant's menu in both Yamataian and Nepleslain. The dishes consisted mostly of cooked seafood.

The bartender nearly dropped the mop he was holding when Renko strode in. The man was looking a bit jumpy, and was currently cleaning up one of the tables where there appeared to have been an accident; milky white fluid of some sort spotted the surface of the table, and a wet path leading from the door to his mop indicated that there had been spillage elsewhere as well.

“Ah! W- welcome,” the bartender greeted nervously, sketching a slight bow that pegged him as some stripe of Yamataian. “Please have a seat wherever you like. A server will be with you shortly.”

Orie wasn't too pleased at Ren's sudden enthusiasm for seafood. "What?! But... not this one? I mean... he came all this way, and he's kind of cute. I don't think we should eat him." She gave the lobster a reassuring pat on the head.

Isuzu also wasn't sure what to do with the lobster. They hadn't actually confirmed who it belonged to yet, but they certainly couldn't keep it; keeping live animals on starships was usually against regulations. "It needs water to live," she pointed out diplomatically, indicating they should follow Ren, who was currently making a bee-line for the restaurant. "They may have a tank there." Unless they just keep the live foods in cryostasis, she didn't add. Orie seemed to have grown somewhat attached to the leggy sea beastie.

Ren sat at a table in the back with her back to the wall and grinned as she waited patiently for the server.

~I don't intend on eating that one....you seem too fond of it. But one like it? Yes!~ Renko left a dramatic pause before projecting the last word with gusto to Orie telepathically.

Orie pondered this. That the critter needed water could make things difficult. It wasn't exactly like she could keep it as a pet, but at the same time, she didn't want to see it eaten. She peered out a window at the watery planet below. "... still, we need to do something with it..."

"Not native to Albini," Isuzu observed, catching Orie's glance. Though lobsters might be farmed on the planet below, their little friend probably wouldn't survive in the wild. As she and Orie caught up with Ren, Isuzu massaged the civilian network for a bit more information.

Lobsters apparently lived in planned ecosystems on Yamatai, Nepleslia and a few other human-terraformed worlds. "Send it to Yamatai?" she suggested. They'd be sending the Yamataian senators back to the homeworld after the conference anyway, though Isuzu hadn't planned on volunteering for that particular babysitting assignment again.

A green-haired young man, presumably Ren's server, was approaching the redhead with a glass of water just as Orie and Isuzu entered the restaurant. He and the bartender both did a double-take when they saw the lobster Isuzu held, and the bartender paled visibly.

Edit: Spelling Error -_-;...

Renko put on her best smile for her server. "Hi! I'd like a Lobster! Do you eat them raw or cooked? Actually why don't you make it the chef's specialty!"

She sipped from her water glass as she turned to watch the others enter. Gesturing for them to join her she set the glass down.

"Hey over here!"