MissingNo
Inactive Member
Memory reset time came and went. The next day arrived, shifts were assigned, and things happened.
In one segment of her spare time Tweak lay in her bunk, fifth one up right next to the door, and read. Her journal was updated daily still, acting as a shorthand backup to the full memory recording in her hard drive-ish unit that was stored in the journal's place hanging from her belt. Flipping back to entries from a while ago, she found the schematics for the unit, encoded as everything else was with additional encryption for details. After the fight with Captain Bell, Tweak had made a note to construct a second memory unit as a backup. The journal was all well and good, but if the drive was destroyed or damaged, she couldn't use it anymore.
The barracks were quiet as most of the squad were either doing their own thing or out on various business, official or personal. Tweak dropped down from her bunk after a while and ventured over to the restocked kitchen that Team 35 had been fortunate enough to procure. She stuck her head in the upper cabinet after climbing up to kneel on the counter top, poking through the containers inside to see what looked tasty.
Kokuten had made another trip to the med-bay that day for another check-up with his leg. The medical crew on the Cirrus wanted to make sure that wasn't doing more than the wound allowed for. In fact, the doctors themselves told him that if they caught any damage, they'd confine him to a stretcher until the wound properly healed. Now, the Captain wasn't exact the dangerous sort, but he didn't enjoy being shuffled around like child in his own element. The fault of a doctor being a patient.
When he stepped into the barracks he was looking at his DataJockey, reading up on the recent news of the sector. Though, something caught his eye, and his left rolled over to look while his right continued to read one of the news articles he had been taking in down the hall. He saw the Freespacer neko of their squad, usually so reclusive off-duty, and serious on, scaling the counter to find food like a child. It took a bit of restraint to resist chuckling as a smile spread on his face. The Captain stowed away his DataJockey, hitting the button to put in sleep mode right before sheathing it.
"Ahem, having some trouble with high cabinets, are we?" queried the metal-eyed Doctor.
Tweak shook her head, smiling a little as she glanced back at the team captain before looking back at the cabinet and pulling out a box of graham crackers.
Moments later, the rapid thump of footsteps signaled the arrival of yet another person to the small kitchen - the Freespacer Method, dressed in her typical casual overalls, the bulging machine parts usually filling every pocket on her outfit curiously missing. Even more curious was her expression - her skinny face was contorted into a scowl, and her fists, both organic and mechanical, were clenched by her sides.
She stormed into the kitchen, disregarding both the others in the kitchenette, and hauled open one of the drawers with her hand. Pulled out fully, the drawer was shorter than it should have been, and the reason why was immediately apparent: her claw pried open the false back and withdrew a chocolate bar from the hidey-hole behind before sealing it up again and closing the drawer. Still facing the counter and wall, she partially unwrapped the bar and took an angry, chomping bite.
Dropping from the counter top to the floor as Method entered, Tweak quietly watched the other 'Spacer dig out something from the hidden stash, then looked down at the graham crackers in her hand before turning to Kokuten. "...please, sir, would you like s'mor?" she asked with a suppressed smile. There should be the ingredients to make marshmallows and if not real chocolate then a relatively good substitute in here...the neko shook her head to clear the tangent thoughts and tilted her head a little at Method, wondering how to ask what was wrong without being blunt about it. That usually just got people angry...
Kokuten blinked, one eye following Method as she stomped in what seemed a fit of frustration. He rubbed his chin for a moment, before Tweak approached with her question. It was received with a sort of mild confusion, his eyes changing to a lightish-green color.
"S'more what?" asked the Captain, only to see the Neko likely did not mean for it to be an actual question. He shook his head, and scratched the edge of his jaw as he went over to the fridge. Thirsting for something to get the faint taste of antibiotics out of his mouth, he scoured the cooler for any beverages. Spotting a SLAM near the back, he grabbed a cold energy drink, his finger tips coming back out a little icy. "So, Ms. Method." he popped the top of the drink, "You seem... troubled."
Method chewed roughly on her chocolate bar for a few moment, apparently not enjoying it in the slightest. After she had gnashed the treat into submission and swallowed, she turned and glowered at Kokuten from underneath her not-suitable-for-glowering brow. "That was an utter train wreck. A stupid utter train wreck! It was the worst mission I've ever been on and I was involved in the crash of the Iambic Pentameter!" She hucked the chocolate wrapper to the ground and jumped up and down on it a couple of times.
Ah, the names of freespacer ships never cease to amuse. Kokuten chuckled lightly to himself, before heaving a familiar sigh. "We were underequipped and not suitably informed for that kind of mission. From what I read, whenever Squad 35 ever takes a mission planetside, it tends to turn out fairly bad. From my own experience, when we take a mission with Uniques involved, it's even worse. I'll admit, some of the shortcomings of our most recent escapade are my fault, but the rest just seems like fate laughing in our face." The Doctor shrugged, and then took another sip of his drink.
"Mission?" A quick mental dive into her records turned just over half a dozen missions...Cross-reference search term: "Uniques"... ... ... "Oh..." Tweak looked down, then opened up her package of crackers and took out half of one. Suddenly she felt both very hungry and without appetite.
"I like being stranded on planets with inadequate equipment and no knowledge of my enemies, that's what makes life interesting!" The 'spacer gave the wrapper on the floor a kick, the piece of plastic sailing into the air, where she grabbed it and threw it into the trash can. "But this time I didn't do anything! I had that big gun and I hacked their communications and everything and there was nothing going on and even when I followed the explosions it was all done by the time I got there!"
"It seems we all had a bad string of luck." Kokuten joked, looking over at Tweak for a moment, reminded of how much doing she had done and the amount it had affected her. "I'm sure we'll have plenty to do on the next assignment Cassefin seems fit to assign us."
Next assignment... Tweak shook her head slowly. "I don't want to do that again," she murmured, the last piece of the cracker half held to her mouth as she finished eating it after speaking.
"Maybe I should file a formal complaint to the Administrator. Or Miss Popjoy. Or maybe I should quit, that'd show them!" By Method's expression, it was clear that not even she believed that that would actually have any effect on anyone at all.
"Now now, no need to be so hasty! I'm sure that it was simply..." Kokuten looked off in thought, searching for a reasonable explanation, "Bad luck! Yes! Not really the fault of anyone, but fate itself. It just wasn't your day, but I will keep in mind that you prefer the action." The doctor nodded strongly affirming the statement.
The neko looked up at Method, pulling out the other half of the graham cracker and tapping it against the package a couple of times. "You want to be the one fighting next time?" she asked, her face strangely inexpressive. "You can take my place. You can be the one standing in the gap. I don't want to be there anymore." She glanced over at Kokuten, still expressionless except for an odd look in her eyes. Inside, she was conflicted. It didn't quite seem real to her, what had been recorded in the memory unit, even though they were truly her memories...just ones she no longer had.
"Not fighting. Just... doing something. I hate standing around just scratching my butt!" Method's face contorted itself into a miserable pout, and she slumped against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Mm..." One of Kokuten's eyes looked over Tweak, the other at Method, examining them both. After a few seconds of silence, the eyes rolled back into his head a few times to refocus on point in space. He then took a sip of his SLAM. "Then it's settled, I will ensure both of you will be first in line for any tasks that require your talents." declared the Captain, and added, looking at Tweak, "Your engineering skills, of course. I'll leave the fighting to the soldiers."
The shaven-headed freespacer smiled brightly, all traces of her earlier anger wiped out, and dashed forward to embrace Kokuten. Her robot arm squeezed perhaps a bit harder than necessary.
Tweak allowed herself to smile, looking down at the floor. Good...now she could do what she knew she loved to do. Speaking of which, plans for an ingredient re-combiner were already drawing themselves in her imagination, but she shoved the rest of the graham cracker into her mouth and joined Method in hugging Kokuten...highly out of character for her, but for some reason it felt right. Rapidly chewing and swallowing the cracker, the neko managed to get out a "thank you" before the last of the cracker decided to go down the wrong pipe and sending her into a minor choking fit that she quickly recovered from, looking embarrassed.
Method's organic arm extricated itself from its position around Kokuten and wound its way around Tweak instead, squeezing her tight, her skinny body worming up against the other freespacer's. "Hi," she said conspiratorially into the woman's hat.
Kokuten was taken off guard as not one, but 'both' Freespacers took to embracing him. Method did not surprise him very much, as she was free-spirited, unlike her neko counterpart, who surprised him with such affection. He smiled, his eyes turning a dark, rich shade of green. He returned the expression by hugging them both, the blue veins going up his left arm glowing a little brighter. "You are... both..." He breathed, slightly crushed under Method's arms, "Very welcome. I'll do my best to ensure that you do what you're are truly best at, rather than flinging you around like faceless soldiers."
The sudden change from hugging to being hugged was unexpected and more or less unwanted. She let go of Kokuten and ducked out from under Method, looking at the other 'spacer with a little confusion. "Hello..." she said, one hand checking her hat and adjusting it self-consciously while the other hid behind her back as she took a shy posture.
"..." Method drew back from Kokuten as well with a hurt expression, a good deal of confusion also mixed in. She took a few steps away from Tweak, her head hanging before she turned away and started to exit the kitchenette.
What...? Kokuten was also confused in the sudden change in atmosphere. It was then he realized that the two freespacers weren't actually on casual terms, and at that same time Kokuten reached out placed a hand on Method's shoulder. "Wait one moment, please, Ms. Method."
"...why?" Her voice was small, with little of its usual boisterousness, present even when she was angry. She looked up at him with bewildered eyes.
"Because it seems you are not familiar with one of our most senior members in Squad 35." Kokuten smiled warmly at Method, before gently wrapping an arm around her and shepherding her over to Tweak. He held out his left arm, the one with the many electronic veins covering it's surface, gesturing to the neko. "Method, this is Gearhead Tweak Three Seven."
Then, he gestured to Method, "Tweak, this is Widgethead Method 95-3097-5137." He seemed to have the complete number memorized.
Tweak would have just let Method leave the room while also being confused about what happened, and was relieved when Kokuten stepped in. She smiled as she was introduced and bowed her head to Method by way of greeting. "It is good to properly meet you, Miss Method," she said politely. But she still didn't know what she'd done wrong.
Method's eyebrows knit together in a still-unhappy expression, looking down at the smaller freespacer; she looked like she was about to cry. Her organic hand wrung together nervously with her mechanical one. "I thought... that... that you'd like me because... never mind." She slumped again, her shoulders ducking just out of range of Kokuten's arm.
The smile turned back to confusion and Tweak looked up at Kokuten. What's going on? Taking a chance on a guess, she looked back at Method. "I'm sorry, what do you mean? I..." And words chose then to stop moving between her brain and her tongue. She stood there dumbly. "So lost..." she murmured.
"Mm." Kokuten rubbed his chin, looking between the two of them. He gave a short smile and gestured to Tweak. "Method, do you know why you may not have formally met Tweak up until now?"
"...no? I, I mean, maybe she's avoiding me...?"
"No! Of course not. Tweak is generally reclusive. She does not speak much to people, and thus, isn't used to someone as social and bubbly such as yourself." Kokuten set his drink on the counter and then put his hands on his waist, "It's not that she doesn't like you, it's that she isn't..." He threw an apologetic glance, in case he assumed too much, "Isn't good at meeting new people." He then clapped his hands together, and smiled again, "So! Act natural! Tweak is actually a very nice person once you get to know her."
Tweak mentally winced. It was all true, though, so she nodded at Method. Her eyes kept flicking toward the floor, but with a little focus she managed to make eye contact with the other Freespacer. Well, close to eye contact, at least keeping herself looking in the general area of Method's face. "I apologize if I have made it appear I don't like you. It was-was-was..." She closed her eyes, taking a calming breath before trying again. "It was not on purpose. May we be friends?"
Method's posture snapped back up - inasmuch as she ever had good posture - and her face brightened considerably. She bounded forward and embraced Tweak with both arms, holding her tightly and rocking her back and forth a bit. "Yes~!"
This time she had a little bit of warning and expected the hug, but Tweak couldn't keep from tensing as someone a whole foot taller than herself bear-hugged her. At least the tensing kept Method from crushing her as Kokuten had experienced earlier. "Oh-oh-okay," she managed to stutter out, and resigned herself to wait for the hug to end on its own time. Comfort zones were so cumbersome sometimes...
>END>
In one segment of her spare time Tweak lay in her bunk, fifth one up right next to the door, and read. Her journal was updated daily still, acting as a shorthand backup to the full memory recording in her hard drive-ish unit that was stored in the journal's place hanging from her belt. Flipping back to entries from a while ago, she found the schematics for the unit, encoded as everything else was with additional encryption for details. After the fight with Captain Bell, Tweak had made a note to construct a second memory unit as a backup. The journal was all well and good, but if the drive was destroyed or damaged, she couldn't use it anymore.
The barracks were quiet as most of the squad were either doing their own thing or out on various business, official or personal. Tweak dropped down from her bunk after a while and ventured over to the restocked kitchen that Team 35 had been fortunate enough to procure. She stuck her head in the upper cabinet after climbing up to kneel on the counter top, poking through the containers inside to see what looked tasty.
Kokuten had made another trip to the med-bay that day for another check-up with his leg. The medical crew on the Cirrus wanted to make sure that wasn't doing more than the wound allowed for. In fact, the doctors themselves told him that if they caught any damage, they'd confine him to a stretcher until the wound properly healed. Now, the Captain wasn't exact the dangerous sort, but he didn't enjoy being shuffled around like child in his own element. The fault of a doctor being a patient.
When he stepped into the barracks he was looking at his DataJockey, reading up on the recent news of the sector. Though, something caught his eye, and his left rolled over to look while his right continued to read one of the news articles he had been taking in down the hall. He saw the Freespacer neko of their squad, usually so reclusive off-duty, and serious on, scaling the counter to find food like a child. It took a bit of restraint to resist chuckling as a smile spread on his face. The Captain stowed away his DataJockey, hitting the button to put in sleep mode right before sheathing it.
"Ahem, having some trouble with high cabinets, are we?" queried the metal-eyed Doctor.
Tweak shook her head, smiling a little as she glanced back at the team captain before looking back at the cabinet and pulling out a box of graham crackers.
Moments later, the rapid thump of footsteps signaled the arrival of yet another person to the small kitchen - the Freespacer Method, dressed in her typical casual overalls, the bulging machine parts usually filling every pocket on her outfit curiously missing. Even more curious was her expression - her skinny face was contorted into a scowl, and her fists, both organic and mechanical, were clenched by her sides.
She stormed into the kitchen, disregarding both the others in the kitchenette, and hauled open one of the drawers with her hand. Pulled out fully, the drawer was shorter than it should have been, and the reason why was immediately apparent: her claw pried open the false back and withdrew a chocolate bar from the hidey-hole behind before sealing it up again and closing the drawer. Still facing the counter and wall, she partially unwrapped the bar and took an angry, chomping bite.
Dropping from the counter top to the floor as Method entered, Tweak quietly watched the other 'Spacer dig out something from the hidden stash, then looked down at the graham crackers in her hand before turning to Kokuten. "...please, sir, would you like s'mor?" she asked with a suppressed smile. There should be the ingredients to make marshmallows and if not real chocolate then a relatively good substitute in here...the neko shook her head to clear the tangent thoughts and tilted her head a little at Method, wondering how to ask what was wrong without being blunt about it. That usually just got people angry...
Kokuten blinked, one eye following Method as she stomped in what seemed a fit of frustration. He rubbed his chin for a moment, before Tweak approached with her question. It was received with a sort of mild confusion, his eyes changing to a lightish-green color.
"S'more what?" asked the Captain, only to see the Neko likely did not mean for it to be an actual question. He shook his head, and scratched the edge of his jaw as he went over to the fridge. Thirsting for something to get the faint taste of antibiotics out of his mouth, he scoured the cooler for any beverages. Spotting a SLAM near the back, he grabbed a cold energy drink, his finger tips coming back out a little icy. "So, Ms. Method." he popped the top of the drink, "You seem... troubled."
Method chewed roughly on her chocolate bar for a few moment, apparently not enjoying it in the slightest. After she had gnashed the treat into submission and swallowed, she turned and glowered at Kokuten from underneath her not-suitable-for-glowering brow. "That was an utter train wreck. A stupid utter train wreck! It was the worst mission I've ever been on and I was involved in the crash of the Iambic Pentameter!" She hucked the chocolate wrapper to the ground and jumped up and down on it a couple of times.
Ah, the names of freespacer ships never cease to amuse. Kokuten chuckled lightly to himself, before heaving a familiar sigh. "We were underequipped and not suitably informed for that kind of mission. From what I read, whenever Squad 35 ever takes a mission planetside, it tends to turn out fairly bad. From my own experience, when we take a mission with Uniques involved, it's even worse. I'll admit, some of the shortcomings of our most recent escapade are my fault, but the rest just seems like fate laughing in our face." The Doctor shrugged, and then took another sip of his drink.
"Mission?" A quick mental dive into her records turned just over half a dozen missions...Cross-reference search term: "Uniques"... ... ... "Oh..." Tweak looked down, then opened up her package of crackers and took out half of one. Suddenly she felt both very hungry and without appetite.
"I like being stranded on planets with inadequate equipment and no knowledge of my enemies, that's what makes life interesting!" The 'spacer gave the wrapper on the floor a kick, the piece of plastic sailing into the air, where she grabbed it and threw it into the trash can. "But this time I didn't do anything! I had that big gun and I hacked their communications and everything and there was nothing going on and even when I followed the explosions it was all done by the time I got there!"
"It seems we all had a bad string of luck." Kokuten joked, looking over at Tweak for a moment, reminded of how much doing she had done and the amount it had affected her. "I'm sure we'll have plenty to do on the next assignment Cassefin seems fit to assign us."
Next assignment... Tweak shook her head slowly. "I don't want to do that again," she murmured, the last piece of the cracker half held to her mouth as she finished eating it after speaking.
"Maybe I should file a formal complaint to the Administrator. Or Miss Popjoy. Or maybe I should quit, that'd show them!" By Method's expression, it was clear that not even she believed that that would actually have any effect on anyone at all.
"Now now, no need to be so hasty! I'm sure that it was simply..." Kokuten looked off in thought, searching for a reasonable explanation, "Bad luck! Yes! Not really the fault of anyone, but fate itself. It just wasn't your day, but I will keep in mind that you prefer the action." The doctor nodded strongly affirming the statement.
The neko looked up at Method, pulling out the other half of the graham cracker and tapping it against the package a couple of times. "You want to be the one fighting next time?" she asked, her face strangely inexpressive. "You can take my place. You can be the one standing in the gap. I don't want to be there anymore." She glanced over at Kokuten, still expressionless except for an odd look in her eyes. Inside, she was conflicted. It didn't quite seem real to her, what had been recorded in the memory unit, even though they were truly her memories...just ones she no longer had.
"Not fighting. Just... doing something. I hate standing around just scratching my butt!" Method's face contorted itself into a miserable pout, and she slumped against the counter, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Mm..." One of Kokuten's eyes looked over Tweak, the other at Method, examining them both. After a few seconds of silence, the eyes rolled back into his head a few times to refocus on point in space. He then took a sip of his SLAM. "Then it's settled, I will ensure both of you will be first in line for any tasks that require your talents." declared the Captain, and added, looking at Tweak, "Your engineering skills, of course. I'll leave the fighting to the soldiers."
The shaven-headed freespacer smiled brightly, all traces of her earlier anger wiped out, and dashed forward to embrace Kokuten. Her robot arm squeezed perhaps a bit harder than necessary.
Tweak allowed herself to smile, looking down at the floor. Good...now she could do what she knew she loved to do. Speaking of which, plans for an ingredient re-combiner were already drawing themselves in her imagination, but she shoved the rest of the graham cracker into her mouth and joined Method in hugging Kokuten...highly out of character for her, but for some reason it felt right. Rapidly chewing and swallowing the cracker, the neko managed to get out a "thank you" before the last of the cracker decided to go down the wrong pipe and sending her into a minor choking fit that she quickly recovered from, looking embarrassed.
Method's organic arm extricated itself from its position around Kokuten and wound its way around Tweak instead, squeezing her tight, her skinny body worming up against the other freespacer's. "Hi," she said conspiratorially into the woman's hat.
Kokuten was taken off guard as not one, but 'both' Freespacers took to embracing him. Method did not surprise him very much, as she was free-spirited, unlike her neko counterpart, who surprised him with such affection. He smiled, his eyes turning a dark, rich shade of green. He returned the expression by hugging them both, the blue veins going up his left arm glowing a little brighter. "You are... both..." He breathed, slightly crushed under Method's arms, "Very welcome. I'll do my best to ensure that you do what you're are truly best at, rather than flinging you around like faceless soldiers."
The sudden change from hugging to being hugged was unexpected and more or less unwanted. She let go of Kokuten and ducked out from under Method, looking at the other 'spacer with a little confusion. "Hello..." she said, one hand checking her hat and adjusting it self-consciously while the other hid behind her back as she took a shy posture.
"..." Method drew back from Kokuten as well with a hurt expression, a good deal of confusion also mixed in. She took a few steps away from Tweak, her head hanging before she turned away and started to exit the kitchenette.
What...? Kokuten was also confused in the sudden change in atmosphere. It was then he realized that the two freespacers weren't actually on casual terms, and at that same time Kokuten reached out placed a hand on Method's shoulder. "Wait one moment, please, Ms. Method."
"...why?" Her voice was small, with little of its usual boisterousness, present even when she was angry. She looked up at him with bewildered eyes.
"Because it seems you are not familiar with one of our most senior members in Squad 35." Kokuten smiled warmly at Method, before gently wrapping an arm around her and shepherding her over to Tweak. He held out his left arm, the one with the many electronic veins covering it's surface, gesturing to the neko. "Method, this is Gearhead Tweak Three Seven."
Then, he gestured to Method, "Tweak, this is Widgethead Method 95-3097-5137." He seemed to have the complete number memorized.
Tweak would have just let Method leave the room while also being confused about what happened, and was relieved when Kokuten stepped in. She smiled as she was introduced and bowed her head to Method by way of greeting. "It is good to properly meet you, Miss Method," she said politely. But she still didn't know what she'd done wrong.
Method's eyebrows knit together in a still-unhappy expression, looking down at the smaller freespacer; she looked like she was about to cry. Her organic hand wrung together nervously with her mechanical one. "I thought... that... that you'd like me because... never mind." She slumped again, her shoulders ducking just out of range of Kokuten's arm.
The smile turned back to confusion and Tweak looked up at Kokuten. What's going on? Taking a chance on a guess, she looked back at Method. "I'm sorry, what do you mean? I..." And words chose then to stop moving between her brain and her tongue. She stood there dumbly. "So lost..." she murmured.
"Mm." Kokuten rubbed his chin, looking between the two of them. He gave a short smile and gestured to Tweak. "Method, do you know why you may not have formally met Tweak up until now?"
"...no? I, I mean, maybe she's avoiding me...?"
"No! Of course not. Tweak is generally reclusive. She does not speak much to people, and thus, isn't used to someone as social and bubbly such as yourself." Kokuten set his drink on the counter and then put his hands on his waist, "It's not that she doesn't like you, it's that she isn't..." He threw an apologetic glance, in case he assumed too much, "Isn't good at meeting new people." He then clapped his hands together, and smiled again, "So! Act natural! Tweak is actually a very nice person once you get to know her."
Tweak mentally winced. It was all true, though, so she nodded at Method. Her eyes kept flicking toward the floor, but with a little focus she managed to make eye contact with the other Freespacer. Well, close to eye contact, at least keeping herself looking in the general area of Method's face. "I apologize if I have made it appear I don't like you. It was-was-was..." She closed her eyes, taking a calming breath before trying again. "It was not on purpose. May we be friends?"
Method's posture snapped back up - inasmuch as she ever had good posture - and her face brightened considerably. She bounded forward and embraced Tweak with both arms, holding her tightly and rocking her back and forth a bit. "Yes~!"
This time she had a little bit of warning and expected the hug, but Tweak couldn't keep from tensing as someone a whole foot taller than herself bear-hugged her. At least the tensing kept Method from crushing her as Kokuten had experienced earlier. "Oh-oh-okay," she managed to stutter out, and resigned herself to wait for the hug to end on its own time. Comfort zones were so cumbersome sometimes...
>END>
