Hanako's World
Harbor Town
20日 6月 YE 39
1200 Hours
Taiyou Hoshi looked out over the small starport on the island, situated just next to Harbor Town. There was a lot to do for her, but a lot of that included getting the small details of the ship just right and arranging it in such a way that it would be perfect for the crew upon arrival. She was, in a sense of the word, secure. She knew it would be a transition, hard or easy she knew not, for the crew of the Kaiyo to come onto the Fuji-class ship recently built—second of its class. She smiled happily as she saw the shuttle that carried the Kaiyo II's engineer.
Royce tilted his head back as the shuttle settled into it's landing pad, his eyes were closed softly and a small smile played across the fringes of his lips. His mind was reeling, tossing back and fourth with the idea that he was about to actually join a crew, on a real spaceship, and do amazing, or hopefully amazing, spaceship things. While he had been on other ships of course, he’d never experienced life on one, living on the stars and going wherever. The whole notion was romantic in a way to him, but at the same time he could feel the shakes in his hand as the door opened.
Casing his eyes quickly towards the exit he waited for the others to filter out, paying no mind to their idle chatter before he stood up. Stretching his arms and legs, turning his head side to side he reached under his seat, pulling a large faded orange bag with various spots patched here and there on it. The bag was stuffed with, well, he wasn’t entirely sure anymore. All things he needed, but couldn’t be bothered to remember. Tossing the bag over his shoulder he held onto the single strap and stuffed his other hand into his pants pocket as he made his way outside.
The sun hit him, it was always these damn resort planets that had the brightest too. Like they turned the dial up to eleven just for effect. Squinting against the damned rays of light he fumbled with the pockets on his vest, reaching here and there till he found a pair of brown tinted sunglasses, large lensed and looking something of an aviator style. Stumbling down the narrow stairs to the shuttle his body twisted as he hopped about, flipping the glasses out and sliding them crookedly across his face.
“Loving life..”
He said as he shook his head, that subtle smile still on his face as he lurched forward, shaking his left leg out a bit as he did so. “Okay!” He said finally in a most excited tone as he glanced around him. “I’m gonna need...” He paused, licking his lips and clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “A truck? Maybe? Something… mobile..” He stopped again, his free hand finding his pocket once more as he ambled forward, with really no clue where he was going other than the ideas that were rolling around between his eyes.
Striding forward as her blue and white hair whipped behind her in the hot breeze, Hoshi brought a hand forward, making it look like she was ready to take Royce's bag if need be.
"I can offer you a ride," Hoshi said while her aloha shirt blew in that breeze. It met with the white tips of her hair before billowing back and exposing some of her pink-skinned stomach.
He turned, he spun, Royce moved about as if he didn’t have a clue where he was going, and of course; he didn’t. His eyes moved here and there until he heard a sweet voice call out to him, at least he thought it was him, never could be too sure. Reeling around he doubled back, his head tilted to the side as he eyed the woman standing a bit away. Though she wouldn’t notice due to the dirty glasses he gave her a once over, seemed only polite after all. He stared at her for a moment, pulling his hand free from his pocket he slowly pointed to himself, all the while glancing around, finally filling the long silence with a single word.
“Me?”
Such brilliant insight, Royce couldn’t help himself sometimes. Smiling softly to the woman he adjusted the strap on his bag as he moved towards her in quick, quiet strides. “I mean, yeah..” He started, reaching up and scratching the tip of his nose before motioning towards her. “I’d love a ride, but, I mean, you don’t know where I’m going?” He glanced up in idle thought, adjusting the strap once more. “If you’re looking to like rob me or something.” He shook his head, carrying on with his own thought.
“I don’t have much, you’re welcome to it of course. Likely gonna sell most of it anyway..”
He motioned again with his hand. “Or if you’re one of those that take tourist around?” He snapped his finger, his smile widdening as he shook his head and wagged the digit at her a few times. “Ya know, It don’t matter. I got no ride, and I need a ride so this works out. Where we going?” Not his best choice, taking a ride from a stranger to lord knows where but hey, whats the worst that could happen?
Taiyou Hoshi's mouth tightened as the cherry pink lips formed into a half-hidden smile.
"I'm not here to rob you. Showing you around is more my motive. First stop is the Shinjuku hardware store. Then to the gardening store, and, after that, a bite to eat." She looked at him and her smile loosened. "You forget, I'm connected to PANTHEON," she tapped her light blue-haired head. "I can tap into more than you would think."
Well the mystery woman wasn’t there to rob him, that much was a relief, though what if she said wasn’t even true. What if.. His mind trailed off as it often did though he kept a stoic face and clam smile all the while as she spoke, half listening to her words. As she mentioned the PANTHEON his expression lit up, he thought he finally understood now.
“Oh! So you’re like a..”
He paused, nodding and beaming a bit more of a smile as he motioned towards her again excitedly. “Like a Military Escort? Right?” He stopped, his brain catching up slowly to the words he had just said. His mouth opened silently for a moment before he fumbled with more words. “Oh! I don’t mean an escort escort, not that you’re, I mean.. Oh damnit.” His mouth finally closed, and he stared at her for a moment as he took a slow breath. Finally he shook his head. “I don’t know what I mean..” He stated glancing off to the side with a bit of a laugh. Reaching up he rubbed the temple of his nose and forced another small laugh. “All that sounds good, just lead the way.”
Royce had a way with words, and women apparently. Maybe wasn’t the best way, but a way none the less for better or worse. Ducking his head forward, the glasses atop his nose sliding forward a bit he motioned with an open palm for her to lead the way before his foot found his mouth again.
Hoshi's lips tightened further as she hid a smile, poorly, and she turned on her flip-flop's heel before making her way to the truck parked nearby. She pressed a thumb to the driver's side handle and it opened for her, then she pressed another button and the passenger's door was unlocked for Royce.
"Get on in," she said, not waiting for him before revving up the engine. "First things first," she said once he was in. "There's no reason for you to be fumbling for words, but if that's just who you are, I don't mind at all. You don't need to worry too much with me when you're not on duty. But Empress help me if you faulter while you are on duty..." she trailed off, stewing at possibilities, before sighing. "Which you won't. Your captain has all the trust in the Kikyo Sector in you."
Woman of few words, something Royce could respect at least. Trailing behind her he spun his head once more to take in the sights before moving to the passenger seat. Slinging his overstuffed bag into the floorboard he slid into his seat as she revved the engine. He glanced over towards the blue haired woman as she started speaking. Taking her words in slowly he pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose, raised his brows at her and settled in more to his seat.
“I don’t so much fumble..”
He stated plainly, a sort of calm falling over him as he reclined the seat a few inches, his arms folding over his chest as he tossed a small yawn from between his lips, his voice no longer carrying that animated tone in it as he stared towards the window in front of him, his head tilted. “Just a lot going on in here, it’s all new ya’ know? Never done this, worked hard to get here, really hard.” He reached up, tapping the side of his head before letting his arm fall again. “No implants, all just, well, learned the old fashion way.” He turned and gave her a small, patient smile.
“If you got PANTHEON up there in your head, you know about me then, you know what they’re in for.”
It wasn’t that he was difficult to work with, he just didn’t have what they would call a military attitude or outlook, the only reason he even got assigned to a crew in the first place was his testing; he was damn good at what he did. “Nervous I guess, aside from that. Few things I’ll need from the hardware place, damn army cheaped out and used some older parts.” He motioned forward with his hands in a frustrated sort of way. “I mean, they’re fine for shorter trips or where you can have them replaced..” He tilted his head back again, shaking it slowly. “Not a big deal, they get some things in bulk and like to use em up I think, other than that some seeds, gonna see about setting up a garden.” His mind wandered again as he stopped speaking and settled into his own thoughts.
Hoshi's cherry pink lips began running fast as she spoke, "The gardens on the Fuji-class, if you can call them gardens, are quite wonderful. You'll enjoy what you have in store if you want to take up gardening aboard the ship. You know about the hydroponic walls of the wardroom, right? They use those plants in the food they make aboard the ship. And the observation deck's bonsai trees are something to behold, too. Some of the trees they've brought to the ship are as old as the Empire."
As for the rest of what you said, "Your captain hand-picked you, you know? There were much higher ranking and hardened, tested technicians and engineers to choose from, but you stood out. Why do you think that is?"
Royce thought for a moment on her last statement, finding himself still staring at her pink touched lips, the woman could talk fast that much was for sure. He blinked a few times, settling into a silence for a long moment of pause before finally shaking his head. “Not sure..” He finally said, a tincture of doubt in his tone as he continued. “Didn’t expect it that’s for sure.” He strummed his fingers along his side. “Seems surreal still. I mean why take a human over..” He pursed his lips and shrugged to himself.
“Over anything else really.”
Glancing down he shook his head a few times and smiled. “Hand picked or not, it’s going to be a change that’s for sure.” He laughed, running a hand through that mass of hair atop his head, causing it stick out in other random directions. “Maybe I was hand picked because I’m so, damned, pretty.” He rolled his head towards her, speaking as if stating a fact. “I am very pretty after all.” The truth of the matter was he had no idea why he was picked, but in no way was he going to argue it, just make a few terrible jokes here and there on the subject.
Her eyes went wide as he made his proclomation and then Hoshi took a hand from the wheel and grabbed his own hand in hers and shook it slightly. "That's the way to think!"
"Hmmmm," the woman said as she lifted her hand and put a finger up to her lips, tapping them. "What do you know about the crew you'll be working alongside? I've heard rumors about the Kaiyō, you know. Bless the ship's heart. They've got a name for themselves."
He didn’t pull his hand back as she grasped it in her own, instead he shook it up and down almost playfully, laughing a bit. It was a good feeling getting a good reaction from the gibberish he stated every now and then. Pulling his gaze to her again as she tapped at her lip he rolled his eyes up a bit, thinking it over.
“Well..”
He said, glancing down and biting his lip as his head bobbed a bit. “Honestly, been more focused on learning about the ship it’s self rather than the crew.” He nodded to himself and his words as he crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his fingers about on the side of his arm. “That is my job after all!” He said with a wide smile, knowing it to be true. “I’m sure the crew is a good bunch, I hope so at least.” He held his hands out and waved them a bit in a dismissive manner. “Ahhh, all the same, I know why I’m there!”
"New ship, new problems to deal with!" Hoshi said emphatically. "There will be a lot for you to deal with. Almost as many things to deal with as there are reasons for you to be aboard the ship! By the by, I'm Taiyou Hoshi," she slid her deep blue eyes to the side away from the road for a moment to watch his reaction. "Taiyou is my surname and Hoshi is my given one. I know you spent a good part of your life in Nepleslia and that's not exactly taught there. So, Hoshi works as long as we're not in uniforms!"
He shook his head. “So wait, why does the ship have a name for it’s self?” His eyes darted a bit in idle thought, trying to figure out what that might mean. Giving her a half glance as she told him her name he nodded but didn’t show much more of a reaction than that. After a long pause he pulled his lips back with a nod. “Hoshi..” He said, as if tasting the word. “You know, I’m going to try to remember that, it’ll just take a bit though..” If anything he was honest. Reaching up he pulled his glasses off, and started idly chewing on the ear piece, speaking and mumbling through it. “Should I be worried about the crew? I mean, surely they’re not all that bad. Not sure how they have a name for themselves..” He paused, thinking before continuing. “Maybe it’s not a bad name, I guess I’ll find out. “
"They are making claims right now of some pretty incredible things happening to the first Kaiyō. I hope this second one doesn't meet such a grim fate..." the woman got lost in thought as she said that, looking as if she were chewing on her lips. She accelerated fast down the road and then, just as fast, deceleratd and turned into the Shinjuku Market District's parking lot. The //aloha// shirt-clad Neko spoke out, "Hardware store it is!"
Royce lost track of how long they had been driving, the idle conversation about this and that helped the time pass. His eyes narrowed as she talked about the fate of the last ship. Then his arm jetted towards the top of the truck as they turned rather quickly into the hardware store parking lot. “Oh god damn!” He said, feeling the momentum of his body slide with the movement of the truck. Getting out of the truck he stretched again, his eyes closing as he yawned loudly and looked back at her. “Okay, so what happened to the ship?” He finally managed, drumming his palms on the hood of the truck as he waited for her.
After getting out and pressing her thumb to the handle, locking the truck, Hoshi grabbed from the open back of it an oversized purse that could likely fit a great many supplies and smiled wide at Royce while she walked towards him.
As she passed, she told him, "They went to another universe." She floated away at a fast pace as she made her way to the hardware store directly in front of them and immediately started up a conversation with the clerk before speaking over her shoulder, "Get whatever you need. It's all on my dime, Royce-chan."
He gave her a nod of his head and smile as they walked in together. Side by side he cast his gaze around the store, offering the man behind the counter a small wave. For a moment he went over the many things he’d need, then as she said it was all on her dime he turned and tilted his head a bit. “Really now?” He said slowly, as if testing the reply. Reaching up he scratched a few times just above his eye and shrugged, moving through the isles and even finding a large cart to put whatever he figured he’d need into. As he shopped his mind wandered to this other universe she talked about, if it were true, the whole notion would surely leave science it's self confused and scrambling to make sense of it the best they could.
Almost twenty minutes went by before he found himself on at the register, the cart piled with goods, all needed of course, or rather would be needed at some point he figured. Glancing over to a small rack on the register he spied a pair of sleek sunglasses. Scooping the pair from their stand he looked them over, and nodded as he scanned them himself, and then rummaging through his pocket pulled a small card, and paid for them.
Looking back as the man went about ringing up the rest of the goods he placed the glasses atop her head and gave it a small pat. “If we’re gonna be out and about, might as well look good doing it!” He stated teasingly, reaching up and lifting his own glasses slightly with a smile before pushing them up the bridge of his nose a bit. “I guess we’ll have it all delivered to my ship, bit much to take with us and lug around.” He smiled to her. “You know which one right? And thanks by the way, didn’t expect the army to put out this much for supplies.”
Hoshi made an excited little face as Royce put the sleek sunglasses on her head and put her pinkish hands up to hold the glasses between her fingers as she brought them down over her face and then back up, changing the expression of her eyes while the glasses hid them and then trying to surprise Royce with the new look every time the sunglasses lifted.
"I think I have a good idea of which ship," Hoshi said with a cheeky grin on her face as she did.
She paid and wirelessly transferred the information:
Gemini Star Fortress
Deck 90, Arm 6
Kaiyo II, Fuji-class Expeditionary Gunship
Thank you~
Then, she trotted forward and made her way out of the store. She turned around once in the bright sun and the white ends of her hair shimmered in the light as they swept around her torso. Her pleated skirt that the aloha shirt was tucked into raised and fell with the motion and she sapoke excitedly.
"Now to get some blankies, yeah?" She, again, trotted away and brought them into Star Pillows, looking expectantly at Royce, saying, "All the other enlisted are going to be jealous!" She squinted her eyes while smiling, tilting her head a bit as she did. "Silk or velvet pillows? Feather or cotton filled?" In a hushed tone, she said, "The best stuff is made for couches, but we'll just pretend like they're for beds, mhmm?"
To Royce, sometimes time seemed to lapse and he’s just zone out; this was one of those moments. The fleeting conversations they had were all but lost on him as he walked around, of all places, a bedding store. Looking around with a bit of a confused look he pulled those cracked glasses from his face, and slid them into one of the pockets on the side of that all too worn vest. Looking the woman, and the pillows over he smiled nodding to her, rolling his eyes in an exaggerated manner.
“Well of course, anyone who’s anyone knows the best are made for couches.”
He reached out, standing next to her “Silk, of course..” He said as one would state a fact of life. “Now cotton or feathers, that is a hard one..” His hand brushed back and fourth across the plush pillow, even pushing down on a little bit as he tilted his head. “Cotton? What do you think?” He asked, rolling his shoulders and moving his gaze towards her. “What color too? I want a color that stands out and says to the others; Hey, I have these nice, plush, soft and inviting pillows while you have standard army issued, non plush pillows.” He pulled his mouth back, nodding to his own words.
Hoshi has been listening intently but her eyes remained focused on the sets of pillows while she leaned her ear a little close to him, exaggerating her listening skills. She had nodded along but then when he asked about colors she looked perplexed and turned to him.
"Blood tears red is typically what you would see aboard a ship, but this Fuji-class, as they call it, has blue as its central theme, though the bedding does not reflect this. We would look like we're in tune with the ship if we bought blue. But then again, does that stand out enough?" She put her hand up to her chin and stroked the beard she didn't and would never have.
Listening to her he nodded, and motioned as if her were stroking his own beard, which he did have at one time in fact. Looking back to the pillows, he gave them a once over. “I think blue works, pretty fond of it honestly.” He said, running his hand back over one of the cotton filled pillows before scooping it up and looking back and fourth. “Now bedding, that’s a different beast entirely!” He exclaimed, spying a bed on display that looked all too fitted for napping though the store likely didn’t intend for that in the least. “Clutching the large pillow between both his arms across his chest he slid over to the display bed, and in a single jump plopped down onto it, and rolled towards the edge.
“See, now this is a bed.” He said, watching her for a moment before rolling around some more, drawing the glances of some of the stores workers. “Do I even get a bed? I don’t know, I should look into that..” He said, glancing to the ceiling and blinking a few times before shaking the thought free. “Ahh, honestly I’m good with sleeping anywhere, even the floor. Sleep is sleep you know.”
"Cabins have four to a room. Unless you want to opt for requesting a nest pit," Hoshi said. "Which is a great way to get to know your fellow crew members." She all but winked at Royce and then jumped into the air, looking as if she was going to flop onto the bed with little grace before she floated higher than a normal jump would permit and gently touched down onto the comforter of the bed. "Now, what I'm thinking is getting matching comforter and pillows. So, for me, it's no hassle trying to decide." She turned to Royce, face close to his as half of it pressed into the indigo pillowcase. "Does this satin match my eyes, Royce?"
The term nesting pit was something new to him, he mulled the words over, trying to give them meaning as she jumped and floated like a feather into the bed next to him. “Nesting pit?” He questioned as he patted his still clutched, overly soft pillow. “Well, we’ll find you somethin’ I’m sure. For me, I think I’m getting this, just this though.” He figured with not having his own cabin on the ship, wouldn’t be much point in the bedding part of it all, pillows though were a different story, and he was sure he’d use this every chance he got.
Glancing around the store once more his attention was pulled as she turned over quickly, and Royce found himself face to face with the woman. For a moment there was a silence between the pair after her question. His own forested eyes moved across hers, locked for a shot while before he pulled his attention up slightly. “It’s pretty close, not gonna lie. Thinking about getting this one?” He asked, still holding the same tone he had before, though just once his eyes darted back to hers, focused, and slid towards the pillow and bed.
Hoshi gave him a distinct smile that could only mean she was and then nodded. To the sales person now hovering over them, she said, "Ring us up!" We'll take three of these couch cushions and I'll be buying this wonderful satin down-filled comforter!" The salesperson rung her up and she waved their offer to ship the goods to the ship. Instead, she slipped all of the pillows and blanket into her oversized purse and left the store with Royce in tow.
They walked on afterwards, towards the garden shop and Hoshi asked rather plainly, "Your favorite plant is what?" Then, in a more light-hearted tone, she said, "We'll get you a hundred of it, no matter what it is!" She pulled out a cart in which to put whatever they bought and she looked to Royce.
Looking about the gardening shop he seemed to like it. A small place, quaint but brimming with plants of various sizes and colors. The smile on his lips made this much apparent, then tilting his head towards her he rolled his eyes back a bit as he thought to himself. “Hmmm..” He started, bringing his finger to his lip and chewing a bit on his fingernail as he thought to himself. “You know..” He said, as if just realizing something for the first time. “I got a thing for Sunflowers, never really thought about it but always, you know, stopped a moment to look at them. Not sure they’ll fit the theme of the ship though.” He said, nugging at her shoulder with his own. The pair seemed to be warming up to one another, he had a feeling he’d miss this one for a bit once he got with his crew and left.
"Well that's not true. Whatever the crew likes is what creates the 'theme of the ship', you know. Sunflowers it is! Let's see... Seeds... Seeds..." Her voice trailed off as she looked for the packets of seeds and, soon, she had found them. She started throwing packets into the cart, saying what they were as she did, "Heirloom tomatoes, basil, cilantro, carrots, purple carrots, blue basil, sage, lavender, etc, etc..."
He shook his head when she said she wouldn’t buy him the hundred sunflowers. “But you said you would!” He cooed out, making the best impression of a pouting face he could. It wasn’t very good, it wasn’t something he did often at all. “Roma’s are good too.” He said as they walked by. “What about some wasabi or peppers?” He said, leaning forward towards her as they walked. “Little bit of spice never hurt anyone, love it myself actually.”
Hoshi liked the way he pretended to be hurt by her for some reason, she couldn't figure out what exactly about it made her want to hug him around the shoulders but it did. She nodded, then, as he picked out new things for them to get for the ship and placed the packets into the cart.
"Wasabi is nice. In Nepleslia I hear they put green dye into horse radish," she said, crinkling her diminutive nose. She steered them towards the section with potted bonsai trees as she looked to him for his answer.
He looked the small planted trees over, his head tilting side to side in an almost comical way before he carefully picked up a pair. Holding them out to her he looked them over himself. “Well?” He asked. “I figure we can both get one, keep em somewhere safe.” He said nodding with a smile towards the Neko. “Where we going after this anyway?” He asked, setting the plants into the basket. “I just kinda forgot what our plans were, we’ve just been going, time kinda flies.”
Hoshi's eyes sparkled as she said, "You'll see!" She looked overly excited and her hands gripped the handles of the cart a little more tightly than before as she looked at the small trees. "Let's choose some more. They'll work well on the observation deck. Imagine, a ship with a specific place for bonsai tree to be. Did you know that there is auxiliary gravity in the event that the ship loses artificial gravity so that the soil does not fall over the place?" She looked to him. "Amazing, isn't it?"
It was just plain cute watching her react to her own words. Beaming her a smile he nodded. “Oh another surprise then?” He teased to the blue haired woman. “ Gee, go figure..” He added, in an even more teasing manner. He perked a bit hearing her talk about the modern ship's gravity and such. “That’s actually...” He thought it over for a short bit and smiled a bit more. “Using backup gravity for the plants, I mean long run that’s good thinking..” Royce mused, nodding to her. “I’m a little excited to be honest, you knew that though I think, Hoshi.”
"I think she's going to serve you well," Hoshi said about the Kaiyo II. "As long as you do the same, I think you two will have a wonderful relationship." She brought all of the plants and seeds to check out after hefting five bags of soil at once onto the cart's undercarriage, making it shudder as she did. "Woah there," Hoshi said to it, putting a hand out to catch it from falling over. Then, once it was secure, she said, "Shall we?" She motioned with her arm to go towards the checkout. "Any last minute purchases?"
Royce shook his head, his eyes lit up like a child at Christmas as he looked over what they were buying. Watching her heft the bags onto their cart he was reminded of the sheer strength some of these Neko women had, if the phrase hell have no fury like a woman's scorn, it must have meant double for the Neko. Though as the bags shifted the cart, reflexes got the better of his mind and he lurched forward to try and stop it from falling, seeming to forget just how strong this woman was. “Oh, watch it!” He said, though backed a bit once he saw her steadying it.
Glancing around him he shook his head and smiled. “No, I think we got everything.” He stated nodding to her once again.
"Great!" Hoshi said, punching the air before bringing the good to the check stand. She got rung up and, again, set up a shipment to the ship with a little "Thank you~" at the end of it. She turned to him and fluttered her hand a little bit, beckoning him.
When he got close, she whispered, "Time for my favorite part of our 'mission'..."
The woman seemed to have boundless energy he thought as he watched her punch the air, following her to the checkout he watched each item pass until he notice her waving for him to come. “Hm?” He sounded as he made his way towards her, then leaning close as she wanted he pulled his mouth back, unsure of what to make of it. “And what part would that be..” His eyes narrowed, she had that look that she was up to something, though she always had that look if he was honest with himself. “What are you even up to..” He finally said.
Hoshi giggled and said, “You'll see. Let's blow this popsicle stand!" Hoshi said emphatically.
Following her to the car he stopped for a moment. His eyes closing as she shouted her last string of words. Opening his mouth as if to speak, he didn’t, and instead wondered if she even realized just what she had said and it’s double meaning. Shaking his head he opened the door with a click, swung the door open and slid into the passenger seat next to her. Instantly reclining his seat back a little ways again he settled in, his body shifting side to side as he found the perfect spot and glanced to her. “So you’re on the same ship then?” Some things were starting to click, some were not, though it was only a matter of time.
"Huh?" Hoshi asked as she revved the engine a moment and then backed out of the space as she simultaenously opened the window. She enjoyed the summer breeze coming through the window. "Sorry, Royce, but that's a silly question. Any other things you're wondering about me, though?" she asked as she drove them to the starport they had hours before come from.
Leaned his arm and elbow on the side of the window, resting his chin against his arm as he looked out the window. The rushing wind tossing his hair about a bit as they drove. “Well plenty..” He said finally as he looked to her. Then turning his gaze away for a moment he shrugged and gave her a small laugh. “All things in time though. What about me, anything you were wondering about?” He asked watching a few other cars pass them by.
"All things in time," Hoshi repeated. "I think we're going to get along just fine, though, I think." She spent a moment enjoying the silence that two people could share comfortably between them before speaking up, "There isn't anything you're afraid of in this universe, is there, Royce?" Her face had grown serious as she held the steering wheel with one hand and let the other wave up and down in the air outside of the truck.
The silence after the question was longer than the pair had shared just a moment ago, it was almost as if he didn’t hear her question. Tilting his head towards the wind his eyes closed and he thought to himself as he spoke. “Few things..” He started. “A woman scorned.” He said with a serious tone, but a very subtle smile playing upon his lips. “Losing the people like you..”
He finally added, motioning with his hand outside the window to feel the wind between his fingers. “I’m gonna’ get attached, Hoshi.” He said. “As much as I’ll try not to, as much as I’m just going to keep to my work, it will happen.” He said, a saddened tone in his voice. “I know me better than anyone.” Royce shook his head, his eyes dropping as he strummed his fingers along the car door. “Not many of us humans left.” Laughing he raised his hand and waved it in front of him in a small arc. “My people used to want the simpler things, majority I mean not…”
He stopped, shaking a thought from his head. “We wanted to explore, sew our seed, and generally have a damn good time running about in the universe.” His eyes darted in contemplative thought. “That much hasn’t changed for me, but I’d rather be remembered as that guy who did something for someone else, rather than the one who’s still alive because he ran.” He nodded. “Afraid of myself I guess.”
"Afraid of yourself, huh?" Hoshi said with a look away from Royce. Her eyes had grown misty and she watched the road. "I can understand that."
Hoshi thought for a minute before speaking, "I wouldn't get attached to me if I were you. Everyone that does ends up wishing they hadn't. I bounce around. Ask for new assignments. I don't stay anywhere too long. It's too bad I'm like this or else I might have gained something out of the relationships I've made along the way, but I break them." She sniffed back a tear. "I break them every single damn time, it seems." She gave a weak smile and looked to Royce. "So be a human and search the stars and run around the universe —universes— but don't get attached. To me or any damn thing but yourself. Learn to not fear what you have to offer yourself, Royce. Learn to love it." She looked back to the road and put both hands on the wheel.
His tone turned soft once she started explaining, and he could hear the strain in her voice. It was heartbreaking to listen to. Leaning his head casually back against the window, he glanced outside it. “Well..” He started, resting his head against his arm in a relaxed way. “You can’t go anywhere, Hoshi.” He said, smiling to her, his eyes kind and calm along with his voice as he spoke. “You’ll save me from myself, won’t you?” He asked before looking back to the window. “Besides, already attached anyway. Just think about the day we had, how could I not be?” He asked, not breaking gaze with the skyline in the distance.
"I hope I am strong enough to do so," Hoshi said. "Save you from yourself that is." Then, in a little more of a quiet tone, she added, "I just hope I am." She looked to him, smiling once more, still weakly. "I think you're pretty strong for a human, though, it might be hard!"
He laughed to her final words, then his head sprang up as they approached a building off to the side of the road. “Oh speak of- Hey, hey pull in there!” He said, sitting up right as he looked the building over. It was a dealership, cars, trucks, and various other things strewn out about in front of it. Looking to Hoshi he smiled. “Let’s turn that frown, upside down. I think you need to take a spin Royce’s wild ride, Hoshi.” He looked back towards the building, motioning towards it.
Hoshi smiled at his words, this time a full one, "Sure!" She pressed on the brakes and then turned the car into the dealership, pulling into a spot and she closed the door behind her. "What are we doing here?" she asked with that same smile. She needed cheering up, but it seemed she had already started.
Opening the door, sliding out and stretching his arms high he turned, backing away from her and holding his hands towards her, his palms open. “Now now, you wait here. Like I said, Royce’s wild ride, that’s what we’re doing here!” He said as if she’d understand, but soon enough she would at least. Slipping inside the dealership nothing was heard or seen other than the passing of other cars on the road they just came from.
Finally he emerged, a helmet in each hand. One a slick black and smooth, the other a dull pink, with a pair of cat ears added to the design. Motioning towards her first, he reached into a pocket on his vest, and pulled a single remote looking device. Raising it high above his head he started spinning around as he walked, pressing the button rapidly until a single red light flashed not too far from them. “Come on then!” He called making his way towards the Airbike.
Hoshi sort of looked perplexed and confused at first until recognition of what was happening passed through her mind and she nodded, saying, "Oh, this is going to be good!" She looked excitedly to him and then to the bike and then floated quickly to the airbike and got on the back of it, one leg on one side and the other leg on the other side.
"Are we going to have more fun, Royce?!" Hoshi asked with an ecstatic grin. "I'm sure we will!"
“Well..” Royce said carefully, all but bouncing over to the bike himself and slid into the front seat, his legs straddling it as he leaned back and fourth checking various gauges, and just looking it over. “That depends on your idea of fun..” He said slyly, finally looking back to her and tossing her helmet a bit high into the air for her to catch.
“So two things!” He called out as he pulled his own helmet over his head. “One!” He said, tapping the front of the helmet as he looked back. “We are going to break every speed law this little island has and maybe some neighboring ones. We are going to twist and weave between buildings so fast.. ” He shook his head as he trailed off, returning to the subject at hand. “Are you okay with that?” He asked, his eyes moving about the bike before settling onto her.
“Two!” He said, flipping a switch as the bike came to quiet life. The lights and gauges glowing with different effects. “Do you trust me?” He asked, looking back as his hands found the steering. “This is gonna be better than sex, promise you that much, Hoshi.”
Hoshi's brows raised and she nodded after he finished speaking. If she had known Royce was going to treat her to this, maybe she would have prepared a little more, like worn the ultra long lasting vibrating panties or a leather jacket or whatever people wore on airbikes nowadays.
The nods were enough, and the smile he was beaming was wide though she wouldn’t be able to see it through the helmet of course. Ducking his body forward onto the bike he eased it forward, starting off slow and waiting till she had a firm, strong grip onto him. Once she did he just took off from the dealership, straight into the air, the bike twisting from side to side as they climbed high into the sky at a very alarming speed. The wind nipping at both them, lashing out loudly as it rushed past them. The cool night air would take some getting used to, but the view was amazing.
“Let’s find some trouble then.”
He said, taking off towards some lights in the far distance, likely a city. Suddenly the bike dropped, plummeting from the sky and a few moments before it would of crashed into the ground, he suddenly pulled back, and the bike lurched forward a good five feet above the ground. The trees and hills appeared to be rolling as they weaved and bobbed their way through the lush area.
"Do you know wha—" Hoshi began to say, but her voice was lost to the wind. She simply shook her head and smiled before the smile turned into an all out laugh and she felt the comfort of doing something so very uncomfortable. She laughed for so many reasons, but particularly because she felt the urge to let loose her feelings and sense of wonderment for all the world to hear. She expressed her joy and her excitement and a little bit of her frustration, in some ways, in those moments of laughter. She squeezed around his waist and felt Royce's vest under her grip hugging his body.
The city on the horizon quickly approached as they darted around. Then it hit them, suddenly a wave of colored lights and pavement. He stayed focused on the driving through here. They didn’t seem to slow even as he twisted and turned through random streets and alleys. Coming upon a large skyscraper suddenly he pulled back, an arm reaching back behind him to grasp her as the bike jolted upward, leveling it’s self out, using the side of the building as a base point.
Faster and faster it climbed until they shot off the side of it much like a bullet. Placing his hand back on the steering he leveled the bike out above the city and looked around. “So, having fun?” He asked, letting the bike fall a bit before picking it back up and balancing it in the air.
"Very much," Hoshi told him. "Better tha—" she was taken aback by another intense vibration and then continued, "Than sex..."
He smiled, figuring the ride would have a sort of effect on her. He did forget she wasn’t really wearing the right clothes, and those vibrations, well, she already knew. Reaching back he gave the blissful and unaware, in a daze woman a pat on the head, or rather her helmet. As she finished the last word of his statement he flipped a switch on the bike and accelerated the most he could. The bike didn’t move, but rather reached a new intensity on its vibrations, humming loudly.
“Yeah!” He called back over the loud hum. “I told you didn’t I? Better than-.”
He cut his own words off suddenly and the bike jumped forward mid air. It only took a few moments before he was zipping around between buildings, spiraling around others. Royce pulled the bike in seemingly random ways as they zoomed around. Yanking the bike up or down, side to side. It was always in movement. Without warning the shot out on the east side of the city, past it’s limits into the wide open once more. Steering in a small circle some hundreds of feet into the air he glanced back at her.
“Best thing, is we got the better battery, it’s not running out anytime soon! Can see most of the planet if we wanted to.”
Breathing in deeply, Hoshi said to him, "Take us to the beach. A beach. Any beach. I want to see the ocean."
“Where ever you want.” He said with a smile, pulling the bike around mid air in a wide loop as he scanned the horizon. Figuring where the city was, and what he saw when he came down on the shuttle he had an idea of where to go, and that was all he needed. Without warning once again the bike lurched, and zoomed off in what seemed like a random direction.
Soon the smell of saltwater filled the thick air. Bringing the bike down quickly onto a cascading shoreline, white with sand and small stones peppered into it. Getting the bike just on the outskirts of the moving waters he finally stopped it, and hopped off. Holding his hand out for her to take as he looked around. “Yeah, pretty sure, I could be wrong though, we’re at the beach.”
"I think this will do just fine for my needs," Hoshi said with a soft smile. She pressed her skirt against her groin with her free hand while her other took Royce's hand in hers and she got off of the bike with his help. She looked to the water, then to Royce, and then to the water again. She pulled off her helmet and set it down before tossing off her sandals.
"It's beautiful..." she murmured. Then, she stepped forward a step before sprinting to the water's edge and splashing into it.
Take a Neko to space, and they don’t bat an eye. Take one to the beach and, well. Royce smiled as she kept looking back and fourth, as if unsure of what she should do. As she made her way to the water and splashed in as a child would he watched her with a bemused kindness in his eyes. Tossing their helmets towards the bike he slipped off his shoes, and barefoot walked to the waters edge before plopping onto the sand and then folding his arms behind his head he sprawled out in the slow tide that pulled in and out. “Just enjoy, kitten.” He said, almost to himself as he watched the stars once more, letting the woman have all the time she wanted.
Hoshi frolicked in the waves. At first jumping over them until the water was too deep and she had to dive under them. Her body was wet once more and she enjoyed every second of it. She let her inhibitions go as she swam as far as she could until her lungs started to cascade in on themselves. It wasn't that she was having trouble breathing, it's that she started fearing being too far out, too far from safety. She pressed on, swimming another hundred meters before she looked back to the now-distant beach. She watched it for awhile before laying on her back and staring at the stars, as Royce was doing.
After many moments, she swam back, faster than she had swum there, and she floated out of the water once she could feel it under foot again. She made her way to Royce and crossed her legs in the air while she floated beside him, turning to look at the water lapping towards them.
His own form all but soaked as he laid there, the waters pulling in around him only to fall back once more. Not even seeming to notice the woman as she floated up to him. His eyes were closed and there was a sort of peaceful look upon his face. He had looked for her for a bit, even worried somewhat. Then he remembered the sort of person he was worrying about, and stopped.
At some point in his relaxing however, he dozed off entirely. The peaceful look was that of one sleeping. His mouth opened and closed subtly with each breath. It was a calming scene to see, and he would remain oblivious to her because of it.
Hoshi, for a few minutes, sat next to him in reverie of the stars, water, sand, him, her, everything. She didn't need to wake him to be next to him and let him doze until she watched the waters get too close to his mouth.
"You're a human, don't forget," she chimed quietly, not loud enough to wake him, before saying in a louder, but still gentle, way, "Royce... Royce.... You're going to get swept out to sea soon..."
When he finally opened his eyes, it was slow and contemplative. He had heard her when she mentioned his humanity, and when she mentioned being swept out to sea he rolled his eyes up, looking at the floating blue haired woman next to him. “What, would you come with me?” He asked before glancing to the sky for a moment before settling back on her, his arms folded over his chest at this point and his body still.
She smiled, "You don't want me to pick you up and float you away to safety, do you?"
Royce shrugged, batted his eyes at her and rolled his head to the side. “And what, would you carry me off onto the beach, maybe a sunset?” He looked up at the pitch sky and frowned. “I guess maybe not the sunset.” He said, teasing her at this point. Sticking out his tongue he laid his head back and breathed deep.
"You know Kaiyō means ocean right? And I've never been in one. Not in all of my years. Never. It's really quite insane, actually. But I knew I had to go in some time. At some point..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at the moon's glow on the water. Then she looked at Royce and her wet hair glistened in the soft light as a droplet of water fell on his face. "Have you?"
Truth be told he hadn’t known that, and gave her a calm smile as he sat up, bringing his knees in with a yawn trailing in his lips. “I didn’t know that.” He said finally, looking back out to the ocean he shrugged a bit, tilting his head to it. “I guess I haven’t to be honest.”
"That's the problem with space being of such interest to us types, the things on planets get overlooked. The most wondrous things," Hoshi said. she let her hand drop and held his. A bit of sand got between the two of their hands, but Hoshi's tight grip made it barely noticeable.
His head didn’t turn towards her, he simply kept looking out over the ocean. As she placed her hand in his he pulled it up a bit, his thumb to the top of her hand rubbing back and fourth as his fingers curled through hers. “A lot of things get overlooked, not everything though.” He said, tightening his grip slightly onto her.
"Mhmm," Hoshi said, nodding as she studied his face further. She realized how uncouth it was to do so and looked away, then back at him, "What is something you wish you had noticed earlier in life than when you found out about it?"
His face tightened to that question and he nodded, but smiled up at her. “It’s not meant to be taken seriously.” He said, motioning out with his other hand. “The whole life thing, I mean.” He thought the question over a little longer before tugging at her hand still in his. “What about you though? Anything you wished you had noticed?”
"Oh, yes," Hoshi said with a wan smile. "I wish I had known that it's meant to be taken very seriously. The whole life thing, I mean." She gave him a cheeky grin and began giggling lightly like a chorus of charisma and joy that ended all too soon.
"Do you know how much I'm learning from you? That life isn't to be taken seriously? That airbikes are... enjoyable? That someone can have scars..." Hoshi said, tracing one on his forearm with her free hand. "...And not be broken."
Royce listened to her, smiling at the notion that he, of all people, she was learning from. In a way, to him it was heartwarming. Once she mentioned the scars he laughed. “Body might be a bit broken, but not me no.” He said, squeezing the woman’s hand, really not wanting to leave the beach anytime soon either. He enjoyed this, just sitting here with her. Out of everything that happened, he’d remember this for a very long time.
Hoshi laid back with her hair like a rainbow above her head as she held his hand and looked to the stars.
"Taiyou Hoshi means sun star when put together," she muttered quietly. "I hope I live up to the name."
“You will..” He said, not breaking their grasp yet. “I have no doubt that you’re going to do amazing things.” He added after a moment, his tone kind and honest. Then, glancing back to the bike he looked to Hoshi, then to it again. “So, we got the whole night it looks like.” He gave her a wicked smile. “Do we sleep like normal people, or find some fun.” Already knowing the answer he stood, rubbing his thumb against the top of her hand, pulling her to him he threw his hand over her shoulder. “Whole night on a quiet resort planet, what do you think we’ll find?” He said, making his way towards the bike.
"Trouble," Hoshi replied as she got her helmet on. "Nothing more, nothing less."
“Nothing more, and nothing less.” He echoed, sliding over on the bike and settling down onto it. Hoisting his own helmet onto his head he pulled it down, and slapped the top quickly. “I think another quick run should get us dry.” Royce said, flipping the bike on and looking back till she was ready to take off again.
"Ready as ever," Hoshi said, pleased to be back on the bike. She and Royce moved effortlessly off of the beach and into the night sky. They raced through the black night and moved through the cities and beaches at varying speeds until Hoshi spoke into his ear.
"I want to be on that ship. The Fuji-class. Take us back to the dealership."
Leaning his head towards her lips as she spoke he nodded in union with his actions as he pulled the steering sharply to the left. Sending the aerial bike in a wide, quick half arc before it took off again towards what he hoped was the dealership they had come from. Bringing the bike low towards the ground he pulled up, lifting the front of the bike into the air with the back near the rolling hils that ambled past the pair.
After some time he swung back into the dealership, leaving the bike parked in front since he didn't seem to remember where he had got it from in the first place. Taking the keys he tossed them in the air a few inches and rushed back inside. A few minutes later he returned, setting his helmet down onto the seat.
"Alright, got our, or well, your keys back. I guess you're driving now?" He asked, tossing them to her and looking towards the car they had arrived in.
"Let's hit the road," Hoshi said as she stripped off her salty aloha shirt and skirt and her volumetric projection took over. She looked to be wearing a bikini top on her flat chest and daisy duke shorts. She pushed on her flip flops and swung herself into the truck. It felt peculiar being back on the ground and all she wanted to do was be in the air again. Or, more specifically, in space.
She stayed quiet for many moments in the truck until they were at the space port and she got out, grabbed her large bag, and made her way to the nearest shuttle. They entered the shuttle bay and a Neko standing outside of one of the nearest shuttles, apparently waiting for them, moved in behind them as Royce led by Hoshi entered it after an exchange of salutes. The Neko moved to the cockpit and Hoshi spread out on a chair after flinging her large purse onto a seat.
"Ahhh, Royce. We're on our way. I could think of no better prelude..."
Royce rolled his eyes a bit as the woman started stripping again, then blinked a few times as the holographic clothing took over. His hand on the door handle he just stared at her for a moment. “You had that the whole time?” He pulled his lips back. “Even in the dressing room?” He added, then as she got in he followed with a shake of his head. “This damn woman…” He mumbled under his breath as he kicked back in the passenger seat once again.
He found himself a bit nervous as they neared the shuttles, glancing over at her a few times he cocked his head to the side, pushed a breath from his lips and nodded as he made his way inside the one seemingly just for them. Closing his eyes as he settled down across from her, and he forgot to salute, it didn't even cross his mind with everything else going through it. “Yeah.” He managed, a single word as he dipped his head back over the seat, his eyes staring at the ceiling. “We’ll be alright.” He said, as if reassuring the both of them of something he wasn’t quite sure of.
The shuttle took off in a matter of moments and in minutes the smooth ride was over and they were at Gemini Star Fortress. Hoshi exited the shuttle once they were in the bay and walked speedily out of the shuttle, looking back only once to make sure Royce was in tow. She saluted to a Geshrinii here, a Neko there, but more often than not, she was being saluted by any that had access to PANTHEON. When they got to the hangar that held the Kaiyo II, she stopped dead in her tracks and breathed in deeply. If Royce were observant, he would see the hairs on her pink arms and the back of her neck stand on end.
She stepped forward across the hangar and motioned for someone to open the rearmost bay's doors and, once they opened, she entered. There was a slight gasp at the first footstep she set on the ship and she set a course for the prow of the ship, not stopping to make sure Royce was following anymore.
Nodding to Hoshi as he followed he did his best to keep up. Unsure of what to do with his hands at this point he would cross them over his chest, he'd put them at his side or where ever he thought they should be, which was everywhere it seemed at this point. His eyes slid from side to side, and about taking in everything as they were walking. Every now and then he'd catch sight of a Neko woman saluting, he wasn't sure if it was for him which he highly doubted but none the less he saluted back, the thought of why they were saluting Hoshi was washed away in the mess of everything else moving back and fourth through his mind.
He reeled from the sight of the ship, still processing what he had been putting off since he had been hand picked for the job; that this was going to be his new home for a very long while. He was silent the whole time though, which as much as Royce tended to talk, loving the sound of his own voice it would seem, was very strange. He opened his mouth to speak, but only narrowed his eyes instead and closed them for a few moments as he followed.
Finally at the front of the ship, Hoshi entered a circular room with eight seats and a door two other doors. Hoshi looked around the bridge, sighing. She dropped her bag in front of the rearmost door and for a moment, her volumetric outfit flickered off and then was on again, but this time she was fully adorned in a type 35 with white panels and a full left breast of ribbons as well as the rank pin of Chusa above them. She sat in the center chair on top of the bridge and looked to Royce.
"You go there," she said, pointing to the seat with a console on the second level, starboard side. "And I go here." She settled into the command chair and gripped the arm rests gently, smiling softly.
Royce just did his best to breathe slowly as he entered the room beside her, casting a glance as her outfit flickered about for a moment, a small smile crept onto his face then almost as quickly as it formed, it faded, even quicker actually as he noticed what she was wearing now. With his lips pulled back, his cheeks puffed a bit his eyes were wide before he finally managed after a long, peaceful pause. "You're.." His eyes squinted closed and he shook his head quickly a few times.
"You're the Captain."
Royce finally was able to get out, and with that his mind came to a halt. For the first time in a very long there there was an absolute silence within his mind before everything came rushing to him. "Oh, you're the Captain." He said again as his mind barely processed what she was telling him, and as if on some sort of human-auto pilot he walked slowly to the chair she had pointed to. "That's the Captain.." He said again, almost upbeat, still processing.
He sat in the chair, slowly as ever sliding back into it, his arms along the rest built into the side, hands slowly sliding forward on it as he drummed his fingers, still wideyed. "No wait, no we'll just. I mean, no I didn't Ma'am, Captain. What I meant to say, is." And no words came, he just took a deep breath, and slid into the chair even more till he was almost sliding out of it. His mind raced with everything he had done with her, and everything that almost happened with her.
Hoshi merely smiled and stayed where she was. "This is where I belong, Royce. You know I didn't think I would ever get here? But I did. I was born thirteen years ago and my first desire was to be captain. My first thought was, 'I want to lead.' There was nothing more to it than that."
She didn't tell him that she felt afraid to come here in some deep, dark part of herself. She didn't tell him that the notion of sitting here in this chair had hung over her like a katana all day and that she had been more afraid that she wouldn't like the feeling of being where she was right now than she had ever been afraid of anything before. She grimaced and it became evident on her face she was thinking about something difficult and she spoke to him.
"I don't know if I could have come here without company, Royce. I owe you a great deal."
The more Royce listened to her the more his expression softened. Taking another slow breath he settled his hands into one another, and rest them onto his chest. “You should have told me who you were.” He finally said after a long, pregnant pause. Leaning his head back in the chair as he was so good at doing it seemed, he eyed her with a smile.
“I’ll make you a deal.”
Royce folded his arms behind his head, still looking at her. “I’ll have your back, if you have mine.” It felt childish to say, but honestly, and he’d never admit it. It was something he needed to hear. Scratching at his hair, his digits moving about in a frenzy. “If you want..” He said, chewing the words over along with his lip.
“I’ll tell you some of the things I’ve learned in life I wish I had known before hand.”
"I'll have your back, Royce," Hoshi said from er position at the top of the bridge. She stepped out of the seat and walked over to his chair and sat down in his lap gently. "What have you learned that I should know?"
As she eased into his lap, almost like a reflex he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. Closing his eyes he let his mind swim, before slowly, he began rocking back and fourth with her. “You should enjoy what you’ve earned, Hoshi.” He said, speaking to her as a friend rather than his Captain. Shaking his head he continued.
“Nevermind, I don’t think you’ll enjoy it truly till you’re looking back on it later in life..”
He shifted, pulling her back against him and resting his head on her shoulder. “A ruler can command servitude, but a leader should earn loyalty through compassion; be a leader, Hoshi.” He said, smiling softly. “I know you’re afraid, but don’t be. You have a long time to settle into this, and I think you’ll be fine, amazing even.” Royce stopped rocking, a frown forming onto his lips. “I can’t be in here with you most of the time, but you’ve got my loyalty.” He mulled over his next words before speaking, not sure if he should say them at all. “Not loyalty to the army, but loyal to the Captain I’ve got to know surprisingly well.”
Hoshi leaned her head down on his as he rested it on her shoulder and smiled.
"You're wise, Royce. Not surprising after the day I've had with you. You are and have far surpassed my expectations of you. I didn't know if we would even end up getting along. But we have, we really have. I like that. Not just about you and it's not about me, either. It's about both of us. I like that about the two of us as a pair."
She went on, "I'm happy to have your loyalty if you feel comfortable giving it already. You have my trust, and my compassion for you and for us, as well."
He couldn’t help but to smile, and an odd sense of ease fell over him. It was nice getting a compliment like that from her, and his grip on her tightened slightly as he thought about it. Though as she mentioned the simple word, us, he wasn’t sure what to think. The day had really been nothing short of a roller coaster of highs and calm moments between the two, and he hadn’t a clue what they would become in the long run.
They sat for a moment, just enjoying one another before he finally spoke up. “So, what now? We’re here at least. Just, not sure where to go from here.” Royce said looking around the room a bit then towards the door to the rest of the ship. “I wouldn’t mind being in here, you know, when we’re on the stars but..” He stopped, casting his eyes downward a bit. “Well, we both know we got our jobs to do in any case, and mine isn’t in here.”
"We do have our jobs," Hoshi said, then added on to that. "Did I scare you away talking about "us". Royce, you will not be the first person I have gotten close to and will not be the last, but we still have a friendship to uphold and relish in. We still have a professional one, too. But for now, I enjoy thinking about the personal one we now share. I'll let you get some rest," Hoshi said, standing up off of his lap and pressed her skirt flat against the middle of her hips. "The crew will be arriving tomorrow morning and we will have a briefing at 0730 hours." She stood for a moment, quiet, seeing if he had anything to add or say while her deep blue eyes looked down on him in the chair where only seconds ago she sat.
He thought her words over, noticing the subtle shift in her attitude when she told him the time they would be arriving. Pressing his hands to his knees he stood slowly, and stretched his arms with a slow yawn. “Didn’t scare me away, no.” He said, giving a small chuckle as he looked to her carefully. A dull silence fell between the two before he finally broke it.
“Two parts of me.”
He blinked, and cocked his head a bit. “The romantic in me says I should just kiss you right here and now.” He nodded, giving a half glance to the door. “Logic says I should just find somewhere to sleep though.” He gave her a small wave as he turned and slowly made his way towards the door.
Hoshi smiled and strode towards her room behind her chair of command and disappeared behind the door after picking up her large, stuffed bag. Royce would not be able to see, but she had fallen face first onto the bed and snuggled into the comforter.
Harbor Town
20日 6月 YE 39
1200 Hours
Taiyou Hoshi looked out over the small starport on the island, situated just next to Harbor Town. There was a lot to do for her, but a lot of that included getting the small details of the ship just right and arranging it in such a way that it would be perfect for the crew upon arrival. She was, in a sense of the word, secure. She knew it would be a transition, hard or easy she knew not, for the crew of the Kaiyo to come onto the Fuji-class ship recently built—second of its class. She smiled happily as she saw the shuttle that carried the Kaiyo II's engineer.
Royce tilted his head back as the shuttle settled into it's landing pad, his eyes were closed softly and a small smile played across the fringes of his lips. His mind was reeling, tossing back and fourth with the idea that he was about to actually join a crew, on a real spaceship, and do amazing, or hopefully amazing, spaceship things. While he had been on other ships of course, he’d never experienced life on one, living on the stars and going wherever. The whole notion was romantic in a way to him, but at the same time he could feel the shakes in his hand as the door opened.
Casing his eyes quickly towards the exit he waited for the others to filter out, paying no mind to their idle chatter before he stood up. Stretching his arms and legs, turning his head side to side he reached under his seat, pulling a large faded orange bag with various spots patched here and there on it. The bag was stuffed with, well, he wasn’t entirely sure anymore. All things he needed, but couldn’t be bothered to remember. Tossing the bag over his shoulder he held onto the single strap and stuffed his other hand into his pants pocket as he made his way outside.
The sun hit him, it was always these damn resort planets that had the brightest too. Like they turned the dial up to eleven just for effect. Squinting against the damned rays of light he fumbled with the pockets on his vest, reaching here and there till he found a pair of brown tinted sunglasses, large lensed and looking something of an aviator style. Stumbling down the narrow stairs to the shuttle his body twisted as he hopped about, flipping the glasses out and sliding them crookedly across his face.
“Loving life..”
He said as he shook his head, that subtle smile still on his face as he lurched forward, shaking his left leg out a bit as he did so. “Okay!” He said finally in a most excited tone as he glanced around him. “I’m gonna need...” He paused, licking his lips and clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. “A truck? Maybe? Something… mobile..” He stopped again, his free hand finding his pocket once more as he ambled forward, with really no clue where he was going other than the ideas that were rolling around between his eyes.
Striding forward as her blue and white hair whipped behind her in the hot breeze, Hoshi brought a hand forward, making it look like she was ready to take Royce's bag if need be.
"I can offer you a ride," Hoshi said while her aloha shirt blew in that breeze. It met with the white tips of her hair before billowing back and exposing some of her pink-skinned stomach.
He turned, he spun, Royce moved about as if he didn’t have a clue where he was going, and of course; he didn’t. His eyes moved here and there until he heard a sweet voice call out to him, at least he thought it was him, never could be too sure. Reeling around he doubled back, his head tilted to the side as he eyed the woman standing a bit away. Though she wouldn’t notice due to the dirty glasses he gave her a once over, seemed only polite after all. He stared at her for a moment, pulling his hand free from his pocket he slowly pointed to himself, all the while glancing around, finally filling the long silence with a single word.
“Me?”
Such brilliant insight, Royce couldn’t help himself sometimes. Smiling softly to the woman he adjusted the strap on his bag as he moved towards her in quick, quiet strides. “I mean, yeah..” He started, reaching up and scratching the tip of his nose before motioning towards her. “I’d love a ride, but, I mean, you don’t know where I’m going?” He glanced up in idle thought, adjusting the strap once more. “If you’re looking to like rob me or something.” He shook his head, carrying on with his own thought.
“I don’t have much, you’re welcome to it of course. Likely gonna sell most of it anyway..”
He motioned again with his hand. “Or if you’re one of those that take tourist around?” He snapped his finger, his smile widdening as he shook his head and wagged the digit at her a few times. “Ya know, It don’t matter. I got no ride, and I need a ride so this works out. Where we going?” Not his best choice, taking a ride from a stranger to lord knows where but hey, whats the worst that could happen?
Taiyou Hoshi's mouth tightened as the cherry pink lips formed into a half-hidden smile.
"I'm not here to rob you. Showing you around is more my motive. First stop is the Shinjuku hardware store. Then to the gardening store, and, after that, a bite to eat." She looked at him and her smile loosened. "You forget, I'm connected to PANTHEON," she tapped her light blue-haired head. "I can tap into more than you would think."
Well the mystery woman wasn’t there to rob him, that much was a relief, though what if she said wasn’t even true. What if.. His mind trailed off as it often did though he kept a stoic face and clam smile all the while as she spoke, half listening to her words. As she mentioned the PANTHEON his expression lit up, he thought he finally understood now.
“Oh! So you’re like a..”
He paused, nodding and beaming a bit more of a smile as he motioned towards her again excitedly. “Like a Military Escort? Right?” He stopped, his brain catching up slowly to the words he had just said. His mouth opened silently for a moment before he fumbled with more words. “Oh! I don’t mean an escort escort, not that you’re, I mean.. Oh damnit.” His mouth finally closed, and he stared at her for a moment as he took a slow breath. Finally he shook his head. “I don’t know what I mean..” He stated glancing off to the side with a bit of a laugh. Reaching up he rubbed the temple of his nose and forced another small laugh. “All that sounds good, just lead the way.”
Royce had a way with words, and women apparently. Maybe wasn’t the best way, but a way none the less for better or worse. Ducking his head forward, the glasses atop his nose sliding forward a bit he motioned with an open palm for her to lead the way before his foot found his mouth again.
Hoshi's lips tightened further as she hid a smile, poorly, and she turned on her flip-flop's heel before making her way to the truck parked nearby. She pressed a thumb to the driver's side handle and it opened for her, then she pressed another button and the passenger's door was unlocked for Royce.
"Get on in," she said, not waiting for him before revving up the engine. "First things first," she said once he was in. "There's no reason for you to be fumbling for words, but if that's just who you are, I don't mind at all. You don't need to worry too much with me when you're not on duty. But Empress help me if you faulter while you are on duty..." she trailed off, stewing at possibilities, before sighing. "Which you won't. Your captain has all the trust in the Kikyo Sector in you."
Woman of few words, something Royce could respect at least. Trailing behind her he spun his head once more to take in the sights before moving to the passenger seat. Slinging his overstuffed bag into the floorboard he slid into his seat as she revved the engine. He glanced over towards the blue haired woman as she started speaking. Taking her words in slowly he pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose, raised his brows at her and settled in more to his seat.
“I don’t so much fumble..”
He stated plainly, a sort of calm falling over him as he reclined the seat a few inches, his arms folding over his chest as he tossed a small yawn from between his lips, his voice no longer carrying that animated tone in it as he stared towards the window in front of him, his head tilted. “Just a lot going on in here, it’s all new ya’ know? Never done this, worked hard to get here, really hard.” He reached up, tapping the side of his head before letting his arm fall again. “No implants, all just, well, learned the old fashion way.” He turned and gave her a small, patient smile.
“If you got PANTHEON up there in your head, you know about me then, you know what they’re in for.”
It wasn’t that he was difficult to work with, he just didn’t have what they would call a military attitude or outlook, the only reason he even got assigned to a crew in the first place was his testing; he was damn good at what he did. “Nervous I guess, aside from that. Few things I’ll need from the hardware place, damn army cheaped out and used some older parts.” He motioned forward with his hands in a frustrated sort of way. “I mean, they’re fine for shorter trips or where you can have them replaced..” He tilted his head back again, shaking it slowly. “Not a big deal, they get some things in bulk and like to use em up I think, other than that some seeds, gonna see about setting up a garden.” His mind wandered again as he stopped speaking and settled into his own thoughts.
Hoshi's cherry pink lips began running fast as she spoke, "The gardens on the Fuji-class, if you can call them gardens, are quite wonderful. You'll enjoy what you have in store if you want to take up gardening aboard the ship. You know about the hydroponic walls of the wardroom, right? They use those plants in the food they make aboard the ship. And the observation deck's bonsai trees are something to behold, too. Some of the trees they've brought to the ship are as old as the Empire."
As for the rest of what you said, "Your captain hand-picked you, you know? There were much higher ranking and hardened, tested technicians and engineers to choose from, but you stood out. Why do you think that is?"
Royce thought for a moment on her last statement, finding himself still staring at her pink touched lips, the woman could talk fast that much was for sure. He blinked a few times, settling into a silence for a long moment of pause before finally shaking his head. “Not sure..” He finally said, a tincture of doubt in his tone as he continued. “Didn’t expect it that’s for sure.” He strummed his fingers along his side. “Seems surreal still. I mean why take a human over..” He pursed his lips and shrugged to himself.
“Over anything else really.”
Glancing down he shook his head a few times and smiled. “Hand picked or not, it’s going to be a change that’s for sure.” He laughed, running a hand through that mass of hair atop his head, causing it stick out in other random directions. “Maybe I was hand picked because I’m so, damned, pretty.” He rolled his head towards her, speaking as if stating a fact. “I am very pretty after all.” The truth of the matter was he had no idea why he was picked, but in no way was he going to argue it, just make a few terrible jokes here and there on the subject.
Her eyes went wide as he made his proclomation and then Hoshi took a hand from the wheel and grabbed his own hand in hers and shook it slightly. "That's the way to think!"
"Hmmmm," the woman said as she lifted her hand and put a finger up to her lips, tapping them. "What do you know about the crew you'll be working alongside? I've heard rumors about the Kaiyō, you know. Bless the ship's heart. They've got a name for themselves."
He didn’t pull his hand back as she grasped it in her own, instead he shook it up and down almost playfully, laughing a bit. It was a good feeling getting a good reaction from the gibberish he stated every now and then. Pulling his gaze to her again as she tapped at her lip he rolled his eyes up a bit, thinking it over.
“Well..”
He said, glancing down and biting his lip as his head bobbed a bit. “Honestly, been more focused on learning about the ship it’s self rather than the crew.” He nodded to himself and his words as he crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his fingers about on the side of his arm. “That is my job after all!” He said with a wide smile, knowing it to be true. “I’m sure the crew is a good bunch, I hope so at least.” He held his hands out and waved them a bit in a dismissive manner. “Ahhh, all the same, I know why I’m there!”
"New ship, new problems to deal with!" Hoshi said emphatically. "There will be a lot for you to deal with. Almost as many things to deal with as there are reasons for you to be aboard the ship! By the by, I'm Taiyou Hoshi," she slid her deep blue eyes to the side away from the road for a moment to watch his reaction. "Taiyou is my surname and Hoshi is my given one. I know you spent a good part of your life in Nepleslia and that's not exactly taught there. So, Hoshi works as long as we're not in uniforms!"
He shook his head. “So wait, why does the ship have a name for it’s self?” His eyes darted a bit in idle thought, trying to figure out what that might mean. Giving her a half glance as she told him her name he nodded but didn’t show much more of a reaction than that. After a long pause he pulled his lips back with a nod. “Hoshi..” He said, as if tasting the word. “You know, I’m going to try to remember that, it’ll just take a bit though..” If anything he was honest. Reaching up he pulled his glasses off, and started idly chewing on the ear piece, speaking and mumbling through it. “Should I be worried about the crew? I mean, surely they’re not all that bad. Not sure how they have a name for themselves..” He paused, thinking before continuing. “Maybe it’s not a bad name, I guess I’ll find out. “
"They are making claims right now of some pretty incredible things happening to the first Kaiyō. I hope this second one doesn't meet such a grim fate..." the woman got lost in thought as she said that, looking as if she were chewing on her lips. She accelerated fast down the road and then, just as fast, deceleratd and turned into the Shinjuku Market District's parking lot. The //aloha// shirt-clad Neko spoke out, "Hardware store it is!"
Royce lost track of how long they had been driving, the idle conversation about this and that helped the time pass. His eyes narrowed as she talked about the fate of the last ship. Then his arm jetted towards the top of the truck as they turned rather quickly into the hardware store parking lot. “Oh god damn!” He said, feeling the momentum of his body slide with the movement of the truck. Getting out of the truck he stretched again, his eyes closing as he yawned loudly and looked back at her. “Okay, so what happened to the ship?” He finally managed, drumming his palms on the hood of the truck as he waited for her.
After getting out and pressing her thumb to the handle, locking the truck, Hoshi grabbed from the open back of it an oversized purse that could likely fit a great many supplies and smiled wide at Royce while she walked towards him.
As she passed, she told him, "They went to another universe." She floated away at a fast pace as she made her way to the hardware store directly in front of them and immediately started up a conversation with the clerk before speaking over her shoulder, "Get whatever you need. It's all on my dime, Royce-chan."
He gave her a nod of his head and smile as they walked in together. Side by side he cast his gaze around the store, offering the man behind the counter a small wave. For a moment he went over the many things he’d need, then as she said it was all on her dime he turned and tilted his head a bit. “Really now?” He said slowly, as if testing the reply. Reaching up he scratched a few times just above his eye and shrugged, moving through the isles and even finding a large cart to put whatever he figured he’d need into. As he shopped his mind wandered to this other universe she talked about, if it were true, the whole notion would surely leave science it's self confused and scrambling to make sense of it the best they could.
Almost twenty minutes went by before he found himself on at the register, the cart piled with goods, all needed of course, or rather would be needed at some point he figured. Glancing over to a small rack on the register he spied a pair of sleek sunglasses. Scooping the pair from their stand he looked them over, and nodded as he scanned them himself, and then rummaging through his pocket pulled a small card, and paid for them.
Looking back as the man went about ringing up the rest of the goods he placed the glasses atop her head and gave it a small pat. “If we’re gonna be out and about, might as well look good doing it!” He stated teasingly, reaching up and lifting his own glasses slightly with a smile before pushing them up the bridge of his nose a bit. “I guess we’ll have it all delivered to my ship, bit much to take with us and lug around.” He smiled to her. “You know which one right? And thanks by the way, didn’t expect the army to put out this much for supplies.”
Hoshi made an excited little face as Royce put the sleek sunglasses on her head and put her pinkish hands up to hold the glasses between her fingers as she brought them down over her face and then back up, changing the expression of her eyes while the glasses hid them and then trying to surprise Royce with the new look every time the sunglasses lifted.
"I think I have a good idea of which ship," Hoshi said with a cheeky grin on her face as she did.
She paid and wirelessly transferred the information:
Gemini Star Fortress
Deck 90, Arm 6
Kaiyo II, Fuji-class Expeditionary Gunship
Thank you~
Then, she trotted forward and made her way out of the store. She turned around once in the bright sun and the white ends of her hair shimmered in the light as they swept around her torso. Her pleated skirt that the aloha shirt was tucked into raised and fell with the motion and she sapoke excitedly.
"Now to get some blankies, yeah?" She, again, trotted away and brought them into Star Pillows, looking expectantly at Royce, saying, "All the other enlisted are going to be jealous!" She squinted her eyes while smiling, tilting her head a bit as she did. "Silk or velvet pillows? Feather or cotton filled?" In a hushed tone, she said, "The best stuff is made for couches, but we'll just pretend like they're for beds, mhmm?"
To Royce, sometimes time seemed to lapse and he’s just zone out; this was one of those moments. The fleeting conversations they had were all but lost on him as he walked around, of all places, a bedding store. Looking around with a bit of a confused look he pulled those cracked glasses from his face, and slid them into one of the pockets on the side of that all too worn vest. Looking the woman, and the pillows over he smiled nodding to her, rolling his eyes in an exaggerated manner.
“Well of course, anyone who’s anyone knows the best are made for couches.”
He reached out, standing next to her “Silk, of course..” He said as one would state a fact of life. “Now cotton or feathers, that is a hard one..” His hand brushed back and fourth across the plush pillow, even pushing down on a little bit as he tilted his head. “Cotton? What do you think?” He asked, rolling his shoulders and moving his gaze towards her. “What color too? I want a color that stands out and says to the others; Hey, I have these nice, plush, soft and inviting pillows while you have standard army issued, non plush pillows.” He pulled his mouth back, nodding to his own words.
Hoshi has been listening intently but her eyes remained focused on the sets of pillows while she leaned her ear a little close to him, exaggerating her listening skills. She had nodded along but then when he asked about colors she looked perplexed and turned to him.
"Blood tears red is typically what you would see aboard a ship, but this Fuji-class, as they call it, has blue as its central theme, though the bedding does not reflect this. We would look like we're in tune with the ship if we bought blue. But then again, does that stand out enough?" She put her hand up to her chin and stroked the beard she didn't and would never have.
Listening to her he nodded, and motioned as if her were stroking his own beard, which he did have at one time in fact. Looking back to the pillows, he gave them a once over. “I think blue works, pretty fond of it honestly.” He said, running his hand back over one of the cotton filled pillows before scooping it up and looking back and fourth. “Now bedding, that’s a different beast entirely!” He exclaimed, spying a bed on display that looked all too fitted for napping though the store likely didn’t intend for that in the least. “Clutching the large pillow between both his arms across his chest he slid over to the display bed, and in a single jump plopped down onto it, and rolled towards the edge.
“See, now this is a bed.” He said, watching her for a moment before rolling around some more, drawing the glances of some of the stores workers. “Do I even get a bed? I don’t know, I should look into that..” He said, glancing to the ceiling and blinking a few times before shaking the thought free. “Ahh, honestly I’m good with sleeping anywhere, even the floor. Sleep is sleep you know.”
"Cabins have four to a room. Unless you want to opt for requesting a nest pit," Hoshi said. "Which is a great way to get to know your fellow crew members." She all but winked at Royce and then jumped into the air, looking as if she was going to flop onto the bed with little grace before she floated higher than a normal jump would permit and gently touched down onto the comforter of the bed. "Now, what I'm thinking is getting matching comforter and pillows. So, for me, it's no hassle trying to decide." She turned to Royce, face close to his as half of it pressed into the indigo pillowcase. "Does this satin match my eyes, Royce?"
The term nesting pit was something new to him, he mulled the words over, trying to give them meaning as she jumped and floated like a feather into the bed next to him. “Nesting pit?” He questioned as he patted his still clutched, overly soft pillow. “Well, we’ll find you somethin’ I’m sure. For me, I think I’m getting this, just this though.” He figured with not having his own cabin on the ship, wouldn’t be much point in the bedding part of it all, pillows though were a different story, and he was sure he’d use this every chance he got.
Glancing around the store once more his attention was pulled as she turned over quickly, and Royce found himself face to face with the woman. For a moment there was a silence between the pair after her question. His own forested eyes moved across hers, locked for a shot while before he pulled his attention up slightly. “It’s pretty close, not gonna lie. Thinking about getting this one?” He asked, still holding the same tone he had before, though just once his eyes darted back to hers, focused, and slid towards the pillow and bed.
Hoshi gave him a distinct smile that could only mean she was and then nodded. To the sales person now hovering over them, she said, "Ring us up!" We'll take three of these couch cushions and I'll be buying this wonderful satin down-filled comforter!" The salesperson rung her up and she waved their offer to ship the goods to the ship. Instead, she slipped all of the pillows and blanket into her oversized purse and left the store with Royce in tow.
They walked on afterwards, towards the garden shop and Hoshi asked rather plainly, "Your favorite plant is what?" Then, in a more light-hearted tone, she said, "We'll get you a hundred of it, no matter what it is!" She pulled out a cart in which to put whatever they bought and she looked to Royce.
Looking about the gardening shop he seemed to like it. A small place, quaint but brimming with plants of various sizes and colors. The smile on his lips made this much apparent, then tilting his head towards her he rolled his eyes back a bit as he thought to himself. “Hmmm..” He started, bringing his finger to his lip and chewing a bit on his fingernail as he thought to himself. “You know..” He said, as if just realizing something for the first time. “I got a thing for Sunflowers, never really thought about it but always, you know, stopped a moment to look at them. Not sure they’ll fit the theme of the ship though.” He said, nugging at her shoulder with his own. The pair seemed to be warming up to one another, he had a feeling he’d miss this one for a bit once he got with his crew and left.
"Well that's not true. Whatever the crew likes is what creates the 'theme of the ship', you know. Sunflowers it is! Let's see... Seeds... Seeds..." Her voice trailed off as she looked for the packets of seeds and, soon, she had found them. She started throwing packets into the cart, saying what they were as she did, "Heirloom tomatoes, basil, cilantro, carrots, purple carrots, blue basil, sage, lavender, etc, etc..."
He shook his head when she said she wouldn’t buy him the hundred sunflowers. “But you said you would!” He cooed out, making the best impression of a pouting face he could. It wasn’t very good, it wasn’t something he did often at all. “Roma’s are good too.” He said as they walked by. “What about some wasabi or peppers?” He said, leaning forward towards her as they walked. “Little bit of spice never hurt anyone, love it myself actually.”
Hoshi liked the way he pretended to be hurt by her for some reason, she couldn't figure out what exactly about it made her want to hug him around the shoulders but it did. She nodded, then, as he picked out new things for them to get for the ship and placed the packets into the cart.
"Wasabi is nice. In Nepleslia I hear they put green dye into horse radish," she said, crinkling her diminutive nose. She steered them towards the section with potted bonsai trees as she looked to him for his answer.
He looked the small planted trees over, his head tilting side to side in an almost comical way before he carefully picked up a pair. Holding them out to her he looked them over himself. “Well?” He asked. “I figure we can both get one, keep em somewhere safe.” He said nodding with a smile towards the Neko. “Where we going after this anyway?” He asked, setting the plants into the basket. “I just kinda forgot what our plans were, we’ve just been going, time kinda flies.”
Hoshi's eyes sparkled as she said, "You'll see!" She looked overly excited and her hands gripped the handles of the cart a little more tightly than before as she looked at the small trees. "Let's choose some more. They'll work well on the observation deck. Imagine, a ship with a specific place for bonsai tree to be. Did you know that there is auxiliary gravity in the event that the ship loses artificial gravity so that the soil does not fall over the place?" She looked to him. "Amazing, isn't it?"
It was just plain cute watching her react to her own words. Beaming her a smile he nodded. “Oh another surprise then?” He teased to the blue haired woman. “ Gee, go figure..” He added, in an even more teasing manner. He perked a bit hearing her talk about the modern ship's gravity and such. “That’s actually...” He thought it over for a short bit and smiled a bit more. “Using backup gravity for the plants, I mean long run that’s good thinking..” Royce mused, nodding to her. “I’m a little excited to be honest, you knew that though I think, Hoshi.”
"I think she's going to serve you well," Hoshi said about the Kaiyo II. "As long as you do the same, I think you two will have a wonderful relationship." She brought all of the plants and seeds to check out after hefting five bags of soil at once onto the cart's undercarriage, making it shudder as she did. "Woah there," Hoshi said to it, putting a hand out to catch it from falling over. Then, once it was secure, she said, "Shall we?" She motioned with her arm to go towards the checkout. "Any last minute purchases?"
Royce shook his head, his eyes lit up like a child at Christmas as he looked over what they were buying. Watching her heft the bags onto their cart he was reminded of the sheer strength some of these Neko women had, if the phrase hell have no fury like a woman's scorn, it must have meant double for the Neko. Though as the bags shifted the cart, reflexes got the better of his mind and he lurched forward to try and stop it from falling, seeming to forget just how strong this woman was. “Oh, watch it!” He said, though backed a bit once he saw her steadying it.
Glancing around him he shook his head and smiled. “No, I think we got everything.” He stated nodding to her once again.
"Great!" Hoshi said, punching the air before bringing the good to the check stand. She got rung up and, again, set up a shipment to the ship with a little "Thank you~" at the end of it. She turned to him and fluttered her hand a little bit, beckoning him.
When he got close, she whispered, "Time for my favorite part of our 'mission'..."
The woman seemed to have boundless energy he thought as he watched her punch the air, following her to the checkout he watched each item pass until he notice her waving for him to come. “Hm?” He sounded as he made his way towards her, then leaning close as she wanted he pulled his mouth back, unsure of what to make of it. “And what part would that be..” His eyes narrowed, she had that look that she was up to something, though she always had that look if he was honest with himself. “What are you even up to..” He finally said.
Hoshi giggled and said, “You'll see. Let's blow this popsicle stand!" Hoshi said emphatically.
Following her to the car he stopped for a moment. His eyes closing as she shouted her last string of words. Opening his mouth as if to speak, he didn’t, and instead wondered if she even realized just what she had said and it’s double meaning. Shaking his head he opened the door with a click, swung the door open and slid into the passenger seat next to her. Instantly reclining his seat back a little ways again he settled in, his body shifting side to side as he found the perfect spot and glanced to her. “So you’re on the same ship then?” Some things were starting to click, some were not, though it was only a matter of time.
"Huh?" Hoshi asked as she revved the engine a moment and then backed out of the space as she simultaenously opened the window. She enjoyed the summer breeze coming through the window. "Sorry, Royce, but that's a silly question. Any other things you're wondering about me, though?" she asked as she drove them to the starport they had hours before come from.
Leaned his arm and elbow on the side of the window, resting his chin against his arm as he looked out the window. The rushing wind tossing his hair about a bit as they drove. “Well plenty..” He said finally as he looked to her. Then turning his gaze away for a moment he shrugged and gave her a small laugh. “All things in time though. What about me, anything you were wondering about?” He asked watching a few other cars pass them by.
"All things in time," Hoshi repeated. "I think we're going to get along just fine, though, I think." She spent a moment enjoying the silence that two people could share comfortably between them before speaking up, "There isn't anything you're afraid of in this universe, is there, Royce?" Her face had grown serious as she held the steering wheel with one hand and let the other wave up and down in the air outside of the truck.
The silence after the question was longer than the pair had shared just a moment ago, it was almost as if he didn’t hear her question. Tilting his head towards the wind his eyes closed and he thought to himself as he spoke. “Few things..” He started. “A woman scorned.” He said with a serious tone, but a very subtle smile playing upon his lips. “Losing the people like you..”
He finally added, motioning with his hand outside the window to feel the wind between his fingers. “I’m gonna’ get attached, Hoshi.” He said. “As much as I’ll try not to, as much as I’m just going to keep to my work, it will happen.” He said, a saddened tone in his voice. “I know me better than anyone.” Royce shook his head, his eyes dropping as he strummed his fingers along the car door. “Not many of us humans left.” Laughing he raised his hand and waved it in front of him in a small arc. “My people used to want the simpler things, majority I mean not…”
He stopped, shaking a thought from his head. “We wanted to explore, sew our seed, and generally have a damn good time running about in the universe.” His eyes darted in contemplative thought. “That much hasn’t changed for me, but I’d rather be remembered as that guy who did something for someone else, rather than the one who’s still alive because he ran.” He nodded. “Afraid of myself I guess.”
"Afraid of yourself, huh?" Hoshi said with a look away from Royce. Her eyes had grown misty and she watched the road. "I can understand that."
Hoshi thought for a minute before speaking, "I wouldn't get attached to me if I were you. Everyone that does ends up wishing they hadn't. I bounce around. Ask for new assignments. I don't stay anywhere too long. It's too bad I'm like this or else I might have gained something out of the relationships I've made along the way, but I break them." She sniffed back a tear. "I break them every single damn time, it seems." She gave a weak smile and looked to Royce. "So be a human and search the stars and run around the universe —universes— but don't get attached. To me or any damn thing but yourself. Learn to not fear what you have to offer yourself, Royce. Learn to love it." She looked back to the road and put both hands on the wheel.
His tone turned soft once she started explaining, and he could hear the strain in her voice. It was heartbreaking to listen to. Leaning his head casually back against the window, he glanced outside it. “Well..” He started, resting his head against his arm in a relaxed way. “You can’t go anywhere, Hoshi.” He said, smiling to her, his eyes kind and calm along with his voice as he spoke. “You’ll save me from myself, won’t you?” He asked before looking back to the window. “Besides, already attached anyway. Just think about the day we had, how could I not be?” He asked, not breaking gaze with the skyline in the distance.
"I hope I am strong enough to do so," Hoshi said. "Save you from yourself that is." Then, in a little more of a quiet tone, she added, "I just hope I am." She looked to him, smiling once more, still weakly. "I think you're pretty strong for a human, though, it might be hard!"
He laughed to her final words, then his head sprang up as they approached a building off to the side of the road. “Oh speak of- Hey, hey pull in there!” He said, sitting up right as he looked the building over. It was a dealership, cars, trucks, and various other things strewn out about in front of it. Looking to Hoshi he smiled. “Let’s turn that frown, upside down. I think you need to take a spin Royce’s wild ride, Hoshi.” He looked back towards the building, motioning towards it.
Hoshi smiled at his words, this time a full one, "Sure!" She pressed on the brakes and then turned the car into the dealership, pulling into a spot and she closed the door behind her. "What are we doing here?" she asked with that same smile. She needed cheering up, but it seemed she had already started.
Opening the door, sliding out and stretching his arms high he turned, backing away from her and holding his hands towards her, his palms open. “Now now, you wait here. Like I said, Royce’s wild ride, that’s what we’re doing here!” He said as if she’d understand, but soon enough she would at least. Slipping inside the dealership nothing was heard or seen other than the passing of other cars on the road they just came from.
Finally he emerged, a helmet in each hand. One a slick black and smooth, the other a dull pink, with a pair of cat ears added to the design. Motioning towards her first, he reached into a pocket on his vest, and pulled a single remote looking device. Raising it high above his head he started spinning around as he walked, pressing the button rapidly until a single red light flashed not too far from them. “Come on then!” He called making his way towards the Airbike.
Hoshi sort of looked perplexed and confused at first until recognition of what was happening passed through her mind and she nodded, saying, "Oh, this is going to be good!" She looked excitedly to him and then to the bike and then floated quickly to the airbike and got on the back of it, one leg on one side and the other leg on the other side.
"Are we going to have more fun, Royce?!" Hoshi asked with an ecstatic grin. "I'm sure we will!"
“Well..” Royce said carefully, all but bouncing over to the bike himself and slid into the front seat, his legs straddling it as he leaned back and fourth checking various gauges, and just looking it over. “That depends on your idea of fun..” He said slyly, finally looking back to her and tossing her helmet a bit high into the air for her to catch.
“So two things!” He called out as he pulled his own helmet over his head. “One!” He said, tapping the front of the helmet as he looked back. “We are going to break every speed law this little island has and maybe some neighboring ones. We are going to twist and weave between buildings so fast.. ” He shook his head as he trailed off, returning to the subject at hand. “Are you okay with that?” He asked, his eyes moving about the bike before settling onto her.
“Two!” He said, flipping a switch as the bike came to quiet life. The lights and gauges glowing with different effects. “Do you trust me?” He asked, looking back as his hands found the steering. “This is gonna be better than sex, promise you that much, Hoshi.”
Hoshi's brows raised and she nodded after he finished speaking. If she had known Royce was going to treat her to this, maybe she would have prepared a little more, like worn the ultra long lasting vibrating panties or a leather jacket or whatever people wore on airbikes nowadays.
The nods were enough, and the smile he was beaming was wide though she wouldn’t be able to see it through the helmet of course. Ducking his body forward onto the bike he eased it forward, starting off slow and waiting till she had a firm, strong grip onto him. Once she did he just took off from the dealership, straight into the air, the bike twisting from side to side as they climbed high into the sky at a very alarming speed. The wind nipping at both them, lashing out loudly as it rushed past them. The cool night air would take some getting used to, but the view was amazing.
“Let’s find some trouble then.”
He said, taking off towards some lights in the far distance, likely a city. Suddenly the bike dropped, plummeting from the sky and a few moments before it would of crashed into the ground, he suddenly pulled back, and the bike lurched forward a good five feet above the ground. The trees and hills appeared to be rolling as they weaved and bobbed their way through the lush area.
"Do you know wha—" Hoshi began to say, but her voice was lost to the wind. She simply shook her head and smiled before the smile turned into an all out laugh and she felt the comfort of doing something so very uncomfortable. She laughed for so many reasons, but particularly because she felt the urge to let loose her feelings and sense of wonderment for all the world to hear. She expressed her joy and her excitement and a little bit of her frustration, in some ways, in those moments of laughter. She squeezed around his waist and felt Royce's vest under her grip hugging his body.
The city on the horizon quickly approached as they darted around. Then it hit them, suddenly a wave of colored lights and pavement. He stayed focused on the driving through here. They didn’t seem to slow even as he twisted and turned through random streets and alleys. Coming upon a large skyscraper suddenly he pulled back, an arm reaching back behind him to grasp her as the bike jolted upward, leveling it’s self out, using the side of the building as a base point.
Faster and faster it climbed until they shot off the side of it much like a bullet. Placing his hand back on the steering he leveled the bike out above the city and looked around. “So, having fun?” He asked, letting the bike fall a bit before picking it back up and balancing it in the air.
"Very much," Hoshi told him. "Better tha—" she was taken aback by another intense vibration and then continued, "Than sex..."
He smiled, figuring the ride would have a sort of effect on her. He did forget she wasn’t really wearing the right clothes, and those vibrations, well, she already knew. Reaching back he gave the blissful and unaware, in a daze woman a pat on the head, or rather her helmet. As she finished the last word of his statement he flipped a switch on the bike and accelerated the most he could. The bike didn’t move, but rather reached a new intensity on its vibrations, humming loudly.
“Yeah!” He called back over the loud hum. “I told you didn’t I? Better than-.”
He cut his own words off suddenly and the bike jumped forward mid air. It only took a few moments before he was zipping around between buildings, spiraling around others. Royce pulled the bike in seemingly random ways as they zoomed around. Yanking the bike up or down, side to side. It was always in movement. Without warning the shot out on the east side of the city, past it’s limits into the wide open once more. Steering in a small circle some hundreds of feet into the air he glanced back at her.
“Best thing, is we got the better battery, it’s not running out anytime soon! Can see most of the planet if we wanted to.”
Breathing in deeply, Hoshi said to him, "Take us to the beach. A beach. Any beach. I want to see the ocean."
“Where ever you want.” He said with a smile, pulling the bike around mid air in a wide loop as he scanned the horizon. Figuring where the city was, and what he saw when he came down on the shuttle he had an idea of where to go, and that was all he needed. Without warning once again the bike lurched, and zoomed off in what seemed like a random direction.
Soon the smell of saltwater filled the thick air. Bringing the bike down quickly onto a cascading shoreline, white with sand and small stones peppered into it. Getting the bike just on the outskirts of the moving waters he finally stopped it, and hopped off. Holding his hand out for her to take as he looked around. “Yeah, pretty sure, I could be wrong though, we’re at the beach.”
"I think this will do just fine for my needs," Hoshi said with a soft smile. She pressed her skirt against her groin with her free hand while her other took Royce's hand in hers and she got off of the bike with his help. She looked to the water, then to Royce, and then to the water again. She pulled off her helmet and set it down before tossing off her sandals.
"It's beautiful..." she murmured. Then, she stepped forward a step before sprinting to the water's edge and splashing into it.
Take a Neko to space, and they don’t bat an eye. Take one to the beach and, well. Royce smiled as she kept looking back and fourth, as if unsure of what she should do. As she made her way to the water and splashed in as a child would he watched her with a bemused kindness in his eyes. Tossing their helmets towards the bike he slipped off his shoes, and barefoot walked to the waters edge before plopping onto the sand and then folding his arms behind his head he sprawled out in the slow tide that pulled in and out. “Just enjoy, kitten.” He said, almost to himself as he watched the stars once more, letting the woman have all the time she wanted.
Hoshi frolicked in the waves. At first jumping over them until the water was too deep and she had to dive under them. Her body was wet once more and she enjoyed every second of it. She let her inhibitions go as she swam as far as she could until her lungs started to cascade in on themselves. It wasn't that she was having trouble breathing, it's that she started fearing being too far out, too far from safety. She pressed on, swimming another hundred meters before she looked back to the now-distant beach. She watched it for awhile before laying on her back and staring at the stars, as Royce was doing.
After many moments, she swam back, faster than she had swum there, and she floated out of the water once she could feel it under foot again. She made her way to Royce and crossed her legs in the air while she floated beside him, turning to look at the water lapping towards them.
His own form all but soaked as he laid there, the waters pulling in around him only to fall back once more. Not even seeming to notice the woman as she floated up to him. His eyes were closed and there was a sort of peaceful look upon his face. He had looked for her for a bit, even worried somewhat. Then he remembered the sort of person he was worrying about, and stopped.
At some point in his relaxing however, he dozed off entirely. The peaceful look was that of one sleeping. His mouth opened and closed subtly with each breath. It was a calming scene to see, and he would remain oblivious to her because of it.
Hoshi, for a few minutes, sat next to him in reverie of the stars, water, sand, him, her, everything. She didn't need to wake him to be next to him and let him doze until she watched the waters get too close to his mouth.
"You're a human, don't forget," she chimed quietly, not loud enough to wake him, before saying in a louder, but still gentle, way, "Royce... Royce.... You're going to get swept out to sea soon..."
When he finally opened his eyes, it was slow and contemplative. He had heard her when she mentioned his humanity, and when she mentioned being swept out to sea he rolled his eyes up, looking at the floating blue haired woman next to him. “What, would you come with me?” He asked before glancing to the sky for a moment before settling back on her, his arms folded over his chest at this point and his body still.
She smiled, "You don't want me to pick you up and float you away to safety, do you?"
Royce shrugged, batted his eyes at her and rolled his head to the side. “And what, would you carry me off onto the beach, maybe a sunset?” He looked up at the pitch sky and frowned. “I guess maybe not the sunset.” He said, teasing her at this point. Sticking out his tongue he laid his head back and breathed deep.
"You know Kaiyō means ocean right? And I've never been in one. Not in all of my years. Never. It's really quite insane, actually. But I knew I had to go in some time. At some point..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at the moon's glow on the water. Then she looked at Royce and her wet hair glistened in the soft light as a droplet of water fell on his face. "Have you?"
Truth be told he hadn’t known that, and gave her a calm smile as he sat up, bringing his knees in with a yawn trailing in his lips. “I didn’t know that.” He said finally, looking back out to the ocean he shrugged a bit, tilting his head to it. “I guess I haven’t to be honest.”
"That's the problem with space being of such interest to us types, the things on planets get overlooked. The most wondrous things," Hoshi said. she let her hand drop and held his. A bit of sand got between the two of their hands, but Hoshi's tight grip made it barely noticeable.
His head didn’t turn towards her, he simply kept looking out over the ocean. As she placed her hand in his he pulled it up a bit, his thumb to the top of her hand rubbing back and fourth as his fingers curled through hers. “A lot of things get overlooked, not everything though.” He said, tightening his grip slightly onto her.
"Mhmm," Hoshi said, nodding as she studied his face further. She realized how uncouth it was to do so and looked away, then back at him, "What is something you wish you had noticed earlier in life than when you found out about it?"
His face tightened to that question and he nodded, but smiled up at her. “It’s not meant to be taken seriously.” He said, motioning out with his other hand. “The whole life thing, I mean.” He thought the question over a little longer before tugging at her hand still in his. “What about you though? Anything you wished you had noticed?”
"Oh, yes," Hoshi said with a wan smile. "I wish I had known that it's meant to be taken very seriously. The whole life thing, I mean." She gave him a cheeky grin and began giggling lightly like a chorus of charisma and joy that ended all too soon.
"Do you know how much I'm learning from you? That life isn't to be taken seriously? That airbikes are... enjoyable? That someone can have scars..." Hoshi said, tracing one on his forearm with her free hand. "...And not be broken."
Royce listened to her, smiling at the notion that he, of all people, she was learning from. In a way, to him it was heartwarming. Once she mentioned the scars he laughed. “Body might be a bit broken, but not me no.” He said, squeezing the woman’s hand, really not wanting to leave the beach anytime soon either. He enjoyed this, just sitting here with her. Out of everything that happened, he’d remember this for a very long time.
Hoshi laid back with her hair like a rainbow above her head as she held his hand and looked to the stars.
"Taiyou Hoshi means sun star when put together," she muttered quietly. "I hope I live up to the name."
“You will..” He said, not breaking their grasp yet. “I have no doubt that you’re going to do amazing things.” He added after a moment, his tone kind and honest. Then, glancing back to the bike he looked to Hoshi, then to it again. “So, we got the whole night it looks like.” He gave her a wicked smile. “Do we sleep like normal people, or find some fun.” Already knowing the answer he stood, rubbing his thumb against the top of her hand, pulling her to him he threw his hand over her shoulder. “Whole night on a quiet resort planet, what do you think we’ll find?” He said, making his way towards the bike.
"Trouble," Hoshi replied as she got her helmet on. "Nothing more, nothing less."
“Nothing more, and nothing less.” He echoed, sliding over on the bike and settling down onto it. Hoisting his own helmet onto his head he pulled it down, and slapped the top quickly. “I think another quick run should get us dry.” Royce said, flipping the bike on and looking back till she was ready to take off again.
"Ready as ever," Hoshi said, pleased to be back on the bike. She and Royce moved effortlessly off of the beach and into the night sky. They raced through the black night and moved through the cities and beaches at varying speeds until Hoshi spoke into his ear.
"I want to be on that ship. The Fuji-class. Take us back to the dealership."
Leaning his head towards her lips as she spoke he nodded in union with his actions as he pulled the steering sharply to the left. Sending the aerial bike in a wide, quick half arc before it took off again towards what he hoped was the dealership they had come from. Bringing the bike low towards the ground he pulled up, lifting the front of the bike into the air with the back near the rolling hils that ambled past the pair.
After some time he swung back into the dealership, leaving the bike parked in front since he didn't seem to remember where he had got it from in the first place. Taking the keys he tossed them in the air a few inches and rushed back inside. A few minutes later he returned, setting his helmet down onto the seat.
"Alright, got our, or well, your keys back. I guess you're driving now?" He asked, tossing them to her and looking towards the car they had arrived in.
"Let's hit the road," Hoshi said as she stripped off her salty aloha shirt and skirt and her volumetric projection took over. She looked to be wearing a bikini top on her flat chest and daisy duke shorts. She pushed on her flip flops and swung herself into the truck. It felt peculiar being back on the ground and all she wanted to do was be in the air again. Or, more specifically, in space.
She stayed quiet for many moments in the truck until they were at the space port and she got out, grabbed her large bag, and made her way to the nearest shuttle. They entered the shuttle bay and a Neko standing outside of one of the nearest shuttles, apparently waiting for them, moved in behind them as Royce led by Hoshi entered it after an exchange of salutes. The Neko moved to the cockpit and Hoshi spread out on a chair after flinging her large purse onto a seat.
"Ahhh, Royce. We're on our way. I could think of no better prelude..."
Royce rolled his eyes a bit as the woman started stripping again, then blinked a few times as the holographic clothing took over. His hand on the door handle he just stared at her for a moment. “You had that the whole time?” He pulled his lips back. “Even in the dressing room?” He added, then as she got in he followed with a shake of his head. “This damn woman…” He mumbled under his breath as he kicked back in the passenger seat once again.
He found himself a bit nervous as they neared the shuttles, glancing over at her a few times he cocked his head to the side, pushed a breath from his lips and nodded as he made his way inside the one seemingly just for them. Closing his eyes as he settled down across from her, and he forgot to salute, it didn't even cross his mind with everything else going through it. “Yeah.” He managed, a single word as he dipped his head back over the seat, his eyes staring at the ceiling. “We’ll be alright.” He said, as if reassuring the both of them of something he wasn’t quite sure of.
The shuttle took off in a matter of moments and in minutes the smooth ride was over and they were at Gemini Star Fortress. Hoshi exited the shuttle once they were in the bay and walked speedily out of the shuttle, looking back only once to make sure Royce was in tow. She saluted to a Geshrinii here, a Neko there, but more often than not, she was being saluted by any that had access to PANTHEON. When they got to the hangar that held the Kaiyo II, she stopped dead in her tracks and breathed in deeply. If Royce were observant, he would see the hairs on her pink arms and the back of her neck stand on end.
She stepped forward across the hangar and motioned for someone to open the rearmost bay's doors and, once they opened, she entered. There was a slight gasp at the first footstep she set on the ship and she set a course for the prow of the ship, not stopping to make sure Royce was following anymore.
Nodding to Hoshi as he followed he did his best to keep up. Unsure of what to do with his hands at this point he would cross them over his chest, he'd put them at his side or where ever he thought they should be, which was everywhere it seemed at this point. His eyes slid from side to side, and about taking in everything as they were walking. Every now and then he'd catch sight of a Neko woman saluting, he wasn't sure if it was for him which he highly doubted but none the less he saluted back, the thought of why they were saluting Hoshi was washed away in the mess of everything else moving back and fourth through his mind.
He reeled from the sight of the ship, still processing what he had been putting off since he had been hand picked for the job; that this was going to be his new home for a very long while. He was silent the whole time though, which as much as Royce tended to talk, loving the sound of his own voice it would seem, was very strange. He opened his mouth to speak, but only narrowed his eyes instead and closed them for a few moments as he followed.
Finally at the front of the ship, Hoshi entered a circular room with eight seats and a door two other doors. Hoshi looked around the bridge, sighing. She dropped her bag in front of the rearmost door and for a moment, her volumetric outfit flickered off and then was on again, but this time she was fully adorned in a type 35 with white panels and a full left breast of ribbons as well as the rank pin of Chusa above them. She sat in the center chair on top of the bridge and looked to Royce.
"You go there," she said, pointing to the seat with a console on the second level, starboard side. "And I go here." She settled into the command chair and gripped the arm rests gently, smiling softly.
Royce just did his best to breathe slowly as he entered the room beside her, casting a glance as her outfit flickered about for a moment, a small smile crept onto his face then almost as quickly as it formed, it faded, even quicker actually as he noticed what she was wearing now. With his lips pulled back, his cheeks puffed a bit his eyes were wide before he finally managed after a long, peaceful pause. "You're.." His eyes squinted closed and he shook his head quickly a few times.
"You're the Captain."
Royce finally was able to get out, and with that his mind came to a halt. For the first time in a very long there there was an absolute silence within his mind before everything came rushing to him. "Oh, you're the Captain." He said again as his mind barely processed what she was telling him, and as if on some sort of human-auto pilot he walked slowly to the chair she had pointed to. "That's the Captain.." He said again, almost upbeat, still processing.
He sat in the chair, slowly as ever sliding back into it, his arms along the rest built into the side, hands slowly sliding forward on it as he drummed his fingers, still wideyed. "No wait, no we'll just. I mean, no I didn't Ma'am, Captain. What I meant to say, is." And no words came, he just took a deep breath, and slid into the chair even more till he was almost sliding out of it. His mind raced with everything he had done with her, and everything that almost happened with her.
Hoshi merely smiled and stayed where she was. "This is where I belong, Royce. You know I didn't think I would ever get here? But I did. I was born thirteen years ago and my first desire was to be captain. My first thought was, 'I want to lead.' There was nothing more to it than that."
She didn't tell him that she felt afraid to come here in some deep, dark part of herself. She didn't tell him that the notion of sitting here in this chair had hung over her like a katana all day and that she had been more afraid that she wouldn't like the feeling of being where she was right now than she had ever been afraid of anything before. She grimaced and it became evident on her face she was thinking about something difficult and she spoke to him.
"I don't know if I could have come here without company, Royce. I owe you a great deal."
The more Royce listened to her the more his expression softened. Taking another slow breath he settled his hands into one another, and rest them onto his chest. “You should have told me who you were.” He finally said after a long, pregnant pause. Leaning his head back in the chair as he was so good at doing it seemed, he eyed her with a smile.
“I’ll make you a deal.”
Royce folded his arms behind his head, still looking at her. “I’ll have your back, if you have mine.” It felt childish to say, but honestly, and he’d never admit it. It was something he needed to hear. Scratching at his hair, his digits moving about in a frenzy. “If you want..” He said, chewing the words over along with his lip.
“I’ll tell you some of the things I’ve learned in life I wish I had known before hand.”
"I'll have your back, Royce," Hoshi said from er position at the top of the bridge. She stepped out of the seat and walked over to his chair and sat down in his lap gently. "What have you learned that I should know?"
As she eased into his lap, almost like a reflex he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. Closing his eyes he let his mind swim, before slowly, he began rocking back and fourth with her. “You should enjoy what you’ve earned, Hoshi.” He said, speaking to her as a friend rather than his Captain. Shaking his head he continued.
“Nevermind, I don’t think you’ll enjoy it truly till you’re looking back on it later in life..”
He shifted, pulling her back against him and resting his head on her shoulder. “A ruler can command servitude, but a leader should earn loyalty through compassion; be a leader, Hoshi.” He said, smiling softly. “I know you’re afraid, but don’t be. You have a long time to settle into this, and I think you’ll be fine, amazing even.” Royce stopped rocking, a frown forming onto his lips. “I can’t be in here with you most of the time, but you’ve got my loyalty.” He mulled over his next words before speaking, not sure if he should say them at all. “Not loyalty to the army, but loyal to the Captain I’ve got to know surprisingly well.”
Hoshi leaned her head down on his as he rested it on her shoulder and smiled.
"You're wise, Royce. Not surprising after the day I've had with you. You are and have far surpassed my expectations of you. I didn't know if we would even end up getting along. But we have, we really have. I like that. Not just about you and it's not about me, either. It's about both of us. I like that about the two of us as a pair."
She went on, "I'm happy to have your loyalty if you feel comfortable giving it already. You have my trust, and my compassion for you and for us, as well."
He couldn’t help but to smile, and an odd sense of ease fell over him. It was nice getting a compliment like that from her, and his grip on her tightened slightly as he thought about it. Though as she mentioned the simple word, us, he wasn’t sure what to think. The day had really been nothing short of a roller coaster of highs and calm moments between the two, and he hadn’t a clue what they would become in the long run.
They sat for a moment, just enjoying one another before he finally spoke up. “So, what now? We’re here at least. Just, not sure where to go from here.” Royce said looking around the room a bit then towards the door to the rest of the ship. “I wouldn’t mind being in here, you know, when we’re on the stars but..” He stopped, casting his eyes downward a bit. “Well, we both know we got our jobs to do in any case, and mine isn’t in here.”
"We do have our jobs," Hoshi said, then added on to that. "Did I scare you away talking about "us". Royce, you will not be the first person I have gotten close to and will not be the last, but we still have a friendship to uphold and relish in. We still have a professional one, too. But for now, I enjoy thinking about the personal one we now share. I'll let you get some rest," Hoshi said, standing up off of his lap and pressed her skirt flat against the middle of her hips. "The crew will be arriving tomorrow morning and we will have a briefing at 0730 hours." She stood for a moment, quiet, seeing if he had anything to add or say while her deep blue eyes looked down on him in the chair where only seconds ago she sat.
He thought her words over, noticing the subtle shift in her attitude when she told him the time they would be arriving. Pressing his hands to his knees he stood slowly, and stretched his arms with a slow yawn. “Didn’t scare me away, no.” He said, giving a small chuckle as he looked to her carefully. A dull silence fell between the two before he finally broke it.
“Two parts of me.”
He blinked, and cocked his head a bit. “The romantic in me says I should just kiss you right here and now.” He nodded, giving a half glance to the door. “Logic says I should just find somewhere to sleep though.” He gave her a small wave as he turned and slowly made his way towards the door.
Hoshi smiled and strode towards her room behind her chair of command and disappeared behind the door after picking up her large, stuffed bag. Royce would not be able to see, but she had fallen face first onto the bed and snuggled into the comforter.
