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RP: YSS Eucharis [Pre-Mission 27] Tan Ann Pan Reporting

Navian

Navian

Inactive Member
It wasn't quite how she imagined it. Tan Ann Pan boarded the Eucharis, passing through open cargo bay, echoing with the sound of repairs, and past the fabricators where Star Army technicians were hard at work, to enter the passageway up to the bridge.

The air was warmer inside, but still seemed still and frozen. Most of the crew had left. It felt vaguely reminiscent of returning home at 3 in the morning; with the vague sense she was disturbing the order of things. Still, it was hardly a place to leave and come back to at a better time.

Arriving at the top level, Tan stopped and activated the ship's intercom at the doors to the bridge. "Santô Hei Tan Ann Pan reporting for duty." She kept it simple, nothing cute. It wasn't in her to fuss with her uniform at the last moment, just as it hadn't been to ask the maintenance crew where to find a coat rack.

She took a moment to set her glasses, though. If this was going to be her first time seeing Shôshô Ketsurui Hanako on the bridge of the Eucharis, Tan figured she might as well take a photograph.
 
Hanako was sitting at one of the stations at the rear of the bridge, idly scrolling through an inventory list and an online underwear catalog. When Tan Ann Pan came in, Hanako swiveled around and stood up, ready to return a salute.
 
Tan Ann Pan gave her salute when the door opened, and another after she walked inside and located her captain, just to be sure. It was clichéd, but true; she'd been expecting someone taller. After her initial surprise, which she kept mercifully brief, Tan Ann Pan broke eye contact to stand at attention. There wasn't much else to be said for the moment except why she was here. and in this case, the odds were nil that Hanako didn't already know.

She still wore her coat and gloves over her uniform, though the lenses of her glasses were turning transparent for the sake of the meeting. From her appearance, it was easy to see that she was Nepleslian, fit, and middle aged, though her most distinctive feature was her complexion; likely 'The Perfect Tan' that her self-help book/autobiography from some fifteen years past had been named after.
 
"Welcome to the Eucharis," Hanako greeted Tan Ann Pan. "Please take a seat. Currently much of the crew is out on shore leave and celebrating the holidays. I hope you are able to get to know the crew during period of relaxation. As the ship's medical specialist you will be more intimate with the crew than most people because they will be trusting you with their health. Also, if there is anything I can do to make your arrival and stay here more go smoothly, please let me know," she said. "You could start by getting to know me. Is there anything you would like to know about me?"
 
Tan nodded and sat down at the other station on the same side of the bridge. That was awkward enough; she shifted a couple of times after sitting. Answering the question was more of a challenge. By habit, she stayed reserved. "Nothing that seems polite to ask, Shôshô. Though, I could ask what's most important to you, and go from there."
 
"What is important to me is to be useful in a way that is appreciated," Hanako told Tan. "I never asked to be in the Star Army, but I have found a role here and it has become home for me. As I rose in rank, for the first time in my life I finally have control over something, even if it is limited only to this small starship. I also think relationships are important, but being a captain has, by its nature, created a gap between me and those who serve under me. I also feel 'burned' in some way by losing the people I cared about to transfers and reassignments. Honestly, it is lonely for me at this point in my life. When you get older I think you tend to be more cynical about the world and trust comes less easily, and never fully."
 
Tan Ann Pan nodded. "I see." She wasn't quick to trust, herself, but it never felt like a problem to her. In this case, at any rate, she wanted to take a gamble on the opening Hanako had presented. "Well, if I'm reading this right... I'm not that young, myself, but I'd never call myself cynical. There's an old Nepleslian proverb that goes, 'It's not the years, it's the mileage'. Rolling back the odometer, so to speak, is part of my specialty! So, just let me know if spa therapy might play a part in my role on the Eucharis.

"As far as trust goes, I try not to give others a chance when I don't want them to take it, but even past that, I don't worry too much. If people want to take advantage of me, that's their problem, I don't let it become mine."
 
"Thank you, I will keep that in mind," Hanako nodded. A massage or something of that nature did sound nice.

"Well, please become acquainted with the Eucharis' medical bay and I will be down there shortly for a mind backup."
 
"I'll take a few minutes to handle my luggage, and be with you in just a moment, captain," Tan Ann Pan said as she stood and made her way out of the bridge, aiming to stop by the galley to inquire about supplying the crew with the alcohol she and Mehitabel had left outside, and to haul her cart to her quarters before reporting to the medical bay.

Living on a starship would take some getting used to, but she was here for the excitement, after all.
 
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