RP: LSDF Val'ta [Prologue] - Sing about the Valleys

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 3, Iron Church

Ash paused noting that she was the only one of the trio who had changed and paused before looking at herself, then her three companions, she didn't share telepathy with Ghost, thankfully. Or she'd have corrected her about Ash being a sex maddened neko... She might be quite open and prone to waking up in someone elses other than her own bunk, but that didn't mean she jumped everyone who passed by. And she was quite unawares as to the other two's dispositions as she bowed towards Ghost, then Mirage and raised her two arms up in a resting stance as she glanced at Ghost, then at the nearby bag and exhaled as the stepped forwards and tested her reach between herself and the bag by lifting her left leg up and extending her knee towards it, Once she was sure of the distance she abruptly shifted legs and slammed a kick into the bag opposite of Ghost and held the kick, giving Ghost a questioning glance as if to ask if the kick had been too hard. Being hit by a full on kick like that would probably have snapped bones or shattered ribs. She honestly didn't know that the little Helashio could likely curb stomp her in a fight, however.

LSDF Val'ta, Deck III, in the Church of the Iron God.

Ghost held.

This was what she had intended to do anyway. The kick had been hard, but there had been about three feet of softening material between her hold and the Nekovalkyrja. She watched her, at least until she recognized that the look had been a question, and then she nodded out a reply.

It was fine. She had braced.

Actually, Ghost was a little bit surprised. She would have asked where the perfectly beautiful, perfectly colored, perfectly poised, perfect kick had been learned from, but in all honesty she didn't want to answer the logical follow up question which would have been the same. Where did you learn? But what did it matter? The kick had been a good kick. The little Helashio simply couldn't explain why she felt that way. It was her body that wanted this, as though her muscles themselves knew that they were to be used, not her mind. Her mind quailed.

"I'm fine," Ghost said, quietly. "It's OKay, I can hold it."

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 3, Iron Church

Ash grinned slowly as Ghost spoke up and then nodded, and a few seconds later, replied fully with vocal assertion that she could hold it. Ash then nodded back and drew her leg back and let it touch the ground before she rapid fired a trio of kicks into the bag at the same force, it was readily apparent she wasn't trying to kick the bag, more like the bag was between her and Ghost. Since it would only be proper that she try and go through the bag, not aim for it. As her leg touched down again she lunged forwards, put one foot on the bag, stepped up it and drove her knee into it right about where a normal persons head would have been with a solid thud that bounced her backwards far enough to land in her ready stance yet again, "If you have any suggestions, I'm more than receptive to them." She carefully shifted her weight slowly and subtly tensing muscles slowly as she debated her next series of strikes. Her words were for both Mirage and Ghost as they were liekly vastly more seasoned than she felt she was.

LSDF Val'ta, GYM

A surreal feeling of calm began to pump like ice through Ghost.

She braced again for the kicks, seeing them coming, holding the bag for the foreign soldier. She had form. Surprisingly, Ghost found that she could recognize the style as uniform. The way the nekovalkyrja put her feet was practiced and denoted some small, innate control over gravity. Otherwise she wouldn’t be able to hold that stance and deliver that sort of power. Ghost considered that for a while, and recalled something else important.

Tracking her eyes from Ash’s feet to her face, Ghost held the bag steady for the flying knee. Another time, she took it without a grunt, though her toes curled a bit against the mat and her feet, having found good purchase, greatly assisted her.

Did she tell her, or not? Did it matter?

Glancing to Mirage, Ghost wondered if the Fyuunen had noticed or come to the same conclusion. After all, the Fyuunen were the martial caste.

LSDF Val'ta, Deck Two, Bridge

"Captain on deck!" Was the first thing Porrim heard as the chair ascended through the floor into the center of agloriously white, and clean room with control panels everywhere, with the captain sitting in the middle of it all, surveying what everyone was doing. In front of her leapt hardlight controls, projected from the arms of her throne.

She looked around, drumming her fingers against the armrest and examining everything, grinning. "Let's get our visual set up," Porrim commanding, "engage immersive view."

"Yes captain!" came the crisp reply as fingers were heard against the keyboards. The walls, floors, and ceiling shimmered for a moment, appearing to dissolve and give way to the void. The stars could be seen straight ahead, towards the bow, with an indicator for the Val'ta's movement overlaid. Meanwhile, the space station encapsulating the Val'ta could be seen behind them.

"Waaah!~" cried one of the crew in surprise as the floor seemed to disappear from under them. Only to sheepishly return one of their feet to the ground and stand meekly to the side. Indeed, the floor remained there under the bridge crew's feet, as well as the consoles; a pair of constants to give some sense of space and scale. The doors out of the bridge were outlined too.

The door facing the stern of the Val'ta opened.

Er'red entered confidently, blue eyes glaring from underneath his long swept fringe, and then tumbled over as he realized parts of the floor and walls were gone. Long boots on shapely legs flying into the air dramatically.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Er'red exclaimed as he regained his footing uneasily on the non-space part of the floor. "Why is it bigger on the inside!? Nothing in this place makes sense. Who designed this thing?!"

Porrim swivelled around in her chair. "Oh, the Nepleslian named Michael made my chair, I believe he's on Deck Five helping with the preflight," she looked around, attempting to look through the floor but clicking her tongue, "not sure where Dr. Kalopsia disappeared to though."

"O-Oh, Captain, sir." Er'red saluted rather stiffly, a mixture of discomfort and unpractised.

"Ma'am." Porrim corrected as she waggled a finger.

"Ma'am." Er'red replied diplomatically.

I hope that's not going to change too often around here. Er'red thought to himself, thinking of the rumors about their captain and the changes they made routinely.

He scanned the bridge with his eyes, staggering a little at the scale of the room itself and the intricate illusion within it. The bridge crew were sitting at chairs and consoles with extensive and secure seating and hardlight displays. The captain was sitting in the middle with her legs apart, looking towards Er'red. "What can I do for you, Cadet?" she asked.

Conspicuously, the Chief Medical Officer's chair was unoccupied.

"Uh, sorry, Captain. I was looking for Doctor Kal..." He bent his knees and bent down to retrieve his dataslate. "Uh, Kalop-"

"Kalopsia. Yes, she seems to be absent," she looked over to her spot and sighed. "Not sure what her deal is, given how stretched thin the poor thing is. She helped design this ship too, and she's keeping an eye on science and medicine." Her head didn't stop facing Aiesu's spot, but her gaze looked sidelong at Er'red. "I bet she'd appreciate a secretary, Cadet."

"She's, uh, listed here as Chief Medical Officer aboard, Ma'am, but she wasn't in the medbay so after inspecting it myself I came up here to see if she was on station here. It didn't say she was running proving and science too." Er'red replied, looking around the room for an empty station.

"Uh, in her absence, permission to take her station on the bridge as CMO, Ma'am?"

She gazed at him, sizing him up. Perhaps, in her absence, he would make a good substitute. The nurse cadet saw Porrim bringing his file up and examining it. "Seeing you'll be overseeing the ward more, and getting your hands dirtier than the doctor does," after all, doctors only did the diagnosis and left the rest all the way to recovery to the nurses, "take a seat and get comfortable, Nurse Nnyu'ust."

As if on cue, the empty seat for CMO lit up, glowing faintly and beckoning him towards it.

"Uh, yes, Ma'am." He replied with a salute again, he'd only meant for the launch until the CMO deigned to show herself, but kept silent as the small promotion. He walked away, still slightly unsure of his footing as he took to the chair and gratefully sat. Turning his chair to the front and while he thought the captain wasn't looking he rubbed the back of his head with a small whinge of pain before looking at his console.

He had two screens available to him displaying medical records of the crew, and monitoring the ship's various medical supplies, any patients, and any ongoing treatment both automated and nurse-assisted. It was just as glitzy and perhaps confusing as the ones he saw back in the medical bay with how much information there was, but he could detail and isolate separate rooms, machines, and even patients. It would take only a few moments to get proficient with it. He nodded confidently and looked up into space.

His eyes shifted nervously and he turned to the crewman next to him. "That's not glass or anything is it? No. Okay..."

Now that the pieces were assembled, Porrim grinned, and under her breath she whispered, "its time to launch this puppy~." She could be heard tapping her feet against the edge of her chair, wiggling in excitement. The bridgeperson sitting next to Er'red could hear her boots tapping and turned around for a moment.

"At least she loves her job..." she whispered to him, a lmanel woman, lagomorph aspected, bit droopy in the eyes, and ears pointing a little lower than usual. "You're the doctor's replacement?"

"Apparently I am." Er'red said, tipping his head humbling, but curtly speaking. "Yourself?"

"Oh. I'm just doing avionics," she said, lazily as her gaze looked back at her coordinates, typing in a couple of commands, "the plot to Tange's all set up, Captain," she said into her headset, grabbing the microphone.

"Excellent! How's the preflight?"

"Preflight's green, captain." The avionics officer said. "Michael's got the engines fine tuned, route's good, we just need to contact station."

Er'red looked around and discovered his own heatset on the desk and hastily put it on, trying to at least appear professional for this first day. It fitted well onto his head, with stereo, and an adjustable microphone to the left of his mouth. It felt comfortable to wear, and the sound was crisp, letting Er'red hear his own voice just a little in his ear while all other input came in.

Porrim then opened a line with the flight control tower, a rectangle appearing in space at the bow-facing side of the bridge with a line from one corner to the other. Soon, the image of the space station's control tower appeared, busy individuals.

"This is control tower. LSDF Val'ta what is your query?" the man on the other side of the line replied, long Fyunnen ears poking out of their headset as they looked at Porrim. They blinked for a moment as they looked at the interior of the bridge from their camera feed, eyes searching around for a moment.

"Control Tower, this is LSDF Val'ta, requesting permission to take off on maiden voyage for Tange for assessment of liveability, and commence space exploration mission."

"LSDF Val'ta, off the record, are you in space already or has space leaked into the bridge?"

"Just our visuals, Control Tower," Porrim replied calmly, looking about herself before focussing attention. "Do we have authorisation, Control Tower?"

"Just a sec." The operator on the other side of the line looked down at something and typed some commands, moving something, a card of some sort around, and juggling someone else's incoming order on their line. Things certainly were busy. "Aaaaaand there we go. All green from the board. Good luck, LSDF Val'ta. Make the Matriarchy proud."

The line cut out. As soon as the line was confirmed cut, Porrim let out a "YES!", pumping her fist like a Nepleslian would upon finding out they weren't the father. She grabbed the intercom's attention with a manic grin on her face. She could finally start moving! The simulated sounds of the ship's docking mechanisms coming free and letting the ship float could be heard.

It's going to be a long trip. Er'red thought to himself.

♫ Elder - Spirit at Aphelion ♫

The ship was lazily taxiing out into space, but to have motion at all was sending Porrim over the moon. "Attention crew of the LSDF Val'ta!" She called out over intercom. Everyone could hear her not-so-stellar Trade thanks to an accent thick enough to build with, and more importantly, her enthusiasm. "Prepare for takeoff, everybody! We're currently moving away from the Space Station until we can safely FTL. We have the blessings, and best of wishes of the station for our maiden voyage. Let's go make our mothers proud!"

The woman sitting next to Er'red looked over to him, and blinked. "So," she asked flatly, "you got anyone to make proud, or just expectations to fill?"

"Uh, more like trying to get away from. Older sister. Terrible things..." Er'red murmured, exhausting his supply of words for that particular topic. "Uh, what makes the captain so excited about going into space?"

"It's the aspectation." The woman explained. "Stamina, means to move, loves open plains. See the wings?"

Porrim's wings would've well and truly fluttered to full breadth, but they were contained by her seat. "If she stripped naked she could glide with those."

"L'manel are weird." Er'red replied, before his eyes flicked back to the woman next to him. "But you seem alright, I guess." With a pouty sniff.

"It's the aspectation." She repeated, looking down at the console again and watching the ship's main sequence start going, and the faster than light systems get working. Something about the woman, well, the aspectation wasn't a common one because it was frowned upon due to the hedonism inherent in the breed. Hopefully there was no pollen in space. "What's your name, anyway?"

"Nurse Er'red Nny'ust Fyunnen. I, uh, well I was meant to be working in the medbay, but it seems I'm up here today." He said, looking around and gulping loudly before returning to his console. "Um, you haven't been running a temperature lately, have you? Uncontrollable urge to loaf?"

"Aviator Jil'ha Zoya Lmanel," she replied. "Granted, one of the more atheltic ones but hey, pollen, bad. Could be worse, could've been part Poe'tis like-"

Porrim had a big red button materialise in front of her. There were other ways to activate the ship's FTL but for the maiden voyage, and mostly for Porrim's and Michael's amusement, a big red button would do the trick. "HAWLD AWN TOYAWER BAAAAHTS!!" She cried out as she slammed her fist down on the button hard enough to shatter glass.

This was accompanied by Er'red's head hitting the hardlight console in disbelief with a loud smack as Jil'ha adjusted her headset a little, cricking her neck.

Deck 9, Primary Science lab, outer office room 1

Deep within the science lab in a small corner office in near silence, doctor Kalopsia was the image of comfort: Leather boots up on the desk, arched back in her chair, arms crossed up behind her head. Her chest rising and falling. Snoring. For someone who fit an idealized image of a Lorath intellectual and beauty, the good doctor was... Quite a slob.

Loafing.

The strange lurch of the ship powering up, moving into FTL made her flinch, eyes exploring the room in intoxicated stupor, foot knocking the empty packaging of her meals all over the floor as she nearly wobbled out of her chair.

"Whuwhwhuhwhat ...Huh?" she eyed the walls with the sense she was being watched before using her foot to shuffle the packaging under her desk where nobody could see, eyeing her office door to assure it was locked, then slowly laying back.

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 3, Iron Chruch

The exchange with the bag acting as an unfortunate third party caught in between was interesting for many reasons, the most prominent of them however was the insight to the two girls. While Ashlinn was competent, her inexperience was shown with what was so far a reliance on her more exotic abilities. On the other hand Petra was demonstrating a capacity to think and a wealth of experience that was unseen in a helashio according to most Lorath. After all were it not for Petra's experience the powerful kicks being delivered by Ashlinn would have knocked the smaller girl off her feet by now.

The contemplation of the pair was however interrupted by the cringe-worthy enthusiasm displayed by the Captain as they announced their departure. The nearly imperceptible transition from their motionless mooring to travel gifted Mirage with an unfamiliar giddiness. Soon they'd all be relying on each other with little by way of external support. Anyone in the room could have their life in the hands of the other. She supposed it was good that she was getting to know the others early.

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 3, Iron Church

Ashlinn relaxed a bit as she waited for a reply from Ghost or Mirage. In the end she reverted to slowly tensing and untensing her muscles until she looked relaxed and at ease in her stance, her inexperience was very visible, to her at least. she had resorted to precise, sledgehammer blows instead of lighter more accurate hits to vital spots. She was however giving Ghost a once over since she had absorbed blows that had actually startled others who'd she practiced with. Perhaps she'd learned restraint? Or Ghost was stronger and more resilient than Ashlinn thought she might be. Her train of thought abruptly derailed like a locomotive hitting a wall as she heard their captains cringe worthy and vocal announcement. Her ears shifted subtly as she found herself standing there getting a feel for the ship at the moment it moved. Then she grinned, towards Mirage and Ghost, "I like her - " she trailed off for a second, remembering that femininity was highly prized, "The captain is female, yes? Or a very, very pretty male..." and once again, one likely had to wonder: Why in the ever after was she here? Certainly not for diplomatic reasons.

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 3, Iron Chruch

In response to Ashlinn's comment regarding the Captain of the Val'ta, Mirage simply rolled her shoulders and responded somewhat whimsically, "We just don't know really." Pausing as she laughed softly, Mirage elaborated, "The Captain has been trading them-self back and forth with Kaserine for so long that their reputation for being an ever changing enigma was known to many before they were picked to serve under their command." Fully intending to keep quiet at that point Mirage lapsed into thoughtful silence.

Taking a moment to look around again, Mirage noted that most hadn't bothered to alter their routine even with the Val'ta setting off on her maiden voyage. A few however based on fragments of conversation, had gone to the few observation points around the vessel to peer out at the abyss as they travelled. Not that there would be much to see during the FTL jump from what Mirage understood, though she supposed that they'd have the best seats when they finally came into proximity with Tange, and their first objective.

LSDF Val'ta, Deck Six, En Route to Observation

Aran'ya's mood seemed to change markedly when he asked her what was her type of man, her still slightly faceted eyes that seemed to shift from the annoyed yellows now suddenly flooding with cooler blue tones like a mood ring. Recollections of her research project's doomed love affair with Tian'Vir and more recent life or death encounters alongside of Marzhaz Keib played through her head like a familiar dark romance movie, chasing a forbidden fruit that was out of her caste in society. It was easy for a second to forget who was even asking her this deep question. "I like a man who uses the head on top of his neck, rather than the one ruled by his stones for one. Someone romantic and gentle when it counts, a good conversationalist..." Widow spoke with a lesser irritated tone than Akemi would have expected, as the pleasurable memories blunted some of the biting sarcasm. It was obvious to him she was describing a New Turlistan man, surely.

But she soon surged back as she looked the Nekovalkyrja up and down with a smirk. "Now you... you're about as subtle as a giant cargo hauler. Throwing yourself at people with your cavalier, gigalo attitude. It makes all those rumors I heard about Neko's sexual escapades look like milque-toast dinner conversations..."

It was about this point that Akemi started going on about her body and the L'manel did hesitate in her scathing reply a moment. Thinking about it, he was actually the first person she could recall in a long time that didn't seem put off about some of her unique attributes -- namely her body hair. A lot of Lorath who didn't delve into her rarer animal aspect tended to make harsh, surface judgements about such a thing. But was he actually complimenting her, or just that desperate to get into her pants to gloss over it so? Of course, when he suddenly mentioned 'bearing his children' the sheer hubris knocked Aran'ya back to her senses as she subtly seethed. "Ugh... I don't think the world is ready to handle more of you, Akemi. Goddess, help me! We're not even biologically compatible... let alone romantically so."

As the announcement came over the loudspeaker with Porrim's Nepleslian colloquialism again, the Medic surprisingly enough took the male Neko's hand and began to hurry forward. "At least we can agree on one thing -- this is a trip we both volunteered for and want to enjoy. So let's focus on something other than your libido for a moment, hmm? The Val'ta is finally launching, so let's get a seat at the bar before they are all gone and I have to take my station at medical."

LSDF Val'ta, Deck Six, En Route to Observation

"Sure, sure," Akemi replied very agreeably. "I'm just having fun treating this like one of my Yamataian cartoons. It's pretty good so far when I take into account that there haven't been any commercials. Care to tell me more about you and your friends? Got anything in particular you like ordering at a Lorath bar?" The Neko was really enjoying being led by the hand and naturally sped up to accommodate Aran'ya. A thought suddenly crossed his mind. There was something he could do to have even more fun considering he had gotten away with kissing her twice and being so rude. He abruptly stopped and yanked his hand free to try to scoop up Aran'ya in his arms so he could fly them both over to the bar and make optimal time. He was already seen as ridiculous so why not go the whole nine yards? His luck had yet to run out so why not keep pushing it?

Deck 9, Primary Science

Within a few minutes, Dr. Kalopsia had tended to her mess and made her way to the ship with places to be and things to do, also having changed into the aforementioned turtleneck with her labcoat, skirt and tights deciding against the uniform: she was a contractor, not an enlistee afterall. She stared at her watch, a chunky device with a segmented strap with a circular face of the sort usually made of metal but this time a rubberish stuff with sharp metal like edges and a cloudy clearness like tainted ruby: a dark blue gleaming circular face dripping with status updates of the ship.

She soon fathomed that Deck 3 would be where most of the drama onboard ship took place, spotting Akemi through a doorway arguing with another l'manel before proceeding onward to one of her many possible stations: It would be good to know the staff she was working with and whatever dare claim themselves to be a doctor onboard this ship other than herself. And with that, Aiesu slid into Deck 3, Primary Medical, collecting a cup of coffee in the break room, letting it warm her hands as she marched her way alone through the bleach white room and bright lights: running a finger along one of the examination beds, testing for dust between her thumb before leaning against it and taking a slow drink, nails scratching at her thigh just above the knee at an itch that wouldn't disappear. The only evidence of the possible cause to most of the crew was a panel-line like seam of the same height on each thigh, their true purpose none of your damn business.

LSDF Val'ta, GYM

Ghost tugged at her hand-wraps, unbinding and rebinding the brace around her wrists.

“I think she’s female,” the pale Helashio stated.

Her tail swished, once, as she contemplated the two of them. The Fyuunen, and the Nekovalkyrja. She opened her mouth to state the obvious, but closed it and nursed the urge to burst into activity with consolatory apologies and self-promises. Discipline. No fighting. No more fighting. As the ship entered FTL, she glanced to the bulkhead where a few had gathered to watch, and then back. Not the sort of people to be impressed by that, her companions. And, Elm didn't want to think too deeply about the words 'unknown frontier'.

There was one good distraction.

“Why don’t you two spar?” she asked. “Mirage, you look like a tank probably feels.”

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 3, Iron Church

Ashlinn's eyes slowly trailed towards the bulkhead where others had gathered, much the same way Ghost had glanced there. After a few seconds she'd stretch out and roll her shoulders fully as she relaxed. No she didn't need be rigid and unbending here. She actually doubted anyone here would be so strict, likely the infantry section may, or not. It had been a long time since she'd been aboard ship, she'd forgotten what ship culture was like. Something caught her attention, Sparring? Her ears twitched as she looked towards Mirage and was instantly sizing her up. It wasn't something she could turn off really, A famous instructor for soldiers had stated once upon a time in the far distant past 'Always have a plan to kill everyone, and then, have a backup plan just in case.' She was actually drawing blanks because she didn't know much about Fyunnen. She hadn't gotten that far. Her lips drew into a line, she didn't want to cause hurt feelings between someone she was starting to think of as a friend, "That could be enlightening, And perhaps..." She trailed off as she struck a landmine of thoguht. And beamed, "I should perhaps state that this is my first shipboard posting and I've only recently finished training. I think the Neps would call it 'still wet behind the ears' ? Sparring could be a good way for me o learn what not to do?" She paused as a thought struck her again, Did... that make sense? I hope it made sense.

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 3, Iron Church

The gym was more than just a little amusing to Ny'za, all the new equipment, some of which even she had not seen before. But what really caught her attention was the exchange that was going on between a Helashio and a Neko. It was not the male Neko so the desire to see them injured was not as present, but she still was not elated to see another Neko.

Her eyes focused on the fight, her pupils dilating and narrowing. She studied every move they made, calculating, measuring everything she could. The gif’elm on her shoulder was much the same, it’s eyes locked on the Neko.

It was hard to tell what Ny’za was thinking until she pursed her lips in a smile. It was fairly obvious she could not match the kicks in power on her own, but with her aspection on her shoulder and it known for its cunning and tactics it was clear to see that she was confident in her ability to overcome such power.

Her concentration was broken however at the more than a little energetic announcement by the captain. The massive ship began to move as it finally departed on it’s maiden voyage. Now that she was back to her senses though she turned to J’ann. “You said you do a lot of dancing? Will you be doing that here while on the ship?”

LSDF Val'ta, Enroute to Deck 3

Ix'ion had stopped by the armory and secured his gear but opted to keep his sword on his person, slung over his back. Despite having no expectation to use it, carrying his blade with him afforded him a bit of comfort. Everyone seemed so eager to do something or in some cases... someone. Perhaps he could have stuck around the much taller Fyunnen pilot and her chosen smaller companions, or he could have kept a closer eye on the male neko that seemed eager to be maimed and/or killed and held no qualms about the amount of ire they drew from most everyone around them. He had been content to taking in the sights of the ship and doing things on his own. Soon he would be needed, soon he would click right into whichever place was meant to be his and when the time came, he'd be right there ready and waiting.

Hearing the Captain and feeling the ship embark gave way to a simple smile, one that took pride in the beginnings of their journey... their extended mission. A little celebration was in order, a bit of indulgence perhaps as well. Ix'ion thought to make his way to the bar and enjoy a few refreshments, perhaps even a bit of conversation. He could stand to loosen up just a touch.

Aran'ya gave a puzzled look back at Akemi as he went on about animated features he worked on. "First I thought you were shooting some lewd amateur movie, now I'm in a bloody cartoon script?" She sighed exasperatedly as a little bit of a pointy fang protruded from her mouth. Maybe she really wasn't all that far off from a caricature in a way. "You're just lucky that I have a thick enough skin to tolerate you this long. Coming from the LSDF Akahar, I've seen some crazy shit," Widow responded with a more crass tone when thinking about that unpleasant time. "My old shipmates the little bit engineer Jiji and the animal lover Ny'za sure ran away from you in a hurry, though. 'course, not as fast as we all ran away from the Beast to the escape pods."

The traumatic experiences of three years ago bobbed up to the surface of the L'manel's mind, and suddenly the idea of a good sedative drink to drown them down into the depths again sounded like a smart idea. The biochemist in her came to the fore: "You ever try a real Lorath wine? The fruity flavors mask the fact they have the ethanol content of the strongest Nepleslian whiskeys. Not to mention all the other possibilities. Sedatives... stimulants... mood-elevating and hallucinogenic effects..." The spider-aspect then added a footnote in an almost whispered tone, hoping to de-emphasize the final type as much as possible, "...aphrodesiacs.."

Aran'ya wasn't sure if it was her explanation that involved something sexual that triggered a sudden change in the Nekovalkyrja's movements, which were already speeding up to match hers. But suddenly Akemi stopped dead in his tracks as they neared their objective, and the unexpected shift in momentum sent the Lorath woman careening backwards for a crucial second or two before she could recover. It was just enough time for the undaunted suitor to scoop Widow into his arms and sail forward with his inertial mastery like some cartoon superhero with the damsel in distress. Vestigal black wings stretched out a bit instinctively as the air rushed by the duo, as the pointy-eared object of his affections felt his hands suddenly getting dangerously close to her rear end, Aran'ya's pale face lighting up with a blush again and promptly screaming in his shapely cat ear. "Akemi, what in Goddess name are you doing...! I don't think this was what the Captain meant!!"

Dr. Kalopsia continued to monitor her watch, now large round and disc-like having morphed in her fingertips to a pocket-watch with the cup of coffee in the other hand. Occasionally the data-strips picked up specifics of movement and location, taking particular note of the evolving spar, clicking her teeth as she ran through the medical file of both involved through her mind. The mismatch of odd specifics and the capacity for violence made her frown, eyeing the door with a sort of inevitable feeling that her good natured laziness was with a high probability, soon to come to an end.

"First patient, huh?"

LSDF Val'ta, Deck Six, En Route to Observation

Not taking the ear assault kindly, Akemi stared at his passenger with an indifferent expression and waited for her mouth to close before darting to try to give her yet another peck on the lips in retaliation. Seemingly in no time at all they were at their destination. The Neko expertly came to a stop right at the threshold of the establishment to make sure he'd create a spectacle and get plenty of eyes on them. Then he gently stood up his substantially taller captive which he had been awkwardly cradling a moment ago. "You've all got these cute little wings, surely you've thought about wanting to fly right? Plus we got here faster. That'll be 3 stones and 2 pebbles." The Neko held out his palm hoping it wouldn't be spat on.

LSDF Val'ta, Deck 3, Iron Church

Mirage sighed. It was a weary sound, not right coming from someone so young, however she truly felt the exhaustion. After all how many times had she been asked to fight for the sake of fighting? Too many saw the towering Fyunnen as a prime target to earn themselves some prestige. Her golden eyes settled on the Nekovalkyrja, studying the small woman for a time before she rolled her shoulders and spoke, "Just this once I suppose. It would be rude to deny someone in the quest for self improvement."

Unbuttoning her shirt Mirage shrugged out of of the top half of her uniform before rolling her shoulders, feeling the muscles work and loosen after being idle for too long. It became quickly apparent that Mirage's physique was in no way enhanced by her uniform. With the grey fabric moved aside the full extent of her musculature could be observed, rippling muscle obvious beneath her tattooed and scarred skin even as she casually moved to ready herself. After stretching her wings Mirage turned her full attention to Ashlinn, "Whenever you're ready."