A
ArsenicJohn
Osman City Landing Field
Standing next to her ship, Aashi kicked at the dirt on the ground the Vekimen had dug up and poorly put back in place, then buried the dirt down with the heel of her thigh-high boot before looking up and smiling at the first to arrive for the trip to go get Corgan Garret's supplies.
"Oh, hello," she said smoothly to them, almost extending a hand but thinking better of it and kept both of them planted on her hips.
Corgan walked up to the ship slowly, looking at the dirt curiously. He had somehow missed the arrival of the new aliens, so he had no idea why the ground looked different. His attention quickly shifted to Aashi, or maybe just her hips. "Hello. Don't think we've properly met. I'm Corgan Garret." He said as he held out a hand to her.
Aashi took his hand into hers, the pale blue lines on her hand intersecting with the soft white of his, saying, "Very nice to meet you, Mr. Garret, or is Corgan preferred?"
"Maybe I will have a title soon. Corgan is fine until then. Hopefully, we'll become friends." He replied and shook her hand.
A small cloud of dust could be seen closing upon Aashi's ship, with Sammy the I'ee at its helm, scurrying as fast as he could on all six legs. The ambassador had a smile displayed on his LED mask, and a ridiculously large, wide-brimmed hat sitting on his head, flopping in the wind. "Miss! Miss! Sir! Miss!", the I'ee squeaked tirelessly as he closed in on them, skidding to a halt with his wings flapping. "Are you going into space? Where are you heading? Are you going to Nepleslia?!" Sammy seemed almost inordinately excited about the prospect of traveling to Nepleslia, hopping from one foot to the other as he stood to his full height.
"We're going into space, alright," Aashi said, giddy from this chance encounter with the type of creature she had only seen in passing before. "You want to come, don't you?"
"WOO! LETS GET GOING!" Uso shouted, walking past the group and onto the ship, wearing a boonie hat and aviators along with a pink and black tank top/workout shorts combination that was showing off the radiator fins along the exterior of her arms and legs.
Corgan looked at Uso and Sammy, then down at his own outfit, the usual brown duster, red shirt and camo combat pants. "I didn't know we were dressing for a vacation."
Aashi followed suit behind Uso before turning to hold her hand on the metal of the hatch, saying, "Everyone, this is The Pumpkin Eater. Pumpkin Eater, everyone." She then turned and walked down the hallway.
"Well, we're going to meet your mom! I'm super excited for it!" Uso said, already halfway in the ship.
Aashi simply smiled and shook her head, looking at Uso with admittedly small laugh lines spreading.
Sammy seemed to find Uso's disposition quite infectious, letting out an excited squeal as the neko strode by. "We can go to space!", he echoed Aashi's words, hopping up and down like an excited child. At the introduction of the ship's name, Sammy seemed a little baffled; still unused to the concept of naming a vehicle. "Hello... Mr. Pumpkin... Eater...?", he squeaked, glancing around to find the person he was talking to as he boarded the vessel.
Aashi knocked her knuckles against the hall surreptitiously before saying, "She says 'hi' right back to you," then added, "I didn't catch your name, or your species, for that matter."
The Nepleslian followed them onto the ship with a grin. The I'ee were becoming one of his favorite things about this planet. "Sammy's very excitable. He's the first I'ee that I met. I was pretty terrified of him at first if you can believe it." He said with a chuckle.
"Sammy, huh?" Aashi said. "I like Sammy's enthusiasm, already. Are you I'ee are all like this?"
"Um, my family is!", Sammy answered, removing his oversized hat from his head and clutching it against his thorax. "We like aliens!"
"I like aliens, too, Sammy the I'ee. I find it hard not to. Uso, already in the bridge, huh?" Aashi asked as she went through the double doors and sat in the plush green chair to the left of Uso to pilot.
Uso would point towards space as she leaned back in her chair, "ENGAGE!"
"Ah, alright," Aashi chuckled lightly as she turned systems on and got things up and running.
Corgan walked into the bridge. "Uh, I have to warn you, I don't do well in space sometimes. If there's no gravity I get sick." He looked for a seat and jumped in it.
"Bullshit, you were great as Head Ambassador to the I'ee, you were in space the entire time" Uso quipped.
Following the others into the bridge, Sammy was again struck by Uso's enthusiasm, squeaking happily and hopping up onto the Neko's lap without a thought. "Engaaaaage!", he echoed, his mask displaying an open-mouthed grin as a surprised Uso grabbed onto his midsection to steady him.
Gravitation engines on, Aashi moved the spacecraft off of the ground and into the air. She turned thrusters on, almost overriding near maximum until thinking better of it. She maneuvered them up into the atmosphere and at about 7,000 m with atmothrusters, then turned those off in exchange for hydrothrusters to kick in and get them going. They reached the peak of where they were going to get before beginning to burst past the hill of 188604. Using the turbo plasma drive once in the system and out of the planet's pull, Aashi had the Pumpkin Eater cruising steadily for an odd number of minutes, perhaps more than forty or fifty, before it was possible to get them to FTL speeds and heading towards their destination, flying close to Neplesia's hill sphere and thus, into it.
As the Pumpkin Eater left the planet, a familiar message popped up from the I'ee Treasury Vessel in orbit: "Have a safe journey." It was the same message that was broadcast to every ship leaving the planet; the Ee'ith on board needed some way to occupy themselves, after all. Sammy, meanwhile, took Uso's grasp as permission to give her a hug, which he did so; reaching up with a clawed limb to place his large hat upon her head, letting out a cheeky, snorting laugh in the process.
Corgan looked at Uso and laughed. She looked pretty silly with a wasp on her lap and a huge hat.
After minutes almost exceeding an hour Aashi felt they were close enough to get out of FTL, talked through comms to get clearance, and brought them close enough to atmosphere to get thrusters down, inertial dampers up, and their craft, The Pumpkin Eater, onto the planet.
"Is everyone getting off or is it just me?" Aashi asked after systems were off and she was getting up.
"We should all go. Sammy's probably never been here, and Uso apparently wants to visit my mother's brothel. Maybe we can go out to eat too, show Sammy some real food." Corgan said. He stood up and stretched slowly.
"I want to visit your mother, seeing the brothel is just a fun added bonus!" Uso said, getting up and following Aashi, holding Sammy against her chest and taking the bug along with them, turning him around so he could get a better look at the approaching Nepleslian outdoors.
Sammy clung onto Uso, peering at the outside world with great interest. "Is this Nepleslia?", he asked with awe, an open-mouthed expression of surprise on his LED mask.
"So," Aashi said, swinging her feet forward as she walked, her violet dress whipping in front of her as almost all of the top of her legs protruded from it, "we're going to a brothel, hmmm? I'm not surprised, Uso."
Nepleslia
"What? I never pay for it." Uso said, holding Sammy up a bit as they reach the exit of the Pumpkin Eater, "... THIS IS IT SAMMY! NEPLESLIA!" From where they were parked, they could see the seemingly endless flat, concrete landing field for ships as well as the horizon spanning mass of brown buildings.
Corgan was right behind Uso and Sammy. "Yep, this is Nepleslia. I haven't been back here since I joined Ragnarok. Hopefully, they stopped looking for me. If not we might have law enforcement to deal with." He said with an obvious lack of concern.
"Oooh! Nepleslia!", Sammy squeaked with awe, glancing around at the cityscape with curiosity before tilting his head. "What will we be doing here, Miss Uso?"
"Corgi's introducing us to his mom! Apparently our relationship is getting serious." Uso said.
"So Uso, where are we going to pick up the salvage?" Corgan asked. "Let's go get something to eat on the way. I don't know what's good around here, I'm used to the uh.. bad side of town, you might say."
"Well, I'm not sure there is a good side of town around here," Uso said, walking out of the ship and heading towards a waiting car, "I mean, we gotta stop by that junkyard to get your stuff right? There's a Neppies right nearby... though I suppose I'm a corporate sponsor of Akemi's nowadays so I have to plug their burgers.... not sure where they are."
He looked at her strangely on the way to the car. "Akemi's? Never been there before. Let's go! When did this happen anyway? I miss out on all the interesting deals."
"His mother?", Sammy asked with awe, and a bit of concern. "Why? Is it safe?"
"I Mean, as safe as Nepleslia can be, the whole planet is kinda a crapshoot." Uso replied.
Corgan nodded. "She's not lying. If a day goes by without at least five murders I would think I was on another planet. And I'm being generous by saying five"
"Sounds like a good place to be," Aashi chimed in, then in a softer, more muted and almost unhearable volume, she said, "Mmmm, burgers..." then, louder, said, "Those do sound nice."
"Oh. I hope she is safe...", Sammy mused sadly, a concerned frown on his mask. "Do five people really die here each day?" The I'ee ambassador continued glancing around, though now it was out of a perceived duty to watch for danger and ensure the safety of his friends.
"Don't worry Sammy, I grew up here. If we mind our own business no one will bother us. Unless someone from the gang I was in recognizes me, then we might be in trouble." Corgan replied. "Uso's with us anyway, no one's likely to attack a Nekovalkyrja. No one's that stupid."
"Uh, Hat!" Uso said, holding Sammy with one hand while pointing to her head with the other. The hat did cover her ears completely, "Far as anyone knows I'm just some green-haired... Wait... I completely forgot about my radiators.... Ok, so they'll totally know I'm a neko if they look too close. I'll pick up another hoodie next clothing store I see."
Aashi smiled, knowing no problems with Uso's appearance as she eyed Uso's radiators and thighs before handing over her long, draping jacket, she said, "It's fireproof and to some degree, shock proof, too, so don't be afraid to have fun with it."
Sammy seemed to relax a little at Corgan's reassurances, clinging lazily onto Uso with his arms while poking her cheek idly with an antenna. "Ok, Mister. If you say so.", he said to Corgan.
Corgan turned to Sammy. "Please, call me Corgan. We're friends aren't we?"
Uso would lift Sammy up a bit so he could respond, thanking Aashi with a slight nod.
"Ok, Mister Corgan!", Sammy replied, a happy smile displayed on his mask.
Corgan sighed and shook his head. He realized he would just have to get used to being called Mister. "Thanks, Sammy." He said, sounding slightly frustrated.
"You're all a very quaint," Aashi said, then rephrased, "cute team. Is this where we're going to eat?" Aashi asked, seeing the telltale signs for burgers surrounding the establishment's exterior.
"Does Corgan's Mom's place serve food?" Uso asked.
"All that I know is that Corgan's mom serves everybody," Aashi said, unable to hold her tongue as a sly smile spread across her lips. "Or am I wrong, Corgan?"
Clinging on tighter to Uso, the little I'ee listened to the conversation, buzzing his wings at the mention of food.
For a second it looked as if he was mad, but Corgan just laughed. "Yeah I guess you're right. But no, I don't think they serve food. Uso, where's this Akemi's at? Do we need to take a taxi?" He asked curiously.
"Yeah, probably," Uso looked over at Aashi, tilting her head, "Aaassssshiiiii.... my hands are kinda full...."
Aashi hailed a cab for the lot of them and a few hours later they were sitting inside of a restaurant fit for a motley group such as themselves. Steam rose from the grills and waiters bounced around and out of sight as soon as they had taken their orders.
"I have to ask, what is it you need picking up, Corgan?" Aashi asked. "I should know by know, and naivete is never knowledge worth having."
"I'm planning on starting Ragnarok's first division of mechanized infantry. So, I spent my paycheck on a deal for two cargo holds full of random salvage from the Second Chance Salvage Company. One was guaranteed to be vehicle parts and related items. I just got the other one for the hell of it." Corgan answered with a shrug at the end.
Having already consumed his many servings of new and exciting fruit juices, and nibbled on a bit of offered meat, Sammy had promptly dozed off into a cozy nap. He snuggled up into Uso's lap, squeaking sleepily with a closed-eye face depicted on his mask.
"So we're here to pick up my new mechanized infantry division gear.... well, 'OUR'." Uso added, a half eaten burger infront of her as she gently held Sammy against her, "Then we get to put a bunch of guns on a bunch of trucks. It'll be fun!"
Aashi nodded after finishing off her burger, then said, "It will be."
Corgan nodded. "Yes, I'm hoping to get some sort of massive truck with saw blades mounted on the sides like I saw on the front of a tank once. Anyway enough about me. What brings a sexy Iroma out to the mudball we call 188604? I know Uso needed more pilots, but you seem.. different than the other pilots." He asked in an attempt to start a conversation.
"Different, hmmm?" Aashi said reflectively. "I would say I am. I heard about Uso while putting my feelers out in the criminal underworld. She's more well known among Nepleslian criminals than I am and, thus, you see me here. I'm less sexy that you should go presuming, trust me on that."
He raised an eyebrow. "The criminal underworld? I guess we have something in common, then. I did mention I was in a gang? Well, I mainly used to... acquire items for the gang. I don't mean to brag but I can pick almost any lock. Surprisingly Uso hasn't required me to steal anything yet." He said with disappointment. "I expected to be putting my skills to better use."
Corgan picked up his burger and took an ID-SOL sized bite, chewing it slowly. "Mmm. Feels like I haven't had a real burger in a year." He said after swallowing.
"We'll steal," Aashi said, putting a hand near him on the table, "tons of stuff together, Corgan. Just you wait."
His eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. "I think we'll be good friends. I'm not exactly experienced with having friends of the opposite gender... But I am starting to see the benefit of having them." Corgan quickly finished his burger and tried to suppress a belch. It didn't work. "Uh, excuse me.." He said, feeling his cheeks turn red.
Aashi's smile was inexplicably at once down and both turned upwards with a look of faux disgust. She then took a fry off her plate and put it into her mouth, then another, and took a long drink, letting the carbonation coat her throat, before trying to do her own form of a burp. A tiny popping sound came out of the woman's mouth as she opened it wide and she sat back in her chair, half-smiling.
"How was that?" Aashi asked.
He blinked, staring at her in confusion until he realized what the popping sound was. It was somewhere between cute and hysterical. He managed not to laugh out of fear she would be insulted. "That's not bad for a deer," Corgan said with a grin.
"Thank you," Aashi said with a sweeping of her arm.
"So we've still got some time to kill...." Uso said, grabbing a fry and dipping it in what was left of her milkshake, "You going to take us to meet mommy? I've been dying to tell her about her son's appointment to head-royal-ambassador."
Corgan sighed. He didn't really look forward to having Uso meet his mother. Aashi he didn't really mind, but he didn't really know her very well. It was Arccos that he wouldn't mind having around. The way things were she might mistake Uso for his girlfriend or something. "Fine, we can go now. It's a classy place, not really what you'd expect for that sort of establishment.."
He finished his burger and gulped down his Speed. "Let's go, then. She should be expecting us."
The strange group walked outside and this time, Corgan hailed a cab. The driver was a species he had never even seen before, some kind of alien that resembled a hairless cat. "Take us to Madam Claire's Secret Chamber." Corgan said as everyone filed into the car.
Standing next to her ship, Aashi kicked at the dirt on the ground the Vekimen had dug up and poorly put back in place, then buried the dirt down with the heel of her thigh-high boot before looking up and smiling at the first to arrive for the trip to go get Corgan Garret's supplies.
"Oh, hello," she said smoothly to them, almost extending a hand but thinking better of it and kept both of them planted on her hips.
Corgan walked up to the ship slowly, looking at the dirt curiously. He had somehow missed the arrival of the new aliens, so he had no idea why the ground looked different. His attention quickly shifted to Aashi, or maybe just her hips. "Hello. Don't think we've properly met. I'm Corgan Garret." He said as he held out a hand to her.
Aashi took his hand into hers, the pale blue lines on her hand intersecting with the soft white of his, saying, "Very nice to meet you, Mr. Garret, or is Corgan preferred?"
"Maybe I will have a title soon. Corgan is fine until then. Hopefully, we'll become friends." He replied and shook her hand.
A small cloud of dust could be seen closing upon Aashi's ship, with Sammy the I'ee at its helm, scurrying as fast as he could on all six legs. The ambassador had a smile displayed on his LED mask, and a ridiculously large, wide-brimmed hat sitting on his head, flopping in the wind. "Miss! Miss! Sir! Miss!", the I'ee squeaked tirelessly as he closed in on them, skidding to a halt with his wings flapping. "Are you going into space? Where are you heading? Are you going to Nepleslia?!" Sammy seemed almost inordinately excited about the prospect of traveling to Nepleslia, hopping from one foot to the other as he stood to his full height.
"We're going into space, alright," Aashi said, giddy from this chance encounter with the type of creature she had only seen in passing before. "You want to come, don't you?"
"WOO! LETS GET GOING!" Uso shouted, walking past the group and onto the ship, wearing a boonie hat and aviators along with a pink and black tank top/workout shorts combination that was showing off the radiator fins along the exterior of her arms and legs.
Corgan looked at Uso and Sammy, then down at his own outfit, the usual brown duster, red shirt and camo combat pants. "I didn't know we were dressing for a vacation."
Aashi followed suit behind Uso before turning to hold her hand on the metal of the hatch, saying, "Everyone, this is The Pumpkin Eater. Pumpkin Eater, everyone." She then turned and walked down the hallway.
"Well, we're going to meet your mom! I'm super excited for it!" Uso said, already halfway in the ship.
Aashi simply smiled and shook her head, looking at Uso with admittedly small laugh lines spreading.
Sammy seemed to find Uso's disposition quite infectious, letting out an excited squeal as the neko strode by. "We can go to space!", he echoed Aashi's words, hopping up and down like an excited child. At the introduction of the ship's name, Sammy seemed a little baffled; still unused to the concept of naming a vehicle. "Hello... Mr. Pumpkin... Eater...?", he squeaked, glancing around to find the person he was talking to as he boarded the vessel.
Aashi knocked her knuckles against the hall surreptitiously before saying, "She says 'hi' right back to you," then added, "I didn't catch your name, or your species, for that matter."
The Nepleslian followed them onto the ship with a grin. The I'ee were becoming one of his favorite things about this planet. "Sammy's very excitable. He's the first I'ee that I met. I was pretty terrified of him at first if you can believe it." He said with a chuckle.
"Sammy, huh?" Aashi said. "I like Sammy's enthusiasm, already. Are you I'ee are all like this?"
"Um, my family is!", Sammy answered, removing his oversized hat from his head and clutching it against his thorax. "We like aliens!"
"I like aliens, too, Sammy the I'ee. I find it hard not to. Uso, already in the bridge, huh?" Aashi asked as she went through the double doors and sat in the plush green chair to the left of Uso to pilot.
Uso would point towards space as she leaned back in her chair, "ENGAGE!"
"Ah, alright," Aashi chuckled lightly as she turned systems on and got things up and running.
Corgan walked into the bridge. "Uh, I have to warn you, I don't do well in space sometimes. If there's no gravity I get sick." He looked for a seat and jumped in it.
"Bullshit, you were great as Head Ambassador to the I'ee, you were in space the entire time" Uso quipped.
Following the others into the bridge, Sammy was again struck by Uso's enthusiasm, squeaking happily and hopping up onto the Neko's lap without a thought. "Engaaaaage!", he echoed, his mask displaying an open-mouthed grin as a surprised Uso grabbed onto his midsection to steady him.
Gravitation engines on, Aashi moved the spacecraft off of the ground and into the air. She turned thrusters on, almost overriding near maximum until thinking better of it. She maneuvered them up into the atmosphere and at about 7,000 m with atmothrusters, then turned those off in exchange for hydrothrusters to kick in and get them going. They reached the peak of where they were going to get before beginning to burst past the hill of 188604. Using the turbo plasma drive once in the system and out of the planet's pull, Aashi had the Pumpkin Eater cruising steadily for an odd number of minutes, perhaps more than forty or fifty, before it was possible to get them to FTL speeds and heading towards their destination, flying close to Neplesia's hill sphere and thus, into it.
As the Pumpkin Eater left the planet, a familiar message popped up from the I'ee Treasury Vessel in orbit: "Have a safe journey." It was the same message that was broadcast to every ship leaving the planet; the Ee'ith on board needed some way to occupy themselves, after all. Sammy, meanwhile, took Uso's grasp as permission to give her a hug, which he did so; reaching up with a clawed limb to place his large hat upon her head, letting out a cheeky, snorting laugh in the process.
Corgan looked at Uso and laughed. She looked pretty silly with a wasp on her lap and a huge hat.
After minutes almost exceeding an hour Aashi felt they were close enough to get out of FTL, talked through comms to get clearance, and brought them close enough to atmosphere to get thrusters down, inertial dampers up, and their craft, The Pumpkin Eater, onto the planet.
"Is everyone getting off or is it just me?" Aashi asked after systems were off and she was getting up.
"We should all go. Sammy's probably never been here, and Uso apparently wants to visit my mother's brothel. Maybe we can go out to eat too, show Sammy some real food." Corgan said. He stood up and stretched slowly.
"I want to visit your mother, seeing the brothel is just a fun added bonus!" Uso said, getting up and following Aashi, holding Sammy against her chest and taking the bug along with them, turning him around so he could get a better look at the approaching Nepleslian outdoors.
Sammy clung onto Uso, peering at the outside world with great interest. "Is this Nepleslia?", he asked with awe, an open-mouthed expression of surprise on his LED mask.
"So," Aashi said, swinging her feet forward as she walked, her violet dress whipping in front of her as almost all of the top of her legs protruded from it, "we're going to a brothel, hmmm? I'm not surprised, Uso."
Nepleslia
"What? I never pay for it." Uso said, holding Sammy up a bit as they reach the exit of the Pumpkin Eater, "... THIS IS IT SAMMY! NEPLESLIA!" From where they were parked, they could see the seemingly endless flat, concrete landing field for ships as well as the horizon spanning mass of brown buildings.
Corgan was right behind Uso and Sammy. "Yep, this is Nepleslia. I haven't been back here since I joined Ragnarok. Hopefully, they stopped looking for me. If not we might have law enforcement to deal with." He said with an obvious lack of concern.
"Oooh! Nepleslia!", Sammy squeaked with awe, glancing around at the cityscape with curiosity before tilting his head. "What will we be doing here, Miss Uso?"
"Corgi's introducing us to his mom! Apparently our relationship is getting serious." Uso said.
"So Uso, where are we going to pick up the salvage?" Corgan asked. "Let's go get something to eat on the way. I don't know what's good around here, I'm used to the uh.. bad side of town, you might say."
"Well, I'm not sure there is a good side of town around here," Uso said, walking out of the ship and heading towards a waiting car, "I mean, we gotta stop by that junkyard to get your stuff right? There's a Neppies right nearby... though I suppose I'm a corporate sponsor of Akemi's nowadays so I have to plug their burgers.... not sure where they are."
He looked at her strangely on the way to the car. "Akemi's? Never been there before. Let's go! When did this happen anyway? I miss out on all the interesting deals."
"His mother?", Sammy asked with awe, and a bit of concern. "Why? Is it safe?"
"I Mean, as safe as Nepleslia can be, the whole planet is kinda a crapshoot." Uso replied.
Corgan nodded. "She's not lying. If a day goes by without at least five murders I would think I was on another planet. And I'm being generous by saying five"
"Sounds like a good place to be," Aashi chimed in, then in a softer, more muted and almost unhearable volume, she said, "Mmmm, burgers..." then, louder, said, "Those do sound nice."
"Oh. I hope she is safe...", Sammy mused sadly, a concerned frown on his mask. "Do five people really die here each day?" The I'ee ambassador continued glancing around, though now it was out of a perceived duty to watch for danger and ensure the safety of his friends.
"Don't worry Sammy, I grew up here. If we mind our own business no one will bother us. Unless someone from the gang I was in recognizes me, then we might be in trouble." Corgan replied. "Uso's with us anyway, no one's likely to attack a Nekovalkyrja. No one's that stupid."
"Uh, Hat!" Uso said, holding Sammy with one hand while pointing to her head with the other. The hat did cover her ears completely, "Far as anyone knows I'm just some green-haired... Wait... I completely forgot about my radiators.... Ok, so they'll totally know I'm a neko if they look too close. I'll pick up another hoodie next clothing store I see."
Aashi smiled, knowing no problems with Uso's appearance as she eyed Uso's radiators and thighs before handing over her long, draping jacket, she said, "It's fireproof and to some degree, shock proof, too, so don't be afraid to have fun with it."
Sammy seemed to relax a little at Corgan's reassurances, clinging lazily onto Uso with his arms while poking her cheek idly with an antenna. "Ok, Mister. If you say so.", he said to Corgan.
Corgan turned to Sammy. "Please, call me Corgan. We're friends aren't we?"
Uso would lift Sammy up a bit so he could respond, thanking Aashi with a slight nod.
"Ok, Mister Corgan!", Sammy replied, a happy smile displayed on his mask.
Corgan sighed and shook his head. He realized he would just have to get used to being called Mister. "Thanks, Sammy." He said, sounding slightly frustrated.
"You're all a very quaint," Aashi said, then rephrased, "cute team. Is this where we're going to eat?" Aashi asked, seeing the telltale signs for burgers surrounding the establishment's exterior.
"Does Corgan's Mom's place serve food?" Uso asked.
"All that I know is that Corgan's mom serves everybody," Aashi said, unable to hold her tongue as a sly smile spread across her lips. "Or am I wrong, Corgan?"
Clinging on tighter to Uso, the little I'ee listened to the conversation, buzzing his wings at the mention of food.
For a second it looked as if he was mad, but Corgan just laughed. "Yeah I guess you're right. But no, I don't think they serve food. Uso, where's this Akemi's at? Do we need to take a taxi?" He asked curiously.
"Yeah, probably," Uso looked over at Aashi, tilting her head, "Aaassssshiiiii.... my hands are kinda full...."
Aashi hailed a cab for the lot of them and a few hours later they were sitting inside of a restaurant fit for a motley group such as themselves. Steam rose from the grills and waiters bounced around and out of sight as soon as they had taken their orders.
"I have to ask, what is it you need picking up, Corgan?" Aashi asked. "I should know by know, and naivete is never knowledge worth having."
"I'm planning on starting Ragnarok's first division of mechanized infantry. So, I spent my paycheck on a deal for two cargo holds full of random salvage from the Second Chance Salvage Company. One was guaranteed to be vehicle parts and related items. I just got the other one for the hell of it." Corgan answered with a shrug at the end.
Having already consumed his many servings of new and exciting fruit juices, and nibbled on a bit of offered meat, Sammy had promptly dozed off into a cozy nap. He snuggled up into Uso's lap, squeaking sleepily with a closed-eye face depicted on his mask.
"So we're here to pick up my new mechanized infantry division gear.... well, 'OUR'." Uso added, a half eaten burger infront of her as she gently held Sammy against her, "Then we get to put a bunch of guns on a bunch of trucks. It'll be fun!"
Aashi nodded after finishing off her burger, then said, "It will be."
Corgan nodded. "Yes, I'm hoping to get some sort of massive truck with saw blades mounted on the sides like I saw on the front of a tank once. Anyway enough about me. What brings a sexy Iroma out to the mudball we call 188604? I know Uso needed more pilots, but you seem.. different than the other pilots." He asked in an attempt to start a conversation.
"Different, hmmm?" Aashi said reflectively. "I would say I am. I heard about Uso while putting my feelers out in the criminal underworld. She's more well known among Nepleslian criminals than I am and, thus, you see me here. I'm less sexy that you should go presuming, trust me on that."
He raised an eyebrow. "The criminal underworld? I guess we have something in common, then. I did mention I was in a gang? Well, I mainly used to... acquire items for the gang. I don't mean to brag but I can pick almost any lock. Surprisingly Uso hasn't required me to steal anything yet." He said with disappointment. "I expected to be putting my skills to better use."
Corgan picked up his burger and took an ID-SOL sized bite, chewing it slowly. "Mmm. Feels like I haven't had a real burger in a year." He said after swallowing.
"We'll steal," Aashi said, putting a hand near him on the table, "tons of stuff together, Corgan. Just you wait."
His eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. "I think we'll be good friends. I'm not exactly experienced with having friends of the opposite gender... But I am starting to see the benefit of having them." Corgan quickly finished his burger and tried to suppress a belch. It didn't work. "Uh, excuse me.." He said, feeling his cheeks turn red.
Aashi's smile was inexplicably at once down and both turned upwards with a look of faux disgust. She then took a fry off her plate and put it into her mouth, then another, and took a long drink, letting the carbonation coat her throat, before trying to do her own form of a burp. A tiny popping sound came out of the woman's mouth as she opened it wide and she sat back in her chair, half-smiling.
"How was that?" Aashi asked.
He blinked, staring at her in confusion until he realized what the popping sound was. It was somewhere between cute and hysterical. He managed not to laugh out of fear she would be insulted. "That's not bad for a deer," Corgan said with a grin.
"Thank you," Aashi said with a sweeping of her arm.
"So we've still got some time to kill...." Uso said, grabbing a fry and dipping it in what was left of her milkshake, "You going to take us to meet mommy? I've been dying to tell her about her son's appointment to head-royal-ambassador."
Corgan sighed. He didn't really look forward to having Uso meet his mother. Aashi he didn't really mind, but he didn't really know her very well. It was Arccos that he wouldn't mind having around. The way things were she might mistake Uso for his girlfriend or something. "Fine, we can go now. It's a classy place, not really what you'd expect for that sort of establishment.."
He finished his burger and gulped down his Speed. "Let's go, then. She should be expecting us."
The strange group walked outside and this time, Corgan hailed a cab. The driver was a species he had never even seen before, some kind of alien that resembled a hairless cat. "Take us to Madam Claire's Secret Chamber." Corgan said as everyone filed into the car.
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