Sunny D
🌟 Site Supporter
- RP Date
- YE 45.5
- RP Location
- Yamatai
Yamatai
Downtown Kyoto
The din of customer's conversations and their cutlery tinkling against porcelain plates blended with the sounds behind the bar in one of Kyoto's Eastern Warm and Sweet locations. The occasional grind of espresso beans or cubed ice being chunked up in one of the blenders only harmonized with the sounds from the barista's side of the bar. Working there were two Nekovalkyrja, both military models and further trained by SAINT to whom the Yui's Blood Medallion had recently been bestowed.
If any of the customers happened to know this, they might think they were privy to an undercover operation or that something was surely about to go down at this quaint coffeehouse situated amongst haute shops in the Riverside District. But in reality, one of the girls, Erika, was so new to the Star Army that their first pay cycle hadn't gone through. The other, Mineko, just missed parts of her old life and had set up with her old boss to work a weekend at the coffeeshop for a few extra bucks to help line her friend's pocket.
While wearing some of her laceup boots and a pair of ripped denim shorts that hugged close to her muscular legs, Mineko practically floated around the small space she shared with Erika. She was on drink duty for the time being and her fiery flanneled arms speedily moved the metal steamer cups and espresso pucks in a perfectly timed concert. She was a farcry from wearing a duty uniform at a bridge console, staring at intelligence, but it felt good to be moving and out of uniform. Nothing could be left too long or pulled too soon and it was the perfect mindless operation for her sometimes overanalyzing brain to take on. For now Mishhuvurthyar threats and their monstrous faces had no place in her operation.
Mineko took on her part of the order she had just taken from most recent customer to walk in. Though she had the Hanako rum latte and green tea under control, she kept Erika in the corner of her eye to be sure the other SAINT agent had the plating of the coffee cake and banana nut muffin under control.
Erika's eyes swept over the vast array of baked treats, each more tempting than the last, as she tried to locate the specific items her customer had requested. "Coffee cake... and a banana muffin," she mouthed wordlessly. With a pair of gleaming metal tongs, she delicately picked up each treat, placing them with care onto small dishes.
She moved about the counter with the poise her training had beaten into her, though had yet to fully adapt to the dance of the other workers. Her taller stature as a 33A variant was her saving grace, allowing her to carry the pastries above head height of the other baristas, avoiding disaster when they collied with her in an unmarked causeway they had expected to be clear.
She wore a set of black track pants that was covered in colourful geometric shapes towards the ankle cuffs and waste band, her t-shirt matched, with a zipped up front and a hood attached to the back of the neck. Both of which would have been soaked by splashes from macchiatos and chai tea were it not for the beige apron she had on hanging from her neck.
Though the task might seem mundane to an outsider, Erika found it novel compared to her regular service. As she passed the plates across the counter, her eyes lit up, and she gifted the customer with a radiant, sincere smile. The ambient aroma enveloping her was intoxicating – a heady mix of freshly brewed coffee, spicy cinnamon, sweet jam, and warm pastry, all of a much higher quality than she had encountered before.
When she had handed off the plates she turned to Mineko with a slight huff. "Come on, it can't be all that more complicated than the equipment I normally have to operate, and has a lower chance of vaporising me if I get it wrong."
For her part in front of the chrome of the espresso machine, Mineko had found she liked working with Erika off of the battlefield just as much as on it. The operative was quick to stay out of the way when she needed to and take up a work area when appropriate, too. With a deft hand she whisked in the syrup to the caramel-colored coffee she had just pulled. Her eyes were watching Erika as she spoke and off of the pitcher and cup, focused on her coworker instead.
"Are you saying that because you want to start making some drinks?" Mineko asked. "Or are you just reminding me of the simple things in life before the ship's repaired and we go back to avoiding total vaporization on the daily again?"
"I assure you nothing so... multifaceted as that went through my mind." Erika replied with a chuckle before she looked at the coffee machine with sparkling eyes. "I am simply interested in playing with the big shiny machine that makes noises and produces hot fluids with interesting fragrances."
"Well whatever your motives, I'm happy to oblige," Mineko pushed the words out past her laughter. "Well I just pulled this shot and added the infamous Hanako rum syrup to it, but it still needs steamed milk to finish it off." The analyst kept eye contact with Erika and sent the other woman's digital mind all she needed to know to do it: fill a metal pitcher with milk, place it under the frother spigot and bring it up into it while turning the knob on the side of the machine that would start sending hot steam through. Then when to bring up one of the no contact thermometers that could measure the heat of the milk from a distance and to pull it off the spigot before it went over 160 degrees farenheit/ 70 celsius.
It was all shared in a quick look, but Mineko's toothy grin said even more. She was looking forward to both taking a break from the heat and activity surrounding the espresso machine. But even more than that, she was looking forward to see Erika try something new beyond the ease of plating pastries and smiling at customers.
Erika followed the instructions now in the stack of her mind. Her motions, getting the milk and pouring it in the jug were the normal fluid grace she would normally display; however, her actions became awkward as the jug found the steam wand. She had no muscle memory for it, and found herself in want of a third hand, one to hold the jug, another to hold the steam dial and a third to hold the infared probe. Seeing no elegant way around it with only two appendages, she decided to forgo the probe, and rather used the back of her hand to gauge the temperature. She did her best to get the right level of aeration going, but Mineko’s reference memories could only help her so much. She angled to nozzle to get a better consistency, but by the time she thought she had a handle on the process the jug was already close to overflowing. She then poured the milk in the prepared mug, her technique leaving little more than white squiggles on the brown foam surface.
“Please keep in mind that it is my first.” Erika said, presenting the mug for Mineko’s inspection.
"Didn't burn it, so there's a pass in my book. You can let go of the steamer wand if you want to, but you've got a good heat gauge," Mineko said, twisting the spigot probe that Erika had been holding onto. She pulled the teabag from the steeping green tea and brought that and the drink Erika had finished off to the end of the other side of Erika where the drinks were left for the customers. "But the final judgement will not be my own."
"Hanako rum latte and a green tea," Mineko said pleasantly enough to a stranger's ear. Erika could likely pick up on the wariness in her voice as she said it, though. A Minkan walked up with a happy smile and her eyes passed over the tea even though one of her hands gripped it- it was likely for the friend she had come to meet. Instead of focus on the drink that was not hers, her attention and lips went to the rim of the mug that the latte was in and she took a long sip. Mineko's breath caught on her tongue as he hand playfully poked at Erika's apron as if she had to remind the operative to play cose attention now.
With only enough pause to let a smile rise to her lips, the woman took another much longer sip. Without thanks but with that same pleased expression, she left with her mugs and Mineko turned away from her and towards Erika with an excited fistpump into the air.
"Success!" Mineko chimed happily. "Look at that, you're a natural!"
Erika looked at Mineko, her own relief evident in her eyes. “You think?” she responded with a chuckle, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I think I just had a good teacher. Kind of hard to mess up when I’ve got engrammed instructions.” Her cadence became somewhat bashful. “Still a ways to go. I have to learn how to make those hearts in the foam.”
"Speaking of instructions, I'll send you the rest of the drink recipes. But that's all in the wrist." Mineko looked at the cafe doors, wishing a customer with a simple heavy foamed latte order would walk through the doors. It was pretty dead, though, so she said, "Make one for yourself, but pour the milk from a height and get it closer over time while pouring in the center. Then when the foam's risen to the top you shake it ever so slightly then with a lift up at the end, pull it through. Want me to guide your hand?"
Erika tilted her head slightly, her eyebrow arching in curiosity. "Are you suggesting something akin to a hands-on tutorial?" She took a moment, exhaling sharply through her nose while a playful sparkle twinkled in her eyes. Her grin widened, playful and teasing. "I'm game, but be gentle. I'm a delicate flower, after all."
Mineko had already positioned herself to be set up behind Erika's right hand and her blue red eyes were focused on the espresso machine. When she head Erika's question, Mineko looked over at her with a nod, but then when she registered her last and more playful tease, Mineko did a double take. Her expression had been helpful and supportive, like one might use while helping an old person cross the street, but when she caught Erika's grin, one of Mineko's own widened on her face, showing a glimpse of her extra set of canines below her gleeful eyes. She thought of several things to say but bit her tongue and simply expected Erika to slot in between Mineko and the steamer.
"Steam it like before, flower," Mineko said expectantly. She added in an exaggerated mumble, "Don't know about the delicate part if you're taking the temp with your palm, though. Or if you can hold aggro on a Mishhu like you have."
“A thorny flower then?" Erika replied with a grin "Handling Mushuu is one thing, satisfying the pallets of others is somehow more frightening. Dealing with that while juggling a hot jug and a temperature probe? My palm will survive a light tap.” She pressed the coffee grounds firmly into the portafilter. As she watched the dark liquid fill the mug, she refilled the milk jug to half its capacity, then positioned it under the steam wand. It gave a sharp hiss. Although she was still finding her way, Erika’s motions already seemed less awkward. She aimed for a swirling vortex within the jug. Once the metal became too hot to touch, she pulled her hand away and shut off the steam.
Pouring from the height Mineko had indicated, the milk streamed into the coffee, resulting in a rich brown froth. As the mug neared its halfway mark, Mineko had Erika reduced the jug's height until the white foam began to settle on the surface. Just as the foam reached the mug's brim, she quickly moved the jug to the side, crafting the pointed tip of a heart in the foam. Still, a few droplets missed their mark, splashing onto the counter.
Helping guide Erika's movements almost impercitbly, Mineko was beaming with pride by the final result. She again felt the sense that together, they could accomplish whatever they set their minds to, but didn't want to undercut Erika's efforts trying something new and difficult by asserting it wasn't her own hard work that had gotten her there.
"Look at that, as good as a professional! Bet it'll taste better with so much love put into it, too," Mineko said. She pulled away and clapped gingerly before pulling at the slight mess with a rag. "'Work in a mess, but don't live in one' is my saying. Spills are going to happen."
Erika still had a splash of milk remaining in the jug. With a gentle twirl, she frothed it up before pouring it into another cup. Though the heart she crafted wasn't as impeccable as the one she made under Mineko's watchful eyes, she knew it was all about developing muscle memory now. After cleaning the few stray droplets of milk, she handed the freshly prepared mug to Mineko.
"We haven’t touched on the Blood Medallion yet," Erika communicated silently through the link. With a thoughtful motion, she ripped open a sugar packet, letting its contents cascade into the coffee. She let out a long exhale as she stirred. “If I didn’t have imposter syndrome before, I certainly do now,” she said smiling dryly.
"For me?" Mineko had asked when offered the cup, but she couldn't refuse and sipped it. At first she was tasting it discerningly, but then sipped for the enjoyment of the frothy latte instead and nodded as Erika spoke.
"It's even tougher in dress uniform when everyone can see our award racks almost barren save for a Blood Medallion of all things. Not saying I'm super worried about what others think, but anybody else could tell from a glance that it's one of our only awards and that's there's not much experience behind it."
"It was pretty epic, though," Mineko debated herself, "I have to admit. Blasting through all the oncoming enemy starships and then through a wormhole all while on the hull. I never would in a million years would have dreamed of doing that, so maybe it was fitting. If you're worried about feeling like you don't deserve it, there were some people at that medal ceremony I haven't seen in combat once—and I'm not always on the bridge, I join the away team. I'd say you deserve it more than them, especially if you keep showing up to kick ass and take names."
Erika flashed a confident grin. "I was made to kick ass and take names," she declared full of bravado. "Each morning, I'm fueled by a fervor for conquest, always ready to purge the Empire's adversaries from the galaxy. But should I be rewarded for just meeting expectations?" She said dramatically before her proud facade cracked with a chuckle. "Heroics make for great tales, but they don't win wars. Support roles aren’t as risky, but they are just as important. Tooth to tail ratio and all that.”
Her gaze drifted momentarily, contemplating. “I suppose what I should do is try and fill out the rest of my award rack. Live up to the image a Blood Medallion recipient should be.” Erika mused, her smile thoughtful. "Perhaps that's why the Empress awarded it."
Erika had made some good points and Mineko sipped the latte while ruminating on them. "I'm not going to pretend to be smarter than the Empress," she said finally. "But I imagine you'll get plenty of opportunities to make the award less lonely. Wait a second, don't try to minimize your showboating heroics with some tooth and tail ratio." She switched over to mind to mind telepathy to add, "I feel like an analyst is more support than an operative."
"Well, it is, but like I said its just a different role in the same team." Erika said over the link with a physical shrug of her shoulders "We're all just cogs in the machine Mineko. Lets just be thankful the one we belong to happens to be called Yamatai, whos cogs get lubricated frequently and aren't generally put under excessive strain." She finished with a wan smile before the door opened and the bell rang.
"Welcome to Warm and Sweet, get yourself a tasty treat!" Erika said with a beaming smile to the customer, her previous introspective expression vanished as if it was never there.
Though the door's ring had been spritely and Erika's response was just as vivacious, the customer was anything but. She walked with a jarringly stiff gate under the weight of a rounded back and long silvery hair that billowed in loose waves down her shoulders. Under her felt hat she looked apprisingly to Erika and Mineko and with a satisfied twinkle of her eyes, approached the register. The two seated guests looked up momentarily from their coffee cake and conversation to smile politely at the old woman before going back to their talk in the corner.
"Hello dears," The woman herself approached the register and slowly raised her hands to set them on the counter. "Would you happen to know directions to the nearest PAINT system pickup?"
“Yeah uh” Erika said verbally, leaning forward, meanwhile through the link Mineko was exposed to Erika’s stream of consciousness as her face momentarily went blank. “Why wouldn’t she access the public net and find out for herself if she doesn’t have connection and mobility is difficult why hasn’t she upgraded to a new body could her clothes conceal weapons gait analysis: movement is from a combination of muscular atrophy and osteoarthritis likelihood of information leading to security breach: negligible query to public mapping service..."
It only took a moment, her face retuned to its pervious polite and sparkly expression "You take a left out of the shop, head down Kanna until you hit Ryunnji, go right and you should see a bus stop. You want to take the 681 to the PAINT terminal." There was a moment's pause before Erika continued "Where are you heading if you don't mind my asking?"
Mineko didn't quite know how to respond (or if she should) to Erika's stream of consciousness, but she was preparing herself to explain away how Yamatai was home to a variety of people, but the operative started with a polite instruction and Mineko just smiled meekly next to her Resurgence crewmen.
"Thank you, lovely directions," the woman said, happily giving the girls a turtlelike smile. "Oh, just making some new friends."
"Have a wonderful day!" Mineko offered and the woman nodded and tucked her head down so that the top of her hat was all they saw and pulled her hands away to saunter out the way she had come.
Erika's eyes narrowed and her head tilted as the elderly woman walked off. "Strange for someone with her cronic conditions to be going off world to make some new friends." She said over the link before turning to Mineko and talking verbally. "Are there any aged care centers near by? Maybe want to check and see if one of their residents has gone for a stroll."
When Erika turned to Mineko, her eyes would have fallen on a card left on the counter. If it was a KS or business card, it was strange because it was plain black with nothing on the side facing them.
"Maybe we should," Mineko said, jumping from Erika's negligible concern earlier to the more present danger that they had just aided an elderly in wandering further from their home.
Mineko's eyes caught the card, too. At the sight of it, she made to move around the side of the counter, looking to see if she could see the woman through the cafe windows.
Erika sent Mineko her visual memory of the woman, though suspected her fellow SAINT would have difficulty spotting her. Rather she picked up the card and examined the front, while at the same time pulsing it the NFC scanner in her hand. "None of what she said were code phrases I'm familiar with, but the interaction makes a lot more sense."
"Nothing stood out," Mineko said returning back from the doorway. She had slipped out onto the street and was eager to send a mental note of the street to Erika. The little old lady was nowhere to be found and there had been nowhere for her to have absconded to so quickly. She had disappeared on them, likely intentionally.
"Anything on the card?" Mineko asked, following up her mental assertion with quiet words as she sidled next to Erika to look at it herself.
"Raw text co-ordinates." Eirka said iquisitively as she examined the front. "In UV ink but no other methods of obscuring. Speaking of," She said looking up from the card with a smile "You and I need to work out a one time pad."
Erika ran the co-ordinates through the public mapping service whist simultaneously sharing them with Mineko.
As the operative did so, Mineko pulled a metal steamer from the counter and filled it with water. She dropping it under the milk steamer's wand as she turned the dial, letting the water heat as she chewed her lip.
"Its somewhere in Yumiuku, just south of here." Erika said after a moment. She then sighed "What do you think Mineko? Its either a summons or a leak, either way I think we need to respond."
"I'll send you a one-time pad now," Mineko said as she sent a long trail of jumbled letters to the operative. "We should take it at face value as a summons." When the water started squealing at a more high-pitched tenor than the milk had, Mineko pulled the card and plopped it in the boiling water. Seeing the ultraviolet ink had dispersed in the hot water, the analyst turned down the steamer and rinsed it before heading to the back double doors that led into the kitchen.
There was a man there, something of a portly one with red cheeks and a red nose and closed eyes as he dozed off with his pudgy hands over the mustard smears at the belly of his apron.
"Gonna need you awake," Mineko said after bumping into the man's shoulder with her palm. "Wake up, you got to do the front of house."
"No way, really?" the man said, rousing. Mineko left him with only a nod and raised her brows into her bangs as she looked at Erika and pulled her own backpack out of the employee lockers.
Out of Erika's locker a circular drone hovered out, lazily bobing in the air. Attached to its chassis was a Star Army butt pack with several cables leading from the various pockets. A small holographic interface appeared over her wrist into which she tapped a few commands. The drone responded energetically as though it had just been given an intravenous shot of adrenaline and quickly fell in line behind Eirka.
"So much for pocket change," Mineko said sardonically when they were out the door.
A realisation dawned on the taller Neko as her face darkened. "I'm still going to get paid for the hours I worked right?" Erika called after Mineko "Right!?!"
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JP TBC
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OOC: JP by Ametheliana and Sunny D
Downtown Kyoto
The din of customer's conversations and their cutlery tinkling against porcelain plates blended with the sounds behind the bar in one of Kyoto's Eastern Warm and Sweet locations. The occasional grind of espresso beans or cubed ice being chunked up in one of the blenders only harmonized with the sounds from the barista's side of the bar. Working there were two Nekovalkyrja, both military models and further trained by SAINT to whom the Yui's Blood Medallion had recently been bestowed.
If any of the customers happened to know this, they might think they were privy to an undercover operation or that something was surely about to go down at this quaint coffeehouse situated amongst haute shops in the Riverside District. But in reality, one of the girls, Erika, was so new to the Star Army that their first pay cycle hadn't gone through. The other, Mineko, just missed parts of her old life and had set up with her old boss to work a weekend at the coffeeshop for a few extra bucks to help line her friend's pocket.
While wearing some of her laceup boots and a pair of ripped denim shorts that hugged close to her muscular legs, Mineko practically floated around the small space she shared with Erika. She was on drink duty for the time being and her fiery flanneled arms speedily moved the metal steamer cups and espresso pucks in a perfectly timed concert. She was a farcry from wearing a duty uniform at a bridge console, staring at intelligence, but it felt good to be moving and out of uniform. Nothing could be left too long or pulled too soon and it was the perfect mindless operation for her sometimes overanalyzing brain to take on. For now Mishhuvurthyar threats and their monstrous faces had no place in her operation.
Mineko took on her part of the order she had just taken from most recent customer to walk in. Though she had the Hanako rum latte and green tea under control, she kept Erika in the corner of her eye to be sure the other SAINT agent had the plating of the coffee cake and banana nut muffin under control.
Erika's eyes swept over the vast array of baked treats, each more tempting than the last, as she tried to locate the specific items her customer had requested. "Coffee cake... and a banana muffin," she mouthed wordlessly. With a pair of gleaming metal tongs, she delicately picked up each treat, placing them with care onto small dishes.
She moved about the counter with the poise her training had beaten into her, though had yet to fully adapt to the dance of the other workers. Her taller stature as a 33A variant was her saving grace, allowing her to carry the pastries above head height of the other baristas, avoiding disaster when they collied with her in an unmarked causeway they had expected to be clear.
She wore a set of black track pants that was covered in colourful geometric shapes towards the ankle cuffs and waste band, her t-shirt matched, with a zipped up front and a hood attached to the back of the neck. Both of which would have been soaked by splashes from macchiatos and chai tea were it not for the beige apron she had on hanging from her neck.
Though the task might seem mundane to an outsider, Erika found it novel compared to her regular service. As she passed the plates across the counter, her eyes lit up, and she gifted the customer with a radiant, sincere smile. The ambient aroma enveloping her was intoxicating – a heady mix of freshly brewed coffee, spicy cinnamon, sweet jam, and warm pastry, all of a much higher quality than she had encountered before.
When she had handed off the plates she turned to Mineko with a slight huff. "Come on, it can't be all that more complicated than the equipment I normally have to operate, and has a lower chance of vaporising me if I get it wrong."
For her part in front of the chrome of the espresso machine, Mineko had found she liked working with Erika off of the battlefield just as much as on it. The operative was quick to stay out of the way when she needed to and take up a work area when appropriate, too. With a deft hand she whisked in the syrup to the caramel-colored coffee she had just pulled. Her eyes were watching Erika as she spoke and off of the pitcher and cup, focused on her coworker instead.
"Are you saying that because you want to start making some drinks?" Mineko asked. "Or are you just reminding me of the simple things in life before the ship's repaired and we go back to avoiding total vaporization on the daily again?"
"I assure you nothing so... multifaceted as that went through my mind." Erika replied with a chuckle before she looked at the coffee machine with sparkling eyes. "I am simply interested in playing with the big shiny machine that makes noises and produces hot fluids with interesting fragrances."
"Well whatever your motives, I'm happy to oblige," Mineko pushed the words out past her laughter. "Well I just pulled this shot and added the infamous Hanako rum syrup to it, but it still needs steamed milk to finish it off." The analyst kept eye contact with Erika and sent the other woman's digital mind all she needed to know to do it: fill a metal pitcher with milk, place it under the frother spigot and bring it up into it while turning the knob on the side of the machine that would start sending hot steam through. Then when to bring up one of the no contact thermometers that could measure the heat of the milk from a distance and to pull it off the spigot before it went over 160 degrees farenheit/ 70 celsius.
It was all shared in a quick look, but Mineko's toothy grin said even more. She was looking forward to both taking a break from the heat and activity surrounding the espresso machine. But even more than that, she was looking forward to see Erika try something new beyond the ease of plating pastries and smiling at customers.
Erika followed the instructions now in the stack of her mind. Her motions, getting the milk and pouring it in the jug were the normal fluid grace she would normally display; however, her actions became awkward as the jug found the steam wand. She had no muscle memory for it, and found herself in want of a third hand, one to hold the jug, another to hold the steam dial and a third to hold the infared probe. Seeing no elegant way around it with only two appendages, she decided to forgo the probe, and rather used the back of her hand to gauge the temperature. She did her best to get the right level of aeration going, but Mineko’s reference memories could only help her so much. She angled to nozzle to get a better consistency, but by the time she thought she had a handle on the process the jug was already close to overflowing. She then poured the milk in the prepared mug, her technique leaving little more than white squiggles on the brown foam surface.
“Please keep in mind that it is my first.” Erika said, presenting the mug for Mineko’s inspection.
"Didn't burn it, so there's a pass in my book. You can let go of the steamer wand if you want to, but you've got a good heat gauge," Mineko said, twisting the spigot probe that Erika had been holding onto. She pulled the teabag from the steeping green tea and brought that and the drink Erika had finished off to the end of the other side of Erika where the drinks were left for the customers. "But the final judgement will not be my own."
"Hanako rum latte and a green tea," Mineko said pleasantly enough to a stranger's ear. Erika could likely pick up on the wariness in her voice as she said it, though. A Minkan walked up with a happy smile and her eyes passed over the tea even though one of her hands gripped it- it was likely for the friend she had come to meet. Instead of focus on the drink that was not hers, her attention and lips went to the rim of the mug that the latte was in and she took a long sip. Mineko's breath caught on her tongue as he hand playfully poked at Erika's apron as if she had to remind the operative to play cose attention now.
With only enough pause to let a smile rise to her lips, the woman took another much longer sip. Without thanks but with that same pleased expression, she left with her mugs and Mineko turned away from her and towards Erika with an excited fistpump into the air.
"Success!" Mineko chimed happily. "Look at that, you're a natural!"
Erika looked at Mineko, her own relief evident in her eyes. “You think?” she responded with a chuckle, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I think I just had a good teacher. Kind of hard to mess up when I’ve got engrammed instructions.” Her cadence became somewhat bashful. “Still a ways to go. I have to learn how to make those hearts in the foam.”
"Speaking of instructions, I'll send you the rest of the drink recipes. But that's all in the wrist." Mineko looked at the cafe doors, wishing a customer with a simple heavy foamed latte order would walk through the doors. It was pretty dead, though, so she said, "Make one for yourself, but pour the milk from a height and get it closer over time while pouring in the center. Then when the foam's risen to the top you shake it ever so slightly then with a lift up at the end, pull it through. Want me to guide your hand?"
Erika tilted her head slightly, her eyebrow arching in curiosity. "Are you suggesting something akin to a hands-on tutorial?" She took a moment, exhaling sharply through her nose while a playful sparkle twinkled in her eyes. Her grin widened, playful and teasing. "I'm game, but be gentle. I'm a delicate flower, after all."
Mineko had already positioned herself to be set up behind Erika's right hand and her blue red eyes were focused on the espresso machine. When she head Erika's question, Mineko looked over at her with a nod, but then when she registered her last and more playful tease, Mineko did a double take. Her expression had been helpful and supportive, like one might use while helping an old person cross the street, but when she caught Erika's grin, one of Mineko's own widened on her face, showing a glimpse of her extra set of canines below her gleeful eyes. She thought of several things to say but bit her tongue and simply expected Erika to slot in between Mineko and the steamer.
"Steam it like before, flower," Mineko said expectantly. She added in an exaggerated mumble, "Don't know about the delicate part if you're taking the temp with your palm, though. Or if you can hold aggro on a Mishhu like you have."
“A thorny flower then?" Erika replied with a grin "Handling Mushuu is one thing, satisfying the pallets of others is somehow more frightening. Dealing with that while juggling a hot jug and a temperature probe? My palm will survive a light tap.” She pressed the coffee grounds firmly into the portafilter. As she watched the dark liquid fill the mug, she refilled the milk jug to half its capacity, then positioned it under the steam wand. It gave a sharp hiss. Although she was still finding her way, Erika’s motions already seemed less awkward. She aimed for a swirling vortex within the jug. Once the metal became too hot to touch, she pulled her hand away and shut off the steam.
Pouring from the height Mineko had indicated, the milk streamed into the coffee, resulting in a rich brown froth. As the mug neared its halfway mark, Mineko had Erika reduced the jug's height until the white foam began to settle on the surface. Just as the foam reached the mug's brim, she quickly moved the jug to the side, crafting the pointed tip of a heart in the foam. Still, a few droplets missed their mark, splashing onto the counter.
Helping guide Erika's movements almost impercitbly, Mineko was beaming with pride by the final result. She again felt the sense that together, they could accomplish whatever they set their minds to, but didn't want to undercut Erika's efforts trying something new and difficult by asserting it wasn't her own hard work that had gotten her there.
"Look at that, as good as a professional! Bet it'll taste better with so much love put into it, too," Mineko said. She pulled away and clapped gingerly before pulling at the slight mess with a rag. "'Work in a mess, but don't live in one' is my saying. Spills are going to happen."
Erika still had a splash of milk remaining in the jug. With a gentle twirl, she frothed it up before pouring it into another cup. Though the heart she crafted wasn't as impeccable as the one she made under Mineko's watchful eyes, she knew it was all about developing muscle memory now. After cleaning the few stray droplets of milk, she handed the freshly prepared mug to Mineko.
"We haven’t touched on the Blood Medallion yet," Erika communicated silently through the link. With a thoughtful motion, she ripped open a sugar packet, letting its contents cascade into the coffee. She let out a long exhale as she stirred. “If I didn’t have imposter syndrome before, I certainly do now,” she said smiling dryly.
"For me?" Mineko had asked when offered the cup, but she couldn't refuse and sipped it. At first she was tasting it discerningly, but then sipped for the enjoyment of the frothy latte instead and nodded as Erika spoke.
"It's even tougher in dress uniform when everyone can see our award racks almost barren save for a Blood Medallion of all things. Not saying I'm super worried about what others think, but anybody else could tell from a glance that it's one of our only awards and that's there's not much experience behind it."
"It was pretty epic, though," Mineko debated herself, "I have to admit. Blasting through all the oncoming enemy starships and then through a wormhole all while on the hull. I never would in a million years would have dreamed of doing that, so maybe it was fitting. If you're worried about feeling like you don't deserve it, there were some people at that medal ceremony I haven't seen in combat once—and I'm not always on the bridge, I join the away team. I'd say you deserve it more than them, especially if you keep showing up to kick ass and take names."
Erika flashed a confident grin. "I was made to kick ass and take names," she declared full of bravado. "Each morning, I'm fueled by a fervor for conquest, always ready to purge the Empire's adversaries from the galaxy. But should I be rewarded for just meeting expectations?" She said dramatically before her proud facade cracked with a chuckle. "Heroics make for great tales, but they don't win wars. Support roles aren’t as risky, but they are just as important. Tooth to tail ratio and all that.”
Her gaze drifted momentarily, contemplating. “I suppose what I should do is try and fill out the rest of my award rack. Live up to the image a Blood Medallion recipient should be.” Erika mused, her smile thoughtful. "Perhaps that's why the Empress awarded it."
Erika had made some good points and Mineko sipped the latte while ruminating on them. "I'm not going to pretend to be smarter than the Empress," she said finally. "But I imagine you'll get plenty of opportunities to make the award less lonely. Wait a second, don't try to minimize your showboating heroics with some tooth and tail ratio." She switched over to mind to mind telepathy to add, "I feel like an analyst is more support than an operative."
"Well, it is, but like I said its just a different role in the same team." Erika said over the link with a physical shrug of her shoulders "We're all just cogs in the machine Mineko. Lets just be thankful the one we belong to happens to be called Yamatai, whos cogs get lubricated frequently and aren't generally put under excessive strain." She finished with a wan smile before the door opened and the bell rang.
"Welcome to Warm and Sweet, get yourself a tasty treat!" Erika said with a beaming smile to the customer, her previous introspective expression vanished as if it was never there.
Though the door's ring had been spritely and Erika's response was just as vivacious, the customer was anything but. She walked with a jarringly stiff gate under the weight of a rounded back and long silvery hair that billowed in loose waves down her shoulders. Under her felt hat she looked apprisingly to Erika and Mineko and with a satisfied twinkle of her eyes, approached the register. The two seated guests looked up momentarily from their coffee cake and conversation to smile politely at the old woman before going back to their talk in the corner.
"Hello dears," The woman herself approached the register and slowly raised her hands to set them on the counter. "Would you happen to know directions to the nearest PAINT system pickup?"
“Yeah uh” Erika said verbally, leaning forward, meanwhile through the link Mineko was exposed to Erika’s stream of consciousness as her face momentarily went blank. “Why wouldn’t she access the public net and find out for herself if she doesn’t have connection and mobility is difficult why hasn’t she upgraded to a new body could her clothes conceal weapons gait analysis: movement is from a combination of muscular atrophy and osteoarthritis likelihood of information leading to security breach: negligible query to public mapping service..."
It only took a moment, her face retuned to its pervious polite and sparkly expression "You take a left out of the shop, head down Kanna until you hit Ryunnji, go right and you should see a bus stop. You want to take the 681 to the PAINT terminal." There was a moment's pause before Erika continued "Where are you heading if you don't mind my asking?"
Mineko didn't quite know how to respond (or if she should) to Erika's stream of consciousness, but she was preparing herself to explain away how Yamatai was home to a variety of people, but the operative started with a polite instruction and Mineko just smiled meekly next to her Resurgence crewmen.
"Thank you, lovely directions," the woman said, happily giving the girls a turtlelike smile. "Oh, just making some new friends."
"Have a wonderful day!" Mineko offered and the woman nodded and tucked her head down so that the top of her hat was all they saw and pulled her hands away to saunter out the way she had come.
Erika's eyes narrowed and her head tilted as the elderly woman walked off. "Strange for someone with her cronic conditions to be going off world to make some new friends." She said over the link before turning to Mineko and talking verbally. "Are there any aged care centers near by? Maybe want to check and see if one of their residents has gone for a stroll."
When Erika turned to Mineko, her eyes would have fallen on a card left on the counter. If it was a KS or business card, it was strange because it was plain black with nothing on the side facing them.
"Maybe we should," Mineko said, jumping from Erika's negligible concern earlier to the more present danger that they had just aided an elderly in wandering further from their home.
Mineko's eyes caught the card, too. At the sight of it, she made to move around the side of the counter, looking to see if she could see the woman through the cafe windows.
Erika sent Mineko her visual memory of the woman, though suspected her fellow SAINT would have difficulty spotting her. Rather she picked up the card and examined the front, while at the same time pulsing it the NFC scanner in her hand. "None of what she said were code phrases I'm familiar with, but the interaction makes a lot more sense."
"Nothing stood out," Mineko said returning back from the doorway. She had slipped out onto the street and was eager to send a mental note of the street to Erika. The little old lady was nowhere to be found and there had been nowhere for her to have absconded to so quickly. She had disappeared on them, likely intentionally.
"Anything on the card?" Mineko asked, following up her mental assertion with quiet words as she sidled next to Erika to look at it herself.
"Raw text co-ordinates." Eirka said iquisitively as she examined the front. "In UV ink but no other methods of obscuring. Speaking of," She said looking up from the card with a smile "You and I need to work out a one time pad."
Erika ran the co-ordinates through the public mapping service whist simultaneously sharing them with Mineko.
As the operative did so, Mineko pulled a metal steamer from the counter and filled it with water. She dropping it under the milk steamer's wand as she turned the dial, letting the water heat as she chewed her lip.
"Its somewhere in Yumiuku, just south of here." Erika said after a moment. She then sighed "What do you think Mineko? Its either a summons or a leak, either way I think we need to respond."
"I'll send you a one-time pad now," Mineko said as she sent a long trail of jumbled letters to the operative. "We should take it at face value as a summons." When the water started squealing at a more high-pitched tenor than the milk had, Mineko pulled the card and plopped it in the boiling water. Seeing the ultraviolet ink had dispersed in the hot water, the analyst turned down the steamer and rinsed it before heading to the back double doors that led into the kitchen.
There was a man there, something of a portly one with red cheeks and a red nose and closed eyes as he dozed off with his pudgy hands over the mustard smears at the belly of his apron.
"Gonna need you awake," Mineko said after bumping into the man's shoulder with her palm. "Wake up, you got to do the front of house."
"No way, really?" the man said, rousing. Mineko left him with only a nod and raised her brows into her bangs as she looked at Erika and pulled her own backpack out of the employee lockers.
Out of Erika's locker a circular drone hovered out, lazily bobing in the air. Attached to its chassis was a Star Army butt pack with several cables leading from the various pockets. A small holographic interface appeared over her wrist into which she tapped a few commands. The drone responded energetically as though it had just been given an intravenous shot of adrenaline and quickly fell in line behind Eirka.
"So much for pocket change," Mineko said sardonically when they were out the door.
A realisation dawned on the taller Neko as her face darkened. "I'm still going to get paid for the hours I worked right?" Erika called after Mineko "Right!?!"
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JP TBC
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OOC: JP by Ametheliana and Sunny D
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