RP: The Wayward The Ups and Downs (Ep. 3)

Galley

Tanja had told Hugar and Reed to set the ship on course and have the autopilot and Geboku take care of steering the ship before she got herself up and made her way to the Galley. Once there she found that she wasn't the first to arrive, which was a bit comforting, at least she didn't leave the bridge too quickly. She offered a wave to everyone present before she sat down in a chair and smiled, wondering what Quinn had to speak to everyone about.

Galley

"Oh yeah, you wouldn't even believe how old. Totally mind blowing," Nan said imitating an explosion with his hands around his head. He smiled and waved at Tanja as she entered.

"Hey Captain. Was just regaling Ash here about our history. I mean we have had some great times right? Like that time we were cornered by those assassins. Nowhere left to go but they had no idea what to do when we started pantsing them. I mean, what kind of self respecting assassins don't wear belts? Amirite?"

Galley

Analiese had nodded to the others as she sat and ate quietly, watching those who entered. She was curled up in her seat, waiting for Quinn to enter, still rather curious as to what he had as a surprise for them. She was rather interested in Nan's stories, but at the same time she had heard some of them already. He was rather talkative, even though she was a quiet person.

So far, she was rather glad that the new members hadn't yet asked about her background. She wasn't sure if Nan even knew. At least, not that she was aware of. And if he did, she was grateful that he didn't share it.

Bridge

Reed took his time setting up the autopilot as he thought about the new additions to the crew. The robot was a curiosity and he'd be sure to talk to it later but the others concerned him. The Elysian, Adiel, was probably a middleman if his initial conversation was anything to go by. The fact that he had chosen to join the Anbruch either meant that he had some kind of job, or that he was taking some time off to lay low. Reed was willing to bet on the latter, but he'd be sure to keep an eye out of any trouble. Then there was Adiel's friend, the Iroma. She seemed nice enough but, her tattoos worried him.

With the ship’s autopilot engaged, Reed made his way down to the galley.

Galley

Reed arrived few seconds after Tanja. He chuckled at Nan’s antics before before taking a seat.

Darling's robot stomps forward in front of her through the corridors as they make their way to the Galley. Mid-way to their destination, Darling jumps onto Buddy's back, climbing up to his shoulder. She had already commanded his navigation to go to the galley - She was able to explore the ship beforehand while inside of her robot. She stuck herself around the robot's neck, lying low. When the pair entered the galley, it was probably unlikely for anyone to initially spot the cat. Regardless -

Galley

- the sound of soft stomping announces the arrival of the machine as it enters the galley, immediately finding an empty table by a wall. It walks up to it, and turns around to face the rest of the crew. Assuming Darling had not been immediately spotted - She thought she was a damn ninja cat - She wouldn't be seen at all when the robot's backside was hidden from view.

As the robot stood still, saying nothing, Darling waited for any greetings that would be directed to it. Then, she hesitated before clamboring upon Buddy's shoulder, revealing her feline form. Her eyes peer around the room as she sits on her robot's broad shoulder through her haunches, with her tail dangling straight along the mechanism's arm. "Hello, everyone. I'm sorry I couldn't introduce myself formally previously. I didn't seem to have any time until now." Her collar registered the voice she wanted to project and obeyed, sounding out crystal clear. It's no doubt that the source of the voice was from the cat.

"I am Darling. The robot's designation, on which I sit on, is 'Buddy'. Now that that is taken care of, is there anything out to eat? I'm starving."

Galley

Not one for strong displays of emotion, Adiel simply glanced up from his datapad and raised an eyebrow in mild surprise at Darling's confession.

For the bird, it was a pleasant little surprise- a distraction from the monotony of the day that quickly lost its novelty.

His eyes returned to the screen, with only the ghost of a smile to betray his amusement.

"I taut I taw a puddy tat..." grinned Adiel under his breath, shifting in his seat to place his wings in a more comfortable position.

Galley

Ana was still sitting in her corner. She had smiled briefly at the others as they thanked her for the food that she had put out. She was probably the only one observant enough to have seen the cat that was riding on the robot that most knew of as Darling. From her corner, she watched the robot come in and position itself along the wall. At that point, she kind of lost sight of the cat, but she still didn't say anything. She had seen cats before, but this was different.

At first, she was rather curious as to whether or not this was Quinn's surprise for them, but then the cat positioned itself on the arm and tentatively spoke. At that point, Ana couldn't think of the cat as an 'it', but now as a 'her' and she stood up to walk over.

"Umm...I. I put out food. Mostly finger stuff. Cold cuts, fruits and vegetables. Did you want something else?" She chewed on her lip, not quite sure about this whole thing. She had never seen cats before she went shopping with Quinn...and now there was one talking!!

Galley

Reed stared at the cat. His first thoughts were that Quinn had decided to reveal that he had bought the ship a pet but, then again, Quinn didn't seem like a cat person. Not quite sure how to respond to such a revelation, Reed decided to just go with it before he could overthink things.

"Sure we have food over there," Reed gestured toward the table before turning to address the other new additions to the crew.

"Okay, is anybody else hiding any shocking, or fantastic... things about themselves that they'd like to disclose?"

Galley

Ash stared as Darling revealed herself as a small feline creature.

"A talking cat. Interesting," she thought. She slid the plate of food closer to the edge of the table, hoping Darling would come over and take a seat by her.
The small cat looked so cuddly, Ash had to restrain herself from hopping up from her seat and hugging it.

Then she wondered where in the galaxy that desire even came from.

Galley

Tanja only took a moment to notice Darling and Buddy entering the room and then offered a wave to what she didn't know was Buddy, but something felt a bit off to her, 'Darling' felt 'shorter' in her mind and she couldn't place why at first. However when Darling's real form spoke up and she noticed it was a cat, she understood. Her empathy was detecting the cat and not the robotic body, so when it walked on its own he senses were a little off. "This wasn't what I expected, but it's even more cute than I thought." She made her way over to Darling with a smile, not hesitating in the least and petting Darling on the head.

When she heard Reed speak up, Tanja gave a soft nod. "Yes this would be a good time for anyone."

"Oh...em...gee! You are adorbs! A sentient, frikkin cat! Wait, is cat ok? That's like not offensive or anything is it," Nan asked sheepishly. He couldn't stop looking from Darling to Buddy to the others in the room. Some were pretty fascinated but he did not understand how they weren't just falling over from surprise like he was.

As Reed spoke up Nan slowly raised his arm and grinned broadly. "Yeah, yeah I have something." Nan paused for effect before continuing, "I'm awesome. I know some of you were thinking it so I figured I would just get it out there. Let me awesomeness soak in. Really breathe it in." Nan began using his hands to show deep breaths.

Galley

The cat appeared satisfied by the positive reactions given by the crewmembers. As Tanja went to pet Darling, she accepted it. Her fur was just as soft as it looked, and quite clean. In response she gave an involuntary, soft meow as he tail flicked slightly, blinking. She enjoys getting pet apparently, and can't really help but to return to a slightly more 'primitive' behavior to receive it.

When ze petting stopped, she took the moment to respond to respond to Nan. "That's what I am. It isn't offensive at all." She looked amused - If that were possible expression for a feline to make - at Nan's revelation. Inwardly, she dislikes being called adorable. Who would call her adorable while she is inside Buddy, after all? Buddy isn't adorable. She knew inside that they probably couldn't help it anyway.

Her small head turned to Ash, recognizing the invitation and climbing off Buddy (now appearing inanimate) and making her way to her table, clamboring on top of it in front of the Iromakuanhe. Graciously, she begins to enjoy the spoils of the plate that carries the sweet sustenance that is required to survive. She didn't really care what was on it, finger food or not - If it were edible to anyone else, it was edible to her. It was a bit odd, the way she ate; It was most unlike other cats, who would simply use their mouths much like many other creatures. She seemed to utilize her claws to dig into her nourishment, as a sort of fork, then raising it to her mouth. With quadrupedal mammals and their frontal legs, ones carried by Darling, it may seem awkward to those watching, but it didn't seem to trouble the feline at all. In any case, it was unique, like a cat with sentience-Oh.

Ana watched the others as they interacted with Darling. Not getting any response, she turned and went back to her corner. Though she was used to such things, it seemed odd to her that, for the first time, being ignored kind of felt...off. She wasn't offended. At least, not that she knew of. She wasn't even upset. At least, not that anyone else would have seen. She just went back to her own food to await what was coming up next.

Facinated by the small feline creature and the way it ate its food, Ash reached out a hand toward Darling and began to stroke her fur.

"Nice to have you aboard, Darling," she said with a smile.

Rosenthal Nebula - 1800 Ship Time

The ISC Anbruch had arrived just outside the nebula and eased it’s way inside. This was not the captain’s first time inside a nebula and it was obvious with the instructions she gave to Reed as he piloted the ship. It wasn’t long before the station they were looking for appeared on the sensors along with the signal data for an old light freighter. The rest of the space was vacant of any large man made structure for several thousand kilometers, so Tanja called in Geboku to take control of the flying and then called for everyone to meet in the lower deck ‘gym’ where all the environmental suits were.

Tanja was there by the time anyone arrived, she stripped down to just her undergarments and began to dawn her EM-G7 suit as well as the UBM that went along with it. “We have confirmation on the station, as well as a freighter that’s docked with it. Once we’re in the shuttle we’re going to try and establish contact with the vessel and the station so everyone get a suit and head to the shuttle.” She gestured to the lockers where there were more suits waiting for everyone.

The 'Gym'

Analiese had arrived shortly after Tanja's announcement, only to find everyone else already making haste as if they knew what to do and expect. The small engineer, on the other hand, stood there towards the back chewing on her bottom lip, not quite sure what to do. She had never worn any kind of space suits before, so this was still rather new to her. Not only that, but all the others were getting into the same state of undress as Tanja did...and though it was one thing to be in a swimsuit designed to show off that much skin...Analiese was still not quite ready to do so in her underwear!

"Are you sure you really need me, Tanja? I mean...wouldn't it be better if I stayed here?" She looked hopeful, but at the same time feared that her expertise would be needed sooner or later on the freighter.

Bridge -> Gym

On the way into the nebula, Reed had easily been able to carry out Tanja’s directions and on several occasions, he had already carried out the order before being asked. Upon arrival, he reluctantly ceded the helm to Geboku before heading off to his cabin to retrieve his gear.

Minutes later, Reed was standing in front of the lockers while Tanja explained the current situation. Having been on the bridge minutes earlier, he was only half listening as searched the lockers. Reed picked out a EM-G7 that seemed to be his size and examined it with a critical eye.

The presence of maneuvering thrusters was always a good thing, but Reed didn’t didn’t like that they were voice activated, along with most of the features of the suit. Despite these misgivings, Reed quickly stripped down and got to work pulling on the body suit. He had managed to pull on the upper body module and was in the process of strapping various weapons to his belt when Reed voiced a question.

“Did the contract mention who was involved in the fight at the station and how long ago did that fight happen?"

"Gym"

Adiel was next to show up. His mood seemed to be altered from the previous day, and after making amends with Ash, he looked reasonably at ease. As always, he was well groomed, and dressed in a dapper suit with no tie.

He sighed in frustration at having shown up overdressed. None the less, without speaking, he retrieved an EM. He shrugged off his jacket to reveal his pistol in its shoulder holster, a magazine pouch, and a knife on his belt. He shrugged off all of his weaponry, then his clothes, which he neatly folded. After donning the EM, he reattached his armaments, then left again to return his clothes to his room.

Minutes later, he came back to the staging area with his GP-1A slung across his back.

"Good morning, all." he greeted somewhat cheerily.

Gym

Ash arrived to the "Gym" shortly after Adiel and quickly made her way over to the environment suit locker, picking out a suit that was close to her size. Seeing the others disrobe and begin to don their suits, Ash did the same, unbuckling her pistol belt and thigh holster and placing them off to the side. She stripped off her cargo pants and sleeveless shirt to reveal only the black undergarments covering her shapely body. While she showed mild embarassment at the hot spring, Ash showed none of the discomfort she did previously despite the closer quarters of the ship. Ash seemed more focused on the task at hand than on her surroundings as she grasped the bodysuit and began to slide it on. The ease and familiarity at which she donned the environment suit spoke of much experience with using such an apparatus. Ash simply went through the motions as she pulled on the body suit and donned the UBM. She buckled her pistol belt around her waist and re-fastened the holster around her thigh, her laiz pistol held securely within.

After ensuring her suit was sound and the UBM systems were in working order, Ash tested the seal on her helmet ring by carefully manuvering it into place around her horns and securing it around her neck. Once the seal was checked, Ash removed the helmet and held it under the crux of her right arm. She nodded to the other crew members as they also donned their suits.

Ash was not the slightest bit nervous. On the contrary, the jitters she felt were due to excitement; it was time to earn her pay.

Anbruch Gym

Nan walked in to the gym practically skipping, Pearl, the newly coined FARS unit, bobbed along behind him. He listened to the quick brief and cocked his head at the mention of the freighter. "Cap, were we expecting a ship to be docked? Did you want me to see if I can get any info about it through the 'puter," Nan asked?

He began donning his EVA suit. Unlike the others his Minkan body was able to regulate its temperature very efficiently so he did not have to undress. He blushed profusely however when both Tanja and Ash stripped down to their under garments. It wasn't that he was a prude but rather still had that awkward thinking about those kinds of things.

When Ana piped up about if she had to go Nan understood her right away. "Come on sis, you have nothing to worry about. You will be with someone the whole time and your mad skills will really come in handy," he said coming over to her and put his arm around her. "Also, don't sweat the EVA suits. A lot of people get undressed cause it is more comfortable. Why don't you run and slap on those shorts and shirt you bought. Those should be comfortable enough for you. Come on back, we will get you suited up and then you will be gee two gee."