Welcome to Gaia! ::

Was this kid trying to suck up to him? He wondered... "When the Hymn was hit in the last fight, it damn near destroyed the explosives workshop and storage facilities. I and the few remaining members of my division are the only ones allowed to clean and reorganize the room, seeing as how we're the only ones with the proper knowledge to handle all the equipment and fuels safely. I've been working on it since the end of the battle, and I'm maybe halfway through. All this time I could be spending on pet projects is instead wasted on this recovery mission. And fresh meat isn't exactly promising news these days, but you're the least of my worries." He emptied the mug and moved it out of his way.

The air could be heard whooshing back into the room, a light breeze forming for a second as the lack of pressure sucked the air inside, creating a pressurized compartment with atmosphere. "I will only vent it if you threaten me. I can actually open this compartment directly to space, if need be." Evelyn informed the Ottyo, this time with her own voice. She stood herself up very straight, trying to look proper, then cleared her throat. "Allright then, Shall we begin?"

*****

"Hendlow's just whining 'cause he wants you to feel sorry for him. He doesn't realize it, but he needs a man's sympathy. of course, I know him too well to sympathize, so he's gotta hit up the newbies for his fix." Kai chuckled, insinuating at the other lieutenant's preferences. "I, on the other hand, wouldn't do such a thing to you. y'see, I'm the good cop. Hendlow is is the grumpy man without enough copy, who hasn't had a smoke in a month. I would try to stay on his good side, in any case" the tall blonde asided to the new guy.

*****

"Well, If you need rest then why are you still on duty? Can't you just pull rank and get a checkup or something?" The bright-eyed Emma enquired, before jumping slightly when Steven nearly tripped, having attempted to catch him. once he seemd to get his balance, she relaxed a little "You really need to care for your health, captain Kerning..."

He nodded. The black plated hands moved upwards, and grasped the back of the helm firmly; he pulled the helmet forward, and with the sound of tearing flesh, removed the black faceplate. The ever so faint scent of a rainy forest and mint rapidly dispersed into the air along with something else. The equally faint scent of raw meat. Long black fleshy tendrils snapped away as Yotruyan pulled, and finally, the skull faceplate came off. Very much like a Drathonian, he had many sharp teeth concealed beneath his thin lips. The similarities ended there. His entire head was raptor-like, covered in feathers, with green being the most dominant color. The green was darkest at his nose, and became lighter the farther back one went, eventually becoming a mostly even mix of blue and green feathers on his crest. It gently moved about in thought, further displaying yellow in the undercoat, with a few larger red feathers that accented his display. Simply put, he had a very colorful set of feathers, with not a scale in sight. Before Evelyn could say anything, he spoke first. Only, it wasn't the male Terran voice he was using before. It was a woman's.

"I am Princess of the Principality of Chaion, by the name of Shzizsk Nankik. What you hear is merely a memory of me, speaking to the Inquisitor Unit that stands before you. From my people to yours; Hail." Yotruyan's arm smoothly moved, clenching his fist over what was most likely his heart. Next, he held his arm straight forward, fingers together, and palm down. A salute. The woman's voice then softened, "And to you, between you and I as future friends. Hello." His arm then moved out, extending a single claw into the open air, and made the same exact motion Yotruyan did earlier, as though to touch Evelyn's nose. "As you are well aware, the ones who are known as Drathonians have disrupted the peace in this galaxy, and we, recent refugees, are relatively defenseless save for the hidden nature of our facilities." Yotruyan moved as though to brush away something above his eye. Something that was not there. "My agent, Yotruyan in specific, would not have attempted contact if you were unable to assist us in some way. What I propose is simple. We will enter into a protocol, or treaty as you may say, in where we will supply you with raw materials to wage war. In return, we merely ask you to continue fighting the Red Menace. Further details may be discussed and debated at the location this unit will give." Yotruyan then suddenly did something unexpected; no matter how different he looked, what he did was best described as a curtsy. Nankik's voice, through Yotruyan, then pleaded, "For our peoples, for our states and for the greater good, please accept."

"So. What will it be, Shipmistress?" The Ottyo soldier asked.

Steven's attention snapped over to Arcadia as she grabbed him by the arm, and as he listened to the demands he felt a slight ping of guilt. "I am sorry, I didn't know you guys all felt so strongly about it. Since you are the third person in a span of five minutes to warn me about my health, and since you refuse to let go of me until I do, I will quit making petty excuses and go get treated." Steven said almost as if he were admitting defeat and looked of towards the far wall. "Unless you want to keep holding onto my arm? he asked Arcadia in his semi-joking tone of voice.

With a smirk on his face, Steven couldn't help but laugh as his subordinate began pulling him out of the mess hall. "That is a tough decision," Steven said, countering Arcadia's sarcasm with some of his own. "Maybe I will run along if..." he started again but then stopped and looking a bit unsteady.
"Whoa. Got a little light-headed there for a sec," he said as he put his hand to his forehead and pinched the bridge of his nose and trying to regain his balance.
"Sigh, on second thought, maybe I will just go in and get checked out."

"See you in a bit then," Green Two called after them, "Don't let the captain hit his head to hard when he falls over." He then turned towards Emma and gave her and gave her a questioning look. "We sure have some odd squadmates, don't we? You wanna tag along with them or stay here and have a drink with me?"

"I guess I am worse off than I first thought. I had no intentions of making any of you worry about me," Steven said as he and Arcadia walked in the direction of the med bay. Steven, having regained some coordination, but still rather unstable, continued to rub his forehead. "And also thank you for the escort."

Arcadia & Steven

“Permission denied. It is already out there,” Steven said in a flat tone, ”Don't worry about it, you aren't the one who should be apologizing. And besides, you are right anyway.” With his light-headedness finally starting to dissipate he put his arms down and walked normally. “And if you wanted to call it pride you wouldn't be that far off target. For the most part I did not consider it that big of an issue, that, and I did not want to be beaten by some stupid cold. I mean I have been feeling off beat for about four days now, and for the most part wasn't serious, you know just a small headache every now and then.”

Arcadia nodded, glad Steven could see the error of his ways. "You boys, always so headstrong. If you'd put some of that drive toward actually fixing the problem, maybe it wouldn't be such a rough road. You know, use your head?" She immediately regretted going off, but didn't apologize or attempt to rescind it. She already knew how that would turn out. "Just warn me if you're going to drop dead, alright?"

“Ha! You girls, always pointing out the boys' flaws,” Steven said in mock retaliation. “Rest assured, if I am about to take a dive, you will be the first one I tell. But really though, you don't need to worry any. I am feeling better now, not going to pass out any time soon.”

"Says the man who almost face-planted on his way into the cafeteria," Pilot Langdon retorted. "And don't get pissy with me if you almost all of you happen to tend toward one thing or another. Call it the grace of god or evolutionary genetics, but it happens. Just as we girls tend to be dramatic and emotional. Most of us."

“'Grace of the gods'? Now that is funny, and beside, that thing in the cafeteria was because I just wasn't paying attention.” Steven said returning his tone to normal, “What do you mean by 'most of us'? I am sure you have your moments of weakness just like everybody else."

Arcadia didn't broach the topic. "I'm just saying you can't make a blanket statement on the entire gender other than that we're all female. That's it." Arcadia was starting to realize just how stubborn Steven could be. Not that it bothered her too much or often, but it was starting to right now. He was being belligerent over little things, but she didn't bother to mention it. He'd only get worse.

“What about that 'you boys' comment? And how we are 'always so headstrong'.” Steven said, once again in a slightly playful tone. He glanced over towards Arcadia and hesitated a moment before continuing. “You have to admit, though, this is a nice change from the boring routine we have been in for the past to weeks. Uh, I am not talking to much, am I. You are getting that look in your eye that indicates that you are thinking about something, and that is cause for concern."

She smirked. "I'm not a goddamn politician, sir." Arcadia nodded slightly, but didn't bother to verbally agree. Yes, she liked it, but... Well, no. There was no 'but' about it. "Seriously though, Captain, do you really think it's JUST a cold? Dizziness, disorientation: those aren't symptoms of a cold. I'm no doctor, but I do know that's a bit more serious than the common flu."

“It is probably closer to say that I WANT it to just be a cold. Feels more serious than a cold now, but like I said before, a few days ago it was not this bad. So chances are my ignoring it just made things worse.” Steven said as he settled into the new conversation. Turning his head towards the wall he let out a cough and slowed down almost to a stop. “Dammit, light headed again.”

Arcadia stopped, a small wave of worry washing over her. "No hurry, Captain." She didn't know what else to do or say, so she stood by looking and feeling insignificant and helpless. What could she do? Offer her sleeve? "If you get too messy, you can use my sleeve, sir."

Steven was once again pinching the bridge of his nose and holding onto the wall with his free hand. “Your sleeve? Don't worry, it is going away again, your sleeve is safe.” Steven said, doing his best to maintain his playful tone. “I should be fine until we make it the rest of the way to med bay. It is not much further.”

"Sir, do you NOT recall me just calling you out for playing into the male stereotype? Please don't make me play the role of your surrogate mother. I'm not as nurturing as I look." She was smirking, but inside she was a little nervous that he'd collapse on the way to the med bay. "Just keep me in the know, sir? I'd rather catch and carry you than drag your a** down the hall."

He couldn't help but chuckle, which did not help the headache at all. “And do you remember me saying that I would be sure to tell you if I was going to go down? Now c'mon, let's get going before you do end up having to carry me,” Steven said, his playful tone no longer in use as the headache got the better of him. He began to advance forward again but making sure he kept a hand braced against the wall just to be safe. “And beside, I am certain you would make a great mother if you really wanted to.”

"Hmph," was the noncommittal response. Of course she did her best not to let it show on the outside but now Arcadia was thinking about it, try as she might to ignore the idea. Her initial reaction was, There's not a chance in Hell I could be a mom! Thankfully, her concern for Steven's well-being was enough to stop that train of thought short. It wasn't important and likely wouldn't ever be.

Back to the topic at hand. "Sir, I may have a rather nasty bark, but I promise I don't bite." She realized that probably didn't get the message across. "What I mean, sir, is that I'd rather you lose consciousness with me as your support, not the wall. I mean, if you'd prefer smacking your skull on the solid steel, then be my guest."

"They seem fine." Emma commented, watching as Arcadia and Steven disappeared down the hallway. luckily, she didn't have to witness what happened to the captain shortly afterwards. Instead she walked into the Cafeteria "I'm sure he'll be okay with the doctors here. Now, let's get something yummy."

That thought was, however, interrupted by Arcadia's message a few minutes later. "Well, do you wanna go?" the young girl asked Green two.

******

Evelyn was mildly surprised when Yotroyan removed his helmet, but was taken aback when another voice came out of the Ottyo's mouth. The gynoid Admiral listened intently to the message, before answering "Why should I believe you? At one point, Terrans helped to destroy and subjugate every other race in this galaxy. Just because we have found our way again does not mean we don't have enemies still. How do I know you are not an angry race, bent on revenge?" Evelyn looked at the Ottyo with a questioning eye, pacing around the room, but still more or less facing the lizard-bird-creature as she did so.

"I think that I can trust you, but, my superiors; yes, I have superiors, Being simply a construct in and of myself; My superiors will have to go over this, and confirm any information you have. but perhaps... Judging by your technology, I believe there is a way I can get to know you more... Intimately..." By now, the Admiral stopped her pacing, and looked Yotruyan in the eye. "How familiar are you with diving into a network?"


******

"Uhh, Hendlow, we're at the counter already, no need for you to get up. but I wouldn't mind a refill of Hot Cocoa." Kai chuckled, putting a hand on the Demo expert's shoulder and pushing him down. "And don't worry about the cigs, I hear there's a cargo convoy coming in soon, and the information is pretty accurate since i've been assigned escort duty to it once it's in-system."