"Commander Rhod Vicing of the beyond-galactic voyage ship 1143PL9, it has been roughly two weeks since we set off and the people have settled, I have gathered those of us I deem vital to this mission to Control Deck Alpha in order for us all to become more... acquainted with each other. This may be a long trip, ladies and gentlemen, and it would be better if we knew who we all are straight away. I see that some are absent, but I have accepted apologies and shall attempt to make time to find them myself later on in the voyage. The star date is December 12th..." the commander paused for a moment, his brow furrowing slightly as he surveyed the air in front of him. His seat was designed for someone else, someone dead, and that made him feel even more uncomfortable in it than usual. It didn't help that the past position occupant was a good foot taller than he was; it was difficult to look at Rhod sitting there in the big chair without thinking the word "booster seat". "It's been a long day, does anyone remember the ye-" he began before he cocked his head slightly towards the tinted eye. "Oh, uh huh... welll... put it into the recording for me ok?" he spoke, seemingly to himself, turning to the group gathered in the room in front of him. "If we would please each specify who we all are and what our jobs are on the ship I'm sure we can all head off to our vital roles in this ship."

A medium size blue humanoid stepped forward from his spot, having opted out of sitting since he was quicker on the step. The light shined off the top of his head as he stepped forward. He had no real human features on his face apart from eyes, as his nose were mere slits on his face and his ears open holes on the side of his head. One would be surprised to see he had no mouth, but even more surprised when they heard his voice in their head. "I am D'mitri and I am Chief of Security here on ship 1143PL9. I am responsible for keeping order on this ship, as well as arresting disorderly persons for crimes against this ship, its crew, or its passengers. In a nut shell, if something illegal happens I will be the one to deal with it. Yes, I am an Agrosian, and yes I have already scanned your minds," He said, scanning the surrounding people and making eye contact with each individual. "Except for yours, Commander." He bowed respectfully to the commander as he turned on his heel and returned to his spot, adjusting the high collar on his unneccessarily clean uniform.

"Pilot Dresden Vasquez reporting, sir," A short, dark-skinned human with an old bionic eye shoved a copy of Keates in his back pocket and stood. "I'll be working in accordance to the nav system steering this boat and doing the more intricate maneuvering the computer can't handle in a pinch." His well-built frame was accentuated by a very nicely tailored uniform. On his thoat, three silver bands could be seen under his collar.

During the silent, awkward pause after the previous introduction, a woman in her early thirties lifted a hand to get attention. She was slim and had dark hair with ivory skin. She was fitted with a flawless lab coat and a clipboard that she held against her hip. "My name is Taylor Samson. I am head Bio-engineer of this ship. This is my associate, Teva Bryndis." she gestured to the women to her left before continuing. "We ensure that there is enough oxygen and food to supply the ship's occupants. We are currently striving to modify plants so that there is more food, more nutrients and less waste.” She counted off before concluding, “Everything is eco-friendly of course."

Ka'aias took a small step forward from where she was looking at the control panels. The mechanical part of her mind was still looking over the lights, doing calculations on what it would take to fix the thing if need be. Much like a computer, though, this took a mere millisecond in spatial time. She made a small bow at the group. Her red eye glowed with a low light as it scanned and saved each face in turn, labeling them with names as well. "I am designated Ka'aias, Cyper attempt 10, individual 3." Her voice was much like a teenagers, though there was almost a slight echo, a second tone that came out as well. "Mechanical Expert and engineer." Her mechanical arm rubbed her flesh one in what appeared to be a nervous gesture. Her human eye landed on D'mitri. "You only scanned half my mind. I can provide a download for you of my mechanical side if you so wish." She looked at the commander. "I can also provide the same for you, sir."

Since D'mitri could speak directly into individual's minds he had no qualms with speaking to Ka'aias. "Have it on my desk by 19:30 standard ship time."

"I am Chief Armory officer aboard the vessel 1143PL9, my name is Sojana Vidian species, Class 9." The creature that stood sharply could have easily been described as a strangely evolved sort of fish or lizard hybrid. Though humanoid in the respect that the female had a head, two arms and two legs, her humanoid was thrown off by the fact that she had a three foot tail. The scales that comprised her outer layer where varied in shades of silver, blue and green and very tightly knit, almost like shark skin. She stood only 5'4" but there was a strong military posture, angling her tail at the ground and her neck slightly stretched for a rock steady balance. "Also I'm the Team Commander of the Drop team designated Ground Rats, they wish to convey their eagerness to drop Sir. The safety of the scientific team is in their highest regard."

"Of course," Rhod said, smiling slightly Sojana and stroking across his dark brown close cropped hair while looking like he'd had a very long two weeks. "But first we must actually find a planet for you to drop to." His mind wondered onto Ka'aia for a moment, just considering her young looks for such a high level she was a... but then again she was not fully human. There had been a big log about Cypers and what it's like to have one on your ship resting on his desk earlier... He'd read it later.

A woman, looking remarkably normal compared to most in the room, squeezed her way through some people and raised a hand half heartedly to gain attention. "You can call me Vesper, and I'm your nurse." She smiled and clasped her hands in front of her uniform, looking perfectly innocent. "I look forward to meeting with each of you once a month." She giggled slightly. "If you have any emergencies, or just questions, concerns, what have you, though, please don't hesitate to come visit me."

Sojana took her seat now that the captain's attention was on someone else. She and her crew indeed hoped that they would find a planet to explore soon; Prolonged space travel wasn't good for any infantry, man or woman, of any species.

Taylor looked around casually. She did not care for all of these dim-wits in uniforms. Their uniforms were all so perfect, clean and orderly....the bloodthirsty neanderthals that they were. She looked over to her comrade Teva, "I guess we should try and mingle, hm?" Taylor was not looking forward to this.

A quiet whoosh in a corner where the lift was and a hand raising up and flapping a little signaled that Rosie O'shira had arrived. Wriggling her way to the front, in a long knit green cardigan and a good pair of jeans she just shimmied into a jacket and beamed at everyone, albeit nervously. "Rosie O'shira reporting for duty, sorry I'm late, had a problem with the key card system, wrong way up. What can you do eh?" shrugging a little and curtsying at the Captain. "Astro physicist and expert in quantum phenomenon. At your service, my job is to find planets, map them and deem them structurally sound to live on, or not. I might be working closely sometimes with your Head bio-engineer." Looking around a little and grinning slightly less as she got more nervous. Her Scottish accent was strong and evident as she spoke. Brushing her hair up into a bobble and eying up the rest of the crew, Rosie remained smiling at the Captain.

Seeing another person come in, Ka'aias pulled back to the panels. She pressed herself as tight to the panel as she could, not wanting to be in the middle of this press of bodies. Kai didn't particularly like crowds.

Teva smirked, jerking her chin toward Rosie, her arms still crossed over her chest. She looked about as happy to be here as Taylor, but much more amused. "Looks like you've got a friend there, Taylor," she whispered to her superior and friend. Neither of them, for all the good they did, were very social. "Bet you'll be having fun with her, eh? All hyped up, running around your office, talking a mile a minute..."

Sojana wasn't exactly the sharing type so she removed herself from the table in order to be less conspicuous on the outer fringes of the mingling. She found a nice spot along the wall and stood relaxed, she wasn't about to mingle unless directly ordered to do so.

D'mitri watched the newcomers with a trained eye, quickly reading their minds and scanning their thoughts. It took only a few seconds for him to be satisfied that they weren't malicious...at the moment. Figuring the meet and greet was over for now he walked over to the wall next to Sojana. "I read the report on your squad's training exercise. It said that your score dipped down to a 98 out of a possible 100. Have you taken disciplinary action to correct this in the future?" he asked her in her mind.

Taylor could picture it just as Teva described. She winced and groaned deep in her throat, "Ugh..." Taking her eyes off the bouncy red headed Scot, she shot Teva a look that said, 'You will suffer with me, I'll guarantee it.' Erasing the whole thought from her mind at the moment, she moved some hair out of her face, "Guess we should follow orders and...." Taylor practically gagged on the next word, "...mingle."

Rhod could see problems springing up already, they seemed so reluctant to talk to each other. He looked around at the stylish, functional room with a slightly disdainful air; this wasn't the best place to get to know people. "Thank you all for participating in this little attempt of bringing my crew closer together" he said, trying to distinguish himself from the other voices. "I am not blind however, I recognize that you are all... hesitant about my idea." Great, you might as well start a revolutionary within your own ship. "It is merely a suggestion that you get to know each other, as you will be working with each other for quite some time." He stood up suddenly, a slight improvement on the standing about his height. "I also recognize that this place... is not the best place to socialize. For those who do wish to know each other a bit better, I suggest we find the nearest relaxed atmosphere. Or a pub at least. For those who do not want to join us, this is not an order."

Entering in a hobbling rush, a rather large and somewhat imposing looking creature stopped before the commander. "Dr. Shaq'l'phard, reporting even though someone forgot to invite the ship's doctor. I happened to have been in the middle of a very interesting piece on sub-dermal effects of skin mites when I look up and noticed that my nurse is missing." He huffed and shook, large black feathers drifted to the ground from beneath his lab coat. "So naturally, I asked the computer where she had gone and find out there's some sort of meeting going on up here? Bah!" He raised a shaky finger up before the commander, "Just you go and make sure I get the memos on these meetings. Damnit Jim, I'm the doctor!"

"I thought you sent it to him," Rhod said, speaking to himself again and falling silent before nodding slightly. "It seems that your filter is put on too high doctor, we did send you a memo about this... and I'm sure you've had a memo about the fact that commander Jim died before we even took off, I am Commander Rhod Vicing. Though it is nice to meet you." This was the ship's doctor? Rhod didn't doubt his skill, but it might worry some of the more... simple folk on the lower decks to have a carrion eater as the peak of health practice on the ship.

Shaq'l'phard craned his head in closer to look at the Commander. "Hmmmm...yes..yes..you're certainly not Jim." He huffed and resumed his slouched position. "Of course my filter is set high. You can't expect me to be bothered every time something happens can you? I'm the doctor! I have far too much to do to be concerned with frivolous activities."

"Which is why...." Vesper stepped in quickly, talking to Shaq'l'phard with calming, assuring tones. "I didn't want to bother you doctor.... I mean, you are so busy... And so important, I'm sure they have either already met you, or know you, and you are going to meet all of them any way....." She really hoped she hadn't upset him by not notifying him. That is.. leaving without him. She looked at him with apologetic eyes. "It's.. good that your here now though," she tried to compliment, giving him an encouraging smile.

"Points to the Commander," Teva's tone cheered without her voice raising at all, almost making her sound sarcastic, and yet somehow genuine, at the same time. She looked at her companion. "Let's go before Little Miss Sunshine there tries to approach you before it's necessary." She turned to the door, frowning. "And me, by association," she added unhappily, keeping her tone dull though. Why were they all so cheerful? She needed a smoke. Two hours of sleep and is woken by the damn computer notifying her of this meeting. She's rather be among the fauna downstairs. WAY downstairs.

Kai looked around and spotted some people leaving. Or talking. They didn't seem as concentrated on any one person as they had been. This was much better to her. Singular concentration meant people noticed things about other people but mobs weren't started. Her mech eye flashed again as she stepped slightly away from the panel and approached D'mitri and Sojana, waiting to get D'mitri's attention.

"Yes Ka'aias, what do you need?" D'mitri asked without taking his focus off of Sojana.

"Oh," Kai said, a bit surprised that he actually addressed her. "This may take a moment, and you were talking, so please, don't let me interrupt." She pondered her info cube that sat in her room. The backup memory it held was more in depth when compared to her own memory access, and of course could not be copied. It had to be directly uploaded. Ka'aias was sure D'mitri wouldn't want all of that information, but it was worth asking anyway. One could never be certain.

While everyone else mingled and so on, Rosie just happily sat down, away from some of the others. Not as confident or as chipper as she appeared, she found a nice quiet corner near the coffee machine and poured herself a thick, hot cup of what only be described as mud. Shrugging and sitting back down she watched a couple of people and waited for the contents of her cup to die.

Dresden returned to the helm, still concerned with their heading and other navigational issues. He was getting a handle for where everything was. It wasn't much different than the transport ships back on Europa, and though the mass of the ship was further back, it could turn on a dime. He was looking forward to this. Later he'd go down and check on the smaller ship-to-planet vessels.

Seeing that very few were actually trying to meet each other socially, Rhod forced his exhasperated sigh to be only mental. He went over to the large glass like screen in the front of the control deck, displaying the vast wonder of the stars beyond. He was standing beside Dresden now, but he didn't move to talk to him; he just stared at the thick glass and wondered how he was going to do this.

"I am capable of hold several conversations at once since I can only speak telepathically. My mind can usually handle up to about six conversations before losing track." D'mitri said to Ka'aias. "Now what is it you need?"

Making her way over to the front of the ship where the Captain and someone she supposed was a pilot or something, Rosie leaned her arms over a chair nearby and watched the stars as they floated past. "Marvelous, aren't they, gentlemen. I've devoted most of my life to these pretties, and they never cease to amaze me," she said, talking quieter but loud enough to be heard by those close by. She pointed out a few she knew with her cup of mud. "Alpha prime, Helion. Crab's head nebula... ohhhh and Xanthaplorathemoheliax. now that one.. is a mouthful."

"I'm just glad that someone knows these stars, I'd be lost up here." Rhod chuckled slightly and rubbed his chin slowly as he looked out at the stars. He wouldn't be totally lost, everybody got basic training in navigation among the stars but it was nice to know that someone was here who had devoted their life to the subject.

"It might be easier if you 'saw' rather than me try to explain in these inadequate words," Kai said. She pictured in her biological mind the cube and its functions, trying to relay how it worked and the difficulty of transferring information to anything that wasn't her own mind.

Taylor took one last look at the room and the people in it. "Alright, let's get out of here." she said, admitting defeat. Slipping her hand in her pockets, Taylor headed to the door with Teva. They quickly made their way back to their comfort zone in the Below Decks.

"Ah, I see now." D'mitri said with a thoughtful sound to his voice. "Well I will require a copy for security purposes. Whatever it takes. In light of the increased difficulty in copying the info I will extend the deadline to this time tomorrow."

Kai nodded and bowed slightly, stepping away again. She looked around, scanning the area quickly, then skipped to the hatch. Kai needed to get to the Facility Quarters to start on a temporary solution for D'mitri's request.

"Ah, it's all relative, Cap'n," Dresden grinned without looking up from the console. "If you know one star and it's relative position in space, you know them all."

Rhod did a strange bobbing motion with his head, not showing agreement or disagreement with Dresden "I suppose, but since it is the job of this ship to find a place able to sustain life, we need to know more than just their positions." He rubbed his chin slowly as he watched the stars. They were given a direction not a destination; they just had to find somewhere to land, but even that would be difficult.

"Fair enough," Dresden replied, taking over manual control of the ship for a moment. "Certainly will be easier to find our new home with someone who knows how to read the street signs." With a flick of a finger he brought up the HUD, which floated in front of his eyes in blue light. "Where to first, then, Cap'n?"

Sojana let Kai have her conversation with the Chief; she wasn't used to conversing with someone who could talk to multiple people at once. However, she answered the question as soon as Kai left. "I've tripled the boys' simulation training since and run random drills myself. They've increased proficiency quite quickly, they're just waiting on when you can see them perform."

"Good, good." D'mitri said with the smallest speck of satisfaction creeping into his voice, which was quickly wiped away. "The last thing we need is our best drop team falling into complacency. Only to be wiped out at the first encounter with hostile lifeforms."

"Trust me Chief," Sojana told him. "These boys are the best I could find and I've worked with a hell of a lot of units. They won't let you down."

"I wouldnt worry about them letting me down. Your the one going into combat with them." D'mitri said. "So what do you think of the personel on this ship?"

Rosie just looked at the Captain and snorted a little, downing the rest of her coffee and looking across the map. "I’ve dedicated probably the best part of my life, scribbling away and secluding myself in lecture rooms and library’s to have it all summed up as 'It’s all relative.' pfft. if only you knew." Muttering more to herself and beginning to show signs of stress and fatigue, Rosie glanced quickly over the map on the HUD and smirked. "You can cross most of those planets off. They’re all too volatile, not enough oxygen, not structurally sound.. oohhh and that one.. " pointing at the little blue blob that looked somewhat like earth just a bit smaller. "The water is acid. Might want to stay clear of that."

"Quite diverse and if I may speak freely," Sojana told Chief D'mitri "I'm somewhat disappointed in the lack of Off-Earth lifeforms, though I suppose that is the point of this mission, to find a new world for the Humans. They wouldn't need many Off-worlders for that."

"Bah!" Shaq'l'phard barked and stormed out of the already heavily populated room. He had said his piece, no need to further burden the new commander. He was the doctor afterall, what purpose did he have on the bridge? Doctors were to remain in the medical bay, unless of a medical emergency. He hated when that happened though. He preferred the quiet sterile environment of his lab.

"Dont fool yourself. We nonhumans serve a large and nearly unreplacable part of this ship." D'mitri said. "I mean, how many humans could do mine or your job better? The list exstends no longer then my fingernail." He didnt mean for this to be racist against humans, he just say it as the truth. No human could do his job better due to his mental abilities, he can catch people before they commit a crime.

"Yes ma'am," Dresden said aimiably, glancing from planet to planet as she pointed them out with his bionic eye. They faded from the HUD into a dull red. "Alpha Centauri's the closest from here," the map scrolled to focus on that star. "Anything of value, Miss O'shira?"

Well the crowd had thinned down, but those who still remained here seemed content enough to discuss among themselves. Not the exact turnout Rhod had been hoping for but this was inevitable with a new crew. HIS new crew. Oh he was not going to get used to that... ever. He was glad that this O'Shira person knew some of the planets in this galaxy, and the nebulas they resided in, but he knew that at some time the knowledge would run out... he just hoped they found a safe spot before then.

Looking over the sector and humming a quick tune as she clicked a few buttons on the HUD and zooming in Rosie brought up a file from her personal hand held computer and looked it up. "Alpha Centauri is a while away... but its never really been looked at properly because some Wack decided it was useless and a gas planet. But the gravity is off, waaaaayy off, its too heavy to just be gas. It’s a bit bigger than earth and from what I’ve heard, it’s not deadly.. really. So there’s no harm in checking it out. At the speed we're going. it would take what three, four days to get there." Shrugging slightly and pulling away from the computer as she had been rather close to it and muttering slightly. looking confused slightly but smiling. "Yeah. Looks interesting," talking a little louder now as she got more confident.

Sojana nodded and added, "I won't say that I'm replacable, but Major Payne from Sniper Academy may have given me a run for my money... Too bad the only thing they could save was his head."

"They may get close, but you have the genetic advantage." D'mitri said in response. "You're a born killer, and just so long as you're only killing our enemies and not defenseless civilians then you can keep doing it."

Dresden leaned over and looked at her personal computer. "That's funny," he said. "I could have sworn someone who studies planets and celestial bodies as extensively as you do would have known the difference between a gas planet and a star system." He zoomed in on the third-brightest star in Earth's sky and showed it surrounded by various planets and moons. "That's probably what the Wack thought."

"I prefer the term predatory advantage over born killer," Sojana told D'mitri "The humans don't like being reminded that they've allied with a species who could have turned their homeworld into a fastfood joint with little to no regret."

"Dont sugar-coat it. You are what you are and shouldnt hide it for the human's comfort."D'mitri said in a scolding manner. "Im the best at what I do because I dont care about the comfort of the individual, only accomplishing the goal. Let everyone else worry about the comfort of others."

Rosie huffed a little and rolled her eyes. waving the personal computer. "Because of that wack no one ever bothered to look at it, let alone zoom in and find out it's a whole solar system in an thick fog of space debris. I knew it!! I bloody knew it!" grinning and pumping her fist in the air she regained composure and clicked on a few things. "Now were closer to it and I'm patched into the ships scanners we can see it clearly. Gentlemen, we are the first people to see the Alpha Centauri system." Grinning and zooming in using the HUD this time so it covered the whole screen.

"You mean, besides Father Richaud and everyone since 1682 AD who've seen the Southern Cross constellation?" Dresden said mildly. "But what the hell do I know, I'm just the pilot or something." More loudly, he said. "Anything look tantalizing, Miss O'shira?"

Frowning heavily and rubbing through her hair and sighing, she said, "I got the wrong one. What the hell am I on about? The planet Ive been referring to isnt anywhere near here." Rosie clicked her screen and sighed, closing it all down and resting her head on a table. "I need sleep. Im not at my best. Permission to leave Captain?" she looked up, the bags under her eyes evident and her eyes looking blurry and blood shot.

"Everyone's been having a rough time lately," Rhod comforted her, gently placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing it lightly "You go rest, we can have a talk later I'm sure." He smiled soothingly at her and let her shoulder go. While she seemed a bit unfocused and unnerved easily he needed her assistance on this trip.

Just nodding and walking off towards the lift, Rosie left without another word and practicaly collapsed against the side of the lift when it closed, sitting on the floor with her head in her hands, heading for the personell quarters.

"She must not have her space legs yet," Dresden said softly to the captain. "I know that's what I was like three weeks off planet-side. The thirty-six hour days aren't easy to adjust to." He dropped Alpha Centauri down to the peripherals and studied the ship's nav data.

"I've accommodated this form for so long I must admit I like the "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" aspect of it." Sojana told D'mitri "I've noticed many Earth predators take to blending into their prey's environment to better Analise their target. Not that I intend to target anyone in particular that is."

"Dont worry, I would know if you intended to kill someone." D'mitri said. "That was the first thing I checked when I searched your mind and the minds of your team." he said, picking a bit of lint that somehow found its way onto his uniform. "Now if you will excuse me I must go and and gather info on a suspect of mine." Before he left he made his way over to the commander. "Commander Rhod, I will be taking my leave now as my duties to the ship and her inhabitants calls. Contact me if you need me." With a quick salute he turned and left, heading down the elevator.

Sojana gave Chief D'mitri a nod as he left. She waited on the edge of the wall since it was mandatory that they get to know one another. She scanned the people in the room hoping they where all engaged with someone else.

Rhod just turned and nodded at him, arms crossed as he looked out of the screen at the stars again; even though they were already setting out to examine over galaxies he had a feeling that this would take some time... He looked around at the room, only finding the second in command of the security team and the nurse still residing here.

"If that's all, Cap'n, I'm off to th'pub," Dresden said cheerfully, having finished reviewing the logistics of the ship. "I'm sure we c'n decide on a trajectory in the morning. We all need some sleep." He stood and saluted Rhod.

"Enjoy yourself" Rhod said faintly, still standing and staring at the screen in front of him; he kinda felt this was a bust but it had introduced the members to each other... And there were still a few people in the room, though they seemed reluctant to talk to each other.

Since no one had shown any particular interest in speaking in speaking with Sojana, she approached the captain and waited to be addressed.

"You're..." it took Rhod a moment, and he tried not to show his discomfort at the minutes of the meeting being played into his head by the computer. "Sojana, head of the... uhhhh... 'ground rats' protection team. Nice of you to stick around" he smiled slightly at her and turned back to the front screen "Believe me when I say I want you to be used as regularly as possible... but I don't hope you meet much action."

"My thoughts exactly sir." Sojana replied to the captian "While my boys are ready to face hostile indiginous species we hope, as you do that any occourances are not frequent. If I may be so bold believe the Chief shares our sentiment."

"I still find this so strange... the fact that I can never return, that we're heading out to find somewhere new... I've watched training videos, and some of the more... classical examples of space exporation when I was a child." Rhod scratched his chin slowly and started to tear his eyes away from the vastness of space "They're all heading back, exploring but with somewhere to go... Never once have I seen one where they're trying to find somewhere else to live."

"I'm afraid I can't empathize with your species's issue." Sojana told Rhod "Vidia is several thousand years from being as damaged as your Earth. There are things I will miss about her however. The wildlife alone was quite interesting and the what few forested areas that remained where breathtaking. Above all I think I will miss the cake, the thermal ovens on board don't do it justice, but then again we do have quite a few more taste-buds than an average human."

"Earth was... strange. I think that's one of the things about it that made it good" Rhod sighed slightly as he settled back into his over sized chair again "The place was insane, some places never saw cold, some never saw heat, some flashed so quickly between hot and cold, drought and floods, it was dangerous to stay there.. but humans did." He rubbed his forehead slightly and closed his eyes "I look at the different species beneath my command, all seem so much better than me at certain things. More efficient at battles, more logical, more emotionally connected... I wonder why someone like me was chosen for the place of commander..." He cracked a slight smile at Sojana "Sorry, I must be boring you."

"I've spent nearly forty years serving in Earth's military." Sojana told him "I've encountered a hell of a lot of species and, no offense, but most where bigger, stronger and smarter than the average human. One thing I've noticed most about your people is that they don't like to give up. Look at the mission we're on now, your solar system basically implodes and what do you all do? Say screw it and go find another. History is going to remember you as one of the men who saved your race. Cheer up, it's going to be fine."

Rhod couldn't help but laugh slightly, running a hand's knuckles against his palm slightly as he thought "Humans have made it a species trait to be basically stupid to long term things, sheer short sighted idiocy and a dogmatic approach to anything we're given." He smiled slightly and sat up straighter in the chair "But since it's what makes me human... why should I ignore it? We're going to get through this blip" it was a massive blip, but a blip all the same "in our history, then move onto the next disaster when it occurs. We'll deal with that whe we get there." He rubbed his neck slowly and winced slightly at the feeling of bone shifting "Are you having trouble fitting into the life here on the ship? I used to open my windows when I woke up... so I'm needing to adjust my pattern slightly."

Sojana was glad he was willing to grin and bear the responsibilities of his entire race and then she was glad for the subject change. "I'm slowly adapting." She told him "My senses can feel the movement and vibrations, no matter how high tech a ship is I can still feel it moving. It makes it hard to sleep, I don't have ears so it feels like my head is buzzing all the time. I'll feel better once I feel dirt under my claws again."

Wrinkling his nose slightly at the idea of being constantly aware of the ships' movements, Rhod gave Sojana a wan smile "It'll fade out eventually, most sensations do if you are around them for long enough. Unfortunatley... that tends to make you feel like something's wrong when you don't feel them anymore. I mean I barely register the engine hum any more, it's so faint to me..."

"I agree, in a few weeks I'll hardly notice it." Sojana told him "So long as they fix that infernal clicking sound."

"Oh? What clicking sound is that?" Rhod asked at once, wondering if there was a problem with the engine already. The computer got onto it as well, searching for any sounds sub human or any strange vibrations that Rhod wasn't noticing.

"I mentioned it to one of the techs earlier today." Sojana said "She promised me she'd check it out and find the problem. She's enlisting the help of a Ekomagus on level 2."

"Well the cameras can't see it" Rhod said "But yes... there is a faint tick every once in a while, doesn't appear to be the actual engine some it's an outside factor..." He rubbed his red eye slightly and tried to think of something to say.

"I'm sure I'll get used to it." Sojana told him "You should visit the Armory when your in the neighborhood. The boys are in for a good scare and the Chief is planning an inspection. I'd love for you to see what they can do."

"If the Chief is planning an inspection... and I turn up... well you'll see who works well under stress at least" Rhod chuckled softly and rubbed his chin slowly. "When's the inspection?"

"I'm not sure, I'm hoping it will be a surprise." It wasn't clear whether or not Sojana was being sarcastic or not.

Rhod couldn't help the small laugh there; to be honest he was acting very casual with Sojana, most Commanders would be seperating themselves slightly from their crew in an attempt for gentlemanly reflection... Rhod seemed unused to this practise and more like on of Sojana's collegues in the force "well think of it this way, if it wasn't a surprise he'd want it even better than if it was."

"Agreed." Sojana told him "It does wonders for response time scores."

Shuffling slightly in his chair, Rhod wished they'd had time to make adjustments to the thing before they'd taken off; while no vital, his back was always straight and his head couldn't lean back much without a pain developing in his neck. "You said you were also the Chief Armory officer here correct? How are we doing down there? I haven't had a chance to check out all the stock yet but I've heard we've got some bigguns..." Rhod suddenly coughed as if he'd heard himself. You're not a lieutenant anymore, stop talking like one.

"Locked, stocked and ready to roll sir." Sojana told him, allowing a bit of a smile to leak threw. "I personally saw to the acquisition of our current stock. As far as ship-board defenses I've never seen a carrier with this much fire power. I might not know how a photon torpedo works but we got plenty of em to play with. We also have the latest in hand held pulse technology as well as a few of Earth's less elegant choices. As my father used to say "Why use your claws when you can fire high speed projectiles at things?", he was a wise soldier."

Skirting around the "was" aspect of that last piece, Rhod just grinned slightly at Sojana "Good to know we're stocked to bursting, I've never been very good at the hand to hand stuff myself... At least in this seat I'm not going to be asked to fight a lot." He paused for a moment, remembering the old "training" videos he'd seen as a kid "Though sometimes I do believe there isn't a choice, a commander must defend their crew to the death after all."

"Forgive me for asking sir but did you enlist in the officers-corps?" Sojana knew something like this might offend him but he seemed pretty easy going. "Or did you gain rank the old fashioned way?"

"I ranked up the old fashioned way" Rhod said, nodding slowly as he appeared to be thinking "Until a point... I joined quite young, started at private and made my way up the ranks. What about you?" He looked over at Sojana and laughed slightly "Nevermind, I can recognise a soldier who's gone the long way round."

Sojana let a real smile creep threw that time. "Yeah, the family wouldn't have it any other way. It's bad enough I enlisted with Earth, it's a tradition in my family, everyone serves at least 10 years, I'm the first to side with Earth. They weren't thrilled when they heard."

"Not a big fan of the big blue marble then?" Rhod asked, using one of the more relaxed terms for Earth; it was more the big blue rubble now but still he used it. He knew that Sojana's people and the Humans hadn't been exactly... friendly when they first met. A year or two of war actually.

"It's not that." Sojana told him "It's just that I went against tradition. They see the alliance between our species as a very useful tactical maneuver... so long as you find a new world to rebuild the ranks."

"We'll probably find several, I mean there's hundreds of these city size ships all heading out to find new places. Some will find places by themselves, and if others aren't too far away they'll head over there for a new planet. The human race is splitting up though, with no one place to call home we're grabbing any planet we can to live on." Rhod gave a wry smile as his gaze slipped out to the stars again "You've gotten very far in the Earth Army though, aren't they proud that you've gotten to this point in your life so soon?" He wasn't sure how long they lived exactly, but she had said something about forty years before hadn't she? She barely looked worn at all... As far as Rhod could tell.

"I suppose they are." Sojana confessed "But they've not yet made me aware of it."

Rhod nodded slightly at Sojana, some things spanned species and age entirely. "I could..." he said slowly "just ask the computer every single detail about you... I mean military records are quite thourough... But I would like to keep some human aspects. So please excuse all my questions, you're one of the few who actually bothered to be sociable with me."

"I'm not a completely heartless lizard lady." Sojana told him with a smirk. She felt that he was a good man, one who put the Mission above everything else. She respected that and figured he was an ok human.

"Well I'm just happy someone stayed behind, the moment I suggest we can go everyone fled. You're not even the head of the security division, you both decided to come here and stay behind to actually meet people." Rhod gave her another grin and began to toy with his fingernails, he'd noticed Sojana's own ones and had a sudden urge to clean his own.

"It's probably just a predatory response." Sojana said with a shrug "You know, wait for the heard to thin, pick a target. It has been an honor finally getting to talk to you though."

"Well the talk doesn't have to stop, not many others you can really approach in my position." Rhod gave the slightest of half hearted shrugs "So I'm guessing you weren't born on earth then? You said it was against tradition to join the earth army."

"A human saved my father in battle once." Sojana told him "He said he was a scrawny little runt, hardly worth noticing, but he got between my father and a Sarturian Charger class 4. He and my father where stationed on Earth during their recovery time. So I had to come try the cake."

"Ouch" Rhod grit his teeth at this thought, he'd heard about some of those battles; charger classes could tear you open with the horn before you'd even blinked, and if you survived that they still carried weapons. The class 4's were the worst, their horn could cut and burn at the same time, made reattatching bits and pieces of survivors hellish because the wounds were cauterised. "Did they both recover? Or did the human end up in a jar for his troubles?"

"No they survived." Sojana told him "The human had to have his legs replaced. Dad got away with only part of his tail not growing back."

Both were rather career ending injuries, Rhod knew that much; oh you could go back onto the field of battle without a tail or legs, but it made it that much harder, and usually it was a choice and not an order. If you've lost your legs they're not making you march back to some other planet just so someone else can finish the job. "Did your father ever go back to battle?" he asked, wondering how brutal this loss of tail was on Sojana's father; if it was just the tip missing you might be able to get away with it.

"No, he didn't." Sojana told him "He finished out his service as an instructor."

Rhod nodded slightly at this, he was too long to have seen much action but what little he had always brought his friends back in pieces or body bags. Those that were lucky enough to stand upright afterwards tended to fall back on instructor jobs. It was the position for those who've had enough with good reason. "So you decided to join the Earth army after that? You must have out stripped your competitors by a long shot."

"Over the years I've learned that most humans don't enjoy it when an off-worlder beats them at their own game." Sojana told him "Especially when it's a girl." Of course she'd graduated top of her classes, she'd be a shame to the Vidian race if she hadn't, but she didn't like gloating about it.

"No one really likes it when someone beats them, unless they're a really good loser. Most people aren't like that though." Rhod waved a hand idly and grinned "I'm glad you're in charge of my ship then, I was hoping for the best and I see I got it."

Sojana smiled at his compliment and added "Come hell or high water sir, I won't let her sink." She gave him a salute as a sign of her word.

D'mitri's voice popped into Sojana's head, "I may need your assistance in apprehending a male Vidian in the ship living quarters. So cut your meet-and-greet short."

"Permission to be excused sir?" Sojana asked Rhod immediately "Chief D'mitri needs my assistance elsewhere." She didn't exactly wait for his permission before heading off for the living quarters.

"Ah, alright" Rhod said, finding it a bit of a challenge to ignore the slight pang of being deprived of company so soon. "I shall see you later perhaps? When do you off your shift?"

"I'm the armory officer, I'm never off duty." Sojana told him jokingly as she left for the living quarters. "It I'm not there check with the Chief."

Nodding slightly, Rhod tried to relax back in the chair as she dissapeared. He swore that nurse was still somewhere in the room... or maybe she'd left he wasn't sure...

"You seem stressed," a voice chirped near his elbow. Vesper, in her nurse's uniform, messy hair, and ready smile, was leaning on the arm of his chair, looking up at him kindly. "Weight of the world on your shoulders?"

"I suppose" Rhod admitted, smiling up at Vesper as she approached "Just a stressful first few weeks, I suppose we've all had that though right?" He rubbed his forehead slowly as he tried to think, his mind feeling slightly fogged.

Vesper took the hand he wasn't using and sighed softly through her nose. She frowned just for a moment before giving him a concerned little smile. "You should get some rest. Otherwise you'll get an ulcer," she said kindly. It was such an odd feeling her touch caused. One could feel the skin on skin contact, but their was a sucking feeling, like liquid through a straw, that passed from the person she touched, to herself, and yet, it didn't suction to the skin. Strange. Still, she continued on, pulling from him all doubt and worry, slowly so as to not alarm him. "And have to see Doctor Shaq'l'phard." She chuckled, amused by the image of a nice man like the captain being forced under the care of the slightly abrasive doctor.

Rhod let out a slight groan and relaxed in his seat slightly, just trying to relax and not realising what Vesper was doing. "I'm alright, really. I'm used to working in stressful environments. I'll just need a little while to get used to this one" he gave her a small smile back and blinked at his hand she was holding. "May I ask... what are you doing?" he squirmed his fingers slowly, as if testing the suction and not trying to escape.

Her smile didn't falter as she replied. "I'd say.... but it would only concern you. Suffice it to say, I am helping you relax. It is no more harmful than a good shoulder massage, which, I could do if you prefer?" Vesper offered genuinely. "And you have no adjusted in a few weeks? I suppose now that we are on our way, we can just.. slow down... and really adjust to the situation, yes? But you know, if you ever need to talk to someone, or just get something off your mind, I am available." She gave him a disarming smile. "It is part of my job, but even if it was not, I would offer. Everyone needs someone to talk to."

"Thanks" Rhod admitted honestly "It's just been kinda stressful lately. Technically we weren't free of the blast until the first week had passed, the suction of the thing was so powerful no one noticed we were going full tilt and didn't actually move. It's stopped now, and the computer's idled slightly so now the pilot can take over to conserve energy." Rhod shook his head slightly and sat up, rubbing his eyes in a tired way more than a stressed way "I... really shouldn't be saying all these things... Don't want to worry the passengers."

"I am not passengers," Vesper replied. Her english was never going to be perfect. "I am crew. Crew loyal to the commander, and concerned about the commander. We can not work at best without your leadership, and in that regard, as well as for my job, it is my concern that you should be in peak health." She frowned just slightly, concern in her expression. "Worry tomorrow. Tonight you should rest. We are free from threat for the moment, take advantage of that."

"Except for the banging" Rhod pointed out, holding up a finger as if declaring his point "And the lack of will to get on with each other among the crew, and the crime that has ALREADY sprung up and the fact that I'm currently guiding a city sized ship into unoccupied, unexplored space in a desperate attempt to find a suitable planet for us all to settle down on." Shrugging slightly, Rhod just tried to relax, but every couple of seconds a fresh well of emotion sprouted for Vesper to take "Apart from that, you know, we're fine."

Vesper very successfully gave him an encouraging smile. "So you are saying that all co-workers on Earth got along? I am sorry Commander, but we both know that is not true, just as we both know that it is true that co-workers do not get to know each other by a simple 'meet and greet'. It will take time. You must let them interact. As least they know who does what now, and know who to go to for what job. Be thankful you managed that much. You are a good Commander, be confident. The banging? Such noises will happen, that is why we have repair crews, good repair crews. They will fix it. Just as we have security for crime, and pilots and navigators and such to find a new home. Do not worry so much," she assured him. "You have a good crew, we are a good crew. Trust us, as we trust you, and your ship will not fall apart. You will find a good new home."

"Thanks, really" Rhod sighed, smiling slightly up at Vesper from his seat "I try not to let these things get to me, but I've got to be cautious, got to try and keep track of every little bug and niggle before something blows up in my face." He scanned the stars in front of him, trying to think about how many ships had actually escaped the blast; the speech they'd been given suggested that quite a few might blow up in orbit. "Just so I know... what are you doing. I mean I am the commander, I should know these things right?"

Her smile became a bit shy. "If you must know," Vesper informed him with a little reluctance, or embarrassment. "I'm eating. Don't worry, it won't hurt you," she assured him quickly, not wanting him to panic. Her thumb stroked his hand gently where it still help him loosely. "You just looked like you could do with a little less... burden."

"Eating?" even though his voice was calm, and the only puzzlement he displayed was a slightly raised eyebrow, a small flower of worry opened inside Rhod. I mean deciding to eat from the commanding officer without explaining first seemed rather... strange. "What do you mean eating?"

Vesper felt the worry and frowned, pulling her hand away. Almost immediately the feeling of worry and concern and stress just flowing out of him vanished, letting it settle like a rock. "I apologize," she said, bowing her head a little before looking up at him. "My species... Well, your emotions... I guess it is.. Well the closest way I can explain it is like how some animals can pick up on the emotions of other animals... I can pick up on, and even take, your emotions from you. Well.. the negative ones in any case. I suppose it is something like your drugs, but it is not. It is more like food." She frowned, unsure how to explain it exactly.

Rhod shook his head slightly, blinking "Ah, the computer says three things. One, you are an empathic based life form that feeds off the emotions it feels. Two, when you do that the interference with my mind causes contact with the computer's main core to become fuzzy. Otherwise it would have told me this already. Three, that..." he flushed slightly and mumbled out "I am over stressed, my heart rate is elevated and it recommends I resume contact with you again... If you'll agree."

"It is one of the reasons I am here, Commander," Vesper said with a little nod and carefully put her hand back where it had been, trying to be as non threatening as possible. Again the flow pulled at him, as if sucking poison gently from his whole body. The nurse sighed slightly, closing her eyes a moment before opening them again to look at her Commander. "The computer is right... You really need to rest, sir..."

"Thank you Nurse, but I'm pretty sure I still have a chunk of work to do for today. Most of it's just reviewing statistics, I basically sleep through that anyway. The computer always alerts me to real troubles straight away." Rhod said, waving the idea of rest at the moment "And I might go visit the faculties on deck, see how they're settling into their new places. talking of which, how do you find Doctor Shaq'l'phard and the ship's quarters? Is the hospital too small? Have the shipments been getting in on time? Unfortunatley I didn't have much word in designing this ship, most of it fell on scientists and the original commander." Again, buds of worry and doubt opened for Vesper; her commander was like a one man buffet for her, which was a bad thing really if you consider that she fed off bad emotions.

Vesper smiled as she essentially found each bud of worry and snatched it up like a greedy child, barely keeping her enthusiasm from showing. After all, she didn't want to unnerve him. "The medical quarters are fine, and Doctor Shaq'l'phard is a brilliant man, it is my honor to work for, and with, him. The Doctor has not complained too much about the work space, and I have no reason to complain. Everything is fine, just fine, relax... If there was a problem, we would let you know, but we are all content. Stop making 'mountains from mole hills'. That is what you humans say, yes? Like that... These are little worries. I would say it's not like the world is going to end because of some ticking or a petty thief, but I think it is a tad late for such words. You're ship will not fall apart, and neither will your life. Please, calm yourself." She gave him another encouraging smile, her thumb once more stroking his hand held loosely in her own. "As for living quarters... You can see for yourself if you like. I have nothing to hide, and I doubt you would stop worrying just because I say it is 'fine'."

"Maybe, I'm not needed here at the moment exactly" Rhod admitted, standing up slowly and slipping his hand carefully from Vesper in an attempt to move without seeming either romantically attached to other people, or rude to Vesper. Holding hands could mean so many different things in different species... "Humans are so complex little things..." he seemed to say to himself "Fragile and uncertain but able to decide to fly out and find a new planet when their own blows up. Truly insane."

The nurse stood with him, nodding in agreement and apparently unoffended. "So... what do you wish to do now Commander?" she asked, curious. Vesper was to tend to the needs of the crew, since the doctor could not be bothered with the little things. He was far too important for that, she realized without any malice. "I could accompany you on your tour.... or... I could leave you to what you may wish to do... Though, I do recommend that you get rest as soon as possible." She frowned. "No, I will accompany you anyway. I would never forgive myself, and Doctor Shaq'l'phard wouldn't forgive me either for letting something happen to you. So, where to, sir?" She smiled again.

"Well I am a trained soldier" Rhod pointed out with a small chuckle, waving a hand slightly towards the elevator as he made his way towards it. "I haven't really looked around the faculty decks much, if you have no qualms with having a little wander around there?"

Vesper shook her head and smiled as she followed him onto the elevator. "Not at all, sir. But don't try to leave me in the medical quarters," she warned. "If you will not rest, you will have a nurse."

"If you insist on saying so, but I'd rather have someone just want to walk around with me" Rhod said as they stepped into the elevator and he keyed in the number for the facility quarters.