Furry-Within

Somewhere deep in Engineering Mathis looked at the com screen next to him and sighed. "Alright, so that's what happened, he was doing the pre-flight tests and something went wrong." He shook his head and picked up the comm board off the wall, and moved out to the local P.A. He dealt out the jobs to each of the techs according to the changes that he saw listed. Then he contacted the Chief Engineer to make sure he knew what was going on, when people made changes to an engine he was assigned to, there were rumors that he could explode bioticly, Mathis had never seen it, but the Chief Engineer was already capable of almost disappearing and reappearing on the other side of the damned deck, and Mathis never did believe him when he said he just walked.

In the briefing room Mikkaddo heard the soft beep once again and answered it expecting more to be wrong. "What is it now Mathis? is the pilot trying to launch while we're docked again? please don't tell me he succeeded . . . he what? and how is it working then . . . there's no errors . . . be careful, I don't trust some of those techs . . . they don't take their job seriously . . . and they need to understand that, well I know YOU've heard my lectures before . . . well then tell THEM, make them understand!" he sighed and leaned back in his chair, letting his eyes shut. Feeling out the rhythm of the ship. It helped him learn the ships he was on, it was important for him. If he could learn it's rhythm, he could learn what it's like when it's working properly.

She would give him a gentle nod before slowly slipping into her own subconscious thinking. Her body seemed relaxed and comfortable dispite the small space she was seated in. She made quiet breathing and soft snoring noises, her ears flinching here and there as she slept. Her body leaning this way and that with the very slight movements of the ship. She managed to curl her small body into the chair she sat in and rest her head on the arm of the seat, her pink flower falling from her ears and into Arashi's lap unknown to her.

Strumming and piano playing was heard in the deep depths of her mind. A smile was brought to her precious lips. She was hearing the music that she was supposed to play. Thats what made her so special, especially to her band mates. She sent them her music and they gave her this..amazing opportunity. Some darker lyrics came and she saw it.. She saw what this song was, what it was supposed to be. She was to be asleep the whole trip, give her enough rest for when she wakes up she would need to practice and manage to write all the lyrics and notes down on the paper. 

Noises were competing in her head, like bustling and rustling of random bags and noises when she was bumped in the foot. She gently opened her eyes looking up to Arashi. She saw her flower on his lap and cleared her throat, her cheeks turning a slight shade of pink. "Uh... heh." She gave a gentle smile and used her thumb and forefinger to grab it, slowly and hesitant. "I, guess we have docked?" She asked and watched as people started to move back and forth for luggage and such. She gave a gentle nod to him. "I take it you have things to do, you being in uniform and all." She chuckled and bent down from her seat grabbing her duffel and guitar. She gave a final look to him. "I am sure to see you around yes?" She asked with a slight tilt of her head and a bright sweet smile.

After his response she would nod and begin to walk down the aisles waiting in the line of the many others, standing out like a sore thumb in her pink summer dress and denim jacket compared to all others in their uniforms. She was beyond nervous. Her band mates said they would get her on the soonest ship, I guess the strings they pulled were quite effective. She looked at the large doors. She looked up to them and with a deep inhale and exhale she walked through the doors, managing to be the rare few last ones to get off the ship and onto the bay. She watched as those large doors closed. She blinked for a moment and walked down the halls. Stopping to ask the clerk for her room first, so she could freshen up.

Once she was cleaned and changed into her new clothes (aqua undershirt) she picked up her guitar and made her way down to the mess hall. A soft sigh on her lips as she contemplated the words and lyrics she was to right down. They were swimming in her head as she grabbed and paid for her food. A salad of rare sorts, good for the mind as it were. She sat at an empty table, the mess hall was starting to clear out it seemed. "Guess people do have things to do." She said with a chuckle and took her fork to start eating. She couldnt shake the lyrics, the mysterious tone of the song, if only she had a piano by her side. The music she heard was sad... but insightful. Oh what she heard within her mind.

She shook her head side to side. "Thats it.." She said and pushed her plate aside and grabbed her case and propped her behind on the table. She unsnapped the case and took out her blue guitar, such and outdated instrument that brought her the most joy. She propped the guitar in her lap and began strumming the chords she heard.. her voice mimiking lyrics as she omitted them. This song was so... unreal, even more so as she continued to play.

"We don't always see eye to eye
But we see how the time's flying by
And we live with a daunting suspicion
That it might not go into remission"

The words just floated from her lips, like rain drops falling from blades of grass and into the earth. She wrote down the lyrics and notes as she continued to play with the lyrics floating in her head.

"So against all the odds we're competing
Though we don't know for sure what we're reading
In the old testament we'd get fire and torment
But the new one says something 'bout healing

We're dying to live
We're trying to live
We're dying to live
Cause there's so much to live for"

A song that sounded near of war and strife... the meaning was unsure, but history has played this song over and over. She sighed some and wrote down the rest, starting from the beginning he started singing it over and over putting them all together. She set the guitar aside holding it with her hand as she put a forkful of vegetables in her mouth. She then began strumming again, in an empty mess hall, at least the acoustics were good.


Original song by Nataly Dawn-Dying to live

Marcs had been sitting on the floor, leaning against a wall and trying to get comfortable in his new, yellow uniform as the commotion started. He hadn't seen anything, he had had his eyes clothes, but the "danger danger ship will do something bad" alarm was sounding in the air all over the engineering part. He had heard the other engineer, what was his name again.. Mathis? He had been walking around commendeering the others on what to do in order to fix whatever what was wrong. Not that Marcs cared. He hadn't been told by Mathis to do anything, so he was planning on doing just that, nothing. However, eventually the alarm would just be too much for him, and annoyed he would get up on his feet, looking around for the second-in-charge after the Chief Engineer. If they were so slow now, perhaps he could do something. Or not, the ship would surely just blow up.

He groaned a bit and adjusted his shoulders. He didn't like the uniform. But then again, he had been used to wearing used, quite ravaged clothes his whole life up until now. This uniform was actually the nicest pieces of clothing he ever had gotten his paws on. But if this was what new felt like, then he was happy his other clothes had been old.

He would walk around, looking around for Mathis but not actually actively searching. Then he saw a lever. If there was something he could never let be, it was levers. If there was anything he had learned in his non-proffessional dealings with machines, it was that a single lever could be the difference between survival and utter destruction. And he did not like this lever. It was in off-mode. He looked around, and considering the rambling everywhere, he was relatively alone. At least no Mathis. They hadn't gotten along, and he would definately not approve of what Marcs was going to do. The pangolin slowly moved a hand to the lever, pulled it, and only some seconds later, the alarm went off. Whether this was because of that he pulled the lever, or if it was Mathis working one of his "miracles", he did not know.

But a lever placed like this was easy for anyone to bump into. And if you were going to try something like pre-flight checks with a lever not in it's original place, well... not so strange that an alarm would've gotten off. He wasn't going to report it to Mathis. He had pulled it, and there was no idea to report the alarm going away now. He was sure the genius had already noticed this.

Mathis patrolled through the Engineering deck after the alarm had been stopped, making his rounds to be certain everything was properly in it's place when he stumbled upon Marcs standing next to a switch with his hand on it. He looked at his board, typing on it and said. "You're Marcs . . . awfuly suspicious you know . . . seeing you touching that so soon after the alarm  was sounded and then suddenly ended as well." He wasn't glaring at Marcs, but it was clear he did not like him, and may believe it was Marcs that caused the alarm. "Don't you have a station to get to?" he asked as he kept typing on his board, not actually looking up to Marcs' face.

Another Engineer came by, tapping Mathis on the shoulder and he spoke to the tech for a moment, nodding and the tech pointing to something, Mathis sighed then looked back to Marcs. "Ok, so apparently it wasn't you after all this time . . . just try not to act suspicious anymore, Chief Mikkaddo doesn't keep techs that don't know their job." he smirked and turned leaving Marcs where he was, not awaiting for an answer.

He perked one of his small ears as he heard that voice that he so recalled, or as he liked to think of it, the irritating noice that someone usually after enough time just recieves as a buzz in the background of everything else. He turned around and let the lever alone, looking at Mathis calmly as the man told him off. He himself kept quiet however, there was no need for Marcs to say anything when he knew that he was right. As another yellow-suited engineer came up and spoke to Mathis the lynx (spoken to Mikkado, he's a lynx alright), the pangolin would bring up what would look like a pocketwatch, but was in fact his PMD, he had modeled itself as he hadn't been too happy with the one he had gotten by the fleet. He had been told to change back about to or three times, but he did not, for it was not important to have it in an approved matter. Just because he rebuilt it to suit him it didn't have to mean it didn't work at all with the other's.

As he looked up again he noticed that Mathis was walking away. He hadn't really heard the last words said to him because he had simply not paid attention to the smaller man. "I don't have a station to go to. No one has directed me anywhere." he muttered. He truly had been ignored almost completely. He did not mind it at all, but it could get him in a tight fit if someone would come poking around to see what he's been doing. Sure however that Mathis hadn't heard him muttering, however, he turned around and kept walking the same way he had come from. It was time to restart that nap he had lost before..

*He waited until she fell asleep, that lopsided smile stayed there until she was.  The moment she was out his eyes fallowed the Flight attendant.  Taking notes on who she talked to? What staff she spent the most time talking around? He watched her body movement. Scanning her figure for odd lumps and shapes. But really he fallowed the odd wire hanging from her waist.
  Spending time so long in the field, he knew that there where those out there that would not hesitate to destroy a small vessel. Those religious nut cases who think earth is where we all should still be. And that aliens like himself are the devils creation.
     His eyes squinted a moment as she leaned over another passenger handing out a drink. A little soft sigh of relief escaped his lips. Leaning back in his chair. It was just a modified PMD. he closed his eyes, Leaning back in his chair. His head turned a little as he watched Astara for a long minute peacefully sleeping.
    Stop thinking about it Storm, two different worlds remember? What would she do if you woke up screaming from another one of your bad dreams? What would she say if she found one of our stashed pistols? No... to her we are different. A creature of violence. We could never live in her world.  You and i both know this.
   He leaned back resting his head in his fist as he stared of into space, He knew the crazy voice in his head was right. But that did not stop him from wondering how nice it would be to wake up to a warm body, To listen to her sing. That little lopsided smile played on his lips as he recalled the sound of her chuckle. He felt something touch his lap, His eyes looked at the object. Picking the tiny flower up a moment he took a long sniff, Admiring the scent of a flower. Its been a long time since he did even that.  Gently he placed the flower back on his lap. Fully intending to give it back when she woke.
   Arashi's Head turned as he heard her wake. Finally Arriving at the ship, From here on out, it was all business. back to a world of guns, blood, death and killing. The endless drilling and crammed tight into a can with other like minded individuals.  he gave Astara his best lopsided grin as he gave her a head nod hearing her question.
     " Yeah, Just arrived. You got good timing. " *he got up himself clearing a little space handing her bag to her* " I certainly hope so, Maybe I'll be lucky enough to catch your show sometime. Who knows they might even play your song across space eh"?
         he took her smile into his memory. That smile was genuine, Something rarely ever offered to him. It would be something he would not likely to forget.  Stopping a long moment he watched her drift of into the a sea of uniforms. Until she was no more then a memory.
Thats All she can be to you Arashi, A one night stand, and a memory. Well not even that..
    He spoke silently to the voice that plagued him "Is that a feeling I am detecting from you Kuriyami? You getting all emotional on me now"?
He was only answered by silence, Making his way to his room he surveyed it. All his bags where already there neatly piled up int he middle of his room. The room itself was empty, no bed, no carpet,his fingers gently touched the walls a he walked the room. Checking the small closet, bathroom. Looking out into space from his window he took a long slow deep breath. Finally alone.
   "This is it Shadow...home..." *Taking a moment to check his pmd, he still had another 15 minutes* "Suppose we should go meet the others. you finally ready"?
huh!! Thats your Department Arashi, I kill shit, you talk to people. Though i would if you let me? hmmmmm.... bet you would get laid more often if you did. Snuggling between a nice set of tits-
  "Enough!!...shut up..." Arashi rolled his eyes as he exited his room. Moving the the crowds of techs, soldiers and other various crew members. Making his way to the meeting room.

With the room sealed it was small, almost closet like and Felicia's feet felt the desire to move, but she couldn't. She was well versed in the procedures for entry. She lingered, idling next to the pod, with duffel in paw waiting for the decontamination scan to finish. She squinted her eyes against the intense, blinding, white light that did a slow passing sweep of a wave across the room. As soon as the green light came on again, indicating completion, the wolverine turned and moved forward. Her destination, clear as day, directly in front of her in the middle of the wall, a window approximately 2' X 5' in measurement. The wolverine tipped her head to the armed Marine standing behind the safety glass, decked out in his splendor of black and black with a splash of red. He returned the nod and pointed to the door on her left. It was a round metal thing of wheel, with strange looking knobs jutting out the ends. She crossed the short distance between the pod and the hatch in three easy strides, then hoisted her pack up and slung it over her shoulder. She grabbed the handle at the 2 and 10 position and yanked hard to her right, manually opening the hatch and stepping out, before closing and securing it.

Outside the airlock she turned and moved down the corridor on her left, after a few moments she found herself staring again into the face of that same Marine. She slipped a paw into her jacket and pulled out her papers, handed them to him, then stepped through the next set of decon strips at the door. He gave her a sharp, appraising stare, like she was some morsel he wanted to eat, scanned her orders then presented them back to her.

Felicia didn't appreciate the predatory gaze he afforded her; she arched a thin eyebrow upward and glanced down at his chest. On the left side she caught the gold glimmer of his nameplate, with the precise block letters that simply read REESE. She would remember his face, and his scent; the name was already engraved in her brain. She snatched the papers from his paw, returned his hastily offered salute then crossed the room and exited into the hall, passing through yet another set of decon strips.

Felicia knew exactly where she was going; after all she had designed a large portion of this room herself. Straight ahead of her was a hallway, long, and wide enough for two to pass easily abreast, at the end a turbo lift that granted her access to the living quarters upstairs. One the right side of the hall were most of the offices, dressed in the same drab colorless tone that the Alliance was so famous for, and on the left was were the majority of the real work was done. At a languid pace she moved down that hallway her paw softly sliding across the panes of glass that broke the intervals. She continued halfway down that hall then moved to a glass door on the left. She lifted her palm and pressed it against the metal plate next to the doorframe. A red light slowly scanned down the length of her paw to the wrist then back to her clawtips confirming her identity. The light on the pad pulsed green for a moment before the door to the room opened.

Felicia wasted no time and stepped into the room. Golden eyes swerved to the left then veered right. She gave a small shake of her head and smiled. "Fucking amazing." She reveled for a moment amongst the racks of servers that stood equal to her height, the delicate circuitry and wires with blinking lights of all colors, marveling at all its intricacies. "It looks just like he said it would." She exhaled a long pleasurable sigh then grabbed the chair off to her right and sat down at the terminal there.

The power was already on,  a soft electric hum filled the air. She discarded her duffel on the floor next to the desk, leaned over the keyboard and typed in her one word command. L-I-S-T-E-N. In a clear concise voice the wolverine spoke. " Wake Up ISIS."

Even though waiting was one of his strengths standing idle for a thirty minute journey was annoying and it showed on his face. He was quick to exit the shuttle his grip tightened on the sword as his icey blue eyes scanned the deck. Here was a bustle of activity people coming and going. Cargo being loaded and unloaded taken from shuttles to sit on the greasy floor. it seemed no matter how spotless, how new a ship the shuttle bay was always the grimiest of places. Sirus could smell the grease the moment he stepped onto the ship. He watched for a fleeting moment as people moved back and forth taking on the supplies they would need for their shakedown cruise and hauling them off down to the cargo bays. Without saying a word Sirus turned left walking with a casual ease that belied the intent beneath. His grip tightened on the cord holding his sword as he walked slowly. His strong feet felt the plates beneath and memorized every inch they covered as he moved to the turbolift. The doors slid silently open at his approach and he moved in onto the velvety carpet. He turned smiling at the controlled chaos of the bay and spoke clearly and concisely.
"Deck 2" he said
In response the doors slid closed with the same silent property as before and the lift zoomed to its location. His toes gripped the carpet a little harder at sudden movement a knot forming in his stomach from sudden acceleration before the inertial compensators kicked in. His face never let onto it however and only the subtle movement of his toes was any indication he noticed the change. The moment the lift stopped he was moving again even before the doors opened.

He was through the doors and down the hall the second they opened. He wanted to get his things in his room and get ready for this meeting. He moved down the hall moving to the door assigned him and then into them. The officer quarters were nicer then the enlisted often having a sleek window to see the stars through just over the bed and this room was no exception. He moved placing the bag on the bed before turning and hanging his sword from a hook in the wall. He then started unpacking pulling his clothing out neatly and into the dresser provided for him. Halfway through his unpacking however the flat metal plate attached to his mane looking much like a hair band flashed for all of a second green and red before turning the same color as his hair. His eyes flashed for a second and a familar green HUD (Heads Up Display)  flickered to life before his eyes. The round circular section was visible to his left eye and if looked at would activate the vast databanks of the onboard computer AI known as I.S.I.S his little wheel had a picture of the girl standing over the thing in a rather cheery looking pose as she waived. He smiled wide looking to the image and speaking "well good morning Isis, I hadn't exactly expected you here."  He spoke confidante of no-one listening in.
Though working on project ISIS was one of his notable achievements his truly remarkable achievement was the Neural Synaptic Responce System (or NSRS for short) much like implants this device would link to a specific registered user and allow the AI to link to the mind and provide information. Many might find this idea worrysome at the very least however precautions were taken with the hardware to ensure it only had one way communication allowing the user to consult with the AI for information needed and to check on system settings. Everything seen through the interface, however, was specific to that user only generated by a profile setup during registration and preference in the hardware configuration.
At the moment Sirus's eyes were moving as rapidly as if he were in REM sleep as he sifted through information gathered by the supercomputer. Even though she was in a restricted area in the ship and was 'asleep' her memory banks were constantly gather information and when activated began to gather tactical analysis of the ship that Sirus was now on. He smiled wider almost letting himself purr as he blinked clearing the screen before him and straightening up to walk out of his room. He moved down the hall heading to the meeting room. He was certain he would be early as most people seemed intent on eating before this meeting though why they hadn't eaten earlier was beyond him as he moved to where the captains chair was and sat two seats right of him in the tactical chair. His eyes resumed their movements waiting for everytone to arive as he sifted through various bits of data via his NSRS.

Mikkaddo looked up when someone else came into the room waiting for the briefing. He had sat up instantly at attention, expecting the Captain, or the rumored and highly possible Spectre. He couldn't stand the idea that a Spectre might be on board, but this man didn't look like one. He looked the man up and down, something was off. Not wrong, just . . . odd. He couldn't place what it was though either. Something was very strange. He saw a flash in the man's eye.

"Cybernetic implants?" he thought to say, but he decided against it.  It wasn't proper to bring up such a thing. Though he'd considered cybernetic implants before. But being part of the Alliance in Engineering he was never on the same boat long enough to make it useful. They'd be replacing them every 6 months if he did that. He finally decided to let out a long breath and ask what the man's name was. "Hello there" he said, wondering who the man really was, what was so odd about him. "My name is Mikkaddo, I work in Engineering and was assigned to this ship. By the way, what's your name?" he had a smile on his face, he wasn't exactly pleased as he hated being put to a new boat, everything changed, even the components that were his. And the worst part was the changing crew. Always new crew. So very many new faces to recognize and names to remember. Though this ship's crew seemed more apt to their jobs than most any crew he'd been part of in a long time.

Ivans eyes would simply close as he waited for the senior officers to arrive, in his head ran the details of the Mission specs. He was a lot calmer then he was during his walk toward the conference room, the shower really helped calm his nerves, though a slight ping trailed through him when his ears quickly perked up and forward at the sound of the door opening. His eyes opened slowly as he looked to the first of his Senior officers to arrive, from here on it was time to get serious.

"Dobroe utro...."*he replied, his eyes quickly moved about the the male ass he took his seat and joined him in the game of waiting. He searched for any information with his eyes before moving back to their gaze toward the door. His body still leaning back into the chairs cushion, his legs crossed and his hands in a pyramid just under his chin. His eyes glanced down quickly to his PMD and chuckled silently, it seems he still had quite some time before the meeting began and preparations for their first destination would finally begin. Ivans tail would slowly sway from left to ride behind him as he looked away from the device on his wrist and looked about the corners of the room slowly, occasionally giving a quick glance toward the Fennec but making no attempt to make conversation just yet. He didn't want to overexert himself before the mission briefing....besides, there would be plenty of time on this mission to make trustworthy bonds between the crew of his ship.

Alas, he was starting to get bored...so, he tilted his head downward a bit as he closed his eyes and went back into a sense of deep thought. He would need to ready himself, any mistakes, any error on this mission would ultimately fall upon his shoulders. He wondered what his crew would be thinking when they heard about the Russian Captain that would be in command of the ship, it wasn't any secrete to as how Russian military officials would take command and their attitudes toward those that deserted their posts. The thought made him smile a bit, would he himself at the end of this mission become just that? It was true that the blood of the Mother Land ran thick in his veins as does the blood of his military ancestors. He opened his eyes and looked about seeing that it was still him and the German, amazed and how far their countries had kept their founded peace and their steadying trip to forgiveness of the harshness of the old wars.

Though the thick silence that seemed to hang in the air would quickly be broken as the 'Oh shit' Alarm had started to go off on his PMD alerting him that something had either gone seriously wrong, or a rather bad  breach in protocol was made aware, Ivan simply narrowed his brow as he glared down toward the screen, his tail tip giving a slight flick as he averted his gaze back toward the door. He would find out more, about what happened...such error will not be tolerated on his ship. Again, the sound of the door brought his attention back as his blue eyes looked up toward the canine that had made his way inside the conference room, now a second Senior Officer made his way in and over to his seat. He clearly heard the little go on with whoever was on the other line, clues to whose ass would be on the line if he so chose to take action toward the one truly responsible. He didn't have to measure this one up for information, his body language was loud enough for him. He hoped the feeling he got was right, he didn't need any lazy crewmen on board, then again....he did need something for target practice.

The thought amused him for quite a bit until the doors opened yet again, this time a white lion had made his entrance.  He now had a third Senior officer report in, this was good, it meant that the shuttles were probably finishing their docking process and letting the rest of the crew aboard his ship. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as he looked back down to his PMD to check the time again, his tail returning to it's normal casual sway behind him. His ears perked up as he listened to the canines attempt to engage in conversation, it was not forbidden, he himself just chose not to initiate anything. He shifted about slight in his seat, it appears sitting in the same position without much major movement, does tend to make the ass sore.

Finally Arriving at the Entrance to the meeting room, he stood for a long, long minute just on the other side of those doors. Reviewing important data that he memorized, He knew all the senior officers by name and face. Or what ever data he could pick up before hand. Yet he was nervous, His fists clenching and Releasing over and over again.
  Unzipping his Uniform jacket his fingers curled over the Grip of his highly modified pistol, he checked his extra clips and add on for his pistol as if making sure they where still there. As well as the handle to his Gravity blade. His Fingers dipped to the small of his back where the other Gravity blade rested. His finger opened each pouch making sure the components where in there proper place.
  Zipping up his jacket once more he took three solid slow deep breaths, letting each one out ever so slowly. Checking his PMD at Exactly Five minutes before hand he stepped through the door of the briefing room. His lightning blue eyes a mask, His face solid Obsidian displayed no emotion. Those deep blue lightning eyes making eye contact with each and every Officer in the room. His head nodded in greeting to each and every one of them. The voice in his head Reviewing them As if reminding them of who each and every one of them were.
  Silently he Sat in his seat, His hands gripping his chair.

The blue vixen stumbled rather awkwardly off the shuttle making her way into the lift shuffling her feet behind the kitty. She was fasinated by the sights around her. She had always been stuck in a dank drab lab in her few years working on this implant or that transmitter that she never got to see much of the world or in fact universe around her. She had joined to see the universe but that had all changed as she started getting older. First came the blue ears and bushy blue tail. Then people started talking, laughing quietly behind her back. She started avoiding people all together and no one seemed to care, or notice, when her fur grew in. She pressed the glasses further up the bridge of her nose, something of a nervous habit she had when in crowds of people as she stepped into the lift. Her papers rustled in the movement against her chest -- she didn't like placing her work on computers as much as others and  often wrote everything down before moving it to her computers -- as the doors closed and sped them on their way.

Her eyes blinked to the extended paw curiously looking at it as if unsure what to do. She bent, sniffed the paw then smiled and gave it a single lick "nice to meet you Alina. Do you know where I can get a phase-induser? OH! and I need a static field generator... thought I might have to make one " she started mumbling to herself though that wasn't to last as the smells on the air caused her stomach to groan and grumble noisily. "mmm smells good" she looked up walking in almost completly forgetting about her requests as she drooled at the menu

Strawberry lifted her head some when the feline entered and headed to the back toward the buffet table. A small smile crept over her face as the feline was followed by a vixen. "You can help yourselves, no need to drool at it," the rat said and chuckled softly.

Kyle had just gotten up and gone into the kitchen when the other two had entered. And RJ was already in the kitchen staring at the dumbwaiter.

Strawberry watched the other two females and couldn't help but grin. 'Blue outfits... glasses, many papers. Science Crew,' she thought and took a bite of fruit. "Plates are on the far right, take as much as you like. I don't think many will be coming to breakfast because it's the first day." Her hairless ears perked then flicked some before settling as she waited to see what the others would do. She also wondered why it was Kyle ate so fast, maybe it was in the species. The female shrugged the thought off then took another bite of fruit and kept one steel gray eye on the other two females.

Astara was still minding her own, almost in a zone as she continued to strum her fingers against the guitar. She ommited some notes, some words not coming yet, but the notes were continually there. Her ears merely flicked as others wandered about. At the moment she was struggling with the rest of the words, so as she sat on the table top and strummed she paused. She looked down to her open guitar case. A soft smile on her lips as she reached into its pocket for a brown pill. She took it out and looked at it, looking at the letters and the writing on it. She did not intend on eating it, no, that would not be very healthy. She smiled some and dropped the pill in her glass of water. She watched as it sank and dissolved and  strummed some.

As she strummed she would think of some more lyrics. She would watch as green would poke from the pill, watching from the corner of her eyes.

"Miracles don't seem all that fair
If I were God I would know who to scare
And I'd try to repay all the losses
That were caused by incompetent bosses"

She wondered to herself where this place was that these lyrics were coming from. She dropped her head some as a bright blue lilly had bloomed in her glass. She looked down at it, if there was one thing that came good of the science leaders and novelty mix was this. She absolutely adored it. This little pill becoming a piece of life for hours. She smiled tenderly and put the blue lilly in between her head and her ear. She looked at the few people in the room, none really paying her no mind. So she continued to sing. Strumming one note at a time.

"They knew how to launch an attack
While unarmed you lay flat on your back
And wait for the poison to cure you
Since faith ain't enough to insure you"

The song sounded so dark to her. And it might as well been. Maybe in this dream it was some fortelling, the words the lyrics. Maybe it was some sort of omen. Astara believed in such things. She believed songs came to her for a reason. She bit her lip some and took a break from her lyrics. Writing down the ones that had just came, the notes and the words had come together rather harmoniously. She let out a breath and finished her vegetables. What was this trip to bring? And when was her next way out. Hmm, she had to wonder when she was leaving next. She shrugged her shoulders and replaced her guitar in her lap, strumming some random chords.

Alina was a bit taken back by the unusual salutation from a subordinate. But she wouldn't hold it against the female, or yank her paw back in disgust. The feline knew that not every culture had the same form of greeting, so she took it in stride.

She contemplated the questions posed to her, but before an answer could be given her stomach growled from the aromas attacking her nostrils and it appeared that she was not the only who had skipped breakfast, as her companions belly uttered a similar noise.

There was no one in line for chow, not that she really expected to see anyone eating considering it was after 0900. Her head turned, she looked over at the rat she hadn't even noticed sitting in the near vacant hall. "Thanks, it all looks so good I don't know where to start."

She grabbed a plate off the line and some utensils, and then slowly walked down the buffet.  Her senses were assaulted with a barrage of pleasant odors that threatened to make her drool. She snagged a few pieces of bacon, a small portion of eggs, and a few pieces of fruit. She didn't want a lot to eat she was nervous enough about having to meet the senior staff. At the end of the line she poured herself a large glass of milk then found a nearby table and sat.

Alina waited until Alexia had obtained a meal as well and gestured for her to join. "Oh, by the way," she began around a piece of bacon she was chewing on.  "...Those items you requested." She paused and took a swallow of milk, then licked a few drops from her whiskers. "We've got a static field generator in the science lab. You'll probably need to ask around in Engineering for the phase inducer, they most likely have one down there."

She ate her meal slowly because she had been taught that it was improper and unhealthy to consume it at a rapid pace. As she ate, she listened to the female strumming her guitar and singing, her sweet voice and the calming somber melody helped to partially put her taut nerves at ease. Alina wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there, enjoying the company of her new friend, the soft melody of song, and a much needed meal. She pulled her wrist up and flipped it over. The time displayed 09:47.

Quickly she crammed the last 1/2 strip of bacon into her mouth, and then emptied her glass of milk. Normally she wouldn't be so impolite as to eat and run off but she wasn't going to be late. She rose, straightened her slacks and pulled her shirt down in front to remove any creases. She wanted to look professional and wouldn't have time to stop by her quarters and tidy up. "Unfortunately I have to leave now, I've got to be at a meeting here in a few minutes. I'll see you later though." As she left the dining area she paused and offered a wave to the minstrel, but wasn't sure if the female saw it. Her head was bowed over some papers and her guitar.

She reached the turbo lift and when it opened the feline stepped inside. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly steeling her nerves for the meeting to come. "Computer Deck 1." The lift surged upward to its destination, the doors opening to release its cargo only moments later. Alina stepped out and brushed away the invisible lint she was sure was on her sleeve. She turned and headed to the conference room and walked inside.

She swallowed at the door as her eyes scanned the room. Was she late? It looked like most of the people were there already, although a few seats remained untouched around the table. She crossed the room and procured the first chair on the Captain's left. "Good Morning gentleman." She nodded and offered a smile before taking her seat, carefully placing her fidgety paws in her lap.