Welcome to Gaia! ::

Steven remained on the wing of his scimitar for maybe five minutes or so until he caught sight of Emma. He pushed himself up and away from the wing and landed on the floor of the hangar; he then made his way towards the young pilot.
"Emma! Over here!" he said as he got closer. "So Ms. Thompson, are you ready to get back to work?"

"Drathonians? Unpleasant!?" Cibo gagged a little, and then spoke on, "Trust me, that's an understatement. I'll have you know that a Drathonian's fishy breath is the last thing you have to worry about when you're that close." She thought back to previous assignments concerning 'advanced interrogation' and the discomfort she shared with her subjects. " When you're plucking their more sensitive scales, it really hits you that their hygiene is ..." she paused her work for a moment, and looked over her shoulder at Ms. Raji. The pilot was playing with her hair, and had a childish expression on her face. Cibo straightened her back even more into what was considered impossible by some. Her cheeks went to an even deeper hue of pink; in contrast to her pale skin, it might as well have been crimson red. "Are you mocking me?" she asked in a hurt, indignant tone. Suddenly, Cibo's mind shifted again, and she found herself scrutinizing the words Raji let out, if only to pull out a Red Herring. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she asked further, "Hold on...how did you find out their breath is fishy? First hand, or just talk?"

Garrett just sighed and shook his head. "You are oblivious, my young padawan. Perhaps some day I shall teach thee, but for now there many a lizard-like a** which are in dire need of a Terran boot... or two." Now seated, he took the time to notice that there were human restraints. There was a taint of irony in the situation. "A suicide mission into an enemy outpost deep in enemy space to rescue a species we don't know in the hopes that they'll ally with us despite language, cultural, and developmental barriers spanning lightyears and millenia of evolution." He laughed. "And they gave me a goddamned seatbelt just in case." He laughed again. "Are we expecting interstellar collisions? Please tell me the pilot isn't Flying under the Influence."

"What? No. Weren't you listening to me te other day?" Steven said giving Emma an odd look, then continued on when it was evident that she hadn't been paying attention, "I told you yesterday that I was getting you off of psych leave early. Well, you are here now so I say once more, are you ready to get back to work? You scimitar could use a good cleaning."

"I'm sure it's just a precaution" Kai said, looking over the straps himself. they seemed sturdy enough, but he was wondering just how hard they would have to be coming in to need them, and hoped that they didn't end up needing them. "Get your gear stowed beneath a seat and strap in, I guess. They want us to be ready to depart as soon as we exit hyperspace, so we have to be ready."

****

"I.. I guess not" Emma stammered when the Captain accused her of not listeneing, but when he continued, she listened, and then smiled and spoke up again, laughing a little. "So, You got me out of Psych leave just because you don't want to keep wahing my ship?" the young girl teased, face brightening

****

"Calm down Girls" Evelyn said simply, in a tone that had an aura of command, yet was not unpleasant. "I Know for a fact that Miss Malinowski is not a collaborator with the drathonians, and I have been watching her work. Please, Miss Sedhik, do not accost my crew. Besides, I believe your orders are to report to the hangar bay, anyway, Your Captain wished his entire squadron present." Evelyn was motionless in her chair, aside from her lips, and a warm smile on her face. Although pilots technically counted as officers for certain orders of business, they weren't allowed unrestricted access to the bridge, especially when the ship was undertaking a mission.

"Sorry Admiral." Cibo was just about to spit venom when the Admiral spoke; she nearly choked on her own words, and decided they were better left unsaid. Cibo apologized, yes, but couldn't help but notice It's tiny grin. Was it warm? It looked warm. But was it really mocking instead? Maybe this Admiral found the exchange funny. Regardless, this 'Raji Sedhik' likely had her own problems too, but not anything large enough to be caught by the eye of the UTR. It was on the eve of the latest mission, and Raji was here, on the bridge..."Why did she label me as traitor? Is it because one of her own actions is making her uneasy? Maybe she's a spy?" Cibo asked herself. It was a bit far fetched, but Raji had been visiting the bridge a bit more frequently than expected. She'd have to keep a closer eye on this "Sedhik" during her little visits; the last thing Cibo needed was another complication to her own little mission. Already, the Admiral had admitted to "watching her work". Things were going to get interesting soon. There would be Drathonians to spy on, and for Raji, something to chase down and kill. Either way, Cibo hoped she wasn't going to get the short end of the stick. Again.

As amused as Raji was, she had to roll her eyes at the Admiral's comment. She wanted to vomit every time she thought about all the sentimental little squadron get-togethers her captain was always calling. When she received an order to report to him, it was more often because he needed somebody to hold his hand than for actual work. Gah. It was disgusting. She pushed herself away from the railing and headed for the door, turning back midway. "Buh-bye, girls," she intoned, giving a wink and blowing a kiss. She exited the bridge, brooding about where she should go instead of the hangar.


Jack returned the insane smirk with a devilish grin. He grabbed Garrett's cheek with a gloved hand, raising an eyebrow. "Now, now. Is mommy going to have to turn this battlecruiser around? Be a good little boy and strap into your lizard seat." Jack spoke in a slightly naggy, motherly voice. When Garrett's cheek was thoroughly pinched, he let go, putting on his own safety restraints.

Dante Sol was carrying 3 large bags with him. One contained all the stuff directly assigned to him. One contained all his tools and equipment for charging and repairing the weapons, fixing whatever and building make shift weapons, armor, and everyday needs. The other one contained several items including 20 text disks and a book, multi-lens goggles with zoom and night vision attachments, and a bottle of whiskey safely kept from the inspectors. As he stepped on the ship, Dante heard Garrett and Jack on a joint rant. He has gotten used to the witty retorts that those two spit at each other. ”Well I see this will be a fun trip.” Dante put his bags in the back and sat In the copilot seat. ”Sorry Jack, I speak for almost all of us when I say the day you drive is the day the hymn will crash into a sun. Besides,” Dante switching his tongue to Drathonian, ” Understand?”