Chocolate-flavored Dessert Cream on the House

[thespaceopera]

[The bunks are filling up, but the new faces just keep appearing!

Are you a travel-weary passenger having trouble keeping your crew roster straight? Perhaps you are a fresh new recruit, finding themselves dumped into a new (and much less shiny) home. Or, maybe you've been around for a little bit and just haven't bothered meeting the other weirdos on this ship yet--what is their problem, anyway?

Well, this is the place for you!

All new passengers from the last few Shuffles, especially those who haven't met their crews yet, are welcome to post starter-comments here to invite those living on and visiting your ship to come and interact. Newbies could be just arriving on the ship, busying around where others can find them, or you can offering multiple options for interaction--however you'd like to set up your thread is fine. Just make sure to include the name of your ship in the header, so your crewmates can easily find you!

Everyone else-- go meet those newbies! Whether they are new to your own crew, or on ships you frequently visit, now is a great time to bump into them.]

Comments

[redactions]

I'm the captain, actually. James Barnes. Pleasure to meet you, kid.

[ Jim steps a little towards the corner — the quickest way to make himself look less imposing. ]

[astrobleme]

[Captain? Oh, crap. Shinji stiffens up on instinct--it should be a familiar stance, actually, given the resolved angles of it. Believe it or not, this fourteen-year-old spent several months serving a paramilitary organization. The strangely colored bodysuit he's still wearing, underneath his jacket, adds to the mystique.]

You're my commanding officer.

[In a way, he's relieved. He should be less wretched when he has orders to follow.]

Ikari. Sh... Shinji Ikari, sir. May I know what's expected of me?

[redactions]

[ Nothing on the surface shows the disgust and pain he feels at seeing a fourteen year old boy know the lines of posture that belong to a soldier, not to mention the bizarre (pilot's?) outfit. His eyes just narrow slightly, in thought. ]

[ The boy expects a captain, a leader. It's a role Jim's learnt to play well. Evenly, ]

What's your augment, Shinji?

[astrobleme]

[Shinji's transformation, if it can be called that, is nothing short of remarkable. His self-awareness recedes into that cog-in-a-machine reality of a soldier. Give him an order, any order, and he will devote himself to that wholeheartedly. Just making coffee for the captain would be a valuable use of his time.]

Piloting, sir. [Augments. Surgical implantation is pretty fucked up, but Shinji pushes past his internalized horror.] I have prior experience with piloting, too. Non-traditional. The operating systems may differ, but there's some overlap, I think. Enough for me to get started, if you need something.

[redactions]

[ Yeah no that's just disturbing. ]

Previous experience with what kind of craft?

[astrobleme]

[Oh, it gets worse.]

Evangelion.

[By now, Shinji has figured out that not everyone is familiar with Eva and Angels. He doesn't know how to feel about that. At least some part of him is jealous of the people who haven't experienced an Impact. Just to be clear, he recites,] A multipurpose humanoid decisive battle weapon. [Pause.] Eva is... uhm, kind of like a big suit of armor. Really big. More than 70 meters tall. But it has organic components as well as synthetic ones.

[redactions]

Oh, I see.

[ Like a Jaegar, then, because he's watched Pacific Rim. ]

The ship already has a pilot, you can work out with Vima if you two want to take shifts, or turns, etc.

[astrobleme]

[Already has a pilot. That stings. That shouldn't sting--it's irrational--but it reminds Shinji of just how replaceable and reproducible he is. He nods slowly, almost to himself.] Vima... [The likelihood that he'll introduce himself to the other pilot is pretty low. But...]

How long has Vima been piloting for you, sir?

[redactions]

Oh, about six months?

[astrobleme]

[Holy shit.]

I see.

[Shinji can't imagine being stuck here for six days, much less six months.]

Uhm, if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know.

[redactions]

Sure. Bunks are that way.

[ He gestures out. ]

[astrobleme]

Thank you.

[Hesitation. More hesitation. Captain Barnes is a knowledgeable man, so it's probably okay to ask him things.]

D... Do you know where I might be able to find a music player? I could have sworn I had one with me, but I think Atroma confiscated it, or... or something. I'm guessing there isn't a lost and found bin around here.

[redactions]

If yours didn't come with you, you can buy one from the station; there's a box of chips for crew use only in the kitchen.

[astrobleme]

Oh, that's generous. Thank you. [But Shinji is looking for a very specific music player... He reminds himself that beggars can't be choosers. Especially here. Especially now.] If I take any chips, I'll definitely find a way to replenish them.