driftfleet | May Mingle (Caprine)

[ Raven stiffens as she turns her head, eyes narrowing for a moment before she lifts herself up and stands tall. It probably doesn't matter now that she's been caught and, after a moment of intense staring, she shifts back to her natural blue. ]

No. A mutant.

Really? [ that sounds like the word aphra would use to aggravate the other. looks like she'll have to find another. ]

Just to be clear, can I use that word or is that something only you can? Not trying to be rude, I genuinely don't know. [ her hands fan open in apologetic gesture. ] I lost my protocol droid somewhere along the way.

You can use it. [ It's obvious Raven is a little... Confused, all things considered, but... She frowns, concerned for a moment, before she nods her head. ] As long as you don't go around telling everyone.

[ some level of confusion when dealing with aphra is so common as to not be worth observing. she snorts. ]

I know how it goes.

[ a beat, and she extends a hand in greeting. ] Aphra.

[ There is a long moment of pause as she stares at the other woman, but soon enough she's actually calming down a little. Hank had wanted her to get to know the people around her on the fleet and she supposed this was one way to start.

Slowly, she reaches out and takes the woman's hand, shaking it gently. ]

Mystique.

[ a smirk. ] Fitting name.

[ and just like that, aphra returns her attention to her second loves. she bends at the waist, examining the engines. she lacks the specific augment; instead, she falls back on twenty odd years of experience aboard ships. ]

You the engineer?

[ There's no questioning the choice of name, and that softens Raven before she nods her head.

Looking back around the engines, Raven hesitates before she shakes her head, letting her hand drop back down to her side. ]

No, Security. It's just quieter here.

[ It's also where she tries to sleep, sometimes, but she doesn't say that. ]

Oh. About that— It's not gonna be very quiet long as I'm here. I try, but I'm a talker. It's a thing.

[ and nosy af, which is why she aims over her shoulder, ] Been here long? Feels like I'm one of the few, the new.

I've noticed. [ It doesn't come out cruelly; it's just a comment on the obvious. The woman liked to talk and Raven wasn't exactly running in the other direction. It was nice, to feel free and able to be herself for a moment.

Let the woman stare at the engines; it's not like Raven has any idea what's going on. ] A few weeks, but I haven't spent much time on the ship. I was with a friend.

[ ""Friend"". ]

Probably what I'd do. If I knew anyone else here. As it is, [ she pats one of the panels, ] this is what I know.

You wouldn't happen to know the engineer, would you? Or the mechanic? Unfortunately, I didn't get the augment that tells me the exact specs on this thing.

[ ask her about her feelings regarding her job placement.

actually, don't. that's a half hour rant. ]

You're an engineer that isn't an engineer. That seems rude.

[ And stupid, if you ask her, but Raven shakes her head. ]

Whoever the engineer on the ship is I don't know them. I haven't really spoken to a lot of people on the fleet just yet.

[ So many of her own problems needed dealing with first. ]

I'd go for a stronger word than "rude" personally, but yeah.

[ hands on her hips, aphra huffs. later, if she can't find anyone, she'll start working on it herself. for the time being, best to leave it all be. she knows how much she hates anyone messing with her work.

she finishes her examination, then steps back. close to the door, she looks over. ] Coming?

Maybe it's for a reason you don't know yet. Half the things people have here don't make sense.

[ Raven isn't particularly keen on the idea of being security, but here she is. She watches the other woman as she examines the room itself, hesitating for a moment before she looks forward. ]

Where are you going?

[ aphra shrugs. ]

Around, I guess. I'm still familiarizing myself with the place and the people in it.

... One second.

[ And, slowly, Raven changes from blue to not, her skin shifting as she shakes her head to make her hair fall properly. Now she's hiding again, but she's - somewhat okay with it. ]

Let's go.

[ aphra is half-tempted to pinch raven's sleeve between her fingers just to see if it also feels like fabric. through magnificent effort, she manages to suppress the urge. #gold star ]

Hungry? [ once they're walking, aphra tips her head. ] Figure we can stop by the kitchen on the way to anywhere else. I think I noticed shuttles on the way here.

[ It's probably a good thing she resists because Raven would not take kindly to it. Instead, she just steps forward and follows. ]

The food here isn't incredible, but I hear it's the same on most of the ships.

That's true everywhere in the galaxy. The only ones who eat actual food on a starship are the hyper-rich who can afford a cook. We, the poor, the miscreants, the lower class, make do with rations.

At least they keep. You haven't known stressful until you've lost your hyperdrive and you're still parsecs away from the nearest habitable world.

[ Raven just stares, for a moment, before she blinks. ]

Are you still speaking English?

Galactic Basic, actually. [ a beat. ] So either they sound a lot alike or we're getting translated live.

[ she sounds less flustered by that than she should be considering she's only been on the ship for a few hours. ]

What part tripped you up?

I think it might be translation. Everyone here seems to speak English no matter where they're from.

[ Which makes her a little irritated, because, hello, that's her brain. ]

Hyperdrives and parasecs?

Parsec is a measure of distance. About…19 trillion miles, if I'm remembering correctly. You can tell I don't have to do that conversion often.

[ no matter how far flung the world, kids know what a parsec is. ]

Hyperdrives are what let us travel those distances. Instead of traveling in realspace which could take years and that's if the system you want to travel to is nearby never mind on the other side of the galaxy, hyperdrives let ships travel through hyperspace. Basically, faster than light travel.

Didn't lose you again, did I?

No, I think I understand.

[ Parsec is distance - a lot of distance. Hyperdrives let you go the distance. It's more complicated than that, but simple terms will do until she can corner Hank and pick his brains. ]

This is my first time in space.

Oof. [ aphra winces sympathetically. ] First time's always rough. Especially that "not being able to go outside" thing. Few weeks in you get used to it. Who knows, maybe you'll be a spacer yet.

Maybe. [ Raven can think of a thousand or so other things she'd rather be doing, but here they were. ] I've been in worse places.

May Mingle (Caprine)

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