Carpathia IV: Episode 164 - Duty
Bridge, NCCS Shadowdancer
Once again, the Shadowdancer was at a standstill, mostly. They moved, but only at a pace matching the Neptunus's drift as it lazily rolled end over end. Still no verbal communication, so both Shadowdancer and Cerberus took positions on the port side of the now-derelict Neptunus to read communications from the superstructure windows. It was a slow process, one which Joust charmingly compared to communicating via fart bubbles in a bathtub.
Fortunately, this came to an end with an announcement from Kit's station.
Kit: Captain, communication from Neptunus, audio and video. Request pending to Cerberus also.
Aire: Split screen, Kit.
Aire stood and gave his uniform a little tug to straighten it just as Azrael and Sylvar appeared on the viewer one after the other. Azrael displayed his usual stoic attitude, but Sylvar looked very different from the last time Aire saw him, lounging on the chaise like a decadent Roman emperor. Now, he sat in the middle with his feet on the floor, slouched, with his hands folded in front of him on his lap.
Sylvar: I am so sorry. I will turn the ship over to Commander Tyler.
A pang of sympathy welled up in Aire, remembering his first time as captain, not that long ago. Before he could say anything, however, Azrael responded.
Azrael: Permission denied.
Sylvar raised his head, eyebrows arched and mouth open, like he planned to say something but he didn't know what. Aire gave a wry smile and kept his own mouth shut, preferring to hear Azrael out all the way to the end. One does not interrupt a demon, particularly one with wisdom to dispense.
Sylvar: But...
Azrael: Temporary field commission or not, a captaincy is not something to throw away lightly. You said yourself that you knew things about Vashta ships but you could not predict all possibilities, yes?
Sylvar's eyes darted around until they eventually met Aire's, as if pleading to him for help, but Aire had no intention of stopping any of this.
Sylvar: Um... I did say something like that.
Azrael: Then this is to be expected. The threat is neutralized. The incident is in the past. Now we move forward with knowledge. We await your report about how this happened.
By now, Sylvar had unslouched himself and sat straight on the chaise.
Sylvar: Yes, Captain!
Aire: Speaking of moving forward, do you have engines?
Though not slouching this time, Sylvar's face once again turned evasive, unwilling to make eye contact.
Sylvar: Well... that will take time. I sorta... kinda... maybe told Ramei to sabotage as much as he could in engineering hoping he might stumble on whatever system caused that. Turns out he's very efficient.
Aire: Time frame?
Sylvar: I think we might be looking at a day to get the basic engine systems running again. I think it's best if I go down to help. Commander Tyler will have the bridge.
Azrael: Sensible. And no more talk of quitting just because things are getting a little rough.
Unprompted, and unexpectedly, Ivy poked her head into the screen.
Ivy: That's what I've been telling him!
Azrael: Listen to your first officer, Captain. She's there to keep you grounded.
Sylvar: I understand. I haven't been listening as well as I should. I appreciate your advice, Captains. If there's nothing else, I have engineering to attend.
Aire: Tend your ship, Captain Pendergast.
Sylvar gave a nod appeared as though he was about to terminate communications when he let out a little yelp and jumped backward in his chaise. From the bottom of the viewscreen, a pair of grey, twitchy ears began to emerge and, little by little, a very familiar squirrel face.
Sassinesa: I'll help!
Sylvar relaxed, if only slightly, with his legs and feet now up on the chaise, unready to let his guard down just yet.
Sylvar: Where did you come from?
Sassinesa turned and shot a glance at Sylvar and then back at the viewer, picking at his teeth with his claw.
Sassinesa: Let's see... According to human legend, a stork brought me to...
Sylvar: That's not what I meant!
Aire stood from his chair and took a step forward to the edge of the steps, to step between them, in a virtual sort of way, before an argument started.
Aire: Sassinesa, this isn't a reethalit ship. The Neptunus has a microsingularity drive. Do you know anything about that?
Sassinesa's mouth opened, but no sound emerged, and then he closed it again with a clack of his teeth. It took him some time, but he finally managed a response.
Sassinesa: Ah, you know... I'm sure Sylvar here knows more about this engine than I do, but I can help!
Sassinesa began to fade, just like before when he disappeared from the bridge, but Aire wouldn't have it. She spoke in a low grumble, the sort of voice someone might use to scold their dog.
Aire: Sassinesa.
Sassinesa became fully solid again with eyebrow raised.
Sassinesa: Eh?
Aire: That ship is very important to us. You follow Sylvar's instructions, alright.
Sassinesa moved his head around, a cross between a nod and rolling of his eyes at the same time.
Sassinesa: Yes, yes. Aye aye, Captain and all that. I promise I'll be gentle.
Sassinesa resumed his fade-out and all waited until he appeared to be gone completely before resuming their conversation.
Sylvar: Should I be worried?
Aire: Just make sure you give him something to do. He can be very useful when given a task.
Sylvar: That won't be a problem. We've got plenty of tasks down there for sure. I had better get going. Commander Tyler, the bridge is yours.
Ivy: Yes, Captain, and good luck.
Sylvar: I'll keep you both updated. Neptunus out.
Aire gave a sigh and plopped into his chair.
Aire: Nalma, how long for Admiral Zhang and the dragons to reach us if we remain in this position?
Nalma: Almost 3 days. Almost 71 hours at their present speed.
Azrael: Let's hope this shall be the last delay. I am eager to resume normal operations.
Aire: That makes two of us. We're quite late for our next visit to the blobby planet, which I hear is now being called Cytosia. Seems that the admiralty has given up on the rules of contact for a species below level four on the technology scale. For this particular species, at least. We aren't going there to give them a spaceship, though. That would be many steps too far.
Azrael: I should hope this will be the only time an exception is made. I was there for that accident and we should be more diligent.
Aire: Agreed. Shall we update Admiral Zhang of our current status together?
Azrael: I am ready. Your phone or mine?
Aire answered with a command to Kit.
Aire: Kit, check if Admiral Zhang is available and put her up on split screen if she is.
Kit: Yes, Captain.
Joust spread his wings and released his grip on the ceiling, doing a flip to land on the deck. Particularly with Azrael on split screen, he was not needed in any updates with Admiral Zhang, leaving him free to tend to other business and he had his eye set on the helm. Besides, this gave him a chance to walk right through Azrael's face on the heads-up display between the duty stations and the helm console, a bit of amusement that never felt old no matter how many times he did it.
Joust: How's the helm finding you, Cadet?
Mikado's ears gave a sudden twitch before pivoting around in search of the voice.
Mikado: Oh! Very good, Commander.
Joust: Better than security?
This time, Mikado's ears parted, forming a slightly droopy V-shape over his head.
Mikado: When I first came here, I thought I might be well-suited to security, considering how many martial arts tournaments I've been in, but there's a big difference between a friendly opponent and a hostile one, isn't there?
Joust: It's a big difference fighting for fun and fighting because it's necessary.
Mikado: That's a good way of putting it. Can I stay on helm for awhile, Commander? I think I like this.
Joust grinned, but still tipped his head back and forth a few times, accompanied by some noncommittal grunts.
Joust: Trouble is, there's only one helm, so we'll have to find some alternatives when we can't put you there. When Amenaru gets back, we'll see about you doing some operations training as a supplement.
Mikado: Thank you, Commander. That sounds good.
Joust: Carry on, Cadet, and let Nalma know if you're having any problems!
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
Falke2009
