Carpathia IV: Episode 257 - Fluffy-Tailed Butt
Shuttle Bay 2, NCCS Shadowdancer-A
Shuttle bay reorganized. Tools arranged on dozens of mobile carts. Shuttles parked in the back. Four skiffs arranged in a line, their noses pointed toward the shuttle door. Quenya, however, could see little of it, for the crowd of people standing in front of her blocked the view. Normally, Quenya would be a puddle of nerves with three dozen people watching her with anticipation, but with Minnie standing next to her providing moral support, she felt at least a twinge of confidence.
Quenya: Right... erm... thank you for coming. I suppose we should get started working on the skiffs...
Before Quenya could continue, Minnie gave her a couple of gentle pokes in the arm.
Minnie: Ahem. Why don't you introduce the pilots and navigators first? You know which teams are which, but they don't.
Quenya: Oh! Right, well... Okay, team one will be pilot Teek and navigator Baal.
A pause, while Teek and Baal waved to the crowd.
Quenya: Team two is pilot Ramei and and navigator Mikado.
Again, more smiling and waving before Quenya could continue.
Quenya: Team three is pilot Sylvar and navigator Nalma.
More smiling and waving.
Quenya: Finally, on team four, we have pilot Reylen and navigator Shep.
And the final round of waves completed the introductions. There were more to come, but those could happen once the teams got to working in their groups.
Reylen: I've never flown for fun before. Either getting from one place to another or running away from someone. Do we know what the course looks like yet?
Quenya: Not yet. The cytos are still arranging the asteroids into a course for us. One thing is for sure, it will be very unique and your navigators will be more important than ever. I'm told it will definitely be final by the time we get there in two days.
Sylvar: I hope we get some practice time when we get there.
Shep: And a diagram of the course. I will need to know layout the sooner the better.
Quenya: For sure. The course will be open for testing for 12 hours the day before the race. From now until testing, your job is to tear these skiffs apart and make modifications. Remember, even the tiniest improvement, for example, to acceleration, can add up in the long run. Let's get to work!
Those in attendance nodded and murmured, some glancing around at their brethren to confirm their similar feelings. Quenya felt quite pleased with herself, but Minnie wasn't happy with the situation at all. She put her hand on Quenya's shoulder and took one step forward, addressing the crowd with her familiar "I'm only going to say this once" voice.
Minnie: Listen up! Quenya is your crew chief for this event! To avoid confusion, you call her Chief and I will be Commander. When the Chief gives you an order, I want to hear no less than "Yes, Chief!" Now, your crew chief has told you to get to work. What do we say?
A chorus rang out, a loud and enthusiastic "Yes, Chief!" An act that set Quenya to blushing. While the four teams got to work, Minnie leaned in close to Quenya and, not whispering, but spoke in a low tone that only she could hear amongst the cacaphony.
Minnie: Right, they're all yours. Stand up straight, breathe steadily, and keep them on task. You got this.
With a nod and a wave, Quenya darted over to the skiffs, starting with Team 1, eager to hear their ideas.
It wasn't long before all four skiffs were stripped to bits with all the parts spread out around the shuttle bay. From a distance, one could quickly see which teams were more organized than others. Quenya flitted from team to team, helping out and answering questions. Minnie did the same, but more standoffish, allowing Quenya to handle the teams. Mostly, she observed, occasionally wandering through the teams to check the work.
Minnie: Quenya, a word.
Over at the next skiff, Quenya's ears twitched and she instantly dropped what she was doing and followed Minnie out of earshot of the others.
Quenya: Yes, Commander?
Minnie: You were just going over Team 3. Surely you noticed that Nalma installed the solenoid assembly in the starboard engine backwards.
Quenya's shoulders dropped as she felt a sweat developing on her hands.
Quenya: Ah, yes, I did. I figured that he would notice eventually.
Minnie: Did you think to tell him to fix it?
Quenya: I'm just a cadet! He's a lieutenant! I can't...
Minnie's shaking head immediately set Quenya to stop talking.
Minnie: Quenya, for this project, ranks don't matter. You're in charge.
There was a moment of silence before the disconcerting sight of Quenya's face splitting into an evil grin.
Quenya: That so? I can order them around?
Minnie: Yes.
Quenya: They have to do whatever I say?
Minnie didn't like where this was going.
Minnie: I suppose so.
Quenya: I could even order you to go clean the toilets?
This was quite enough for Minnie and she snatched Quenya by her collar and yanked her close to her face.
Minnie: Don't push it, Cadet.
All her bravado gone, Quenya gazed back at Minnie with eyes as wide as teacup saucers.
Quenya: Got it, Chief.
Minnie let her go and gave her a conciliatory smile as she straightened Quenya's collar.
Minnie: Glad we understand each other. Now, you need to go set Nalma straight. Think you can do that?
Quenya: Absolutely!
With a spring in her step, but still a woman on a mission, Quenya marched back to Team 3, where the oblivious crew had no idea the little elvish tornado that was about to land on them.
Quenya: Hey, Nalma! Get your fluffy-tailed butt over here! We need to have a conversation!
Minnie watched with a mixture of horror and bemusement. Maybe even with a little smirk on her face.
Minnie: Oh dear. I have created a monster.
Minnie chased after Quenya, determined to help out before there were any injuries.
Cytosia
Shadowdancer parked at the outer rim of the asteroids. No more sneaking around. As expected, their arrival drew the attention of many cyto onlookers, some of whom got onto the hull and began to bounce merrily around. Fortunately, during their regular communications with Carpathia, they knew which parts of the ship to avoid. Mostly engine-related areas. Aire set some of the bridge team to monitoring them just in case they got too handsy with something they shouldn't.
As much as Aire wanted to pay a visit to the skiff teams, he remained at his post on the bridge, awaiting an important guest while Admiral Zhang borrowed his ready room. Finally, the moment came and the lift door opened, revealing Trex but nobody else.
Aire: Welcome back, Trex. How is our guest?
Trex took a glance back into the lift before answering.
Trex: Well, how shall I put it? Let's say, breezy.
Trex waved to the inside of the lift and out stepped Hana, but not like Aire expected. They had all seen before that the cytos had shape changing abilities, but this was on an entirely new level. Hana was fully bipedal, down to all the details, with fingers, toes, and even using his body to give a rough approximation of hair. He chose a tokki form, and not just any form, but one that mimicked Kit. What was also abundantly clear is that someone had shown the cytos what tokki looked like with no clothes on. Mimicking every single detail indeed.
Aire: Breezy indeed. It is good to see you again, Hana. Your shape changing has become very impressive.
Hana: Thank you, Captain. I did my best to form my favorite person.
Aire: I must say, you did a very good job of that. I'm sure Kit will be flattered.
Aire had no idea if Kit would, in fact, be flattered. For sure, they would be in contact soon, if they hadn't already. Still, that was a bridge to cross later. Another bridge to cross would be the issue of clothing. Not that anyone on this ship would be offended by nudity.
Hana: I notice that everyone keeps staring at my middle. Is this why you wear clothing? I can make underwear if you want.
Aire: If it's not too much trouble, I think that would be a good idea.
Aire expected something of a laborious transformation, but it was not to be. By the time he was finished giving Hana the go-ahead, he had already mimicked himself the appearance of underwear to replace his nethers.
Aire: In that case, shall we visit Admiral Zhang in my ready room?
Hana: Yes, thank you, Captain.
Commissioned art in this episode from:
AvareonArt
Zelbunnii
Less_End
Thatwildmary
Colourbrand
Falke2009
