Star Trek: Starbase 777

The giant Bajoran stepped into the massive space, looking around with a deep scowl and the complete waste of space, feeling an itch to just burn it all down, to lay waste to all this fucking useless nature.

"Ooh, isn't this lovely?" the buff Andorian said sarcastically as she followed him in. "Plenty of hiding spots in the branches, and yet it's all clear down below. Perfect for ambushes."

"I almost thought I couldn't hate these people more, the absolute fuck is all of this?" He said, spitting on the ground in disgust, a look of intense displeasure across his handsome unscarred face. "I really wish I had a lighter right now, I'd love to watch all of this shit go up in flames." He said, looking at the Andorian, appreciating having someone to gripe to. "Whats your take on this miserable place?"

The scars on Shira's cheek stretched as she sardonically smirked. "It's too pretty. Easy for softheads to relax in." She casually yanked a leaf off of a bush as she passed by, twirling it in her fingers and looking at it as she continued. "Plants can be good for generating oxygen, but is it really necessary to pretty them up instead of just keeping them alive?" Just as casually, she tosses the leaf aside. "Waste of time and effort. If i were a gardener there'd be more blood than sap on my tools." (edited)

Yaal grinned widely, taking his companions lead and absentmindedly pulling up several bushes as he walked along side her. "Wheres a painstick when you need one!" He laughed, thinking about having that gardner in one of his booths, he gave a murderous grin at that thought. "These people don't appreciate utility, all they care about is freedom and peace a fucking waste of biomass if I had to say anything." He said, kicking the gravel as he walked, trying his hardest to make the place worse than how he found it.

"I mean, I have one, but don't tell them that." Shira pats her satchel gently, home of her ever-trusty collapsible painstick. It was quite the thrill, stealing it off of a KCA officer and torturing him senseless with it. "While attractive, freedom won't really get you anywhere but complacent. And we all know how well complacent fools fare in this galaxy."

He gave her a feral grin before laughing. "Hopefully in one of my agonizer booths! They are rather empty right now, I miss having people to torture!" He looked sad for a moment, but was happy at the idea of having some more people to torture and interrogate. "I can't see this 'Commonwealth' lasting much longer to be honest."

"Perhaps not, but Terra was pathetic once upon a time too," Shira says, looking around the environment in case they're being watched. "The Commonwhelps are weak in resolve and willpower, but do not underestimate cowardly dogs. They can still gut you like a targ if you trifle with them carelessly."

Keeping a hand on his now unconcealed dagger, he continues to stroll along with the Commander. "Wise words Sir. A cornered animal can do alot of damage." He felt his padd vibrate in his pocket, he was being requested back aboard ship for some more torturing. "Thank you for the conversation, I am needed back aboard the ship, I'll leave you to it." He said with a grin, walking out of the room and back to the ship.

"Farewell, Ensign, and have fun," Shira responded with a smirk. She then turned around and strolled back down the path, whistling a crude imitation of Moonlight Sonata as she went.

DaiMon Mephistopheles stepped into the arboretum. The first thing he noticed was the air was fresher here - you didn't notice how stale the air in the corridors was 'til you were in a room with lots of plants. The ground was grassy, there were a few skinny trees, and many raised beds and shelves of plants, and a greenhouse within view, too. He took a deep breath. "Oh, this is good for my health." Which he should really be keeping an eye on. In this day and age he wasn't even really considered old, but he was hardly a spry youth, either, and with the high adrenaline sort of life he lived, he had to take care to make sure he didn't die a little too early. He intended, like most humans did these days, to live longer than a century - perhaps even a hundred fifty years. He hoped Allan would be by his side that whole time, but... Well, in this life that wasn't realistic, but he tried not to think about that. Maybe if he made it to above a hundred, he'd consider that a life well lived and they could take their savings and retire on some planet far away from the Commonwealth, the K-CA, the Terrans - all that drama. Having taken a moment to enjoy the sights and sounds of the place, he looked up at Allan. "I'm gonna be honest, though, I don't know shit about plants. You know I'm more of an animals guy. Maybe we could hire someone who knows stuff about 'em." More money spent. Then again, maybe the apples they grew would offset the costs a bit. Would be kind of funny, though, to trade in a whole variety of smuggled and stolen goods, and then... Apples.

The fresh air really did hit Allan, too, and looking at the green grass - it had probably been so long since he actually touched green grass! He took a moment too to look around at all the trees and the plants and the - was that a greenhouse? Holy shit. "Shit, dude," seemed like it would be great for both their health. Seeing the thicker trees further away from them, one did have to wonder how long they'd been around for. He'd once heard of trees that had been around for literally centuries, and it was interesting to think about how old these trees were because what if he could live as long as them? It would take a shit ton of medical advancement, but... it was still the beginning of the 25th century, who knew actually what people had in store, and by people... the Galactic Commonwealth would probably be the ones to come up with it, if anyone. At least they were offering it for free. Regardless, he sort of just hoped that he could spend it out with Mephis, and maybe they could eventually have a peaceful little spot of their own. It was nice to dream, at least. "Oh, I know you don't. Neither do I, really, you could count the little ones by the isopod enclosure buuut I don't think they count, they're easy," easy to maintain, easy to enjoy. "Feel like Quagnar might get a kick out of a sort of uhh, instructional manual, maybe, about it all. I wonder if they sell stuff like that here." The science officer loved to read books about most topics, really, so who's to say one about plants wouldn't be fun too?

"We can just replicate whatever we need, actually. I'll look in the public Commonwealth information database, see what kinds'a plant books they have on offer." He walked towards the greenhouse, where they'd undoubtedly have some interesting plants on the shelves inside. It wasn't too far of a walk, and the path to it was a crunchy gravel, which was a satisfying sound, and he kicked some of the larger stones along as he walked. "Unless their agricultural secrets are so precious they don't make them publicly available, in which case we can... make 'em publicly available." He could hack a bit too, but he wasn't as good at it; he was really more of a hardware guy. It was one of the reasons he'd taken Allan on as a chief engineer I the first place - while he knew he himself was comeptent, Allan could really balance him out. For that reason, his ship was very well-maintained, which the rest of the crew was quite assured by, because it's always nice to know the flying hunk of metal keeping you alive in space was in good shape.

"Ooh, that's right, we could," Allan had totally forgotten that they offered books on that database, particularly because, well, he didn't read books. Unless they were technical manuals, which somehow he read front to back with no issue. "And oh, yes, we absolutely could," he said with a little grin as Mephis mentioned they could make them publicly available if they weren't already. It just was nice that he got to do what he enjoyed doing most so often. Some people got tired of doing something that was once a hobby as a career, but Allan hadn't gotten tired of hacking yet - probably because there were so many things to gain from it. Like secret information and, of course, money. One of the first things Mephis had asked him to do after becoming the chief engineer was to hack a few bank accounts and transfer the money directly to them without a trace - it was fun, it was exciting, it was challenging... it had real rewards, too. Speaking of challenging, walking across this crunchy gravel may have been challenging in these heels if he hadn't had over a decade of experience running in these things across way more tumultuous terrains. In fact, these boots were getting a little scratched up by this point, and he'd only had them a year or so - maybe he'd save up enough to get some more soon. "What's like... the number one plant we gotta have? Uh, other than apples, of course."

Mephis's boots were also heeled; they made him a whole 5'3. "Herbs? People might enjoy puttin' those on their replicated food to... spice it up a little, and I've heard some of 'em are easy to grow. Let's not try'n stretch ourselves too much, though. I'll keep most of this stuff to just the one room - much as it's nice that this place has an arboretum and a parkland," though the distinction between the two was... Not clear, "We ain't doin' that. Not enough space." Well, technically they were surrounded by space, but he didn't mean that kind. "And Quagnar is great, and I'm sure they'll be enthusiastic, but this ain't their kind of expertise." He entered the greenhouse, and his pale skin flushed red with the sudden temperature change. It had gone from warm and pleasant to hot 'n steamy, like when... Anyway, he was sort of pink-looking, like a vampire that'd just been briefly grazed by sunlight after someone knocked a curtain away from a window. In the orchard they could install some proper UV lights and maybe he could tan a little. There were shelves of flowers and fruits and herbs - ah, an aisle of orchids. He wondered if, somehow, they would have that particular one...

"I love herbs as much as the next guy, but... spice?" He didn't actually know the difference between an herb plant and a spice plant, he just usually considered spices to be most things with capsaicin in them, like peppers and shit, which he didn't think were herbs. Maybe they were, though. "I was thinking if you wanted spice, maybe some like, chili peppers, or - well, ginger's an herb, right? So," a slight frown came across his face when he was reminded they didn't have enough space, as if he didn't already know that. "Yeah, probably... a little too ambitious," although, he had seen market shops that grew a lot of plants in a very small area, what was that called again? "But I've seen some more condensed areas and stuff like uh, hydro... hydroponies? No, um-" They'd then stepped into the greenhouse, and Allan instantly pointed to some of the shelves of herbs and some of the orchids as well that were not in complete soil, but water, many of it for the herbs not visible because of the vertical arrangement of them going into a wall, it seemed. "Look, that! Hydro-something, it - it takes up a lot less space, see-" without thinking, he reached down to take Mephis's hand and skipped right over there to the wall of herbs and shelves of orchids with him. "It's really cool, and modular, and um-" he looked back down at the DaiMon with a smirk, noticing the way his pale skin had flushed red at the temperature change that Allan had hardly noticed (hot 'n steamy was sort of his normal), and let go of his hand, eyes darting to the side to see if anyone was around (there wasn't). After moving hand to tilt Mo's chin up to look at him just a bit better, he gave his boyfriend a gentle kiss. "Really pretty, too." (edited)

Mephis' eyes fluttered shut and he got even redder as Allan tilted his chin up and kissed him. He was harder to fluster these days, but Allan, of course, still found ways to do it when he least expected, with little things like this. "You're pretty," he said, "And far too good to me sometimes. Fuck, I love you. Get on your knees." What was he planning? Something scandalous, right in front of the orchids? No, he just wanted to be able to tilt Allan's chin up in return, pretend he was tall for a second, lean down and kiss him back. After a few moments of doing that, he said, "Alright, that's enough." Someone could walk in here any time, after all. "We can set up some hydroponics like that if you want, yeah," he said, looking at the shelves. "Probably a good idea to grow a few things if replicators ever stop workin', or somethin' like that. Although growin' plants without soil is... truly a foreign expertise to me." There was a reason they needed the soil in the first place, right? So you had to make up for that in some sort of scientific way. Maybe they put nutrients in the water or something? He really didn't know. "Spices 'n 'erbs are... Uh, I don't remember the difference exactly. I think it's about what part of the plant they come from? But they don't all have to be spicy. They're important in cooking, I know that." Which he wasn't any good at. Sometimes he thought about hiring a chef on the Vulture, but it was an extra expense for soemthing replicators could already do, if in a boring, repetitive sort of way. Then again, a chef would probably be able to make them an absolutely banging apple pie from the orchard.

Oh, that redder tone Mephis got when Allan kissed him was an absolute delight to see. "I know," he whispered back before Mephis could continue, and chuckled when he'd told him to - "Oh?" He raised an eyebrow, smirk still on his face as he looked down at the other. "I mean, sure, I love you too, I'll-" Orders were orders, after all. Plus, nobody was here right now as he'd previously confirmed like, five seconds ago, so whatever scandalous thing Mephis had planned would be fine, he thought, as he got down on his knees. Of course, in the next few moments there were just some giggles from him as Mephis leaned down and kissed him, it - oh, it was actually so interesting to have to lean up to kiss him, actually. "Is it? I don't think sooo, but," it was an inevitable fact that someone could walk in there at any time, despite the fact that he could never ever ever get enough kisses, he supposed, as he got up again, dusting off his knees as he stood up. "Hydroponics! That's it, fuck, thanks, it's - yeah, I don't know how it entirely works either, but I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to figure out from uh.. the plant secrets books." That were hopefully public and not secret at all. "Ahh. Don't think I've ever cooked from the plant before, I've just had like, the," he motioned with his hands to make the shape of a bottle shaker as he forgot the word for the little containers that held most of the spices he used. "Most of them sort of just come in the little things, you know? I mean," he thought for a moment about how seldom they did cook because of the existence of replicators. He made something like, every once in a while just to try, and had found a few things they both liked - but... "Maybe we should cook for a date night sometime, actually? Make something new and crazy, it might be kinda fun."

He didn't think so? So he wasn't yet satisfied? Oh well. He'd just tell him to get on his knees again later. "I'm not that good at cookin', and you know how picky I am... We'd have to make small portions and you'll have to not take it personally if I don't like 'em." Not that Allan ever did, but a reminder didn't hurt. He tended to not like 'new and crazy'; he had a narrow list of safe foods and luckily, apples and apple-related products were on it. He started walking around, looking at all the plants again. Nothing especially rare. Made sense; even the Commonwealth weren't stupid enough to leave valuable flowers and such lying around where anyone could steal them. No devil orchids for him, then. "Maybe I won't fuckin' die next time you make somethin' actually spicy." Physical pain? Nah, no sweat, he could brave it. Spicy food? No. Call the fire brigade because his mouth was aflame. They sort of walked around the whole greenhouse 'til they were near the entrance again. He stopped and paused, wrapping an arm around Allan's waist. "You wanna just sit on the grass for a bit by a tree?"

"I know, I know, I just... might be fun if we make something we find you like, ya know?" Like a fun little game, where the game was to figure out as adventerous as you could get with your cooking and have Mephis still like it, but the main point of the game was really to just find out things that Mephis loved. He wanted to find things that he could make when Mephis was feeling down to put a smile back on his face, he wanted to find things that Mephis would give him a little kiss on the cheek and a thank-you for making him, and he wanted to find things that Mephis would get excited at the mention of having for dinner. He enjoyed the rest of the plants, occasionally going up close to one of them and touching it, it was interesting to know that they were all real. Some of them were just so pretty he didn't think they were real sometimes. Like Mephis. "Aw, I know you fuckin' died when I tried to make butter chicken, but.. oh, I dunno, apple pie even has some cinnamon in it, would you be able to handle that?" He asked with a laugh as they walked back around to the front of the greenhouse. "Mm... which one?" He asked, stepping out of the greenhouse and looking at ... all of the trees. "Maybe that one, over there?" He reached an arm around Mephis's shoulders to point out a pretty large tree across the way. Some sort of pecan tree, but Allan didn't know what kind of tree it was. Just looked interesting. (edited)

Mephis took a moment to think, then nodded. It would probably be good to cook more things anyway, so that he could make nice things for Allan, too. He wasn't the best, but it would be nice to make Allan a meal on days he was sick or unhappy to cheer him up, or just to make things they could enjoy together, even if he probably wouldn't eat that much of it. "You joke, but if it does have too much cinnamon in it I might die from the sweetness, too." Every dessert was a cinnamon challenge to him. "Sure, that one, lessgo." He led Allan over to the pecan tree. It was thick at the base but quickly split into two trunks half the size, one of which split again at a few feet above Allan's height into another trunk, and the three reached into the artificial sky like three fingers with many branches obscured by the thick, rich green canopy of feather-like leaves and drooping catkins. At the end of a branch hanging low but still just above him, there was a cluster of shelled pecan nuts. He stared up at it, tempted by the nut. "D'you think they just let us take these?" He'd read that trees that bore fruit and nuts were considered kind of a communal resource in many societies, but he wasn't sure if the Commonwealth believed in that. After all, they still had their origins in the Terran Empire, who would probably actually stab you for stealing a nut.

"That's exactly why I bring it up... it's considered a spice, even, I think." Even though it was oddly sweet. He was unsure of how that worked, but something was kind of fun about being able to try different amount of cinnamon in an apple pie, starting small, until they got to a point Mephis was satisfied with. In fact, they would get a lot of apple pie that way, which could be nice. And then he could maybe feed him the apple pie, or they could freeze it and save it for a special day, or whatever else they wanted to do with it. "We'll figure it out." He'd thought that the pecan tree would be big from afar, but this shit was even bigger up close. He looked straight up at the tree, across the little clusters of... oh, were these nuts? He didn't know what kind, actually, but surely the Commonwealth wouldn't have trees full of inedible nuts lying around for uh, children to eat, right? Right. "Probably," he said, also looking at the nut. "I mean, I think if we don't take all of them, that should be fi- look, there's even some on the ground already," he bent down and picked some of the shelled pecans off the ground, looking them over. "I'd say it's definitely okay to take them and uhhhh if not, well, we run for it?"

"Ha, yeah, run for it. Imagine that - getting kicked off the station for stealing some nuts. Not the worst thing we could do here, for sure." But what was the worst thing? He wanted to mess with the KCA, and maybe the Terrans a bit, but he honestly didn't have a plan for how to do that, since he didn't have enough information about the conference until now. He wanted... Was it revenge? He supposed. To hurt them in the name of Ferenginar. He wasn't a moral man, but it wasn't right that they'd destroyed a whole planet and it was a footnote in the history of most other factions. If one of the factions turned against the KCF, maybe he could join them - but then again, that was most likely going to be the Terrans, and did he really want to get rid of their only other competitor? They'd turn their eyes and phasers towards the Commonwealth wealth again. Besides, with the three factions fighting, it meant he could more or less get away with his piracy easily. He'd considered trying to sabotage the peace conference himself, but hadn't yet decided upon the method. Blow some shit up and blame the KCA? But then, again, the Terran problem. He, of course, had discussed this with Allan when they were on the ship, and had been receptive to any retrospective suggestions Past Allan had offered, but they probably couldn't talk about it here. Not until he'd eavesdropper-proofed their room, that is. He sat down by the pecan tree, went 'ow' as because he'd sat on several pecans, stood up and moved them away, then sat down again. He tried to relax, but his face was a little sour as he picked up a pecan and imagined it as a planet the KCA were stomping under their boot and cracking. His mood often took a downturn when he thought about this topic. (edited)

“Oh, that would be pretty funny, though, just for stealing some nuts?” He laughed. Getting kicked off the station for stealing some nuts! Literally the funniest concept they could dream of to get kicked out like. Actually, there were probably funnier ways, even. And the worst thing they could do here was honestly pretty limitless. Allan was sure sabotaging the peace conference would be fun, and had definitely come up with several suggestions — but all of them were probably a good deal crazier than the last, exponentially so. Like going in the jefferies tubes and sabotaging the wiring and forcing everyone to work together which may or may not end well, kind of like that 21st century video game where ‘impostors’ went around sabotaging things and everyone either had to work together as a team or the other impostors would kill them off. Something like that. Sure, the three factions fighting ensured they could more or less get away with things, but who was to say that they couldn’t have a bit more of a challenge if they weren’t? Or even… to not. It had been idly discussed throughout the last few years a handful of times, but the possibility of not doing this whole thing was one that came across the table from time to time — it couldn’t be done in this kind of political landscape, but maybe one day it could. Maybe instead of sabotaging the peace conference in a bad way, they could sabotage it in a way that’d make it work better, somehow. He didn’t really think all three of the factions deserved peace, really, but… who did, at this point? Either everyone did or nobody did, right?

19:10

“Oh — here,” Allan also helped to move the pecans away, kind of kicking them away with his heel before Mephis sat back down, and he sat down next to him. He cracked two of them open, eating one and holding out his hand with the other in it to Mephis. “.. I always think it’s kinda fun how pecans taste, they’re like… very different to all the other nuts, somehow.” He said, as if every nut wasn’t different in their own way anyways. “Did you know people actually make little wreaths out of the shells? Or, I mean, maybe they leave the nuts in, actually, but they’re really pretty little wreaths, usually for Christmas and stuff, but maybe if we get enough of these…” He started gathering some of the pecans in a circle together, like a wreath. The variation in colors was enough to make it look kinda cool on its own. “They can kind of come together and make some uh, really beautiful stuff, maybe.” He looked at Mephis with a soft smile, figuring maybe thinking about pecan art could be a nice little thought in the other’s brain. And the previous question was sort of obvious. As he laid here with Mephis, the cool autumn breeze blowing lightly across them, blowing their equally-bright red hair to the sides of their faces, he definitely figured that at least… at least this was peaceful, and if they could have this — who was to say everyone else couldn’t?

He took the nut and cronched on it, observing Allan talk about pecan wreaths. He'd seen Allan make flower crowns before, so this wasn't unexpected - but somehow, it was still cute. Neither of them were men of pure heart, but it soothed him that even pirates could sit by a tree and talk about making pecan wreaths. Thoughts of destroying the KCF moved a little further back in his mind as the wind blew a gentle whistle past his ear. Wow, this place was pretty immersive. He wasn't sure about peace, though. On a wider scale, and on a smaller scale. The Commonwealth certainly wanted it, but they were outnumbered by two different very militaristic factions: the Klingons loved war, the Cardassians loved the military, and the Terrans loved using both to conquer other planets in the name of humanity, and then forcing those they'd subjugated to do the same. Truth is, if the KCA hadn't gotten to Ferenginar, the Terran Empire would have instead, and he wasn't sure how to feel about that. And regarding peace on a smaller scale, specifically for himself and Allan... He wanted it, but he had to admit the idea scared him a little. He'd been put to work since he was young, he'd staged a rebellion, he robbed and he killed... His greatest strength was that he'd adapted well to his circumstances despite his disadvantages, but now he worried he had molded himself into the kind of person who only knew endless work and hardship, been fired in the kiln of violence, and would now be unable to adapt to a peaceful life. Not to mention, for him to just go off somewhere and life a peaceful life with Ferenginar blown up felt... Selfish, somehow. Like he wasn't allowed to just go off and retire as though that never happened. But they couldn't do this forever. He knew that too. (edited)

23:37

He leaned on Allan's shoulder. "D'you think the Terrans and the KCA even intend to listen to the Commonwealth at all? I feel like this is either a trap or they're just... Humourin' the Commonwealth. Neither the Empire nor the KCA would even know what t'do with peace if they got it. They're scorpions now; violence is simply in their nature." (edited)

Huh. That wind really was immersive as fuck, he almost felt like whistling back when it blew past them. He leaned his head a little against Mephis's, holding his hand in between the grass while continuing to make the little pecan wreath shape with his other hand. He'd made flower crowns before, and he'd make them again, with new and better flowers, and maybe he'd stick some flowers onto the pecan wreath to make it even prettier. It was almost Christmas, after all. Speaking of such, it was a little strange to him how the Terrans held onto such a holiday, but. At least they had some good things still. In the form of pecan wreathes and some funny little aesthetic lights, from time to time. Oh, and the trees. Interesting how those were still around, even if some people put knives deep in them sometimes to deter ornament thieves. "I... honestly don't know. Usually the people in charge are worse than the average people in a place, like uh- I would think that anyone in charge of making decisions for the Terrans and the KCA can't be, uh, too great, but..." he sighed, looking up at the clouds moving past. "Maybe the Commonwealth has something really good to offer? Strangely enough, I think the only way is if they offered something too valuable to give up. Like uh, peace would have to be so valuable... somehow. It can't be just the best option for everyone, it's gonna have to be the best option for each one of the factions, individually. Right?" He wasn't worried about adapting to a peaceful life much at all. He'd had to adapt to survive, sure, but he also was really good at relaxing... like this. He was more worried about what everyone else's idea of peace was, to know if it'd ever be possible to have peace by themselves. "I wonder if we could bug the room to find out how it's going."

It was strange that people of such a vicious nature still had Christmas and other celebrations. Only Earth ones, though. Scorpions celebrating scorpion holidays and stinging frogs for celebrating frog ones. He looked up at the branches above him and considered whether he should carve he and Allan's initials in the bark like a lovesick teen, but decided against it. The tree had given them this moment of peace and he wouldn't turn against it like that. "Mmm. Yeah. But I dunno what they're offerin'. They don't have resources, they don't have allies - not as much as the otehr factions, anyway. But maybe they have some trick up their sleeve if they called this conference." He paused, let go of Allan's hand so he could brush an ant off it, then wove their fingers together again. "If Ferenginar was still around, they could've been an ally. Hell, they were. But they're not. There's just us now. I mean, I guess we could be an ally, but I ain't survived this long by takin' sides. 'Sides, what would we get out of it that we can't get ourselves? Apple and pecan trees?" He grinned. "I'd rather heist 'em. More fun that way."

"Well, that's what the buggin's for. To figure out what they have to offer, but. Maybe it's something we haven't thought of before. Or maybe they're just trying to buy time until they can come up with a better plan. Either way, I'm curious to see what they have to say," he stopped making the pecan wreath now, they were in a circle, there wasn't much more he could do with the structure. Allan chuckled at Mephis's suggestion of heisting apple and pecan trees. He squeezed Mephis's hand and looked up at the trees again, taking in their beauty and the peacefulness of their surroundings. He couldn't help but admire his partner's cunning and resourcefulness, even in the midst of such uncertainty. "Absolutely we can. We've managed to survive on our own so far, anyways." Although, they'd made enemies before, everywhere they went pretty much - just not a whole entire faction. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the conference brings? Maybe they'll surprise us, or maybe they'll confirm our suspicions. Either way, we'll be ready for whatever comes our way." He looked up at the sky, watching the clouds drift by again. It was strange to think that there were other worlds out there other than the ones they already knew of, other civilizations and cultures that they might never even know about. But then again, that was the way of the universe, wasn't it? There was always something new to discover, something unknown to explore. Maybe there was some world that nobody else knew about they could go to. Some little dream paradise. "Oh! You say they've got no resources, but au contraire, mi amor, they've got-" he gestured his hand around to the pecans, the pecan tree, the arboretum in general, "sooo many resources for us to heist out of 'em. So, um. Checkmate. Or whatever the word is."

"Hmmm. I dunno if pecan trees are ever gonna be the decisive factor in a war with the Terrans or the KCA, but, as always, I admire yer optimism." And that was the last thing he had to say on the topic, really. They could talk about how they would bug the peace conference later. For now, he just wanted to relax with him. When you're a space pirate, you have less opportunities to do this kind of thing than you'd like. This whole thing was supposed to be a quest of political reconnaissance and possibly vengeance, but maybe it was also a bit of a vacation, too. He leaned on Allan's shoulder and talked with Allan about meaningless things for a while - flowers, heists, cats. And when the topic of conversation moved there, he sat back up properly again. "I reckon we should check on Bandit again," he said. "I'm worried about 'er. And... I wonder if we can calm 'er down enough to see this place. She'd enjoy it." Much like them, she didn't get to touch grass with her little paw beans often. "I'll have to look up if cats're allergic to pecans, though, just in case." He picked up another pecan for the road, though first gave it to Allan to break, since he couldn't do that himself.

"I dunnooo, these are pre-tty good," he said with a laugh as he cracked open another pecan and ate it, because yeah, that was as much as he had to say about the topic for now as well. He wrapped an arm around Mephis's shoulder to hold him a little closer as they talked on about what may have been considered meaningless by some standard, but... really, they had a lot of meaning. Flowers meant a lot to him at least, they were something that represented such a beauty in life that didn't stab you or anything weird like that. Sometimes they had thorns or whatever, but that wasn't really the same. Heists were fun and all and of course cats... well, of course cats had meaning! Especially their cat in particular. "Aww, yeah, we've got like, two weeks to do it though, we should be good," he smiled as he also sat up properly, shoving as many pecans as he could into his satchel with one hand, taking the one Mephis had handed him into his other hand and breaking it, handing it back. "I thiiink they're fine? Like, not a lot, like most non-cat foods, but I don't think a nut or two would hurt. Still good to double-check, though." Pretty much good to double-check anything, really, especially as an engineer. He stood up then, reaching a hand down to Mephis. "Let's give her a little surprise treat, maybe? Oo, like what if we replicated some catnip and sprinkled it on the chair in the room?"

He took Allan's hand and then stood up, munching on his pecan. "Sounds great. To acclimatise her, yeah, but also to take a really cute video." Very important space pirate work, taking cat videos. "I dunno if she'd be all that interested anyway. Nuts ain't exactly wet food." Bandit was a wet food stan. Dry food do not interact. She also really liked those disgusting tubes of meat paste. It would, unfortunately, be a good idea to give her some of those too, so she would associate the room with yummy (smelly) treats. He walked into the #science-module-corridor with Allan.

Shira walked into the arboretum, inhaling the fresh air. She put her hands in her pockets, palming the collapsible painstick she always kept on hand. This other Imperial had been acting very odd, and if she did actually meet her here, she had half a mind to just drop the sus fool right then and there. But, she would at least hear the lieutenant out, maybe even give her some pointers on how to hide her traitorous tendencies better.

She knew, thought Jayrehi. Though, she had been rather vague, and her social skills rather untrained. She could remember at least one instance where someone thought she was going to kill them though she was actually trying to flirt. No matter, she wasn’t going to enter yet unless she knew for certain she could come up with a decent alibi, but time was running out she as neared the door.

Shira leaned on the wall near the door, not visible from it. It would be a shame if Jayrehi was actually looking for traitors, whether it was to kill them or plot with them. There was no beating the Terran Empire after all, that had been drilled into Shira by her parents long ago, by her father's harshness and her mother's warnings. Shira came to attention as her antennae twitched. Movement nearby. She took the painstick out of her pocket and prepared for it not to be M'Kahl, or worse, for it to be a M'Kahl that wanted Shira dead or turned in.

((idk where to go with this tbh, will both of them fight? or does jayrehi manage to convince eshiri she was only trying to know her?

She entered the room, her attitude slightly jittery. She saw Shira in the corner, and moved back slightly. She chuckled, as the surprise wore of on her. “Ah, uh- Sorry. Didn’t see you there.”

Shira waited for the door to close before she spoke. "At least you have the sense to watch your own back, Lieutenant. If i were anyone i've stabbed, you'd be fighting for your life right now, 'traitorous dog'." She hoped to whatever gods are listening that the sarcasm of those last two words went through, and un-leaned herself off of the wall. Still uncertain, she watches Jayrehi closely for signs of either honesty or deciet.

She giggled, lowering her own internal defenses slightly, as she walked over to a nearby seat. “That’s why I’ve survived so long, though not pissing people off seems to help slightly.” she smiled, leaning forwards to where Shiri stood.

Shira walked closer, not sitting down for the moment. "People get pissed at the dumbest things lately. Keeping a cool head and your wits about you is the real way to go." After all, not getting pissed made it all the easier to detect enemies hidden in plan sight.

“Exactly, and it’s usually very stupid to kill vital crew members in a situation where replacements are scarce.” she nodded her head slightly, looking down for a moment. “Knew a fella who wanted the CE position. She got it, but only for 2 hours, then the ship was lost with all hands. Then again, the bastard was always clumsy.”

"Yeesh. Sounds like a mess. But yeah i know a thing or two about heads of staff disappearing immediately before the ship blowing up." She thought back to a particularly egregious individual and then remembered to look around. Just cause she wasn't sensing any movement doesn't mean the two were alone.

“Something up?” she asked, tilting her head to look behind Shiri, before looking back towards her. She now noticed the scars on her right cheek, her face changed slightly, with a look of concern and intrigue.

"Nah, it's nothing. Just my paranoia. A damn good trait for us to have, and a trait that would seem to discourage seeking out others like us." Shira put her hand in her pocket and her expression got all the more serious. "That is, of course, if we are alike after all." The glare of doom. Jayrehi still hasn't eased Shira's suspicions, but luckily for her she hasn't confirmed them yet either.

“Yeah.” she said, relaxing slightly in her chair, but her mind was tense. “Maybe we are, maybe we aren’t. What do you want to know about me?” she motioned.

She takes a deep breath, her gaze steady. "All i want to know, is what you think of the Empire." This was it, make it or break it. The answer to this question - and how true said answer is - will determine how the rest of the interaction would go down.

“Bluntly? It has flaws.” she said, hesitating slightly. “But the world isn’t sweet. It is a cold abyss out there, and strength is needed. Power is needed. That is what makes our empire great. However, it made up of egotistical leaders whose only concern is their own power and wealth. They care not for the empire at large, and that is our weakness, but not one we can’t fix.” she was notably nervous after her criticism of the empire, and kept one hand in her pocket incase anything went wrong. She hoped Shiri would at least somewhat agree with her, but there was no certainty.

"And fix it we will," Shira agreed, hand exiting her pocket empty. "Why do you think it's not just those who directly anger me that don't survive knowing me?" Nobody's innocent, especially Imperials of murder. But Shira did what she can to only harm those deserving of it. She scoffed. "To be blunt, it was stupid admitting your difference of ideology to someone you didn't know shared it. Keep doing what you did in the bar, you're gonna get stabbed one day." She said this frankly while nodding slightly at Jayrehi and placing a hand on her own hip.

“Maybe it was fatigue, or the drinks. I don’t usually act that stupid. At least I don’t think.” she muttered. looking down before looking back up. “May I ask something?”

"Perhaps it was." Shira sighed and sat on the other end of the bench. "Indeed you may. What is the question?" she said in response.

“What happened to your check?” she asked, hoping it wasn’t too personal to the Andorian.

"I got blown up," Shira recounted. "ISS Sparta, Akira class. Got into a scrap with one too many KCA ships at once, couldn't keep up. I was 'running an errand' in engineering when a power relay behind the wall blew up and sent shards at me. I decided to keep the scars because they both add to my charm and remind me to watch out for hidden dangers."

“You certainly look charming.” Jayrehi chuckled slightly, before her expression became a largely neutral one again.

"Heh, thanks. Anyways, i should probably get going. Got some stuff to do. See you back on the ship, and remember, this conversation doesn't leave this room." Shira got up to leave, but hesitated, giving an opportunity for Jayrehi to say something more.

“Oh um,” Jayrehi hesitated. She seemed to have something to say, but struggled to find the words. “When can I see you again?” she asked, partially blurting it out.

Shira paused and turned around. "Technically, any time you want. We do serve on the same ship after all. As long as we keep these damn softheaded mouths of ours shut, we can pretend it's for other reasons." She paused before saying: "Farewell for now, Lieutenant," And went on her way.