day 108, alliance standard 407
1309 hours - space terminal laemos

lieutenant son eunseo sighs and leans forward from her seat to take a better look at the light cruiser approaching the terminal's dock. the lwsc intrepid cruises slowly into its designated docking spot, accompanied by the terminal's crew in a small shuttle, ready to assist with the docking procedure.

eunseo pinches the bridge of her nose before shrugging her pack on her shoulders. she was not carrying much—she's never felt the need to have so many belongings on her when she is required to live in cramped bunk in a spaceship. her eyes never leave the approaching light cruiser. she softly mutters, "that's my new home now," to herself and trudges down the flight of stairs from the lounge to the docking bay when she sees the intrepid finally groans to a stop, its propeller and rudder getting shut off with an audible steam of warm air—from the ship's atmospheric pressure pressing on its hull.

overhead, an audio announcement is played robotically through the terminal's large hangar's speakers—'welcome to the alliance aerospace laemos space terminal. all arriving personnel are reminded to check in with their department heads as soon as possible for instructions on your future assignments. please be advised that a number of minor illnesses have been reported by the terminal's staffs resulting in manpower shortages in some sectors. if you yourself should experience any mild headaches, unusual fatigue, a tickly cough, a higher than normal temperature, a colder than normal temperature, insomnia, runny nose, stiffness, skin lesions or loss of vision, please notify your department heads immediately. here at laemos space terminal, your health and safety is our primary concern.'

eunseo quietly studies the ship's gentle curves as she makes her way down—a design that enables lower stress concentration, which would lead to less fatigue and fracture on the ship's structure—a groundbreaking technique that has been vastly improved since the beginning of alliance's formation.

it looks like the intrepid has taken some damage. eunseo could easily spot some temporary, emergency fixes on both the bow and stern of the ship. the terminal's docking crew is maneuvering slowly around the ship, taking note of the ship's condition. with the amount of visible damage and temporary repairs, eunseo is certain that intrepid is not going to be flight worthy for her mission anytime soon. she tries to contain her disappointment, but fails miserably as her shoulders drop low. eunseo longs to fly again. she has been grounded at the terminal for almost three months ever since getting injured in a shootout with a clan of plasma thieves.

her recovery from her wounds and the subsequent installation of a bionic lung had taken too long for her previous crew to retain her services. she is then dumped; crew-less in a middle of nowhere space terminal… eunseo has been at wit's end for at least a month now since she was cleared to return to active duty—placed in reserved list without a prospect—until finally... a vague mission order came to her. she was to board the intrepid, and assist in its mission. there was no further elaboration on what kind of duties she would be expected to complete aboard the light cruiser ship—nor was eunseo given information on the kind of missions the intrepid is currently undertaking—but she would take anything at this point, wishing to leave the space terminal as soon as it is possible.

is it truly alright to be this desperate? who knows—eunseo surely isn't one to question an order from the alliance's headquarters.

lieutenant eunseo is met at the bay by two commissioned officers—both of them outranking her, busy discussing something in soft, hushed whispers. the taller (but still shorter than eunseo) woman stood ramrod straight when she sees eunseo's approach. she salutes the lieutenant, sharp eyes meeting eunseo's gentler gaze without any diffidence. eunseo returns the salute stiffly. "good afternoon, commander, lieutenant commander. i am lieutenant son eunseo, reporting for duty."

"welcome to the intrepid, lieutenant, we've been expecting you. i am commander bae joohyun," she pauses after returning eunseo's salute, her hand moving to gesture at the lieutenant commander, clad in a full combat suit, just without the helmet. "and over here is lieutenant commander kang seulgi. she is my head of security, so you'll be under her command from now on. thank you for reporting to us so quickly, i didn't think you'd be here for our arrival," the smaller woman, a full-fledged commander, smiles encouragingly at eunseo. her eyes in comparison to the taller lieutenant commander looks rather sad. eunseo could feel for the commander—she supposes she would be the same should her fighter craft be so horribly damaged in a dog fight. "i wish we could have welcomed you when the ship, and us crews—are in a much better state... but you'll just have to accept that we're not exactly... in a great condition right now."

a third officer, a lieutenant like eunseo, and just as small in size (and pretty) as commander bae, pops into view from an opened maintenance compartment almost directly above the three officers standing at the loading bay. "uh, commander? i don't know if you've noticed this," she says rather sarcastically. "but some annoying flies are buzzing around your oh-so-precious ship."

"now, now," commander bae huffs as she looks up towards the lieutenant. "don't call the docking crew that. they're here to help."

"they are? aren't they supposed to just... leave after the docking's completed? an alliance maintenance crew will be coming instead, right?" she pouts, jutting out her lips in dissatisfaction. "you see, commander... their bulky shuttles are taking up precious space our engineers need more of," the lieutenant lets out a soft groan as she jumps off the maintenance compartment—landing gently, as if her feet are made of soft cushions, almost weightless (eunseo wonders if the terminal had suddenly switched on a lower artificial gravity setting, what with how graceful that leap is). she pats her hands on her thighs before her head turns to watch the activity around the docked intrepid—looking positively more annoyed as seconds pass, frowning as she studies the dock's machinery. "ugh. look at all those ugly cables and mech arms... they took far too long to connect to our docking latch. now the system's all messed up. my engines tool's been alerting me of docking errors non-stop."

"they've been messed up ever since we took on that huge blast of plasma." commander bae adds helpfully.

the lieutenant scrunches her nose when some of the terminal crew pass by them, driving a cart full of supplies. "well, it sure didn't prevent them from being extra careful with our damaged latch," she then hugs her body as she regards eunseo, narrowing her eyes. eunseo quietly notes how expressive the pretty lieutenant is in her mind. "...and who's this?"

"oh," commander bae says; a small, crooked smile forming on her features. "this is lieutenant son eunseo, she's coming onboard and joining us from this day onward. we came all the way to this terminal to pick her up," the commander then takes a slight pause, smirking a little. "lieutenant, you'd know that if you actually read the mission's brief i sent to all of my crew."

"that wordy thing? i wouldn't call it 'brief' in the slightest. and as long as i can keep the intrepid running beautifully, i won't question wherever we're heading, really," her casual dismissal of the commander's words surprised eunseo. the pretty lieutenant then closes the few meters distance to where eunseo is. though the lieutenant is a good few inches smaller than eunseo, she stands tall. "a combat pilot?" the lieutenant's pretty doe eyes study the departmental stripe on eunseo's uniform. she looks at the red colored stripe with keen interest, all the while wearing an impish grin. "heh, it's good to have you. just... well, here's a bit of fair warning. our ship's fighter craft has been gathering dust since the dawn of time—so i honestly cannot guarantee what kind of state you'll find it in or worse; that you couldn't fly it at all."

"is the fighter craft part of the reliant-class?" eunseo asks timidly. given that the lwsc intrepid is one of the alliance's newest class of light space cruisers, it should come with a new reliant-class fighter as well.

the lieutenant tilts her head, thinking. "pretty sure it is. not entirely sure which model with what trim, though." 

"that's alright. if it's one of the reliant-class fighters, i can make it flight worthy no matter what condition it's in. i've been trained to do so. i just need to find some parts to replace any faulty ones and the fighter could possibly fly again."

"now that's impressive," commander bae whistles pleasantly. "we'll leave it to you, then, lieutenant eunseo. just ring any of the engineers what kind of parts you'd need to replace and they'll requisition them for you," she pauses as she regards eunseo once again. "honestly, lieutenant, you're kind of a godsend. we've been trying to recruit a combat pilot for so long but no one is ever made available for us to offer a position. when we were alerted of your status as a reserved combat pilot without a permanent crew, we made quite the detour into this cluster to pick you up from this terminal."

then, surprising eunseo a little, the commander heaves an uncharacteristically big sigh. "none of the crew have ever been this far away in the lunis cluster. even if we had all the data we needed... we still ran into some... er, not so friendly ships," the commander rests her head on the taller lieutenant commander's shoulders and pulls her close by her arm—the sudden intimacy adding up to eunseo's shock. her voice even changes to a lighter, melodic tone, as if talking to a baby. "they really don't take too kindly to alliance ships coming into their territory, huh? would've been so nice if we had eunseo flying in combat during that shootout."

"i believe i've warned you of such an adversary before you decided to go through with the plan to fly along routes yet to be drafted by the alliance. so, no, we didn't have all the data we needed," lieutenant commander kang speaks for the first time with added emphasis, breaking her long drawn silence. "frankly speaking, commander, we got through that relentless assault in a much better shape than i thought was actually possible."

the commander pouts against the lieutenant commander's nape, thinking. "do you suppose we need to stock up on some quality booze to placate our ace pilot?"

"yes, please. i'm sure she's still fuming in the bridge."

"well... we'll get to that later," commander bae yawns cutely. she seems to have logged out and gotten off work at that instant—shedding off the commanding air around her—positively melting into the arms of the lieutenant commander. "now... how's about we check into a bigger, comfy room first and lounge about?"

"do i even have an option to check out the terminal, grab some food or go train my body first with a bit of exercise, or—"

the lieutenant commander's suggestion is cut off even before she could complete it. she is pulled by the smaller commander by her arm, marching up the stairs to the lounge eunseo just came out of. "nope, no, and nuh-uh! we're taking an eight hour nap right now."

"commander, that's not a nap, that's a full session of deep sleep."

"god, seulgi, i just need a cuddle. so shut up and hold me."

before eunseo could fully process the commander and lieutenant commander's casual exchange, the lieutenant speaks up; her eyes, in a pretty crescent form and so gentle—with a glint of amusement—drifts off the pair going up the stairs on their way to leave the terminal's docks, to finally rest in eunseo's gaze. "i think that was a non-verbal cue for me to take command of the ship and the ongoing repairs," brows creased, she presses a few buttons on her command tool before neatly pocketing it. "so that leaves you and me, lieutenant. since the maintenance crew won't be arriving anytime soon... i guess i'll show you to your bunk for now. i'm quite sure the combat pilots' room is rather dusty too, what with how long it's been unoccupied. i'll help you settle in if you don't mind, i think you'll need the help."

"i don't have much on me, but..." eunseo looks down at her carry-on, shrugging it higher on her shoulders, then smiles encouragingly at her rank-mate all the same. "i'll trust you on the less than pristine room condition. thank you, i really appreciate your help."

"great!" the lieutenant return's eunseo's smile warmly, her lips parting to form a lovely, gummy grin. "that's one matter settled then. follow me," she starts, moving back to the engineering compartment she dropped from. she nimbly climbs up into the compartment and then pops her head back out; looking at eunseo in anticipation while being upside down. "well? come on, lieutenant, we don't have all day."

eunseo trudges after the lieutenant in both wonder and doubt. "i'm going to have to enter through here too...?"

"honestly, i've never found a better entrance into the intrepid," the lieutenant beams down at eunseo before offering her hand. "your bag first, lieutenant," eunseo follows the order, shrugging off her pack and giving it to the awaiting hand. the small, fair palm returns after eunseo's bag is stored somewhere. "we've kind of foregone the usual pleasantries, huh? sorry about that. it's a pleasure, by the way. my name is kim bona, rank lieutenant, same as you," lieutenant kim bona grunts softly as she helps heft eunseo up the engineering compartment. once eunseo made it into the cramped space—hitting her head audibly on the compartment's low ceiling when she's in full stretch—lieutenant kim wears her brightest smile yet, laughing heartily at eunseo's busy hands patting the area she hurt her head. 

"are you alright? you need to be careful, lower your head, lieutenant, i suppose being so tall does have its own disadvantages," lieutenant kim's giggles eventually drift off as eunseo hunches over and follows her further into the ship's interior. "i know this is not the best place to say this, but welcome to the intrepid. i look forward to working with you, lieutenant son."

-----
 

day 108, alliance standard 407
1345 hours - combat pilots' barracks

settling in does not take all that much time, as eunseo predicted. the combat pilots' room is also in a rather tidy condition, though it is evident that it is not ever used—the wardrobes are still locked with keys hanging on their respective keyways, there is not a speck of dust usually present in a well lived-in space, and the beds are completely untouched. eunseo chooses the bed on the right side, leaning away from the entrance of the room. it is a habit of hers to always be on guard, and should someone threatening attempt to enter the room, eunseo would be well hidden behind the door, ready to pounce.

lieutenant kim is folding and putting some of eunseo's uniforms away neatly into the wardrobe, busy hands pausing when she finds a pilot suit inner uniform stained with large spots of crusty, dark red bloom. "lieutenant son. is this... blood?"

eunseo rushes from struggling to try fitting on her clean bedsheet to where bona is. she takes the stained uniform from bona's hands and stares at it wistfully. "oh, yes. that is... i forgot to turn it in with my old crew. i should've gotten rid of it before they left me, but... i wasn't exactly mobile after undergoing the bionic surgery."

bona's eyes grow softer. "I'm sorry to hear that you were taken off your last flight crew due to your injury. you must've been through a lot."

eunseo could only shrug. she places the stained uniform away from her other clean clothes, planning to get rid of it for good with the intrepid's provision officer later. "what's done is done. there's no changing it now, much as i disliked it. i'm just relieved that i'm not going to be stuck in this terminal any longer."

"i know that feeling all too well," bona states; her voice in a gentle, musing tone. "you see, i was a..." she fiddles with her thumbs, trying to find the right word, "ah, a stray... i suppose, just like you. i had issues with my last post and was dumped unceremoniously in an honest-to-god forsaken backwater planet. it was pure survival all by myself from then on... i was at that planet for almost five months, and i honestly thought i would die there. it was not until, well... until our commander, bless her and her brand of... idealism, i suppose, came flying into the planet and pretty much kidnapped me onto her ship and absorbed me into her crew."

eunseo finds it difficult to believe that the pretty lieutenant had such serious issues with her previous crew to the point of her getting removed before she eventually found her way (or kidnapped) onto the intrepid. even with just the little time they've been introduced to each other eunseo already knows—lieutenant kim bona is a great and considerate officer—one who doesn't lament with the task of guiding a fresh face around the ship. eunseo thought she would pass such a tiring chore to an enlisted crew, instead bona personally walked eunseo to her crew bunk and even helped her to move in.

she ponders on whether it is a good idea to ask the reason bona's service in her previous crew was put into a halt in such a way—she didn't want to pry, and bona's wound seems to be so fresh, still. and yet—eunseo is just so terribly curious. somehow she's gotten physically close to the smaller lieutenant as bona recounts her experience, keen to show support and yet not knowing just quite how.

bona just smiles gratefully at eunseo—not moving away from her approach—before she brings her hands behind her ears, and then unfurling the smooth tresses.

eunseo's gasp is filled with shock and audible in the small barracks as two soft, furry ears peaked behind long, silky hair. they are the colour of bona's crown of hair—dark and incredibly beautiful. they twitch a little under eunseo's close scrutiny. "oh. you're a... you're a sha..."

shas are a race newly discovered more than two centuries ago in the planet nore f11, orbiting the gigantic eruta megaplanet and several moons in the genalea cluster. they are considered an isolated race, largely human-like with animal ears (space farers have reported sightings of several different animals ears; foxes, cats, rabbits—likely belonging to different sha tribes), and they are often peaceful minded and incredibly intelligent. they collaborated well with the alliance's founding fathers—never quite looking for conflicts with other races or tribes—especially not space-faring ones. however, not much is known of them or their technologies, or lack thereof. given their elusive and highly secretive nature, eunseo doesn't think she'd have a chance to lay her eyes on a sha ever in her life—much less the sha being an alliance colleague on the same ship as her. what are the odds of such an occurence?

making an educated guess that bona was somehow discriminated in her previous assignments, eunseo's brows etched into deep, worried knots.

"your face," bona laughs good-naturedly at the rapid rush of emotions that seemed to have washed over eunseo upon seeing her sha ears. "is this your first time meeting one of the shas?"

"yes," eunseo answers, her eyes blinking uncontrollably as she takes the sight of the sha ears again and again, deep in disbelief. her hands move up, then down, hovering on her chest-level, curious. "uh, wow. um. i don't know, lieutenant. i'm sure my words have little to no importance but... i'm sorry if... you know. i'm just assuming these ears of yours gave you quite a bit of trouble with us humans. i'm sorry for whatever happened to you."

bona shakes her head reassuringly, though she's keeping her voice low. "thank you, lieutenant. frankly speaking, it was nothing i couldn't handle. it was just the regular workplace racism that was turned up a notch... well, several notches, i suppose. anyway, you didn't have any part in what happened to me—i was myself... reckless. i'm not going to place any blame on you or anyone else but myself."

eunseo wanted to know more but sensed from lieutenant kim's final tone that her rank mate's not keen on saying much else as explanation—and that is fine in itself—they just met and are currently no more than mere acquaintances. surely, there are boundaries to be respected between them, and eunseo doesn't wish to break through that painstakingly built wall without an expressed consent—just the lieutenant unraveling her sha ears out of her hair and showing it off face to face to her is more than eunseo could ever ask.

still, eunseo's hands hover rather comically, and lieutenant kim laughs softly at the sight of if. "would you like to touch them?"

"no! i couldn't possibly!"

"it's alright, lieutenant son," bona smiles, moving closer to eunseo and looking up to meet the latter's eyes; her gaze gentle. "you can touch them."

"i've read that they are very important to you—physically and culturally," eunseo retreats hastily from lieutenant kim's approach, remembering bits and pieces of a text she's read on the sha race—that their ears bear such importance to them, third only to their heart and brain—and that seeing them, touching them—is for the select few, ones a sha trust in full and found dear. eunseo is sure she's not considered one among those people. "i will... uh. i'll respectfully decline. thank you."

bona shrugs, an amused smile playing along her lips. "i'm not much of an advocate for sha culture given that i left the planet yearning for something out here in vast space that they couldn't provide me," she slips her ears behind her thick hair again, her smile not quite leaving yet. "but... i understand your reluctance."

"no, um, please. i don't think you really understand," eunseo colors a shade of deep red. "it is not like i found them dreadful. in fact, i think they're very beautiful. it is just... i've read a text that mentions—touching those ears is... very... intimate... among your people."

eyes blown, bona sets off laughing again at how flustered and hesitant the bumbling combat pilot is. "oh! of course," bona's shoulders shake in amusement. "while that is true for some sha tribes... well, i suppose that could be applied to the purest, most conservative ones, perhaps. i don't have such a... restraint."

"really?"

"really."

"i still wouldn't dare to touch them though."

"suit yourself."

"could you... tell me more about your people? of course... i don't expect you to do it now. i know you'll be incredibly busy when the intrepid is in this state. perhaps... when the ship's repairs are done or... well, whenever you have the time?"

"you're so curious."

"i mean—yes, i am. i wouldn't be out here surrounded by artificial zero-g in a compression suit with the whole atmosphere trying to kill me if i weren't such a meddling, peculiar human."

"in a strange way, i suppose you are right," lieutenant kim moves back to eunseo's wardrobe, stashing away more clothes. "come to think of it; are any of us space farers truly sane? well. not like it's a crime to be curious," smiling to herself, she offers eunseo a promise. "i'll find you when i do have some down time."

eunseo's eyes are still set on the smaller lieutenant's back, and so she couldn't see the hidden smile. "thank you, for... for everything, i suppose. i know you kept your ears hidden for a purpose and yet..."

bona giggles as she turns her head. "it's no big deal. the commanders know too."

"just the two of them, then?"

"...and the doctor, i suppose. she gets to check and fondle my ears as much as she likes," bona laughs in a merry fashion as she recounts her visits at the excitable doctor's office. "she seems to rather enjoy doing it too."

eunseo blushes red at the vivid imagery of the ship's doctor touching—(fondling!)—lieutenant kim's ears in her mind's eyes. "so that's three people in the whole ship. four if you include me."

"that's right."

"why? that is... why did you choose to tell me?"

lieutenant kim turns fully to face eunseo again. though the question surprises her a little, it is well within eunseo's right to ask. "why, i wonder... i guess i just have a special feeling for you."

that statement throws eunseo's off her steady stance. had she been drinking something she would've spat the liquids out of sheer shock. "excuse me? a special feeling?"

"for a lack of better term," bona smiles warmly. "some shas are empath, and my emotional ability is better than most. i doubt you were aware of... yourself; but i felt your call of distress from well within the intrepid as i made my way down to the dock inside the maintenance shaft earlier. well, i didn't know it was coming from you, initially. i thought it was the commander, upset about the terminal's severely limiting docking procedures. turns out it wasn't. just like the commander, your call... was familiar. you weren't particularly nauseating to me as some of the same emotion could be coming from other humans, but... i don't know. i was curious, and it definitely made me wish to... aid you in some way? i was certainly relieved that you were so willing to accept my help when i offered it. i was afraid that you would turn me down."

bona folds yet another shirt neatly as she explains her inclination. "we're the same—you and i—curious, poor abandoned strays picked up by the commander. and i figured that you'd... appreciate a kind and welcoming companion in the face of your..." knotting her brows, lieutenant kim looks for the right word. "...adversity. it's not always easy to join a new pack, or, a new group of people for you humans, i suppose. this i know far too well. we shas don't have deities, but if the higher being some of you believe in does exist, then they would know that anyone would cherish a friendly face on the intrepid when they first come onboard."

eunseo doesn't necessarily have a proper or eloquent response to that, so all she could offer is a soft, "thank you."

"you're welcome," lieutenant kim smiles even with her eyes, shaped in pretty crescents. "i was really horrible to the commander when she picked me up—beyond rabid from my life out in the wild planet. you could say i was pretty much a feral animal. i don't know how many scars the commander would still have on her cheeks from me absolutely clawing through her face if it weren't for the doctor's miracle scar remedy. well... i'm just trying to pay it forward."

"it doesn't really matter what your intentions are, i'm thankful all the same. but... please do remind me not to make you upset, lieutenant kim. ever." eunseo shakes her head and shudders. shas may look small and harmless, but anger one and the guilty would know the sort of fury the shas are capable of unleashing—there are solid reasons why their planet nore f11 could remain mostly untouched by outsiders—the shas are not a race one could simply mess with.

eunseo surely hopes lieutenant kim's smirk following her words is playful. "let's stop dilly-dallying and get your stuff unpacked quickly. you need to meet the rest of the crew!"

-----

day 108, alliance standard 407
1421 hours - lwsc intrepid's bridge

"holy ," is the first few words to escape lieutenant park sooyoung's mouth when eunseo buzzes through the bridge's door with lieutenant kim in tow.

similarly, "holy !" is eunseo's reaction when her eyes found lieutenant park seated at the main pilot console's seat.

(someone in a neat and pristine white lab coat is sitting on lieutenant park sooyoung's lap—but eunseo's surprise certainly isn't for that casual display of affection. at least not by that much.)

sooyoung throws the lab coat wearing woman off her lap as she goes into a quick sprint, barreling into eunseo for a full body hug. "eunseo! you arse, i can't believe it's really you!"

spun a whole round from the barreling hug, eunseo could only laugh. "it's good to see you too!"

lieutenant kim's right brow is raised. "i take it you two know each other."

"we went through officer flight school together," eunseo provided. "we were roommates with two others during the gruelling basic training, but eventually went our separate ways when i decided to specialise in flying combat fighters. i wasn't much too keen on being responsible for so many lives should i pilot a larger ship classes like lieutenant park."

lieutenant park sees fit to add to eunseo's recollection as she rests her arm around eunseo's waist. "i swear this woman is genetically engineered for space dog fights. no one in our training batch could outpace her or take her down in the simulators, so it was a given she chose that path. i, for one, wasn't as gifted in my reaction time. seriously, i don't know how many times i've died in the simulators. i'd rather pilot a hulking ship with heavy rudders and much slower speed of light than get out there in vacuum piloting a zipping fighter; not knowing what the hell i was doing."

"were i as good as you say, i wouldn't actually be here on the intrepid..." eunseo tries with a weak smile, thinking of the battle that took her fighter craft down. even with as much experience and flight hours she has put in since graduating the alliance academy she still couldn't manage to get out of that shootout unscathed—the alliance lost many good pilots on that fateful day. she gently pats down her chest where she could still feel the patch of fresh scar from where the frontier's doctor sutured her new bionic organ in. it's a messy work and the mechanical lung does break down sporadically leaving eunseo breathless, but she couldn't complain—she is just glad to still be alive. "...missing one of my actual lungs and all."

"i've been briefed about that, lieutenant son," a new voice pipes in from the flight control area. eunseo looks down the bridge to see the woman in the pristine white lab coat approaching her, wearing a kind smile. she stops beside lieutenant park and the taller woman separates away from eunseo only to attach herself to the doctor, latching onto her arm. "this far out in the frontier, i don't think you'd have a newer, much more reliable bionic model installed? please do drop by the doctor's office later so we could talk through the surgical procedure, okay? we were alerted of your medical conditions way before the mission to retrieve you started and have sent a request to the alliance's medical engineering division to ship us a new one for a change. i'm sure you'll feel much better once it is installed."

before eunseo could express her appreciation, lieutenant park cuts her off. "wait a sec, seungwan-ah. so you knew? that lieutenant son is coming onboard?"

"i know a little from what's in her alliance profile. i didn't know she's a friend of yours." the doctor pouts.

"you're just making it obvious that you didn't read the mission brief, lieutenant park," comes the commander's voice from the bridge's opening elevator. she strides in with the lieutenant commander following just a step behind. "now, i understand that lieutenant kim may not have gone through it, but not you too? to think that my main pilot had no idea what we were doing at our destination..."

sooyoung whistles softly, acting like she couldn't hear a thing.

"hey, commander," bona's voice is laced with amusement at the commander's arrival in the intrepid's bridge. "what happened to your plan on lounging about?"

"this place is so annoying," commander bae huffs as she plants her bottom on the ship captain's seat. "they're not letting us out of the docks. we're getting quarantined in the ship."

"oh," a small gasp comes from eunseo. "yeah, that... there's... a bit of a flu wave going on in the terminal. i had to have a medical checkup before i was cleared to go to the docks too earlier on. the station administration do play an audio announcement often for awareness, but i wasn't briefed that new arrivals are to be quarantined," eunseo tries to explain but came up short of a real answer. "sorry about that, i should've informed you of such matters."

lieutenant commander kang shakes her head at eunseo's words. "it is not at all your fault, lieutenant. we weren't sent a warning before docking in laemos, either," she then turns to the doctor and smiles. "seeing the confused look on doctor son... i believe she has not received any information on the influenza either."

"am i right to assume you've spent the most time with lieutenant kim on this ship?" eunseo nods as a reply. "okay, you're both coming with me to my office, now." doctor son seungwan marches right in between eunseo and bona, linking arms with both of them and pulling them out of the bridge with the kind of strength that shouldn't have belonged to someone so petite.

"bye, honey," lieutenant park sends them off cheerily. "come back to me when you're done!"

oh. eunseo needs to hear from her friend about this later.

-----

day 109, alliance standard 407
0435 hours - doctor son seungwan's infirmary

as eunseo wakes up in the quarantine pod, she remembers three things. first, she is now onboard the lwsc intrepid, assigned there to support a mission that she still knows nothing of. second, she is sleeping in the quarantine pod as an added precaution—that she is not carrying viruses into the small, light cruiser ship. now that all of the crew members are stuck inside the ship, even the mildest virus could spread wildly beyond control. third, she is in the quarantine pod together with lieutenant kim bona, who is sound asleep. none of this information should be new to eunseo, but still—waking up next to bona, and so incredibly close, their arms meeting skin to skin—eunseo is sure her heart skips a few beats to no fault of its own, nor is the breath being taken out of her so suddenly the fault of her mechanical lung.

eunseo's about to think, 'how could any human sleep so... beautifully?' but that thought screeches to a halt—because lieutenant kim is no human. a sha through and through—with so few in the know—lieutenant kim is a curious being that eunseo thinks she could never truly figure out.

(but she would die trying, that is a sure cause for the rest of her space faring life)

she isn't supposed to be awake yet, not for another two hours at least. surfacing from the gel-like medical substances in utter confusion, eunseo hovers a hand to the pod's navigational screen, and there it is—her status—she is still sleeping (supposedly). clearly the navigation screen is wrong somehow, is there some errors that she doesn't know about? has she really contracted the influenza unknowingly?—the thought makes eunseo anxious, and sick with worry. she thinks about calling for help for a long moment. then, she finally rings the emergency call for the doctor after there is no change in her status for five minutes, and waits—floats—in the medical gel inside the pod. the gentle hum of the pod providing clean, chill air and the little splashes of the medical gel adds nothing to calm her worries down.

after presumably ten minutes or so, doctor son seungwan wanders into her infirmary with hair tussled about, looking like she just stumbled out of her bed, and, roused so suddenly at such an early morning bell, it is indeed a very likely occurence. "oh my," she says, trying to arrange her bangs to a neat order. "lieutenant son, you're not supposed to be awake yet."

"that's why i rang you, doctor son. i'm so sorry for waking you up so early in the morning," eunseo dips her head a little in gratitude before pointing her finger towards the pod's terminal. "the pod's status states that i'm still asleep but, well... clearly, i'm not. is this a cause for concern?"

"hmm," doctor son wears her glasses first before bringing up her own terminal tool for more status updates. she peruses the numbers and vitals on the pod with knotted eyebrows. "it seems like the pod is not registering your breaths as awake, lieutenant. your, er, faulty bionic lung could be the culprit," she continues studying the graphs and data even more, bringing up more holograms on display. eunseo could see her profile in one of the hologram screens, along with lieutenant kim's. "don't you worry, it doesn't seem like you've shown any symptoms overnight, and the medical gel hasn't registered any major changes to its immunity properties so it is safe to say that you're in the clear," doctor son closes the hologram screens with a wave of her hand. "the same goes for lieutenant kim. all status is green. let's wait until lieutenant kim is awake and then i'll let you both out of the pod."

"i'm awake," comes lieutenant kim's soft voice and a small splash as she too, surfaces from lying down in the medical gel. her vision clears just enough for her to focus on eunseo almost... gaping. her rank-mate quickly closes and points somewhere behind her head—her—oh. bona's hands move to calm her twitching ears. "...my bad. they have a mind of their own in the mornings."

"i've always wanted to know more about that." doctor son says in a casual tone.

"and for the hundredths time, no, doctor, you may not cut into my ears to study its anatomy closely as you may like."

the doctor shrugs. "the offer's still on the table."

"i'm not going to take it."

"i promise you it won't hurt," doctor son is winking now. "you'll get out of it as good as new and i'll have more things to publish in my medical journal! it'll definitely further our understanding of sha people, it's for the good of science!"

exasperated, bona sighs. eunseo is about to meddle in the conversation should the doctor takes her privilege as a medical practitioner a step too far, but the playful tone that follows lieutenant kim's sigh assures her that it is all made in good fun. bona teases doctor son seungwan with a slamming statement. "perhaps you should first take care of the bite marks and lipstick traces around your ears before you could study mine further."

eunseo remembers how sooyoung used to bite her in melee combat sparring sessions. to think that her habit carries over to the bedroom as well—she tries hard to contain her laughter as doctor son colours to a great beet red shade—stammering something incorrigible as she sets the pod to flush its gel, starting the procedure to open it. then, as the pod's hardware grinds to a start, clicking and beeping into life, doctor son hastens behind a pulled curtain, presumably to study the aforementioned traces left on her exposed ears.

lieutenant kim giggles. "she must be regretting the messy ponytail now."

eunseo too, allows a small smile to form. "let's not too much, i did wake her up at such an ungodly hour."

lieutenant kim's soft laughs stops and her lips tighten in worry. "you rang for seungwan? are you alright?"

"yeah, i think i was just feeling anxious because i wasn't supposed to be awake this early and was stumped with the thought that the drugs that knocked me out had a negative effect on my sleep or something," eunseo drones on before halting suddenly. scratching her cheek, she feels rather guilty for the rude early morning wake up call. "by extension, i woke you up at such an ungodly hour, too."

"oh, don't you worry about that, shas don't need a lot of sleep, or at least, not as much as you humans do," bona waddles the remaining medical gel playfully. "to be honest, i flickered in and out of consciousness the whole night, but every time, i would fall back into sleep so easily. i think you've somehow got a hand in that."

"somehow?" eunseo questions. "is that a good thing?"

"shas are empaths," doctor son's voice pipes from beyond the closed curtain. "they are incredibly attuned to emotions, and frankly speaking, most of the time they are not as eased as lieutenant kim is now in the close company of humans, especially when they are in need of rest and sleep," the curtain is then pulled aside, and the doctor emerges from it with a handkerchief pulling on her earlobes, cleaning them vigorously. "for that reason, lieutenant kim is the only other officer onboard the intrepid besides commander bae to have her own room—well, it's more like the commander is sharing hers with lieutenant commander kang nowadays, but that is besides the point—the point is, i was actually really worried over lieutenant kim having to spend the night with you in a shared quarantine pod, lieutenant son, but... i suppose my worries as a doctor was completely unmerited," doctor son smiles pleasantly. the constant beam of warmth ever so present on her features. she turns to bona while still wearing the same, blinding smile. "you look like you had a great time sleeping, lieutenant kim."

"best i've had in a while, actually."

"so she says," the doctor grins at eunseo before pocketing her handkerchief and then taking out her tool and activating hologram screens once again. "the immunity gel will be flushed out in five and you'll be blasted dry within three minutes after that. the pod will be opened and you're free to go back to your duties. now, do you want to report anything that's bothering you? feeling fine? any numbness? a chill? cramps? headache? none? great! i'm going back to cuddle with lieutenant park."

not a second longer does the doctor stay in her infirmary office, marching back out through the infirmary's sliding door with a clear mission that needs to be done, her hasty retreat away from the quarantine pod almost comical. 

"living in space aboard the intrepid is anything but lonely," bona says as she turns to eunseo once the doctor's already through the door, hands busy going through her wet locks, still trying to settle down her excitable ears. "i never expected that when i first joined the crew. somehow, along their long journey to the frontier, so many of the crew members finds their heart beating for someone else other than themselves. isn't it interesting?"

eunseo nods timidly. "i should ask sooyoung how she actually got together with the doctor. they seem to be night and day different in both personality and career wise."

"perhaps that's what made them truly work," bona adds with a cute tilt of her head. "differences aren't always a bad thing."

"then again, the current sooyoung surely isn't the same sooyoung whom i know from so many years ago... she must've grown a lot under commander bae's charge."

"i think everyone experiences growth working in the intrepid, and you'll have that very same chance. it's like... it's like magic. sure, we have plasma and photon to power our light speed jets—but the grip that commander bae has on all her crew members is an energy that is entirely otherworldly, i swear," bona laughs merrily. "she saved my life, everyone on this ship did, and i still don't know how to pay my dues for such an immense favour."

the medical gel is almost running out in the pod. eunseo splashes on them gently as she ponders. "well, lieutenant, i'm not a likely representative to share my feelings with all of the crew members, i haven't even met most of them, and yet... i'm sure they don't need you to fret over this saved-your-life thing quite so much. i've been on this ship for one day and i somehow just—know—that they didn't need you to return their favour or the like... it's enough for them that you still breathe to this day."

"and it is so strange that i know you're right, eunseo."

they stay quiet after that, sharing the profound silence together, with no urge to fill it in with bits of small talk. soon, the blubbering of the gel substance being flushed out is eventually replaced with the whirring of warm air blowing them dry.

the quarantine pod's hatch door slides upwards after the exiting procedure is completed. eunseo groans as she stands up. her muscles feels as if they would splinter. looking beside her, lieutenant kim seems to be experiencing the same discomfort, stretching her body and letting out cute moans.

"i really did sleep well even with the pod's tight fit, but i really don't recommend this because of the sore aftermath." lieutenant kim sighs, massaging her shoulders.

eunseo could only groan in affirmation.

"come on, there's a lot of things that needs to be done yesterday," lieutenant kim urges eunseo forward. "let's not postpone our work further or else we wouldn't be likely to leave this place in time with our planned departure day."

parting at the infirmary's door, eunseo lingers behind to watch lieutenant kim slips away from her sight, then makes her way down the opposite hallway, feeling the slight pinch of terrifyingly complex emotion that is fogging her mind. eunseo doesn't like that they have to part ways so soon, but decides to cater to that strange sentiment later.

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- to be continued -