Prelude to Blue

Posted on Sat Sep 5th, 2020 @ 3:08am by Staff Warrant Officer Reo'thanra Sandtail & Lieutenant Commander S'hib

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: ACDF Ar'Gtegna
Timeline: 2 years ago.
1188 words - 2.4 OF Standard Post Measure

The telltale Rhythmic Pulses of the ACDF Ar'Gtegna’s Impact Drive assemblies sent steady, rippling waves through the small vessels beam, Sending Shudders though the Corvettes Small crew. Pack Sargent Sandtail tilted his head to the side as he watched the Small team of engineers who were assigned to him Scramble to Repair the Ships computer systems. Though the Fleet was currently under maneuvers From Artania to the outer belt, the Fleets admiralty had decided to Move under IDA power instead of warp, a decision that consistently caused issues aboard the Dune Runner class corvettes.

Reo’thanra shook his head and glanced at the rattling Walkway above him as he silently contemplated how to get off this bucket of Rivets and bolts with his fur intact. “Inertial compensators Returning to full power,” came the Cold Toneless synthetic voice of the ships central intelligence, cutting his thoughts short.

“Good work team, Lets Hit up the galley before anything else breaks,” Reo said as he shifted himself to start climbing out from beneath the grated walkway, his ears flicking as the whole ship shook as the massive impact Drive assemblies Fired in sequence adding to the fleets thrust. “Or before we get shaken apart by those IDA’s,” he muttered under his breath.

He got a few nods of agreement from the other three technicians before He took off at a slow Crawl on all fours through the narrow, cramped corridors of the Ar’Gtegna’s Underbelly. The ship’s small size was a small blessing in Reo’s mind, Crawling through a Corvette was far less work than trying to worm ones way through the under hive of a maze on one of the Ur’gesta Class battleships. He’d done his Engineering training aboard the pride of the Artania fleet, and had successfully gotten lost in the labyrinthian Maintenance tunnels for over a day. Something he’d vowed would never happen again.

"Crawl a bit faster sandtail... Or ill bite your tail off and have it for lunch." Due'nertha Redrock Growled playfully, swatting the bushy thing from out of his face.

Reo Huffed and picked his pace up, his tail curling defensively around his left leg. "You've been spending to much time with those Cordians On shore leave," he said as he moved through the cramped crawl space.

Val'Tylac Saltsea let out a fed up huff, her stomach growling loudly in the confined space. "Why'd you let him go first anyway, you know how slow he crawls so he doesn't get lost..."

"Hey you go spend a day sucking wandering in circles through a battleship or a carrier and you'd have the same fear!" Reo barked in counter.

“Shut it both of you...” Snarled Hea'mugandi Dunepaw, his throat rumbling into an echo that they could all hear.

Reo shook his head as he pushed the Hatch to the Maintenance tunnel open, before he crawled out and stretched himself out into the Small, but comparatively spacious Commons room. "that wasn't so bad now was it?" he asked as he stretched himself out, his back popping in several locations.

Hea'mugandi simply marched passed in silence, his bulky armoured shoulder thumping Reo out of the way as he padded towards the food.

Reo'thanra Grunted and stepped out of the way. "Watch it," he said with a faint growl in his voice as the Slightly larger Arten pushed past him.

"Let him eat..." Due'nertha said with a comforting paw on Reo's shoulder. "He is far more agreeable on a full belly."

"Aren't all Dunepaw's?" Reo asked as he looked over to Due'nertha.

"Some..." He said cautiously. "Most of them need a good nap as well, which is why they don't get much done."

"Not that Sandtails are any better," he said with a Wink. "Bunch of Gun crazy nomads they are."

"For a nomad, you sure do get lost a lot." Due'nertha teased, grinning madly at his own joke as he moved off towards the food.

"I thought Nomads were always lost," Reo'thanra Joked back as he followed after his boots clacking over the bare metal of the Compartment. "Hence why their Nomadic,"

"Those who wander are never lost... you on the other hand..." Due'nertha sniggered, his muzzle and lips curling into a humorous snarl. "You make it far too easy, Reo..."

"Oh Hush, and eat Your bugs," Reo'thanra Growled. "Or do I need to let you hunt it?"

"I'm too old and lazy to do that, that's why I have Val here..." Due'nertha yipped proudly, trailing his paw over one of her large ears as he walked passed where she sat.

"Letting A saltsea do your hunting?" Reo asked as he grabbed a plate. "Guess some things never change eh?"

"And why should they? I'm rather fond of our traditions... It's why I don't want anything to do with those outsiders." Due'nertha growled, piling food onto his plate as if it would be his last meal.

Reo fell quiet. "The Furless ones...yeah..." he muttered after a moment. "I'm...actually considering taking the Diplomatic Transfer into the Federation."

Due’nertha‘s ears folded back upon hearing Reo’s confession. “Not you as well...” he sighed heavily while looking down at his food, his appetite disappearing along with his mood.

"Look...we're....surrounded on all sides by them, we've been trading with them for the better part of a century, and we've been stealing their tech for longer then that," Reo muttered. "I don't think we should take the approach that those slush walkers from Cordia think we should...Isolation.."

"It's nothing to do with that..." Due'nertha whined lowly, turning and padding towards a table. "You're gonna be impossible to replace... "

Reo'thanra sighed and shook his head. "You could volunteer to come with me," he said softly a warm smile crossing his muzzle.

"No... too old for that, besides... can't pay off the rest of this ship if it's sitting in the yard gathering dust." He scowled, finishing his sentence with the squish of meat between his black lips.

"Oh come on Due, we're not the only engineers in the Fleet who know how to fix an IDA, or rig up an assault transporter," Reo scoffed and playfully jabbed his senior's shoulder, before he glanced down at his own plate and selected a rather large Sand beetle and tossed it back.

"It's easier for you... you're young and have most your life ahead of you," Due'nertha said quietly, his mood souring by the moment. "I'm...Old enough that Retirement is the best option for me."

Reo frowned and sat back in his chair while munching on another sand beetle. "Well...Hey...It's not the end of the world, You can do anything with your retirement..."

"Think I'll sire some pups before my fur gets too grey... but I might have left that too late as well." Due sighed, turning his attention back to his food.

"Hey, If you don't mind hanging out with some Dumb Nomads, I'm sure that you'd be albe to get at least a few Sandtail's to cuddle up to you on a cold Night," Reo said with wink.