When Alexa Woods came aboard the Piper Maru, she didn't expect the strange adventure Mr. Weyland would present to her. She certainly didn't expect them to be so insistent that she lead the team. And she certainly didn't expect to say she'd do it after she found out just how risky it would be.
She found to her dismay that she had to add to that growing list of surprises that she didn't expect. Starting with the diversity of the crew.
Everyone seemed to be pulled from all over the place. If their skin coloring didn't give a hint of their origins, their individual accents certainly did. Lex was pleased with the diversity she found in the group. Her past experiences of leading other teams on the ice had proven to her that diversity meant survival and less social barriers. She could laugh and bond easier with a group of people who came from different aspects of life more than she could with people who all seemed to originate from the same place. Their differences also meant they brought their individual knowledge with them as well. Lex had found that she had learned just as much from her teams as they did from her while on the ice.
Though she had to admit, this one woman took the cake concerning diversity.
Lex was ashamed to admit that she had suddenly stared at the woman when presentations of persons were being done. She didn't mean to, but it happened.
The woman in front of her had to be four feet tall. Maybe a couple inches more. Lex had to rationalize with her brain that this was in fact not a child standing in front of her. She could only convince herself of this when she observed that the woman's hips, thighs, and bottom at least were too developed to be a child's.
Lex was shaken out of her stupor when she realized the woman had been talking to her.
"I'm sorry. What did you say again?" Lex asked with immense embarrassment. Her cheeks colored red as she realized how rude she had just been.
The woman sighed. "It's my height, isn't it." Her tone conveyed that she wasn't really asking a question despite the wording. It was obvious this wasn't the first time this had happened to her.
Lex tried to recover herself. "No, no! It's just-" She paused when she realized it was useless to lie. Her shoulders slightly slumped in defeat. "Yeah. . .I'm sorry. That was incredibly rude of me to-" "No, it's ok." The woman interrupted. "I would rather take shocked silence than an immediate comment."
Lex tilted her head at her and rose an eyebrow. "May I ask why?" The woman shrugged, but answered. "If I get an immediate comment, it's usually never nice. People tend to get snarky when they spot the obvious physical flaws in a person. I've received plenty of crap from people who instantly think it's ok to harass me just because I'm not on their height level."
Lex frowned. "I'm sorry."
The woman shook her head. "Don't be. At least you're being polite and honest right now. That's more than I've gotten some times."
An awkward silence filled the space between them before Lex finally broke it. "Umm. . .what were you saying earlier again?" She asked, still sheepish. The woman's demeanor changed to something a little more cheerful. "Oh! I was introducing myself. My name is Lucinda Mild. I'm a Forensic Pathologist." She explained.
Lex held out her hand in official and friendly greeting. "Hello Lucinda. I'm-" "Alexa Woods." Lucinda finished for her. "Mr. Weyland gave us quite an impression of you when he called you out back there in the meeting." Alexa chuckled. "A good impression I hope?" She asked. Lucinda nodded. "A very professional one. Trust me, you're not the only one who had doubts when he said the time limit you had to teach us on how to navigate the ice. We were impressed when you told him straight that it wasn't enough time."
Alexa frowned. "I don't mean to scare anyone." She said. Lucinda shook her head.
"Dangerous terrain was included in the job description. The time limit doesn't change what we signed up for." Lucinda shrugged it off. Lex nodded her head in relief.
Lucinda looked at her watch. "Well I'm off. Dinner's waiting for me in my cabin." She said excitedly. Alexa chuckled again. "Well then it was a pleasure meeting you Lucinda. Have a nice night and dinner!" She shook her hand again. Lucinda smiled. "Please. Call me Luci. And it was a pleasure meeting you too." She said as she walked off while waving goodbye.
Alexa waved back and turned to go find her personal cabin as well.
She was glad that she was making some friends quickly on this trip.
On the way to her cabin, Lex had to pass through the hall that housed main office. In doing so, Lex saw someone step out of said office.
Lex once again found herself momentarily stunned by what she saw.
It was a woman carrying a large, extremely bulging bag that was the same height as her back. But that wasn't what shocked Lex. What shocked her was the woman's immense height! She easily breached seven feet tall, with several inches to spare!
Lex made a gasping sound and the woman turned around to look at her.
Ok, forget Lucinda. This woman now really did take the cake! She was the complete opposite of Lucinda!
Her skin was not one color. Lex found that she somehow had patches of sun-tanned white skin that was sharing space with patches of milky brown skin. Her face was almost split in half between the two colors, except the brown coloring of her skin curved around her chin and forehead and sort of resembled a dark, splotchy crescent moon forming on the left side of her face. This phenomenon traveled down her neck and Lex didn't have to guess that the same mesh of colors spotted the rest of her body. To top it off, this woman had curves a plenty that sat on top of lean, almost bulging muscles. Those muscles seemed to flex even when in rest.
Maybe it was just the confident way the woman held herself, but Lex thought this was what the body of a Goddess would look like if one ever stood in her presence. . .well, maybe less chaos with the skin coloring. But you get what she meant.
The woman smiled sunnily at her, clearly not perturbed by Lex's blatant staring.
"Alexa Woods, right?" She asked, starting the introductions for them. Lex shook herself once more out of her shock. She hesitantly nodded and the woman held her hand out in friendly greeting.
"Hello! I'm Athena Goodwill." She continued to smile.
Lex decided that she liked her friendly nature, and gladly shook her hand. She found herself apologizing again. "I'm sorry for staring." She said. Athena shrugged. "It's alright. I'm used to it." She continued to smile. Lex couldn't help but smile back and then she looked back over at the bag. "That must weigh a ton." She said.
Athena nodded. "Yeah, but it's my on-the-go medic supplies." She said with a shrug. She seemed to shrug a lot. At least it let Alexa know she was a relaxed person. "You're our medic?" Lex asked curiously. Athena made a so-so motion. "I'm mostly Mr. Weyland's personal medic and bodyguard. I will be assisting the team, but he's my top priority if the need arises." She explained.
"I see." Alexa said as she looked at the door leading to his office.
Athena nodded. "Yep!" She said cheerfully. "So are you enjoying yourself so far?" She asked. Lex turned her head back to look at Athena. "So far, yes. Haven't gotten to try the food yet." she admitted, though she meant it more as a joke. Athena chuckled. "Well you should. It's delicious. I'll admit that I've been bribed before to stay on the team purely for the food alone." She said with an unrepentant grin.
Lex cocked her head but smiled at her. "You've been working for Weyland for a while?" She asked. Athena nodded. "Going on four years." She said proudly. Lex smiled at her obvious pleasure in that fact. "May I ask, what's Mr. Weyland like?" Lex proceeded. Athena pulled a face that said she was thinking about her answer. "More stubborn than a mule." She finally replied. "I've had to butt heads with that man before over several things. But he's got a good heart and good intentions. He just has a hard time accepting a 'No' from anyone when he knows his ambitions are possible."
Lex made a roll of her eyes that was directed at the office door. "I could figure that out within five minutes of meeting him." She said, though she meant it light heartedly. Athena chuckled.
"Like I said, stubborn. But in his defense, he is one of the most humane millionaires you might ever meet. The guy may be hard headed, but he's got a heart of gold. He looks out for his own. He's saved my skin plenty of times." Athena added.
Alexa nodded and processed this information.
"Anything I should be aware of about him?" Lex asked. Athena smirked. "Don't ever take the last slice of chocolate cake. He nearly had a guy jailed for 'stealing' his slice."
"I heard that!" Weyland called out from his office. Athena smiled at the door. "It's true and you know it!" She shouted back playfully. The door opened and Weyland stepped outside. "It was an expensive cake! Besides, he did steal it. It was clearly being sent up to my office." He defended.
Athena rolled her eyes but chuckled. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say boss." She smiled. Lex noticed that Weyland automatically smiled back at her and Lex couldn't help but get a father-daughter vibe from them. Maybe more grandfather to granddaughter type.
Mr. Weyland shook his head but chuckled. "You ladies scamper off. You're disturbing my concentration." He chided teasingly. Athena smiled and did a mock salute at him before turning to Lex.
"It was nice to meet you Lex. I'll see you again later." She said. Lex nodded in return. "And I to you. Goodbye Athena."
Both girls departed and left Mr. Weyland alone to shake his head at the both of them.
Author's note: First fanfiction that wasn't a SasuSaku one. Let's see how this goes. Comment your thoughts, questions, and anything else. I enjoy feedback.