UNSC INFINITY (INF-101)
The silence was killing her... the Corporal seemed to be a nice enough person, but he was just so quiet. He seemed only to speak when he had to, or was spoken to first, a policy that she was unused to due to the constant hustle of her home port. The other shipgirls were always so active and noisy that sometimes it was hard to keep up with them all.
Takao was stealing glances at him, that much was very obvious. "If you want to ask me something, go ahead." He sighed, finally giving in to those large reddish eyes.
The woman beamed at him, Lee had to hold himself from smiling back despite the fact that his helmet hid his features. "Lee-san why do you always wear that helmet? We've been in our room for quite some time but you've yet to take it off."
So, she was curious as to what he looked like. At first, Lee had objected to staying in the same quarters with Takao. Warship or not, she was a woman, and it went against every armed forces doctrine dating back to the dawn of civilization for a man to share a room with a woman in a military setting. It was simply strange. Unfortunately, Captain Lasky claimed it was an order because this business with warship-women was to be kept under wraps, and staying together would ensure minimal contact with the rest of the crew.
"I don't like being in the dark." He eventually responded.
"Aren't you a bit too old to be afraid of the dark?" Takao said, a small smile framing her features.
"No, it's a saying that means I don't like to be caught unawares." Tapping his helmeted head with his finger.
"This helmet had what is called Visual Intelligence System or VISR. It links to an implant called a Neural Interface inside my skull, it gives me everything from thermal imaging, motion sensors and a wireless link the local infrastructure." The corporal explained.
Takao clapped her hands, releasing her knee. "So it's like type 21 air search and type 22 surface search radars that Fusou is fitted with!"
"W-Well if you add around six hundred years of technological advancement I guess you could call it that." Lee said, taken aback by the woman's sudden outburst.
"So… you like having all hands ready at general quarters at all times? That's no good, you'll strain your body and mind if you don't allow yourself to relax!" She heavy cruiser said, suddenly rushing forwards and grabbing the soldier by his shoulders.
"It's fine, I'm used to it." Lee assured, surprised when he got a scowl from her in return.
Lee almost gagged when his back hit the side of his bed, the woman was strong! Merely having his back pushed against the bed forced the air from his lungs.
He was slouched with his back against the wall, Takao's slender fingers gripping his pauldrons and holding him in place. She hovered above him, the stern expression on her face would have been more threatening if her breasts weren't pushed against the lower half of his visor. She straddled his waist, effectively immobilizing him, even trying to sit up was fruitless as all 15,490 metric tons of compressed warship was determined to hold him in place.
"A-Alright-Alright, just let me go please!" Lee begged. Takao relented, pulling back and before his feet.
Lee reached around the back of his ODST helmet and popped the seal with a hiss, the clamps that attached the helmet to his head and gave him EVA capabilities releasing their hold. Lee twisted the headgear to each side before slowly pulling the protective equipment off. The way Takao was watching with ad hoc attention to inspect his facial features made him somewhat uncomfortable.
Lee had pale skin. While not as pale as certain Spartans, he was certainly pale for an Arcadian. Spending nearly a year sealed inside an enclosed suit didn't help too much with that. He had a well squared jaw and youthful features. Despite the bags under his eyes, he was rather handsome. Short crew-cut hair that naturally stood suited him well, and he held sort of a serious expression mixed with a light scowl. If his face could be said to have a blemish, it would be the large mark on his left cheek that seemed to be a mix between a slash and a burn that ran from his right jaw to his cheekbone.
Takao leaned forwards once more, going on all fours to get a closer look at his face. Reaching up with her right hand, the Cruiser-woman brushed her fingers along the scar. "Where did you get this?"
"A squidhea- Sangheili, energy sword." Using their species name often left the bitter taste of bile in Lee's mouth. Yet he refused to call them 'elites' to him, killing civilians by the billions did not deserve right to be called that.
"Oh, is it one of those plasma based weapons that I've been told about?" Takao asked, earning a nod in response.
Takao took some time to examine his features closely. It seemed that she probably wouldn't get the chance to see him without the helmet in a while. He looked young, certainly the same age if her if not slightly younger. He also had telltale signs of exhaustion and stress, which was something she had seen in the admiral many a time when a campaign dragged on for longer than he was comfortable with.
Her thoughts were cut short when the reinforced door of the quarters hissed open.
"So how are you settling in Takao… Uh…"
Lasky bore witness to a rather scandalous, view of Takao down on three limbs. Her left palm on the ground and both knees on either side of the new arrival's waist. Her right hand seemed to be holding Lee's face affectionately. He had thought the two would get along well together but not like this!
"I'll just come back later..." He said quickly, making a panicked exit after closing the door via the command console.
The two were left in silence before slowly looking back at each other, Takao's face now as red as a strawberry when she figured out what they must have looked like. "This isn't what it looks like!" She squealed, running out of the room in pursuit of the captain.
Lee sighed, slipping his helmet back onto his head and hearing the satisfying hiss of the locking mechanism clamping the headgear back where it belonged.
UNSC CENTRAL HQ
BRAVO-6 COMPLEX
EARTH
The holographic images served barely any purpose, since the only thing they displayed were the mere silhouettes of various UNSC and UEG council members. They were all the same as far as he was concerned; take away the ominous voices, the near limitless power over governance of entire systems, and you get the same men and women on their high horses thinking they could decide the fates of billions on a whim. Yet it was these people that kept the UNSC running, these people that kept colonies in check and humanity unified. He hated to admit it, but they needed him just as much as he needed them.
"Admiral? Fleet Admiral Terrance hood?" One of the individuals called.
"Yes I heard you the first time. My orders are to give the newest members of the taskforce a test suited to their skills. I ask again, need we make this trial so deadly?" The aged man proclaimed, his raised voice displaying protest to their plans.
"Yes admiral it is… regrettable but we must determine the absolute maximum capabilities of these ship-women. To do this, we need to sufficiently motivate one of them" announced the gratingly casual voice of one of the male council members.
"Get it done Admiral. We may be on the precipice of a threat that equals that of the Covenant" said another council member before the multitude of holographic projections died out from his desk.
Hood raised a hand to his face and rubbed his wrinkled features. He had just been asked by the most powerful members of the UEG to subject an un-augmented human to a trial that wasn't too different from one that had nearly killed the Master Chief many years ago. The boy was a soldier, an ODST no less but still just barely out of his teens. This was madness!
"Don't you dare die kid, because I won't know how to forgive myself for this if you do" the admiral whispered to himself. Hood was no stranger to ordering men into the line of fire, but it was always for a worthy cause.
This he wasn't so sure about.
UNSC INFINITY (INF-101)
Takao had gotten acquainted to the inner workings of the Infinity, and she was truly impressed by how far this version of humanity had progressed. While saddened that she was considered an ancient relic as a sea-faring warship, she could see the fighting spirit of humanity was still strong.
The Corporal was an excellent example of a person whose past was clouded with hatred and anger. As a shipgirl, Takao was a spiritual being formed partly from the emotions of her crew when she had still possessed a steel hull. She had felt their pride when they were assigned the most powerful cruiser afloat at the time, the joy and camaraderie that came with serving aboard her. Even their anguish at the sight of her being captured and sunk as a target ship.
As a result, she could get a general feel of a person's more prominent emotions. In Lee she seemed to get a jumbled mix of pain, hatred, duty, care... etc. It was a confusing chorus of positive and negative.
He had told her everything yet completely nothing, giving her general descriptions of his life before and during his service but avoiding details. This man was an enigma, one that she would solve.
"Lee-chan… why do eat that?" Takao asked, eyeing the brownish bar in the ODST's armoured hand.
Lee uncurled his armoured fingers to look at the half-eaten bar in his hand, the silver wrapper glinting under the light of their room. The UNSC ration bar was usually eaten by special forces like himself during emergency situations, odourless, almost colourless, and most certainly tasteless.
Swallowing the chunk in his mouth, the ODST held his hand out to the ship woman. She took the bar and gave it a suspicious look before taking a small bite. She immediately regretted her decision because the bar tasted like mulched cardboard. She almost gagged attempting to swallow the vile substance that the Corporal called food
"Why do you eat that!?" She nearly yelled, passing the ration back to him.
"I'm used to it, eating normally takes for too long. Plus, people say I have no sense of taste." He answered, giving the woman a small smile.
Takao frowned. Despite her persuasion, the soldier hadn't even begun to relax. He seemed to be perpetually stressed and tense, like a part of him was somehow still on the battlefield.
Grabbing his hand, Takao dragged Lee from the small desk where he was seated. She all but ignored the string of surprised protests and questions that erupted from him at the disturbance of what passed for his mealtime.
The many mess halls of the Infinity were fairly empty since lunch wasn't for another hour. All 15,250 tons of Takao pretty much dragged the armoured man by his bicep. Resistance was futile, so the ODST resigned himself to his fate as he was pushed to one of the many tables in the centre of the mess hall.
"Stay here." Takao ordered, giving Lee a deadly glare as if to warn him against sneaking away.
Lee sighed, slipping his helmet on and turning the light cancellation on his VISR all the way up before closing his eyes for some rest. His mind drifted off to sleep. As such, he completely failed to register the arguing coming from the kitchen between Takao and the mess officer who had no idea why a random woman had just barged into his kitchen.
A heavenly scent filled Lee's nostrils as he slept. His dreams were filled with vague memories of his childhood on Arcadia surrounded by the lush greenery and quiet ambience that only a farming world could produce.
"Mmmmphh…" He mumbled as he woke up, changing his VISR back to normal setting.
He was greeting by Takao's smiling face, and he felt his heartstrings pull when he saw what she had dragged him here for. Apparently warships could cook, if the steaming rice, grilled redfish, and a sort of soup that he guessed was Miso was anything to indicate.
Pulling off his helmet, Lee turned to see that the marines and navy personnel were eyeing the two. Most male marines gave a jealous glare whilst the women giggled behind their hands, some discreetly and others just giving the pair a smirk. No doubt they were missing home cooking themselves.
Lee shifted his attention back to Takao, and the shipgirl looked at him bashfully.
"I-It's been awhile I served meals like this so it may not be good but… please try it."
"T-thank you Takao." Was all Lee said before picking up the chopsticks and digging in. He assumed her comment about the food was due to the rations that Japanese sailors ate in her era but didn't think too much of it.
Lee couldn't remember the last time he had bothered to eat a proper meal. It couldn't have been too long ago, but since becoming an ODST he had found assignment after assignment waiting for him. He simply didn't have time anymore. That being the case, he didn't know if it was simply due to the time he spent deprived of fresh food, or the quality meal itself, but he daresay he hadn't tasted anything so good before.
Takao's maroon eyes watched with glee as the Corporal ate. She thought about telling him to slow down, but truth be told she honestly enjoyed watching him wolf down her food. She was not as good as Houshou-san when it came to cooking, but she was at least confident in her abilities. Her thoughts drifted to the rest of the fleet. Where the little destroyers eating well? How was Atago and the rest of her sisters? What of the carriers she would usually escort? All these questions flowed into her mind.
Takao was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the Corporal finish his meal and place his helmet on the table. Just as he was about to lift the headgear back to cover his head he caught her troubled expression and gave her a look akin to a sad understanding.
"You miss them don't you?" He said, shaking the heavy cruiser out of her musings.
"Yes, how did you know?" Takao asked. It was a stupid question, really, but Lee didn't feel the need to comment on that.
"An individual ship is nothing without her fleet. I know for a fact that there are probably more of you." He explained.
He was sharp and logical, which was something Takao found simultaneously both great and infuriating. "Well yes, you hit the nail right on the head with that one." She smiled.
"We'll find some way to get you back, it may not be the eggheads or HIGHCOM, since they're more excited to keep you here but I'll do anything I can… I promise." He said.
Looking into those deep blue eyes and his serious expression, the Japanese cruiser could tell he was telling the truth.
"Somehow I don't doubt you…" she sighed.
Takao didn't dare tell him, because it would be far too embarrassing. The young man's dark blue eyes reminded her of the deep blue ocean… a deep open ocean in which ships like her would belong.
"You would make a good wife and mother by the way. Thank you for the meal." The ODST said suddenly, slipping his helmet back onto his head.
"W-wife...mother?" Takao immediately felt her twelve Kampon boilers work in overdrive almost immediately, her cheeks heating up and changing to a deep crimson. A message raced through her mind - "Extreme heat build-up in boiler rooms".
"Umm…" Lee mumbled, backing up to the seat of the booth. Was steam suppose to be coming out of her ears?
He could feel heat radiate from her skin- or hull depending on who you asked. His concern was cut short when a message was announced through the intercom. "ODST , Service Number 61108-1771-LXA Corporal Lee Xin An, and IJN Takao, report mission-ready to briefing room 38 immediately."
"Well- time to get to work. You get your armament harness and I'll get my gear." Lee said, leaving the mess hall and leaving Takao with both her hands holding onto her steaming cheeks and trying to control her temperature.
Author's Note:
Well, that was a change of pace. I can hear the shipping puns already.
However, this was meant to be more of a lighthearted introduction and not a serious implication of a romantic relationship. I just wanted to let you all know that before you all get up in arms about how this supposed "ship" seemed so sudden and without any buildup.
As for last chapter's data collection, the most popular DD was by far-
Well if you play a certain game, lets just say that this destroyer can launch a 16 torp wide wall of skill.
I'm sure some of you can guess.