Hermione made sure to wiggle back into her seat as far as possible. It was illogical, but she felt as though the few extra millimeters might keep her a little safer from her superior.
"So, Granger. Report."
Hermione cleared her throat and pulled on her collar, which suddenly felt quite restrictive.
"Well, we spoke with Ikari. He was evasive."
"So he didn't give you any answers?"
"No, Chief Kiryuin. But there was some evidence pointing towards… something."
"Something?"
"In his experimental lab, there was a single empty tank. It had some signs of recent use, and there was a trail of LCL on the floor, like something exited it."
"There was no possibility that this was a sanctioned project?"
"He claimed that the tank was out of order, that its current distributor was broken. But the tanks don't use charged LCL. He was lying."
Satsuki raised an eyebrow, and Hermione wondered if those muscles were as strong as the rest of her. Probably so.
"Interesting. And you retrieved the weapons from Research and Development?"
"We were told that they were most likely in the Munitions wing. We checked there, nobody had them."
The corners of Satsuki's lips turned further downwards. "And you did not think to investigate the other two wings?"
"I did not have any reason to believe they were there."
"I'm disappointed in you, Granger. I thought you would have been more thorough in your investigation. I cannot allow those weapons to be unaccounted for any longer."
Kiryuin pushed her chair back and picked up her sword from her side of the desk, marching towards the door.
"But, Chief-"
"You are dismissed, Miss Granger. If I have another assignment for you, I only hope you will be a little more diligent."
With that, the younger woman stormed out, tapped something on her AEGIS, and disappeared. Hermione dragged herself from the chair and sulked into the hallway.
"Didn't go so well, huh, Curly?" sneered Nonon.
Hermione would have snapped back, but she was too tired. She instead nodded and began to enter the mess' coordinates into her AEGIS.
"Where are you going?" asked Sanageyama. "You're not planning on leaving us out, are you?"
"Well, I actually was," admitted the witch. "But I suppose you could come along. As long as I don't hear anything from Nonon while we're there."
"I BELIEVE WE CAN KEEP HER QUIET," Gamagori supposed.
"Fine. You can come."
"That is a simply stunning cake!" the Doctor remarked. He was a human-looking fellow of middle height and a dark complexion, his tightly-knotted hair drawn back into a ponytail. He pulled off the apron he had been wearing, and wiped a few stray spots of flour off of his greatcoat. "You're really outdone yourself, Pinkie!"
"Aw, thanks, Mister The Doctor!" giggled the pony. "I really hope Haruhi likes it. I mean, I even fixed how I spelled her name wrong earlier!"
"I don't reckon she'll get real upset over a little bit of icing," assured Applejack.
Rei Forty-Seven removed her oven mitts and placed them back on the counter. "Program Coordinator Suzumiya is a woman of discerning tastes. Regardless of her sentiment on the cake, displeasing her is not advisable. Her powers alter the metaverse on a massive scale. If she merely thought of a world where any one of us did not exist, it could become reality."
"Is that why she has to wear those limiters everywhere?" Applejack asked.
"Spot on," confirmed the Doctor. "A lot of the Illuminated have powers that could be dangerous to others, and have to wear limiters to prevent them from hurting anyone. If they were ever in serious danger, they could pop those limiters right of and save their own skins- or anybody else's, if need be."
"Here's to hoping that the cake finds her with those limiters on," laughed Applejack, and the rest followed her example. The kitchen was busiest during meals- since they were at a lull, they had time for special projects. Pinkie and Applejack were certain that the cake had turned out just fine, but wanted some advice on the decorations. The Doctor knew Suzumiya well and volunteered to help after finishing a tin of kippers. Rei Forty-Seven happened to be passing through the line and had wondered what the commotion was, and was invited to stay.
"It's just a wonderful place, this ship," roared the Doctor. "All of you brilliant, wonderful people doing brilliant and wonderful things. Nearly as nice as Equestria was."
"You can come back any time, Mister The Doctor!" chirped Pinkie Pie. "And you can bring your companions or whatever, too!"
"I'm certain I will," said the Doctor, suddenly more serious. "Because as much fun as we're having now… one day, this will be over. And we'll all have to go back. I'll try and pay everyone a visit as much as I can, but I'm sure we'll all miss each other."
"Yes, we will," whispered Forty-Seven. No one was laughing anymore.
"Hey, let's not get so glum!" cheered the Doctor. "Pinkie, didn't you tell me about a surprise you made for everyone?"
"OMIGOSH you're right! I almost forgot!" she squealed, hopping in place. "Me and Applejack baked a whole extra cake for ourselves to try! Rei, you're close, can you get it out of the oven?"
"Of course," nodded Forty-Seven. She made her way to the oven, retrieving her mitts from the counter as she passed them. She opened the heavy door and removed the second cake, but halfway back to the table, she stopped, and looked up at the ceiling.
"This vent, Pinkie?"
Pinkie Pie turned around, a little confused.
"I didn't say any-"
Words eluded her when she saw it- above Forty-Seven, descending from an innocuous ventilation port, was a horrible black tendril, writhing back and forth. Before any of them could say anything, it coiled around her midsection and lifted her up into the vent, the cake falling from her hands. Several dull thumps were followed by a messy crunching sound, and Rei fell back through the vent covered in her own blood.
"Wonderful place, this ship," repeated the Doctor, whose greatest defense mechanism was sarcasm.