Minerva (Minn) Darv's Story

Playing with the beads tied into her top, Minn stepped into the Inn. Few at the bar, old fellows...she exhaled and tossed her red hair over her rosy shoulder. The wooden spoon in her pocket was lifted into her hand, end slapping into her opposite palm.

"This where the recruits are meeting?" She smiled as she approached, trying to keep the happy skip out of her step. Though her excitement might help in her being recruited, being cute would not. Crews were tough and wise and cracked dirty jokes, stereotypically of course. She hoped her attire was appropriate, regretting her midriff showing now. Her rosy skin hid her blush though.

"I didnt know if I needed to make anything," she said before anyone could respond. She dug into her small bag and pulled out a small green square container. "But I made a danish using that cocoa stuff." She set it down on the bar, backing away to twist her fingers behind her back and stand as straight as possible. "Is it satisfactory?"

Food....

Colin grinned and looked over the girl who had approached. Reg was busy with the pilot kid, so Colin figured he would take care of this new girl. She looked human, but her bright green eyes told a different tale. He smiled at her as he scooted over to where she was standing. He eyes the contasiner on the counter...

He picked it up. He inspected it as he pulled off the top. They werent nearly infamous enough to run the risk of bing poisoned, but you never know. He selected a pastry from inside and calmly took a bite. His eyes widened and he put the pastry down on a napkin. Chocolate. He swallowed and gave a satisfied sigh. "That... was delicious." He wasnt a fan of the earthly creation. but he was sure they would be well enjoyed by the people of the ship. He made eye contact wth her and held his hand out.

He was extremely fond of handshakes. It gave him a reason to touch someone and add a new species to his repitoire. "My name is Colin Seartjik, Second in Command of the Nightwing." He wasnt quite sure what role this woman planned to play. but as long as she continued to bake things like this she was good in his eyes. "You are?" Hopefully the cook, he answered inside his head.

"Well, Eddie," Reggie said flipping through the files. "You have some very good credentials," She flipped the folder closed, setting it back down on the table. She smiled at Eddie, wanting to feel a little less nervous.

He had gotten the job, there was no doubt about that. She looked over at Colin, he was flipped through the files now. "He looks pretty good, huh?" Reggie asked. Colin nodded his head in approval. "And another IDA graduate. He's perfect for our little misfit crew." She smiled looking back over at Eddie.

"Well, Eddie. Welcome to the Nightwing." She said holding out her hand for him to take. They were interrupted when Colin suddenly stood and ran over to the bar, where a young woman was standing.

Judging by her red hair, red skin, and bright green eyes, she was most likely a Shar. But given her humanistic apperance, she was a Shariva. Colin immediately sniffed a green container on the bar and took a pastry out from it. So, the woman brought food. No wonder Colin had moved so quickly. Reggie rolled her eyes. "We've rented rooms for anyone who is hired, so you may go upstairs and relax if you want. Food is on the house if you're hungry." She said to Eddie as her chair slammed back down onto all four legs of her chair.

She kicked the chair back as she stood before moving to the other side of the Shariva, who was talking animatedly about food. Reggie grabbed one of the pastries, eyeing the small round concoction. She knew the smell anywhere. Chocolate. She shoved it into her mouth, relishing in the delicious flavor. It was like eating pure happiness.

Regina grabbed the Shariva's attention, wiping her hands on her legs. "Please tell me you're here for the cook position."

Minn giggled a little and held her wooden spoon out in front her. "Here for all your food needs Cap'n!" She held out her hand to the both of them and smiled. "I'm Minn. Any requests, just let know. Whats the kitchen like on board? Are we going to have access to quality goods?"

She giggled again, waving her spoon. "Sorry. I'm just really excited to join you. I dont mean to assume anything. But...do i have the job?" For added effect, she held out the container again. "Hmm?"

"...do I have the job?"

Reggie smiled. "You keep making food like this, then yeah, you've got the job." She said grabbing another pastry and popping it into her mouth. "Regarding your other questions, the kitchen on board isn't extremely fancy, but it has all the things you'll need. And we will be sure to stock up on all the things you'll need. There's not much in the system we are going to, so we'll have to stock up before we set sail."

Minn smiled, her excitement was entirely too refreshing. Reggie informed her of the hotel rooms that she could sleep in, and that food and drinks were on the house. "Do whatever you would like, just make sure to be back here tomorrow morning."

Reggie grabbed the green tin of pastries and moved back to the table. "C'mon Colin," She cooed using the pastries as bait. "C'mon boy," She walked back to the table, not bothering to check of her second in command was following. She knew he would follow at some point, especially if he wanted more pastries.

And she knew he did. She popped another one her mouth, kicking her legs up on the table. She grabbed her sheet of names, and put a check mark by Eddie's and Minn's names. There were still several people who they had to interview. And they day was almost over. Granted most of them probably lived in galaxies several light years away, but ideally there was a teleporter by them that could shoot them forward a couple of light years.

Oh the teleporters. They were a glorious invention. With so many alien species working together, it was important that we were spending 12 million light years just getting to neighboring galaxies. They teleporters were invented to shoot a ship forward to the next galaxy. Saving an uncanny amount of time. Unfortunately, the system they were traveling to, went beyond the last teleporter.

They would have to spend a good majority in hyper sleep once they got past the limits of Intergalactic Control. Reggie hated hyper sleep, especially the after effects of it. Your body would reject almost anything for the first 3 hours of being awoken, you would spend a majority of that time puking your brains out, and then after that you could finally eat, but your body doesn't want to move much. So after eating, you have to spend the rest of the day building the strength back up in your body.

It was time consuming. And annoying.

She popped another pastry in her mouth, washing it down with alcohol.

"Well, Eddie. Welcome to the Nightwing."

Before he could give his captain a shake of the hand, her Lietenant, as Eddie believe, had distracted her. With the handshake being interrupted, he spoke up. "I have a feeling I was probably the only one that sounded trustworthy with a ship." he spoke with a grin. "Nevertheless, I am glad to be a part of this crew."

A yawn before a stretch took place before he pushed himself back and stood up from the chair, pushing it back in. With the day almost over and his room being provided from him, he had no reason to leave the inn. He wasn't tired yet, so he decided to take a seat in a nearby table as they seemed to hire a cook. Convenient... he was actually pretty famished from the trip over here and his inability to eat without emptying his stomach all over the place. Traveling lightyears in mere hours is fun.

It seemed as smart as any other idea to get himself aquiented with the other crewmembers as soon as possible, and the cheerful Shariva didn't seem to intimidating. The fact that she was so up and happy about life was a surprise given her race's history and the fact she was in fact as she. He had no doubt that her family didn't really take well to the fact that they had a female and the new pilot of the Nightwing did happen to feel some pity towards the beautiful creature.

He soon noticed that his eyes might have been drilling holes into her and decided to greet her. Walking up, he wore a smile and took in her features before introducing himself.

"Hello there." he said. "I'm Eddie, the pilot."

He proposed a handshake.

Colin touched the womans hand and felt the familliar shiver roll through his body. The shiver of new DNA. He grinned. "Thank you" he had never copied a Shar before. Should be good times. Reg left with the pastries. She attempted to draw him over with them. Demeaning him like a pet, guess he deserved that. He grumbled. He turned back to Minn. He shrugged. "I'll see ya."

He decided to test out his new "Skin." He shifted as he stood and his Morphsuit shifted with him. He stood equal height with Minn. The only differene between the two was gender. Colin could copy every single aspect of the subject except gender. He winked and walked away as a Shar. He arrived at Reg's side just as the Tourain arrived. He smiled. A mechanic? Thats exciting. He changed once more and became a Tourain. His Tourain was just a little shorter than Val. He took a seat next to Reg and tried to smile. He then remembered that he was a Tourain. It wouldnt have the same affect.

Inqueta was watching everyone as they came in for their interviews. She watched the failures, and felt Captain Oris's annoyance and disappointment. She understood that this had to have been extremely frustrating. She opened up her ears to listen to the conversations between Oris and Colin. It wasn't that she didn't like Colin, but she was already wary of him. He was a metamorphite, and undoubtedly, he would try to touch her, to be able to mimic her capabilities. She also listened to the conversations Oris had with everyone that was interviewed. A man named Eddie was to be their pilot. Captain Oris seemed to liked him well enough, and his files looked good. Inque nodded, satisfied with who was going to be flying the ship. Next came the cook. She was a beautiful girl with a look of determination on her face. Her red hair matched her gorgeous rosey skin. The food Minn had prepared looked delicious, and Inque's mouth watered enviously as she watched Oris eat them. The girl was a Shar, and seemed pretty harmless. The blue girl's suspicions of Colin proved to be right when he shook the cute girl's hand. His skin turned the same shade of red as hers was when he turned into a Shar. Inqueta watched him walk back over to the Captain.

A Tourain stood by the captain, and no sooner than Inque saw him, Colin had changed into his own form of one. She didn't have to open her ears more to listen to him speak. In fact, she closed a few of the micro-slits, because his voice was booming. Captain Oris seemed impressed with him, so Inqueta didn't feel the need to pay attention anymore. She directed her focus to a red-headed girl and a man who had just introduced himself as Dr. Weiss. She assumed he was there for the position of doctor, but she wasn't sure if the girl was there to apply or not. She assumed, once again, that she was, just because the bar was pretty much empty of anyone else. She made a small clicking noise with her tongue and slid from the booth she had been hiding in. She silently made her way up to the Captain's table, knowing no one could hear her. If they weren't too engaged with the Tourain, named Val Salah As Tallan, they might have seen her, considering she made her skin blue as she walked over there. She intended to stay a few steps away, close enough to make her presence known, but far enough to give them space and not be rude, interrupting Val's interview. She practiced what she would say in her head.

One handshake from the second in command had shown Minn what he was and she stared at the male version of herself, mouth opening slightly. He was attractive and she mentally giggled, checking herself out in a sense. At least she could die knowing she would have been a handsome male Shar, just like her father had wanted. as he walked away, a frown crept onto her features, but only momentarily. Her family was forbidden to enter her thoughts. Today was a good day.

Then another handshake was proposed, a human by all appearances. He had introduced himself as Eddie and Minn smiled brightly, switching her wooden spoon to her other hand to return the handshake. "I'm Minn. I would offer a danish but..." She glanced to the captain. "They've been claimed." She let out a giggle, sizing up Eddie and tilting her head slightly to the side. "What position are you working? My life's in your hands in way or another."

She motioned for them to take seats at the end of the bar, hoping she could get to know her crewmates quickly and well. Excitement spilled from her and she sat as straight as she could to appear dedicated and strong. She was dedicated, not so much strong. Lifting cake tins for fun didnt exactly create muscles.

"I'm Minn. I would offer a danish but..." She glanced to the captain. "They've been claimed."

"Regrettable." he smiled. Actually, he did regret not snagging one, but it couldn't be helped.

"What position are you working? My life's in your hands in way or another."

Apparently, he mumbled his introduction. "I am your pilot..." he said with a bold voice for an added effect. "...and your life is in good hands." he smiled. He didn't really think much of it until he was piloting a ship, which would then put him in the position to brag as he saved their lives from hostile forces or a star going supernova. Well, the supernova might be a little hard to escape, but they didn't know that.

She led them to a table at the end of the bar and sat down straight, looking determined. He couldn't really keep up with her enthusiasm when he took his seat. However, the chairs in a IDA-Issued Nebula Class Frigate did keep his posture up a little bit.

"My life is in your hands as well; I can't really survive with bad cooking now, can I?" he gave a genuinel warmer smile. "I don't expect high class foods, but I could tell that those danishes weren't the only thing you can make. Just let me have the first bite of the first meal you make once we're aboard."

Inqueta saw that he felt embarrassed and felt badly about this. Nevertheless, she pushed the though aside. "Well, Miss To'avuor," Her name, though pronounced correctly, sounded weird coming off of his tongue, in English without her own accent. "Welcome." He copied what she had done to greet him and she was pleased. "We have rented out rooms for all of you, so if you'd like to stay, be my guest." He smiled and it was infectious. She liked his smile, and it made her lips twitch upward slightly. It was something most likely unnoticeable to others. He made another bow after saying "We ship off tomorrow morning. I look forward to working with you." Then he turned and walked away.

"And I, you." She said and strode away, towards the bar. She ordered a nonalcoholic drink and downed it quickly. She asked for a refill before taking a seat near Minerva and Eddie. "Eddie. Minn, I am Inqueta. I am on of the Nightwing's scouts." She gave the same greeting to them as she gave Colin." She filtered her ears to only sounds made near her, and so she could hear Colin and Reggie.

"Eddie. Minn, I am Inqueta. I am on of the Nightwing's scouts." a schael introduced herself with a noticeable accent as she sat near Eddie and Minn.

"Well, I'm Eddie Ackers, as you apparently already know," he smiled awkwardly at her display, not used to her race's signature greeting. "I guess I will be your pilot, if you don't already know that....." he gave a slight cough, not sure what he could really say at the moment, as she apparently already knew about him, or at least his name.

He was glad he had a chance to meet her species beforehand, as he remembered staring at the slits....the slits....the many slits on one before. He'd rather not have that embarassing moment where they call him out on it happen again, either. Pushing that memory aside, he regained his mental composure.

"I guess you'll have to admire my piloting skills when we finish recruiting," he said for no other reason than to speak. He didn't like doing so, but he hated silence more than anything.

A schael, how exciting! She performed her species' greeting and introduced herself as one of the scouts. Minn smiled at her accent, watching her intently from pure excitement. So many new faces were here. Being sheltered as Minn was (she purposely avoided the memories of her cage-like "bedroom" if you could call it that) seeing so many new kinds of aliens was exhilarating.

Eddie attempted to speak, but obviously only for the sake of making sounds. Minn had a difficult time with words as well, wondering how to address the schael when she already seemed to know them. She shrugged though, pasting on her smile again and happily asking, "What kind of dishes do you like eating? I know all sorts but specifics are needed with such a...diverse crew." She giggled a little, glancing around. "Just know that our pilot here gets the first dish made."

Minn couldn't believe the amount of excitement building up inside of her chest. To think she was here, on a crew, making real food for a real crew in real space and in a real kitchen...She shouldn't get ahead of herself she figured with a smile and turned to see another recruit walking toward them, introducing herself as Cassy, the new scout. Purple skin, small horns...she seemed unique and rather bouncy with excitement as well.

"I'm Minn," she greeted at once. "I make the food!"

Minn hoped she could make friends with everyone on the crew and find out specific meals and dishes desired. It would be quite an experience, but not one she wasn't used to. The past three years of her life she had lived on a "crew" of sorts, though not a ship. She loved knowing what foods would cheer people up and what helped some go to sleep. Midnight fancies, breakfast nibbles, dinner delicacies...she knew people through their food and had practiced the art of memorizing full menus for each person while with the Bare Leg Lassies and their supervisor, Mal. It helped her survive there.

She glanced around the group, IDing faces so she could connect food to them as soon as possible. She noted the captain had a cheeseburger of sorts. Minn smiled. She already had a recipe in mind.

Arc listened as Eddie, Cassy and Minn introduced themselves as a pilot, scout and cook respectively. Her eyes glassed over as she stared nowhere in particular, absorbing the new information she had presented with. Arc then look back at them and beamed as if having a private joke with herself. It only took a second though for her to begin sharing her thoughts with her new crew mates.

“Well, by the looks of it I have found my two favourite people on this ship. Well, two of my top three favourite people, the Metamorphite over is in defiantly in my top three.” Arc said merrily while nodding and over to Colin. She had a particularly positive opinion on Metamorphites. She had seen enough of the universe and other species to know never to lump all species together. She couldn’t help it though, she had only ever met one Metamorphite which was a positive experience. Being able to turn into any other species excited her and was something she was slightly jealous of seeming as though she had lived on so many planets with so many different species.

“No offense Cassy, but Eddie here is controlling the my roof and Minn is giving me my meals, and well, those were the two reasons I took this job. So I only have a few requirements for you guys to know about. Eddie; try not to throw us around to much and please do your best to keep my roof firmly attached to the rest of the ship.” Arc said lightheartedly, her attention now back on the group.

“And you my friend,” Arc continued turning to face Minn while giggling slightly. “Everything will be great with me so long as you keep the food edible, yeah?” Arc said giving a wink towards the Shivari.

“Oh, and Cassy, don’t think I forgot you; all I want you to do is to not even consider complaining about weapons.” Arc said brightly. She was already excited about the prospect of leaving this planet; she was bored of it. She had been here a few months and decided there was nothing really here that piqued her interest.

"...Eddie; try not to throw us around to much and please do your best to keep my roof firmly attached to the rest of the ship.”

"I can't guaruntee anything if you guys put me in a bad mood," the new pilot teased with a laugh. It's not like he'd actually do something like that, but hey, they didn't know him yet. With another glance around the people at the table, he was definetly reminded that humans were not going to be the only thing on this trip. What with the squid eyes, the random slits on the girl's head and just about everything else there to prove it, human's were to be the minority on this trip comparing them to aliens.

However, this only slightly bugged Eddie. It wasn't that he was racist, but he just felt better if he was with more humans. So far, there were two besides him, both female. While he had no problem with this, he did long for a guy to hang out with. Odds are, none of the male members of the ship met the personality requirement that Eddie had for a fun person to talk to. Well, it couldn't be helped.

"...And don't doubt Minn." he added for no reason in general. "All I had to do was smell what she was cooking and I could tell it was delicious. On that note, let me remind you guys I called dibs on the first things she makes,"

The conversation was definitely super charged with energy, everyone eager to board the ship already. No one wanted to wait, but friendly conversation was in order before anything could be done. Minn fell silent, just listening for a little while, smiling around at all the faces. She would need to learn names and food types, but she was suddenly overwhelmed.

"...And don't doubt Minn." he added for no reason in general. "All I had to do was smell what she was cooking and I could tell it was delicious. On that note, let me remind you guys I called dibs on the first things she makes,"

Such a compliment made Minn's gut tingle. It had been a long time since someone out right said her cooking was good based off of just the smell. The only other time was a random customer at the club a few years ago, mouth salivating just sniffing the air. He had been part dog though, so Minn took it with a grain of salt.

After a few moments, she excused herself, knowing they each had rooms upstairs to rest up before taking off in the morning. It sounded nice right then, talking beginning to boost her anxiety. She was going into space. She was cooking for an actual crew. Though she had been excited about the prospect barely five minutes ago, the pressure was outstanding.

She excused herself quietly, making sure to nod to Eddie in a silent thanks for her words, then started to the bar. She ordered a simple danish, one she knew she could have made better, and nodded to the captain and her second on her way to the stairs. She needed to rest and control her worries. Despite her stress however, she smiled, biting into the bread and mounting the stairs.

Cassy smiled at Arc's compliment,it was good to know she was starting off on the right foot."My mom used to be a weapons technician for the Princessbefore she became a Tai Chi instructor and I took a course in weaponry at Nebula Academy.My father was a scout at back then,they found me on one of Princess's missions when I was a baby.I was apparently the only sentient being found on any mission to Gaea."

As Cassy moved on to her ice cream,she remembered being told how strange it was that a planet so teeming with plant and wildlife would have no other sentient life.She had been told that she was the subject of many news reports when she was too young to remember and apparently lived on the Princess for the first three years of her life before moving to Gaea.Cassiopeia looked at Minn,"I'm sure you're a great cook."

Minn

She had been awake for about an hour, panicking and twisting her wooden spoon in her hands. She was going to be on a ship, in space, without escape. She was still listing off the negatives. After seeing her hurried expression and wild hair in the mirror she sighed and set to work adjusting her pinkish red locks into a nice waterfall of waves, then she checked her buckles, pulled on some boots and made sure all of her possessions were on her person.

Downstairs, a few of the new recruits had joined the captain and second at the bar. Glancing down herself and wondering if choosing to only bring shirts that revealed pretty much all of her torso except her breasts was a good idea. Then again, she didn't have anything else.

She took a seat at the bar, smiling to everyone and hoping they were taking off soon. She wasn't hungry. She just needed to get this over with so that her nerves would stop jumping around.

*BOOM!*

Off in the distance, an explosion can be heard, followed by the immediate chatter between all the people in the ship. The ship itself rumbles, and the right side of the ship has a breach in its hole from the explosion. For a minute, there is only distorted sounds as the vacuum of space sucks out not only air, but people as well. The co-pilot of the ship watches in horror as many of the people he had worked for in the past year, including his friend and pilot, die.

The last word he hears before his friend gets sucked out into the nothingness is "Guess you're the pilot now..."

---

Eddie awoke rather violently, his body shooting up and his eyes darting around the room. It was just a dream, nothing more... he wished. No, it was a memory, one that he'd rather not relive, but was forced to every now and then. But, it was the price he had to pay for being involved with a IDF. Casualties weren't unheard of, especially when dealing with aggressive criminals and whatnot.

Pushing the thoughts aside, he got up, got showered and got dressed. This was routine for him, and really only took about seven minutes, which was actually long for him. Once he was glad with how he looked, he set off back downstairs and to the bar. The thoughts managed to slip back into the front of his mind, and when he finally recovered, he noticed he was staring at someone's exposed stomach. He looked up, noticing he had been looking at Minn while he was spaced out, and quickly averted his eyes before promptly taking a seat next to her, and strained a smile.

"Hello all,"