The Kusanagi had been waiting in high orbit of Akabat for a few days already. The newest guest onto Alexandria Research Station was only a few more old ours out, her Hathor pouring on all the speed. It was not everyday that the Kusanagi left the safety of Omicron Epsilon, or the protective cordon around Phoenicia. No, it had a special guest that Doctor Hunter did need, especially for their newest project: GREY TITAN. And it was why Commander Rei Ikari was trying to do as much as possible, to keep herself focused. Right now she was going over complex combat situations the Kusanagi could encounter, including ones of Kobyashi Maru levels of impossibility. And Rei relished the chances to think outside the box and ig ore her urges, to really work for something.
More would come, she knew. And once the woman known as Siren arrived, things would get even more interesting - they always did when Ellie Hunter was running the show. Something Rei appreciated - kept her on her toes, focused.
"Ma'am, Hathor on approach. It's her." reported the Radar Officer. An older man who had survived the older Missing Ache had been a part of Cerberus, and then OSD, for years. He and a few of the current bridge officers had been with Rei since Cerberus, including the XO, Weapons Officer, and Comms Officer. The Comms Officer, specifically, had always been with Rei. She was a good friend, and usually helped the XO when Rei needed time to focus, such as now with her wargames. A delicate balance was met on the Geb, one that Ellie Hunter depended on in many things, and this was just another one of them.
Rei waves the hologram away and adjusted herself. She took a breath in. "Allow her onboard. I will meet her personally, as per Doctor Hunter's request." She stood and began heading to the airlock, where the Hathor would lock on and transfer over the VIP. A woman named Siren Stone, who was of special interest to not only the OSD, but the entire Order.
And it was time to learn what made her so special
While the Hathor made its finally docking approach, Siren stone, it's captain over the past 8 months quickly moved about her personal quarters, looking under her mattress, inside a coffee mug she used as a data pen holder and even going as far as to check inside the air vent just above her bed. "Are you serious? Where the frak is it?!"
"I'm sorry captain, but I didn't see a black data stick anywhere when packing your things." A young female ensign tells her, wringing her hands out of worry that it was of personal importance to her captain.
"Didn't I tell you that I would pack my own crap though, Leslie?" She asks looking through her desk drawers for a 3rd time.
"Yes ma'am, you did. But I was ordered by the XO to do so while you finished your paperwork because we were ahead of schedule."
"Remind me to hit that man... OH~! Found it!!" She says, pulling the thin black data stick out from the very back of the drawer. "If I had lost this, I would never forgive myself." The black data stick in question held personal pictures from Sirens past, mainly those of her husband, a few friends from her time with the Rogues and a very special picture that she still had a hard time believing was actually her, yet it was a way that she reminded herself of what she was, and who she used to be. "Right, how long till we...." A sudden shudder ran through the vessel that indicated their docking procedure was complete. "Dock."
After short stop on the bridge to say goodbye to her crew as well as a short argument with her XO over the importance of not ordering someone to go through a girls personal things, the ships captain made her way to the airlock where after a quick sequence of air exchange between the inner and outer airlocks, she steps through, first seeing a guard standing there with a rifle over his back, then a woman she assumed was Rei Ikari, the Captain she was ordered to report to on the Kusinagi.
"Captain Ikari, I presume?" she asks, heaving her large duffle up onto her shoulder with little to no effort, the bag looking rather heavy to be sure. For Siren being such a supposedly important person, she sure didn't look it. While her looks were quite appealing to most men and even a few women, Siren didn't seem to be that impressive. She had short raven hair with deep brown eyes, she wore what looked to be a well kept Liberty Rogue uniform with a few outcast and Junker accents, yet she had the order emblem embroidered on her right upper arm and wore a standard issue Order combat utility harness with completed with an unorthodox side arm that looked to be a short rifle.
Rei Ikari had no room to judge Siren. While her Order uniform was mostly up to standard, she had pink accents and a shock of pink hair that offset the obsidian uniform she wore. Paying little attention to what Siren wore, and more to the woman's eyes, Rei Ikari offered her hand in greetings. It mattered not the looks, but what they ultimately could bring. The Hunters were an unorthodox bunch that had a legacy within the Order, an infamy. As such, Rei was not shocked by anyone who was different...no, she reveled in the unusual within the Order, as it was in the different that the Order would thrive. Much like today.
"Please. Call me Rei." she said. "I'm not very formal, especially when Ellie is my boss." She resumed her at ease stance shortly though. "Welcome onboard the Kusanagi, flagship of the Order Science Division. We'll be taking her to Alexandria Research Station, where Ellie will be waiting." Usually Ellie prefered Akabat, but for such projects as GREY TITAN, the enigmatic Director of Science preferred the lone station, guarded by the Canaan. In all honesty HADES RAZGRIZ and Alexandria both had interesting defenses, but for Siren Stone...easier to blow up a station then bury an entire facility.
Taking the Captains offer, Siren shook her hand, glancing behind the young woman for a moment before giving her a kind smile. "Rei, it's good to meet you. Feel free to call me Siren." Moving her hand away now, she adjusts her grip on the bag, standing there just inside the larger vessels air corridor in a relaxed manner.
"Alexandira, huh, haven't heard of that one before." She replies, giving the stiff tense looking guard a brief nod. Siren assumed the security crew had been alerted to her specific skill set and abilities, yet she wasn't expecting much more than a bit of awkwardness from them at first. It had taken her research gunships crew little more than a week to get used to her, and a bit longer to how she ran things. Having been a Rogue Underboss for such a long time, and before that, an LSF science experiment, The strange woman had quite a few quirks about her.
Gesturing for Rei to lead the way, Siren decides to break the ice a bit with some simple conversation. "So, the Kusinagi... Dreadnaught or Carrier? I was in my quarters during our approach so I didn't get a look at her."
"Siren then." She nodded. Stepping aside and letting her through, the airlock would disengage once everything was set, leaving them in the Geb. "Alexandria is the remnants of the Phoenicia terraforming project, turned into a very impressive research station. Ellie prefers the groundside labs, but we decided that Alexandria would be best for our tests. Plus, you have a beautiful view of Phoenicia." Rei continued on, heading for the obervation deck.
"The Kusanagi is an Assault Carrier, upgraded to be a mobile super lab." Rei said. "This way." She turned down a corridor and towards a lift. "I can give you a good view of her later."
"I'd appreciate that." she replies, taking a look around the corridor as they went along. "This place looks much nicer than the UD, that's for sure. Doesn't have any conduits or wiring hanging out every other meter." Commenting on the state of the carriers internals, her comment must have eluded to another ship or facility from her past. "There is certainly more space in the corridors here than that Hathor, I sometimes felt like I was walking through a Synth paste tube." She couldn't help but chuckle at her own comment, however, this was more of a show for the ship's captain. Siren didn't want to let the woman know how nervous she was,, as such, she had decided to play the giddy, excited role.
"Will the installation have a proper living space for my use? I'd prefer to spend my down time in a non medical environment." she asks after a brief silence. "The woman that recruited me, Valkyrie, told me that I would have a proper home, but since I joined, all I've had was an 8 month tour in deep space on that research boat." Siren knew that she wouldn't be handed a set of keys to a planeside home or given free rein on traveling to and from where ever she pleased at first. She knew that her crew whom shed grown to enjoy being around had been secretly keeping tabs on her and studying her mental state and personality. Even though it unnerved her at times as to how willingly she allowed all of this to happen, she knew she had to prove herself a trustworthy person for the Order to accept openly, and thus, she complied as best she could.
Rei let her talk, and once they got the on observation deck, Siren could see her Hathor as it detached and headed off. She let her take in the surrounding space before continuing their conversation.
"Alexandria has living quarters. Most are one room one bathroom, and you will have one. There is a small kitchenette for you, with some food. I hope that is okay." She watched her for a bit, leaning against the doorframe. "You're welcome to stay here on the observation deck for the trip. Doctor Hunter expressed the wishes that you enjoy your time in more spacious quarters before we enter the medical wings of Alexandria. She also requested that you put together a comprehensive file on yourself, by yourself, so she can have a better insight of you. If that's not a problem."
"Doctor Hunter wants me to stay calm, and you'd like to keep me in a nice open area where the guards on the other side of those two doors would have room to maneuver should they need to take action is what you mean." She retorts with a rather monotone voice. Turning to face the Captain, Siren tosses her bag on a bench just next to her. "You don't need to hold back on the truth with me, Captain Ikari. I know that I'm still viewed as a threat here in the Order. I know my gunboat crew have been gathering psychological data during the deep space survey mission I was given not even 3 days after joining up." She actually seemed rather calm even though her tone was full of tense annoyance.
"I told Valkyrie I would do my part in defending the Order and it's people no matter what it took. So please, again, simply tell me how things are and I will act accordingly. As for the file, I already have a data stick with all the relevant info you would need. I've been compiling everything I know about myself and what little I am able to remember from my true past for a few months now... a sort of reminder should anything ever happen ." Putting her fingers together, Siren stretches her arms out forwards before dropping them to her side with a sigh, turning her head a bit before smiling. "It is a nice ship though."
Rei paused. "Excellent, no need to worry as it is." She shrugged. "I thank you for your understanding in this situation, Siren. The truth is, we don't understand you, and we are taking precautions. It is nothing against you, I promise. it is protocol. Once we know more of you, of what makes you who you are...I promise, we will make sure you don't feel as...mistrusted." Rei looked at her a bit more, then walked over. "If I may borrow the data stick, I will copy it and return it for you. And thank you...I've commanded the Kusanagi for awhile. She's a fine vessel."
Grateful that Rei understood her feelings, accepted them and acted accordingly, Siren pulled the thin black data stick out of her pocket. She held it for a moment, giving it a thoughtful look, then handed it over. "Please be careful with that... to me, it's priceless." After that, Siren took a seat on one of the benches, looking out the large windows as the ship departed.
It would be 2 hours before she would see someone again, but when the door opened, and she turned to look, it was Captain Akari once again. She felt relieved that it was someone shed already met, and Rei seemed nice enough that she wanted to get to know her a little.
"Finished with the file cloning?" she asks, noticing the young woman was carrying the same data stick shed given to her previously. "I realized after you left that I didn't give you the security code. I figured you would have sufficient tech to get past it without any issues, though."
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