forum OxO with @Davadio

Started January 25, 2023 by @Emmrii

tune

Valiel laughed, not in an unkind way. "Oh, so straight to love then, huh?" She smiled up at him. "I should be ok. Thanks though."

“Of course.”

Conner walked away, and it was hours before the three sleeping crew mates finally began to wake up. For most of the day, Conner stuck to his duties, doing research and everything else he had to get done to keep their voyage going smoothly. Eventually, after spending most of the day doing work, Conner went to find Valiel. When he did, he stood in the doorway of the room and knocked softly.

“Can I come in?”

Arriss’s schedule that day was far from it usually was.

Normally, when she would wake up in the morning, she would check on her crew mates and maybe have conversations with a few of them. After finishing up with her own tasks, she would go help Ronnie with his. However, by the time the evening rolled around, no one had seen the Captain. Not even during meal times. She had been locked away in the cockpit preparing to raid the other ship.

Valiel had stayed in the cockpit for several hours, watching the stars go by, until Arriss had come in and relieved her. She'd gone to check on Ronnie, found his temperature had gone down and he seemed to be sleeping well. Checked the rations, checked a couple of the cargo holds that were housing some of the more…esoteric resources they'd swiped, and eventually headed back to her room.
She was watching the recent coverage from Earth about her people's role in the current war, when Connor knocked on her door.
Valiel kept the gravity in her room flipped, enabling her to 'hang' from the ceiling while also orienting the room the same as the rest of the ship. When Connor knocked, she had to slither out of her cradle and shift to human. As much as he hadn't flinched, she didn't want to make things weird. Humans were funny about tentacles.
She opened the door. "I've got the gravity flipped, what's up?" If he needed something, she'd go check with him, but if he wanted to talk, they could go somewhere that didn't require her to reconfigure the gravity plates.
………………………..

Ronnie had eventually woken up, hungry and slightly disoriented. He could tell his metabolism was going nuts, fighting whatever sickness he had, but once he ate, he felt much better. Valiel had left hi a note that said he was past the worst of it and she wouldn't keep pestering him about it. He'd smiled at her choice of words.
His duties for the day including checking, priming, and assigning the weaponry for the next raid. He needed a few details from Arriss, but she was nowhere to be found.
He eventually went back up to the cockpit, thinking She can't have been up here the entire time…
The door was closed and locked, which was odd. They only usually locked it during raids.
He knocked carefully. "Cap?"

Conner looked a bit more worn and than usually, likely from worry more than anything else. To him, the whole crew had seemed… different that day. Especially when it came to Arriss. She had locked herself in the cockpit almost the entire day, and he had to bring her food.

“You know what’s going on with the Captain?” he asked. “She’s acting weird.”

“Give me a minute.”

For a few moments, the door stayed shut, and footsteps could be heard coming from inside the cockpit. Eventually, the door swung open, revealing Arriss standing on the other side. She looked a bit more rough than she usually did, but she still tried to remain optimistic as she spoke to him.

She smiled faintly and pulled her wild hair over her shoulder. “You need something, love, or are you just stopping by to say hi?”

Valiel shook her head. "I've kinda been buried in things all day. She seemed ok, if a bit focused, when she took over piloting earlier." She frowned at Connor's frazzled look. "Are you alright?"
……….

Ronnie kept his expression carefully neutral. "I'm here to check on you. Hadn't seen you all day and I needed to give the status report on our weapons systems anyway. Have you eaten?"

“Well, I think I might’ve found something.” He messed with the papers in his hand. “You know the raid tomorrow? Well, this isn’t going to be one of our normal resource foraging raids, Valiel.”

He sighed and leaned against the doorway. He knew Valiel would likely have no problem with what they had to do. After all, orders were orders, and they had to be obeyed. But him? He had never hurt an individual in his entire life. Plus, he knew how many innocent people lived on that ship. Innocent people that had nothing to do with the war.

“We have to kill everyone on board. Women, children… whoever we can find.”

“Um…” She paused. Arriss knew she hadn’t eaten at all today; she hadn’t even stopped her work to get a snack. Ronnie would whine at her for this, so she tried her best to play it off. “Eh, not really. But I’m not hungry, so it’s not a big deal.”

She stepped back, allowing him into the cockpit. The room was an absolute mess; there were papers and tools scattered around everywhere along with huge maps to lead them through the galaxy.

“So, you said you needed to give me a status report?”

Valiel's expression turned concerned. "Yeah, what about it?" She stepped fully out of the door, and closed it behind her, before leaning against the wall. Connor seemed bothered by something, and for a person who was usually a flirt and a jokester, that wasn't good.
Connor relayed the orders, and Valiel tried to understand. "So we're raiding a military transport ship, and we're ordered to kill everyone onboard. And you have an issue with that?" It was an empathetic question. Connor likely considered anyone who wasn't directly wielding a weapon to be an 'innocent bystander.' The Charad-ati had learned long ago that a war effort extends much farther than the hand that pulls the trigger. She seemed to have fewer qualms about this than he did.
Besides, how many women and children would be on a military supply ship?
………………..

Ronnie kept his expression level. He didn't want to push her, but…
"Please do eat. We need you at 100% for this thing. I can bring you something if you want?"
She'd looked away, and he didn't reach for eye contact. "Energy weapons are charged. I also made sure we had the kinetic weaponry cleaned and loaded. Nothing out of the ordinary as far as that all goes." He stepped into the cockpit, noting that her usual poise seemed a bit shot just now. He wanted to fix that.
He wanted to do a lot of things, but… well. She was the Captain and he was under her command and that just created a whole host of problems.

“Of course I do.” He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the wall. “Valiel, those woman and children did nothing to us. They’re doing what they think is right, and most of them aren’t even involved in the war effort. We don’t have a right to kill them.”

He sighed, his eyes flickering to the floor. He felt like he should be mad at the Captain for making them follow through with such a horrendous massacre, but he knew that she was just following orders. Orders from a government that was like just as corrupt as their enemy.

“Once we go through with this, we’ll probably be ordered to kill left and right.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” She forced a small smile. “I’ll eat, I promise.”

Sometimes, she wished he would just simply care about her. Sure, she knew he cared, but most of his reasoning went back to their work. He wanted her to eat because of the raid. He wanted her to sleep because she couldn’t to her job if she was exhausted. He was just always so… professional, and there were occasions where she felt like their entire relationship revolved around nothing but work.

But maybe that was her fault. They were on a very strict mission, after all, with no room for relationships or drama. Maybe he was in the right by keeping their relationship professional.

“Good, good.” She went onto the computer, going over logs and data. They had only hours until they reached the ship. Hours until they would pull of their most difficult raid yet. “Make sure the ship is in top shape. I don’t want anything malfunctioning while we’re boarding the other ship.”

Valiel kept her voice soft. She wasn't arguing Connor shouldn't have strong feelings about this.
"How do you know there will be women and children? It's a military supply ship, shouldn't there only be military employees onboard?"
She didn't respond to his concern about being ordered to kill. They were pirates after all…

………………..

Ronnie quirked an eyebrow at her. "I'll bring you some food. We can eat together."
He nodded when she mentioned malfunctions. "We should be ok. The drone swarm is ready for us to move the larger shipping containers of stuff, and the bay doors are set for one way entry."

“No. It’s not a military ship, at least not according to what I’ve read.” Conner pressed his lips together in a firm line before he continued. “It’s a ship used to transport families to Alethia.”

Alethia is what they had named one of the planets that their enemy had conquered. While it wasn’t a very big planet, it served as the headquarters for most of the military activity, and many of the families on the ship they would be attacking were likely headed there to be with their loved ones on the new planet.

“Why do you think we’re being ordered to do this?” he asked. “Is it to send some some sort of message?”

Arriss let out a sigh, her eyes going to the floor. Well, she was hungry, but she had so much to do. So much to get done before the raid. But, at the same times, she couldn’t just starve herself until she finished. Everyone knew it was easier to get things done on a full stomach.

“Fine. But make it quick,” she said. “I still have work I need to get done.”

She watched Ronnie leave to get food, a slight frown on her face. She hated how she would sometimes push him away, even act slightly cold towards him. She truly cared about him, yes, but there was so much a stake right now.

When he finally returned, she was sitting in a chair near the ship’s controls. She got up when he came into the room, pulling a chair out beside hers and beckoning him to sit down.

Valiel shook her head gently. "That's what they want you to believe. It's a military supply ship, but carrying a few families means they can call it a transport ship and get away with it. It's a ploy to get at your feelings, and the feelings of other military assets." She shifted, her body language open. Connor was throwing off all the signals of needing a hug.
"As for why? Connor, this is war. This isn't anything special…" she said quietly. "Our enemies were the ones that declared a state of total war. It means they're going to come after us with everything they have, and they're going to go after everyone, 'innocent' or not. So we play by the same rules."
…………………………

Ronnie nodded and headed down to the kitchen area, prepping a couple of the nutritious but bland meals and hitting them with what few spices they had. He headed back up to the cockpit and plopped down in the co-pilot's chair, before handing Arriss her food.
"Eat up." He flashed her a small smile.

“Still, it doesn’t feel right.” He let out a sigh. “I don’t know… maybe what I’m saying is stupid.”

Conner didn’t know why he felt so bad about all this. After all, this was a war. A war that the other side had started, and besides, Conner was just following orders. But something felt so wrong about it. What was this war even for? It wasn’t like they were fighting against some evil tyrant. This whole thing was just over a land dispute.

“But, you know, gotta follow orders, I guess. Hopefully this will all be over soon.”

Arriss ate mostly in silence, running through a list of all the tasks she needed to get done. There was so much to do, so little time. However, part of her found this whole ordeal somewhat ironic. She was sitting here, focusing on her work and what she needed to accomplish, when she had just been complaining not long before that Ronnie was too professional with her. But, she was his captain, after all. Having any sort of relationship would just make things difficult.

“How have you been holding up?”

A part of her wanted to reach over and place her hand on his, but she ignored the urge. Even if it was just for comfort, she felt like it was probably innaproriate.

Valiel nodded slowly at him. "Humans have different ideas about morality… I'm not saying it should feel right, and what you're saying isn't stupid." She reached up to touch his shoulder. "You're allowed to have strong feelings about this. It's good! You've got a heart in there and right now, it doesn't like the situation it's in. Hopefully it will be over soon, and you can leave it behind, but for now…" She slid her hand down his arm, before letting go. "You just focus on the cargo. Get the resources. Don't stress about the people."
………….

Ronnie finished his meal and sat, watching Arriss think. She was clearly deep in thought about a million things, so the question caught him off-guard. "I'm fine. Holding up ok, other than worrying about you." He watched her expression. "Why, do I seem off?"

He blushed faintly as her hand slipped down his arm. At first, he thought she was trying to hold his hand, but he couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed when she let go.

“Easy for you to say. You’re an alien,” he teased. “How does your species feel about this kinda stuff?”

What Valiel thought about certain ideas was something Conner had always been curious about. After all, even though Valiel could look human, she wasn’t human at all. She had come an entirely different culture from him, and he found it interesting how her views on the world differed from his.

“Why worry about me? I’m doing fine.” She smiled faintly, pulling her curls over her shoulder. “Just… you know preparing for tomorrow.”

Her fingers brushed lightly against his, but instead of reaching out to hold his hand, she simply linked her pinky with his. She loved being with Ronnie, but their relationship just felt so… strange at times. She had never experienced anything like it.

“And no, you don’t seem off. It’s just… you’re always asking how everybody else is doing, but no one ever asks you the same question.” She shrugged. “So I thought I would.”

Valiel gave him a gentle look. "I think that your response is a perfectly normal and acceptable one. Humans only recently learned there were other people out there, and to you all, most of your greatest enemies are your own kind. So that makes your sense of unity and wanting to pull that kind together much stronger. You want to see the good, see the humanity in all people." She looked at her hands, flexing them for just a moment, the unnatural rippling of her muscles under her skin reminding Connor she wasn't human. "For the Charad-ti… well, we grew up sharing a planet with another sentient species, and our kind unified quickly. So when we say killing our enemies, we always mean some other kind of person. I have no personal issue with that. But I think it's completely reasonable for you to have a problem killing the enemy, when your kind heart wants to see them as human… as the same as you." She looked back up at him. "Does that make sense?"
……………………

Ronnie didn't pull his hand away, though he did glance down at the contact, staring at her hand for a long time.
"…I'm ok." He looked up at her, a small smile crossing his features. "Thanks for asking, Cap." He held eye contact, not flinching like he usually would have.

(( Haha, welcome back! xD))

“I think I do,” Conner replied, staring off into the distance. “So, would you have a problem with having to kill your own kind?”

Part of Conner regretted asking the question after it left his lips, but the other part of him wanted to know the answer. He knew it was kind of personal, and he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable with all his questions, but aliens had always intrigued him. They were so… different from him. Their culture and beliefs were something he wanted to learn more about, especially if learning about them brought him closer to Valiel.

“Sorry. You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to…”

How curious. Ronnie seemed to be getting the slightest bit more confident now. Many of the interactions they had had been… interesting, to the say the least. Yes, Ronnie was the closest to her out of everyone on the crew, and she loved being with him. But they also get flustered and shy if either one got too close to the other. This felt different.

After a few moments of silence, Arriss opened her mouth to speak. “Ronnie, I—“

Suddenly, a beeping sound coming from the control panel interrupted her, and she grew flustered once again as she pulled her hand away from his.

“I… should probably see what that’s all about.”

Valiel shook her head gently at him. "Don't apologize. Though you may find my logic off-putting." She shifted her shape in front of him again, turning into a small, leathery-skinned creature with viciously pointed teeth and no body fat, all bones and grey skin. She shifted from there to a creature that looked for all the world like a massive cat, but far shaggier and more ferocious, before shifting back to her familiar human form.
"As easily as we Skin-change, we also believe a person's… personhood to be malleable. So… well. If a person is worthy of killing, they're no longer one of our people. So any situation where I would need to kill a Charad-ti… to me, to us, it's the same as killing something else, because they've Skin-changed and person-changed so much, they're no longer truly a Charad-ti." It made sense to their culture, but explaining how if a person's soul stayed beast too long, it would just become beast could be difficult to those who didn't understand.
"In short, no."

………….

Ronnie nodded and slid forward in the co-pilot's chair, checking over ship vitals and the gauges his eyes were naturally drawn to as the engineer.
He'd slipped, just a little, but her genuine concern for him as a person always made him a bit mushy. The professionalism slid back into place like a comfortable mask.
"Engines optimal, power reserves full, capacitors cool… stuff looks good on my end." He hadn't bothered to check if it was a comms signal or an alarm, but sudden beeping typically wasn't good.

Conner winced at the sight of the creature, even though he had tried not to. He wanted to Valiel that he was comfortable around her. That he wasn’t scared of the aliens she was able to turn into. But, no matter how hard he tried, aliens were new to him, and he couldn’t help but be both freaked out and amazed by them.

“I think that makes sense,” he said. “You’re kind of… distancing yourself from the person you’re about to kill, in some way.”

Arriss went through the rest of the control panel and the alarm system, looking for any clue about where the beeping was coming from. When she finally found the location of the noise, her eyes widened. She stood up, let out an exasperated sigh.

“Ron,” she said, “I believe we have visitors. Enemy visitors.”

She rushed through the cockpit, sending the alarm to Valiel and Conner as well as making sure that the guns and weapons were prepared. Once she finished, she headed towards the door, only to stop when the lights flickered and yet another alarm went off somewhere in the ship. She turned to look at Ronnie, her eyes wide.

“This- this can’t be right…”