Tera took out her drive and flipped through the holographic map that had been downloaded into it.  "I think the Mess Hall is one floor above us."

When the group arrived, they could see that the Mess Hall was somewhat smaller than standard mess halls for carriers of this size, the main reason being that most carriers of this size could store dozens of strike craft, each with their own pilot.  Engineering crews were also bigger for typical carriers; though cogs were larger and required more maintenance, 7 cogs still required fewer engineers than about 20 fighters.  Communications personnel were also increased in typical carriers since more people were needed to coordinate more pilots.  All in all, the Incubator had significantly fewer crewmembers than carriers of the same class size.  Because the Cadmus Project was so valuable, the quality of food on the Incubator was also a step up from standard issue rations.

In one corner of the Mess Hall, Sion sat by himself, drinking a special Quantum cocktail that consisted almost entirely of glucose dissolved in water.  Glucose was the most basic organic compound from which Quantums could organically derive energy, so his was a very straight-forward method, since his body did not need proteins or dietary fibers.  However, despite his claim to efficiency, Sion drank instead of simply plugging into a charging station because he liked the taste of sugar and the act of drinking 'calmed his nerves', though he would never admit this to anyone.

When Tera saw him sitting there, she said, "I'd like to go and sit with Lieutenant RHS.  Since he's our commanding officer, if that makes either of you uncomfortable, we could meet up later, but you're welcome to join me if it doesn't bother you."

Israfil shrunk back a bit, but waited for Claire's response before making a decision.

[hr]
"Well Seaman Rogers, it looks like we'll be done ahead of schedule.  There are still a few things that need finishing up, but I'd hate to deprive you of an opportunity to have a go-around of the ship," Chief Link said. "At this point, you're free to do as you wish: you can stay and help finish up, or you can dismiss yourself."