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[right][hr][color=gray][b]Smith's Rest, New Anchorage | HQ Mess Hall[/b]
March 27th, 2677[/color][hr][/right]
[indent]Joshua chuckled as the younger pilot called military oatmeal “great”. It was a weird thing to hear, but if he had to be honest it was probably not that far different than the food he had growing up in Last Respite. Though, he much preferred rice gruel to whatever synthetic mesh New Anchorage’s oatmeal was composed out of. Not a lot of natural produce in Alaska, or at the very least not oats.

[color=75906C]“Oh you know, it’s a morning.”[/color] He commented, responding to the girl’s question. 

Joshua didn’t really enjoy “mornings” as a concept in the first place, chalk that up with being put through a pseudo-military workout and regimen for a few months and there was no way he was not going to sound a bit sleepy. After all, Joshua was used to staying up late and debating the finer points of theology, philosophy, and wasting time pretending to be an astronomer. His eyes still felt heavy and his body ached. He was pretty sure part of it was from the convention and the other part was talking to the blue-haired scientist down in neuroscience and drinking some old wine for several hours afterward. He probably should’ve slept sooner. But at least he didn’t end up with a hangover – he wasn’t sure how he would be acting if he had been utterly sloshed.

[color=75906C]“What about you?”[/color]
 
[color=662d91]“Ah,”[/color] she said, chuckling. [color=662d91]“It’s a morning. Wanna sit?”[/color]

[color=75906C]“Unless you want to eat standing up. But that’d be pretty weird.”[/color] Joshua uttered as he walked away from the line after receiving his portions, following Vera to one of the nearby long tables. The two of them took their seats near the end, facing the exit. Joshua recalled a conversation he overheard once where the knife girl called it one of the better spots to sit in the mess. Joshua wasn't sure Vera chose out of reverance for the other woman or because she liked it because it was a bit out of the way.
 
[color=662d91]“So, you hear about the mission? Cool stuff huh? Going all the way out to Falcon’s Reach.”[/color]

[color=75906C]“Never heard of it.”[/color] Joshua shrugged as he took his seat, shoveling a spoonful of oatmeal in his mouth. 

He had been in Alaska for a few months now, but he didn’t really think about traveling or learning about the important settlements in the area. As far as he was concerned he only really needed to read dossiers, sign digital paperwork, and go where he was told before making the next paycheck before scouring every merchant for a new holonovel or holofilm that interested him. For locals like Vera it must’ve seemed weird to hear such remarks, but Joshua wasn’t going to feign interest if he wasn’t interested in such things. That said, he wasn’t going to be rude about it, either.

[color=75906C]“I’m sure freckles will tell you all about it when he gets back.”[/color]

[color=662d91]“Freckles,”[/color] she wondered, then it clicked. [color=662d91]“Oh right. Yeah. Glad to hear someone thinks he’ll make it back, I’m sure a few people prolly aren’t so confident.”[/color]

[color=75906C]“I don’t think there’s any chance of that happening.”[/color] Joshua raised a brow, surprised she would be so candid about such a thing. [color=75906C]“I mean, he’s survived this long, right? I’m sure he’ll be fine. Besides, with southern and the bionic woman with him? He’ll be fine.”[/color]

[color=662d91]“Oh sure, definitely.”[/color] She said, digging into her own bowl. [color=662d91]“Hey so, how’re you feeling after the convention? Little nerve-wracking wasn’t it?”[/color]

[color=75906C]“For some of the pilots, yeah.”[/color]

[color=662d91]“Not you? Used to that sort of attention?”[/color]

Joshua laughed. [color=75906C]“Used to seeing it, maybe. It’s just your everyday political posturing. I’ve had the spotlight on me a few times, so I guess I’m just not really winded by it anymore. I expected this sort of thing when I signed up.”[/color]

[color=662d91]“Oh, wow. Guess I’ll have to work on it then. Got a…lot of stuff to work on.”[/color] she said, a bit more nervously than she meant to. [color=662d91]“Do you like it then? Being a pilot, I mean. Y’know, is it what you wanted to do?”[/color]

He shook his head as he cut a piece of toast into halves. [color=75906C]“It’s a job.”[/color]

It was a question that Joshua asked himself often – did he like doing what he did – and really, it was a tough one, even for him. When he was growing up in Last Respite he wanted to be an astronaut and explore the stars above them like someone from the past did. It wasn’t really an option in terms of “careers” in the world he lived in and definitely not a middle-of-nowhere settlement like Last Respite. He still loved space and stories about it, but he had conceded at this point in his life that he had to be a NC pilot. As he shoved the piece of toast in his mouth, he elaborated on his answer, though he didn’t really tell her if it was what he [i]wanted[/i] to do or not.

[color=75906C]“But I don’t hate it. Hard to hate something you were ‘born’ to do. Piloting a NC is a special thing, you know?”[/color]

[color=662d91]“I’d like to think so. Not a lot of people get the chance to make the sort of difference we can, or help people like we do. My sister said it was like… well, like you said, she was born to do it. It’s a duty kinda thing. But then some people… I dunno, some people just get sort of forced into it, and it feels weird being like ‘no I [i]want[/i] this.”[/color] 

She looked up from her bowl then, blinked, and felt a bit embarrassed, a laugh leaving her as she did so. [color=662d91]“Not to overshare or anything.”[/color]

Joshua laughed back, amused by Vera’s over politeness. [color=75906C]“Call it manifest destiny, I guess. Those who can pilot [i]will[/i] pilot. It’s just a matter of when the universe tells us ‘Yes, this is happening.’ I think there are a lot of pilots here with a lot of stories regarding that; when they accepted their burden to bear. But I guess I am being way too serious for like six in the morning.”[/color]

Joshua grabbed the other halve of the toast he had cut and dipped it into the oatmeal before folding it as he did so. After he took a bit of the oat-soaked bread he looked closely at Vera; her comment about people being ‘forced into’ it still echoing in his mind. The black-hair man found it interesting how a young girl could have developed such opinions given her rather sunny disposition. He wondered if that refreshing optimism and kindness would be perverted when she actually got in a machine and took her first life. It was something to muse while he finished his breakfast, at least.[/indent]