[@TheUnknowable]

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[indent]Delu wasn’t there for the meeting with the Captain, the Princess, the Queen and Devin before they boarded the Aurora, she was already on the ship in her personal quarters and standing at the foot of her bed, facing the bed, her eyes staring into the small black orbs of her only friend.

“I have to go now.” She tells him in a formal tone. “I have my duties to perform. I must meet with Lieutenant Lizard on the Bridge to ensure all systems are ready for the Captains arrival.” Delu pauses for a briefing with her own thoughts, maybe even a hint of emotion for the anticipation of knowing she would soon be leaving her little friend on his own for several hours. 

“I need you to stay right here. Don’t be afraid.” She continues to tell him in a more reassuring tone. “I’ll return after my shift ends and we can spend the evening together. Be good while I’m gone. There’s some refreshment in the fridge if you feel hungry or thirsty. Don’t get into any mischief and make sure you keep the place tidy.” 

Her only friend, the plushy frog named Frog, is perched on top of her pillow silently staring back at Delu with his black, soulless eyes. 

“Bye bye, Froggy.” She concludes with a finalizing nod of her head, then turns and leaves the room.[/indent] 


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[indent]“Lieutenant Lizard!”  

Delu speaks in a formal tone as she enters the Bridge behind Kyle’s line of sight, but she then soon realizes what she had said and corrects herself quickly while suppressing a grin.

“Lieutenant Kyle!” 

Her nostrils flared, examining the aromas the lieutenant is emitting. Her ears twitch while listening to the many small electrical sounds of the bridge. She is quickly aware of everything and everyone in the room as her vision takes specific focus on the console Kyle is attending to. From her position, even though she is standing on the other side of the room, she can read the information being displayed on the screen. She’s aware of the bandwidth issue at hand, but for the sake of formality and keeping her perceptual abilities hidden for the time being, she asks in a tone befitting her rank as first officer: 

“Is there a problem with communications? It would be in all our best interests to have all systems running at peak efficiency when the captain gets here. He will be arriving momentarily.”  

While Delu is talking, she walks to the navigational and helm systems, perusing the many data readouts. They all looked to be functional in current standby mode. But Delu’s olfactory senses also detect the increase of neuropeptide proteins in Kyle’s blood, indicating that he was craving sustenance of some type, and so her natural instinct to play caregiver automatically kicked in with another comment.

She says: “If we get done soon enough we might even find a few minutes for refreshments before we launch.” She turns to Kyle to finalize her suggestion, which actually comes out sounding more like an order. “In fact, Lieutenant, go! I can finish up this communications issue for you. If I get done in time I could join you in the mess hall afterwards. After all, it might help for us to become better acquainted before the journey commences.”  

Well, Delu didn’t quite mean what she said. She actually had no intention of joining Kyle in the mess hall at all, but she said what she said just to ensure he would leave. The ship was due to launch soon enough. After that, there would be little time for sustenance for a quite a while, and she knew that people always function at their best when their bodies aren’t distracted with cravings for food or drink.[/indent] 


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