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[indent][indent][indent][color=gray][sub][right][color=8D3A05][b]Location:[/b][/color] Mess Hall, Fortuna [color=8D3A05][b]|[/b][/color] In Transit[/right][/sub][/color]
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The fancy pilot, [i]William[/i] seemed to have the same reaction Marlowe did to the food. Which was a normal, human reaction to stale, gray cubes filled to the brim with [i]nutrients[/i]. He’d consumed similar with Singh’s Raiders, but their cubes had been other colors, like red, brown or yellow with spices or flavors packed in. Azuki bean flavor, coco flavor, or curry flavor. Sure it’d usually been too sweet or spicy to Marlowe’s tastes, but it at least had [i]flavor[/i]. Also depending on who was in charge of mess duty that week, you could dip your cubes in a light gravy or cream if they had the supplies for it. 

He considered dipping the bland gray cube in water to soften it, but decided that ruining the water with the mush of [i]whatever[/i] this was designed from was a bad, bad idea. He just forced down the rest of the cube, and chased it with the rest of his water. [color=8D3A05]“Grrk-”[/color]-it was less of a word and more of a retching sound-came from his throat right as one Mox Holiday brought her bubbly personality to the fold. 

[color=9e0b0f]“Y’know, I reckon they’ve added a new flavor, don’t you? I’m gettin’ a bit of paprika in mine I think. Ain’t that somethin’?”[/color]

Marlowe simply stared at her. He gave her the emotionless expression someone who’d stood on the precipice of gastrointestinal horror has stood, right when someone devours a raw sheep’s liver in front of you and declares it to be “scrumptious” (this had only happened once before in Marlowe’s life, and it was the source of multiple nightmares). He was barely able to produce a slow [i]blink[/i] as a reaction to Mox before turning to William to give the blonde man a pleading look that screamed [i]HELP[/i]. 

Still, Mox’s small talk seemed to demand response. [color=8D3A05]”I think that’s just whatever dried proteins that make up this stuff starting to go rancid,”[/color] Marlowe remarked to Mox, before fishing out a hard black clump of [i]something[/i] from the back of his mouth. [color=8D3A05]”I think that was supposed to be pepper,”[/color] he said before throwing it on his tray. It looked more like a piece of a tooth from some poor sap who fell into a nutrient vat. Maybe that’s how Jones got a good deal on this shit; perhaps the box exclaimed [i]“NOW WITH 15% LESS HUMAN BYPRODUCT”[/i] on the side of the packaging. 

Marlowe finally stood up and stretched. [color=8D3A05]”Welp, no time like the present to burn off whatever this gunk is.”[/color] If the armory was going to be a warzone with Puckett throwing profanities and a possibility of plasma damage from her gear, perhaps the marginally safer option would be in the hangar, cleaning off some of the rust from Bucket’s joints with a used toothbrush. 

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