The Dividing Line - Canteen

[Shrike7]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

((Hehe, whistling through the teeth, I know a guy who can do that XD))

Caitlin perked her head up a bit at the whistling, her brow furrowed a little, before jumping a bit in sudden realization and turning to Krysta. "I'm sorry, did I forget to respond again?" She asked, looking quite apologetic.

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

Kars receives his soup and wheels his cart over to a table, ending up sitting across the table from Caitlin. He sips the soup straight from the bowl, while poking at his forearm mounted computer occasionally. He internally considers for a moment the possibility of replacing one tank of nutrigel with this soup. Best not, he'd be dead on several occasions by now if he allowed such luxury.

"I shoulda came here ages ago..." He mutters to himself, then looks up with the bowl in both hands, "You tried this stuff yet? It's like liquid rations but it actually tastes like food. How's your worms 'n meat?"

 

[Chibichibi]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

Krysta smiled, "No, sorry, I was the one who forgot this time." She looked up and over at Kars, "Of course it's food. Williams wouldn't serve anything less."

Williams grinned at her praise as he set their plates down. "Dig in!" and then went back to his stove.

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

"I normally only eat thick brown jelly sucked cold through a straw. But then I don't exactly have room for a chef in my craft. I spend a lot of time with humans, but I don't normally stop to try the food."

 

[Chibichibi]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

"Then you're missing the good stuff." she grinned.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

"Ooh, food's here!" Caitlin says with a grin, digging into her chicken. "So," she said, chatting with Kars like he had been there the entire time, "Your race evolved in cave systems, didn't they? Probably with higher than average gravity as well, right?"

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

(Opps, misread that. I thought Caitlins food had already arrived, hence the "worms n meat" remark. Please read as if he asked that as it arrived if that makes any sense.)

"Eh?" Kars says looking up again, "Really? Then you know something I don't. I evolved in cold space, and that's about all I can say. I've heard we used to have a home planet somewhere once, blew it up or something centuries ago. Dunno. Eh, where'd you get that idea from then?"

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

((Not a problem ))

"Body shape. Shorter heights generally mean more gravity on the home planet, though it also means generally stocky builds as well. Since you lack that, I would also guess either an underground environment or something similar, where space is a premium. How's your eyesight? Can you perceive infared light at all, perhaps?" She explains in a casual tone, sounding completely lucid the entire time.

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

Though not exactly noticeable in this light, if one caught an non helmeted Kars at the right angle and lighting they might just in fact notice a shine from his eyes, like that of a cats at night.

"Infrared? Well yeah, a little. I mean I still use a night vision unit, but I have noticed before actually, that you guys turn them on sooner. Leaves you vulnerable to electrosensor systems. Garik are bastards for that you know. They know everyone else needs electrical night vision. So against them, use EMP hardend gear, since that helps block electrosense too."

*Soup slurp*

"Though I don't suppose you do much Garik fightin anyway huh. You might be right about the caves and all, but I'm afraid I can't tell ya. You'd have to talk to this girl I met while traveling with the Tiivon cluster, she was nuts about finding out where we came from, our history and stuff. Just don't tell em I sent you."

He peers about the room for a moment, looking at the light fittings aparrently, before looking back. "So does that mean the Tellarin evolved hanging from the clouds eh?"

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

"Now that would definitely be a question for them. They've been evolving themselves for too long, I don't know what would be natural evolution just by looking at them." Caitlin says with a chuckle, waving her fork around in a little circle before using it to take another bite.

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

"Good point. Though I've noticed they're not the type to talk to curious strangers. I've never had much business with them. They lock up tight, and don't often employ my sort. Confusing ships too, weird movements. One of the few things I've not tried shooting at yet."

He stares forward in thought again for a moment, "Ah, hang on. Your that one always whizzing back and forth from that..." He trails off and starts poking at his forearm display again, then laying his arm down on the table, "This thing..." He says as a small flat holographic pane pops up from his arm. The image shows a view of the hanger from an odd ceiling angle, visible centre is the The Pillar of Glory. "Just what is that? Now I've looted a Halcyon before; but that has to be the weirdest and most heavily modified old junker gunship I've ever seen. It belongs to you? I've not seen anyone else near it."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

Caitlin practically beamed with pride, nodding emphatically. "Yep, that's my Pillar, but the ship itself doesn't actually have many modifications to it. Sure I completely removed the in-system engines, and most of the sensors, life support, and a bunch of other stuff, but keeping all that in there would be redundant." She leaned in over the table to point at Kars' hologram, pointing out the living substance covering most of the ship, as well as the few trailing streams.

"This is my best work. I created an organism from the ground up to augment, and eventually completely replace the need for constructed spaceships. It takes up most of the space in the ship, but all the extra mass helps fuel my propulsion system, in a way. It also makes the hull incredibly tough, and I was really lucky when I found the Pillar for cheap in a scrapyard, it's an incredibly resilient frame, with a lot of structural redundancy. The biomass itself protects from most radiations, provides about as much impact resistance as a plate of durasteel, and will heal it's own damage. I've been..." She rants emphatically, on and on with her arms providing a visual aid, and everyone at the table starts to get the idea that they'll need to cut her off somewhere to get her to stop.

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

Kars listens with some interest for a while, being very much a shipbuilder in his own way, though he starts to realise he's unwittingly set the woman on autopilot. None of this seemed easily applicable to his Hell Strafer either. One highly relevant question nagged him still though, "So, does it poop?" He adds insightfully.

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

"Nope, that would require it to eat, and it doesn't. At least, not in the traditional sense." Caitlin says. "Why do we eat? On it's most basic level, what does it boil down to?"

 

[Unknown Squid]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

"Not Dying." Kars says turning of the hologram and picking up what's left of his soup, mumbling in between a sip "Mmwait, energy... That's the answer yer looking for yeah?"

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

Caitlin nods, smiling. "Exactly, eating creates fuel for our cells to operate. But thanks to my propulsion system, all I need to do is engineer the lifeform to take it's energy from the ambient energy powering the ship, and voila, no need to eat!" She explaind giddily, smiling broadly.

 

[Chibichibi]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

Krysta had a fond smile on her face and a lost sort of look in her eyes as she watched Caitlin, "You're very passionate you know..."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

Caitlin stopped her rant mid-sentence, looking at Krysta in a confused manner for a second before blushing a little and settling back down, picking up her utensils again and starting to slice a bite off her chicken. "Sorry, I get over-excited talking about my ships. Too many times trying to get investors, I guess, makes me excited when someone shows interest..." She says shyly.

 

[Chibichibi]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

Krysta's smile widened, "I never said it was a bad thing. Williams is passionate about his food." she takes a bite of her eggs an' coffee grinds. "Passion is what makes us really excel. No one does the best job they can do at something they don't like..."

 

[Shrike7]

Re: The Dividing Line - Canteen

"That's true." Caitlin says, her smile returning. "You should have seen me in history class, I never did well at that, and I just hated it!" She says, laughing merrily, and eating some more. Her rather generous heap of food is almost gone now, and it once again strikes the table as odd how a woman who gets almost no physical excersize can eat that much, and not gain any weight...