Fly Toward the Stars

[Cartoonicat]

Fly Toward the Stars​

There had only been one time in Milo's life where he felt as out of control of his future as he did now. That was six years ago. War between the Milky Way and the Torkol invaders had begun depleting resources, which made the government leaders of each faction, each race and species, start drafting kids right out of school. One of those kids had been Milo. At the ripe age of sixteen years old he was plucked out of high school - along with the rest of his friends who were physically and mentally eligible - to begin training as a pilot. Some were excited, others were not. Milo grew to be somewhere in the middle.

He liked adventure as much as the next guy, but war? Not so much. After losing his old man to a Torkol intervention gone South and having to deal with the repercussions that left on his family, Milo wasn't eager to join the fight. Didn't want to risk leaving his mom alone to care for the twins without help - though, really, Milo supposed he already did that. After being drafted into the pilot program he hadn't seen his family more than six times in the last six years. Training was brutal, time consuming. They wanted everyone out and in the field by age twenty. Milo managed to slack off enough to get himself to twenty-two.

That extra time had run out. Now, Milo stood in formation amidst at least a thousand graduates - human and alien alike. Watched as, one by one, people were assigned with their partners for the upcoming battles. A 'buddy-system' the higher-ups liked to call it. Really, though, Milo wanted to be alone.

If he was going to die out there, at least he could go out with the whole 'lone wolf' persona he'd spent the last six years establishing.

Fate held no sympathy for him. Even moreso when a particular name rang out across the congregation building, echoing off the walls, reverberating in his bones.

"Adelyn Uelsa - starship Nova 187…"

Milo watched the blur of blonde hair in his peripheral vision, eyebrows narrowing. Sorry to the unlucky guy who gets stuck with her. Or girl.

"...and Milo Blackburn - starship Phoenix 187. Proceed to Boarding."

Wait- "What?"

 

[DungeoneeringGoddess]

​

Adelyn Uelsa had been excited, overjoyed even, to drop out of high school as soon as she was able at the age of sixteen and join the war effort. She had wanted nothing more than to be a pilot just like her father her whole life and that was her chance. Her father never wanted that life for her, he wanted her to continue with school, get an education, grow up outside of the war and find an easy job, maybe something in the arts - but the sky called Adelyn's name and she couldn't wait to get out on the field. She didn't want to just be a passenger pilot either, she wanted to be in the war, pulling off incredible maneuvers, getting into fire fights with the enemy, she dreamed of the wide open space in front of her and being the captain of her own fighter pilot until one day she'd be the captain of her own battle cruiser.

However she was turned down for the war effort initially when she first tried to join at age sixteen. They told her she didn't pass the practicals and to come back in a year. Her father was relieved, but it only made her work harder at the gym to become more agile, faster, and stronger - when she reapplied at the age of 17 she was finally accepted!

Now, after three long years of training, she stood here - her dreams finally accomplished at the age of 20 it had been hard to achieve in three years what most achieved in four but she had done it to get out by age twenty for her superiors. While she dreamed of piloting her own ship alone, she had learned the value of teammates and leadership over her training and stood here now being assigned to a team, begrudgingly. But she supposed if she wanted to make it to where she wanted she had to start some where.

She finally heard her name called, and she resisted a wide smile as she waited to see who would be her partner, she didn't care who it was as long as it wasn't - "...and Milo Blackburn - starship Phoenix 187. Proceed to Boarding." 'Wait' "What?" She looked up to find Milo asking the exact same question in what old Earth people would call a jinx. The announced just looked at both of them, not amused with their question, then went back to announcing the partners.

She resisted a grimace and rolling her eyes before she turned to board their ship as they were instructed. She kept her eyes straight forward as she walked along side him, her face straight and serious and she only said one thing to him,"I can't believe I got partnered with you." She said then continued walking.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Underneath the facade of confidence he wore daily, Milo's skin crawled at the feel of eyes on his back as he walked towards Boarding. Were people seriously so bored with their lives they had to stare? Well, to be fair, it wasn't like they were conspicuously turning their heads or anything - that and the academy was pretty dull. At least, Milo thought so. It didn't help that Adelyn had sidled up beside him, walking in time to keep up. He openly scowled at what she said.

"The feeling's mutual," he rumbled, picking up speed to purposely pass her by. Leave her in the dust of his academy boots, a place Milo thought she belonged. He didn't have a problem with aliens - if anything, he thought they were really interesting to talk to - but Adelyn was a completely different case. After sharing several classes throughout the last three years, Milo couldn't stand her.

Worst of all, according to Milo, Adelyn was to blame for him graduating. Had she not shown up in his classes he wouldn't have felt the need to outdo her; wouldn't have ended up getting some of the highest marks in their year; wouldn't have graduated and been tossed into space. So, even though it was completely Milo's actions that brought him there, Milo still thought it was all Adelyn's fault. Which made him like her even less.

Eventually they entered the Docking Bay, the announcer's voice left far behind. With a huff, Milo loaded into their ship - still unnamed, a special task required of its pilots' collaboration - and looked at the two seats. The one on the left for actual piloting, the one on the right for shooting. Milo frowned. Shot Adelyn a glare. He'd always been better at the combat simulators than flying, but was he going to trust her to pilot their ship? With him in it?

Hell no.

Milo dropped down into the pilot seat before she could do so first, intentionally having cut her off.

 

[DungeoneeringGoddess]

Adelyn sucked in her breath to resist a come back at his remark back, in fact she had to resist flat out yelling at him. He just made her so angry! No one managed to get under her skin like he did! Then he sped up and passed her, only fueling her anger. It took all of her will power that she had honed during her time at the academy to stay calm and keep walking at a serious, straight pace. She wouldn't let him make her loose her cool. 'Yep. That's me. Cool as a cealian cucumber.' She thought to herself, just releasing her deep breath.

She didn't know why he constantly tried to show her up during their time together in class, but she knew she was a straight A student when she wanted to be and she wanted to be a pilot, more than anything else. She had done her best every day to be the best at everything in her time in the academy, but sometimes he still managed to one up her. It made her victories over him even sweeter when they happened sure, but it made her loses to him all the more bitter! What was even worse was that he was a slacker before she showed up! Then suddenly, POOF! He was a star student. It drove her crazy just like him!

They got on board their nameless ship and she sighed in her own mind, knowing how much of a chore that would be- but before she could even think of naming their ship anymore he sat down in the pilots seat like it was made of ice and his ass was on fire! She just stared for a moment at the whole scene, at first angry he dared to take the pilot seat when he knew she was a better flyer, but then she realized what he was doing and she smirked to herself a bit.

She moved, a bit slowly, and took a relaxing seat in the combat chair. She took a deep breath and let it out and smiled at him. She placed a hand on her chest as if she were touched and let her marvelous blue eyes strike his own as she bat her dark long eyelashes at him,"Awe, thank you so much for letting me take over Combat. That was so thoughtful of you." She said, then turned in her chair and looked the other way, pretending to look over her new control panel but really just letting her comment sink in as she plastered a smirk across her face.

She resumed thinking about what she would name her ship. Maybe Galaxy? Or Possibly Triumph, or Victory? Now those were good names.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Where at first he felt proud - entirely too smug - Milo's eyes blew wide when he realized what he'd done not only on one front, but two. He'd given Adelyn what she wanted, which to Milo was bizarre considering the woman never shut up about being a pilot, as well as lowered the efficiency of their team by miles. He was a natural pilot, sure, but he had slacked so much in school that even the burst of academic excellence later on had not filled in the gaps lost during his first semesters. Adelyn knew up and down, written and practical, the flight procedures that may end up saving them from Torkol gunfire. In contrast, he was an ace shooter not only in space but on the ground. Understood the physics behind each pull of the trigger; knew just where to shoot to ensure a dead-center shot.

He kind of just royally screwed them, but was Milo going to say anything?

"Glad we're on the same page, then," he said coolly, gripping the controls hard enough to whiten his knuckles.

Hell no.

A knock on metal turned his head towards the still open door of the cockpit. To the furrowed brows, salt and pepper fade, and crossed arms of the one person Milo despised more than Adelyn herself.

"Hey there, Lieutenant Downer-erm, Downey-"

"What the hell are you doing, rookies?" Downey frowned, eyeing the two. Deep wrinkles curved around his lips; he frowned often. "Well?"

Milo glanced at Adelyn out of instinct - seeking comfort from the knowledge that he wasn't the only one being scrutinized - before swallowing and quirking a brow. "Sir, what-"

"You know damn well what I mean, Blackburn. Uelsa is the better pilot," he snapped. "Switch places before I recall your licenses to fly."

Steeling his expression, Milo stood. "Yes, sir." Part of him was secretly glad Downey had come by, but he didn't appreciate the way their lieutenant spoke to them - especially Milo himself. The hostility between him and Downey was no secret, nor was it meant to be. Milo hadn't even wanted to pilot. Not really.

 

[DungeoneeringGoddess]

Adelyn really was disappointed about not having the pilot seat, but she wasn't going to let him know that. She was somewhere between celebrating her victory over Milo and sulking over her loss over the Piloting position when she heard Lieutenant Downey getting onto Milo, er, well, them. She turned around in her seat and immediately stood at attention when he addressed them. She stayed silent as he spoke with Milo, but then a smirk crawled across her lips as he told them to switch places. "Sir, yes sir." She said happily, waiting for Milo to move before sitting down in the Pilot seat and scooting back happily in it, biting her lower lip in excitement as she gazed across the controls, holding her breath. Her blue eyes dazzling at what lay before here - this was her future, and it was here! It was right here, right now! She had made it! And she wasn't going to let Milo ruin it for her.

"This works too." She said, giving Milo a somewhat smug smile, absolutely beaming at getting what she wanted. Not that she minded taking over Combat either, she would do both if she could, but flying was her real passion. "Will you be alright over there with all that heavy artillery? If you have any questions I'll be right here." She added, again just as smug as she could be. She would take absolutely any victory over him she could get her hands on, no matter how petty.

She then remembered Lt. Downey was still there and she turned back around in her seat, looking up at him,"Uh, What else can we do for you today sir?" She asked him, wondering why he had even checking up on them in the first place. This couldn't be procedure after all, could it?

 

[Cartoonicat]

Sending Adelyn a sharp glare, Milo parted his lips to retort but Lieutenant Downey spoke first. Deep-voiced, firm, to the point; the man was there on business. "You two aren't going with the rest of the rookies," he explained. Nodded towards Adelyn's piloting dashboard. There, wedged between the dashboard itself and the screen, was a piece of paper labelled with the military's official stamp. "As the best pilots - and, fighters - to graduate since the academy opened, by far, we're not giving you grunt work."

Less frustrated and more curious, Milo quirked a brow. "Grunt work?"

Lieutenant Downey nodded. "You're joining a team of cooperatives that will focus on espionage rather than fighting on the front lines."

"Espionage? You mean, like spies?"

"Yes," Downey snapped, silencing Milo with the tone of his voice. "Yes. You two will, essentially, be spies for our side of the war. However, you will not be going undercover. That's for your other teammates. Shapeshifters - whatever they're called." He nodded towards the piece of paper. "That'll tell you everything I just did, and then some. Read it. Memorize it. Then, go meet your team. I've given perimeter patrols direct instructions to let you fly freely."

Milo listened, eyebrows skyrocketed to practically his hairline. He hadn't made the best of grades at the academy, so, how-... the simulators. When he'd really picked up in attempt to beat Adelyn, he'd kicked ass in those simulators. Broke too many high scores to count, as did she.

Maybe being a good student paid off after all. If he hadn't, he'd be on the front lines fighting the Torkol and most likely getting blown to bits like the cannon fodder the military used graduates for. Dodged a bullet on that one - literally.

Before leaving, Lieutenant Downey shot each of them a sharp look. "Keep in mind that you're still rookies and will be working with a team of veterans," he warned. "Try to be professional."

And then he was gone without a word, their cockpit door sliding shut with an airlocked hiss.

"...Talk about a plot-twist."

 

[DungeoneeringGoddess]

Adelyn listened to Lieutenant Downey as he explained their mission, he told them that shapeshifters would be going undercover instead of them - she wondered why she wasn't given that mission considering her race could shape shift into any humanoid. But it wasn't her place to question command and she'd much rather be behind the metaphorical wheel than shapeshifting around and getting information. To be honest she was a little disappointed they wouldn't be anywhere near the front lines, she thought her skills would be of great use out there. But if this was where she was needed, then this was where she would serve.

When he told them to try to be professional she raised her eyebrows, looking a little surprised and nervous - knowing she wasn't always the most professional when Milo was involved. She glanced at him afterwards, a plain stare that said 'don't you dare mess this up for me'. Then she looked back to the Lieutenant and saluted him, he left and she turned around in her seat, looking at the sheet of paper he mentioned to them. She picked it up and listened to what Milo had to say. This was the first interesting thing he'd said all day, mostly because it wasn't an insult to her.
But she wasn't impressed.

"It's not a story Milo." She said, looking up at him, her expression plain as her blue eyes met his own.
"You and I did the best out of everyone in our class, its to be expected that we would get a special mission, its not exactly a twist." She said, trying to make it sound like she expected this all along, even though it was just as much a surprise to her as it was to him.

She read over the paper,"Yeah, not much more than what he told us." She said, then looked up at him, handing him the paper to let him review it as well,"What should we do first? We need a name for this beauty." She said, leaning over and hugging the control panel in front of her. "I'll cherish her forever." She said pretending to get teary eyed as she sat up again, looking down at the panel, her slender fingers tracing over the delicate buttons in front of her, then they moved to the wheel and she gripped it, getting a feel for the main unit of control she would be working with. "How are things on your end?" She asked him, obviously pleased with what lay in front of her. Her expression was one of pure joy and wonder as she marveled at and examined the board in front of her, almost as if she were day dreaming about a boy - it was kind of cute.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Milo, ever the star student, hadn't bothered to salute Downey. Part of the reason the two didn't get along derived from Milo's issues taking orders and showing respect to those in authoritative positions. In the very beginning of his piloting academic career Milo had mouthed off more than necessary in attempt to get booted - to go home - but it had never worked out that way. The brutality of the war called for as many troops as possible, behavioral issues or no. Before joining the war Milo had been a good kid. Obedient. His father was in the military and raised him to be the best son, brother, student, upstanding citizen that he could be. However, Milo's failed tactic of disrespecting his way out of the war had stuck with him.

That being said, it wasn't just Lieutenant Downey who did not approve of him, though Downey held the most distaste.

Blatantly rolling his eyes at Adelyn once the door closed, Milo dropped down into his own chair. Let the momentum spin him around like a little kid. Reached out to grab the paper from her before stopping in front of his terminal dashboard, head slightly dizzy. After regaining his composure, he skimmed the letter. Shrugged and tucked it aside. Then he leaned back in his chair. Hummed thoughtfully, eyes glancing up towards the sleek metal ceiling curving above them. "Hmm..."

Milo scratched his chin - clean shaven like all of the military personnel, save for a few with rank who sought time to look nice. Swiveled slightly so he could spare Adelyn a glance. He snorted, brow quirked. Like his tension with Downey, it was no secret Adelyn dreamed of piloting. He had to admit, having their own ship was pretty sick - in the good way - and he himself was excited, but he wasn't about to drape himself over the controls in happiness.

Still, he'd be lying if he said it wasn't amusing to watch.

"Careful, Uelsa," Milo started, "I think you're drooling." Then he looked away from her. Chewed on the inside of his cheek contemplatively. What to name her? And why does it have to be a her? Hmm... Before he could think long on that, though, Adelyn had begun inquiring about his end of things. He looked down at the dashboard in front of him and ghosted his hands over the controls. They felt right in his hands - or, at least, as right as a death machine could in the hands of someone who didn't actually want to be there.

Still, they were better than he expected. With a shrug of nonchalance, Milo glanced back at her. "Not bad."

 

[DungeoneeringGoddess]

She gave him a small glare when he said she might be drooling, and then she sighed and looked around. He answered her question about the console, saying it was 'not bad'. It kind of pissed her off....not bad...like he didn't know how much of an honor it was to be aboard this ship....her ship...the best ship in the whole galaxy.....what was she thinking about? Oh yeah, he was so arrogant, it suited him, but she didn't want to admit that.

"Well, anyways," She began as she got up, walking around the ship, going a quick check list that was just routine,"I guess we should get going. We can talk about the name on the way to our assignment." She said as she took a seat back in the pilot's chair and started up the ship, everything lighting up in front of them. It was exhilarating....she smiled as she watched it, biting her bottom lip,"....this is going to be fun." She said, looking at Milo with a small smirk, a playful glint in her eyes. She may have been a perfect student in the academy, but she was aggressive - and she intended to show off a bit and enjoy her time here, all work and no play they say after all. She didn't love flying for no reason after all, but Milo didn't have to know all of her intentions right away.

She looked back at her control panel, feeling the excitement running through her veins as she moved her hands quickly over the console, starting the ship's engines and all of its systems, entering the coordinates, getting permissions from the hangar control and getting cleared for take off, finally she took the wheel in her hands,"Commencing Lift Off." She said, lifting their ship into the air of the hangar. She touched a few buttons to her right, then moved and pressed the wheel forward, moving them gently out of the hangar and into open space,"Lift Off Successful." She said as they exited the hangar. Even though she entered the coordinates and the ship was fully capable of an auto pilot mode for routine things like this, flying by a pilot was preferred whenever possible. She looked at their map and turned right, pressing the wheel even more forward, picking up speed quickly as she did so, every move of her's flawless and smooth, it was a good ship, but she knew how to pilot it perfectly.

She sighed as they got out in space, cruising through the open stars, heading to the coordinates of where they needed to go. After a few minuets she glanced over at him, only for a second, keeping her eyes mostly on the stars and the map in front of them. "Listen." she started,"I know you and I have had our...creative differences...in the past,"She glanced at him again,"But we are a team now." Her expression grew serious and she kept her eyes in front of her now. "And I don't want you to think I don't know there aren't risks with our job....but...I'm sure as hell not going to let you down. I'm going to be the best pilot I can be..for both of us. So yeah. Whatever." She said. She took her uniform cap off, setting it on the floor next to her, her blonde hair falling out of it in a pony tail and falling down her back. She ran her fingers through her bangs that hung around her face , pushing them back and out of her face, pursing her lips as she looked at the space in front of them before returning both of her hands to the wheel.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Yeah, fun is definitely the word I'd use to describe fighting in a war, he mused, rolling his eyes and swiveling back to his control panel. Kicked back and relaxed, feet propped on the safety-locked dash. Leaned back into his chair while Adelyn lifted them out of the hangar bay and shot into space. Why'd I want to be pilot again? She's practically my chauffeur! Milo grinned, the tall back of his seat concealing his expression from his partner as he sunk lower, getting as comfy as possible with the cockpit harness clasped over his torso. Let his eyes drift close. Felt his conscious begin too waver. Slowly fading away...

The serene pull of sleep shattered at the sound of hi teammate talking. Milo grimaced, cracking his eyes open just a bit before closing them again. Maybe if I ignore her- nope, she's still talking. Sighing, Milo swiveled his chair just enough to look up at her without sacrificing his laidback position. Watched her fuss with her long blonde hair, disinterested but not having anything else better to do - aside from sleep, but that wasn't happening. In all honesty, if she hadn't been so damn annoying back at the academy, Milo might have found her attractive. He always did have a thing for blondes.

"Appreciate it. And when you screw up," he started, "I'll be here to blow the Torkol to Hell before they can us." He turned back to his console. Shut his eyes again. Felt a little guilty for shooting down her attempt at a heartfelt conversation, but not enough to keel the words that came next: "Just try not to crash us into a planet. Our guns aren't big enough for that."

 

[DungeoneeringGoddess]

She was....frustrated....to say the least by his laid back posture while she was trying to have a serious conversation with him, but she didn't let it get to her. She glanced at him as he responded though, her face frozen in an expression of nothingness as he said she would screw up and he would be the one to save them. She looked away, she felt so stupid for trying to be real with him. She felt her heart beat speed up in her anger and her cheeks get hot as they got red and flushed. She locked her jaw and made sure to keep her face in the opposite direction of him, pretending to look at something in the opposite direction so he couldn't see her hurt and angry expression. She almost felt like she was about to cry she was so angry.

He made his last comment and that was it. She pulled the wheel backwards as hard as she could, the ship coming to a hard and immediate stop, which would jolt Milo around quite a bit form his comfortable position if it didn't give him whiplash and slam him into his seat. She looked over at him, her jaw still locked and her eyes hard as she,"Sorry. I guess I screwed up." She said coldly to him in a sarcastic manner, obviously pissed off, before she looked straight forward again and 'floored it' so to speak, pressing her hands forward as hard as she could, their ship taking off as fast as it could, picking up speed faster than it did before. "And get your feet of the control panel of my ship or I'll screw up again." She said. Her voice hard and cold again as she spoke curtly to him.

She tried to continue to fly forward for another moment or so, but finally entered the coordinates, flight pattern, and speeds on the auto pilot, then moved and snatched her hat off the floor. She got up and put it on, starting to walk out,"I'm going to run some tests on the ship." She said, walking out, muttering under her breath,"..asshole..."

 

[Cartoonicat]

In the span of a heartbeat the ship went from one-hundred (he assumed) to zero, flinging Milo against the harness with a scream. Not a howl. Not a roar. Not a yell, no, not at all. A legitimate scream that lasted a solid five seconds and could give a Girl Scout a run for her Thin Mints money. His head slammed back on the chair - thank God it was cushioned - and he yelped at the softened impact. Milo would have lit up on her had he not been so shocked. He reached his hands up to check the harness - Yep, still there, otherwise he'd have conked out with a bloody nose - and swiveled slowly to stare at her, mouth agape.

"What the hell!?" Was all he said in response to her bitter quip. Made to stand, charge after her and give her a piece of his mind, but thee harness yanked him back now. Right, the damned harness! Unbuckling, he threw it off and made to stand - only, Adelyn had already left. He frowned, dropping back into his seat.

"Not worth it..."

[Two Hours Later]
​

Okay, so, maybe he should have gone to talk to Adelyn earlier. It'd been two hours and, as fun as napping with suspected whiplash was not, Milo was bored. And kind of feeling a little guilty. Yeah, he could acknowledge he was kind of a royal prick earlier, but t apologize? That just wasn't his style. At least, not with Adelyn. Never had been and, up until now, Milo assumed never would be. Be that as it may, they were partners now. He didn't like it - didn't like her - but the rules had changed.

They needed to chill, lest they end up killing each other before the Torkol even got the chance.

So, there he stood just inside the Analysis & Diagnostics room, ego crumbling into a pile of humbled pieces. He looked at Adelyn for several seconds, lips pursed.

Then, finally: "I'm sorry,"

 

[DungeoneeringGoddess]

Addelyn held her arms straight down her side as she made a bee line for the Analysis and Diagnostics room, trying hard to hold back her tears of frustration until she was completely alone. Finally once she was in there she stomped her foot in a mini tantrum of her own, a tear or two starting to roll down her cheeks. She moved and wiped them away as fast as she could,"God! How could I be so stupid?! Trying to be sincere with such an asshole like that?! I should have known better!" She cursed at herself, moving and grabbing a chart off the wall, a tear or two still rolling down her cheeks despite her best efforts to stop them. She sniffed and wiped them away again aggressively.

"Ulgh! I hate that guy! He ruined everything..." She muttered. "What was I thinking? 'Oh I know we've had our differences, but we're a team now..' 'I'm not going to let you down now' Ulgh. And what do I get? When you screw up......asshole..." She mocked herself and their conversation, continuing to mutter to herself as she started to write down things about the ship then started pressing buttons and taking down notes on the board.

Finally she felt herself begin to calm down as she got caught up in her work and how the ship was in perfect condition....she didn't have to be here. "Ulgh...." She sighed,"I should go back.... I need to be flying, I shouldn't let him get to me." She said to herself. She turned around and took a step to go back...but then hesitated, biting her lip. She looked down and then turned around again, a little longer couldn't hurt.

Before she knew it, she had been here two hours.....

She didn't realize how much time had passed when she heard footsteps. She looked up to see Milo. She stared at him a bit blankly for a moment, her lips parted slightly agape in her surprise and shock at his appearance. For some reason she felt her heart race, seeing him bringing back all of those heated feelings and an anxiety with them.

Then he said it....he said he was sorry and he apologized to her.
She just stared at him a moment, still in shock, even more so by his apology.

Finally she blinked and looked down at her clipboard. She pursed her lips as well in thought but finally replied,"Don't worry about it." She replied, a bit curtly. She couldn't get her heart to slow down, she felt her cheeks start to heat up a bit and she figured she needed to get him out of here before they heated up anymore. She looked up at him, her blue eyes striking his own,"I shouldn't have done what I did either." She said then looked back down quickly, trying to hide her blush, now at the embarrassing situation.

She sighed a moment, feeling so stupid after all of this. They were acting like children and he made her feel like a child. "I'm uh...almost done here...I'll be up in a minuet." She said, still looking away from him, not sure if he would have anything else to say to her or if he would just go back up again.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Now Milo really felt like an asshole; was it so bizarre a thing for him to apologize that Adelyn stared at him like that? Became so flustered? If his mother - bless her heart - had witnessed his earlier behavior she'd have smacked the crap out of him with her infamous 'flying' dish towel. Worse than that, she'd be disappointed. Don't get him wrong, he still did not like Adelyn one bit, but he wasn't keen on the idea of being the one to cause all their problems. It was an equal exchange; what he gave she took, and vice versa. Only, since pairing up, Adelyn hadn't seemed to feed into their rivalry so much as before.

Perhaps because they were assigned to different stations, not just piloting. Who knows? She's weird.

Instead of leave, Milo stepped further into the room. Let the door behind him swish shut with an air-locked hiss, like they all did. Steeled himself for what he was about to do because dammit he wasn't her lackey but he needed to fix things before they met their new team. What if they took a look at us and send us straight back to the front lines? Milo couldn't have that.

"Need any help?" He tried to sound casual now, but he'd never really been casual with Adelyn. It came out sounding forced, not comfortable or natural at all. Still, he was trying.

 

[DungeoneeringGoddess]

She looked back up at him, her blush disappearing and her expression one of...a little less surprise than before. Again she was taken off guard. What was he doing? He was acting so weird!
Was he trying to make this another competition? Who could be the bigger person? What was she supposed to say back to win? Accept his help?
She looked away a moment, thinking on the situation, looking around for something for him to do and buy herself some time. "Uhmm..." She wondered out loud, but she couldn't come up with anything for him to do or figure out what his angle was!

'God Damnit! ' She cursed herself in her head.

She bit her lip, growing a but nervous. But just then, before she could start to panic, a light went off and it beeped at the same time. She raised her eyebrows, looking at it in surprise, then smiled, relieved. She marked down a check on her clip board and sighed, smiling at him. "Actually that was the last test." She said,"And I believe we should be arriving at the Facility soon, so we can both get back up there." She glanced away and set the clipboard down.

She paused a moment and rubbed her arm, biting the inside of her lip. Then she finally looked back up at him, her blue eyes meeting his own, a gentle, somewhat awkward, smile resting on her flawless pink lips. "But thank you for the offer." She added, trying to do the right thing.
"Come on, lets go." She said, looking away and starting to leave, glancing down at her watch, checking the time and seeing how much longer they had before they arrived at the Facility.

 

[Cartoonicat]

Milo looked up at the light overhead before turning his eyes back to Adelyn. Saved by the... test? He shouldn't feel as relieved as he did but, really, he hadn't been looking forward to spending who knows how long working alongside his new partner. Then again, Milo needed to get used to it; they'd be working together even outside the Analysis & Diagnostics room for much longer. Years, maybe, depending on how long the war dragged on and whether or not they managed to survive to that point. Would have been good practice.

"Alright," he nodded. Stuffed his hands in his pockets - the one thing he appreciated about their uniforms was how big the pockets were - and made to turn. Only, Adelyn started talking again and caught his attention. Pulled him back to the conversation, despite its briefness. His eyes flicked to her arm and then her lips; noticed how the bottom lip puckered in just a smidge - she was biting it. Over the years it'd become second nature to expend energy picking fun at everything Adelyn said or did, so changing that would be difficult. He'd surely slip in the process, but he'd try a little harder each time.

Milo grinned, resisting the urge to pick fun at her too badly. "Maybe it's a good thing we got paired together," he said, "I doubt anyone else would know that awkward-ass smile was genuine." He stepped around her towards the door, long legs letting him reach the frame before she did, and then turned the corner.

They'd be arriving in just under ten minutes.

30 Minutes Later
​

Alright. So. If Milo thought Adelyn was weird, then at least half of their new crew was freaking bizarre. There was Heijara - a shapeshifter like the rest of them but of an alien species with scaled, rainbow skin and an equally colorful personality - and Jin, the horned shapeshifter with a spiked body of the Hulk and a massive barbed lizard (maybe? Milo wasn't sure what that was) tail. Heijara, the youngest of the veterans but still significantly older than he and Adelyn, had seemed to take a strong liking to them

"You're just so cute, aren't you?" Heijara ran padded thumbs over Adelyn's fingers. Milo noticed Heijara only had three fingers in her natural form. "Do you look like this naturally, Uelsa, or do you adopt the human physique out of habit? Or another reason?" Heijara turned her beady eyes on Milo and smiled, revealing rows of jagged ivory teeth. "And your hair! Is it naturally two-toned like that?"

"Uh... I guess so? It's poliosis."

"Fascinat-"

"Heijara," Jin's deep voice stopped the colorful alien in her tracks, reeling her back in to his side. "Try to be professional." Heijara simply grinned at the two, unapologetic, eyes curious.

 

[DungeoneeringGoddess]

Adelyn resisted giggling as Heijara touched Adelyn's hands, she just smiled politely and gave a shrug to her saying she was cute. She was trying to stay professional as Lt. Downey had told them to. Luckily Jin called the curious woman over before she could poke at Adelyn anymore, but not before she could get out anymore questions for her and Milo. When she finally got a chance to reply she gave an apologetic smile,"I'm sorry, no this isn't my natural form." She said, then let her human form go, it seemed to unfold from the top of her head all the way down to her toes in a seamless transformation. She scratched the back of her head,"I'm so used to holding my human form on Earth sometimes I forget its rude to introduce yourself while your shifted." She admitted to her bad manners.

She smiled as she met the new team, in her true form, Adelyn had light blue skin with an almost metallic sheen to it. Her eyes were glowing white almost had no pupils at all, save for a small golden semi circle in the center of her eyes. Her hair matched her eyes, it was glowing white with flecs of gold running down and shifting through each individual strand, it also seemed to defy gravity to a certain degree, the ends of her ponytail floated back and forth softly in the air.

"Ahhh," A dark skin-toned female gave a small clap as she walked up to the group,"A Kisimari. What a rare species. We don't see many of you anymore." She observed about Adelyn's race. She walked with one foot in front of the other exactly with perfect posture and she gave Adelyn and Milo a somewhat sly and knowing smile as she crossed her arms in front of them. "We'll try not to overwhelm you. I'm Shi'tal." She said.

Shi'tal was a female Jarulian with long, tall legs and a slender frame. She had luxuriously dark skin that was almost black in some spots with a deep purple for it's highlights. Her race didn't have hair but tendrils that ran down their head. Her's were a stark contrast to the rest of her body, being a platinum color. Her eyes were similar to a cats eyes with a slit down the middle, their color matching the tendrils of her hair. Her attitude seemed just as cool as the colors of her skin though as she stood there observing them.

Another person walked up behind her, he had dark, blue skin with stripes on it and he possessed a tail and long, thick tendrils on his head. His eyes were a solid yellow with no pupil. "Forgive Shi'tal's distant observation, but she's right. This is my first time meeting one of your kind." He said. He walked up to them with slumped over posture at first and once he got closer he slowed down, standing up straight and holding out a hand, first shaking Adelyn's then Milo's. He smiled at Milo,"We see you guys every day though! AmIright?! Haha!" He laughed then stood back next to Shi'tal. "I'm Kai'lar. But you can tall me Kai." He said with a warm smile to them.

Adelyn's friendly smile faltered under Shi'tal's strong gaze and her unnerving observation, even though she was confident in her skills and abilities, being among these pro's, especially one as intimidating as Shi'tal, who just gave them a perturbing smile, made her doubt herself and how she would appear. "Oh....?" She asked Shi'tal calmly, but felt her hands start to sweat. Then Kai came up and she gave a soft laugh, but still felt her nerves getting the better of her.

Spoiler

 

[Cartoonicat]

​

Startled, Milo stared at Adelyn's transformation with slack-jawed awe. He'd seen textbook pictures of the Kisimari race in his Intergalactic Cultural Studies back in high school but never up close, face-to-face. Of course, Milo knew from the get-go that Adelyn wasn't human. He'd just never seen her in her true form. An unfamiliar face now, Adelyn looked a lot less annoying. Tolerable. Actually, kind of hot.

What the hell? No.

Blinking away his stupor, Milo looked to the two pair of veterans. Listened as they introduced themselves, though he found it difficult; his mind still reeling, Milo fought the urge to look back at Adelyn in curiosity. The lizard man, Jin, caught his eye and quirked a brow ridge. Milo flushed red and cleared his throat, finding something in the vicinity to focus on instead.

Oh, hey, that airlock seems pretty solid. Yep. Don't have to worry 'bout gettin' sucked out into space with that thing sealed. No worries, here. Nope. None at all.

A hand grasping his own tore him from the distraction. Blew his eyes wide in surprise. For a moment Milo just stared at the blue alien, eyes taking in the tendrils draping over his shoulders. A snort sounded from the lizard man again and Milo quickly cleared his throat. "Wha- Oh, yeah, heh. Humans are kinda everywhere." He grinned, finding the alien genuinely amusing, but embarrassment fluttered in his stomach and made the smile on his lips feel sour. "Kai," he echoed, shaking the alien's hand. "The name's Milo. Nice to meet you."

Having missed a majority of the exchange between Shi'tal and Adelyn, Milo raised an eyebrow at the nervous inflection of Adelyn's voice. Having spent the last few years purposely trying to get under her skin, he knew how she sounded when she was sad, angry, nervous, irritated, happy, etc... Still, though, Milo did not look at her. Refused to, lest those pesky thoughts seeped back into his mind.

"Now that introductions are over with," Heijara said, casually nipping in the bud the inklings of an awkward silence, "I'd like for you two to take some physical exams."

"Heijara-"

"No, no! This is important," she insisted, waving off Jin's concern with a flippant twirl of her hand. Looked to Milo and Adelyn, lips curling into a smile. "Before joining the war, I was a doctor. A scientist. Erm, both, sort of. Anywho... I know you both already have medical records from the academy, but I'd like to run my own tests since my role here is medic. Especially on you, since I don't have too much information to go off of to begin with," she let her eyes linger on Adelyn. "It will not be invasive, but I must insist."

Beside her, Jin's eyes rolled to the ceiling. An exasperated sigh huffed out of his reptilian nostrils. Milo wondered, curiously, if Heijara was often this pushy even with her own teammates.

"Uh... Sure? I guess."

"Excellent! And you, our lovely Kisimari friend?"

​

 

[DungeoneeringGoddess]

Adelyn didn't notice Milo's curiosity at her new, or rather original, form - she was far too focused on the others in front of her, mainly Shi'tal who was staring at them intensely. She swallowed thickly and smiled at Kai's joke about humans being everywhere. He was right though, humans seemed to be scattered across the entire Milky Way, while other species only seemed mixed between them like blueberries in a muffin. Either way Adelyn didn't mind.

Kai'lar tried to apologize for the comment that made Adelyn feel so off kilter, but she just smiled back at him,"It's nice to meet you Kai." She said, trying to forget the strange feeling.

Just as Adelyn feared a silence coming on as she let her eyes scroll through the group that just introduced themselves - Heijara spoke and broke the delicate silence that was coming on. Adelyn looked at her, tilting her head slightly, as the woman requested they undergo physical exams.

Adelyn tilted her head the other way, narrowing her eyes a bit, at Heijara's explanation of her being a doctor, er, scientist....it was...ominous at best. She raised her eyebrows and stood at full attention as Heijara said she would need extra exams since Heijara had less information. Adelyn gave an awkward smile, as if her aunt had just offered her uncle take her to prom and she didn't want to be rude - but she didn't know how to get out of it. She nodded,"Sounds great." She said, her voice slightly more high pitched than normal, it may be a sign of her excitement, or it could be her nerves again.... She sighed softly and lost some her tension, looking at Heijara again,"I'm not one to go against the Medic's wishes." She said, a little more naturally this time.

Kai folded his arms over his chest and eyed Heijara, he just shook his head slightly, looking down at the floor in slight exasperation with her - but he wasn't going to get in the middle.

Shi'tal on the other hand smiled at Heijara, her smile, even though it was genuine, always seemed to look somewhat sinister. "Please keep me informed of the progress of your exams on our new recruits Dr.Heijara." She said, her tone smooth and cool, then she looked at Adelyn and Milo,"That is, if you two have no objections to me seeing your results." Adelyn shook her head quickly,"No, not at all." She looked at Heijara,"Please, run the exams and feel free to let anyone know whatever they wish. I don't think I have anything to hide." She said quickly, eager to please her new team.

Kai looked at Adelyn and furrowed his eyebrows as if he was wondering what she was thinking, he just sighed and looked down again. Shi'tal however smiled again,"Wonderful."