OxO with @Davadio

Ronnie would probably whine about him being too careless about this situation, but if Arriss signed up for it, he would to. He just hoped that his other two crew mates would come to the same decision.

“A rebellion. Lit.” Conner leaned his cheek against his knuckles. “My current job sucks anyways. I won’t have to kill, right? That’s my only boundary. One that my other job crossed.”

“Mm… I dunno, I’m simply curious.” Arriss walked over to the bookshelf, looking through some of the books. “Just whatever you know about him. It’s not often I see a creature like him anywhere in the galaxy. And yes, earth vegetables will be fine.”

She pulled out a book to do more research on the ship before returning to her bed. She didn’t know how long it would be until she could finally go see her crew mates, but she needed something to pass the time until then.

“Good. Killing… well, it isn’t my thing.” He shrugged. “I guess it’s nobody’s thing, but still.”

He hesitated for a moment before signing it. This would be a big change in his life; he understood that much. Many of his friends would probably look at him as if he were crazy for signing onto the mission so fast, but nothing could be worse than his current job.

“Will I still be on a crew with Arriss?”

(( I have no clue what’s in it, but I’ll try to come up with something xD ))

Arriss didn’t read much of the book, but instead leafed through a few of the pages, learning new information about the ship as she went. It originally belonged to her country, but just the year before, it had been taken in a raid. Many of the people aboard had been captured, and the ones that were defiant had been killed.

Arriss placed the book back down on the counter as she spoke to the AI. While she was curious, part of her didn’t want to think about the history of the ship right now when her own ship had just been captured.

“Mm, sure. Tell me about them,” she replied. “And I might eat in the dinning commons. Are there other people in there?”

“Good, and I’m sure that Ronnie and Valiel would want to join her too. If they sign, that is.” He snorted. “Not to brag, but I’m sure Arriss is the best captain you have on this ship.”

He wasn’t quite sure about the last claim he’d made; after all, he’d never met any of the captains on the commanders ship, but he did know Arriss was the best captain that he’d been under. Not only did she have good leadership skills, but she also understood that their missions were a team effort.

“Have you spoken to Valiel or Ronnie yet?”

“Thanks.”

Arriss slid her earpiece over her ear before she headed out into the halls of the ship. Even thought her country used to own the ship, it was a bit hard to navigate; however, with the AI’s help, she soon found the dining table. Arriss waited in line to retrieve her salad, and once she did, she headed to an empty table to eat alone. She wanted to eventually get to know some of the other people on the ship, sure, but she was still hesitant about trusting anyone.

Conner let out a sigh of relief. He had been desperately worried about Valiel, but even more so for Ronnie because of his injuries. He didn’t know what kind of state he was in, but he did know that it must’ve been bad. It was the only reason he knew of that would make Arriss surrender so fast.

“Well, you have my decision.” He slid the board with his signature back over to the commander. “What now?”

“I would like to learn more about the Mu—“

Arriss paused, watching as the man gathered up his belongings and went to sit down with her. This was… unusual. Normally, it was Arriss who had to approach others and try to make some sort of connection with them. Not the other way around.

“I’m Arriss.” She sent him a smile. “And yes, first day. My ship was captured early this morning.”

Conner glanced over at the guards as he stood up. They didn’t look nearly as intimidating as they did when he had first been captured by them. He still had his concerns about joining the new crew, but so far, it seemed to be going alright.

“The new ship? Cool.” He glanced over at the captain. “Will the others be released into the ship too once they’ve agreed?”

“Mostly. My… uh, friend got injured, but I think he’s stable.” She let out a shaky breath, picking at her food. “But the others are fine.”

Was friend the right word? It felt like too simple of a word to describe what they had, but their relationship had remained only professional up to this point. She was sure it wouldn’t change now that they were on a new ship, so maybe friends was the best term to describe them.

Conner headed out into the halls, eager to find Arriss. Hopefully she wouldn’t be too grumpy today, but her ship had just been taken over, so he had no idea what to expect. Plus, Ronnie had been injured.

He made his way into his room first, looking around and putting his belongings away, before he headed out towards the dining hall. Part of him wanted to see if he could locate which rooms Valiel and Ronnie were in, but he knew he would likely get in trouble for that.

Was she really that obvious? She knew her and Ronnie had had a… complicated relationship, but for now, it was nothing more than a friendship. Besides, Ronnie was strictly professional. He wouldn’t want to get involved with her like that.

She laughed, tucking her hair behind her ear. “No, no. Just friends. He’s my engineer,” she told him. “I’m just worried about him.”

Conner looked around for Arriss, and it wasn’t long before he spotted her near the back of the cafeteria. She looked to be in fairly good spirits, but she was speaking with a man and he didn’t want to bother her. So, instead of going straight up to her, he went and ordered food at the counter. Sure, he’d already eaten not too long ago, but there was always room for seconds.

Once there was a pause in Arriss’s and the man’s conversation, Conner headed towards them, food in hand.

She felt like saying no at first; she had never been a big fan of pie. But, she was still hungry after finishing her salad, so she decided to accept her offer.

“Thanks.” Arriss took a bite of the pie before she continued. “No, I haven’t seen them since we were taken captive. I just hope they’re alright…”

Arriss went back to eating the pie before she noticed someone out of the corner of her eye.

“Speak of the devil…”

“Mm… you could say that. Arriss would agree with you.” He slid into the chair next to Arriss. “I’m Conner, one of Arriss’s crew mates.”

“He’s our cartographer,” Arriss explained. “We have two other crew mates that are still being contained…”

She sighed and glanced at the door. It was weird how strong of a connection the four of them had formed, but that’s what happens when you spend every hour of your day on a ship with the same four people.

Arriss could sense the tension in the conversation. Crap, did she say something wrong? She felt like ignoring his question, trying to find a way to brush around it, but she knew that it would be brought up again.

“Well, I’m from Spain, Conner’s from America,” she muttered, trying to not answer his question directly.

Arriss eyes hardened slightly when he mentioned where he was from. He seemed like a nice guy and all, but they were supposed to be enemies. They were fighting for completely different things. But, she had a crew to worry about, and they were on a different kind of mission now.

“Not unless you and your crew cause trouble for me,” she replied. “The war… it doesn’t matter anymore.”

He was the only one to switch? Arriss couldn’t imagine how lonely that would be. Sure, the people on this ship seemed nice, but she would be lost without her crew. She just hoped that the other two members came to the same decision and signed onto their new team.

“Does if get lonely sometimes?” Arriss asked, sending a glance in his direction. “Being without your crew, I mean…”

“I’m really sorry to here that. But, you know, if you’re lonely, you could always join our crew. Become apart of the family,” she insisted. She then laughed at Romulus’s question to Conner. “Really. We’re just.”

“Why are you so curious? Wanna make a move on our oh so lovely captain?” He laughed as Arriss elbowed him in the ribs. “But, lucky for you, she’s telling the truth. We all ship them, but alas. They’re just friends. But maybe that will change.”

Arriss smiled and rolled her eyes. “Our relationship is only professional.”

“Mm, sure.”

Arriss laughed at the comment. She had always wanted a relationship, but her job… well, she was too busy for one. Besides, she worked in a dangerous environment. Something could easily go wrong, and she could end up losing the person she loved most.

“Pssh, the only relationships I’m gonna have will be work related only,” she teased. “But nice try. I’m sure the other lady would love to have you.”

“Yeah, and Ronnie and Arriss are cute together anyways,” Conner insisted before he received an eye roll from Arriss. “But, I mean, if you pay me enough money, maybe I’ll help you out.”

“Really, Conner? You’re trying to bribe him?”

“Gotta get some extra money here and there, you know?”

(( You’re all good! ))

Arriss looked at the entrance again. Part of her didn’t want to see anyone else with her two friends still missing, but she would eventually have to meet the other members of their team. Besides, there was no telling what decision Valiel and Ronnie would make; they choose to separate from them.

“Pssh, I’d like to see you try,” she teased, “but as for the rest of the team, I would love to meet them, even if they are a bunch of guys.”

(( I definitely have a few. I could put one of my characters in for the other female on the ship unless you were gonna put someone in there, and I have a male character I could use. ))