16:03 Hours - September 9 - 2194
Topri Von waddled down the passageway at a liesurely, unhurried pace. The short, stocky alien looked curiously at the ship around him through the lenses of his mask, viewing this human environment from the safety of his pressurized environment suit. Some of the crew personnel he passed would give him curious looks, and he would wave to them with his little three-clawed power glove. Others would wave cheerfully at him, and he would wave back at them as well. Overall, Topri was enjoying himself.
Of particular enjoyment to the industry-fascinated volus, many aspects of the ship's design seemed to be less than economically efficient. Everything was all very sturdy, and looked quite capable, but to the young businessman's eyes he could already see seventeen different ways in which the construction cost more money than it should have; materials from known overpriced vendors being the primary issue.
A small commotion among the crew alerted him to the presence of a high-ranking officer behind him, and Topri halted his waddle. With small shuffling movements, he turned around to greet Captain Liao, raising his little three-clawed power glove to wave at the human female; asian, likely Chinese, of an old family line. Eighty-three possible families came immediately to mind, as Topri studied the Captain's posture, comparing it with her behavior during the recent meeting with the frightened turian, the angry salarian, and the dangerous asari. Having narrowed the Captain's possible ancestry down to eight distinct family lines, Topri realized the woman was within socially comfortable speaking range.
"Uh, hello, Captain," he said. Like most volus, he spoke slowly, somewhat haltingly, and sounded a bit congested.
"Hello again Topri," the officer smiled. As a volus, Topri was probably the only person aboard the SSV Olympus who was shorter than its commanding officer. She stopped in front of him, and though she took time to acknowledge and smile at passing crew, it was clear that Topri had her full attention. It was a marvelous trick she did, dividing her attentions that way without sacrificing etiquette. Topri noted this ability positively.
The Captain continued speaking. "I did get a chance, back at the group meeting, to talk to you about your assignment here. I have to admit, that unfortunately my superiors haven't told me exactly where aboard the Olympus they intended you to serve." She was holding back many words, it was evident. Likely it was the confusion brought about by the assignment of a volus, among the least physically capable species in the galaxy, assigned to a ship of war. Captain Liao did a remarkable job of concealing her confusion however, and expressing her question in the least offensive way possible.
"Oh, nowhere special," Topri replied. He gave a little shrug of his shoulders, which moved his entire sturdy environment suit.
"Well, what's your area of expertise? Where were you trained?" Topri saw a tick of concern in the Captain's eyes, and wondered about it for an instant. Which was, for him, quite a bit of consideration. He was forced to conclude that the Captain was having a trying day, and the presence of a volus about whom she had not been informed was irritating her.
"Nothing specific," the young volus replied with a sigh of effort. Her irritation twitched in that right eye again, and so Topri continued. "If you like, um, I can spend time on, the command deck. You'll see what I'm good at, fairly quickly I'm sure."
"Are you a trained deck officer, then? I wasn't really given much to go on." Apparently Topri's comment had piqued the human's curiosity, and her irritation was pushed to the back. She was now more intrigued than not, and she was genuinely curious as to exactly what skills the volus was referring.
"Well," Topri began, "I'm kind of an analyst."
"An analyst...what type? Personnel, tactical, or intelligence, maybe?"
"Yes," Topri answered. "For a start."
The human's brow furrowed a bit, partly in surprise but primarily in returned irritation. Topri headed off any further discussion of the subject. "Captain, there is a disturbance, uh, on the hangar deck," he spoke before the human could say anything. Mere seconds after he spoke, the ship's intercom cracked to life.
"Captain Liao, to forward hangar two. Captain Liao, forward hangar two," a voice spoke.
Dai looked at the volus with a dangerous mix of confusion, suspicion, surprise, and amazement. In reply the volus pointed to the side of his helmet. "Monitoring comms," was his only response. The Captain didn't have time to question further, but she seemed hesitant to leave at just this moment. "You should go," he prompted.
"Please do join me on the command deck," the Captain said, as she began to turn and leave, "I'll have a spot for you, and we'll see if we can't find a use for a...an analyst, as you said." She made an effort to be friendly, but it was clear she was slightly put off by Topri's responses and foreknowledge of events on her own ship. The volus sighed to himself quietly in his suit, the good mood he'd been enjoying slightly dampened. He hadn't intended to upset the Captain, he liked her. She was friendly, cared about her crew, and well equipped for the job ahead. Clearly, he would need to put time into undoing the potential damage he'd just done with any eventual friendship that might be possible.
For a few moments, the volus stood in the hallway and let crew personnel wander past him. He did not respond to them as they looked or waved, but was lost in thought as he wondered about the possibilities of this upcoming venture. Eventually he did begin to walk again, in his slow and waddling manner, shuffling to turn the other direction and head towards the nearest elevator. He boarded quietly, giving a small wave to the crewman standing near the control panel. "Deck eight, please," he said.
"Sure thing," the crewman said, and complied with a smile. Topri conversed with the young man on the elevator ride down, but his mind was busy the entire time. He was distracted. There was much to consider.
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