Chapter Text
When the crew of the Skeld returned to Mira HQ, they are tasked with transporting some confidential materials from Mira HQ to the base on Polus for advanced research. Only the Captain, Henry White, and Head of Security, Nigel Blackstone, were allowed to know what their confidential cargo was.
Captain White looked among his familiar crew members with satisfaction as they were riding the transport ship that would take them to the Skeld. His close friend, Blackstone sat by his side also peering at the crewmembers that the two were so fond of. Mr. and Mrs. Citrus were furiously busy talking all things biology which makes sense since they were the two medical officers on the ship. Lavender was going over star charts with Sonny. No doubt using the advice from the prodigy engineer to plot the most efficient course for the Skeld to take. Rose and Azul were close friends and simply sat and enjoyed each other’s proximity. The one member that caught their eye aside from their usually silent chef, Brown, was the new communications officer Cheryl who insisted on being called Cherry because of her red suit.
Henry glanced over at his close friend who was far more rigid than normal as he stared at Cherry from where the two were seated. Henry smiled under his helmet visor and nudged Blackstone with his shoulder. Blackstone glanced in his direction before relaxing a little. Henry spoke up. “Something on your mind, Stone?” Blackstone relaxed further as he sighed, but his eyes never left the new crewmate. “I’m getting a feeling again, Henry… And I think it’s because of her.” Blackstone gestured with a nod towards Cherry. Henry chuckled before commenting. “As much as I trust your judgement, you seem to be very uptight about this new comms officer. She was super nice when we met her, and you didn’t seem to complain about her when you saw her bright green eyes.” Henry nudged his friend and Blackstone swore he could see Henry raise his eyebrows through his helmet visor.
Blackstone smiled as he shook his head. “I was being polite. You should already know that my loyalty is to you and your ship alone. I have no interest in females.” Henry let out an actual laugh this time as he continued teasing his friend. “Oh come on! I’ve been bugging you for years about what kind of relationship you are interested in and you still wont budge! You gotta give me at least a little something!” Blackstone leaned back into a more relaxed position. “I’ve already told you. Compared to others, my preferences would be quite uninteresting.” Captain Henry folded his arms. “Aw, you’re no fun. I trust you with my life, and the lives of my crew an yet you still hide a lot of your personal self from me.” This time it was Blackstone’s turn to nudge his Captain. “Well you trust me for a reason, don’t you?” The two of them chuckled and reciprocated each other’s satisfaction with their close proximity as the ship continued to rumble up into long range orbit.
Within the next ten minutes, the crew found themselves back on their familiar ship. The chef, John Brown, immediately got to work preparing snacks for the crewmates while the Captain got out his tablet to assign takeoff tasks to the crew members who obediently sat around the middle table in the cafeteria. Mr. and Mrs. Citrus were still eagerly chatting about biology that Blackstone was only half listening to as he scanned the surrounding area with his eyes for anything out of place. Captain Henry permitted some small chatting amongst the crew while they waited for Brown who always insisted on giving the crew sweet snacks before they started their chores. Sure enough, Brown came out a few minutes later with biscuits topped with tomato, oregano, and melted mozzarella cheese. They were like miniature margherita pizzas and the crew loved them. Captain Henry even indulged in a couple which pleased Brown immensely. Blackstone gave a polite pass and just watched as the crew ate their snacks.
Once they were finished, Henry stood up and requested the crew quiet down. The crew did so obediently while the chef quietly gathered up the small dishes to carry them away to the kitchen. Blackstone tuned in on what the Captain was saying while he helped John pick up the dishes. “First things first,” the Captain’s voice announced, “What a wonderful welcome back from our beloved chef John Brown.” The crew broke out into polite applause while Brown took a polite bow before returning to his work. Captain Henry continued talking after the applause died down.
“Alright. Next, I would like to formally welcome aboard this ship our new communications officer, Cheryl.” At the mention of her name, Cheryl stood and waved to her new crewmates with a shy smile on her face. Blackstone stopped what he was doing and turned to look at Cheryl as she spoke. “Hi guys! I’m so excited to work here on the Skeld with you guys! Please feel free to call me Cherry and thank you so much for having me. I can’t wait to get to know each and every one of you!” As she mentioned getting to know everyone, she looked at Blackstone and their eyes met. Cherry’s smile waned ever so slightly before she turned to scan the faces of the rest of the crew. Cherry sat back down and the Captain glanced in Blackstone’s direction who had returned to clearing up plates with the chef.
“Alright.” The Captain continued. “With pleasantries out of the way, it’s time to get to work. I’ve assigned you your takeoff tasks. I understand most of you know what to do but since we have new people here, I decided to give you all tablets for the takeoff procedures just as a precaution.” Crew members began pulling out their tablets and checking their lists of tasks to do before they could leave orbit. “You all have your tasks and know what to do. I expect us done by dinner. Then we’ll sleep and launch early next morning. Dismissed.”