Gabatrix: The Shira Maneuver

Chapter 5: Settling In Part 1

It had been an hour since the Jian Seng had achieved orbit. The ship was once again reunited with its engine module. Altogether, the ship looked like a flat winged box that was connected to a large rear-mounted thruster. Like the battleships, the Jian Seng had a rear thruster assembly, super direct fusion drive, and a spinning centripetal ring. The difference, however, was that the ring was smaller than the typical battleship. This was mainly on the count that there was less crew on the ship. Pointed down at the planet, the transport looked like an orbital space station. This was typical of most of the warships and the few civilian ships in orbit as well.

Javier remarked at the small room that he had. The ring allowed little space for personnel. He had finished unpacking and placed the container into the small locker meant for him. The one significant advantage to living in the rotating centripetal ring was that it helped induce a downward force to simulate gravity. It was required, especially when living in prolonged environments with no gravity at all. The officer's stateroom he resided in had enough space for two racks on the top and bottom. His bed was on the top over Ensign Wu's bunk. Each bed consisted of a hexagonal slot injected into the side bulkhead. There were even Velcro straps available to help keep people glued to the bed in case the ring stopped spinning or heavy course changes. There were clear signs of aging for the location as the interior had a brown shade to it. Things appeared more mechanical, with pipes going from place to place.

It wasn't entirely that bad, however. Despite the conditions, the room was suitable to call home for now. There was a single-mounted table and chair for a person to sit in, and there was a display mounted on the side wall. There was even a tiny restroom available for him and the occupant. All in all, Javier could imagine that things could be far worse. The room was empty and only consisted of himself.

"Puta madre...." He told himself. "No sense of privacy. I can't even be with Shira now. I can only imagine that the enlisted quarters are even worse." He put his hand to his head as he sighed. "Shira.....why did you suggest for us to go on a ship together?"

A part of him paused as he began to really think about it. He knew Shira to be a relatively intelligent individual. Her actions were deliberate, like she was guiding herself to a point whether she agreed to it or not. Even with the past experience on the Garja of months ago, the idea that she was plotting something lingered. He decided that it was best to let things go as it was. He couldn't have pictured her to be a schemer all the time. Perhaps she was genuinely bored of the life that she had on Aphadus. In all aspects, it made sense for her to ask to be removed. The threat of other individuals and the fact that she was used to being on ships was one that he couldn't ignore. He had to sympathize with her sake. Besides, if she was the type of individual that was planning on something, there was a flaw. She had made a suggestion that would still separate them. It would.......

There was a beeping sound from the door that interrupted Javier's thoughts. It caused him to turn his gaze at the entrance. He was still in his uniform as he tapped the side panel to open up the door. It slid open to reveal Shira that was standing with her arms behind her back.

"Shira....." Javier commented as he looked upon her. "I assume that you finished unpacking?"

"I have. May I come in?" She calmly asked him.

He nodded as she walked into the room. The door closed behind her, but the narrow space almost caused her fin to be caught into the closing framework. She manipulated her tail enough to avoid it.

"Ugh.....they didn't really anticipate Shal'rein working in these ships, didn't they?" Javier stated the obvious.

"Their construction limited the number of people that can operate in one ship at a time," she replied.