OUTWORLD: Sea Dog

OUTWORLD: Sea Dog Part 2

27th NOVEMBER 7082, SHIP GOING SOMEWHERE

Michelle shivered and sipped at the warm mug in her still-trembling paws. It was Dog cocoa, formulated specially for her species, and it gave her a lift as she took a few more slurps. She pulled the thermal blanket swaddling her a little tighter.

She was sat at a table in what appeared to be a cafeteria of some sort, and there were others there too. Badger, Squirrel, Fox, Otter, Beaver... and Husky, she thought to herself. She was reminded of an incident from her puppy years – she and Coco had snuck out late to play at the arcade. They became lost in the middle of Bluepoint on the way there, and local security had picked them up. The parallels to her current situation were strong; she was cold, wrapped in a blanket, and surrounded by strangers. Although it was unlikely, Michelle mused, that her mother was about to bust in and beat the crap out of her. Even so, she couldn't help but glance at the nearest door a few times.

She whimpered and licked her left paw; it still hurt from her messy fall back in the hibernap suite. There were voices again, and she tuned in. The Badger at the head of the table was talking.

"Okay, before we go over why we're here, let's welcome our newest recruit!" the mustelid was saying, and Michelle found a pair of bright eyes swivelling in her direction. "This canine burrito!" There was gentle laughter among the others.

Michelle had enough presence of mind now to roll her eyes. "H-hi."

"Heeeeey, she's talking!" the Squirrel cheered. He extended a paw in her direction. "Hullo. I'm Rafferty. I helped you out back in the suite. With the therm-pack. I'm the pilot."

"Also our medic," Lina put in.

Michelle shook his paw. "Th-thank you."

Rafferty nodded. "No worries. The shivering should stop in the next hour. You had a fairly serious case of hiber-shock."

Michelle felt her sharp teeth chatter at the memory. She took a large swig of her cocoa.

The Badger took the opportunity to stick her oar in. "Hi, sweetie! Michelle, right?"

Michelle found herself forgetting her own name. "Uh... sure?"

The Badger giggled. "Well, I'm Lina. I'm the team leader, and also effectively el capitano of this ship." She gestured around her, then glanced at the rest of the crew. "Well, I'm not going to sing a song introducing the rest of you. Get to it!"

The Beaver waved, being too far away to offer a paw. "I'm Flink. Team engineer." His teeth whistled as he spoke. There wasn't much whistling going on, however, as he said no more.

The Fox next to him snorted. "Yeah, great intro, Flink." Her eyes darted to Michelle. "I'm Ames. Explosives expert and demolitions specialist. You need a hole put in something, I'm your gal."

With her sight returning, Michelle could see that Ames's vomit-inducingly bright orange shirt bore the massive words, 'DON'T ORDER IF YOU DON'T WANNA GET SERVED!' Sad, Michelle thought, but she offered a smile. "Hi."

The Otter was the last to introduce himself. "I'm Daggett. I'm, uh, just a marine salvager." He sniffed, twitching his whiskers.

"And that's everyone!" Lina chirped. "Welcome to the Rocket and Kaboodle Salvage Company!" Her smile wavered a little. "I don't know why they came up with that name, by the way."

Michelle licked her sweetened muzzle. "Nice to meet all of you."

"And since hiber-shock carries with it memory impairment, I'll just remind you of where you are, Michelle," Rafferty said. "You're aboard the Lougheed. That's an Urata Corporation Tide-class aquatic landing vessel. And trust me, I should know that, seeing as I fly the thing. I would prefer a Howler-class salvage vessel, but you can't have everything."

Michelle snuffled, her mind reeling a little. "Consider me caught up."

Lina cleared her throat, eyes going to her team. "Okay. Seeing as we're just under a day from our destination, I'd like you all to get to know Michelle a little better and run her through the equipment and operations she's going to be using and carrying out on this job respectively. Yes, she's trained to be a salvager, but a little refresh can't hurt and we do use stuff that standard training doesn't cover." She shot a look at Ames. "The explosives especially require an introduction."

Ames grinned widely.

Michelle put her mug on the table. "I suppose getting up and about would help me warm up." She blinked, feeling her focus return; her ears rotated as they picked up noises from all over the ship. Her fur was still freezing, but nothing seemed to be helping that right now.

"Oh, before we do any of that," Lina suddenly chittered, "Michelle needs to dress appropriately." She pointed at Michelle and hoiked a thumb at the nearest door. "You'll find it on your bunk."

Guess this is the dorm, Michelle thought as she walked into the smaller room. Bunks were set along one wall, and a small collection of holdalls littered the floor, lined up next to each of the beds. Michelle recognized hers; it was emblazoned with the logo of the Barking Bonzos, Omaril's own whackball team. Just above her holdall, atop the covers, was a shirt. Michelle picked it up and surveyed the garment; embroidered on it was a cartoonish rocket in a roundel, with the words 'ROCKET AND KABOODLE SALVAGE' beneath. Michelle pulled off her plain blue jersey and slipped into her new top; it was airy and comfortable, and caressed her fur nicely. She stuffed her jersey into her holdall and headed back out into the crew commons.

Ames glanced in her direction and cheered.

"Woo-woo!" Lina squawked. "Lookin' good, newbie!" She looked to Ames. "That reminds me, Ames – suit up." She wiggled a finger at the Fox's shirt.

Rafferty grinned. "Welcome to the team."

Michelle couldn't help but smile.