(7/19/02)
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Just how -would- one go about describing the situation of late?  There wasn't truly all that much to attend to while the JNK Yggdrasil was keeping a low profile, hiding as best it could on the far outskirts of Nisan.  Not like anyone had made any effort to find them, once Margie was out of their little hands.  But precautions like this did make for many long and uneventful days.  And yet... And yet.  In the same vein of thought, one would be hard pressed to call it 'dull' around here, either.  After all, after all the trouble that they had gone to, after they had agreed to take the blame for the Shevvite's ploy just to get a spy upon the ship... She stops reporting.  Just like that.  Or, well, to be fair, she only missed one report, and it was a minor one--Not like Dirah really cares.  Because -really-!  So much effort, so much trouble, and something goes wrong!  The very nerve of things!  The very nerve of Fate!  Who cares whose fault it is, really--It's someone's fault, certainly, and Aniko is a nice and easy one to blame.  But without the scapegoat here to snarl at, Dirah is left with the only option to fume quietly to herself.  No, the second in command does -not- look cheery today, as she bursts out of the Bridge, barely letting the door slide open before she's through it, looking all shades of irritated.  Dirah. Is. Not. Happy.  And shouldn't the world know better than to inconvenience her like that?
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Inconvenience?  You called?  Well, it seems that her arrival has been forshadowed...had she known about this, though, it still wouldn't have improved her mood.  Yes, Kelly Bright, the newest crewmember of the JNK Yggdrasil, is in a pissy mood.  Why, you ask?  Quite simple!  Kelly really doesn't want to be here.  She was drug from her, for lack of a better word, happy home, forced to memorize all this information about some 'Kyle Brighton' guy, forced to change her appearance (and most importantly CUT HER HAIR!  The sheer indignaty of it!), and then forced to come to this icky, stinky, and weird place.  Sure, she knew it was for Kaiser and Country, but still, it didn't mean that she had to like it.  Her face is cast in a scowl as she climbs down the ladder, and she's muttering to herself, "Baka Brighton, baka Oyaji, baka Yggdrasil..." and so on, and so forth.  It's quite obvious that Kelly's looking for a fight, if only for some reason to expend some anger and energy.  "Why do I have to come to this place and act like this weird guy, Brighton?  He's a jerk!  Who in their right minds is afraid of baked goods??"  She would throw in a little cursing in there, but that's not appropreate for a lady of her standing.  As she steps off the ladder, she looks around.  I want to take out my anger on someone...anyone...
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Talk about a powder keg just waiting to explode.  Spare, in this case, it's not an idle spark that will set it off, but apparently two people with lighters furiously going -at- it.  Dirah is... pissed.  What is Aniko -up- to, missing a report?  If she didn't meet at the rendexvous point -next- time, Dirah would have to find a way to explain to the Kaiser how all her good work and effort ended up going down the drain.  Ugh!  In comparison, Dirah could care less as to what's got Kelly in a fuss--Goodness knows that the second in command was against having new recruits joining the ship at this point in the mission, anyway.  And so!  Lookie who we! Have! Here!  And Dirah's swift exit from the bridge is snapped short with a very sudden and out of the blue, "You!  Don't you have a -job- to do?"  She did... Engineering or something, right?  Whatever.  "Just because you're new doesn't mean you're except from looking busy."
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Oooo...that was NOT the sort of thing that Kelly was wanting to hear...especially from that weird Second in Command of this crazy place.  Oh, Kelly's heard stories about Dirah, some good, some bad, but mostly weird.  I mean, what kind of person goes around and crossdresses...even if IS for the country.  Of course, it's completely lost on her that she, too, is now one of those 'Crossdressing freaks' that she use to make such derrogatrory comments about.  But, that's understandable, seeing as it's extremely easy to see the falts of others.  In fact, there is an old Fable that went like this: We were all given two sacks, one on the front and one on the back.  The one on the front contained the faults of our neighbors, and the one on the back contained the faults of our own, so that it's always hard for us to see our own faults, and easy for us to see our neighbors.  How does this relate to what's going on?  I don't really know, myself.  It is quite evident that there's probably going to be a cat fight of some sort.  "How dare you speak to me like that!  Why I never..."  Mrow, hiss.
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Weird?  Crazy?  Oh my word!  If Dirah could read minds, she'd have long since been forced to drive Kelly's face through a wall!  Why, Dirah is the wonderfully brilliant and fashionably superior second in command of the JNK Yggdrasil, the -obvious- brains behind the entire operation!  And anyone who would give a bad, or even weird, comment on her deserves to be slapped.  Dirah should be a national hero, after surviving all of this horrible, unfashionable crossdressing!  But, well, all things aside, she merely arches an eyebrow at Kelly's snap back.  With all the look of one chiding one starting a problem--Neglecting, of course, that Dirah started this one, "How -dare- I?  My!  You have more to learn that it seems, darling!  Although perhaps I should start from the beginning so I don't lose you, hum?"  With a short and quick toss back of her hair over her shoulder, Dirah puts her hands loosely on her hips. Always managing to look like she's on display for someone. "I am Dirah Truscour, second in command of this fine ship and your superior officer.  You are our new... Hmph, what -is- it that you're supposed to be?  Some sort of grease monkey?  Whatever it is, if you're going to be here, you're going to have to prove you're worth the training hours.  Is that qu~ite clear enough?"
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"..."  Kelly says nothing.  She's almost too angry to say things anything befitting one of her stature...she's thinking them though...and they're showing up on her scowling, yet still quite cute, face.  How dare she!  Here I am, with the brain the size of a planet, and she's calling me a grease monkey!  The NERVE!  Daddy will be hearing about this...well, if she could contact him.  Of course, that would be difficult with Miss 'Second in Command'...she probably scans all the outgoing communiques, to make sure only the 'good news' reached the Country...well, I'll show her.  As you can probably tell, Kelly and Dirah aren't going to be getting along very well...in fact, Kelly's already planning a few ways to get back at her, some involving epoxy and the toilet seat...but that's for another day.  Kelly merely stands there and smolders...the only verbal aknowledgement that she gives Dirah is, "Yes...Ma'am."  Though, that has a little bit of sarcasm in it.  Oh well.
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...Huh.  Well that took the wind out of Dirah's sails a bit.  She wasn't quite expecting so favorable a response out of someone who was so instinctively rude.  But... Well.  One does not argue with better fortune.  Even if it is highly sarcastic and denying Dirah a chance to vent off her irritation over her missing spy and reports.  "...Lovely, then."  She finally settles on, running a hand through her dyed-silver hair, "Well then."  This isn't the best start to get off on.  Dirah knows this.  Dirah just could care less right now.  Her having a bad day takes priority, after all!  "As long as that's out of the way, I suppose you'll just have to learn the rules as you go along.  It shouldn't be... -Too- hard--if you've any talent in the least at acting, of course.  Just as long as you mind your manners and actually bother listening and learning, we should get along just. Perfectly. Fine."  Oh, that's bloody likely.  But Dirah is trying to be.. Uhm.  Professional?  One supposes.