damned_institute | Day 40: Lunch

*hobble wobble*

"Damn that SCOURGE!" Starscream cried out, the slowly-filling cafeteria producing a jarring echo of his raspy voice. His limping, already bad enough from not knowing how to properly use his crutches, was now exacerbated from the injuries he'd received the shift prior. Despite the gauges in his non-casted leg so lovingly provided by the aforementioned 'patient', Starscream could still put some weight on it, but not so much that he could really stop and rest; relieving the soreness under his arms was out of the question. The nurse that walked behind him with his tray, already upset at having to deal with yet another troublesome inmate, was growing rather impatient as his charge slowly made his way down the food line.

"Just...give me a standard serving of the aquatic creature's flesh, some of those fried potato slices, two bananas, and three bottles of juice," Starscream sighed, his anger from just a moment ago assuaged by the physical exertion needed to move the way he did. "I'm going to sit down here...bring it to me when you're done."

He was hardly surprised to find that one of the bananas was completely bruised along its inner curve, or that the handful of 'chips' on his plate were all on the small side. Tired and frustrated as he was, however, he could barely muster a 'damned flesh-creature' before moving his fingers to the plate, picking one of the longer 'chips' and shoving it into his mouth listlessly.

There was an unusually high concentration of sodium chloride crystals on it. Of COURSE.

[For Tony Stark]

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Takaya frowned and stabbed a bit of the fish with his fork. "No," he said, wary. "We haven't met."

What a fucking weirdo. Popping the fish into his mouth, he looked down at the food with a frown. Too much oil used.

Oh well. Food was food, and if he ate then Frey would stop bothering him about it.

Usually humans followed that with their name or an introduction of some sort. Well, perhaps this one was different. ZEX could always adapt.

ZEX watched him eat curiously... so he didn't seem to like the food either. Well, at least he wasn't the only one! ZEX tried to mimic him, holding his fork tightly with one fist and using his other hand to hold the fish in place while he tore off a piece.

"In that case, my name is Admiral ZEX. What's yours?" ZEX took a bite of the supposed fish and blanched. Why did humans insist on mixing textures together in such unappealing ways?

Takaya looked up again.

"I'm Takaya. Nice to meet you." The loud woman on the table was only getting louder, and he glanced over at her. At least her insanity had taken his own watchers attention off of him. Turning back to ZEX, the teenager frowned.

"What are you Admiral of?" If the guy was talking about himself, maybe he'd stop being so ... weird.

ZEX noted the general disturbance with a tinge of concern. The last time this sort of thing had happened, the entire cafeteria had erupted in a full-scale riot. Hopefully that would not be the case this time.

Well, he had other things to focus on. Takaya, hmm...

"Well, I'm not in active service anymore," ZEX said a bit casually, poking at his fish. "But I used to serve the VUX military, back during the War." It was unlikely that Takaya would know what either of those were, knowing ZEX's luck, but there was no harm in checking and no point in lying. "That was many years ago though..."

And if Takaya didn't know what the War was, there was no need for ZEX to apologize for slaughtering countless hundreds of humans just yet.

Takaya had no idea what this guy was talking about, but the talk of military service and war perked Kagetora right up. Eyes flashing a brighter gold for a moment, Takaya tried to keep from asking more questions, but that other part had other plans.

"VUX military? Never heard of it. What war are you talking about?"

Son of a ...

Mmm, he had the loveliest eyes.

"Not very many people here have heard of it, it seems." ZEX took another cautious bite of his food. "I was involved in the Great War... you may have heard of it by another name though. I heard it also referred to as the Ur-Quan Slave War, the Ur-Quan Conflict, the Great Crucible of Sentience... the Chenjesu were fond of that one." ZEX waved a hand. "But the War is sufficient for me."

Takaya seemed to be showing more interest than most. Hmm.

Takaya thought about just getting up and leaving, but apparently Kagetora was more curious now. The teen had a bad feeling about this, but the warlord apparently didn't give a shit.

Great.

"Sorry," he shrugged. "Doesn't sound familiar to me at all. The rank's impressive though. You must have been good."

Fucking bullshit. Kagetora was looking for information, he could get it himself. He didn't have to puppet Takaya for it.

"Hee! Hee! Hee!" ZEX had to put down his fork before he dropped it. "Yes, yes, you could say that. I had something of a reputation back home." Well, for several things. "Some even called me a military genius! But really, I only played a small part in the War."

Yes, this was definitely improving ZEX's mood.

"It was an interesting time. It's a shame things are so different here." ZEX picked up his fork again and stabbed another piece of fish. "This body does me no favors, anyway."

Takaya was forcibly pushed aside as kagetora took greater interest. Eyes brightening to an interested gold, he sat up a bit straighter. "So this body isn't your own?" Kagetora frowned thoughtfully. "That's a common problem here it seems."

Mmm, ZEX could stare at this human's eyes all day. They were so expressive! A pity they weren't just a little larger...

"No, I'm afraid not." ZEX was still smiling, and he managed to break another chip before successfully eating another. "Although I'm not alone. Were you changed when you came here?"

Kagetora shook his head. "No. I arrived in the same shape I am now." More or less. The former warlord was still unsure how to take this whole 'separate' parts thing, but it was useful for now.

"But at least you aren't alone. Are there people here you know from your own world?"

"Ah, I see." ZEX waved a hand in an approximation of a shrug. "I suppose it's easier for you then. This body has taken some getting used to."

ZEX pulled off another bit of fish and popped it in his mouth. Once you got over the initial texture, it was tolerable if nothing else. Although this piece was giving him more trouble than the others...

"Yes, there are a few... not too many though. A Spathi, a Shofixti, and a human like yourself. I don't suppose you've met any of them, have you?"

Human tongues were really so useless... something was stuck in his teeth and he couldn't quite work it free.

Shaking his head, he leaned back in his seat. "I haven't met them, I don't think. Do they have a military background as well? What do they look like?"

Something was starting to come together for Kagetora, and Takaya didn't like it at all. When the bastard was plotting something, it wasn't ever anything good.

"Yes, all three of them do, although we all use different tactics in battle. Fwiffo for example is more inclined to run away than face you directly, and Tanaka would probably throw himself screaming right in your face." Although, without their ships they would all have to adapt... some more so than others. "My Captain is somewhere in-between the two, although he does make rash decisions sometimes." For all that ZEX had lied about being able to nullify Precursor artifacts, the marks on the back of his Captain's ship had been real.

ZEX kept trying to work out whatever it was that was stuck in his teeth. Inconvenient things. "I suppose the Shofixti would be the easiest to find. He's small and covered with scars..." ZEX was gradually losing focus... he finally reached into his mouth to investigate and pulled out several long strands of black hair. Ah, that would explain it.

Day 40: Lunch

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