Victoria II - Aftermath [Open]

[bunansajr]

Characters: Ffamran and whoever else on the Vic2 wants to join!
Content: Bitching and moaning
Setting: Bridge of the Vic II
Time: After the 4423 has gone over the boarder
Warnings: Manfred von Karma is going to kill us all

Comments

[timehax]

The Admiral wasn't the only person who looked like they were going to kill someone. Rolo rounded the corner in a pursuit to actually kill someone, and the sight of another crew member did little to improve his foul mood.

"... Have you seen one of the gunners around? Any at all?" Rolo asked tersely. He recognized Ffamran from around the ship, but he wasn't in the mood for formalities.

[bunansajr]

Ffamran couldn't say he cared for the attitude from Rolo, but he knew the gunner had undoubtedly had a worse time of it than him. He was the only one who had scored a single hit and that was bound to make him angry.

"I can't say that I have, but it would probably be best you took a moment before you found them anyway."

[timehax]

Rolo almost spun on his heel and left the moment Ffamran told him that he hadn't seen any, but Rolo did manage to remember that he was still on board the ship and talking to a superior officer.

One who was right. unfortunately.

"I..." He let out an exasperated sigh, looking down to the ground. "I apologize sir, it's frustrating hearing nothing but insults all around. I wanted to make sure the other gunners knew what kind of a reputation all of us have now."

[bunansajr]

"Can't hit the broad side of a barn?" Ffamran smirked. His comment wasn't directed at Rolo, of course, just the rest of the gunners who Ffamran hadn't had the pleasure of meeting yet. "Of course, you can now bask in glory of being a gem among mediocrity. It may save you from some of the Captain's ire."

[flailingandrews]

Opening the door of the kitchen slightly, Adrian listened for any more noises, absolutely terrified at the inhuman cry she had heard earlier on board. She couldn't believe her luck, only a day at most after her arrival on the Victoria II, they had faced a skirmish with a pirate ship.

..and if that noise was the distress of a certain Captain von Karma, she firmly decided to stay as far away as possible from his personal bubble

[bunansajr]

"You can help me get out of trouble." Ffamran wasn't exactly fickle, but the presence of an attractive woman lifted some of his spirits at least.

"And who might you be looking for Ms ---?"

[flailingandrews]

Almost tripping over her own feet at the sudden voice of another crew member Adrian turned around to face the man, her glasses slightly askew on the bridge of her nose.

Realizing that she had failed to introduce herself to any of the other people of the ship, she stumbled over a proper response, hand raising to her face to adjust the oval-shaped glasses.

"Oh--h-hello there! I don't suppose I've introduced myself to much of anyone on board. My name is Adrian Andrews, and considering the silverware on the ship is all safe and secure, I'll be the cook on board! It's a pleasure to meet you."

[bunansajr]

"Ffamran Bunansa, Navigator," he introduced himself.

She was cute, in a bookish sort of way, although what the cook was doing so far away from the kitchen was beyond him. He probably wasn't supposed to be chatting her up, but von Karma was too busy being angry about the loss of their quarry to be giving any orders. He worked through a few potential courses in his head while he waited for a directive.

"I am looking forward to someone else cooking the food. Ryohei has absolutely no grasp of Meliorian cuisine." That was putting it politely, Ffamran thought he would be ill for a week after eating the chef's cooking, Adrian had to be better.

[mayovice]

A smoke. Hijikata needed a fucking smoke after all this bullshit. That was the first thing the annoyed boatswain decided to do after everything had seemingly calmed down. Snorting in annoyance as he shut his communicator, Toshirou exited his quarters and went down the hallway, hands searching his pockets for his needed box of cigarettes. He'd snap soon if he didn't have his damned nicotine.

The infamously nicknamed 'mayo boatswain' by some of the crew came out of the corridor and upon the bridge just as Hijikata managed to find his smokes. Taking one out from the box and keeping the rest in his side pocket, the stick of tobacco in between his lips and the familiar taste already starting to calm him somewhat. Toshirou then noticed another figure out on the bridge and took a moment to remember who it was... Ffamran, was it?

There was a grunt as the boatswain walked up, hand now digging for his lighter and then half-snarling in frustration when he seemingly couldn't find it. "Where's that goddamned lighter..."

[bunansajr]

Ffamran could see the boatswain was in one hell of a mood. Who wouldn't be after the crap performance of the Victoria? He knew there were dozens of jobs that needed to be done and the navigator was certainly one of the least active during a fight. He'd mostly been relegated to trying to figure the best approach to the mountain pass that was too small and hear von Karma yelling.

"I couldn't say, sir," Ffamran answered without thinking. He almost winced, he apparently got a little mouthy when frustrated.

[mayovice]

Hijikata only barely grunted in acknowledgment to the other's response, still rather busy in finding his lighter. It took a bit more fumbling before the man finally found it, fishing out his mayonnaise bottle shaped-lighter. Without wasting another second, he lighted the cigarette and took a well-deserved drag from it. That really helped to calm him down a lot, especially now since with all this crap happening in the aftermath. As much as they had scored they had also lost the battle, with the 4423 escaping despite everything.

"Hrm. What are you doing out here then?" the boatswain questioned in his usual tone of gruffness. Even if he was strict and harsh, he did care for his subordinates more than he let on.

[bunansajr]

Ffamran raised an eyebrow at the particular lighter that Hijikata had pulled out, that man's love of mayonnaise was nearing unnatural.

He shrugged. "Someone has to lay in a course once the Admiral calms down." Part of him itched to do more. His father had wanted him to be a scientist, but failing that would have settled for an engineer or even a mechanic. Ffamran had decided otherwise in a fit of teenage 'rebellion' and now he was itching for something more active to do. Maybe when he went off shift he would see if he could be of help in engineering.

[karmicwhiplash]

She had missed it. The whole damn battle, she'd missed it. Bunansa had been on duty, and the whole battle was so quick she'd barely had time to get in uniform before it was over. And they'd failed! As impossible as it seemed, they had failed to sink the enemy. It wasn't even inconceivable, it was just impossible. Not on this ship. Not with her father as captain

[bunansajr]

Ffamran was glaring with no small amount of loathing at the navigational charts of the Badlands that were currently spread out on his workstation. How was he supposed to tell the pass was too small for the 4423, much less the Victoria, to pass through if these charts were entirely inaccurate.

He scribbled a few notes on the map, indicating the mountain 'pass' and its size - too small by at least ten feet - that was one loophole that would be closed to the pirates as soon as he could get this data back to command. It was a great maneuver, but it would only work once.

His counterpart, Franziska von Karma, stormed onto the bridge, looking murderous. Ffamran imagined she was man about the same thing her father was, their failure, with an added bonus that the younger von Karma hadn't even been on the bridge, that had to sting for a von Karma.

"Ah, Lieutenant von Karma." Ffamran gave her a tight smile, ready for an explosion.

[karmicwhiplash]

"Mr Bunansa," Franziska began coldly. She spied the charts laid out on the navigation table. "Attempting to learn from your mistakes, I see. A good plan, though I must say, I had expected better from you. You struck me as more competent than the average lot around here."

She knew full well that the charts were no good for precision navigation, of course. A good navigator didn't rely on third-hand maps, but on direct knowledge, or failing that, a solid understanding of the ship, her capabilities, and a keen eye for terrain. But she wasn't interested in that. She was testing the boy. Did he own up to his short comings, or try to pass the blame. She knew how to take the measure of a man, even an imperfect one. She waited silently for his reply.

[bunansajr]

Just like her father, it seemed. While the gunners had undoubtedly been missing or not even trying, there was only so much he could do with navigational charts. She knew that, and was probably baiting him.

He shrugged. "I'll be sure to take a more detailed accounting of the terrain the very next chance I get." To be honest, Ffamran was feeling the weight of his inexperience. He would have loved to be able to tell von Karma there was no way for the 4423 to make their maneuver, but he couldn't. On the other hand, if the Admiral didn't know that, it was highly unlikely his much younger daughter did either.

"Perhaps I could have learned from your experience had you been here." Ffamran could tell Franziska was angry at having missed the battle, and he couldn't quite keep himself from nudging at that wound.