The Akhetaten kept it's position still, just a few clicks away from Norfolk, Captain Edwards left the bridge, leaving his trusted Lieutenant, and the ship's second in command, Marcus in charge. The meeting with Caitlyn will soon take place, the Red Velvet is closing in, ready to moor with the Osiris-class. Christopher turns on a scanner located in the ship's hangar and looks through it. He proceeds to line up the docking clamps of the Akhetaten with those on the Red Velvet. Shortly after a few maneuvers from the Velvet Christopher hits a button and the sound of the large metal clamps closing and locking the Red Velvet into place echoes through the Akhetaten's hangar.
Christopher picks up the radio. "Caitlyn, this is Christopher speaking, the Velvet is in perfect position. I am commencing pressurization of the connection bridge." He says as he presses a few buttons on the on-board interface. A few minutes go by and a notice shows up on the screen; "Chamber pressurized." Christopher informs Caitlyn that the mooring sequence is complete and that the two ships are now connected. "You can make your way to the bridge Caitlyn, I am waiting on the other side." He says as he picks up the radio one more time, placing his hand on a hand-print sensor to unlock the sealed door in front of him.
"wait" Cait turns around as she saw Stephanie running towards her. "what is wrong Liebes" she likes this Rheinland nickname Steph told her,"what's wrong that's wrong" she gave her a light blow to the back of her head and then Grabs Caits gun out of the Holster. "This is wrong are you nuts going to a Navy ship with a Gun Liebes, that's not the best first impression you can make". Cait looked at her a little annoyed and then sighed because she was right, but she didn't have to tell her loved one that. "but I always carry her and I have this one" she took one of her best bottles of Rum from behind her back and showed it to Steph. it was a 798 Monserrat Special Cait liked this brand best and had kept it for a special moment like this. "yes that's a good gift but the Gun stays here" Cait sighed she knows her love, and as her First officer she Follows her orders but in private she could be as stubborn as a Donkey, so it was that Cait accepted her faith but not without a little Revenge. "well ok but then you come with me", Steph Blushed "b....bb..... but I would need to change". Cait knew how Steph was, even though she looked so Good in that Jeans and the Black T-Shirt with the Triton Logo, she would have preferred to wear a full Gala Uniform. so Cait wrapped her arm around her Shoulders as Chris on the Radio told her the Docking Bridge to the Akhetaten was Connected and Pressurized. she didn't give Steph a Chance to back out and walked together with her over to the Osiris Battleship. the View they had trough the Glas Windows of the Bridge was Phantastic. and as they had reached the other side they were received by a tall man with an impressive mask.
With the seal doors unlocked Christopher awaited patiently for Caitlyn to arrive, he leaned against the metal wall of the hangar looking at the floor, seemingly bothered by something. After a few moments of turning off the radio he hears two sets of footsteps on the opposing side of the bridge connecting the two vessels. Christopher slowly raises his head and lines himself up with the corridor. He sees two young women walking towards him and can only assume it is Caitlyn and her friend, Steph. "Such amazing red hair she has" He thinks.
Hangar, Battleship Akhetaten
Christopher bows slightly to greet the two women. "Welcome aboard, ladies. It is my pleasure to meet the both of you as well as have you aboard my ship." He then proceeds to step aside and let the girls see the hangar of the Akhetaten. "Enjoy the view." He says as he takes a look at his ship's hangar with them. A really stunning view, lots of things going on at the same time. Fighter ships can be seen docked at their own bays, and the Akhetaten's crew can be seen traversing the area. Everything looks synchronized and in perfect harmony.
"I'm sure you understand the amount of things that are going on right now. I apologize for the noise and the general mess, but I promise you the other compartments of the ship are calmer. After all, the hangar is the largest and most open space in the ship, that's were most work is done, along with the engine room. If you have the intention of seeing the engine room, that is." Christopher then takes a few steps forward, his hands behind his back, and his metal boots echoing in the hangar, making a very distinct sound in all the mess that's going on. He stops after a few steps and turns towards the girls. "It's alright. Don't be frightened by her, she doesn't bite. Feel free to take a look around."
Cait smiles as she sees the Coordinated Chaos of the Hangar and Closes Her Eyes for a few moments and Listens to the Sounds of the Ship, the Akhetaten wasn't so easy to understand as the Velvet where. but it was good enough so she Could hear that Chris was a Good and Caring Capitan. "you are a lucky ship" she whispers to the ship. Steph sees Chris Raise an Eyebrow on the uninjured side of his Face "dont worry this is some kind of Junker Voodoo it's actually pretty impressive, she can Notice a damaged Coil in the Engine Rome while she is On the Bridge". Cait didn't notice Steph's Talking as she heard a Respons whispered to her from deep within the ship where she thinks the engine Room must be. she then opens her eyes and walks towards the both as she sees Stephanie and Chirs she knows what happened. "did she called it Junker Voodoo Again you know I dont like it when you do thatt," she gives Steph a loving nudge in the ribs. " and yes I would love to have a tour through your ship if this isn't Restricted by Navy Protocols or so." She Smiled at him. from what she Felt trough her connection with the Akhetaten she could say That Chris is a good man, she was looking forward to getting to know him better. a ship even though she never was on board could tell her a lot about her Capitan and the people on board. even trough most see them just as machines they have a soul, especially the older ones like the Velvet or the Akhetaten.
Christopher slightly laughs with Caitlyn's sayings. "Navy Protocols? Caitlyn you have quite an admirable imagination. It's become pretty well known that the Liberty Navy has access to the Osiris-class. I am not giving you a tour on anything that is top secret, and even so, most of the components aboard the ship will probably end up being replaced with today's technology as per the ship's optimization by the Security Force, that will soon be requested. The equipment on this ship is extremely outdated for anyone to consider it top secret technology, so don't you worry about that one bit. He tells her and Steph with a very relaxing voice as he sees their eyes filled with interest as he speaks. He notices Caitlyn smiling at him and he can't help but smile back, something that can barely be seen due to the facemask, but the girls can tell he is smiling by look on his uncovered eye.
Christopher feels happy that Caitlyn and Steph are aboard his ship, he always enjoyed good company and always lacked good friends. In the eyes of the two girls he sees the friendship love that he has never had since Felicia's death and the defeat of the Akhetaten. A tear can be seen sliding down his left eye as he has those thoughts, which he quickly wipes. "Sorry about that... Was... getting a little emotional seeing the two of you." He looks at them, and continues speaking. "Where would you want our tour to continue on to, girls? The ship's all yours, name a place and I'll take you there." He says as he turns round one more time to look at the ship's hangar. "What a beauty..." He thinks.
Cait likes his smile even though she didn't saw all of his face the two knew that he Smiled, but then Cait saw his Tear running down his Cheek and felt a strong urge to Wipe it off. an odd feeling she liked him and to see him Sad is hard for her as it would be with any friend but this feeling was stronger than she thought. so she Smiled at him and tried to cheer him up like that. "dont worry Chris we won't mind its nothing wrong to show your Feelings among Friends, and maybe this will cheer you up a Bit." Cait took the Bottle she had Hidden all the Time and Presented her to him, "it's one of my Favorite Rums, I dont know if you like Rum but well I keep this Bottle for a Special occasion and today I felt that day had Come." she gave him the Artfull designed bottle and Looked at him. " and I would say we start at the Akhetaten's Brain and end at her Heart." Stephanie laughed as she heard that and sees the Confused look on Chris Face. "this was her way to say that she wanted to start at the Bridge and end in the Engine Room, dont worry you get used to it like the rest of us." each of the Girls grabs one of Chris's arms and lets themselves be led out of the hangar.
Christopher chuckles as he sees the bottle. "Oh Caitlyn... You don't need a bottle of rum with you to cheer me up. You and Steph being here is enough to cheer me up on it's own. But I have to thank you very much for this, I am very happy that you consider this meeting a special occasion, special enough to give me a gift such as this! But if it really is one of your favorite rums then I am honored to have you give it to me as a gift. I do like rum, but I in fact prefer wine. Don't worry about it though, you had no way of knowing this." Christopher smiles at Caitlyn.
The two girls caught Chris by surprise when they grabbed his hands like that, but he felt loved and very happy about it. He felt like the two girls were his daughters. After Stephanie's translation on what Caitlyn meant, Christopher took the two girls by their hands and led them to the bridge.
Bridge, Battleship Akhetaten
After using one of the ship's elevators to get to a higher deck, and passing by many compartments of the ship, they reached the bridge."Here we are, ladies. Welcome to the Akhetaten's bridge. Marcus - these are Caitlyn and Stephanie, they wanted the tour to start from the bridge, so here we are." Christopher says as he slightly chuckles. He then takes a moment to admire how organized the bridge is - how everything works as intended with every man on his post, even though the ship is sitting still a few clicks away from Norfolk. He is proud to see that his crew still do their work as they should even when the ship isn't on the move. "Feel free to look around, ladies. And enjoy the amazing view outside the reinforced windows." He tells the girls, but he does not let go of their hands until they let go, as he likes the feel of holding their hands.
Seeing the girls by his side on the Akhetaten's bridge, he can't help but remember the wonderful times he had aboard that very same bridge with Captain Felicia, and he smiles in the thought of her. "I miss you... Felicia... I miss you so much." He thinks. His thoughts however are soon interrupted by him snapping back to the present and to the two beautiful girls that are near him; He is very cheerful of their presence here.
Cait is impressed as the Blast dors Closed behind her she Liked the Bridge on the Velvet but this Bridge here was something Completly different, the Velvets Bridge was made to so that the Crew and the Capitan got the Maximal Comfort during there Shifts while this one was made for maximal Efficiency. she lets herself be Guided by Chris trough the Bridge while Steph Walked over to the Weapons Console and have a Talk with the First officer of the Akhetaten. Cait is Impressed by the Efficiency of Chris Crew, she is sure that nothing could distract them and her Capitan. the Officers looked over there Stations and the Subordinates, while Cait had only some Officers here on the Akhetaten were alone for the Tactical Station one Weapons Officer and 4 Subordinates as far as she counted. they were highly concentrated and watched over the work they had, "Chris this is impressive I never were on a Navy ship but your Crews Disiplin is Amazing, I thought Steph and I would be a Distraction for your Men and Woman". she giggled a bit and then she saw the Comand Chair in front of a Big holo Screen, the Chair somehow Called for her as if it was hers. it was a Strange feeling somehow Known but at the same time New and Unknown, she couldn't realy describe it. she saw to Chris and he Nodded as he noticed her interest in the Chair so she took a seat in it. "this is strange Chris it is as if I know this Chair, I can't say you why but it is so." she looked at him Confusion in her eyes. as Steph came to her "maybe it's because of your Connection, you told me once that you had it instant on the Velvet as well." Cait Looked at her with a Sparkle in her eyes. "yes but not this Strong Liebes", she stands up from the Chair and walks Towards Chris. "I am ready to Continue the Tour" she said and smiled at him.
"Let's be honest, Caitlyn, the bridge of the Akhetaten isn't -always- as serious looking as now. We do make our jokes and laugh it out from time to time. But the thing I admire in my current crew is the trust I have towards them and the trust they have towards me too. I know that when the situation will require it everyone will stick to his position and remain concentrated. The people you see here were all informed that you two will be coming aboard the ship. I took care that your experience aboard the Akhetaten is an unforgettable one by organizing everything just perfect." Chris then notices that Caitlyn seems to want to sit on his chair, which he immediately grants her permission to do with a simple nod. It's nothing special as Chris never was a man willing to show wealth or even show his crew members that he is "above" them. It's a simple, worn-out leather chair.
He takes a step back as he sees Caitlyn on that chair, he feels weird all of a sudden. He takes hold of a metal bar near him with one of his arms as if his legs aren't enough support for him anymore, his breathing has become heavy. Marcus rushes to catch Chris. "God damnit Chris, what happened? Are you alright? Chris..?" The Captain took a while to respond as he momentarily passed out on the spot, but he snaps back out of it and nods to Marcus, signaling he is alright. He takes a few moments to get back on his feet as he watches Caitlyn sit in the Captain's chair. "How can the two of them look so alike..? Her bodytype... her red hair... her demeanor.. they perfectly match Caitlyn... How...can it be?" Christopher thinks as he slowly regains full consciousness. He returns to the girls, they probably didn't notice his little blackout, or so he thought. "Do you like it, Caitlyn? It's the same chair -she- used to sit in. I know it does look a little... old and torn out, but I can't replace it." Caitlyn's reaction to his question was enough for Chris to know she didn't only like sitting there, but she loved it. He felt happy that Caitlyn had this sort of connection when sitting in the chair, though he doesn't know what was it that made him happy exactly, he seems to be overthinking things and imagining Felicia back in her place.
He notices Caitlyn get back up, and his eyes snap on the empty holster on her hip for a while, something he only noticed now. He doesn't comment anything about it, but he can tell by seeing it that Cait may like weapons, so he knows where he will take her next. "Follow me, ladies. Please be careful, however, the hallways leading to our destination are a lot narrower than what you'd expect. Mind you don't hit your heads anywhere! The last thing I want is to spend the rest of our wonderful date on the medical bay!" Christopher pauses for a second, and replays what he just said in his head, while scratching his ear. "Ahh.. I don't know how that slipped out, I meant to say meeting! Yes.. of course! Meeting!!" He says while laughing nervously, and continues walking.
He takes the girls through a series of complex and very narrow hallways, some of them filled with buttons and levers which the girls pay close attention not to mistakenly press or flick. The girls feel like they are crawling through a maze. I've walked through this hallways countless times in my life. The first few months I'd get lost in here and take several extra minutes to find the correct way. But trust me, after 13 years of being aboard that ship even you would know exactly which hallway leads where! And here we are." Christopher says as they enter a compartment, still part of the hallway, but a lot wider so as to fit a reinforced fingerprint-locked large and bulky metal door.
The Captain unlocks the blast door and steam exits the room. The atmosphere inside the room is almost like that of a horror film, but just a few seconds after the built-up steam exits the room visibility is back to normal and the girls can see inside the room. Christopher has already taken a step inside, through the metal door. "Hey, don't be scared, we're still in the Akhetaten, she doesn't bite! Come on in, you'll like this."
Torpedo Bay, Battleship Akhetaten
The two girls get inside with Chris. The space in this room is very limited, but there is a small ladder leading to a second floor which Christopher takes, nodding to the girls to follow. The two of them climb the ladder. What they see on the room they just entered is beyond every imagination they could ever have. To their left, right, above them and everywhere in the room there's torpedoes. Lot's of different sizes, with each of them having things written on them with markers, the girls can only assume that they are notes by technicians that have looked after them. "What you're seeing here is the ship's old Torpedo Bay. The Akhetaten no longer uses torpedoes in it's arsenal as they are quite dangerous to employ, but I decided to keep the torpedoes the Akhetaten already had on board, as well as the weapon systems required to fire them, should I ever need to retrofit the Akhetaten with them again. What you're seeing in here are very old torpedoes used by the Navy back in the day. There's a variety of both guided and unguided torpedoes here, And there are even a few passive acoustic signature homing "Mark 27" torpedoes, cutting edge technology for their time. The ship also used to have nuclear warhead designated "Mark 45" anti-battleship torpedoes, should the need arise for them to be used, they were of course removed from the ship during her first days of her repairs due to the dangers their use employs." Christopher pauses for a moment and looks at the girls' confused faces. "Oh my.. look at you two. You should've told me stop if you are overwhelmed with information! I could go on talking about this for hours. I'll give you a moment to suck all that information up and snap back to reality after this dream-come-true." He smiles at the two girls and admires the view of the old torpedoes resting in the bay.
Cait froze as she saw the Torpedos these long Cylindrical Weapons brought a Fear in her Heart like nothing Before "Caity it's ok they are just things it is all Ok the Velvet is Save and all is good" Stephanie Hugged her From Behind to calm her she looked at the Torpedo and shivers as she whispers "a Weapons like this has hit the Velvet" Stephanie took her hand "I know Liebes but they can't do you a thing I know they make you Fear but they are Just things" she took Caits Hand and placed her on one of the Torpedos "see they dont bite you it was just a bad day back then" Cait fells the Cold metal under her hand and Shivers again but she realized that Steph was right. she goes to Chris and pressed his hand with tears in her eyes "you dont know not what you have done for me Chris I thank you for it, a couple of weeks ago the Velvet was Attacked by a Pirate he Fired Torpedos at us and almost Destroyed the ship it was almost as if I could Felt her Pain back then, but I have my Freedom now I thank you for this." she Hugged him for a few minutes to hide that she Still Shivers inside and to hide a single tear that runs down her Cheek.
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