New Faces, Same Places

Posted on Thu Aug 13th, 2026 @ 3:17pm by Lieutenant Celestiana Aetherwyn & Commander Ichiko Gail

Mission: Retrobandonment
Location: Primary Engineering

Ichiko made it a point to check up on the roster, check up on the crew. From time to time it helped her keep track of changes, updates from roster to roster, from group to group. She found a form of peace in the routine, in seeing the same names over and over and over and.....

Huh. A new name has crossed the roster. She mulled it over a few times, practicing the pronunciation. She didn't want to come across as rude to someone new. Nevermind that this was a contact she was initiating. With that in mind, she rose up and headed towards Primary Engineering. The roster record had a name, had a face, had a look.

Human, thirty three, female, thirty four in Ts'usu years, thirty two in Dalacar years, dancer’s build. Flexible, enduring. Black hair, described as soft, mid‑back, layers, usually tied, loose and expressive. Her eyes, steel blue, sharp, perceptive, intense focus. Calloused hands, frequent jaunts to medical


The Ts'usugi commander made her way through the halls to Primary Engineering, beginning her investigation into the location of a woman she hadn't met yet. With that description and that lack of a memory, Celestiana Vexhallistielle Aetherwyn would stick out like a sore thumb.

“Breathing hard, hands shaking now, still laughing somehow.. Wizard better buy me drinks for life after this..” A voice sang softly, though the sound of her voice made it sound like the song was something harsher than the tone of her voice made it. It was coming from under the main console that stood in the center of the room as Ichiko walked in, then the voice said something else, “Come on in, we welcome all visitors, especially if they can hand me the splicers from the bag that’s on the ground where my legs are. The voice was still melodic, not quite singing the words, but not precisely speaking them, either.

"Visitors, hmm?" Ichiko was more amused than confused. Though at the risk of seemingly unhelpful, she found the bag and located the splicers within, "Splicers up." she announced, putting the tool's handles squarely in the engineer's hands. "I don't suppose you could direct me to Chief Engineer Celestiana Vexhallistielle Aetherwyn?" she inquired, having a feeling that this helpful biped of Engineering was, in fact, her quarry.

“That’s awfully long name to have to say.” The voice from under the console spoke, the sounds of one connector being fused with another audible under it very clearly, “And one that is a pain in the ass to have to spell or write out time and time again.” There was a click as something was seated and the woman underneath slid out into clear views black hair gathered in a messy bun, but blue eyes sparkling. “it would be a lot easier for someone to say they’re looking for Celly, but the last name is pronounced ‘Ether-win’. I swear my mother wanted to torture me with the name.”

Looking for Celly. Ether-Win.

"Good to know going forward." Ichiko nodded, filing the knowledge away somewhere. "Which makes you Celly Aetherwyn. It's not often I arrive in Primary Engineering specifically to meet my new chief Engineer."

Celestiana hauled herself to her feet and reached up to undo the bun to let her hair fall naturally now that she wasn't in a confined space, "Which I should have gone to see the Captain before, I know, I just... I guess I just got busy down here and it slipped my mind.. But you aren't Captain Laurens, I know this much at least, so, sweetheart, I think I could use an introduction?"

"No, I'm not Captain Laurens." the Rabbitess offered, "I'm Ichiko Gail, commander and ship second."

"Ma'am." Celly grimaced and finally checked the collar of the uniform and mentally cursed herself for not doing it before. She hated calling people 'sir' or 'ma'am', it just felt absolutely wrong to do, but it was protocol. "I... Sorry, I didn't mean to... Crap."

"Not the first impression I was hoping to have with the new Chief Engineer. I'm disappointed that this will be my first memory of you." there was a weight to that statement. A gravity to it. "Captain Lauren's memory is a little more forgiving. How long have you been putting off the check-in protocol?"

“Since umm…” How long had she been on board? It had been at least a week, she knew that, but in spacedock, time flew by without noticing because there was constant activity. Almost every waking hour had been spent here in engineering learning the systems, except for when she finally was tired enough to need sleep, hungry enough for meals or just needed a visit to the gym to work over one of the schematics in her head. “Ten days, I think? Maybe eleven?” She paused, “Ma’am.”

"Ten days." Ichiko repeated, disappointed. "This does show a pattern of disregard for common protocols in favor of a desire to remain in Engineering. Some might find that as a merit, literally throwing yourself into your task and forgetting about the world for, nearly, two weeks. My concern is that you might start regarding other customs and protocols as secondary. Make an effort to check in with the Captain, Lieutenant Celestiana Vexhallistielle Aetherwyn. If I can make the effort to meet people with the condition I'm suffering from, then I trust you can do so too." Ichiko used the lieutenant's full name. The pronunciation was flawless. As if she had practiced for years.

The way she said it made Celestiana wince visibly, as if it was her mother yelling at her to come back in well after it got dark. “Yes, ma’am.” she mumbled instead of trying to find an explanation, “I’ll make the time as soon as possible, I just want to close this up first, safety and all.” This was why she needed someone to nudge her about things, because she genuinely hadn’t been avoiding the Captain, she just had indeed gotten immersed in her work.

Something in the way that the Executive Officer had said the words had even told her that words just wouldn’t do, she would have to prove to her that she truly was worthy of her faith in her capabilities. ‘Actions speak louder than words.’ Celly reminded herself.

Ichiko gave a nod, "I look forward to your success, Lieutenant." she offered, before turning to depart engineering.