Raymond Garret stared at the grey bulk as it passed alongside.
"Good Jaysus," he muttered. "That's big,"
It was chased by the creeping realisation that the SS Ciara weighed, at most, 700 tons. That big destroyer at a guess would have to be ten times that. They pulled up alongside, taking station only a few hundred metres off of the Ciara's starboard side. It was alarmingly close. Even the bulk-ore carriers were separated by kilometres. Anne Devlin had her binoculars out, getting a good look at the big ship with her own two eyes. Long, angular and brutal, sprouting radomes like tumours across the top of the superstructure, each one complimented by it's own whiskery antennae. It was obvious they'd also learned the lesson about the bottom's of converted ships being a weak point. The number '61' was painted in harsh white along the forward section, while a US flag flew high on the mass. Somehow, it even managed to flutter.
"Looks like the sort of ship Unit 02 played hopscotch with in Evangelion," she said. "Crunch"
Someone laughed. It died quickly. Meg's comm panel chirruped, breaking open the tense silence that followed. "They're sending us a message," she said, just a little unnerved.
"What is it?" Garret asked.
"Um... From Captain Harrison of USS Ramage, to Commander Space Vessel Ciara. On behalf of my crew and the United States Navy as a whole, we offer our warmest regards to you, your ship and her crew. We look forward to working alongside you to ensure the safety and security of trade between our Great Nation and the people's of Fenspace in the spirit of cooperation and friendship." she paused, then appeared to zoom in to the message on her screen. "Oh, and they'd like to know if we'd be interested in a little drag race between our two ships."
"That first part had me worried," Anne said with a snort, "But it looks like we're actually dealing with human being here," She smirked, baring those two great fangs of hers, the grin of a tiger who'd found her prey. "Let's show 'em a clean pair of heels,"
EDIT: Typofix... and yes, I did specifically look that up.
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--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?
"Good Jaysus," he muttered. "That's big,"
It was chased by the creeping realisation that the SS Ciara weighed, at most, 700 tons. That big destroyer at a guess would have to be ten times that. They pulled up alongside, taking station only a few hundred metres off of the Ciara's starboard side. It was alarmingly close. Even the bulk-ore carriers were separated by kilometres. Anne Devlin had her binoculars out, getting a good look at the big ship with her own two eyes. Long, angular and brutal, sprouting radomes like tumours across the top of the superstructure, each one complimented by it's own whiskery antennae. It was obvious they'd also learned the lesson about the bottom's of converted ships being a weak point. The number '61' was painted in harsh white along the forward section, while a US flag flew high on the mass. Somehow, it even managed to flutter.
"Looks like the sort of ship Unit 02 played hopscotch with in Evangelion," she said. "Crunch"
Someone laughed. It died quickly. Meg's comm panel chirruped, breaking open the tense silence that followed. "They're sending us a message," she said, just a little unnerved.
"What is it?" Garret asked.
"Um... From Captain Harrison of USS Ramage, to Commander Space Vessel Ciara. On behalf of my crew and the United States Navy as a whole, we offer our warmest regards to you, your ship and her crew. We look forward to working alongside you to ensure the safety and security of trade between our Great Nation and the people's of Fenspace in the spirit of cooperation and friendship." she paused, then appeared to zoom in to the message on her screen. "Oh, and they'd like to know if we'd be interested in a little drag race between our two ships."
"That first part had me worried," Anne said with a snort, "But it looks like we're actually dealing with human being here," She smirked, baring those two great fangs of hers, the grin of a tiger who'd found her prey. "Let's show 'em a clean pair of heels,"
EDIT: Typofix... and yes, I did specifically look that up.
________________________________
--m(^0^)m-- Wot, no sig?