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He landed on his side after falling about ten feet, landing on something warm and soft, like a large somewhat lumpy mattress. He opened his eyes, not realizing he had closed them. He was greeted with the sight of a large black patch of what looked like leather. He feels a gust of wind on his back and snaps his head around his field of vision filled with dark red fur and giant crystal blue eyes.

Felix's mind was still skipping gears trying to gain traction again when another gust of air splashed across him, part of his mind registered that he heard something, maybe a question but a larger portion of if was still locked into the fact that the wall of fur in front of him had split open to reveal several rows of massive teeth.

After a moment the mattress he was on shifted and another gust of air, this time he heard what was asked. A surprisingly light voice from the size of the source asks again. "Are you ok?"

Felix nods weakly when suddenly a voice echos out. "JUSTIN, YOU KNOW NOT TO PUT YOUR SHIT HERE!"

The surface he is on jumps a little as the face in front of him winces. He is starting to process that he is in a giant hand as the face shifts to the side giving him a side profile view of a Kiori that he recognized from Austin's pictures as Justin, the medic. He looked in the same direction to see what had his attention and saw Austin standing on the edge of a table and could make out a very angry face on his cousin's face.

Justin replied to him. "I wasn't going to keep it there."

Austin replied. "That's NOT the rules and you know it!"

Felix was actually surprised to see Justin flinch slightly at the tone in Austin's voice, the giant actually seemed scared of his cousin. Austin points down at him. "That is the exact reason you are supposed to keep this area clear. It's where the sleds are programed to come to and to be be kept clear so we don't hurt ourselves, and you knew damned well we were coming."

Felix realizes he is rising up to the same level as Austin and Denise. Denise reached out her hand to him to help him up with a look of concern on her face as Austin continued to glare are the giant medic.

Felix grips Denise's hand and she pulls helping him stand up and off back onto the counter. He looked over and saw some kind of oval shaped instrument on the counter next to his sled. It was only a few inches tall but had a clear lip around the edge which his foot caught and tripped him over the edge.

His brain was just catching up with everything and was aware of Austin and Justin having an argument. Justin was replying to something Austin had said. "..an accident, it happens calm down."

Austin actually looked angry now as he replied. "I know damned well accidents happen, just as you damned well know you are not supposed to leave shit here! This isn't the first time this has happened! You have been given two damned rooms and told to keep less than a fraction of a percent of them clear at all times! Nick doesn't make idle threats as you well know! What do you think he is going to do when he learns you almost cost us our newest crewmen!?"

Justin progressively looked more and more chastised as Austin's verbal assault continued and moved to outright fear when the captain's name is mentioned. Justin's ears pull back and he whines a little "I'm sorry, please don't tell him."

Austin crosses his arms over his chest. "I'm not the one you need to apologize to."

Justin looks back to Felix. Felix is shocked to see see the look of fear on the giants face from being yelled at by Austin. "I'm sorry Felix, it's won't happen again." The kiori says to him.

Felix reflexively replied. "No problem."

Felix noticed was that in his right ear with the yutri earpiece he heard perfect english but in his left he heard something totally different. Also the kiori's mouth moved in completely different motions than the words he was hearing. There was a slight shimmering in the air behind Justin and Que appeared at what he assumed to be her 'normal' height. She sighs causing Justin to turn and stand, the top of his head coming only to her chest.

"There is a large delivery at the secondary airlock listed as medical supplies. Can I assume these are yours?" The hologram asks Justin.

The kiori's mood brightens instantly "Yes! Don't worry I already have a place for it since I traded and didn't buy it."

Que caught sight of Austin's face. "What's wrong?"

Justin's mood instantly drops again. "Ummm, there was an accident."

Austin's scowl returned. "Don't try to play it off or I will fire up the loader and blow your locker into space myself. You screwed up and are lucky as hell Felix isn't dead!"

Justin winces. "Sorry. I left something in the human section and Felix tripped on it and fell off the counter, I had to catch him."

Que's eyes grew huge as she stared at Felix. For a moment she seemed stunned speechless before managing to reply. "Well, I think Denise no longer has the worst first contact experience."

Denise retorts. "You're just saying that so you can start in on me and not feel guilty."

All heads turn to her and she crosses her arms over her chest defiantly. "You all planned this didn't you. You were jealous of the pity she gave me and decided to use poor Felix here as a scapegoat to take it away."

All of them continue to stare at her for a moment before Que replies. "Are you sure it wasn't here that tripped and landed on her head?"

Austin snorted. "I didn't see it but maybe Justin should check her out too."

Denise smirks at him. "And now you are not ready to rip off Justin's tail and strangle him with it so we can move on."

Que giggles. "Ohhh, I see, excellent job."

Felix looked to Austin and the man did indeed look far less angry. Austin shook his head and walked over the a bench that Felix hadn't noticed and sat down. Justin watched him for a moment before turning his attention to Felix. "I will be ready in a few moments, sorry for the delay." Justin turns heads deeper into the room.

Felix took a moment to examine the room everything was very cluttered, there was just stuff everywhere. All of the medical facilities he had been too were very precise and organized this place was like kind of mad man's workshop with instruments and half assembled inventions scattered about. How could the kiori find anything in that mess. Before he could contemplate further Denise walked up next to him.

"Sorry about that, I was trying to get Austin calmed down fast, I was just kidding. Are you ok?" She asked.

Felix nodded. "Yeah I'm ok. I have taken a few falls before so it's not that new, just never been caught by a giant before." He looks back towards Austin who had his head leaned back and covered by his hands. "I know that he was upset and I am glad he is worried about me but he seemed almost enraged. I've never seen him like that."

Denise nods. "It doesn't happen often but he has a temper when it flairs and it's' scary if you don't know how to deal with it. Not trying to downplay it but it wasn't just because it was you it's Justin. People not following order starts to grade on Nick and Austin after a while."

Felix nods. "I get that but....Justin was scared of Austin. Not trying to be mean but he's like almost ten time's Austin's size."

Que appeared at Denise's side. "Because there was an incident a little while ago that ended... well badly and it still has Justin upset." She frowned. "I can understand Nick's anger but that honestly scarred him a bit."

Felix looks at her. "What happened?"

Denise pats his shoulder. "I will tell you later as you unpack it a little more of a story then I want to tell right now. Justin is going to give you a quick physical, I am going to help and then we are off again."

Que vanished as Justin returns to the humans. "Ok all set you. You two ready?" he asks them.

Denise looks to Felix who looks between the two of them for a second. "Sure I guess, so what is involved with this thing?"

Justin smiles without showing teeth. "Noting dangerous, I know human medicine is still working to integrate some of the UTO technology so you might not have seen some of the equipment I am going to use. It is really a simple scan and a small blood sample to test and that's it. Very simple."

Justin holds up an odd looking wand and shows it to Felix. The tip looks like a diamond while the rest is a single stick with a small rectangle at the opposite end. "Just stand still and breathe normally and this will only take a few moments." He moves the diamond tip close to Felix's head where he can see it looks like glass. It slowly starts to move around the human, circling him. He had to remember to stand still and not keep watching. When it is in front of him again Justin gently presses it to his chest and holds it there for a moment. The kiori smiles and pulls the device away. "There almost done. Denise."

Denise walks up next to him and presses a metal cylinder against his arm. He hears a slight hiss and an odd tingling in his arm for a few seconds after it is pulled away. Denise smile and holds it up to Justin who takes it very gently between two of his fingers and turns back to his work. Denise pat's Felix's shoulder "There, almost done!"

Felix rubs his arm where the cylinder pressed against, feeling nothing and the tingling was gone. "What was that?"

Denise chuckled. "Blood sample, needs to make sure you are not going to have any reactions to vaccines and immunizations they are going to give you , allergies to stuff for future reference, usual stuff."

Felix looks back at his arm not seeing a mark at all. "That took blood? There isn't a mark at all."

Denise shrugs. "Don't ask me to explain it I just know it works and it is painless so I'm not gonna complain."

Felix continues to rub at his arm as a shadow is cast over them again, signaling Justin's return. He smiles gently. "Well Felix the computer has started its analysis but it will take some time to complete a detailed analysis. I will contact you when it is done but until then unless you need anything from me Felix, I am going to head back into the station."

Felix stared at Justin for a moment before he realized he was expected to reply. "Oh! Umm, is there anything I should know about or avoid until those results come in?"

Justin looks thoughtful for a moment "Well I assume you know your allergies to human foods and environments you should just avoid anything non human foods or drinks until the tests come back just to be safe. I know of no studies that show any issue with sexual intercourse with non - humans so you are safe to do so, if you develop something I would appreciate it if I could write a paper on it."

Felix stares at him a little dumbfounded "Errr... sure no problem."

Justin stands up with a smile "Thank you. If you need me I will be reachable on my yutri." He walks out of the room through the giant door leaving Felix still in a slight dumbstruck state.

Felix looks to Denise who is clearly struggling to hold in a fit of laughter. Looking past her it is clear to see Austin and Que both also fighting to break into laughter. Felix finds his tongue "So...ummmm..."

The others can't hold it back any longer and all three of them explode with laughter as Felix watches on feeling a blush start to grow on his face. Denise grabs his shoulder as Auston shakes his head and says "Oh... oh man sorry Felix. We should have brought that up, Justin is very direct when he talks shop." The older man takes a deep calming breath as he continues "Like I said everyone has their quirks, one of Justin's several is he is very analytical with medical stuff. If you talk about it with him be ready for super professional." He grins "But you now have medical permission to be intimate if you want to put out the word."

Felix shakes his head "Can I assume this will not be the only embarrassing, weird or disturbing interaction I will have?"

Austin's grin grows wider "Not a chance in hell my friend."

Denise pulls on Felix's arm "Now, now don't stress about it it's called Culture Shock and it's not that bad. Just remember that they are all great people and nothing they do....." she breaks off and looks thoughtful at Que, "...usually nothing they do is meant to upset or disturb you." The AI turns her head and tries to look innocent muttering something about innocent misunderstandings.

She pushes him onto his sled and leads leads him out of the stuffed medical bay into the hall. "I'll give you a quick run down of the ship, this is deck four. It has all of our utility areas and the mess hall at the end of this corridor here." She points down to the closer end of the hallway. "We have the Med Bays, Armory, Kitchen and Mech bay here." She points up. "Above us on deck three is the bridge, our quarters and the showers. Aft taking up both decks is the engine room. Decks one and two and five and six are cargo bays, deck 2 has several small landing areas and the hanger for the Gygax. It's a small corvette we use when we want to be faster or less noticeable."

As they are talking she is leading them toward the bow and the mess hall. Felix chimed in. "There is another ship in this one?"

Denise grins. "Yep! She is used more for adventure and kind of an escape ship in worst case situations. Like I said she is much smaller and easy to get into tight ports and into hectic situations if needed. I'll show it to you later."

They finish crossing the corridor and arrive at a larger door, the smaller one set into the wall opens as they approach. Felix looks about and is surprised by his surroundings. He expected a barracks or cafeteria style sitting for food what he found more resembled game room. To one side was a large table and chairs the other side of the room had a projector screen two sofas and two chairs, on a small table between them was a set of human scale furniture. It looked like a very comfortable place to relax and have down time. Denise smiles "Welcome to our little slice of home. When we are not in port we spend a lot of time here to pass the time."

Felix looks around in wonder and smiles, it seems that maybe adapting to this place would be a little easier then he thought. "It seems very cozy. I don't know what I was expecting but this place seems rather calm and simple." He looks to Austin "This seems like it might be easier than you were saying. Were you making it sound harder so I would be better prepared or something?"

Austin shakes his head. "The ship isn't so much what I was referring to. There are plenty of ways to distract yourself on voyages, the issue is you are stuck with the same people for weeks or months at a time and it can get aggravating. Think of sailors in the old days with ships that only had wind sails and were out for long periods. Some of the people on this ship are my best friends but locked into a ship with them for months is trying at times, especially if you get into an argument over something. Tempers flare and no one has space to get away from each other. Just be aware that sometimes you are going to lock yourself in your room just to be away from everyone."

Denise smiles and pats Felix on the back. "It's true, there are bad days but more good days. There isn't any way to describe the experience, you have to live it to understand but as long as you have a good sense of humor and an open mind you will do fine."

Felix frowns a little. "Open mind?"

Denise nods. "Everyone is from a different culture and background, keep that in mind if they have quirks or behaviors that seem odd to you, and understand you might do the same to them and not realize it."

Austin nods. "It's true, even if you were born in the UTO and raised on another planet it can be a struggle."

Felix nods. "Okay will do. Anything you can warn me about going in?"

The humans smirk at him and shake their heads. Denise chuckles "No, we shouldn't give you any preconceptions before meeting people. If you find some of their behaviors odd you can ask me and I'll see if we can help you understand and adapt."

Felix nods. "Okay, thanks."

She leads them deeper into the room, first they go to the table, on it is a smaller table and chairs. "As you guessed we sometimes have crew meals here or people eat alone. We also have games and other activities here." She chuckles "For a group of people who have had simulator technology for centuries they are really taken with tabletop RPGs. When it was first brought up I thought they would laugh it off but I was wrong. It's why the skiff is called the Gygax. Apparently living the adventure in a sim is neat but having to imagine it themselves and come up with ideas if fun for them."

Felix smirks. "You all play DnD?"

Denise smiles. "We have, also a list of others. When you are trapped on a ship it's nice to have an imaginary escape." She looks at her yutri "We have some time left before the rest of the crew comes back. Is there anything you need to do before we leave? Once we shove off we are off until we make port again."

Felix shrugs. "As far as I know I am set unless there is something you all can tell me I need to do."

She thinks. "Well, you got food. Do you have enough clothes and entertainment? Any games you would like that we might not have? Anything you noticed missing from the room you might like? Things like that. If you want there is time for you to go back to the station and browse."

Felix shrugs. "I guess we can look around. Never hurts to be sure and it beats sitting around waiting to leave."

Denise and Austin lead him around Neptune station to various shops. Felix ends up picking up a few sets of work clothes and boots, a few games for his yutri, and a few models to build in his free time and a few other small items he decided he should have just in case.

Denise and Austin decided to stop at a restaurant for a meal as they look at the menu Denise says to Felix. "Always be sure to have a good meal before you leave a port. You never know when the next good meal because you never know when you will have the nex one. Shipboard meals are not usually bad but they get old at times and it's a good memory. I recommend something that is fresh or not fried since those are things that are usually harder to keep on the ship."

Austin orders a large ribeye steak, Denise orders lobster and Felix looks over the menu and decides on prime rib. Denise looks Felix over. "You seem to be be doing okay, not overly stressed."

Felix smiles weakly. "I'm very worried actually but I've committed myself and will see it through. You both have been very helpful, trying to make sure I am ready. Thanks for that, I hope we run into the best case but if it is hard I feel you both have done a good job preparing me."

Austin smirks. "I think you will be okay kid, I'd just feel guilty if you are miserable so trying to keep it from happening."

Denise nods. "I think you will make it, but I will say you are going to break, we all hit that wall sometime. It might be something small that triggers it, something larger but you are going to break then you will be fine. We all have don't feel bad when it happens."

Felix frowns. "What do you mean break?"

Austin sighs. "Ever heard of the expression a gilded cage is still a cage? Well no matter how nice or large to us that ship is, she is still a finite space. The same walls, same people, and at times you will swear the same day over and over again. Sometime it's going to dig at you and you are going to have a breakdown of some kind. It might be as simple as laying in bed for a day, it might mean Justin has to sedate you. But something will happen, it still does on longer hauls to us." He takes a drink. "So don't feel bad when it does, if you do something stupid or embarrassing just take your licks."

Denise grins. "And by that we mean Sarah gets to lick you a few times."

Felix gets a little pale. "Wait what?"

Both of the other humans laugh turning Felix's white complexion red. Denise shakes her head. "Sorry, couldn't resist."

Felix smirks weakly. "Why do I get the feeling you are the crew cut up?"

She shakes her head. "Sometimes, I just like breaking in new people. Used to do it for a living in the Navy, but that is a story for another time."

Austin nods. "Yep, food's here."

The trio eat their meal quietly, Felix getting the impression they wanted to savor the taste before having to leave. After their meal the leave and heard back to the Merchant on the way they pass one last store to browse in and Felix finds nice leather bound journal that inspired him to buy it and some pens, then decides to get some paper and pencils and drawing instruments as well for the trip. As they approach the airlock Felix gets a message that is results are in and Justin will be in the medbay for a little while in he wanted to come by.