Al met the rest of the crew. He wasn't quite sure what to make of them yet. He was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Once he got to know them a little, he'd make up his mind whether he liked them or not. With the Captain as with any commanding officer, it did not matter if he liked him. He was the boss and it was his orders he followed, unconditionally. It was one of those<span style="font-style: italic">military</span>things you just cannot part with. Following instructions is about as normal to Al Perez as breathing. He was equally comfortable with giving instructions. He did serve as a squad leader for several years as well as in a combat zone.<br/><br/>When the crew got upstairs, Captain Dereeve introduced them to the ship, which apparently had its own unique voice, a female one that seemed to please Al. 'I wonder if she speaks Spanish?' Al thought to himself. He would test her a bit later.<br/><br/>Al had some time to square away his room before they met in the galley/mess hall. He unpacked his clothing and stored them in drawers. He unlocked the closet and re-holstered his pistol. It seemed the Captain didn't have a policy regarding weapons and since Al was the ship's security officer, he would remain armed. His rifle would remain locked in the closet.<br/><br/>With his living space set up, he went down to the cargo bay and unpacked some training equipment. He brought a heavy bag for punching and kicking. He wished he could have gotten a wavemaster aboard, but this was easier to transport. He found a box to stand on, in order to chain the bag to the ceiling. He unpacked a few pairs of gloves, kick shields, focus pads, Muay Thay pads, rope, and sparring equipment. He also had packages of targets to be used for their rifle range once it was put back together.<br/><br/>There was still time before the meeting. Al made his way up to the Galley/mess hall and pulled out a few bowls. He poured some Mild Salsa sauce into one tortilla corn chips into the other. He carried the bowls into the mess area and placed them on the table. He returned to the galley to prep a few more snacks, some cheese, crackers and fruit, placing all on a platter. He then laid the cheese, crackers and fruit on the table alongside the tortilla chips and sauce.<br/><br/>Once the snacks were ready, Al chose now was a good time to speak to the ship, "Hola Feronia?"<br/><br/>"Hola Senor Perez, como esta?" came the sultry feminine voice of Feronia. [tr. Hello Mr. Perez. how are you?]<br/><br/>Al smiled, " ¡muy bueno! ¡Usted habla en Espanol! ¡Me encanta!" Alberto Perez was excited that Feronia could understand him both in English and in Spanish. [tr. Very good! You speak Spanish! I love it!]