Kindle Brant stretched, cat-like, as she stood on the deck of the Bandersnatch. The day was sunny and clear, but not overly warm, as she had overheard someone saying earlier. Kindle supposed that the sunlight felt good on the backs of the others on deck, though she couldn’t feel any difference. This didn’t bother her. Afterall, she almost never felt cold either.<br/><br/>The old man droning on at the pulpit had ceased to be entertaining an hour ago, shortly after he had begun this tiresome speech. Anyone who had read the report already knew the ship’s specifics, as Kindle had, making his rambles as pointless as they were boring. So, for a while, the red head had observed the sailors running busily around the deck, memorizing what went where and how things worked. This too got old quickly. It seemed to Kindle that most anything interesting had been done, or was not to be done until later, when the mission was underway.<br/><br/>The mission. Kindle was itching to get going, as she had never really been one to stay in one place for long. She yearned for travel, for exploration. And she would certainly get her fill on the expedition. A sudden stab of guilt wracked the woman, and she wished that wanderlust was the only reason she was on this ship. If only there had never been a war. If only she still had a family.<br/><br/>Kindle shook her head to clear it, and took a few quick breaths, imagining her awareness expanding to take in every detail of her surroundings. It was an old trick she had used countless times to clear her head. Beside her stood other important members of the expedition, a few of whom she knew from other places. She would get to know them all soon enough.<br/><br/>Just then, the man on the pulpit launched into something new, an actual speech rather than the seemingly unending treatise on shipbuilding techniques. Kindle looked back in his direction, interested again. The old man likened the expedition to humanity, an expression of our very nature.<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">“Yes,”</span>Kindle thought, her mind on the war.<span style="font-style: italic">“It is a chance to prove our humanity.”</span>