<div style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Dark Star Dropship</strong><div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/e/ef/Damian_Harper.jpg)</div><br/><br/>Damian had been forced to ask around to see where Allia had gone. She hadn't been in her quarters, or at least she hadn't been in the mood to talk, and most of her usual hang-outs where devoid of her presence. That wasn't surprising, considering there was now no one left to share the atmosphere of those locales with. But, the advantage of living on a vessel like their's was that it was nearly impossible to not come across someone that knew where someone else was; at any point in time. You were bound to run into someone on your way, and word would irrevocably spread. As a result, Damian knew exactly where to find the lieutenant, but he hadn't expected to see her in the state she was.<br/><br/>Still with the files under his arm, the clanner turned another corner, skipping the locker rooms to head straight into the gym area. It was completely abandoned, with the only sounds coming from a punching bag more to the back of the chamber. There, a familiar face was striking the training tool with such ferocity that she seemed to be a mix of a lunatic and a berserker. Normally, Damian would know better than the intervene when someone was clearly working off some frustration. Lord knows, he preferred she did so on a punching bag than a member of the crew that accidentally earns her ire. If he tried to stop her, she could turn those fists on him. But the rate at which she was going was going to leave her exhausted, and probably injured. They could not afford to have the warriors they had left at any level but 100%, so his pace quickened and his voice called out to her.<br/><br/><strong>"Lieutenant Rowe, what are you doing? Calm down, you are going to strip the skin off your hands,"</strong> he stated, his voice holding all the usual hints of authority, grit and grumpiness it usually did. But, his words seemed to fall on deaf ears, prompting him to plant the files on the seat of a weight-lifting rig to his right. Subsequently, strong arms wrapped themselves around hers to stop her from throwing even a single punch still. The grip wasn't iron-tight, but sudden and sturdy enough to hopefully get her to stop.<br/><strong>"I said, calm down, Allia,"</strong> he stressed.<br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>Dark Star Dropship</strong><div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/b/ba/Emily_Jirani.jpg)</div><br/><br/>Emily was surprised to find the door being opened for her. Old habits died hard, as Kari's father seemed perpetually glued to his desk, hunched over whatever work he was mulling through. He would always call out for visitors to enter from there. If she didn't know the man off duty as well as he had on, she would have sworn the reason why he and the clanner got along so well was for their professional attitude. Of course, Carlos hadn't been nearly as stiff, or unpleasant. Still, it was an awkward change of pace, which only made the seasoned lieutenant realize more that there had been a changing of the guard and things were going to be run differently from that day onward.<br/><br/><strong>"Thank you, lie- commander,"</strong> she corrected herself, already relaying she knew of Kari's rise in authority. She entered and moved to take a seat across from where Kari had been sitting. Fingers laced together and moved to rest atop the commander's desk.<br/><strong>"No, that's fine. I'm trying to steer clear from the stuff. I don't think my liver can handle my kind of drinking anymore,"</strong> she semi-joked, before turning a more serious tone when she got down to business.<br/><br/><strong>"Lieutenant Rowe came to see me, before I had a chance to fully pack and leave. I'm sure Harper had already informed you that I was going to be leaving the company,"</strong> she explained, sitting back to let her hands fall into her lap. <strong>"However, the lieutenant proposed a compromise that I've accepted. I'll stay for as long as it takes to get people hired to fill up the... blank spaces we have now. I can't guarantee that if this takes many months I will stick, but for the foreseeable future, you still have me on board,"</strong> she continued, keeping her eyes glued to Kari's.<br/><br/>She then sighed, averting those same hues to have them rest on a non-specific spot on the desk in front of her. <strong>"I owe you an explanation, though, about why I am going, and why I wasn't bothering to wait and see who would take over from the commander,"</strong> she admitted.</div>