With the food finally heated and served to near perfection, the men of the ship put on display their voracious appetites by immediately devouring their bowls in seconds. Of course there was plenty to go around. The large pot was drained at an alarming rate. Like warriors returning from battle with bottomless pits for stomachs, each man shoveled the mouth watering grub into his gullet and showed the stew no mercy. Refinement wasn't on display either, they ate wildly and with great fervor. Nero and Crash both took note of Meg's hesitancy to partake in the meal at a different time but remained silent rather than pressure her into dining. Nero considered that perhaps her diet would not allow for such delicacies, while pilot Graves figured her to simply being fickle.<br/><br/>The meal vanquished and devoured, the men reclined in their chairs with large grins on their faces. Crash picked his teeth with a clean toothpick, Nero rubbed his own stomach with a dreamy grin, Ratchet let out a loud belch, and Captain Dirk had already raced off to the freezer for dessert. He returned later with a large portion of chocolate cake and set to munching away, getting a few bits of crumbs in that flawless thick mustache but barely even noticing at all.<br/><br/>"Aila." Nero spoke aloud, until a familiar chime from the ship's AI unti replied back.<br/><br/>"Yes Vice Captain Nero?" a smooth female operator responded.<br/><br/>"Travel time to the Aquaria planet?" Nero asked of the ship.<br/><br/>"There remains less that four hours sir." the ship calculated.<br/><br/>"Thank you. That will be all." Nero finished, sitting up and stretching his arms, "In that case, I think I'll catch a nap. Captain?"<br/><br/>"Mm?" Dirk looked up from his cake, the corner of his mouth wearing a touch of chocolate fudge.<br/><br/>Nero smiled slightly, "Would it not be in the crews best interest for a few hours of liberty? That would give us ample time to rest up and be fully prepared for our next mission?"<br/><br/>Dirk swallowed and after a moment understood some sort of code the two were exchanging, "Oh! Yes, yes of course! As your Captain, I want all of you to find any way possible to rest up or partake in any stress relieving activity, that's an order. Everyone is to be fully rested and prepared when we reach the planet, no excuses. Dismissed."<br/><br/>Graves growled and shook his head, collecting everyone's dishes and taking them to the sink to be cleaned, part of his duty for this week, "Ladies and gentleman, Captain Dirk Mansteele, idiot of the cosmos..."<br/><br/>Dirk and Ratchet both took their leave back to their cabins, each yawning and stretching on their way out.<br/><br/>Nero chuckled and looked to Meg and Zal, "I notice you did not dine with us. I understand this must be part of your daily routine, so I thought it not to be asked. I know things have been going a little slow with the past hour, but once we land I anticipate we may find our hands full in short time. Be ready for anything. One never knows what we'll encounter on these excursions." He rose up and fixed his chair back under the table, "I'll see you again in a few hours. I'm looking forward to seeing more of you in action." he grinned, bidding her a short dismissal before the co-captain ventured off back to his own quarters.<br/><br/>In the kitchen, Graves was washing away at the pot, still muttering and cursing his role and even more less flattering things about the captain and his opinion of the famous Dirk Mansteele.