[Day 1 EA] Working Lunch (expecting)

[Yori Hakamada]

In a corner of the cafeteria Yori has finished her lunch and appears to be arranging the cutlery and cups on her table in a large tableau, carefully repositioning each piece here and there, readjusting this fork to be completely straight and that knife to point completely north. After a few minutes she pauses and raises an eyebrow before snapping her gaze up and at the rest of the cafeteria.

[Sadafuji Mako]

Mako had seen better food. Smelled better food for sure. But this wasn't the worst he had eaten either, which he tried to use to cheer himself up as he took a tiny cup of chopped up fruit and put it on his tray. At least this looked like food. Yeah, just gotta be positive.

The short inner pep talk did not do much for his mood as his sleep had been difficult. The bags under his eyes spoke to that. Only sleep would make him feel any better and he couldn't do that while on duty. Besides, who slept in the middle of the afternoon? He stopped thinking about the question as he tried to figure out where to sit in the cafeteria.

He matched eyes with Yori as she looked up and made a split second decision which drew him to her table. "Mind if I sit here?"

Smile. Show them teeth.

[Yori Hakamada]

Mako had seen better food. Smelled better food for sure. But this wasn't the worst he had eaten either, which he tried to use to cheer himself up as he took a tiny cup of chopped up fruit and put it on his tray. At least this looked like food. Yeah, just gotta be positive.

The short inner pep talk did not do much for his mood as his sleep had been difficult. The bags under his eyes spoke to that. Only sleep would make him feel any better and he couldn't do that while on duty. Besides, who slept in the middle of the afternoon? He stopped thinking about the question as he tried to figure out where to sit in the cafeteria.

He matched eyes with Yori as she looked up and made a split second decision which drew him to her table. "Mind if I sit here?"

Smile. Show them teeth.

"Oh yes, yes I require your advice Sergeant...."
She pauses, trying to remember his name
"..Mako? Yes, Sergeant Mako. I need to know if in your opinion the top of this milk carton has enfilading fire between the salt and pepper shakers. Keep in mind the knives are a river approximately 2 metres in depth."
While it was delivered with the usual Yori monotone lieutenant was clearly excited...or as excited as she ever got.

[Sadafuji Mako]

"Wha?" He replied intelligently. Truly the height of wit and a credit to his education.

Mako sat down at the table and decided to look over the various positions laid out. If he assumed everything was to scale and that the lieutenant had not forgotten any barriers, then, "Uh, yeah. The line would go along pretty well between them for a good distance at least. Tables are pretty flat though, most terrain has slopes greater than the surface of these machined things."

He rapped on the table with his knuckles to illustrate the point. Yes. Table flat. Very insightful. This wasn't going very well was it. He popped open his own carton of milk to give himself something to do that wasn't say inane things.

[Yori Hakamada]

Snip

"I used to stack the tables, but the staff asked me to stop..several times. Then someone with higher rank asked me in a way that I believe was an order. So now I have to visualise height...or I could use a simulator or a map but that is harder to do in a cafeteria."

Starting to rearrange the table precisely, trying to recreate the map of their continent.

"Tell me sergeant, do you consider yourself a strategist?"

[Sadafuji Mako]

"I used to stack the tables, but the staff asked me to stop..several times. Then someone with higher rank asked me in a way that I believe was an order. So now I have to visualise height...or I could use a simulator or a map but that is harder to do in a cafeteria."

Starting to rearrange the table precisely, trying to recreate the map of their continent.

"Tell me sergeant, do you consider yourself a strategist?"

"No." Mako answered with a shrug to hide how much the question bothered him. Was she questioning whether he had any ability to offer value to the company?

"I don't have much training in the area. So it seems rather hubristic to consider myself one, when my grasp of the skills required is amateurish." That was a decent explanation. Blame it on being young. "Do you consider yourself a mathematician?"

[Yori Hakamada]

"No." Mako answered with a shrug to hide how much the question bothered him. Was she questioning whether he had any ability to offer value to the company?

"I don't have much training in the area. So it seems rather hubristic to consider myself one, when my grasp of the skills required is amateurish." That was a decent explanation. Blame it on being young. "Do you consider yourself a mathematician?"

Taking a straw and bending it around the northern coastline
"Of a sort, although my specialty was applied math. If you have a mathematical problem in mind I'm sure several of our support personnel would be able to assist?"

Yori spends a few moments staring at the tableau wondering if raisins are acceptable markers for possible targets.
"Which academy did you attend?"

[Sadafuji Mako]

Taking a straw and bending it around the northern coastline
"Of a sort, although my specialty was applied math. If you have a mathematical problem in mind I'm sure several of our support personnel would be able to assist?"

Yori spends a few moments staring at the tableau wondering if raisins are acceptable markers for possible targets.
"Which academy did you attend?"

"Sun Zhang MechWarrior Academy, on New Samarkand." He was proud of his heritage and graduation. A few generations of his family had passed through the academy's doors.

"But my point with the previous question was not to bring up a mathematics problem, it was that we don't go around labeling ourselves without something to back it up. To give an example, it takes training to be good at something. But it takes more than a little training to be comfortable with a title." He rambled a bit trying to get to the point. "I am not bad at strategy, I just...a strategist is someone who is an expert? I don't know. Why did you ask anyway?"

[Yori Hakamada]

"Sun Zhang MechWarrior Academy, on New Samarkand." He was proud of his heritage and graduation. A few generations of his family had passed through the academy's doors.

"But my point with the previous question was not to bring up a mathematics problem, it was that we don't go around labeling ourselves without something to back it up. To give an example, it takes training to be good at something. But it takes more than a little training to be comfortable with a title." He rambled a bit trying to get to the point. "I am not bad at strategy, I just...a strategist is someone who is an expert? I don't know. Why did you ask anyway?"

"An extremely prestigious academy, your family must be very well connected Sergeant Mako. I would have had little chance of enrolling there."
She listens to his question with her usual blank expression, nodding once at the end, then belatedly remembering to blink.
"I am a strategist, one of several on this ship. It interests me to share my passions with others, I have a passionate soul."
Blink
"What titles are you comfortable with then?"

[Sadafuji Mako]

"An extremely prestigious academy, your family must be very well connected Sergeant Mako. I would have had little chance of enrolling there."
She listens to his question with her usual blank expression, nodding once at the end, then belatedly remembering to blink.
"I am a strategist, one of several on this ship. It interests me to share my passions with others, I have a passionate soul."
Blink
"What titles are you comfortable with then?"

"They get by." He said, with the last name of one of the chief manufactures on the planet. "Uh...you could call me a Mechwarrior. I feel comfortable there. Most comfortable as a pilot. Are you sure you have a passionate soul? No disrespect intended lieutenant. You seem very...collected."

Great, now he was going to get in trouble with a ranking officer for not being reasonably respectful.

[Yori Hakamada]

"They get by." He said, with the last name of one of the chief manufactures on the planet. "Uh...you could call me a Mechwarrior. I feel comfortable there. Most comfortable as a pilot. Are you sure you have a passionate soul? No disrespect intended lieutenant. You seem very...collected."

Great, now he was going to get in trouble with a ranking officer for not being reasonably respectful.

monotone"Hmmm....no, I am sure I am deeply passionate. I have allowed my feelings to colour most of my life, even more so now."
Looking down for a moment as she rearranges some forks to be perfectly straight
"Collected is good though, that is a complement."
Snapping her head back up intently
"Only a mechwarrior and a pilot? That is not so much, there must be more. Are you a friend? A father? A vengeful rival?"

[Sadafuji Mako]

monotone"Hmmm....no, I am sure I am deeply passionate. I have allowed my feelings to colour most of my life, even more so now."
Looking down for a moment as she rearranges some forks to be perfectly straight
"Collected is good though, that is a complement."
Snapping her head back up intently
"Only a mechwarrior and a pilot? That is not so much, there must be more. Are you a friend? A father? A vengeful rival?"

Mako spits some juice on the floor at the 'father' question and chokes for a few moments to collect himself. And to clean his sinuses of juice.

"Yeah, no. I am a mechwarrior first, a pilot second, a brother third, and a man fourth. Everything else is...not worth mentioning. I think that is enough for a person." He shrugged poking his food with a spork. "Don't have friends to speak of. No kids. No rivals, yet. Though I am looking for someone to stunt on."

"What about you? What titles would you hold?" Time to turn the conversation back on her. Easier that way.

[Yori Hakamada]

Mako spits some juice on the floor at the 'father' question and chokes for a few moments to collect himself. And to clean his sinuses of juice.

"Yeah, no. I am a mechwarrior first, a pilot second, a brother third, and a man fourth. Everything else is...not worth mentioning. I think that is enough for a person." He shrugged poking his food with a spork. "Don't have friends to speak of. No kids. No rivals, yet. Though I am looking for someone to stunt on."

"What about you? What titles would you hold?" Time to turn the conversation back on her. Easier that way.

"Stunt...on? Is that a euphemism?"
Yori has never been with what the kids are saying these days.
"Mechwarrior, pilot, strategist, deserter, leader...bitch? Not sure if that is a title, but people have used it as one. I find it rather unpleasant."

She calmly removes some of the fortifications around castle pepper grinder to hand Mako some tissues for his juice.