Haruto tossed and turned in the assigned guest room, but his curiosity finally got the better of him. Sliding out of bed, he muttered to himself, "I need to go check the control room. Why is this trip taking so long anyway?"
Stepping out into the metallic corridor, he made his way back to the main bridge. Inside, Daisy was still stationed at the primary console, surrounded by glowing data feeds.
Hearing footsteps, Daisy didn't look up from her screens. "If you're wondering about the detour, this is just standard tech training for my military group."
"Ah, got it," Haruto nodded, leaning against a console.
Just then, the sliding door hissed open, and Philo shuffled in wearing her casual sleeping clothes, rubbing her eyes sleepily. She yawned loudly, walking right up to Daisy. "Hey, Daisy... I can't sleep. Let me pilot this ship for a bit and check out some of the navigation data. Hand over a terminal panel."
Daisy sighed, sliding a sleek, laptop-like interface across the desk toward her. "Fine, go ahead."
Philo snatched it up, tapping the screen to turn it on. The moment she activated it, a soft mechanical hum echoed through the floorboards. Right behind her, a high-tech gaming-style white pilot chair rose smoothly from a hidden compartment in the deck.
Without missing a beat, Philo climbed into the ergonomic seat and immediately began furiously clicking away at the holographic controls, her sleepy demeanor vanishing into intense focus.
Curious, Haruto walked over, peering over her shoulder as multi-colored telemetry data cascaded down the screens. "Whoa... what on earth are you doing?"
Philo didn't even blink, her fingers dancing across the interface. "Just optimizing our flight path and clearing some system background clutter," she replied casually.
Haruto watched in stunned silence as Philo's hands moved in a literal blur across the holographic interface, her typing speed reaching mind-boggling levels as she processed multiple data streams simultaneously.
The sheer efficiency of her execution was staggering. Haruto leaned in, his eyes wide with amazement. "Whoa... okay, I have to admit, that is seriously impressive."
Philo glanced sideways for a split second, a smug little grin touching her lips. "Oh, you have no idea."
From across the main console, Daisy crossed her arms, letting out a dry chuckle. "Of course she's good. Back on Earth, Philo wasn't just some petty cyber-thief."
Philo tapped a final sequence, locking the flight path into place as she leaned back in her chair. "That's right. I used to be a national white-hat hacker. I've intercepted and overridden military-grade systems, and on more than one occasion, I even hacked into active, mid-flight missiles after they had already been launched."
Haruto's jaw dropped. He stared at her, completely flabbergasted. "Wait, you hacked a launched missile?! But those things have virtually zero reaction window, ultra-tight security, and moving-target data links running at extreme speeds!"
The sheer technical difficulty of executing a mid-air override on a live missile deployment left him entirely speechless. The sleepy girl sitting in front of him wasn't just a casual gamer; she was an absolute monster in the digital realm.
Daisy walked over to Haruto, her casual demeanor returning instantly as she rubbed her stomach. "Man, all this terminal work is making me starving."
Philo spun around in her gaming chair, giving a lazy wave toward the back of the bridge. "There's a fully stocked military-grade chef kitchen down the hall on the left. Go check it out."
Daisy raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. "Wait, Haruto Can cook."
Hearing that, Philo instantly burst into a fit of muffled giggles, covering her mouth with her hands as her face turned bright red.
Suspicious, Daisy reached out and grabbed Philo's hand to pull it away—only for her eyes to lock onto a gleaming ring resting neatly on Philo's right ring finger. Daisy froze, then slowly turned her gaze to Haruto, noticing an identical matching ring on his hand. She grabbed his wrist, her eyes narrowing sharply. "Hold on... Philo, what is that ring?!"
Philo's face turned the color of a ripe tomato. Panicking, she bolted straight out of the control room doors at top speed, yelling over her shoulder, "GOODNIGHT BYE!"
Haruto nervously tried to back away toward the exit as well, but Daisy snatched the back of his shirt before he could take two steps. "Oh no you don't. Before you go anywhere near a kitchen, you and I are going to sit down and have a very long talk about these rings."
Before Daisy could interrogate him further, the sliding doors hissed open again. Marena stepped into the control room, having changed out of her tactical gear into comfortable, casual clothes, with her black cat ears and tail twitching lazily. She blinked at the tense scene, crossing her arms. "Did someone say something about cooking?"
Haruto pointed awkwardly toward the kitchen hallway. "Ah... I was actually just heading down to make some food."
Marena's eyes lit up. She stepped right up to him with a bright, enthusiastic grin. "Oh! Why don't I help? I actually make some amazing dishes myself!"
Marena's eyes lit up with absolute excitement, her cat ears perking straight up. "Oh, let's do it! I'm totally helping!"
Daisy immediately tried to step in, waving her hands. "Wait, hold on—"
"Come on, let's go!" Marena interrupted, grabbing Haruto by the sleeve and eagerly dragging him down the corridor toward the ship's galley.
When the automated doors slid open, Marena gasped, her tail swishing happily. The military-grade kitchen was massive, gleaming with high-tech stainless steel appliances, pristine prep stations, and shelves packed with futuristic ingredients and rare interstellar spices. It was basically a chef's paradise.
"Whoa... this place is incredible!" Marena beamed, already tying back her dark hair. "I'm starting right now!"
Haruto leaned against the counter, watching her with an amused smile. "You don't really have to push yourself, you know. We can just let the ship's automated food replicators handle it."
Marena puffed out her cheeks, crossing her arms defensively. "No way! I want to cook a proper meal with my own hands for you and everyone else."
Seeing how determined she was, Haruto chuckled and surrendered. "Alright, fine, have it your way." He turned around, pulling open a few steel storage drawers to hand Marena the utensils and ingredients she asked for.
With that settled, the two of them set to work side by side in the spacious kitchen, the rhythmic chopping of vegetables and the gentle sizzle of a pan filling the air as they waited for the rest of the crew to join them.
After a short while, Marena noticed Haruto standing by, and a playful smirk crossed her face. She gently nudged him aside, holding up her hands. "Alright, step aside and let a professional handle this. Give me the reins."
From that moment on, Marena took over the entire kitchen with absolute mastery. Her movements were fluid, precise, and breathtakingly fast. She chopped, seasoned, tossed, and regulated the high-tech burners with the grace of an executive chef running a five-star Michelin restaurant. Haruto stood back, blinking in pure awe as he watched her effortlessly orchestrate a dozen pans at once.
Even Daisy, who had just walked into the galley to check on them, stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes wide with shock at Marena's incredible culinary dexterity.
Within minutes, a rich, mouthwatering aroma flooded the entire galley, wafting down the corridors and instantly drawing the attention of the rest of the ship.
Marena plated a small portion of her masterpiece, scooped a bite onto a spoon, and gently blew on it to cool it down. She turned to Haruto with a radiant smile, holding it right up to his lips. "Say aaah~"
Hesitantly, Haruto opened his mouth and took a bite. The moment the flavors hit his taste buds, his eyes lit up like shooting stars. The taste was out of this world—rich, perfectly balanced, and utterly delicious.
Right behind him, Daisy couldn't resist any longer. She snatched a piece off a nearby plate, popped it into her mouth, and her jaw instantly dropped. "Whoa... holy crap, this is actually amazing!"