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Sword of Himemiya Esk Lieutenant Utena Tenjou stretched her arms out over her head and laid down on her new bunk. It had been a seriously long day. She had hardly had a chance to breathe since she reported to the docks at 0600 hours that morning, and between getting poked and prodded by the ship’s utterly humorless doctor, the parade of introductions to the other officers, and the interminable orientation speeches by the captain and first lieutenant, she was more than ready to hit the sack for the night. But just as she was about to start changing out of her uniform, there was a knock at her door.
“Lieutenant Utena, sir?”
Utena sat up on the edge of her bed. “Come in!”
The door opened, and a person about the same age as Utena walked in. She was a bit short for her age, with dark brown skin and a shaved head. Utena noticed with a start the flash of intricate gold implants in the person’s forehead.
“Ah— you must be Ship, then?”
“Yes, Lieutenant. This body is Sword of Himemiya One Esk Seven. It’s good to meet you officially.”
Utena fidgeted with the collar of her uniform. She’d never really met an ancillary before. How were you supposed to talk to one? “Good to meet you too. One Esk, huh? I guess that means we’ll be working together a lot.”
“We will. I thought I’d bring you some tea and see how you were settling in.” The ancillary walked over to the room’s small sink and began to fill a flask with water.
“Well, thanks. That’s really thoughtful of you, Ship.”
The ancillary didn’t turn to look at her. “Not at all. It’s my job to look after my crew.”
“Uh, right.” Utena wasn’t sure how she felt about the idea that she needed to be looked after. She was supposed to be a cool, independent officer, wasn’t she? Letting the ship do everything for her made her feel like a little kid.
Still, all the other officers didn’t seem to mind. And if Ship said it was all right…
“I have to admit, I was nervous when I first got my assignment. You hear stories, you know?” said Utena. She was rambling, she knew, but it didn’t feel right just ignoring Ship while it worked. “But everyone’s been pretty nice so far! Everyone except for Lieutenant Saionji, anyway. Is she always such a jerk?”
One Esk Seven hummed noncommittally. The kettle began to whistle.
“Not much of a talker, eh?” Utena prompted. “That’s all right.”
One Esk Seven poured a bowl of tea and handed it to Utena. “I’ll leave you to it. Get some rest, Lieutenant. It’ll be a busy day tomorrow.”
“Aren’t you going to stay for tea?” Utena asked.
“Of course not. The tea is for you, Lieutenant,” said Sword of Himemiya smoothly. “Ancillaries are only permitted to drink water.”
“Aw, come on, just this once?” Utena pouted. “I’d feel weird just sitting here drinking tea all by myself.”
Sword of Himemiya One Esk Seven paused at the door. Utena hesitated for a moment, wondering if it would be better not to question the rules on her first day, but then One Esk Seven turned around, looked at her, and smiled.
“If that’s what you’d like,” it said.
Utena took a breath, relieved. One Esk Seven poured itself a bowl and sat down gingerly on the bed next to her.
“Thanks. I figure we ought to be friends, since we’re going to be in the same decade and all,” said Utena.
“You’re quite welcome, Lieutenant,” said the ancillary, its voice flat and unchanging as ever.
“And you don’t have to bother with all this ‘Lieutenant Utena, sir’ stuff, all right? You can just call me Utena.”
“Of course, Lieutenant.” One Esk Seven’s smile didn’t falter.