Procession

With the meeting concluded, you were about to leave, but not before the Captain added, "The next repair team doesn't leave until after the ceremony. Until then, you can keep this with you." His hand motioned toward at the plaque you'd made for the Odyssey, still floating above his table. "I'll meet you there shortly," he finished.

With the memorial in hand, you headed to the dining hall, and the feeling of butterflies in your stomach began to grow. You'd given speeches in school before, but none of those had fully prepared you for anything like this. While you wouldn't be graded on your presentation, the pressure here felt worse. Up to now, your interactions with the aliens aboard the Starpoint had been largely informal whereas this special service for the Odyssey was to be very serious and formal. This might no longer qualify as a first-contact situation anymore, but to you it still carried immense weight and magnitude. You needed to make a good impression since how this turned out could affect the way other species viewed humankind, not just today, but in years to come.

While thinking over parts of the eulogy you were about to deliver, you had another fear. What if nobody showed up? Many of the Greys had other tasks to attend. Aside from a few Cuni, you hadn't met most of them, and who knew if they'd even gotten the message. Maybe Klix, the Arthro ambassador would be there. What about 6T9? Maybe she was too damaged to attend. This new concern was quickly assuaged when the door slid open, and you looked out and saw the dining hall was filled.

Walking toward a small stand newly erected by the windows, you sensed that everyone was watching you. Instead of walking directly down the middle and through the gathered crowd, you opted to take the left-hand side which was more direct. This route also led you past the contingent of Cunis that were seated to that side. Of the nearly forty bunny girls there, you didn't recognize most of them, but you did spot Tawny and Ginger sitting side by side, while Belle, Onyx and Raven sat at another table next to each other. There was no sign of Lily. Sitting ahead of them were about ten younger Cunis. You recognized a couple of them as the pair you'd startled outside your room last night. As you walked past, you overheard a couple of them giggle and say, "Look!" and "Big cock!" which was immediately followed by "Quiet!" and a distinct pair of thumps administered from one of the older Cunis seated behind them.

Reaching the front, you turned and glanced at the rest of the crowd. Though physically smaller in size, most of the crowd were Greys, and you estimated there were about seventy in attendance. Near the front middle area, you spotted Klix, and the Grey next to him appeared to be R-1. It was hard to tell most of the Greys apart, but at least a couple of those you'd met previously in the dining hall or engineering seemed to be among those near the front.

As you approached the stand, one of them stepped forward. "Some of the crew could not attend. If you'd like, this can be broadcast to consoles in other areas of the ship via your MPAD device."

"Yes, I'd like that," you replied. Then you placed the memorial at the front of the stand, stepped up onto it, and looked out over the crowd once more. Everyone was watching you, no doubt curious about what to expect. You took one deep breath and slowly exhaled, calming your nerves as best you could. This was it. "MPAD-24 begin broadcast to consoles."