mental link | day: 36

[wrackful]

[Exhaustion buzzes dimly, resignation a bitter aftertaste. It's a clear sensation that Murphy doesn't want to be doing this, but that somehow, he's ended up feeling it's his best option.]

( I need a ride to the station. Someone who can fly the shuttle. )

[The request is in his tone, even if he doesn't extend a please. And before his teammates can weigh in:]

( It'll be a round trip. Can't miss stage three of the alien crazy death show, can we. )

[The last is absolutely dry as a bone.]

Comments

[wrackful]

( I just need to head back for a while. ) [It's not even entirely a lie, phrased like that.] ( Their shuttles take hours, I'll probably be ripped to pieces for them to sell or something by the time I get to the end of the line. )

[The thrills of competitor celebrity.]

( Look, all I can give you for it is an IOU. But we're brainlinked, so it's not like I can ditch on it. )

[shiro2hero]

(All right. You know where to find it, right?)

[He's assuming so, anyway. But there's a brief mental image of the landing pad, regardless.]

(You don't need to owe me -- I could use an excuse to practice in the airspace around here.)

[wrackful]

( Yeah, well, I'll owe you anyway. )

[No one does anything for nothing is a cynical worldview, but also an easy one. It makes things simple.]

( I'll be there in fifteen.

Thanks. )

[shiro2hero]

(Suit yourself, but it's really not necessary.)

[He won't push beyond that, though. It's important to some people.]

(I'll be here.)

[wrackful]

[He's there a little later than fifteen. Bag slung across his chest, he's dressed dark in comparison to the crowds of Shril, hood of his sweater drawn up to avoid getting recognised by any particularly avid followers of the competition. It had gone some way to hide the sleepless state of his face from Bellamy, too. Not that the mental connections ever allowed for much hiding of anything.]

Hey. Sorry. [He says, pushing his hood back as he approaches.] Lines for the tubes were bad.

[shiro2hero]

[It's fine with him. He's back in armor, because clearly "black and white space armor" is inconspicuous. But there are plenty of people here with more outlandish outfits -- and that's just the people on the flight deck.]

[He turns when the presence of someone else, of someone from the station, gets his attention.]

No problem. I wasn't in a rush. You ready to go?

[wrackful]

Yeah, definitely ready.

[And in a rush, though he's managing to throttle the signs of that as far down as he can. Waiting in line for one of the Waypoint's shuttles would've been torture for more reason than just being recognised, and there's an element of relief for stepping on board the shuttle.]

It's Shiro, right? [He's picked up the guy's name from the Nest. He knows that, but right now he can't summon the energy to feel bad about it.] Thanks. Again.

[shiro2hero]

Yeah. And you're Murphy.

[It's okay, they're on the same page as far as "things I learned through the Nest" go. Either way, he's not here to judge.]

[Just step to the pilot's seat.]

Hey, like I said. I'm always open to practice runs through this traffic. You're doing me a favor, if anything.

[wrackful]

[Initial instinct would be to stick to the back, closer the door, and he had, on the trip down. But they're two people in the whole shuttle, so he takes a seat up the front, tucking his bag underneath and strapping himself in with air of familiarity that speaks to more than just a few mission trips on and off the station.]

Not as big of one as you're doing for me, believe me.

[Low, as he tips his head back into the headrest, fighting the urge to close his eyes. He'd just be stuck with the inside of his mind, then. Not a good idea.]

So, did you do spaceflight before?

[Before being the nicest term. Before the station, the Nest, the bug.]

[shiro2hero]

I'll take your word for it.

[They're both oddly at ease with this situation. He's running the last few preflight checks like he's always run this shuttle. Only glancing at certain panels when they ping him, otherwise navigating by touch.]

Yeah. I was a pilot -- got picked to fly the first manned mission to the edge of the solar system.

[There's no small amount of pride there. Just that he'd been chosen. Everything afterward had been a mess, but that part still stayed golden.]

[wrackful]

That's pretty impressive, man.

[Genuine. Being born in space didn't give you an automatic on knowing how the science of it all worked, and he has enough knowledge to put a "first manned mission" in its context.

For a moment he's reminded of Raven, all of her fierce genius and easy talent. It's a set of memories he's quick to push away.]

Guess it's a shame they'll never know how much further you got.

[shiro2hero]

Thanks. Sometimes I need to remind myself a little, to be honest.

[It's easy to forget, out here. In the face of everything else that's gone on. There's a lot more happening here, a lot of things happening in the universe, that make even that achievement feel small.]

[... and then he's lucky. Lucky the fact the ship starting up hides the hesitation. The flash of his own memories (crashing onto earth, pleading to be heard, ignored, held down, all they wanted was the arm all they wanted was).]

Nah, I... I think they had an idea.

[wrackful]

Of this?

[His interest rises more sharply, maybe some small amount of hope behind it. Had Shiro found a way to tell his home where he was?]

[shiro2hero]

No -- No, I meant. Other things. Back where I'm from.

[There's apology from him. In the wake of Murphy's interest.]

A lot happened before I got here. I think... they knew something.

[wrackful]

Right.

[There's disappointment there, but he swallows it down. It had been stupid to get hopeful in the first place. He lifts a hand, rubbing at his forehead.]

So, what, you somehow landed in crazy crap like this?

[The competition, the waypoint itself. Mara had been from a place with space travel, hopping between planets, different cultures and species. The idea wasn't so alien to Murphy as it might have been, before.]

[shiro2hero]

I'm sorry.

[The last thing he'd wanted was to get someone's hopes up like that. Because he can't help but think of Pidge -- of how important getting home is to her.]

[He doesn't answer right away. If only because he's doing his best to navigate the crowded space around the waypoint.]

Hold on -- might have to do some fancy footwork... [But he'll answer. After a moment.] Last thing I remember back ... home, I guess? This enemy everyone talks about was trying to kill my team.

They said the only way to stop it was coming out here. So. I came.