[ OPEN ] Hot Springs Episode!

[shri]

CHARACTERS: EVERYONE
WHERE: The Second Flight
WHEN: DAY :022
SUMMARY: The Sauna!
WARNINGS: Nekkid times.

[ A few hours after the murder, she hasn't blown the ship up, and here they are. Another knock knock on everyone's brain: ]

( For those of you that are interested - I have secured us a place at the Sauna. Free for us to be use without interruption from outsiders.

You are to be clean before you come in. )

[ Maybe you're here because she bullied you, maybe you want to soak - maybe you're the poor bastard that is standing guard at the door. Either way, welcome to the Suana, have fun. Or don't. ]

Comments

[earthborn]

Well, if it did the job.

[Shepard considers the memory with a weather eye. Details might be off, but the variety of linkages and parts implied that whatever its function, the construction of the plugsuit was more sophisticated than a mere wetsuit. She compares it, offering Asuka the view, to her own hardsuit, a combination of several layers of technology; Shepard is intimately familiar with every inch of it. Safety, particularly personal safety, is everyone's job, in space. Part of that meant that most inspections and many repairs to gear were the responsibility of the person who would wear it; Shepard's maintenance schedule was meticulous.]

Piloting giant robots is cool. [A self-evident truth.] I've been thinking, when we're done here, I'd like to run a few training drills for people. If we're going to be living in space, we all ought to know the survival basics.

[redheadcarrier]

[ Asuka actually thinks the hardsuit is pretty cool. It's intricate and interesting and reminds her a little of the plugsuit. It also keeps her mind off of naked people, so she's grateful for that. ]

It was OK. I enjoyed it.

[ Until she didn't. ]

I was good, too-

[ Safety? ]

Like... space safety?

[earthborn]

Yeah. Just the basics, I'm not looking to start a dance expo here.

[Although, come to think of it, they do have enough for two or three teams... But Zero-Gymnastics is a whole other sport, and they probably have enough injuries for the time being.]

How to check your seals, what to do in emergencies, how to maneuver in null gravity, that kind of thing.

[redheadcarrier]

I'd be interested in seeing that, actually!

[ It sounds cool. And for once, Asuka seems interested and kind of excited about something. ]

I've never actually been in space before. How cool would that be? An astronaut...

[earthborn]

Uh-uh, no spectators in my class. You wanna come, you gotta work.

[Her tone is teasing, but she's serious enough under the levity. Shepard's reputation as a hard-ass is honestly earned, and she's proud of it.]

And nobody here's an astronaut unless they plan to spend a couple weeks on a research vessel then go home in a disposable escape pod. You've been living in space for at least a month, now, you're no astronaut, you're a spacer.

[redheadcarrier]

[ Asuka rolls her eyes. ]

Yeah, yeah. I know. It's not like you don't run me ragged anyway-!

[ It's not really a complaint. She's found purpose in the exercises Shepard has set her up with. ]

Spacer...? I guess. I never thought about it like that. We never had anyone up in space that long...

[earthborn]

Except you.

[Shepard's grin is downright horrible. It's got that special quality which Joker, consummate professional that he is, would call nothing short of shit-eatting.]

So start thinking about it. You're younger than me, which means you're hopefully gonna last longer, but that doesn't mean there's time to waste. Right?

[redheadcarrier]

[ Asuka lets out a long-suffering sigh. ]

I guess not. How hard could it be, though? I already did boot camp.

[ Here and at home. ]

[earthborn]

That's why they put boot camp at the beginning of your training. To teach you how little you know about your own limits. But see, when most people start, they're already older than you, so they think they already know.

[But they don't. Not like Shepard does, not like Asuka does, each of them knowing their own limits, and how little that knowledge counts for, when it's time to really push.]

So, we'll see. Nice thing about Spacer safety is, if you fuck it up, you usually don't have to worry about it.

[redheadcarrier]

That's a pleasant thought.

[ Asuka sinks a little lower with a frown. She honestly doesn't like thinking about death. She's already had to do it once and she'd rather not repeat the process. Some of that leaks through their link - little bits nad pieces. ]

How about we talk about something else?