Diego let out an exaggerated puff of air with Preacher’s mocking ejaculation. Winters, a smart, experienced marine, gave a soft chuckle, continued sipping on whatever she had in her cup. Diego sent an acknowledging smile her way, then a dismissive wave at Preacher; she chuckled again. Diego fell into a dull place after that, an inconcrete miasma of self-meditation. He really liked Winters, actually, now that he thought about it. She was pretty, independent, and confident without being arrogant. She was a balanced counterpoint to Diego’s own neurotic distrustfulness, and deluded self-assurance. 

Suddenly, donuts had appeared on the table, and Winters was like a distant memory as Diego scarfed down the strange, powdery, pastry-like circle. With his mouth mostly empty he gave a satisfied chuckle. “Fuck, I didn’t know I was that hungry until I remembered what food was”, he said to no one in particular. The security officer decided it would be prudent to fetch another cup of joe to quench any donut induced thirst. He did so and returned to see the pilot, Raymond Charles, speaking with Zelda and the other engineer. Her name slipped through Diego’s proverbial fingers as he struggled to find it somewhere in the abyss of his mind. Alex? Alison? 

Diego sat back in his seat and proceeded to eat another donut. As he finished it Raymond was addressing the XO. Diego inwardly scoffed at the comment, [i]what in the hell was that supposed to mean?[/i] he asked himself. What kind of God needed to be brought anywhere? And if that was the point of the question, to debase such an existence, in what way could it be helpful? Diego decided to save his time and discount it as a turn of phrase, a manner of expression, an idiom. By the time he was done thinking about it, the other engineer had begun speaking… Alice was her name, Diego finally recalled. 

The security officer couldn’t help but smile wide, his eyes darting across the table to find a friendly, understanding face. He couldn’t stop himself, “I’ve heard that about a lot of British girls,” he said in shameful response. A self-exasperated smirk crossed his face. It’d been a long time since Diego had embarrassed himself this much; though, to be fair, this was the first time in a long time he’d had much serious social exchanges. Not since his time back on earth had he spoken to people so openly, so intimately. Diego glanced at Dr. Laster with a knowing look, receiving a none-too-pleased expression for his trouble. To save himself from any more embarrassment Diego used his cuppa’ like a muzzle, bringing it to his lips to quiet his mouth and mind. He carefully swallowed the sludge, his eyes fully shut, and allowed the disgusting, mostly hot liquid to soothe his soul. A younger Diego might have gotten a kick out of that, now it just made him a little sad.