Igraine Member
- Last Seen: 9 yrs ago
- Old Guild Username: Igraine
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- Igraine 11 yrs ago
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Aphelion: A Sci-Fi Thriller Based In The Alien/Prometheus Universe
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10 yrs ago
Forum: Advanced Interest Checks
*jumps up all over again, waving both hands frantically* Pick me! Pick me again pick me pick me please pick me I wanna play PLEASE pick me! *grins*
Don't worry about it Dot - honestly, considering the gravity of their three-way conversation at the moment, Pauline just popping in to say "hello" really isn't that high on the "super-important" scale, although maybe he'll want to talk to her later about what happened, who knows? *shrugs* It's all right, no edits needed.
I know Abby is up next, but so sorry, I just cannot get to it tonight with a test I have tomorrow afternoon - but in the evening though, I sure do plan on it! For everyone else I write with who's here too, if I said I'll have something today, then I certainly will - all else, likely by tomorrow evening
I know Abby is up next, but so sorry, I just cannot get to it tonight with a test I have tomorrow afternoon - but in the evening though, I sure do plan on it! For everyone else I write with who's here too, if I said I'll have something today, then I certainly will - all else, likely by tomorrow evening
So sorry to hear it Lil, this was an awful lot of fun for the short time it lasted, the characters and the storyline. I pray everything in your world gets right-side-up, so you'll have the resources to revisit something like this in the future. *hugs*
Oh Kuro, you didn't have to do all that but if you had honest poster's remorse then of course, do whatever you like with your own writings hon, no need to be sorry!
Justric said
I'll be working on Hob shortly. In the meantime, if anyone knows where the heck I put my wallet, I'd be much obliged!
Cannot wait for more Hob, Justric! And dang, that's just a shame about your wallet *shifty eyes, scootches hand back under the couch cushions... * Sure do wish I could help you there... *ahem*
And you know Kuro, I just can't imagine what goes better with gummy bears. You got your sweet, your salty - all that's needed now is the third food group, caffeine, and it's the triumvirate of win! *grins*
And there we go, the 200th post!!! ( 
I never get to make the number milestones! ) Antoine is free to nap, and Dot? If you like, I hope that will give you at least a little something to add to for Park's post, or someone to talk to or share gummy bears with in the near future since Pauline's coming back to Hangar Six.
And the same for you too Idle, if you'd like to put together a Reece post again - all the options, just throw 'em out there!
I never get to make the number milestones! ) Antoine is free to nap, and Dot? If you like, I hope that will give you at least a little something to add to for Park's post, or someone to talk to or share gummy bears with in the near future since Pauline's coming back to Hangar Six. And the same for you too Idle, if you'd like to put together a Reece post again - all the options, just throw 'em out there!
"Mowzer is a good and wise creature, isn't he? You could do a lot worse than following his lead." Pauline took Antoine's hand in hers, her own palms not sweaty or nervous in the least - or at least not anymore. Antoine was a strange man, without the least doubt. But just as undoubtedly Pauline knew she could grow fond of the strange man beneath the handsome exterior, and his optimism - wherever it originated - could almost be infectious, even if she did not understand or trust its source.
She shook his hand and let him go, reaching only to scratch Mowzer one more time behind the ears. "He's a good tag partner - I hope we meet again, though he'll have to be at the top of his game if he's going to come play in Hangar Six again." Pauline laughed. "I don't think he made a friend in my new boss at least... "
She stood to her feet then, a little unsteadily after having crouched so long, a touch lightheaded but she got her bearings quickly enough. "It has been a pleasure Antoine, and I'm sure we'll run into each other again. It's a very small Shift after all."
And a very small lot of humanity left too... But she didn't say that thought aloud, only smiled sweetly to Antoine and his Mowzer as she waved farewell over her shoulder. Pauline pulled the tablet from the deep, knit front pocket of her sweater as she walked, and winced with a quick hiss of a breath when she realized just how long she'd been gone. This was no way to start proving to your boss that he hadn't just made an enormous mistake in hiring a complete unknown.
And only to add guilt on top fault, Pauline could see by the blinking light in the corner, she still hadn't responded to Dr. Park's gentle invitation to talk. She sighed, a big exhalation of air past her lips as she began to type.
Hello Dr. Park, it was good to hear from you. Of course that was a lie, but she figured a tiny white lie in the service of politeness didn't really hurt anything. Besides, there was a better than good chance that wouldn't be a lie in the future, so she minded that little untruth less and less as the seconds passed.
I could probably stop by a little later this afternoon, after I get off work. Does a walk in the gardens sound good to you? Talk to you soon, Pauline She sent the message with a tap of her finger, feeling just a little better about things as she slid the tablet back into the knit pocket, and then broke into a dead run back to Hangar Six.
She shook his hand and let him go, reaching only to scratch Mowzer one more time behind the ears. "He's a good tag partner - I hope we meet again, though he'll have to be at the top of his game if he's going to come play in Hangar Six again." Pauline laughed. "I don't think he made a friend in my new boss at least... "
She stood to her feet then, a little unsteadily after having crouched so long, a touch lightheaded but she got her bearings quickly enough. "It has been a pleasure Antoine, and I'm sure we'll run into each other again. It's a very small Shift after all."
And a very small lot of humanity left too... But she didn't say that thought aloud, only smiled sweetly to Antoine and his Mowzer as she waved farewell over her shoulder. Pauline pulled the tablet from the deep, knit front pocket of her sweater as she walked, and winced with a quick hiss of a breath when she realized just how long she'd been gone. This was no way to start proving to your boss that he hadn't just made an enormous mistake in hiring a complete unknown.
And only to add guilt on top fault, Pauline could see by the blinking light in the corner, she still hadn't responded to Dr. Park's gentle invitation to talk. She sighed, a big exhalation of air past her lips as she began to type.
Hello Dr. Park, it was good to hear from you. Of course that was a lie, but she figured a tiny white lie in the service of politeness didn't really hurt anything. Besides, there was a better than good chance that wouldn't be a lie in the future, so she minded that little untruth less and less as the seconds passed.
I could probably stop by a little later this afternoon, after I get off work. Does a walk in the gardens sound good to you? Talk to you soon, Pauline She sent the message with a tap of her finger, feeling just a little better about things as she slid the tablet back into the knit pocket, and then broke into a dead run back to Hangar Six.
Great to read your post there Melonhead, and just popping in to say I hope everyone's having a great weekend!
I understand exactly what your Dad means! I went to see "Up" in the theatre, and bawled like a baby through the first part - did not expect the feels like that! 
"Nothing is unbreakable Hob," Devika said gently, adjusting the straps of the rubber breathing mask carefully until she was satisfied the fit would be as comfortable as she could make it. "I couldn't tell you if they were lying, or if they were just genuinely mistaken, but... This isn't... ECT... "
Hob caught her gaze, and held it, and Devika's voice trailed off to nothingness. No, she had not known the reason behind the straps but she had no reason at all to doubt Hob's words. Some small ember of her innate defiance, as much a part of the little woman as her DNA, tried to flare up in her gut, to spit out some retort about engineering and their damned equipment fetish, but she simply... Could not. Devika was suddenly so very tired, the full weight of her grief for these people - and for this man in particular - finally overwhelming and squelching her indignant rage like a heavy damp blanket to smother a fire.
Devika knew pain. She saw pain most every single day in her practice, had been trained to do what she could to ease that pain, to make it tolerable even if she could not erase it entirely. But this? This was more than pain. This was suffering; suffering deliberately inflicted on an unwilling handful and steadfastly maintained for the purported "good of all." And now? Now Devika's own hands had been shoved elbow-deep in this soul-defiling nightmare. She was helpless to do a goddamned thing to truly make this right for any of them, and all she really wanted to do was sit down and cry.
But of course, she did not. Would not. Devika's face was a veritable artist's study of composure, a visage maintained steadfastly through the killing fields of the Sino-Korean War, where she waded through the human wreckage of IEDs and bullets, grenade shrapnel and claymores and so many more hideous and infinitely-varied ways men imagined to kill one another. If Hob could bear to live this, then certainly she could bear to witness it all, and endure.
"If it's all the same to you, then I'll leave the restraints off," she said evenly, though she adjusted the bracket at his temple herself, deftly ensuring the tightest possible fit. For a brief moment Devika considered reminding Hob she promised she would go see the Psych personnel, to see about shifts designed to give all the NI techs at least eight hours of sleep, but decided against it almost as quickly. She could make no guarantees, and knew she ought to hold her tongue.
No matter. Hob had already closed his eyes, dismissing her out of hand and honestly? She could not blame him in the least. Devika's heart hammered in her throat as she bent to his ear, so close to the darkness of a space no larger than a coffin she had to use every last ounce of discipline she had not to recoil and bolt. A renegade tendril of ebony hair escaped her pony tail, brushing his cheek as her small fingers reached to take his gently. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, giving Hob's fingers a warm, quick squeeze before she stood back up, suppressing the shudder of genuine terror as she punched in the code that pulled Hob's still-living body into an airless black hole.
Devika took a stuttering breath, forcing it to become something far more regular before she turned to the three medical technicians who had accompanied her. These women were among the very best she could find of this Shift, all of them willing to learn, and willing to treat the NI-techs with the modicum of dignity every human being deserved. Several screens along the far wall suddenly lit up, the various scrolling graphs transcribing the internal workings of Robert S. Bach into waves and dips, peaks and valleys that would mean little to anyone but the handful of medical personnel and NI technicians aboard the Copernicus.
"Ernestine, Hob will be yours to monitor during this shift. I'll be taking Iliana and Nicole to see to Yuriko and Charlie, but I'll be back when we're done. Did you bring those manuals I gave you?"
The young woman held up her own tablet in a cinnamon-brown hand, nodding as she flashed Devika a grin. "Do you mean about three thousand condensed and downloaded pages of theory and practice and research spanning the combined centuries of nursing practice? Sure Major Lane, wouldn't leave home without it."
Devika smiled despite herself. "That's my girl. You know how to get hold of me - and call me if you have any question, or see anything you even suspect is concerning! Loud and clear, yes?"
"Yes ma'am." Ernestine and Iliana and Nicole had heard these words at least several dozen times or so, but that was really not a problem to these young women. Major Lane was a good boss, a really good boss who cared about her people, and the people she cared for as well. She was the kind of supervisor who never demanded of anyone what she would not expect of herself, and even before humanity was reduced from seven billion to around seven thousand, that was pretty damned rare.
That, and she dared to chew Lieutenant Harris a new one. Now that was kind of fun.
Devika hurried with her two charges in tow, down the narrow hallways of the Copernicus to the NI chamber of the next oncoming tech of the Starboard Watch. "Yuriko?" The little woman walked swiftly to the Asian woman in the rust-colored jumpsuit, offering her hand with a wide, genuine smile. "It's a real pleasure to meet you. I'm Major Devika Wilkes-Lane, the new chief medical officer for the NI program - though please feel free to call me Devi if you like."
"I was just woken with Third Shift, and if you have a moment? I'd like to talk with you for just a few minutes before you go in. There have been some changes made... "
Hob caught her gaze, and held it, and Devika's voice trailed off to nothingness. No, she had not known the reason behind the straps but she had no reason at all to doubt Hob's words. Some small ember of her innate defiance, as much a part of the little woman as her DNA, tried to flare up in her gut, to spit out some retort about engineering and their damned equipment fetish, but she simply... Could not. Devika was suddenly so very tired, the full weight of her grief for these people - and for this man in particular - finally overwhelming and squelching her indignant rage like a heavy damp blanket to smother a fire.
Devika knew pain. She saw pain most every single day in her practice, had been trained to do what she could to ease that pain, to make it tolerable even if she could not erase it entirely. But this? This was more than pain. This was suffering; suffering deliberately inflicted on an unwilling handful and steadfastly maintained for the purported "good of all." And now? Now Devika's own hands had been shoved elbow-deep in this soul-defiling nightmare. She was helpless to do a goddamned thing to truly make this right for any of them, and all she really wanted to do was sit down and cry.
But of course, she did not. Would not. Devika's face was a veritable artist's study of composure, a visage maintained steadfastly through the killing fields of the Sino-Korean War, where she waded through the human wreckage of IEDs and bullets, grenade shrapnel and claymores and so many more hideous and infinitely-varied ways men imagined to kill one another. If Hob could bear to live this, then certainly she could bear to witness it all, and endure.
"If it's all the same to you, then I'll leave the restraints off," she said evenly, though she adjusted the bracket at his temple herself, deftly ensuring the tightest possible fit. For a brief moment Devika considered reminding Hob she promised she would go see the Psych personnel, to see about shifts designed to give all the NI techs at least eight hours of sleep, but decided against it almost as quickly. She could make no guarantees, and knew she ought to hold her tongue.
No matter. Hob had already closed his eyes, dismissing her out of hand and honestly? She could not blame him in the least. Devika's heart hammered in her throat as she bent to his ear, so close to the darkness of a space no larger than a coffin she had to use every last ounce of discipline she had not to recoil and bolt. A renegade tendril of ebony hair escaped her pony tail, brushing his cheek as her small fingers reached to take his gently. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, giving Hob's fingers a warm, quick squeeze before she stood back up, suppressing the shudder of genuine terror as she punched in the code that pulled Hob's still-living body into an airless black hole.
Devika took a stuttering breath, forcing it to become something far more regular before she turned to the three medical technicians who had accompanied her. These women were among the very best she could find of this Shift, all of them willing to learn, and willing to treat the NI-techs with the modicum of dignity every human being deserved. Several screens along the far wall suddenly lit up, the various scrolling graphs transcribing the internal workings of Robert S. Bach into waves and dips, peaks and valleys that would mean little to anyone but the handful of medical personnel and NI technicians aboard the Copernicus.
"Ernestine, Hob will be yours to monitor during this shift. I'll be taking Iliana and Nicole to see to Yuriko and Charlie, but I'll be back when we're done. Did you bring those manuals I gave you?"
The young woman held up her own tablet in a cinnamon-brown hand, nodding as she flashed Devika a grin. "Do you mean about three thousand condensed and downloaded pages of theory and practice and research spanning the combined centuries of nursing practice? Sure Major Lane, wouldn't leave home without it."
Devika smiled despite herself. "That's my girl. You know how to get hold of me - and call me if you have any question, or see anything you even suspect is concerning! Loud and clear, yes?"
"Yes ma'am." Ernestine and Iliana and Nicole had heard these words at least several dozen times or so, but that was really not a problem to these young women. Major Lane was a good boss, a really good boss who cared about her people, and the people she cared for as well. She was the kind of supervisor who never demanded of anyone what she would not expect of herself, and even before humanity was reduced from seven billion to around seven thousand, that was pretty damned rare.
That, and she dared to chew Lieutenant Harris a new one. Now that was kind of fun.
Devika hurried with her two charges in tow, down the narrow hallways of the Copernicus to the NI chamber of the next oncoming tech of the Starboard Watch. "Yuriko?" The little woman walked swiftly to the Asian woman in the rust-colored jumpsuit, offering her hand with a wide, genuine smile. "It's a real pleasure to meet you. I'm Major Devika Wilkes-Lane, the new chief medical officer for the NI program - though please feel free to call me Devi if you like."
"I was just woken with Third Shift, and if you have a moment? I'd like to talk with you for just a few minutes before you go in. There have been some changes made... "
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