En route to Hyperion IX
Petra:
Petra's fingers that were interlaced with Nat's tightened, even as the rest of her body relaxed. The Professor's breath on her neck and ear triggered a cascade of warm colors to flood the thin pilot's sensory cortex. A few moments later, her breathing steadied and fell into a light, even rhythm.
Hugh:
Hugh largely remains silent and leaves Petra and Nat their emotional space. His breathing is steady as he lies on his back and stares at the ceiling, keeping his mind as quiet as possible.
Later, nap and emotional needs met for the moment, and the memory of her presence and her permission creating an unseemly bounce in the planetologist's step, Nat slid a chair over to Hugh's bunk. "
We met under extremely unusual circumstances, and there's a decent chance we'll work together again, so I was wondering: what should we," her gaze darted to where Petra was sitting, "
know about you, and what would you like to know about me," her brown cheeks acquired a ruby undertone and her eyes dropped briefly to the floor, "
that you don't already know?"
On Hyperion IX - Mission Debriefing with Jewel
Vesperos Willbrand:
"Well, if I can call you Nat, then you can call me Ves!", he exclaimed at Natakkoa, doing that little finger-wagging and winking at the same time. It was almost flirtatious, but more of in a playful kind of way.
Nat offered a flat return gaze, reminiscent of one watching a vid-clip of some 2-year old mugging for the camera: desperately seeking attention, and possessing limited experience in how to attain it. "
Not 'can call me Nat,' Ves - will." Her eyes danced to the chair next to her. "
Unless earned otherwise."
Game Master:
Jewel Coz* knocks on the door before entering...then walks to the end by the monitors and sits down. "This is a debriefing on the mission you three recently completed," she says in an even and neutral tone, indicating Natakkoa, Petra and Hugh. "This man may have relevant skills based on the captain's report. Please proceed with a description of the mission and the events as they unfolded," she indicated Vesperos, then folded her hands on the desk to wait.
Nat listened, then, as Petra outlined the events of the station with the efficiency and attention of a pre-flight check, well aware of the emotional toll the re-telling extracted. Mid-way through, Nat lay her tablet on her lap and placed her hand on the pilot's back, gently, just above the chair-back at the base of the neck, lending an awareness and support in soft, slow movements.
As she finished, Nat took a breath to add her perspective, but Rach's officer lumbered in with the Official Company Statement - answering as many questions as it raised.
When Jewel had seemed to finish, and had presented the bags of monits as the period to her statement, Nat cleared her throat. "
So, correct me if I have this wrong - by 'discretion' you mean: 'we don't ask any questions and have little to no idea about the safety of our operatives,' 'we don't ask any questions about the need for or usefulness of secondary or tertiary skill-sets' like, oh, I dunno, let's say 'Zero-G' experience, and 'we don't ask any questions and have no idea what the actual mission entails or Who It's Even For.' AND" her voice rising, "
we end up nearly being annihilated by a Von Newman Event. Which, granted, I don't lay at your feet...unless it's somehow connected to the client you don't know and the job you didn't know." She eyed the monit bag in front of her. "
In any case...I don't know that I've 'earned' that job-'completion' fee OR," she stressed,"
that 1000 monits covers the hazards and utter deliquency with which you handled this operation."
She continued looking at the bag, then over to Jewel, her eyes blacker even than their normal dark brown, conduits of pure energy. "
Let's talk about fucking with someone's mind and memory against their will first, and then we can discuss 'payment.'
I have many, many concerns about the way you do business and the way you treat your contractors - or, in the ignorance borne of 'discretion,' how you allow your contractors to be treated by your clients."