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[lastdecember]

This is the after hours contact for Nicholas Wolfwood, Logistics. If this is an emergency, stop wasting everyone's time and page me.

Comments

[action]

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[So the thing is that this should technically come through a requisition form. But also the thing is that the last time they did this, Wolfwood was very Friendly and Helpful about it, in the most sarcastic sense, back when they were working on a drone for the alien vessel scans.

Current plan is thus: they're filling out the requisition form, but since they're just going to have to confirm that the components match, they'll go down to Operations' storage areas anyway to check, collect the components as is, and be able to send and promptly mark it as fulfilled five seconds later. Clean, easy, neither them or Wolfwood will have to worry about trying to work together, and Rin doesn't have to worry about the headache of 'stealing' from Operations.

A flawless plan that's promptly foiled by walking into the repair bay to the crackle of machinery at work, and the sight of a bright red uniform. And of course the door hissed open just in time for a break in that semi-constant noise, leaving Rin standing in the doorway to promptly snap their CL-10's screen dark. List, what list.]

[lastdecember]

[ There's so many things on the ship that require L3TH3 to operate -- the shields, the blast doors in the hanger, any communications outside of the basic intraship comms, all the computer systems, the fucking lights -- and frankly, it's too many things to leave in the metaphorical hands of an AI that's proven itself untrustworthy. Without L3TH3, they'd be more or less dead in space... but in Wolfwood's opinion, it's really only a matter of time before the AI decides that they're too much of a problem and finds an excuse to purge the ship again.

So he's working on a solution to that problem. Nothing he'll use right away, but something to have in his back pocket in case of an emergency. His first though had been something explosive, something that would put the captain out of his suffering as well as taking L3TH3 offline. But given the limitations of cramming all of Hilbert's medical equipment and a big enough bomb into a drone, he's decided to limit his targets. So an EMP it is.

He's deep in concentration on a particularly delicate process when the doors open, and Lieutenant Joyless stomps in, tablet in hand like always, and with a direct line of sight to the potentially very incriminating coil Wolfwood's been working on. He slaps a hand down on the workbench right in front of the half-finished assembly, and glowers over it at Rin. ]

You need somethin'?

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[There's three full seconds of silence, a suspiciously long period by Rin's usual metrics, especially given the way their attention snaps to the hand that's slammed down onto the bench, then past it - towards the wall, possibly, in their usual avoidance of direct eye contact, though their expression is a pinched frown.]

You don't have to get up. I can find it myself.

[Will that work? Maybe, maybe not, but they're going to start making for the various shelves and containers anyway, skirting around Wolfwood's workstation as they do.]

[lastdecember]

[ Every second ticks by like an eternity. Rin's got about two more seconds, by Wolfwood's count, before he's going to risk his soldering job, throw a shop rag over his project, and get up to escort the bastard out. But Rin moves before Wolfwood does, heading for the nearby shelves like they're got the right to just shop in Wolfwood's store here.

They do, but that's beyond the point. ]

Oi, don't touch anything!

[ Really, what are the chances that Rin could recognize what he's working on anyway? Wolfwood decides in the moment that getting Rin out of the room is more important than (very suspiciously) sitting here and blocking their view of his project, so he shoves back out of his seat and comes around to the other side of the workbench, keeping himself btween Rin and the half-finished electrical coil on the table. ]

You're gonna mess everything up, let me get it! What do you need?

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[It's an excellent way to keep Rin from getting close enough to his project to catch any details, because Rin takes a few automatic steps away from Wolfwood and the workbench when he starts to get close.

The one thing it doesn't do is stop them from trying to get to the racks and parts that they were aiming for in the first place, though they stop short of reaching out to grab anything yet.]

I'm not going to break anything.

[lastdecember]

[ Good -- keep distance between them, and keep all that attention on Wolfwood and not on whatever Wolfwood was hiding a moment ago. If Rin tries to take anything off the shelf, though, Wolfwood's going to get loud about it. ]

I'm not worried about you breakin' anything... fuckin' leave it!

[ He wont' slap Rin's hand away -- although he sure thinks about it for a second -- instead pulling out his CL-10 and flipping quickly to an inventory tracker, that he holds up in Rin's face. ]

There's a log, you've got to use the damn log!

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[Another jerk back, as Rin instinctively gets further away from the tablet screen being shoved into their personal space - really, they're easy to handle if Wolfwood keeps this up! And all it took was being willing to shove himself into their personal bubble.

But they're starting to look a touch more peeved the longer this goes on, lifting a hand to instead swipe for the other side of Wolfwood's CL-10, where they don't have to worry about directly wrestling it out of his hands.

They could use theirs, but this feels more like standing their ground, after their physical retreats.]

If I use the log will you let me get things myself?

[lastdecember]

[ No, bullying Rin is working great! He's going to remember this!]

If you use it right, sure.

[ It's not a complicated system. Wolfwood's just being a dick. There's a part number on the shelf by the item, the same part number in the searchable database log, a couple buttons to tap for how many units of each item Rin wants to take, if there's a department or project to bill them to or if they're just for general usage, and it's all very visual. Bright colors, clear fonts, easy process.

You'd be amazed and horrified how many people have trouble figuring it out. ]

[itdoesntlikeyou]

I know how to use an inventory database.

[They might be genuinely offended by the implication that they don't, in fact. It's got tick boxes and user-friendly UI, how fucking hard can it be? (They know how hard actually, they've seen people get this kind of thing wrong all the fucking time. But still!)

The problem with using Wolfwood's tablet instead of their own is that their thought interface isn't hooked up to it yet, so they have to use it manually, tapping through the search function to start looking up one particular circuitboard, doing their best to ignore Wolfwood as they do. See? They're using it just fine, stop paying attention to them and go back to whatever the hell you were doing, Wolfwood -

They're about to check off the first item from the list and duck around Wolfwood if they need to, to find the shelf in question, when it starts. It doesn't register as sensation at first. They watch from a curiously detatched place as their hand spasms on the body of the CL-10, their grip failing and sending it crashing to the floor. Then they feel it, their nerve endings all bursting with pain so sudden that it catches them off-guard, a sudden snap like their arm just broke itself from the inside out.]

[lastdecember]

[ Oh no, they have to use their hands like everyone else? Seems rough, buddy.

Wolfwood's content to stand right where he is -- which is very intentionally between Rin and Wolfwood's workbench -- with his arms folded in silent annoyance as he waits for Rin to collect whatever the hell parts they came down here for. He's even getting a little eager to see what Rin takes, to try and guess what the parts are going to be used for, when Rin suddenly drops the tablet. ]

What...? Fucker!

[ Wolfwood leans over to scoop the tablet up, brushing it off and tapping a couple commands to make sure that it's not broken (it's not -- they're sturdy). ]

You get drunk before your shift or somethin'?

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[Now would be a great time for a defensive quip or grumble, or a dry kind of deflecting remark - maybe time to throw Vash under the bus, if they had the attention to spare for it.

Instead they grab at their forearm with the opposite hand, fingers digging into the suit skin hard enough that if it were their bare arm they'd be leaving marks.]

Shut - Fuck.

[Usually around Wolfwood Rin sounds flat and defensive, or radiating thinly veiled annoyance, but this time there's pain thick in their voice.]

[lastdecember]

[ Wolfwood's expecting rudeness, for sure! Honestly, he's more than half convinced that Rin is just a full automaton under there, incapable of humor or pain or any other human -- or Ehleen -- feelings. But machine or not, Wolfwood's first instinct when somebody's hurt is to help -- even when its against his better judgment. ]

What's wrong?

[ He stashes his tablet on the nearest shelf, empty hand left hovering in the air like he wants to reach out to Rin and take hold of their arm, or maybe their shoulder to help keep them upright. ]

Oi, asshole.

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[Instinctively Rin jerks away, then flinches, because - ow, fuck. not actually a good idea. They didn't mean to jostle their arm. Gritting their teeth they suck in a breath, uncurling from around their forearm.]

I don't - know. Something broke.

[Taking a slow, even breath, they loosen their hand from their forearm. It doesn't look broken. Not until they cautiously flex the hand, braced for some kind of pain, only for some component under their bodysuit to visibly shift in a way a normal arm is decidedly not supposed to.]

[lastdecember]

[ Rin jerks back, and Wolfwood's hands both go up and out -- he's not touching! No touching, got it, just... something's wrong, and he wants to help.

And then Rin flexes their hand and part of their arm moves, and okay, there's nothing Wolfwood can do to help other than to get Rin to Medical asap. Or do they need a soldering iron and some fresh resistors? What the hell's going on in there, anyway? ]

You, uh... you still got a warranty on those parts?

[ Does joking help? O is he just making everything so much worse? ]

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[It's not making it that much worse - or at least Rin isn't glaring in Wolfwood's general direction. The pain is still there in the tension of their jaw, but the usual pinched scowl has mostly disappeared, leaving them staring. Without the assholish stubbornness, they're just... lost, momentarily.

They go to yank up the sleeve on that arm, only to hiss and stop again. Not because attempting to peel away the skintight fabric jostled something, though it did, but now they're left closing their eyes and carefully uncurling the fingers of their other hand.]

You've got to be fucking joking.

[Both arms. Both. What are the chances? No, really.]

[lastdecember]

[ Both arms now? Whatever's going on, they need a doctor -- sorry Rin. ]

Okay, c'mon, we're goin' to see Hilbert.

[ If RIn doesn't turn and head for the door immediately, Wolfwood will reach out again to give their shoulder a gentle shove -- gotta get moving, pal. Doctor's waiting. ]

Just one foot in front of the other, you'll be okay.

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[Rin doesn't, in fact, turn to make for the door, because they're, admittedly, stuck trying to figure out what the fuck there is in their arms that would both break at the same time when they haven't even done anything lately that they think could - if anything, they'd expect it to be an ankle component, the way they were mistreating the fucking things on the ladders.

Which means that the shove takes them by surprise, making them startle again. One hand swings up defensively, maybe to ward off the prospect of more contact, but as their hand clenches into a fist -

There's a flash and sharp whine, followed by the acrid smell of burnt synthetic fabric, as Rin freezes in place, stare swapping from the hole melted into the fabric of their suit to the black mark left on the wall.

Weakly;] What the fuck.

[lastdecember]

[ He didn't mean it like an attack! He just meant, you know, to get Rin moving, a little momentum assistance. He knows Rin doesn't like being touched, but sometimes -- like in an emergency where suddently both your goddamn arms are broken? -- things happen that we don't like. Like being touched.

So when Rin swings around with a fist, Wolfwood's not entirely surprised, and he starts to step back easily -- just because he's here to help with spontaneous injury doesn't mean he's interested in getting pummeled for it! But then Rin's fist isn't a fist. Then there's smoke.

Then there's a hole in the far wall.

As soon as the shooting starts, Wolfwood dives behind the nearest stack of crates. Look, he knew Rin didn't like being touched, but what the fuck is this reponse!? ]

Are you fucking shooting at me!?

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[Rin drops their hand again, staring at the scorch marks. There's a neat little port that's folded out of their arm, like it's always been there. They take one step back, then another, until their back bumps up against one of the racks of shelving, jostling everything on it.]

I don't have guns.

[It's flat and toneless - just like the automaton that Wolfwood suspects them to be, if it weren't for the sheer incredulity of their expression.]

[lastdecember]

The fuck you don't, what was that!?

[ He's still crouching behind that wall of crates, but he could hear clearly the sound of Rin backing up and hitting a shelf. hat the fuck is the point of lying when Wolfwood just saw with his own eyes that Rin does, in fact, have guns! Or lasers, or whatever the hell that was -- a fucking missile launcher, the particulars don't matter. Rin is shooting, and Wolfwood's not interested in getting shot. ]

Is this what you wanted parts for? Makin' yourself gun mods?

[itdoesntlikeyou]

[On the one hand it's fair, because - those are definitely guns. Despite everything.

But on the other, Rin is freaking out just as much as Wolfwood is here, for all that they're showing it in a more subdued fashion, as the flight on their leash starts flickering towards the yellow-amber range. They'd put their head in their hands, but. Surprise! Guns.]

If I was hiding secret gun mods I wouldn't let anyone find out by trying to shoot them. [But they know even when they say it that it's not an argument that will get any mileage when Wolfwood already doesn't trust what they say. The last thing they need right now is to make Wolfwood think they were trying to shoot him.] I didn't make these. I don't have mods like that, I'm not Security.

[lastdecember]

[ Pardon his slowness in understanding what Rin's been trying to say, but unlike with Savarem's eyes, Rin's new mod is actively dangerous! If Saverem had shot lasers with his eyes instead of just having sparkles in there, Wolfwood's response would have looked more like this.

Still, the shooting hasn't continued, and Rin sounds completely freaked out. Slowly, Wolfwood rises up from the pile of crates he'd been crouching behind, watching Rin warily. ]

You're sayin' this just happened? Out of nowhere, suddenly you're got guns in your arms?

[itdoesntlikeyou]

Hilbert just scanned me and he didn't say anything. I know my [Schematics? Why does that feel like the right word?] mods shouldn't include any.

[Does that admission make Wolfwood more or less likely to abandon his cover? Rin still has their arms held motionless in front of them, aimed more or less towards the ceiling, not flexing their hands or anything further.]