IC Inbox

[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

ENG_V_Saverem to OPE_N_Wolfwood

[plantussy]

Coffee?

[lastdecember]

[ Saverem's placing orders with him now? Does he look like a damn barista? ]

Sure. Give me an hour. You want the same as before?

[plantussy]

[ Wolfwood's his favorite barista, okay? ]

Oh, I meant if you wanted to have some. You know, with me.

[lastdecember]

[ Oh. Oh. ...Okay, that makes more sense, sure. ]

It's not all fudge anymore right?

[ Somebody's been living on ration bars for the last couple days. ]

[plantussy]

Thank the stars it's not. That was only fun for the first meal. You should get nothing but the bitter taste of black coffee out of the synthesizer now.

[ Is that a dig? Maybe. ]

[lastdecember]

[ That was definitely a dig. Asshole. ]

After a week of sugar don't you want something bitter?

[plantussy]

It's not one of my favorite flavors, so it's not something I long for.

I did really like that we could have some savory things again, though. Pepperoni pizza should not be sweet.

[lastdecember]

I won't argue with that. Bitter is a good flavor though. Next time you have greasy pizza, have some bitter greens after, like arugula salad. It clears the grease taste out of your mouth.

[plantussy]

Really? Now I have to try it.

[ Vash still doesn't get why people think Wolfwood's an asshole, he's perfectly pleasant to talk random dumb things with! ]

What are you working on?

[lastdecember]

[ Amazing what happens when you ask a guy about food instead of yelling at him for trying to do his job! ]

I'm halfway through replacing all the optical emitter crystals in the holodeck. A couple of them were smudged and it's easier to replace them all with new crystals than to try and recalibrate the old ones to work with the new ones.

[plantussy]

[ Vash is just chronically unable to think the worst of people... and so far he's been right. ]

Twenty years without service wears on everything. I've barely even been in the holodeck since the turbulence.

Do you think you can hand me one or two of the smudged ones? They're decent weights to stabilize the cables while I solder them. I'm replacing some for Sheryl.

[lastdecember]

[ One of the things Wolfwood likes best about Saverem: the guy's a recycler! ]

Sure. I don't have any other use for them right now. I can bring them by later.

[ Oh, wait. Didn't this conversation start with a request from Vash? ]

I could bring them to coffee?

[plantussy]

[ Hey, that's important in any situations, and emergencies the most! ]

That would be great! Would you like a sandwich or anything with the coffee?

[lastdecember]

I could eat. Maybe I'll get one, sure.

[ Why, exactly, is Saverem asking? It's not like he's still locked up -- he can get his own sandwiches. ]

[plantussy]

Great, then it's a coffee break and lunch in one.

[ So he can not feel guilty about eating alone! ]

[lastdecember]

[ That's a thing? That's weird. Having a friend is so weird. ]

I guess so. I'll see you in the mess hall in an hour.

[plantussy]

You got it!

[ It's great having a friend, Vash thinks as he plops his ass on a chair an hour later in the mess hall and puts the freshly-made coffees down - one black coffee and a latte with a bit of whipped cream on top. One doughnut and a sandwich for him is also put down next to his coffee, as he figures Wolfwood will synthesize whatever food he wants.

Her stretches a bit and takes out the CL-10 to go over some of the power generator readings while he waits. ]

[lastdecember]

[ Wolfwood shows up scowling about ten minutes later, freshly scrubbed and hair still damp. He doesn't bother with the synthesizer, instead just dropping into the seat across from Vash and downing half his (now room temperature) coffee in one go. He can't drink on the clock, but there's no rules about caffeine limits. ]

Why the hell is there a holodeck program that rains food?!

[ Hi Saverem. ]

[plantussy]

I'm sorry, what?

[ Vash replies, briefly looking very confused. Then he glances at his half-eaten donut, and okay, he could see the fantasy. If he wasn't sweeted-out from L3TH3's shtick, the idea of baked goods falling from the sky straight into his mouth is something he's definitely dreamed of in his sleep. ]

I guess surrealist things are good to relax with. No need to worry about work when there's food raining from the sky.

[lastdecember]

What's relaxin' about getting meatballs bombed at you?

[ Here, by the way. From his pocket Wolfwood pulls out a case with four optical crystals, and slides it across the table. ]

I figured leavin' the safe-for-work setting on to test the damn thing would be enough, but no, some asshole has a program in there where it's rainin' spaghetti.

[ It was not relaxing. Plus, it totally ruined his appetite for the moment. ]

Stupid.

very underrated movie <3

[plantussy]

I don't know. That sounds messier than what I thought of.

[ Really messy. Just pasta sauce and noodles everywhere, meatballs bouncing off of people's heads? Less fun than floating pastries.

Instead Vash reaches out to take the crystals, inspecting one. They're just the right cut and weight for him to use with the cables, so he smiles. ]

Thank you, Wolfwood. These are perfect.

and a cute book too!

[lastdecember]

[ The crystals have also been washed off. The sauce really did get everywhere. ]

Lemme know if you need more. I've got the rest of that lot in a crate downstairs, just takin' up space in storage.

[ It takes a lot of crystals to manipulate hard light into a fully immersive environment! He'd never spent much time in a holodeck, much less looked behind the panels, and he's amazed at how complicated the arrangement in the emitter was... and a little surprised that he was able to replace all those crystals without getting even one out of alignment. Anybody else would be proud of their work, but Wolfwood's just happy he didn't fuck it up. ]

Guess I could recalibrate 'em if I had to, but that kind of work is really above my pay grade.

ooh gotta check that out

[plantussy]

I will! These will last for a while, but you never know.

[ It's a work of marvel, the holodecks, and must be hell to maintain. Still, they're important for crew leisure and mental health. It's the only place they'll see trees and blue skies for probably the remainder of their time on the Mnemosyne. ]

As long as it all works, fine-tuning it can be left to automatic modes. No need to worry.

Re: ooh gotta check that out

[lastdecember]

[ He really should have tested the emitters with a program for trees and blue skies, but it's already hard enough being stuck on this ship. If he started pretending like he could go outside and breathe fresh air, he might never leave the holodeck. It's a real worry.

And speaking of worries... Wolfwood glances over at Vash, then quickly downs the rest of his cold coffee. ]

Yeah.

[ Non-sequitor incoming, just as soon as he can work up the nerve! There's nobody around to overhear, so any second now...

Deep breath, okay. ]

Are you rememberin' stuff that's not real too?

[ Smooth. Very smooth. ]

[plantussy]

[ Vash is happily eating his sandwich while waiting for Wolfwood to continue whatever he obviously had on his mind, but the bite is quickly coughed up when the nerve is reached and his friend asks that. ]

Y-you too?