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The far east side's filtration system's air duct is broken. There is a hole in it, leaking out into space. It's not the only one of its kind, but it is the latest. There are summoners already working to fix it. Adana wouldn't be much help. She keeps tabs on it, though - and she does the math in her head. After quite a lot of math, she realizes that with how much oxygen has already been lost, and with the cap on how much their hydroponics can produce...
Shuttles aren't due for another two months. There have been petitions for them to show up sooner, with supplies and extra O2 containers and places for refugees. They have been denied. Favoritism towards one colony over another would breach international treaties of fairness. Without it, they will probably reach the point where they don't have enough oxygen to support everyone. In such an event, administration might be forced to pick a district to - to stop breathing. Respectfully, with a thousand apologies, with all of their last wishes followed and all children evacuated from the area. The resulting casualties would be heroes. But dead they would be.
This is unacceptable.
Adana's a summoner, she does not have to stand for this. Fairies would be completely useless in the situation, and every summoner and their mother is summoning an angel to convert unnecessary items into plants or oxygen. She hopes it will be enough, she honestly does, but she's done more math and doesn't consider the percentage of it working high enough.
But there is another thing she could summon. Something that could just make air, or better yet - a space station or lunar colony that isn't lacking in as much funding as her pathetically run-down home of Bartalamos. She finds design specs from the space station Harmony, tweaks them a bit to shove aside the focus on 'science' and more on 'habitation' and adds lots and lots of places for hydroponics. She checks it over, twice, deems it to be better than Bartalamos, and then - then she is going to summon a demon.
Demons have a certain reputation about what they will trade their abilities for. To put it succinctly: a person's soul, or - certain sexual favors. Adana isn't sure if the soul thing is even possible, but she is not going to take the warnings lightly. She locks herself in her room with her specs and hammers out which is a better option: getting raped or losing her soul or possibly both, or hundreds of deaths.
Not a difficult choice.
She draws up the summoning circle shortly after, hands shaking. She is thinking of how to bind the demon to not speak unless it's about the contract, but then there's an announcement over the comm. It is about how every person on this colony has a duty to their fellows, and that if in the event that there must be a - Adana can't help but call it a slaughter - to save the lives of everyone else on the station... Then that is their duty, and they will be remembered.
Adana skips trying to bind what the demon says. She hasn't summoned a demon before and hasn't needed to with the angels or the fairies she's kept to, and looking it up would waste valuable time. If she's tempted out of her soul, fine, it's worth it, she'll give it up in a heartbeat if it means someone's mother or brother or uncle can keep living. She is careful about making sure the daeva can't get out or do anything that is not part of a contract they set. Nothing that she cannot get legally, nothing that is not hers - other lists. Other things, that she can't give up, that go into every summon.
(There is no clause that says, 'You cannot demand I have sex with you' or 'You cannot demand my soul' - Adana doesn't dare, not when the demon might say no.)
She finishes the circle. Then, shivering - she sends out the call to summons.
ask_nicely
from_scratch
Cam nabs summons when he can. Sometimes he doesn't catch them in time - he's asleep or distracted and the summoner gets a different demon, or maybe thinks better of the idea - but on this particular occasion all he's doing is reading (physics, useful stuff). Maybe he'll get to do something worthwhile today. There are advantages to existing in the sideways sort of utopia that he calls home, but the availability of meaningful occupations isn't one.
He shuts his book and lets the summon catch him.
The first surprise is that this is a sloppy job. This summoner is lucky they got him and not any of a dozen demons he can think of who consider humans fun to scare. Or maim.
The second surprise is that it's a sufficiently sloppy job that they're letting him talk, and that's nice surprise.
He turns a pleased smile on the pretty demon-summoner. "Hi! I'm Cam. How can I help you?"
He flexes his wings - they're dusk-blue, and match his barbed tail, which was added almost out of whim some ninety-five years ago. The wings are unimpeded by a shirt, and the tail has plenty of freedom of movement over low-slung exquisitely fitted jeans in just the same color.
He shuts his book and lets the summon catch him.
The first surprise is that this is a sloppy job. This summoner is lucky they got him and not any of a dozen demons he can think of who consider humans fun to scare. Or maim.
The second surprise is that it's a sufficiently sloppy job that they're letting him talk, and that's nice surprise.
He turns a pleased smile on the pretty demon-summoner. "Hi! I'm Cam. How can I help you?"
He flexes his wings - they're dusk-blue, and match his barbed tail, which was added almost out of whim some ninety-five years ago. The wings are unimpeded by a shirt, and the tail has plenty of freedom of movement over low-slung exquisitely fitted jeans in just the same color.
ask_nicely
Absurdly, the pretty demon-summoner is distracted by his lack of shirt. She's not dead, Adana is pretty sure she would have to be dead to not be distracted by shirtless hot demon guy.
Then another warning blares and she remembers why shirtless hot demon guy is in her living room.
"Can you," she says, "make any of the following; new oxygen filtration system, enough plants to keep a lunar colony from suffocating for at least two months, or a space station, complete with shuttles, to evacuate refugees from a lunar colony into?"
Then another warning blares and she remembers why shirtless hot demon guy is in her living room.
"Can you," she says, "make any of the following; new oxygen filtration system, enough plants to keep a lunar colony from suffocating for at least two months, or a space station, complete with shuttles, to evacuate refugees from a lunar colony into?"
from_scratch
"In order - presumably, yes, aaand - given blueprints or a couple weeks," says Cam, "no problem. Plants are easiest of those in terms of what I'd need template-wise to go off, since I've done plants before, but maybe too slow in the quantity you're looking for if the alarm's going off already. They'd be one at a time."
ask_nicely
Adana has schematics. She produces them. "Would these do? Space station is the best bet, this place is a shoddy nightmare. You're absolutely right about the plants but I am not in the situation to be picky."
from_scratch
Cam looks at them. "Looks good - I'll have to make one of the shuttles first and putter out to where you want the station put, though, I can't make things from miles away and I don't think you want to wait for me to flap a million miles."
ask_nicely
"Again, absolutely right," she agrees. "I'm not picky on where the station goes aside from 'in a stable orbit around Earth' and 'not going to hit anything or screw up any satellites.'"
from_scratch
"I'm not possessed of an up to date map of what-all space debris there is to avoid these days; do you have a candidate spot picked out or d'you mean for me to guess?"
ask_nicely
"Several spots picked out, I have made charts." She produces the charts, and shows them. She points at the closest one. "Any is fine, that one one's closest but I like to have options. In case for some unknown reason the closest available location offends you."
from_scratch
"I'm pretty easygoing about where I construct space stations. All right, so, shuttle, fly thisaway, build that thing, populate with shuttles, that's the plan?"
ask_nicely
"Essentially."
She doesn't ask what his price is. Adana has decided in advance that it doesn't matter, and she is not going to give herself a chance to back out by listening to whatever he wants as payment. He is not allowed to demand her life, he's not allowed to demand she hurts someone or steals property. So it's only her, that will be hurt.
She doesn't ask what his price is. Adana has decided in advance that it doesn't matter, and she is not going to give herself a chance to back out by listening to whatever he wants as payment. He is not allowed to demand her life, he's not allowed to demand she hurts someone or steals property. So it's only her, that will be hurt.
from_scratch
"Done," he says, with sufficient finality that the circle ceases to confine him; he stretches a wing past its border. "All right, where's my takeoff point and are you coming along?"
ask_nicely
"Yes, I'll show you there and go with you to see if there's any essentials I didn't think of that you could provide."
from_scratch
"Okay then." He steps out, tilts his head, waits to be shown the way. "Do you know how to fly the kind in the blueprint or should I make the first one something I know how to handle?"
ask_nicely
She starts showing the way. "No idea how to fly it. Something you know how to handle, please. I have no issue with you flying it, as long as you do not pilot us into something that would kill me or other people. Or maim anyone or... Cause other people harm."
There are colonists, on the way to the shuttle bay. They stare when they see her and her daeva summon. But she is obviously a summoner, obviously not wasting time with them, obviously business-like and possibly likely to unleash demonic wrath on anyone who crosses her. Staring is all they get, people make way for them out of fear. That is perfectly fine with Adana.
There are colonists, on the way to the shuttle bay. They stare when they see her and her daeva summon. But she is obviously a summoner, obviously not wasting time with them, obviously business-like and possibly likely to unleash demonic wrath on anyone who crosses her. Staring is all they get, people make way for them out of fear. That is perfectly fine with Adana.
from_scratch
Cam doesn't pay them any attention either. "Right then, console straight out of a thirty-year-old video game it is. I'm not going to crash the thing. Well, on purpose, anyhow."
ask_nicely
"That's fine. Whatever works to get us to where we need to go."
They reach the shuttle bay. There are shuttle shaped spots ostensibly for shuttles, but none are present. Those are long gone.
They reach the shuttle bay. There are shuttle shaped spots ostensibly for shuttles, but none are present. Those are long gone.
from_scratch
"Minimal commentary preferred? Here I thought I might have landed in a circle without a gag order because you cared to chat, but no." He flips through the blueprints to the part with shuttles on it and sets about constructing one.
He's making modifications, mapping the inputs for the vehicle's various behaviors onto a set of buttons that he did in fact learn to operate out of an old video game. The mapping's close enough; there are features that aren't covered but he doesn't expect to need them and he can always flip up the panel to reveal standard controls under it if he wants them.
He hops into the pilot's seat when he's through; it took about a minute and a half given the adjustments.
"I imagine you'll have to direct me to the exit and calm down whatever passes for air traffic control."
He's making modifications, mapping the inputs for the vehicle's various behaviors onto a set of buttons that he did in fact learn to operate out of an old video game. The mapping's close enough; there are features that aren't covered but he doesn't expect to need them and he can always flip up the panel to reveal standard controls under it if he wants them.
He hops into the pilot's seat when he's through; it took about a minute and a half given the adjustments.
"I imagine you'll have to direct me to the exit and calm down whatever passes for air traffic control."
ask_nicely
"It's not that I don't want to chat. It's that there are several hundreds of lives at stake and I would like to save them as quickly as possible. If you want to add commentary, feel free."
She sits in the co-pilot's seat. It has comm access - she directs Cam to the exit, and then tells the people in charge of this sort of thing that she is a summoner. Yes, a summoner, yes she just summoned a demon, no she will not cause trouble with him (they call Cam an 'it' several times but she is very insistent that he is male) and here is the identification number for her summoning license. They are cleared to go in record time.
She sits in the co-pilot's seat. It has comm access - she directs Cam to the exit, and then tells the people in charge of this sort of thing that she is a summoner. Yes, a summoner, yes she just summoned a demon, no she will not cause trouble with him (they call Cam an 'it' several times but she is very insistent that he is male) and here is the identification number for her summoning license. They are cleared to go in record time.
from_scratch
"In a hurry, but not too much of a hurry to make pointed remarks about my gender to third parties, understood."
He drives them out of the shuttle bay and up into the sky. "You need a license to summon now? Somehow I missed that. Do they make you take a certifying exam? Pay fifty lunamarks?"
He drives them out of the shuttle bay and up into the sky. "You need a license to summon now? Somehow I missed that. Do they make you take a certifying exam? Pay fifty lunamarks?"
ask_nicely
"You do, here at least. Some countries will let you get away without one, but Bartalamos doesn't. Eighteen's the minimum age, you have to take a test, and there's a fee to pay. It's pretty annoying, actually."
from_scratch
"Man, I remember when it was completely unregulated because the only people who knew about it were the ones who were into it personally."
Zoom! He inputs the coordinates for their target destination after he breaks lunar orbit.
Zoom! He inputs the coordinates for their target destination after he breaks lunar orbit.
ask_nicely
"I think it's better that there are more summoners running around now, but yeah, it has some downsides. You should have seen me when I was fifteen and impatient, I kept wheedling my dad to move us to a place where I could practice before I was eighteen."
from_scratch
"So you were very excited about summoning demons to fly you around in shuttles and build you space stations, huh?"
ask_nicely
She laughs, a little. "Not demons, you're the first one I've summoned. I was in a bit of a rush, pardon the terrible circle, please. I was excited about magic in general. Still am, actually."
from_scratch
"Oh, is that why the terrible circle. It's pardoned, it made my week, usually all I get to say is 'yes, summoner' or 'no, summoner', they don't even include an option for 'close but no cigar, summoner' or 'go fuck yourself, summoner'."
ask_nicely
That makes her giggle. "What in Sol did they ask you to do that made you want to reply with that last one?"
from_scratch
"Oh, people want demons for all kinds of icky things, we get much weirder assignments than I'm led to believe angels do, although perhaps less idiosyncratic than fairies. I'm glad most of us don't know how to make pocket nukes, because there's some who wouldn't blink at it."
ask_nicely
Pause. Head tilt. "I'm - not surprised that there are summoners who would ask for icky things, but I'm pleasantly surprised that you don't approve of it."
Also very suspicious.
Also very suspicious.
ask_nicely
"Well, I'm sorry, but I've never summoned a demon before, and since you're usually constrained to two phrases it's not like there's much information on personality traits."
from_scratch
"So far no one's come up with a way to prevent me from rolling my eyes, which is something, although 'no talking' does apply to sign language including various rude gestures."
ask_nicely
"... Okay, I know why the rule of no talking is in place, because apparently you can steal my soul, but I'm imagining you flipping someone the bird and stealing their soul that way and it's morbidly hilarious."
from_scratch
"How apparent is my ability to steal your soul? Have you ever met someone claiming to be missing theirs?"
ask_nicely
She giggles. "Yeah. I'm a bit old-fashioned. Happens when you hang out with angels half of the time."
from_scratch
"I'm not going to steal your soul, anyway. I don't collect them. Nobody I'm friends with thinks it's fun."
ask_nicely
"I hope that's not the only thing keeping you from stealing people's souls," Adana says archly. "I hear they need those."
from_scratch
"Enh, they could always be lawyers. Does lawyering still pay well or do they need soul-requiring second jobs as short order cooks?"
from_scratch
"There you go, souls nonessential for - keeping body and soul together. So to speak."
ask_nicely
"I hear money doesn't buy happiness, so they could end up miserable because they really wanted to be a short order cook."
from_scratch
"It's true! So only law students should summon the soul-stealing kind of demon."
ask_nicely
"And only if they are really sure that they want to be lawyers for the rest of their lives."
Pause. She can't help it, she's - he seems so nice, maybe the standard payment method is just a terrible rumor, she doesn't know.
".... I um. I do have to ask - what sort of - thing would you like me to pay you, um, with?"
Her body language has changed entirely from 'friendly summoner with a sense of humor' to 'please do not touch me.'
Pause. She can't help it, she's - he seems so nice, maybe the standard payment method is just a terrible rumor, she doesn't know.
".... I um. I do have to ask - what sort of - thing would you like me to pay you, um, with?"
Her body language has changed entirely from 'friendly summoner with a sense of humor' to 'please do not touch me.'
from_scratch
"...Oh, damn, I'm - okay I have no practice managing the stereotype because usually no one lets me talk, but in addition to not a soul-stealer, also not a rapist, okay? Calm down. I mean, those exist, they're commoner than the ones who will solicit souls, but I'm not one."
ask_nicely
She relaxes, a bit. "Okay, I was - hoping but not really willing to bet on it. Sorry for - believing the stereotype, thank you for not being a rapist."
She shivers, a little. "I am very glad you are not a rapist."
She shivers, a little. "I am very glad you are not a rapist."
ask_nicely
"Yes," she agrees. "But I knew the risks. Lives are kind of more important."
from_scratch
"And you were in too much of a hurry to go through a few summons to find a helpful demon, I guess."
ask_nicely
"Before I met you I didn't know that there were any helpful demons to be found," points out Adana. "Rampant stereotypes, and all."
from_scratch
"We are much maligned in the press," he sighs. "Okay, here we are."
He parks the shuttle in orbit around the Earth in her choice of spot. He picks up the blueprints and peers at them. He makes the shuttle bay, complete with shuttles, around them, and when it's made and sealed and full of air he pops the cockpit and hops out and walks down a hall that comes to exist in front of him. It leaks air, but he's faster than the vacuum and it looks dramatic and it's fun to walk down a corridor towards empty star-spangled space that's filled with more hallway just slightly before he steps into it every moment.
The summoner's welcome to follow him if she likes.
He parks the shuttle in orbit around the Earth in her choice of spot. He picks up the blueprints and peers at them. He makes the shuttle bay, complete with shuttles, around them, and when it's made and sealed and full of air he pops the cockpit and hops out and walks down a hall that comes to exist in front of him. It leaks air, but he's faster than the vacuum and it looks dramatic and it's fun to walk down a corridor towards empty star-spangled space that's filled with more hallway just slightly before he steps into it every moment.
The summoner's welcome to follow him if she likes.
ask_nicely
She will follow him! Because she is curious, and this will be her space station, so she might as well be there for its creation. Besides, it is quite dramatic and she is trying not to make an 'eeeee' sound at it.
from_scratch
The main corridor around the ring of the station takes about fifteen minutes. He makes another circuit after that, opening doors to the left and right to add details like the 'ponics bay and air filters. And tasteful wallpaper.
"Is mini-gravity good enough for you or do you want me to put a mini black hole in the middle?"
"Is mini-gravity good enough for you or do you want me to put a mini black hole in the middle?"
ask_nicely
"... Is that particularly safe? If it is - gravity would be excellent."
from_scratch
"I have one under my house," he says. "I mean, it can't exactly kill me, but it hasn't even tried very hard. I can give you the fancy setup with the magnets and you can use it for garbage disposal."
ask_nicely
"Okay," she agrees. "Safe for regular very mortal people, please, I like living."
from_scratch
"Believe me," says Cam, "I understand. You want Luna gravity or Earth or something else?"
ask_nicely
"Luna gravity, please - though if you can vary it, I might want to try and make recreational areas for both. People will be living here, after all. It should be a nice place to live."
from_scratch
"Not via black hole, I can't, it's going to be one mass fits all - I guess I could nudge it a little closer to part of the ring, but not by much and not by enough to make the severalfold difference. Somebody who knows more engineering than I currently do would have to invent properly science-fictional artificial gravity first, then I could copy it."
ask_nicely
"Then Luna gravity, it's what we're used to. It's been years since I've been in Earth gravity, I think I would have trouble just walking in it."
from_scratch
"Ah, it's not so bad, that's what my little black hole does for my house is one gee. You'd get used to it. But Luna it is." And he lets himself out an airlock, replacing whooshed-away air, and makes a magnet setup and places a very tiny black hole in the middle.
And lo, there was gravity.
He flies on rapidly conjured air back to the airlock and lets himself back in.
And lo, there was gravity.
He flies on rapidly conjured air back to the airlock and lets himself back in.
ask_nicely
She grins at him, happy to have gravity back. "Thank you! Now I feel at home to prance and twirl."
She demonstrates. It is both prancy, and twirly. Also adorable.
She demonstrates. It is both prancy, and twirly. Also adorable.
from_scratch
Cam laughs.
"You want plants in your 'ponics? Swimming pool in the rec room? Carpeting?" he inquires.
"You want plants in your 'ponics? Swimming pool in the rec room? Carpeting?" he inquires.
from_scratch
"I have excellent taste." He strolls with bouncy Luna-gravity steps towards the 'ponics, laying down soft navy-blue pile with subtle green vine patterns down behind him.
ask_nicely
This was the best 'stupid selfless' (as her brother would put it) idea that she has ever had. The best. Really stupid and partially suicidal and it maybe almost got her raped, but still. It counts.
"... I realize now that I haven't told you my name! I'm terribly sorry, I'm Adana. Adana Sanders! Thank you for being wonderfully helpful!"
"... I realize now that I haven't told you my name! I'm terribly sorry, I'm Adana. Adana Sanders! Thank you for being wonderfully helpful!"
from_scratch
"Pleased to meet you," he says with a little wing-sweepy bow as he starts to stalk up and down the rows in the 'ponics with sprouts of various things following in his wake. "I'm Cam, I believe I mentioned."
ask_nicely
She giggles.
Then she realizes what is happening and wonders if there was another reason that demons are typically confined to two phrases. That's a bit of a terrifying thought. He could be lying and trying to persuade her to take off the summon's constraints.
Adana quietly decides that she will not do that. Even if he is being really helpful and is cute and shirtless and everything, he still gets to keep the constraints. They're not unfair, he can still talk.
Her face doesn't flicker in the slightest while she comes to this conclusion.
"Sure!" she agrees.
Then she realizes what is happening and wonders if there was another reason that demons are typically confined to two phrases. That's a bit of a terrifying thought. He could be lying and trying to persuade her to take off the summon's constraints.
Adana quietly decides that she will not do that. Even if he is being really helpful and is cute and shirtless and everything, he still gets to keep the constraints. They're not unfair, he can still talk.
Her face doesn't flicker in the slightest while she comes to this conclusion.
"Sure!" she agrees.
from_scratch
"I don't get summoned often enough, there's not much to do in Hell besides socialize and fly around and read and throw parts of my house into my black hole so I can replace 'em. All of these are fine activities but they aren't the sort of meaningful I like best." Plants plants plants plants. Many kinds. Labels accompany them: potatoes wheat tomatoes broccoli kale corn zucchini rosemary arugula -
ask_nicely
"Entire parts of your house? Just pick up a living room and throw it into a black hole?"
from_scratch
"I can't, actually, pick up a whole living room. Some demons go in for enough body modification to be able to do that kind of thing but in my case it's more chainsaw it to bits a wall at a time and feed the bits to the pinhole and sweep up the debris and then I get to make a new one. I usually have a few layers of different sorts of wall treatment on a room before I get that bored with it, though. When my black hole gets inconveniently big I'm going to chuck the whole house at it and start again from a higher orbit."
ask_nicely
"That sounds kind of strange, but also fun! Though it must be a pain to constantly destroy things you make."
from_scratch
"Yeah, the angels have one up on us for recycling. Hell rejoiced when the black hole was discovered. Incineration was the previous state of the art for decluttering. We're not pyromaniacs, we just don't want to have to abandon cities under heap of used crap every few decades. Although it's not like we have to wreck stuff, we could in theory even use human reclamation methods for the relatively garden-variety creations, just - it doesn't stay useful indefinitely and who wants to bother with a compost heap when you can just make perfect plants without the fertilizer step?"
ask_nicely
"Incineration? That explains the fire stories. I hope you don't throw actual people into them? Or souls?"
from_scratch
"There are still a few traditional lakes of fire. They are empty of humans and human metaphysical parts."
ask_nicely
"Also demons, angels, fairies, and their assorted metaphysical parts. I consider more than just humans people, I am a responsible summoner. Except when I freak out and make a terrible circle to summon a demon because I do not want people to die. Which reminds me! Have you made the comm, yet?"
from_scratch
"We can't really get visitors, there's no way to get an angel or a fairy into Hell. You guys get all the hosting privileges. No way to get a human into Hell either. If the comm was in your blueprints it is made -" He flips through the blueprints. "Yeah, all set."
ask_nicely
"Then I will go let Bartalamos know that I have a space station and will accept refugees and that they should be made aware of this fact."
Prance, prance, off she goes to do that. Cam is welcome to watch, or keep making the space station. Up to him.
Prance, prance, off she goes to do that. Cam is welcome to watch, or keep making the space station. Up to him.
from_scratch
Cam leaves off plantmaking to follow her in case she needs anything made.
ask_nicely
"Hello," she singsongs to the comm. "This is the summoner Adana Sanders, calling the Lunar colony of Bartalamos, identification 842-B89-120. I have summoned a demon and he is in the process of making a space station. Please hold off on sacrificing people to save oxygen, I will have a retinue of shuttles made to allow refugees into my space station." Because it is hers, legally. Magic being well known has perks. "Yes, it is perfectly safe - what, did you not mean the station? Oh. He is a him and would like you to respect his life choices. Mhm. Yes, I do know what I'm doing. Yes, you may, but only after he's done. Thank you, have a lovely day!"
She is having an absurd amount of fun with this. Absolutely absurd. She is possibly going to have something horrific happen to her sometime in the future due to demon, but she has probably just saved hundreds of people, so she doesn't care. For now, anyway.
She is having an absurd amount of fun with this. Absolutely absurd. She is possibly going to have something horrific happen to her sometime in the future due to demon, but she has probably just saved hundreds of people, so she doesn't care. For now, anyway.
from_scratch
"I don't care all that much if some random moon people respect my life choices," Cam remarks. "Are you going to want me to fly you back to the Moon in one of the shuttles so you can pick up a human pilot and so on and so on?"
ask_nicely
"It still seems terribly rude!" declares Adana. "And yes, I will - but space station first, please. They need time to organize anyway, I just threw a wrench into their spreadsheets. Poor dears."
from_scratch
"I'll go finish your 'ponics, unless you've got a higher priority, then."
from_scratch
"You're welcome! Thank you for allowing me to participate in fixing things up nice for several hundred people."
Back he goes to plant plants. Plant plant plant.
Back he goes to plant plants. Plant plant plant.
ask_nicely
"Anytime!"
Plop. Adana goes into a chair once he departs.
She checks to see if her hand is shaking. The answer is yes. Yes it is. It's not like she's done this sort of thing before, she is kind of frightened. If things go well, if they go exactly as planned - she will be directly responsible for the health and well-being of several hundred people. Which is kind of scary, because if she screws it up, people die. And, of course, if things go terribly, she will be any combination of raped, soul-sucked, dead, or get lots of other people killed.
No pressure, or anything.
Plop. Adana goes into a chair once he departs.
She checks to see if her hand is shaking. The answer is yes. Yes it is. It's not like she's done this sort of thing before, she is kind of frightened. If things go well, if they go exactly as planned - she will be directly responsible for the health and well-being of several hundred people. Which is kind of scary, because if she screws it up, people die. And, of course, if things go terribly, she will be any combination of raped, soul-sucked, dead, or get lots of other people killed.
No pressure, or anything.
from_scratch
Eventually Cam is done with the plants - he's just doing sprouts because there's plenty of air and full tanks of surplus oxygen to start everything off. He swings by the reactor and tops off the fuel, makes sure the water system is full, finishes the carpeting, puts a little basic furniture in all the living quarters -
and then goes looking for Adana again.
and then goes looking for Adana again.
ask_nicely
She is still in the comm room, typing up a list of people she needs to hire in order to run a space station. She has decided that her brother gets to be in charge of security, because once he finds out about this, there will be no stopping him from it anyway, might as well make it official. She will need PR people and cooks and janitors and gardeners and doctors and possibly scientists and - any number of things she hasn't thought of.
"Hi," she says, still typing. "I realized that I will need people to keep this station afloat, I am trying to get a list of who is necessary and work from there."
"Hi," she says, still typing. "I realized that I will need people to keep this station afloat, I am trying to get a list of who is necessary and work from there."
ask_nicely
"I was not expecting you to make me people! That would have worrying ethical problems. Uhh - aside from the shuttles, nothing I can think of."
ask_nicely
"Hmm. Let me do some math, hold on."
Math math math math.
"Twelve, please!"
Math math math math.
"Twelve, please!"
from_scratch
"One dozen on top of videogame-controls shuttle, coming right up." Off he goes, tail swishing.
ask_nicely
She giggles. "Thank you!"
Adana goes back to her list. She does more math, to figure out how many of each job she will need to keep several hundred people safe, well-fed, clean, and happy.
Adana goes back to her list. She does more math, to figure out how many of each job she will need to keep several hundred people safe, well-fed, clean, and happy.
from_scratch
Cam places twelve neatly arranged identical shuttles with non-videogame controls in the bay, and then he goes back to the comm room.
ask_nicely
"You know the minute after I say, 'Nope, go be free' is when I will think of a ton of great things for you to add. Right now, I can only think of an array of computers for my employees to use."