[open!]

[falsesmile]

Who: Ves (falsesmile) and general!
When: Day 6, afternoon
Where: The Ruined Hull
What: General exploration post!

[ The Ruined Hull has been unlocked! The go-team has been in the area for a while, the stay-team members who are so inclined have probably meandered over here somehow by now -- time to go exploring, but keep an eye on those suit power levels ♥ ]

Comments

[ceruleo]

Like...meditation? [ Lance tries to imagine it. ] Like if I closed one eye and blocked one ear? That's pretty crazy.

[ It sounds unpleasant. ]

[anewhope]

No, it was more of a mantra. Something I would tell myself when I felt overwhelmed. After that, things sort of fell into place.

[ He's come a long way from locking himself in closets and covering his ears in fear. ]

[ceruleo]

[ Fell into place. It sounds like some kind of meditation regimen, the way Clark explains it, though Lance suspects Clark could probably make competitive weightlifting sound like meditation, too. ]

Sorry you had to go through that. [ He can at least recognize when he's being told something personal; his heart goes out to Clark. ] But...seems like it worked pretty well.

[anewhope]

[ His lips curve into a smile. ]

There were some perks after all.

[ceruleo]

Guess so.

[ Lance steps over a flower blooming underfoot, coming up to the far wall covered in tiny shelves, each holding some kind of preserved sample. ]

Hey, Clark. Can you read any of this stuff?

[ It's a little too dark for Lance to see properly, but Clark's got like, super-eyes, right? Plus he's an alien, which somehow makes him a natural at this, or something. ]

[anewhope]

[ Clark moves over to take a good look, letting his suit filter in the alien symbols and create meaning. ]

Plant samples. Endangered species samples. And . . . Kh'svil.

[ceruleo]

Kshwhat now?

[ Lance frowns, approaching the shelves. The 'kh'svil' seems to be some kind of crystal. It's pretty; smoky yellow, it reminds him of Hunk and the mineshaft they'd found the Yellow Lion in. ]

Do you think it does anything? Why does it have a name and the others don't?

[anewhope]

Maybe because it's a specific name of a species?

[ It's a long shot. Though maybe this particular species merits distinction. His stomach lurches at the samples. When he was younger, it had been a cold unsettling fear, that someday the government would come and take him away from his home, a fear that had been shared with his parents. ]

[ceruleo]

But it's a rock! Rocks don't have species.

[ A pause, then a blink. Er. ]

Do they...?

[anewhope]

[ His lips twitch in good humour. ]

By our scientific standards, no, they do not. But what I mean is it looks like a rock, but we don't know if that's true. It may very well be part of a living creature.

[ceruleo]

Huh. [ He hadn't considered that. He's still not used to this whole aliens thing. ]

Maybe we should open it...?

[anewhope]

Maybe.

[ But he pauses deliberately. ]

But let's not open it on the ship. It might be safer to do it outside, just in case.

[ceruleo]

You think it might be like, radioactive or explosive or something?

[ Yikes. He holds the container out for Clark to grab. He isn't the bulletproof one here! ]

[anewhope]

I don't see any radiation.

[ But he's been known to miss things. So his hesitation is visible before he suppresses it. Carefully, he takes the container. ]

But it's better to be safe about what we find.

[ceruleo]

Agreed.

[ Wholeheartedly, in fact. So he's just going to follow Clark. ]

[anewhope]

[ Clark keeps a firm hold on it before surveying the room. ]

See anything else that might be unusual?

[ceruleo]

[ Lance shakes his head. ]

Not really? Inui and I found these earlier--[ He reaches out, grabs a fruit off a vine that looks suspiciously like a pear. ]

It's like coffee, only a fruit.

[anewhope]

[ Clark takes it and holds it up surreptitiously. Caffeine doesn't offer him the same kick as it would for other people. ]

It even has caffeine?

[ceruleo]

[ Lance shrugs. ]

Some kind of stimulant. I don't know. Point is, Inui and I were cranked for a couple hours.

[ Clearly they're amphetamine pears. ]

[anewhope]

[ He sighs softly but he looks bemused. ]

You might as well keep it. I doubt it'll do much for me.

[ceruleo]

[ Well now he's curious. He pockets the fruit. ]

What, coffee doesn't do it for you?

[anewhope]

[ Clark shrugs loosely. ]

It has a nice taste but it doesn't offer much else.

[ceruleo]

Really? What about booze?

[anewhope]

Beer is all right. I used to work in a lot of cheap bars.

[ He glances at Lance. ] My body metabolizes a lot of food and drink quickly. I enjoy it and I can certainly eat a lot or manage long periods without needing too much. It varies.

[ceruleo]

[ Cheap bars...he imagines the life Clark must've led, on the fringes, and the thought makes him vaguely upset all over again. Nobody deserves that, least of all someone so...good. ]

Whaaaat? I wish my body did that.

[ Drunk after one beer? Check. ]