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esp_dragonv2) wrote2021-04-13 09:21 pm
esp_dragonv2) wrote2021-04-13 09:21 pm
Imposter [Part 41]
Fandom: Noblesse
Summary: Tao gets a little bored.
Notes: Among Us AU! :D
Rating: PG
Genre: Sci-fi
Word count: 1,579
Total word count: 38,787
Status: Work in progress
Tao's door trap was done, he'd finished poking at the trackers, everyone was working away at their tasks and...
He was bored.
He sighed, stretching and pulling his arm back so he could tap the back of the chair over his shoulder.
Bored bored bored.
Nothing was happening now, which was good! No death and no looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't alone with someone - that was a way better environment to be in.
It was just. It meant Tao had nothing to do.
He sighed again, slouching low in his chair, watching everyone on the screens. No blood, still alive.
"Uuurgh," Tao said as he slid out of his chair, "there has to be somethin' I can do around here."
He just had to go and find it.
*
It was a good test for his pad and its connection with Security. It still meant he was staring at the same number of views, but at least he was walking around! And he got to see himself on them more too.
So what could he do now? Most of the stuff left on the task list were specialities he didn't know, and sure, he could help out but he'd rather know what he was doing.
Which left...
Yeah, all right. Time to scope out the dropship again.
*
Tao didn't pass anyone on the way to the dropship and it opened up fine for him.
He heard someone moving about as soon as he entered and smiled a little bit, recognising Em's grumble.
"Yooo, how's it goin'?" he called out, so not to startle him.
"Fucking wires," was the reply and Tao snickered, walking up.
Em was kneeling in the corridor in front of an open panel, wires in one hand and a soldering iron in the other.
"It's just an extension of the base, huh." It seemed like a familiar sight. Or at least, from what Tao remembered of being on Skeld. Em's way of treating the wires seemed a more permanent way of dealing with the problem than waiting for them to drop loose again.
"Fucking falling apart just like it," Em said, scowling as he attached the wires back together.
Tao hummed, watching him for a second. "Hey, do you wanna listen to music now?" He didn't have to check the security room straight away, and he could see how easily he could access everything here with his pad first.
Em paused, squinting at him.
"I asked you about it before, remember?" Tao didn't listen to music while he was working because he needed to make sure he was paying attention to everything, but here he could be a little more lax. He wasn't alone and didn't have to worry about someone sneaking up on him. "Sooo?"
Em didn't say anything for a few seconds, his lips pursed. "Fine."
Tao beamed, bringing up the relevant folders with a few practiced clicks. This was going to be fun to see what Em would lean towards.
*
Tao snickered at Em's grimace. "Take it that's a definite 'no'."
The grimaced deepened as the song went on. "Why does it sound like something's about to explode?"
"Someone liked the fast tempo, I guess," Tao said, changing tracks. "Or else it wouldn't have been recorded."
"Urgh."
Tao adjusted his list, removing all of the songs under the same genre. Em seemed to lean towards the classical slow songs, without lyrics. It might have been because those were what Tao had played first to ease him into it but who cared? They were working out Em's preferences.
The next song started and Tao hid his smile, seeing Em already nodding to the beat. Another winner.
*
"Hey, Frankenstein."
"Mm?" Frankenstein continued writing their note as they looked up. It was Em, but there was something...different. He wasn't hurt, nor angry or anxious. Hm. He had brought his pad, which wasn't too unusual.
"Do you like music?"
Frankenstein raised their eyebrows. That was an unexpected question. "I never paid too much mind to it," they admitted. Some scientists liked listening to it in the lab - it could be a nice silence filler so long as it wasn't too loud or grating.
Em perked up, a triumphant expression on his face. Was that a good thing?
"What do you think of this?" Em said as he walked over, tapping on his pad.
Oh? Em wanted them to listen to music? Well, their samples were still being processed and it would be a while yet until they got the results for them, so they would give this their full attention.
*
O2 was awash in an soft orange glow when Tao entered, and huh. "This looks different from my old ship." O2 on Skeld was a boxy, metallic room that Tao could cross in about three steps, with only one main plant to the side. O2 here was bigger with more plants overflowing into different sections, stacked over each other on shelves.
"Yeah," Kentas said, clapping his hands on his thighs, dirt flying off them, "I've been trying to grow some more since most of the plants had died since they'd arrived."
"So how much water do they need?" Tao asked, peering at the soil. Plants had to be given a precise amount, since too much or too little of anything could kill them, and when they supplied the ships and bases of veg and oxygen, that balance had to be maintained carefully.
"I give them enough until it looks right."
Tao whirled on him, gaping. "What?" He just-? "How do you know when it's right?"
Kentas just looked at him, his brow furrowed in confusion. "It looks right."
Where were the numbers? The measurements? The balance calculations of the acidity of the soil?
How could Kentas do all this on instinct alone?
It didn't compute at all with Tao.
Except, that was exactly what Kentas had already been doing with the base's oxygen for all these months, and they hadn't died of suffocation yet.
So. He would just have to trust Kentas' judgement like he'd already been doing.
And not try to think too hard about it.
*
Tao poked his head into the lower engine room and breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't a melting temperature.
"Gettin' your bearings?" Muzaka said, grinning at him as he fixed something on the engine with a wrench.
"Haha, yeah. Not too hard, but it's good to know where everything is." Definitely smaller than the base and everything was placed differently than on Skeld. "The good news is the security system needs less updating than the base's." Which wasn't that hard a comparison all things considered, but it was nice having less hair-pulling frustration while he worked with it. And now all he had to do was figure out the best places to put his cameras.
Tao stepped in, looking around at everything. While the engine was about four times larger than the boiler room (and there were two of them), it was much more well lit and again, everything wasn't sweating from the heat. Then again, they weren't in use right now, were they? "How do you survive in the boiler room?"
At that, Muzaka laughed. "You're not the only one ta ask. You get used to it, and I take a lot of breaks."
Yeah, he'd seen Muzaka dip into O2 a few times over the course of the day.
"Do you need a break now? It's nearing lunch." Which Tao's stomach was very kindly reminding him, for once. Probably because he wasn't so engrossed in trying to make the security system useable.
"That time already?" Muzaka nodded, grabbing his helmet as he walked towards the exit. "I'll go grab Frankenstein and I'll see ya at the cafeteria."
Heh, so Muzaka checked on Frankenstein as often as Takeo checked on him. Speaking of which, he should go see Takeo too, and make sure he was eating.
*
"Takeooo," Tao called out as he poked his head into Weapons.
Takeo smiled at him from his desk. "Lunch time?"
"Yep!" Tao didn't wait for him to get up, ducking into the room. Once he was sure the door was closed, he said, "What do you think of the ship?"
Takeo made a small noise as he stood up. "It's similar to Skeld's navigational system - I can use it."
Tao grinned. "Great!"
Once they figured out the fuel problem, they'd be good to go.
*
Takeo smiled to himself as the asteroid disintegrated into smaller pieces. There.
He wasn't sure if the asteroids were drawn to their own gravitation field but...
He frowned, focusing on the screen again. Normally all that showed up were asteroids. Because they came close enough that their radar could pick them up. If they were close enough the base's sensors picked them up, then...
They were close enough to shoot, but if it just showed up, then they were still a reasonable distance away. Not enough to be seen by the naked eye if they looked up in the sky.
The shape looming into view wasn't the same irregular asteroid shape, and it wasn't sweeping across Takeo's view. This one was aiming straight for them.
Sharp angles and straight lines that were unnatural. Constructed. It gleamed, reflecting the starlight.
A ship.
What was a ship doing approaching the base?
I've got chapter 42 done, buuut I want to make sure the rest of the ending meshes up with it before I post, so there might be a bit of a delay while I work on finishing this. :)
Summary: Tao gets a little bored.
Notes: Among Us AU! :D
Rating: PG
Genre: Sci-fi
Word count: 1,579
Total word count: 38,787
Status: Work in progress
Tao's door trap was done, he'd finished poking at the trackers, everyone was working away at their tasks and...
He was bored.
He sighed, stretching and pulling his arm back so he could tap the back of the chair over his shoulder.
Bored bored bored.
Nothing was happening now, which was good! No death and no looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't alone with someone - that was a way better environment to be in.
It was just. It meant Tao had nothing to do.
He sighed again, slouching low in his chair, watching everyone on the screens. No blood, still alive.
"Uuurgh," Tao said as he slid out of his chair, "there has to be somethin' I can do around here."
He just had to go and find it.
It was a good test for his pad and its connection with Security. It still meant he was staring at the same number of views, but at least he was walking around! And he got to see himself on them more too.
So what could he do now? Most of the stuff left on the task list were specialities he didn't know, and sure, he could help out but he'd rather know what he was doing.
Which left...
Yeah, all right. Time to scope out the dropship again.
Tao didn't pass anyone on the way to the dropship and it opened up fine for him.
He heard someone moving about as soon as he entered and smiled a little bit, recognising Em's grumble.
"Yooo, how's it goin'?" he called out, so not to startle him.
"Fucking wires," was the reply and Tao snickered, walking up.
Em was kneeling in the corridor in front of an open panel, wires in one hand and a soldering iron in the other.
"It's just an extension of the base, huh." It seemed like a familiar sight. Or at least, from what Tao remembered of being on Skeld. Em's way of treating the wires seemed a more permanent way of dealing with the problem than waiting for them to drop loose again.
"Fucking falling apart just like it," Em said, scowling as he attached the wires back together.
Tao hummed, watching him for a second. "Hey, do you wanna listen to music now?" He didn't have to check the security room straight away, and he could see how easily he could access everything here with his pad first.
Em paused, squinting at him.
"I asked you about it before, remember?" Tao didn't listen to music while he was working because he needed to make sure he was paying attention to everything, but here he could be a little more lax. He wasn't alone and didn't have to worry about someone sneaking up on him. "Sooo?"
Em didn't say anything for a few seconds, his lips pursed. "Fine."
Tao beamed, bringing up the relevant folders with a few practiced clicks. This was going to be fun to see what Em would lean towards.
Tao snickered at Em's grimace. "Take it that's a definite 'no'."
The grimaced deepened as the song went on. "Why does it sound like something's about to explode?"
"Someone liked the fast tempo, I guess," Tao said, changing tracks. "Or else it wouldn't have been recorded."
"Urgh."
Tao adjusted his list, removing all of the songs under the same genre. Em seemed to lean towards the classical slow songs, without lyrics. It might have been because those were what Tao had played first to ease him into it but who cared? They were working out Em's preferences.
The next song started and Tao hid his smile, seeing Em already nodding to the beat. Another winner.
"Hey, Frankenstein."
"Mm?" Frankenstein continued writing their note as they looked up. It was Em, but there was something...different. He wasn't hurt, nor angry or anxious. Hm. He had brought his pad, which wasn't too unusual.
"Do you like music?"
Frankenstein raised their eyebrows. That was an unexpected question. "I never paid too much mind to it," they admitted. Some scientists liked listening to it in the lab - it could be a nice silence filler so long as it wasn't too loud or grating.
Em perked up, a triumphant expression on his face. Was that a good thing?
"What do you think of this?" Em said as he walked over, tapping on his pad.
Oh? Em wanted them to listen to music? Well, their samples were still being processed and it would be a while yet until they got the results for them, so they would give this their full attention.
O2 was awash in an soft orange glow when Tao entered, and huh. "This looks different from my old ship." O2 on Skeld was a boxy, metallic room that Tao could cross in about three steps, with only one main plant to the side. O2 here was bigger with more plants overflowing into different sections, stacked over each other on shelves.
"Yeah," Kentas said, clapping his hands on his thighs, dirt flying off them, "I've been trying to grow some more since most of the plants had died since they'd arrived."
"So how much water do they need?" Tao asked, peering at the soil. Plants had to be given a precise amount, since too much or too little of anything could kill them, and when they supplied the ships and bases of veg and oxygen, that balance had to be maintained carefully.
"I give them enough until it looks right."
Tao whirled on him, gaping. "What?" He just-? "How do you know when it's right?"
Kentas just looked at him, his brow furrowed in confusion. "It looks right."
Where were the numbers? The measurements? The balance calculations of the acidity of the soil?
How could Kentas do all this on instinct alone?
It didn't compute at all with Tao.
Except, that was exactly what Kentas had already been doing with the base's oxygen for all these months, and they hadn't died of suffocation yet.
So. He would just have to trust Kentas' judgement like he'd already been doing.
And not try to think too hard about it.
Tao poked his head into the lower engine room and breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't a melting temperature.
"Gettin' your bearings?" Muzaka said, grinning at him as he fixed something on the engine with a wrench.
"Haha, yeah. Not too hard, but it's good to know where everything is." Definitely smaller than the base and everything was placed differently than on Skeld. "The good news is the security system needs less updating than the base's." Which wasn't that hard a comparison all things considered, but it was nice having less hair-pulling frustration while he worked with it. And now all he had to do was figure out the best places to put his cameras.
Tao stepped in, looking around at everything. While the engine was about four times larger than the boiler room (and there were two of them), it was much more well lit and again, everything wasn't sweating from the heat. Then again, they weren't in use right now, were they? "How do you survive in the boiler room?"
At that, Muzaka laughed. "You're not the only one ta ask. You get used to it, and I take a lot of breaks."
Yeah, he'd seen Muzaka dip into O2 a few times over the course of the day.
"Do you need a break now? It's nearing lunch." Which Tao's stomach was very kindly reminding him, for once. Probably because he wasn't so engrossed in trying to make the security system useable.
"That time already?" Muzaka nodded, grabbing his helmet as he walked towards the exit. "I'll go grab Frankenstein and I'll see ya at the cafeteria."
Heh, so Muzaka checked on Frankenstein as often as Takeo checked on him. Speaking of which, he should go see Takeo too, and make sure he was eating.
"Takeooo," Tao called out as he poked his head into Weapons.
Takeo smiled at him from his desk. "Lunch time?"
"Yep!" Tao didn't wait for him to get up, ducking into the room. Once he was sure the door was closed, he said, "What do you think of the ship?"
Takeo made a small noise as he stood up. "It's similar to Skeld's navigational system - I can use it."
Tao grinned. "Great!"
Once they figured out the fuel problem, they'd be good to go.
Takeo smiled to himself as the asteroid disintegrated into smaller pieces. There.
He wasn't sure if the asteroids were drawn to their own gravitation field but...
He frowned, focusing on the screen again. Normally all that showed up were asteroids. Because they came close enough that their radar could pick them up. If they were close enough the base's sensors picked them up, then...
They were close enough to shoot, but if it just showed up, then they were still a reasonable distance away. Not enough to be seen by the naked eye if they looked up in the sky.
The shape looming into view wasn't the same irregular asteroid shape, and it wasn't sweeping across Takeo's view. This one was aiming straight for them.
Sharp angles and straight lines that were unnatural. Constructed. It gleamed, reflecting the starlight.
A ship.
What was a ship doing approaching the base?
I've got chapter 42 done, buuut I want to make sure the rest of the ending meshes up with it before I post, so there might be a bit of a delay while I work on finishing this. :)