Turning Colors
Invictus - Cargo Bay =>Invictus<=
This is the largest area of the Dragonfly class: a huge, cavernous room nearly the full length of the ship minus the Engine Room. The reinforced metal floor is littered with quick release clamps to easily attach or detach standard cargo containers. The huge cargo ramp is broad enough for the MULE parked on it to head in and out to load cargo. To conserve space, the MULE is usually parked on the ramp, causing it to be halfway outside the ship when it opens, although there's enough space left to park it inside when the ship's bay isn't fully loaded.
Beyond an airtight bulkhead to the aft is the ship's Engine Room. To the front, closer to the ramp, a stairwell leads up to the crew deck; and just beside it is some equipment for the crew to work out and exercise. Apart from that, the cargo bay contains shelves and lockers for the ship's own supply of parts, food and other things, along with any cargo onboard.
Wren heads directly for the strange contraption she has set up beside the exercise equipment: A slowly turning wheel, with racks of rockwool holding the tiniest of sprouts, passes through a tub at the base at a rate of about once per hour, drenching the slabs in nutrient solution. The grow light in the center provides a tiny, constant sun around which the plants rotate. Crouching beside it she begins tinkering, checking nutrient levels and plant growth.
Tyr runs a hand through his hair, ruffling it slightly. "How are the plants, Wren?" he asks, turning his attention that-aways.
Wren glances up at Tyr as if startled by his presence. "Oh-- good," she tells him, breaking into a smile once her initial surprise passes. "Rosemary, sage, and thyme," she adds, ticking off a list of the herbs she's planted.
"Oh, that'll be handy for cooking over in the galley," he suggests, nodding his head thoughtfully. "Well, that's neat to hear, Wren. I'm glad it's comin' along okay."
Nodding a bit, Wren stands to move around to the opposite side of the wheel. "Hope so," she responds, dropping back into a crouch to peer up at the wheel as it turns. "Nothin' else seems to be goin' so well," she adds, worry and frustration coloring her tone.
Tyr takes a deep breath and shakes his head. "Well," says Tyr. "All folks go through hard times sometimes. And then things get better and settle, and you're a better person for goin' through the bad times."
"People get hurt, all the time," Wren says very softly, her hands stilling a moment. "Safe is just a mist," she adds, a sad smile forming briefly. "I'm not better," she states finally, shaking her head at Tyr's optimistic approach.
"Well, then," says Tyr, still trying to be upbeat. "Maybe your bad time is just a bit longer than other people's. But you'll work it out, 'cause you got friends that care about you, and then it'll all sort itself in the end. And you can have a good time then."
Wren tilts her head up to consider Tyr again, searching his face for one long moment. "You're sweet," she decides in the end, rising from her crouch to collect a few items she keeps in a nearby case.
"Uhm. Thanks." Tyr blushes and looks down, running his hand through his hair again. It's a nervous gesture, an awkward one. And his cheeks are bright red. "So are you, Wren."
Having turned away to open the case and pull out a small test kit and pipette, Wren misses Tyr's initial blush. A few steps carry her back to where the tub of nutrient solution sits, and she kneels in front of it to quickly draw some of it out before the wheel snags on her arm. Her motions are quick and efficient, obviously well-practiced. It's only once she's done that that she looks back to him, canting her head to one side as she notices his coloration. "You turned color," she observes with clinical interest.
"Yeah. Well." More blushing. "I suppose I did." Tyr shrugs his shoulders to her, scuffing his foot along the floor.
Wren tilts her head in the opposite direction in a quick, bird-like motion. "Why?"
Tyr chuckles. "I don't know why. I just -- did. I mean, you're nice. And -- I don't know. I like you think I'm sweet? Or something?"
Rapid blinking follows these statements as Wren tries to piece together their meaning. Only one part really makes it through to her, causing her to frown at him a little. "I made you turn color? Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" she finally asks, watching him uncertainly.
"It. Uhm. Just. Kinda. Is. I mean, I guess it's a good thing?" Tyr is /really/ now blushing and stammering.
"Okay," Wren responds, apparently willing to simply accept that, though she still looks at him a bit curiously for a few more moments. But there's plants to care for and solution to test, and so she turns back to her task, pipetting some of the solution into the test kit she's holding, and watching the reaction.
Take me back to Wren's RP Logs
