No complaints worth writing home about, [William says, after a moment. The stilted pause is in part due to the fact his mountainous anticipatory anxiety dropped an avalanche, and the weight off amounts somewhat to relief; in part due to embarrassment, honestly; and maybe some obscure part of him is illogically surprised that Severus is checking up on him, as it were.
We can all do with a pleasant surprise now and then.
Unpleasantly, though, Severus' appearance seems to have put him on the wrong side of the lines. Fortunately, William assumes that the professor would be pragmatically upfront about a manticore siege or whatnot; he doesn't raise panic to his cohorts yet.] The ranch ain't looking so good anymore.
[ Severus's response is irritable, but chopped slightly due to interference, ] If you'd like Darcy to answer next time, I can arrange it [ becomes ] --like Darcy to answer-- arrange it.
[ A beat of silence, then: ] Damnit.
[ The view changes as Severus picks it up and adjusts something, to no avail. Offscreen, ] These are starting to go too. What the hell is that behind you?
[ When he re-appears he's offcenter and a little out of view, further back. William reminding him that he's ugly isn't surprising but it's still annoying. ]
[William does the thing again where he brings the glass closer to his face and slide it off to the side, as if hoping that might magically scroll Severus' reality leftward or magnify. This of course does not work. William's nose zooms in and out, flickers, and he's no closer to knowing what it is that Severus is adjusting.]
An enormous hole, [his answer comes through lagged, picking out of distraction, squinting with effort at the tinier Severus who's reemerged in the corner of the view.] is -- ering y' question, [a necessary clarification.] --ole inna floor. A hole. Our lights ain't penetrating to the expected depth. --marks lead up to it. At l-- blood. We've collected samples f' an--y-ysis.
[When the picture snaps back into focus, it's a close-up shot of the red drag marks for a moment. A glimpse of the hole, Brad's arm extending the flashlight down, Kate's arrow angled carefully over. The next staticky cut goes to William again.]
Is the mirrors cocking up why you suddenly look wee and rough?
[On the one hand, William wasn't smart enough to get into real medical school. On the other, he is sometimes deliberately obtuse.]
[ William's prying - aggravatingly personal in front of other people omg William stahp - goes ignored in favor of staring intently at the images of the strange scene before them. ]
That doesn't seem to fit the setting, [ he murmurs. Something about that, he thinks, is probably closer to the true nature of the ship than the shiny science fiction exterior. But what the hell does he know. ]
Don't drop anything down it. Don't camp near it either.
[For some reason, no doubt a character flaw, William doesn't stop to think that Brad is the acting officer here.] Roger, [he says. Severus did save his life once; it is reasonable he could achieve the same with his advice.] I'll pass it on.
[At least at this point in comm conversation, Kate hasn't yet shot an arrow down it. Does shooting an arrow count as dropping an anything? More things William fails to consider. At this point, they've probably all begun to accept that their control over any given situation aboard the Tranquility is an ever-fraying thread.]
It'd p-- benefit our focus on the task at hand-- [his picture squeaks into frame again, looks as cordial as he sounds.] --confirm you ain't in present danger.
[ Severus would boss Brad around too, to be fair. He takes it as the universe doing what's go for it when other people comply. ]
Besides-- rcle of hell in outer spa-- I'm doing as well as ever and it's touching that you're concerned but yes, it is the distortion, and please carry on with the mission.
[William smiles at the shard. The expression only fades when his eyes cut over to his other teammates. It is probably time to focus on the task at hand. It would be embarrassing to become the next organism to drag bloody marks across the wall and vanish mysteriously into the inscrutable recesses of the ship.]
[ Allergic to good cheer as he is, Severus gives William's image a slightly withering stare, but between distortion and not wanting to tense anything in his head, the impact is diluted. ]
Fine.
[ See you next check-in, is the unspoken sign-off. Severus puts the mirror away and goes back to his other work. ]
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We can all do with a pleasant surprise now and then.
Unpleasantly, though, Severus' appearance seems to have put him on the wrong side of the lines. Fortunately, William assumes that the professor would be pragmatically upfront about a manticore siege or whatnot; he doesn't raise panic to his cohorts yet.] The ranch ain't looking so good anymore.
no subject
[ A beat of silence, then: ] Damnit.
[ The view changes as Severus picks it up and adjusts something, to no avail. Offscreen, ] These are starting to go too. What the hell is that behind you?
[ When he re-appears he's offcenter and a little out of view, further back. William reminding him that he's ugly isn't surprising but it's still annoying. ]
no subject
An enormous hole, [his answer comes through lagged, picking out of distraction, squinting with effort at the tinier Severus who's reemerged in the corner of the view.] is -- ering y' question, [a necessary clarification.] --ole inna floor. A hole. Our lights ain't penetrating to the expected depth. --marks lead up to it. At l-- blood. We've collected samples f' an--y-ysis.
[When the picture snaps back into focus, it's a close-up shot of the red drag marks for a moment. A glimpse of the hole, Brad's arm extending the flashlight down, Kate's arrow angled carefully over. The next staticky cut goes to William again.]
Is the mirrors cocking up why you suddenly look wee and rough?
[On the one hand, William wasn't smart enough to get into real medical school. On the other, he is sometimes deliberately obtuse.]
no subject
That doesn't seem to fit the setting, [ he murmurs. Something about that, he thinks, is probably closer to the true nature of the ship than the shiny science fiction exterior. But what the hell does he know. ]
Don't drop anything down it. Don't camp near it either.
no subject
[At least at this point in comm conversation, Kate hasn't yet shot an arrow down it. Does shooting an arrow count as dropping an anything? More things William fails to consider. At this point, they've probably all begun to accept that their control over any given situation aboard the Tranquility is an ever-fraying thread.]
It'd p-- benefit our focus on the task at hand-- [his picture squeaks into frame again, looks as cordial as he sounds.] --confirm you ain't in present danger.
no subject
Besides-- rcle of hell in outer spa-- I'm doing as well as ever and it's touching that you're concerned but yes, it is the distortion, and please carry on with the mission.
[ He's the dumbest smart guy ever, sometimes. ]
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We've got cold packs inna medbay, [he says.] Hastings out.
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Fine.
[ See you next check-in, is the unspoken sign-off. Severus puts the mirror away and goes back to his other work. ]