trans_9 | Morning Exercise (open)

Anwei was jumping around the Hub - literally. With firm strokes of her arms and legs, she leaped from tentacle-base to tentacle-base, circling the vast room. Her hair fluttered wildly around her head in the anti-grav field, and she was sweating a little with the exertion.

She'd kept up a running commentary to Stacy about what she was doing in the back of her throat – the same way she used to talk to Horanckk. When Stacy suggested she try the Sensoriums for exercise, though, she demurred. The idea of rooms that could take things out of her mind and make them real made her shiver.

After three complete circuits of the Hub, she came to a halt and consulted her omnicom, which had been filming the whole time. Carefully, she marked the tunnels that were never entered by passers-by, the tentacles that hung limp rather than undulating. Someday, maybe soon, she would want to see if she could get into those unused tunnels, and see what might be in there. But for now, she rolled up her denim shirt and tied it to a tentacle with some blue string (making extra certain that all the pockets were sealed), marked out a large triangle on the wall with that same string, and began something that looked like dancing.

It was not dancing. It was drill for free-fall unarmed combat. Her arms and legs moved in long coordinated scything motions, her fingers grabbing and clawing at imaginary opponents (she was not grabbing with her toes because of the binding material of her plantsuit). In her ears she remembered her drill instructor bellowing as it criticized every falter and hesitation. She deliberately did not think of her first dance instructor and his tiny, cutting whip.

When she drifted out into the flow of traffic, she used her tie-line to move back against the wall and start again. It would be pretty obvious to anyone watching that she was doing some sort of structured exercise.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Well, maybe they're down in the pods." She quickly riffled through her own memories, and realized that - well, besides Horanckk, there really weren't a lot of people she was pining to see. And there were a number of people that she was not pining for. But that probably wasn't normal for a lot of people. "I guess that you - that we - will have to keep waiting."

"I h-hope so. I-it was h-hard without them a-at first. B-but the D-Doctor an' K-Katara h-helped me g-get along a lot." He would have been lost if they hadn't reached out to him. He had made great strides emotionally since he got here. He had slowly realized that at home he had stagnated. He and his friends were more focused on the causes of the problem and stopping them from hurting others to realize that they actually could work on their own problems. That there was a chance to heal. Then again, being away from his father was also doing wonders. As long as he didn't come into the picture, or someone like him, he would probably continue growing.

"Yes, I can tell already I'm going to need all the help I can get." She was very, very used to having the support structure of a large intergalactic mercenary fleet to work with, not to mention Horanckk. "But since so many people here have gone through the same thing, I feel pretty sure that I can get it."

"Is the Doctor the same one as Doctor Henderson - the one who's helping you with your medical issues?"

Alex shook his head. "Doctor Henderson's S-Sam. The Doctor is... The D-Doctor. That's his a-actual name."

She might not have a whole mercenary fleet, but the ship was pretty close, if less cohesive. "Th-there's a lot of p-people willing ta h-help."

Anwei was used to people who had different names based on how old they were, what they were wearing, or their fertility cycles - in a strange way she was more prepared than some for a place where people wore masks and assumed other identities.

"I hope I can help back. No matter what, it does seem that Stacy has saved me - saved us - from certain death. I certainly owe her for that. And helping her passengers is helping her as well."

Alex really wouldn't know how to handle explaining the Doctor's name any more than he had, so it was probably fortunate for him that Anwei was familiar with such a thing.

"I-I'm sure you'll be able t-ta find something. A-an' I'm sure you'll be w-welcome with open arms in Engineering. I-if you'd like I c-could show you the way?"

"Thanks, Alex. I'd appreciate that." With a quick whisper to Stacy, Anwei was lifted up to the wall, where she retrieved her string and her denim shirt. She dropped toes-first to land beside him, her shirt fluttering from her hand like a flag.

"Lead the way!"

Morning Exercise (open)

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I think we're getting close to ending this thread

OK, I'll see you soon