trans_9 | downtime. honest. [open]

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downtime. honest. [open]

In light of his injuries, Tim hadn't been doing as much work as he honestly would have liked to-- he was supposed to be taking it easy while he finished healing, and thus had spent more time around as himself, as opposed to as Red Robin.

Of course, he still had a lot of on his mind. Even without that taken into consideration, he wasn't a fan of idling. He'd spent a fair amount of time as 'Tim', at least, but beyond that-- well, if his work was being limited (though he could work on his own private things, as well), at least he still had training. He considered it physical therapy.

He had to be careful of course-- he was already probably moving himself too much-- but exercising was still important, after all. Even if it was lighter than he would normally allow himself. At least he was being sensible about it.

((ooc: Because of his injuries, Tim Drake is going to be around more than usual! While Red Robin is still in his usual haunts-- working with Engineering, Programming, Neuropathy, Security...--and with a decent amount of training mixed in. So feel free to run into him anywhere, as either, though those are the most likely places. c: ))

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"I'm starting to see that's the case," Mindy said, shaking her head, still rooting through pieces of Grand Central Station. "But as far as I'm concerned, daddy isn't here, and I'm not going to be useful depending on anyone else, right? So better for me to get started on stuff right now."

Mindy shook her head. "Who is that good? I know a few people on the ship already who could probably fool a good psycho whatever, because they're just that good. It makes sense to think that if a superhero is good at being a good guy, a bad guy is even better at what they do. And one of those things is lying."

Hit Girl, after all, was a GREAT liar, and she wasn't even a bad guy. "Yeah, I know. And so far, its that skill that makes it so I'll have another day on the ship."

"Right," Tim said, smiling a little warily, looking over what she was doing. "It's unfortunate, but given the situation..." He didn't like the thought of someone her age having to grow up this fast, but what could he do?

"Naturally, but we do what we can to take precautions. We can't tell who is necessarily going to warrant caution, but-- if nothing else, the analysis is a good place to start, rather than be completely basis." And of course, Tim himself didn't trust either-- there was a reason he kept an eye on his crewmates.

"I don't have to time to think about what's fortunate or not fortunate: it just is. And when you're faced with a 'just is,' you figure out a way to find something that you can do, right? So you adapt, like every person on this ship is doing: anyone worth mentioning anyway."

"Well I hope so, but the big issue is making sure they show up and all, right? There are some people who don't want to have anything to do with the evaluations, and the doc might mistake that reluctance for something else. I get that I'm not very young, but if I can see the pretty obvious flaws, so can anyone else, right?"

Tim nodded quietly. "I don't think it hurts to know that a situation isn't right-- but that doesn't mean you should dwell, no. You just have to fight to take as much control as possible, right?"

"We can force people to go to an extent-- but with the size of the crew it's not that hard to stay under the radar for a while, I think. And with being made to run mazes and the like, as well. It certainly has flaws, like you've said, as a system, but it's what we have for the time being. It'll just have to be improved."

"I like to know as much about something as I can, that way I can prepare. I don't know what other kids on the ship do: I see them, and sometimes we can hang out and all, but its not like this is a place for us, right? You can't just play pretend when, say, you have Steve getting possessed by some virus thingie, or when your friends are being taken over by some evil spirit. This place is just not meant for us if we're trying to keep our innocence."

Which she had always thought the moment she came to the ship. It's not like she really got that whole "kids are full of joy and laughter" shit. Those kids that wanted her lunch money that one time sure as hell weren't. So she had to teach them what happened when you picked on someone you THOUGHT was weak but wasn't. They learned the hard way.

Mindy shrugged. "The question then is who's gonna do it, and then, do you have the time before another mission or an attack on the mission? I think the best thing to do is use the time as best you can, and keep an eye on people you know are probably going to be up to no good."

Tim shook his head. "No. It's not the best place for children-- no offense. I don't like the thought of kids in this situation but... what can you do? This is what we're dealing with. So we have to deal with it." He frowned.

"Of course. Security could help but then they're distracted from their main duties. Medical on its own can only do so much. It's a balance that is kind of hard to maintain given the situation-- which makes it kind of cyclical, honestly." A grimace. "It's unfortunate that so much of this is a 'make do' situation."

"Exactly: what can I do? That's the question I'm trying to answer. Whatever that is, I'm going to do my best to get started: whatever I was doing in my world, it was just living because I had that luxury. Here, you sorta have to earn it along with any comfort you can get."

That was definitely a Hit Girl philosophy.

She nodded. "All of them are pretty strained, and we have a lot of gifted people on the ship. If we have those Dalgiggy guys on the ship, hopefully they'll be able to give is some help, right? I mean, aren't we fighting this war with their help?"

"I did social work back home-- I saw a lot of that... luxury versus earning thing." He grimaced. "This is just another version. We have the basic necessities, but we have to work to make it here, don't we?"

Tim frowned. He didn't want to show his cynicism on the subject, but all he said was, "We'll see. We are supposed to be working together."

"Well here I see a lot of people who jump at the chance to have some pageant or a party or something. I don;t have anything against that, but more and more I worry about the warm because its not as if we have a set day where we go, or know even when the net attack will come. There's something to say about constant vigilance."

Yes, she stole that from Harry Potter, so what? Moody was the shit anyway.

Mindy gave him a probing look. "That's adult speak for 'I definitely have feelings I don't want to get into.' You don't trust the Dali gigs, do you?"

Tim nodded quietly, listening to that. "Right. People need to relax sometimes-- you'd go crazy if you did nothing but work and prepare, right? Even if sometimes it's necessary. But if people find balance..." Not that he was one to talk. This was what he considered his breaks. Analysing.

Then he grimaced. "Well, I'm not sure many people on the ship do. We're still missing a lot of information, if nothing else."

"I get the whole relaxing thing when you have the time, but not all the time. We still have an end goal we have to keep. If the Ohm were to go and attack us, like, tomorrow, how would we be able to defend ourselves? How many people would die? A kid like me, I have to think about this kind of stuff, because this is the only home I have now."

And even thought she was playing up the kid part, that concern was real.

She shrugged. "I might not either, but what other choice do we really have? If they wanted to interfere with us, wouldn't they have already?"

Tim nodded. "We can afford some-- just not constant. But I think there are a fair few on the ship who are working hard, at least, so there's that. The rest of the crew... well, we'll see, right?" He grimaced. "It's awful we have to think like that, but... well, war isn't pretty, after all." He watched her closely, pulling apart the genuine from what he doubted. Still, she was earnest, if nothing else.

"I'm not saying we have one, or that we don't have to trust them, to an extent. I don't know if they have any intention to 'mess' with us, but... again, we'll see."

"So you're saying that we're going to have to depend on the people who have strength to fight," she said, which was pretty much exactly what she thought was the case anyway. She had an idea that Tim would be all the more motivated to know that a little kid could figure that out. As it was, of course, she was one of those people who was going to be working hard to do her part. There seemed little reason to do anything else.

"But you are saying we have to be careful when it comes to what they know about us," she said, watching him. "Because even if we have no reason to think they're plotting something, we don't know everything about them still."

"Unfortunately? We might have to," he replied, with a frown. "We either become the people who can fight or... we don't really have any other options." Tim shook his head. Still, he was interested in this girl's intuitiveness. Most girls her age-- though he really only had an estimate of age-- wouldn't think like that. A cop parent explained it to an extent, but still, it was curious.

"Right. We're in the dark about... more things than are comfortable. We maybe have to trust them, but it's still reason for caution."

Mindy gave a sort of derisive laugh. "That's pretty bleak. Then again, we're talking about an alien species that are directly targeting the demise of many people and planets among the stars. I guess you don't really get any more real than that. I guess that's why you guys keep stressing that kids keep their innocence: wouldn't be able to get a bit of sleep thinking of that."

She nodded. "I think so too. If the captain doesn't trust them and the council doesn't, we don't really have a choice."

"Like you said-- it's a pretty bleak situation." He grimaced. "Definitely worse than anything I've dealt with before. We didn't even cover 'alien invasion' in my workplace safety meetings, let alone 'intergalactic war'." A poor joke, but no one ever said he had a good season of humour. "It sucks to have to grow up fast, though. Really."

"Right. So now we just play it safe and be careful."

Mindy shrugged. "Hey, you don't get to pick and choose how you grow, like, ever. What's the point in crying over something you won't get back? You take what you can get, and hope for the best. You have to live. That's about all you can do, besides putting your hands over your ears and pretending everything is ok."

She nodded. "I plan to. It was nice talking to you Tim. You see like a nice man. Who knows? We might cross paths again sometime."

"Of course not," Tim agreed. "We do what we can. We may not be happy about it, but denial won't get you anywhere, no. You do what you can to make the best of it, even if it's never that much."

He flashed a smile. "It was nice meeting you, Mindy. You're a good kid. I'm sure I'll see you around sometime soon." And he'll duck off, to leave her to any remaining scavenging in peace.

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downtime. honest. [open]

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I totally meant "I'm not that old," gah...

no worries! I figured as much. :)

Re: no worries! I figured as much. :)

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The "warm?" Christ. Gotta watch the typos.

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