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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 12:32 am
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Posted: Tue Jul 12, 2011 1:16 am
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Posted: Wed Jul 13, 2011 9:49 pm
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:16 pm
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Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:28 pm
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If anyone were paying enough attention, they would notice that the instant Sona’s mood began to change began right after Lisa mentioned ‘drinking’.
Sona’s mind was so agile, that it didn’t take any more than a heartbeat after the word left Lisa’s lips to put two and two together, and realize that when Cecilia had said ‘going out’... she hadn’t meant ‘out’ literally. Belatedly, her mind processed Toni’s comment, too, and she realized with a quick flash of panic and dismay that the group was not going out for a spacewalk... they were going ‘out’ to party.
Had Sona realized that from the start, she might have begged off joining the group. She was painfully inexperienced with social events of this kind – especially with her own age group – and would have preferred a chance to observe both the other students and their customs for a little while before diving in. (At least, this is what she told herself; in reality, given half the chance, Sona would have continued this ‘observational period’ so long that she never would have gone out with anyone.) To just jump right in and do it, as she was doing now, was a somewhat scary prospect.
Self-consciously, Sona slowly slipped her arm of Cecilia’s – Torin had already mostly disengaged on her own – and her posture and attitude changed remarkably from excited and adventurous to reserved and cool. It was too late to bow out now; she might as well go through with it.
Of course, while she had never gone ‘out’ with a group of people her age, she had drank with star freighter crews and ore miners before. Sona, while fully human, was the offspring of deep-space colonists who had been gene-tweaked for low-gravity and low-atmospheric conditions; among the many side-effects of that genetic background – in addition to her height – was that she was a fantastic lightweight. But that had never been a problem before, and the starfarers she had flown with had positively loved getting her drunk, telling her that she was a riot when she was blitzed. That sounded good; it meant that when she had a few in her, it might make it easier to lubricate the social engine. True, that was why most people drank when going ‘out’, but Sona knew that some people were not at all likeable when they were drunk... but apparently she was quite likeable. That gave Sona confidence that it would probably not turn out to be a disaster.
But to remain silent was unwise, because it would inevitably lead to someone drawing attention to her to find out why she was so quiet. So, just to avoid seeming out of place, she decided to interject something into the conversation.
And so, in a low, robotic monotone, Sona said: “Indeeeeeeed.”
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Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 11:34 pm
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Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 11:03 pm
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“That’s-” Sona began to reply absently to Cecilia, but cut herself short immediately. She had been about to instinctively reply, ‘that’s classified’... only... it wasn’t. This wasn’t the Strang Institute; there was no need for secrets or security. She could be as open and honest with this person as she wanted, even though she was a complete stranger. Well... there were some things she would have to keep to herself.... But still... perhaps she should give openness a try.
“Huh!” Sona huh’ed, as the realization sunk in. It was rather liberating.
So when she turned to Cecilia again, there was a look of wonder on her face – as Sona was surprising herself with how it felt to just be up front and honest. “Physics,” she said, savouring the sensations of saying the truth, without reservation, as she spoke, “Physics and math, specializing in theoretical physics. I want to study the...,” she was astounding herself at how freely the truth flowed out when she let it, “The relationship between time and space, and past, present and future.”
Something about the way Cecilia moved caught Sona’s attention. It was similar to the oddly fluid, controlled and graceful way that Sona moved – a manner of motion that terrestrials associated with dancers, but spacers associated with experience in low- and micro-gravity. She regarded the girl’s body critically – she was short, which implied starfarer genes (unlike Sona, who was tall because of her low-gravity colonist genes), but fair, which didn’t. It was sort of a fad among spacer girls to get their eyes done; when wearing environment suits, the curves were disguised, and most helmets covered the mouth – only the eyes were clearly visible through the visors, so spacer girls tended to put extra effort into making their eyes memorable. This girl’s eyes were quite impressive, but, unlike Sona’s, not obviously fake. If they were engineered, it was subtle work, and the effect was quite striking.
After examining Cecilia’s body and eyes as if she were under a microscope, Sona finally asked: “Are you a spacer? You move like a spacer. I’m a spacer. I’m from Triton – I grew up all around the Kuiper belt.”
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Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2011 9:38 pm
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"As I said. Fun sorta place. Staff's nice, drinks are reasonable an' food's not bad." Toni said absently over her shoulder as she and Torin moved to the nominal front of the group to lead them to the Locket.
The twins were just far enough ahead that they could watch the others out of the corner of their eyes while providing directional cues as to where they wanted to go. And just far enough ahead that the other girls could see Torin absently put an arm around her twin's waist. While the other girls talked, the twins walked in silence; listening without really anything to say. Before long they walked in a nondescript door and nodded their greeting at the young woman stationed by it, who gave them a friendly smile. The room they were in was more like a short corridor with a second door behind it. Next to the woman was a space that clearly served as a form of coat and purse check for those that were wearing either for whatever reason.
"Welcome back, Toni, Torin." The young woman said. "I see you've brought friends this time."
"Yeah. Met some that needs gettin' out more an' figger'd they'd like the Locket." Toni said with a slow grin.
"I hope you ladies enjoy your evening." the woman said with another smile as the door at the end of the corridor opened.
"That's th'goal." Toni replied with a grin and a wink while Torin rolled her eyes at her twin.
The twins separated as they stepped through the door and into the room beyond. It wasn't exactly cavernous as some of the bars on the ship were, but it was large. In a cozy sort of way. Closest to them was an area that was less dimly lit than most of the bar and contained what were clearly tables and chairs for those that wished to sit and enjoy some food with their drink. In the middle of the room was a rectangular bar where a trio of bartenders raced back and forth, fetching and pouring drinks for a pair of busy waitresses and quite a few students. On the opposite side was a large, mildly crowded dance floor and a small stage where a DJ worked. Tucked behind an offset wall off to the right was a more brightly lit room.
"You lot wanna hit the bar 'r grab a table?" Toni asked, half turning to look at the others. Torin gestured and Toni continued "Or we coul' hit th' library. Dunno why you'd wanna, though."
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Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2011 9:32 pm
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Jane followed the group at a more sated pace, her hands shoved into the pockets of her jacket, the slower speed of her gave her a unintentional sway to her hips, and her hair to settle in a naturally messy 'just got laid' look.
Though she wasnt a spacer, or genetically modified like some, her tolerance for alcohol was pitiful. The red head could knock back shots and down a beer with the best of them, but it only took a few to make her face numb and her tongue loose.
With the fact she was a lightweight in mind, Jane spoke up, addressing the group on a whole as they approached the bar.
"I'm only staying for a round or two, nothing more. I will meet a unpleasurable end at the headmistress' hands if I get in trouble this week."
Having said what she wanted to, Jane didn't wait for a reply, as she stepped past the others and headed directly to the bar as soon as they had entered the Locket.
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Posted: Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:57 pm
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 2:13 pm
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Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2011 9:59 pm
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Sona turned and fixed Cecilia with a bewildered look, as if the question she’d just asked Sona could not be interpreted in any way that might make sense. She blinked once, then said carefully, “It’s not... really that far....” Sona looked back the way they had come. “I mean... it is walking distance.” She looked again at Cecilia quizzically. “You were with me the whole way. I suppose I’m not really used to walking around, but I assumed that the distance we travelled would not be considered that far. Did you think it was far?”
Sona looked up and rubbed her lower lip with a finger. “Well... I’m pretty sure I’ll be able to make it through the evening, anyway, without getting too homesick. I’m pretty sure the plan is go back before the night is out, after all. How about you? Your room is just about the same distance as mine, on this scale, plus-or-minus about 4.5 metres – apologies for the rough estimate, I have not had time to do proper measurements yet. Do you think you might not be able to last the evening without missing it?”
“Oh, thank you,” this comment was directed toward Toni, in appreciation for the offered drink.
Sona turned her attention back to Cecilia, regarding her curiously, like a scientist studying a novel specimen. “Is there...,” Sona knew enough to be cautious about broaching potentially sensitive topics – the problem was that she rarely knew precisely which topics people would find sensitive. Some were obvious, of course, but Sona was often surprised by what some people were sensitive about. It didn’t help that she came from spacer culture, where the mores and taboos were often quite different from terran culture. “Is there... something... bad... about being a dancer?” she asked carefully, “I... I always thought that it was something to be proud of – a talent whose practitioners are held in high esteem. I was always told that spacers move like dancers, and that terrans find that attractive.”
“But,” without warning, Sona raised both her hands to Cecilia’s cheeks. She touched them only with her fingertips, and even then only very gently – the touch of someone skilled at handling delicate equipment and specimens while examining them – but she used her fingers to move Cecilia’s cheeks, and, ultimately, her whole head, while she moved the skin around to feel the tension, and see it in different light. “When you mentioned being a dancer, there was increased vasodilation in the vessels in your buccal dermis. There was no obvious temperature change that I could detect, and a biochemical reaction would probably not have worked quite so quickly, so the most likely diagnosis is an emotional reaction. Possible emotional causes include stress, embarrassment and the emotions of love and lust, however, in this case, I think embarrassment is most likely.” Sona thought for a second, looking upwards – with her fingers still on Cecilia’s cheeks – then looked back down into Cecilia’s eyes and added, nonchalantly while nodding, “Possibly lust.”
Sona finally lowered her hands. “But assuming embarrassment,” she continued, “What is embarrassing with being a dancer? I’ve never seen real dancing, but I’ve heard it’s similar to our zero-g calisthenics. Except, obviously, it requires much more skill to do because of the fact that you are fighting gravity, and, of course, it is done with an intention toward art and aesthetics rather than simply keeping muscles exercised.”
“Hm,” Sona lowered her head in thought, and she murmured into her chest as she pondered something that just occurred to her, “I suppose that our calisthenics are considered... somewhat personal and private. I mean... most spacer girls would be thoroughly embarrassed if anyone ever saw them doing their calisthenics. But... I thought dancing was supposed to be for public viewing.” She sighed heavily. “I guess I just don’t understand....”
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Posted: Thu Aug 11, 2011 12:04 am
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Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2011 1:02 am
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Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 11:51 pm
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