{i think you know too much, but the mind knows what the mouth wants}

[brokencopy]

Who: B; anyone who happens to be on the SS Heron
Broadcast: Nope.
Action: All over the Heron.
When: Januaryish ... all month, if you like.

{This is a ship mingle! Come get your socialization on.}

Comments

[brokencopy]

I'm not sure I see what luck has to do with it.

[He pulls another wire; this time, it sparks, and he drops it immediately.]

I should think skill would be a better indicator of success.

[He stares down at the tangled mess he's made, chewing thoughtfully on the end of his thumbnail. He also didn't actually answer the question.]

[redactions]

[ There's no chastisement in his tone, or much of any strong emotion: ]

It's an expression. Have you managed to figure out how to change the temperature?

[brokencopy]

Oh.

[As if B's never heard that before. He gives the other man a sideways glance.]

Was I supposed to?

[redactions]

No, just wondering. The ship wasn't this cold, the month before last.

[brokencopy]

Well, I wasn't here the month before last. Is there any difference of note between then and now that may have caused the change?

[redactions]

We were on the Marsiva for a brief while. Probably so they could retrofit the ships.

[brokencopy]

[Hmm. Interesting.]

What would be the objective in retrofitting the ships?

[redactions]

[ He shrugs. ]

Like everything else around here. To mess with us.

[brokencopy]

[B's outward reaction to that is slight - a momentary narrowing of his eyes, a tightening of his jaw - but inwardly, he's seething. He doesn't appreciate being toyed with in general, and his fuse is especially short when it comes to Atroma. Atroma is responsible for preventing him from finishing his puzzle, after all, and even though he's been here for weeks, it's still pricks at his pride, like an eternal pebble in a shoe he's forced to wear while walking for miles.]

I'll see what I can do about making an adjustment, then.

[redactions]

[ If the air drops in temperature from B's anger, Jim doesn't notice. ]

Thanks. I'm not exactly fond of the cold, and neither is anyone else here.

[brokencopy]

How long has it been this way?

[redactions]

A few months.

[brokencopy]

And no one's investigated the cause?

[redactions]

The ship is exactly the same composition it was before the change. It doesn't make any sense.

[brokencopy]

Well, something must be different. There's any number of variables that could be contributing to it.

[He frowns around the end of his thumb, chewing the tip of his thumbnail as he thinks over what those variables might be.]

[redactions]

Sometimes the things here can't be logically explained. That's all right.

[brokencopy]

I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with you on that front.

[redactions]

[ He shrugs. Evenly, ]

If you want to.

[brokencopy]

There is a logical explanation for everything. Just because it isn't immediately apparent doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

[Because a world where things happen without logic flies in the face of everything B has ever believed.]

[redactions]

[ He shrugs. ]

True, but there's limits to every kind of understanding.

[brokencopy]

Are there? I would think the only limit to understanding is imagination.