iii - action - open

[survivalistcookbook]

Who: Eugene Woods and Ravi Chakrabarti
Broadcast: None
Action: the Three Twins
When: Monday morning

[All right. The pizza rush has died down, a fresh week's work of rations has been supplied, and Eugene's proofread and edited his little manuscript-in-progress of The Survivalist Cookbook: Lost in Space Edition enough to feel reasonably comfortable with the thought of another human looking at it. He calls ahead so that Ravi can keep an eye out for him, bundles into a short-range shuttle, and makes his way to the new ship with a quiet hope that the oven is repaired and won't need to be repaired again by the end of the day.]

[He spends most of the day in the kitchen, where any members of the crew or visiting fleetmates can find the two cooks working through a crash course of soups and stews, breads, casseroles, and some protein concoctions that are hopefully foolproof. The goal is to at least help prepare enough food and food-related strategies in advance that, even without him there to hang over anyone's shoulder, they can eat pretty well for several days. Fingers crossed nothing catches fire or ends up on the ceiling.]

Comments

[survivalistcookbook]

All that and a touch of appetizing viscera talk. How could I have ever doubted.

[arfvader]

Don't tell me you're squeamish! I feel like if you can stomach a certain TV show [he raises his eyebrows meaningfully], you should certainly be able to handle some talk of viscera.

[survivalistcookbook]

Hey, handling it and liking it are two completely different things. [He gives a crooked smirk, heading to the protein dispenser to start extruding tasting portions of several of the flavors.] The Earth I come from came down with a bad case of zombie apocalypse, and trust me, there is no talking about viscera after that and not remembering the smell.

[arfvader]

Zombie apocalypse?

[This is enough to make Ravi abandon his kneading efforts momentarily. If Sokka had met someone from the future in his own world, that could definitely be possible in this situation too.]

... what were the zombies like? Romero? 28 Days Later? Shaun of the Dead?

[survivalistcookbook]

Oh- uh. [That's probably the most direct question about the subject he's gotten in awhile, and it takes him a second to sort his answer into something that feels both medical and pop-culture enough for the source.] More Shaun than anything? Flu-like illness, no cure, and most people go from 'tickle in the back of your throat' to shambling inside of 24 hours. It started in the UK and was popping up all over the world inside of a week, I think.

[arfvader]

[Ground zero's not Seattle and the clinical signs preceding the onset of zombiism aren't the same, so definitely a different world. Although...]

Don't suppose you know anyone by the name of Sam Yao?

[survivalistcookbook]

[That name is all that it takes for Eugene to light up like it's Christmas. Because regardless of where he's ended up, in so many ways, Abel still feels like home.

Plus, it's Sam]

Oh my god, Sam Yao! Yes, I know him. We both worked radio and communications at Abel Township. How do you know him?

[arfvader]

He was trapped in the same zombie summer camp that I was. Nice chap, even if he cheered for the wrong football team!

[He lowers his voice a little, just in case anyone is passing by or if there's any overeager viewers trying to listen in.]

Sam and I were actually comparing notes on our respective zombie situations.

[survivalistcookbook]

Wait- zombie summer camp?

[Eugene drops his voice too, though he's still struggling with that last detail.]

Okay, back up, you're going to need to explain 'zombie summer camp' to me before we keep going here.

[arfvader]

[He raises his voice back to normal volume, since he's not entirely fussed with anyone hearing about his time at The Camp With The Name That Requires Some Level of Censoring.]

Long story short, this isn't my first rodeo with interdimensional-kidnapping. I was trapped in a zombie summer camp somewhere in France with a bunch of other people. Sam Yao just happened to be one of them.

[survivalistcookbook]

. . . so this is the first universe you've been in that doesn't have zombies. That's what you're telling me.

[arfvader]

[Annnnd lowering his voice again to a whisper.]

That part's sort of on the down-low, but yes, that would be an accurate summation of the situation. But the zombies from your world and the zombie from my world are entirely different, so we suspected that they're different strains. Though - curiously - both came about as a result of the apparently deadly combination of an energy drink and recreational drug.