#002 [Video]

[everydayhero]

Who: Hiro Hamada and YOU
Broadcast: Fleetwide video
Action: SS Bishop!
When: 3/8, in the afternoon



[What's that sound? The sound of an alarm going off. What's that video feed? Well, right now the camera is set on a bobblehead that is rattling like crazy. Its base has been elongated, and from under said base flashes (slowly) a red light. Then it turns blue after two buzzer sounds from the alarm. Then yellow. Then orange. Then green. Then purple. Back to red. It continues to cycle as Hiro turns the camera to face him, and he's bobbing his head with the beat of the buzzer while standing at a control panel of different metal than the ship that has been welded onto the wall by the door to the main deck. Every time he presses a button on said panel, the light changes color. Then he hits a small green button above a large red button on the side, and the whole thing stops.

[Yes, the entire Bishop was just subjected to that without warning.]

Pretty cool, huh?

[Hiro looks like a cat who just caught his very first bird.]

It's all hooked up to our control panels, but I can't program it to do everything I need it to until we have a pilot and a communications officer. Right now, we have fire, gas, and the latter half of the collision alarms. I still need to program one for docking and to hook up another to the radar so we can know when we're headed dangerously close to something that could damage the ship. Right now, we've only got one that tells us we've been hit.

[SHRUG.]

But since, for some reason, everything under the control panel looks like gibberish to me... [he takes a moment to look into the camera like he's on the office] ... we get to wait until we have someone more "competent" [airquotes!] than I am.


[VOICE EDITED IN LATER]

P.S., if there are any communications officers who wanna hop ship over to the Bishop for keeps, let me know. It'll work out best if you're one of two on your current ship.

Comments

[everydayhero]

Yeah... [The smile had faded for a second, and he manages to bring it back.]

Besides, thanks to what happened, my friends and I all found something that makes us feel really good about ourselves. Plus, we're all scientists, so when we're not doing hero work, we're developing tech that could change the world for the better.

[howcanihelp]

I would've loved to have been a scholar. That was the plan, you know, when I was younger.

Still, the Wardens are needed, they were especially needed when the Blight began since there were only three of us left, and one of them was... not very helpful.

[ She's thinking at you, Alistair ]

It's not what I planned on doing with my life, but I've done a lot of good with it. I think my friends and teachers would be proud.

[everydayhero]

I know they are.

... But, hey, you don't have to do that here, right? While you're away from home, you're away from all that Blight stuff. You can focus on what you wanna do.

[howcanihelp]

That's very true! Which is why I'm helping Krista with her plans for a library. I think it would be a wonderful resource for all of us, and I'll get plenty to read in the bargain.

[ Her smile wobbles a little, though she does a relatively good job of keeping it up ]

At the rate I've been going, though, I'm likely to finish anything we pick up within a week, leaving me yet again with nothing new to read.

[everydayhero]

Then I guess books are what we have to get our hands on when we dock at systems from now on. I can keep an eye out with you, and... hey, if you wanna learn some things about robotics sometime, you could always sit in when I'm tampering with stuff. I've got a lot of projects lined up--in fact, I was thinking about helping out with that library thing, too.

[howcanihelp]

It would be interesting to learn about them. The closest we have to such things in Thedas are golems, which are magical rather than mechanical, and the way to build them is... lost.

[ Permanently, hopefully, thanks to her. ]

And it will let me save my reading material for when I can't sleep. That'll slow down my consumption slightly.

[everydayhero]

Then you can be my official assistant for project "make-a-computer-filing-system-for-the-library". I can teach you all about how it works while we're building it.

[howcanihelp]

As long as it doesn't make any horrible noises, I will pay close attention and do my best to keep up.

[everydayhero]

We could even make it make pleasant noises, if you wanted.

[howcanihelp]

What, you're going to make your computer sing for me?

[ Someone has never heard of mp3s. ]

[everydayhero]

Computers can do a lot of things.

[let me just dig in my pocket for the one single thing that i managed to have on me when i showed up

[BOOM HEADPHONES AND MEDIA PLAYER]

Like this little badboy. It's specifically for playing music and videos.

[howcanihelp]

[ Wait what? She was KIDDING! ]

Truly? It's so small! How does it play the music, is it like a music box?

[everydayhero]

[lifting up the earbuds]

With these. Hold still.

[Let me just... reach up and put this in your ear, and the other one in mine so we can both hear. There's nothing playing yet, though.]

[howcanihelp]

[ It's probably for the best they're the same size. Minimizes the awkwardness. Steffa is curious about how this works, and calmly lets him put the earbud in for her. ]

Is something supposed to be happening? I don't hear anything.

[everydayhero]

Just a sec. Check it out, see this screen?

[Holding it up and sliding his finger along it slowly to scroll through the list.]

It shows a list of the songs. And when you hit play...

[Pressing the play button next to one of the songs, and boom, music starts playing.]

[howcanihelp]

[ Steffa's following, nodding in acknowledgement, but then--

Then.

The music starts.

She gasps audibly, the hand she'd absently rested on Hiro's shoulder tightening, and then really it's just a lost cause trying to get any reaction from her for 4 minutes while it plays. This is nothing like the music she's used to, and yet... and yet it's wonderful. She's not much of a musician herself, but she loves music of all sorts - from the Chant of Light to bawdy tavern songs.

This reminds her of the former much more than the latter, making this almost a religious experience for her. Which is cheesy when your holy texts aren't sung, maybe. ]

Oh, Maker. That. I. It was like having a band of instruments I've never even heard before, and-- are they all like that? The songs?

[everydayhero]

The ones from this band sound like that, yeah. But there are a lot of bands, and I have a pretty awesome collection of music on here. It's all recorded, so people really played these songs like this, but they did it into microphones and a machine kept a recording of what it heard.

[howcanihelp]

[ Breathlessly ]

I don't have any idea what any of that meant, but I am glad that your world has these things. That's amazing!

[everydayhero]

[Now he's grinning.]

You can listen whenever you want. I can teach you how to work it, and I have the charger for it.

[howcanihelp]

Really?

[ It is very apparent in this moment that Steffa is still a kid in some ways. A kid who had to grow up WAAAAAAY too fast, perhaps, but... Lookit that smile. ]

Thank you! So much, this is wonderful.

I don't have any music players, and I can't sing worth much, but I'll gladly teach you some songs that I know.

[everydayhero]

[look at that smile indeed. hiro is proud of himself for causing it and he is super happy she loves this so much.]

Hey, I'd love to hear them. Maybe they'll get stuck in my head when I'm working, give me something to hum when I'm in the ducts around here.

[howcanihelp]

I'll have to think about it. A lot of the songs I remember off the top of my head are... less than appropriate.

[ ie Zevran or Oghren taught them to her and they are exceedingly dirty and she may've been only 16 but 16 is better than 14 for learning those sorts of songs in her book.

Unless Hiro can talk her into it, but in that case that will be on your own head, sir. ]

[everydayhero]

... [He looks like he really wants to talk her into it.]

Hey, we'll see. I've seen battle, don't forget it. I'm mature for my age.

[howcanihelp]

I don't care how much battle you've seen, once you've heard the one about the Antivan prostitute, you can't unhear it.

[everydayhero]

... But you realize this means I have to hear it.