Day 52: Intercom, Evening

[damned_intercom]

The intercom jingle was slightly different for this shift, almost as if it had gone up in quality. The Head Doctor gave a sigh of relief, his own voice clear as a bell despite the usual electronic buzz

Comments

Re: M27

[dual_worlds]

The chess game from last shift had certainly been interesting. It had been a long time since he had encountered an individual who could put up such a challenge; in fact, since receiving his Grandmaster title, Spock played with a computer more often than not because it was one of the few opponents that was guaranteed to give an optimal performance every time (so long as it was functioning properly). Yet Kirk had managed to exceed his expectations in almost every way, to the point that his invitation to play together had ultimately ended in a draw.

A "mean game" of chess indeed, Spock thought to himself as the nurse escorted him to his room. Perhaps they would have the opportunity for a rematch in the near future.

Yet as stimulating as that experience had been, Spock had not forgotten other troubling matters -- more specifically, the arrival of Lieutenant Uhura, and the implications of it. There was much for him to do, such as making certain she was armed as soon as possible. Spock wondered if there would come a time when other members of their crew would appear as well, but it would do little good to speculate about such issues at this point.

For now he would need to sit through another dinner period with Gabriel. It appeared that this time he would not even get a few moments to himself, as his roommate was already in his seat by the time he arrived. Within moments, the nurse had put a tray of food on his desk. "We replaced the fish with some tofu tempura, Mr. Penn, and we used a vegan alternative when making the chicken teriyaki. I do hope you enjoy it!"

Spock gave a curt nod to acknowledge he understood. Soon, the nurse had left him and Gabriel to themselves, the door locked in place as soon as she closed it.

He glanced toward Gabriel, taking note of his physical condition. The human did not appear any worse off than he had yesterday, and perhaps even came across as somewhat more cheerful than he had over the past several days. The change in his demeanor was rather unexpected, to say the least, yet Spock had been here long enough to know appearances did not account for everything.

"You seem pleased," Spock observed, neutral as always, while he began cutting his teriyaki dish into precise, even pieces.

[7_to_midnight]

Sylar grinned a mouth full of teeth at his nurse as she set down the tray of food in front of him. For once, he felt like he could enjoy the aroma of the food before he dug into it, and although Spock's all-too-familiar voice was an unwelcome intrusion in Sylar's thoughts, it wasn't necessarily a disturbing one. Sylar glanced up at his roommate, raising a brow at both the nature of the comment and the fact that Spock had said anything at all. Did this mean they'd finally gotten past the 'awkward silence stage' in a permanent way?

"That's probably because I am," Sylar replied easily, pulling apart the pair of cheap chopsticks that the nurse had left on the tray. Soft wood; no weapon potential. Bummer. "I think I might've finally made a breakthrough on a little project of mine."

He positioned the chopsticks in his hand and then started in on the chicken bits, contemplating Spock's actions all the while. Clearly, the guy had some common sense when it came to reading people, even if it was the same kind of observational prowess that a two year-old could master. That same 'emotional' aspect to Spock's life seemed to keep coming up in subtle ways, just like that kid on the bus had implied it would, but it'd been frustratingly difficult to get any kind of indication of weakness out of Spock himself. Then again, there was... yesterday, which had been enlightening. Unpleasant and uncomfortable, but enlightening. Spock actually did give a rat's ass about the people around him, even if he didn't show it - or maybe just didn't like to. The fact that he was drawing attention to Sylar's good mood right now was proof enough of his concern, and although Sylar doubted that Spock didn't have a vested interest in the well-being of someone identical to him, they still barely knew one another. Sylar could guess that Spock as a commander was even more involved when it came to the well-being of his subordinates.

His subordinates. It'd do Sylar well to figure out a little more about the Trekkie organization around here, wouldn't it? Maybe now was a good time to segue into the subject and also divert Spock's attention away from Sylar's own intentions.

And from their conversation the night before.

"And you seem... the same as always," Sylar continued after the brief pause of thought, turning in his chair to half-face Spock. He looked him up and down, making an obvious show of appraising him. "Since I don't have the luxury of seeing a... mood, how about an update? Any progress with that crew of yours?"

[dual_worlds]

Spock wasn't aware of any long-term goals Gabriel might have made, but he sounded as thought he had made significant progress on one of them. He regarded his roommate with muted curiosity, but didn't speak until he had taken a bite of food and swallowed.

"To what project are you referring?" While it was possible it was in the same vein as the three major objectives outlined by the captain, it was also true that Gabriel had already been here much longer than him, and therefore had been given an ample amount of time to complete such things. There was also a chance this project fell within goals of a more personal nature, in which case he did not expect Gabriel to be forthcoming with details.

Regardless, when he turned the question back onto Spock, the Vulcan faintly raised an eyebrow as he took another quick bite of his food. It was not so surprising that others, particularly those who did not know him well, would find difficulty in reading him. But Gabriel's mood had not been very agreeable since the night he had been taken for experimentation. Perhaps the worst of its effects, whatever they may have been, were beginning to lessen, which might have explained why he was asking after Spock this evening.

But there was no reason not answer his question, and so the science officer did not hesitate to speak. "We lost Ensign Chekov, an individual I believe you were acquainted with, approximately three standard days ago, presumably due to the brainwashing that occurs on a fairly regular basis within this facility. However, we gained another member of our crew today."

There was more he could have said on the matter, such as their mission to find reliable weapons and information. Due to the uncertainty of Gabriel's true character, though, Spock decided it would be prudent to keep such potential weaknesses to himself unless it was necessary to mention them.