The Long Signal: Chapter 4
Title: The Long Signal
Chapter: 4
Genre: Romance, Drama, Sci-Fi
Fandom: Glamnation
Word Count: 4,271
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Language. Hurt/comfort.
Summary: Techie Tommy sets out on a voyage to a presumed well known section of the verse. Following the guidance of Adam, the research team leader, Tommy both finds and loses those things most precious to him out in the deep dark space.
Disclaimer: This shit ain't real, yo. Don't get uppity and start thinking it is.
---
Day 6
“You want me to record my thoughts, Mr. Lambert Controllingpants? Well here it fuckin’ is. My captain is a big diva. If he doesn’t have his way, he throws a fucking fit. I’m SORRY I stole your god damned eyeliner, you prissy princess bitch. It looks just like mine. Get over it. And because of this big huge tantrum you AREN’T GETTING IT BACK. DO YOU HEAR ME!? … YEAH I’M TALKING TO YOU! Damn right I’m a pain in your fucking ass!
… Asshole.
Oh. And trip’s going fine. Nothing to report. Toodles.”
---
The day was just getting started. Tommy knew it, he could feel it in his bones that just because he’d thrown up like a little girl, they weren’t going to give him any sympathy. He SHOULD get some damn sympathy thank you very much because he was damn sure they put him in that fucking salad tosser for the fun of it half the time. I’m mean, c’mon. How many times did they need to see how far Tommy could go before puking his guts up? Was it really going to change?! But they insisted protocol and if he didn’t follow then he wouldn’t get paid and then he wouldn’t able to buy the lovely amber stuff that was ALSO going to make him puke up his guts but at least it tasted better going down.
For now, the technicians in the lab were leaving him be. He’d gone outside to get some fresh air, though the concept was pretty funny given that they were on a giant space station in the middle of the black where there WAS no fresh air because everything was created unnaturally. But, you know. It was fresh enough and Tommy wasn’t complaining. The cool ‘breeze’ blew over his face and chilled the remaining dampness that hung on his pale skin, a shiver running pleasantly down his spine. It was nice out here, standing on a balcony looking down at the terraformed hills and, happily ignoring the wild rush of the magnabuses bustling people around. It was easy when you’d live in L.A.7 long enough. People didn’t own flying cars because as awesome as that concept was, the amount of crashes that came of it far outweighed any geektastic benefits and so everything was run on magnetic strips and automated, taking the control out of the human’s hands. Tommy wasn’t always comfortable with this but that’s what happened when you relied on technology too much.
Gripping the railing, he took in a breath and then rocked back on his heels, stretching out his arms and back as he bent over at the waist. In the quiet of his little balcony he heard his spine crack and the sound was relaxing, familiar. He smiled to himself before he heard a soft cough behind him of someone clearing their throat and interrupting his Tommy time. He didn’t acknowledge them right away, allowing them to wait the fucking fuck for him to be ready to turn around, upon which he greeted them with a sugar sweet smile that was completely fake.
Monte was not amused. “Drop it, kid.” He rolled his eyes, though, showing he wasn’t mad. Just an old fart, Tommy thought. “Come on. You have to run some drills. You’ve never worked on a WhiteCat and the wiring is different.”
“I hate drills. And Lane hates me. She hurts me on purpose.” Here he pouted and even he knew he looked like a huge baby.
“Suck that lip back in, Tommy Joe, before I punch it.”
“You’re so sweet, Monte. How have I ever lived without you?”
“Your life was dull. I’m sure of it.”
To get to the simulation room, you have to go up eight flights of stairs (because Monte was the devil and insisted Tommy get some exercise), through four busy hallways, past two delicious smelling cafes that Tommy wasn’t allowed to stop at and then by the girls workout room that he also wasn’t allowed to stop at no matter how much he bitched. Monte = devil, remember?
“Good God, Tommy, you’re like a five year old today. Has Adam really gotten under your skin already?”
“Wha-?” Tommy gave an embarrassingly strangled sound, stumbling as he tripped over his own boots at Monte’s comment. What the hell was the man getting at, under his skin? Adam wasn’t anywhere near his skin, let alone under it. Though, yeah okay, Tommy might not protest but that was so not the point. “Captain Adam fucking Lambert is not under my skin. Emphasis on fucking not. Why would he be? We’ve spoken like… twice.”
“Well you’ve been more of a little bitch since the meeting yesterday. If you’re just getting a kick out of being on everyone’s nerves then I suggest cooling it. I put up with that shit from you a lot because I love you kid, but that crew doesn’t like you already so stop pushing your luck. If you’re going to be a five year old kid on the trip then I’ll pull you from it. Don’t make me do that.”
Effectively chastised and embarrassed all to hell, Tommy swallowed and looked down, his cheeks flushed with heat. “Sorry.” He scratched at his elbow, REALLY feeling like a child.
Monte heaved a big sigh, sounding like the parent who hated punishing his kids. “Yeah yeah, stop being pathetic now. At least you’re giving me practice for when my girls grow up.” Another roll of the eyes and Tommy knew they were cool again. His pride was not A-Okay but at least he and Monte were.
The doors slid open with a mechanical swish, allowing Tommy and Monte to enter an incredibly active room. They’d been walking through busy halls and past busy spaces but the room felt packed. The whole crew was there, Adam and Zach and Neil and Mallory, and they were talking to Lane which didn’t bode well at all. Adam looked better, which was good, he wasn’t so sure the guy was going to recover after the human centrifuge but he had the color back in his freckled skin and his smile was back. They weren’t the only ones in there, the room buzzing with activity. There were the normal workers, the ones who would help him into his simulation and those who would record data but there were also some people Tommy had never seen before. He stopped behind Monte and heard the man snort.
“Quite a crowd tonight. Lane must not be feeling particularly friendly.”
“Well… fuck.” Tommy, effectively sobered up now, ran his fingers through his long blond bangs and moved over to the crew. Adam smiled but the rest did that half smile people give when they don’t really want to see someone. That was fan-fucking-tastic. Monte wasn’t kidding. “Hey guys. What’s everyone doing here?”
“I invited them to see what an emergency simulation is like. They’d never seen one before and so I figured it would be good for them to see their technician run a few drills.” She smiled but it was dangerous and he wondered what paperwork he forgot to fill out or what time stub he forgot to punch that got Lane so mad at him. He’d been pretty negligent lately, he now realized that, and it was biting him in the ass.
“Yeah! It sounds pretty awesome.” Adam seemed enthusiastic and the others nodded their agreement. Suddenly, Tommy felt like this was an interview or a test and the butterflies in his stomach erupted into a full colony of bats, beating the hell out of his insides. He gave a nervous little chuckle and nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Well that’s cool I guess. There usually isn’t much to see, just me pulling wires out and shit.”
They shrugged and Tommy wondered if they’d been promised different. Lane was bustling him around soon after that, getting him into his suit, the fabric laying close to his skin so that the sensors and electrodes sewn into it could pick up on the signals from his body during the session. He spoke quietly with one of the attendants as he worked an earpiece in and adjusted the little mic, testing it then getting a thumbs up from a man up on the control booth. He was nervous and he hated that it showed on his face, knowing he was shit at hiding his emotions. He rubbed his brow then let out a big breath. When he turned he saw Adam watching him and he wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw concern there before Zach was pulling him away to talk to him.
Looking up when the man in the control booth called his name for a second time, asking him if he was ready. He gave his own thumbs up then ducked as he moved through a small door and into a small room. The room was empty save for a seat in the middle where he’d be strapped in. He hated this room, more than he hated the centrifuge. But at least he could show off a little here. Looking back to the small opening he gave the person there waiting a nod of his head before the door was shut and sealed behind him. Any noise from outside was effectively eliminated and Tommy was alone in a 4mx4m room. It was imposing and the walls pressed in on him but he shook off the feeling of claustrophobia and sat in the chair strapping himself in. A few more positive alerts were given to tell everyone he was ready before he pulled down an elaborate helmet made up of wires and more electrodes, slipping it onto his head. The tingle of electricity ran down his body, warning him the simulation was about to start.
The room immediately changed around him. It didn’t become any larger but the white walls all transformed into rows and rows of computer screens and hardware. Wires were going from one to another, small lights flashing, knobs and buttons waiting to be turned or pushed. Tommy himself sat in the same seat but now it was floating and he could move around. A humming started him to simulate the ship engines and Tommy had to admit, it did feel different. He hadn’t ever flown in a WhiteCat before and until now he’d just assumed it would feel the same as any other ship he’d been on. But not so. It was smoother, quieter, but it vibrated more, proving that the engine had power behind it. He knew if they really pushed the Cat to its limits it could get them far. He pushed himself over to one of the control panels to feel over the screen, blinking as box after box flashed up at him. He let out a slow breath, allowing himself to get acquainted with the control room, knowing Lane always gave him at least a few minutes to get used to it all before throwing it all to hell.
She gave him one and a half minutes. She was obviously not happy with him.
As soon as he’d looked away from the screen a high pitched wailing began and the lights went out, replaced with that awful flashing red light that made everything impossible to see. He grimaced and looked down at the screen before him, pushing at some of the boxes, trying to pull up diagnostics to figure out what the hell was going on. The screen crackled and shocked his fingers as he touched it but it wasn’t until it cracked then shattered that he had to yank back his hand. “What the fuck!?” THAT hadn’t ever happened before.
Shoving himself away from the consol he started pushing buttons and turning knobs left and right, yanking down an older looking screen. When he slapped the side of it, his brow furrowed in confusion, the age old screen flickered to life and a schematic of the ship was brought, lime green on black. Rows and rows of code trickled down the screen and he followed it some before looking back to the schematic, worrying over a lip as the right engine flashed in red. It was damaged. “Fuck. System! Reroute power to the left thruster and bring us down a few fucking notches here!” He shoved over to another computer as the ship replied.
“Unable to fulfill request. Please repeat or try another command.”
“What?! Reroute the fucking power. Left thruster, NOW.”
“Unable to fulfill request. Please repeat or try another command.
“… System, report on engine status!” Shitfuck.
“Engine A: Removed, lost in asteroid hit. Engine B: Removed, lost in collision with engine A.”
Of fantastic. “System, reroute power to backup. Minimum level, for now. We gotta clean this mess up.” Okay, Lane had given him a drill like this before. It was a mess, having your main thrusters out, but not hopeless. He sighed heavily and rubbed his brow, pushing away to start working on fixing the problem.
-
The drills that followed were in much the same manner. Something would fuck up with the system, Tommy would have to figure out what it was, then figure out how to fix it. It was a struggle in the beginning as everything felt misplaced in a WhiteCat. He wished they would have warned him it was so different than a normal ship, more compact and intertwined, but that’s what these drills were for, he guessed. He figured most things out in his control room, using logic to determine where things should be and how to move connections around.
“Just one more Tommy then you’re free to go.”
Lane’s voice was a crackle in his ear and he wouldn’t be ashamed to say he was not too pleased to hear her. “Okay.” Was all he really replied, not even having the energy in him for a snarky remark. He was tired. He was hungry. And he wanted to just go home, the shame of Monte’s admonishing still hanging somewhere in the back of his mind.
He moved back to the center of the room and the box that called itself a room, fixed itself back up. Everything looked brand new before the lights went out and the red flashing began again. It always gave him a headache. He gave a big sigh and rolled over to the first screen and started tapping on it before it cracked like it did during his first drill. Rolling his eyes in annoyance he slid over to the pull down screen, waited for the schematic to pull up. The right engine was out. Again…
“Uh, okay. System, reroute power to the left engine.”
“Unable to fulfill request. Please repeat or try another command.”
“… What. The fuck. Report on engine status.”
“Engine A: Removed, lost in asteroid hit. Engine B: Removed, lost in collision with engine A.”
Tommy literally slapped his palm to his forehead and let out a long groan of frustration. “Fuck you Lane.” He muttered, knowing she could hear it before he pushed away. “Fine. System, reroute to backup, minimum level.” That was the command he’d given the first time he did this drill and it seemed to do the trick.
“Unable to fulfill request. Please repeat or try another command.”
“What? Why?”
“Backup systems are damages. Integrity level is at 19% currently. Below the threshold for safe rerouting. Please try another command.”
“The backup is damaged?! How? What are we flying on?!”
“Safety thrusters are activated. WhiteCat 573568 will be held steady for twenty seven seconds before safety thrusters are turned off. Integrity must be maximal for emergency purposes, sir.”
“This IS A FUCKING EMERGENCY! Shit, shit shit shit!” He only made it about halfway across the room before the whole room tilted and his chair slid across the room slamming itself, him included, into a sparking consol. He let out a cry of pain and he knew his whole side would be bruised up by morning, but he couldn’t think about that now as the room was still tilting. Scrabbling and yanking off the restraints he pushed himself out of the chair, struggling to get up the incline of the room, grabbing at one of the desks to yank the panel off one of the walls. He reached in to grab at some wires but yelped when he was shocked, losing his grip when he slid down the incline again.
His boots tried to get a grip on the slick tile but he didn’t get enough to stop him from colliding with the side of the wall. He hissed as he looked down and saw his elbow and knee all busted and bleeding from hitting the control table upside down. “SYSTEM. Turn on the emergency thrusters NOW!” he shoved away from the wall and let out a growl as he pitched his foot into the ground, getting a grip and trying to run up the rapidly increasing incline.
“Unable to fulfill request. Please try again or repeat request.”
“Fine! I’ll do it for you.” He yelled at no one as he shoved his hand into the mess of sparking wires and despite all the shocking he yanked out a handful of red, blue and white wires. The alarms suddenly shut off though the lights were still flashing red. Gritting his teeth and holding onto the desk with aching fingers he started pulling out a wire then plugging it in elsewhere, then another and another until everything was tangled in a braid of electronics and machinery. He let out a shout though as the room suddenly flipped and he fell, colliding with what had once been the ceiling of the room. He groaned, momentarily winded.
In simulation space, the simulation ship was spinning out of fucking simulated control.
“Fuck. Fuck fuck you, fuck you!” And then he was pushing up on his feet and trying to orient himself on the walls of the spinning room, to get back to the control panel and continue what he was doing. It was a long twenty minutes of Tommy fighting the ship, gravity and his own growing exhaustion before he slammed the last plug in and kicked out his foot mid fall to hit the emergency booster back up. He let out a shout as he was in freefall, knowing that this was going to hurt as the now stationary chair was right underneath him, but right before he hit the ground, the ship came back up and the grav turned on, catching Tommy and holding him in suspension.
Tommy let out a weak sound as the room slowly spun itself right, his eyes opening in time to see little drops of red float by his eyes, his own blood from his elbow. He was panting, heavy but he turned himself to shakily move back towards the main control panel, pushing off broken glass and papers that had been turned upright from the room flipping. “System, you with me?”
“Yes sir.”
“Keep the GOD. DAMNED emergency thrusters on.”
“They cannot be turned off sir. You hard routed them.”
“Good. Oh and System?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Fuck you. Lane, get me the hell out of here.”
-
When he was finally out of the room, he was pissed. Not only was he pissed, but he was beat all the hell up. It was a risk you took in drills, yes, but that last one had just been cruel. It was the worst he’d been in yet and all he had to show for it was blood and bruises. He shoved the technician out of the way when he came up with a first aid kit and stormed right up out of the room and into the control booth where Lane was standing. From the glass the others would be able to see but not hear their argument and Tommy was glad for it as he wasn’t exactly proud of half the stuff that just came out of his mouth. When he was done, the two of them stared at one another for a long minute before Lane shook her head, said one last thing and then Tommy turned out of the room and moved back down the stairs. Monte was off to the side, looking concerned but it was Adam who came up to him first, holding out his jacket and only barely flinching when Tommy all but tore it from his outstretched hand. Then he turned and exited the room.
It was another ten minutes before Tommy realized he was being followed. He stopped and the person following him stopped. He growled and clenched his hurt hands at his sides. “I don’t want to fucking talk so go back to your god damned friends and have fun laughing over what you just saw.” He snapped, knowing Adam was behind him.
“I’m not talking.” Adam replied calmly. “And I don’t think anyone will laugh about that. Can you turn around?”
“No.”
“… Okay.”
Tommy stood there with his back to Adam, waiting for the man to go away but he didn’t and finally Tommy just muttered a curse and continued walking. They went through corridor after corridor, Tommy needing to just… walk. Finally they came to a dead end and Tommy stopped in front of the wall, letting his head drop forward. Adam’s form comes up behind him slowly and he feels the body heat but he doesn’t want to acknowledge it. Even when the other’s warm fingers carefully lift up one of his hands, he stays quiet.
“C’mon…”
He doesn’t resist as Adam carefully turns him around and without touching anything else other than his hand, led him to one of the locker rooms they’d passed. He sat Tommy down on one of the benches and helped him back out of his jacket. The removal of that article of clothing was like removing a gag in Tommy mouth, the words suddenly just flowing out. “Can you believe her? I mean, sure I fuck around a lot and maybe I mouth off too much but come on. That was just mean. Not only that but she invited fucking… everyone to just come and watch me get my ass kicked by a fucking box. Fuck… I knew that God Damned ship by drill three and I just humored the bitch because, yeah I do screw up sometimes but not that bad. I didn’t dese-…” He stopped, so angry he was shaking.
“You didn’t deserve that, no.” Adam murmured as he carefully sat in front of Tommy with a first aid kit in one hand and a wet rag in another. He scooted forward, both men straddling the bench, till his knees hit Tommy’s before he leaned in to touch the rag to a cut on Tommy’s cheek he hadn’t even been aware of. He looked away and swallowed, sighing out heavily. “You don’t have to do this.” He muttered.
“I know. Hush up, let me just take care of you.”
A flush hit Tommy’s cheeks, as if he couldn’t be more of a girl. He mumbled out another few words which sounded embarrassingly close to some kind of agreement and thank you before he just closed his mouth and then his eyes and let Adam baby him. Bandages were applied to his cheek, elbow and knee, his bony hips were checked out but the bruises would heal soon enough. He assured Adam. Why he cared about Adam worrying for him, he wasn’t sure and right about now he didn’t want to think about it. This was nice, this sympathetic treatment. He’d almost forgotten what a tactile creature he was, wanting, needing and even craving contact at times. When he opened his eyes again he found that he’d leaned into Adam’s personal space. Adam didn’t seem to mind, quietly dressing even the smallest cuts, one hand gently brushing down the back of Tommy’s head.
He should stop this, he should fill the empty silence with some sort of noise but even just the idea of doing so felt wrong. Adam obviously wasn’t inclined to fill the void and so he’d stay quiet. He let his breaths even out, even if his heart was beating like a jack rabbit in his chest. Adam smelled sharp, spicy though Tommy didn’t recognize the cologne or soap. Probably something expensive and foreign. His hands were soft though, unlike Tommy’s calloused digits, weather worn both from soldering and his guitar. The whole combination fighting on his senses was nice… pleasant, calm and so when he opened his mouth he wasn’t doing it to fill any silence. He was just saying something that needed to be said.
“Sorry I was a little bitch yesterday.” He muttered, rubbing a hand under his nose.
Adam smiled and opened his mouth to say something in return before someone entered the locker room and then stopped, stammering something close to an apology.
“No, dude, it’s fine.” Tommy muttered, sitting up and pulling out of Adam’s space. Adam dropped the hand that had been in Tommy’s hair and Tommy didn’t want to see the look on his face just yet. “It’s cool.” He smiled and nodded and then stood. “Okay, well… like I said, thanks. You didn’t have to do this but thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow okay? I think it’s just personality tests tomorrow or something so no more throwing me around a room.” He tried to joke, moving away from the bench. And then as fast as he could he got out of that room, yanking his jacket tight around him.
---
Author’s Notes: Long overdue but I’m really happy with this chapter even if it’s the longest of them all. I’ve rewritten it about three times and none came out the same but I finally just skipped everything I was trying to do and did something different and it worked in my favor. On that note, I have the whole centrifuge scene from the last chapter written from Tommy’s point of view. I love it, it gives a lot of insight into him but it just didn’t fit into the story. When I make a master post for this whole story I’ll add in ‘deleted scenes’ I think which will probably just be a lot of the scenes written from the other’s POV. If you want to read it, I’ll go ahead and post it early. Until then, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. <3
Credits: Glamily belongs to themselves. Space belongs to Vader. Everything else belongs to me.
Chapter: 4
Genre: Romance, Drama, Sci-Fi
Fandom: Glamnation
Word Count: 4,271
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Language. Hurt/comfort.
Summary: Techie Tommy sets out on a voyage to a presumed well known section of the verse. Following the guidance of Adam, the research team leader, Tommy both finds and loses those things most precious to him out in the deep dark space.
Disclaimer: This shit ain't real, yo. Don't get uppity and start thinking it is.
---
Day 6
“You want me to record my thoughts, Mr. Lambert Controllingpants? Well here it fuckin’ is. My captain is a big diva. If he doesn’t have his way, he throws a fucking fit. I’m SORRY I stole your god damned eyeliner, you prissy princess bitch. It looks just like mine. Get over it. And because of this big huge tantrum you AREN’T GETTING IT BACK. DO YOU HEAR ME!? … YEAH I’M TALKING TO YOU! Damn right I’m a pain in your fucking ass!
… Asshole.
Oh. And trip’s going fine. Nothing to report. Toodles.”
---
The day was just getting started. Tommy knew it, he could feel it in his bones that just because he’d thrown up like a little girl, they weren’t going to give him any sympathy. He SHOULD get some damn sympathy thank you very much because he was damn sure they put him in that fucking salad tosser for the fun of it half the time. I’m mean, c’mon. How many times did they need to see how far Tommy could go before puking his guts up? Was it really going to change?! But they insisted protocol and if he didn’t follow then he wouldn’t get paid and then he wouldn’t able to buy the lovely amber stuff that was ALSO going to make him puke up his guts but at least it tasted better going down.
For now, the technicians in the lab were leaving him be. He’d gone outside to get some fresh air, though the concept was pretty funny given that they were on a giant space station in the middle of the black where there WAS no fresh air because everything was created unnaturally. But, you know. It was fresh enough and Tommy wasn’t complaining. The cool ‘breeze’ blew over his face and chilled the remaining dampness that hung on his pale skin, a shiver running pleasantly down his spine. It was nice out here, standing on a balcony looking down at the terraformed hills and, happily ignoring the wild rush of the magnabuses bustling people around. It was easy when you’d live in L.A.7 long enough. People didn’t own flying cars because as awesome as that concept was, the amount of crashes that came of it far outweighed any geektastic benefits and so everything was run on magnetic strips and automated, taking the control out of the human’s hands. Tommy wasn’t always comfortable with this but that’s what happened when you relied on technology too much.
Gripping the railing, he took in a breath and then rocked back on his heels, stretching out his arms and back as he bent over at the waist. In the quiet of his little balcony he heard his spine crack and the sound was relaxing, familiar. He smiled to himself before he heard a soft cough behind him of someone clearing their throat and interrupting his Tommy time. He didn’t acknowledge them right away, allowing them to wait the fucking fuck for him to be ready to turn around, upon which he greeted them with a sugar sweet smile that was completely fake.
Monte was not amused. “Drop it, kid.” He rolled his eyes, though, showing he wasn’t mad. Just an old fart, Tommy thought. “Come on. You have to run some drills. You’ve never worked on a WhiteCat and the wiring is different.”
“I hate drills. And Lane hates me. She hurts me on purpose.” Here he pouted and even he knew he looked like a huge baby.
“Suck that lip back in, Tommy Joe, before I punch it.”
“You’re so sweet, Monte. How have I ever lived without you?”
“Your life was dull. I’m sure of it.”
To get to the simulation room, you have to go up eight flights of stairs (because Monte was the devil and insisted Tommy get some exercise), through four busy hallways, past two delicious smelling cafes that Tommy wasn’t allowed to stop at and then by the girls workout room that he also wasn’t allowed to stop at no matter how much he bitched. Monte = devil, remember?
“Good God, Tommy, you’re like a five year old today. Has Adam really gotten under your skin already?”
“Wha-?” Tommy gave an embarrassingly strangled sound, stumbling as he tripped over his own boots at Monte’s comment. What the hell was the man getting at, under his skin? Adam wasn’t anywhere near his skin, let alone under it. Though, yeah okay, Tommy might not protest but that was so not the point. “Captain Adam fucking Lambert is not under my skin. Emphasis on fucking not. Why would he be? We’ve spoken like… twice.”
“Well you’ve been more of a little bitch since the meeting yesterday. If you’re just getting a kick out of being on everyone’s nerves then I suggest cooling it. I put up with that shit from you a lot because I love you kid, but that crew doesn’t like you already so stop pushing your luck. If you’re going to be a five year old kid on the trip then I’ll pull you from it. Don’t make me do that.”
Effectively chastised and embarrassed all to hell, Tommy swallowed and looked down, his cheeks flushed with heat. “Sorry.” He scratched at his elbow, REALLY feeling like a child.
Monte heaved a big sigh, sounding like the parent who hated punishing his kids. “Yeah yeah, stop being pathetic now. At least you’re giving me practice for when my girls grow up.” Another roll of the eyes and Tommy knew they were cool again. His pride was not A-Okay but at least he and Monte were.
The doors slid open with a mechanical swish, allowing Tommy and Monte to enter an incredibly active room. They’d been walking through busy halls and past busy spaces but the room felt packed. The whole crew was there, Adam and Zach and Neil and Mallory, and they were talking to Lane which didn’t bode well at all. Adam looked better, which was good, he wasn’t so sure the guy was going to recover after the human centrifuge but he had the color back in his freckled skin and his smile was back. They weren’t the only ones in there, the room buzzing with activity. There were the normal workers, the ones who would help him into his simulation and those who would record data but there were also some people Tommy had never seen before. He stopped behind Monte and heard the man snort.
“Quite a crowd tonight. Lane must not be feeling particularly friendly.”
“Well… fuck.” Tommy, effectively sobered up now, ran his fingers through his long blond bangs and moved over to the crew. Adam smiled but the rest did that half smile people give when they don’t really want to see someone. That was fan-fucking-tastic. Monte wasn’t kidding. “Hey guys. What’s everyone doing here?”
“I invited them to see what an emergency simulation is like. They’d never seen one before and so I figured it would be good for them to see their technician run a few drills.” She smiled but it was dangerous and he wondered what paperwork he forgot to fill out or what time stub he forgot to punch that got Lane so mad at him. He’d been pretty negligent lately, he now realized that, and it was biting him in the ass.
“Yeah! It sounds pretty awesome.” Adam seemed enthusiastic and the others nodded their agreement. Suddenly, Tommy felt like this was an interview or a test and the butterflies in his stomach erupted into a full colony of bats, beating the hell out of his insides. He gave a nervous little chuckle and nodded, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Well that’s cool I guess. There usually isn’t much to see, just me pulling wires out and shit.”
They shrugged and Tommy wondered if they’d been promised different. Lane was bustling him around soon after that, getting him into his suit, the fabric laying close to his skin so that the sensors and electrodes sewn into it could pick up on the signals from his body during the session. He spoke quietly with one of the attendants as he worked an earpiece in and adjusted the little mic, testing it then getting a thumbs up from a man up on the control booth. He was nervous and he hated that it showed on his face, knowing he was shit at hiding his emotions. He rubbed his brow then let out a big breath. When he turned he saw Adam watching him and he wasn’t sure, but he thought he saw concern there before Zach was pulling him away to talk to him.
Looking up when the man in the control booth called his name for a second time, asking him if he was ready. He gave his own thumbs up then ducked as he moved through a small door and into a small room. The room was empty save for a seat in the middle where he’d be strapped in. He hated this room, more than he hated the centrifuge. But at least he could show off a little here. Looking back to the small opening he gave the person there waiting a nod of his head before the door was shut and sealed behind him. Any noise from outside was effectively eliminated and Tommy was alone in a 4mx4m room. It was imposing and the walls pressed in on him but he shook off the feeling of claustrophobia and sat in the chair strapping himself in. A few more positive alerts were given to tell everyone he was ready before he pulled down an elaborate helmet made up of wires and more electrodes, slipping it onto his head. The tingle of electricity ran down his body, warning him the simulation was about to start.
The room immediately changed around him. It didn’t become any larger but the white walls all transformed into rows and rows of computer screens and hardware. Wires were going from one to another, small lights flashing, knobs and buttons waiting to be turned or pushed. Tommy himself sat in the same seat but now it was floating and he could move around. A humming started him to simulate the ship engines and Tommy had to admit, it did feel different. He hadn’t ever flown in a WhiteCat before and until now he’d just assumed it would feel the same as any other ship he’d been on. But not so. It was smoother, quieter, but it vibrated more, proving that the engine had power behind it. He knew if they really pushed the Cat to its limits it could get them far. He pushed himself over to one of the control panels to feel over the screen, blinking as box after box flashed up at him. He let out a slow breath, allowing himself to get acquainted with the control room, knowing Lane always gave him at least a few minutes to get used to it all before throwing it all to hell.
She gave him one and a half minutes. She was obviously not happy with him.
As soon as he’d looked away from the screen a high pitched wailing began and the lights went out, replaced with that awful flashing red light that made everything impossible to see. He grimaced and looked down at the screen before him, pushing at some of the boxes, trying to pull up diagnostics to figure out what the hell was going on. The screen crackled and shocked his fingers as he touched it but it wasn’t until it cracked then shattered that he had to yank back his hand. “What the fuck!?” THAT hadn’t ever happened before.
Shoving himself away from the consol he started pushing buttons and turning knobs left and right, yanking down an older looking screen. When he slapped the side of it, his brow furrowed in confusion, the age old screen flickered to life and a schematic of the ship was brought, lime green on black. Rows and rows of code trickled down the screen and he followed it some before looking back to the schematic, worrying over a lip as the right engine flashed in red. It was damaged. “Fuck. System! Reroute power to the left thruster and bring us down a few fucking notches here!” He shoved over to another computer as the ship replied.
“Unable to fulfill request. Please repeat or try another command.”
“What?! Reroute the fucking power. Left thruster, NOW.”
“Unable to fulfill request. Please repeat or try another command.
“… System, report on engine status!” Shitfuck.
“Engine A: Removed, lost in asteroid hit. Engine B: Removed, lost in collision with engine A.”
Of fantastic. “System, reroute power to backup. Minimum level, for now. We gotta clean this mess up.” Okay, Lane had given him a drill like this before. It was a mess, having your main thrusters out, but not hopeless. He sighed heavily and rubbed his brow, pushing away to start working on fixing the problem.
-
The drills that followed were in much the same manner. Something would fuck up with the system, Tommy would have to figure out what it was, then figure out how to fix it. It was a struggle in the beginning as everything felt misplaced in a WhiteCat. He wished they would have warned him it was so different than a normal ship, more compact and intertwined, but that’s what these drills were for, he guessed. He figured most things out in his control room, using logic to determine where things should be and how to move connections around.
“Just one more Tommy then you’re free to go.”
Lane’s voice was a crackle in his ear and he wouldn’t be ashamed to say he was not too pleased to hear her. “Okay.” Was all he really replied, not even having the energy in him for a snarky remark. He was tired. He was hungry. And he wanted to just go home, the shame of Monte’s admonishing still hanging somewhere in the back of his mind.
He moved back to the center of the room and the box that called itself a room, fixed itself back up. Everything looked brand new before the lights went out and the red flashing began again. It always gave him a headache. He gave a big sigh and rolled over to the first screen and started tapping on it before it cracked like it did during his first drill. Rolling his eyes in annoyance he slid over to the pull down screen, waited for the schematic to pull up. The right engine was out. Again…
“Uh, okay. System, reroute power to the left engine.”
“Unable to fulfill request. Please repeat or try another command.”
“… What. The fuck. Report on engine status.”
“Engine A: Removed, lost in asteroid hit. Engine B: Removed, lost in collision with engine A.”
Tommy literally slapped his palm to his forehead and let out a long groan of frustration. “Fuck you Lane.” He muttered, knowing she could hear it before he pushed away. “Fine. System, reroute to backup, minimum level.” That was the command he’d given the first time he did this drill and it seemed to do the trick.
“Unable to fulfill request. Please repeat or try another command.”
“What? Why?”
“Backup systems are damages. Integrity level is at 19% currently. Below the threshold for safe rerouting. Please try another command.”
“The backup is damaged?! How? What are we flying on?!”
“Safety thrusters are activated. WhiteCat 573568 will be held steady for twenty seven seconds before safety thrusters are turned off. Integrity must be maximal for emergency purposes, sir.”
“This IS A FUCKING EMERGENCY! Shit, shit shit shit!” He only made it about halfway across the room before the whole room tilted and his chair slid across the room slamming itself, him included, into a sparking consol. He let out a cry of pain and he knew his whole side would be bruised up by morning, but he couldn’t think about that now as the room was still tilting. Scrabbling and yanking off the restraints he pushed himself out of the chair, struggling to get up the incline of the room, grabbing at one of the desks to yank the panel off one of the walls. He reached in to grab at some wires but yelped when he was shocked, losing his grip when he slid down the incline again.
His boots tried to get a grip on the slick tile but he didn’t get enough to stop him from colliding with the side of the wall. He hissed as he looked down and saw his elbow and knee all busted and bleeding from hitting the control table upside down. “SYSTEM. Turn on the emergency thrusters NOW!” he shoved away from the wall and let out a growl as he pitched his foot into the ground, getting a grip and trying to run up the rapidly increasing incline.
“Unable to fulfill request. Please try again or repeat request.”
“Fine! I’ll do it for you.” He yelled at no one as he shoved his hand into the mess of sparking wires and despite all the shocking he yanked out a handful of red, blue and white wires. The alarms suddenly shut off though the lights were still flashing red. Gritting his teeth and holding onto the desk with aching fingers he started pulling out a wire then plugging it in elsewhere, then another and another until everything was tangled in a braid of electronics and machinery. He let out a shout though as the room suddenly flipped and he fell, colliding with what had once been the ceiling of the room. He groaned, momentarily winded.
In simulation space, the simulation ship was spinning out of fucking simulated control.
“Fuck. Fuck fuck you, fuck you!” And then he was pushing up on his feet and trying to orient himself on the walls of the spinning room, to get back to the control panel and continue what he was doing. It was a long twenty minutes of Tommy fighting the ship, gravity and his own growing exhaustion before he slammed the last plug in and kicked out his foot mid fall to hit the emergency booster back up. He let out a shout as he was in freefall, knowing that this was going to hurt as the now stationary chair was right underneath him, but right before he hit the ground, the ship came back up and the grav turned on, catching Tommy and holding him in suspension.
Tommy let out a weak sound as the room slowly spun itself right, his eyes opening in time to see little drops of red float by his eyes, his own blood from his elbow. He was panting, heavy but he turned himself to shakily move back towards the main control panel, pushing off broken glass and papers that had been turned upright from the room flipping. “System, you with me?”
“Yes sir.”
“Keep the GOD. DAMNED emergency thrusters on.”
“They cannot be turned off sir. You hard routed them.”
“Good. Oh and System?”
“Yes, sir?”
“Fuck you. Lane, get me the hell out of here.”
-
When he was finally out of the room, he was pissed. Not only was he pissed, but he was beat all the hell up. It was a risk you took in drills, yes, but that last one had just been cruel. It was the worst he’d been in yet and all he had to show for it was blood and bruises. He shoved the technician out of the way when he came up with a first aid kit and stormed right up out of the room and into the control booth where Lane was standing. From the glass the others would be able to see but not hear their argument and Tommy was glad for it as he wasn’t exactly proud of half the stuff that just came out of his mouth. When he was done, the two of them stared at one another for a long minute before Lane shook her head, said one last thing and then Tommy turned out of the room and moved back down the stairs. Monte was off to the side, looking concerned but it was Adam who came up to him first, holding out his jacket and only barely flinching when Tommy all but tore it from his outstretched hand. Then he turned and exited the room.
It was another ten minutes before Tommy realized he was being followed. He stopped and the person following him stopped. He growled and clenched his hurt hands at his sides. “I don’t want to fucking talk so go back to your god damned friends and have fun laughing over what you just saw.” He snapped, knowing Adam was behind him.
“I’m not talking.” Adam replied calmly. “And I don’t think anyone will laugh about that. Can you turn around?”
“No.”
“… Okay.”
Tommy stood there with his back to Adam, waiting for the man to go away but he didn’t and finally Tommy just muttered a curse and continued walking. They went through corridor after corridor, Tommy needing to just… walk. Finally they came to a dead end and Tommy stopped in front of the wall, letting his head drop forward. Adam’s form comes up behind him slowly and he feels the body heat but he doesn’t want to acknowledge it. Even when the other’s warm fingers carefully lift up one of his hands, he stays quiet.
“C’mon…”
He doesn’t resist as Adam carefully turns him around and without touching anything else other than his hand, led him to one of the locker rooms they’d passed. He sat Tommy down on one of the benches and helped him back out of his jacket. The removal of that article of clothing was like removing a gag in Tommy mouth, the words suddenly just flowing out. “Can you believe her? I mean, sure I fuck around a lot and maybe I mouth off too much but come on. That was just mean. Not only that but she invited fucking… everyone to just come and watch me get my ass kicked by a fucking box. Fuck… I knew that God Damned ship by drill three and I just humored the bitch because, yeah I do screw up sometimes but not that bad. I didn’t dese-…” He stopped, so angry he was shaking.
“You didn’t deserve that, no.” Adam murmured as he carefully sat in front of Tommy with a first aid kit in one hand and a wet rag in another. He scooted forward, both men straddling the bench, till his knees hit Tommy’s before he leaned in to touch the rag to a cut on Tommy’s cheek he hadn’t even been aware of. He looked away and swallowed, sighing out heavily. “You don’t have to do this.” He muttered.
“I know. Hush up, let me just take care of you.”
A flush hit Tommy’s cheeks, as if he couldn’t be more of a girl. He mumbled out another few words which sounded embarrassingly close to some kind of agreement and thank you before he just closed his mouth and then his eyes and let Adam baby him. Bandages were applied to his cheek, elbow and knee, his bony hips were checked out but the bruises would heal soon enough. He assured Adam. Why he cared about Adam worrying for him, he wasn’t sure and right about now he didn’t want to think about it. This was nice, this sympathetic treatment. He’d almost forgotten what a tactile creature he was, wanting, needing and even craving contact at times. When he opened his eyes again he found that he’d leaned into Adam’s personal space. Adam didn’t seem to mind, quietly dressing even the smallest cuts, one hand gently brushing down the back of Tommy’s head.
He should stop this, he should fill the empty silence with some sort of noise but even just the idea of doing so felt wrong. Adam obviously wasn’t inclined to fill the void and so he’d stay quiet. He let his breaths even out, even if his heart was beating like a jack rabbit in his chest. Adam smelled sharp, spicy though Tommy didn’t recognize the cologne or soap. Probably something expensive and foreign. His hands were soft though, unlike Tommy’s calloused digits, weather worn both from soldering and his guitar. The whole combination fighting on his senses was nice… pleasant, calm and so when he opened his mouth he wasn’t doing it to fill any silence. He was just saying something that needed to be said.
“Sorry I was a little bitch yesterday.” He muttered, rubbing a hand under his nose.
Adam smiled and opened his mouth to say something in return before someone entered the locker room and then stopped, stammering something close to an apology.
“No, dude, it’s fine.” Tommy muttered, sitting up and pulling out of Adam’s space. Adam dropped the hand that had been in Tommy’s hair and Tommy didn’t want to see the look on his face just yet. “It’s cool.” He smiled and nodded and then stood. “Okay, well… like I said, thanks. You didn’t have to do this but thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow okay? I think it’s just personality tests tomorrow or something so no more throwing me around a room.” He tried to joke, moving away from the bench. And then as fast as he could he got out of that room, yanking his jacket tight around him.
---
Author’s Notes: Long overdue but I’m really happy with this chapter even if it’s the longest of them all. I’ve rewritten it about three times and none came out the same but I finally just skipped everything I was trying to do and did something different and it worked in my favor. On that note, I have the whole centrifuge scene from the last chapter written from Tommy’s point of view. I love it, it gives a lot of insight into him but it just didn’t fit into the story. When I make a master post for this whole story I’ll add in ‘deleted scenes’ I think which will probably just be a lot of the scenes written from the other’s POV. If you want to read it, I’ll go ahead and post it early. Until then, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. <3
Credits: Glamily belongs to themselves. Space belongs to Vader. Everything else belongs to me.