Is - ...

[That pause is longer than it should be for someone usually so easy with his words and public face.]

shit.

[And that had the edge of real emotion to it, the edges raw with honesty. Erol's never lost anyone he cared about - until now, he hadn't cared about anyone that could be lost ( Read more... )

This is intolerable.

[Crunch, snap. It sounds like perhaps Erol is ripping into tree bark. In actuality, he's casually dismembering a lobster, because they're the only things he can hurt.]

I think I would rather be onboard. Life support be damned.

[Seriously. He's not been able to race since you people let Jennifer out, and now he can't even ( Read more... )

Do shut up, the lot of you complaining about how long you've been here.  Last out a full year, then you'll have a leg to stand on.

...

But to stave off boredom, let's chat.  Who was the first person you killed?

Ha-HAH!!

Last one there's a rotten Stinger egg.

[Erol, of course, is already there, as the rev of a zoomer engine in the background proves.

He's probably not going to sleep for a few days. Racing is far too important to interrupt with petty things like sleep, which is for the weak anyway.

Yes it's an open commentlog.]

[The comm begins recording, voices ever so slightly distant, as though it's not being spoken directly into.]

I won't fight you, Jak.

You won't fight back? Fine. Not my problem.

NNG-! ... ... Fine. You got in a free hit. Satisfied?

Not even close.

[CRASH.]

I'm still not going to fight you.

You know, even he struck a hit before I started in on ( Read more... )

You know, these wide-open decks are just about big enough to provide a servicable zoomer course.

... If we HAD any zoomers. Or any vehicle in that category.

At this point I'm less than picky.

...

I don't suppose there would be an engineer on the boat willing to MAKE one.