The next afternoon came with startling speed and went with the team aboard RED's space shuttle. At first, Engineer had been eager to give them the "grand tour" but upon realizing they were ungraciously locked in the passenger compartment, he decided to pull out a map of Crater instead.
"Anyone want to get a feel for her layout before we land?" he asked. He had to admit, it didn't surprise him when Heavy, Medic, and Spy were the only ones to oblige him. He suspected that Sniper would have joined them too, if he hadn't been asleep.
Pyro, Scout, and Demoman, on the other hand, had occupied themselves by staring out the only window in the room. With their heads bunched so close together, Engineer couldn't quite see how much distance the ship had made so far, but he suspected they still had a way to go.
Usually, being able to experience technology he helped develop like this would make the long distance trip a good thing, but with Soldier along for the ride, this was not the case. The situation had become more tolerable after Engineer had threatened to leave his shovel behind if he didn't stop shouting, but Soldier had been left every right to brood and mutter and he was taking advantage of it. Huddled as far away from the rest of the team as he could manage, Soldier was sulking up a storm, grunting "I still don't like it" and clutching his shovel like a madman. Still, Engineer supposed he preferred moodiness to ramming a hole through the hull and launching them all into space.
Not that it wouldn't take a lot more than a severely disgruntled mercenary to punch through the ship's wall. Engineer himself had ascertained that she could withstand a few hits from any stray meteoroids or debris. All that extra bulk on the outside wasn't much to look at, though, so he had tried to make up for that with the interior.
The passenger cabin was a decently sized rectangular room, painted shades of silver to give it that technologically advanced feel. Lining the longer sides were two thick benches, one of which was split to allow the door that led to the rest of the ship. Luggage compartments faced each other in the two shorter walls. A single square window was nestled in the wall directly across from the door, somewhere behind Scout, Demoman, and Pyro's heads. All in all, Engineer thought that it was pleasing to the eye- a job well done- despite the tin pipes and hanging wires left visible lining the ceiling panel and tucked under the benches. Pretty, sure, but not comfortable; how Sniper had managed to fall asleep all sprawled out like that was beyond Engineer.
"Vell, let's hear it, zen," Medic said grumpily. Ever since that morning, he'd been in a foul mood, much to everyone's bemusement. Engineer had informed him of Crater's infirmary, but even the information that he'd be able to use it as he saw fit couldn't coax more than a "Zat is nice" out of him. If Heavy, who was rarely seen outside of the doctor's presence, knew what was troubling him, he certainly wasn't letting on.
"No need to be sour, Doc," Engineer said, holding his hands out placatingly. He took Medic's glare with a good-natured chuckle before spreading the detailed map out across his lap and beginning. "There's really only a few areas you fellas need to be worryn' about. Crater's made up mostly of equipment rooms, where the machinery runs its course. I know my way around those so as long as you got me while we're out doin' the checkups, you'll be fine. Now I doubt it, but you might need to know about Central Command, which is right here," – he pointed to a smallish room on the left side of the map- "This here is where you'd go if you ever needed to get in contact with RED back home. You can also make use of the intercom, which is connected to the rest of the base. Of course, each room has its own intercom so gettin' in contact with everyone else, no matter where they're at, will only be a matter of pushin' a button and talkn' into the microphone. We clear so far?"
"Oui," Spy said. He was looking positively bored, but Engineer had enough experience to know that he was listening raptly; knowing where things were inside Crater would put him ahead of the class, so to speak.
"Vat about food?" Heavy asked.
"I was just gettn' to that," Engineer said with a grin. This time, his finger landed on a small rectangle near the center of the map, marked "cafeteria." "This is where they keep the food. It's called the cafeteria but it's really no more than a big cupboard. Sorry, Heavy." Heavy's hopeful expression fell into a disappointed frown before he shook his head and smiled with understanding.
"Nyet, is fine," he said. Medic patted him on the shoulder and for one optimistic moment, Engineer thought that maybe he'd managed to shake off that gloom- at least until the grimace returned to his face.
"But ve vill be able to make sandviches, da?" Heavy asked, hopeful once again.
"But Heavy," Medic murmured, "Vat about ze sandviches you brought vis you?"
"They vill not last forever," Heavy said with a shrug. Medic seemed to accept that answer, but Spy was not so gracious.
"Please, fat man," he scoffed, "Considering sandwiches are all you thought to bring with you, they will indeed last forever if you space them out correctly." He blew out a puff of smoke before muttering, "Spare us the horror of eating them all at once."
"Gosh, Heavy, is that really all you brought?" Engineer asked. He shouldn't have been surprised- this was probably just another example of Heavy being Heavy- but bringing food to a base that was already supposed to be stocked wasn't exactly practical. Engineer would have been less surprised to hear that Sasha had tagged along.
"I did not think I vould need anything else," Heavy said simply. They left it at that.
Though he didn't voice it, Engineer himself had thought something similar just that morning. Armed with no more than a few family photos plus the clothes he usually wore and then some, he had probably packed lighter than Heavy had, which put him in no position to judge how many sandwiches would be accompanying them.
"Anyway," Engineer continued, "The cafeteria might not be all that but the hub is, and it's a good deal more important. Now, the hub is smack dab in the middle of the base and it's connected to darn near everything. It's right next to the cafeteria and the crew's quarters, where y'all are gonna be sleepin'. Central Command 'n the med bay are just down the hall. You lookin' forward to that yet, Doc?" he added with a grin.
"Yes, I suppose I am," Medic said flatly. A beat of silence passed while everyone felt a little put off. Engineer was about to finish with a discouraged recap when the doctor sighed and said, "I must apologize to you, Herr Engineer. I am afraid I haven't been myself." Engineer couldn't help but find the weariness in his voice to be strangely jarring.
"It is not Doktor's fault," Heavy said softly, resting one of his large hands on Medic's thigh in understanding. He turned to Engineer. "Doktor is just nervous."
"Well, would you like to talk about it?" Engineer offered somewhat hesitantly.
"If we are through discussing the new base, I will have to miss out on this little heart to heart," Spy said suddenly, scrutinizing each of them respectively.
"Go on, get out of here, then," Engineer said. Spy left them with a semi-polite "Gentlemen," but Engineer didn't take his eyes off him until he took a seat next to Sniper, who was still fast asleep. Though he had just developed a small amount of concern for Sniper's well-being, he turned his attention back to Medic. He knew it wasn't polite to say so, but he sincerely hoped that the doctor wasn't interested in crying on his shoulder. This was their Medic, who was perfectly sane in a scary sort of way. Engineer wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was about Crater that was bad enough to get him riled up.
But Medic shook his head, and the relief Engineer felt almost stirred up some guilt in him.
"Zank you, but nein," Medic said. "Zis is somezing I must deal vis on my own."
"You can tell me, Doktor," Heavy offered.
"Danke, but I vill be fine."
That confirmed Engineer's suspicions, then. Heavy was out of the loop.
Ah, well, Engineer thought, S'probably just some doctor business. I reckon the lot of us wouldn't understand it anyway.
"So you wanna hear more about that infirmary I told you about?"
"Ja, I vould like zat."
He felt retarded thinking it, but space was the prettiest thing Scout had ever seen. Bunches of stars shone like little pinpricks of light in the distance and waves of colors wove around them like ribbons. Where the clusters of stars thinned out, the colors and lights faded until there was nothing; just blackness. It was sort of terrifying to realize how small the Earth was in comparison to all of this nothing, but Scout couldn't look away. He didn't really want to, anyway.
"Man, who knew there was all this empty space out here," Scout said, his nose pressed against the window.
"They don't call it 'space' for nothin', boyo," Demo chuckled.
"Hssts prrtr," Pyro admitted, "Bhtt nrrr frr."
"'Course not, there's no wood or nothin' to burn."
"Don't be stupid, lad," Demo scolded. "It's 'cause there's no air, or somethin'. I think..."
"Yeah, well tha's stupid."
"Bhtt hrs rrht! Krrdv."
Air or no air, it was still nice to look at. Scout wanted to try that "zero gravity" thing he'd heard about, but he doubted he'd get the chance. If he did, he really doubted that anyone would let him. But since when did he let the other guys boss him around? He didn't, that's when. First opportunity he got, he'd be so out there.
"I'm bored, man," he said, leaning away from the window. "Are we almost there?"
"How're we supposed ta bloody know?" Demo asked, flinging his hands in the air.
"Yhrr khhdd rhssk Rrnjr," Pyro said. He pointed over to where Engineer was sitting with Medic and Heavy, deep in conversation. Medic looked a lot less bitchy than he had earlier (Engineer seemed to have that effect on people) so Scout thought it was safe to hazard an interruption.
"Yo, hardhat!" he called. Somewhere to his left, Sniper was jolted awake with a snort. "Are we almost there?"
Both Engineer and Medic looked at Scout disapprovingly before casting exasperated glances at each other.
"Does it look like I'm flyin' this thing, boy?" Engineer said.
"C'mon, man, just answer the question, I'm dyin' over here!"
Engineer sighed and rubbed at his temple, but said, "Yeah, we'll be there in just a few minutes. Now quiet down, would ya? Some of us are tryin' to sleep."
"Sweet!" Scout said. He turned back to Demoman and Pyro, missing the apologetic look Sniper got from Engineer. He did, however, get a glimpse of Spy sniggering at the Australian's lopsided sunglasses, and Scout himself couldn't suppress a snort either.
Apparently, in Engineer speak, "a few minutes" really meant "half an hour." Scout didn't understand why he had been the only one to become so antsy. Too small a space, too much time, he guessed. He just wanted to run, stretch his legs. Even when the ship landed and connected to the hangar deck, he still had to wait.
Despite his impatience, he stuck with his team and hauled around his belongings like the rest of them. They followed Engineer as he led them to the hub, pointing at things and wasting time explaining what they were and how they worked.
As far as Scout was concerned, Crater was just one big maze- twists and turns made out of metal and machinery. Wires and pipes adorned the walls, floor, and ceiling like Christmas decorations. The raised grate below their feet was the only thing keeping them from walking all over Crater's innards like they were a carpet. The imagery, coupled with the smell, made Scout feel rather uncomfortable. Somehow, despite whatever air freshener they'd saturated the air with, he could still pick out the scents of oil, grease, and metal. It was an awkward blend of smells that was already beginning to grate on his nose.
The team passed door after door, each one of them closed and locked, until Scout eventually heard Engineer mention something about key cards and how everyone would be getting one.
"Ain't it a bit weird for all the doors to be locked, though?" Sniper asked with a yawn, catching Scout's attention. "S'not like there's anyone to keep out."
"I was wondering about that myself," Spy admitted.
"Yeah, I suppose it's a bit strange," Engineer replied, glancing at them over his shoulder. "But it's probably just protocol. RED likes to keep its secrets safe, after all." No one had much to say to that, but skepticism hung over them like a cloud. Once or twice, Scout thought he heard something shuffle behind one of the doors, but it was probably just a rat. ...Were there rats in space? A space rat, then.
Overall, Crater was complicated- a lot harder to understand than Teufort- but it also had a better view, and Scout found that he could effectively drown out Engineer's voice by gazing out whatever windows they passed. He could just imagine himself out there, bounding and leaping without being dragged down by gravity.
As they delved further into the base, however, the windows disappeared altogether and Scout had to find a new way to distract himself; namely, by studying his teammates to see if they were just as bored as he was. He examined them, tried to imagine what was in the bags slung over their shoulders or hanging by their sides. (He thought he could make out a book in Sniper's bag. Was it porn? Scout thought so.) But his eyes kept going back to Medic. Strong, sadistic, scary Medic who was now fidgeting with his hands and glancing every which way as he walked. Even for someone like Medic, his movements were subtle, but Scout was able to pick up that something was bothering him. As Scout watched the doctor, his ears picked up Soldier's voice, muttering to Demoman.
"No matter how many times I told him, he didn't listen. I told him we shouldn't come here because I didn't like it and I still don't like it but he didn't listen."
Medic's fingers pulled at his glove and let go with a snap.
They passed another door- something thumped behind it- there was something on his shoulder-
"Shit!" Scout spun around and threw his fist, his eyes squeezed shut. His knuckles hit something soft; fleshy underneath some sort of thick skin-
He opened his eyes and saw Pyro rubbing his shoulder.
"Rrrw!" he said, recoiling. "Rrh whzz jzz trrngh trrh... Yhrr drrbht thzz." Heart still hammering, Scout looked down. Pyro was holding out Scout's baseball.
"Oh," Scout said stupidly. "Thanks." He stuffed the ball back in his bag and turned around, expecting the group to have made some distance without him; but no, they were all standing right there, staring at him, some with irritation, others mockingly. Scout felt his face begin to heat up.
"Everything all right there, son?" Engineer asked, an amused smile creeping about his face.
"M'fine," Scout said quickly, resisting the urge to punch him. "Let's just keep walking, a'ight?"
"You gave Doktor quite a scare!" Heavy said with that booming laugh of his. "I did not know he could jump that high."
Medic shot him an appalled look. "Not right now, Heavy-"
"The Scout has got the right idea, boys!" Soldier interrupted. "He doesn't like this whole fiasco either!"
"Yeah, whatever, can we just keep going?"
Eventually, the group continued their walk to the hub, and Scout decided to stay behind the rest of them. If he lost one of his things again, he'd just have to come back and find it later. He wasn't going to risk humiliation again. Once they reached the hub, Engineer gave them a quick introduction, but Scout couldn't be bothered to pay attention. When the Texan showed them into the crew's quarters, Scout clambered into one of the top bunks and buried his face in the pillow, ignoring its old, musty scent.
"After we all get settled in, meet me in the hub if you're interested in taggin' along for the first checkup."
Yeah, like Scout was going to do anything with anyone for the rest of the day. At least, that was what he thought, until he sifted through his bag and noticed that the picture of his ma he'd stuffed in at the last moment was missing. Hell, it looked like he'd be going back out there after all.
