akura

a/n: Stupid fluff about life on the Whale. What color hair did you choose for your avatar, hmmmm?

Probably set late 2054, maybe even December that first year. Swears (helloooooo Gino).

All the good stuff belongs to Monolith Soft, and their insane character creation options. Too many good choices for hair color, I tell ya. Marie, Gino & Lila are mine, and none of them are Cross.

"Dammit, Brown, I need those numbers."

"Yes, sir."

"I told you last week."

"Respectfully, you did not."

"I asked for them."

"Last week. You didn't say this week."

"You should have known."

"They aren't building psychic mims yet, sir."

"Brown…" growled the Chief Engineer warningly.

"I'll get them to you in 15 minutes, sir. You can yell at me when I'm back. 15 minutes. Less if I'm fast."

"You better run."

Technician Brown did precisely that, dodging the incoming shipmate as the two almost collided in the doorway. "'Scuse me, Hector. Gotta go."

H.B. narrowed his eyes, as if following the already absent crewmate's mad dash. "I see that her hair finally matches her manner."

"Meaning it's super cute, right?" replied a woman, flat on the floor and pulling communications cables, handing it up to an older man. She paused, hands full of the glowing cables, and pushed a loose strand of crystal white hair from her face. "Because I thought it looked great."

"She looks like a clown."

"Whatchu wasting time for, talking about hair?" muttered the third technician. Even when friendly, the scars on his face made him look aggressive. Right now, he was hardly friendly.

"It's pink. It looks ridiculous."

"It isn't all pink, and it looks fine. You're just stuffy. Stuffy stuffy stuffy," teased the woman.

"Marie, the things I could tell you about that … that …"

"She's probably just trying to impress some guy. That's why I'd change my hair."

H.B. looked more than a little shocked. "You'd change your hair to that color? To get attention?"

"Maybe a softer pink. Cherry blossom. I bet I'd look hot." She peeked from under a control panel and smirked up at the aghast H.B.

"Shut the fuck up about hair and pink and all that crap!" exploded the third tech suddenly. "H.B., man, if you aren't gonna help with the repairs, get the hell out of my life!"

Vandham looked down from the ceiling tile he was currently trying to coax back into place. "Gino, watch that mouth. Everyone else, what Gino said."

Silence descended. Mostly. There was a soft snap and a satisfied grunt as the notoriously brittle ceiling panel fit into place. Gino was muttering something, possibly. H.B. was breathing very precisely through his nose. Otherwise, silent. So the opening of the door and the return of Technician Brown was almost shockingly loud.

"Nine minutes, ha!" she said cheerfully. "If I can have your comm device?"

Vandham held it out. While she swiped the information this way and that, he said, "You could have just shot it over to me."

"I like to know that things get there."

"Don't trust me much, eh?"

She didn't look up from the numbers. "Sir, there's a lot of things I don't trust. You're not one of them. So, and done. If you want them every week, I'll get them to you. You just have to ask."

"You wanna help pull the communications grid here?"

"Anything, sir. Absolutely. Pulling from under the panels, right?" She dropped to the deck and wriggled in next to Marie. "Want me to start over here?"

"Thanks." They worked steadily for a minute. "So," began Marie, "who's the guy?"

Lila didn't notice the subsonic growls of all three men. "What guy?"

"The guy you're trying to impress. Your hair, right?"

Lila's hands slowed. She blinked a few times before laughing. "There's no guy, Marie. I just wanted to have something bright in my life. Everything feels so grey right now." Her hands stopped then, and she had to gulp suddenly. "I … I just wanted a little more color. I'm doing my best …"

"If this job isn't done by the time I'm back, I swear I will see you all working extra shifts, all weekend long. Split shifts. Now, shut up and focus." With that gentle encouragement, Vandham exited the room.

Leaving the four of them with more silence and their own thoughts.

Gino thought of airlocks, and how very silent these idiots would be if he shoved them out into space. Almost worth the trouble he'd get into. Almost.

Marie enjoyed a ridiculous daydream, featuring the most delicately hued hair style, and an abject H.B., on his very knees, swearing that Marie was practically a divine goddess, that only his foolishness had ever made him pretend otherwise, but that he could no longer resist in the face of her springtime tresses.

H.B. composed a precise statement in his head, formally opposing the continued vanity shown by the possibly only representatives of humanity. He was certain that if he found the right wording, he would be able to convince them of his position. At least Marie would be sensible enough to see it. Gino and Lila were probably beyond hope, but a good essay would be enough to keep Marie from polluting that pristine hair of hers.

Lila was thinking very carefully about nothing beyond the work at hand. Even thinking about lunch was dangerous, because then you started comparing the pizza on the ship with real pizza from …. She shook her head slightly, and focused on the communication lines. 95 minutes until she needed to get back for the shift change at the relay station, 14 panels to go, they'd never make it. Split shifts were actually something she didn't mind, gave her a legit excuse to crash in the work areas instead of heading home. Still, it was a challenge. Let's see how close we can get to done.

Many decks away, Vandham wasn't thinking about his subordinates at all. But his eyes felt better for a little splash of color, and his brain hadn't forgotten the exact shade of pink.

a/n: I do not have any explanation for this fluff. Plonk. Another random OC, we'll see if Marie demands a backstory or not. At least no one hit H.B. this time.