We Just Write
Blatantly Plural
- Location
- New England
- Pronouns
- Plural
C: TBH, another interesting thing would be what happened if someone tipped off the navy that the Abyssal in question was rapidly going native.
All Wo-rk and No Play: An Abyssal's Trials in the Job Market (KC)
- Thread starter PyrrhicSteel
- Start date
So, I notice Trinitite isn't even considering a repeat of her first raid. Probably a good thing it wasn't another Fred Meyers, or she might've had a brainwave.
How long until she finds out about infohazards?
...
Deep! This was... it was so much more insidious than she would have ever believed possible. If the humans routinely used such weapons against themselves, what other means of warfare had their fleets devised? Why hadn't they already won?
But, the thought had been so pleasant--was still so plea--
She slapped herself. Then, after the images still intruded in her mind, again.
No, this wasn't her. It was the infohazard speaking, consuming her sanity. She should have known that the Wikipedia Fleet would not simply provide information out of the blackness of their hearts. What other hazards lurked under their "Similar Pages"?
What else had she already been infected by, just awaiting the right realization?
Most tellingly, the Wikipedia Fleet had not even tried to hide this weapon; the Infohazards page had been as available to her as any other. Was this their strategy, then? Lure in their enemies with all conceivable information, even about their military capabilities, so that, sooner or later, something would take ahold of her and she would be treading water.
And, at the same time, the Wikipedia Fleet had proven far too valuable to simply avoid as a resource. Without its knowledge, she would have been found out long ago. Truly, the perfect trap!
Trinitite sighed, clicking on the Edit button. Others had to be warned about the dangers of the puberty infohazard. The Wikipedia Fleet had truly bested her. To fight its terrors, she would have to join it of her own accord.
How long until she finds out about infohazards?
...
Deep! This was... it was so much more insidious than she would have ever believed possible. If the humans routinely used such weapons against themselves, what other means of warfare had their fleets devised? Why hadn't they already won?
But, the thought had been so pleasant--was still so plea--
She slapped herself. Then, after the images still intruded in her mind, again.
No, this wasn't her. It was the infohazard speaking, consuming her sanity. She should have known that the Wikipedia Fleet would not simply provide information out of the blackness of their hearts. What other hazards lurked under their "Similar Pages"?
What else had she already been infected by, just awaiting the right realization?
Most tellingly, the Wikipedia Fleet had not even tried to hide this weapon; the Infohazards page had been as available to her as any other. Was this their strategy, then? Lure in their enemies with all conceivable information, even about their military capabilities, so that, sooner or later, something would take ahold of her and she would be treading water.
And, at the same time, the Wikipedia Fleet had proven far too valuable to simply avoid as a resource. Without its knowledge, she would have been found out long ago. Truly, the perfect trap!
Trinitite sighed, clicking on the Edit button. Others had to be warned about the dangers of the puberty infohazard. The Wikipedia Fleet had truly bested her. To fight its terrors, she would have to join it of her own accord.
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Annoyed Catholic
Moody fellow
It isn't so much as not considering as *fearing* what the result of a second raid would be here. That is, what the consequences of a second raid would be for her: captured OR killed by the Navy and other Armed Forces after her.
See, what I recalled here somewhere in this story is that she *knows* that the people after her won't be surprised by such a stunt the second time around. She fears that would send up a FLARE her enemies are looking out for here. They'll be looking out for it and will have a better idea of where she actually is here. Bad, considering that she is HIDING from those who'd want to capture or kill her. Such things (of COURSE), will hinder her quest to contact (and recover) her mother.
She's trying to fly under the radar right now, acting human (and blending in as human) to achieve her quest's ends. It is SO much harder to detect an Abyssal that is trying (successfully so far) to act like any other Jane Q Citizen. Oh, she's being REALLY awkward and all that for those who know her so far (but she's getting better at it). But right now besides possibly Alton, that hasn't been enough to trip any alarms. And depending on how Trin handles their next encounter with Alton, he might not even be alarmed enough to think she's really an Abyssal....
Personally, I think that she could do a bit of raiding like you are saying later here when her stolen goods grow lower. Maybe. Just not a *store* raid. Maybe a raid of a vehicle salvage yard or something. Something that is enough out of the box that her enemies won't expect. Just don't repeat and make a pattern. Risks equal rewards, you know!
Ah, but even THAT might be too risky for . . .the Navy might be expecting something like that.
Trin's not being paranoid when they really ARE after her.
We will see what happens, eh?
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- Location
- the details
"Being paranoid doesn't necessarily mean they aren't out to get you."
Ernest Hemingway believed the FBI was after him and he was definitely correct in that regard.
Annoyed Catholic
Moody fellow
Okay, then the take away here is that Trin is being PROPERLY paranoid, eh?
I can get aboard with that idea!
- Location
- the details
Trin is naive and on her own in very unfamiliar surroundings. She most certainly is not a stupid idiot.
Annoyed Catholic
Moody fellow
Nor is she a "smart" idiot OR any kind of an idiot at all.
Lol, indeed!! If she'd been an "idiot" like what Murray had thought back in chapter 5 she wouldn't have survived to make it as far as she has in this story. Naive, she is (for now) and on her own in very unfamiliar surroundings. Still, an idiot she is very much NOT.
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I am still no closer to having a clue as to how she might repay Elizabeth. It is really difficult to connect Trin even being able to find her, far less having the skills or resources to provide anything that she would even want. Then there is the issue of conflict of interest if she gains a favour for participating in a crime, even if she really didn't do anything inappropriate. I can't see much sense in it myself, but some companies have automated legal arms that would jump on the point on principal alone...
Annoyed Catholic
Moody fellow
Hm...
Say, by end of story that Trin survives and is in a position to have the means.
This stunt is not the BRIGHTEST of ideas, but it would possibly work. Yes, it would be a conflict of interest. Yes, it could/would put Elizabeth in some trouble if handled the wrong way by her. But it would at least finish off the "honor of debt" that Trin has toward Elizabeth in as far as making the effort (if only in the Abyssal's own eyes). The only thing that Trin is interested in here are Abyssal standards and not HUMAN standards in this scenario, you see. If she'd been interested in human standards, she would not have robbed the store in the first place. She would not have forced Elizabeth to help her in the first place. In this scenario, she's an Abyssal who owes a debt and is settling it the best way she can . . . as an Abyssal.
How 'bout this. She looks up the mailing address for the Fred Meyer's store. Don't see her being able to find out Elizabeth's Last name, but have the instruction of "Forward to Elizabeth the Night Manager" or something to that effect would work for this stunt to work. Trin Does NOT have a return address but mails a lump sum payment of CASH (largest bills she can) to cover the cost of all the items she took, and a bit extra for Elizabeth's troubles. Sending cash through the mail is a terrible idea since it might get intercepted and pocketed by mail thieves. But cash isn't traceable like a check or money order, eh?
If Trin survives and gets a legit position in the Navy (Canadian or otherwise)? She can just send a check. Heck, she could even arrive in person and do this (and probably give poor Elizabeth a heart attack), but that is by the by here.
That IS what she's supposed to do when pilfering supplies behind enemy lines (supposedly) by WW2 customs (if she is playing by those rules).
Bunch of BS, but . . . ONI being the sneaky Petes they are, will iron out any problems management has with this by leaning on as HARD as needed to keep this out of the public's eye. Too many questions would come up in court if Elizabeth gets hauled into court over this DESPITE turning in the money to management, you know. They very MUCH do not want the public to know that an Abyssal got into the US and was stomping about uncontained. Would be a real blow to the War effort (and do a lot of damage to the Navy Admiralty and such), remember.
Yeah, that might work...
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39: Food Combination Exercise
PyrrhicSteel
Look natural.
- Location
- Idaho
She found her supervisor just inside the worksite, the human staring contemplatively into a cup of that dark liquid, it's heat creating clouds that faded as they rose towards his face. Austin looked up at the sound of Trinitite's footsteps, meeting her eyes.
"Ah, you're back."
He didn't seem particularly surprised, her supervisor focusing Trinitite's thoughts with a simple nod.
"Aye." The abyssal nodded back, suppressing a smile.
With her newfound knowledge, she'd developed her theories as to why so many humans had been staring at her. She'd hoped she was wrong, but even if she wasn't, the proportion of staring humans was lower than that two days ago, and her supervisor only seemed to be interested in her as a source of labor. Briefly, she contemplated adding some clever remark, but even if she could think one up in time, she wasn't sure she'd ever be on those kinds of terms with her immediate commander.
"Well, the crew's where you left 'em." He said, motioning towards building two. "Feel free to grab some coffee from back in the office before you go."
"Ah…" She stalled, taking a look around the worksite and noticing several more white cups. "...Thank You."
It didn't matter why humans liked this coffee so much, if they all loved to have some, she needed to procure some for herself. If coffee had been spicy, she would have been in serious trouble, but the bitter drink was pretty inoffensive, although perhaps a little too bitter for her taste.
Dan was still too busy to address Trinitite when she reentered the office, but his commander was tending to a device that she'd heard humans referring to as a coffee machine. The worksite's commander gave the abyssal a friendly nod as the large machine steamed and gurgled. For a moment, Trinitite was reluctant to approach the darker-skinned man. Sure, he (Trinitite could't place his name, for some reason) had seemed friendly enough when Trinitite had first joined The Fleet, but that could have just been to avoid chasing her off. She was what… three levels below him in the hierarchy? Sure, this fleet seemed more relaxed about that sort of thing, but that was significantly lower in the hierarchy then the simplified command structures Abyssals liked to use.
"Coffee's brewing." He commented, forcing the Wo-Class into a conversation and offering her an empty cup. "It'll be half a minute."
"Okay." She replied, hesitantly accepting the empty cup. "Thanks."
A few seconds passed, Trinitite's attention focusing on the machine as the pitch it was emitting steadily fell.
"...So." Thomas started again. "How do you like your coffee?"
The Wo-class couldn't do anything but balk at the question. The machine only produced one type of coffee, right? Well, there was no way she could invent a good answer, and Dan knew Trinitite hadn't had it before recently, so she guessed she didn't have to lie about her knowledge.
"I don't know." She admitted. "Just had my first cup on Saturday."
"I see." The human knowingly replied. "Dan probably had you drink it straight, too."
"Unpolluted, Thomas." The man in question interjected, not looking up from his computer.
"Right." Thomas answered. "He likes his coffee incomplete, but most people prefer it with some extra ingredients." The coffee machine filled the office with a short beep, interrupting Thomas's next sentence. "See, try this:"
Withdrawing the container of completed coffee from the machine, he filled his cup with the deep-brown liquid.
"Start with the coffee," Replacing the container in the coffee machine, he then reached into a box filled with multicolored packets, removing three of the white ones and showing Trinitite the label. "Add two or three sugars. Go for the pure sugar, the artificial stuff'll just give you cancer." Tearing open the three packages and dumping a white powder into his drink, he tossed the empty packets into a bin filled with them, reaching into another bowl and grabbing a thumb-sized blue container.
"Add some cream…" Peeling away the flexible lid like a yogurt container, he poured a smooth, white liquid that disappeared into the dark drink. "Stir it all together..." Grabbing a thin stick of wood from another container near the coffee machine, he dropped the stick into the cup and spun his hand, the dark drink immediately transforming into an even, chocolate brown. Holding the cup up triumphantly, he took a quick sip of the liquid, releasing a contented sigh before concluding. "And voilà! You have good coffee!"
Trinitite paused, looking at the coffee. It looked completely different now, meaning its taste probably was fairly different as well. Her attention changed to the coffee machine, and the three containers sat next to it. This… this was going to be the first recipe she followed, wasn't it? Unlike the complex instructions in the recipe books or printed on the back of the food containers, it was fairly simple, but you weren't summoned knowing how to guard a convoy. This was simple, like operating her elevators, but practice with this would no doubt help her further down the line.
"It looks good." She stated, although truthfully she was unsure about it. Pouring her own cup, her hand moved to the rows of packets stuffed into the first container, before stopping. She'd be conservative with her ingredients, only grabbing two sugars, but Thomas had warned her to stick to the 'pure' sugar. If the other versions were bad (and she remembered she needed to add 'Cancer' to her research list), then why did Thomas stock them? Wasn't he in control of the logistics here?
"Is 'Cane Sugar' pure?" She asked, looking through the labels. Sugar was in a ton of recipes she'd read, but not of any use on it's own. Again, reinforcing that this was following a proper recipe here.
"Oh, yeah." Thomas clarified, and Trinitite plucked two packets out of the container. "I just meant avoid the artificial sweetener."
"Got it." The creamer's container was disappointing. With a human watching she would have had to throw the whole container into the nearby bin anyways, but she'd still been hoping to see a nice aluminum lid, not just cleverly-disguised plastic. Again, she couldn't enjoy a slight taste now, but later on, when no one was watching, a bit of useful metal might have gone nicely with this new coffee. Assuming it was any good, that is.
Stirring the ingredients together with a stick from the third container, Trinitite watched as the creamer swirled and dissolved into the coffee, mixing to create what looked like an entirely new drink. As soon as the drink's texture became consistent, a swirl of bubbles all that told Trinitite it was shifting, she rose the cup to her lips, taking a cautious sip.
"Huh…" The Coffee's dark bitterness remained, but it was complemented by a pleasant smoothness that kept it from becoming too overwhelming. Additionally, there was a sweet undertone to the drink, combining with the change in texture to completely change its dynamics Before she'd swallowed the first one, she took another sip, swishing the hot liquid around in her mouth experimentally.
"See?" Thomas asked, glancing back at her more immediate boss. "It's better, right?"
Trinitite had to agree, but considering that Dan was the one who hired her, she wasn't sure it was all that safe to go against his opinion.
"It's not bad." She tempered, but she guessed her body language might have given her true opinions away. She couldn't help herself! This was the first recipe she'd completed, after all.
Luckly, Dan still was too focused on his computer to look up at her.
"Hey." He shrugged. "As long as it wakes you up, I guess."
That's what coffee was supposed to do? Trinitite hadn't noticed anything like that, but if it was subtle…
"Alright, make me some money, okay?" Thomas asked, returning to his own post with a cup of coffee in his hand. It sounded like a dismissal, so Trinitite nodded.
"Aye Aye!"
It was a lot easier to avoid saluting when your starboard hand was cradling a cup of hot liquid. With her dismissal she turned, the fruits of her 'labor' in hand as she made for outside. The steam wafting away from the cup was invisible in the office, but turned into a dense fog in the cool morning air. She took another sip, savoring the drink. Coffee was simple, and not really good enough to recommend to one of her sisters, but this was the result of her first successful... food combination exercise, so The Abyssal enjoyed every sip. Finding her mother would always be her primary goal, but part of her couldn't wait to start using those recipe books.
- - -
Trinitite thought she'd find her immediate supervisor with the rest of the crew, but when she got to Building Two's second floor, all she found was Alton and the other two in their little… work division? The research she'd done on building terms hadn't covered what the smallest unit of employees was called.
The darkest-skinned of the three smiled at Trinitite's approach, while Alton nodded and Sern looked away suddenly, scratching his neck. Well, that practically confirmed that the latter human had suspicions. The abyssal's eyes narrowed for a moment, before she forced herself to loosen up and return the first human's smile. It didn't seem like those suspicions had spread, at least.
"You're back!" The rough-skinned man- Tirto, Trinitite finally remembered- exclaimed. "We'd thought Alton had driven you off!"
"It'll-" Trinitite stuttered, a witty comeback dying sputtering as the abyssal was suddenly unsure if she was saying the right thing. Ah well, she'd already started. "...uh, it'll take more than that to drive me off."
"Ah, Sern then." Tirto replied, triggering a chuckle in Trinitite that she hadn't expected. Quickly, she got herself under control, looking to the target of Tirto's verbal jab. Sern was still avoiding eye contact with Trinitite, but his cheeks were a crabshell red. Maybe he had shared his suspicions on Trinitite after all, and his fleetmates had dismissed the possibility. It meant that she'd have to be extra careful, but as long as she was, she probably wasn't in much danger of discovery.
Sern wasn't likely to move against her without support, after all.
"...So," Alton started, "How was your Sunday, Elizabeth?"
"Um-" Caught off guard by the question, Trinitite's mind raced. "Pretty good?" Of course, a simple answer like that probably wasn't enough, so she poured over the events since she'd last left work, trying to think of the most 'human' things to talk about. "Have you ever heard of Baskin-Robbins?"
This time, it was Alton's turn to laugh. Had she said something wrong?
"Well, it's only one of the largest ice cream chains out there."
"Chains?" Trinitite echoed, before realizing she had murmured the word out loud.She didn't know what a chain had to do with ice cream, and certainly hadn't seen any when she had been there, but that didn't mean the meaning wouldn't be obvious for a human.
"It is a term for a business with a lot of locations." Tirto clarified, uncharacteristically hesitantly. "I have never been there, though. Is it good?"
"Well," Trinitite replied, nodding in thanks as she recalled the overwhelmingly good flavors. "It was worth the visit." She understated.
"So you like ice cream, then?" Tirto asked, giving Sern a look for… some reason. What could that mean? Liking ice cream couldn't be purely an abyssal thing, right?
"Who wouldn't?" A voice from behind Trinitie interjected, and she turned to face Austin. Their supervisor had just gotten within ear reach, his stride slowing.
"Anyways, in today's meeting I promised Dan we'd get the floor's cages finished and ready for inspection by the end of today." Trinitite looked away for a moment to check on the rest of the floor, unsure if Alton was a little too optimistic. The consequences here couldn't be that bad, but nevertheless that was a situation she was all too familiar with. "Since we haven't started on the stairwell yet, I'm going to have most of the guys working on that, leaving you four with the rest of the pillars. Sound good?"
With just the four of them? That did sound optimistic. Well, it was never smart for the new ship to complain, so Trinitite added to the collection of acknowledgements from the rest of the small crew.
"Awesome. Sern, you're with Austin. Tirto, you get the new girl." He immediately turned towards another small group of workers, waving his finger over his shoulder as he walked. "Tally ho, folks."
Huh. For once, there was a phrase she did understand.
"Ah, you're back."
He didn't seem particularly surprised, her supervisor focusing Trinitite's thoughts with a simple nod.
"Aye." The abyssal nodded back, suppressing a smile.
With her newfound knowledge, she'd developed her theories as to why so many humans had been staring at her. She'd hoped she was wrong, but even if she wasn't, the proportion of staring humans was lower than that two days ago, and her supervisor only seemed to be interested in her as a source of labor. Briefly, she contemplated adding some clever remark, but even if she could think one up in time, she wasn't sure she'd ever be on those kinds of terms with her immediate commander.
"Well, the crew's where you left 'em." He said, motioning towards building two. "Feel free to grab some coffee from back in the office before you go."
"Ah…" She stalled, taking a look around the worksite and noticing several more white cups. "...Thank You."
It didn't matter why humans liked this coffee so much, if they all loved to have some, she needed to procure some for herself. If coffee had been spicy, she would have been in serious trouble, but the bitter drink was pretty inoffensive, although perhaps a little too bitter for her taste.
Dan was still too busy to address Trinitite when she reentered the office, but his commander was tending to a device that she'd heard humans referring to as a coffee machine. The worksite's commander gave the abyssal a friendly nod as the large machine steamed and gurgled. For a moment, Trinitite was reluctant to approach the darker-skinned man. Sure, he (Trinitite could't place his name, for some reason) had seemed friendly enough when Trinitite had first joined The Fleet, but that could have just been to avoid chasing her off. She was what… three levels below him in the hierarchy? Sure, this fleet seemed more relaxed about that sort of thing, but that was significantly lower in the hierarchy then the simplified command structures Abyssals liked to use.
"Coffee's brewing." He commented, forcing the Wo-Class into a conversation and offering her an empty cup. "It'll be half a minute."
"Okay." She replied, hesitantly accepting the empty cup. "Thanks."
A few seconds passed, Trinitite's attention focusing on the machine as the pitch it was emitting steadily fell.
"...So." Thomas started again. "How do you like your coffee?"
The Wo-class couldn't do anything but balk at the question. The machine only produced one type of coffee, right? Well, there was no way she could invent a good answer, and Dan knew Trinitite hadn't had it before recently, so she guessed she didn't have to lie about her knowledge.
"I don't know." She admitted. "Just had my first cup on Saturday."
"I see." The human knowingly replied. "Dan probably had you drink it straight, too."
"Unpolluted, Thomas." The man in question interjected, not looking up from his computer.
"Right." Thomas answered. "He likes his coffee incomplete, but most people prefer it with some extra ingredients." The coffee machine filled the office with a short beep, interrupting Thomas's next sentence. "See, try this:"
Withdrawing the container of completed coffee from the machine, he filled his cup with the deep-brown liquid.
"Start with the coffee," Replacing the container in the coffee machine, he then reached into a box filled with multicolored packets, removing three of the white ones and showing Trinitite the label. "Add two or three sugars. Go for the pure sugar, the artificial stuff'll just give you cancer." Tearing open the three packages and dumping a white powder into his drink, he tossed the empty packets into a bin filled with them, reaching into another bowl and grabbing a thumb-sized blue container.
"Add some cream…" Peeling away the flexible lid like a yogurt container, he poured a smooth, white liquid that disappeared into the dark drink. "Stir it all together..." Grabbing a thin stick of wood from another container near the coffee machine, he dropped the stick into the cup and spun his hand, the dark drink immediately transforming into an even, chocolate brown. Holding the cup up triumphantly, he took a quick sip of the liquid, releasing a contented sigh before concluding. "And voilà! You have good coffee!"
Trinitite paused, looking at the coffee. It looked completely different now, meaning its taste probably was fairly different as well. Her attention changed to the coffee machine, and the three containers sat next to it. This… this was going to be the first recipe she followed, wasn't it? Unlike the complex instructions in the recipe books or printed on the back of the food containers, it was fairly simple, but you weren't summoned knowing how to guard a convoy. This was simple, like operating her elevators, but practice with this would no doubt help her further down the line.
"It looks good." She stated, although truthfully she was unsure about it. Pouring her own cup, her hand moved to the rows of packets stuffed into the first container, before stopping. She'd be conservative with her ingredients, only grabbing two sugars, but Thomas had warned her to stick to the 'pure' sugar. If the other versions were bad (and she remembered she needed to add 'Cancer' to her research list), then why did Thomas stock them? Wasn't he in control of the logistics here?
"Is 'Cane Sugar' pure?" She asked, looking through the labels. Sugar was in a ton of recipes she'd read, but not of any use on it's own. Again, reinforcing that this was following a proper recipe here.
"Oh, yeah." Thomas clarified, and Trinitite plucked two packets out of the container. "I just meant avoid the artificial sweetener."
"Got it." The creamer's container was disappointing. With a human watching she would have had to throw the whole container into the nearby bin anyways, but she'd still been hoping to see a nice aluminum lid, not just cleverly-disguised plastic. Again, she couldn't enjoy a slight taste now, but later on, when no one was watching, a bit of useful metal might have gone nicely with this new coffee. Assuming it was any good, that is.
Stirring the ingredients together with a stick from the third container, Trinitite watched as the creamer swirled and dissolved into the coffee, mixing to create what looked like an entirely new drink. As soon as the drink's texture became consistent, a swirl of bubbles all that told Trinitite it was shifting, she rose the cup to her lips, taking a cautious sip.
"Huh…" The Coffee's dark bitterness remained, but it was complemented by a pleasant smoothness that kept it from becoming too overwhelming. Additionally, there was a sweet undertone to the drink, combining with the change in texture to completely change its dynamics Before she'd swallowed the first one, she took another sip, swishing the hot liquid around in her mouth experimentally.
"See?" Thomas asked, glancing back at her more immediate boss. "It's better, right?"
Trinitite had to agree, but considering that Dan was the one who hired her, she wasn't sure it was all that safe to go against his opinion.
"It's not bad." She tempered, but she guessed her body language might have given her true opinions away. She couldn't help herself! This was the first recipe she'd completed, after all.
Luckly, Dan still was too focused on his computer to look up at her.
"Hey." He shrugged. "As long as it wakes you up, I guess."
That's what coffee was supposed to do? Trinitite hadn't noticed anything like that, but if it was subtle…
"Alright, make me some money, okay?" Thomas asked, returning to his own post with a cup of coffee in his hand. It sounded like a dismissal, so Trinitite nodded.
"Aye Aye!"
It was a lot easier to avoid saluting when your starboard hand was cradling a cup of hot liquid. With her dismissal she turned, the fruits of her 'labor' in hand as she made for outside. The steam wafting away from the cup was invisible in the office, but turned into a dense fog in the cool morning air. She took another sip, savoring the drink. Coffee was simple, and not really good enough to recommend to one of her sisters, but this was the result of her first successful... food combination exercise, so The Abyssal enjoyed every sip. Finding her mother would always be her primary goal, but part of her couldn't wait to start using those recipe books.
- - -
Trinitite thought she'd find her immediate supervisor with the rest of the crew, but when she got to Building Two's second floor, all she found was Alton and the other two in their little… work division? The research she'd done on building terms hadn't covered what the smallest unit of employees was called.
The darkest-skinned of the three smiled at Trinitite's approach, while Alton nodded and Sern looked away suddenly, scratching his neck. Well, that practically confirmed that the latter human had suspicions. The abyssal's eyes narrowed for a moment, before she forced herself to loosen up and return the first human's smile. It didn't seem like those suspicions had spread, at least.
"You're back!" The rough-skinned man- Tirto, Trinitite finally remembered- exclaimed. "We'd thought Alton had driven you off!"
"It'll-" Trinitite stuttered, a witty comeback dying sputtering as the abyssal was suddenly unsure if she was saying the right thing. Ah well, she'd already started. "...uh, it'll take more than that to drive me off."
"Ah, Sern then." Tirto replied, triggering a chuckle in Trinitite that she hadn't expected. Quickly, she got herself under control, looking to the target of Tirto's verbal jab. Sern was still avoiding eye contact with Trinitite, but his cheeks were a crabshell red. Maybe he had shared his suspicions on Trinitite after all, and his fleetmates had dismissed the possibility. It meant that she'd have to be extra careful, but as long as she was, she probably wasn't in much danger of discovery.
Sern wasn't likely to move against her without support, after all.
"...So," Alton started, "How was your Sunday, Elizabeth?"
"Um-" Caught off guard by the question, Trinitite's mind raced. "Pretty good?" Of course, a simple answer like that probably wasn't enough, so she poured over the events since she'd last left work, trying to think of the most 'human' things to talk about. "Have you ever heard of Baskin-Robbins?"
This time, it was Alton's turn to laugh. Had she said something wrong?
"Well, it's only one of the largest ice cream chains out there."
"Chains?" Trinitite echoed, before realizing she had murmured the word out loud.She didn't know what a chain had to do with ice cream, and certainly hadn't seen any when she had been there, but that didn't mean the meaning wouldn't be obvious for a human.
"It is a term for a business with a lot of locations." Tirto clarified, uncharacteristically hesitantly. "I have never been there, though. Is it good?"
"Well," Trinitite replied, nodding in thanks as she recalled the overwhelmingly good flavors. "It was worth the visit." She understated.
"So you like ice cream, then?" Tirto asked, giving Sern a look for… some reason. What could that mean? Liking ice cream couldn't be purely an abyssal thing, right?
"Who wouldn't?" A voice from behind Trinitie interjected, and she turned to face Austin. Their supervisor had just gotten within ear reach, his stride slowing.
"Anyways, in today's meeting I promised Dan we'd get the floor's cages finished and ready for inspection by the end of today." Trinitite looked away for a moment to check on the rest of the floor, unsure if Alton was a little too optimistic. The consequences here couldn't be that bad, but nevertheless that was a situation she was all too familiar with. "Since we haven't started on the stairwell yet, I'm going to have most of the guys working on that, leaving you four with the rest of the pillars. Sound good?"
With just the four of them? That did sound optimistic. Well, it was never smart for the new ship to complain, so Trinitite added to the collection of acknowledgements from the rest of the small crew.
"Awesome. Sern, you're with Austin. Tirto, you get the new girl." He immediately turned towards another small group of workers, waving his finger over his shoulder as he walked. "Tally ho, folks."
Huh. For once, there was a phrase she did understand.
Nobody tell Saratoga her daughter is learning how to drink coffee, but not the navy way!
Anyways, I tried to get this chapter out pretty quickly, as a new semester is starting next week. Who knows if that'll affect my writing speed, I do think I'm getting better at writing...
Next up, another interlude! It's been a while since one of those, right?
Anyways, I tried to get this chapter out pretty quickly, as a new semester is starting next week. Who knows if that'll affect my writing speed, I do think I'm getting better at writing...
Next up, another interlude! It's been a while since one of those, right?
I so want to see Trinity summon a support ship or better a battleship or carrier form her old fleet by accident while trying to learn how to cook.
Retsof
I will keep you safe.
So the question is, is her cooking so bad that Hiei senses competition and tries to sniff her out? or is her cooking so magically good that no one even cares she's abyssal?
SilverShadows
Under autumn skies
- Location
- US
Maybe she's both simultaneously! Like she's actually a supremely terrible cook but as long as she has no idea what she's doing she somehow manages to make something great! Like in a three lefts make a right kinda way!So the question is, is her cooking so bad that Hiei senses competition and tries to sniff her out? or is her cooking so magically good that no one even cares she's abyssal?
- Location
- A house
A molecular gastronomy savant.
As an example of what molecular gastronomy cooking can come up with, from wikipedia: Adam Melonas's signature preparation is an edible floral center piece named the "Octopop": a very low temperature cooked octopus fused using transglutaminase, dipped into an orange and saffron carrageenan gel and suspended on dill flower stalks
- Location
- United States
- Pronouns
- He/Him
I do wonder if having just the four of them working on this means its been noted that Trin is absurdly effective? Given the issues mentioned previously about the project I could see more of her coworkers picking up there being something unusual about her, but her adorkableness means they lean towards covering for her instead of getting paranoid.
I can see Alton slowly going crazy(er?) as nobody else admits to seeing her doing something weird because they don't want to rock the boat. (Heh.)
I do think Trin got somewhat lucky with her bosses and coworkers. People being raging assholes would probably remind her more of her last job, but I'd think that'd make her more inclined to lash out regardless of how that'd help narrow down the search for her.
I can see Alton slowly going crazy(er?) as nobody else admits to seeing her doing something weird because they don't want to rock the boat. (Heh.)
I do think Trin got somewhat lucky with her bosses and coworkers. People being raging assholes would probably remind her more of her last job, but I'd think that'd make her more inclined to lash out regardless of how that'd help narrow down the search for her.
- Location
- scrabbling
They're more likely to cover for her for the sake of having an extremely effective coworker who makes projects very easy and fast, I feel. Everyone likes having the overachiever on their team.
SimpsonFly
Posty Person
- Location
- Earth, Sol, Orion Arm
I wonder what ship Trinny would main in World of Warships. Could be a carrier or it could be a submarine to "see how the enemy works" or something.
I imagine that she would look vaguely like this in human disguise but with the normal Wo eldritch rigging instead. And also a cowboy hat.
I imagine that she would look vaguely like this in human disguise but with the normal Wo eldritch rigging instead. And also a cowboy hat.
PyrrhicSteel
Look natural.
- Location
- Idaho
Sorry for the late replies, all. Helped a friend move over the weekend and didn't have much time for other things.
Trin: "Where did you come from? How can I send you back?"
Re-class: "What's the matter Wo? Afraid you'll be outshined by a real warship in... whatever you were doing?"
I just had the mental image of Trin failing a recipe so badly the kitchen suddenly fills with steam or smoke. Coughing, she turns on the room's fan to get the fog out, only to stare in horror at the Re-class that's standing where her oven used to be, happily chewing on her cookware.
Trin: "Where did you come from? How can I send you back?"
Re-class: "What's the matter Wo? Afraid you'll be outshined by a real warship in... whatever you were doing?"
I've been trying to write a decent number of those, but most of the time they haven't stuck for too long. That might change in the next arc, but not by much.
Honestly, I was thinking she'd be more interested in Command: Modern Operations, since that almost puts her in the exact opposite position of what she did during her time in the abyss.
There's some fanart of Trinitite on SB, should I link it or ask if I could repost it here?
SimpsonFly
Posty Person
- Location
- Earth, Sol, Orion Arm
Go for it. As long as you credit the artist I don't see why you can't link it.
The Sandman
So Zetta Slowpoke
- Location
- Wherever I am, which isn't where I'm not
I wonder how long before Trinitite discovers aluminum foil.
Annoyed Catholic
Moody fellow
Back early on during the raid at Fred Meyer's, she bit into a container of yogurt. Trin didn't care for the plastic but commented on enjoying the aluminum of the container. And of course most containers of yogurt I have seen uses aluminum foil to seal the tops of the container...
Yep, Trinitite has already discovered aluminum foil. At least in some capacity, anyway.
Let's just hope she doesn't see rolls and rolls of it in a supermarket and start absent-mindedly snacking before she can get it to the checkout. It is worth remembering that she is badly damaged, and a large fleet carrier. She probably has a large appetite at the best of times, and repairs can only demand more. When it comes to raw materials, she is probably half-starved.
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art dump, courtesy of Jessetheswift
PyrrhicSteel
Look natural.
- Location
- Idaho
Right, I've got permission from Jessetheswift to repost his art onto this thread, and thankfully for yall, there's a lot of it, both in actual fanart and shitposts/memes. I'll try to provide context when I can, as well as the comments that accompanied the art. Anyways, here you go:
Gives me a bit of a scrapbook vibe. Anyways, he draws the next one:
This one probably needs context, but I don't think I'll give it:
This one is based on a collection of crossover omake jesse wrote with his own fic:
Anyways, yeah. I just realized he did all of that with a mouse, which makes is pretty darn impressive. If you got any feedback, let me know and I'll forward it over to him.
Got a lot of the next interlude done today, should be fun to finish.
Gotta admit, I'm not all that good as an artist, I can, however muck about with layers enough to make this:
if she has a few blots of skin that are pure white around the joints, well, its impolite to stare at a woman's skin condition, right?
(was listening to YMCA while making this)
that I drew over this along with adding a bunch of stock photo's.
if she has a few blots of skin that are pure white around the joints, well, its impolite to stare at a woman's skin condition, right?
(was listening to YMCA while making this)
that I drew over this along with adding a bunch of stock photo's.
Wow, its been a while since I drew something fully from scratch, rather than just messing around with preexisting pixel art. Anyway.
Heres Trinitite, discovering the wonders that is spicy curry-rice.
Heres Trinitite, discovering the wonders that is spicy curry-rice.
Trinitite after she raided that store. Honestly, I'd think she's a lost Texan girl who had an incident while bleaching her hair.
Not a horrible sea monster that could snap you in half like a dry gram-cracker.
Not a horrible sea monster that could snap you in half like a dry gram-cracker.
Jeeze way to twist my arm, here, I just about cried at the adorable-ness:
Georgia rolling her Slugga-Boyz close combat attacks on the charge while Trinitite looks on.
One of 'Elizabeth's' roommates walking in on her brushing both sets of teeth (The red toothbrush isn't even hers.):
Gentelmen, ART.
Lol, made a picture of Trin working, while internally having a meltdown:
Feedback is appreciated, just got a scanner, so I can just draw on paper and go over the lines on the computer. I don't have a tablet, so it's all mouse-work.
Lol, made a picture of Trin working, while internally having a meltdown:
Feedback is appreciated, just got a scanner, so I can just draw on paper and go over the lines on the computer. I don't have a tablet, so it's all mouse-work.
I got you fam:
Honestly, having a scanner is neet.
Honestly, having a scanner is neet.
Got a lot of the next interlude done today, should be fun to finish.
- Location
- America
Honestly his drawing skills have improved quite a bit since he started posting his art.
Actually could you relay that message? I'd be telling him that myself, but, well, y'know.....
Actually could you relay that message? I'd be telling him that myself, but, well, y'know.....
- Location
- Australia
The one where she is caught brushing her teeth, doesn't result in an explosion because "oh no, it's a Wo!" her cover is blown. No, it's because someone walked in on her in a towel. It's understandable the natural reaction is to blow up the intruder regardless of who they are, especially after the sexual harassment courses she self researched.