This One Just Became a Leadership Conversation

[prettycoolguy]

This is Spartan One-One-Seven broadcasting on an unknown communications array.

[ A few members of the team have seen the Master Chief around, but he hasn't made major contact before now. For most of the group, it's the first time they've seen this scarred face. And for one of them, it's far from the first. ]

I understand that this is a different world than the one I come from, and we have no way to return until we accomplish an... objective.

[ An objective that they all have only vaguely heard about from a weird hallucination. He doesn't have to say that part. They already know. ]

This being the case, I'm offering my skills.

I have significant experience leading teams on a variety of ops. I can work longterm on terrain like this. You can count on me in a fight.

But first of all, I do need to know who's in charge of this outfit.

[ Bless his entire heart. ]

Comments

[okayimin]

[ hey buddy. ]

You volunteering to be in charge?

[prettycoolguy]

[ The Chief tips his head a little to one side. Why does every question he asks in this place have the weirdest answer? ]

I assumed it wasn't on the table.

[okayimin]

Aye, well. Bad news, soldier, this operation's just kicked off and nobody has a single Stone guided clue how we're meant to go about things.

[prettycoolguy]

[ He actually considers it for a long moment. But he doesn't know what's going on here, he doesn't have a clear mission, and most of them aren't military. ]

Shouldn't be me.

[okayimin]

Why not?

[ And there's genuine curiosity there, broken up by a bit of a grin. ]

Aside from the fact you'd have to beat this Stacia in rock-paper-scissors.

[ Whatever that is. ]

[prettycoolguy]

I'm a specialist, m-

[ He almost ma'ams her, but stops himself just in time. He remembers. ]

[okayimin]

Oh, go on.

[ Being called ma'am is several levels up from being called brand anyway. And since he apparently knows Cortana: ]

Are you a specialist of space? Or space fights. How do you fight in space without getting pulled into the sun?

[prettycoolguy]

I'm a specialist at-

[ The question finishes processing. ]

-excuse me?

[ Sawbones... ]

not here

[steelandtemper]

[Cortana is dying laughing, sorry not sorry.]

[okayimin]

How do you fight in space without getting pulled into the sun?

[ She is incredibly serious about this question. ]

[prettycoolguy]

It's not a problem I've ever had?

[ How? Why would- Isn't that just-??? ]

Are you trying to ask me about gravity?

[okayimin]

Yes.

[ Obviously. ]

It's not a formal concept where I'm from, but a Rifter explained it to me once with a sheet and some marbles. He was from space too.

[prettycoolguy]

[ Alright. He'll try. It's less of a mess for him than the rest of this discussion. ]

We usually travel in ships, and stay clear of stars. The engines produce enough thrust to keep a ship under control unless you move too close to a planet's gravity well.

Fighting in space without a ship is not something you set out to do.

[okayimin]

[ She's dug her beat up field journal out of her habit pocket with her stub of graphite and is furiously scribbling. ]

What do you do if there's a storm? Or if the wind comes up?

[prettycoolguy]

There's no atmosphere in space. Gravity holds it to planets, but when you're far enough out it's too weak to keep any around. No wind.

[ Not conventional wind, anyway. Solar wind is probably pushing against the edge of what John feels like he can explain without some time to think about it, so he just avoids it. ]

Space combat is about precise movement over very long distances. There are a lot of calculations necessary to position ships and target weapons correctly. Much of that work goes to AIs like Cortana now.

They're faster at it.

[ There's something... sort of soothing about this? He's digging back in memory to the way he learned things when he was young. ]

[okayimin]

[ Her nose wrinkles as she considers this. There's a solid minute of furious scribbling before she finally looks back up. ]

What's atmosssfear?

[prettycoolguy]

[ Oh boy. ]

The air. The clouds. All the gases that surround a planet are the atmosphere.

[okayimin]

[ She gives the sky a deeply suspicious glance before looking back at him. ]

So gravity keeps them trapped here? Is that what makes it rain too? Is lightning the gasses in the sky catching on fire?

[prettycoolguy]

Alright. Couple pieces, here.

[ On the bright side, his mind is fully occupied with this. ]

The planet's gravity keeps breathable air and clouds around it.

Hot water evaporates. Clouds are made of the water vapor. When they get cold, they turn back into water and it falls down.

Lightning... is complicated, I think.

[ No offense Sawbones but he is a billion percent sure wherever you're from has probably not figured out electrical charge, and if they have they haven't deigned to tell you about it. ]

[okayimin]

[ All electric items are powered by magic rocks in her world, so like he's not wrong. Her knowledge of vapors is very accurate and up to date and not related to the four humors at all. ]

Clouds are made from water? That would explain the rain...

[ She gives the sky another look and surreptitiously moves closer to a nearby tree. ]

So snow is made from clouds as well. Why do they fall down in little pieces... Unless that's where the thick snows come from overnight. [ She shudders. ] I knew there was something wrong with having things in the sky. The sun was bad enough, at least it can't fall.

[ There is a slowly dawning look of horror. ]

Right?

[prettycoolguy]

No. If the sun falls, you have problems I can't explain for you.

[ He is actually sort of relaxed now. And probably wandering around in the woods again. It's an ideal combination of activities in this very non-ideal situation. ]

Why would things in the sky be wrong?

[ He is almost afraid to ask. ]

[okayimin]

Because there ain't nothing over them. Not properly. Not like underground where you can have a proper sense of where you are and where everything is. I've a theory that's why surfacers are all a bit touched, the lot of you seem to think it's very normal for giant celestial bodies to just... move around. And! The night time ones change shape!

And don't even get me started on all this weather business.

[prettycoolguy]

[ Honestly, this is kind of charming? He is charmed. He appreciates this doneness with the universe's nonsense. He's felt it himself. ]

I feel like if I gave you more details, you would like it even less.

[okayimin]

[ Primly: ]

Not likely. I already hate the very idea of space. The surface is unpleasant enough without even considering jumping off it to live in the sky.

[ She maybe doesn't have the full concept of atmosphere and gravity full grasped, but her expression turns speculative. ]

Say, I never got around to asking any of our space lot this, but... The reason you lot left the ground... Was it the Blight?