[ Even in the space future, radiation suits aren't comfortable. Once her suit is sealed, it's all of three seconds before she feels like a baked potato wrapped in aluminum foil, steaming hot and crinkling when she moves. Julie's voice sounds slightly muffled, and her own seems to echo when she replies. ]
Yeah! Get in, losers...!
[ The airlock seals with a hiss. The seconds while it depressurizes feel like an eternity. Ami clutches the loops of her whip with both hands, trying to keep her breathing steady, and only partly succeeding. There's no turning back now. They're really doing this.
And she's terrified. It's a kind of terror she hasn't really felt since that fateful August, when the ocean was swallowed and monsters overran the city. This isn't the first time she's willingly put herself in danger, but this time there are no friends to save, no city to protect. She's risking her life to go shopping. How stupid is that?
Yet... part of her is excited.
There was a week or so, about a month back, during which Ami forgot a lot of things. Her friends, her parents, her own name... but she also forgot her fear of the unknown. She closes her eyes and thinks back to the flooded hall in the basement, the sense of wonder she felt in the presence of those ancient artifacts. She remembers feeling brave.
It doesn't magically dispel her fear, of course. But it helps.
The outer door slides open, revealing the windswept red desert beyond. The light of the twin suns imparts little warmth to the desolate landscape, and a brown, dusty haze half-obscures the distant hulls of derelict starships that call this planet their grave. The stores, completely incongruous, stand nearer than she thought, but farther than she hoped.
But there's no turning back. With a deep breath, Ami takes her first steps onto alien soil. ]
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Yeah! Get in, losers...!
[ The airlock seals with a hiss. The seconds while it depressurizes feel like an eternity. Ami clutches the loops of her whip with both hands, trying to keep her breathing steady, and only partly succeeding. There's no turning back now. They're really doing this.
And she's terrified. It's a kind of terror she hasn't really felt since that fateful August, when the ocean was swallowed and monsters overran the city. This isn't the first time she's willingly put herself in danger, but this time there are no friends to save, no city to protect. She's risking her life to go shopping. How stupid is that?
Yet... part of her is excited.
There was a week or so, about a month back, during which Ami forgot a lot of things. Her friends, her parents, her own name... but she also forgot her fear of the unknown. She closes her eyes and thinks back to the flooded hall in the basement, the sense of wonder she felt in the presence of those ancient artifacts. She remembers feeling brave.
It doesn't magically dispel her fear, of course. But it helps.
The outer door slides open, revealing the windswept red desert beyond. The light of the twin suns imparts little warmth to the desolate landscape, and a brown, dusty haze half-obscures the distant hulls of derelict starships that call this planet their grave. The stores, completely incongruous, stand nearer than she thought, but farther than she hoped.
But there's no turning back. With a deep breath, Ami takes her first steps onto alien soil. ]