Welcome to Gaia! ::

Pod-watching duty was one of the easiest assignments, but also one of the most boring. Jordan leaned against the wall and watched the monitors with their slowly scrolling numbers; perhaps if he'd been in Life division he'd understand them, but as it was, they were a mystery. He ignored the chairs in front of the monitor banks. If he sat down, he'd be tempted to take a nap.

Who'd know? Ferros asked. Nobody, that's who.

"Unless someone came in and caught me asleep," Jordan pointed out. "Murphy's law. The one time I say heck with it and take a nap, someone would walk in, and it's probably be someone who could get me in trouble, at that."

Jordan looked up as the door opened. "Hey, Before," he returned cheerfully.

Or it could be someone with snacks, Ferros said. That's definitely a better outcome.

Okay, I'll give you that one. "You came prepared," Jordan said, nodding at the bag full of snacks. "Man, I should have thought of that, it's a good idea."

"Or two if they're hungry? Heh." Jordan grabbed another chair and flopped down. With someone else to talk to, he wasn't anywhere near as concerned about the allure of a nap. He stretched his feet out and crossed his ankles. "Place this small, everything gets recycled," he agreed. He did wonder from time to time about the funding and supplies for the island, but that was probably a line of inquiry better left alone unless one was directly assigned to it. "What kind of soda you got?"

"All still napping," he said, and waved a hand up at the screens with their unmoving faces. "I've never been here when anyone's actually waking up. Must be interesting."

Neither of the drinks were anything Jordan had ever seen before, though the lemon soda thing looked more like what he was used to. He took the other one, out of a vague sense of curiosity. "Thanks," he said. "I'll make sure to return the favor sometime."

"Maybe there's another control room," he said thoughtfully. "One us lowly trainees don't get access to." He popped the cap off the bottle and took a sip, deciding after a moment that he liked the flavor. "I vaguely recall someone talking to me. Not Ferros," he added. "I did wake up knowing I needed to find him, though."

I called you, Ferros said with great dignity.

"Five point five," Jordan said, then laughed. "A what? What in the world is a booterang?" He paused a moment. "I think you mean disembodied," he pointed out.

He sipped the milk tea thoughtfully, also studying the still faces. "I wonder what the criteria are for waking someone." A glance over to Before as the other man asked his question. "I don't think so," he said. "I was A-One, so I saw mostly Alphas and Zetas. I think some Etas as well. It's getting kind of hazy at this point. What was your number?"

"Next time I have something carbonated I'll try," Jordan replied gravely. "I've only heard a perfect ten once in my life. It's a distant and shining goal." Like Robert, Before seemed to be bringing out the mostly-suppressed streak of immaturity in Jordan's nature.

When Before glanced to the screens, he did too, his expression going briefly somber. Most of Phoenix was awake now, but A4 and A12 still slept. He wondered sometimes which of the faces on the monitors were theirs.

He made a face at Before. "Among other things," he agreed. "Candace calls me Steaksauce now and then." Beta-Four - "Oh," he said, and smacked his forehead. "B-Four, huh? Why didn't I put that together? Jeez." A sip of the tea, then he asked, "You don't go by your given name?"

"You're only making me more curious," Jordan said, grinning at Before. "I won't laugh, I swear. - Whoa, hey, are you okay?" He leaned over and thumped Before's back as Before coughed and sputtered. "Careful, dude."

"Pretty sure you can't breathe soda," Jordan said solemnly. "Good try, though."

"I don't know Bix very well. Beta 10, by that reasoning?" He shrugged and leaned over to pick a candy bar out of the bag. "Can't blame me for trying. He hates his name too?"