#responses that aren't data are also welcome lol

[eldersoonglore]

It's early into the morning shortly after the night to day shift change on the bridge occurred on the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-D. The dull hum of the ship vibrates through the bustling corridors and quarters, including the living space of Lt. Commander Data.

Within Commander Data's quarters sits his workstation, hundreds of little green dots on the screen blinking intermittently all across the screen. To human eyes, the pattern would appear imperceptibly fast. However to an android, it became an code written in a process similar to complex form of morse.

The encrypted message remained repeating, waiting for its intended receptor to find it. It masked a frequency number that lead to a proxied connection, providing an "address" to return messages to, and one simple message:

H E L L O B R O T H E R .

<< @data-dominant >>

[beyondedenton]

Long Distance || Sprig + Isaac || June, 2022

Sprig: {Text: Picture sent to Isaac}

Isaac: Isaac wouldn't see the text until a few hours after it was sent. He was still helping compile data and planning for the response of what happened in New Orleans. To his dissatisfaction, this meant he wasn't on guard duty or out in the field, merely back at Site 86 pushing papers for the moment.

He finally saw the text when he returned to his quarters after a briefing. She was a welcome sight, though such a flirtatious photo hardly seemed fair.

{Text} Hey Love, having a lazy day for once?

Sprig: Ahhh. He still called her love after all this time? All this time, as though it has been years. Not terribly long in the grand scheme, but too long to an insatiable mortal.

Isaac hadn't been a dream. She wanted to experience his presence, even in something as little as a text. It was enough to give her hope.

{Text} Day off! Had a dream about you

Isaac: {Text} Lucky you, just got off myself

{Text} Did I have two heads in this dream?

He wouldn't mention that he too had dreamt of her on rare occasions. Mainly because the dreams were either pure nonsense or intense nightmares.

In any case, it was nice to hear from this beautiful creature again.

Sprig: {Text} Why would you have two heads?!

{Text} You were working in the bakery with me and we were selling to ghosts before they crossed over

Isaac: Cute.

{Text} Well I have two heads in real life... Making sure I'm in one piece lol.

{Text} Was I any good? Never been much of a baker

Sprig: {Text} Ohhh you're a pervert!

{Text} You were a good salesman

Isaac: {Text} You say that like you didn't already know.

{Text} At least I'm good for something lol. How've you been Love?

Sprig: {Text} Is it weird to say I miss you?

{Text} Next time I bake I'll send you door to door offering to my neighbors lol

Isaac: {Text} Wanna do a call instead? Because I'm missing you too

Sprig: {Text} Okay!

Isaac's phone would ring some thirty seconds later.

Isaac: Isaac was over thirty, had been to war twice, chased down monstrosities and beaten others into submission. And yet, here he was, feeling giddy and getting butterflies waiting for Sprig's call.

He picked up on the first ring as he made sure his quarters were closed.

"Hey."

Sprig: "Hey, handsome!" She sounded happier than she realized she would. Covered her mouth out of shame she didn't truly feel. She was, however, blushing.

"What time is it there?"

Isaac: "Uh... In normal time? I don't have a normal clock nearby. We go by zulu time down here. So..." shuffling could be heard as he settled into his bed. "Two in the afternoon? Roughly? What time is it for you?"

Sprig: "Zulu like -" she didn't want to sound ignorant, but she couldn't lie and say she knew anything about it. "-what's that?" she sighed and laughed.

Isaac: "It's like a very specific military time. It's so that everyone around the world can operate on the same clock to avoid confusion. That and there aren't really any windows here, so day and night are just made up anyways." He chuckled at the last part. He also thought this might weird her out. Then again, their relationship was anything but normal.

Sprig: "Well, in central time it's nine in the morning." She was still wrapping her head around this Zulu business. She would look into that later.

"About to roll out of bed and make french toast fingers." She wished he was here to share it with.

Isaac: "Ah, yummy. You make em' homemade?"

Sprig: "Just stale bread, yeah. My roommate showed me how. What you have today?"

Isaac: "Eggs, toast. I'm not the biggest on breakfast, so I usually keep it simple."

This idle chatter, he was never one for small talk. Not with people he actually cared about.

"I miss you. Like, a lot."

Sprig: Talking in general was usually kept minimal. Easy to do when most people were irritating to even look at.

"How long does it look until we can see each other again?" She bit her lip, staring at the ceiling.

Isaac: "I have no idea. This work keeps me moving, you know that." Isaac felt guilty, giving her such a shitty answer. He never should've involved himself with her, he knew it would end up like this.

"The most I can probably muster is a visit sometime in the future. It'd only be a visit though." Isaac was hoping that she hadn't intended on waiting for him.

Sprig: But that was exactly what she intended. She hadn't been looking for companionship like his to begin with. Only the day to day struggle of her condition, a job, and getting to tomorrow. He was absolutely something to look forward to, and that made him a bittersweet flavor.

"Still don't want me to join?" she asked, carefully.

Isaac: "No, it's bad enough they know you exist. Last thing I would want is for you to get in even deeper."

Sprig: Her sigh could be heard through the phone, but she wouldn't argue. She had already said her piece. Believed she had something to offer, but in the end, she didn't need some organization to do what she did. New Orleans was certainly big enough.

"How much time do you have?"

Isaac: "I just finished for the day, and I didn't have anything planned tonight either. So, lots of time."

Sprig: "Is it weird to watch a movie together?"

Isaac: "I guess not? How would that even work anyways?"

Sprig: "I dunno, I've never done it before," she said, sheepishly.

Isaac: "Alright, let's start with what movie do we want to watch?"

Sprig: A part of her thought he would say no. Her idea had been off the cuff and maybe it showed. She hummed in thought.

"What do you watch on YouTube?"

Isaac: "Uh... Not much honestly. Sometimes I'll watch firearm reviews or historical stuff. So probably pretty boring for you. What about you?"

Sprig: Sprig was biting back a smile.

"History stuff. A lotta ghost stuff. See if people are full of shit or like me."

Isaac: "Sounds like we're watching history. Pick a video and send me a link."