#tscosi week

[thevoicefromthestars]

[bekaterrier]

Practicing some new designs and I realized that this is another one perfect for @acepodcastweek! Love for all my ace friends and favourite podcast characters!

[cindereleanor]

Ace Podcast Week Day 1 - Realisation/Acceptance

When I was trying to come up with ideas for anything I could make for this fan event, I really wanted to delve into Arkady's (from The Strange Case of Starship Iris) grey-asexuality. I have So Much to say about this character, and honestly am not sure how to go about expressing it all. I'm afraid I haven't had the time to properly write anything, so for today, here are just some (messy) fragments of a character study (like literally, this is really the brainstorming stage😅) exploring Arkady’s relationship with her asexuality, and her sharing that part of herself with Violet:

Shit. Here she was, lying with this beautiful, smart, and oh so kind woman – in every way a better person than she could have ever dared hope of being with – falling asleep in her arms. A moment too good to be true. Of course she was going to have to go and mess this all up horribly. * * * Arkady let out a bitter laugh. She was good with computers, she should be able to think logically. And hell, the logical thing to think was surely not that Violet wouldn't understand. Violet, who saw the best in people to a fault (something Arkady couldn't help but love about her). But wouldn't it be so perfectly ironic for this to be the one thing Violet couldn't accept. How cruel would it be for the universe to have worked in her favour for once, to taunt her with the chance of love, with this person who could somehow – god knows how – see past the parts of her that even she couldn’t. And then for it all to be snatched away because of something so stupid. As if her sexuality was so much harder to stomach than, well, everything else. * * * You expect her to put up with so much. You shut everyone out. You don't know how to communicate your feelings. You're a wreck. Your 'baggage' isn't a suitcase; it's the whole luggage cart. Why couldn't you just make one part of this easy? * * * Violet squeezed her hand, 'We don't ever have to do anything you don't want to, you know that right?' 'I was a soldier, Liu, you don't need to treat me with kid gloves. I know take care of myself,' 'But will you, Arkady?' * * * Arkady and Violet sat enjoying a rare moment of silence. And even more rarely, Arkady was letting herself bask in that enjoyment. No worrying how long this would last, no beating herself up over things she couldn't control, no guilt. In that moment, things were okay. Arkady even let herself believe that one day, things would be good.

[fyeahaudiodrama]

after all the various compilings and recommendations i’ve been doing the past few days, something im feeling like doing this week is doing a re-listen through some of my oldest audio drama memories - the black tapes, tscosi, the bridge, the bright sessions - stuff i haven’t listened to in ages

it’ll probably be just a few episodes of each, but im ready to get steamrolled by the memories of getting into this medium for the first time

[glassfullofsass]

I'm gonna start TSCoSI again because I've been thinking about it for weeks, but @falderaletcetera you had some Thoughts about Arkady and McCabe and the trauma of it all in the s2 finale that I'd love to hear more of if you'll allow me to prompt you.

Sorry for not asking when you mentioned it, things got away from me, but it's definitely been on my mind.

[artblahrg]

Cresswin Landing, 10 years ago.

TSCoSI Week Day 2: Arkady / Hope???

[image ID: Digital drawing of Arkady Patel from Starship Iris.

A younger, skinny Arkady is standing next to a wall with her back to the viewer, her shoulders and head are out of frame. She is wearing red pants and a dark grey jacket with the word "Cresswin" on the back and left arm. The words "carry on!" is spray painted on the wall to her right. On the ground to the lower left side of the image is a sign with the words "to survive". In front of her on the ground is another sign with the words: "Landers NEVER stand down". There is also a standing floor sign with only the words "never stand down" visible.

The entire image is grainy and slightly distorted. End ID]

[self-substantialfuel]

Day 2. Arkady

[Image ID: Mostly monochrome lineart drawing of Arkady Patel done in a shade of red with gold accents. Arkady is wearing a t-shirt with a print, white pants and stripy socks. She has short curly hair. She is reading a book while sitting on the floor against a pillow with a striped blanket thrown over her legs. There is a steaming cup next to her. A poster of a plant in space is sticked to the wall next to a porthole on the left side of the drawing. On the right - a shelf with a device showing starry sky, some books and a cactus. End ID]

[nanoeggroll]

little baby undergrad Violet for tscosi week

[littleragondin]

I am awfully late but here is for day 1 and 2 of TSCOSI Week!

Violet tried to show off her new crew jacket, but Arkady just blue screened because of too much cute. Luckily, it did not last too long.

[art-heap]

Day 1 Violet/nature

@tscosi-week

(23/01/21, took me some hours)

[ID: In the image, two figures stand in front of a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking space. Outside a purple mist puffs about the empty space and stars glow behind it. The main figures are next to one another, to the right is Violet Liu and to the left is Major General Frederick. Violet is a short plump woman of Chinese descent and slightly dark skin. Her back is to the audience but she faces Frederick, jumping with her left arm extended outwards, stabbing a syringe into Major General Frederick. She wears a somewhat ill-fitting and loose IGR uniform and is yelling, looking determined. Major General Frederick stands with her back to the audience and is looking at Violet. Her expression is simultaneously contemptuous and shocked, her mouth open. Her left arm is folded behind her back and her right holds a gun, aimed past the approaching Violet. Frederick is an old woman of unhealthy pallor with short grey hair, wearing a General’s uniform, grey skirt, black tights, and heels. The second image is the same but cropped to show just Violet and the Major General]

[tscosi-week]

PROMPTS!

You can use the character, the idea or both. I’ve also added an 8th day because I wanted to give you a free space and the specific day for ships, though you can write about relationships for the other days as well. 

Day 1, January 24: Violet/nature

Day 2, January 25: Arkady/Hope

Day 3, January 26: Sana/leadership

Day 4, January 27: Krejjh/family

Day 5, January 28: Brian/stars

Day 6, January 29: Park/betrayal

Day 7, January 30: McCabe/change

Day 8, January 31: Free space/relationships (romantic, platonic, familial or queer platonic) 

[bekaterrier]

The other day someone requested I make a pair of earrings to match one of my podcast bracelets, and I can't believe the thought had never crossed my mind before...

So in celebration of @acepodcastweek and all of the incredible ace characters in podcasts who I love, I made a pair of earrings to match the bracelet I did last year!

[jaggedwolf]

TSCOSI Ficlets #4

Queued a couple of batches of five of old ones, wanted to collate'em before I lost'em.

I'll protect you!

Krejjh tackled Translator Jeeter to the floor before the glass window shattered. They didn’t make a move till they heard the gunfire drift farther away from the restaurant. Other patrons went back to their meals, one pair trading four tens with the look of a settled bet.

Krejjh?” Translator Jeeter’s breathing tickled the frills of Krejjh’s neck. A couple of words in human-English that Krejjh couldn’t catch, and then in Dwarnian, “Can I get up now?”

“Sure thing!” Krejjh pushed themself back into a crouch, and stared. No blood coming out of anywhere, no obvious wounds, only quicker breaths. “Are you injured, Translator Jeeter?”

“Nope, thanks to you.” Translator Jeeter smiled for too short a moment before looking worried. “Krejjh-”

Krejjh spun around to face the window, the smarting of their left wing only another focus for the coming battle. No enemies faced them. They turned back, confused.

Translator Jeeter frowned. “Your wing-”

A waiter slid between them briefly, and wow, human restaurants were way more used to Nuezo gunfire than Krejjh would’ve thought. Folks back home would’ve freaked out about mixing meals and battle.

Krejjh folded back their right wing, peering closely at the other one. There was a small tear in the translucent membrane. From the glass, not the bullets. They lightly flapped the wing. Krejjh hummed with the solid, soft sting of air passing through the new hole.

“Woah,” said Translator Jeeter, curls of his hair swaying in the wing-created wind. “I mean, uh, do you need a doctor?”

“Nah.” Krejjh shrugged, their extended wing brushing against a human who scowled and shifted their chair away. “It’ll be good as new, just got to eat and not get any more holes in it.”

Translator Jeeter let out a big breath. “Thanks again for the save. Man, I could’ve sworn the Lower District was supposed to be safe this week?”

“It’s no problem at all.” Krejjh puffed up their chest. “I wouldn’t let my translator get hurt.”

They sneak a look, pleased when Translator Jeeter’s cheeks turn interesting shades of red.

Bad dreams

When Arkady woke, a new shot of adrenaline spiked through her heart at the arm around her waist, the leg tangled between her own, the pressure on her back. It took the sight of her gun on the table and the tickle of breath against her spine to keep her still.

The Iris. Her own room. Violet.

Not the first time Violet had spent the night, but the first time one of those dreams had happened during. Stupid. Should have thought of that, she’d almost flipped and pinned Liu on pure instinct, and that would’ve been-

That would’ve been bad. Arkady disentangled herself. She swung her legs off the bunk, the cold floor a jolt to her toes. Violet’s breathing stayed steady behind her. So quiet, you could almost miss it in the constant hum of the ship.

Arkady listened until her muscles untensed. She slumped forward, forearms on knees. Before tonight the worst thing about the nightmares had been her memory of them - only the barest outlines remained for her head to conjure a dozen possibilities, even as her chest seized in desperation. She blew a breath out past her lips.

“Arkady?” Violet’s voice solidified. “Hey-”

There was the sound of the covers shifting, the feeling of shifting pressure on the mattress, a tentative hand on her shoulder. Arkady leaned back into its warmth without turning around.

“It’s nothing,” said Arkady, throat dry. “Bad dream. You can go back to bed, Liu.”

The thumb idly brushing under the strap of her undershirt stilled. The hand disappeared altogether. The dim disappointment mixed with relief didn’t last long, movement catching the corner of Arkady’s vision.

A pajama-clad knee rested against Arkady’s bare one. “Would you rather be alone?”

“No,” admitted Arkady reluctantly.

Violet slid her arm along Arkady’s, interlacing their fingers. She yawned and cuddled closer to Arkady. There would be another question soon, in the next few minutes, or tomorrow.

Somehow, Arkady didn't mind.

Feet

Sana sighed and tilted her head back against the wall. It had been a long week. Good to be back on the Rumor. Good to be here with its crew.

“This wall is way more comfortable than I remember it.” Sana stretched her legs out, careful not to knock over the cup of moonshine next to her. “I could fall asleep here.”

Sitting cross-legged opposite her, Arkady half-grinned the way she did the way after jobs that mostly went according to plan. “Captain, your mattress is literally five feet away.”

That it was, sheets messily crumpled on it. Sana shrugged. “I built this wall too well, I might not even take off my boots.”

“Now I know you’re drunk,” snarked Arkady, taking a quick swig from her own cup. “Actually taking credit for something?”

“Hey, I do-” Sana’s train of thought was derailed by Arkady lifting Sana’s right foot into her lap, palms skimming the brown leather. Arkady’s fingers made quick work of the shoelace knot. Sana shook her head, trying to clear it. “Kady, you don’t have to-”

“There’s a lot of shit I don’t have to do,” grumbled Arkady, shoulders tightening.

Sana noted that line of tension, the flicker of nervousness in Arkady’s dark eyes, and the easy comfort her own legs felt. She didn’t pull her foot away. “That’s true.”

Arkady continued unlacing the boot. Sana picked up her cup again to take a slow sip. “I don’t thank you enough for it.”

Arkady snorted, but her shoulders relaxed. Good enough. Arkady coaxed out the boot’s tongue, pulling the boot Sana’s sore foot without jarring it. She peeled off the sock in the next breath. Unthinkingly, Sana wiggled her free toes.

Not that Sana had any expectations of where this was going, but if she had, she would’ve expected Arkady to move on to her left foot. Instead, Arkady’s fingers interlocked around the top of her foot. Arkady’s movements were cautious. As if there was a wrong way she was capable of touching Sana.

Sana let out a low groan at the warmth and pressure of Arkady’s thumbs digging into her sole. “Wow, that’s good.”

Arkady’s expression grew more content. “Not exactly my first job with a lot of on-the-feet time. Learnt a few tricks.”

Cat AU

RJ skulks along the alley's walls. They try to keep in mind Park's lesson on minding sound and warmth as much as sight, the first time he had let them accompany him to the kitchen. One had to be careful not to wake the sleeping of the big house.

Park's advice is no use out here - RJ hisses at the thought - where it's always noisy and hot and RJ keeps feeling things on their whiskers that makes them want to dart under dumpsters like they're a kitten.

They inch forward. Their paws are weaker from hunger than they've ever been, but Park is counting on them. Park, who's still asleep in that box two or three blocks back, who's hurt in a way that makes RJ want to yowl even though good cats aren't supposed to. RJ scrunches their eyes shut and tries not to remember the swinging boot that-

The sound of crashing cans fills the alley. When RJ's eyes open, they see a tail disappear around a corner. Another cat! An alleycat, RJ reminds themself. Yet they and Park hadn't eaten in almost a day, and reconnaissance was always a worthy endeavor. At the very least, it would be good intelligence to report.

RJ curls around the corner, both relieved and disappointed to see nothing. They enter the alley, sniffing nervously for any sign of food. A sudden weight lands on their back. They stumble and fall, yelping when hot breath fills their ears.

"If you don't wanna get hurt, keep still," the breath says.

RJ knows that voice. It's one of those alleycats. The fighty one, RJ thinks. The other cats land softly around them, sets of white and orange and grey and striped feet caught in peripheral vision. The group must have waited up on a fire escape or a windowsill. Should've cleared the area fully.

Claws out, RJ readies their trembling paws. These alleycats aren't going to find out where Park is from RJ.

Blankets

Krejjh's Earth-English is isn’t good enough to catch what the human from the bed is frantically yelling into the comms. A summoning of reinforcements, perhaps.

What is this room? The inside of this ship looks nothing of Dwarnian make. The last memory is of a game night with the other pilots. Krejjh’s armor and weapons are nowhere to be seen. If it’s a capture, and these humans are willing to gain something for themselves...the subclan might bother attempting to make a trade, but the subclan would never let Krejjh live down such a folly.

There's still only one human. Krejjh has yet to fight one face to face, only shot down ships and buildings from far above, but Krejjh has the entire upbringing of a Dwarnian citizen and this human has-

Hair? This human has hair, which makes sense, because humans do. Dark curly hair on the head, and a thinner layer over the bottom half of the face. No weapons or armor worn, doesn’t strike Krejjh as a soldier, but what other reason could explain the presence?

"Krejjh?" The human's voice softens, turning to Krejjh with empty hands in the air. In accented yet understandable Dwarnian, the human says "Hey friend, I really need you to stay calm. The war's way less of a concern than what you said earlier, we’re not enemy soldiers or anything.”

The human’s term of address stirs something in Krejjh’s vitals. A sign of deception? A bargain? Krejjh had never been good at the social games, had flown right away from all of those. The blanket, gripped tight, could serve as an impromptu weapon. Then again, it was human-make like everything else Krejjh could see. Could as well fall apart at the first use. The human’s eyes stay on Krejjh’s face, not a glance at Krejjh’s hands.

"Why have you captured me?" asks Krejjh. "Where are your fellow soldiers?"

“None of us are soldiers,” says the human.

The door slams open with the entrance of another human who was covered in guns. The scarred face scowls as Earth-English spews forth - something about the taking of oaths, and maybe weapons. Though the new human really didn’t seem to need any more weapons.

"That's definitely a soldier," says Krejjh, slowly sliding against the wall, pleased when the new human mirrors the movements on instinct.

"Arkady's not a-I mean, kinda used to be but-"

"Catch!" Krejjh throws the balled-up blanket into the face of the new human before leaping through the open door, leaving the humans yelping behind.

Escaped from the room, check. Next stop, armory or cockpit. Shoulders cooled by the ship's air even while running, Krejjh glances down.

It’d be fantastic to find a shirt at some point.

[cindereleanor]

Sana Tripathi

“Say whatever you want to say. Write whatever you want to write. But just--understand that when I say that I would do anything for my crew, I mean it.”

x x x x x x x x x

[iffeelscouldkill]

TSCOSI Week Day 3: Sana / Leadership

A/N: ssshhhhhhh yes I know it’s late but ssssshhhhh let’s just pretend I’m posting this 5/6 days ago

Here, finally, is my fic for Day 3 of TSCOSI Week, on the theme of Sana / Leadership! This takes place in an ambiguous point in Late Season 2. It does not have any bearing on the episode that was released today, which I haven’t even listened to yet, because I was busy trying to finish off this fic 😂😭 Energy and motivation have not been on my side lately. But here we are!

I had two ideas I could have gone with for this day’s prompt, and of course I chose the one I knew would lead to a longer fic, but it was worth it. This type of TSCOSI fic is my favourite to write - pure Rumor/Iris crew fluff and shenanigans. So enjoy!

---

The first clue Sana had that something was amiss was when she woke up.

Rather than waking to the vibration of her comm against her ear (yes, her comm had an alarm function and yes, she slept with it in in case of emergencies. She would not be taking questions at this time), she came to naturally, which she hadn’t done in months. Sana smiled to herself, stretching – and then froze.

She never woke up naturally, and the few times that she did wake during the night she didn’t feel this pleasantly well-rested. What time was it?

“Computer?” Sana spoke aloud to ELLA. “Current on-ship time?”

“The current on-ship time – is – nine – forty-three AM,” ELLA’s voice intoned. Sana sat bolt upright in her bed.

That wasn’t right. There was no way she’d slept through her alarm, and she had it set to recur at the same time every morning. Which meant…

“Sana Tripathi to all crew,” Sana said, opening up a comm line to all of her crewmates’ devices. “Hey, guys. Would someone mind telling me why my alarm didn’t go off this morning?”

“It didn’t go off because I deprogrammed it when I poured you into bed last night at some ungodly hour,” came the reply in Arkady’s deadpan tones, and Sana cringed slightly, regretting opening up a line to the whole crew. “Also, I’ve said this before, but sleeping with your comm in your ear? Pretty unhealthy, and that’s coming from me.”

“Thank you for that feedback, Arkady,” said Sana, with all the dry sarcasm she could muster.

“Prolonged comm usage, even when the comm is idle, has also been known to lead to hearing damage in a small percentage of cases,” put in RJ, and Sana’s eyebrows rose. “Something to do with a low level of uh, high-frequency feedback? So as a best practice, you should really take it out before bed.”

“RJ, are you lecturing me right now?” Sana asked, halfway between deeply amused and indignant.

“Uhhhh- n-no Ma’am! I mean, uh- no, Captain.”

“They’re right, you know,” Violet put in next. “I mean, it really is a small percentage of cases, but as your medic I have to advise you not to leave your comm device in for prolonged periods. Also, that sounds – uncomfortable? For sleeping?”

Sana sighed, resigning herself to being ganged up on by her entire crew. “Duly noted, Violet. Getting back to the subject at hand-”

“Wow, human ears are so fragile!” This, of course, was Krejjh. “They can really be damaged by comm feedback?”

“For a prolonged enough period-” RJ began to explain.

“We don’t all have your ‘superior alien senses’, dude,” put in Brian, laughing. Sana put a hand to her head.

“Guys-”

“I deprogrammed your alarm because you need a break, Captain,” Arkady cut in, almost gently. “Don’t think we didn’t notice that you’ve been pulling extra shifts so that the rest of us could take breaks, while not taking any yourself.”

“The human body is at its best when given time to rest and recover,” Violet added, also gently. “And you’re human too, Captain.”

Sana could feel her face flaming, but she was also extremely touched by the concern the crew were showing her – even though they’d apparently ganged up on her in the process.

“All right, I can admit that the lie-in was appreciated,” she said. “Thank you for the thought, everyone. Krejjh, I’m coming to relieve you in-”

“Oh, no need, Cap’n,” Krejjh interrupted cheerfully. “Crewman Park is taking your shift! He’s relieving me in ten minutes, and then Crewman Jeeter and I are going to play cards.”

“That’s really not necessary,” Sana said, beginning to feel slightly alarmed. “Park, I’m coming up to the cockpit in-”

“Sorry, Captain, but I think you’ve been outnumbered,” Park said, as mildly as ever. “Also, Krejjh promised me fruit jerky in exchange for taking the next shift, and I’m not about to give that up.”

Sana stared at the wall, running a hand over her face. “Park, you hate fruit jerky.”

“This is special fruit jerky,” Park replied, deadly serious. “The really good kind. Enjoy your time off.”

“There must be something I can do,” said Sana, realising she sounded slightly desperate.

“Uh, you can join me and Krejjh for a game of cards in ten minutes?” Brian suggested.

“Or you can relax, Captain,” Violet said, still in that gently amused tone. “It’s for one day. We promise you’ll be back to keeping us all in line tomorrow.”

The whole day?! Sana exclaimed internally. And okay, maybe the way that she balked at the idea of a day of enforced rest said something about the habits she’d fallen into.

She could at least give it a try. The crew had obviously put some thought into this – and it didn’t seem like they were backing down any time soon.

“Maybe I could use a breather,” she admitted aloud, and pretended not to hear someone’s sigh of relief over the comms. “But if any of you need anything…”

“We’ll let you know, Captain,” Arkady promised her, sounding not in the slightest bit sincere. Sana sighed.

“Okay. Sana Tripathi out.”

Or maybe by the afternoon her crewmates would let up, and she could go back to doing something useful.

---

Sana spent the next ten minutes or so trying and failing to relax with an audiobook, one of a handful she’d downloaded off the public net for sleepless nights. It just felt wrong to be lying on her bed doing nothing during the day. Normally she cherished her moments of downtime when she could get them (and okay, they’d been few and far between lately), but this felt… too much. Surely she should be somewhere else, maybe off discussing their next destination with Krejjh after they managed to resupply on Hathor, going over the new truck with Arkady to check it was outfitted to their needs, or maybe putting her head together with Park and RJ to get their analysis of the latest information about Regime movements.

And sure, they didn’t have any immediate jobs for Boss Violet that needed doing, and it was far enough to Hathor that planning their next destination could probably wait a day or two. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t needed. Even when Sana was off-shift, she tended to linger around the crew areas, just keeping an eye out; watching for signs of exhaustion among her crewmates, making sure they weren’t hiding injuries or strain. Injecting a cheery comment here or a calming word there, to keep people’s spirits up.

She was the Captain, and it was her job to look out for her crew. It had been a tough past few weeks, and Sana didn’t want to take this current peace for granted.

Sighing, Sana shut off the audiobook recording and went to the mess hall. Krejjh and Brian were sat at one of the tables, playing a rousing game of something that Krejjh dubbed ‘Reverse Snap’, where the object was to call out when you turned over two cards that were ‘spiritual opposites’. Unsurprisingly, Krejjh had been the one to devise the system of ‘spiritual opposites’, and was therefore given the power to decide whether a play was valid or not, a power that they abused liberally. Brian never seemed to mind; Sana suspected the enjoyment for him was in watching his fiancé get caught up in the game, and laughing at their ridiculous justifications for why they should be allowed to win each round.

Sana declined to get involved in the action herself, but it was a nice change of pace to just sit and spend time with two of her crewmates, without any other purpose beyond having fun. It was true that she didn’t get to do this often enough.

Unfortunately, the game came to a halt after Krejjh lost three consecutive rounds and poutingly declared that Brian must be cheating, even though he’d been faithfully citing their own rules each time he won a hand. “This is boring. Let’s go snuggle in our room and listen to RIFT!” they said.

Brian just smiled and gathered up the cards. “Okay,” he agreed easily. “How’re you feeling, Captain? More relaxed?”

Sana smiled wryly. “I do take downtime, you know. Despite what everyone seems to think.”

“Captain, you sleep with your comm in your ear,” Brian pointed out, mild and easy-going, but unerringly right, as always.

“I wish everyone would stop fixating on that,” Sana grumbled. Brian laughed.

“Look, this whole ‘enforced day off’ thing wasn’t my idea, but I am on board with the concept,” he said. Sana thought about asking him whose idea it had been, but she supposed it didn’t matter. “You deserve to have a break from looking after us all the time, you know? It was the least we could give you.”

Sana sat back in her chair, a little taken aback. She hadn’t been thinking about it in that way – that this was a joint effort by the crew to do something nice for her, to gift her with a day to herself. She’d been so caught up in chafing at the enforced idleness. But they’d all obviously pitched in on this, making sure that her shifts were covered and that everything was taken care of.

“Honestly, being Captain of this crew? It’s no hardship,” she told Brian – and Krejjh, who was hovering by the table – honestly. “But… thank you. It’s an incredibly sweet thought, and I do appreciate it.”

Brian smiled again. “It’s really nothing,” he told her. “See you later, Captain.”

Krejjh gave her a parting salute. “Enjoy your morning, Cap’n Tripathi!” they chirped, and then bounded after Brian.

Which left Sana with some food for thought, but still nothing to do. The mess, for now, was deserted, everyone evidently occupied with their own work or rest. Should she go back to her room, or try to find something to do around the ship? She wondered whether fixing things up and doing handiwork around the ship would be classed as ‘working’ in the eyes of the crew. Sadly, it probably would.

Resigned to giving her audiobook another try, Sana got up from the table and made her way along the corridor to her room. Passing by the medbay, she noticed that the light by the door was green, which meant that it was open, and she could movement from inside. She knocked, wondering if Violet would want a hand – or some company.

“Come in,” Violet called, and Sana pressed the button to open the door and stepped inside. Violet was inside, surrounded by rows and groups of orderly supplies - evidently doing that full inventory she’d been planning. She didn’t look surprised to see Sana.

“Can I… help with anything?” Sana asked. Violet gave her a wry smile.

“I don’t have a dictionary on me, but I’m pretty sure this wouldn’t come under the definition of “relaxation”,” she teased. Sana put her hands up.

“All right, granted. I can just keep you company for a while, then? Unless you prefer to work in silence.”

“Company is welcomed, Captain,” Violet told her. “And actually, there is something I could use a hand with.”

Sana was about to ask what it was, when she followed Violet’s gaze up to a high shelf full of supplies that she’d evidently been unable to clear. “Oh! Sure, I can help with that,” she said, trying not to seem too outwardly pleased at the opportunity to do something. Judging by Violet’s expression, she probably hadn’t succeeded. “Do you want them all down?”

“Yes, please, Captain.”

Sana got to work lifting boxes of what appeared to be empty syringes and some basic first aid supplies – bandages, gauze, cooling packs – down off the shelf and handing them to Violet, who made a noise of satisfaction when she saw what they contained. “So, how’s the overall situation with our med supplies?” Sana asked her. “Anything we need to restock?”

Violet gave her a sidelong glance, and Sana huffed. “If you want me to just turn off the part of my brain that’s concerned about the well-being of this ship, I’ve got some bad news for you.”

Violet laughed a little. “Okay, fair. We’re pretty well-off for med supplies, though I’d like it if we could get some more heptocaldrin – for injuries, not as a… stealth weapon.”

“Can’t it be both?” Sana joked. “I’ll put some feelers out with contacts who have connections with medical suppliers, see if we can get hold of some. – After today,” she added hastily at Violet’s raised eyebrow.

“Thank you,” Violet said, smiling serenely. “Are you planning to stay and watch me sort these?”

“Well, since I have so much leisure time at my disposal today,” Sana said lightly. “Can I sit here?” She gestured to the recliner that sat in the corner, the spiritual successor to the much-loved beanbag chair.

For the first few minutes, neither of them said anything much. It was quite soothing watching Violet work, although Sana itched to actually get involved and help her. She couldn’t help taking note of the condition of the medical supplies as Violet sorted them and made notes on her checklist, thinking about where they could find better-quality suppliers.

“Can I ask you something, Captain?” Violet said. Sana felt almost like she’d been caught out, though Violet’s tone was casual, almost idle; she hadn’t looked up from her work, still methodically sorting supplies.

“Of course,” Sana said.

“You’re always making sure that the six of us clock off and get enough rest. Why don’t you ever do the same for yourself?”

In hindsight, Sana should have known this question was coming. Before today, she likely would have given it a chipper, joking answer (like she did when Violet asked her, a few weeks after their flight from New Jupiter, how long she had been on shift), but now she made herself give the question some proper consideration.

“It’s different when you’re the one in charge,” she said after a little while. “If something goes wrong, if there’s an eventuality that I’ve overlooked, that’s on me. And given our current – status – the consequences of that could be much worse than me going without a break, or a couple hours of sleep.”

Violet gave her a sad smile. “But those are important things. I know it’s easy for me to say, when I don’t have to feel the weight of that responsibility – I couldn’t do what you do. But you’re at your best when you’re well-rested, too. What happens if you overlook something because you’re underslept and you haven’t had a break in days?”

“Well, that’s what I keep you all well-rested for,” Sana said lightly.

“Captain,” Violet said reprovingly.

“Violet,” Sana replied in the same tone. Jokingly, she said, “Are you going to start singing at me to take a break next?”

Violet blinked confusedly at her before the light of understanding dawned in her eyes. “Was that a ‘Hamilton’ reference?”

“You spend enough time with Arkady, you find yourself making opera and musical theatre references without even knowing it,” Sana replied. “You’ll need to watch out for that.”

“I’ll be on my guard,” Violet said. And then, more seriously, “But if it turned out to be a reliable method, then yes, I would sing at you.”

Sana couldn’t help laughing. “Well, luckily, there’s no need. Here I am, taking a break.”

“Uh huh,” was all Violet said, giving her an appropriately sceptical look.

“I am!”

“And if I asked you for your opinion on the overall quality of our med supplies, I’m sure you wouldn’t have any thoughts at all,” Violet said pointedly.

“Well, you can ask,” Sana replied. “But I’d have to tell you that the Captain will get back to you about that tomorrow, when she’s back on the clock.”

“Oh, good to know.”

 ---

Spending time with Violet in the medbay took up another hour, but before long Sana found herself back in her room and at a loose end again. And okay, maybe she was going about this wrong; she shouldn’t just be looking for ways to kill time all day. Plus, spending time with the crew was nice, but they were all busy with their own jobs, so that didn’t really equate to relaxation. There had to be something she could do by herself – other than listening to that audiobook.

On the Rumor, Sana had spent a lot of her downtime in her room working on sewing or embroidery projects. But lately, she hadn’t really had a project that she could – wait.

Sana sat up straighter on her bed, thinking. When they’d been putting together the ‘shopping list’ of supplies for Hypatia, she’d joked about adding a hammock to the list. She hadn’t seriously gone looking for one, but when she’d been checking out some of the hardware stores near where they made landing, looking for parts for the engine and the ship’s various systems, she’d discovered that they also sold swathes of fabric, rope, and – crucially – wooden poles.

Sana got up and went to the little closet built into the wall of her room. At the back, right where she’d left it, was a bundle of poles and rope with brightly-coloured fabric wrapped around it. Sana pulled out the bundle, breaking into a grin. She hadn’t really expected to find enough time to work on this when she’d bought the materials, though she’d vaguely intended to do a bit here and there. But now was the perfect time to try and put it together.

Sana unrolled the bundle on her floor and got to work.

---

“Incoming call from… Ignatius Campbell. Incoming call from… Ignatius Campbell. Incoming…”

Sana was in the middle of sewing the wooden poles into either end of her hammock fabric when the call came through to her comm link. “Computer, accept call. Campbell, hi!”

“Captain Tripathi!” Campbell’s voice boomed cheerily. “Is this a bad time?”

“It’s a pretty good time, actually,” Sana said as she worked the needle in and out of the fabric. “I’ve got the day off today, so I’m just doing some sewing in my room.”

There was a fractional pause on Campbell’s end. “The day off, huh?” he said. “How’s that going? Not too bored, I hope?”

Sana smiled to herself as she tied a knot in the sewing thread to secure it and then bit off the thread. She had scissors, but they were buried somewhere in the heap of fabric and she couldn’t be bothered to root around for them. “It was a bit slow to start off with, but I’m getting into it now.”

“Gotta say, I can’t believe they actually managed to persuade you to take a whole day out of your schedule to relax,” Campbell said. “The last time I called, you hadn’t slept in – was it thirty-six hours?”

“Thirty-two,” Sana said quietly, to herself.

“-And you were on your sixth cup of coffee – do you even remember that call?”

Sana sighed, part amusement and part resignation. “Yes, I do remember. Sorry for-”

“No, no, it’s fine, I was just – well, it was a bit worrying,” Campbell said. “Anyway, glad you’re taking a break. You sound… better.”

Who knew that everyone had apparently been so concerned for her wellbeing? Sana thought. Then her hand stilled in the middle of threading her needle. Maybe she should have realised how concerning it was to everyone. But she hadn’t thought – well, she guessed she hadn’t noticed that everyone was looking out for her just as much as she’d been trying to look out for them.

She cleared her throat a little. “Well, what can I do for you, Campbell?”

“Oh, nothing in particular,” Campbell replied. “Just wanted to call to catch up, really. Trade some gossip, funny stories about the crew… It’s been a while since you were able to stop by.”

Sana smiled ruefully, and then a thought occurred to her. “So, you just so happened to call to catch up on the one day when I don’t have anything going on? That’s good timing.”

“Uh—” Campbell’s cornered response was immediately telling. “I might’ve heard that – today would be a good time to call—”

Sana huffed in amusement again, rolling the fabric over the pole at the other end of her hammock and lining up the ends of the material. “Be honest, Campbell. Did the crew ask you to check up on me?”

“I called the ship’s comms last night, and Arkady picked up,” Campbell admitted. “I really was calling just to see how you all were, and well, she filled me in on how things had been lately. How they were all planning to cover your shifts and chores today to give you a break. She said that you might be at a loose end, so I offered to call you back around this time. I would’ve called earlier, but Eloise asked me to watch the boys in the morning.”

“How are they?” Sana asked, smiling.

“Oh, as full of energy as ever, I can barely keep up with them,” Campbell said, a smile in his own voice. “Look, I’m sorry if I overstepped-”

“No, it’s – fine, Campbell. Really,” Sana assured him. “I’m touched at how everyone’s been…” She searched for the right phrasing. “I’m touched at how much thought went into this. It really means a lot.”

“What you do means a lot,” Campbell responded, sincere. “To the whole crew. And to… me.”

Sana’s face warmed, and she realised she’d been sitting there, holding the fabric together without doing anything for the past several minutes. She picked up her needle and began on the same neat row of stitches that she’d made at the opposite end. “Thank you, Campbell.”

“It’s nothing, really,” Campbell replied gruffly, and then cleared his throat. “So – any good stories to share?”

“I’ll make you a trade,” Sana offered. “One story about the crew, for every story about your nephews.”

“Oof. You drive a hard bargain, Captain Tripathi, but I accept.”

Sana laughed. “Okay. Well. You might remember how Arkady has an unfortunate habit of leaving some of her weapons holsters in odd places around the ship…”

---

A few hours later, the new hammock – strung up in a corner of the mess where Sana had mounted some sturdy hooks on two adjacent walls – was almost ready. All it needed was a test subject; Sana could of course get in and test it herself, but it would be ideal if she could observe someone else getting into the hammock, so that she could judge how things looked from the outside.

Oddly, the mess hall was deserted, and had been for the past while, which was strange; she would have expected to find at least one or two members of the crew spending time in here. Just then, she spotted RJ, who had entered on the far side of the room and frozen.

“RJ!” she said happily. “You’re the perfect person to test out my new hammock.”

“Uh-” RJ looked around, as if hoping to be rescued by someone, before reluctantly walking over. “You’ve been making a… hammock?”

Sana gestured towards her creation with a flourish. “What do you think?”

RJ’s eyes narrowed as they inspected her handiwork, pulling lightly on the ropes that suspended the hammock. “Is it structurally sound?” they asked doubtfully.

“Why don’t you get in and test it for yourself?” Sana invited them. “Don’t worry about the hooks – they’re the same kind that you find on industrial pulleys. They’ll hold.”

RJ’s eyes flicked towards the doorway. “I’m not really sure if I should be-”

“Oh c’mon, you can take three minutes out of your shift, can’t you?” Sana cajoled them. “Just blame it on me waylaying you.”

RJ laughed a little. “Well – I guess if it’ll only take a minute…” Gingerly, they hoisted themself up onto the hammock, legs dangling over the side, before swivelling round and reclining more fully in the hammock. “Wow, this is actually – really comfortable.”

“Isn’t it? Hammocks are the best,” Sana enthused. “Is the amount of rocking okay?”

“Yeah, it seems fine. It’s not making me seasick, at least,” RJ joked. “You’ve done a pretty good job with the placement of-”

“RJ, there you are,” Park’s voice came from the other side of the mess. “Did you- oh, hi, Captain.”

“Hey, Park,” Sana said easily as Park approached, eyeing the hammock with curiosity. In the hammock, RJ sat back up, a guilty expression on their face. “RJ was being good enough to help me test out this hammock I’ve been making.”

“So I can see,” Park said, neutrally. “Seems like a good use of your time off.”

Sana raised an eyebrow at him, unsure whether the comment was sincere or impeccable sarcasm, but deciding to interpret it as sincere. “Thank you,” she said. “Want to test it out? It would be good to get data from someone taller.”

“I’d love to help, but I really need to borrow RJ,” Park said apologetically. “Sorry, Captain. Maybe after dinner?”

“Of course,” Sana said, as RJ quickly got out of the hammock. She watched Park take their arm and almost steer them away, the two of them conversing in hushed whispers once they were far enough away that they evidently thought she wouldn’t overhear.

Something odd was going on. Sana glanced at the hammock, and then back at the doorway that Park and RJ had just left through. Maybe she should leave it alone – after all, she was off the clock, and she didn’t have to know about everything that was going on on the ship.

Even though Park and RJ were behaving really strangely.

After a few seconds, Sana’s curiosity got the better of her, and she quietly followed.

“Well, I can’t go back through now,” RJ was saying to Park in slightly annoyed tones, as they walked down the corridor. “The Captain will definitely know something’s up. Anyway, I don’t remember seeing a screwdriver in the kitchen.”

A screwdriver? Sana thought, baffled.

“Well, Arkady says there are none in the engine room, and there’s not many other places on the ship left to check,” Park said tiredly. “So, if you’d like to tell her that you weren’t able to look in the kitchen…”

RJ made a reluctant noise. “Fine, what if we-”

Sana, from her vantage point around the corner, saw the two pause in front of the door that led to the medbay. Park raised his hand and knocked on the door in a specific pattern – one long, and three short knocks. After a second, the same knock came back and the door opened.

“Bad news,” Park said as the two entered the medbay. “Sana was in the mess, so RJ wasn’t able to check the kitchen properly.”

Sana moved around the corner until the open door of the medbay was in view, where a baffling sight (and this was coming from someone who’d seen a lot of weird things in her time) greeted her. The medbay observation table had been dragged into the middle of the room, and an array of screwdrivers, knives, and for some reason, spoons cluttered the tabletop. Arkady, looking irritated, was standing on top of the table with a knife in her hand, trying to pry at the cover that enclosed the medbay’s ceiling lamp. Violet, Brian and Krejjh were grouped around the table, looking up at what Arkady was doing; Violet was holding a penknife and shining a small torch in Arkady’s direction, while Krejjh was holding a small hammer, a steel rule and a lightbulb. Brian just looked entertained.

“I think we should check the engine room again,” RJ said. Arkady rolled her eyes.

“I told you, McCabe, I – Captain!”

Instantly, every crew member in the room (except Park, who simply looked resigned) whipped guiltily around, trying in vain to hide what they were doing. Krejjh dropped the steel rule.

“Cap’n Tripathi!” they said cheerily. “You are just in time for our – uh – table performance art routine! We’ve been practicing specially for you!”

“Really?” Sana asked, amused. “Because it looks to me like you were all trying to change a lightbulb. Badly.”

“As it so happens, Act One of our performance-”

“Krejjh, give it a rest,” Arkady said, as Brian laughed behind his hand. “Captain, we’re fine, honestly. We found the replacement bulb, we just need to figure out how to get this damn cover off.”

“And how long have you spent trying to pry it off, so far?” Sana asked.

“It’s been about an hour and a half,” Violet admitted. Arkady’s shoulders slumped.

“I’m almost there, but I think I need a different screwdriver to-”

She stopped as Sana walked over to the table, and held out a hand for Arkady to pull her up. Climbing onto the table, with the help of a steadying hand from Park, Sana took a magnet out of her pocket (she had a lot of things in her pockets) and held it near the rim of the ceiling lamp cover. A tiny screw flew out and clung onto the magnet. Sana held the magnet to the other side of the cover, attracting another screw, and then another, and another. Finally, she twisted the cover, and it popped off the ceiling.

“Lightbulb,” she said.

Krejjh handed her up the lightbulb, and Sana switched the working bulb out for the dead one, before easily replacing the cover and pushing the screws back into place. She dusted her hands and looked around at the crew.

“Well, that was fun. What’s Act Two?”

Violet smiled, and RJ looked impressed, while Brian shook his head. “I told you we should have just asked her.”

Sana looked back at Arkady, who was glowering at the knife she’d been holding like it had personally offended her.

“You could have asked me,” she agreed. “But I get that you were trying not to disturb me after you worked so hard to give me some time off. And, honestly, it’s been one of the best days I can remember for a while. So – thank you all. So much. I know that being the Captain doesn’t make me invincible. Or infallible. And as much as I want to look out for all of you, I need to remember to apply the same thought process to myself as well.” She caught Violet’s eye, and winked.

“In hindsight, it probably shouldn’t have taken a day of forced rest for me to see that, but I’m grateful that you were all willing to go to the trouble of arranging it so that I could. Even to the point of changing lightbulbs.” She smiled.

“And while you’ve all been working hard, I’ve rigged up a pretty awesome hammock in the mess hall, so it would frankly be a crime not to hold a movie night after dinner.”

Krejjh whooped, and Brian and RJ immediately struck up a fierce debate about whether they should watch a historical fantasy drama or a sci-fi epic. Park tiredly followed them out of the room, presumably to act as adult supervision.

“I’d better go make sure that they don’t forget about dinner,” Violet said, and went after them.

Arkady climbed down so that she was sitting on the edge of the table, and after making a space in the collection of cutlery and engineering tools, Sana joined her. For a few moments, neither of them said anything.

“I meant what I said just now,” Sana said, eventually. “I had a really good day, and… it meant a lot that everyone would go to the trouble of doing something like that for me. And of thinking it up and arranging it.”

“Violet did a lot of it,” Arkady said, a little too quickly. “And Park, especially with covering your shifts. And the comm thing was Krejjh’s idea.”

“Really?” asked Sana, amused. “And what about intercepting the call from Campbell that came in last night, making sure it didn’t disturb me, and then arranging for him to call back when you knew I might be going a bit stir-crazy?”

Arkady huffed. “He told you.”

“Of course he did,” Sana said. “Look, I’m sure it was a group effort, but… I couldn’t help thinking that the idea had to have come from someone who knew me pretty well. And maybe someone who’s been more worried about me lately than they wanted to admit.”

Arkady looked away, her shoulders raised in a defensive half-shrug. “I know you’re the Captain. I know you’ve got to look out for us, and – it’s not like I can really talk when it comes to putting in too many hours when I work on something. I don’t think there’s anyone in the crew who hasn’t done that at some point. But you’re always there to kick our asses into taking a break, and-”

“And someone needed to do that for me?” Sana finished for her, wryly.

Arkady looked back at her and snorted. “Pretty much. Thirty-two hours, Sana. With six cups of coffee.”

Sana winced. “In hindsight, that was probably the first red flag.”

“The first?”

“Okay, okay,” Sana said, laughing a little and holding up her hands. “You have my word that I will not let things get to that point again. And if they do, you have my full permission to-”

“-Kick your ass?”

“I was going to say, ‘put me in time-out in my own hammock’, but either works.”

“Speaking of which,” said Arkady, giving Sana a significant look. “Do I need to ask which part of the ship lost its emergency harnesses?”

Sana laughed. “This one is made from actual wood and fabric and rope. Turns out, I had a lot of time on my hands this afternoon…”

“And you used it to build another hammock.”

“It was that, or listen to a really dull audiobook,” Sana said. “I call it an investment in future relaxation! And future movie nights. Good for the whole crew.”

One half of Arkady’s mouth ticked up, and she looked almost wistful. “We haven’t had a movie night since we were on the Rumor.”

“I want to reinstate the tradition,” Sana said. “I think we could all use a bit of a breather every now and again. Today reminded me of that. So – thank you, Kady.”

She was purposely laying it on thick, because winding up your best friend with excessive sentiments that you meant every word of really never got old. She was rewarded when Arkady quickly jumped down from the table. “I think we’ve already done the Feelings Corner for this evening, so if you need me, I’ll just be in the kitchen, helping with dinner.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to hear the latest motivational speech I’ve been working on?” Sana teased her. “I’ve had a lot of time to think about it today. It’s a good one.”

“You know what, I’ve changed my mind,” Arkady said. “You’re not allowed to have days off any more.”

---

A/N: This idea came about as a bit of an inversion of the ‘leadership’ prompt - what if Sana couldn’t be in charge for the day? What would it look like if the crew decided she needed to take some time off? I was really taken with the concept (apparently I just have a thing for members of the crew gently but insistently taking care of Sana), and then I came up with the idea that something goes wrong that Sana would normally be able to fix, and the crew is desperately trying to keep it from Sana while she’s “off-duty”. This image popped into my head of like, the entire crew trying and failing to change a lightbulb, and it was so absurdly perfect that I had to write it xD

It also wound up being a spiritual continuation of the theme we’ve had so far in Season 2 of “Sana is bad at clocking off” - hopefully nothing in Episode 3 has come along and contradicted that xD (Guess I’ll find out!)