protective_logic | GFH IC Contact

Sparkles, why is Maine asking me for permission to sleep with you?

It's not 'sleeping with' him in that sense. More in the sense that you share a bed with Louisiana I think? And yes, I have noticed you gone some nights. Anyway...

You.. and Beta seem... less than happy when I turn to him for comfort over either of you. But this is something only he can do for me. So I said I needed you guys okay with it.

One, don't punish him because I have failed to be good enough. That's on me to meet your entirely reasonable expectations.

Two, if this is about the Epsilon thing, you are not Epsilon and this is not that.

One, you're good enough. What are you talking about? This isn't about you and me. This is about me and him.

Two, Epsilon thing? Which in particular do you mean?

You said...literally ten minutes ago...I am not fighting. This is me not fighting. Shine on you crazy diamond and don't worry about me when you want Maine.

Oh. I see what you're saying. Okay, the reason I need Maine at my side over you or Tex is because I need him here due to some... relationship issues. We both need the comfort of the other's presence, which neither you nor Texas are a stand in for. This is something only he and I can fix together.

But... Um... I love you, Meg. Ian. Brother. Very much. I want to stop fighting. I didn't mean the things I said to you, and you're right about the me slapping you. I'm sorry about that. It won't happen again. But I'm always going to worry about you. You're my big brother going out into the big world and doing crazy things. I never got to know Beta as a vulnerable girl, and I've seen you in hospitals because of stupid drinking things. So yeah, I worry.

That's what family does. We're always going to be family, and I'm always going to love you.

Okay. Okay. We'll figure this out. You get solid with Maine first, all right?

All right. I'll do that first.

And... Uh... how's the helmet?

This is the coolest thing I have ever owned!

Would you believe me if I said I designed the paint for it? I didn't do it, I'm not training as an artisan, just a tech, but WOW did they make it even better. And I think that maybe, after I get my tech certs, I'm going to take the qualifiers for low level modding. Just the painting and etching so I could do more for Smithson. He says he always wanted a worker to help with that. Normally he has to send them out for the work, and none of his people wanted involved with the artisan stuff before.

Really? Because the paint's the best part! I'm sure you'd do great at the aesthetics.

How long before we hook you up with a new helmet?

I... Uh...

See, the thing is, as part of my apprenticeship I have to work on this practice helmet. You get just the shell and you have to put everything in yourself. All the filtration, all the circuits and wiring and all that. To prove you know it like the back of your hand. Normally Charon and the other companies produce fully completed helmets and we modify them. But we can't modify them if we don't know them intimately. So... To advance with my apprenticeship I need to put the money into the practice helmet and all that will go into it.

I'm... going to have to put off my own helmet getting replaced until I've done the helmet and completed that part of my training and certification.

Your helmet will last that long?

It should. Every morning Smithson runs diagnostics on it. Yes, it won't last too long, but we're doing all we can. We need the money for the helmets of the littles first. Theta needs an improved adult one soon, and I want it to have extra padding.

I... might see if I can find a used old helmet to tie me over maybe. If it breaks down, Smithson has promised me a loaner.

Let me worry about Theta's helmet. You know how much a trip to the ER costs. I'm going to be on the other end of that transaction.

How much for that shell?

A-about a third of the price of a normal helmet. Charon is a bit of a dick about profit margins. But everything else is a lot cheaper. Ultimately a shell helmet made into a full helmet comes to about fifty-five percent or so of the cost of an off-the-shelf model for the same work. That goes up to about ninety-percent when you add in the labor, but since I'd be doing the labor...

Anyway, the apprenticeship stuff is first, yanno?

But you need this for the apprenticeship.

Yes. I can probably last a little bit without it if we have other priorities.

Not that I can think of, but we all know where my priorities are.

Getting you a good gun? Getting Sigma a gun and training him with it? Getting Epsilon at the very least a taser?

I have a gun, at the base. So that just leaves Sigma and Epsilon.

I assume you and the littles will be using Maine for personal protection?

I'm... I'm going to ask Tex if she thinks a gun or a taser would be better. And then I'm going to ask her to teach me. Or find me a teacher. I don't... want to learn from Maine. It is easier for me to accept what he does if I don't have to see him doing it?

He came back from a job so hurt and... I don't want to think about learning to be able to do that to him from him.

I am picturing you with a pistol, number four, and it's a good look on you.

Ask Tex to teach you as brother-sister bonding. Like how you used to make Epsilon help Gamma with his handwriting because otherwise he'd ask me.

No, it's not a good look, and we both know it. But if I don't take lessons I'd be shaky with one when it came time to use it. So I'm going to train until at the very least I can point one at a target and unload a clip without shaking.

Just don't ask Maine. Did you see my scores? Ask Tex.

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