text | un: m.cabrera

[naloxone]

[ turns out? space doesn't give a single fuck about your circadian rhythm. or maybe insomnia is just that attached to her that even the absence of a sun dictating her internal clock doesn't faze it, like an old friend you wish would just forget you already.

one night (?) late into the early hours (???) marta finds herself drifting out of the room she's come to assume will be hers for the indefinite future, passing through stark white walls with all the sterility of a hospital, but none of its familiar chaos.

she's still getting used to the earpiece. still getting used to hearing other people's voices in her head. she doesn't mean to add another in the void, but one of her own thoughts blares out too vividly as she stares out into an actual void: ]

—but where are the stars?

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[naloxone]

[ marta's smile eases, and she can feel a weight gradually lift off her shoulders. meeting another from a world that seems just as plain as hers — it's a comfort she didn't think she would be so desperate for since waking here. if a schoolteacher from london can make this work, then why not her? ]

The closest I got was the top floor of the Prudential Center. [ likely a building clara wouldn't recognize, but marta can still remember making the visit when she and her family settled back in boston. how new and exciting it had all been, this bustling american city full of hope.

she glances down at clara's notebook, but more than the object itself she can notice the ease with which the other woman carries herself. ]

Have you been here long?

[bossily]

Five or six months now? Definitely for three missions, with downtime between each one.

[She has to take a minute to think about it. Fiveish months sound about right, so she shrugs her shoulders.]

Long enough that I've decided to take up mapping the stars during our downtime.

[That's a joke. But really, there's not a ton of things to do here. Sometimes she goes a little stir crazy. She's got to find ways to keep busy.]

[naloxone]

[ marta could sympathize with that. one day in, and she's already feeling so aimless she's striking up random conversation with other sleepless people for the sake of it. normally, she would just keep to herself. ]

It must be helpful for you, if you're taking so much care with it.

[bossily]

I typically spend my time reading. But I've run out of books, so this'll do. For now.

[She tries to hide the fact she's a huge space nerd by covering up with more acceptable forms of nerdery. Like reading.]

[naloxone]

[ the mention of books perks marta up, even though there is a twinge of wistfulness that comes along with it. ]

There are books here? In English?

[ dare she even ask if any are in spanish? that might just be a pipe dream. ]

[bossily]

I have books here that're in English. Though if you ever find any in the supply drops or on mission that aren't, our earpieces should auto translate for us.

[There's a pause as she realizes she should add on something else.]

Would you like to come by and take a look at the books I've collected? You can borrow whatever you like.

[naloxone]

[ marta has never been very good at hiding her emotions, so when clara makes that offer there's no denying how her expression immediately brightens. ]

If you don't mind, I'd love that. Thank you.

[ it feels almost surreal to think about having something so normal and familiar readily available to her on this station... she almost wonders if she should be allowed it.

chewing on her lip, she finally gestures to the notebook in clara's hand. ]

Are those your stars?