ximilia | Video; un: newt | a day or two before the Big Mission Log

[The little electronics shop has a small back room that is dangerously close to detection, when it comes to any government workers coming or going; just a door with a little private sign on the front — and behind that, there's a figure huddled over a desk, tie loosened and hair askew as he takes apart disarmed detonation collars and puts together prototypes to shut them down completely. His focus is impeccable, that's to be sure, but he's going on a second or maybe third night in a row without rest as he stares down the glassy front of a magnifying glass, fingers shock-still around a small welding gun that carefully patches pieces of refurbished technology together.

There is a hefty-sized box beside him, and he's placing his newly created disarming tools into it one at a time; it's gotten quite full. As he works... he starts... rambling into the feed. It does not stop. It almost seems like it never will.

Beside him on the desk, there are generic brand MEGA-CAFFEINE PATCHES.]

I can't just take it easy. Are you kidding? Taking it easy means there's less time to perfect the proper tools we need for this job; if I screw up and everyone's heads pop like grapes, what's that gonna say about me? That I'm a two-bit piece of shit engineer — and yeah, okay, so engineering isn't my primary skillset, but I helped build giant plasma canons, alright? I fortified armaments for 200 foot robots! I built a drifting PONS out of garbage! So, like, I can't just fail at this mission. Besides, this is Viv's home world, so if I fuck it up, I'll basically be letting her down; what would I even say? "Sorry I let people you probably care about go kablooey? At least I made you a dumpy robot body that isn't anywhere near as good as the ones you've got on your world?" Pfft, no, no way. So excuuuse me if I hit some caffeine patch vendors up for a little pick-me-up; what else was I gonna do, snort sci-fi cocaine? I'm not gonna snort sci-fi cocaine; let's leave that to the Scarface wannabes, yeah? I'm steady as shit right now, couldn't be more steady, like Doogie Howser up in this bi — shit! Electronic shock. Sorry. Don't worry, I'm not gonna blow myself up. C'mon, do I look like a guy who would blow himself up? Okay, maybe I look like a guy who'd blow himself up, but I've been alive 36 blissful years and I haven't turned myself into a reenactment of Jeff Goldblum at the end of The Fly yet. What a sick movie, totally worth it for the gross-out. A lesser man would have played it in its entirety at one of our movie nights, but I'm a kind and compassionate soul who would never do such a thing; Newton H. Geiszler is an angel. I don't know why I put an 'H' in there, I don't have a middle name. Does everyone have a middle name? Shit, did my dad skimp out on me? First he makes me a torrid love affair baby, then he curses me genetically with the gold trophy standard of ADHD and bad eyesight, and now he's not giving me my due right as a German-American by giving me some ugly middle name like Clarence or Wolfgang. Actually, Wolfgang sounds kind of lit. Newton Wolfgang Geiszler. Dude, I might just adopt that for myself. Shit! I don't know. What time is it? Someone'll come and let me know when we're doing the mission thing, right? 'Cus I'll be fine to do it, I'll rest in a little bit; I've been taking catnaps in-between finishing disarming tools. Trust me, I'm the king of taking power naps while sitting upright. I've even done it on a stool before, easy peasy pumpkin peasy pumpkin pie. Oh! Actually, I need to think of names for these ones, right? Like how I named the Newtrilizer. I loved that fucking thing; I'm actually using a few notes from that to help make these, too. But I'm seriously blanking on a name... Hermann would probably think it's stupid to name it, but what does he know, anyway? Only a complete loser would name something after a bunch of dead scientists or boring numbers. He's not here to stop me, so whatever! I'll do what I want! And what I want is to name this one The Geiszler Extemporizer. The Geiszler Depolarizer? Or is that too long? It's kind of a mouthful... I guess naming it something that ends in E-R is pretty boring, though. Maybe I'm boring, too. Damn, I don't wanna be boring... Ooooh, I think I'm having heart palpations. Or hot flashes? I really need to get some air conditioning installed in this place. How am I so poor and underequipped in every job after MIT? You'd think saving the world would get me a hell of a lot more money; mo' money, less problems, ha! Ha.... Mmmrrr.

[He quiets for a moment, then another moment, and then his head slouches forward to rest on his chest. There's a quiet buzzing of dead noise and a soft snore before he he startles back awake, gripping the soldering tool more firmly in his hand.]

Whoa!

[He sniffs, rubbing his eye.

Looks left. Looks right.

Squints at the equivalent of a flashing red video light in his vision.]

... Was I recording?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Sure, she's still licking her wounds but with high pain tolerance that shot might as well have been a mosquito bite. Her pride is more wounded than her body. Still... Newt never fails to disappoint. She could drown in all that manic energy, mixed with a little schnapps.]

Christ almighty, trigger finger. Have you ever heard of quaaludes?

Who needs quaaludes when you've got totally over the counter patches?

[He tries to sound humorous about it, but... he's talking to someone who had drew one of the shorter straws last mission, running into him and his brain aliens. Sooo... he may be a touch sheepish when he speaks up.]

[No one is team laugh the pain away harder than Harley so she lets it slide if just because the whole situation is still mind-boggling even with the spark notes. It's too much to break down and too soon to try and make sense of it.]

Sure you do. What about the parts where you're not supposed to operate heavy machinery because the extended-release targeted sitch the patches got don't seem to be hitting their mark.

... A soldering gun isn't heavy machinery.

[The weakest defense ever, and his voice reflects as much.]

I just don't have a lot of time to worry about the mark.

I'll take your word for it.

[Awkward.]

My guess is that you didn't mean to broadcast your brief lapse in sanity. Hardly a big deal. The most brilliant people aren't what most people would consider "normal," anyway.

Need any help with your new weapon of mass dysfunction? The only thing I love more than a good time is BIG guns.

... Good guess.

[He sags petulantly into his chair.]

Hate to say, but there's no big guns here. Just some disarming tools.

Those collars, they gotta go. And I know I can make tons of equipment to do just that.

Don't pout, Einstein. Only the best people are all kinds of crazy.

You had me at these collars, they got to go. I know when to take the lead and when to follow instructions and maybe I can bring a different perspective to the situation!

Got room for one more? We can save the big guns for next time.

I don't pout! [... he pouts.]

... I guess a helping hand wouldn't be so bad.

You know where my shop is?

You absolutely do. You look like a cocker spaniel somebody forgot to feed.

Well, I've got two! You're the boss Mr. Science just tell me where to be and what to do. Fair?

Hey, sounds fair to me.

I just wasn't sure if you, uhhhh.

Wanted to keep working with the guy that attacked you. Is all.

You think you're the first guy to try and shoot me? Don't think so. It's just one more reason to keep my eye on you.

Besides... you look like you could use someone to distract all of whatever that was.

[He huffs a laugh, looking — maybe a little relieved?]

What, you mean the talking to myself for long extended periods of time?

Seems totally sane to me.

Yeah. Sure.

What's sane to some is a symptom of severe generalized anxiety to others.

How about that company, low-rent Tesla? I'm sure on this ship you could do a whole lot worse than me.

Edited 2022-08-26 02:48 (UTC)

... A little company wouldn't be so bad.

[He grins.]

Hey, I'll even give you one of my caffeine patches, free of charge!

Video; un: newt | a day or two before the Big Mission Log

video; tw: drug reference

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;

video;