MM: taking Cal on the Baba Yaga

[aimedforthemoon]

Outside, it is raining. Hard. Not impossible to walk through, but the kind of weather where you'd get drenched within a couple of minutes unless you had the right clothes. They are obviously in a city, and a major one at that; although Cormond is built on the salt-flats, overpopulation has meant that people build up, and given one side of the street has no buildings, there is a wide view of the rest of the city. It looks not unlike an Earth city, at least from a distance.

The buildings themselves are built in a style that is both functional and stark at the same time as being organic, and there is a science-fiction feel thanks to the airspeeders and the aliens (some rather obviously alien) mixed in with the humans.

"The port is just at the other end of the street," Esfir explains as they stand under the eaves.

Comments

[isaysimplewords]

The rain is making it a little pointless to stare. The visibility isn't much to speak of.

"Nice planet." It's cheerful sarcasm. Cal's enthusiasm is - um. Undampened. (Sorry.)

[aimedforthemoon]

(it happens to the best)

"It's been raining the entire time I've been here," she says, rolling her eyes before walking out into the rain.

Walking quickly - she does have a baby, after all, and no desire for him to get sick.

[isaysimplewords]

Cal hunches his shoulders up and ducks his head a little, putting one hand up to shield his eyes from some of the rain, and follows.

[aimedforthemoon]

She leads him to a honeycombed complex at the end of the street, somewhat similar to the port seen in A New Hope. A bit busier, though. Some of the sliding doors are open, showing various kinds of spacecraft, and some are shut. The door Esfir stops at is shut, and she rapidly keys in a code to open it.

Beyond the door is an open area, and her (rather wet and dripping) ship.

[isaysimplewords]

Cal is allowed to stare at the ship, right? Because the ship is awesome. Even in the rain. Maybe especially in the rain. Rain tends to make some things look more impressive.

"Nice ship!" This time, there is not a trace of sarcasm to be found.

[aimedforthemoon]

Esfir grins at him.

"She cost a bit, but she's worth it."

[isaysimplewords]

"Of course she was. She's gorgeous."

It's just as well that no one is close enough to hear them through the downpour - such a remark would give Cal away as an outsider faster than all the staring in the world.

[aimedforthemoon]

Still smiling broadly (the Baba Yaga was her baby long before Antony was even an idea), she starts forward.

"I'll show you inside - just follow me."

Up the ramp and she keys in another code to open the door. Inside is a corridor curving away from them, the floor polished and walls...

Well, it's a spaceship. Spaceships don't really have smooth walls, unless they are the really big ones.

[isaysimplewords]

Cal follows accordingly.

And then, Cal is in a spaceship.

This is, clearly, the best thing that has ever happened. Cal doesn't have the relationship with flying that Esfir has, but there are some things that he has always been, and will always be, an enthusiastic eight-year-old boy about.

On the list: Spaceships.

[aimedforthemoon]

Giggling at his expression, she moves them to the left. A meter and a half of corridor leads into a large room that serves as a kitchen, living room and, yes, storage. But given the whole ship can be used as storage, the last point isn't the main one. The furniture is of the kind that is either built into the walls and floor, or been screwed in.

Unbottoning her coat, Esfir dumps it over a chair and sets Antony down on the table. The middle of the table.

[isaysimplewords]

Cal, still looking around, peels off his jacket. It looks like it does little more than just look good, and it is indeed drenched, but it is also Barmade. And, being Barmade, it is warm and waterproof and Cal emerges from it completely dry where it was covering him.

He slings it over a chair, following Esfir's lead. "Nice place you've got here."

The narrative feels strongly that the adverb "cheerfully" may be assumed from now on unless otherwise specified.

[aimedforthemoon]

"You haven't seen the rest of it yet," she points out before turning to her son. Hands on hips, she eyes him.

"Are you going to let me give Cal a tour or do you want to be fed?"

Given Antony just gnaws on his toy and blinks at her, the question goes unanswered.

"I'll chance it."

[isaysimplewords]

"So, what, you've got the one decent-looking room and the rest is a trash heap?" Cal teases. "Yeah, that sounds just like you."

Somehow - call him crazy - he doubts very much that that is the case.

[aimedforthemoon]

Picking up Antony and settling him back on her hip, she looks up at Cal.

"...Well, no," she concedes. "Oke, grand tour this way. And that," she says with a gesture of her head towards a sliding door before they leave the room, "is the refresher. Bathroom. Now," she steps through the open hallway back to the main corridor, which winds itself around a central point, "there is a storage hold here." Not that interesting, given she walks by.

"And here," wide, open door-way, "is the engineering bay."

[isaysimplewords]

Cal takes note of the bathroom. Spaceship or not, some things are just important.

He pauses in the doorway of the engineering bay. He has watched far more scifi than he realizes, mostly while under the influence, and as it turns out, what gets shown on the screen is nothing in comparison to the experience of really looking into an engineering bay.

He'll just be speechless for a moment.

[aimedforthemoon]

It's okay, Esfir can entertain herself with the baby while Cal gets his brain together.

[isaysimplewords]

"This," Cal says eventually, and with deep sincerity, "is really great."

[aimedforthemoon]

What do you say to that?

"Da. Just, ignore the spanner marks."

Not that Esfir would ever hit her spaceship when it starts mucking up or not working, oh no.





Right, moving on.

"This," other side of the corridor, "is one of the circuitry boards, then another storage hold," back on the outer wall of the corridor, "another ramp, another entrance to the main hold ahead, and," she stops at what appears to be a cross between very narrow and steep steps, and a ladder on the central wall, "is the way I get into the cockpit."

[isaysimplewords]

Percussive maintenance is something everyone can understand. Even Cal.

He peers up the - ladderstepthing. "The important part," he observes, mostly for the sake of having something to say. He's still a bit overwhelmed.

[aimedforthemoon]

"One of them, at least. I'll show you that when we leave. First, I have to fed Venyaminevitch here and put him down."

[isaysimplewords]

Wh - oh. Yes. Cal nods. Baby comes first.

"Okay," he says.

(In the future, Cal will know all about the patronymic naming system in Russia. Antony is probably why. Maybe it even starts with today.)

[aimedforthemoon]

"You can look around if you want," she says, pausing on her way into the main hold. "Or....come with me. I don't mind. Just, don't touch anything."

Or she'll take one of the spanners to him.

[isaysimplewords]

"I won't."

Cal sticks his hands in his pockets by way of proof. He will do his best not to break Esfir's ship.

"I'm gonna look around a little."

[aimedforthemoon]

"Have fun," and with that, she is back into the main hold to sort out her son. Fed, change, put him in his baby capsule in the bedroom (which is off the main hold anyway) and turn on the quiet instrumental music to help block the sound of the engines firing up.

That done, she walks out to find Cal.

[isaysimplewords]

Cal is in the engineering bay, studying the equipment. That he doesn't have a damn clue what any of it does in no way diminishes his interest - in fact, it might actually be more interesting this way.