milliways_bar | (no subject)

Salarians, as a species, sleep roughly one hour out of every twenty-eight. Most of them do it all at a time. Professor Solus? Not so much. Too much to do, too much to see. Ten-minute naps stolen here and there add up rather nicely. They allow for greater flexibility of scheduling, too. Sometimes the wee small hours of the whatever-it-is-that-passes-for-morning in deep space are the only time you're likely to get a good crack at the weapons testing area of the-

"Would appreciate some warning next time," says Mordin to the Bar in general, shaking his head in annoyance. "Could've been carrying Cain prototype. Wouldn't want that."

Since the Bar does not of course answer, Mordin merely trots over to one of the tables and sets down the two massive hard-shell cases he's carrying. The slenderer of the two remains closed. The bigger one, now, that one he cracks open. He wants to make absolutely sure that the prototype inside is in good condition and feeling cooperative before he takes it anywhere that someone with the appropriate skills can work it for him.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Ako is giving Mordin plenty of room when she stops. That's a gun that looks serious. Best not to startle someone with a weapon like that.

"Hello Solus-sensei. Were you going out to the range here?"

"Actually, no. Was going to the range on board the Normandy," Mordin says. "Found myself here by mistake. Will make use of the place, of course, but not where I intended to be."

Ako nods. "You're still traveling then?"

It makes some sense. It's not like real life gets a montage or a tag at the bottom that says, 'Three weeks later.'

"Big galaxy. Bigger threat," Mordin says. "Takes a lot of preparation. Hoping we come to a point of readiness soon. How about yourself?"

"Still stuck here," says Ako, "I hope things work out about the threat."

Mordin nods. "Appreciated," he says. "Will relay the good wishes to Commander Shepard. How long have you been here now?"

"Not quite two months, more or less," says Ako, "It doesn't seem that long, but the calendar says so."

And it's not like it changes when she'll get back home as far as the other side of her door is concerned anyway.

"Hope you're keeping busy. Couldn't imagine being confined somewhere without engaging in projects," Mordin says. "Never was good at idling."

"I have a few things, mostly languages and horse riding. Well, one of the other patrons has offered to teach me how to handle guns," says Ako, "I'm not really sure about that though."

Mordin cocks his head curiously at that. "Oh? Particular reason? Lack of perceived need, I would imagine. Possibly cultural barriers as well?"

"More the second, Solus-sensei," says Ako, "There are a lot of barriers to having guns at home and it's not something I've had a lot of exposure to. They make me nervous."

"Understandable. Wouldn't recommend possession of a weapon for anyone not completely willing to use it," says Mordin. "Hesitation at critical moments- never ends well."

"Yes, that's sort of what I was thinking," says Ako, "But there are an awful lot of things that can go badly and I can see how knowing how to use one could be important, especially if I go to visit someone's world and it's more dangerous than I'm used to."

Divided Ako is divided.

Mordin nods. "True. Important to remember, though. Knowing how to use weapons not same as being able to use them."

"Um, what exactly do you mean, Solus-sensei?" asks Ako, "I'm guessing you mean more than just the difference between learning from a book and practicing something."

"Significant difference between shooting at targets and shooting at living being," says Mordin. "Even after practicing on targets shaped like sentient beings, still much more difficult to pull trigger when actual living person in your sights. Training on range one thing, but shooting another of own species-" He shakes his head. "Even when under direct attack, act of shooting another person for first time much more difficult than one might think. Hard to pull trigger, at first."

"Oh."

"That's... That's probably a good thing in general. Hurting people should be hard," says Ako, "I hadn't though about shooting people at all actually, just things like dangerous animals."

"Also difficult. Although more because moving targets harder than stationary ones," says Mordin. "And animals usually smaller. But that goes without saying."

Ako sighs.

"I suppose if things were easy to figure out then nobody would notice them," she says, "Maybe I'll have a decision made the next time I see her."

"Her being proposed teacher?"

Ako nods. "Corazon-san. Her world had a big nuclear war in the past and it's only just really starting to rebuild."

And it'll keep starting to rebuild until it really takes or there's no one left to try. That's the beauty of beginnings.

Mordin nods. "In that case, take all the time you need. Not pressing issue. No urgency. Best considered at length before deciding, even if you change your mind later."

"I'll do that Solous-sensei. Thank-you."

[OOC: Wrap for this one if you want? It's not like we don't have other threads going on.]