FourtyTwo

Backdrifts (Space Survival RP)

(This is a long post, it throws us into the action. I will be quite liberal with where you are placed in regards to it- though keep in mind, Viktor doesn't have a thruster pack, and neither does Makato. Post order if you wish, it's not mandatory.) Ellie watched them all come, one by one, as they got kitted up. They were all knowing of what this was. A walk into the nether. The outside was a vacuum, so cold and filled with radiation, that it would ruin you if you didn't wear a spacesuit, and no doubt, simultaneously boil and freeze your blood. It was something she'd never seen. But she'd take the word for it, because it was quiet. Just silent. Just somewhat strange, almost crazy. But it was what she did. Looking around, she looked over to Viktor, as he kitted up. "Good to see you all. Just so we're all clear, I know you've practiced on Earth, gone through the simulator and the water tanks. I know Neil and Viktor should be fine, but do not decide to do anything crazy, King. You follow my instruction, and nothing happens. You should know automatically what you're doing. Neil could rant on, but just so you know, I've never had any critical issues, and I don't want any today. So you keep careful, and stick to us well." Ellie said, as she looked over, watching as they all suited up, the process long but needing. It was a lot of kit, and very complicated. But this was what kept you alive. It wasn't velcro, or zips. No, they would fail. It was a knot and effecively, a corkscrew mechanism that kept you alive. As rudimental as it sounded, the latter was so strong, it would probably need enough force to rip your body apart to take you to pieces. And that was always something that Ellie considered- they were based on very good technology, and were fundamentally, very effective. "Okay, when you're set, helmets on, get the oxygen flowing. I'll ping you on radio, give a thumbs up if you can hear." She said, adjusting her headset in the snoopy hat a little, strapped around her neck and going to her ear. Fabio was helping the others, as she put her helmet on, screwing it in as she clipped it, as securely as it could get. Hearing her own breath, she felt the oxygen supply kick a little, and her lungs feel a little different. This would take some time. "Testing, testing." Ellie simply said, aware that this was it. Another walk. Like the others she'd done. The suit felt remarkably light, almost as if she was a blimp, of some sort. Being petite naturally, it felt very strange indeed, looking down the arms and legs, through the reinforced and almost golden-tinted visor. It was a childhood dream to most. She could see it in King. To Steinhauser, this was normality. And as it was for her, she reminded herself. This was a good job, but it took a mindset of steel to suceed. And that she'd proven on many an occasion. She was good at what she did. Sitting up, she inspected the suit-mounted thruster pack, being something that was perhaps a little better for buoyoncy, rather than drifting. It would work very well in moving to inspect close up, rather than drift through, though she knew the team went with whatever worked best. Her toolkit, like it did on all the suits, sat below that pack, with the mechanisms inside being optimized for Zero-G. You couldn't lose a bolt or a screwhead- it was tethered by a specific mechanism that always kept it clipped to the case, which was always attached to the operator, namely, her. It had been an old invention, but they worked. On a scale like this, they were the easiest method, over anything more futuristic. A tablet would come in handy to just configure the panel that needed to be fixed, and perhaps make it a little easier to perform diagnostics- a tool she'd be willing to lend to Viktor. Of course, Ellie knew that a 3D Printer was always an option, if she wanted a small fabricator for this run. But for now, the airlock would be an area that Fabio could send things through, when need be. And as she breathed in slowly, the HMD kicking in on the visor, displaying her suit's status, oxygen, orientation respective to the station, as well as a few other points of interest, such as the digitally-enabled panel that they'd be working on, she looked back over. The HUD picked off the crew, and it was somewhat useful to be able to see them- though this thing didn't always work perfectly, with some of the suits. It seemed okay, for now. No matter. She waited for a response from the others, and sat tight, checking and double checking the rest of her. From the flag of Britain sitting on her left shoulder, to the thick gloved hands at her fingers. It would take a while, but once she knew the HUD pinged it up, and she'd seen Fabio check over and give the go ahead that indeed, the nitrogen had been flushed from her blood, they'd be going. It wasn't worth the risk, at least for now to have the bends, or Decompression Sickness- it would hurt your bones, and generally be confusing to deal with, something of which Ellie could say was something that you definitely didn't want in this environment. Sitting back, she waited, letting her thoughts assemble. She knew they knew precisely what was going on, and she'd brief them soon, before they headed out. ------ (OST) Sordid Affair Half an Hour Later Within the airlock, the feeling was tense, Ellie right by the door, looking through the small window that sat within it. The smell of gunpowder was something that they said you could smell, but right now, Ellie didn't feel it. More like the smell of rubber, in her suit's lining. It was strange. She turned to the others, keeping her hand on a rail close to the door. The pressure was dropping, from an interface on the wall- this place would be soon decompressed fully, and they could go. "Okay, people; the plan is simple. We've got a faulty set of solar panels on the side of the Greenhouse, and while we're at it, we're going to also tinker with a plating on the roof of the station, and re-seal it. There's another two layers below, but this skin needs to be rebound. Hence the reason we've got tools, gents. King, I want you to have minimal effort on this mission- you stay back, and stay clamped into something solid. You've got karabiners attached to the core of your suit, clip them when need be to the kink points along the side. Use minimal thrust; use only when necessary, people. You know precisely the Safety concerns. Neil will keep an eye out on us, and him, myself and Viktor will conduct the engineering work. If we need help, Jeremiah, we'll call you over. Act on my command. You look like it's your first time for real. It's a surreal feeling, trust me." She said, as she looked over, the flow of oxygen just as expected, as a slow klaxon went off. Then, it slowly felt like it was real. The door opened, the hatch opening up, as Ellie used the rail to pull herself out, almost scooting up in such a way that she kicked off nicely, drifting upwards, rather than sidewards. Direction made little sense here, but Ellie had gotten used to it. "Follow on me. Slowly." She said, calmly speaking, not sounding panicky or tense. She spoke as if she knew precisely what King was going through right now. He may have been happy, but he'd be confused, tense. And this was going to happen by the book. Moving up, she clipped in, hearing Fabio over comms. "This is Fabio, airlock is sealing. I'll watch via camera, have a good one out there." He simply said, the Italian still within engineering, as the little jutting peninsula of the Prospect Horizon sat below Ellie. She looked back, and saw the crew following, with the earth in the background. In 30 minutes, they'd almost done a full orbit. And in full view, was the Atlantic Ocean below, the whole gleaming bowl that was the Earth just a wonderful thing to see. She could see almost nine billion people through her visor. Nine, Billion. Nine billion people going about their lives. It was morning in New York and Toronto, and they were waking up, to grab their breakfast and their morning papers. Across the Atlantic, it was just lunchtime in London, and over the Home Counties of England, with the sun at Ellie's back sitting high above them. Further across, was Moscow, experiencing a bright evening, and further than that, the lakes and wastes of Siberia, which went on and on. The earth was dark further East, the other side not visible in Ellie's visor. It took her almost a moment to take into account. This was the civilization below that had done this. Pioneered why she was here. Humanity was instinctively able to develop, and whilst war was always something, it did this. A future for the race that had once confined itself to just one home. It looked out now, and this station was the start, albeit a tiny fragment. Yet Ellie knew that no matter what, just not letting it get the best of you was the best move. She moved along, unclipping, as she moved along, almost blimping it in a way, towards the next clip in point. "Okay, King, I want you to continue following me. Dylatov, Steinhauser, you move along the side, down towards the solar panel. Remember, don't drift, and since slow is smooth, smooth is steady. Calm." She said, reassuringly, as she moved up, clipping in the karabiner. She had no idea of what happened next, because even Ellie Tavistock wasn't able to comprehend it. The explosion was gut-wrenching, and could be seen first in the Greenhouse, followed by the rest of Habitation, and Logistics. It was a chain reaction, as module after module simply either disintegrated, or became blasted apart. Ellie was almost unable to comprehend it, and even her mind wasn't fast enough. She suddenly felt thrown back, the module below her rippling and knocked back severely. ----- A minute later, Ellie opened her eyes, almost screaming. She didn't know what had happened. How she was alive. If the rest were alive. She didn't want to know. But panic rushed. She breathed almost double, her heart thundering. She looked around, activating the thruster pack, the HUD picking it up. She yelled without thought, looking around. She was being pushed back. Her kink point had disintergrated, and the karabiner had been blown apart. Her suit, however, was intact. She felt nothing significant, the HUD said that whilst there was a little bit of wear on the legs, she was good to go. She was lucky to be alive, right now, and in a state like this. She looked towards blackness, and had to turn around, to see the carnage. It was gobsmacking. The thruster pack had simply stopped her drift, as she looked around, at the flying and blown apart parts of the station. "Fuck!" She yelled, as she breathed hard, aware she must have almost been hyperventilating. "Anyone, do you receive! Find something solid and hang on! Viktor hasn't got a thruster pack, if you see him, catch him!" She screamed, the HUD unable to pick anyone up. She cursed quietly, almost in tears, just knowing that couldn't happen. Calm down. She had to move up, back up to something. Engineering hadn't been blown apart, it was the largest segment that was still intact, a huge behemoth of a line-based module system that looked still vaguely intact. She only had one thing in mind. Everyone could be dead. Her fellow EVA walkers, everyone on station, everyone working on the Mars machine, everyone. She might be the only one left. Whilst fragments of habitation were left, she could see from here, that it was in pieces. She had to drift over, find someone, as the whole thing shook, moving about. She had to line up, at least somehow get in line with Engineering, see who was left. The majority of the group was behind her, maybe they'd stayed karbinered in. Or maybe they were gone too, but not backwards, yet downwards. Then they'd be dead. She had to tell herself to stop panicking. But she couldn't hold herself entirely together. The Prospect Horizon was now shrapnel in the sky, and no doubt, news outlets on earth would already have cameras pointed. About the tragedy, how 298 people are dead, and that no radio contact existed. Ellie's radio barely touched the comms of the others, and she knew it would be bad. Moving up, she grabbed the remnants of their airlock, looking around, as she moved up, scrambling inside. The station was clustered, but bits had completely vanished, or just been turned to pulp. The chain reaction seemed to only be Habitation, and the Greenhouse areas, hitting Logistics and the docked SpaceX craft. That was now out of orbit, blown to pieces, and she could see the whole structure fall to the earth.. But remarkably, the Mars machine, as Ellie and the others knew it, was still there. It looked significantly damaged, as if it had been picked apart, but remained docked to Medical and Scientific bays. It was a strange feeling, but somehow, Ellie knew she had to keep thinking of the situation. "Does anyone receive me?" Ellie cried once again on the radio, breathing hard, as she looked at her HUD, knowing precisely what it said. Four hours, seventeen minutes of oxygen remaining. Then, Ellie would suffocate. That was unavoidable. She kept thinking to herself, as she looked around, scanning her eyes meticulously for anyone that was drifting. She knew that Viktor had no thruster pack, and instantly almost panicked. He could be dead, but Jeremaiah, and Steinhauser, they did. She held on tight, the airlock completely comprimised open. Fabio's body drifted, and she almost retched, had it not been for her greater instinct telling her not to. It was a horrifying sight to see, and it wasn't just his body. Two more technicians from the far side of engineering were following the orbit of the ruined Prospect Horizon. She held herself as best as she could together, just hanging on. Ellie racked her mind for an escape route. But it was a lot to look over. If she regrouped with her team, they needed to get out, and fast. No waiting. They needed to find an escape pod, and get the survivors to the Earth- anywhere would do. Reestablish communications if need be, find oxygen, find perhaps even other survivors that could find a dated Sokol suit, or were on the Mars craft. If they were wearing their helmets and full suits at the time, Ellie guessed they could easily live, but she hadn't a clue. No less, she knew that this was perhaps the end. She had to stop saying it, but no matter what way you looked at it, they were 500km above the Earth's surface, there was a dwindling oxygen supply, and no doubt, she could at any moment have her suit punctured by flying shards of metal or paint, if it wasn't for the fact that she was now within a sheltered area by the airlock. For now, she had to watch, and if she saw anyone, Ellie knew what to do. Go to them, and get them to safety, if it was on of her EVA crew. Anyone else aboard habitation or in the Greenhouse was dead, and she was able to guarantee that, almost for certain. Escape was the only way now, and Ellie knew as good as anyone, it would take a split second for a single thing to happen, such as a secondary explosion, or flying shrapnel, and they'd be dead.

Backdrifts (Space Survival RP)

Nice. Working on it now.

R.E.S.C.U.E, Global Ops

Oh no, I don't mind that factor. It's just that sometimes you need to write more than two lines- sometimes, there's a little more than just simply a small anecdote to make, that they have a point. I would say that it adds a character to the RP, it makes it understandable to a further extent. Though of course, that's the policy, and I can't make you do it.

R.E.S.C.U.E, Global Ops

Cool. PM sent. My characters aren't the most detailed, but I am restricted time wise, and hence did the best I could. Most of it will become fleshed in post. Hate to sound like a mean bastard too, but to Kurai- make your posts longer. Please. It pains me to see it, people write quite thorough posts, you wrote two lines. It's a Casual RP- and while you're new (I've spent five years here), it's fine, but keep in mind, this is something that I've seen move an RP back. Careful. I should also advise, being quite cautious with ship insertions. Look into the incident of the USS Bainbridge for a good example. Helicopters, boats, anything can be and will be used as a distraction. Moonlight is also important, and no doubt, something to be asked- and whether our kit, eg. NOD sets would work in the aftermath of it's deployment.

R.E.S.C.U.E, Global Ops

(I prefer longer posts. Hope this is fine.) Osprey was a reserve team for this operation, and right now, Oskar Wojtkiewicz, or "Wojtek", sat in the armory, with the rest of Osprey. He stood by his F2000, wearing a navy blue T-Shirt, and a pair of brown walking trousers, a pair of hardened boots at his feet. The rest of the team was the same, give or take, apart from different shirts. From Czech, to Scot, to Bird, to Thor, they were inspecting weaponry. Wojtek knew he might get breiefed up at some point, and that if they were needed, they could be a spare diving team. He was an expert diver, and the rest of his team was capable of it- or no less, capable of airborne operations. Bird was a former Canadian Paratrooper, and CSOR Jumpmaster, usually being probably one of the most venomous jumpers that Oskar had seen. She could lecture him at length, and while she was only 24, there was a reason it was Sergeant Bird, rather than Private. She had jumped the craziest things, and no doubt, was able to fling herself into the abyss with any load, any equipment, with hardly a panic. Himself, he'd been a Lieutenant in FORMOZA, and Thor was a former Captain. He was probably Oskar's equivelent in the sea, but what always struck Oskar was how good that Thor could keep himself aloft with diving gear AND a parachute. He could land one onto the deck of an oil rig, with intense winds and pouring rain, no pressure. He could do it, but Thor's job in the MJK was basically that, and he could do it, time after time. Wheras Wojtek happened to have a short, well kept stubble, Thor's beard was pretty remakrable, considering that it was almost to that extent of a Blacksmith's. A PMC had it's advantages- no facial hair restrictions, and that was good. Czech, or Pavel, was a fellow Slav, and perhaps a little less weathered, albeit older than Bird. Only a Lance Corporal in the 601st. But he was good, and knew his shit, despite his fresh-faced look. He had seen deep reconnaissance, and could hold his own with a Minimi, as well as parachute jumps. Then there was The Scot, or Scot; who happened to literally be called Scott, to everyone's confusion. That was a real thing to explain, but he could shoot straight, and was a former SBS Corporal. Good level of experience, and a firm head. The barrel was back in the F2000, as Wojtek checked the fit, before aligning the bolt correctly. "You think we're going to get our feet wet any time soon?" Czech asked, as Wojtek laughed, looking over at Czech's Minimi, on his lap. "I wouldn't doubt it. They fucking like us." Wojtek replied, almost rough, as Thor nodded, looking at his own Colt C8. "Damn right." He simply added, as he adjusted the Magpul CTR stock on his beloved rifle, the silencer already attached, but no magazine in the weapon. "And it's the usual pirate stuff here. Low priority. They're thick in the head." Bird said, the fact that her surname and the colloquial name for a female operator was so hand in hand, it just worked. Bird never found it offensive, even if her female peers did. It was something she accepted, and she was one of the lads. In a way, while they all knew she was feminine, when it came to relying on a teammate, she was as good as any. No doubt. She fixed up her own C79 optic, adjusting the sight picture as she finally got it done, looking to Thor. "No doubt. Remember the Puntland? That raid? Fuck, that was fun. Those pirates were so fucking scared...." Thor simply said, chuckling, almost in a crazy way. "Because you put a CG through the front fucking window of a training camp, and set off that ammunition cache. That was why it was good. Free fucking firework show." Wojtek simply replied, as the group laughed, the laughter wearing off after about a few seconds ago, as Wojtek shook his head after that. "But you know there was paperwork like a fucker after that." Wojtek said, stopping for a pause before he continued. "Shit happens." He simply added, getting up, as he took his Mk23 off a work table, slowly checking over the .45 pistol, unscrewing the Osprey Silencer on the end before inspecting the grooves, and getting to work on a maintenance check, disassembling the Mk23. "If I think they're planning what I think they are, then those teams will have fun. Hostage Rescue. I remember Antov telling me earlier, vaguely about it. He was busy, going to this brief. We've had our share of action, but shit, it'd be good to join them. I prefer sweep and clear. Less civilian fallout. You kill who you kill, don't worry about some fucking news." Wojtek added to his statement, as Bird nodded, a little in disagreement. You couldn't lie, that Wojtek looked a bit grizzled about it, and Thor was almost the same. They were expendable, any civilian got in the way. They were good at getting a job done, not complications. It wasn't their forte, but come to it, Wojtek knew that HVT rescue was something they could do, and do well. They were all ex-Special Forces, after all, and for good reason. "Sure...but you got to feel for them. I get paid to not worry about them, but they're innocent." Bird simply said, as Thor looked over, finished with his C8. "And as Wojtek said, shit happens. Let's just not worry about it." Thor spoke, as Scot looked over. He'd been a little quiet, but then again, he was a Marksman. A man of few words, because perhaps bullets did more for him. Usually, Bird would be paired for him as a detachment, working as a spotter/shooter pair, with Bird using her spotting gear to look down range. But Scot knew he wasn't a sniper. He was able to shoot a marksman rifle very well, to around 1,000m with a 7.62mm round, and a 6x optic. That was what he did. Any more, he would more likely hit the moon. "True. It does. They don't pay me enough to be a reporter, anyway." Scot simply said, as Wojtek chuckled, looking around as he put the pistol back together, focussing on it yet knowing he could do this blindfolded. It was a quirky thing, but it killed time. Knowing your pistol, as it would be what would know you, he looked over to the group, scattered in the ship's small armory. "Right. If this is hostage rescue, we tool up differently. They have hostages, but I don't want us to go in non-lethal. Fuck that. We're going in hot, lead blazing. It works every time. I prefer paperwork to knowing my target breathes. I want you, Thor,to grab a M1014 for when shit goes down and we need a breacher, loaded with buckshot and beanbags, instead of your Carl Gustav. Or bad shit will happen. It's tempting, I know. Instead of your L129A1, Scot, I want you to get your MP5SD, and a set of breaching charges. Czech, you go with your CZ805, and I'll keep my regular shit. No grenades, only flash and stun, or smoke grenades if need be. We'll be likely assaulting at night, so Night-Vision Pieces, but remember, they use flashlights. So respond in kind with your own, use the AN/PEQ-15 flashlight for when you need to blind them. Reactions will be slow, no doubt. They'll be very, very weak in comparison. They'll be surprised that we'll have number, and no doubt, will panic. This is bad, unpredictable. But use it to your advantage. Kit wise, we go with night-orientated stuff. Blacks, Ops-Core helmets, no goggles. Flashbangs, Stun grenades, no explosives. We clear?" Wojtek said, in an almost half-breiefing style, as everyone nodded, busy with their weaponry. "Good. Nothing too strict here, it's an in-case they yell. No doubt they could, but if they don't, I can tell Antov we were ready to go. And that keeps our paychecks, everyone." Wojtek said, as he put his pistol back on the table, looking over to the group. (What chopper is it? I believe Osprey will ride as a attaching force from the helicopter. If it's a Mi-8 or something like that, then cool. I should state- Osprey aren't immediately on this Op, but they'll be riding along in future more. They're a weapons team- in future, they're a little more flexible than the loadouts I gave in their CS, as you saw, but they're generally quite capable as both an airdropped and underwater team.)

Backdrifts (Space Survival RP)

Good opening posts. I will get something quite lengthy as the set-up for a post, waiting on our last man- if not, then break order if need be.

R.E.S.C.U.E, Global Ops

Yep. Thinking about ever getting Lima back up, Skyth? I want to maybe wrap up that RP, go straight to Copenhagen- I'll ask Silverwind, if you're still in. Going to post. My guys are a mixed bunch, but no doubt, will be a fun team- moreover being a weapons team.

R.E.S.C.U.E, Global Ops

I REALLY need to keep working on mine. Though they'll be in, no doubt. Skythion, great to see you again! How are you?

Backdrifts (Space Survival RP)

Backdrifts (Space Survival RP)

Somewhere aboard the Prospect Horizon Engineering The Prospect Horizon, from no matter which angle you really viewed it from, was a goliath. That was an understatement, no less- to house 300 people, you needed a lot of station. And Ellie Tavistock was one of those crew, the Acting Head of Extra-Vehicular Activity floating through the Engineering department, looking over at diagnostics, and then at the Earth below. She always liked to get a view- right now, she could see the Horn of Africa, and the Red Sea as clear as day, sunrise touching their shores as she knew for them, it was a new day. She'd been up for just an hour, but she'd already eaten, and cleaned herself up as best as she could. Right now, she had a EVA to plan out, and the diagnostics she checked, was on the suits sitting to her left. She knew the crew would be over soon, but it was a simple process to plan out. It was about a four hour walk, and she'd gotten them about five hours, if the supply that they had would last them. She thought about sending out a drone, but that wouldn't do the job. This was more sensitive. It needed extended tool-work, and the drones were bad at that. Good at fitting things, but not at piecing careful components together with a combination of strength and precision. That was why she had the team she had picked. They could get more oxygen or kit from the airlock when need be- she knew that the crewman could feed it through quickly if the situation arose. But these shorter walks weren't half a surprise to Ellie, and somewhat, she knew that this would be a simple job. In terms of clothing, there was a thermal shirt and cotton longjohns aboove some thermal underwear that Ellie wore, followed by a packaged liquid-membrane that almost fitted all over, as a coolant within the spacesuit. The latest model was far more efficient than anything that had been in the past on NASA's spacesuits on the ISS- rather than taking 45 minutes to labor over, it took a third of that time, and was a snugger jacket to wear. Other factors, such as the fact that you had to wear a diaper on this run, wasn't half surprising. The usual, even. Ellie checked the last of the specs, before floating through the section, looking out the far end, at the Airlock, a snug but compressed area, then at the EVA suits. She reached above to grab a small radio device, something she knew would reach the right source. "Calling the crew for EVA #57, for the Greenhouse Work to Engineering Airlock. Get yourselves down here within the next five minutes. Thank you." She said simply, in her regular calm voice, one that was neither too antagonizing nor positive. It was calmly neutral. It was a job to Ellie, not something she carried her whole soul through. Though of course, a hidden pleasure in her was always there, when she looked out at the Sea of Aden seeing a sunrise. Putting the radio back, she drifted down, a little deeper into the bay, the crystalline white a complete difference to the black outside. She knew that it was going to take a hell of a while to get sorted- but she might as well begin. The rest would be here, as she got clad in her membrane, before piece by piece, working on her EVA suit. The flag of Albion sat on the left shoulder, with a patch of the Prospect Horizon, and her name. The suits had a distinct white and black, and were the latest generation of extra-vehicular activity spacesuits, being more tactile and easier fitting. She took the helmet off piece by piece, and slowly began to become clad up in the hefty EVA suit, a light object in Zero Gravity, but heavy back on earth. It felt strange, but this was life. Ellie knew that six years ago, she was still flying helicopters. Now she had enough experience to compete with some of the best that the world had to offer in Astronauts, and she was good at her job. Back in the UK, she'd gained a little fame, for being among the first British astronauts involved on such a project. Especially the fact she was close to clinching an important role, and was a female. Now that was a factor. But no less, she knew that it was nothing to change her mentality over. She was as much Ellie Tavistock as she liked, her husband and family liked, and probably anyone aboard the station did. Just that redhead that knew how to run a spacewalk, that was all. And she liked things the way they were. One of the men of Engineering threw himself through the gap, wearing a Italian patch on his shoulder, and having probably as neat a mustache as a man could get around here. "Fabio, good to see you. Got the crew for the walk coming over, I might need some help getting them sorted and into the suits, and you flushing us out. I've already run diagnostics on kit, I've been here for at least half an hour checking through each bit of it, and that's on top of what I know you said you did a few hours back." Ellie said, as Fabio, or better known as Fabio Lorenzo, the ESA's other contribution to EVA systems aboard this station nodded as he was looking over. The Italian was about 5"10, and had shaved short hair, with his distinct olive tone suggesting he was from south of Rome. Maybe Naples, even as far as Sicily- he was more Mediterranean than northern, yet his Italian accent wasn't something that dragged when he spoke. "Yes, I had a look for you, seems all good. I saw you're taking Dyatlov and King out, you sure they're cut for this?" He asked, as Ellie squrimed a little, still finding it a little tricky to fit in, as she adjusted her shortly-kept red hair, before bringing a hairnet out, with a white cotton snoopy hat going over, which left only her face and neck visible on her haid. She tucked herself in deeper into the suit, exhaling hard as she looked to him, the suit's helmet by her side at her sitting position. The fact that she could do this alone was pretty remarkable- usually, it took a lot of time and effort, but the way these had been made meant it was far easier to fit in. She had a knack- others, not so much, but she wanted Fabio to look over. He wasn't ultimately who she reported to, but Ellie knew that you respected the person who was flushing you out into the vaccum of space, especially with a team like this. "They'll be fine. Dyatlov is just a little panicky, not as confident on walks as he could be. Russians don't usually have a knack for work outside like the Americans do. He has it in him, though. Shame Rousseau couldn't come, he's a good man to have; knows every bolt like he'd set it there himself. King, now he's a Scientist. I don't like having to babysit, but he's going to be there so I'll make sure that if we have an extra hand, we use it." She said, as she slid deeper in, checking the suit's arms and hands, the thick gloved hand responding to her reflex, as she fully dropped inside. Ellie knew that in a moment, she would be beyond the point of no return. The oxygenation process would begin, and her suit was hooked up into the supply, a tank in a panel across from the rack, that piped pure O2 through into the suit. It went in and the resultant CO2 was piped immediately back out- though this was merely an arrangement that got the user's breathing up to scratch. Namely, it meant that simular to how a diver would have the bends when nitrogen bubbles form in their blood, that Ellie didn't have them. And it almost felt like time, as she knew that once the others were over, the long half hour process would begin. People like Neil would be more than useful- he'd be able to sort the others out if Fabio was busy, and keep an eye on them. "I heard good things of those Virgin Galatic workers. Probably won't see them, but I think a handful of their group got put out on electronics on the Mars machine." She said, as Fabio had a look over the connector of her suit's chest and legs, helping secure up the bits that Ellie couldn't, as he got back up and checked over King's gear. "Maybe. But you stay safe out there, Ellie. Always makes me wonder why you wanted this. I don't go out half as much as you do. You have a certain confidence with it." He said, as she chuckled, Fabio shaking his head somewhat at the thought. "And it's why I'm Acting Station chief on spacewalks, Fabio." "Yeah, but that's because Commander Ivanovich isn't about right now..." "Say what you like, he's ill too. Fucking people catching a flu up here. They sent him back, I still can't believe that." She added, as Fabio nodded his head silently, still looking over Jeremiah's spacesuit, followed by Neil's. Ellie leaned back, feeling somewhat thoughtful, thinking. It was time like this you thought. About your husband, about family. She hadn't seen Ben in a while. And while she knew things were strained with him, he was happy for her. He was happy he had a wife that did what she loved, and while Ben was just merely an Engineer who worked in civilian aviation, they got along so well. She chatted to him whenever she found the time, and while it wasn't the same as being in person, this was a long distance relationship that was still afloat. Long distance, meaning, it was literally hundreds of kilometers out of his world. Maybe she would give this up. Hand in notice when she returned from this. Retire, just become a housewife. Something normal. Not some astronaut, living what Ellie once had considered a fantasy. She said to herself she'd join the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy, and that was her life, as a helicopter pilot. And yet this fantasy was so real. It was strange, but it was only a glimmer in Ellie's mind, as she exhaled, looking around at the suiting area. Right now, Ellie waited, knowing that when they arrived, they knew the drill. She'd briefed them earlier, and told them precisely what was happening, and how. She wanted no problems, and knew that any last moment things, she could get across whilst they were getting their suits on, and their helmets. Then it would truly begin, and they'd be no longer able to just run back to this. Their blood would be purged of nitrogen bubbles, and they'd be getting used to breathing pure oxygen for the next few hours. It wasn't anything that different, but it had a different taste, almost like Gunpowder. Ellie sat on, looking over as Fabio floated above, configuring the diagnostics of the compartment's 3D Printer, as Ellie checked the internals of the suit's electronics. The HUD would function, as would the heating, coolant and the suit's oxygen, and sealing system. Good. She knew hers was good to go, as she stayed strapped down, fully kitted up, bar for her helmet. It would be time soon enough, to get going.