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[heyboss]

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[heyboss]

"Unless you count skimming the first pages to find out what they're about, no. Not yet. But I did want to know why you chose these particular ones," he admits. "Need a little context about where they fit in with what we talked about because, honestly, my head was spinning a little, so I might need a refresher. You were a gunner in the Alliance. You are very good at it. And there are antimatter weapons that can destroy planets."

[reargunner]

He huffs out a sigh. It isn't as if he planned on going into that much more detail when he picked those books out or anything, and now here he is having to explain his choices.

"They can destroy ships. Dunno about entire planets. Probably fuck one up real good if you had enough antimatter."

Shrug. He fiddles with the handle of his mug.

"The antimatter book's for that. Quantum physics explains how everything works. The other one is just 'cause you looked like you thought space ships were cool."

[heyboss]

He looks mock offended. "And you don't think spaceships are...cool?" He asks. "I feel like a grandpa using your slang. I hope you realize that."

[reargunner]

"I think some of them are. But it isn't as if they're new to me."

He thinks the Reliant is insanely cool, but that's a special one. Aside from being top of the range in Alliance tech, it's his and Abel's ship.

"And I don't know, Lester, that sounds like a you problem. You dont look that old."

C'mon gramps, get hip with the kids.

[heyboss]

"I'm thirty six," he laughs. "Maybe thirty seven if we count aging here."

But he leans back, drinking his tea happily. "Which ones are the cool ones?"

[reargunner]

"Twenty-two." He offers in return. So, not that much older in terms of years but when it comes to other things... Sheehan probably has a step up on him in a lot of ways.

Then he shrugs a bit.

"But that depends on your preference. I like the smaller ones. Maybe you'd like the battleships though."

[heyboss]

He shrugs. "Why do you like the smaller ones? Are they faster? I like fast cars - is that the same?"

[reargunner]

"I guess? Can't find a close enough picture of the Reliant - mine and Abel's starfighter - but... yeah, I guess."

He just shakes his head with a faint smile. Cain is definitely not used to casually talking about his own interests like this.

"Blyat, you weren't kidding when you said you had questions."

[heyboss]

He spreads out his hands. "Too much? You can ask anything of me, but I guarantee my life is not as interesting."

[reargunner]

Another shrug.

"Not too much. Just not something I'm used to."

He pauses to sip the tea, belatedly realising that statement carries more weight in its meaning than he intended it to. A faint frown pinches between his brows.

"Don't worry about it. Ask what you want. I'll tell you if I don't want to answer."

[heyboss]

"I appreciate that," he tells him. "What - sort of topics don't you like talking about? Let's start there. Establish a baseline."

[reargunner]

The young man's nose scrunches slightly.

"What are you, some kind of shrink?"

[heyboss]

Sheehan just stares at him a moment, then smiles. "I did mention I worked at an asylum, and that I was a doctor. And I know I talk like one."

[reargunner]

Cain's expressions shift through a few clearly visible emotions one after the other. First he looks a little annoyed, then his brow furrows, and then it shifts to looking briefly perturbed before he sits back in his seat.

"Not looking for a shrink. Just to make that clear."

[heyboss]

"Don't worry," he assures him. "I'm not looking for a new patient. I see several people here and I don't sit and have tea casually with them. Or talk about star ships. I'm a professional, thank you very much. I keep my lives separate."

[reargunner]

He studies Sheehan closely for a few moments, as if he's trying to catch the man in a lie. There are any number of reasons a shrink might decide to approach him in a public place after all and not all of them are so innocuous as just seeing someone sitting by themselves.

But it isn't as if the fact was kept hidden. Cain hadn't asked.

"'kay." He seems to relent, letting the issue go. "Like I said, I'll tell you if you cross a line."

[heyboss]

"That makes it so much easier to converse," he smiles. "So - back to the original question. What topics are off the table?"

[reargunner]

Cain just looks at him for a few moments, silent, then repeats himself again.

"If you cross a line, I'll tell you."

Guy seems decent, but like hell Cain is supplying anyone with a laundry list of topics that will set him off. That's just asking for trouble.

[heyboss]

He holds up a hand. "I got it," he assures him with an apologetic nod. "So you said you grew up on Mars. What was that like? What sort of - infrastructure was there?"

[reargunner]

"Infrastructure? God, you really are a nerd."

He rubs a hand over his face for a moment and shifts to get more comfortable.

"What was it like compared to what? It just was. It was cold, wasn't much to do, especially for kids. Most work is labour jobs if you don't join the Alliance. My sister got married and got out of there, and I don't fucking blame her."

[heyboss]

"Sounds like a rough place to grow up in. But I also was wondering about what it looked like? Did you live on the ground, how did you get around...that sort of thing," he explains. He doesn't want to dive too deeply into that right now. Just nice and simple. Easy.

[reargunner]

"Wasn't rough. Just fuckin' boring. Most of the time."

To the more pampered people of Earth and even those better off in the more developed colonies, it might have seemed a hard place to live. Cain wouldn't say it was easy, but he'd been all right. Happy, even. Until he wasn't.

"But yeah, we lived on the ground. Most vehicles were terrestrial, unless you'd managed to find something to fix up. The houses were... grey, kinda semi-prefab shit, you know? Like they'd set up intending to move somewhere else and then never did." Shrug. He lifts his cup to take a sip and lets the rim rest against his lower lip for a moment.

"But I went to school, hung out with my friends, my mom's great. It wasn't bad."

[heyboss]

He nods. "I lived a pretty privileged life. So - sometimes it shows."

Sheehan's family had lived in New York. He had an apartment, a nanny, and his father was an absolute asshole. He had money to go to school, to date, to give away as much as he wanted. He could have dodged the draft if he really wanted to, but there was no way he wouldn't give his life for his country.

He regretted it when he came back, but not for the reasons he thought he might.

"Do you still see your mom?" he wonders idly. Sheehan hasn't seen his own in years.

[reargunner]

There's a subtle pinch in his expression when Sheehan asks him that.

"Not for a while, but it's hardly been my choice."

A year in the Alliance plus the years in prison? Maybe she'd tried to come and see him, he's not sure. He doesn't know if he would have wanted her to if she had.

"But I'll be seeing her soon. Can bet on that."

[heyboss]

He smiles as he looks down to his cup, realizing that it's empty. He stands up, talking over his shoulder as he walks to the kitchen. "I bet she'll be happy to see you. What's she like?" he wonders, rinsing out his cup and bringing back a glass of water for himself.