Chapter 58. Discussing movies
"She's beautiful," Celia finally said, and she certainly caught Ingmar's gaze.
Ingmar looked at her. "That's subjective," he muttered. "I think she's obviously too fat."
"That's for sure," she replied tartly. "Of course she's not your cup of tea. That's good, too, since you don't have to talk to everyone."
"Taste?" he repeated slowly.
"I think her face is beautiful," Celia continued. She wasn't going to give up easily. "And she's very nice."
"How do you know? Do you know her?" Ingmar asked.
"She came up to me shortly before we left. You may remember our onboarding. We had a chat at that point. And we laughed a lot in the chat."
Ingmar looked at Shu Ran again. "But you look at her closely. She almost needs two chairs. And when she talks, no, she talks with her whole body. She's almost jumping up and down in the chair. It's so embarrassing."
"Don't exaggerate," Celia scolded him. "She doesn't need two chairs. She's probably a little plump, yes. Maybe a little overweight from a medical standpoint. But it looks pretty good on her. She makes up for it with her height and the proportions are right. And She exudes a vibrant energy that you certainly don’t know. It’s definitely not something to be embarrassed about!”
Ingmar rolled his eyes. He gave in. Celia always defended others. This is her personality. She was compassionate, so she chose to be a doctor. But he didn't want to get into an argument today. There was still some confusion in his mind. He kept looking at Shu Ran, worried that he would have embarrassing dreams about cameras tonight.
The first few days of downtime are mostly used to resettle and reconnect with old friendships. During your stay on Earth, some connections may be briefly interrupted. Everyone is busy visiting family or meeting old friends. The relationships formed on board the ship may not necessarily carry over into private life. It’s not that they don’t get along well with each other, or that they just have to be together. Rather, it's because there can be so many encounters on board. There is no possibility of escape here. You also can't expand your social circle. It's always the same people, seeing each other every day. But vacation time is used for other things. As a result, some crew members have not seen each other in almost a year. There is a lot to communicate. Of course, there have been some changes among the crew. People who are no longer on board for various reasons. Here you can make a good guess as to the reason behind it. There are also new crew members, who will of course be put to the test immediately.
Therefore, the first few days are very lively, whether in the bars, leisure areas or sports facilities. If it weren't for those places, most of the crew would probably still be unpacking. The hasty departure meant that no one had yet fully settled in. To avoid clutter in the crew's cabin, a storage room is used to store unopened boxes, and everyone has the right to take away his own box at the appropriate time.
Because of this busyness, most of the crew didn't even notice that Republic paused for a few hours mid-flight to Mars. Jeffrey was teleported back to the ship without much fuss. Only Tiny, the transport technician, as well as Captain Noah and Commander Carol were present to welcome the Martian back to the ship. Jeffrey's personal belongings were very modest. Apart from a few civilian clothes, he brought only his traditional meditation candle.
In this way, the crew was finally assembled. This stop could have been completed in half an hour. However, as Republic's computers are still receiving the latest Mars Academy research results, the planned stay must go ahead as scheduled.
To Noah, this stay seemed like an eternity, especially since he had nothing to do here and was more interested in knowing what awaited them at the destination of their journey. When they were finally able to set off, he felt like precious time had been wasted.
They still had five days before their journey's destination. Sufficient to adapt to Republic's work rhythm. The spacecraft is divided into four shifts a day. Six hours per shift is enough for continuous concentrated duty. This concentration is necessary, after all, they are in space. The smallest mistake or oversight can mean not only your own death, but the death of everyone.
However, working four shifts does not mean that you can leave after working six hours. There are many reports and records that need to be completed, so processing may take an additional two hours or more per shift, especially if unusual circumstances arise that may require more time.
However, there's no commuting time on board a spaceship, so there's still quite a bit of time for leisure. Ingmar once described this. "There are many ways to spend your free time on Earth, but there's never enough time. On a spaceship it's the opposite. We have more time but not much to do."
Still, no one on board will be bored. Limited entertainment at least ensured that the crew spent their leisure time together. This enhances collective awareness and allows each other to better understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses so that they can better complement each other.
So when Tiny finished work, she went to the gym and spent half an hour on the treadmill. No one else was present except for a woman with her back to her who was using another treadmill. This is perfect for Tiny, who enjoys training alone.
As she stepped onto the second treadmill, another woman noticed her and turned her head. Tiny recognized her as the new ship's psychiatrist. "Hello, Ms. Mi Zhiwa," she greeted.
"Hello, Ms. Tiny," the psychiatrist called back. She was a little out of breath and seemed to have been here for a while. There were a few drops of sweat on her forehead.
While adjusting the settings of the treadmill, Tini looked at Mi Zhiwa from top to bottom with squinting eyes. The psychiatrist has beautiful dark hair that is held in place with bobby pins to prevent it from obstructing her vision while running. Her tight-fitting tracksuit accentuated her slender figure. Her breasts were smaller than Tiny's, but her hips were firmer. At least that's what Tiny thought. Her slender legs looked well-trained, and she obviously ran a lot. And her belly was flatter, which made Tiny feel a little envious. But such thoughts are probably shared by every woman looking at another beautiful woman.
Slowly, Tiny started running, then gradually increased her speed. "How are you getting on on the boat?" she eventually struck up a conversation.
"I'm adapting," Mi Zhiwa replied breathlessly. "Although everyone is very friendly to me, I still find it a bit difficult. There are so many strangers here. I don't know anyone here."
Tiny nodded, thinking back to her first time on the ship. In hindsight, she doesn't think it was that difficult. But she didn't join as an official crew member at the time either. She came here in search of her unknown father. She was so filled with rage against him that she had little awareness of her surroundings. She had accused him of so many things. One of them is why he just left like that, never caring about her or her mother. He abandoned her so much. She was furious with him but never thought to ask him what he thought. It was only later that it became clear that her mother had left him, and that he knew nothing of Tiny's existence because her mother had kept it hidden from him. In fact, she should have blamed her mother, but her mother was long dead. Eventually, the misunderstanding was resolved and she seemed to have become a member of the crew.
In addition, Tiny had long been accustomed to living alone, and the initial time on the ship was not much different from before. Mi Zhiwa seems to come from a protected family. So of course she found it particularly difficult at first.
"Everything's going to be okay," Tiny finally said. "Give yourself more time. After all, we have just set off." Mi Zhiwa nodded, although she didn't look very confident.
In silence, they continued training. Tiny found the situation a bit ironic. She actually wanted to encourage the new psychologist. Shouldn't it be the other way around?
Finally, Mi Zhiwa slowly ended her training, picked up the towel, and buried her face in it for a few seconds. Her breathing was rapid. When she looked up again, she could see her face was red from running. "I'm leaving first." She pointed to the shower area.
Tiny nodded. When Mi Zhiwa left, Tini turned around and shouted, "If you want, we can have dinner together in the restaurant tomorrow night."
"Okay, see you at seven o'clock tomorrow night?" Mi Zhiwa answered.
"Okay, see you then." Tini continued running during the brief exchange. Now she regrets extending the invitation. Not because she didn't want to eat with the psychologist, but because she now had severe flank pain due to incorrect breathing.
Ingmar walked listlessly across the cabin to the dining room. Tonight he will have dinner with his colleagues, the first time they have done so. And this idea was proposed by Shu Ran. He would hate her for that reason alone. It's not that he doesn't like his colleagues, but this is the case tonight? In fact, he would rather have dinner with Anna. She was the woman who boarded the shuttle with him. Yet it took him four full days to find her and learn her name. She works in a medical research laboratory. Apparently she didn't resent this, because when he asked her if she wanted to spend an evening with him, she immediately said yes. Now he had to wait until tomorrow night. This made him very angry.
Just as he was approaching the restaurant, he almost collided with Tini. She walked across a crosswalk, followed by Mi Zhiwa. Ingemar felt very uneasy about her because he always felt that she could read his mind. Of course, he knew she couldn't do it. But she's a trained psychologist, so she can tell more by his facial expressions and gestures. So when Ingmar greeted them, he quickly put on his friendliest expression.
"Are you going to the restaurant too?" Tiny asked, even though it was actually pretty self-explanatory. Apparently she just didn't want to walk the few meters to the door in silence.
"Yes," Ingmar nodded. "We're having a work dinner."
"Sounds exciting." Tiny said with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.
"I can't wait either." Ingemar replied slowly.
As they approached the door, the two halves slid open silently. The layout of the room has not changed, the only change is that the lights have been replaced, and now the light is more natural. Most of the paintings on the walls are new, as most of the previous paintings were damaged or destroyed during the battle with the demonic flames.
"Well, Mr. Ingmar, I wish you a pleasant dinner." Tini said goodbye, and then found a table with Mi Zhiwa.
"Thanks," Ingmar simply muttered. He had spotted his colleagues and found them all already there. Well, what else could he do now? He had no choice but to have as much fun as possible with it. And he already has a date scheduled for tomorrow, so he can look forward to it. He greeted the others friendly and sat down.
"You're here," Shu Ran said with a smile. "We thought you weren't coming."
Ingmar looked at the clock hanging on the wall. He was only ten minutes late, no big deal. "There was a bit of traffic, so I wasn't as punctual as I thought I would be," he explained dryly.
At first, everyone stared at him in confusion, then Shu Ran laughed in her unique way, and everyone else laughed too. "Well you're lucky, at least your car started," she continued.
Ingmar was confused for a moment. Normally, everyone ignores his comments. So he took a moment to adjust before replying, "No, my car didn't pick up, so I had to walk back. Now I'm very hungry."
"Then you should eat something light, otherwise it will be very hard to go back." She remained serious, but the corners of her mouth twitched slightly. Ingmar laughed too.
"You can take me home."
"How could I do something like that? Maybe you even invite me for a cup of coffee."
That will never happen. He didn't want to go into this topic any further. "Then I'll take your suggestion of a light meal. What can you recommend?"
She picked up the menu. "Let's see. I think a salad would be appropriate. Here we have it, the Chef's Salad, with fresh vegetables."
"Are you serious? How can you rely on those green leaves to restore your strength? Food with more calories would be better."
"meat?"
"Yes, there should be meat. Are there any fresh worms?" Larvae are a Klingon specialty, a bug-like creature from the Klingons' home planet that is eaten alive. Shu Ran frowned after hearing this. Ingmar obviously wanted to provoke her with these words. However, she was not amused.
"Well, let me sum it up," she said. "So you crave fresh meat, but not fresh vegetables."
Others at the table started grinning. Ingemar also tried to remain serious, but the corners of his mouth slowly rose.
"If you say so..." he managed.
Shu Ran looked at the people sitting around the table, a little confused. She didn't realize what she had just said until she saw their smiling faces. "Oh...I..." she started, then stopped. A blush came to her cheeks. She had heard that Ingemar was a master of love. So she was a little embarrassed because she didn't mean to describe him that way, even though she meant it to mean something completely different.
They ordered food and the conversation was about work, the Republic, and the mission. Ingmar remained silent because he felt that these topics were discussed enough during working hours. In his spare time, he prefers to talk about other things. The conversation stalled for a while during the meal, only to pick up again later.
"Do you think we'll find anything exciting at the end of our journey?" Kallis asked Ingmar directly.
He was visibly startled and didn't know what to say. His mind had already wandered to his plans for tomorrow night, so he knew nothing about the conversation.
"Who knows where the destination is?" Shu Ran asked everyone present. No one except senior military officers knew the exact destination. Both Starfleet and Captain Noah believe that without definite confirmation, measurements of time particles will only cause unnecessary commotion. Therefore, the true mission objectives are unknown.
"Nobody knows the destination. But I talked to Ivanv, who is the second officer. He said the destination is with the Sindi," Kallis said, sounding almost conspiratorial.
"Sindy tribe?" Paulner smiled and said, "Do you really believe in Santa Claus?"
"Something big must have happened," Kallis continued, ignoring Paulner's rebuttal.
"I don't think anything will happen," Paulner dismissed nonchalantly.
"Leonardo DiCaprio thought so too. And then the iceberg appeared," Ingmar muttered, a little too loudly.
"Who?" Paulner looked at him as if he heard a strange language.
"That was an actor who was active in the millennium," Shu Ran explained to everyone's surprise. "Mr. Ingmar is referring here to the numerous filming of the Titanic disaster."
"You know this movie?" Ingmar became attentive.
"Of course I do. One movie won eleven Oscars." Shu Ran said pretending to be relaxed. However, most people today are not familiar with the old movies. The film industry was hit hard by new, better media and storytelling. Then World War III broke out. After that, people had other worries. After going through hard times and rebuilding periods, the film industry is no longer what it once was. The quantity and quality of new movies has declined. Contact with aliens and their leisure activities is more fascinating than the retold stories told in movies. Today, entertainment happens almost exclusively in holograms. If the rumors are true, you can even participate in the performance of holographic stories in the future. If you want to watch an old movie today, you have to know where to get it.
Facts have proved that Shu Ran is a real connoisseur. She recognized every movie Ingmar mentioned. So they start talking about their favorite movies and can recreate the entire conversation together. Initially, it was interesting to the others, but eventually they lost interest and said goodbye. Ingemar and Shu Ran stayed to continue talking.
"Casablanca", Ingmar said a key word, and he was sure that this time she was cornered.
"Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. Of course. Hey, kid, this is the beginning of a new era." Shu Ran quoted one of the lines.
"Hahaha...", Ingmar responded. "That's a common mistake. There's never a line like that in the entire movie."
"Of course," she retorted confidently.
"The actual line in the movie is: Look at me, kid."
She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "You're kidding me."
He looked at her honestly and said, "I would never dare do that."
She smiled. "No, absolutely not." She took a sip of the wine in her glass and continued, "By the way, my name is Shu Ran."
"Dre Ingmar." He accepted her title and clinked glasses with her.
Shu Ran finally asked, "Is there a movie you don't know about?"
He looked at her with mock concentration. "No, I know everything." Then he shook his head. "Just kidding, who could possibly know all the movies? That's impossible. There were movies produced in almost every old country, which is not a lot. No one can know all the movies, not even a lifetime is enough. Unless you are a Vulcan. But I know a lot of movies. It's a shame the art has disappeared. I also like some of the newer interactive stories, but in the end you always have to be involved to move the story along. In the past, you could sit back and let the story affect you, And then just being entertained. Now you can only experience that in theaters."
"Maybe we should build a movie theater on the spaceship," Shu Ran joked.
"Don't put that into my head," Ingmar responded.
The banter continued until Ingmar realized that it was already late at night. His work will begin at six in the morning. Time flies. On the way to the elevator, Shu Ran made him promise to prove his "Casablanca" movie line to her. Of course, Ingmar agreed, and soon a few days later he had a guest in his room. He just hoped no one found out. He didn't like the idea of someone spreading rumors about him and Shu Ran. After all, he has a reputation. Moreover, Shu Ran was not his type, even though she was friendly.
