Home (complete)

Ulrich wandered the halls of the Hyperion. He'd only had to wake up once in his life - well, more, but he couldn't remember those three or so years before his cryogenic sleep had begun - and he decided that the sleep wasn't worth the waking up. His head was spinning. All awakened colonists were supposed to report to the medical staff upon awakening, but he'd woken up only a few hours ago. He wasn't ready to talk to peope. He wasn't ready for them to be crowding him, looking at him, poking, prodding, examining him. With his vision unable to focus and his head throbbing between his eyes, he knew he should - he really knew he should - but he was uneasy. He wanted to walk. Walking would clear his head, right? It was supposed to.

To be honest, the brewer didn't know where he was on the ship. He'd been stumbling around for about two hours. He was finding his footing much better now, and his steps were steady, finding the weight of his broad shoulders and strong chest much easier to bear now. He'd been disoriented by himself for a while. It was weird to not be sleeping - to actually feel like a living, walking, breathing, talking human being. He hadn't actually gotten to the talking part yet. He hadn't found anyone else in his wandering. Granted, he could've just done what the medics said and gone to the bay for an awakening checkup, but he'd reasoned with himself that this was essentially the same. They were going to see if his body was working; he was getting a firsthand experience.

Other than the creaking of the ship and its inner workings, it was pretty quiet on the Hyperion. Granted, Ulrich was very focused on the roar of blood through his ears and the sound of the air rushing past with every long stride he took, but still, it seemed pretty silent. He knew it was late, but he figure since he'd been asleep for 18 years he didn't really need the extra 8 hours as of yet. It was night, and it was supposed to be time for sleeping, but he was just getting started with his life. He had a lot to learn about himself before he was ready to start talking to and getting to know others. Maybe they felt the same, or else they'd have come looking for him by now... right? Someone must know he's awake.

The 21 year old man let out a sigh, brushing his hand through his newly shorn hair; it had been fairly long, so he'd just grabbed some broken glass and given himself a haircut. They'd probably have a hair stylist to fix it up later. This place seemed to have everything. Come to think of it, Ulrich wasn't sure where he was, and he supposed if they had everything, he should know what part of everything he was in. He approached a double-wide doorway; above it in shimmering letters read the word "GYMNASIUM". Ulrich knew what that was. It was... Well, he knew what it was, even if he wasn't sure how to describe it. What he did know was that maybe this was his solution to being unable and unwilling to sleep. Maybe if he put all his energy into something else other than walking, he'd have no energy to stay up wandering.

The man pulled the door open and beheld a pretty general sight; it was about what he'd expected. There were some weight-lifting devices and a few treadmills, all pretty standard, top-of-the-line he was sure. Up above on a higher level was a track. To the sides were rooms, the windows black. Off to one side was a pool, probably. He took his first few steps into the gymnasium, then hesitated. If there was someone else in here, he wasn't sure he wanted to face another human yet. Regardless, he knew he'd have to eventually, and besides, it was late. Whoever was up - if anyone was up - was probably just trying to get tired like he was. That decided, he continued walking, occasionally pausing to run his hand over some equipment, but not long enough to keep him from exploring.

Ulrich heard a sound, however, and ducked to the shadows. Light flooded out from one of the doors, and Ulrich's heart skipped a beat. A person walked out - not just any person, but a woman, dressed in white (Is that what a swimsuit looks like?). Barely dressed, really. The suit clung to her body and accentuated her curves, showed her legs, her shoulders, arms... She looked beautiful. Her long brown hair flitted behind her as she made her way towards the pool - Ulrich hadn't even noticed that it was opening, distracted as he was by her presence. Suddenly he wanted to talk to her. To see her up close. To know her name. He wanted to know her.

Ulrich stood slowly and moved a little closer, hesitantly, still clinging to the shadows, scared that he would frighten her, and also scared that maybe he was hallucinating. Maybe he'd gotten a bad concussion in the crash? He didn't know. But he wanted to meet her. He was less than 30 feet away when she jumped into the pool, and Ulrich felt a shiver go over his skin as he marveled at her obvious skill. He moved a little faster while she was under, coming up to a pillar near the pool to watch her with his glimmering olive green eyes. She came up with her back turned to him, and she seemed so... happy. He wasn't even sure how to say hello. He was worried he'd ruin what she was feeling. I want to feel it too.

Without thinking about it, Ulrich stripped himself of his morphsuit - still wearing the same nanotechnology briefs that he'd been wearing under them so he wasn't entirely naked, though he didn't yet understand the shame of it - and stepped towards the edge of the pool before looking down into the water. For the love of Pete, please tell me I know how to swim or this is going to make a horrible first impression. Though not nearly as skilled with swimming as the lady was, he took a nice dive into the water. He opened his eyes as soon as he went under, felt himself sinking, felt himself happy. He drifted to the bottom and looked up, around, for the girl. His stomach skimmed the bottom of the pool and he shifted to place his feet upon the bottom and kick off. He shot out of the surface and shook his head of the hair, then looked for the girl, his first awakened smile on his face.

It had gone as well as Ulrich had hoped. He knew immediately as he was sinking that he wasn't going to be nearly as good of a swimmer as she was, but fortunately it seemed that he had been programmed with the swimming skill, so at least he wouldn't drown while trying to meet this beautiful woman before him. The basic premise of swimming was there - hold your breath, kick your legs, paddle with your arms - so there was no threat of dying. Just a potential for embarrassment. He'd just have to not try to prove his skill when obviously her prowess surpassed his. He was content letting her be superior at this. They'd all just woken up; they were going to be different people. Besides, it was general knowledge that people were more agreeable when they were winning.

When the man rose to the surface, he was immediately faced with the girl, and there was some emotion with which Ulrich wasn't quite familiar on her face. Likely, she was a bit scared or surprised by his sudden appearance. He hadn't exactly given her a buzz on the intercom saying he was headed in for a nice relaxing swim. He'd joined her without so much as a hello, let alone introduced himself and asked for permission. He understood when he saw her eyes flicker to the exit behind him, but he figured a smile, a genuinely kind gesture, would relax her. He couldn't blame her for being intimidated. After all, he was bigger than her. No amount of swimming skill could have saved her from someone so much heavier. Thankfully for her he was too intrigued to even consider something like that.

She had spaced herself from him slightly as he popped out of the water like a cork, but his smile did as he had expected, and she seemed to relax, her water-treading losing a bit of its urgency. He wasn't a threat. He just wanted to say hi to this gorgeous creature. "Hello." Ah, such a simple little greeting, yet Ulrich felt his heart beat a bit faster just at the sound of her voice. She had looked quite angelic in her white suit as she'd dived so easily into the water, and the echoing in the pool room also had a heavenly tone to it. Ulrich's smile widened at the thought.

He didn't have much time to entertain the thought, though - if he was dead, which he could very well be, he didn't want to waste time thinking about being dead - as she searched his face. He wondered what she could be searching for, but she made it quite clear. She didn't know his name. Rather, she didn't know who he was. Period. Ulrich, also treading water, replied in a calm, rumbling voice, "Ulrich Hundhausen." He half smirked as he added, "Alcohol professional." That being said, he took in a deep breath and swam underwater towards her, coming up in front of her and beginning to circle her, saying as he stroked through the water, "And you must be an angel. I'd know a face like that anywhere."

Ulrich Hundhausen was quite pleased with his job, honestly. He knew exactly what it entailed, and knew well that some may disagree. However, it was clearly understood by the programmers and the cultivists of the Titan Project that alcoholic drinks were a fairly large part of society and had a large social element tied into them. People could relax, create some feeling of fellowship over a nice cool glass of scotch. They could get loose and wild and stop having to worry for a few hours. Due to the situation that the colonists now found themselves in, Ulrich was quite confident that his services would be useful. At the very least, he'd certainly enjoy them.

Turned out that the woman wasn't very impressed by his occupational title, which, well, was a little disappointing, but again he knew some people wouldn't appreciate it. He wondered what drove her away from it; she wasn't openly disdainful, but he could see the slight shift in her face. At the very least she didn't care. Other alternatives were that she was programmed to just dislike alcohol, or she was religiously opposed to alcohol, or... Maybe her job made alcohol a non-option. He wanted to ask, but first he had to get to know her. He really should know her name. That was when he made his advance toward her.

He came up, and as he did she turned, and she continued to turn, watching him closely and intently. He wasn't picking up on the panicked feeling she was letting off - despite getting into the cool water, he was still a bit disoriented from waking up. It was certainly getting better, but he wasn't in the clearest state of mind. He felt a little drugged, honestly. Or drunk. His circling wasn't intentionally predatory. He merely wanted to be near her, maybe play in the water (splash or tag or marco-polo or something to that affect). He hardly noticed when her eyes kept darting to the exit, and he didn't even realize that his comment about her being an angel had startled and intimidated her.

It wasn't until the terrified woman murmured "I don't want to die" and disappeared suddenly into the pool that Ulrich realized his mistake. He didn't entirely understand what had caused such panic, though he did know angels were essentially dead people. It clicked that she'd taken it as a threat. "Wait, no, that's not what I meant!" he cried out, though under the water he was sure she couldn't hear. He wouldn't be able to swim as fast as her. He wasn't even sure how to handle the situation. Then a thought occurred to him. He took a huge breath, then dunked himself underwater, and as he sank further, he let out his breath. He was determined to get her to come back to him, even if it meant he got a little bit of water in his lungs in the process. He'd stay down until she came back for him.

What a crafty little trick Ulrich had comprised. He wasn't even sure how he'd thought of it so fast, or why. It could utterly terrify and scar the girl. Was this the man he was - some twisted, crafty liar? She seemed nice enough, though a little skittery. Who could blame her? What was happening to her - to all of the colonists - created decent cause for fear and paranoia. The causes of the crash were far from discovered as of yet, and with the leaders unable to figure anything out, how could anyone beneath them be at ease? He felt a bit the same - or he had, but honestly he was still so fascinated with this woman he had kind of forgotten his uneasiness. She was making things a little better for him.

Now, he was making things complicated for her. Truly, Ulrich was concerned for his conscience. What a cruel trick to play on her. Hopefully she had pretty good nerves... and hopefully she wouldn't hold a grudge on him for doing what he was doing. If she understood his situation, he doubted she would have blamed him. He was enthralled by what he saw. Someone viewing something beautiful and wonderful, something different from them, for the first time was generally unwilling to give it up. They would want to get their fill, and he had not gotten his. Surely if she were in his shoes she would understand his desire...

Now that he was under the water, waiting for her, he squinted, his eyes burning a little. He would have been wise to keep his eyes closed in the chlorinated pool, but he wanted to get as close to this new part of his world as he could without damaging her. Since he'd succeeded with the whole getting close thing, but failed to keep her as calm and cool as possible, he figured he'd just enjoy his little seat in the bottom of the pool. The water was a pretty nice temperature, in his opinion. It was certainly warmer than the cryogenic freezer, and despite knowing that he was completely encased in liquid, he felt quite free and liberated. It was much nicer than the tightness of the place he'd spent the last 18 years sleeping in. Quite refreshing, especially after having such a crappy wakeup.

As he relaxed into the water, air no longer able to flow from his lungs, he looked up; the girl had gone not long ago, but still he wondered if or when she was coming back. She had to, didn't she? No one could just leave someone drowning like this. It was possible that she hadn't even noticed, though... Maybe she hadn't even turned back when she'd fled. A few moments later, however, those fears were dismissed: He heard the loud splash, felt the shift in the water, and closed his eyes, relaxing his head back. He wanted to feel like she was really saving his life. It took but a moment and suddenly soft, warm hands were against his arm.

He couldn't help himself. He opened his eyes, if only a little, and reached his other hand to touch hers as they rested upon his bicep. He almost took a sharp breath in from the feeling of her skin on his - in fact, he did. He panicked himself, slightly, and was happy to cooperate when she tried urging him to the surface. He kicked off the bottom, going to the surface with her, and as soon as he broke the surface he took in a water-filled gasp and coughed and spluttered, water spitting out of his mouth and being emptied out of his lungs. His next few breaths were less fierce repetitions of the first, and after it felt the water was gone, he shook his head and started looking for the woman, rasping a hasty thanks before he'd even seen her.

Ulrich's faked drowning had almost turned into a real one. That showed what a brilliant plan that was. He needed to remember not to try this tactic again. Maybe next time he could just try to be a normal person and ask her name in return, since she'd clearly been threatened by what he said. His head, which had begun to clear, had gathered more fog thanks to his almost drowning. First, he'd breathed in water, and now that he'd coughed it all back up he was sucking in so much oxygen he felt overwhelmed. He was floundering a little, but it was successful floundering. At least he hadn't actually drowned. What a crap way to start off living, right?

She didn't take off again like he was half afraid she would. Instead, she asked if he was okay. He nodded a little, and then he responded in a rasping voice, "Ah, yeah, I'm fine. I just... Well, clearly I made a poor decision." He coughed again, his voice feeling weird in his rumbling throat now, irritating it slightly. He shook his head, water spraying outward, and then he looked at her; she was watching him now. He took in a deep breath and said a bit more gently, "What I said - I, well, I didn't mean an insult... I was just trying to say you're beautiful. I was just... comparing your beauty to some..." He broke off suddenly. "Actually, y'know, I'm not sure how to describe it."

He shrugged, happy that his breath had corrected itself, though he was still a bit dizzied from this pathetic display. "I suppose I just chose an incorrect comparison." He looked her in the eye, then looked away. She was already intimidated. Best not to make it worse. Still, she was beautiful. He wasn't even sure what to do. She was in the pool. He was in the pool. She'd just saved his life, and was terrified of him. Was there even an icebreaker to get past that? He kind of doubted it. He'd just have to keep talking and hope it worked out alright in the end. "Besides, I shouldn't jump to conclusions. What's your name? I mean. If you don't mind me asking now, after all this."

This could've been a major blow to Ulrich's pride. What a strange development this near-drowning had been, anyways. But, everything going on was a strange development. He was pretty sure he was too young. He felt too young, looked too young. He supposed it could've been because he didn't know what someone in their thirties was supposed to look like, but as he'd seen the woman before him and marveled at her, he knew she was younger than intended as well. He wondered if they were the only two who had suffered this. He doubted it. He was fairly certain the induced sleep couldn't work like that; if one person was too young, likely all of them were too young.

Still, they weren't exactly "too" young. They were fully functioning adults to say the least. They were capable of walking, talking, thinking, and rational instinct and decision-making that every human from teen years to their old age were expected to accomplish. Though something was wrong with them, nothing was completely wrong to the point where they were going to suffer or function incorrectly. The higher-ups were looking for what was wrong, because obviously things had not gone according to plan, but everyone would feel better once they knew exactly what was up and exactly what they had to prepare to face in the years ahead.

That was not the priority. That was the future, an unknown future, and Ulrich was more concerned with what was occurring now. He'd foolishly almost drowned, but this gorgeous lady had saved him (incidentally, doing exactly what he had intended for her to do) and now they were having a conversation which rather empowered Ulrich. Every time she blushed or looked down he felt something inside his chest - maybe feelings, that was probably what feelings felt like - that caused him a great pleasure. He was rather entertained and pleased by the fact that she was embarrassed by her reaction to his compliment. At least she understood now, though she didn't seem to know how to react to being called beautiful.

At this point, the full understanding of the definition of beautiful likely couldn't be obtained, and that wasn't her fault. One couldn't just jump from cryogenic sleep to suddenly understand every social nuance. Ulrich watched her with a calm face as she wrapped her arms around her body and murmured, "I thought you wanted to hurt me." Ulrich responded immediately, rather passionately, "I will never hurt you." It went quiet after that, and after several moments he added that he shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. She looked up at him and he felt his chest tighten around his lungs. Her eyes were amazing.

Jasmine Markus. That was her name. Even the name was pretty. She was the fitness consultant? No wonder she could swim well - and no wonder she was so incredibly fit and stunning. She blushed and dodged her gaze, and Ulrich grinned. She asked after a brief pause if swimming wasn't his strong suit, and he shrugged, replying with a chuckle, "Well, apparently not. I didn't think I was doing so bad, but hey, I guess you just kinda made me forget that I can't breathe underwater." He shrugged. "No big deal. Obviously you can swim well. You're fast."