6261/Stranger Tides - A Day With June

Stranger Tides - A Day With June
Date of Scene:	23 January 2019
Location:	California coast
Synopsis:	Aspen and June chat while working on marine research
Cast of Characters:	Fathom, June Connor
Tinyplot:	Stranger Tides

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Fathom has posed:
There's a lot to do getting ready before the boat can set out of the first time. For the programmers, there is getting familiar with the computers and the equipment. A lot of the sensors they will be using, Aspen already has software for working with. But a few can use updates and there are a few new sensors that will be put on the cables they will tow behind the vessel as well. There are servers on shore, and also on the ship. The ship uploads the data via satellite, but it's a tremendous amount of data and so can take awhile. For now, they are all working on the boat together, a chance to get to know one another and start to work as a team.

They've been at it for awhile when Aspen comes in from the galley, carrying a plate of sandwiches. If anyone expressed dietary preferences they are accounted for. "Lunch time," Aspen says, setting the plate down. She gets herself a turkey and swiss sandwich, moving over to lean against one of the counters to eat it. "So June, how much have you been out on boats before?" she asks.

June Connor has posed:
    June is scowling at one of the lines of code. "Who the fuck uses a protocol like this when using .Net?" she mutters to herself. "I swear, people go to four years of college and they don't know shit." Now that she's settled in, the piercing in her lip and nose are returned, along with several more on her ears. She wears a charcoal tank top with a sports bra underneath it, though she doesn't have much to conceal. She glances up belatedly from the laptop. "Huh?" she asks, looking at the sandwich. "Oh. Um, not much," she admits. "Went to see the Statue of Liberty on a school trip when I was in like third grade, dunno if that counts." It really is an unexplored territory for her. "I'm guessing you been doin' this awhile, huh?"

Fathom has posed:
Aspen is wearing shorts and a tank top that leave her arms and midriff bare. She's almost always been dressed fairly casually from what June has seen so far. A silver necklace is about Aspen's neck. A round silver medallion hangs from it. Crossed by sinuous line, there are smaller circles in the center, one just above the line, the other just below, like a moon on the sea and its reflection.

"Probably me. I know just enough programming to be dangerous. Which is why you and Katherine are here," Aspen says. "Or, will be here once Katherine arrives. Should be soon." Aspen takes another bite of her sandwich. "I'll load up on motion sickness medication. I'd suggest you take it from the start whether you think you'll need it or not, and then you can back off it if you feel line. Staying really well hydrated is a big help too." There's another thing that might be noticed about Aspen. Drinks a tremendous amount of water. Probably contributes to the healthy glow her tanned skin has. "So, any family, husband, anything that will be missing you during the stretches you're at sea with us?" Aspen asks.

June Connor has posed:
    June pauses, a realization that she just insulted the boss crossing her face. "Oh. Sorry." She doesn't blush, she just...stops talking for a second. She grabs the sandwich. "So, thanks for the sandwich." She takes a bite from the bread, and shrugs, giving a brief scratch to her shoulder. It has a black tattoo of a footprint. The other shoulder has a winding dragon tattoo that disappears into her shirt and bra line. "Husband? Hell no. I'd feel bad for the poor sap that tries to marry me. Got a boyfriend, needy as hell, he'll probably text me a couple-twenty times a day. You?"

Fathom has posed:
It doesn't seem like Aspen was offended by the comment about the programming. The woman's soft violet eyes give a wave as if to sweep the matter away. "I've no doubt there's plenty of my code that needs cleaning up. You're welcome to it. And if you have tips on things I keep doing wrong, I'm open to hearing them," Aspen says.

She takes another bite of her sandwich, washing it down with a sip of beer. Oh yes, there were beers with the sandwiches too. "Nope, no husband. No boyfriend. Just a series of mistakes in the past," she says with a chuckle. Which also makes her think of something. "Oh, but if you see someone commenting any code with Leet speak, that won't have been me. That would be one of the aforementioned mistakes. Jack."

June Connor has posed:
    "Damn straight, sound judgment is for pussies," June dismisses, taking another bite that is probably too large, and talking around it. "Sho wh th oshun," she mumbles around the food, then swallows. "I mean, you just like water or somethin'? I don't get why somebody would find it interesting to go study water currents." Of course, given that's the entire purpose of this, maybe she wasn't the best choice. "I mean, I'll do it no prob, but you do it because you like it, right?"

Fathom has posed:
Aspen is taking smaller bites, making it easier for her to be understood. Though she seems to understand June fine enough. "Yeah, have lived on the shore my whole life. Or as much of it as I know. Some people are drawn to animals, or cars or... computers. For me it's swimming, surfing, boating. Diving. LOVE diving," Aspen shares.

She takes another sip of her beer. "There's just something about being out on the water. Feeling it hold you, rocking you. Hopefully gently, but not always. I do find learning about ocean currents fascinating. There's such complexity to something that seems so simple. Though primarily I'm a marine biologist. Animal propulsion in particular. There are a few better people for ocean current studies, but the Paradise Found is the right boat to collect the data which is why they came to me, I'm sure. Well, that and I think the CEO liked that I was helping those beached whales."

June Connor has posed:
    "Ahh, well, that's cool, at least you're doin' something with your life." She shrugs. "I just kinda do whatever. Probably why I got my own trail of mistakes. Seem to have a habit of getting tattoos to remind me of them too, which I should probably stop. But hey, I guess it beats being bored." She glances at the beer. "Say, where those at?" she asks. Of course, she's 20 years old, so not of legal drinking age yet.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen doesn't seem to mind if June isn't 21. Nor if she has a beer or two on the job. Though if she reaches the point it would seem to be impairing her work, Aspen would call a halt. Also Aspen would be sensitive to her leaving if intoxicated, especially to drive, should that happen.

Aspen goes and gets June a beer, setting it down on her desk by the computer. "I was going to ask about the tattoos," Aspen asks. She doesn't appear to have any. If she does, they must be somewhere rather personal, as the woman's casual clothing shows off more skin than is hidden. "An interesting mix," Aspen says, glancing at some of them that are fully visible.

June Connor has posed:
    June winces, "Yeah, a few really bad decisions, nearly got me killed. A few times actually. Still might, you never know." She shrugs, as if that's not important. "Let's just say if you meet someone else with these tattoos, you should probably stay clear of them. They ain't good people." She takes the beer, popping the top with one finger and picking it up to take a chug as if it was water.

Fathom has posed:
Aspen looks surprised at hearing that. "Well, glad that you got away from them," Aspen shares. "I didn't have any situations that bad, thankfully," she says. Aspen takes another bite of her sandwich and then walks over to look out one of the windows. There's a fishing boat beside the Paradise Found on one side. And two very nice yachts in the berths past that one.

"They have some wild parties over there sometimes," Aspen says, of the two yachts. "One boat or the other, sometimes both. The owners know each other. If they ask you aboard, well, they are good folks and all, but their parties can get a little intense. I've only been once or twice. Got hit on a lot."

June Connor has posed:
    June arches a brow, and glances over at the yacht. "They're rich, right?" she asks, a rather shameless implication. "I mean, I'm not above a sugar daddy," she says with a mock frown. She takes another drink of the beer, and clicks on another line of code, then expands it. She eyes it as if challenging the text to a duel, and then clicks in the middle of it, replacing a piece of it with something new. "I guess if you got money though, it's not as much a thing, huh?"

Fathom has posed:
Aspen motions towards the boats. "The closest one, he's like 50. But he wouldn't let that stop him with you, I don't think. I don't think he's seen a woman that he'd stop with," she says, chuckling. "The other boat, Tom is his name, he's like 35. Has a girlfriend last I heard. Attractive. Him I mean. Well, her too actually. Anyway, yes they are both reasonably well off."

Aspen doesn't comment on if she's got money. She does have a boat, and a small little beach place. Though there isn't much about her that suggests spending a lot of money, other than maybe the coast of the boat itself. "So are you one of those dedicated programmers I knew in college who could spend a couple of weeks at the computer? If not, consider if you want to bring anything with you on the trip. There's always swimming, if we're not underway, or fishing. But if you want to load up a harddrive with movies or something, now is the time to be doing it. Any hobbies you pass the time with?"

June Connor has posed:
    June shrugs, "Old guys are easy to get money out of. 'specially if they are pervs," she comments, as if she has experience in the field. "Nah, I gotta get up and move. One day, assuming that I make it to be old, I won't be able to do stuff, I can sit all day at a computer then. Haven't been fishing since I was twelve, never on the ocean, I hear it's a bit different than at a lake." She ponders the hobby question. "I mean, my boyfriend wants me to game with him all the time, I don't tell him I only really like gaming when it's too shit outside to do anything else. He's actually a pro, get's paid and shit. I do weird far east shit, martial arts and stuff, so if I'm doing some kind of meditation thing, don't worry about it. Just part of the routine, I'll be good in a few minutes. But swimming...I mean, I guess I should probably be better at it. I just dogpaddle like a chump."

Fathom has posed:
Aspen will have already gone over safety briefings with the crew, so a lot will have been covered about safety gear, flotation devices, etc. THankfully they should mostly be in warm waters, so survival suits aren't so much a need. "Oh, nice. I never really got into anything like that, the martial arts I mean. Spent most of my free time swimming," Aspen comments. "We can do some fishing while we're underway, it's definitely not like bobber fishing. Throw a line in and see if anything will chase it and strike. Then just try to haul it in. Some fresh fish to augment our diet won't be a bad thing. And I make decent fish tacos. Depending on who you ask."

June Connor has posed:
    "Yeah, you were like in the olympics," June says, taking a final bite of the sandwich. "I googled you." Of course, that means she probably read the story, but she doesn't mention that part. "Dunnow how you are supposed to pull in one of those big swordfish, I guess you just have a machine do it for you, huh?"

Fathom has posed:
Aspen usually knows better than to bring up swimming. Though given the topic it just sort of had slipped out. Oof. Just like a small poke to the stomach, the reminder, even if June handled it quite well really. Aspen's eyes drop to her sandwich, waiting for the inevitable question. That's usually it, either a question or a comment, but it's almost always one or the other. When neither comes, Aspen glances back up, the soft violet eyes looking over to June as the subject is changed.

"You have to tire them out. Let them swim, then when they tire you pull them to create slack and reel it fast. Pull and reel. Soon as they start fighting against you let up so you don't put too much tension on the line. It's tougher to do when we're underway though, a fish like that, since the boat's speed is extra tension on the line. Other fish though we can land without having to slow or stop the boat."

June Connor has posed:
    June nods, listening. Her mind seems elsewhere. "Yeah, been a while since I went fishing, but I guess it's kinda the same idea." Now it seems that she's the one who wants to change the subject, so she does, back to what it was a moment earlier. "You like it?" She asks, then clarifies. "The olympics I mean. Don't think I'd want that many people watchin' me. In a swimsuit to boot." She pats her chest, "But I ain't got much to show, so..." she laughs.

Fathom has posed:
"Yeah, I did. For awhile it was the best experience of my life," Aspen says quietly. She, on the other hand, has quite a bit to show. Which no doubt contributed to the extreme popularity that resulted, leading up to the news of the failed blood doping test. "I never really worried about the cameras. I mean, you're nervous, it's the race you've dreamed of all of your life. But during the race itself, and on the starting block, all the other stuff was a million miles from my mind," Aspen says quietly.

June Connor has posed:
    June nods. "Pretty impressive. Better than anything I ever did." She still doesn't bring up the doping. "Spent my whole life stayin' out of the spotlight, sometimes more literally than others." She laughs. "But hey, I am gonna try to get this done, that way maybe I can flirt some money out of that rich old guy before we leave."

Fathom has posed:
Aspen lets out a laugh and says, "Well, I'm not sure if it would be a good idea for me to encourage you. Seems like another tattoo waiting to happen. But I'll introduce you if we get the chance. Though he'll probably just call out to you if he sees you, at that." Aspen finishes her sandwich and takes a last swallow of the beer. "Right. I need to replace the hydraulic line on that boom," she says. "Time to get back to work." Aspen gives June's shoulder a friendly squeeze as she passes, heading out onto the deck to work out there for awhile.