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“Well, you can’t get into the room. I suppose you could set up a water nozzle with the solution to trigger when the door opens, though, at the right angle. If it was up in the ceiling, you could spray him down before he gets into the room.”
“How do I do that?”
The remark would soon turn into Quinn, helping him do that if he wasn’t careful.
Quinn didn’t do it for Jaden, but he showed the kid how to pop open the access hatch above Rick’s door. He suggested using a magnetic switch that would trigger when the door slid up into the ceiling, explaining what the correct depth would be for the trigger. Then, he did the math and wrote what angle to place the water nozzle at. It rested on Jaden to complete the prank, now that he had the knowledge of how to do it.
Jaden monopolized Quinn’s time for a short while and, despite his misgivings about learning, he learned quite a bit by having his help. He played with reversing the polarity of the magnets, fixing angles, and then learned with his hands by doing. By the time they were done, Rick would have bubblegum pink hair. Quinn wasn’t privy to the substance in the canister, but he’d find out if he showed up to dinner that night.
Quinn considered this to be in line with Kira’s instructions on the prank war. He left Jaden with the knowledge and the tools, and he would certainly learn the results eventually. For the moment, though, he went back to ambling around the ship.
Running into Max moments later, on his way down to hydroponics bay he invited Quinn along. Max intended on planting pumpkins that were left over from years before for the upcoming holidays. They worked in companionable silence until Max asked him, “Are you eating lunch with the Captain?”
“Maybe?” Quinn was aware of the time, always, but the reminder made him send a message up to Kira.
Half an hour later, he got a short message back, text only. ‘I don’t think I’ll be able to get away.’
Max was still in the cantine when he entered. Rick followed behind, hovering over his metal tray at the table, cutting up his meal into smaller bites. When Quinn approached, Rick asked, “Captain, get her tooth put back in?”
“Yes.”
“Good, it’s harder for them to take the second time around.” Rick commented.
Max eyed Rick curiously as he asked, “Are you going back to sparring again?”
“Back into old habits.” Rick took a bite, seemingly unphased.
“Bad habits if you aren’t using basic safety equipment.” Quinn observed not looking at Rick or Max as he ate, not realizing that this might be construed as him teasing someone again. He sounded a bit peeved as he said it. Though he felt nothing in regards to Rick, he was more annoyed with Kira. Sparring without proper precautions was definitely a very her thing to do, it was just also a very worrying thing for her to do.
“Safety equipment does not prepare you for the real world.”
Max attempted to change the subject. “Are we still running drills this afternoon?”
Rick nodded once.
“In point of fact, safety equipment is actually designed to prepare you for real-world scenarios without the risk of debilitating yourself during practice. You may be confused about its function.” Quinn informed Rick with a flat-level stare, not allowing him to move on quickly. “Would you like me to prove you wrong with a neatly compiled list of case studies on the matter? There are quite a few of them that prove that eschewing training equipment, contrary to popular belief, does little to improve the development of combat abilities in any meaningful way. However, it opens up those doing it to risk of long-term injury or death.”
Rick got under Quinn’s skin. A poor opinion with no scientific basis had already gotten the person Quinn cared about more than anything or anyone hurt. While he wouldn’t insist that they wear the gear, he sure as hell would not let them labor under the delusion that it was a good idea.
Rick laughed. It wasn’t broad or open like anyone else’s, but a deep chuckle that came from his chest. Perhaps not the reaction that Quinn looked for when he offered to give him studies. “You are a wonder, aren’t you?”
Max frowned at his laughter, opening his mouth to speak, but he was beat to it-
“She needs to take a beating and keep going,” Rick said coolly, rising with his tray. “She knows what she’s doing. If you’ve got a problem, take it up with her lovebird.”
“Rick!” Max went to follow, maybe to scold the man properly.
“While exposure to pain can build up a tolerance, there is no evidence that a person can undergo extreme trauma without going into shock. Safety equipment doesn’t remove the pain of the beating. In fact, with it, you both could go substantially longer, getting more practice at taking a beating without putting yourselves at risk. The importance of proper safety precautions during training has been witnessed and understood for thousands of years. That doesn’t stop being true because you disagree with it.” Quinn dropped into a monotone, no longer arguing with the man, simply informing him of the facts. “Kira and you are both adults. You may make your own decisions, but don’t sit there and try to argue with hard science just because you think that’s the way it should be done. You can beat yourselves senseless. Just know that scientists have proven well that there is little to no meaning in it.
“And yet you will not tell the captain this, will you?” The manic laugh Rick had exhibited earlier portrayed itself in the way he smiled then. Was it truly Kira that insisted they not use protective gear when he looked at Quinn like that?
“I’ve already made my feelings on the subject known to her. If she brings it up again, then yes, I would tell her it is a bad idea. If she tried to justify it, then I would inform her there is no scientific basis for it. Why would I...” There is a pause and he notes something as it is brought to his attention. “Ah, I see. No, I would not refrain from telling her something for fear of upsetting her and ruining my, quote-unquote, chances with her.”
Quinn returned to eating. Or perhaps he’d never really stopped.
“Good.” Rick dropped it as quickly as it started. Rick polished off his tray before asking, “You coming, Max?”
“Uh, if you’ll excuse me.” Max had other duties to attend to, but the quick back-and-forth spoke of his hesitation.
