"That'd be the ship," he says, breathing out a laugh. Of course it was; the Rocinante, the best home he's ever known. Space, only incidental to the ship and the crew in it.
But maybe that's always the way. He's sure there are people who love the sea, but it has to go hand in hand with the vessel, the people, you're there with. As for the second thing to come to mind, though,
"It's beautiful," is what he says, "in a way that's overwhelming. If you can picture the night sky, but everywhere around you, you'll start to get an idea of what it's like. And huge; you can travel through the big empty for months before getting anywhere. You have to get along with your crew, because they're the only people you'll see until you get to harbor."
Every aspect of what he's describing is well-understood. If they were not speaking of space, he would sound like any sailor Derrica has ever met. He would sound like her. Had she not said something nearly identical to Matthias, once?
"What is your ship like?"
A question asked while she considers Naomi and Amos again, wonders who else might be traveling with them. How big is his crew? But Derrica doesn't want to invoke Naomi, so leaves the question aside.
And it's not exactly a hardship, drawing a description out of him. She doubts the kind of ship he's talking about looks anything like hers. Something built for the air instead of the sea would have an entirely different look, perhaps entirely beyond her comprehension, but she'd still like to hear Holden speak of it.
He lets himself take his time, describing the Rocinante.
Derrica makes for a good audience; and as long as she still seems interested, he walks her though the basics of a ship designed for traveling in the void, as best he can in lay terms. He describes her ops deck, the weapons systems, the med bay, the galley and its coffeemaker, the cabins optimized for safety in high-g maneuvers, the need for mag boots to keep them from just floating away in microgravity. It's hard to say how good a job he really does of making the description comprehensible — and overlap of naval terms works in his favor — but he tries; and there's no question of how much he loves it, even nearly a year removed from having set foot aboard the vessel.
Some of it is simply difficult to envision, though Holden is very thorough in his description. And it's kind of him, to take such care with how he relays the information, careful about inherently fantastic concepts.
She listens until he winds into silence, happy to listen apart from a question or two.
"It's not the same, is it? With the ships here?"
A little rueful. Derrica knows it could never be. Maybe not even necessarily because of the mode of travel so much as they aren't his own. Could any of them rival the Rocinante? Holden described that ship so lovingly, it's hard to believe there was a possibility of some other vessel measuring up.
Of course nothing could ever be the Roci — even back home, he never had an exit strategy, never had a plan for another job or another ship in case any of their myriad of problems caught up with them. The Roci was it for him, was home. Though he adds, with a glance to Derrica,
"I've started thinking I should spend some time learning more about the ships here too. It's good information to have."
A good skillset too, truthfully. Flint had a point that the war wouldn't always be overland.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
But maybe that's always the way. He's sure there are people who love the sea, but it has to go hand in hand with the vessel, the people, you're there with. As for the second thing to come to mind, though,
"It's beautiful," is what he says, "in a way that's overwhelming. If you can picture the night sky, but everywhere around you, you'll start to get an idea of what it's like. And huge; you can travel through the big empty for months before getting anywhere. You have to get along with your crew, because they're the only people you'll see until you get to harbor."
no subject
"What is your ship like?"
A question asked while she considers Naomi and Amos again, wonders who else might be traveling with them. How big is his crew? But Derrica doesn't want to invoke Naomi, so leaves the question aside.
And it's not exactly a hardship, drawing a description out of him. She doubts the kind of ship he's talking about looks anything like hers. Something built for the air instead of the sea would have an entirely different look, perhaps entirely beyond her comprehension, but she'd still like to hear Holden speak of it.
no subject
Derrica makes for a good audience; and as long as she still seems interested, he walks her though the basics of a ship designed for traveling in the void, as best he can in lay terms. He describes her ops deck, the weapons systems, the med bay, the galley and its coffeemaker, the cabins optimized for safety in high-g maneuvers, the need for mag boots to keep them from just floating away in microgravity. It's hard to say how good a job he really does of making the description comprehensible — and overlap of naval terms works in his favor — but he tries; and there's no question of how much he loves it, even nearly a year removed from having set foot aboard the vessel.
no subject
She listens until he winds into silence, happy to listen apart from a question or two.
"It's not the same, is it? With the ships here?"
A little rueful. Derrica knows it could never be. Maybe not even necessarily because of the mode of travel so much as they aren't his own. Could any of them rival the Rocinante? Holden described that ship so lovingly, it's hard to believe there was a possibility of some other vessel measuring up.
no subject
Of course nothing could ever be the Roci — even back home, he never had an exit strategy, never had a plan for another job or another ship in case any of their myriad of problems caught up with them. The Roci was it for him, was home. Though he adds, with a glance to Derrica,
"I've started thinking I should spend some time learning more about the ships here too. It's good information to have."
A good skillset too, truthfully. Flint had a point that the war wouldn't always be overland.