The Deep

The First Morning

The hardest thing about living on the ocean floor is dealing with sleep. The BRASS-2 is located so far down that light doesn't reach it, making sleep difficult without monitoring. The station uses an artificial day-night cycle by using lights in and out of the station every morning. But for everyone, the first morning is the hardest.

     "Good morning, Doctor Woods."

     "Mmm"

     The lights turn on outside the station and the room lights up on a groggy, tired Kate.

     "Mmm-morning Atlas... time?" she asks as slowly her messy bedhead emerges slowly from under the sheets.

     "It is 7:30 AM."

     Kate rolls her way over to the side of the bed and slowly sits up rubbing the sleep from her eyes. As she looks around her dark, empty room all she can muster is an exhausted sigh. She finally stands up and lumbers to the washroom. She starts combing her hair until it's not everywhere, then she grabs a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush.

     *knock knock* The door scares her shooting toothpaste everywhere.

     "Shit" Kate sighs, throwing the toothbrush and paste into the sink then walks to the door.

     Kate opens the door to see Marcus, "Good morn-wow... I see night one got the best of you."

     Kate is slumped in the door half asleep wearing a black DSR t-shirt with a toothpaste stain and a pair of green shorts with rips in them.

     "I can come back later? I just came to connect your console to the Infirmary so you can monitor things from here... also made you a coffee."

     Kate rips the cup from his hand, "mm thank you... come in and do whatever."

     Marcus walks in and kisses Kate before she waddles back into the washroom.

     "I'll never understand how you're able to wake up so early, get dressed, and right to work so chipper. Especially down here."

     Marcus walks to the window and pries the metal panel off, "When you work as many early start jobs as I have, you just fall into a routine." He says chuckling as he plugs Betty's drive into the wall.

     "Okay Betty, access the cameras and download the data from the Infirmary."

     Within seconds Betty's voice comes on through the room, "Accessing files now. Also Good morning Kate, looking lovely today" Betty says as she pops up on the window display in the bathroom scaring Kate.

     She screams, "Holy shit!" as she jumps behind the shower curtains.

     "Betty, out! Sorry about that, she's still bad with boundaries." Marcus yells as Betty pops up on the room windows distorted and green.

     "Wow, that's not good?" Marcus says, fixing his glasses and looking back into the panel.

     "It's okay!.. My Atlas does the same thing, honestly, Betty's a lot less unsettling!" She screams over the loud shower.

     "Yeah.. that's another plus to Betty... At least she listens!"

     Marcus walks to the door, pops the room tablet, and begins checking the code logs.

     "Hey, did you use the window display at all?!" He yells into the washroom with his back to the wall.

     "No, I dropped like a rock once I got in last night!"

     "Your display is bugging, How's it in there?!" Marcus yells to Kate as she shuts off the shower.

     "It might be a bit warmer if you joined me!"