Space Bunnies!

In Between The Lines

On Russell's first day of jail, he was given the very basic of e-readers. On this device, he could take notes of his experiences in jail aboard the station. Sorry— 'correctional program.' That's what Kori called it when he came to visit the prisoners, so far, it was him, Cameron, and Jason. What annoyed Russell the most was the strict schedule they had to follow and with very little visitation. The focus was more on the people here learning their lesson. The schedule was detailed on the tablets given to them on their first day.

Daily Routine
Morning:
- 6:30 AM - Wake-up call and roll call.
- 7:00 AM - Physical exercise and stretching.
- 8:00 AM - Hygiene and self-care time
Late Morning:
- 9:30 AM - Educational sessions and skill development workshops.
- 11:00 AM - Creative activities: art, music, or writing.
Afternoon:
- 12:30 PM - Lunchtime for those who require sustenance; non-eaters engage in social activities. This served as visitation time for the shapeshifters who do not eat.
Mid-Afternoon:
- 2:00 PM - Recreational time: indoor games, reading, etc.
- 3:30 PM - Meditation and mindfulness exercises.
Evening:
- 5:00 PM - Group therapy and emotional well-being sessions.
- 6:30 PM - Dinner for those who require sustenance; non-eaters participate in discussion groups.
Night:
- 8:00 PM - Quiet time for reflection, journaling, or personal reading.
- 9:00 PM - Lights out and rest period.

The schedule drove Russell insane. He'd been following it for just about two months. And he wasn't sure if he was going to survive. Cameron liked it of course because he loved to follow a schedule he learned that about that silly Gel-Mouse quite quickly. During his reflection periods, he would stare out a window into open space and creep the rest of the prisoners out, so Kori told him to stop. But he did not, that was the last shred of free will he had. He had to wear a shift-inhibitor for hours outside of lights out. So that meant that he was locked in the one shape, at first— he wasn't sure if he liked shapeshifting all that much, but Tommy had opened his eyes with how malleable and gooey he was through their merges. So he was quite sure his mind had been changed, he wanted to practice more. But he'd have to wait four more months. He only had one visitation day a week. So on other days, he couldn't talk to Tommy, Kipp, or even D1, and after seeing three other people everyday, one of them being his 'warden' he would've even taken D1(he and D1 weren't on good terms.) So he was back at the window. Cameron approached him with caution, his shoulders slightly slumped and his hands doing an awkward little dance as he moved slowly. "Hi there!" Cameron said, Russell cringed at his over-enthusiasm. Now that Cam knew that he was merely a pawn in Kieran's plan, and his only questionable offense was being a fake doctor, he was unusually chipper now, of course, he was still awkward and clumsy. But his smile was now more... present. Russell was the opposite, with bags under his eyes, frowning all the time. So and so. "I don't think we've ever been formally introduced... I'm Cameron but you can call me Cam." The Goo-Mouse said and Russell was unimpressed. "I think I can remember you, we were fighting for our lives on that island. Remember? Do you think I have memory loss?" Russell snipped with a wrinkled nose.

"Of course not. I was just trying to be friendly. And get to know you, since we're going to be working together." Cam stated and Russell looked horrified. "What?! What do you mean by 'working together?' Did Kori promise you a job too?" Russell asked, for the first time he moved to make eye contact with Cam, "Actually yeah... There are no other doctors aboard. So he thinks my skills outweigh my... previous charges. Of course, at first, I'll be kept under close supervision. Supervision by you! That's why I wanted to meet you. The probability of having a criminal aboard the station is negligible. Therefore, it's logical to assume most of your time will be spent keeping an eye on me." Cameron said he was disgustingly excited.

"I look forward to seeing your input on my research!" Cam's tail moved with excitement... this was the real Cam. And Russell didn't really like it. It vaguely reminded him of Tommy... cheery and optimistic, disgusting. "I think I want to make an arm sleeve that enhances an Omeocoon's ability to form blunt weapons. Since you're getting ready to be chief of security. I thought that you'd appreciate working with me on this." Russell's glare softened, he was actually interested... In the beginning, he was sure he enjoyed using blasters and rifles... but he thought that maybe his body was the best weapon of them all... he could form a mallet or a sword. And he was getting better at it. So maybe that was more his intention when he said he loved 'weapons.' "Do you have notes..?" Russell whispered. And Cam tilted his head to one end. "I'm sorry I couldn't hear you?"

"Notes! Do you have notes?!" Russell enunciated, the way he blushed made it look like he was embarrassed to be interested in Cam's work. Cam jumped, his eyes igniting with excitement. "Aww! Russell! And here I thought you were a mentally disturbed narcissist!" Russell crossed his arms and lowered his eyes. Cam whipped out his standard issue data pad and showed Russell lines of words and graphs. "Kori won't let me draw pictures... sorry," Cam added, he pointed to the display as Russell's eyes rapidly skimmed through the data in front of his eyes. "Subject?" Russell asked, Cam had found a subject for his first line of tests, they were rudimentary in the correctional facility— but at least he'd found a way to keep himself stimulated in a way that Kori could approve of. "Yes, Tommy submitted a sample of his goo and I've been working with it a little. I think with my sleeve I could amplify his power by 30%. He could stretch farther and hold forms in that arm for longer! Of course in theory, I think that it would be able to amplify an Omeocoon's unique ability."

"But what about the rest of his body? Why one limb and not an entire suit?" Russell inquired with an eyebrow raise. Cameron seemed shocked as if that was some kind of question that would never be asked. "Well, because it'd be dangerous... and painful," Cam responded logically. Russell actually cracked a smile, he was starting to become intrigued. "You know what? I think I can think of a few ways to make this work." Russell ran a finger across the display and stopped at a spiked line. "What's this?" Cam gazed over, "Oh, that's the spike that Omeocoon family trees share. If you put Kieran through a scanner you'd see the same pattern. See the yellow line here?" Cam pointed, "It's like a familial watermark, it aligns with Kieran and Tommy, it's unique to them. Tommy has one, and Kieran has a matching one. See, there are two because in their case, their mother split to create them, their mother— if she were here, would have one as well, that's how they have it, it was passed from her body to theirs. If I took a sample of your goo and your brothers' goo. You'd all have matching ones that link you back to each other. Like our version of a fingerprint or a DNA test."

"But there are three lines?" Russell scrolled downward, to point out two more lines. Both of these were grayed out as if the computer didn't have enough information to determine who the other watermarks belonged to. "I'm not sure... I thought it was a malfunction so I ignored it. Maybe we should ask him?" Cam proposed, Russell shook his head. "Nah... he's already stressed out as it is. You should see his hair, it looks insane." Russell said he turned around to face away from the window, and he sat crisscrossed on the floor with Cam as they went over the data. They were bonding. This was a specialty that they shared as a species, being highly social— even if it were someone they didn't quite like being around.