She takes her hands, as instructed. Palm crossed over palm, arms raised and ready.
It's just dancing.
Ripley's muscles tense, anticipating the go with no knowledge of how they'll spring into action; a ship with thrusters ready and roaring, but whose set-destination escapes its navigational port. Lapses in knowledge like this leave her groping blindly for clues elsewhere. A glance at the others around her. A careful listening to the tune, picking out its rhythm pattern to supplement her own.
You don't need to think about it.
And yet here she is, thinking.
Until they actually begin to move.
When a ship begins to move, when it lifts its legs and parts from whatever land it'd crouched on, it's important to always be a step ahead. To ingest the readings and dials both as they come and anticipating what's next without knowing. If your knowledge and experience serves you well, you'll act in tandem; ship and man and computer working as one unit, one body, one succinct motion.
Bodies and minds themselves, however, so rarely cooperate.
The body makes mistakes. Missteps. Fumbles. The brain tries its damndest to keep up and finds itself flung elsewhere.
Fortunately for Ripley, she's found herself an excellent teacher. They fall into a rhythm of steps and easy shifts of gravity. Step, step, sway. Right, forward, back. Ripley's attention swings from her feet to the woman's face, lip pinched between teeth, focus sharpened almost comically so.
no subject
It's just dancing.
Ripley's muscles tense, anticipating the go with no knowledge of how they'll spring into action; a ship with thrusters ready and roaring, but whose set-destination escapes its navigational port. Lapses in knowledge like this leave her groping blindly for clues elsewhere. A glance at the others around her. A careful listening to the tune, picking out its rhythm pattern to supplement her own.
You don't need to think about it.
And yet here she is, thinking.
Until they actually begin to move.
When a ship begins to move, when it lifts its legs and parts from whatever land it'd crouched on, it's important to always be a step ahead. To ingest the readings and dials both as they come and anticipating what's next without knowing. If your knowledge and experience serves you well, you'll act in tandem; ship and man and computer working as one unit, one body, one succinct motion.
Bodies and minds themselves, however, so rarely cooperate.
The body makes mistakes. Missteps. Fumbles. The brain tries its damndest to keep up and finds itself flung elsewhere.
Fortunately for Ripley, she's found herself an excellent teacher. They fall into a rhythm of steps and easy shifts of gravity. Step, step, sway. Right, forward, back. Ripley's attention swings from her feet to the woman's face, lip pinched between teeth, focus sharpened almost comically so.
"You make it look easy, too."