[It sounds like a box being checked on a mental list of them—pre-flight safety check—more than it does simple approval. Though that too; she likes a no-nonsense answer, and Ardankin's demeanor thus far has a whiff of familiarity to it that she approves of.
(The guys currently tooling on Project Mercury might disagree with her, but in 2046 everyone knows the value of a Russian engineer.)]
My guess is that anything we do to draw the one inside out is going to bring a few others from somewhere else. But if the hose fitting works and the water pressure is okay, I should just need five minutes.
[Now that she's tested it, quietly pulling the lid against the restraint, Maureen unlaces her make-do latching system from one pot handle so she can remove the length of hose—cannibalized from one of the department store's rare appliance floor models—coiled inside with the faintest rasp of rubber on metal.
Maureen looks to him. It's not quite hesitation, just—
Sorry this is so late. Work agonies.
[It sounds like a box being checked on a mental list of them—pre-flight safety check—more than it does simple approval. Though that too; she likes a no-nonsense answer, and Ardankin's demeanor thus far has a whiff of familiarity to it that she approves of.
(The guys currently tooling on Project Mercury might disagree with her, but in 2046 everyone knows the value of a Russian engineer.)]
My guess is that anything we do to draw the one inside out is going to bring a few others from somewhere else. But if the hose fitting works and the water pressure is okay, I should just need five minutes.
[Now that she's tested it, quietly pulling the lid against the restraint, Maureen unlaces her make-do latching system from one pot handle so she can remove the length of hose—cannibalized from one of the department store's rare appliance floor models—coiled inside with the faintest rasp of rubber on metal.
Maureen looks to him. It's not quite hesitation, just—
She knows what she's suggesting.]