Backwash [Omori/Mouthwashing]

A Revolutionary New Dental Hygiene Product

7 days before the crash.

You conclude your zone-out break as Hero spoke up. "Are you listening..? Sunny?"

"Hm? Yeah. Sorry. Trouble sleeping. Did I pass the eval?" You answer, blinking a few times to release yourself from the haze you were stuck in.

"I mean, yeah... you gave the exact same answers as last time. I wish you'd open up a little more about things. These evaluations aren't just about you, Captain," Hero noted, hinting at your responsibilities.

"As long as I can fly the ship and do my job, right?" You joke. Hero sighs.

After a pause for Hero to arrange the papers in his hands, he brushes his hair back with some dread. "What's up?" You ask.

"I have one more eval left to do. It's like pulling teeth getting Basil to give me a straight answer on anything. He's always so nervous about failing," Hero explained with a dejected look. He brushed his hair back again.

You decide to give Hero a break. "I'll do it. I've known Basil a long time. He's always a lot more comfortable around me," you say with a small smile.

The medic smiles back at you, "Really? Thanks, Sunny. That saves me a whole lot of time and energy. You're a lifesaver." He brushes his hair back one more time before handing over the eval papers. His repeated fiddling with his hair wasn't noticed by your tired eyes.

"Oh, by the way, Aubrey handed me this note a while ago during her eval. I think it was for me, too, but it's definitely more of trouble for you," Hero said, handing over a yellow sticky note.

It was the same note that you gave Aubrey about things to teach Kel before letting him do some basic tasks of maintenance. It had text in black sharpie written over the list, saying, "I'm not a miracle worker."

"Good luck, cap," Hero said with a two finger salute before walking away. You, too, walked away. You needed to head down to utility where Aubrey's workspace was to see why she couldn't teach Kel the basics.

Coincidentally, Basil was outside of utility, looking frantic. "Oh, thank god you're here, Sunny! Kel's stuck in a bunch of emergency foam!"

Sunny sighed. This was probably why she couldn't teach Kel the basics. At least by the deadline. "I've got this," you said to Basil as you passed him and unhooked the 'scanner' from your belt. According to company protocol, nobody was allowed to look when the captain turned on the scanner. It was a stupid protocol, but it kept the emergency codes out of random crew hands. Especially necessary for use of the emergency gun.

"Aubrey, Kel, what's up?" You asked as you approach them. Kel is stuck in emergency foam, trapping him tighter than gallows. Luckily, only his legs were trapped. If it were his arms, too, it'd be a far tougher procedure.

"This knucklehead almost killed himself. That's what's up!" Aubrey shouted, motioning to Kel, "I swear they put him on this ship just to fuck with me. What were you thinking?"

"I was gonna fix the vent since you said it was busted!" Kel said with a sad look. It was clear he was trying to impress Aubrey.

"Sorry, Sunny, I would've handled this myself, but the axe case needs your scanner. Anyway, Kel, if it were–"

You exclaimed loudly before Aubrey could continue, "Everyone look away. I'm turning on the scanner!"

"I can't turn around, I'm stuck in place! What do I do!?" Kel asks in a panic.

"Just close your eyes, dipshit," Aubrey said, slapping Kel upside the head. Kel rubbed the back of his head and did as told while you turned on the "scanner" blacklight.