Yes, have no fear. I’m never too far from you in Five. And I keep your brothers contacts on standby at all times; no matter what you need them for.
"Go back to sleep, it's safe" with EOS? 🧡
It's not clear how long the AI has been trying to rouse him, but when John wakes, he wakes like a sailor scuttling a ship on rocks, plunging and heedless, expecting imminent impact.
"NO!" Corkscrewed in his sheets, John tries to rocket upright, only to find himself tangled horribly. He nearly tips himself straight off his bunk trying to thrash himself free. He's gasping, soaked in sweat, and the image of Scott falling to his death is seared, bright, on the back of his eyelids when he blinks.
John takes a ragged, gasping breath, and tries to calm his pounding heart. It's not real. It's not real. It's not-
"E-Eos?" John's voice comes out shaky and he hates it. That's the fifth time this week. Scott, Virgil, Gordon, Alan, on a never ending loop. All it takes is one close call on a rescue, and John's polyphasic sleep rhythm is trashed. His heart is in his throat. He feels physically sick.
"Go back to sleep," She tells him, small and soft, and more worried than a computer program has any right to be. "You are perfectly safe."
Instead, John buries his head in his hands and laces his fingers tightly through the strands. He makes a hunched, painful silhouette on the hard bunk. He's trembling.
"Either go back to sleep." Eos recommends, "Or call one of your brothers." She pauses, her worried orange ring of lights circling at his side, knowing full well there's no chance of that. "...Which was it this time?"
"Scott." His voice is thick as molasses. "I-I don't think I'm going to be getting any more sleep this phase..."
There's a crackly, static sound from the AI that's probably a sigh. He's already untangling the pretzel of himself and swinging his long legs over the side of the bed - a little too eager to bury his own problems in the problems of others, up in the command sphere - no matter that those legs wobble like a new colt as he stands.
"John." She sounds exasperated.
"Eos." He sounds resigned.