Alex settled the helmet on Thomas's head, "You will need to go through some calibration tests first, and then the noise cancellation and everything will start. There is a button here on the ide if you need to talk to one of us."

Nodding, Thomas chuckled, "Very fancy... And surprisingly comfortable."

Dr Elune settled into the chair next to Thomas, reaching for their own helmet, "I figured sitting in these things for hours a day might make us sore... So, I got rid of that issue."

Thomas laughed, before focusing on the hidden command prompts. Alex sat down on a nearby bench, tapping away at a display screen as people milled around.

Ren leaned over Alex's shoulder, curious, "Interesting controls. Could I take over?"

Alex glanced up, "Probably... I haven't set these up for others to actually use, though." Furrowing their brow, Alex concentrated, "I am... Mostly just thinking ahead."

Ren nodded in understanding, settling down to watch the goings-on through a seperate display, "Fair enough. Are these cameras controllable?"

To answer, a little tutorial popped up on Ren's screen, with options for touch interface or simplified thought headset input. "Oh. Guess that works." Tapping away, Ren followed after the group, humming as he glanced up, "Let me know if you need a break, okay? I can always tap a few buttons."

Alex shook their head, "I need to be here, concentrating... Not exactly something you could take over."

Ren nudged Alex in the ribs, leaning close again to whisper, "I more meant so you could disable the AHOR. I know I couldn't actually take over."

Ale blinked, then rubbed the bridge of their nose, "... My mistake. Sorry. I am a bit absent minded, after all."

Ren laughed, "No worries." Watching Thomas gleefuly run around in the simulation, he smiled, "If only we could mass produce this thing. Thomas would be a great sponsor."

Alex laughed quietly, "We can theoretically reproduce the processors... Just, the interface gets tricky."

Ren nodded with a grin, "Speaking of... I was meaning to ask hw you have been, but I should probably quiet down. You are distracted, after all."

Alex shrugged, "Just... Keep things simple. The talking helps train my concentration, and I am starting to get the hang of this setup... Takes a moment after initial boot. Ask away."

Ren nodded, "You have seemed distracted a lot lately. I wanted to make sure you were okay."

Alex smiled, "Learning how to moderate my newfound thoughts. Also, I have had a lot of... Personal discoveries lately. And decisions to make."

"Such as?"

Alex blinked in surprise, "Didn't Jolana ask you yet?"

"Nope. About what?"

Alex sighed, "We are planning a little outing to the spire. And since I am involved... We need, shall we say, a caperone?"

Ren laughed, "That would be more Sam's thing. I guess you also need route planning, though." Humming as he thought, Ren nodded, "I will take a peak at the Spire directory, help point out places to avoid. You would be best off keeping low to the base, in general."

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Alex nodde absently, "Thank you. I do not know what she is planning for our trip... So, you would have to ask her. For crying- Don't pull out that, doctor."

Ren looked back at his screen, watching Dr Elune procure a simulation of gravitational physics, "Ouch. That an accurate model of the milky way?"

"... Yes. Highly accurate."

"I... Shall leave you to concentrate, then. Sam is an ass."

Alex simply nodded in silence, eyes losing focus as their fingers scittered across the sccreen, pressing nonsensical icons to keep busy. Ren chuckled as he got up, pacing around as he waited.

A few hours later, Thomas laughed as he peeled off the helmet, "I'm sold. How long before the system can be replicated?"

Dr Elune smiled slyly, "I think this one was a happy accident. Might take a while to find a work around."

Curious, Thomas eased himself out of the VR machine's seat, "Really now? Such a shame this marvelous wonderland is only for you, then."

"Yes, quite a tragedy. Guess you are stuck coming over when you want to use it, then."

Thomas cackled as he made his way slowly to the door, "Subtlety seems to take a holiday around you. I almost feel like you are buttering me up for something!"

Dr Elune beamed innocently, "Who, me? And you would be surprised, I can hold a mighty impressive surprise party."

Shaking his head with a smirk, Thomas leant against the front door, "Well, I have a long trip back. Find a way to set one of those up over in the spire, then we'll talk."

Dr Elune thought about it, "Well, the device itself can be shipped over easy enough... It's just the operating system. We could fly the shuttle over, maybe..."

"Heh, I was only half joking. I should visit Greg more anyway, he has a way of finding the interesting things... Like you lot." Waving goodbye, Thomas made his way to the awaiting transport pod, a smile across his face.

Ren found himself smiling too as he watched, "You know, He used to be a lot more gloomy. You have a way of brightenig things up, Sam."

"Oh? I just thought yo hang out with a boisterous crowd... Knowing your rep, though, I should have known better~" Wandering back into the temporary VR room, they nudged Alex's shoulder, "You okay there?"

"... Mostly. I think I need to take a nap, after all that." Groaning as they got up, Alex smiled shakily, "I need to find a way to etend someone else is running the controls, so I may... Excuse myself. Ren had a pretty good idea."

The doctor nodded, "Actually setting part of it up to run away from you would be even better. Give you some breathing room." Holding out an arm, the doctor smiled, "Here, I can carry you up to the room. You have had a long day."

Alex smirked, "No thanks. I can make it a few more minutes." Stretching, Alex made their way upstairs, "I shall try and respond if you need me, otherwise, I will let you know once I have cooled down."

Nodding and waving, the doctor turned to Ren to discuss the next session, and how receptive Thomas had been so far. Alex shuffled to their room, sliding into a maintenance pod with a sigh... That had been fun, but running things that complex took a toll.