Ruth could feel Elvria working up to an answer to her question, as they crawled slowly along the vent, the only noise the shuffling of their hands and knees and the occasional squeak of the Sharpie on metal as Ruth marked their path. It was almost as though the air became charged, perhaps with something that Elvria might not want to say. Ruth couldn't be sure, at least not until the other woman started to speak.
However, the fact that Ruth's suspicions had been correct didn't really instil her with confidence. "There's no need now," she said, her voice emphatic. "That breeze we feel? It shows that the airflow into the mess hall hasn't stopped. It must have been something else." She wondered what it could be. She knew from her basic orientation that there was a filtration system as well as the standard aircon, so maybe it had been that system that had failed.
Ruth almost bumped into Elvria as the Tok'ra woman stopped abruptly, and she took the opportunity to make another mark on the floor of the vent. "I understand," she replied, nodding, even though she wasn't sure that Elvria could see her in the dark. "And it's appreciated." Her voice became a little more serious, careful to talk softly so that their words didn't echo back through the vent to the others in the mess hall. "But... you're both of more use conscious and well, you realise?" The skills and knowledge of the Tok'ra could well be invaluable in defeating whatever enemy they were facing, and if Parnell had willed himself and his host into unconsciousness, who knew what would have happened?
"Honestly, there's no need to apologise," Ruth asserted. "I don't know whether anyone else would have noticed anyway." Everyone had been focused on their own tasks, and Ruth, as one of the few in the mess who didn't possess a useful skill when it came to getting out of the sealed room, had merely been people watching. A bad habit of hers, in most cases. This time, though, maybe it had been of use.
As they started to crawl again, Ruth smiled. Elvria sounded almost childlike as she compared the cool air to being outside. "Yeah, it's cold enough," she remarked. "I guess the air conditioning would draw directly from outside." It made sense, anyway.
They passed two fans, and Ruth squinted, frowning for a second as the flashlight bounced off something up ahead. "Is that the junction," she asked. Realistically, that was all that it could be. "I wonder if there's a door or service hatch?" A junction would be a good place for a service hatch, at least in her opinion. "You see anything?"
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