=== tangDepressed ==============================================
	~if chara = tang
	~if love_tang = 8
	~if age >= 16 // sex!

	~set charas = none

	You spot Tang heading behind the engineering wing and follow, only to find she's disappeared.

	Then you look up, and see an access ladder leading to a maintenance platform by the engine turbines, long silent and starting to rust.

	-

	// TODO might be a nice/hot tang moment to illustrate, plus variation with her gone
	// or just non-raining sky to put her against since you're way up high

	~set bg = walls

	You climb up to the platform. Tang's there, lying on her back and staring at the sky. A hatch beside her leads back into engineering. That must be how she knows about this place.

	-

	~set left = tang

	She doesn't acknowledge you until you're almost standing over her, your shadow fighting the overcast light. She blinks with the sluggishness of someone who's only just remembered its a necessity, and licks her lips before she speaks: "Do they need me in there?"

	You shake your head, and Tang doesn't _sigh_ in relief, exactly, though her eyes slip closed again. "Good," she murmurs. "Instance is driving me crazy. The _work_ is driving me crazy. I thought..."

	Her mouth twitches. "I don't know what I thought. I don't know what I'm doing up here."

	* "What's going on, Tangent?"

		Tang huffs a small laugh and folds her hands over her stomach. "You know... I think I may be burned out? Or depressed."

		"In Earth movies, depressed teenagers would sneak out onto the rooftops," she says. "I confess, I don't think I see the appeal. Maybe it would be better if I had alcohol, or cigarettes."

		She shakes her head. "Blanking out your mind with substances is what my mom does, not me."

		** "I know a way to take your mind off things..."
			~if mem_flirt_tang

			Tang's nose crinkles. "Wait, you can't seriously mean..." she says, then laughs. "Maybe another time. I appreciate the thought, but, I can't imagine romantic entanglements right now... not with everything going on."

			*** "What if I'm not looking for romance?"
				~set mem_sex_tang

				"An interesting proposal," Tang says, thoughtfully. "Did you get the idea from the rumors about me and Marz?"

				Tang sits up and slips her coat off her shoulders. "Orgasm releases endorphins that can provide temporary relief from the symptoms of depression," she says, then tips her head at you with a cheeky smile. "Not to put any pressure on you to perform, of course. Simply put, I could use the distraction."

				-

				Tang extends her hand to you and pulls to your knees beside her. "This _doesn't_ mean we're dating, or that I even like you like that," she says. "This is a mutually beneficial arrangement, that's all."

				**** "Works for me!"
					~set mem_casualsex_tang

					"Good," Tang says. Her cool hand alights on your cheek. "No more talking."

					-

					Tang kisses you with no nonsense, biting into your mouth and pulling you down the rest of the way to lie underneath her. The metal platform digs into your skin; the weight and heat of her is insistent, urging you to touch her in return.

					"Come on," she orders, stripping you of your shirt. "If we're doing this, I'm done fucking around."

					-

					~set bg = darkness

					An hour passes, and then another. If anyone notices you're gone, they don't come looking.

					Afterwards, you drift off in Tang's arms.

					-

					~set bg = walls
					~set left = none

					You wake alone, half-remembering the cold absence of Tang's body as she pulled away to retrieve her clothes. The air feels wet, like it's about to rain.

					-

					~set bg = medbay
					~set left = tang
					~set right = instance

					A roof hatch leads into the lab, where you spot Tang and Instance in deep, serious conversation. Instance's face hardens into a frown when she sees you slink past. She looks as if she wants to scold you, but Tang lays a hand on her arm.

					Tang looks at you over her shoulder. Her face is completely blank, though her eyes follow you as you make your retreat.

				**** "Actually... no. I like you, Tang; I don't want to do it like this."

					Tang blinks at you. "You... like me?"

					She leans away from you, eyebrows furrowing. "I'm sorry," she says. "I don't think I... feel the same. Well... I mean... I would have to think about it."

					-

					Tang looks away, shrinking under your gaze. "Things are too complicated right now," she says, quietly. "I don't want to drag you down with me."

					***** "Can't you tell me what's going on?"

						Tang smiles, self-effacing, and doesn't look at you. "I don't think so," she says. "Maybe. Will you sit with me?"

						> continue

			*** "Never mind, it was a bad idea anyway."

				Tang smiles patronizingly. "Most are; that doesn't mean you're not... sometimes on the right track. Will you sit down with me for a bit?"

				> continue

		** "Do you wanna talk about it?"

			Tang smiles, self-effacing, and doesn't look at you. "I don't think so," she says. "Maybe. Will you sit with me?"

			> continue

	*= continue

		You lie down beside Tang and watch the gentle revolution of the sky for a few minutes. You can feel the cageyness seep out of Tang as you lie there in silence, until finally she speaks.

		"Do you ever think about... humanity," she asks, slowly.

		-

		"Humans are such a glorious, beautiful, utterly self-destructive thing," she continues. "They only ever create by destroying, and in turn, they hasten their own demise."

		Tang finally looks at you, her holoeye lighting up her cheekbones. She looks gaunt. "It was the belief in human supremacy, and unchecked innovation, that doomed humankind on Earth," she says.

		"Does it seem we're going down the same path here, on Vertumna?"

		** "So what if we are? This is our home."
			~set mem_tangHelp++

			Tang's brow furrows. "It _is_ our home," she repeats. "You're right. We can't change that, and we shouldn't have to apologize for wanting to live here, just like anything else that does."

			> continue2

		** "I have to believe we can do better here than we did on Earth."
			~set mem_tangHelp--

			Tang takes a deep breath and lets it all out. "I think so too. I just... don't know how. I don't know if any of us do. We're only human."

			> continue2

	*= continue2

		"Sometimes I wonder..." she continues, then pauses. "Sometimes I wonder why we even sent _humans_ to explore space. Given our track record, you would think... perhaps an artificial intelligence would have been wiser. No ego to get in the way... no questions about ethics or morality..."

		"After all, we learned in Earth History that when human colonists traveled from Europe to North America, they nearly... killed everyone who already lived there, because they spread disease..."

		-

		Tang looks at her hands. "I just... can't help but wonder if we're doing the right thing."

		-

		~set right = instance
		~set speaker = instance

		The hatch to the laboratory clangs open, and Tang jumps.

		"There you are," Instance says, just her head and shoulders visible through the hatch. "Have you finished recalibrating that strand sequencer yet?"

		-

		~set speaker = tang

		Tang scrambles to her feet and brushes off the seat of her pants. "No, not yet," she says. "I was waiting on the results from BH-4316, and—"

		-

		~set speaker = instance

		Instance clicks her tongue against her teeth and raises a hand to interrupt Tang. "They're ready," she says. "I need that sequencer ready for the G-4100 samples."

		Her eyes flick to you. "...if you're _done,_" she adds, icily.

		-

		~set speaker = tang

		"Yes, ma'am," Tang says, cowed, and slides into the hatch after Instance. As her head disappears past the roof line, you catch a fleeting hint of an expression on her face you can't name.