Summing up!

"Here's our two choices," Jorrel sums up, "Turning it on here would mean leaving someone behind. We can get out, but without anyone to forcefully push them through the portal - or whatever - they're just going to fall down. I'm not leaving anyone alone, so that means two stays. Emalie and Shiv are probably the strongest, so we need one to boost and one to help with getting it home."

You open your mouth to protest the notion that you're stronger than either Mute or Jorrel, but then you realise that Mute spends every day crunching numbers and Jorrel writes for the theatre. Emalie helps her dad at the stock house and you spend all that lifting heavy machinery.

A muscle girl. You're a muscle girl. Crap, you can't hate yourself for that. Doing so would incidentally mean Emalie would be gross and you're not a bad person and certainly not gross like you. It's different though, she lifts stuff and you lift metal. Yeah... that lie works. Yay, you're still gross!

"I'll go," Emalie says, "And if Mute's up for it, I'd like for him to go with me. If something happens he's the one with most logistics experience of the two of you. Should it get stuck, he's there to figure something out."

Jorrel nods and gestures to Mute, "Sounds fair?"

"Actually... I'd prefer it if Joe goes." Mute looks at Jorrel and they share something unsaid. For some reason you don't like the idea of your friends existing and talking in your peripheral vision. Seesh, that does not sound healthy.

He the goes, "Turning it on here, I'd like Em and I here, with Shiv, and you by the furthest wall so nothing sneaky happens."

"Great idea," Jorrel agrees. "I'll make a decision based on Shiv's thoughts. You're the roboticist, after all."

So, expert, die violently here or spend some time in a dank ruin?