Yoon focus

Yoongi was sitting in his pilot seat on the bridge and stared out of the window. There was nothing to do for him. The white-shirts were having their gun training, Hoseok was planning the muscle training in the gym, and Taehyung, for some reason, had gone back to his room after breakfast. The young pilot behaved strange since yesterday afternoon. Well, strangely normal, what was kind of concerning, but he had not had the chance to ask him what was wrong.

He had apologized for his behavior after their talk and Taehyung had not been mad at all, so they had been back to normal very quickly. The younger had simply found his theory confirmed and they had made the plan to train his ability of blocking his emotions. His colleague's positivity had rubbed off on him, and now he was almost sure he could control it.

But their training would be in the evening after Hoseok's horror work-out. The captain had drained them completely yesterday, and it would only become worse. He expected burning muscles from tomorrow on. And additional to Hoseok's training that contained functional training on the first and muscle training on the second day, they all had to do their own treadmill work-out. He thought about doing that now when everyone else was at the shooting range, but his motivation to do so was cut short by the captain who entered the bridge.

"Oh, Yoongi," the brunette noticed him. "I'll leave you alone."

"No, no," Yoongi stopped the soldier in his tracks. "I've got nothing against a companion. Waiting is boring, and the bridge is the most interesting place on the ship."

With a happy smile, the captain sat down in Taehyung's seat and stared out of the window with him. They waited in silence and watched the distorted sky outside. Minutes passed without one of them speaking, but Yoongi, unexpectedly, felt comfortable. The quiet atmosphere was the complete opposite from what he experienced when Taehyung was in the room with him. The young pilot always seemed to bring a vibrating energy with him, but Hoseok was like water. Calm but strong and steady. And occasionally wild, he had to admit that. Still it was soothing his mind.

"It's quite ironic that the bridge is the one spot of the ship that's most vulnerable," the captain suddenly broke the silence with his scratchy voice. "It seems to imply that the crew is no longer the most important part of the ship."

Yoongi smiled. "Do you really think that's the case? Are we unnecessary?"

Hoseok was quiet for a moment. "We've got flaws. Not like AIs."

"But isn't that what makes us perfect?" Yoongi asked. "After all, the ability to feel and to trust in something else than math and logic makes us into what we are. Our struggles and flaws are what makes us human."

Hoseok looked at him. "But is being human good enough?"

"Good enough for what?" Yoongi got an idea where this was going.

"To make the right decisions."

"Define right," Yoongi demanded. He would have never guessed that Hoseok was this insecure about his decision to go to Earth instead of Eos.

"The right decision is always the one causing the least harm for everyone," the captain answered without hesitation.

"But how would you know which decision is the one that meets your standard?" he asked the brunette.

The younger stayed quiet while thinking about an answer. When he spoke, he sounded frustrated. "But isn't that what I said earlier. We're not able to make those decisions unbiased and rational."

Yoongi chuckled. He could not hold that back. Hoseok had such an idealistic idea of how to be, it was adorable. How could someone like that exist?

"Why are you laughing?" the captain asked and furrowed his brows.

"Because your idea of your position is so pure and ideal," Yoongi answered with a pitiful smile. "How do you think an AI makes decisions?"

Hoseok shrugged. "It takes every variable into account and makes a decision by the value it gives every aspect of a problem."

The brunette seemed oblivious to the implication his answer held.

"Don't you see where this leads us?" Yoongi asked.

Hoseok shook his head and looked at him puzzled.

"Were do you think AIs get their values and variables from?" he pushed the captain's thoughts in the right direction.

Now, the man looked like he began to understand, and with every second his face looked more dumbfounded. But eventually a pain-stained smile cracked up the stunned expression and he snorted like he could not believe he had been so stupid. "Why did I never think of that?" he asked slapping his own forehead.

"Because there never was the need to," Yoongi answered. "All the AIs around us work perfectly well in their field, so no-one ever questions it. And, once running, they calculate the values by themselves when given the data they need."

"But does it not make them better decision finders? They have a more accurate input than we have."

This thought was relatable on first sight, but Yoongi needed their captain to understand that humans could do much more than calculation-based decisions.

"If Bang had calculated Eos as the more likely planet, would you have gone with his decision?" he asked.

Hoseok was silent, and he gave his captain some minutes to think about it. He knew the struggle perfectly well, but apparently their leader had never undergone these torturous thoughts before. But the time had come to pass the real ceremony of becoming a captain. He had seen this on his other missions before. Men and women in high positions who tormented themselves because something had gone wrong. All those people had to learn one important lecture.

"Be honest with yourself," Yoongi asked of the younger.

Hoseok bit down on his bottom lip. "I would have gone for Earth anyway."

"You sound ashamed. Why?" Yoongi said to go one step further. If he rushed the answer, Hoseok would doubt him. The brunette had to understand it by himself.

"Because my decision is lopsided by my emotions for my second homeplanet," the captain said, but it sounded more like a question than a statement.

"Then Taehyung and Namjoon would have gone for Eos?" he asked back.

Hoseok sighed and chewed on the inside of his cheek. "No, I don't think they would have done that."

"So, why would you go for Earth even if Bang suggested Eos?" They were really close.

"Because that's what my stomach tells me to do," Hoseok said, lifting his eyes from the floor to look at him.

"And that's the point," Yoongi said with a satisfied smile, "Humans have flaws, no doubt, but when it comes to what we call our intuition, we beat a computer by far. Because intuition is not just a feeling in the gut, it's a giant calculative process our brain does within milliseconds with innumerable variables we call experiences and memories which left a good or bad feeling in our stomach. You can't do it intentionally, but your brain still provides you with the right answer."

"But how can an AI not beat that when its perception and memory is so much better than ours?"

"But it's not," Yoongi disagreed startled. "Why would you think so? AIs have just as many eyes and ears as we give them, and they have no natural filter for the importance of 'memories'. They can't turn around to check if something's behind them, can't sense danger if they're not able to perceive it, and can't read a person's intention if it's hidden behind a mask."

The captain nodded slowly.

"Plus," Yoongi added with a little more ease in his voice, "Our attackers are most likely something with a human-like intelligence. Destroying a planet looks very much like long-suppressed anger and hate, and what planet would you head for when you want to take revenge on the USS for whatever reason?"

"Earth," Hoseok said quietly and nodded. Yoongi's message seemed to have made it through.

"If you still don't believe me, you can ask Taehyung and Namjoon the same question. I bet they'd both go for Earth as well though they just lived there for two years."

The brunette nodded again, still deep in thought. Yoongi decided that he had said enough and stood up to do his treadmill work-out. Hoseok would kick his ass later should he neglect his training program.

Without another word he left the bridge and took the elevator to the level with their personal rooms to get his sports clothes. The wide black muscle shirts and short pants made him look even skinnier and paler than he normally was, but they were exceptionally comfortable. The only thing he really disliked was the very thin fabric that, albeit it was very light and soft, was way too transparent. He had felt half naked yesterday, but their uniforms were too thick and warm to use them for sports.

He switched into a combo of sportswear with matching shoes and headed out for the gym again. Sport had never been something he had liked, but with the upcoming battle, that hung over them like a Damocles sword, the work-outs had become a way to extend his lifespan. He had never faced death like a soldier, but he valued his life nevertheless. At least enough to not snap at Hoseok when the captain made him count backwards from eight to one as a motivation method during the warm-ups.

He found Taehyung in the gym when he entered. Apparently, the younger had decided to do his treadmill training before lunch, too, and he was already at it. When the alien noticed him, Yoongi was greeted with a rectangular grin which made it impossible to not smile back. Moreover, the tanned pilot looked stunning with the black bandana that held his hair back, and the muscle shirt granted an excellent view on his trained body. Yoongi bit down on his bottom lip to avoid drooling over his colleague like yesterday.

"Come next to me," Taehyung said, breathing heavily and gesturing to the treadmill on his left.

Yoongi started the machine with an easy program. "But I won't talk to you. I need my breath for this," he replied and stepped onto the trainer.

"But we most likely 'll have to talk while running in the battle," Taehyung said, convinced that his idea was a clever idea.

And no matter how hard Yoongi tried to ignore the V, he was dragged into talking anyways. One day he would understand how Taehyung always got what he wanted.

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"I... told you that's... a shitty idea," Yoongi pressed out between breaths and held his stinging side.

Ten minutes after the younger had forced them into a conversation, they had had to give up because of the stinging pain in their sides. Yoongi felt like someone stabbed him every time he breathed in, and Taehyung seemed to have problems with even standing straight.

"But when Hoseok makes us count... it works too," Taehyung wheezed.

"Idiot!" he barked out, "That's because... we're breathing in... the right rhythm with our movements."

Taehyung's eyes showed that he was processing the latest information and was thinking about an optimized plan, and Yoongi groaned. He would not get out of this. The V would use him as a test object and he would find no way around it.

"Go on, tell me what you have in mind," he said and straightened up.

"Nothing," Taehyung admitted and looked up to him from his bent position. "Absolutely nothing. We'd sound totally stupid if we spoke in the two-to-three rhythm*."

"Two-to-three? Why aren't you using the ninja technique**?" Yoongi asked.

"I only use that during sprint," Taehyung answered.

"Fair point. But what now?" For his age, he was too absorbed into such a stupid idea, but Taehyung had that effect of dragging people into his bullshit.

"We could use a code," the younger suggested and straightened up as well. "Like: 'I got shot' is 'cherry'. Or 'I'm hunted by battle robots' is 'puppy'."

"I like puppies," Yoongi intervened.

"Well, I like battle robots." The V shrugged.

They looked at each other for a moment, and then they both chuckled amused. His colleague was so offbeat. Yoongi would bet that he never had more fun than with Taehyung. The man was so silly and adorable, but also so smart and cunning.

"Okay, if it makes you happy, think of some code. I'm going to get a coffee. There's no use in continuing," he stated after they had calmed down.

"Me too," the younger agreed and followed him.

When they crossed the changing rooms, Taehyung stopped. "Don't you want to shower?" he asked, and an indefinable look lingered in his eyes.

"I changed in my room." Yoongi shrugged. "See you in ten, I guess."

Did Taehyung look disappointed? He must be imagining this. With a wave of his hand, he left the room and went upstairs.

>><<

*The two-to-three rhythm means breathing in for two steps and breathing out for three steps. It's the fastest breathing pattern while running. Anything under this ration, like 1:2, is useless and should be avoided. Slower rhythms like 3:4 are also possible.

**What I call the ninja technique is good for sprinting. It means breathing in and out for one step each and then breathing in and out for two steps each. I read it improves the oxygen supply.