Thread by @JayeEphen

For the November #vss365 prompts I'm going to celebrate #NaNoWriMo by tweet-writing a story set in the universe of my forthcoming space opera #AvengeTheStars -- if all goes as planned it'll form the bones of a mini-prequel to that novel.

#WritingCommunity

I'll thread it here:

The rules:

I can't write anything until I see the prompt for that day.
Each prompt can take up to two tweets. No more.
These rules are optional.

If you like this idea please do one yourself and mention me; I'll RT you!

#vss365 #NaNoWriMo2019
#WritingCommunity #AvengeTheStars

Jolin stared at the breaker, willing the burned out #fuse to repair itself. Nothing. She frowned. “Cross that off the list.”

“What?” ACIS asked. His holographic display morphed into a question mark floating a few centimeters above her wrist.
1/2

#vss365 Nov 1 #AvengeTheStars

“Psychic powers.” She reached for the final replacement fuse and swapped it out.

“This was a possibility?”

“You never know."

"Ahh."

She clicked on her radio. "Try now?"

"Nada," Andreas replied from the bridge.

"Starlight," Jolin muttered.
2/2

#vss365 Nov 1 #AvengeTheStars

Tucking the flashlight between her jaw and shoulder, Jolin examined a bundle of cables behind the breaker box. The #cuffs were worn, but she did not see any exposed wire. “I’m going to have to climb into that maintenance shaft, aren’t I?”
1/3

#vss365 Nov 2 #AvengeTheStars

She frowned, pointing her light into the maze of cramped tunnels.

The radio crackled as Andreas replied. “I thought you enjoyed crawling around in dark, tight places?”

Jolin snorted. “That is the last time I get drunk with you, Gonzales.”
2/3

#vss365 Nov 2 #AvengeTheStars

Andreas chortled until he choked. "Hey," he said, "I told you... if you want this thing to work you’re probably gonna have to get your hands dirty.”

“Yeah,” she said, pulling open the maintenance hatch and wriggling inside. “What’s new?”
3/3

#vss365 Nov 2 #AvengeTheStars

“ACIS, talk to me.” She shined her light through the #grates, illuminating thick bunches of cables.

“I’m a tactical weapons assistant. What do you expect me to find?” The hologram flashed above her wrist, a little comet chasing its own tail.
1/2

#vss365 Nov 3 #AvengeTheStars

“I don't know.” Jolin shrugged. “Use your feelers?”

Golden holographic cords like tentacles sprouted from her wrist and tapped around the #grate. “It seems to be a maintenance shaft.”

“You're the worst.”

“We could try grenades," he suggested.
2/2

#vss365 Nov 3 #AvengeTheStars

I should interject here, because ACIS is pronounced like 'access' or 'axis' and I decided to punish myself with this acronym two months ago and am only now pronouncing it correctly in my head--well, about half the time.

#AmWriting

She ignored him and crawled on down the service tunnel, following the #crop of cables until they bent into a junction box and spread out a dozen different directions.

“Andreas, which box are we using?”

“Bridge auxiliary two,” came the reply.
1/3

#vss365 Nov 4 #AvengeTheStars

Jolin cracked it open, shining her light inside. She recoiled at the sudden musty odor, and rummaged until she found the correct wires, and the problem.

“Mira is bored!” Andreas fuzzed over the radio. “And she says your food is getting cold.”
2/3

#vss365 Nov 4 #AvengeTheStars

Mira Rousseau was ostensibly the Endless Star's chef, a job she somehow kept despite her insistence on trying to enforce... well, *unpopular* dietary restrictions.

“Hey Mira?” Jolin smirked, tugging at the electrified corpse. “Are rats vegan?”
3/3

#vss365 Nov 4 #AvengeTheStars

The wires sparked in protest as she worked it free, creating a #haze of smoke in the tunnel that smelled like… it smelled GOOD, actually. She grimaced and tossed the crispy rat out the way she had come and waved her hands to clear the air.
1/2

#vss365 Nov 5 #AvengeTheStars

“You won't get a rise out of me,” Mira sang. “I’m in too good a mood for that.”

At least someone was. Jolin retrieved her multi-tool from one of many vest pockets and picked at the tangled nest of wires, trying to isolate those with damage.
2/2

#vss365 Nov 5 #AvengeTheStars

“Don’t we have automated systems for dealing with rodents?” She tugged two burned segments up to where she could reach them. Snipping out the worst bits, she #trimmed back their insulation and welded the wires together with her voltage clamp.
1/3

#vss365 Nov 6 #AvengeTheStars

The muted buzz it made took her back. She had spent her entire first year in the Marines elbowing her way through tunnels like this.

“If you want to pay for those canister refills be my guest.” Captain Quin’s voice echoed through the shaft.
2/3

#vss365 Nov 6 #AvengeTheStars

“YOU should want to, Captain! This isn’t just wear and tear.” Jolin scraped at some melted fur inside the box.

“I have Mr. Gonzales for that,” they replied.

Andreas laughed. “And I... have you!"

Jolin sighed. This had better be worth it.
3/3

#vss365 Nov 6 #AvengeTheStars

A neat stack of five books sat on the edge of her desk as Dr. Jennifer Stone scowled at a blank piece of paper, chewing on a pen and muttering. The books were gifts, or would be if she could manage to think of something to write in the cards.
1/2

#vss365 Nov 7 #AvengeTheStars

Finding a heartfelt way to express her thanks to the crew was proving difficult. Although they arrived on the same day, the impetuous Ms. Aster seemed right at home, whereas Jennifer had to deal with everyone #treading on eggshells around her.
2/3

#vss365 Nov 7 #AvengeTheStars

They had been without a ship’s doctor for some time, apparently, and did not want to scare her away. But she had chosen to--

“Whatcha doing?” A voice said from the access panel behind her.

Jennifer screamed and threw her pen across the cabin.
3/3

#vss365 Nov 7 #AvengeTheStars

She flattened her palms against the desk to keep from #crush-ing the paper in her fists. “Minding my own business, Jolin Aster.” Turning, she leveled an accusatory glare at the access panel. “Why are you creeping in the walls like an urchin?”
1/3

#vss365 Nov 8 #AvengeTheStars

Two eyes peered through the vent slats, glittering in the light of her desk lamp and, she imagined, mirth.

“Fixing a thing. Are you coming to the party?” Jolin asked.

“If I don’t drop dead of a cardiac arrythmia first.”

“Are those books?”

2/3

#vss365 Nov 8 #AvengeTheStars

She maneuvered to obscure her desk. “No.”

“Mira made apple pie.”

“I heard.”

A long moment passed. Was she gone? Jennifer rolled her chair closer, peering deep into the darkness.

“I’d love it if you were there."

“God dammit!” She jumped.
3/3

#vss365 Nov 8 #AvengeTheStars

🚀

Mira was singing again. Andreas smiled, tying off another #spoke in the ridiculously overelaborate wheel of cables and LEDs. At the center a larger concentration of lights flickered with the faulty wiring. He leaned back to admire his work.
1/3

#vss365 Nov 9 #AvengeTheStars

Jolin's silly scheme was somehow coming together. He shook his head. Life had gotten kind of boring before she and Dr. Stone boarded the Endless Star. It had been a much needed spritz of lubricant into a faltering mechanism, in his opinion.
2/3

#vss365 Nov 9 #AvengeTheStars

Captain Quin would disagree with that assessment, of course, but they were the one who had extended the invite. Anyways, things were good. Stable. Homey. He reached for his hot chocolate.

“Oh.” Mira sipped from his mug. “Were you not finished?”
3/3

#vss365 Nov 9 #AvengeTheStars

🚀

Jolin coughed as she crawled through the maintenance shaft on her elbows and knees, and the flashlight tumbled from between her teeth. It bounced once on the grate, then slipped through into the nest of pipes and wires below. Starlight.
1/3

#vss365 Nov 10 #AvengeTheStars

There was an access hatch every ten meters, but again she wondered who thought these #troll tunnels were a good way to access the internals of a ship this size. Couldn’t you just make the bulkhead panels tear away?

“ACIS, got a light?”
2/3

#vss365 Nov 10 #AvengeTheStars

A glowing orb appeared above her wrist.

“Thanks.” She scootched back and pulled up the grate, reaching her arm down to feel around. What the hell? Wiping her hand on her vest, she clicked her radio. “Andreas there’s a fluid leak down here.”
3/3

#vss365 Nov 10 #AvengeTheStars

“What’s it smell like?”

Jolin’s lip curled. “What do you mean ‘what’s it smell like?’”

“I mean stick y--" the radio fuzzed "--and take a whiff.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Do I need to come do it?”

“Yes! #March your ass down here and YOU smell it.”

#vss365 Nov 11 #AvengeTheStars

🚀

David Freeman #crank​ed up his music and tossed the sweaty towel on a gym bench. Thirty minutes of cardio done; the hard part was over. He paced in a wide circle, wrapping his hands, breathing slowly. Now it was time for the fun stuff.
1/3

#vss365 Nov 12 #AvengeTheStars

Approaching the heavy bag, he planted his feet and lifted his fists. Now go, he thought. Jab, jab, cross. The rhythm was simple, but effective; it bled all his stress and anxieties out through his toes and into the deck below. Jab, jab cross.
2/3

#vss365 Nov 12 #AvengeTheStars

Protect the head. Breathe. Reversing his stance, he began again. His eye throbbed where Aiken Robinson had clocked him. In a fair fight he would have seen it coming. But a street fight over a bounty? Jab, jab, cross. Nothing fair about that.
3/3

#vss365 Nov 12 #AvengeTheStars

Not that it mattered. Robinson was trussed up in the holding cell. If he could #wind back time, would he do things differently? Sure… but you learned more from a loss than a win. His mother had taught him that before teaching him to read.
1/2

#vss365 Nov 13 #AvengeTheStars

The lights flickered again, and Freeman grunted in irritation. He smashed the bag with a power punch, then walked to the bench to switch his radio on.

“...being a baby and tell me what it smells like!” Andreas’s voice squawked at him. Christ.
2/2

#vss365 Nov 13 #AvengeTheStars

Wiping down his chest, he clicked the transmit button. “Anyone going to do something about the power?”

“Are we interrupting your #drill​s?” Jolin's voice reverberated through the bulkheads. She was somewhere close. Inside the service ducts?
1/3

#vss365 Nov 14 #AvengeTheStars

“It’s fine.” Freeman sighed. “Just hurry up?” She had saved his life six months ago; the least he could do was have a little patience.

“You’re really going to like the party,” she said.

He smiled. “Of course.” It had been a long time since...
2/3

#vss365 Nov 14 #AvengeTheStars

...the crew of the Endless Star had celebrated anything, and he grudgingly admitted--to himself--that he was looking forward to it. Plus, Mira had been scavenging ingredients for 'pumpkin soup' for months. He was looking forward to that, too.
3/3

#vss365 Nov 14 #AvengeTheStars

“Gustufson! Are you coming or--” He clicked off the radio. Jolin called Andreas ‘Gus’ for reasons she had never revealed; he did not seem to mind. Sighing, Freeman returned to #pound​ing his stress into the heavy bag under the flickering lights.

#vss365 Nov 15 #AvengeTheStars

🚀

Jolin shivered as a sudden #draft gusted through the tunnel. Had someone opened an access hatch? Ugh, fine. Whatever. She tugged a glove out of her back pocket, put it on, then dragged a finger through the muck and gave it a little sniff.
1/3

#vss365 Nov 16 #AvengeTheStars

“Smells like almonds,” she said into the radio.

“Ah,” Andreas said. “That’s my new lubricant blen--” The radio sputtered. “--organic!”

Something slick scurried past as Jolin reached back down for her flashlight. She jumped, banging her head.
2/3

#vss365 Nov 16 #AvengeTheStars

“Let me guess.” She checked the back of her scalp for blood. “Rodents love it?”

“Almond oil *is* sweet,” he replied. “But it’s just one ingr--”

The Captain broke in. “Gonzales, did you cause an infestation on our boat with your experiments?”
3/3

#vss365 Nov 16 #AvengeTheStars

“If you don’t want sustainable alternatives to major expenditures, #pluck my heart out of my chest and tell me!”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing, Chief.” While Leannx did not sound angry, Jolin recognized their Serious Voice when she heard it.
1/2

#vss365 Nov 17 #AvengeTheStars

Regardless, she cut in. “So does that mean Gonzales has to come fix it?”

“He’s on his way,” Leannx replied.

“Ah, okay. I’ll... just wait here?”

“This soiree was your idea, Ms. Aster.”

“Yeah, so everybody keeps reminding me,” Jolin muttered.
2/2

#vss365 Nov 17 #AvengeTheStars

Her early excitement did not #jive with her current mood: cold, wet, annoyed, and not in a celebrating spirit. She closed her eyes.

“It really is terrible in here,” someone said.

Jolin yelped, barely avoiding smashing her head a second time.
1/2

#vss365 Nov 18 #AvengeTheStars

She pivoted to see Doctor Jennifer Stone, M.D. crammed into the shaft behind her in a filthy cardigan.

“What are you doing?” Jolin laughed.

“Just seeing how the other half lives,” Jennifer replied, blowing hair out of her eyes. “I hate it.”
2/2

#vss365 Nov 18 #AvengeTheStars

The doctor had twisted her long, gray-blonde hair into a messy bun and secured it with a leather tie; she looked amazing, as always. The loose cotton shirt under her sweater revealed just a hint of #bust as she crouched in the cramped tunnel.
1/3

#vss365 Nov 19 #AvengeTheStars

“I can, uh... see down your top,” Jolin said, her cheeks warm.

“Oh? It’s nothing you haven’t seen before.”

“What? When!”

“Didn’t we…?”

“I would remember!”

“I could swear we did." Jennifer grinned. "Oh right, you wanted to but I said no.”
2/3

#vss365 Nov 19 #AvengeTheStars

"Yeah, I was there. We had a nice date, didn't we?”

“Jolin, I’m old enough to be your mother, first of all. But also,” She gestured grandly, bumping her elbow against the walls. “You pick the worst and most uncomfortable places to get horny.”
3/3

#vss365 Nov 19 #AvengeTheStars

“So there *might* be a perfect place someday. That’s what you’re saying.”

“Never say never, kiddo.” The doctor smirked. “But no. Never.”

Jolin snorted a laugh. “Fine. #Play your games. We both know you can’t resist my charms forever.”
1/3

#vss365 Nov 20 #AvengeTheStars

Flirting with Jennifer was safe; benign. But nice. She nodded at the older woman. “So tell me why you’re stuffed inside this shaft?”

“Dunno. Just...” She sighed. “Felt like you needed some moral support? I’m sorry for getting annoyed at you.”
2/3

#vss365 Nov 20 #AvengeTheStars

A gurgling sound emanated from below. They gagged in unison, then laughed.

“I’ll be a millionaire from this,” Andreas said over the radio. “Once I get it formulated correctly so it doesn’t eat through the pipes.”
3/3

#vss365 Nov 20 #AvengeTheStars

“You’ve been singing that #refrain for ten years, Chief,” Captain Quin interjected.

“And I’ll keep on singing it until I’m rich, or dead. Or both.”

“Start with rich, please, so you can pay for the damage our rookie discovered.”

Jolin beamed.
1/3

#vss365 Nov 21 #AvengeTheStars

She had not been called a rookie in… well, a while. It was kind of comforting, actually.

Jennifer rolled her eyes. “Are we done here?”

More flushing noises erupted beneath them as the liquid drained away, and Jolin’s flashlight appeared.
2/3

#vss365 Nov 21 #AvengeTheStars

“Ooh!” She grabbed it, tapping the switch off and on a few times. It still worked. “Yeah, I think so.”

“And did we accomplish anything besides ruining these clothes?”

“You fixed it!” Mira’s voice burst out of the radio. “Everyone, come see!”
3/3

#vss365 Nov 21 #AvengeTheStars

“Doc, you’re a hero,” Jolin whispered, shining her light in Jennifer’s face.

“Stop it.” The doctor shoved her hand away.

“We need to get out there and see how it looks.” She tucked the flashlight into a vest pocket and replaced the grate...
1/2

#vss365 Nov 22 #AvengeTheStars

...she had removed. It sunk into place with a gritty thunk.

“What we *need* is a long shower.”

“It’s a #date!” Jolin grinned.

“Oh my god. Not. Together.” Jennifer’s laugh was the sound of winter bells, but that glare could melt a snowman.
2/2

#vss365 Nov 22 #AvengeTheStars

🚀

Mira Rousseau was the youngest of the Stars, and the only one who could claim actual familial ties to the old Cantonese Freighter. She had always lived on the Endless Star; she was born there in 13,634; she did not intend to die there.
⅓

#vss365 Nov 23 #AvengeTheStars

But for now it was home, its crew her family. She clambered up her rickety step-stool to reach the cache of ingredients she had squirreled away, dropping the bundle onto the galley island. It burst open, spilling its contents into the sink.
⅔

#vss365 Nov 23 #AvengeTheStars

Captain Quin appeared. “Are those--”

“Do not touch!” Mira jumped down, brandishing a spatula and prepared to #tackle.

“Okay.” The Captain held their hands up. “So the rumors were true.”

Mira nodded. “Now... go and leave me to my dark work.”
3/3

#vss365 Nov 23 #AvengeTheStars

“Dark? You promised we would #rave about this apple pie recipe. It’s more than just a tin full of apples, you know.”

“Captain!” Mira dug around for her paring knife. “I’m a professional.”

“I don’t recall agreeing to a salary.” Leannx grinned.
1/4

#vss365 Nov 24 #AvengeTheStars

“Unsurprising,” Mira said as she sliced up the deliciously ripe fruits. “Seeing how you just cut my share down from a quarter to a sixth.”

“That was *ages* ago, Mira. We voted on it!” The Captain reached for one of the slices from her pile.
2/4

#vss365 Nov 24 #AvengeTheStars

“Well MY kitchen is not a democracy.” Mira slapped their hand away.

“Stop punishing me. I got us a doctor!”

“Surgeon.” Dr. Stone tugged on a bright red sweater as she entered the galley. Her silver hair glistened under the twinkling lights.
3/4

#vss365 Nov 24 #AvengeTheStars

“Surgeon!” Leannx smirked haughtily. “Easily worth *two* apple slices.”

“She *does* have apples?” The doctor scampered over. “Jolin wasn't lying?”

“Okay you two: back off,” Mira spun the knife in her hand and jabbed it into her cutting board.
4/4

#vss365 Nov 24 #AvengeTheStars

Leannx held up their hands reflexively. “Okay, wow. Rule your little world, Chef. See if I care.” They turned to shuffle through a stack of well-read books in the corner. “I’ve read all these, haven’t I?”

“So how does one make a vegan apple...
⅓

#vss365 Nov 25 #AvengeTheStars

...pie?” Jennifer asked. "Skip the butter?"

Mira retrieved her knife and gestured at the potted plants above the sink.

“Is that #mint and… yellow thistles?” The doctor leaned in to look at them.

“Neither,” Mira said. “Safflowers.” Rare as...
⅔

#vss365 Nov 25 #AvengeTheStars

...hell, too. She had hunted for years to find them.

“They’re beautiful.”

“The seed oil makes a nice butter substitute.” Mira dumped the slices into her favorite wooden bowl. “Now go away before this apple pie becomes surgeon-finger pie.”
3/3

#vss365 Nov 25 #AvengeTheStars

🚀

The Endless Star could staff twenty souls, so a group of six could really spread out in the living quarters. Jolin had chosen a cabin on the port side of the freighter, as far away from galley noise as she could get. Plus, it had a skylight.
⅓

#vss365 Nov 26 #AvengeTheStars

She tossed her towel on the floor and flopped on the bed, staring up into the #loom​ing void. The hum of the reactor lent the mattress a soft, persistent rumble; it was heaven. She sighed contentedly. How had she ended up here? Pure, idiot luck.
⅔

#vss365 Nov 26 #AvengeTheStars

And a willingness to spend a week in jail to protect them from her... mistakes, which had earned her a spot on the crew and a chance at a real family for the first time in her life.

“Jolin Aster, your party is starting!” The radio squawked.
3/3

#vss365 Nov 26 #AvengeTheStars

She groaned, squirming into a long stretch before lumbering to her feet. It was funny; Jolin had been so excited for this chance to show everyone how grateful she was for their acceptance, yet now that it was here all she wanted to do was hide...
¼

#vss365 Nov 27 #AvengeTheStars

...under her blankets. What if they were just humoring her? Dr. Stone had made the effort, right? Her lips curled into a smile; that was a memory she would carry forever, the prim and proper surgeon scrabbling around like a certified shaft rat.
2/4

#vss365 Nov 27 #AvengeTheStars

Was she silly for being nervous? There was only one way to find out. And yet she stood there, frozen in place and literally shivering; she really needed to put some clothes on.

Ugh. Fine. The delightful sweater she found at Galileo Bazaar...
¾

#vss365 Nov 27 #AvengeTheStars

...was right where she left it: folded neatly on a shelf. Waiting. Gathering her courage and her pants, she #lash​ed her trepidation to the shelf in the sweater’s place and stepped out into the corridor fully clothed and ready to get fucked up.
4/4

#vss365 Nov 27 #AvengeTheStars

🚀

“There she is,” Andreas yelled as Jolin wandered through the hatchway into the galley. "Take a whiff *now*, chica!"

She did. The smell was amazing. Mira grinned, shaking dressing into a bowl of honest-to-god salad. And were those tomatoes?
⅓

#vss365 Nov 28 #AvengeTheStars

Captain Quin was hunkered in the corner reading, but they acknowledged Jolin’s arrival with a curt nod.

“Took you long enough,” Jennifer tossed a bundle at her. Jolin made a grab for it but missed, and it smacked her right in the throat.
⅔

#vss365 Nov 28 #AvengeTheStars

Gagging, she winced as it hit the deck with a thud.

Andreas cackled like a man possessed. “That’s a foul for a reckless #strike!” He spilled wine on his bold green and red sweater as he fumbled through his pockets. “Where’s my yellow card?”
3/3

#vss365 Nov 28 #AvengeTheStars

An old paperback with a spaceship on the cover #slipp​ed out of the bag. Bending down to retrieve it, Jolin thumbed through the pages--another wonderful smell--and looked over at Jennifer.

“You said you liked action romances,” said the doctor.
1/3

#vss365 Nov 29 #AvengeTheStars

“I love it!” Jolin hugged the book. “Thank you.” Glancing around, she saw several other empty gift bags. “You got one for everyone?”

“I found an old bookshop, it’s no big deal." Jennifer shrugged.

“Oh, it -definitely- is,” Leannx interjected.
2/2

#vss365 Nov 29 #AvengeTheStars

Jolin frowned. "I didn’t get you anything.”

“But you did.” Jennifer gestured at the ship around them. “I would still be... Listen." She smiled. "Jolin, I never knew how much I wanted this until I met you.”

Jolin blinked away a sudden tear.
3/3

#vss365 Nov 29 #AvengeTheStars

“You got us all a gift, Aster.” Mira pointed behind her.

Jolin turned, and her breath caught. Andreas had done the job right. Thousands of lights crawled along the aft bulkhead, twinkling like stars; hung in the shape of her namesake flower.
⅙

#vss365 Nov 30 #AvengeTheStars

“Together we grow,” she whispered. “It’s beautiful.”

“It really is.” Freeman ducked through the hatchway. “But it’s missing something.” He tapped a button on his netbox and music filled the galley. “There we go.” Was that a Holiday Bossa Nova?
2/6

#vss365 Nov 30 #AvengeTheStars

Mira unveiled the apple pie. “It needs to cool, but what the hell, it’s Christmas.” 

The crew gathered around, ravenous. Jolin smiled. Despite how she ended up there, they had welcomed her as #part of something she never expected… A family.

3/6

#vss365 Nov 30 #AvengeTheStars

“This cannot be vegan,” Leannx mumbled around a molten mouthful.

“Safflower oil gives it buttery smoothness,” Jennifer said. As if she knew anything about baking!

Mira laughed as Andreas looped an extra strand of lights around her shoulders.
4/6

#vss365 Nov 30 #AvengeTheStars

“What is this wonderful music?” Andreas asked, spinning Mira around.

“You’ve never heard a Bossa Nova? Brother, you are in for a…” Freeman’s voice trailed off, and for a long moment they were frozen in time; all bright smiles and dancing eyes.
⅚

#vss365 Nov 30 #AvengeTheStars

That’s when she knew. She would be one of them forever. Jolin could not stop the tears anymore.

“So I’m clear,” ACIS piped up, “you’re crying because you’re happy, right?”

She laughed, and a bubble of snot blew out of her nose.

THE END
6/6

#vss365 Nov 30 #AvengeTheStars

Thanks for reading, #WritingCommunity. I hope you enjoyed it. See you in December, #vss365!

Wait, you've never heard a Holiday Bossa Nova either? My friends, you are in for a treat:
youtube.com/watch?v=pDjLK7…

@threadreaderapp unroll