[ He visibly jumps at the shift in her tone, stressed memories of drill sergeants barking commands and derision forcing his spine to straighten. Hunk looks nervous, like his hand is caught in the cookie jar... at least until she catches herself. The rigidity, the tension is still there. ]

I weighed the options. Figured it was worth seeing if theory carried over to practice. If I don't, then someone else probably will, so no point in, y'know, staying home.

[ He exhales. A deep breath. His posture relaxes. ]

Besides, I'm the one from the future and I'm an engineer. You can trust me.