Chase leaned over and helped Cara adjust the position of the bulky headgear Blanchard had given her. She was having trouble with the friction straps that were designed to keep the gear on the wearer's head no matter what happened. The helmets were heavily padded to protect the head, and contained a headset and microphone combination that linked into the T-bird's internal communications system. She and Chase were seated on single-person, removable padded couches back near the cargo lockers.