(no subject)

[castrationfist]

Who: Everyone
Broadcast: N/A
Action: Iskaulit
When:

[So we've been stuck on the poison moon for a couple months now, so a lot of people probably want to get away from that.

Unfortunately, the only place you really can get away from it besides your own ship is the Iskaulit. So, here's a June Iskaulit mingle!]

Comments

Erik Lehnsherr | OTA

[grandstanding]

i. gardens

[As time goes on, Erik visits the gardens more and more often, to the point where he's in there every other day. It gives him some respite from the closeness of the walls in the ships, the knowledge that there's no real 'outside', beyond the polluted moon. None of which appeal to him. He can be found sitting amid the greenery with a book in hand, reading in silence. He does glance up from time to time, when others pass by or enter the room.]

ii. gym

[Erik tends to hit the gym in the early hours of the morning, with liberal attention to the things that can be hit. He works the punching bags most out of the equipment; his other training routines are all largely reliant on himself. Push-ups, sit-ups, stretches. All things that can be done without any physical aids besides a floor or wall.

On one morning late in the first week of June, his attention seems to lapse partway through his work on the punching bag. He comes to a halt, staring past it at nothing, before he backs up slowly until he makes contact with the wall. He slides down it to sit, breathing hard. Very odd.]

iii. wildcard

[Whatever your fancy!]

[ gardens ]

[axiomed]

[ Charles had collected the books from Riona and is wheeling towards him. ]

Look what I found. Apparently the Atroma did a sponsor drop earlier.

[grandstanding]

[Feeling his approach, Erik had already marked his place in his book before Charles's greeting. He raises his eyebrows, looking to the books in Charles's hands.]

A sponsor drop of... novels?

[axiomed]

[ He waves it in his hand. Erik might recognize the cover, though the title is different. ]

Erotic novels, apparently. I think we're not doing enough to keep the Atroma satisfied.

[grandstanding]

[He squints as Charles waves it around-- then he spots the 'Fifty' on the cover, and sighs.]

You're not serious. There's more of those?

[axiomed]

Two more from the looks of things.

[ He looks gleeful. ] I'm sure the quality hasn't improved whatsoever.

[grandstanding]

You're enjoying this entirely too much.

[axiomed]

Come now, Erik. It was fairly entertaining.

[grandstanding]

You certainly thought so. [Not that Erik hadn't gotten some amusement out of Charles's spirited reading. He reaches up and pats the other man's knee.] I won't rob you of an audience, don't worry.

[axiomed]

[ He beams. ]

Excellent. I had assumed the book I had was the last. It made no sense for her to go back to him.

[grandstanding]

I'm not sure why she was ever with him in the first place.

[axiomed]

Gratification, perhaps. I imagine there is a lure there. And feelings are not so easily dissected.

[ He flips to the first page, skimming it. ]

[grandstanding]

[Erik just raises his eyebrow, and doesn't comment. It's clear Charles gets some kind of gratification out of this trash. A guilty pleasure, perhaps.]

gardens.

[ownassets]

( She'd been exploring the ship, seeing everything that it had to offer. Both Hank and Charles had told her that the Iskaulit had a lot there - that that was where most of the businesses and places to do things were.

She hadn't expected to find Erik in the gardens. Actually Moira hadn't expected to run into Erik at all. She knew he was here but just accidentally running into him? Well, that probably was the only way they'd meet - he wouldn't seek her out, and after how things had ended she didn't know if she would either. But now she's found him, sat reading, and though it could just be easy to turn back around and pretend she hasn't seen him she doesn't want him to see her do that. Avoiding someone is easier when they don't know you're avoiding someone, so clearly the best thing to do is to greet them )

Erik.

( Although disturbing him isn't really the best option either. Well done )

[grandstanding]

[The voice jerks him out of the book, and he looks up sharply. Seeing that it's Moira only hardens his expression further. This wasn't ideal. It was far from it. Moira MacTaggert was not a woman he intended to reforge a relationship with. Looking at it critically, they had barely had one to remake. She had been a means to an end, part of the CIA mission that Charles had managed to hook him into. And then, Cuba... he distinctly remembers the sharp tang of bullets.

He closes his book with a snap, rising to his feet. He won't have this conversation while sitting down.]

Yes? [No greeting. If she has a purpose here, she can tell it.]

[ownassets]

( Maybe this had been a bad idea. Looking at Erik it definitely felt like it. She should have just left him to his reading )

Raven told me you were here.

( Charles and Hank did too, but Raven had been first. She wanted to assume that he'd been warned about her - warned that he might run into her, but she didn't know what they all talked about )

I thought we should get this over with.

[grandstanding]

"This"? I have nothing to say to you.

[And he doesn't, really. There is a lot he could say. About her, about her government, about humanity. All of it leads to ugliness, and it isn't worth the effort. Even if it would garner ratings.]

[ownassets]

But I do.

( And although Moira knows that he doesn't care what she has to say she doesn't care about that. She wants to say it, and she's not going to let him - or she's going to try to not let him - interrupt her )

We're both in this fleet. Sometimes we might have to work together.

[grandstanding]

Unlikely. [He's loathe to do anything of the sort. The last time they'd worked together ended with bullets, missiles, and blood.]

[ownassets]

You might not have a choice on that.

( Not if the Atroma enjoys drama as much as she's been told. And don't worry, the memories of the last time are incredibly fresh for her )

It doesn't mean I'll be seeing you out if I don't have to.

( For him more than her. She's not so objective to his presence )

[grandstanding]

I hardly need a lecture in how choice is taken from us in these situations.

[ownassets]

I wasn't giving you one. But you're so determined that it won't happen. It might not be for you that it happens.

( What if it was for Charles? Or Raven? Would he work with her then? )

[grandstanding]

I don't care about the reasons. You can do what you want. Just don't expect me to make nice with you.

[ownassets]

I wasn't going to. ( Not after that parting ) But it would be something to know that you could work with me if it came to that. You did once.

( And then it all went wrong. And honestly Moira knew that she'd never get to explain - that he wouldn't care for her explanation. He wasn't a fan of humans, she'd shot at him and despite her reasons he only saw the action. He didn't want to work with her, but would he if he had to? Maybe at this point no - he's so adamant to not )

[grandstanding]

You're asking me to give you a definite answer based on a theoretical situation, of which there are no details. If and when the time comes, I'll make my decision then.

[It's the best she's going to get from him. Moira re-entering his life has brought his grievances to bear entirely on her. She now stands in for the rest of their world's human race. It's not a rational response, not in the slightest. Erik has never been the most rational man, not in the heat of the moment.]