bye bye love - bye bye sweet caress - hello emptiness...

[thespaceopera]

[It’s been nice and peaceful for a few days, hasn’t it? Everyone in their little cages with their creature comforts, learning all about each other through the strange rooms that have opened up at night… It’s been a wonderful experience, wouldn’t you agree? For some, that blood-curdling scream from the first day has not been forgotten.

A few days into calibrations, the main screen that has been conspicuously silent (aside from passenger use) flickers to life. Anything already playing on the screen is overwritten by a video feed of plain metallic walls not unlike those housing the Passengers. It’s difficult to tell what is going on offscreen. Shadows are uncertain, dancing everywhere; nothing can be gleaned from the shapes no matter how much they are analyzed.

The audio, however, is loud and clear.]

—can’t do this to us, [a woman pleads, her usual saccharine tone absolutely dripping with fear. Some may recognize the voice as belonging to Diamond.] You can’t! We followed orders exactly. It was in the terms! I don’t underst… oh no. No, no, please no don’t do this no no NO NO NO!

[Her voice increases in pitch and tremor until it’s drowned out in a garbled shriek of pain. The shadows dancing on the wall grow frantic and violent. The show is accompanied by sounds of heavy things slamming and the unmistakable whirring of a drill.]

I DON’T WANT TO DIE!! NO NO NO NO NO N—

[The woman’s shrieking cuts off immediately. In the newfound silence, something else drags itself weakly across the floor, getting closer and closer to the camera. SLAM. Until that stops, too.

A man’s voice comes through this time, thready and weak like a dying heartbeat. It's Beau, though he hasn't been heard by Passengers for quite some time.]

A-and now… you come for me. [The speaker makes a choked sound like a laugh or a sob.] All we ever did... was try to... make you happy.

[The whir of the drill begins again, but the feed ends.]

Comments

[ladybro]

[ she doesn't want to say she's been around this block once or twice before. with herself, with others, with sorting through clint's crap. the way he hides his deeper-than-skin scars like some kind of carnival shell game. they both do.

but she's glad he's talking to her. or beginning to talk to her. even as he frets; even as he still seems shaken. but not so shaken that he doesn't prove himself handily strong in pulling her to her feet. a quiet huff of surprised laughter and -- yeah, he makes easy work of it. she doesn't resist. ]

Just in case. [ she indulges. flexing her wrist with a brief wince. truth is, she knows she doesn't take as good of care of her body as she should. too much coffee; not enough greens. and injuries get ignored until they can't be ignored any longer. luckily for her, there isn't half as much of a reason to get injured in the fleet as there's been back home. ] I make a mean Tom Collins if they've got the stuff.

[ kate only now releases lets go. relinquishes their connection, for now, as she turns towards the hallway. ]

[padadin]

[The laughter is music to his ears, though the magic doesn't last long because yeah, he totally sees that wince. Good thing she accepts his suggestion, because there's no way he'd back off after that.]

I'm guessing that's a mixed drink. I usually stick to beer. [The physical connection may be broken, but Shiro is finding her mere presence comforting after the little moment they just had. So he follows her closely, their conversation about drunk times coming back to him.] I can give it a try, but you remember how you got me to dance, right?

[Only one drunk experience. Cadet times seem so long ago now.]

[ladybro]

Hey. [ she offers a show of empty palms -- of supplication, perhaps, except that it's impossible that she should succumb so easily. ] Trying it is all I'm asking for.

[ -- because she remembers the dance. and she remembers it fondly. kate has taken a fair few hits, of late, to her sense of stability in the fleet. it seems that whenever she turns around, shiro is there to prop her up a little. even if she doesn't say it.

it's only fair that she do the same for him. ]

[padadin]

I can do trying. I own you way more than that.

[It's not just him being nice - there are heavy feelings behind his words. Gratitude, respect, valuable friendship, debt. All warriors have demons, he thinks, and one day he'll make sure to be there to tell her it's ok too if she needs it.

First, though, gotta make things right. As soon as they enter the kitchen, he moves to grab some ice, then extends his human hand toward hers, silently asking for her own.]

[ladybro]

[ she rolls her eyes -- good in nature, however, and only to communicate that she still thinks he's making too much of a fuss about the wrong thing. her wrist is fine. right? kate's fired her bow with worse.

nevertheless, she offers him what he asks for. she holds out her hand, palm up, and fits it snugly against his. ]

You don't owe me anything. [ a beat. ] Friends are there for friends. There's no scorecard.

[padadin]

[Message received and accepted! He doesn't think he's making too much of a fuss, but the fact she does only adds to the fact she's letting him do this anyway. It's appreciated.

He holds her hand gently as he puts the ice on her wrist, chuckling at her comment.]

I can't argue with that, even if it goes against my point. I'll try a drink for my friend then. Better?