driftfleet | (no subject)

What's it got that it reminds you of that place? [he's curious, as he hasn't done this . . . going other places thing before, and that there were more of these places was interesting . . . a little bit]

Well... electricity, for one thing. All the food provided and replenished for you, for another. And the regenerative factor? Luceti had that too - when houses were destroyed, they'd be rebuilt the next day. The Malnosso did it with 'shifting'. [Frowning, so much frowning.] But this place isn't in a barrier, and there aren't any people here, and the droids are hardly capable of dragging anyone off against their will so...

[Contemplative bite of ice cream. Glancing at him when he was done and moving to stream a little bit of water out of her shiny new water bottle with the flip cap.] Oh, could you put the ice cream back between us when you're done?

[he holds out the ice cream as soon as she asks, though he's frowning at her description]

That don't sound like a great place. [he's never been one to keep his opinion to himself] Really hope that there isn't - most of that here.

[She takes the ice cream with one hand and streams water up around it with the other. In less than a second, the water turns to ice.

There. Now it should stay cold for them in case they want more. She moves to rest the pint on the ground between them.]

No. It was a terrible place. Good people, mostly, but... a terrible place.

[And Ben, she hasn't told you even like... a tenth of it.]

[not even the cool display of magic can get rid of his cranky look this time]

Why bring people there? You ever find out?

[She sighed.] The world was broken. None of the inhabitants were natives, except for the spirits. Those who were born there tended to go crazy and... no one ever died. Or - people died, but every time they did, they would come back, but something would be missing. Whether it was their sense of taste or their memories of a friend or the use of their legs or... their sense of right and wrong. I went on a mission once... [she is not looking at him now, her bowl of ice cream is sitting on her lap, and she's staring straight ahead, not seeing anything] ...to a ward of people who'd died so many times that they were little more than vegetables, or completely insane. And there was no rest, no peace for them, nothing that could be done. It was the most horrible thing I've ever seen.

[And she has Seen Some Shit.

Katara swallows after a moment, glances at him, and then continues.] So the inhabitants who'd been there for a long time were split into two factions: The Malnosso, who were trying to master the planet's natural 'shifts' to find the right... frequency, I guess is the best way of putting it, so they could go home themselves, or fix the world. And then there were the Cultists, who'd given up on ever finding home, and believed that the only way to end the cycle was to embrace True Death. True Death involved vicious, horrible torture before the "sacrifice" could be complete. [A muscle in her cheek pulses as she clenches her jaw.] Unfortunately, they did not see fit to volunteer themselves for this process. They were too intent on dragging everyone else with them first.

[A deep breath, turning to Ben with a small, forced smile.] And then there was the rest of us, the ones being kept in the enclosures.

[a broken world . . . his own had been described like that after the war, what with the shores being nearly uninhabitable, and the mess left behind from wars on various fronts. It had been a few years since the end of it, but there was still so much to be done to clean it all up. Twenty years was a generous estimate.

The ice cream in his bowl, half-eaten, is forgotten for now]

The cultists sound pretty fucked up. [he figures that's really all he can say about that. He knows a thing or two about triggering bad memories] So you guys - what, were on the Malnosso's side? Your own side?

Yeah. They are. [...and she hopes that everyone will be okay without her.

Of course they will be. They're strong. There are other healers and doctors and warriors there to watch their backs. She hopes they won't do anything stupid. She hopes Shikamaru sits on Masaomi or something to keep him from-- she hopes Aang--

Katara takes a breath and a very deliberate bite of her ice cream. She doesn't really taste it, but... it was a needed reminder of the here and now.] Our own side, as best as we could be. What I'm telling you isn't information that was given to us, it was stuff that we learned after years of trying to figure out the truth. They kept us as ignorant as they could, for as long as they could. Remember when I said the Malnosso were trying to figure out the shifts? Well, they'd do that by experimenting on the people inside the enclosures.

[She shifts forward a little in her chair and lifts up her heavy dark hair to reveal a bar code tattooed on the back of her neck. It's strange, talking about this now, showing him this. In Luceti, everyone had one. If they weren't in this place that was so like and so different to the enclosure... she might not have done this. But as it was, she didn't think twice about it.]

[when she lifts her hair to show him Ben has to squint to see it - but it's easy enough to recognize, and the frown deepens as he leans back]

Of course. Fuckin' animals. [it's mostly muttered to himself, and he carefully sets the bowl down with the flesh hand. It'd be pretty embarrassing to crush it, after all.

...] If this bothers you, you don't have to talk about it, you know. You can give me the short version if it's easier.

No, it's all right. [And she leans back and gives him a small smile - and it's small, but it's genuine, and her eyes are clear. Her smile fades as she speaks, one hand clenching into a fist at her side.] I hate that place. I hate what they did to us. But I'm not ashamed of what happened there.

[She offers a small smile.] It's probably not what you think -- not the same way, anyway. It wasn't like... laboratories and medical equipment, for the most part. It was done with shifting.

Edited 2018-03-25 03:18 (UTC)

Doesn't really matter how, matters that it was done at all. [he isn't a fan of torture of any kind, and had managed to avoid that when he was overseas thanks to a morally sound superior. But he'd heard stories - and obviously, it was a dark spot of the past, too]

But I get it - hating it but not hating what happened. [...] Anything good happen? They ever figure out how to fix the place?

[...matters that it was done at all.

Yeah.

Yeah it does.]

I don't know. I was there, and then I woke up here. [And that... clearly bothers her.] Although I learned that... people who were in Luceti when I was there were also here, about two years ago, and that they had been from Luceti, so... I don't know how any of this works.

[And that was So Frustrating.] But... I do know the people I left behind. [I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.] And they are pretty amazing. So I believe they'll find a way home.

This whole thing is new to me, so I wouldn't have a clue on how it works. [and he wouldn't bother trying if he didn't feel bad that she'd gone through all that. Caring is hard sometimes]

I hope they do. People usually find a way, no matter what's goin' on, don't they? Wouldn't worry too much about it.

[...heh.

She glances up at him and gives him a quick smile.] I'll try not to.

[But, you know, no promises. Either way, she leans back in the chair and takes another bite of her ice cream.]

[his ice cream is slowly becoming soup, but he doesn't seem to care. And he knows how well "don't worry" goes, but he hums in response.

After a few moments of silence he speaks up. Might as well change the subject for now]

Former partner's name is Rey. [he takes a sip of his now liquid ice cream] We still work together sometimes, which can go real well or as well as you can expect.

[Ah, she recognizes this for what it is - a bit of trust in sharing something private, as she had. She gives him an appreciative glance and a small smile.]

Yeah, that sounds like it could be complicated. What do you work together doing?

[he's giving it a shot. At the very least, taking his turn in story time, even if it'll be brief]

On the cases I need a cop source for. I don't get too many, but some of them need police involvement; still my case, just with - supervision, I guess. He'll give me files or work with me if it's like that.

Like I said before, we met in the army. He joined the force while I was recovering, and the army wouldn't take me back, so I followed him.

[Okay so... army... ten years as a private eye... 'joined the force' probably means 'joined the police force, so...

Katara is going to do him a favor and steer the conversation away from loved (she thinks, maybe still, she's not sure, but certainly loved once) ones who aren't here and who... well, he keeps saying 'former' so...]

How old were you when you enlisted? Did you meet earlier on in your career?

[The way he was talking about it, it seemed like he might have.]

I was your age. Enlisted right after I graduated from high school. [technically he was still 17, but he was nearly 18 by the time he'd been sent off to boot camp] I met Rey when I was still in basic training - I dunno, a few months in? I was almost finished and about to be sent off to my permanent base for the rest of my training.

...so you guys were together for a really long time, huh?

[She can't help herself, even though she'd meant to change the subject.]

[his nose wrinkles and he lifts the flesh hand, quickly counting down how many years that was. He was bad at remembering how long exactly . . . because it had been so long]

—yeah, a really long time. Seven years or so? [he shrugs, letting his hand fall] And I've been doing this job for five years - so we've been broken up for six.

[with a huff] Fuck, I'm getting old.

[Yeah, that's... a really long time. And then to be apart for almost as long as they'd been together, but to still be working together? This... was clearly a complicated thing.

Ugh, she knew how much this stuff could hurt, and she didn't want to get into it, but she couldn't just not say anything.]

Yeah, I hear that happens. [But...] I think it's pretty amazing that you found someone you can feel that strongly about, even if it didn't work out. It's got to be rough, not to be able to make a clean break.

[oh the face he makes. It sure is complicated between them - and technically they've been on and off again a few times in the years since - but whenever the topic comes up he can't help but scowl.

He has to take a moment to remind himself that Katara does not deserve his usual jackassery when it comes to Rey]

Yeah, well. He's useful when he isn't being an asshole. [be nice, Ben] Complicated isn't even a good word for all that bullshit.

[You know what? She gets it. She actually does. Not the same circumstances, not by a long shot, but still... complicated love lives suck.

So she just gives him a little, sympathetic smile and then shakes her head toward his ice cream soup.] Your ice cream is getting all... soupy.

[C'mon, you were just talking about your ex, eat some ice cream.]

—aw, shit. [like he didn't notice it already. He makes a face at it before he just shrugs and and takes another sip] Still good.