Tha sin mar bhàs.

[hollystrike]

Who: Katie and you!
Broadcast: Yes!
Action: Planetside
When: Now-ish

[Amusement Park]

[So this is where she goes when she wants time to think, apparently.  The bunker is a place she won't enter; between the heavy aftermath of a mass death and the understandably stricken reactions of its visitors, the atmosphere is far too toxic.  But it doesn't mean she isn't grieving.  The deaths could not be helped and are god knows how far in the past, but the fact that these people have been forgotten - not acknowledged even by this automated town, let alone the rest of space - is something that sits very poorly.  She can't even change anything about the town to reflect its population's final days.

She's walking the rollercoaster tracks, very high up, thinking over the issue.  Don't ask how she got up that high.  And don't worry if you should be using the rollercoaster at the time; she can avoid you.  Might give you a bit of a scare, though, sorry.

Eventually, she puts a call through to Sam.]

[Outside of town]

[As far as she can go before she suspects (or hopes) she's outside the range of the city's replication science so her work isn't scrubbed.  She's not too far from the bunker; it would be pointless if she were too far away from it. 

She finds a rock face smooth enough, and between a thick blade and Kirito's lightsaber she carves a memorial.  Maybe nobody will ever see it, but if any other visitors come to this place, they should know what happened.  It's worth the extra headache.]

[And Broadcast]

I've decided to quit making dreamcatchers and move on to voodoo dolls instead.  It's more fun.  So if you'd like to take one before I end up throwing them all out, feel free.

[Just so you know.  Totally honest, as usual.  Less cheerful than normal.

If anyone wants her she'll be curled up in her office with Licorice on her lap.  She's so tired of these planets.]

Comments

Amusement Park

[ginger_firebird]

[He sees what you're doing and while he approves, really? There can only be so many show-offs in the Fleet. Naturally, Mantis takes a break from his ring toss to float up and inspect this distinct visitor to the amusement park.]

I thought I was the only one who cared that little for personal safety.

[hollystrike]

[She's not showing off, gosh, she's thinking! Well. She also likes high places in general. Must be the cat in her.

She doesn't look altogether surprised at the sudden figure that wafts up from the ground, though his outfit definitely gets a second glance.]

Oh, I'm all about personal safety. See? Both feet on the ground and everything.

[ginger_firebird]

[He considers anyone willing to stay that far out of the ordinary a show-off of one kind or another. It's a limitation of what he himself is used to.]

The ground is about fifty or so feet below the both of us. [He shifts to a sitting position.] Psycho Mantis, personnel support of the Bishop.

[hollystrike]

[Well, there's Katie for you. She hates being ordinary.]

Is it? [She peers downwards.] I stand corrected.

Katie McCoy, no one of consequence. And that is an excellent name. Do I call you Psycho, Mantis, Mr Mantis? Bob?

[ginger_firebird]

[He can tell. Almost obnoxiously so, but he can tell she's at least visibly young. Makes it easier to tolerate the little bits of attitude.]

'Mantis' works well for me. Names like 'Bob' are so...American. [He taps his fingers against his arm.] Pleased to meet you, Katie.

[hollystrike]

I would think it's rather British, too. [Says the lady with the British accent.] But Mantis is rather more fitting. What brings you floating up my way?

[ginger_firebird]

'Bob's your uncle,' right? Our team leader occasionally used weird phrases like that.

I came floating because you seemed to be someone who puts more thought into what looks interesting than what is safe. Call it a kindred spirit.

[hollystrike]

Oh, I like kindred spirits! [She sits down on the edge of the rails, feet swinging.] Safety is overrated. Are you military, then, or just from a really interesting call centre?

[ginger_firebird]

Military. [There's a slight pause as he speaks, and his shoulders droop a little.] Ex-military, technically. The job leaves you, but the habits never do.

[hollystrike]

Did you retire the job or did the job retire you?

[Sympathy, man. She's a cop at home and not particularly fond of military as an institution for various reasons, but shoulder droops speak the world.]

[ginger_firebird]

Second one. Not for a lack of trying on my part, but it ended more or less like I has thought it would.

[It's the droop of remembering exactly how he left his job back home, but they quickly come back up when he remembers who had done him in.]

I wish that it had been proper retirement.

[hollystrike]

[She gets you, man. She's pretty sure she has a forced 'retirement' waiting for her if she ever leaves this place.]

I guess we can't always get what we wish for. It'd be nice, though. Is the Fleet a good distraction, at least?

My sincerest apologies for the late tag!

[ginger_firebird]

[It eats away at his pride more than he'd care to admit. He feels so domesticated.]

At times. I took up sewing and ice skating to keep me busy.

It's not a problem!

[hollystrike]

Oh, ice skating. My mother tried teaching me to sew, but I never really had the patience for it. Ice skating, on the other hand...much more. Have you tried the ice rink on the Iskaulit?

[ginger_firebird]

I helped build it. Yuri is persuasive in a puppy-eyed kind of way. I don't think he realizes that he does it.

[hollystrike]

I know the type. [But she looks at him with renewed interest.] You helped build it? Was it hard?

[ginger_firebird]

Not as much as you might think. I have a talent that makes lifting heavy things very easy.

[hollystrike]

Goodness, you don't say. [She says mildly. To the floating man.] Does it ever tire you?

[ginger_firebird]

Plenty. This physique is built in part by an absurd level of burnt calories. [He pats his stomach.] Keeps me trim. Honestly, I kind of miss having larger things to push around. It's good exercise.

[hollystrike]

What's your limit in things to push around?

[Warning: she'll probably ask for a demonstration eventually, because that sort of stuff is amazing.]

[ginger_firebird]

[He moves back a ways and looks across the whole of the roller coaster. Then he points to the first hill.]

It was a machine about that tall, maybe more so. I nearly killed a man with it, but he was a little too skilled for me at the time.

[hollystrike]

[That's pretty impressive.]

Does that mean you could toss the ferris wheel at someone?

[ginger_firebird]

Theoretically, yes. I'm not sure that would amuse anyone else, but I could try to set it rolling.

[hollystrike]

The only person you ever need to amuse is yourself. [Idly.] Something to keep in mind if you ever visit a park where you don't like the staff, I suppose.

[ginger_firebird]

Roller coaster cars sent flying, stuffed animals suddenly flying to pieces in the games area... [Oh dear, he's smiling.] I could never set foot on the planet again, but it would be a good time.