[voice]

[ryuuzaki]

[L sounds weary and unhappy, but isn't everyone strained right now?]

If we get through this, I'm interested in compiling explicit details of where this ship has visited since the current round of crew has been on it, and what happened there. Some of this is common knowledge, the rest less so, and I've only heard halves of stories -- individual perspectives -- and what other people, like Miss Robin, have been inclined to discuss of what they've been told. Those efforts are appreciated, but I'd like to hear more.

If you're willing to talk frankly about it, to start at the beginning without assuming any prior knowledge, please let me know.

Comments

[bosswald]

Bit direct of you.

[But she admires that, really.]

I've been gathering information, myself. I'm not about to share over this thing, but it wouldn't hurt to compare notes at some point.

[ryuuzaki]

Subtlety hasn't been effective.

I'm interested in firsthand narratives, but in some cases those may be hard to come by. I'd appreciate your help.

[bosswald]

I find it's a lost art on many people here.

Do you feel up for meeting over coffee, though? I could use some, so I can stay up the whole night. We can read over any responses you get together.

[ryuuzaki]

All right. To be honest, it's probably a better idea than sleeping right now.

[bosswald]

Sleeping's hardly productive in a time like this. I'm in Nomo #18. You can come collect me whenever you're ready.

action

[ryuuzaki]

[He's not far from there, so it's not long before he raps gently on the door with his knuckles.]

You know, they gave us coffee makers a while ago, but I have to say we're likely to do better in the cafe.

[bosswald]

[She's in the middle of pulling her hair up into a ponytail when she steps out, and winds up having to re-do it a couple of times as they walk because there's a stray hair out of place.]

My attention's drawn in too many directions to make any for myself. I'd wind up setting the ship on fire, and then all the planning we're doing would be a waste of time.

[ryuuzaki]

I wonder if anyone's been assigned to fire brigade. There's a girl here who can make ice and snow at will... but I think she lives on the Mero deck. She probably wouldn't make it in time.

[There's levity there, as he walks down the corridor, but on the whole, his demeanor is a bit glum. His jokes are so flat that they don't even qualify as deadpan anymore, and he looks tired, unamused, maybe frustrated.]

[bosswald]

[She notices that flatness and looks him over, before reaching an arm out across his chest so he'll bump into it and stop walking.]

Have you been sleeping properly? Eating?

[Her eyes narrow as she spins about to look him over, rising up on her tiptoes to lean her face close enough to his that the tip of their noses bump together.]

Don't tell me you've been putting in too much work into all this. You sound awful.

[Going into meetings for teams that aren't his and all can really wear a man down.]

[ryuuzaki]

[Going into meetings for teams that aren't his is his life's blood, Clara! But he's taken aback for a moment when she stops him so quickly and peers into his face, and he pulls his head back an inch or two, startled, before relaxing again.

She has even less regard for personal space than he does.]

I'm not sure you can put too much work into something like this.

I've eaten and slept.

[He dismisses the idea that anyone needs to be concerned about him. He has eaten and slept, but they've been donuts at other people's meetings, the occasional bowl of soup, packages of recently-purchased cookies, four hours of sleep here and there -- he'll try to sleep more and eat better as their time winds down and he's more assured that there's some kind of plan in place.]

It may sound trite, but I don't like the situation.

[bosswald]

[She leans back and seems to accept his answer, since she starts walking once again.]

I'm not very fond of it, either. Ever since we received that warning, I feel like we have a clock ticking above our heads, counting down until we have to kill or be killed.

[It's sadly not an entirely new situation for her, but she doesn't really think that this can be compared to some of her other experiences. She bites at the corner of her lip as they walk, seeming to think something over. What it is she's thinking about isn't vocalized, so it could be attributed to anxiety because of her position in all this. ]

I'm worried I'm not doing enough. That there isn't possibly enough that I can do. I've never been in the military like the other two leaders. I'm not a warrior like so many of the other people here. I'm clever, but what good is being clever if you can't think of a plan that will keep everyone on both sides alive?

[ryuuzaki]

That's because we do.

[His pace slows as he does a double take over his shoulder. He'd thought Deacon had probably left the mask on his bed as an obscure joke of some kind, but... was that someone following them?

No, it's nothing.]

Clara, it isn't up to you to fix the situation on your own. Have you typically found yourself doing so in the past?

[bosswald]

I wouldn't go so far as to say that.

[It's too difficult to try and explain, so she doesn't bother. Instead, she plays it vague. ]

I know I don't have to fix the solution on my own, but I have to prove myself to the captains. I don't trust them, but I still want them to take me seriously.

[Right as she says that, they round a corner, and in her exhausted state, she bumps right against the corner as she turns it. Her eyes widen as she recoils from that, and tries to play it off like it hadn't happened.]

[ryuuzaki]

[He raises his hand behind her and touches his fingertips -- only his fingertips -- to the top of her spine, just below her neck, intending to steer her away from the corner and back onto a path with more clearance.]

What happens once you've proved yourself?

[That's a mild question rather than a challenging one.]

[bosswald]

I don't know.

[She sighs, rubbing at her eye.]

I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I just know that's something I need to do.

[It's entirely because she hates being underestimated, but her pride isn't about to let her say that out loud. Not after she's just run into a wall and had to have him steer her clear of it happening again.]

[ryuuzaki]

[He lets his hand fall to his side again, after a brief pat where his fingertips were. His expression indicates that his eyebrows have gone up, but not in surprise.]

Doesn't everyone? I'm not sure how much impact it will have, however.

[L is of two minds about this. He hates being bored, but being underestimated has its uses; he doesn't want attention so much as the ability to do work that he finds interesting and meaningful. In some ways, he's been in a holding pattern for the past... how many years is it? He would still swear that he spent longer than three weeks in the Tranquility's endless dark corridors. But by any metric, it's been almost three years at a minimum, and feeling hamstrung and useless has caused him to do things in the hope of gaining small advantages which he now thinks were very foolish.]

Another question... what if they take you seriously already?

[bosswald]

[Her shoulders slump, and she finds herself getting grumpy for no reason other than she just doesn't know. She doesn't know, and that frustrates the hell out of her, and all she wants right now is something sweet and horrible for her to eat and to curl up in bed with someone who will pet her hair until she falls asleep. But she can't have those things, because she's comparing notes with someone she trusts as an ally, and thinks of as a friend.]

Do you know what sounds better than coffee? Or thinking of the captains at all? A nap.

[ryuuzaki]

Coffee and then a nap... it's the best way to avoid oversleeping.

[That, and setting your MID to play Bonsai Kitten sound effects at you at a high volume. He does stop walking, though, and if his eyes flicker to something just over her shoulder, it's very brief.]

If we get past this crisis, and you haven't proved yourself to anyone's satisfaction, you'll have time. If we don't get past it, it won't matter in the least. The priority should be our survival.

[bosswald]

[She gives him an exasperated look, crossing her arms over her chest.]

That is my priority. And I don't want coffee anymore. I've never been a big fan of it anyway. What I want is just an hour of sleep. Your eyes have the circles under them too, surely you're just as knackered as I am.

[She thinks that's a perfectly rational plan, when they've already walked all this way and would have to turn around and walk right back.]

[ryuuzaki]

[He gives her a flat look: Really?]

My eyes always have circles under them. [Now, for the first time in their conversation, some whimsy creeps back into his tone.] I was probably born this way... but that was a long time ago. I really can't remember any of it.

[That's the kind of joke an exceptionally overtired person would make, and it occurs to him that Clara's poor planning -- first coffee, then a nap, wasted effort in between -- is probably the product of exhaustion. Probably, she'd only wanted company. With an air of resignation, he turns in the direction from which they've come.]

[bosswald]

[The look she gives him back says she's dead serious about this. Luckily, he seems to turn around and head back the way they've come, and she gleefully follows along. The sooner she can collapse in bed, the better.]

I think they suit you. The dark circles.

[Yep, definitely exceptionally overtired conversation happening here.]

How long ago was it? That you were born, I mean.

[That's basically the most roundabout way she's ever asked for someone's age.]

[ryuuzaki]

[His pace slows and his eyes narrow a little: it takes some thought.]

I'm in my late twenties -- twenty-eight or so.

[And just like that, his pace picks up again.]

But that other ship I was on... we went into suspension frequently, sometimes for months. I'm not sure whether or not it counts. Nobody seemed to age in suspension... it probably doesn't.

[His thoughtfulness about this may indicate that it's a legitimate philosophical question for him, but he doesn't put too much weight on the answer. The fact that he might be closer to 150 years old is more interesting to him than unsettling.]

[bosswald]

So we're the same age, give or take. Good to know.

[She a little as she says it, covering up her mouth with the back of her hand.]

And I think it counts if you want it to. The Doctor's lived for over a thousand years, but he always says he doesn't feel a day over two hundred. It can be like that for you, too. Reversed, obviously.

[They've arrived back at her room by now, and she makes her way inside, expecting him to follow. Even if he doesn't, she makes quick work out of kicking off her shoes and going to collapse in bed.]

[ryuuzaki]

[He pauses at the threshold, then shrugs and follows her into the room, eventually sitting on the edge of the bed.]

I think I'd rather be twenty-eight than a hundred and fifty. I really can't see what the use of that age is if you don't have the experience to go with it. It's not a matter of how I feel.

[He's been forty since he was ten. In some ways, he's pleased to have even reached twenty-eight; there have been times when he didn't expect to.]

[bosswald]

[Scooting over, she leaves room for him to lie next to her.]

Funny, that. 'Cause I want to live to be a thousand.

[She says it with a grin and a tone that implies she knows its whimsical but is going to try and do it anyway. She's always managed to make the impossible possible and living to be a thousand sounds perfectly in her reach.

And just in case he needs a further hint to come and lay with her, she reaches out for him, fingers waggling.]

[ryuuzaki]

[He kicks back, arms crossed behind his head, knees bent into a steeple. Continually observing Clara means going along with her whims to an extent, and his experience with other Claras makes him think that this is probably not going to result in his death or maiming.]

How did you arrive at that number? Because of The Doctor? It's a nice round one....

[bosswald]

Because it felt like the most impossible age I could think of.

[Laughing, she shifts so she can rest her head on his shoulder. He's bony, but a decent human pillow. ]

Besides, it'd get dull after a thousand years. Don't you think?

[ryuuzaki]

I think... [he stifles a yawn]... I think it depends on what happens in the course of the thousand years. A thousand years of absolute peace... that sounds like the most boring thing I can think of. A thousand years of complete chaos would just be exhausting. A thousand interesting years might not be so bad, however... maybe it also depends on what you accomplish with it.

[Her head is heavy -- he's not used to someone resting their head on him -- but not to the point where he shifts or complains.]

[bosswald]

I want to have a thousand interesting years, full of adventure.

[She isn't the sort to just settle for a thousand boring years, and would find a way to make such a long time interesting. Of course, she knows it's impossible for either of them to actually live a thousand years, but it's a nice thought. One that has her smiling as she allows her eyes to drift closed.

She switches gears then, after only being quiet for a few seconds.]

Do you think we'll make it through meeting with the Caducans alive? It might put a kink in living to a thousand, to die here.

[ryuuzaki]

[That prompts a sigh, then a brief silence, then, when he speaks again, it's sober to the point of bleakness.]

I don't know. It depends on a lot of factors. If this ship survives, and the captains survive, I wouldn't be surprised if they attempt to bring back anyone who's killed. But whether that will happen... I hope it won't be necessary.

I have to agree that dying out here would be seriously inconvenient.

[That last part might be a joke, albeit a bleak one.]

[realitywarped]

In order? The first planet we didn't get a name for, Caducus Primary, Emiri, Ceta, Del Pascia, Amissis-Re, and now the Collective. There were one or two months the ship didn't visit anywhere at all, and a couple of months were spent on Emiri.

[And now you know.]

[ryuuzaki]

Thank you. I know that much, but in this case, anything is useful.

In your estimation, how many of these visits are likely to have future repercussions?

[realitywarped]

Likely- who knows? Possibly, they all could. Events that happened there could come back to bite us somewhere along the line later.

[He gestures, hands spread in front of him, palms up.]

[ryuuzaki]

There aren't that many choices. Emiri is worrying. I still don't have a strong grasp of what happened there.

[realitywarped]

Stupidity, mostly.

[He makes a noise of disgust.]

They claimed to find you your "soulmate", a concept that still baffles me.

[ryuuzaki]

How did they define it? Love at first sight, or "love" [some faint sarcasm there; it sounds stupid to him, too] whether or not you had the slightest bit of interest?

[realitywarped]

Your perfect partner, whether for parenthood, business, or romance.

[He shrugs.]

Considering I have no wish for the first two, and I already have a bed partner, pairing me up seemed rather pointless.