trans_9 | A brief intermission [Closed]

Allenby, too, was heading towards the caverns! She'd heard about the new places that had been found and wanted to have a look at them for herself.

When she spotted Zouichi hanging around the cave entrance, she naturally grinned and headed over. "Heya, Zouichi--hey." The grin faded when she saw how uneasy his manner was. "What's up? You look kinda worried or something."

And what was that package he was carrying? Her eyes went to it, curious.

Uh. What?

What was Allenby doing here?

For a brief moment, he attempted to conceal the box he was carrying, then stopped himself. He'd only look more suspicious (and silly). "Allenby," he managed. "It's... nothing. Er, did you need something?"

Okay. He was really being weird. Was this something she ought to be worried about? Allenby couldn't imagine why Zouichi'd be in trouble or skulking around caves with mysterious packages, but if he needed her help he was going to get it, like it or not.

"Naw, I'm just exploring," she said. "C'mon, Zouichi, I can see that something's going on. What's the matter?"

~~Noooo~~

He smiled reassuringly. "It's nothing -- really. But... could you put off that exploration until later? Maybe tomorrow?"

Yes. That was totally going to convince her!

YOUR DECEPTION IS FLAWLESS, ZOUICHI. And by flawless we mean it just makes Allenby more suspicious.

"...Why?" Allenby put a hand on her hip and looked into the cave. "Is there something in that cave that's dangerous? 'Cause if that's the case, I can help you kick its ass no problem!"

Her eyes went back to the box again. "What do you got in there, anyway?"

Please don't try and kick his date's ass, Allenby. "No, that's not it. It's just..."

Okay, this approach clearly wasn't working. Time to come clean? "...It's a present. I was planning on meeting someone here."

...Awkward.

"Oh!" Allenby's grin returned. "You mean like a birthday, or--"

Something struck her. The embarrassment, the present--could it be? It did seem improbable for someone like Zouichi, but Allenby hadn't forgotten that conversation she'd overheard. "Someone--you like?"

He brought a palm over his face. "...Yes."

Hey, Synthetic Humans could do romantic things once in a while, okay, Allenby?

"Wait, were you eavesdropping?"

"I, uh..."

Okay, that was an answer in of itself. "yeah, a little bit. I heard you and Ildraniath talkin' after that mission to the ocean station." The big smile that had been ready to come out after his facepalm was now a rather awkward look. "Sorry."

"No, it's... not your fault." Unless, of course, Allenby had been eavesdropping for quite some time. In which case: So Unethical.

"Do I want to know how much you overheard?"

Did 'quite some time' mean 'deliberately long enough to figure out if they liked each other or not before guilt set in?' Because yeah.

"I didn't overhear anything bad!" she said quickly, waving her hands. "It just sounded like you guys liked each other. So, uh..." She grinned. "I better go before she shows up, huh?"

Shame, Allenby. Shame.

Zouichi smiled a little then, sheepishly. "I do. And... thank you for being understanding."

He paused, then his smile turned a little teasing. "In exchange, if I ever stumble onto one of your secret crushes, I promise to remain discreet."

SHE FEELS BAD, OKAY. ~~but not bad enough that she regrets finding out that Z has a giiiirlfriend~~

"No problem." Her smile became something a little more wistful. Not about Zouichi, of course. But... well, it would have been nice to be able to say that she had a secret crush. Or a not-so-secret crush. And one on somebody different--when she thought about it, she couldn't say she was completely over Domon.

Oh well. Zouichi and Ildraniath were and would be adorable in their strange, removed way. The grin returned. "When it happens, I'll be sure to remind ya. I hope you two have a good time!" she finished in a singsong as she took to her heels.

There was no harm in indulging Zouichi. It wasn't as if she had anything else to do but think. She enjoyed his company, in any case. So, she came down, robes sweeping behind her as always.

"Ah, Zouichi. What was it you wanted?"

Zouichi inclined his head slightly to her in greeting, relieved to have convinced Allenby to postpone her exploration plans until a little later. "I know it's nearly impossible to tell exactly what day it really is on the ship, but... back on Earth, there was an old Earth holiday that people often celebrated with people close to them."

He shifted a little where he stood. "I would like to spend it with you. ...Provided you don't mind, of course."

After all, he wouldn't want to impose.

"Oh? What holiday would that be?"

A human holiday? She wasn't horrifically interested in human holidays, but if Zouichi wanted an excuse to spend time with her, it was as good as any. She shrugged her shoulders and glanced at the package in his arms before replying.

"I don't mind. Perhaps you can explain it in a bit more detail."

He seemed to be at a loss for a moment; for whatever reason, he hadn't expected her to ask for details.

"It's... nothing overly complicated. In fact, in the region where I was from, it mostly involved giving gifts of chocolate to those close to you. However, the country we borrowed it from regarded it as an opportunity to spend time with someone in which one was romantically interested."

A perfectly neutral, factual, clinical explanation. Except for perhaps the hint of color creeping across his face as he delivered it.

Ildraniath stifled the smile that threatened to spread over her face. How very much like Zouichi.

"That seems... somehow appropriate."

Oh, good. Because he wasn't sure he could handle much more of this. In fact, he might be one more questioning, concerned friend away from quietly hiding under a rock for a week.

"I'm glad you agree," he managed, offering the package he was holding to her. It was a small, white box. Plain, but containing a number of fresh strawberries covered in dark chocolate. Not too sweet, of course.

He motioned to the entrance of the cavern. "Shall we?"

Ildraniath cautiously accepted the box and popped it open for a moment. Her brow shot up and then she carefully tucked the box under her arm with a nod, "Thank you. Although I'm afraid I haven't anything to give in return."

And with that, she swept onward, "This cavern was just uncovered, wasn't it?"

He wondered if that was a positive reaction, or a negative one. Sometimes it was hard to tell.

Zouichi followed a step behind. "Yes. A few of the crew found themselves trapped in the general area; there were a few messages about it on the comms."

As they headed further into the cavern, striations of crystalline material began appearing, interspersed with the rest of the rock face. Green, blue, pink -- and as far as Zouichi could tell, possessed of an unfamiliar makeup. Well. Not familiar on Earth, anyway. There were more ordinary cave formations as well: stalactites, stalagmites, hazy quartz and outgrowths of cauliflower-shaped crystal protuberances.

"I heard you finally got the Council to listen to you. Planning to celebrate?"

Edited 2012-02-08 04:04 (UTC)

"I haven't been paying attention to all of the chatter," Ildraniath replied with a slight shrug, "Most of it isn't relevant, in any case. But..."

She looked rueful for a moment, "Perhaps I ought to pay closer attention. But I spend so much of my time waiting and thinking, it becomes a chore simply to try and sort the valuable information from the utterly inane. We don't do anything, we just sit and wait for the ship to deposit us at our next location, casually drifting along as if we were happy to be used..."

Her ears seemed to perk for a moment and she glanced at him (the rock formations were very pretty), "Somewhat. They agreed with me. Finally - and they say they'll work with the chain of command to try and implement some sort of measures, but I don't have confidence in their abilities or their speed of action. So I believe I should prepare a contingency plan."

She swept out her omnicomm with her free hand, thumbing through it, "A group of marauders successfully disabled Stacy's security systems via access to the command center - which we happen to have as well. If they can do it, so can we. Of course, I'd also like people in the nerve center to try and disable anything important from there. Regardless, I think I can eliminate our Stacy problem with a small group and the correct amount of research... and applied force."

"Everything is reactive," Zouichi agreed. "I've tried to put together data on the combat capabilities of the Ohm we've fought so far; no one seems interested in it. Shrikes are apparently shipped off to interns in Medical for autopsy, at least until they discover something useful. Then they're shipped off to some kind of scientific black hole. Most of the time, I'm not even sure what the departments are doing."

It was an attitude across the ship that was both pervasive and troubling. The Daligig had, for instance, outright threatened the crew's safety, beaten a woman who'd had no way of presenting any real threat to them -- and they still had people aboard the ship voicing half-hearted justifications about how if they just waited long enough, their supposed allies might provide some kind of nebulous lead. Sometime in the future. Maybe.

After all, there were clearly no other alternatives. Right?

Was it apathy? Denial? Did no one on the ship have a problem with simply falling into line and following whatever course the Daligig had already set for them?

He walked alongside her as she spoke. As they proceeded further into the cavern, the bands of crystal widened, refracting the light in all directions out upon the rock face. It really was quite lovely, even if he had no idea what it was made of.

"I was wondering how long it might take them to realize you had something to say. For an elected body, they..." He shook his head. "I don't know what's worse -- the fact that they seem to have no idea what they're supposed to be doing, or the fact that they're so smug about not doing it. I always thought the purpose of an elected body was to listen to all constituents, not just ones to whom they feel personal loyalty. But almost every conversation I've had with individual Council members has convinced me that their priorities aren't in line with anything I'd expect. And that's when I see them at all."

He glanced at Ildraniath's Omnicomm. ~~He loved it when she talked strike forces~~. "Planning to get help from the people in Neuropathy? ...but I agree. There's no reason we can't accomplish something a couple of pirates could. We should have better resources and better people at hand." Then a pause. "Are you planning to take this plan to the Captain?"

"In one way, it's to be expected. We're a bunch of refugees, tossed together and expected to somehow cooperate and get along, all while fighting a war for some nebulous power we don't know all that well or trust," Ildraniath sighed, "But they are rather... unresponsive, at best. Outright dismissive at worst."

She glanced up from the omnicomm to take in the sight of the caverns and she gave the barest nod of approval before returning her attention to her long list of private notes and observations.

"I wasn't planning to, no. If I seek approval, they will probably tell me it is too risky. Too dangerous. But war... war is about risk. We need to find a way to get control of the ship back to ourselves - not control in name only, as we currently have. I plan to ask for assistance from anyone who wants to help. But I am not going through their chain of command."

Zouichi rolled his eyes at the Council talk, although that didn't stop him from noticing the extensive set of memos. Apparently, Ildraniath had been making good use of her Omnicomm. "Tell me about it. I had a conversation with the new Council chairman the other day, and..."

But no. That was an entirely conversation altogether.

He looked thoughtful as he listened. "I understand your reluctance. However..." Zouichi frowned a little. "Back when the ship loosed KAIN on the rest of the ship, the captain was instrumental in dealing with him." And that had impressed Zouichi. The way a baseline human, one who hadn't even had to make an appearance, had put his life on the line to protect a fellow crew member anyway. Had stood up to an immensely powerful alien being with nothing more than a few weapons and a plan.

"...He struck me as someone who got things done. Perhaps he could be persuaded to take part in this. If the crew's proved anything, it's that they're eager to fall in line behind those in authority. And it seems he's set apart from the Council anyway."

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