video/action » un:millerlite

[pampa]

[ miller got with the program... quick. he wakes up near the observation deck and snaps up the communicator that won't stop chirping at him and julie's necklace that's also within his grasp - he rubs his fingers over the beads before pocketing it. jumpsuit... magboots. back to square one. god, he hates space. in his fugue at first he thinks it's julie's voice, but it's not. and just as quickly he pieces together that this isn't eros. he sneers at the foreign insignia on the wall and starts scrolling through menus until the stupid recording stops. he logs in after a few different username kickbacks and pulls up a video feed. no time like the present to figure this shit out, right?

a surly-looking man with a (fake) mohawk appears on the network, the giant window of space his backdrop. he hasn't actually looked through said window yet though. ]

You tried to save the world? Yeah, okay. I was just risking my neck to save the whole goddamn Solar System, but I guess. You know, fine, that's great, I can always take a detour. [ he does not look like it's fine OR great okay. ] So what is this? Dusters, Earthers... I know this is an Inner operation. No way Belters are in the kidnapping people business. Unless it's profitable. And let me tell you right now, I'm about as useless a pickup as they come.

[ miller scrubs a hand over his mouth and turns, finally, to the bay window. concern flickers over his face, maybe fear too. but when he turns back to the video his expression is clear. he can't let this distract him, he has a job to finish. ]

Can I get a headcount at least? I'm sure I'm the only Belter on this rust-bucket too. [ he smooths two fingers along the seam of the window, making a little huffing sound when it comes back dirty. ] Well, here's something that might interest you Earthers: Eros is on a collision course for your precious blue globe, so hook me up with an escape pod. A frickin' catapult, I don't care. I was busy, you don't get to just take grand gestures like that away from a guy. [ okay this is edging towards counterproductive so he just groans and shakes his head, ending the feed after a terse: ] Miller out.

[ if anyone comes by the deck, he'll be just as grumpy, looking over the stars and wondering why he doesn't recognize a single one. miller rubs at his eyes, his free hand reaching into his pocket to touch the necklace - oddly the only thing they didn't take from him. and yet it was the only thing of value he was carrying other than a vac suit and a goddamn nuke. when you get close enough, you'll probably hear him muttering nonsense to himself but the gist of it is: ] I hate space.

Comments

action;

[donkeyballs]

[The first time he watches the video he thinks the system is playing tricks on him - dead voices playing back. But this isn't some stranger, some old citizen of the station with cryptic messages. This is someone he knows.

This is a ghost.

He doesn't reply, and instead makes his way as fast as he can to the observation deck. He's wearing the same jumpsuit that miller is, only one arm is done up tight in a sling, braced against his chest, and his eyes are wide when he catches sight of the man and makes a bee-line for him.]

Holy blazin' hells, Miller, it is you!

[pampa]

[ that's a voice he could never mistake. roci's pilot is sauntering up to him, and if he isn't mistaken he looks... happy?? to see him??? whatever, he has bigger fish to fry. ]

The one and only. What the hell happened? [ because surely alex would know, right? if he's here all the crew must be. but where's the roci? and where the fuck are they? ]

[donkeyballs]

[He is, in face, happy to see him. In about the same measure as he is absolutely baffled to see him. But the pure pleasure is what wins out, over everything, because there's been a fuck ton of strange shit in this place, since Alex got here, but this definitely tops the list as part of the Best of them.

He strode right over, reaching out to grasp Miller's arm with his good one (right over the cancer med implant, sorry Miller), squeezing as if to ensure that Miller was actually there.]

Damned if I know, but hell, it's good to see you. [His arm fell back to his side.]

You - Damn, I can't get over this--

[pampa]

[ you're making him uncomfortable!!! why are you touching him, also. miller grimaces at the squeeze to his arm as it causes an unpleasant tug to his port. but he doesn't try to shrug alex off, it isn't like it's bad to see him either. anyone from the roci is good people, in his mind. once he was excited to start calling them family -- but he ruined all that. or so he thought. ]

You feeling okay, pilot?

[donkeyballs]

Feelin' pretty damn good at the moment, hoss. How did you-- Where did you--

How the hell did you get off Eros? There's no way-- how did you even manage to survive it?

[If he sounds in awe, it's because he is. He had been 200% sure that Miller was dead. There was no way anything could have survived that blast. And yet, the protomolecule did somehow, and here Miller was in the flesh--

Oh, shit. He backed up suddenly, quickly, glancing over him with a worried look, before relaxing.]

You don't look like your blue 'n glowin'....

action

[subplot]

[Karen's been hanging out alone in the observation deck a lot lately. The newness of space has worn out and she's just left feeling lost and insignificantly small. Staring out at the stars doesn't help the feeling, but the general sense of apathy that's settled in makes her not particularly care about going somewhere else. Nearby, a man is recording a message to the network and she watches him with mild interest. He must be new here.

Feeling obligated to try and help him, she pushes herself to stand and makes her way over.]

I'm not sure I like it very much either.

[Her eyes glance down to her magboots. She's starting to hate them more than anything. They're uglier than the jumpsuits.]

How long have you been here?

[pampa]

[ he notices her, but also completely disregards her. he has IMPORTANT STUFF to do. but once his message is sent to... whoever will listen, he feels the wind go out of his sails a bit. as she gets closer, she might also notice his sickly pallor. might not want to stand too close, karen. she's not sure...? maybe she's a newbie to space, like him. definitely an earther though. he stands a little hunched, doesn't seem to look her in the eye when he talks. but it's just because his orientation is different, he holds himself like a belter. it's as obvious to him as it probably won't be to her. ]

About... [ he narrows an eye while he thinks, then brings the comm on his wrist up so he can read the time. ] Fifteen minutes? How about you, Earther?

[subplot]

[It definitely isn't obvious to her that he's from somewhere other than Earth, but the way he holds himself is definitely noticed.]

A few weeks, maybe? It's easy to lose track of time here.

[Smiling in amusement, she turns her head to look him over more closely. It's easy to pick up on the fact he isn't particularly healthy, but maybe that's just the way people not from Earth look. Assuming that's what he's meant.]

Are you not from Earth too?

[pampa]

Another reason to hate space.

[ he nods solemnly, but then just barely manages not to laugh out loud at her question, pointing to his chest. ]

Me? From Earth? Never stepped foot there. [ he'd die if he did ] Never will, either.

I'm from Ceres. Thought it was obvious. [ especially without his hat. he almost misses it now. he thinks of his earther partner, he couldn't tell the difference either. must be a belter thing. ] Just like you guys to see yourself in everyone else, though. Can't blame you, I guess.

action;

[tekimetexeng]

[ Naomi keeps careful track of the network, just to know what people are up to on the station. So she catches Miller's post almost as soon as it goes up, and proceeds to watch it through twice as the first time she was too utterly shocked by the existence of the man speaking to process anything he was actually saying. There are a lot of things about their current situation that she'd say weren't really possible, but Miller being here? That's just. How?! Theorizing about secret wormholes and abductions from the Roci are one thing, getting Miller from Eros' wreck on Venus is quite another. And he doesn't seem to remember that -- the outcome of it. His fate. How is that possible?

After several aborted attempts at a reply, she decides to just head up to the observation deck where he sent the video from, fast as she can. And she does catch him still up there, muttering to himself about how much he hates space, which is. Very Miller of him. Her lips quirk despite it all, even as she looks him over for any sign of protomolecule before approaching.

What was that he'd said? The only Belter on this rust bucket? Not by a long shot. He'll hear her mag boots coming up behind him, but also clears her throat a little to announce her presence. ]

Not alone after all, Beltalowda.

[pampa]

[ miller hears the boots, but doesn't think much of it. there seem to be quite a few... abductees aboard this station. it's strange, and he can't work out the motive, but it's not so different being swept up in some bullshit scheme. what's fucked up is the... everything else. he spins, a little too quick, when he hears her clear her throat, eyes perpetually cast downward climbing up, and up, only resting on hers when that familiar phrase passes her lips. well, shit. that's interesting. ]

Naomi. [ she's kind of a sight for sore eyes, honestly. he taps two fingers on his chest, a shallow smile slipping across his features despite how shit he feels. ] Guess I was off by one.

[tekimetexeng]

[ That earns Miller a faint smile back, and she mirrors his tapping fingers fondly. As much of a disaster as she knows he is... she sort of liked him anyway, and maybe not just because he sacrificed himself to save Earth. How does he not remember?! Okay, one thing at a time. ]

Just one Belter, but Amos and Alex are here. We think Holden and Prax must be in one of the sealed areas, no sense just taking a few of us.

[ Not that anything makes sense, but. She needs to believe they came along. ]

I'm more than a little surprised to see you, though.

[pampa]

[ that makes the most sense to him too and he nods, not optimistic bullshit after all. or maybe the roci crew is just rubbing off on him. ]

Surprised to see me too, huh? But here I am. [ the least enthusiastic announcement ever. but then he's looking back out at the view. ] Look at us. A couple of Belters all the way out here. Wherever the fuck here is. [ but it's still monumental in its way even if it's bullshit being kidnapped. ]

un: burton

[tumang]

[ Of course Miller would be all over the place, the second he woke up, cursing the station up a storm. The guy hates being stuck in tin cans, he made that very clear - the complete opposite of Amos, who preferred this environment to any of the asteroid stations. ]

Naomi's here, too.

[ So, another Belter. He almost says, and so am I, because he knows and understand the plight of Belters better than any Earther he's ever met - speaks the language fluently, lives and moves and breathes with them just like one of them, even if he knows he'll never be. It's the kind of things he talks about with Naomi, and no one else.

So he doesn't say it. ]

[pampa]

[ amos. his expression softens despite himself, especially at the mention of naomi. but it doesn't make any sense - he brings the feed closer to his face even though the other man could already see him fine. ]

Guess I was off by one, then. [ old habits die hard, but he knows how amos feels. had almost said or two himself, but he doesn't. nationalism dictates he can't. ] So tell me: how fucked are we? [ because if there's one thing he can trust from amos, it's that he won't mince words. ]

[tumang]

[ Amos makes a face, looking away from the terminal for a moment as he thinks through his answer. ]

Pretty fucked. No idea how good for the life support systems are. No idea where we are. No ships docked to the station according to Apollo. No way to tell if this barge is mobile in any way, but even if it is, and even if it has an Epstein drive, nothing right now tells us we're not too far out to get anywhere on whatever fuel we do or don't have.

[ He pokes his cheek with his tongue. ]

So, overall. Pretty fucked. At least we're not getting blasted by radiation. As far as we're aware, anyway.

[pampa]

[ it's somehow a relief, hearing it from amos. oh, but one thing: ] Who the fuck is Apollo?

[ the radiation comment gets a snort. ]

Been there, done that. Got the lifetime of cancer drugs. [ he scratches at his port wearily before shrugging a shoulder. ] Is it fucked up if I say it could be worse?

text » id: mag

[spinals]

why do you hate space?

[pampa]

Whats to like? Stale recycled air, imposed gravity, jumpsuits. That nauseous feeling I get every time I pass a window... though that's less of a problem on this barge I'll admit.

[spinals]

i don't mind the jumpsuits or the gravity
and i like the way the stars look
so it's not so bad i think

[pampa]

Let me guess
Earther?

action | deck

[morphogenia]

[Kamala is here to watch the stars because why not? She literally has nothing to do around here. She spots a weird guy mumbling to himself which really isn't that unusual where she comes from so she decides to chime in.] To be fair, space is always going to suck when someone is holding you prisoner.

[She's not here to make snarky comments. She wants to see if he's okay too since there are other reasons to hate space here.] But, are you okay? A door didn't try to eat you or anything, right?

[pampa]

Good point.

[ and it really is one, he's speaking from experience here. as he turns around to take her in... he realizes how young she is and it makes his face fall. taking him, okay whatever, he's a shitbag. she's just a girl. what is this place? ]

Did you just ask me if a door tried to eat me? [ or is he still hearing things? ]

[morphogenia]

[She doesn't miss that look, but feels compelled to answer. He needs to be mentally prepared, okay?] Yeah that seriously happened. Everyone is talking about it including a lady I'm like reasonably sure is honest with me.

[Okay now back to that sad place.] Did I do something wrong?

[pampa]

[ kid logic. it's charming in its way, but he can't help wondering about her parents. are they missing her? do they even know she's missing? does she have parents at all? questions he won't ask, but they flit through his mind at rapidfire anyway. ]

I just got here twenty minutes ago, kid. Haven't tried to get acquainted with a door like that yet. [ but maybe he should investigate...? nah, there are probably people better than a shitty exdetective for that. wait, how did he already fuck this up? ] ...What are you talking about?