[ISS] Recycling Bay (Mar 2.7)

Rich

Mark,

Aiden lags behind as you run down the corridors for the Recycling Bay. He's nowhere near your fitness level, but he doesn't quit. You hear him wheezing behind as you come into the bay.



You spot Bea, up a level from you. She's standing at a railing, leaning over it and looking down at the long fall. The air filtration system pushes a breeze through here, picking up her hair. You see her left thigh has a thick bandage applied, but blood's soaked through. She looks down to your level, her eyes suddenly fearful of you. She starts climbing over the railing,

"Corporals are on their way. If you stall or stun her, they'll take her to Iso." you hear over your subvocal comm.

What do you do?

Coalhada

I make my way over to a steel gantry that arcs out over the shaft. It creaks when I step on it. And I look up towards Bea on the other side.

"Bea. If this is because of what Ourania said to you..." I know that's not all it is. Only the latest cruelty in a sea of troubles.

Rich

Mark,

"But she's right!" Bea says with her voice strained as she swings a leg over the railing, her body halfway over and halfway back. She straightens, then lowers both feet down to the small ledge of concrete on the other side of the railing, her butt resting on the top rail, hands clutched to it. "I'm not going to survive. Why kid myself? Even if I don't have it, it doesn't matter!"

Over the subvocal comm: "Let her go. Let her jump. It would be better for everyone to see things exposed."

Coalhada

"None of us is going to survive," I say. "Not in the long run. Do you-- remember that Sisyphus book we were assigned last year? I think you and me were the only ones who read the whole thing. The answer to the absurd is revolt. Right? Absolute freedom."

I'm leaning with both hands on the gantry railing. I'm not sure where I'm going with this. The words just come out of my mouth.

"So if you're going to jump, do it for the right reasons. For authenticity. Not because of what someone else thinks. That's not even what Ourania really thinks, she only said it to hurt you."

Rich

Mark,

The artificial wind picks up a bit, Bea's hair drifts up into her face for a moment, but she's still holding the rail, on the wrong side of the railing. "I don't even know... what's authentic anymore. And Ourania should have hurt me. I actually thought for a moment that she killed Gwen. all because of Ollie's stupid vid." She licks her lips, then looks down, down into the yawning chasm. "I wonder how far I'd fall."

Coalhada

All the way to the bottom, I'd imagine.

"She might have killed Gwen. She infected Pris with the plague, I think. So. It's believable."

Rich

Mark,

Bea keeps looking down, her hair floating from time to time as she leans forward a few inches, testing her ability to hold herself. "Nobody likes me, Mark. I'm not. Not ugly. I'm smart. Why does everyone hate me?" She heaves a few breaths, "Why are you even here?" She looks up for a moment, meeting your eyes.

"We don't want you to jump, Bea! Why did you cut out your tracker? That's some deep muscle tissue!" Aiden screams between heaving breaths as he comes up to stand behind you. "Just get down. You're going to end up... in serious trouble!" He's not angry, his tone's worried. Aiden doesn't normally get worked up, maybe it's the long run.


You hear the sounds of people running this way.

Coalhada

I meet Bea's gaze and hold it.

"Bea, you are like the one person in the pod that nobody hates. And I'm here because I don't want you to jump. But that's what I'm saying, Bea, it doesn't matter what I want. You need to be the one in control. We can't control anything outside ourselves."

Rich

Mark,

Alright, that feels like a Manipulate here. Let's see how the dice work out!

Coalhada

Manipulate:
(Rolled: 2d6+1. Rolls: 4, 3. Total: 8)

+xp (to 2)

Rich

Mark,

If you, or Aiden, professed your undying love (or something similar) to Bea, she wouldn't jump. She doesn't want to die. She wants someone to care about her.

Coalhada

I could say it but it wouldn't be true. And we would both know that.

"Aiden," I say without taking my eyes off Bea, "if you were thinking of telling Bea how much you love her, now would be a really great time."

Rich

Mark,

Under his breath, Aiden curses, "stomm..." before he stands up and yells, "Bea! Don't jump! I'm.... I'm totally in love with you, okay?" She looks up at him, eyes wide, mouth slowly openly in shock. "I sit by you, day by day, always wishing I could, uhm, like hold your hand. And, I think you're really great and stuff! So... so don't jump, or it will be, uhm, it'll be killing me, too!"

Bea gapes at him, completely overwhelmed by the proclamation. Aiden, for his part, is playing it up, reaching for her across the void like he could hold her there.

That's when you see Corporal Eff, Mark. She's moving up on the same level as Bea, moving quick and quiet, and you don't think Bea's heard her, definitely hasn't seen her.

What do you do?

Coalhada

I wonder how much Aiden means it. I mean, sure, he's never really expressed any deep-seated affection for Bea when we talk in our room. But we're two guys, we don't talk about that stuff. So maybe.

I do my level best not to look at Eff.

Rich

Mark,

Aiden keeps her attention for a few moments more, then Corporal Eff comes up to stun stick Bea, tapping her on the neck. She jerks, and starts to fall, but Eff anticipated it and reaches out to grab her by the hair, pull her back, then wrench her unconscious body up and over the rail, dropping her to the catwalk. Another corporal, from a different pod, comes up now, and they both pick her up, start carrying her away. Towards iso, you're sure.

Aiden looks like he's about to cry he's so frustrated by this. What could he possibly say, though? They're corp. He's not.

What do you do?

Coalhada

I think of a few things I could say. And then I go over to where he is and wrap him up in a hug.

I take a deep breath.

Rich

Mark,

Aiden doesn't pull away from the hug, which I imagine doesn't linger. When you release him, he stays near, nose red, eyes watery. "You... you ass," he mutters, voice barely audible over the din of the plant. "Made me... declare my love for Bea? Now. Now I'm all entangled or something. You drokking owe me, Larsen." He manages a twisty smile, then looks over at the corps carrying Bea away. "I wonder if Ourania will get her released early, too?"

Coalhada

The mild elation of what we just did evaporates at the sound of Ourania's name.
"She owes Bea something, that's for sure."

I turn to head back to our pod. No reason to stick around here any longer than we need to.

"I am sorry for putting you on the spot like that. I just... it had to be you. You know?"

I put my hands in my pockets as we walk. I'm glad Gen Yu invited me over to Sixteen; I really need something to take my mind off all this now. Some drama-free speedball would be perfect.

Rich

Mark,

Please go here.