002 | video

[20mentholkools]

[The video starts out showing a shot from a dark corner of the shuttle bay, the device clearly sitting on the floor from the piece of one of the shuttles visible. Nothing really happens for a moment or two, and then the toes of a pair of boots come into frame, Riddick dropping down onto his haunches next to the camera. He lets his hands fall down into the shot, recognisable from the forearm guards over the backs of them. There's another device in his hands. Nothing to really mark it as different from anyone else's, no blood or damage, but those aware of the situation might understand that it's Hotspur's.]

You want this, Kirk? [He flips it over in his fingers.] How about you, Stark, want to get your hands on it? [Another flip.] Doesn't mean much to me. Maybe I'll leave it out somewhere, see how many rats come scurrying.

[A pause, and he pulls it back to settle in his hand more firmly.]

But, see, something's starting to dig at me on this ship. All the secrets. You all demand answers, but you've got your fancy encryptions. Your teams. Shouting disclosure, but how much do you and your people know, Kirk? Stark? How much are you keeping to yourselves?

I'm not a team player. Not preaching that we're-all-in-this-together bullshit. But I'm not helping you build your walls.

[He sets Hotspur's device down flat on the floor, taps it.]

Files on this trace back to a shuttle, one-four. Amity, Hotspur called it. Sitting right here in the bay, you want to see for yourself. Black box is gone, but I'm thinking we can say that's on the bridge right now.

[He doesn't say anything about the fact this information ties up with what Ward and Resnik said, proves that - at least on that - they weren't lying. Sometimes he spent far too much time pointing out the obvious to people, but on this one, he's really hoping he doesn't need to. But here's something Ward and Resnik didn't tell everyone:]

Lock wasn't broken, the room he was in. No damage except what he did trying to get it open. Accidents don't happen like that. Who did it? [There's a smile evident in his voice, dark.] Don't know about you people, but I don't like it when there are big arrows painted out for me. Got a tendency not to follow them. And this arrow's got parts that don't make sense.

[A pause, and any amusement in his voice disappears completely, leaving something more serious] A good man died in that room. Died nasty and messy. You want to pray? Pray you go out a better way. His prayers didn't help him, yours aren't gonna mean shit to him now. You want to preach? Use his death? [He's talking to you, whoever hung that picture and poem up in the Oxygen Garden.] There's no room for martyrs out here.

Really seeing him right is thinking. Learning. Surviving.

Try it. Maybe some of you will make it out of this.

[He picks Hotspur's device back up and stands. A moment later, the feed cuts.]

Comments

video;

[wont]

[ They are words she's heard from him before. Perhaps if he were more talkative it would seem more a mantra, the repetition of survive, survive, survive, and with the added coda of or don't. The man with the eyes that gleam claims to not care about things beyond himself but Alayne wonders — often, but always in private — why then he bothers to convey such thoughts in the first place. Why show someone the hard truths necessary to survive if their life or death meant nothing either way.

Perhaps it is not a lie, perhaps he truly believes himself to not care. But there is something in him, something that makes her call him the Lone Wolf and know the name is true. (Wolves are wild but belong to a pack. And even the most lone wolf understands the bay of wolfsblood.)

She considers saying something for a long time. (Alayne does not want to be turned away too quickly.) ]

—and who do you think was responsible?

voice;

[20mentholkools]

[If there was anyone he truly didn't want to talk to, it was her. Lone Wolf she'd called him, last he'd seen her, and that had cut deeper than he'd wanted to deal with. Best to stay away. But the whole point of the broadcast was to get people thinking, and if she's asking that - looking for someone else to give her the answer - then she isn't getting it.]

I think I don't know. Anyone says they do is lying. Or swinging their weight around.

[Or they did it.]

audio;

[killarevolution]

[Now this is the kind of sentiment (lack of sentiment) that Haymitch can get behind. There's a dry, acerbic laugh on his end of the comms that manages to sound incredibly pleased despite all the bitterness attached.]

And that's exactly how to do it, my friend. [How to get this blasted ship in order- none of this ridiculous call for justice, none of this politician horseshit, none of this well-intentioned leadership crap.

Survival. Simple and clear. Because that's how Games work.]

audio;

[20mentholkools]

Not your friend.

[There's a touch of something in his voice, though. Maybe an echoing amusement, maybe curiosity. He doesn't think he actually needs to make that clarification for this one.]

text;

[fearcutsdeeperthanswords]

[Oh. She likes him. She doesn't trust him farther than she can shove him, because she's certain he's dangerous: but he's smart. He sees things. He could teach her to see better.]

Will you make it out?

voice;

[20mentholkools]

Things've been trying to kill me since I was born. Haven't managed it yet.

[He won't say yes, because he doesn't know. Not for sure. He only knows he'll fight to survive 'til there's nothing left.]

video;

[cargojet]

Thank you for the information. Your delivery, on the other hand, is lousy. You see what's digging at me is people who think it's as simple as kill or be killed around here. You don't know that. The only thing that's true is that we're all out of our element.

There was a mutiny on board before. People get punished. If it's not enough to stop people trying it again then next time there won't just be a short stay in the brig for those involved.

As for thinking, learning and surviving, that's all great, but you think the way to do that is to shun community? 'Don't bother praying, it's no use to anyone'? Well you're wrong. It's how you breed unity, how you make people see that we're all just mortal and we're all in this together, and if you don't see it then I pity you. Must be a real lonely place.

Let me give you a little advice--leave leaders to do what they do best, what they've been trained to do, and you keep your dissent and your judgement about how other people cope to yourself.

voice;

[20mentholkools]

You're out of your element, Petrelli. I know where I am. Kill or be killed - better learn it fast.

[video]

[jurisimpudent]

[A nice speech, but it's not the political side of it he's all that interested in.]

Please describe the locking mechanism as you witnessed it.

voice;

[20mentholkools]

Looked like a door lock.

voice; locked 100%

[coffeeking]

Hotspur was a friend. If I swear that whatever we find from that communicator will be disclosed in full to everyone on this ship, will you let me have it? I'm not interested in keeping secrets from anyone but Ward and Resnik.

voice; locked 100%

[20mentholkools]

I'm not holding onto it for me.

[It really didn't mean that much to him, he hadn't been lying about that part. But Kara had left it with him, and despite what all his behaviour might say to the contrary, he had some idea of honour. He wasn't letting go of it without her say-so. Still, he adds,]

Nothing on it but those transmissions and his messages.

voice;

[starked]

[ tony has three secrets that mean anything to him on this ship. one is one that one person (two, counting resnik) know about. the other two will make it all the more easy to kill him, killing him is as simple as taking out his arc reactor and he is not a stark. not one like robb and bran.

this entire post, more than anything else, sets tony on edge. his secrets exist for a reason. and if hotspur died right after revealing a secret, why in the hell should he give up his. his friend is dead and while he looked at the lock afterward (long after riddick and kara and natasha and everyone was gone), he still wants his hands on that device. (half because maybe there's something in there and because it was his friend. but that last part he won't admit outright.)

riddick will hear tony typing with only tiny breaks in what he's doing before he ever hears tony even say a word. it's done that way on purpose because tony doesn't feel like acting as if he gives two shits about this. ]

I do want it, but in the interest of shouting disclosure, I've revealed a list and communication between me and the smile to the network. I added those encryptions so shockingly, I could maybe hear something out of some of you that I could condense into a possible answer that would get everyone to shut up.

Any other time I used an encryption was because you all don't need to know every little tiny detail about my life at home. Kind of think you might understand that, since I don't know your name, I'm not even sure anyone does. You wanna talk about shouting disclosure and keep something like that from everyone?

Disclosure is a military word, because things are classified and sorry you can't know about this because your security level isn't high enough. I hate the word because guess what, in shouting disclosure I've been a bit more open than some people. I have no problems telling people shit, it's a problem back at home, really. Especially when it involves a secret that's just about me. I like hacking into secrets. You want to call me out on not telling everyone everything until, you know, I actually have something to give you, whatever.

Knock yourself out. But realize that if I get my hands on it, and barring any demons randomly appearing or me getting lost in the ship or unforseen circumstances, I'm putting whatever I find out on the network.

[ there's a beat. ] Oh, and by the way three. Only one has anything to do with the ship and it's like the part where I'm not revealing it until I have enough information to cause a little less panic. Call it me doing my Tranquility civil duty in keeping everyone a little calm.

voice;

[20mentholkools]

[There's a long pause before Riddick responds. It's mostly because he does hear what Tony says. Really, his suspicions on who was holding information back 'for the good of the ship' rested more heavily on Kirk than Stark - purely because of the information Tony had given out about the list and the smile - but lumping them in together hadn't been all that hard to do.

Still, listening to Tony Stark talk was like getting bombarded with bullshit until you were too blindsided to see the truth underneath. And Riddick's never been a fan of bullshit.]

Anyone ever tell you you talk too much, Stark?

audio; I lied I don't have patience

[tumbleweeds]

But not quite kill or be killed? Yet, anyway.

[ Gods help her but she's trying, you giant asshole. ]

audio;

[20mentholkools]

Yet.

voice

[stacked]

[ now that is a speech faith can get behind. ]

Looks like I picked a nice week to roll into town.

voice

[20mentholkools]

Think we get good weeks around here?

voice.

[swagneto]

Finally. Someone else out there intending on tearing those walls down.

[ Erik's middle name is hypocrite, because he still keeps as many secrets as Tony & Kirk do. ]

voice.

[20mentholkools]

Did I say that?

[so not here]

[astrogate]

[ Kara doesn't have much to add here, as she completely agrees with how he is doing things, and to be honest - she isn't one for many words when they aren't needed.

She knows they will be sharing the information with everyone once they ensure that it is in fact, shared with everyone. But until then, she is just going to quietly watch all that she can, taking note of all she needs to and contacting Riddick onces things slow down.

you just earned a bit more respect from kara, riddick -- not that you really wanted it though. ]

voice;

[northerner]

[ about half of that made no sense to robb. someday he'll learn to parse technology. ]

Then you say it was no accident, what happened.

voice;

[20mentholkools]

That's what I'm saying.

voice; THIS IS THE LATEST TAG OK FIGHT ME

[goldshirt]

[Jim drums his fingers against the wall he's leaning against as he listens to this broadcast, eyes playing over the feed and over what's said. he's not surprised that people don't trust him. he's especially not surprised that it comes from this number.]

You've told me everything I want to know for now.

voice; THIS IS THE LATEST REPLY DO I WIN

[20mentholkools]

[After the whole spiel of justification and explanation he'd gotten from Tony Stark, maybe he'd expected more from Kirk. Or maybe not.]

For now.