ataraxion | [001] Video

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[001] Video

[The feed flickers to life, leaving a fairly weathered face ~~yes he has a face~~ staring into it, appearing rather unimpressed. It's the first time he's used the network for his own transmission, though he's viewed enough at this point to get the general idea - this is how people around here communicate for near any purpose. Now that he's getting at least a little more used to things, he figured he might as well give it a shot.

Plus, it leaves him with at least a chance of seeing if what he'd heard from a certain source is right, if there really are people here that he already knows - people from his "universe."]

Guess I've been here for about two weeks now, so I might as well make myself known, or something. [Considering he's been keeping to himself since he arrived, and since his encounter with Epsilon. He's not exactly the outgoing type, but he figures he at least might learn more about the place if he talks to some of the people who've been here for god only knows how long.]

I'm Agent-- [A pause, in which he purses his lips and releases a breath.] ...I'm Washington. If it really matters to anyone. As I said, I've been here about two weeks, so I guess that makes me one of the new guys. I've been looking around on my own since I got here, and at this point I'm fairly certain I've at least got the basics on the place. Even if the whole thing still seems entirely impossible. I've done space, but I've never been kidnapped to another universe and trapped on a spaceship with no memory of actually arriving. [He deadpans, then shakes his head and wonders again why he's doing this. As much as he doesn't want to admit it, even to himself, he...might be a little starved for some conversation. Though he's already certain he's going to regret this decision.]

Anyway. I'm here, that's about all I wanted to say.

[He scoffs at himself, realizing this was even more pointless than he'd originally expected it to be, and swiftly cuts the feed.]

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[It's almost nice to see that York's optimistic about the whole thing. Almost. Would be if Wash didn't find it completely ridiculous. Cue an almost derisive snort.]

I wouldn't get my hopes set on it. Seems more likely that you'll get screwed over somehow. [But maybe he's just bitter because that's what happens to him around every turn.] Or you'll never go back. Who knows? There are plenty of ways it could go wrong.

[Do you like this demeanor better? This is the one he's the best at these days.]

[ He frowns subtly. Wash had never been an optimist, but that didn't really sound like the Wash he knew, either. ]

Hey... Hey man, you want to meet up somewhere? I'd rather talk in person, you know?

[The question surprises him a little, but after a moment of simply blinking at York through the feed, he nods.]

Yeah, sure. You have a place in mind? I don't exactly know every inch of this ship just yet.

[ He pauses to look at Wash's comm address. ]

I can come to your room. Just give me a chance to let Delta know where I'm going and I'll be there in a little while.

Right. Sounds good. [He nods, and figures he probably should have known that York and Delta would be sticking pretty close.] I'll see you then, I guess.

[ True to his word, after sharing a quick word with Delta, he's on his way, and the only limit to how fast he reaches Wash's room is the speed of the lift. Soon enough he knocks on the correct door and greets Wash with a smile when he answers. ]

Hey there, troublemaker.

...Hey.

[Man, he thought it was weird to just be talking to the guy again, but actually having someone who's been dead for so long suddenly standing in front of you? It's even weirder than he'd expected. But, he can't deny that it's kind of nice, on some level, to actually see the guy again face to face. Probably some side-effect of all of your friends being dead back in your own timeline.

Stepping to the side, he gestures with an arm for York to come in, though not without a look in response to that nickname.]

Troublemaker, really? Makes me sound like your kid brother or something.

[ Which was something he'd always been able to get away with perfectly well in the past. He smiles wryly as he enters the room. ]

Hey, I don't know, seems like you came into your own one way or another, huh?

Something like that.

[Something of a light snort escapes, and he closes the door behind York. He doesn't really want to get into how he "came into his own," but he expects York has a number of questions about what happened after Freelancer. Hell, he's got some of his own, but he's not going to be the first one to bring up the past.

Turning to face the other man, his old friend, he eyes him silently for a moment, almost seeming to size him up, or compare the differences in his appearance from the last time they saw each other. ...Whenever that was. He can't really remember exactly.]

...How've you been, then?

Eh, well, you know. Doing pretty good for someone who's been kidnapped. To be honest I kind of like it here. I mean, we have to deal with a lot of bullshit and I'd feel a lot better if there weren't children aboard, but, well...I've got Delta, and I've got free food and a place to sleep. So all in all, a net gain for me.

Plus you don't necessarily die here. [Yep, he's gonna be incredibly blunt in pointing that out.] Seems like a definite step up from that, at least.

[He does take a pause then, realizing that there's something he doesn't actually know yet about York - what point of time he's from. And unfortunately, he can't deny his curiosity.]

...What was the last thing you remembered before finding yourself here? Were you still in the middle of Freelancer? Or...after?

[ He looks at Wash for just a moment, not sure when the other man's loyalties lay at this point. He's not sure how it will affect things if they're on opposing sides of the situation. And last he knew from monitoring the transmissions, Wash had been on their side. ]

Been on the run ever since the crash. A long time, Wash, about three years.

Hm.

[It's an ambiguous sound, because honestly? He's not really sure what to do with that - he doesn't know if that's better or worse than if York had come from some point during the Project.

In the end, he settles on better, because at least that way he doesn't have to explain anything about the end.]

You know, I was impressed you made it that long while managing to stay off the radar. I always half-expected you to pop up and some point or another, but you never did. Not until I got your recovery beacon.

[ He made a low whistling sound, sympathetic. ]

It was you, huh? I guess I should have known but I never really thought that aspect of things through.

Yeah, it was me.

[It comes off as indifferent, and he even goes so far as to shrug, but the whole thing had actually been pretty hard on him at the time. It was tough, having to scavenge off of and then destroy the bodies of your deceased friends, job or not.]

I got North's, too. I got everyone's. They stuck me in recovery after you all left-- [More like after he'd recovered from Epsilon, but mentioning that might turn the conversation that way, and that's about the last thing he wants.] --so I had to deal with...all that.

And...you still working for them?

[ Because if so that definitely accounts for some of the apparent awkwardness going on here. ]

Am I still working for them? The Project, you mean?

[He laughs at that. It's bitter and mostly humourless, puts a wry look on his face, but it's a laugh nonetheless.]

No. Even when I was after you all left, I wasn't really working for them. I didn't want to be, at least. [If anything, he'd been biding his time and waiting for the chance to do something, to end Freelancer once and for all. Eventually, he'd managed it. ...Mostly.] So if you're worried that I'm against you, or something, don't be.

[ He's looking at Wash, not exactly in concern, but he's obviously trying to work something out. ]

Hey, what happened after I saw you last? You're... Well, I know you didn't take to your AI very well. I'm sorry for your sake that I left when I did, but we had to take action.

[He notices the look York's wearing, but he can't quite tell what it's about. Eyebrows raise, and he's about to ask what the staring's about when York beats him to speaking. ...The question isn't really taken to kindly, and he sort of tenses up. It's not really something he likes to talk about.]

It's fine. I know why you did it all, so don't worry about it. [Even if he's often wondered what it would have been like if someone had stayed back with him, or even thought to take him along. Not that he's about to bring it up.] I'm over it. And as for what happened after... It's a long story.

[That's kind of a massive understatement though.]

Well, hey, I've got time. Long as you're okay with going into it, that is.

[That's the thing, though - he's not so okay with going into it. But he figures he can go into some of it without giving too many details; he can't really blame York for being curious, and while trust isn't something he's really got any of, he's pretty sure this won't be another situation like what happened with South.]

I don't really want to do details. [He's at least nice enough to give warning?] Basically, I was in recovery for quite a while after the ship crashed, thanks to my AI. But I got better. Once I did, they put me on the recovery force, sent me out to follow beacons of fallen agents in order to retrieve their armor enhancements and their AIs, if they had one. Basic job, except I was only put on because someone had started hunting down freelancers specifically for their equipment.

[He's realizing now that he hasn't really told the full story to anyone yet. Then again, he hasn't really had anyone competent to talk to since... Yeah, he can't even remember. Who knows, maybe talking about it to York, however vaguely, would be okay.

Taking a pause for a moment, Wash steps further into the room finally, away from the door and toward one of the beds. There's a glance over to York, and then he takes a seat on the edge of said bed, figuring he might as well get comfortable if they're going to talk.]

We called it the Meta, but...technically, it was Maine. Guess Sigma got to him more than any of us realized, because he wasn't really Maine anymore. [A shrug, almost indifferent, but in a way, he can actually relate to the poor guy's experience, even if his with Epsilon was far different.] The only AI I managed to save on the job was Delta, and that was only because you were...well, killed by Wyoming, apparently. Not that it really lasted long.

To cut things a little shorter-- [Because he's not really looking to tell York some of the details, such as...him shooting South.] --I ended up hunting the Meta down with the help of some idiot simulation troopers. It seemed like wild goose chase at first - we'd catch up, we'd fight, and he'd get away - but eventually we did stop him. ...Not until after he got Delta, though. Essentially though, we drew him to Freelancer headquarters, and I simultaneously took him out, as well as the remainder of the Project. Finally found a way to get the whole program shut down for good. [Or, you know, he'd thought. Expression growing far more sour at this point, he practically scoffs and shakes his head.] Except the sim troopers didn't come through in turning in the evidence of everything the Director had done, so I ended up tossed in prison with the Meta, and the Director's out there.

Where I came from, I managed to strike up a deal to get myself out and cleared of charges - I just had to get the evidence back from the troopers and turn it in. But I ended up here before that could happen.

[Okay, so it's a really basic and quick explanation of the time since he'd last seen York alive, and missing so, so many details (including the fact that Epsilon was the evidence and that he ended up working with the Meta just before arriving here), but no one said York can't ask questions. Wash just wants to get the basics out, and now that they're off his chest, he gives his head a little shake and runs a hand through his hair with a puff of a sigh.]

That's the really, really short version. A lot's happened since you left, and the majority has been incredibly grating on my patience.

[ It's a lot to take in and he's careful to be attentive to make sure he picks up all of the details. Once Wash is done talking he sighs and scrubs his hand over his hair. ]

Yeah, Tex and me knew about Maine. There was...uh, an incident, having to do with Gamma and Wyoming. They blamed Tex for it, said she was trying to steal the AIs, but it wasn't her. It was Maine. I don't think he'd really gotten started yet at that point, though.

[ The next part is harder to hear. Not that he didn't know Wyoming was the one to kill him; as he'd mentioned already, Tex had told him about that. It was learning Delta's eventual fate that was difficult for him to accept. But still, he needed to know. ]

When you say 'took him out'...what happened there?

Oh. Yeah, I'd only heard about that incident from North and South. [But he supposes York knows he'd been unconscious during the whole thing, otherwise he wouldn't be explaining...] Makes more sense now, knowing it was Maine. Not really a surprise that they hid that from us, too.

[There's a bitter tone in his voice now, and Wash shakes his head, just sort of letting that bit of new information settle. It's not really a surprise, but it is kind of a piss-off that he's only learning it all now.

The next question though, it causes him to pause for a moment, to lift his gaze back to York and just sort of stare at him quietly.]

He didn't die, if that's what you're wondering. I didn't kill him, I just...drew him inside the facility and set off the failsafe. ...The EMP. Shut all of his equipment down, rendered all of his armor enhancements useless, but also subsequently... [He pauses tentatively, honestly feeling a little bad, having to tell York what happened to Delta in the end.] ...It erased all the AIs he'd collected. It was the only way to stop him.

[He looks a little resigned here, and releases a slow breath.]

...Sorry. I tried to keep Delta safe, but I guess I made one too many mistakes with him.

[ He took the news in quietly, but a shadow passed over his face when he was told what Delta's fate had been. He took a breath and sighed it out, reaching to grip Wash's shoulder. It's a gesture of solidarity; they'd both ended up losing a lot, it seemed. ]

I know you must have done everything that you could.

[He gets a faint sinking feeling in his stomach, seeing that look cross York's face, knowing it would be hard on the guy to hear what happened to Delta. He'd never managed to understand himself what the bond between the freelancer and AI was like, but he did know that they'd cared for each other. ...Or, they still do, given they're both here now, but whatever the case, he figures it's still probably a hard thing to hear.

A sideways glance is cast to the hand on his shoulder, and when he looks back to meet York's gaze, Wash purses his lips. He must have done everything he could? Well, no. Not exactly. He could have implanted Delta himself instead of giving him to Caboose to look after. If he had, the AI may have remained safe. But he hadn't. ...He couldn't.

Except, he's not really sure he wants to tell York that.]

...Yeah. Or, I tried.

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