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015 video; PSA

[ Pale and tired are words that describe Nathan perfectly today. Haunted would work too. He appears on the network with hollow eyes and a resigned attitude. Look closely, and the salt and pepper of gray hair is beginning to become visible in his too long sideburns. This. This is what I'm talking about. He needs some TLC.

Oh, and he's in a lousy ass mood. ]

Another month, another Jump. That means more surprises from the ship, both good and bad. [ He sounds like he's had both, but enough about that. ] I know you're still picking yourselves up, but I'd like to offer a reminder of the need for a cohesive, community centered approach to your stay here. You're carrying over a vendetta from home? Let it go. Prefer to live alone, surviving off your own means? It's not going to cut it here. Selfishness and arrogance get left at the door. This ship will kill you, we saw that just last month, didn't we? Any one of you people complaining about my hard line still want me to treat it with kid gloves, after what happened with the Cyllene?

My name is Nathan Petrelli, former Senator to the State of New York. I run the Communications department here. No, we don't have a government. We run this place like a ship, which means if you want to be anything more than a passenger it's best to join up with a department. Other than Communications, there's Security, Agriculture, Science, Gunnery, Flight Crew, Medical, Engineering--Pick one. I know, you don't wanna settle down, you just got here and it's a bit too much like admitting you don't want to try to escape. Might be I believe you if I weren't also addressing people who'd been here longer, and have no such excuse. Still here?

It's not a joke. I'm not fucking around. Let me make an example here: gunnery and the shuttle bay are running with a skeleton crew, and if they go, there won't be anyone around to teach newcomers how to defend the ship, or fly survivors out of here if the engines go critical or the walls start closing in. We've already been taken by surprise once, next time we might not be so fortunate as to outnumber the invaders. That means your survival may well depend on your willingness to pull your own weight.

[ And breathe. ]

Any constructive ideas people have about encouraging participation would be appreciated. I've considered the possibility that the less well equipped departments might instruct the crews of others how to do their jobs; that way in the worst case scenario we can transfer someone over to fill any empty places. That would all depend on willingness to participate from the other Department Heads, of course, so let me know where you all stand. I'm in, for the sake of argument--I'll be dredging up volunteers outta my own team first thing tomorrow.

Petrelli out.

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[No. No. It can't be. There's a sharp intake of breath. When Claire finds her voice, her tone is laced with confusion.]

Nathan?

[ It's been much more than a year since he last saw Claire, let alone heard her voice, and it gives him a moment for pause. Does he know that voice? It's only a fraction of a second, but Nathan kicks himself for it a beat later. It's Claire. She's here. Or is he imagining it? Is this the ship starting something all over again, playing tricks on him the way it had done when it brought back Peter?

Nathan responds, but he starts off with a few seconds of silence, and then he's frugal with his words. ]

It's me.

[It doesn't make any sense. Well none of this makes any sense but this makes even less sense than the rest. He's dead. He's been dead for a while now.

Her first thought, of course, is that he's just part of the illusion. Her second thought as to how he could be here isn't nearly as pleasant of an explanation and one she's been through before. She hopes it's not happening a second time.

Only one way to find out, though, right?]

How? I don't... I mean... [she swallows, hard; her tone becomes frustrated] This doesn't make any sense.

[ Nathan wishes he knew where to start with that answer. How it makes him feel, or what he should say? Who knows? Certainly not Nathan. He's already shaken up from the things his locker gave him, the bloodied shirt, and her disbelief is jarring.

Very quickly, though, he convinces himself she's shocked by his being on the ship at all. It isn't more than that. It can't be. Well, nobody ever said self-deception isn't a reliable Petrelli trait. ]

When was the last time anything ever made sense, huh?

[ How does he do this? ]

Maybe... Maybe we shouldn't be doing this over the phone. Have you had the tour yet?

Mexico. Things made sense, in Mexico.

[Sort of, at least. More sense than they're making now, at any rate. Things also made sense a few seconds before she showed up here but she's not going to tell him about any of that. If this is some kind of second chance, she's not screwing it up.

Breathe, Claire.

And laugh. Apparently, she's going to breathe and laugh. It's a humorless laugh, and really more of a snort, but it gets her focused back on the here and now. That's a plus.]

Yeah. I mean, no, I haven't had a tour, and yes, we shouldn't do this over the phone. [Even if she had been given a tour, she'd probably still say otherwise.] I really want to see you.

[ What the hell is in Mexico? Did she go there with Bennet? A family holiday, maybe? Because the moment she says she really wants to see him, all Nathan can think of is that Claire can't be from his time, nor from beyond it. Not given what Nathan was doing before they came here--her free pass. He's already on his feet by the time he replies. Didn't he have work to do? Nothing which would take priority over his daughter; not unless they were under imminent attack. ]

Where are you?

[He doesn't acknowledge Mexico, which Claire finds a little odd, but she isn't going to dwell on that right now. See him in person, first. Figure out if he's really Nathan later. That's her plan and she's sticking to it.]

I'm in the room that I guess I've been given? Some voice told me to head this way when I turned this thing on. [there's a touch of bemusement in her tone] For once, I actually listened.

[Well, technically she half-listened. She's only made it as far as the corridor outside of her room before being pretty convinced, if she did go inside, her dad was going to show up out of nowhere and give her a look for doing exactly what her kidnapper wanted her to do.

And hey, would you look at that? Her dad did show up. Not the one she had in mind but she's not complaining.]

Half my team's already running double-shifts in multiple departments. Triple, if you're Sulu.

Still, we know our shit and we'll teach what we can. More than we already do, anyway. Maybe people will actually listen.

[ She runs a hand through her hair, then abruptly locks the feed. ]

You look like you need a drink. [ She sure as hell could use one. ]

Wouldn't expect anything less from you overachievers in the flight crew. Damn good bunch of people, damn well led.

[ He wouldn't have made it so broad an address if not for his intent to not point fingers. Some people could do more, that's all he's saying.

He ramps up the encryptions. ]

Just one?

...sorry, but what happened last month?

[ tara's still processing the space kidnapping thing ]

[ Aw Nathan, you flatterer. ]

Well, you look like you might pass out if you have too many.

Don't go anywhere. I mean it, Claire, don't move. I'll be there soon.

[ And the feed clicks off. It's a long trip up from the 1st floor to the twenty--whatever they're on, now--and Nathan is antsy in the elevator. It's almost as though he expects Claire to vanish before he even sees her, so that when he bursts out on the correct floor, it's almost a shock that she's still there. No, not inside her room, but close enough. Then, despite the rush, Nathan stands dead still, paralysed by sudden anxiety.

She didn't remember anything of being here before. He didn't know when she was from, what she knew, how she'd react; nothing, apart from the fact that she needed to see him too. He should tell Peter. His brother would want to know. Maybe he already did.

Underlying it all, though, was a new fear, a fear brought on by the Tranquility herself. The ship had sent her here to hurt him, to punish him. He'd get attached, and then she'd be ripped away again, disappeared into the corridors or worse. That was what happened to people when they were brought here. ]

You're really here. I thought maybe... But you're actually here.

[ He'd forgotten how much she looked like her mother. Now, maybe more than ever. Had she grown, or was that an illusion? ]

I think I can handle my alcohol a little better than that. I'm not as old as I look.

[ So he might have noticed the impending gray himself. Shhh. ]

Rain check? A couple of hours, maybe?

You could use a haircut, though.

[ A nod. ]

Sure. Just toss a message my way to remind me.

[ Since otherwise she'll fall into work and not come out. ]

We stopped at a space station. It-- [ A thoughtful inhale. ] --Some people almost didn't get out.

[ And that's to say nothing of what happened on board. ]

It was idyllic, friendly; a honey trap.

I think you're probably right. And don't worry, I'll ring the doorbell.

[ So a couple of hours later, this is him ringing the doorbell: ]

Still up for that drink?

[The minutes seem to tick by slower and slower as Claire waits for Nathan to arrive. She idly considers going into the room so she'll actually be inside of it when he shows up, but she decides against it. Instead she takes to pacing. Three steps toward the elevator, pause, turn, three steps back.

It's as she's turning back toward the elevator with the intention of repeating the process for what feels like the hundredth or so time that she finally spots him. She goes still at the sight of him, eyes widening slightly at the obvious changes. It isn't the first time she's seen Nathan not his typical polished and poised self but it's still a shock. Not to mention there's still the pesky possibility that he could be Sylar in disguise.

Until she decides it doesn't matter. Not really. If this is a second chance, she's not going to risk wasting it by letting her doubts get the better of her. Reunion first. Figure the rest out later.

It's with that thought that she begins to move forward, all but throwing herself at him in a hug that's far more clinging than he's probably expecting. Her voice wavers when she speaks, the words thick with emotion.]

I'm so glad you're here. I still don't get any of this, it's all totally crazy, but I don't care. I'm just... really glad you're here.

[ A few hours is good, it gives her time to relax into her work instead of thinking about the alien that fell on her. ]

Yeah. Where to?

As far from reality as we can get. There's a little moon, purple sky, blue sheet rock, and these lightning storms that you wouldn't believe--I can bring the booze, and we get a free show. Sound good to you?

[ There's a laugh. She's almost surprised it isn't New York, but Carolyn of all people knows that home isn't necessarily the most relaxing place. ]

Sure. Let me finish up here and I'll meet you there.

I'll try not to get started without you. Holodeck 2, alright?

As long as you don't drink everything.

See you soon.

[ Nathan doesn't move. A moment later, though, she's there, wrapping her arms around him as though it's all forgotten, and maybe it is. His expression softens at once, and Nathan wraps his arms around her in return, offering a proper 'I missed you' sort of Petrelli hug, digging his chin into blonde curls. The fear melts away to the peripheral for now--he can and will dwell on it later, but right now...

Right now it's honestly just a relief to know that she's real. And at least it's Claire. Even if Nathan had never given her the benefit of the doubt in that respect, she was at least solid enough to be able to take some care of herself. Maybe her ability wouldn't protect her from the space sickness - it had almost killed Peter - but at least it was something. If it had been Monty or Simon in her place, Nathan wasn't sure he knew what he'd do, what lengths he'd go to to protect them. There simply wasn't enough cotton wool on board. ]

You'd have managed somehow, even if I wasn't here.

[Well... Wash isn't exactly eager about settling. But he knows shipboard life.]

Last thing we need is anyone falling asleep in flight.

[She snorts softly at his statement. She's faintly joking when she speaks.]

Hi, I'm Claire, and I'm pretty much the last person ever to manage when left to my own devices.

[After a moment or two of hugging him, Claire finally pulls back. She doesn't step too far away, though, just enough that she can peer up at him with a watery sort of smile. There's still worry there, in the back of her mind, that he isn't who he seems to be, and she knows she should probably work to either confirming her fears or debunking them once and for all.

With a steadying breath, she sets out to do just that.]

Nathan, I need to ask you something. [Her tone wavers from nerves. She presses forward, regardless.] When is the last time you saw me? Back home, I mean. What was happening?

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