ataraxion | [video]

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[video]

[When the feed switches on, it shows Hiro flushed, breathless, and clearly ducked into a small, dark hiding place with a hand pressed to the side of his head and his eyes shut. He tries to keep his voice down when he speaks so that he won't be easily found, but who even knows what someone might be able to hear. Keeping his voice low also helps with the headache that started pounding behind his eyes; which had happened so suddenly that he'd stumbled into things and gotten him into the mess he's in at the moment.]

So-- here's a question. Totally hypothetical... but let's say you got caught sneaking into areas you shouldn't be in or touching things maybe no one wants you to touch. What would you say is the best way of getting out of it?

[He only asks because his usual tactic of "play the totally innocent/dumb kid card" doesn't seem to work so well on the few staff members he's run into in the engineering area, and even the "I'm so sorry, my head's been hurting and I got confused" angle failed. All of which has ended up with him kind of backed up into a corner. He wouldn't bother asking a whole bunch of strangers otherwise. Hiro bites his lip, glances outside of his little hiding spot, then turns back to the camera with a slightly sheepish look.]

It's not as bad as it sounds. I swear. I just... needed some things.

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What part of engineering would you be sneaking into?

[Pause.]

...Hypothetically.

Edited 2015-05-27 02:12 (UTC)

Hypothetically speaking, the climate control room's a good one to sneak into.

[A beat.]

And the reactor bay.

[And another beat.]

And all their scrapyards, too.

[Sigh. She's pinching the bridge of her currently bloody nose, hence the lack of video footage.]

Well, then hypothetically said trespasser sneaking about would be escorted out of the premises, possibly by a member of Engineering or Security.

...Have never heard of anyone being brigged for snooping in places they're not technically supposed to be. If that was the case, many of us would've been interned a long time ago.

[Herself included. Though she would also be brigged for entirely unrelated reasons, too.]

[Oh hey, that's good to know. No jail time is definitely a good thing, since he's sure that in his current state, Tadashi would fall into a coma upon finding out that his little brother needed to be bailed out.]

Oh. Sweet! One less thing to worry about.

And I guess that if you'd picked something up - hypothetically speaking - it'd be returned to wherever it came from. Right?

[Pfff.]

...

That would also depend on what you took and where it came from. Some of the salvage areas in Engineering have junk piles that's fair game.

[That has Hiro perking up a little.] Really?

They wouldn't happen to be specially marked or anything, would they?

Don't think so. They're usually just a bunch of junk piles around the diagnostic terminals down there.

[He lets out a resigned sigh.] Of course not. Don't even know why I asked.

Wait a minute, do... Do you work as an engineer here?

No, am in security, which includes patrolling the various departments. Have also been here long enough to know this ship very well.

[For the most part. About as much as anyone could know a ship that warps and changes and does weird shit like the Tranquility.]

Seriously? [That's... impressive, considering the stories he's heard so far.]

How long have you been here?

First jump.

You look like you'd recently come here. [When she did see him, anyway.]

[That mentally pings something!]

First-? Wait wait wait, are you- Is your name Rey?

[She's quiet, almost like the line's dropped dead for a moment as she just squints.

[And squints, and squiiiiiints.

[Finally:]

...Yes?

[Rey knows she is horrible with introductions, and she's pretty sure she'd neglected to give her name in her most recent network ~~confession~~ post, which leaves her a little paranoid. Specifically if people have been talking shit.]

[Once that silence hits, Hiro actually is pretty convinced that he's been hung up on.] Uh... Hello? Are you still there?

[Finally getting a reply has him relaxing just a tiny bit, but then he's struck with the new issue of what to say, exactly.]

Uh- Hi. Firo said that you'd be good to talk to about the jump stuff, since you've been here since the first one.

Oh.

[She exhales. Firo's name helps! It helps a lot because Firo is a bro.]

Well, he isn't wrong. [Then she's quiet again for a couple awkward seconds.] Would you rather we meet?

[It's hard to concentrate on that stuff over the network with a pounding headache she's been enduring for well over two weeks now.]

Uh...

[Hiro hesitates a little. It would probably be easier to talk about this kind of thing in person. Less chance of a hack, or being overheard, or anything like that. But then that also means Hiro has to interact with a stranger without the safety of a virtual wall to hide behind, and the thought makes him fidget. He's been better lately, he really has. It just takes a push.]

Um- I guess? If that's easier?

It usually is.

[If anyone can understand that sentiment, it's Rey. But that was before a year ago, when her issues with isolation started making her go crazy. And no one wants a completely unhinged cyborg-thing ex-soldier that can blow up around.]

Can be over there in about a half hour. Give or take.

Okay. I'll be- here.

[Wherever "here" is. He pauses for just a second to get his bearings, or to at least find a place that seems easier to find.]

These phones wouldn't happen to have some kind of GPS tracking ability, would they?

No, they don't. [Thankfully?]

We can meet at the entrance. Provided that you're not lost, in which case if you describe your surroundings or turn your video on, then it won't be too hard just to locate you.

[Never mind the fact that the engineering complex is by far the largest section of the whole ship, but whatev.]

Right. [Hiro may or may not sound seriously relieved.]

Okay, I'll head over to the entrance. That's probably easiest, right? A lot of these halls kinda look alike.

[...Rey would at least hope that these communicators don't have tracking capabilities. If they do, then passengers don't see to have the same access.

[Well, now she's a little disturbed. Not that it reflects in her level tones when she speaks:] That is fine. It's easy to get lost around here as it is, even if you do know the layout.

...

See you soon.

[She cuts out, and on her way.]

[The tricky part now is finding a place to wait where he doesn't look super suspicious. Of course, he kind of looks suspicious no matter what, being a short teenager in front of the Engineering area.

While he waits, though, he peruses through some of the applications on the comm device. There must be a map or something in there, right? Somewhere? He'll just have to keep doing his digging. It helps distract from his headache, anyway.]

[Sadly, the communicators are rather limited in their capabilities outside of keeping in contact within the ship. Unless you find calculators and a blank calendar to be useful, which... Well, they could be. Maybe.

[When Rey arrives, Hiro will find at Firo's physical description of her wasn't that far off. She's a tall, short-haired, scar-faced, broad-shouldered grunt with an aversion to sleeves. A look that most people would find physically imposing, but when she speaks she sounds oddly more soft-spoken than one would expect coming from her.]

Good to see you got out of Engineering in one piece.

[Hiro does a double take when Rey approaches. Firo's description was pretty spot on, but he still hadn't quite imagined her to be this... intimidating? Yeah, that seems like a good word for it. For a second, Hiro's not sure if that's the right person. But once she speaks and he recognizes her voice, that about confirms it for him. He blinks up at her in surprise, quickly shoving his device back into his pocket.]

Uh- Yeah. Yeah, it was easier getting out, actually.

[She blinks back at his response. After a moment that would seemingly be awkward for anyone other than Rey, she stuffs her hands into the pockets of her cargoes, allowing her posture to become a little more relaxed than her usual stiff, "at attention" stance.]

...Imagine it would be when you don't have to worry about sneaking around, yes.

[She pauses.] So, you mentioned something about the jumps?

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