auroraexpress | The Nineteenth Trial

I remember your limitations.

Met your friend by the way. Sweet girl.

Isn't she?

She's also a terror. [But he's very fond of her.]

How long have you known each other for? Taking your memories aside — I know neither of your actually remember the other yet.

If we assume time travel didn't affect our aging, probably only a few years.

She remembers up to her late teens in Japan. No signs of scarring on her and everything was really normal except for some weird criminal dealings, but her father is a cop. Easy to see how she might have gotten pulled in.

And she looks to be maybe early twenties, so probably not even the last five years.

No, not that. I meant actually know, in here, not taking any of your memory assumptions in consideration.

You're both surprisingly fond of each other based on a single pendant alone.

We both arrived eight days ago.

It's not just the pendant.

We both use hot chocolate as comfort, we both have a lot of similar taste in things, like media and pets, similar humors, which was just kind of weird coincidence at first. But we both also relax around each other without thinking, she's the only one I reach out to touch without it being a deliberate thought.

And when we met, she fell on me, and I reacted like a special ops guy would. The thing is, when I fought Rean earlier to test my abilities, it was hard to judge how to hold back to not hurt. With her, I could break her like a twig if I got a good hold on her.

I didn't even bruise her. I knew how loose the grip needed to be to not hurt, but be effective, I knew what kind of throw she could handle, and I was ready to counter her counter attack. Which was where it was really weird. It was like I had fought her plenty times before.

Then we realized we had the same pendant a while later and that's pretty much the point where it's weirder if it is all coincidence.

Absolutely no part of that makes how attached you two got to each other any less weird.

Muscle memory shouldn't be underestimated.

One my teammates back home, Maine. He doesn't talk much, may be a mute after an accident. But he didn't need to with me. I could look at him and I could tell you exactly what he was saying. I couldn't say what meant which words, just that I knew what it was. And he responded like I was right so probably not all in my head.

Spend enough time around someone and some things just become instinct.

And being able to reach out without thinking is a pretty big deal for me. Part of the reason I've wracked up so many sparks is I'm pretty aware when I'm showing physical affection.

I'm not underestimating it. On a theoretical level I understand what you're saying, and you're not wrong.

[ but he makes a vague gesture toward him, and then, simply ]

Still weird.

[Shrugs.] Eh, had worse.

So, you get a second card?

I'll grant that it's the least weird thing about you.

[ Moving in closer to show him his second card ]

It's almost the same as the last one, only more uncomfortable.

I have at least a few less weird things. I know how to skateboard, that's normal.

[Comparing cards.]

Well, giving a massage gets you a bingo. And I can do some of the talking ones.

I feel like I've given and gotten more massages than I ever wanted in my entire life. But fine, let's do that. Your hands now? Start talking.

These cards really do like them.

[But holding out his hands.]

Well, I already talked about Rean.

So the person who might become my most important person is Tucker. Which is more based on feelings and reactions. He's definitely an asshole, but most of my friends back home are. He's a smart ass, always shooting back with something, and he tries to play up like he's a ladies man. But he's also sometimes weirdly honest, and for all he complains about my help, he goes along with it. The Reds and Blues are unconventional, but he does really good when he tries. There's a lot of trust in him.

Pretty sure I'm gonna remember a lecture from him. He tried to save me once and I kind of cut him off from the attempt.

Edited 2019-10-14 09:13 (UTC)

[ Hands contact is still weird but less so when he's the one doing the massage and initiating it. Still, he focuses on the words so he doesn't have to think too much about the touch itself ]

What were you doing that required saving?

It was after we shipwrecked on a planet in Civil War. There's a lot of politics and gray areas going on, because it's a Civil War and there's a third party that gets involved at some point? I don't know what's going on with that, except it's there.

By that point we were known as soldiers of great caliber. I don't know why that happened either. Both sides wanted us. The Federals had Locus who is a fucking psycho who sets off every single one of my warning bells who takes orders to 'capture' as make it sound like a murder attempt to the target, and the Rebels had Felix who seemed to be enough on the level in comparison.

Rebels needed to come to get us to their base without getting killed or captured, but we had to wait for them to show up. So Locus attacked, along with a robot going crazy in an attack droid and basically the entire fight was a shitshow. I got sniped partway through. When I came to, I didn't see my men around, just Rebels dying and I saw Tucker at the entrance to the escape route, calling out to me.

I couldn't run. I was barely standing. Tucker wasn't gonna run, not when he could get me. [Shrugs.] So I took the option away and collapsed the entrance.

Were all your missions on a team before?

[Considers, going through a mental checklist.] Teams or partners. Never solo.

Unless you count the Covenant attack, I was at a military base then.

Sounds like it made things more complicated.

Complicated is better than dead.

Which I would have been on my own for some of those missions.

Like there's the Civil War Planet. A few things. Sarge, Donut, and Lopez were still on my side, something I wasn't sure on until I woke up after the battle. I passed out after the sealing.

Later, there's a third force, I know this because later the Rebels and Feds are working together to fight them. But they were barely getting along. I'm pretty certain the only reason they were holding together at all was because our forces being split between them. People respected and listened and trusted us.

What happens if I'm alone? First, shipwrecked for months, surviving on my own. [And even if it's not years, months alone.] Felix and Locus find the wreck. Sure, Felix and I could escape. Then while I'm helping the Rebels to get off the planet because ships kept getting shot down, whatever this third force has a far stronger place in this conflict and the end is just wiping out both considering how badly a united front was.

Or I still end up with the Federals. The wipe out scenario still likely, but this time it's with Locus who sets off my alarm bells as a very real threat, and as one who wants something specifically from me. Personally, I'll take someone watching my back for that because I do need to sleep sometime.

I know there's strategic advantages to operating in a team. But like I said, it makes things more complicated.

Feelings wise, if nothing else.

.... [He shrugs.]

They do that. But isolation also has it's own complications, feelings wise.

[ not if you find a mannequin!!! He's 100% going to sidestep that ]

My siblings and I went on missions when we were children — obviously. That's why the crazy old bastard adopted us to begin with. But I can't imagine doing anything I've done with the temp commission alongside them. Then again, those were tasks designed to take out single individuals, never more than a handful at a time.

[The mannequin is a sign of those complications!!!!]

There's certainly...differences.

Project Freelancer was more about surgical precision. Smaller goals to make bigger impacts. I'm not quite sure what I do with the Reds and Blues that isn't the Civil War and time travel, the only memories that seem unrelated, we never talk about what our overarching goal is.

And those memories paint a picture of I seem to only be with them because I have to be because they're disasters. They turned stealing a jeep into a car chase into a helicopter chase to whatever ghost bullshit Church is doing.

So there's definitely 'right team for the right kind of work.'

The Nineteenth Trial

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