Day 27: Library

[not-rly-fai.livejournal.com]

Libraries, he'd found, were rarely as dull as people made them out to be.  Though he felt no magic in these tomes, they were still full of useful information.  Maybe some of them could tell him a little bit more about this world he'd landed himself in. 

For that matter, why hadn't he run into any of the others yet?  They'd all been fairly close together when they'd left Rekord, but he hadn't seen a trace of any of them.  He was able to communicate easily with the people here though, which led him to believe Mokona was within a mile or so.  Unless the ones running this little game had some other way to let all these other-worldly people communicate amongst themselves.  In which case, the others could be very far away indeed.

The library had that wonderful smell of old books, and Fai traced his fingers along the shelves, skimming titles and pulling books that struck his fancy.  Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, The War of the Worlds, and with a smile, he found Bram Stoker's Dracula as well.  Raven had been telling the truth then, in spite of his own lies.  Ought to be a good start.  He sat leisurely at one of the tables and began flipping through his selections.

[waiting for Tamaki~]

Comments

[empty-death.livejournal.com]

Faust had simply gone to the library. Books, even fictional books, were something of a comfort. He scanned the shelves, looking around for something that would catch his eye and then spotted his former roommate.

He walked over and frowned, worried and relieved. "Darman? What happened to you?"

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

622 looked up as another prisoner approached. 'Darman'? He looked totally confused for a moment. He didn't have a name, why did this--?

Oh. "I'm not 'Darman'. There are other clones here?" That made him hopeful. If there was another clone, that meant there was another stormtrooper here. He didn't usually seem so despirate for the company of other clones, but another Imperial here would be a real relief.

[empty-death.livejournal.com]

Clones? Faust blinked and then shook his head. "I'm terribly sorry," he said. "There were two other young men that looked like you, but I have not seen either young man here for at least a day or so."

Time moved so strangly here that he found he couldn't recall the last time he'd seen his missing roommate.

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"Do you know their designations or rank?" 622 needed information. Even if these clones might be dead, it was important to him. "I am Stormtrooper Sergeant TK-622. I don't have a name."

[empty-death.livejournal.com]

Faust had to rack his memories. "The young man who I mistook you for was 'RC-1136', I believe." He hoped that was helpful as well as what he was asked for.

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

622 looked shocked. "A Republic Commando?" The only ones still alive would be around 30 years old, way past combat age! And this man had mistaken him for one of them?

[empty-death.livejournal.com]

Faust blinked again. "If... if that's what the 'RC' stands for, then, I suppose so, yes."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"And... he was about my age?" That made no sense. Unless you went by all the stuff that the Captain had been saying before lunch, but he still didn't quite believe that... "Somewhere between 9 and 15 years old?" He had momentarily forgotten how strange that would sound to a civilian.

[empty-death.livejournal.com]

Faust frowned. "He looked like he was in his early to mid-twenties. Like you." Definitly not nine and fifteen.

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

Alright. This was just too strange. But that was no reason to be acting so undiciplined. He straightened slightly, forcing himself to hold back all the questions for a moment.

"Appologies. This is just very bizarre. That sounds about right for the 9-13 age bracket for a clone- we age fast. RC units by... my present day should be about 30 years old." Unless this was an actually insane clone they were talking about. Then he could have just thought he was from the Republic era...

"You said there was another clone as well?"

[empty-death.livejournal.com]

Faust thought back. "The other one I never did speak to, only saw in passing. It seems as though both he and Darman knew each other." He frowned, thinking. "One seemed to be in command of the other."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

One was an officer, then. That was good news. If they were still alive. "If you see them again, could you tell them that another clone is here?" He shouldn't be so hopeful, but if there was any chance of finding other clones...

[empty-death.livejournal.com]

Faust nodded. "I will be sure to, however, I haven't seen either in a while."

It was kind of .... worrying, knowing that people disappear all the time without a trace.

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"They're probably dead, but just in case..." 622 sighed slightly, eyes flicking down to the floor for a moment. "I've been hearing about 'monsters' in this place, but no specifics. What are they like?"

[empty-death.livejournal.com]

Faust thought for a moment. "The creatures that roam the halls are all different. Some resemble animals, others like creatures out of fantasy. Some are like the staff here, only twisted and far more aggressive."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"Any specifics? Are there some that are more common?" He'd really like to know, so he could fight them efficiently.

[empty-death.livejournal.com]

Faust thought about it. "The staff constructs seem to be the most common, while animal based monsters are more numerous. They travel together."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"Do the staff have any weapons?" By this point he wasn't too hopeful that they'd have blasters he could take, but if there was that possibility...

[empty-death.livejournal.com]

Faust nodded. "They do from time to time," he said. "But I'm not sure if what they carry will be of any use."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"Anything would be better than nothing." Unless it was likely to backfire on you. Nasty habit of some old blasters, but pretty funny to see happen to a rebel. "And what are the animals like? What sort of creatures are they?"

[empty-death.livejournal.com]

Faust thought about that. "They are like regular animals," he began, "Except larger, more aggressive, and, in some cases, dead." He smiled. "That doesn't make them less dangerous."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

"What counts as 'normal animals' on this planet?" Normal could range from harmless fluffballs to 30 meter monsters, depending on the planet. "And dead? How is that dangerous?" Dead in his experience meant relatively safe.

[empty-death.livejournal.com]

Faust tried to think of a good way to explain, then looked around the library for a moment. Nothing of use here...

"Cats, dogs, insects, bats, birds, reptiles."

[loyal-soldier.livejournal.com]

He had a general idea what all of those were like. Although the only thing he could think for reptiles was either as vermin or things with too many teeth. "What's the size range on these things?"

[empty-death.livejournal.com]

"Between a mere kilogram to a full ton or more, from what I've heard of and seen." The insects that had attacked him certainly shouldn't have gotten that big, nor the rodents.