Day 46: Lunch

[tostepforward.livejournal.com]

The mere fact that she'd been susceptible to whatever hold the Institute had had on her yesterday was sufficient to leave Ayumu both upset and angry - no, not angry, downright furious, both at herself and whoever was responsible for that. But there was also the fact that because of it, she'd lost out on an entire day of work, and in several ways had ruined some of what she'd done already. That little conversation with Himura the day before, for instance, was something she'd sincerely prefer not to remember if she'd had any choice in the matter.

Unless the man was a complete moron, which, unfortunately, was one thing she couldn't believe of him, he had to have realized just who her brother was. After all the effort to keep that fact quiet (not exactly a secret, but certainly not advertised; half the Shinsengumi probably never even realized it because there was no reason to) she'd gone and chatted about it with him. Told him all about it, practically painted a bright target around a weakness that shouldn't have existed in the first place.

She'd spent the shift in the Sun Room pretending to sleep, while in truth forcing herself into calm. After years of practice she could shunt away the useless and distracting emotions, focusing only on what was important and needed to be at the forefront of her mind, and by the time the intercom signaled the lunch period she was feeling considerably calmer. The time to silently observe others had, as well, alerted her to something she probably should have noticed earlier: Mello was back. Would her previous objective be reinstated now? He seemed to have far less of a bulletin presence this time, so perhaps not. Still, though, it bore investigating.

None of her thoughts were visible, of course, as she moved through the line, examining the lunch selection somewhat dubiously. Now with the benefit of Yuuko's memories she might recognize the food, but she certainly didn't share the enthusiasm for it that her imaginary self apparently had. Ayumu skipped past that part and settled for the salad bar and some bread, then positioned herself in a place where she could watch both the door and the rest of the room, setting her journal open in front of herself as though planning to write something. There was far too much that she'd missed, too much work to do now.

[for Okita]

Comments

[cmdr-exposition.livejournal.com]

"Your name, at least. You're pretty well known." To be honest, it hadn't occurred to Hayes to hate the Admiral. The Hierarchy was a slave empire, after all, and he couldn't see any way to justify hating someone else simply for having been caught in it. Of course, that didn't preclude wariness, so that little non-apology did come as a relief. A hostile VUX would have been one more problem that nobody needed.

Tanaka's question, though, was more confusing than anything. "Yesterday? Or the date- that's June 10th, 2155, if Earth's timekeeping makes any sense to you."

[wantsyourzex.livejournal.com]

Hayes didn't seem angry at him, which was good. He was hardly in the mood for old grudges, and it meant that a potential alliance would be easier to make. He couldn't help but smile slightly at the fact that Hayes knew his name. That was so rare here, and it was a comforting reminder of who he really was, despite all of his recent doubts.

"2155?" ZEX said, more to himself than anything else. So Hayes came from some point in the past. ZEX had always thought time travel was an impossibility, and it was difficult to really believe that his Captain and Tanaka had come from the future, while Fwiffo had come from the past, and as a result he generally glossed over the difference in time and focused more on their shared reality. 2155... before his Captain had come to see him and everything had changed. "Hmm..."

Something lingered in the corner of his vision, and he turned his head to see nothing before returning back to the conversation. This was really getting so tedious.

[violent-varmint.livejournal.com]

2155... compared to when Tanaka and his brood arrived at the Starbase, that would have been... very early, actually. Almost too early to have met the Captain at all. "Right." Tanaka looked up from his plate at Hayes, a serious expression on his face. "You'll have noticed by now that not everyone here remembers the same events. This is because the people kidnapped by this cesspit are from many different periods in time, and even from different timelines. Even for those of us who remember the Ur-Quan, the Alliance, and the Captain, there's been some variation as to the date they last remember. For instance, I was taken from mid-2159, by human reckoning... when the Captain's goal had nearly been attained. Admiral ZEX was taken from a slightly earlier time, having just made a deal with the Captain which resulted, indirectly, in the resurrection of the Shofixti race." Tanaka couldn't help but smile a bit at his own involvement in that.

"Which leads me to the next point," he continued, gesturing vaguely into the room. "Whatever time we were taken from, our odious hosts have dressed this place up to make it look like an insane asylum from around..." ...what was it the bulletin board had said all those days ago? Ah, yes. "...2008, if I recall. This includes the appearance of their guests. The Admiral may be a VUX, but his form has been altered somehow to make him appear human. Similarly, you may not know it at first glance, but I am a Shofixti, a veteran of the first war against the Ur-Quan. There was even a Spathi here, until he vanished like most of the people trapped here eventually do." Tanaka's expression darkened. "We've discovered certain things about how these two-headed ogres work - there are some maps filled in and some locked areas that probably house imp - but progress has been stymied lately. Hopefully a third pair of hands will help with that." He meant Hayes's, of course, but who should take up the leadership role among the three of them - or whether Hayes even trusted all of this from two people claiming to be aliens with no proof to back it up - remained to be seen.

[cmdr-exposition.livejournal.com]

"I... have heard a lot of this from others," said Hayes weakly. Not about the aliens, but he'd more or less worked that out from the sight of the Admiral, and even if he hadn't it made a kind of sense. It was the news from home that came as a shock- he'd barely accepted that the Shofixti were gone in the first place, and now they were going to come back? Because of a VUX? How?

He could process that later, when they didn't have this immediately dangerous situation to deal with, so with difficulty he swallowed the dozens of questions he wanted to fire off and dragged his focus back to the subject of their prison. "I've made a few friends already. One of them gave me a map, and he's planning to help me find some kind of weapon tonight."

[wantsyourzex.livejournal.com]

ZEX found no need to mention what had exactly happened before he'd been brought here, or what his intentions had been towards the Captain. Tanaka's explanation covered everything that was important, as far as he was concerned. Hayes looked somewhat puzzled though... probably at the idea of a VUX helping out a former member of the Alliance. His people weren't exactly known for being friendly, and certainly not for forgiving grudges.

"Allies are important here," ZEX said, his voice somewhat rough. He looked to one side again as something capered by, then brought his attention back to the conversation. "There's definite safety in numbers, and a weapon would be very useful." Not that a weapon had helped ZEX against his aggressors two nights ago.

He looked at Tanaka, then back to Hayes, and he thought of his Captain and how he'd expected, hoped near the end, that one of them would have come to help him two nights ago. But no one had come. In a way, it fit; he'd always been alone. His preferences had defined his life that way, and he knew that. If his Captain had been alive, then perhaps he would have come to his aid, but he was dead. No amount of wishing would bring him back.

They hadn't known; that was the best excuse. "I've been trying to get through some locked doors on the second floor. I hope to find some clue as to where my original body is, or what was done with it there. I haven't had any luck getting through so far, although I'm gathering the materials for an explosive. If you come across anything I'm looking for tonight, I'd appreciate it if you let me know." Whether or not Hayes was interested would have to be seen.