beyond visions — Roleplayer Guild

Benji Baker & Tahlia Spade
Collab between @beyond visions and @TheMadAsshatter
The Gym
Beastie Boys- Sabotage

The crew dispersed immediately after Owen had left, it was best that way. Dr. Childs saved Rend's life, before it was placed in the hands of Benji. And although Benji disagrees with Owen intervention as an act of self-defense, he still counts the man a member of the crew. He deserves to be there according to all meetings, even if he walks out of one with an outburst. However, Rend on the other hand, Benji anticipates his absence at all times. 
 
But even when it was all over, for now, he thought of her. Echo, Benji wanted to speak to her. Multi-dreaming is not something you walk away from feeling all peachy. No, it can leave emotions, even relationships twisted. She had a special gift though, foreseeing alternate realities. But still, that was dangerous, very dangerous. As for him, Benji, his mind was always set on the present. And at this moment, he realizes the girl needed her sleep. First encounters with multi-dreaming leaves only a restless slumber. 

Though, there was someone Benji thoroughly missed when separated from his own crew. To him, she is indestructible. She said something to him only hours after her initially release from the cryo-tanks, it was in the cockpit. Her precise words were, "I just focus on the present, regardless of whether it is or isn't real. It's only natural to think like that sometimes." It was nothing flowery nor rich in terminology, but since then he reminds himself to respect the woman. She spoke true to the very core of his deepest thoughts. 

"Hey, hey-- Tahlia!" Benji raised the volume of his voice, practically shouting to get her attention. Amidst her each blow pulsating against the leather, vibrations throbbed from the nearby stereo blaring with punk-rock. Besides the music,  he could not blame her for not initially responding, she likely was not expecting visitors either way. 

So, this is where she decides to spend her time when the cockpit is bombarded with Principality security, the ship's gym. The equipment inside was comprised of a pull-up bar, two treadmills, dumbells, and one last thing, what Tahlia had found favor in for the moment, the punching-bag. 

"Hi! It's me. Guess what..."  Tahlia was surprised to see Benji enter the gym.  She hadn't expected anyone to find it; she herself discovered it entirely on accident.  Then again, it was Benji.  He'd had two years to explore the ship, whereas everyone else got less than 24 hours.  She paused for a second, turning down the music a little and turning towards Benji. He grabbed the door of one the lockers, "There's an extra pair of gloves in here." Benji dug his hands deep inside of the boxing gloves. "Listen, I don't have any martial arts, boxing, wrestling, or whatever experience. But screw it, let's spar. Everyone starts somewhere, yeah?"

Benji hunched over in an amateur fighting position, one that could obviously leave him losing his balance. But no matter, he was ready and eager even if the whole situation seemed totally random by having the ship's doctor entertain a boxing match. Yet, in Benji's perspective, it was according to a theory.

Needless to say, Tahlia was a bit confused.  And to be honest, the spectacle that Benji put on was pretty comical to Tahlia.  She almost laughed, but she realized Benji was actually serious.  Fair enough; she figured training would be necessary at some point.  Maybe next time they got ambushed they could put up some sort of meaningful resistance.  But first, Tahlia would have to fix Benji's stance.

"Would you like a lesson first, or do you want to just get to it?  I won't hold back, you know,"  She said, whilst adjusting his stance.  Of course, that was a lie.  Tahlia was fairly confident that Benji wasn't lying about having never fought before.  She wouldn't let him win, but she wasn't about to just curb-stomp him.

Instantly without warning or hint, Benji gave her a sharp jab directly to the jaw. It was a forceful attack, yes, but nothing enough to knock Tahlia off her feet, nor leave a bone broken. Yet, his heart fell to the floor. This was not what he intended. This is what he feared would happen. A subconscious impulse overriding a conscious mind. 

Benji took a step back. And then another step back, and another, and another, until the cold metal wall pressed against his spine. But he did not retreat out of fear for any potential attack from Tahlia. Benji needed to realize he was no longer dreaming; there are real consequences to face now in waking life. 

"I swear--," he choked on each breath heaved by the lungs, desperately trying to allow his own words to escape his panting. And those words just began tearing as his own fear unraveled against his now pale face. "T-this wa-was-my--f-first... t-time-do-ing-som-somthing-like... that.". 

The unexpectedly skilled blow to her face caught Tahlia completely off guard.  Her head twisted to the side and she instinctively brought her hand to the spot where her face greeted Benji's fist.  It actually kinda hurt.  No real damage, but it was a pretty sharp hit nonetheless.  She ended up biting the inside of her cheek as well.  She turned and looked at Benji, seeing him back up a bit, seemingly as surprised as she was.  Maybe he hadn't expected his little sucker punch to work.  She hadn't expected it at all.  Oh well; if he was going to fight dirty, she was going to fight hard.

"You coy little shit!" she muttered, smiling a little bit.  Perhaps he wasn't a bad fighter after all.  She needed an excuse to stretch her skills, and what an ample opportunity that Benji gave to her.  "You wanted to fight, didn't you?  You started this, Benji, one of us has to finish it."  She was grinning nearly ear to ear at this point.  Her eyes were wild, and she had righted herself into an aggressive stance.  She was going to fight now, no matter what.  "Get your scrawny ass over here, let's go!"

As soon as he noticed her lips curling a smirk, he felt a wave of relief.  Sure,  there was an ounce of fear. That same woman most nearly constricted Rend to the point of death with her bare hands. Tahlia had the intention to exhaust his every breath, and she most likely would have if the circumstance lacked an interruption.

Fortunately, he did not piss her off, or so he had hoped. "Oh you better watch out; see this black eye, I've fought a  Britheian." Well... that was not necessarily true. But no matter, he put each foot forward, hopping towards Tahlia.

"And lost, obviously!" Tahlia taunted, faking a punch and instead going for the legs in an attempt to knock him down.

"Actually--", Benji hit the cold floor, yet he landed on his side, with arm and palm down. He assured himself that he would fall correctly, just as he learned.  "I didn't fight back... kind of wished I did though." Maneuvering himself back into a standing position, Benji rolled over till the soles of his feet surfaced the floor, then he bounced back into action, this time with a far more stable stance. "Then again if I did, who knows what would happen--" He paused, distracted by his thoughts, repeating the sentence to himself Then again if I did, who knows what would happen--. If I did... Three more times he echoed the word in his head, If... If... If... 

His arms dropped as his green eyes gazed downwards towards the floor he had just fell on. In his mental state, Benji was no longer there in the Artemis. No, he was there in Rend's mansion with Mr. Rend and Mr. Rend's new... wife. All reality was drowned out by that scene he had experienced in his last dream. Both the punk-rock music and Tahlia's voice was blurred by it.

Tahlia smirked at the result of her attack.  Despite how good Benji may have thought he was, she was still better.  Regardless of how well he recovered, he hadn't countered the hit.  She hadn't lost her edge, but to be fair she was still going up against what she assumed to still be a novice.

Benji seemed to zone out for a moment.  Tahlia's excitement for the fight was quickly replaced with concern.  No, this could very well be another trick.  She kept her guard up... but, then again, this was far from any normal behavior she had ever seen, and something about how Benji moved indicated that he wasn't faking anything.  To be honest, the whole scene was pretty unnerving.  It almost seemed as though Benji was being possessed, or something.

"Hey, you alright?" she asked, simply.  She was still wary.  Maybe fighting dirty was his style.  It was useful in real-world scenarios, but basically completely inappropriate for training.

His response was delayed, not until a few minutes of the flashback ending did he give his head a shake for the realization that he was still conscious. Finally, Benji spoke,  "Y-yeah... Um.. T-Tahlia, I need to be honest..." His mind raced through the three secrets he held: the ship's armory, multi-dreaming, and the execution. Then, Benji realized what was most pressing: he plotted to kill.  "I wasn't going to tell anyone, because I did not want to drag any of you into this, or even put it on your conscience. But, I'll let you know why the Principality has allowed us back on the Artemis-- I made an offer with them, pardon the rest of the crew from this crime we never committed, and in return they can use me to hunt down the Velbenan queen. I am supposed to make some kind of contact with her, convince her that I abandoned the crew, in hopes to gain her trust. Then, I... eh.. I deliver the execution."

Tahlia hadn't expected such a revelation, but that didn't explain his state just a moment ago.  Still, she could tell that Benji wasn't kidding about this to get Tahlia's guard down again.  And, to be honest, Tahlia still didn't really understand the whole political situation.  She knew enough to know that it was still pretty serious business, and that the Velbenan queen was, apparently, humanity's benefactor.  She lowered her stance and ran a hand through her hair, a scowl working its way across her face.

"She's the one who basically saved us, right?"  She let out an exasperated sigh.  "Refresh my memory; what were her motivations for doing that?  And furthermore, why is the Principality butthurt enough to want to kill her?" she asked, scornfully.

"Because of the Vruari! The Divine Regency!" Benji at this point was shouting, with neck tightened and brow furrowed. Then he paused, taking a step back, noticing his near outrageous yet passionate behavior. He has not yet truly dug into detail about the Vruari kind and their special ability. "W-Wait... wait... Echo's the only one I told... What if-- Oh crap..." Then it occurred to him that the pure apprehension of the Vruari invites multi-dreaming. Perhaps it were not true. No matter, Benji was not sure if he was ready to connect with another, he has even had the chance to speak to Echo. How would Tahlia respond to the process? What would she see? 

"What?  'Oh crap' what?  Not gonna lie, politics aren't my strength, nor am I particularly enthusiastic about them, and I'm also not too fond of the idea of murdering she who pulled our asses out of the fire." she said.  She stopped, noticing that her voice had been steadily rising.  She let out another sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose.  "Sorry.  Just... explain everything to me again, as simply as you can, please.  Fuckin' politics."

"Okay, let me start with the--" Benji gave a frustrated sigh, he loathed the possibility that this discussion may be stringing the dream connection with Tahlia. Not that he hated Tahlia, no not all and in any other circumstance he may be curious to do so with her. But it was too late. "No... It doesn't even matter anymore, I already gave the Principality my word. Tomorrow is my last day," Benji began ripping off the boxing gloves, as he also trudged his path back over to the locker they were found in. It bothered him to deny her answers, but he had to make the greater judgment that be better than creating a bond to just end up leaving. "After that. You're free. Everything else, is for me to worry about."

"Wait, what?"  He couldn't be serious. He made such a big deal out of it just to fuck off and do his own thing?  Tahlia was hot on Benji's heels.  Was he talking about a sacrifice? Did this assassination imply he had to stay behind?  At this point, Tahlia might decide to beat some answers out of Benji if it came to that. "Hell no, you are not getting off like that!  Now I need to know!  At least tell me what, exactly, you plan on doing."

"Whatever I'm told." Benji shut the door of the locker as soon as his brief statement finished. He was finished elaborating, because he often finds himself constantly babbling on and on. But not now. Saying too much could pull Tahlia into the mess. But he could tell, she was determined.

"Look, in case you couldn't tell, I'm trying to help."  Tahlia walked over to the door to the rest of the ship, preemptively blocking it off.  "And despite what tricks you may know, I'm willing to bet I'm still a better fighter than you.  I'm getting answers."  She didn't mean to sound threatening, but she wasn't about to pull out any stops either.  If what Benji was saying was true, he was going to attempt to assassinate an alien; a fairly powerful one, at that.  He'd probably also get killed in the process.  She wasn't about to let that happen.  "Like it or not, this isn't just your problem anymore."

"Going to try and stop me, should I put the gloves back on then?" He was being direct. His last question was in no sly remark to slip in a threat. That was a serious question. "No, I'm not joking, is that what's its going to take for me to leave?" Benji reopened the locker door, before slipping his pale fingers through the holes of the boxing gloves. Then, one foot after another, he approached Tahlia. "Look, I don't even want to actually fight you-- just move." Benji pressed his fists against her shoulders, shoving her away from the door. He was aware that strength was not on his side, that he was betting everything on his body; it was built like a teenager's. But no matter the consequences, Benji was ready to face her head on, if it came to that. 

Tahlia threw off her gloves before ripping off Benji's in turn. "You asked for this!" she said, quickly throwing a leg behind Benji's and giving him a shove, tripping him backwards. She went for the door controls and attempted to lock the room while he was down.  Memories from several years ago began to filter into her head. She remembered what happened to her squad after she left Syria.  She wasn't about to leave someone else to die.

Benji's reaction was a matter of mere instinct and reflex from spending a mock-lifetime trapped in an illusion. Before she was able to tend to the doors, he grasped her neck in one hand, while the other dominant one latched onto her shirt, acting as a weight to drag her down with him. He tried to fall landing on her, but with his lack of muscle, Benji only managed to drop them both against their sides.  "Stay out of this, Tahlia! Does it cross your mind, that if I really want to mislead you, then I could easily just lie to you?" 

"That's not what concerns me!"  Tahlia flipped on top of Benji, grabbing his arms and pinning him to the floor.  "Did it not occur to you that you're in over your head!  You're a doctor, not an assassin!" she said, leaning in as she said the last sentence.  "Where did you learn how to fight, anyways?"

 "It doesn't it matter where I learned how to fight!" His upper-body strength was not as weak as some may believe, Benji was able to carry Echo out of the First Temple, but unlike Tahlia, she was not fighting against him. Benji felt trapped at this point. He saw it as impossible to counter her weight. "Now, get off me before you do something crazy again! Owen's not here to stop you. Wouldn't want another accident, but fracturing Rend's neck and tearing his vocal cords  wasn't really an accident, was it?" That was low, especially because he completely supported her decision to subdue Rend in the first place. Though Benji said such a thing out of frustration, and he instantly regretted it.

Tahlia had to stop for a second to process what Benji said, and what started as bullheaded resolve turned into blind fury for a moment.  "You son of a bitch!" she yelled, bringing her fist into the air and preparing to strike down on Benji.  What fucking right did he have to bring that up when everyone knew damn well that he effectively threatened the good of the whole crew when he pulled the gun on her.  She started to bring her fist down, aiming right for Benji's nose.

Even if he had a free hand, he would not block nor stop her. Benji knew the pain would be well deserved. 

But she stopped.  Rend was an enemy; Benji wasn't, though he was quickly becoming a pain in the ass.  Tahlia tilted her head down and slammed her fist into the ground next to Benji's head.  "God DAMMIT!!!"  She shoved herself off of him and brushed her hair back with her hands, taking several deep breaths.  At that point, a part of her wanted to just let Benji get himself killed, but that wouldn't do any good in the long run.

"Do you fucking want to die?  Is that what this is?"

 "No! But I have a better question: why do you care if I die?" He spoke behind clenched teeth, trying to slow down his rapid breathing from the kicking adrenaline. 

"Because I..."  She paused, pinching the bridge of her nose and letting out a sigh.  True, she wanted to help, but the reason why was far beyond what she ever wanted to say to Benji, or anyone, for that matter.  "We need you.  You're the only doctor on the ship.  We can't afford to lose you."  She crossed her arms and shifted her stance.  "And as much of a pain in the ass as you're turning out to be, I'd prefer you stay alive; I do like you as a person."

When Tahlia explained his value as a doctor, he started believing that things were only professional with her. But then, he disregarded that thought when hearing her last statement. He sat on the gym floor, with hands partly covering his face, fingers digging into his hair. Benji was haunted by his own remorse.  "Ah... Well, now I really feel like a complete prick... But what has been done, is done. I am leaving... but I should let you know..."  He paused, still hesitant to present option, but it would only be fair to her to at least have the opportunity.  "The Principality originally proposed the entire crew hunt down the queen. But I persuaded them that they don't need six people, one is enough to get her attention. However... I'm sure because they were initially okay with six, two would be fine."

Tahlia let out a sigh.  She wasn't about to leave Benji alone.  Or anyone else among the crew.  She was responsible for enough of her friends' deaths.  "Glad to hear you come to your senses."  She held out her hand to pick him up off the floor.  "That being said, how do you suppose we go about doing this?"

 "Well, first off, I really don't want to tell the others about this," Benji took her hand, as he climbed back onto his feet.  "Telling anyone leaves the risk of them actually wanting to join. I told you because I honestly was looking for your input and advice. I guess I wasn't really expecting you to want to get involved... or ask so many questions. Either way, I know that you're built for this. You are the only one with real combat experience. But I'm not going to try and stop you this time if that is something you decide to do." 

Tahlia thought about it.  In all honesty, it probably was best that no one else gets involved.  Honestly, Tahlia herself was the only person that she saw as being expendable out of the whole crew, minus Rend.  Even if they were out a pilot, the controls and interfaces were intuitive, and as for security the rest of the crew was smart.  They would just have to be more cautious in the future.  Benji, however, was not.

"Oh and Tahlia one more thing...completely off topic but...," Benji knew that he could not allow himself to leave without telling her this first. "It's about what I said-- I'm sorry. I don't blame you for almost punching me in the face, and if I said something like that again just smack some sense into me." 

Tahlia sighed.  "Well, yes.  I'm coming with you.  And I can understand why you wouldn't want to involve the others.  I wouldn't, either.  Oh, and for the record..."  She walked up to Benji and gave him a light, but firm smack on the back of the head.  "Now we're even.  Just don't bring it up again."
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