@Deserted Well, I wanted to give Asshat a chance to post first because we don't know if Tahlia would even want to follow in Benji's plan or if she would just walk off completely with what he just did to Owen. After Asshat, SherriffLlama will definitely get a chance to post.
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@TheMadAsshatter Oh my gosh, thank you for telling me. But hey, I'm ready to read your post, it is always the height of my day to do so, seriously.
@TheMadAsshatter You're up!
Benji Baker & Owen Childs
Owen wasn’t asleep, at least, not in any sort of sleep that could be considered restful. He had already been troubled enough as it was by the mental fortitude of his shipmates that seemed to be about as sturdy as a frozen lake on the first day of spring, and he couldn’t feel anything but guilt from his quick escape from his conversation with Yaz once it began to read like it would turn into a full-out therapy sess. Yet he had gone through the whole routine of getting ready for bed, and had spent what felt like either ten hours or ten minutes looking at the wall through barely opened eyes. Finally, he felt as if he was drifting, and perhaps he would actually get some real rest.
However, as his door whooshed open by itself and a cacophony rang throughout the hall and into his eardrums all hopes of sleep were dashed as Owen shot up in his bed, his head whipping around the room in a panic. It sounded as if the ship was being torn into two, yet there was no signs of any damage in his room itself; still, the noise was too loud and too close for it to be anything but an immediate problem. The man rushed out into the hall, stopping immediately as he saw the Doc banging his sword against the metal walls as if he was trying to rally up a horde of marauders. Owen gave the man a peculiar squint, not because he couldn’t make him out, but because he couldn’t think of any good reasons for Benji to be armed. Part of him felt that perhaps he had finally fallen asleep and he was now dreaming. Another part of him thought that Benji had cracked and his life was going to turn into a B-horror movie very quickly, the kind where the black guy dies first.
Probably should’ve talked to the Doc more, he thought with a frown as the image of him being gutted while in nothing but his skivvies entered his mind. Or at least gotten dressed first.
"Go to the kitchen, now! Don't ask me any questions. Oh, and don't wait up for Echo... or Rend for that matter."
Owen sighed; good, he wasn’t about to die. Maybe. The Doc didn’t look like his usual self. Generally he was more shifty and skittish, now he seemed to rigid and severe. Either something had scared him straight, or his mind had finally truly snapped. Either way, Owen sure as hell wasn’t just going to nod his head and dumbly walk to the kitchen in a pair of briefs and a tank top. He took a step back so that he was leaning out of his room and glared at Benji; there was zero doubt that he was upset by this entire situation.
“Maybe you should put that weapon down and tell us what’s going on first, Doc,” said Owen, his voice strained.
An exaggerated groan was released, expressing Benji's absolute annoyance while rolling eyes followed. He lowered the sword. "Sure thing, Owen, don't want you wetting your panties even though I'm clearly trying to keep us safe. If not I could easily slit your throats when you were sleeping. Of course, this is not your first time you told someone that's trying to protect you, to put a weapon down." Benji plugged the sword into its sheath, yet while doing so he grumbled to himself. And since he stood directly near Owen, it was within the other man's ear shot, "You clearly wouldn't have saved Andrew when Rend shot him... Always thinking everyone around you is crazy because we don't have a degree in manipulating people's mind and calling it therapy..."
Owen had turned to put on some pants when Benji had put away his weapon, his teeth gritted firmly in his mouth as he tried to ignore the doctor's insults and threats. If Benji was trying to rile him up, for whatever awful reason he had, then it was working, but Owen wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of letting him see it. However, Owen froze at the mention of Andrew. Benji had no right to say that; if Owen was there when Rend shot Andrew he would’ve taken the bullet for his friend. Assuming, of course, that Rend had actually shot Andrew; it wasn’t hard to imagine that was the case, but they had no hard proof. As much as Owen would’ve loved to condemn the man, he wasn’t just going to hang him for crimes that he may have committed—Owen wasn’t the Principality.
“At this point I think it's more accurate to call it common sense,” he said with a growl as he turned and poked a finger against Benji’s chest. He raised his voice so that it, too, reverberated off of the walls. “Why are you acting like such a dick?”
The doctor seemed to have grown a mean streak, although this would not be the first time Benji has demonstrated such malevolence. He had only just recently pissed Tahlia off. So although Owen's question was called for, Benji felt threatened when a man 6'4 uses what Benji felt was an aggressive gesture, especially since he is only 5'5 and nearly one hundred pounds less than Owen. "Don't touch me!" Benji snarled as the back of his fist slapped away Owen's finger. "Besides this is your own damn fault, Owen! If you didn't decide to stop Tahlia when Rend fired a GUN on us then he would be dead, and I wouldn't have to be worried about him escaping right now!" If Rend truly did escape, that jeopardizes the Benji's deal with the Principality. Because, that leaves the possibility of Rend contacting the Velbenan queen and telling her everything, even having her turn on the crew.
Owen folded his arms over his chest, looking down at Benji as the doctor implied that it would have been for the best if he had let someone be murdered by—
"What!?"
Owen twisted away from the other man, putting his hands on his head as he paced back and forth. No matter which way he cut it, Rend escaping was bad news. If the old coot did anything stupid then it would probably end up being on their heads for whatever damn backwards logic these aliens used. Owen let out a heavy breath. This was bad, bad, ba—he stopped. How did Benji know any of this? Owen spun on his heels, fixing Benji with a peculiar look.
"How do you even know that he escaped?" asked Owen, accusation heavy in his voice.
"Why don't you just go in the kitchen like I said so I can explain everything!?" Benji was losing his patience because he was running out of time. His urgency could be recognized by the harsh tone in his voice. Not only did he worry about Rend, Benji still had Echo to deal with. Though, Owen was presently proving to be his greatest obstacle to get over. "If I could, I would have already dragged you there, but you and I both know you're not really in my weight class."
"Hmph," said Owen with a snort. He didn't know what Benji's play was here, but the man was acting far too strange for him to go along with it. It was something he had said. Well, okay, it was a lot of things he had said, but one thing in particular colored him concerned: Don't wait up for Echo. He eyed the sword. As far as Owen could tell, two things were either possible: either Benji had completely lost his marbles, or he had found them. If the former was the case then there was no way he would let the man out of his sight while armed. He was a danger to the others, to himself. If it was the latter then, shoot, he liked the man better when he was batty.
"I could ask you why you're so determined to make us go to the kitchen. If it's so urgent, then wouldn't it be best to explain it here and now? I'm sure as eggs not going anywhere, and you aren't going to be able to make me. It's like you said: if you could, you would," he said, his voice low so that the other man would have to strain to hear him. "So, would you mind telling me why Echo isn't invited to our little family breakfast?"
"Guess who helped Rend escaped?" Benji raised his eyebrows as he glanced over at Echo's door. "And yeah, I know you're just going to ask more questions like 'how do I know she helped him', but-- damn it! Stay out of this, Owen, you wouldn't understand what is going on. I want to see her alone." Benji tightened his jaw as his teeth clamped down against each other. His annoyance turned to anger, because Owen continued to stand so stubbornly in his way. So Benji spoke with the upmost amount of hostility and aggression,"I already know you are not going to let me do that, now are you?" It was really a rhetorical question since Benji already knew Owen's answer to it. "Fine... Fine!" he yelled. "I'll go with one other person. But that person is not going to be you."
Owen's nostrils flared as a smirk crossed his face. A moment ago Benji wanted him to go to the kitchen so he could explain things to him; now the doctor was saying that Owen wouldn't understand what was going on. Benji was talking too much, unraveling his own yarn with hardly even the slightest bit of provocation. Owen nearly felt bad for the doctor, he himself was often guilty of saying too much to the detriment of his point. In a way, it was nice to see someone else's emotions get the better of them; of course, considering the implications that came with Benji wanting to see Echo alone while armed, Owen couldn't really enjoy it.
"I don't think so. Not if you're keeping that thing," said Owen, nodding to the sword. "Let's make a compromise. You give that to me and I'll see if Tahlia and Yaz would be kind enough to go wake Echo up, since she seems to be the only one who's allowed to have their beauty sleep," he said, having noticed that hers was the only door not opened thanks to Benji. "While they fetch her so that she can tell us what actually happened with Rend, we can go to the kitchen like you wanted where you can explain to me what is exactly going on. Nice and slowly, of course, and in small words if you could. I'm clearly too stupid to understand what's going on all by my lonesome."
As Owen spoke, Benji maintained full eye-contact with nothing more than the floor beneath his feet. Though when he finished speaking, Benji slowly raised his head up, "Ha, really? Really? You know, I was right, I couldn't drag you out of here, but there is something else I had in mind. I just really didn't think it would come to this. I didn't want it to come to this." Benji turned away from Owen, yet Benji did not make his way towards Echo's door, instead he approached the nearest Britheian guard positioned in the hall that was strictly there to protect them if Rend ever potentially made an appearance. Then a familiar sight unravel-- Benji communicating in the alien tongue while the rest of the crew remained completely oblivious. Though this time it was different, because this time was not just a simple conversation heard...
As soon as Benji walked back to Owen, two troops followed beside him. "You might never forgive me for this." Benji did not hate Owen, surely he was annoyed by him, frustrated even, but Benji was aware that now Owen may hate him. The two strapping Britheians grabbed both Owen's arms and shoulders, one soldier tightening a grip on his right and the other on his left, dragging Owen away by force.
"Seriously? C'mon, man, is this necessary?" asked Owen, an incredulous look on his face as Benji returned with two aliens flanking him. There was a slight amusement in his voice, one that quickly gave way to panic as the aliens seized him and began to drag him away. No amount of struggling would be able to break him free, and Owen had seen how rough they had treated the others to even try in the first place. "Benji! Benji! Goddamn it, Doc, call your goons off," he said, his voice growing into a scream as he was dragged out the door. "Benji! Benji!"
Owen’s cries crept into Benji's conscience. He could not help but fold his fingers against the hilt hooked to his hip. The sword was previously stripped from the armory’s wall because of his desire for security. Now, he felt unstable about his decision. Benji expected Owen to curse him madly, yet there were no sounds of hate only desperation. But no matter where his feelings forced him, Benji forced himself to commit.
And when the man’s shrills could only be heard through the ship’s echoes, Benji trudged towards Tahlia while his head remained downcast. With what he just did, Benji made it not an option to proceed to Echo’s room alone. He had to prepare for Murphy’s law, if anything were to go wrong inside of her room Benji at least wanted a witness. He just stained his own reputation, without someone there to vouch for him, it would be quite easy to cast criminal accusations.
Once he faced Tahlia Benji gradually raised his head to herself. Yes, he kept it in the back of his mind that Yaz was still there present in the hall. But part of him wanted to pretend that she wasn’t. He still had a soft spot for her. With all the hell they have walked through yet, she, out of the six, preserved an innocence—an innocence Benji had seemed to have forgotten, or lost,.. somehow. He chose to speak to Tahlia because she was the most familiar with multi-dreaming, that is exactly what crossed his mind when he told Owen that he just wouldn’t understand. Although, Tahlia may since he almost spoke of it during their altercation in the gym, and he had a hallucination due to the multi-dreaming there in front of her. Though he was not enthusiastic to even make eye-contact, it was as if in his inhalation, he could smell her displeasure, her resentment, and her wrath. He prayed it was only his imagination, that it was far from reality.
“Tahlia--” her name was the only word he could voice.
However, as his door whooshed open by itself and a cacophony rang throughout the hall and into his eardrums all hopes of sleep were dashed as Owen shot up in his bed, his head whipping around the room in a panic. It sounded as if the ship was being torn into two, yet there was no signs of any damage in his room itself; still, the noise was too loud and too close for it to be anything but an immediate problem. The man rushed out into the hall, stopping immediately as he saw the Doc banging his sword against the metal walls as if he was trying to rally up a horde of marauders. Owen gave the man a peculiar squint, not because he couldn’t make him out, but because he couldn’t think of any good reasons for Benji to be armed. Part of him felt that perhaps he had finally fallen asleep and he was now dreaming. Another part of him thought that Benji had cracked and his life was going to turn into a B-horror movie very quickly, the kind where the black guy dies first.
Probably should’ve talked to the Doc more, he thought with a frown as the image of him being gutted while in nothing but his skivvies entered his mind. Or at least gotten dressed first.
"Go to the kitchen, now! Don't ask me any questions. Oh, and don't wait up for Echo... or Rend for that matter."
Owen sighed; good, he wasn’t about to die. Maybe. The Doc didn’t look like his usual self. Generally he was more shifty and skittish, now he seemed to rigid and severe. Either something had scared him straight, or his mind had finally truly snapped. Either way, Owen sure as hell wasn’t just going to nod his head and dumbly walk to the kitchen in a pair of briefs and a tank top. He took a step back so that he was leaning out of his room and glared at Benji; there was zero doubt that he was upset by this entire situation.
“Maybe you should put that weapon down and tell us what’s going on first, Doc,” said Owen, his voice strained.
An exaggerated groan was released, expressing Benji's absolute annoyance while rolling eyes followed. He lowered the sword. "Sure thing, Owen, don't want you wetting your panties even though I'm clearly trying to keep us safe. If not I could easily slit your throats when you were sleeping. Of course, this is not your first time you told someone that's trying to protect you, to put a weapon down." Benji plugged the sword into its sheath, yet while doing so he grumbled to himself. And since he stood directly near Owen, it was within the other man's ear shot, "You clearly wouldn't have saved Andrew when Rend shot him... Always thinking everyone around you is crazy because we don't have a degree in manipulating people's mind and calling it therapy..."
Owen had turned to put on some pants when Benji had put away his weapon, his teeth gritted firmly in his mouth as he tried to ignore the doctor's insults and threats. If Benji was trying to rile him up, for whatever awful reason he had, then it was working, but Owen wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of letting him see it. However, Owen froze at the mention of Andrew. Benji had no right to say that; if Owen was there when Rend shot Andrew he would’ve taken the bullet for his friend. Assuming, of course, that Rend had actually shot Andrew; it wasn’t hard to imagine that was the case, but they had no hard proof. As much as Owen would’ve loved to condemn the man, he wasn’t just going to hang him for crimes that he may have committed—Owen wasn’t the Principality.
“At this point I think it's more accurate to call it common sense,” he said with a growl as he turned and poked a finger against Benji’s chest. He raised his voice so that it, too, reverberated off of the walls. “Why are you acting like such a dick?”
The doctor seemed to have grown a mean streak, although this would not be the first time Benji has demonstrated such malevolence. He had only just recently pissed Tahlia off. So although Owen's question was called for, Benji felt threatened when a man 6'4 uses what Benji felt was an aggressive gesture, especially since he is only 5'5 and nearly one hundred pounds less than Owen. "Don't touch me!" Benji snarled as the back of his fist slapped away Owen's finger. "Besides this is your own damn fault, Owen! If you didn't decide to stop Tahlia when Rend fired a GUN on us then he would be dead, and I wouldn't have to be worried about him escaping right now!" If Rend truly did escape, that jeopardizes the Benji's deal with the Principality. Because, that leaves the possibility of Rend contacting the Velbenan queen and telling her everything, even having her turn on the crew.
Owen folded his arms over his chest, looking down at Benji as the doctor implied that it would have been for the best if he had let someone be murdered by—
"What!?"
Owen twisted away from the other man, putting his hands on his head as he paced back and forth. No matter which way he cut it, Rend escaping was bad news. If the old coot did anything stupid then it would probably end up being on their heads for whatever damn backwards logic these aliens used. Owen let out a heavy breath. This was bad, bad, ba—he stopped. How did Benji know any of this? Owen spun on his heels, fixing Benji with a peculiar look.
"How do you even know that he escaped?" asked Owen, accusation heavy in his voice.
"Why don't you just go in the kitchen like I said so I can explain everything!?" Benji was losing his patience because he was running out of time. His urgency could be recognized by the harsh tone in his voice. Not only did he worry about Rend, Benji still had Echo to deal with. Though, Owen was presently proving to be his greatest obstacle to get over. "If I could, I would have already dragged you there, but you and I both know you're not really in my weight class."
"Hmph," said Owen with a snort. He didn't know what Benji's play was here, but the man was acting far too strange for him to go along with it. It was something he had said. Well, okay, it was a lot of things he had said, but one thing in particular colored him concerned: Don't wait up for Echo. He eyed the sword. As far as Owen could tell, two things were either possible: either Benji had completely lost his marbles, or he had found them. If the former was the case then there was no way he would let the man out of his sight while armed. He was a danger to the others, to himself. If it was the latter then, shoot, he liked the man better when he was batty.
"I could ask you why you're so determined to make us go to the kitchen. If it's so urgent, then wouldn't it be best to explain it here and now? I'm sure as eggs not going anywhere, and you aren't going to be able to make me. It's like you said: if you could, you would," he said, his voice low so that the other man would have to strain to hear him. "So, would you mind telling me why Echo isn't invited to our little family breakfast?"
"Guess who helped Rend escaped?" Benji raised his eyebrows as he glanced over at Echo's door. "And yeah, I know you're just going to ask more questions like 'how do I know she helped him', but-- damn it! Stay out of this, Owen, you wouldn't understand what is going on. I want to see her alone." Benji tightened his jaw as his teeth clamped down against each other. His annoyance turned to anger, because Owen continued to stand so stubbornly in his way. So Benji spoke with the upmost amount of hostility and aggression,"I already know you are not going to let me do that, now are you?" It was really a rhetorical question since Benji already knew Owen's answer to it. "Fine... Fine!" he yelled. "I'll go with one other person. But that person is not going to be you."
Owen's nostrils flared as a smirk crossed his face. A moment ago Benji wanted him to go to the kitchen so he could explain things to him; now the doctor was saying that Owen wouldn't understand what was going on. Benji was talking too much, unraveling his own yarn with hardly even the slightest bit of provocation. Owen nearly felt bad for the doctor, he himself was often guilty of saying too much to the detriment of his point. In a way, it was nice to see someone else's emotions get the better of them; of course, considering the implications that came with Benji wanting to see Echo alone while armed, Owen couldn't really enjoy it.
"I don't think so. Not if you're keeping that thing," said Owen, nodding to the sword. "Let's make a compromise. You give that to me and I'll see if Tahlia and Yaz would be kind enough to go wake Echo up, since she seems to be the only one who's allowed to have their beauty sleep," he said, having noticed that hers was the only door not opened thanks to Benji. "While they fetch her so that she can tell us what actually happened with Rend, we can go to the kitchen like you wanted where you can explain to me what is exactly going on. Nice and slowly, of course, and in small words if you could. I'm clearly too stupid to understand what's going on all by my lonesome."
As Owen spoke, Benji maintained full eye-contact with nothing more than the floor beneath his feet. Though when he finished speaking, Benji slowly raised his head up, "Ha, really? Really? You know, I was right, I couldn't drag you out of here, but there is something else I had in mind. I just really didn't think it would come to this. I didn't want it to come to this." Benji turned away from Owen, yet Benji did not make his way towards Echo's door, instead he approached the nearest Britheian guard positioned in the hall that was strictly there to protect them if Rend ever potentially made an appearance. Then a familiar sight unravel-- Benji communicating in the alien tongue while the rest of the crew remained completely oblivious. Though this time it was different, because this time was not just a simple conversation heard...
As soon as Benji walked back to Owen, two troops followed beside him. "You might never forgive me for this." Benji did not hate Owen, surely he was annoyed by him, frustrated even, but Benji was aware that now Owen may hate him. The two strapping Britheians grabbed both Owen's arms and shoulders, one soldier tightening a grip on his right and the other on his left, dragging Owen away by force.
"Seriously? C'mon, man, is this necessary?" asked Owen, an incredulous look on his face as Benji returned with two aliens flanking him. There was a slight amusement in his voice, one that quickly gave way to panic as the aliens seized him and began to drag him away. No amount of struggling would be able to break him free, and Owen had seen how rough they had treated the others to even try in the first place. "Benji! Benji! Goddamn it, Doc, call your goons off," he said, his voice growing into a scream as he was dragged out the door. "Benji! Benji!"
Owen’s cries crept into Benji's conscience. He could not help but fold his fingers against the hilt hooked to his hip. The sword was previously stripped from the armory’s wall because of his desire for security. Now, he felt unstable about his decision. Benji expected Owen to curse him madly, yet there were no sounds of hate only desperation. But no matter where his feelings forced him, Benji forced himself to commit.
And when the man’s shrills could only be heard through the ship’s echoes, Benji trudged towards Tahlia while his head remained downcast. With what he just did, Benji made it not an option to proceed to Echo’s room alone. He had to prepare for Murphy’s law, if anything were to go wrong inside of her room Benji at least wanted a witness. He just stained his own reputation, without someone there to vouch for him, it would be quite easy to cast criminal accusations.
Once he faced Tahlia Benji gradually raised his head to herself. Yes, he kept it in the back of his mind that Yaz was still there present in the hall. But part of him wanted to pretend that she wasn’t. He still had a soft spot for her. With all the hell they have walked through yet, she, out of the six, preserved an innocence—an innocence Benji had seemed to have forgotten, or lost,.. somehow. He chose to speak to Tahlia because she was the most familiar with multi-dreaming, that is exactly what crossed his mind when he told Owen that he just wouldn’t understand. Although, Tahlia may since he almost spoke of it during their altercation in the gym, and he had a hallucination due to the multi-dreaming there in front of her. Though he was not enthusiastic to even make eye-contact, it was as if in his inhalation, he could smell her displeasure, her resentment, and her wrath. He prayed it was only his imagination, that it was far from reality.
“Tahlia--” her name was the only word he could voice.
@Atrophy and I are working on a collab right now. So keep a heads up for that.
@Atrophy Cool, have it in tonight.
Just kidding, I couldn't make demands like that.
Or could I? Hehehe... >:D
Just kidding, I couldn't make demands like that.
Or could I? Hehehe... >:D
@Deserted Sorry that I was not clear, but the sound of the doors abruptly busting open should have woken them up. But hey, I have a better idea, well something to build on my last post.
There you go, I hope the edit cleared any confusion.
There you go, I hope the edit cleared any confusion.
Alrighty, the post is in! Who would like to go next, who would most like do what Benji said not do, and ask what the crap is going on? Or who would even demand answers rather than blindly listening to him?
Benji Baker
From the shower head water graced his pale forehead, streams trickling down his faded black eye. Benji's fingers stroked his scalp, touching each black strand until his palm slid in a descent towards his beard. The water was quite colder than he would usually prefer it, but nonetheless, he liked it, found it refreshing to purify his sweat-ridden self after the brawl. His wrist rotated in a circular motion, twisting the shower knob until the water ceased. It was about time he decided to finally dry up, Benji honestly did not know how long he spent wasting water. He lost tracked of time itself in there. No matter, in all actuality it was late, all the others either fell fast asleep or attempted to.
Benji grabbed the towel he hung against the wall of the shower. He smothered his face in it before mopping the rest of his body with the cloth. Next, Benji proceeded to get dressed. Since the invasion occurred while everyone was getting some rest in their rooms, he wore what he would normally sleep in: his free Cryonautics t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He has been wearing that ever since, it was nice change to be putting on his khakis, a button-down shirt, and a sweater vest. Benji planned to make his way to the library once exiting the bathroom, because he was not yet tired and figured a book might clear his mind, if not at least make him a bit sleepy.
Yet about the time of putting his khakis on, Benji began hearing multiple footsteps, heavy footsteps. Immediately, he jerked the shower curtains to the side, making eye-contact with his unexpected visitors. "What are you doing here? Something wrong?"
"Allow me to escort you to the cockpit, it is urgent." Without even slipping his shirt on, Benji followed Pseudo while Britheian troops shadowed their path.
"You can evidently see Echo Montigawitz enter Ailbeart Rend's dorm room, with Rend currently present in that moment." Pseudo pointed at the screen monitor, directing his synthetic finger at Echo who appeared in the video footage. "The door slides shut, and since this ship was originally built under the approval of Velbenan queen, the Artemis was designed with cameras present in all rooms except the bathrooms and dorm rooms to ensure privacy. Therefore, there is no surveillance provided to show us what happened in that room."
With arms folded, Benji's brow furrowed in irritation. However, it was not as if he had any right to control her. Of course, he is concerned since he feared Echo's perceived alternate reality may be affecting her decisions in waking life. No matter, as long as whatever she was doing does not put anyone else in danger, then Benji was not going to force her to do anything. "Even though I don't like it, whatever did go on in there is their business. I can't infringe upon that."
"And naturally you wouldn't, unless you were aware that immediately after she exited the room, clearly sober and not intoxicated, Rend was no longer there. None of our surveillance records him ever walking out. After guards investigated any escape out of that room, they came to the conclusion that his own means of leaving beside the door would be the--"
"Vents," Benji interrupted. "I wish I didn't spend so long in that shower-- I wish I knew sooner, maybe he got lost in that maze of ventilation. But that doesn't make sense, Rend might be a monster, yet he wouldn't do such a thing unless he knew he would be successful." Benji's expression twisted and contorted into one expressing paranoia. Rend escaping was bad news, there are a number of ways Rend could completely sabotage Benji's mission for the queen, but more importantly Rend could hurt the crew. "Pseudo, we need to secure the exit, but more importantly the armory, just in case. Rend might be outnumbered but there is the slight chance that he might try an attack once armed, and I don't want any more surprises from him, the first time was enough."
"There is an armory on this ship?!" The Britheian captain snarled at Benji. Since Pseudo intended that the Principality forces be informed of all precautions that were going to be enforced, they had been conversing in Discovering Tongue. The captain now discovered that the entire time, the Humans were in possession of arms. In charge of security aboard the Artemis, for him, it was quite unnerving to know that.
"I swear I was going to inform the Principality about that. It is just that, when I reunited with the crew, telling the Principality was something that I just must have subconsciously pushed off. But that doesn't matter right now, getting Rend does. The armory can be either accessed through the vents or the library. The queen must have appreciated the classics, or at least tried to make the secret-bookshelf-door leading to the armory a little obvious in hopes that we actually do have the chance of finding it. I say we head there right now."
Benji activated the secret door once his hand extracted the correct switch- a navy blue book directly under Lord of the Flies. He held his breath, expecting gunshots or bashing batons against Rend's elderly body once the shelf slid sideways, allowing an open path to the armory. Though no sound of hostility nor security was heard. Nevertheless, he followed alongside Pseudo.
"Well, that's good news," Benji sighed in relief while wiping the cold sweat from off his forehead. Rend was nowhere to be found once they made their way inside. But Benji was still on edge, and snatching an arming sword that dangled off the wall was proof of that. Though just as he did so, instantly a warm grasp curled around the back of his neck. "The last time you held a blade in your hands, you destroyed Principality property," the familiar deep, grouchy tone of the captain growled in his ear.
"Yes... but that was before I made my alliance with them, before me and the Principality made a deal. And there's no way I would do anything to cut my ties with them. Besides, what can my one blade do against your troops?"
With a grunt of approval, the captain released Benji from his hold. Once freed, Benji began wrapping a belt around his waist to hook the sheath for his sword. He wished to feel safe with a weapon he trusted himself with. And though the only time he has ever handling a sword before was during the invasion, it was far safer than equipping a gun without any firearm experience.
After Benji's encounter with the captain, he turned to Pseudo, "Now that defenses against Rend are in position. I will deal with Echo. The Principality can do whatever they want with Rend, but not Echo."
"Very well, as all forces are currently occupied, so you will be responsible for her interrogation."
"Go to the cockpit and override the door to her room. I don't want Echo running off. And as for the others, override their doors also, but keep them open."
Through the hall connected to the other dorm rooms, Benji anxiously rubbed his hand against the hilt of his sword, anticipating for Pseudo to activate the doors. With each second that passed, he grew even more uneasy wondering about what the others may think about him. Though as soon as the doors did slide open, all the distress vanished. Benji's whole demeanor became stiff and antagonistic as he lifted his sword, bashing the hilt against the metal wall. The horrendous racket he caused was quite alarming enough to rob everyone of sleep.
Though immediately after the banging, followed his voice. Yet this time, it was far more firm and strangely a little deeper than usual with a raised volume, "Go to the kitchen, now! Don't ask me any questions. Oh, and don't wait up for Echo... or Rend for that matter."
Benji grabbed the towel he hung against the wall of the shower. He smothered his face in it before mopping the rest of his body with the cloth. Next, Benji proceeded to get dressed. Since the invasion occurred while everyone was getting some rest in their rooms, he wore what he would normally sleep in: his free Cryonautics t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He has been wearing that ever since, it was nice change to be putting on his khakis, a button-down shirt, and a sweater vest. Benji planned to make his way to the library once exiting the bathroom, because he was not yet tired and figured a book might clear his mind, if not at least make him a bit sleepy.
Yet about the time of putting his khakis on, Benji began hearing multiple footsteps, heavy footsteps. Immediately, he jerked the shower curtains to the side, making eye-contact with his unexpected visitors. "What are you doing here? Something wrong?"
"Allow me to escort you to the cockpit, it is urgent." Without even slipping his shirt on, Benji followed Pseudo while Britheian troops shadowed their path.
"You can evidently see Echo Montigawitz enter Ailbeart Rend's dorm room, with Rend currently present in that moment." Pseudo pointed at the screen monitor, directing his synthetic finger at Echo who appeared in the video footage. "The door slides shut, and since this ship was originally built under the approval of Velbenan queen, the Artemis was designed with cameras present in all rooms except the bathrooms and dorm rooms to ensure privacy. Therefore, there is no surveillance provided to show us what happened in that room."
With arms folded, Benji's brow furrowed in irritation. However, it was not as if he had any right to control her. Of course, he is concerned since he feared Echo's perceived alternate reality may be affecting her decisions in waking life. No matter, as long as whatever she was doing does not put anyone else in danger, then Benji was not going to force her to do anything. "Even though I don't like it, whatever did go on in there is their business. I can't infringe upon that."
"And naturally you wouldn't, unless you were aware that immediately after she exited the room, clearly sober and not intoxicated, Rend was no longer there. None of our surveillance records him ever walking out. After guards investigated any escape out of that room, they came to the conclusion that his own means of leaving beside the door would be the--"
"Vents," Benji interrupted. "I wish I didn't spend so long in that shower-- I wish I knew sooner, maybe he got lost in that maze of ventilation. But that doesn't make sense, Rend might be a monster, yet he wouldn't do such a thing unless he knew he would be successful." Benji's expression twisted and contorted into one expressing paranoia. Rend escaping was bad news, there are a number of ways Rend could completely sabotage Benji's mission for the queen, but more importantly Rend could hurt the crew. "Pseudo, we need to secure the exit, but more importantly the armory, just in case. Rend might be outnumbered but there is the slight chance that he might try an attack once armed, and I don't want any more surprises from him, the first time was enough."
"There is an armory on this ship?!" The Britheian captain snarled at Benji. Since Pseudo intended that the Principality forces be informed of all precautions that were going to be enforced, they had been conversing in Discovering Tongue. The captain now discovered that the entire time, the Humans were in possession of arms. In charge of security aboard the Artemis, for him, it was quite unnerving to know that.
"I swear I was going to inform the Principality about that. It is just that, when I reunited with the crew, telling the Principality was something that I just must have subconsciously pushed off. But that doesn't matter right now, getting Rend does. The armory can be either accessed through the vents or the library. The queen must have appreciated the classics, or at least tried to make the secret-bookshelf-door leading to the armory a little obvious in hopes that we actually do have the chance of finding it. I say we head there right now."
Benji activated the secret door once his hand extracted the correct switch- a navy blue book directly under Lord of the Flies. He held his breath, expecting gunshots or bashing batons against Rend's elderly body once the shelf slid sideways, allowing an open path to the armory. Though no sound of hostility nor security was heard. Nevertheless, he followed alongside Pseudo.
"Well, that's good news," Benji sighed in relief while wiping the cold sweat from off his forehead. Rend was nowhere to be found once they made their way inside. But Benji was still on edge, and snatching an arming sword that dangled off the wall was proof of that. Though just as he did so, instantly a warm grasp curled around the back of his neck. "The last time you held a blade in your hands, you destroyed Principality property," the familiar deep, grouchy tone of the captain growled in his ear.
"Yes... but that was before I made my alliance with them, before me and the Principality made a deal. And there's no way I would do anything to cut my ties with them. Besides, what can my one blade do against your troops?"
With a grunt of approval, the captain released Benji from his hold. Once freed, Benji began wrapping a belt around his waist to hook the sheath for his sword. He wished to feel safe with a weapon he trusted himself with. And though the only time he has ever handling a sword before was during the invasion, it was far safer than equipping a gun without any firearm experience.
After Benji's encounter with the captain, he turned to Pseudo, "Now that defenses against Rend are in position. I will deal with Echo. The Principality can do whatever they want with Rend, but not Echo."
"Very well, as all forces are currently occupied, so you will be responsible for her interrogation."
"Go to the cockpit and override the door to her room. I don't want Echo running off. And as for the others, override their doors also, but keep them open."
Through the hall connected to the other dorm rooms, Benji anxiously rubbed his hand against the hilt of his sword, anticipating for Pseudo to activate the doors. With each second that passed, he grew even more uneasy wondering about what the others may think about him. Though as soon as the doors did slide open, all the distress vanished. Benji's whole demeanor became stiff and antagonistic as he lifted his sword, bashing the hilt against the metal wall. The horrendous racket he caused was quite alarming enough to rob everyone of sleep.
Though immediately after the banging, followed his voice. Yet this time, it was far more firm and strangely a little deeper than usual with a raised volume, "Go to the kitchen, now! Don't ask me any questions. Oh, and don't wait up for Echo... or Rend for that matter."
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