This crew depends on me...

[chaos_magnet]

As long as we're living and breathing, there's more we can do. We just have to be strong enough. captain . earther ACTION TEXT HANDWAVE

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[chaos_magnet]

[ He nods once, briskly, and it covers affirmation that his crewmate is gone and acceptance of the apology. ]

Yeah. Thanks.

[minuteofangle]

[ Gabe lets the silence linger for a moment, then nods. He liked Amos, as much as he likes anyone here. Guy was solid. And now he's gone. ]

Hope he's back home. Wherever that was for you two.

[chaos_magnet]

Right. The Roci is home.

[ Fuck, he hopes Amos is there too. He has to cling that hope.

With a nod at the door, Jim pushes off the wall and holds said door open for Gabe. ]

[minuteofangle]

[ Right, then. Gabe hums and steps inside. They'll get food. And then they're going to talk. He doubts he's going to enjoy the topic all that much, but there's no avoiding it now. ]

[chaos_magnet]

[ He keeps the conversation light and minimal while they're in line, as they're waiting, and it's not until the two men are taking their breakfast towards the lush, vibrant gardens that Jim asks something more substantial. ]

But you're alright? Obvious aside?

[ Just because the Earther is down and out of sorts doesn't mean he's stopped caring about others, especially when that other is someone Jim thinks of as 'friend'. ]

[minuteofangle]

Obvious aside.

[ Because there's really no avoiding this. Gabe keeps his tone neutral, his tech toggled so he won't trip or - hopefully - lose his footing. It's been acting up recently, the incident with the dragon only the most recent in a list that's growing ever-longer. ]

Can't say I've ever been picked up by a dragon before.

[chaos_magnet]

[ He sounds a small snort and nods sympathetically. ] Yeah, can't say I have either. And hey, you got a story out of it?

[ It'll be one hell of an icebreaker, to say the least. ]

And he or she never tried to eat or maim you?

[minuteofangle]

True. I'll probably win at Never Have I Ever until the end of time.

[ He shrugs. ]

Clawed me up a bit. Don't know if it would've gone further and frankly I'd rather not find out. That's not on my Top Ten list for dying.

[chaos_magnet]

[ He's lowering himself under a pair of trees that look similar to rainbow eucalyptuses when he pauses mid-crouch, plates raised for balance. ]

You have a list?

[ Holden is only half-jokingly asking this mostly rhetorical question. ]

[minuteofangle]

Sure, don't you?

[ It's said in a drawl. And it's entirely bullshit, but Gabe feels obliged to make up a list right then and there. ]

Number Six is extremely pornographic.

[chaos_magnet]

[ Holden half-smiles and slowly nods twice. ]

Why am I not surprised?

[ Given that Gabe suggested sex by way of payment.

He grows quiet and the reasoning could be it's because he's cutting up his pancakes, but that's just a surface excuse. Jim lets it drag out for a moment or two longer before broaching what happened. ]

Do you want to explain on your own time or do you want me to ask questions?

[minuteofangle]

[ Gabe just snorts. ]

Because you know I'm awesome.

[ Clearly. But there's only so long he can stall in the end. Because they're doing this.

So. ]

Ask away.

[ HIs tone is very even. He starts cutting himself a slice of pancake and deliberately forces his shoulders to relax. ]

[chaos_magnet]

That's probably one of the reasons I'm keeping you around.

[ He chews thoughtfully at first. Jim was hoping that Rodriguez would have spun his own story, but if it's easier this way, by all means, he'll go along with anything. ]

Safe to assume your loss of sight isn't related to the dragon or the kidnapping?

[minuteofangle]

Probably. You've got good taste.

[ He could probably swing this around if he tried. Play the conversation game, flirt a bit, have some fun while they eat their pancakes. Distract from the questions he knows are coming. Or he could just take it on the chin and field what comes. Gabe always knew there was a limit to how long he could hide this from other people. His tech's been acting up. Eventually, that's going to have a cost. He wonders if he's going to have to start using a cane.

Maybe. He'll cross that bridge when it comes. In the meantime, he eats his pancakes. ]

Nah. It happened a while ago.

[ He gestures vaguely at his face, and the faint scars around his eyes. ]

Caught a ricochet. It sucked, I don't recommend it.

[chaos_magnet]

[ Jim eats quietly and he nods in acknowledgment at the revelation, waiting to speak without a mouth full of breakfast. He doesn't know enough about Gabe's life, but the explanation tracks with what he does. Soldiers taking damage isn't unheard of. ]

But you have something that helps you see anyway.

[ It comes out sounding almost more like a statement than an inquiry, because that much is obvious. How the fuck else was Gabe getting around before? Though the more James reflects on their past meet ups, the more things are settling into sense. He's curious if it'll be like the camera guy Monica had with her during the documentary filming. ]

[minuteofangle]

Yeah.

[ He's got tricks. Always has, always will. So far, he's been able to hide it from most people around here. But he always knew that had a shelf-life. They're in close proximity and they get fucked over on the regular. Hell loves to push buttons.

Case in point. He shrugs. ]

I've got an AI drilled into my skull. Helps me navigate. It's a pretty sweet deal, except for when it craps out.

[chaos_magnet]

[ Right. Jim remembers seeing something on Gabe before, during a workout session. ]

At some point, my crew and I drew enough attention that a documentary crew wanted to follow us, interview us, blah blah blah, and their camera guy, he had himself modified with 3D imaging technology that he put in his hands. It helped him visualize. That was how he adapted to his own blindness. ( pauses, then snorts and lightly elbows Gabriel's space ) And you know what, he was a flirt too.

[ With Amos, but Cohen and Monica knew what they were doing, trying to use sex against Holden and Burton. ]

[minuteofangle]

Like hardlight?

[ Gabe sits up a little straighter. That's interesting. Every universe is different and all that bullshit, but it's always worth tugging on those threads. Seeing what spills out, what plays the same way.

He grins, mock-affronted. ]

Excuse you. I'm one of a kind.

[chaos_magnet]

[ Gabe may sit up, but Jim just blinks and looks a little confused. ]

Sorry, hardlight?

[ To which hands come up apologetically. ]

I'm just saying. But that's where the similarities end. He was forward in all the wrong ways and tried to help an assassin take me out.

[ He was also white. And dead. And no where near as good looking. ]

[minuteofangle]

3D projection you can feel with your hands. Not solid enough to balance a fork on or anything - [ he hefts his to demonstrate ] - but you can get creative with it.

[ Gabe's eyebrows go up at that. ]

No shit? Why? He bored or something?

[chaos_magnet]

[ Sure. The narrator has zero clue, but Holden gives a more adequate response, as he's able to comprehend this technology better than said ignorant writer. ]

He used it to control camera drones, too. We didn't exactly get to know one another, since Monica did all the talking, asked all the questions. And when he tried to sabotage the ship, we sent the two-person crew packing. Put them in suits and told them to make their way to the nearest ship. Cohen - the guy - claims he didn't know the extent of his involvement. Someone reached out before they boarded our ship and told him what to do, gave him a video to play that was edited to sound and look like me that started a lot of shit.

[ Worked out in the end. Just not for Cohen. ]

[minuteofangle]

[ Gabe's eyebrows go up. In zero g? Baller. Better than getting tossed out the airlock, he supposes, but that's a hardcore move if you aren't trained for it. ]

Sounds like a dumbass.

[chaos_magnet]

Was. [ A pregnant pause. ] He's dead now. Got cut in half by a ship's doors. [ So, yeah. Kind of a dumbass. ]

So, you made it here. Does that mean you have your sight back?

[ That is, get his eyes working again. ]

[minuteofangle]

Well, shit. There you go.

[ Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Gabe just shakes his head and goes back to his food. ]

Nah. These are prosthetics.

[ He motions vaguely at his face. ]

I got tricks, but I don't see.

[chaos_magnet]

[ Ah. It makes sense now, if Jim ever felt certain things were "off". ]

Well, I can't speak for others, but they're mighty damn convincing. Which I get is the point. Hang on, does that mean you couldn't see the patterns on the origami paper I gave you?

[ Replaying that scene in his head with the added knowledge of Gabe's eyes makes so more sense now. It's irrational to feel this way, and yet James can't help but feel just a little guilty. Or a tiny bit like an asshole. ]