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]

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. ]

[minuteofangle]

[ Gabe shakes his head. ]

What were they?

[chaos_magnet]

Galaxy prints in different colors. Sorry? Do I apologize?

[ Yeah, James didn't know, and yet he offers it up anyway. That's how Holden friends. ]

[minuteofangle]

No need.

[ Hiding it from people was the whole point. Gabe just shrugs. ]

I’m pretty good at making sure people don’t pick it up. Or not easily, anyway.

[chaos_magnet]

May I ask why choose to hide it?

[ James wonders what he would do. The only way he can even try to relate is through the port transplanted into his arm. But though he doesn't actively display it, neither does Holden seek ways to conceal it. ]

dw at the notif, my apologies!

[minuteofangle]

[ Gabe's eyebrows go up. You serious? ]

People use it against me when they know.

D:< Dee Dʌbəl.juuuuuuuu! No frets.

[chaos_magnet]

[ The answer is all too glaringly obvious now and James takes a moment to eat more breakfast. Possibly, he was in denial, because of how draconian and fucked up that is. Rather lamely, he promises with a tone of conviction -- ]

Well, you don't have to worry about that with me.

[ Even if they have a fallen out, a friendship breakup, Holden is never going to lord that over Gabriel, nor will he spread the secret like plague fleas on rats. And if the sharpshooter needs more proof than just words, James will make it a point to spend more time with Rodriguez in order to solidify their bond. ]

[minuteofangle]

[ Gabe shrugs at that. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. James hasn't fucked him over yet, that's true. And he had opportunity to.

Funny thing is, a lot of people in Hell haven't fucked him over. And it would've been real easy for them to. A conundrum.

He eats his food, in the meantime. ]

Fair enough. And now you know.

[chaos_magnet]

[ There's a moment of vocal silence while they eat, the garden and said actions a soundtrack in the background. When his mouth is clear to speak, James assures him that -- ]

Amos isn't the kind of guy that will hound me for answers, if you want to keep this between us.

[minuteofangle]

[ That hangs between them for a moment. Gabe considers it, turns it over in his mind, accepts it. Seems to fit what he's observed of Amos so far. Blunt guy. Sharp. But not the type to dig into an open wound unless it gets him something worth keeping. Right now, Gabe hasn't made himself an enemy.

Good enough. He eats his food. ]

Appreciate it. Figured he put it together in the cave, though.

[chaos_magnet]

More or less, just not the when, why, or how. He knows you couldn't see and that's all that matters.

[ Holden drinks to clear away the food he's been chewing. ]

Last question for now if you'll humor me; how long did it take you to adjust to the AI?

[minuteofangle]

[ That might be a problem later. Amos is smart, sharp. One of these days they might be on opposite sides. No much he can do about it right now, though. Gabe just shrugs. ]

Not long. I was up and fighting pretty fast. Maybe a month?

[ Needs must. And his team needed a sniper. ]

'course, I was out for six months before that, figuring out how to do this thing without eyes. Couldn't do shit. You ever walked into a door? I've walked into a lot of doors.

[chaos_magnet]

[ It's impressive, despite the length of time. James certainly looks impressed, smiling over at Gabriel and thinking of how to let him know that he's smiling. It's heard through his gratitude. ]

Thanks, Rodriguez, for trusting me with this.

[ James has his back now more than he had before. ]