"Get outta here if you don't know"

[takeitslow]

Who: Peter (takeitslow), Wanda (seeingscarlet), and You
When: 15th to early 18th in the medbay, late 18 to the 23rd in the hold
Where: Medbay and the Hold
What: Directly after this. Peter really screwed up and now he's hanging out in the medbay until he recovers. Later he hangs out in the hold. Wanda's around to feild all your questions about how stupid her twin is.
Warnings: Discussion of character death, violence, and severe injuries



[Comment under the toplevel for which sibling you want to talk to. If you want a specific starter, please just oocly contact.]

Comments

[alan_1]

[He happens to enter the hold while Peter is in the middle of one of his rants against Rinzler. It's not what Alan was expecting, but perhaps it should have been. His expression is shuttered when he comes within view of Peter's cell. He makes no attempt to interrupt his tirade.

Simply stands, and waits for him to finish.]

[takeitslow]

[He doesn’t cut himself off whenever he notices Alan, he’s more interested in finishing the insult he’s trying to hurl at Rinzler through the wall. It’s not a terribly creative one. He’s dissolved into screaming about calculators. He doesn’t know enough about computers to come up with a good burn.

He finally runs out of steam, standing in the center of the room with his hands on his hips. His expression doesn’t change as he faces Alan, glare in place. If anything, the anger there seems to grow.]

What are you doing here?

[alan_1]

[Anger isn’t necessarily surprising from someone who had tried to kill another person only a few days earlier, though Alan hadn’t anticipated that Peter would still have the energy to be so vocal about it, especially not in these conditions. Still, Alan’s own outward demeanor remains carefully neutral, almost frigid.]

I was hoping we could talk. [And then, flatly,] Is now a bad time?

[takeitslow]

[Energy is something he's always had too much of; being trapped in a small room next to someone he hates beyond measure is leaving him few ways to expend it. Normally he can run it off, lap the ship anytime he starts feeling a bit much. Here he's only got his anger to help burn all the excess away. And it's so easy to stay angry when time keeps passing and he's still not hearing any reports of J coming back.]

Did you think there would be a good time? [It's venomous, sarcastic.] This is the best place for you to try talking to me. Can't really run off now, can I?

[alan_1]

[Alan doesn’t bother replying to that first question, because no, there really isn’t a good time for this kind of conversation. That said, it’s necessary, if not now, then some other time before Peter is released.]

I’m not here to argue with you. [A pause, and then, reluctantly,] I understand why you did what you did. [Though understanding and approval are very, very far apart.] I want to talk to you about what’s going to happen after Rinzler gets out. To make sure that nothing like this is necessary again.

[And then, a step back.] But if you want me gone, just say the word, and I’ll come back some other time. [So yes, Peter is going to have to be a captive audience. But it doesn’t have to be now.]

[takeitslow]

I'm never going to want you around. [Lying had played it's part in this mess in the first place, he might as well drag out the honesty while he can.] But despite what people seem to think, I'm not stupid. So talk. Tell me what you're going to do about him. And then why don't you tell me why you didn't do it before.

[The sass isn't helping his words, but he can't keep the bitterness out of his voice. He's pissed at Alan too and he can't help but show it. But he knows what kind of mess he's made and he knows that taking out the real threat has to be the priority.]


Do you actually understand? [He's not entirely sure what all Wanda has told about the situation. He's not sure anyone really knows he was doing it for his sister, his family. Why he had to do something.

He squints at Alan, frowning.] And why do you think I did it?

[alan_1]

[Alan waits for Peter to get all his questions out before attempting to answer any of them. He starts with the last one -- that, at least, has a simple answer, he thinks.]

You wanted to protect yourself. And others on the ship. If a few days in here is how the captains respond to attempted murder, then I can understand why you’d feel the need to take matters into your own hands. [Because the system in place doesn’t protect anyone -- it’s both a reason to lash out and a reason to not hold back.]

As for what happens now… [A hesitation. He knows it’s right, but it’s still not something he wants to admit to -- a necessary evil. But he has to. It’s the only option he has if he wants to prevent this from happening again.] After Rinzler’s released, I’ll take a look at his code to try and isolate what’s causing this… violence. Hopefully I’ll be able to rewrite that part of his programming. And none of this will be necessary again.

[He should have done it earlier. He could have stopped all of this before it had ever started if he hadn’t doubted himself. For that, he has no excuses.] I thought Rinzler would be able to change on his own. He isn’t supposed to-- He wasn’t always like this.

[He cuts himself off before he says more. With Peter, it’s even more imperative that he doesn’t connect the dots, that he doesn’t have reason to view both of the programs as a threat. And Peter has little enough reason to care about Rinzler’s past anyway.]

I thought my word as his User would be enough to override his programming. And I was wrong. [And now two people were dead because of it. Alan knows there's nothing he can say to absolve himself of that. And for all that Alan was horrified at Peter's methods, as sick as he'd felt watching him nearly smash Rinzler to pieces, Peter had been pushed to those actions. And Alan had done nothing to stop it.]

I’m sorry.

[takeitslow]

Sorry isn't going to make her any less scared and hurt when she comes back.

[The way he says it is sharp, meaner than he usually let's himself be. He doesn't see any reason to pull punches anymore. But it's not really Alan he's directing that toward. Not even the program he knows is eavesdropping next door.

He doesn't dwell on it, lets the pain pass over his face and returns to pacing the room. Small, slow steps. He counts them as a way to stay focused, to keep himself from exploding.]

You're wrong, you know. It wasn't about me. If it was, this would have never happened. I don't care about going after anyone to protect myself. I can always run away. It was when he threatened someone who couldn't, that I had to do something. The system here doesn't care about keeping people safe, so we have to do it ourselves. No matter the consequences.

[He doesn't care that he's in the cell, he won't apologize for why he tried to do it. Peter doesn't think Alan would really care his reasoning, but it felt important to remind him or anyone that would listen that it wasn't a purely selfish move. Her life means more than his, always had and always will.]

And for that reason, okay. I don't like you, I don't really give a shit about your apology, but okay. I need something done and if you can do it, okay.

[He stops pacing, stands in front of Alan again. He doesn't look happy; none of this made him happy. He didn't want to rely on a stranger for his sister's protection. But Peter had failed and he needed the problem to be solved.]

Are you sure it will work? You were wrong last time, you can't be wrong again. You know what he's capable of and I can't watch anyone else die.

[alan_1]

[Another stretch of silence as Alan listens. Peter’s words hurt, a reminder of just how much suffering Alan could have prevented, but that’s precisely why he needs to hear them. He needs to know exactly what the stakes are for what he’s going to attempt and he can’t let himself falter. If hearing of the grief he's caused is painful, then it’s all the more a reminder of why he can’t fail again.]

I’ll do everything I can to see that it does. [It’s as close to his word as he can offer. He’s spent years in the business of creating and altering security programs -- he can only hope that this will be little different.]

Until then, all I can ask is that you stay out of the way. [An obvious request, perhaps, but one Alan still feels necessary.] I don’t want to see anyone else hurt either.

[takeitslow]

I hope everything turns out to be enough.

[That much is sincere. He's tired of fighting, he's tired of being on the defensive. He'd like, more than anything, for this to be over. To be able to relax the rest of this trip and be secure in the knowledge his family is safe from any further threat. He can move on and start worrying about other matters, like making J forgive him once she returned or decide how to he can still wiggle out of classes now that he owe's Alice a huge debt. He can go back to being a teenager, instead of feeling like he has to be an echo of whatever Pietro his family knew before.]

As long as my people are safe, you don't have to worry about me doing anything. I don't want anyone hurt either.

[His idea of who his people are and what safe means, are best left unsaid. He can't make any promises until he's discussed everything with his sister and any of his family that might be looking for involvement. But it sounds like a good promise to be making.]