a buddy of mine said that he saw jack morrison take his shirt off in the shower

[mylawn]

Who: Angela Ziegler, Soldier: 76, special guest Solid Snake, extra special guests Reinhardt and Reaper and Mei
When: Early February
Where: The Ingress entrance to Eosoros and then some other places maybe
What: Basically the part of Undercover Boss where the boss stops being undercover, except with fewer monetary gifts
Warnings: Blood, medical business, an angry old man

[76 arrives on Thisavrou very, very angry.

He’s usually angry, but generally speaking, he manages to keep said anger to a low simmer if only to function on a day-to-day basis. Arriving on this new planet after the ordeal at the Midway Hub, finding that all he can really do is sit and wait for his number to be called means that anger gets the better of him, even as he attempts to settle in (but 'settling in' is for other people). 76 takes one of the security gigs on Eosoros in a bid to do something productive, and that's sort of when things come to a head.

He’s angry, and he screws up.

It’s not really his fault, he thinks. It’s easy to blame the client (too reckless, an idiot, doesn’t listen to him, gets them both in a bad situation), but probably 76 could have handled this better. He should have bailed when things started to go south or ditched the client entirely or not taken the job in the first place—the money for a security detail wasn’t worth any of that, but he’s still boiling over with ire about the whole situation and that’s enough to make him do very stupid things, like throwing himself down in order to save both their asses when the client proves too incompetent to make it through the stupid torture gauntlet.

Hindsight, however, is twenty-twenty, and he’s not exactly coherent as he drags them both back through the Ingress and is immediately sidelined for medical attention. 76, too angry to care about decorum or not making a scene, immediately makes a scene. Someone is trying to hold him down, if only to keep him from getting blood everywhere before a medic arrives. The Savrii, however, are hard-pressed to subdue an enhanced human like him, especially when he’s in absolutely no mood to listen to reason.

Under duress, 76 becomes all but feral, hissing and spitting and doing everything in his power to get out and away, even if that means ignoring the fact that he's wounded and throwing all his self preservation out the window (said like he had any to begin with). It’s only the nature of his injury that keeps him from making an effective escape, though that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to try.]

Comments

[cadeuces]

[ It's perhaps a particular draw of luck that has Angela stationed at the Ingress complex for the majority of those returning from Eosoros; she'd had enough fun there but she shifted her schedules elsewhere to allow herself to remain on standby with the severity of violence on the planet, and it seems she'd made the right call today.

Well, for everyone else's benefit, at least. For herself not so much.

76 is iconic even in a blind rage, jacket stained red and smeared with soot as his physique is put to the test and he's doing his utmost to make an escape from those attempting to help him, and it's Angela who's ran to block the doorway while exuding as much calm as possible. He's splattered blood all about the emergency room and left hand-shaped smears on every surface he's propped himself up on, as well as left one of the physicians with a large handprint square in the middle of their chest where he'd shoved them back, and she's sure if she could see his eyes behind red glass, she'd see the whites all around.

Her resistance is gentle at a glance, but her footing is solid and she's entirely prepared for him to get a hand at her ribs and try to throw her aside, heels braced in the doorway. Her hands are raised passively, expression soft if a touch wary. ]

Soldier.

[ 76 isn't his name. Not in the long-term. But "soldier"... there's no doubt he's been called that for quite some time. It will hit harder, her claws so slender he won't feel them puncture as they sink deep through flesh and muscle, doing her utmost to anchor herself to his very bones. He needs to listen before all else. ]

You're doing far more harm than good, and if we don't get that wound taken care of, you're going to bleed out. Let me help you, if not the Savrii.

[mylawn]

[In another life, the sound of that voice accompanied by Angela's familiar silhouette brought Jack Morrison an overwhelming sense of relief. Seeing her on the battlefield or in a medbay meant that things were going to be okay--that whatever injury he managed to sustain would be wiped clean with either her nanotech or her sheer talent as a field medic. Now, however, the familiar sound of her voice is met with panic--if only because he's not sure if he'll be able to wiggle his way out of this.

So far, he's done a fair job of keeping her away from him when he needed medical attention, and he'd be more than content to keep avoiding her if not for the fact that he's starting to realize that he's really not going to be able to get away, not with the way he's injured. He'd been low on biotic fields before he went to Eosoros--and he's managed to waste or lose the rest, which means he's at her mercy.

No pun intended, of course. He doesn't want her to touch him, but he already knows he won't be able to lay a hand on her, either.

76 recoils instead, the familiar sharpness in the way she address him almost unbearable. He's heard it so many times before from so many people, but nothing quite cuts through him like she can.]

Move, Doc.

[Not that it seems like he's going to be able to get far--even his voice lacks a sort of conviction, despite attempts to be threatening.]

[cadeuces]

[ In another life, Angela would have had no reason to fear the man before her, but it's a soft twinge in her chest here, suspicions or no— he's worked up into a frenzy of his own and he's scared of what surrounds him, anxiety in his every motion. And he's enhanced, somehow— his strength is nothing to scoff at, no matter how he came by it. He's already thrown orderlies away as if they were paper dolls, dented solid steel fixtures with the force of a fist coming down. He's already lost a lot of blood by the time he'd arrived and there's only more smeared about the room, splattering with every twist of his body and every panicked move at an escape.

He's slowing, paling even as he sweats through the pain and rattling nerves. And her mere presence has him reeling backwards, and that sort of violent reaction is— well. More telling than he knows. Her brows draw up, furrowing with apology, gentling. He's not so far gone that he'd hurt her, it seems. That's good. That makes him easier to reason with. ]

I won't. You've lost too much blood, dear. We need to get you sewn up and run a transfusion at the very least. Please.

[ The pleading is soft, yet in a way it packs more of a punch that way. She states her facts with implacable certainty, unwilling to bend as much as he's unwilling to break, and she continues to block the only exit until he'll yield. There's no other option. She doesn't know his body's tolerance for tranquilizers or anesthetics and she won't chance angering him with too low a dose to be effective, nor would she risk his life via tachycardia and organ failure from too much.

That little "doc" will get her every time. ]

[mylawn]

[Of course she won't, and he finds it increasingly difficult to stay upright, the only thing keeping him from crumpling the prospect of her getting a good look at him. He's always known that as soon as she manages even the slightest glance at his collection of scars, she'll recognize her handiwork.]

Don't--

[He has a gloved hand pressed to the wound in his stomach, blood still leaking from between his fingers as he steps away, more reflex than anything else. It's clear he's still reluctant to get past her using force.]

Been through worse.

[That's what he tells himself, anyway.]

[cadeuces]

[ When has she ever yielded so easily, when someone's life is in danger? And try as he might to justify otherwise, his life is, indeed, in danger here. Which is why she can't simply stay in the doorway and wait him out; he's unsteady on his feet and she can see knees that threaten to buckle, but when he's worked up and stubborn and the adrenaline's pumping, by the time he falls unconscious it could be entirely too late.

Now that she's figured his approach and that he won't go for her, she'll be the one to press forward. Her steps are casual enough, no rush yet also no hesitation, and she's reaching for the arm bent to cover his the wound in his stomach to help support his weight. He could try to make a break for it, certainly, but she doesn't imagine he'll get too far— and she's stronger than he knew, herself. ]

76, it's all right. I know I can't ask you to trust me in full— but you know who I am; that I'm more than capable. It won't take long, I promise. I shouldn't have to put you under unless you've suffered organ damage. Just a local anesthetic.

some time later...

[soldiergenes]

[ Following the mess that was Eosoros, Snake had definitely need some time to recover. The strange day-night cycle on Kauto has already been throwing his sleep schedule for an utter loop (and it hadn't been stellar to begin with), and so he's out for a solid fourteen hours before he feels like he can interact with civilization again.

Naturally, his first thought is Angela. She'd been with him through most of that torturous planet exploration, if it could be called that. It was more like some sort of trial out of a Greek myth or something, though at least he'd been paid handsomely for his trouble.

Needing to collect on the promised amount (he'd received half beforehand, which means he still needs the other 500 sencs), Snake makes it to the home of the native Savrii he'd escorted, who happens to own a farm out in Region 2. Given that he's already so close to Angela's, it would feel strange not to check in on her, and so Snake sends her a text asking if he can stop by. She'd already provided him with her general work schedule, so he knows in theory she should be home.

Except she doesn't answer. Not that strangest thing, except Angela is usually pretty prompt. Snake starts toward her cottage all the same, and when he reaches it without ever getting a reply, he starts to get suspicious. He's not the sort of person who likes to arrived unannounced, but he decides to knock on her door. She probably won't mind—hasn't she been making a point of how she'd like to see more of him?

But no answer there, either. Concern that he knows is probably irrational surges through him, and with a sigh Snake digs out the key Angela gave him. He never planned to use this, but...

As he steps inside, Snake doesn't find anything out of place in the little cottage. He's still struck with that sensation that someone like him doesn't belong here, in a house that's so warm and well-decorated and quaint (there may as well be a picket fence, he thinks), but eventually he forces himself further in, toward the living area.

While he doesn't find Angela, he does find someone laid up on the couch. Snake stops in his tracks, not sure what to think. With blankets set over him and his face pressed halfway into a pillow, Snake can't immediately recognize who Angela's visitor might be, or that he's busy healing up from an injury. It feels even more like he's intruding now, and the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, the same way they would if he thought he was about to be discovered by some patrolling guard.

(Yes, he's practically waiting for the !. ) ]

indeterminate scrolling summary of battles fought and political highlights of note

[cadeuces]

[ The fact that she hadn't heard from Snake in a timely manner could only mean that he was resting, and after such an ordeal, she would give him his space and allow him his time to recharge without interruption or fussing. Besides, she's had her hands full herself— jumping right back into hospital work on the complex to ensure everyone returning was seen to, and then Jack...

...Jack, who has been crashing at her place and is finally getting a stretch of good sleep on her couch. He hadn't even made it to the bed, and what little rest she's found has been at his side, curled up in blankets either at his feet or in a nearby chair, largely content to just be in his space and know he's doing well. That he's still there, and waking up every time is a reminder that yes, this is real. It takes some getting used to, after you've mourned someone and buried their empty casket.

When Snake texts her, she doesn't hear the gentle buzz of the TAB on her counter over the gurgling of her espresso maker on the stove, and it isn't something she's even thought to check quite yet. Then she'd set about cooking, which explains the smell of dinner sausage and herbs and a buttery cream sauce lingering when he lets himself in, Eiger not even stirring to the knock at the door. He'd been tasked with nurse duty and remains curled up by the hearth in the living room, though he does raise his head when Snake enters and the soft swish of his tail over hardwood is greeting enough. Surely he wouldn't be so calm if anything was out of the ordinary.

What she does hear are footsteps padding quietly in the house, and Angela emerges from the bathroom still toweling her hair where it falls in loose waves to curl up at the ends, dressed for comfort in lounge pants and an oversized sweater draping off one shoulder (her own, decidedly not belonging to the man on the couch) with an exasperated warning soft on her lips.

(Here's your ! ) ]

I should hope you were careful getting up; if I have to bust out my suture kit agai—

[ Oh.

That is decidedly not the scarred white-haired man from her couch. Her eyes widen only for a moment, then she glances back at Jack to ensure he's still asleep and not edging on hostile at the presence of a stranger, then back to Snake with a (nervous?) smile and a crook of the finger, towel left over one arm. Her voice lowers from where it'd even been before, just loud enough a whisper to carry. ]

It's all right, he's an old friend. Are you hungry, dear?

[ Because she's tip-toeing right by him on her way to the kitchen and catching his hand on the way, where they'll still be able to see Jack through the open fireplace between both spaces but largely have the freedom to speak without disturbing him. Even if she knows she isn't exactly obligated to explain (and frankly, shouldn't be, not after Jack had requested her not to tell), she still wants to. She can see he's nearly bristling himself and Eosoros had only left them all further on edge. ]

[soldiergenes]

[ The smell of cooking food and Eiger's calm demeanor are enough of a sign that Angela must be home. Eiger probably would have been sitting near the front door otherwise, waiting for her to come home. Not that easiest life for a dog whose owner is always so busy, but at least he's got plenty of space outdoors to explore and let off all that energy.

Snake's torn between moving to give Eiger some attention or creeping closer to the man on the couch to get a better look, but that's when he hears soft footsteps and turns to watch as Angela, who looks fresh out of the shower, steps into the room. That might explain why she didn't get back to him.

While she mistakes him at first, she doesn't look particularly upset or frustrated that he's here either. That's good, at least, but it doesn't explain her company. At first Snake's willing to assume it's a patient who she's decided to house here for one reason or another (couldn't afford his own place, maybe?), but then she gestures for him to move over, which he does.

An old friend, she says. If so, he's not a friend who Angela has ever mentioned before, and Snake frowns as his mind works to put all the pieces together. It only clicks when they walk past the couch on the way to the kitchen and Snake gets a better glimpse of the man's face—or rather, some facial scarring that looks all-too-familiar with that white hair.

Snake hadn't known that anyone here had seen 76 without his mask on, but it turns out there's still plenty he doesn't know about Angela. He'd been aware of the two of them coming from the same world, but hadn't ever thought to ask if there was a connection. He should have known—there's no such thing as coincidences.

Once they're in the kitchen, Snake tugs his hand away from Angela's grasp and leans up against the wall, casting a glance out to the living room before he speaks up in a quiet tone. ] He usually wears a mask, right? I've talked to him before—didn't know you two were friends. [ It's hard to imagine someone like 76 being friends with anyone, really, although Snake realizes the same could be said of him. Either way, he's ready for an explanation. ]

[cadeuces]

[ He certainly isn't wrong; were it a shift up on Chioni, Eiger would indeed have been just inside the door awaiting her return instead of comfortably warmed by the fire crackling steadily for their guest, who the dog seems intent to keep watch over. Likely by command, hence his dutiful post and resisting the urge to go greet Snake. Their training has been panning out quite nicely, no?

Angela isn't bothered by his arrival in the least beyond the faintest hint of nervousness, which can easily be attributed to the fact that someone is in danger of being disturbed while sleeping after the dropped hint of stitches indicating injury, but it is truly less that and more that his identity is what's at stake— too late for that now, unfortunately, and she has no desire to keep Snake in the dark. Not after they'd agreed to take part in one another's lives so closely, and sees her TAB blinking on the counter once she's led them into the relative safety of the kitchen, slender fingers having found their way into his palm with ease that spoke of her comfort with his presence. Yet he tugs his hand away and takes up station at the dividing wall, and that's a firm enough "no" on food.

Right to the point, then. He's suspicious or worried or both, she can only guess, so she'll take the moment to check her TAB— a message from him and one other, less important notification, and her brows draw up apologetically. She'd never been the type to have technology attached to her hip, but she'd forgotten it in the kitchen altogether, without even bothering to check before she'd hopped in the shower. ]

You messaged; I'm sorry I missed it. I'm glad you came anyway.

[ She watches him peer over at Jack before he speaks, and she's depositing her towel through the fridge handle for now, gathering up a cup of coffee for herself and fishing the cream from the fridge to splash in. ]

He does, yes. To be honest, until the other day, I didn't know we were friends either. [ It's spoken with a sense of uncertainty and softness that could only be called residual wonder, as if she still doesn't believe it's real. In some ways she doesn't, though it's growing firmer as the hours tick by and he's still there. She takes a seat at one of the stools nearest him, parked at the little island and mug set on whatever this world's equivalent of granite happened to be, crossing one leg over the other. ] I don't believe I ever had the chance to speak of my commanders in depth to you, from Overwatch. Yet you've seen the pictures I had around my desk. Would you be able to recall them, and if I were to tell you to imagine that man on the sofa being blond?

[ Angela isn't actively trying to be obtuse, but she doesn't want to drown him by pouring out information, either. She'll begin with a framework, building it up around him. Allow him to decide where the doors and windows will go if it gets overwhelming. ]

[soldiergenes]

[ Food is the least of Snake's concerns right now. He'll probably go back to that offer later, once he has a better hold on what's going on here—although if anything, it sounds like he's just wandered in on something he probably wasn't meant to see. Angela says she's glad he's here despite the awkwardness of the situation, so it's possible he's building this up more than he needs to.

He shakes his head when she apologizes, since it's not like he expects her to have her phone on hand at all times or respond to him right away. It had just been a special circumstance. ] I was in the area, that's all. [ The sencs he has tucked into his back pocket are proof of that. Which is good, since he still needs to go furniture shopping.

(It's surreal that he has to think about things like furniture shopping at all, but that's a subject for another conversation.)

Angela's first statement about her mystery friend on the couch sounds purposefully vague, though it doesn't take her too long to clarify. They'd already talked about Angela's commanders before, though that time they'd been huddled around a campfire, discussing their futures. Gabriel Reyes had been the subject of conversation back then. Now Snake's received another piece to the puzzle that's Angela's past, because apparently 76 is, in fact, her other old commander.

Well, that makes everything make a lot more sense. Reaper's intense grudge against 76, along with a lot of the other cryptic things he'd said. What the hell happened between all of them? It's getting exhausting just trying to keep up.

Another glance out to 76, and then Snake settles his attention back on Angela, letting out a hum of contemplation. ] Yeah, I can imagine it. So he was hiding his identity from you this whole time? [ Apparently the visor hadn't just been used for its function as an environmental scanner, not that Snake's too surprised by that. Most people aren't going to cover the majority of their face unless they've got good reason for it. ]

reinhardt

[mylawn]

[He has to know by now--Jack is fairly certain that Angela went off to tell him in an attempt to mitigate the fallout, or maybe just because he was taking too long to tell the old Crusader himself. He's surprisingly okay with it either way, even if he hadn't quite been able to get there first. It does mean, however, that he can't keep putting off the conversation. It's been a long time coming, and he owes his old friend that much.

Jack doesn't have to talk to Angela to know how the conversation went, and he doesn't say anything to her about it in the aftermath. What he does is he finds out where Reinhardt lives, and takes it upon himself to find his way there.

The tactical gear is gone, for now, even if it makes him feel more than a little vulnerable. The least he can do is show up. Try and explain himself. Say he's sorry. Jack brings alcohol, like that's supposed to make things better, and arrives at the apartment looking more like a person than he has in a while. No mask, real clothes. Bottle in hand.

He knocks on the door.]

[grandpaladin]

[Angela had been the one to break the news. And, as a result... Reinhardt doesn't know how to take it. In the moment, it had been terrible. Betrayed, hurt, stunned... those were all good ways to describe what went through his mind, as soon as he found out.]

[He'd... been busy, in the interim. Possibly too busy. Keeping himself occupied, working. Taking short labor jobs. If he worked, then he wouldn't think too much about what had transpired.]

[About how one of his oldest friends had been lying to him. Lying to his face. How he'd buried him. Buried... so many of them. Only to have that grief thrown back in his face like this. What was next? He would turn a corner and see Balderich walking down the street? Was Torbjörn actually a very tall man, walking on his knees?]

[He's home, though, when the knock comes. It's a slow rise, and a slow march to the door.]

[The sight that greets him on the other side feels like a punch to the chest. Like he's staring at a ghost.]

[It's only his word to Angela that keeps his fist at his side. But he says nothing.]

[mylawn]

You don't have to let me in.

[Jack knows Reinhardt very well, after all. He knows what the man looks like when he's angry and upset, and this is an extremely painful combination of both. It's not exactly something he ever wants to deal with, but he brought this upon himself, and one glaring instance aside, he's never been one to shy away from consequences.]

Just...thought I'd see if you wanted to talk. Not gonna be upset if you don't.

[He won't blame him, of course. More than anything else, Jack looks tired--without the mask and the gear, the exhaustion is more than evident on his face, not that he wants sympathy for it. There's a masochistic part of him that knows he deserves to be turned away, and almost wants to be, because all of this is so much easier when they hate him for what he did.]

[grandpaladin]

What would you have me say.

[It isn't a question.]

[It's a demand. What does he want him to say? Does he want him to say it's all right? That the last years spent mourning and trying to uphold everything Overwatch stood for are all right? There was nothing wrong with this? Is he supposed to tell him he understands?]

[Because he doesn't.]

[Not any of this. Not Ana, not this. At least Ana hadn't hidden behind a mask at every single opportunity. She hadn't pretended not to know him.]

You lied. And I had to hear about this from Angela.

What do you want me to say to you, Commander?

[For the first time in his life, there is a bitterness to that last word. Like it's a curse.]

[mylawn]

I ain't your commander. You don't know what happened to me.

[Jack will be adamant about that much, even if Reinhardt doesn't really mean Commander in the way that he used to. It goes deeper than just titles--he's not the person Reinhardt knew, either, and he'll be quick to remind everyone of that, when given the chance. As if his hiding behind a mask and lying didn't remind them enough.

Ana's stronger than him in that regard, maybe, but he doesn't think she shouldered nearly so much (but that could be his selfishness talking). How can he come back when there's so much work to do? How could he put them in the line of fire?]

Trying to keep everyone safe. I'm not gonna ask you to understand.

reaper

[mylawn]

[Ana's number comes up, and Jack isn't going to be the one to make her stay on this planet for his sake. They talk it over and agree that she should take the chance, especially given the fact that he has no idea if or when it'll be his turn. To say that letting her go was difficult would be an understatement, but at the same time he knows it's time to stop being selfish. She can hold down the fort back home, and he'll catch up with her later.

That's what they told themselves, anyway.

It leaves Jack mostly alone in a house that's too big for him, on a plot of land that's also too big for him, but he tries to turn the quiet into something productive. It's almost laughable the way he's gone full circle, even if this particular farm is on an alien planet.

Things might be peaceful, even, if not for the fact that Jack is often in a state of hyper-vigilance, moreso when he can't sleep (which is often). Something is out in the barn, he's sure of that, and his own paranoia won't let him rest until he finds out what it is. Given that they're on an alien planet, he's not about to discount anything, so he puts on his gear and heads outside, gun raised and at the ready, trying not to give himself away. If something's snooping around here, Jack wants to be able to sneak up on it.]

[tinkerhell]

[By the time Jack gives into his paranoia, the creature he'd begun to track was already well set in. Every lantern has been extinguished, leaving the light of the sky as the only source of vision -- so long as you're not Reaper. From the window, he spots Soldier: 76 and disappears in a wisp of smoke to retreat back inside.

Environmental scanners will tell him that he's around regardless, so he doesn't bother to make a spectacle of himself. After all, Jack wasn't the only one who had spotted Ana's disappearance -- though, admittedly, he hadn't figured it out until he arrived on the scene. His feelings are mixed; there was no real reason for him to miss her, or even be angry about her departure.

And yet...

Without his vantage, he can't discern whether or not Jack had opted to leave Reaper at rest on his property, or whether he was still approaching. So he sits high in storage, listening with all of his might for the crunch of boots on blades of grass. He can't say he's yet in the mood to deal wit him, but he wasn't unarmed anymore.

So sure. Let him try and pick a fight.]

[mylawn]

[He's expecting some kind of alien creature, to be honest--something poking around the farm to see if there's anything interesting, so Jack is really only prepared for a show-down with some kind of extraterrestrial menace looking to harass the bees, or something. Doesn't mean he isn't coming into this unprepared, though he might be underestimating what's really hanging around his barn.

The wooden door creaks open and 76 enters gun first, visor activated and scanning.

Something is off. That much is evident right away, because 76 is pretty sure the animal would have made itself known by now (if they act like animals on Earth, at any rate), especially because he's made light and noise by opening the barn door. The intruder pings up in the rafters, and he's reasonably certain based on the size and stillness of it that it's not an animal.]

I know you're there.

[He isn't sure whether or not he expects his bluff to be called--he hopes there's no real response, or just the sound of the intruder making a break for it, but Jack's instincts have always been good. He won't be that lucky.]

[tinkerhell]

[Reaper stays perfectly still and lets 76 lurk in silence, regardless of the fact that he can spot the red light of his visor shining off the wall nearest him. Yeah, something was there -- but until he shot or came up there, he wouldn't know what or who. For all of Reaper's relative stillness, someone could have left a dead body in the barn.

He still isn't entirely sure why he'd come, and he isn't entirely sure why he isn't shooting at him now, while he has the advantage of surprise.]

I bet you do.

[The faint buzzing of bees makes him sound twice as gravely.]

You're trying too hard, Jack.

[mylawn]

[Hearing Reaper’s voice elicits something of a groan from him, more exasperated than anything else, even though Jack knows he should be incredibly wary that his place of residence is compromised. Reyes could be here for any number of reasons—though it immediately occurs to him that perhaps he’s making himself known because Ana is gone. One-on-one is much easier, or maybe he’s just here to cause property damage. Sabotage his new livelihood, such as it is.]

I get that a lot.

[Always trying, usually at the expense of something else. Too hard. He doesn’t lower his gun (because he can’t discount the possibility that Reaper isn’t armed, but he makes no move to aim it. The roll of his eyes is practically audible.]

How long have you been up there?

mei

[mylawn]

[He's ripped off band-aid after band-aid until the number of agents who don't know the truth rapidly dwindles. It reaches the point where Jack knows he has to tell the rest of them, before they find out from the others. It's painful either way, but if he confesses it first, then he has the chance to explain himself. The real challenge is making it happen--one of those things that's easier said than done.

But he steels himself and heads out to Chioni, knowing that's where Mei lives and works. More power to her, really, given the climate on the planet, but she's never let anything like that stop her. She's looking for security detail for her current research, and he takes the opportunity, knowing it's going to be his best chance to break the news gently.

He still harbors no small amount of guilt for what happened to the Ecopoint, and as he helps haul her equipment, gun in hand, he perhaps allows himself to believe that this is his way of making it up to her.]

Here. I can get that, too.

[One of many advantages to being a genetically-enhanced super soldier: he makes an excellent pack mule and he barely breaks a sweat doing it.]

is switching to prose okay?

[frostedplum]

Chioni has dangerous temperatures during peak hours, which is why they're out at night, after the surface has cooled down. In this case, 'cooled down' is more like ninety degrees, but it's a dry heat instead of the moisture filled heat that sticks to a person. Their trip should be short -- she only needs to grab a few rock and soil samples and then it's back to base -- so her supplies aren't many, but it is nice to have him offer to carry it all for her.

"If you'd like!" she replies, handing off a vaguely square shaped case with a handle. "I'll carry the lantern." A battery-operated one, of course, but it provides more light than the beam of a flashlight. "I'm told the rocks I'm looking for are just at the edge of this ridge." It's a simple task to do, and really the only dangers are the fact it's at night and some of the local wildlife might try to harass them. But judging by 76's gun, they shouldn't be too much of a problem.

"So how are you liking Thisavrou so far?" she asks conversationally as they start out.

shore

[mylawn]

He takes the case from her and hefts it almost effortlessly, a testament to his enhancements. This could be more awkward, probably--they could be out here during the day, and though it's still hot, the lack of a sun helps immensely. Doesn't mean he isn't sweating in his body armor, but knowing the alternative, he'll take it.

Mei doesn't seem dissuaded by anything, however, and he trudges after her, raising an eyebrow at her seemingly irrepressible excitement. Some things, he guesses, don't change.

"Just waiting for my number to come up."

76 says it in a tone of voice that indicates he's not exactly impressed with the situation. He can curb his boredom by taking jobs like this, but it all feels a bit too much like retirement for his tastes.

"I bet this is a change of pace for you."

You know, Antarctica.

[frostedplum]

"I thought you were already a number," she says in a light tone, clearing joking with him. When a man introduces himself as a number, it's pretty unforgettable. But she understands what he really means. They're all just waiting while trying to live their lives in the meantime. At least they're in an exciting place, with lots of opportunities for exploration, either here or wherever the Ingress can take them. That's some consolation. Of course, not everyone is as adventurous as she is, and she can understand how this might not be fun for them. Hopefully they can see the bright side too.

"You mean the heat? Yeah, usually I travel to places with the opposite temperature. But I've heard Chioni will cycle back to cold temperatures at some point. Then it'll feel like Alaska again. Or Nepal. Or... Antarctica." The best way to avoid wallowing in what happened? Not thinking about it. But the problem with that is that Ecopoint: Antarctica was a huge part of her life and can't just be forgotten. And it would be wrong to forget anyway; like she was forgetting her team or something. So sometimes she has to face it before putting that chipper smile back on.

Her subdued expression only lasts a moment before she's clearing her throat and putting a little bounce into her step.

"Did you travel a lot back home?"

[mylawn]

She gets something of a laugh out of him, but it's more a noncommittal noise from the back of his throat than anything else. He notes the slight pause before she says Antarctica, and it just reminds him all over again how thoroughly he failed her and her team.

"I keep moving. Don't stay in one place too long."

Because he can't, really--that's what happens when you're an internationally wanted vigilante. Again, 76 seems entirely uncomfortable talking about himself, and tries to turn the conversation back on her, even though he knows he's supposed to be working his way to some kind of confession.

"Comes with the territory. Bet coming back was an adjustment, huh?"