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metal gear: liquid snake

FOR LIQUID SNAKE

If one thing was certain about Dutch it was that she worked best on her own. Back home she was primarily a hacker and she did most of her best work on her own. It was how she made ends meet. In the more recent months she’d been forced to work in a group and it had worked out alright, but she hadn’t been the leader. Dutch was never the leader. Now she was in a pair and she was, presumably, the leader. This left her feeling more than a little uncomfortable, but it was how things were and she wasn’t going to fight it.

Dutch found her way to the Nomo Deck to Liquid Snake’s room. She stood outside and gave the door a healthy knock to get his attention. He would undoubtedly hear her and they could get this buddy business underway.

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Staying in a room with three other people, one of them a kid, wasn't exactly Liquid's first choice. Or second choice. Or any choice, for that matter, but here that didn't exactly matter. He had to take what he got, as much as he wanted to fight back just for the hell of it. He'd figure out how to mess around later. For now, laying low and getting a feel for things was his best option.

He opened the door, standing there with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. "Can I... help you?" He might have got the 'buddy' assignment thing sent to him, and he might have ignored it, not even bothering to check for a picture of who'd been assigned to him or anything of the sort. Liquid did the leading, not the other way around.

Well, except with everything about this ship, but still. It was the principle of the thing.

Liquid was perhaps a little intimidating, but Dutch wasn’t easily intimidated. Perhaps that was because she was foolish or perhaps it was because she was gutsy. No one could ever be sure. Still, when he greeted her, she simply smiled at him.

“Yeah, hi. You Liquid Snake?” Her eyebrows raised slightly. “I’m Dutch Velders. He’s supposed to be my buddy, according to the message I got.” She rocked back and forth on her heels like she was full of nervous energy. Honestly, it was just the anxiety surrounding the endeavor that made her behave in such a way. Dutch hadn’t even had her coffee for the day.

“I’m not exactly sure what we’re supposed to do, but I thought a tour of the Moira was in order, so...” She trailed off, wincing slightly. “You him?” Her hands clapped together anxiously, that smile still on her face.

Liquid wasn't even trying to turn the intimidation on, really, he just tended to look that way naturally. When he was trying to intimidate people, it could get even worse. He hadn't been expecting visitors, not when the only people he knew here were his family and some close family friends. "Oh." He hadn't exactly expected his 'buddy' to come looking for him.

He sighed. Well, couldn't ignore it now, could he. "Ah, that. Yes, that's me." She definitely seemed kind of antsy. He didn't blame her. "Good to meet you. There, polite.

"I guess a tour wouldn't be too bad," he said after a moment of silent deliberation. He'd already done a bit of exploring on his own, but having someone who knew what things were around might be just a little more useful. He was willing to utilize whatever he could to get used to the place. "I take it you know a lot about this, then?"

Honestly, it was a big relief when she was met with politeness. Dutch couldn’t help but smile and nod at his good to meet you. It was certainly better than having him shut the door in her face, something she’d irrationally been worrying about since she’d knocked. She wasn’t sure why it had been a worry. Everyone she’d met on the Moira had been reasonably friendly. She supposed she was just waiting for the inevitable unfriendly soul to show their face.

“I’ll admit, I don’t know everything there is to know about this place, but I have spent a lot of time wandering the ship. I know a lot of the nooks and crannies.” She smiled, a hint of pride in her expression. “It’s easier to live on this ship when you know your way around, so I figured it’d be helpful if you had someone to show you the way.”

“Are you ready to go?” She rocked on her heels again. “Or should I give you a little time to get ready?”

Liquid wasn't anywhere near a good person, but he knew when to be polite, most of the time. He was supposed to be getting along with the people here, and it honestly wasn't massively hard as long as people weren't doing anything to frustrate him. (Or existing, in certain circumstances.) Had she been a bit more pushy on the matter, or something along those lines, he just might have slammed the door on her; he saw no reason to, now.

He relaxed his posture a bit, looking a bit more casual and a bit less intimidating. Just a bit, though. He can only do so much. "Well, something's better than nothing, at least. Been wandering around myself, but it's a big place, and I haven't had the most time to track everything down." Not for lack of trying, though. "I'd love to see what you've discovered."

He glanced back into the room for a moment, looked back at her, and shrugged. "Can't really get much more ready." He was dressed and had nothing resembling plans for the time being. What else was there to do? "Let's go."

“For a space explorer I haven’t done an extraordinary amount of exploring, but I’ve done enough. There are plenty of hours in the day, you know, and with very little to actually weld on the ship I don’t have much actual work to do so I’ve become a bit of a wanderer.” She shrugs.

“Let’s go!” She echoes, turning sharply and beginning to walk. Dutch leads him off of the Nomo Deck and into a stark white corridor, the Main Hall. Her smile fades the instant they enter the hall. It reminds her a little too much of hospital hallways and leaves her with a bad taste in her mouth, so to speak. The sooner they get to an actual destination, the better.

The first location they come to is the mess hall, a favorite place of Dutch’s. The moment they come to the place her lips curl back into their usual smiling form. “I assume you’ve been here? The bar is one of my favorite features aboard the Moira.” She stands at the entrance, ready to lead Liquid Snake to the next location on the assumption that since he’s probably been in the mess he’s bored with it.

"Probably more than I have, since you've been here longer." Meanwhile, he's had some other things to do "So you're a welder? That's a bit... specific, I suppose, but I'm sure it'll come in handy." After all, stuff on a spaceship is definitely going to need fixed, and it's not like they could just call someone if they weren't on a planet.

He nods and starts following behind her, ready to see what possible undiscovered places this ship might hold. Or discovered things. Even places he's seen might not necessarily have been given more than a quick glance.

"Yes, I've definitely been here. Sort of one of the earlier places I went." He really likes food, okay. It's genetic, probably. "Good food, too. And I can't say I expected a spaceship to have a bar, but I can't say I really had much in the way of spaceship expectations before I got here." He's not bored, though. A tour's a tour, whether he knows the area or not. He'll follow her out whenever she's ready. "Anything I should know about here? Any mysterious food to avoid?"

“A skill I’ve only learned recently, I’m afraid. Don’t get me wrong, I’m good. You’re in safe hands should anything happen to the Moira, but for most of my life I’ve relied on my skills as a hacker, not as a welder.” Dutch wrinkles her nose slightly. It feels weird being known as a welder on the ship. Vasiliy, the man who taught her how to weld, would probably be quite proud of her.

She smiles a little on the topic of food. “The sandwiches are a gamble, so I tend to avoid them. You never know when they’re going to include something sketchy. The veggies aren’t bad, so long as you’re the kind of person whose tastebuds aren’t offended by vegetables. If you want to be 100% safe, stick to the sweets. They’re fantastic most of the time, except for those occasions when they alter your behavior slightly. Long story.”

“The bar’s got everything.” Dutch nods to the bar. “Not really everything you might find on Earth and probably not everything you might find on any other planet, but likely an equivalent. All in all, I’d say the mess is not a disappointment.” She raises her eyebrows and smiles a little bit.

"Suppose they'd rather keep someone from hacking everything, then." Doesn't mean it'd stop a hacker from doing what they do best, though, and he's curious. "Dig up anything juicy anyway?" He's going to be very nosy about these things, don't mind him. It might just be because of his job. Also, he's just nosy.

Arms crossed, he regards anything on display in the vicinity. "I'm pretty adventurous. I think I can handle a sketchy sandwich." His face lights up immensely upon hearing how fantastic the sweets are. At least, until he hears the catch. "They... alter your behavior." Well, great, someone's going around drugging the snacks. Is nothing safe anymore? Still... he loves snacks too much to avoid them altogether. "I'll just have to check for signs of tampering."

He does look impressed at the variety of the bar, too. "Sounds like it. I suppose if we've got to be stuck in a place like this, the least they can do is provide us with some good stuff. Not that I really drink much, but still. Food sounds brilliant." Small comforts. "Well, that's one place I can feel alright about, I suppose. What's next?"

A grin spreads across Dutch’s face. “Afraid not. I’m still getting used to the systems aboard the ship. It’s only a matter of time, though.” It’s not being cocky, though, it’s being honest. She’s got a sharp mind. She’ll pick up on the way things work eventually. All she needs is a little bit of time.

“Oh, it was just one time. I mean, who knows? It might happen again. All I know is that people ate them and they were unusually honest or extremely amorous. It was...” A laugh breaks through her serious expression. “Well, I’d be a liar if I said it wasn’t interesting to watch. No one wound up hurt aside from people winding up with their pride hurt.”

“Next?” She perks up slightly. “The closest thing we have on board to the great outdoors. The gardens.” Dutch begins to exit the mess, nodding her head for him to follow her.

Liquid's definitely interested in that. "Let me know when you've made a breakthrough, hm? I've been really curious about all this." Making connections is good. Maybe this buddy thing can work out more than just a tour. Always a good idea to figure out who you can work with, right?

Still, he's a little wary about the possibility of drugged candy. Here he is, all ready for snacks, and they could mess with his head. And he's had enough of his head being messed with. (Not that he particularly cares about messing with other people's heads, but that's different.) "Still sounds unpleasant. I'll be keeping an eye out."

He follows behind her, glancing around as they head out. "I admit I'd really just only poked my head in there, so I really only know the location. Nice to have some foliage in here, though." He'd check it out more, but this whole figuring things out thing has had him so busy. Here's his chance.

Dutch nods. “Will do, but no promises. I’m good back home, but I don’t know how good I’ll be with alien technology. It might take some time.” There’s that overabundance of confidence. She doesn’t think that she won’t be able to crack it, but that it might take her a bit of time. Impossible isn’t a word in Dutch’s vocabulary.

“Caution never hurt anyone, as far as I know.” She smirks a little. In her case it was just luck. She hadn’t been hungry for sweets on the day they’d affected everyone mentally. It was a good thing, too. Dutch would have been upset with the ship’s chefs if she’d wound up in a compromising situation.

“It’s a nice place. A step up from the park by my apartment.” She leads him down that same eerie white corridor, this time to the gardens. It’s a relief once they reach their destination. It even smells fresh there. It brings a smile to Dutch’s face even though she’s never really been the outdoorsy type.

"Well, I suppose if you think about it, you're no worse off if you haven't figured it out yet than when you weren't working on it at all. It's progress." Always be supportive to the people you're trying to make connections with, because nobody's going to want to give information to an asshole.

"Well, it can occasionally hinder progress, but you just need to know when best to exercise it and when to throw it to the wind. And if there's a possibility of food actually... altering your behavior, that's not exactly something you want to leave to the wind." He can be a little reckless, or a lot reckless, but he does know how to be cautious. Sometimes.

He follows, and when the greenery comes into view it's an interesting contrast from the completely artificial nature of the ship. "Hm. That is nice." He's pretty sure he sees a cat wandering around, too. Maybe more. Who knew? "Don't know if I'd spend a lot of time here, but... Well, it's good to know what's there."

“I like how you think!” She winks and points a finger at Liquid Snake. Dutch feels just as positive. She picked up on Earth technology quickly enough as a kid. Of course, back then she’d had the assistance of her father. Nevertheless, she has faith in herself. She’d learn what made the Moira tick.

“True.” She nods. “Probably best to stick to the sketchy sandwiches, in that case.” Dutch sighs. The sweets were tempting, mind altering or not.

Dutch takes in a deep breath. Somehow the air just feels like it’s of a higher quality in the gardens. She looks back to her buddy. “To be honest, I spend more time at the bar. It’s kind of a shame. This place is probably more... Well, zen, I guess is a good word for it. Anyway, did you want to move on?”

"I like how I think too." Liquid keeps a straight face for about three seconds before laughing a bit at the gesture. He hadn't been so keen on the buddy system thing at the beginning, but the tour's entertaining enough and he can make a connection. Things are turning out alright.

"Well... if you exercise caution and keep an eye on things, as long as something doesn't appear tampered with it might be alright." Even though he knows to be cautious... he isn't going to skip out on good food completely. Just safely. His sweet tooth would never forgive him if he gave up on snacks.

He takes another glance around the garden, then turns. "Probably should. Only enough time in a... space day? Bloody hell I don't know how things work around here. Either way, might as well see everything once and make a second visit if I've got to."

“Well, that’s just healthy self-esteem.” She grins at him, glad that the two of them are getting along fairly well. At least he’s not fighting this buddy thing. It could have turned out much worse.

“That is true.” Dutch gives a facial shrug. “I suppose you should always be careful about anything you don’t make or grow yourself. The universe is a screwed up place full of screwed up individuals and the potential for disaster is endless.” She winces a little bit at her own grim philosophy. “Of course, people are capable of good things as well, it’s just... It’s good to be prepared for the worst, I’d think.”

“C’mon, you’ll probably get some use out of the next spot.” She smiles and leads the way out of the gardens and back to the corridor.

"Always an important thing to have." He needs his self-esteem, considering everything he grew up believing. Being told you're inferior from a young age isn't exactly helpful to one's development. Luckily he managed to get himself an ego somewhere along the way. "Good to see someone appreciates it." Well, if that's anything like appreciation anyway. Still.

He nods. "Yeah. Even existing's always going to come with some sort of risk involved. You just have to know how to avoid things. Get that figured out, and you'll be fine. And even if you're the most cautious person ever, there could always be that one moment where everything falls apart." And as much as he likes to be careful about some things... in the end he's kind of a risk-taker. Or a lot of one.

"That so? Well, I'm incredibly curious now." It's a big Metal Gear hangar, right? If only. Still, he's definitely interested to see what's next, and he follows along. Way to get him even more interested in the tour, right?

“Absolutely!” Dutch agrees with a big smile. “I’d be lost without mine. Self-esteem, I mean. If you’re not all that confident in yourself you get lost quite easily. I imagine that’s all the more perilous in outer space.” She winces jokingly.

“Off we go.” She gives a happy little smile over her shoulder, leading him down the corridor and to the rec area. Dutch presents it with grand hand gestures like a game show hostess. “I have to admit, I’m pretty fond of the pool. Who knew you could swim in space? I can barely swim in Brooklyn.” Walking past the pool, she shows off the other exercise equipment. “There are other ways to stay in shape, too. I don’t know about you, but if I’m not at least fairly active I go a little crazy.”

Dutch turns to look at him, studying him for a reaction. Maybe he wouldn’t react the way she’d predicted to the rec area. “Oh!” She jumps slightly, having forgotten something. “There are UV beds. You know, as a substitute for the sun? Pretty poor substitute, but they’re better than nothing.”

"Heh. Big place out here, space. All sorts of places to drift off to, figuratively. And literally, I suppose." Well, that sounds all kinds of profound. Not exactly his intention, but whatever.

Eventually the route starts to look a little familiar, and his suspicions are confirmed when they end up at the rec room. He might not necessarily look impressed about it, but he does at least seem happy to see it. "I've been here, actually." Here is where he'll work off all the food he'll probably be eating. " Found it a bit early on and decided there was no time like the present to start utilizing it. I'm glad we've got this place. I do a lot of exercising, actually."

The one thing he hasn't really given any thought to yet, though, is the UV beds, although they're a bit unmistakable now that he looks at them. "...Hm. Maybe I can work on my tan." He's probably bound to get pretty pale in here, after all.

Dutch lets out an amused huff of breath. “Deep thinking. Yes, definitely. It’s one of those extreme environments. Back home, where I’m from? Before they send anyone out into space they do all sorts of tests on people. Physical, mental... People need to be in tip top shape before they come out here. And here I am, a hot mess, just shoved into outer space. Imagine that.” She grins, apparently amused.

“You have?” She looks only slightly disappointed that it’s not a surprise. “Huh. Well, that’s a good thing, I suppose. Everyone should get a bit of exercise. Good outlet for stress, I find.” Dutch nods.

“Yeah, I’m bound to get a bit paler out here even with the beds, but they should help a little.” She smiles. “Never really been a sun worshipper, I just get a lot of sun naturally, you know? I’m... Not quite sure if I just made any sense.” Her nose wrinkles slightly.

"Yeah, going out into space is always a sort of big ordeal where I'm from too. All the training, all the media coverage, all the everything else, or... I guess you can just go the magical way, apparently. Wonder what they'd all think of that. I used to be a pilot, but I'd never really considered going that far up into the sky, you know?" And look at him now.

"Hey, don't give me that look." It might be slight disappointment, but it's still disappointment. "I appreciate it, really."

He tilts his head slightly. "Just been outside a lot, then?" Makes sense enough to him, maybe. "I've done a lot of work outside. Can't say I've ever actually sat down and tanned on purpose, but, well, it happens."

“A pilot!” Her eyebrows shoot up. “Well, that’s how all of the early astronauts started, isn’t it? And it’s got to be quite an adventure, hasn’t it? Being up there in the sky... I never considered it myself. I think I’d lose it if I ever left the ground, but who knows? I did alright on my first space walk.” She shrugs her shoulders.

Dutch cracks a smile. “Alright, alright. I swear you didn’t destroy me. I’m just trying to make this tour... Not horrible. That’s all.”

She nods in the affirmative. “Yeah, I get around outside alot and my skin just seems to... Soak it up, I suppose. Never been one to burn. Now my mum, she was fair skinned. She could turn into a lobster in the summer sitting in the shade outside. She never would have dreamed of using one of these beds.”

Liquid nods. "A pilot." And a damn good one, but he's not going to brag about it here. Right now. Yet. Maybe. "Flying's nice, yes. I do sort of miss it." The last big thing he'd piloted was a Metal Gear, and as fun as that was, it didn't exactly fly. "Maybe I should see what this space walking stuff's all about, hm?"

He scoffs, waving it off. "It's not horrible. It's very informative. Bit better than just having a map and being on my way, at any rate."

"Better than charbroiling, I suppose," he says with a laugh. "I spent a bit of time in a desert, years ago, and had plenty of time to work on my tan." Not exactly what he'd been there for, but still. "Ha, a friend of mine was a bit like that too. Used to make fun of me for getting a tan since he didn't do so well with it."

“Eh,” She shrugs her shoulders. “I started to drift off into space and I got more than a little nervous, if I’m being completely nervous. I felt like I was in that Space Odyssey movie, only with nausea added into the picture.” Dutch winces slightly. “Once that passes, though, you’re golden. It makes you feel sort of free.”

Her eyes widen slightly and she grins. “I could get into the guided tour business! You know, those things where they make you put on ear phones and you wander the place with a voice guiding you? I do have a pretty pleasant voice. People are always looking for British accents to voice their narratives. That or Morgan Freeman. But it’s good to know I’m not doing horribly.” Her grin dims to a pleasant smile.

“I think they’re just jealous. Bitter after one too many sunburn.” She grins and wrinkles her nose. “I’d probably be the same if I wound up blistering in the sun. That’s got to be damn inconvenient.”

Liquid crosses his arms, looking interested at the story. "I suppose when you've got all of that... well, space surrounding you, it's bound to be a little intimidating." He'd love to try it, though. Maybe he'll look into it for another time.

He laughs, nodding slowly. "Sounds like a good idea. Well, clearly I should start getting in on that too, if only for the sake of giving Morgan Freeman a break. He must be rather busy." The idea of recording tours for people is incredibly silly in the long run, as far as he's concerned, but still.

"Hah, could be. Not that I never teased him about things either." The sign of true friendship, of course. "It does. I can only imagine how my time in the desert would've gone had the sun been so much of an enemy."

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