[The new regime may have shut down the Ingress, but a number of people had come through it beforehand. In the first few days, it seems prudent to L to make some rounds through the ship to take note of them -- always from one place to another, on his way to a nebulous "somewhere else." Where he's going is immaterial, because if he meets someone, that's where he was headed... and they don't have to know that. If they want to go somewhere, he can tell them that he was headed there. After he finishes his conversation with Egan, he decides to make another round to clock the changes he sees and how people are reacting to them.
He'd assumed that the Mess Hall would probably be empty, but he catches the young woman out of the corner of his eye as he passes through it. Several things are clear: she's wet, probably just out of the shower... maybe a pool, but he doubts that, under the current conditions. She's lying flat on the floor. Even from across the big room in the low lighting, he recognizes her, and it causes his stomach to twist, something he wouldn't have expected.
His pace slows and his hand falls to his side as he looks at her, just for a beat before speaking.
She doesn't have her glasses.
He stops himself before saying her name. If she doesn't recognize him, an explanation of how he knows her could get awkward quickly: I was your boss on another ship like this one, only much worse. We survived some extreme circumstances together. We saved each other's lives. I haven't seen you since just after we were both psychologically tortured for a long time by an entity who had some kind of control of our environment and a mental connection with each of us. I had nightmares for a month after I got here, and in a number of them, something terrible was happening to you. It would sound crazy, and that was without going into the experimentation, although Tex, at least, could attest to the manticores.
Nothing about Darcy has ever suggested to him that she'll be similarly circumspect if she's familiar with him, but if she is... if that even occurs to her... he can always check her arm for the nanite tattoo.
And what if it's not Darcy after all? He's seen more unrelated people who look alike on these ships than he ever had back at home.]
Are you all right? This used to be a cafeteria, but it's been gone for about a month. Still, it wouldn't be difficult to find some coffee.
Lights Down Low
He'd assumed that the Mess Hall would probably be empty, but he catches the young woman out of the corner of his eye as he passes through it. Several things are clear: she's wet, probably just out of the shower... maybe a pool, but he doubts that, under the current conditions. She's lying flat on the floor. Even from across the big room in the low lighting, he recognizes her, and it causes his stomach to twist, something he wouldn't have expected.
His pace slows and his hand falls to his side as he looks at her, just for a beat before speaking.
She doesn't have her glasses.
He stops himself before saying her name. If she doesn't recognize him, an explanation of how he knows her could get awkward quickly: I was your boss on another ship like this one, only much worse. We survived some extreme circumstances together. We saved each other's lives. I haven't seen you since just after we were both psychologically tortured for a long time by an entity who had some kind of control of our environment and a mental connection with each of us. I had nightmares for a month after I got here, and in a number of them, something terrible was happening to you. It would sound crazy, and that was without going into the experimentation, although Tex, at least, could attest to the manticores.
Nothing about Darcy has ever suggested to him that she'll be similarly circumspect if she's familiar with him, but if she is... if that even occurs to her... he can always check her arm for the nanite tattoo.
And what if it's not Darcy after all? He's seen more unrelated people who look alike on these ships than he ever had back at home.]
Are you all right? This used to be a cafeteria, but it's been gone for about a month. Still, it wouldn't be difficult to find some coffee.
[His low voice echoes in the big, empty room.]