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[SeriousConcentrate]

Dom sat on the edge of the desk, her stomach a ball of ice in her abdomen. "You're certain it was him and not someone else with the same name? He's... blond hair, blue eyes, kind of tall, about twenty three..." She trailed off, not sure whether to change her mind and hope that that WASN'T him. To come this far and so much, only for him to have died before she'd ever even had a chance...

Dom started crying, hiding her eyes in her hands. There didn't seem to be much choice.

[SeriousConcentrate]

(Disregard, 504 errors)

[Draignean]

(Disregard, 504 errors)

((Those Bastards.))

Dom sat on the edge of the desk, her stomach a ball of ice in her abdomen. "You're certain it was him and not someone else with the same name? He's... blond hair, blue eyes, kind of tall, about twenty three..." She trailed off, not sure whether to change her mind and hope that that WASN'T him. To come this far and so much, only for him to have died before she'd ever even had a chance...

Dom started crying, hiding her eyes in her hands. There didn't seem to be much choice.

  For the second time in three minutes, Taric is taken offguard by Dominique's display of emotion. "Its..." He trails off and pats Dominique awkwardly on the shoulder. "I'm pretty sure. His subject file contains his identification codes, former medical history, dental, genome, everything with marital status included on top. Look, I didn't mean to put you off this, but if you don't want to go that's fine. I can send a team of my improved immortals on the shuttle, and I can find work for you here." Taric attempts to give Dominque a consoling look. "Even if he isn't a corpse in a laboratory morgue, you're a psychic, he's a human. Kind of a big disparity in a relationship. You'd be able to read his thoughts, you couldn't have kids, you'd be stronger than him, faster than him, and add that to the number of people you've had to kill... Even if he was alive, are you still the same person that he remembers, or did that person die the instant Hoke took us through the gate?"

[SeriousConcentrate]

Dom didn't respond to him at first. Ever since she had entered this base, she'd been in a bad state, and she just needed some time to vent everything. Eventually she rubbed her eyes, sniffled, and tried to look presentable. "I don't know, boss, and that's killing me. He knew I was a violent woman when he met me, but I had been trying to change. For his sake, and mine. But I'd never killed a person before. I guess I'm a soldier now, and that changes you somewhere inside."

She sniffed again, wiping her face with her sleeve. "... was always stronger and faster, though. A little more now ain't gonna mean much. And, I don't think I'm that kind of psychic. I mean, I can't read your mind. I couldn't read Smith's or Teague's or Grane's or Saun's. I don't know if James counts 'cause I didn't really read his, I just put stuff in it. Dunno what you mean by 'can't have kids,' though. Did those Orientation machines do something to me?"

[Draignean]

   "You could read his mind if you tried, particularly after going through the most recent cycle of orientation. You may never try, but you'd be asking someone else to live with nothing but trust to assure them you wouldn't. As for reading my mind, or anyone else with psychic ability, that would take a lot of effort, but just a human? Easily done." Taric sighs and sits down next to Dominique. "As for fertility, it was Saun who clued me into it at first. She used to have two daughters, but neither were genetically hers. We... talked some after we first met. The Father had the research to back it up. He was obsessed with engineering the ability in, and so he had to overcome the hurdles of an anomalous chromosome. Humans have twenty-two autosomes, but we're deviant in this too. We're as gentically different from humans as mules are from horses, and we're just as impossible to breed. I mean, I don't know how long you were married to Jeffrey, but are you going to tell me that you never tried?" Taric's shakes his head. "He's a human, you're not. It's that black and white."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"...Yeah. We'd been trying for awhile, before the Technocrats took him. Just... thought it was one of those things that took time or something." Dom had lowered her head, holding it between her hands and resting her elbows on her knees as she spoke. She smiled weakly to herself, as if finally getting the joke. "...Guess all I was ever good for was destroying shit. Sure as fuck can't create anything. Just as well. Look at me, all this scar tissue, crooked nose and shit. I'm hardly mother material, right? What woman could raise her kids and tell them to stay in school and make something of themselves when she's a fucking rageaholic wreck who flunked and never amounted to anything?"

She snorted at herself. "Like it's possible to raise kids in this fucking shithole of a planet anyway. Fucking killer ants and who knows what other kind of animals and shit, Unchained and Technocracy having it out, and then there's the AIs all fighting each other. No place for anyone but assholes trying to kill each other off." Dom rubbed her temples.

She sighed and sat up straight, eyes closed. "Two things, boss. One, how much booze do we have here, and two, do you have any way to disguise me? I'm going to save Jeff, but maybe it would be better if he didn't know it was me. At least, not at first. Not until I have time to figure all this shit out and get my head straight. I... I don't want him to see me like this, and I don't think I'm up to pretending that nothing's wrong and I haven't changed some. Christ. I mean, the first month after he disappeared I thought maybe the people in charge had made a mistake and he'd be brought back. Then I started to think I'd never see him again, and then when we got sent here I started to hope maybe he was here too... and now that I know he could be, I don't know if I want him to see me."

"I'm such a fucking mess right now. Maybe you got the right of it. Everything must be pretty damn simple if you don't care about anyone or anything." There was a moment of silence. "...Sorry, boss. That was uncalled for. You're probably the only damn person I can trust."

[Draignean]

"...Yeah. We'd been trying for awhile, before the Technocrats took him. Just... thought it was one of those things that took time or something." Dom had lowered her head, holding it between her hands and resting her elbows on her knees as she spoke. She smiled weakly to herself, as if finally getting the joke. "...Guess all I was ever good for was destroying shit. Sure as fuck can't create anything. Just as well. Look at me, all this scar tissue, crooked nose and shit. I'm hardly mother material, right? What woman could raise her kids and tell them to stay in school and make something of themselves when she's a fucking rageaholic wreck who flunked and never amounted to anything?"

She snorted at herself. "Like it's possible to raise kids in this fucking shithole of a planet anyway. Fucking killer ants and who knows what other kind of animals and shit, Unchained and Technocracy having it out, and then there's the AIs all fighting each other. No place for anyone but assholes trying to kill each other off." Dom rubbed her temples.

She sighed and sat up straight, eyes closed. "Two things, boss. One, how much booze do we have here, and two, do you have any way to disguise me? I'm going to save Jeff, but maybe it would be better if he didn't know it was me. At least, not at first. Not until I have time to figure all this shit out and get my head straight. I... I don't want him to see me like this, and I don't think I'm up to pretending that nothing's wrong and I haven't changed some. Christ. I mean, the first month after he disappeared I thought maybe the people in charge had made a mistake and he'd be brought back. Then I started to think I'd never see him again, and then when we got sent here I started to hope maybe he was here too... and now that I know he could be, I don't know if I want him to see me."

"I'm such a fucking mess right now. Maybe you got the right of it. Everything must be pretty damn simple if you don't care about anyone or anything." There was a moment of silence. "...Sorry, boss. That was uncalled for. You're probably the only damn person I can trust."

(( I feel so terrible for setting this up now. I need to buy Dom a pony.))

    "You've got it almost right, everything is simple when you only care about one thing," Taric says, smiling ruefully. "I can get you a disguise, and I can even get you real credentials to go along with it. Alcohol won't be a problem either, you can have an open bar on the shuttle if that's what you want. But... " Taric trails off, looking at Dominique a little sadly. "I suppose this means that you are going?"

[SeriousConcentrate]

(It's fine. it's character building. )

"...I gotta know for myself what happened, one way or the other. But I'll come back. I promised Smith I was going to look after you, and I already fucked that up once." She gestured at his eyepatch as she stood, then hugged him. "I'll be there the next time you need me. No more fuck-ups. I promise."

[Zako]

((Wow... That's some tasty RP right there.

Meanwhile, back in hell...))

Anna kept focused on the approaching shapes and on Tyrin's retreating back. The fact that she had detected a probe and they weren't getting shot was a good sign of reinforcements, and her hopes picked up when she heard the voice of the marshal.

"Ah, it's good to see a friendly face right about now. How are you holding up Sir? We've just been saved by an act of god after getting hammered by that gunship but other than that, we've been separated from the rest of the battle. How are the others?"

Stick with the Marshal. Get updated on the situation.

[Tiruin]

"Gunship down. Enemy troops, unknown." Tyrin managed to say, trying to keep consciousness as dizziness and wooziness struck his head. He guessed it was due to bloodloss.

If he lived, he'd really be hitting the water distillery soon.

"I-I've no idea if they jumped from the gunship. But there are more. There was a marksman out there-I've got my sights on him, hopefully.B-but it might give away our position.

"Permission to fire, sir?" he said at the Marshall.

Fire ye Broadbeam if granted!

[SeriousConcentrate]

Wow... That's some tasty RP right there.

(Thanks! ^^^)

Meanwhile, back in hell...

(Oh, come on. I'm sure it's hot and there's like fifteen trillion killer animals but Australia's not THAT bad. )

[Draignean]

"...I gotta know for myself what happened, one way or the other. But I'll come back. I promised Smith I was going to look after you, and I already fucked that up once." She gestured at his eyepatch as she stood, then hugged him. "I'll be there the next time you need me. No more fuck-ups. I promise."

  Taric is stiff in the unexpected hug, then he squeezes back gently. "I... I should probably arrange things for you to go," he says after he pulls away. "I can get everything you need for a decent disguise together in about ten minutes. If you want to go to the hangar and pick out a shuttle, I can meet you there."
   Taric pauses for a moment, and his smile quirks up on one side. "I have a lot of work for you, Dom, so promise that you won't stay away for too long," he says, using Dominique's nickname for the first time in long time.

"Ah, it's good to see a friendly face right about now. How are you holding up Sir? We've just been saved by an act of god after getting hammered by that gunship but other than that, we've been separated from the rest of the battle. How are the others?"

  The marshal scoffs. "Act of God my ass. Dumb luck had to swing our way a little after the way things have been going..." He shakes his head. "The Major is up north, dueling with the Presbyter. The two of them are flattening anything that even gets near them. The bloody gunship kept the rest of us scattered, and despite being outnumbered, the Technocrats have been burning our bacon at every turn." The marshal smiles grimly, and his tone turns a little cruel. "Now that the gunship is out of the air, though, it's time to make up for lost ground."

"Gunship down. Enemy troops, unknown." Tyrin managed to say, trying to keep consciousness as dizziness and wooziness struck his head. He guessed it was due to bloodloss.

If he lived, he'd really be hitting the water distillery soon.

"I-I've no idea if they jumped from the gunship. But there are more. There was a marksman out there-I've got my sights on him, hopefully.B-but it might give away our position.

"Permission to fire, sir?" he said at the Marshall.

  "Kid, I don't know if you noticed this, but you have a goddamn bleeding hole in your stomach. You're going to need to put the gun down so the medic can get you patched. I don't give a damn if you shoot or not, we're gonna have a fight on our hands anyway, but you need to get a stitch as soon as possible."
 

[Tiruin]

  "Kid, I don't know if you noticed this, but you have a goddamn bleeding hole in your stomach. You're going to need to put the gun down so the medic can get you patched. I don't give a damn if you shoot or not, we're gonna have a fight on our hands anyway, but you need to get a stitch as soon as possible."

"Injury of occupation, sir." Tyrin said before performing the basic duty of his job.

Fire that Broadbeam. THEN drop it or lay it down to a place where I can easily draw it.

"But we've suffered losses. One casualty of ours. Two...innocents. And one b-..one of theirs. Back in the house. The other colonists went to safety. Judging by how the house is structured, probably in a tunnel underground or a basement."

[SeriousConcentrate]

Dom nodded, crossing her heart with her left hand. "I promise. Me and you, we'll make this work - whatever it turns out to be. I'll see you in the hangar, Taric." She left the room and addressed Emily. "Emily, where's the armory? And do you know if there's any heavy armor in it? The kind that, when you wear it, you just look like a generic tin can or something, if you catch my meaning?"

Dom asks Emily the above, and if Emily answers in the affirmative then she goes and switches out her armor for it. If not - or afterward - she'll head to the hangar and look at the available craft.

[Zako]

((Yeah it's not that bad anymore. We've mostly beaten it into submission by now. ))

"If you can call a random ship hauling ass from out of nowhere that crushes the gunship that happened to be in it's path at the time dumb luck, then we are the luckiest sons of bitches on the planet, and I am personally lady luck as the damn thing was about to splatter me over the ground with it's guns."

Anna takes a few heaving breaths before continuing.

"So, speaking of lost ground, what's the plan with taking these bastards down? Do you think we can snipe the Presbyter to help the Major or something?"