WHO: Root + Hera + Lee, Root + Victor, Root + Shaw WHERE: The Hangar, Oros WHEN: February 1-4th ish WHAT: Catch-all log post for various rescue mission related threads WARNINGS: Other than thermonuclear genocide? No other warnings as of yet, will edit the header if needed be.
[ They got separated before the launch. Shaw got to the hangar bay first and amidst the chaotic bustle to get the rescue underway, she boarded a cargo ship with Ax and Marco and was out the bay doors. She didn't think it was a big deal. They could still stay in communication, mostly. And even when the comm cut out, there was no need to panic.
Shaw doesn't panic, anyway. There's no switch in her that flips when normal people should feel anxious or fearful. Besides, Root already knew they were going down to the surface where nuclear bombs were going off. Being together wouldn't have guaranteed either of their safety. In fact, the odds of survival were probably better if they went apart.
But such is the logic of her practical mind. She's focused on the mission. It's just like before, on Earth, except with higher stakes. The Machine never would've let it come to this. Oros doesn't have the advantage of a benevolent ASI to prevent bad things from happening. And the aliens on Oros were having a very, very bad day.
She returns from her final trip. They barely made it out of there before the window closed. Last trip, last survivors, just these five. The aliens look bewildered and in shock. Shaw looks upon and wonders if she would feel anything if she actually were in their shoes. The destruction of Earth and every living thing on it: would that be enough to move her? Maybe some day, she'll find out.
Meanwhile, the ship finally staggers into the hangar bay and begins to offload its endangered cargo.
Shaw gives off a brief wave to Ax and Marco before making her way off the ship. ]
[Time passes and various cargo ships come and go, bringing with them a steady but small influx of aliens, nothing more than a small handful when compared to the thousands (if not millions) of lives being slaughtered on their home planet. Root tries to count them, tries to take mental notes on how many ships have arrived and how many aliens they brought along, but she can’t: the only thing she can focus on is Shaw.
Only four cargo ships left, she hears someone say as they walk past her, and that anchors her to reality once again, so Root listens in. One of them nearly got swiped by a blastwave, no idea if they’ll make it through or not.
She never had a heart attack, but she imagines this is what it must feel like: something twisting painfully inside her chest, constricting her heart and lungs until she can’t breathe anymore. Root feels even more lost than before, walking around the hangar like a child that doesn’t know her way home, but the arrival of three more ships makes a spark of hope flare up in her chest.
Sameen isn’t on the ship that lands first, and neither is she on the ship that docks right after that. She’s not there, and although Root’s faith in her favorite girl is absolute, not even Sameen Shaw can survive nuclear bombings. She reaches for her communicator, because maybe this time their communications will stop acting up--
And then she sees her from a distance, stepping out of the cargo ship like she didn’t just escape a thermonuclear holocaust, like they haven’t been unable to communicate with each other for days. Root blinks, unsure for a moment if what she's seeing is real or an illusion created by her sleep deprived and utterly exhausted brain, but she soon realizes that Sameen is as real as she’s ever been, and relief hits her so strongly that she sways on her feet for a moment.
Root doesn’t know when she starts walking, isn’t consciously thinking about putting one foot in front of the other. She’s on autopilot, moving through the small crowd as if in a trance, her shoulders bumping harshly against whoever crosses her path and doesn’t move away. Her steps become faster until she’s all but running to the other woman, crossing the distance between them as quickly as her tired limbs will allow.
She stops a few feet away from Shaw, her focus as sharp as the blade she always keeps in her pocket. Root is happy and relieved and grateful and so fucking pissed off, and it shows on her face, her eyes still red from having cried not too long ago. She wants to hurt Shaw in ways she would (probably) not enjoy, wants to scream at her until her throat is raw and no sound comes out. There are many things Root wants to say, too, from I hate you for what you did to don’t leave me again but she ends up communicating a little differently: she closes the distance between them and throws a punch at Sameen’s perfect jaw.]
Don’t you dare do that again, [her voice is so low that it sounds almost like a growl, but the effect is ruined by the sheer worry in her eyes, or the way her lower lip trembles. Root grabs Shaw by the jacket, her hands fisting on the fabric] Don’t you dare leave me behind.
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gonna wing this, as I'm not sure the results yet of rescue but ...
Shaw doesn't panic, anyway. There's no switch in her that flips when normal people should feel anxious or fearful. Besides, Root already knew they were going down to the surface where nuclear bombs were going off. Being together wouldn't have guaranteed either of their safety. In fact, the odds of survival were probably better if they went apart.
But such is the logic of her practical mind. She's focused on the mission. It's just like before, on Earth, except with higher stakes. The Machine never would've let it come to this. Oros doesn't have the advantage of a benevolent ASI to prevent bad things from happening. And the aliens on Oros were having a very, very bad day.
She returns from her final trip. They barely made it out of there before the window closed. Last trip, last survivors, just these five. The aliens look bewildered and in shock. Shaw looks upon and wonders if she would feel anything if she actually were in their shoes. The destruction of Earth and every living thing on it: would that be enough to move her? Maybe some day, she'll find out.
Meanwhile, the ship finally staggers into the hangar bay and begins to offload its endangered cargo.
Shaw gives off a brief wave to Ax and Marco before making her way off the ship. ]
no subject
Only four cargo ships left, she hears someone say as they walk past her, and that anchors her to reality once again, so Root listens in. One of them nearly got swiped by a blastwave, no idea if they’ll make it through or not.
She never had a heart attack, but she imagines this is what it must feel like: something twisting painfully inside her chest, constricting her heart and lungs until she can’t breathe anymore. Root feels even more lost than before, walking around the hangar like a child that doesn’t know her way home, but the arrival of three more ships makes a spark of hope flare up in her chest.
Sameen isn’t on the ship that lands first, and neither is she on the ship that docks right after that. She’s not there, and although Root’s faith in her favorite girl is absolute, not even Sameen Shaw can survive nuclear bombings. She reaches for her communicator, because maybe this time their communications will stop acting up--
And then she sees her from a distance, stepping out of the cargo ship like she didn’t just escape a thermonuclear holocaust, like they haven’t been unable to communicate with each other for days. Root blinks, unsure for a moment if what she's seeing is real or an illusion created by her sleep deprived and utterly exhausted brain, but she soon realizes that Sameen is as real as she’s ever been, and relief hits her so strongly that she sways on her feet for a moment.
Root doesn’t know when she starts walking, isn’t consciously thinking about putting one foot in front of the other. She’s on autopilot, moving through the small crowd as if in a trance, her shoulders bumping harshly against whoever crosses her path and doesn’t move away. Her steps become faster until she’s all but running to the other woman, crossing the distance between them as quickly as her tired limbs will allow.
She stops a few feet away from Shaw, her focus as sharp as the blade she always keeps in her pocket. Root is happy and relieved and grateful and so fucking pissed off, and it shows on her face, her eyes still red from having cried not too long ago. She wants to hurt Shaw in ways she would (probably) not enjoy, wants to scream at her until her throat is raw and no sound comes out. There are many things Root wants to say, too, from I hate you for what you did to don’t leave me again but she ends up communicating a little differently: she closes the distance between them and throws a punch at Sameen’s perfect jaw.]
Don’t you dare do that again, [her voice is so low that it sounds almost like a growl, but the effect is ruined by the sheer worry in her eyes, or the way her lower lip trembles. Root grabs Shaw by the jacket, her hands fisting on the fabric] Don’t you dare leave me behind.