brightline: (*art: whining)
marco ([personal profile] brightline) wrote in [community profile] starlogs2016-12-11 07:11 pm

[open] lately i'm feeling like a big bang

WHO: Marco; Ax + OPEN
WHERE: Various
WHEN: immediately following orientation
WHAT: Marco is getting his bearings on the ship and trying to figure out some strategy. Which includes making friends. Hopefully.
WARNINGS: Will be noted in subject lines if applicable.




[i. shopping center]

[It's so Rachel, heading straight to the shopping center after getting out of orientation, but he's trying not to think about that too much. Orientation. It still seems completely insane, abruptly waking up in a creepy glass tube on a spaceship the size of...well, it's huge. And being told that he's here because it's a side effect of the engines. Seriously. Why keep using the engines if this is the side effect?

So it's time to go in search of three very important things when a guy needs to get his mind off things - a food court, a movie theatre, and an arcade. Marco can be found at any of these three places for the first half-day of his stay on the Eluvio, somehow managing to ignore reality, vent his frustration, and gather intel all at the same time.]


[ii. black market]

[It actually takes Marco about five minutes to realize he's in an actual black market, because aren't they supposed to be way harder than this to find? Like, door in a secluded back alley with a suspicious slit in the door where you have to do a coded knock then speak a password?

It's actually the organs that clue him in - nasty lumps of flesh and blood in little jars or futuristic energy fields, and only some of them human. That's when he realizes that going down the little hallway with the red triangle while scoping around looking for the hangar was probably not the greatest idea ever.

Or maybe the opposite.]


Whoa, holy crap, is this like, a holographic projector or something?

[And he's leaning excitedly over the edge of the table, probably about to get swindled pretty bad.]

[iii. hangar bay]

[Finally, he ends up in the hangar bay, wanders around for a bit before stooping to asking for directions, and eventually ends up in one of the bays intended for cargo ships and the like. And there she is. The Rachel.

A viciously beautiful ship shaped like a swept-forward crescent moon, dangerous and quick. And, as far as he can tell, his. It might not be nine million dollars, but it's definitely something.

Speaking to no one in particular, he waves a hand toward it across the bay.]


Is that not the nicest looking ship ever?
canadese: <user name=zeeco site=plurk.com> (Default)

3

[personal profile] canadese 2016-12-12 06:24 am (UTC)(link)
<It is a Yeerk ship.>

[He'd been wondering how and when to approach Marco. How does someone behave around someone they haven't spoken to in months, in a situation like this? There's no precedence for this. Years ago they would have been commiserating immediately, trying to figure out the purpose behind this and making plans to make things right, but now...

Now the best he can do is hope they have any common ground left.]


<Why would you name such a thing after her?>
canadese: <user name=zeeco site=plurk.com> (Default)

[personal profile] canadese 2016-12-12 07:15 am (UTC)(link)
[Ax deflates a little. Far be it from him to judge Tobias's choices when it came to Rachel.]

<It... is fitting, when you put it that way.>

[He doesn't know what to add to that, so he decides to ask the more pertinent question.]

<What were you doing with a Yeerk ship in the first place?
canadese: <user name=zeeco site=plurk.com> (Default)

[personal profile] canadese 2016-12-15 05:17 am (UTC)(link)
<You stole it.>

[Ax sends a particularly unimpressed eyestalk Marco's way. He knows Marco well enough to tell that he's stalling, which means there must be something about the ship that he's reluctant to talk about. Or, at least, to talk to Ax about. Which is frustrating and also kind of stings a little.]

<Why did you, Tobias, and Prince Jake steal a Yeerk ship and name it after Rachel, Marco?>

doxing: i can barely focus, i wait with baited breath (pic#10764085)

ii

[personal profile] doxing 2016-12-15 02:01 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah, I mean, if you think a nightlight could do the trick for you...

(listen, sombra doesn't help often and she's swindled more than one person into buying something god awful today for the shits and giggles, but there's no reason she shouldn't help a teammate pick out something that may be of benefit to the team. so she's there at his shoulder, leaning in to check the item out, a sidelong glance to the shopkeeper giving her a very unimpressed look.

that's the kind of expression she was looking for.

marco's is the face of a kid on christmas morning, but there are so many better things he could be wasting money on!
)

Your call, pal. Don't want you stubbing your toe in the middle of the night on the way to the toilet or, worse, running into the monster that lives in your closet.
canadese: <user name=zeeco site=plurk.com> (Default)

[personal profile] canadese 2016-12-16 06:29 am (UTC)(link)
[Kelbrid space. Marco and Tobias and Jake had to steal a Yeerk ship specifically to go into Kelbrid space without being associated with Andalites, and Marco is dragging his feet explaining why.

Ax actually looks at him. He turns his face away from the ship and trains all four of his eyes on Marco, and pauses for a long moment.]


<What aren't you telling me, Marco?>
canadese: <user name=zeeco site=plurk.com> (Default)

[personal profile] canadese 2016-12-19 04:54 am (UTC)(link)
[Ax's eyes narrow.]

<I was on a mission for the Andalite military to track down Yeerk stragglers. Why would you be looking for me in Kelbrid space?>

[There's agitation in his body language the more he talks, not entirely out of anger now. He's not an idiot, and Marco's reluctance is helping him piece something together.

Something must have happened. Something major, to risk violating treaty by sending out the Animorphs. His hearts stutter to think of it, but with where he remembers them last being--chasing after Yeerks--there weren't a whole lot of outcomes he could think of that would warrant such a thing.

He knows, at least, that he's not a Controller. Now. But something isn't adding up.]


<Spit it out, Marco.> [Look at him, using human idioms for effect!!!]
doxing: the first fists of furious thunder, you chop 'em down with the side of your glass (pic#10763992)

[personal profile] doxing 2016-12-19 06:45 pm (UTC)(link)
(surprises are one of a kind; she has a soft spot in her heart for a great reaction. without words, marco's flattering her in a purely entertaining way — because beautiful women are a dime a dozen, but beautifully odd, striking, unique? those are the qualities she covets. and sombra loves to flaunt.

mirroring marco's smirk, her chin lifts, eyebrow high.
)

Sombra. (offering a hand, bedazzled with more lights, more strange technology, all wired up to pretty pink nails.) Guess you're our new expert, then, even fresh out of orientation. I'll take care of the black market, you handle the big, bad things that go bump in the night. We got a deal?

They want your money or your quick exit, amigo.
canadese: <user name=zeeco site=plurk.com> (Default)

[personal profile] canadese 2016-12-20 07:30 am (UTC)(link)
[Ax is simply silent for a long time. Marco's reticence to reveal all the details is doing a number on his mind. All he can think about is that at last knowledge he was probably on the Blade Ship, and there are really only a few things that could mean.

And it would explain why Marco didn't want to talk about it.

It all makes sense, and he feels sick. With one exception: why doesn't he remember any of this? But does that really matter? There's no reason Marco would lie to him about something like this. And if he really met Menderash... Menderash is a man of integrity. Ax can trust his word as well.

He sways slightly as he struggles to process; it's the only outward indication how unsettled he is.]


<I was captured by Yeerks.> [It's not a question.]
canadese: <user name=zeeco site=plurk.com> (Default)

[personal profile] canadese 2016-12-20 07:01 pm (UTC)(link)
[It's true that Ax is uncomfortable with touch, but he doesn't flinch away, recognizing the gesture for what it is. And to be honest, he needs help staying steady right now.

But the emotion he can hear in Marco's voice snaps him to awareness. He knows Marco better than most people in the universe; this is true between all the Animorphs. He recognizes what Marco is doing.

And he knows that in his own way Marco can be just as stubborn and irrational as any human. As any being.]


<Marco.> [His voice is gentle.] <I remember boarding the ship and finding the polar bear fur. But I have no memory of anything else you've told me. Not of finding the Blade Ship or this One entity.>

[He lets the implication hang. Truthfully the idea is a comfort. Better dead than a prisoner of the Yeerks, or whatever other evil might be out there.]
canadese: <user name=zeeco site=plurk.com> (pic#)

[personal profile] canadese 2016-12-21 05:31 am (UTC)(link)
[So, that didn't work. Ax is shifting now for an entirely different reason, out of discomfort.

Marco has always been practical. Maybe Ax can appeal to his logic. (He's not even sure why he's become so fixated on making him see reason, here.)]


<Marco, how long was I missing, from your perspective?>
canadese: <user name=zeeco site=plurk.com> (Default)

[personal profile] canadese 2016-12-21 06:34 am (UTC)(link)
[Ax just waits for Marco to work out his agitation. He's strangely calm about this, and he's not sure why. Perhaps there is a sort of peace to know for sure your fate, even if it is as soon and as ignominious as this.

He waits until Marco is not looking at him. Maybe that will make it a little easier.]


<What is the most likely explanation for my not experiencing seven of your months? At the least?

[He hopes the old joke will ease the tension at least a little.]
canadese: <user name=zeeco site=plurk.com> (Default)

[personal profile] canadese 2016-12-21 07:10 am (UTC)(link)
[Ax just waits quietly until Marco fizzles out, and then is silent for some long moments after that. Finally, he looks up to meet Marco's eyes, and then he smiles in a sad, subtle way.]

<We are soldiers, Marco. We always knew this could happen. I never asked you to come after me.>
canadese: <user name=zeeco site=plurk.com> (Default)

[personal profile] canadese 2016-12-22 06:39 am (UTC)(link)
[Ax's eyes widen, then narrow. He's not even going to touch how Marco's obsession with protecting his family nearly cost them the war effort, once. (Or maybe he should. Clearly, it's a recurring problem.)]

<You knew she was alive, as a Controller. You saw her that way.>

[Privately, he imagines not believing the Animorphs when they told him Elfangor was dead. What hopeless mission would that have led him on? He'd only barely come to terms with never exacting revenge on Esplin as it was. Marco needs to realize that the closure he wants likely isn't possible.]
canadese: <user name=zeeco site=plurk.com> (Default)

[personal profile] canadese 2016-12-29 06:08 am (UTC)(link)
[For a moment something old and stubborn in Ax wants to keep arguing. Marco is sensible, pragmatic, in a way the rest of their group wasn't. They frequently saw eye to eye on things that everyone else didn't; sometimes they were the only ones in agreement on certain things.

But Marco is also stubborn, and while Ax still thinks of himself as a fool he is wiser than he used to be, and knows when to pick his battles.

He is silent for a few long moments, still, before he lowers his own eyes to the floor.]


<Perhaps you're right. In any case, it doesn't matter now.>
canadese: <user name=zeeco site=plurk.com> (Default)

[personal profile] canadese 2016-12-30 06:56 am (UTC)(link)
[Ax's eyes jerk back up to meet Marco's once again, and his time he knows, finally, that this is what Marco has been keeping from him.

Finally.

He's silent for several moments, in shock.]


<You saw me?>

[But he doesn't remember this. But Marco had said that he wasn't a Controller. So, then, what was he? Why does he have no idea? Why doesn't he remember?

The full force of what Marco's been telling him finally hits him all at once. All of a sudden he feels very small, in a way he hasn't since he was a child, the last time he'd admitted to himself he doesn't actually know how the universe works. Whatever happened to him is beyond his understanding, and apparently beyond Marco's, and now they have no way to find out.

And apparently they'll have to live with that.]
canadese: <user name=zeeco site=plurk.com> (parents just don't understand)

[personal profile] canadese 2017-01-02 05:21 am (UTC)(link)
[They do both know it. Ax's shoulders slump, another bit of body language that he picked up from humans. This... whatever it is... whatever happened, it's not something that he can fight against. It's too much information at once, at a time and place where there's not anything he can do about it. He's not even sure he really believes it.

It's not a feeling he likes. He doesn't know where he is now, he doesn't know where he is back home--he takes a step back unconsciously before he realizes what he's doing, and squares himself up. Putting up a seamless front is something they're both good at.]


<Thank you for telling me, Marco. I would like to take some time to process this on my own.>
canadese: <user name=zeeco site=plurk.com> (no matter time nor place)

[personal profile] canadese 2017-01-02 05:41 am (UTC)(link)
<Of course. I find I prefer the atrium to my assigned quarters. It will be easy to find me there.>

[It's probably not necessary, but with the tension in the air he can't stop himself from adding:]

<It will be like when I was in the forest by Cassie's barn.>
doxing: you drift on through trouble as you hum your theme tune (pic#10764169)

[personal profile] doxing 2017-01-03 04:59 pm (UTC)(link)
I bet you would... (pinning him with an up-down stare,) But ah, don't stare too long. You might go blind.

(not to mention she bites. hard.

but she is "amicable" enough to lean around him, fingers finding the doohickey he was checking out. nothing close to a holographic projector, or what she's seen of them. and considering she works closely with them, as they're literally wired into her head, sombra considers herself something of an expert.
)

This is cheap as hell. (lifting it, tilting it, before dropping it unceremoniously.)

Ay and look at this thing, everything's a piece of garbage.

(pushing a funny little bobble that looks suspiciously like an alien translator. say something.)
doxing: she's stacking money, money everywhere she goes (pic#10764175)

[personal profile] doxing 2017-01-11 07:11 pm (UTC)(link)
(another drop of her eyes at the compliment, purposeful now that she knows the kind of woman she is is the kind of woman he likes, raking up a better image that drags from his shoes to his hair. before she's turning away to examine the expanse of stalls, neon nails dragging from table to table as she walks off.

a glance over her shoulder, expression flat.
) I can show you something good. C'mon down, chico.

(sombra isn't one for entertaining young men, thinking back to overwatch with a scoff beneath her breath. anyone younger than her thirty years, twenty-five if she's generous, tends to err on the side of irritating. unbothered by marco, she'll give him time to become like the rest of them. pretentious, spoiled, conceited.

soft-footed steps come to a stop in front of a weapon's case, scanning them with a drag of a hand down the glass. now these... these are nice.
)

Feast your eyes.
doxing: into the shadow again, into the shadow again (pic#10763999)

4 years l8r.........

[personal profile] doxing 2017-02-02 12:18 pm (UTC)(link)
(don't worry marco, she's not an amazon by any means.

now sombra can be described as a patient woman; she can wait to get the results she wants. but with people, she has the tendency to push away as quickly and as savagely as possible when it becomes even a fraction of a nuisance.

which is why she wheels around and steps into his personal space, chin low, a shaved brow high.
)

Oh, cálmate, Marco. Popping a boner would only really be embarrassing for one of us. (as blunt as ever, because censoring yourself is so y2k.) If you think oppressive flirting is gonna get you a hot date, boy, you better roll up your tongue and call your mother.