marco (
brightline) wrote in
starlogs2016-12-11 07:11 pm
Entry tags:
[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?
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?

3
[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?>
no subject
Now that Ax has pointed it out, he can't help but see all the things about the ship that look Yeerkish - the vicious shape, the Dracon cannons, the red highlights, the dark metal. It sends a little shiver down his spine, and he keeps his eyes averted.]
It wasn't me, Ax-man. I might've named us, but I didn't name her. It was Tobias.
[A little breath, and he closes his eyes, tries to squash down the weird surge of emotion in him.]
When we stole her, Jake and I, and Tobias. He said...the ship is dangerous and beautiful and exciting. Just like her.
no subject
<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?
no subject
Marco lifts a hand, abruptly tired, and rubs at his forehead. He feels like he's about 50 right now.]
We stole it.
no subject
[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?>
ii
(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.
no subject
[Maybe it comes out a little defensively, but if it does, that's only because Ax's eyestalk swivel is totally uncalled for. Marco's not sure if the expression is because of the stealing part, the Yeerk ship part, or the naming it Rachel part, or because he's really obviously stalling, and he also isn't sure at what point he figured out how to so clearly read Andalite stalk eye expressions. Either way, it doesn't really matter, because Ax is obviously displeased.
It's just that it's so awkward to explain.]
See, it's a long story. We needed to get off Earth. And into space.
[A laugh, and he clears his throat.]
Kelbrid space. So, you know, it couldn't be an Andalite ship and Andalites couldn't be involved, we totally had to steal it.
[Marco shrugs, and tries very hard to leave it at that.]
You would not believe how good a pilot I am now. You wanna take a joyride?
no subject
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?>
no subject
When Marco lifts his chin and Ax is looking at him with his main eyes and his stalk eyes, he can't help but shift uncomfortably on his feet. Bite his lip. It's stupid, he feels like he's 13 again, awkward and tongue-tied. He definitely doesn't like it.
Eventually, he sighs, softly, shaking his head and giving Ax a weak smile.]
We were looking for you, Ax-man.
no subject
[Marco sounds both startled and disappointed all at once, turns on a heel and looks at the person who spoke. For a moment, he goes totally speechless, because she's super gorgeous and has really weird hair. Eyes wide, mouth slightly open, he doesn't bother to hide how blown away he is by her, and then he abruptly smirks, waves a hand.]
Look. The alien spaceships I'm used to are nothing like this, so I guess I'm still learning the tech around here. Thanks for the tip. And man... [Another little grin and his nose wrinkles.] I've dealt with monsters way, way worse than whatever could be hiding in a closet around this joint. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt, you know?
[He shrugs.]
I'm Marco. You?
no subject
<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!!!]
no subject
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.
no subject
[But then Ax is telling him to spit it out and Marco's voice trails off. He lifts a hand and waves it, as if he could wave away the topic, but the truth is, there's no brushing it off. Ax is obviously agitated, he knows something's off, and Marco can't really drag this out. The last thing he needs is an agitated Andalite, and at this point Ax is probably getting geared up for the worst possible scenario.
Which Marco's probably about to top.]
Um. About 7 months ago, Menderash came back to Earth with news that the Intrepid had boarded an uninhabited alien vessel, where you found polar bear hairs. The vessel fired on the Intrepid, which lost all hands except Menderash and the boarding party. The Blade Ship emerged from inside the alien vessel and was last seen headed for Kelbrid space.
[Pausing, he takes a deep breath, bites on his lower lip, lifts one hand to the back of his neck, where he closes his fingers around the roots of the hair at the nape of his neck and gives a firm tug. The sharp little stings of pain at the roots of his hair gives him something to focus on, something to take his mind off what he's about to say. What he's said. What it's going to do to Ax. He exhales, slow and even.]
So Jake, Tobias, Menderash, a couple of Jake's human morphing students, and I all hijacked the Rachel and went after you. I mean. It's not like we were just gonna leave you.
no subject
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.]
no subject
But he knows Ax isn't big on touch, that Andalites don't really comfort each other that way, so he drops his hand and fidgets for a second before bringing it back into the hair at the nape of his neck, tugging, trying to figure out what to say.
When Ax asserts that he was captured by Yeerks, Marco's chin jerks up, abruptly.]
No. Not really. It was a new threat. Something called The One, that claimed you were part of it. Not dead. Not taken by the Yeerks. Ax...
[His voice is small and breathless and he hates that it is, hates that he can't smirk and make a joke, hates how raw and vulnerable it is, how obvious that his heart is hammering again just like it was when he saw Ax's face on that screen.]
We're gonna get you back, man. You're not dead. You're not gone.
no subject
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.]
no subject
Marco hates that voice. Gentle. Pitched soft somehow, even in thought speak. He knows the careful phrasing, the way Ax restates the facts. Breaking it to him gentle, and he hates it. The hand at his side clenches into a fist, and then the fingers in his hair do, twisting up a handful of it and then twisting, yanking on it a little harder while his brows furrow in the middle and he shoots Ax a momentarily hard look.]
Look, just because you don't remember it doesn't mean you're dead.
[He barely manages to stop himself from asking Ax not to patronize him, to tell him he's not some kind of wounded kid in denial about a dead friend. Marco's nails are digging into his palm, and suddenly he can't look at Ax.]
There's no evidence you died. If we could stop The One and get you back, if there was any way, we were going to...
no subject
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?>
no subject
Wow, Ax-man, you are really invested in this whole being dead thing. Is there something you're not telling me?
[It comes out flippant and flat all at once. It's a bad joke, because none of this is funny, and Marco drops his hands back down to his sides, starts pacing.]
Just over seven months, okay?
no subject
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.]
no subject
[It explodes out of him, and it's only then that he realizes how much tension he's been holding in his chest and belly, and unbidden, clear, and from someplace outside himself, the thought comes to him that he didn't react like this when Rachel died. He wonders why he didn't, what makes this different. Is it that Ax is here right in front of him? Is it that there's nothing final about this? That he didn't watch Ax get torn apart like Rachel did? That there was no body, no closure, no solution?
And what other "death" does that remind him of?
Marco's chest is rising and falling heavily, his breath coming through clenched teeth, his fists are at his sides, and then he lifts his chin and his expression is calm even if his eyes are fierce and dark.]
Most likely explanation? I don't know. Probably that you died. But Ax, when was the last time the most likely expectation was true for us, huh? I spent almost a year out there looking for you, I left behind everything I had, looking for you. You don't just get to decide you're dead and give up on me. Got it?
no subject
<We are soldiers, Marco. We always knew this could happen. I never asked you to come after me.>
no subject
[It comes out far more bitter and irritated than he'd like, and his dark eyes stay locked on Ax's face, expression hard.]
You want to believe you're dead, then go for it. Do whatever works for you, Ax-man.
[Exhaling hard, he keeps staring at Ax, his heart pounding because that sad smile hurts more than it has any right to.]
I'll do what works for me. My mom didn't ask me to save her either.
no subject
<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.]
no subject
And the implication isn't lost on him. For a moment, he frowns, glaring down at his own feet.]
Yeah. Sure. And eight years ago my mom went missing at sea, and there was no body. So my dad and I grieved and tried to move on and failed to move on and let it change us, and you know what? She came back.
[Lifting his chin, he looks at Ax for a long moment, holding contact with the Andalite's main eyes.]
Not a mistake I'm going to make again. Especially when I know you're not gone.
no subject
So when she says that he can take care of the big, bad things that go bump in the night, he lifts his chin, his shoulders square, and he grins proudly at her.]
You bet. I'd watch your back anytime.
[Winking at her, he keeps the grin in place, and looks around the black market, nodding.]
Makes sense. I was just looking around to see if there were any cool toys.
no subject
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.>
no subject
He and Ax are almost always on the same side of the most tangled problems the Animorphs have. They're the ruthless, pragmatic ones. The ones who don't get tied up in morality and second-guess every little thing unless it's to make sure the plan works. And now, Ax thinks Marco has gone soft. That he's letting emotions get in the way, that he's deluding himself, making things up to comfort himself.
For a moment, Marco stares at Ax with his brows furrowed and his eyes hard and his fists clenched, and he resists the urge to shove Ax (it wouldn't do any good, he wouldn't fall over) or punch him (it would be too much, given how much stronger human torsos are). Every fibre of him is screaming to lash out, but he just clenches his jaw and glares instead, dark eyes hot.]
Think what you want. I saw your face right before I showed up here. Heard your voice. You weren't gone.
no subject
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.]
no subject
Yeah, I saw you. You think I ditched my great job, two houses, multiple cars, and millions of dollars on some stupid wild goose chase out into the middle of nowhere on a hunch? My man, I am not that much of a power of friendship kind of guy. Seriously.
[Deep down, Marco knows it's not really true. That Ax is probably dead, absorbed into whatever The One is, that he's probably gone forever, that all of it was a waste. Knows that he and Jake and Tobias and all the rest are about to be dead. That yeah, he is that much of a power of friendship type guy, that he never could've left Ax alone and captured by the Blade Ship by himself without trying to help. Without trying to find him.
But like hell he's going to just say that.]
Man, I do not do lost causes.
[It's not true, and they both know it.]
no subject
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.>
no subject
But then Ax is stepping back and asking for space, and Marco gets it. He really does. He probably needs space too, except his ears are ringing and he's kind of staring with this stupid half-smile on his face, expression frozen. It's really hitting him, now, the profound screwed-upness of this situation. Seeing it in Ax, who always seems so composed, so graceful, really drives it home.
Marco lets out a shuddery breath.]
Okay, Ax-man.
[It's cautious, a little hesitant, because whether or not Marco gets it, it sets off alarm bells to be alone in this place and have Ax not hanging out close by so they can watch each others' backs.]
Keep in touch, though, okay? I don't want to lose track of you again.
no subject
[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.>
no subject
Sure thing, Ax-man.
[And then, Marco licks his lips, waves his hands, offers a smirk, and heads off toward the Rachel, waving over his shoulder as he goes. All he really wants is to lose himself in a video game for a while.]
no subject
(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.)
no subject
If you were the last thing I saw, I'd be fine with going blind.
[Not only is it cheesy and ridiculous, it's completely genuine. After all, she's super hot, some kind of perfect-haired, perfect-complexioned cybernetic goddess. That makes it easy to not be offended when she says that the thing he was looking at is cheap as hell and that everything here is garbage.]
Uh-huh.
['Close your mouth, Marco. You're a millionaire actor, author, war hero, tv personality and general celebrity, not an idiot teenager. Be cool.'
So he closes his mouth, and grins at her again, a little more warm this time.]
Oh, uh... [He raises a brow at her.] If this is trash, you wanna show me something good?
no subject
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.
no subject
He might be short, but he's cute and he knows it. Tosses his hair out of his eyes.]
I bet you could...
[It's quiet, but confident, at least, even if she doesn't seem interested. It doesn't bug him, not really, he's used to the odd rejection, even if they've been coming less and less the older and more famous he gets. So he follows after her, hands on his hips, raises his brow when he sees the case of weapons.]
Oh, I see. You're that kinda woman. I like it.
4 years l8r.........
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.