eastbound | text ► un: girl on top

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text ► un: girl on top

( if you'd have taken a bet as to which starfleet officer ended up in the brig first you wouldn't have come out with this one. the fact that she's now back in the brig-- she's starting to really hate superstition )

Anyone that's allowed on deck want to tell me which direction the ship's pointing? Or what you see up there?
I'll even trade a story, something from your home for one of mine.

( she'd even take a story about the things that people have seen here but she's info seeking, find out where people are from, maybe when... she can't help the pirates but she can still be busy.

you could also potentially assume that she's a little bored )

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( she's about to say something, not to stop him but to caution him when she sees the phaser, though he fires too quickly for her to get her words out.

and it leaves her just looking at him, waiting to see what comes from it. surely it would break a lock, right? )

Captain?

( is this her break out? again? )

[ It damn well better break that lock, or else they both will be into serious trouble. He puts the phaser away again, hands on the bars so he can give them a decent push. ]

I'm getting you out of here. I'm done with this bullshit.

[ Another push, harder this time, and he manages to get the door open, rushing over to where she is on the ground. ]

Come on. Hold onto me.

( her arm wraps around him and she uses his body, him pulling her up to help her stand, leaning into him as they go. it's not just her immune system that had been nullified in this cage but all of her augmentations, taking her down to regular 'human' strength, though weakened by this fever.

her steps aren't the steadiest but she's at least able to walk with his help.

the last time that she'd been in the cage her immune system kicking back in had been almost instantaneous. she almost hopes that doesn't happen again even though she doesn't want to feel like this )

Do you have a plan of where we're going?

[ She's weak, he can easily tell, but for now it's nothing to hinder them. No one seems to have noticed anything happening down here, and hopefully he can help her get somewhere safer before that happens.

And speaking of— ]

Not sure yet. Kind of winging it. We'll have to think of a place that's closed off, dark and where people won't go often.

[ Sure would come in handy right now if they had private rooms. ]

Or— Think we could find a spot like that where the women are staying?

[ He doesn't think any of them would rat her out, so she'd be safer among them, as long as she had a good place to hide if any of the pirates were to come looking for her there. ]

I doubt the pirates will willingly go there.

( unless they wanted to pull one of their ladies out to their cabins, though maybe they didn't even trust that one a ship. they didn't have many women before they'd all 'joined' the crews.

it's also just a little more crowded than una would prefer but it's closer than trying to find somewhere else hidden. and there'd be somewhere she could lay down and rest )

Turn right.

( she at least knows one of the spots, the one she'd been encouraged into initially )

Then that's where we'll go.

And he'll follow her directions there too, nodding and taking a right turn as instructed. Footsteps and voices can be heard, but nowhere nearby enough to really worry him. Still, he makes sure to keep up a decent pace, just so they're not testing their luck by taking too long.

( the area's quiet when they get there, some of the women perhaps elsewhere, letting them find a space to set her down. and una's glad of it when she lays out, not actually sure how much longer she'd have been able to keep walking for )

Thank you.

( she plans to rest, to stay there. and hopefully soon feel that much better )

[ Luckily a ship like this is only so big, so it doesn't take them long to get somewhere safe. It's not ideal, and not the most comfortable either, but he's quick to grab a pillow and some blankets just to help a bit more.

Her gratitude is met with a smile, giving her arm a gentle squeeze. ]

Don't mention it. Now, I'm gonna grab some water and a cloth real quick, give me just a minute or two at best and I'll be back. Alright?

( she nods, knowing it'll be a good idea--

except that her body couldn't wait thirty seconds for him to be out of the room. she can feel it happen, the heat being generated as her immune system kicks back in and starts burning the virus.

it's her hands that feel it first and she lifts one up to check that it's not something else happening and though she doesn't seem concerned her hands are hot and glowing. a glow that starts to then spread up her body, getting brighter and more intense by the time it's at the top of her head.

the whole process is quick and then over. and she looks so much better )

[ It happens so suddenly that Jim can't even react at first, eyes just going wide as her hands start to glow.

And then the glow spreads, all over her entire body, or at least what he can see of it, and that's when the panic kicks in, even for how calm she seems to be about it. ]

Riley!

[ But he can't really do anything. By the time the glow goes away and she's back to normal (apparently, anyway), he hasn't even had time to think about whether it was safe to touch her. Now, he does, hand resting on her arm. ]

What the hell was that? Are you alright?!

( she takes a couple of deep breaths, nodding at his question. it's the second time now she's had someone see this but it's still new. and though she's calm about the process she pauses before speaking )

I'm okay. It's... supposed to happen.

( she doesn't yet sit up, looking across at him )

The fever I had is gone.

[ She looks exceedingly calm, and not the least bit surprised by what's happened. It only puzzles him further, and when she says her fever's gone, he reaches out to touch the back of his fingers to her forehead. ]

... you're right. It is.

[ Eyebrows knitting together, he's quiet for a few seconds, trying to piece all of this together, make sense of it. ]

What was that?

( there's a pause, a clear hesitation before she speaks. she'd tried to dodge five's questions entirely but that hadn't worked and she doubts this captain would let her dodge too much either, not for nosiness but in making sure she really was okay )

My body doing what it's supposed to do.

( admitting it to m'benga and chapel had been hard and risky, pike had been necessary. but kirk doesn't know her and even though he's not from her world... it's complicated. she doesn't know the status of her people in his world, though she assumes it's the same.

it leaves her on a fence. what's worse, admitting to being illyrian or just admitting to being augmented? neither is easy )

My immune system burns out infections and disease. But in the cage it couldn't. There's a barrier around it.

( which she'd learned her first time there )

[ Well, it certainly looks like she's used to it, like it's perfectly normal for her, which in turn calms him down considerably. So there's nothing wrong with her, nor is there anything going on here that's changing anything in her in any way.

It is a relief, even if it may leave him with even more questions than before. But at least now, the questions are much easier to narrow down to one conclusion. The only one that makes sense to him. ]

So you're not Human.

[ Not that it even matters, or that she was obligated to tell him in the first place, of course. ]

No, I'm not.

( she could leave it there, he hasn't asked for anything else but now that the truth is semi out there she can't do a half-truth. which is a little funny considering the sheer lies she's lived since attending the academy.

but it's about trust. they're from different universes and he's not her captain but in this situation they need some working trust to be able to help each other. and trust comes with truth )

I'm an Illyrian.

[ She could leave it there, and he would ask no further. It's who she is, and it's her choice who she shares that with. Even if he can't immediately think of a reason why she would keep it to herself, especially with another Starfleet officer, she's well within her right to not want to tell him any more.

But he appreciates that she does offer more information. Even if it takes him a few seconds to even process what she's just said. ]

... wow.

[ That's... all she's getting for a moment there. Then his expression opens into a relieved grin, and he chuckles. ]

Damn. Must've broken a whole lot of rules to get to where you are.

[ For some reason, this seems to please Jim immensely. ]

( she now sits up slightly but that's mostly because she's confused about his reaction. he's approving of what she did when he doesn't know her?

granted, una would love many more reactions like that or even really for her to not have had to do it. but amongst all of her fears of being discovered it really is jarring )

Dozens of them. It was the only way to join.

( she might be proud of being illyrian but she's not proud of the lies )

[ It was the only way to join. That alone pretty much encapsulates why Jim approves of what she's done. She caused no harm to anyone, and it's certainly not her or her species' fault that Humans long ago messed with genetics and accidentally created what was essentially a new species of despotic megalomaniacs. ]

Well— good on you. I know it's not what you expected, but you've got my respect, for what it's worth.

[ And his admiration apparently. He may as well have little stars in his eyes right now as he looks at her. ]

Any other cool stuff you can do?

( it really isn't what she expected and una's quiet for a moment, trying to absorb his reaction, to accept it against everything she'd expected. maybe there are more people that feel this way, those she'd so far told did... but it never allays the fear.

which is why it takes her a moment longer to respond and then when she does it's more of a joke. she's not going to tell him everything but she'll give him one more )

That depends if you want to arm wrestle.

[ Jim chuckles softly, shaking his head. ]

Something tells me I probably shouldn't risk it.

[ Amusement mostly, but also curiosity, coupled with the fact that Jim's never been one to back down from a challenge. ]

Raincheck on it?

( she'd joke that he was scared if she a) was that way inclined and b) felt better about having her 'talents' known )

Raincheck.

( a small smile that's polite more than anything. and then she realises something-- )

Spock doesn't know. ( and spock is here )

[ For the better that she doesn't, because if she did then he would take it as a challenge.

He smiles a little at her, then nods at her admission. ]

You don't have to worry on my end. He won't learn it from me.

[ Even if he was the Spock he knows and is close to, he still wouldn't break the trust she's put in him by confiding something so personal. ]

( she nods a silent thanks. and she might be making a mental note to get around to telling him just in case this place did it first since the rules were different.

pike knew, la'an knew, chapel and m'benga knew. spock... was a friend, someone she had a good understanding with about freaky. she'd get around to it.

maybe )

I suppose if you've got any questions--

( it's his one opportunity to ask them )

I probably will have questions. If you don't mind me asking them later, as they come up.

[ Hard to think of them all on the spot, though one comes to mind, even if it's not necessarily related with her species. ]

Do you ever get to go back home?

I haven't since I left.

( she was a human from an illyrian colony, that had been the story, meaning that there were other humans also living within the colony. that part was truth at least, there were humans there. but going back...

something about it had felt safer to never do even if it may have been fine. but everything felt a risk, everything could potentially end badly. there'd been some messages sent, never enough, never video conversations, but enough for them to know how she was. and never any details on either side.

it protected her, she told herself, and them. even if it hurt her heart a lot )

But I don't tend to do shore leave. I prefer being busy.

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