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[It's not unusual for transmissions to start en route to whatever they'll eventually show; this one follows the floor for a moment, spins its focus past a wall, shows a glimpse of common room.
Shows a partial view of a possibly familiar face, frowning in concentration, muttering more or less to himself.]
Number of things nowhere near as simple as they should be: two so far. Well done, Admiral. Catch up to the twenty-first century, huh?
[A few more small adjustments, and Alec is fully on screen, standing mid-corridor on one of the hallways. He beams, pleased with himself.]
There. Now. Floor numbers go up or down? Is this thing actually on? Hello?
[ Spam : Open ]
[Once his presence is successfully announced, it frees Alec up to investigate his new environment more thoroughly - and explore it he does, once he confirms what his research alone in his cabin has already told him: this place is nothing like Manticore. They seem to pride themselves on it, even. Additionally they're recovering from some kind of unusual crisis, and that leaves him a unique opportunity he doesn't intend to waste, especially not with what else his reading of the network has shown him.
He covers his barcode with the collar of his jacket, and separates the Barge as he understands it into a grid, sets out to fill in the blank spots. He can be found poking around in the dining hall, the infirmary, the gym, the greenhouse, the art room, and lingering outside the pub, the maintenance office, the engine room. He even wanders down near Zero just to make sure he's left no corner uninvestigated.
It's simple: act like he belongs here, see who takes the bait; he's friendly to everyone he sees, smiling easily, often waving in greeting if anyone looks at him. Evaluate, adjust, advance. As long as he has new surroundings to investigate, as long as he has new rules and social angles to learn, he doesn't have to think about why he's here, what it means, or what he means to do once he's sure of himself.]
[ Private : Dillon Cole : A few days later, after this ]
[No fumbling this time. He wants to be taken seriously and he expects this Dillon person is already familiar with X5s, too - enough to know that a few days is more than enough time for him to become competent with the communicator anyway, if nothing else.
His speech is a little more formal, too, although he doesn't bother with being as starched and rigid as he's seen his clone on the network; he can, but he only needs the vague connection in this case.]
Good afternoon, sir. I was told to contact with you a possible employment inquiry.
[It's not unusual for transmissions to start en route to whatever they'll eventually show; this one follows the floor for a moment, spins its focus past a wall, shows a glimpse of common room.
Shows a partial view of a possibly familiar face, frowning in concentration, muttering more or less to himself.]
Number of things nowhere near as simple as they should be: two so far. Well done, Admiral. Catch up to the twenty-first century, huh?
[A few more small adjustments, and Alec is fully on screen, standing mid-corridor on one of the hallways. He beams, pleased with himself.]
There. Now. Floor numbers go up or down? Is this thing actually on? Hello?
[ Spam : Open ]
[Once his presence is successfully announced, it frees Alec up to investigate his new environment more thoroughly - and explore it he does, once he confirms what his research alone in his cabin has already told him: this place is nothing like Manticore. They seem to pride themselves on it, even. Additionally they're recovering from some kind of unusual crisis, and that leaves him a unique opportunity he doesn't intend to waste, especially not with what else his reading of the network has shown him.
He covers his barcode with the collar of his jacket, and separates the Barge as he understands it into a grid, sets out to fill in the blank spots. He can be found poking around in the dining hall, the infirmary, the gym, the greenhouse, the art room, and lingering outside the pub, the maintenance office, the engine room. He even wanders down near Zero just to make sure he's left no corner uninvestigated.
It's simple: act like he belongs here, see who takes the bait; he's friendly to everyone he sees, smiling easily, often waving in greeting if anyone looks at him. Evaluate, adjust, advance. As long as he has new surroundings to investigate, as long as he has new rules and social angles to learn, he doesn't have to think about why he's here, what it means, or what he means to do once he's sure of himself.]
[ Private : Dillon Cole : A few days later, after this ]
[No fumbling this time. He wants to be taken seriously and he expects this Dillon person is already familiar with X5s, too - enough to know that a few days is more than enough time for him to become competent with the communicator anyway, if nothing else.
His speech is a little more formal, too, although he doesn't bother with being as starched and rigid as he's seen his clone on the network; he can, but he only needs the vague connection in this case.]
Good afternoon, sir. I was told to contact with you a possible employment inquiry.
no subject
Date: 2015-06-25 04:55 am (UTC)From:He knows who she is because he saw her on the network and he saw plenty of evidence that she could be a staunch ally and also make a lot of trouble for him that he's just not interested in having brought down on his head.
Only she can tell him which it will be. So he eases further into the room since she chose to engage him, and doesn't insult them both by pretending he doesn't know exactly what she's talking about.
He shrugs, and smiles just so.]
Maybe half a dozen? Only a couple have come right out and said it, but I can still tell.
Sorry about that, by the way. Not a lot I can do about it.
no subject
Date: 2015-06-25 01:51 pm (UTC)From:You don't have anything to apologize for, not to me.
Although I do wonder if you were trying to suss that out, or if you were pretty confident and wanted to put me on the spot to reassure and sympathize. Get off on the right foot, and all that.
[Entirely pleasant speculation, eyes twinkling just a bit.]
no subject
Date: 2015-06-26 05:01 am (UTC)From:He got to decide how he would respond to each of them before he even stepped out into the hallway where anyone could see him, and he did so. His decision across the board is that it is common for there to be multiple versions of the same person on board this ship - that indeed, he is one of them - and that sometimes - which she herself is one of - they are from entirely different lives, too. So maybe he is Alec McDowell, and maybe he is an X5, but it doesn't mean they know anything about him that he doesn't admit to, and that is how he gets his control of his own life back.
He would hold that line with her too except he found one conversation. He found one conversation and in it, he saw two little hand motions and then he saw no more of that conversation,; he doesn't know why his older self is so different from who he is now, in ways he can clearly see. But he does know himself, and he knows that for some reason he himself signaled to this woman using hand signals that Ben's presence at Manticore predated, and that should only have been passed between transgenics.
So he lets himself wander closer, lets her see him considering, and then doesn't reply to any of that for now. Instead he invites himself to lean on the corner of her desk, folding his arms over his chest, settling more comfortably into his motorcycle jacket as he glances over what there is on the desktop.]
Who am I to you?
no subject
Date: 2015-06-26 01:51 pm (UTC)From:You were an ally, for a while, in a place where I was otherwise very alone.
I won't trust you for his sake - you're not precisely the same, and we don't have those experiences between us, and he was a tricky bastard too - but I am, let's say, positively inclined.
If you have questions I'll answer them honestly, if you need help I'll see what I can do. I won't corroborate any of your escaped secrets - or let slip remaining ones - unless I think you're pulling something really damagingly shady.
You don't have to believe all that right away, but as far as I'm concerned, that's where we stand.
no subject
Date: 2015-06-27 03:17 am (UTC)From:[This is an idle, lazy riposte while he turns over what she's told him, tries to remember if he has in fact seen her at some point; Manticore was a place where everyone was alone, after all. The same was often true of the away missions he was eventually sent on for them, though less so. Even the most sincerely loyal of transgenics dreaded the return to home base, though none dared prolong anything unnecessarily even so.
He reaches down, idly moves a few papers, keeps glancing them over. Blatantly.]
I don't have any allies. Not really. And I'm not sure what secrets of mine you'd even have, so I guess my question is what you consider damagingly shady.
no subject
Date: 2015-06-27 03:25 am (UTC)From:Fuck if I know, but I get it a lot.
[Bargites be suspicious fuckers.]
Don't impersonate anyone in particular, please. Nothing else leaps immediately to mind.
no subject
Date: 2015-06-27 04:15 am (UTC)From:It's not paranoia if it's justified. He shrugs to her request.]
Not entirely sure I could, anyway. Seems like pretty much everyone here can identify an X5 at a thousand paces - thanks ever so much, 493 - and I like smiling, so. I'm pretty much out of options.
Except for being myself, of course. [Ha. Ha.]