ᴊᴏʜɴ ❝ ʀᴇᴀᴘᴇʀ ❞ ɢʀɪᴍᴍ, ssɢᴛ. (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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poly_chromatic2013-08-13 07:50 am
olduvai) wrote in poly_chromatic2013-08-13 07:50 am
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[ what's up, poly? now that the pirate shenanigans are over, you're very much welcome to the usual sight of our dear fountain bringing in another one of those new arrivals, the side of their face just barely in view of the screen.
or are they new, is the question (yes they are).
the man who appears on the screen is probably a familiar face to a lot of people, but there are notable differences: he looks just a bit younger for one, his face covered with facial hair, his hair cut shorter, blood all over his face and uniform (mostly his, yes, but they've healed, so don't worry), and he's seems less - angry. more hardened, really. less 'i don't have time for this bullshit', and more 'i don't really need this right now' - if you catch my drift.
plus, he's carrying an assault rifle in one hand. that's not something that the good old country doctor does, is it? ]
Could do with a better welcoming committee.
[ charming, isn't he?
but really, no one answered his question when he started asking around, but that might have something to do with the fact that he looks less than friendly in his standard uniform. anyway, he's been duly informed that asking through a 'network' will give him his answers, so here he is. ]
How about we start with the question where the hell am I, and then we'll go from there? If there are any devil dogs around, oorah. [ he says it with a deadpan expression, then cuts the feed. ]
or are they new, is the question (yes they are).
the man who appears on the screen is probably a familiar face to a lot of people, but there are notable differences: he looks just a bit younger for one, his face covered with facial hair, his hair cut shorter, blood all over his face and uniform (mostly his, yes, but they've healed, so don't worry), and he's seems less - angry. more hardened, really. less 'i don't have time for this bullshit', and more 'i don't really need this right now' - if you catch my drift.
plus, he's carrying an assault rifle in one hand. that's not something that the good old country doctor does, is it? ]
Could do with a better welcoming committee.
[ charming, isn't he?
but really, no one answered his question when he started asking around, but that might have something to do with the fact that he looks less than friendly in his standard uniform. anyway, he's been duly informed that asking through a 'network' will give him his answers, so here he is. ]
How about we start with the question where the hell am I, and then we'll go from there? If there are any devil dogs around, oorah. [ he says it with a deadpan expression, then cuts the feed. ]
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Blue eyes light up where they rest on the screen, reflecting the information when he glances over at his returned company some time later. He doesn't blame him for making use of the facilities, it looked like Reaper had been through hell and back in his own clothes. ]
Hey, wow, there was a person under all that blood after all. That is a nice tat. C'mere.
[ Swiveling around on his stool, Jim opens up a stringy plastic backpack with the lab logo on it, taking out the PADD-wannabe and navigating the touch-screen map with all the little dots that open on it with slices of information, distances and terrain descriptors. ]
This is mine, I've been fixing it up for a few weeks. Everything's locked down except the map, which I've pulled up a route for you on. If it futzes up that's because I haven't used that program myself yet, the power cells might go out if you leave it on all day. It's better than the shitty paper fold-outs in town though, goes without saying.
[ Offering it over with a smile. ]
If you break it, I'll kill you. Think of it like my inanimate child.
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Surprise.
[ the touchscreen pad is easy to navigate, and yeah, it's much better than paper fold-outs. he'd probably lose that, but not this. ]
Fixing it up?
[ you didn't come across as the kind of guy with that kind of hobby, jim. ]
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[ Some of his own earnings, that's all. Maybe he is helping the guy out more than he would anyone else, but. Well, people can go fuck themselves, Jim does what he wants and right now he can see echoes of his friend in a man who gives him a good gut feeling. ]
It's not a fortune or anything, but since you're heading out to pull off your own search you don't want to starve. I've been out there twice now. Trust me when I suggest heading into the City for a bite to eat every day, at least for breakfast. The smell of food will wear off by the afternoon and the monsters in the forests won't be able to track you as easily.
Take it with the PADD.
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[ yeah, he went there.
but oh - this is a new, different thing. a very unusual thing. not a lot of people would offer a stranger their help. even less would give them their money just so they have some provisions. it makes him stop, eyes flicking from the card to jim to the padd and then back again like he doesn't know what to do with any of them. he's not unused to blind kindness offered to him - some people have a soft spot for soldiers because of their roles in the wars, and in protecting their country - but frankly, this is a bit much. ]
Why are you doing this? And you don't give me that bullshit about having the same face as your friend. I'm not him.
[ you don't know me. how many times do i have to say it? ]
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[ Stubbornly, he starts to close down the irrelevant programs without offering a real answer. ]
I've got a good gut feeling about you. [ Far be it from Jim to elaborate. ] There's nothing on a Samantha Grimm, by the way, I've checked City-wide records. I'd suggest starting at the Hall of the Missing and swinging your way back around.
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[ his eyes flicker at the mention of his sister, but says nothing on it for now. if she's not here, then she must be back home. that's more than fine for him, but he still wants to make sure. ]
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[ You'll get used to Jim saying this obvious heartfelt-come-duty shit, John. You don't have a choice. Maybe he can get him out of the door and off his back another way, hiking up a smile where he sits with his hands clasped in his lap like butter wouldn't melt in his ship's warp-core. ]
I know I'm irresistible, but uh, you should tear you and your big gun away. Still a few hours left of daylight to get a head-start.
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but he's a little shit that has john shaking his head and fighting down a smirk at the same time. jim kirk, you are actually going to be an unforeseeable problem in the future, aren't you? ]
Nighttime's not a problem.
[ and neither are the monsters that jim has mentioned earlier. he's a soldier, and more recently a superhuman. he can weather through anything. he picks up his rifle again, and it flickers on as he shoulders it. a female automated voice says 'RRTS Special Ops Clearance: verified. Handle ID: Reaper'. ]
That still doesn't answer the question [ why him ] but I'll let it go.
For the record, my name's John. [ and you already know his last name. ] And my last mission was on an archaeological research base in Mars.
[ he's telling you all this before he goes because it's the least - and most - that he can do. ]
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[ Yes. Yes, he is going to be a problem. It's not his fault that John is, to coin a certain phrase, fascinating. He leans forward and folds his arms as curiosity snags at the heels of his interest to hear John's a spaceman too. Clearly everyone in the room has been making assumptions today. ]
You'll have to tell me more about that later, or as much as you can without touching the classifieds.
[ Which is to beg, Please? ]
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[ yeah, jim, you're going to have to say please verbally. unlike bones, you still don't know how to wrap this one around your fingers, and even though he might seem friendlier, john's incredibly tight-lipped when he wants to be. comes with the job, comes with the experience - and he's naturally quiet, anyway.
he picks up the padd and - after a moment of hesitation - reaches for the card as well. ]
Generous. [ he says mockingly as he holds it up. ] I say it's quid pro quo.
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So, if I'm nice you'll have to be nice back? That sounds more like quid pro quo to me, gotta say.
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[ he turns on the padd, looking at the time. ]
I better go.
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[ hasta la vista and all that. ]
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