1 - Video

[barewicked]

[Video clicks on, to reveal a skinny young man in his mid twenties. His eyes are wide and darting, and he wears an expression of deep concentration, right up until he realises he's broadcasting. Then, he becomes animated:]

Yo! I got some words for your Admiral here! I know I'm not dead, and I would remember if I'd been nicked, so you got no right hauling me in, man, no right!

[He keeps glancing off screen as he says this, as if he's expecting someone to enter his cabin at any time.]

Look, this isn't even my yard, all right? I was staying with a mate - a couple of mates, actually - so you've just gone and jacked their place out from under them, haven't you? Nicked right off with it and stuck it on your stupid boat! So where are they going to live, eh? You just made two innocent people homeless, mate, so who's the villain now?

[He puts one hand on his hip, apparently waiting for an answer. He manages to go about thirty seconds before giving an unhappy huff and putting his hand on his stomach.]

Bare starving as well. It's a fucking joke, this is.

Comments

[tucky]

But you're scruffy, not pretty. Not that that's a bad thing.

[private]

[barewicked]

You didn't really say you wouldn't. You just did a bit of charades that implied you wouldn't.

Come on, I'm an interesting guy. Lots of fascinating facts and only one way to unlock them for sure...

[barewicked]

Yeah, you assume right. This whole place is built on shit I never even heard of before.

[private]

[tucky]

Okay, I implied I wouldn't. And I'm a girl of my, uh... implications.

[That makes no sense.]

What I mean is he asked me not to do something and so I would like to not do it, even if it ain't a serious thing at all.

[barewicked]

[Nowhere near the dining hall! That's terrible news! But still, at the news that Lloyd is coming for him, Zach decides to get himself respectable for when the stranger arrives.

Which is why, when the door opens, Lloyd is greeted by the sweet scents of weed and sweat, buried under liberal body spray.]

All right. You looking for me?

[He flashes a big toothy grin.]

[video]

[barewicked]

Eight Oh Four. That tell you enough?

[That's all Lloyd needed to find him, he's trusting you to be the same.]

[video]

[tucky]

Uh-huh; that's right under me, almost. Two floors down and one over.

[And as such, she'll show up fairly quickly, rapping on the door.]

[private]

[barewicked]

Yeah, but whatever it is, it's about me, so like, I have a right to know about it, don't I?

[private]

[tucky]

It was more about him than anything else, I think.

[strangehistorian]

Well, in that case I'd still like to make sure you're informed! No matter how you got here.

Do you know about floods?

[fridgetothefire]

Four. But I had it changed.

The barge tries to give you something familiar. But it doesn't always get what's good-familiar and bad-familiar from our perspective.

[fridgetothefire]

Yeah, I could do that. Meet you on deck?

[tucky]

Okay, sure.

[badgerms]

No point yellin' at the fuckin' Admiral. Ain't gonna get any kinda answer from him.

[babyfacedkiller]

[Now there's a familiar fucking fragrance. Really takes Lloyd back, almost like an honest to God flashback. And it doesn't particularly make him wrinkle his nose, since it's more or less how he used to smell, minus the body spray, before his world ended and before he'd taken up the habit of showering five times a day.]

Looks that way. I'm Lloyd Henreid.

[He holds his hand out.]

Nice of you to put on deodorant, man. Makes me feel special.

[maced_eggs]

What? No. We're not. What the fuck's Twilight, then?

[video]

[barewicked]

[And lo, the door opens! And here stands Zach, in a London Calling tee shirt and emanating the faint stench of sweat and weed. Still, he flashes her a little smile.]

All right. It's Tiff, yeah?

[video]

[tucky]

Tiffany.

[She grins back, then tries to peer around his shoulder.]

... You got weed in there?

[barewicked]

Zach Palmer.

[He slaps his hand into Lloyd's, and gives it a lazy shake.]

And yeah, well, first impression, innit? Didn't want you thinking I wasn't making an effort.

[Said without a hint of sarcasm.]

[babyfacedkiller]

Yeah, 'course.

[His reply comes with just a smidgen of smartass. He's honestly a little baffled by the notion of somebody trying to smell nicer to impress him, but hey, he figures that's worth at least a solid B+ for effort.]

Well, come on, Zach. We got a long trek upstairs, so we better get started. [He pushes off, leading the way to the stairs.] You landed deep down in the dungeons, and all the good stuff's on the upper levels. Only thing lower than here is solitary, which they call Zero. I've never been, and I sure as hell ain't plannin' to. But I hear it's nowhere near as bad as the shit they got in regular prison. You ever do time?

[irishrotter]

Eventually -- maybe not right away, but eventually -- you'll start to realize that you've been given a second chance.

[video]

[barewicked]

Nah, not anymore.

[But something about the way she asks makes him wonder...]

You, uh, know anyone who could hook me up in here?

[barewicked]

A second chance at what? At life? My first chance was going just fine until I apparently died in my sleep...

[video]

[tucky]

Probably. Wardens can get it, and if wardens like you you can get it from them.

And wardens like me. I got connections.

[barewicked]

So what, I'm in like, the basement rooms?

[Zach frowns, but he hadn't really wanted to stay there anyway, It was weird, sleeping in Lesley's bed in the knowledge that no Lesley was ever going to come join him.]

And nah. I got stuck in a couple of secure homes a bit, when I was a kid - ward of the state and all that - but I been a free man since I turned 18...

[aka: he hasn't been caught doing any of the things he's been doing.]