[ open ]

[brisance]

Who| Agent Carolina & Agent North, Agent Connecticut, Theta, and open to others
What| Arrival/recovery/training
Where| The medbay, and then the training rooms.
When| After “The Reject Pile” and “An Eye for an Eye”
Warnings/Notes| to be added

[ CLOSED TO THETA AND NORTH ]

It had been a hell of an arrival. She’d just wanted a moment to catch her breath, to gather her strength so they could get the hell out of that hell hole of a base, only she didn’t have the chance. She’d arrived with warnings flashing on her HUD, unable to really comprehend what was knocking her out before she was knocked out.

And then, waking up in this medical ward. They’d at least answered her questions as soon as she started demanding answers. Shvaughn is quick to appear, to explain what’s going on. Carolina might be dehydrated and hurting, but she takes advantage of someone willingly answering questions to keep asking them.

And when she’s done, and rests, the next time she wakes up, Brande is there. Even though she’s not done recuperating, she’s quick to agree to become a Legionnaire. Even with everything going back home - but Shvaughn had assured her they wouldn’t be in danger.

Which is what leads to this - her having the ring nearby her hospital bed, turning over the omnicom in her hand. She’s still relegated to bed rest, and she thinks she’ll catch up on any information she can get a hold of, while she’s figuring out what the hell kind of outfit she’s going to have.

Unbeknownst to her, though, agreeing means she’s registered - means she pops up in a scannable database.

[ CLOSED TO CONNIE ]

Carolina’s been in the recovery wing for another day when they bring someone else new in. She’s looking at the omnicom when they bring her in, and so she misses it at first, until she hears the voice of a nurse checking her over. It’s the name that catches her.

That drags her gaze away, locking on the other hospital bed. That’s someone she didn’t quite realize was here, the literal definition of seeing is believing.

“CT?”

[ HOSPITAL (OPEN) ]

Carolina will be in the hospital for a few days, from her arrival to her release. She’ll easily accept visitors… no matter who they are, or why they’re coming by.

[ TRAINING GYM (OPEN) ]

She knows she’s developed powers - discovered the use of some of them in the hospital. Accidentally phasing through her bed had been one of them, and they’d been lucky she hadn’t ended up with a metal wheel through her body before she phased back.

She’s been having training lessons, but even though she was stuck for days on end in her own armor - she’s not going to take it easy. Even though she’s only cleared for light duty and training, here she is in the training gym.

She might be spending some time kicking and boxing a punching bag - but she’s also stopping to test out her new powers. She’ll move forward to move through the punching bag, or give it a hard hit and then brace herself against it coming back, seemingly becoming as hard as rock given that it bounces back without her giving an inch.

Comments

[nofortunateson]

[Theta's picked up a few things from North, and one of them is the comfort of going back to usual routines after a stressful event. He's also picked up the habit of trying to look after people, which is why he runs regular scans of the new arrivals, checking to see if South is back. He knows that North misses her, and if she shows up again, he'll want to be the first one to know.

He doesn't spot South, this time through the roster. But he does recognize one of the faces, even years older than he'd last seen it, and lights up with a sudden happiness that he doesn't question the reason of when he puts together who's joined them now. A quick few pings across the network to Eta and Iota come back empty - which is weird, he'd have thought they'd hook up to the local datastreams as soon as possible - but he doesn't waste time trying to dig deeper into that before going for the agent herself, sending a hail to her omnicomm that comes through as a familiar brightly-colored, faintly bouncing hologram of an armored figure.]

Wow, Agent Carolina, hi! It's me, Theta! Agent North's AI!

[brisance]

[ carolina's barely scraped the surface of the omnicom and what it can do before the hologram pops up. she almost drops it when she does see theta, not out of fear but surprise.

theta. theta's here, which means - what, exactly? that north is here as well? they said there'd been all kinds of people from different universes and times, but what were the odds?

there's also a small part of her that can't help but think of epsilon, and his fondness for his own version of theta. ]

Theta, hey. [ it comes after too long of a period of her staring at him, disbelief painted clearly on her face. ] I'm sorry, I... didn't know you were here.

[nofortunateson]

[Theta thinks maybe she doesn't remember him. She doesn't look a lot older, but it looks like it's been a little while. Maybe. Faces and aging aren't really in his skillset beyond his base programming. But no, she looks like she recognizes him. Just like she's confused.]

It's okay. North and I were really surprised to find other members of Project Freelancer here too. [He hesitates, used to Carolina being more direct, nearly unshakable from what he'd seen of her.] Um. Is it okay if I tell him you're here?

[brisance]

[ north is here too. she should have expected as much - she's not sure theta would have contacted her if north wasn't here, and she lets her head fall back against the pillow. she still looks a little disbelieving but she takes a deep breath. ]

Yes, it's okay, Theta. Can you tell me who else is here from Freelancer, too?

[ an easy question to ask, and more confidence in her voice when she does ask. she has the omnicom cupped in her hands, though, looking down at the little projection of the ai. ]

[nofortunateson]

[He nods emphatically, setting the names to recite while he answers a quick question from North on North's communicator and helps him patch the call through.]

Other Freelancers currently serving in the Legion are Agent Carolina, Agent New York, and Agent Washington.

[And right on cue, his image blips out and is replaced by North's face on the screen, grinning at her incredulously. Theta pops into view over his shoulder a second later.]

Carolina, no kidding. They got you too?

[brisance]

[ wash, not a surprise. connie, york? that makes her chest hurt in a way she hasn't felt in a very long time. people she knows are dead, have been dead for years - but they're here. theta's here, not a part of the meta.

and then - north. it's hard for the shock not to show on her face all over again. ]

Yeah, they got me. [ her voice is warm, if a little shaken, and she tries to push it out of the way. ] It's been a long time, North.

[nofortunateson]

That's what I hear.

[It's easy to see why Theta had been jittery. No sign of either of Carolina's AIs, and having her looking at them with an uncertainty he doesn't think he's ever seen on her face? It's strange, and curious as he is, the evidence of Carolina being not alright worries him more.]

Landing here is a lot, huh. [Not a question - it's bound to be a lot for any of them, especially given the membership that binds them together.] How long has it been since Freelancer for you?

using book tl for this

[brisance]

It’s been rough. I wasn't in the best condition when I got here to begin with.

[ hence, still being in medical, hooked up to machines and drips. the question of time makes her pause. sometimes it feels like it was yesterday, with how she still carries it, the pain of being betrayed by maine, losing them all. ]

Eight years, I think.

[nofortunateson]

[He gives a low, sliding whistle, lifting his eyebrows.]

Well damn. Welcome to nostalgia, I guess. Do you mind if I tell the rest of the crew you're here?

[brisance]

Thanks.

[ speaking of them, telling the crew. ]

I don’t mind. Even Connie. Pretty sure I’ve got some uncomfortable conversations to have.

[nofortunateson]

Connie's rough about it, I'm warning you right now. Didn't even have the decency to deck me.

[He gives a sympathetic smile, trusting she'll take his meaning. After how everything had ended up with CT, he's pretty sure he'd feel better with a few good slugs to start paying back his part in it.]

[brisance]

I was trying to bring her back, you know.

[ it's... she doesn't know why she says that. but her expression is a little sadder, even if she covers it fairly quickly. ]

But yeah, thanks for the heads up. How've you been?

[nofortunateson]

Oh, I'm sure you can imagine. Fantastic powers, actually running on the side of the angels, no war going on constantly in the background . . . [He huffs a laugh under his breath.] It's been months and it's still completely bizarre.

[brisance]

Yeah, they say I have some powers too. Not sure how much I believe them, but we'll see how it turns out.

[ still though, she laughs a little. ]

How's it feel to actually be one of the good guys?