Voicemail

[goddamngrenades]

You have reached the voice mail system of FOXTROT 12.

When you are finished recording, just hang up or press pound for more options.

To request a locksmith, press one.

To hear these options in Spanish, press dos.

To send a verbal confirmation of a written command, press three.

To send a written confirmation of a verbal command, press four.

For delivery options, press five.

To page this person, press six.

To locate your nearest operator, press seven.

To leave a call back number, press eight.

To repeat this message, press nine.

Press zero for other options.

To mark this message as urgent, press eleven.

Thank you for calling, have a nice day.

BEEP


Comments

[goddamngrenades]

We all worry that our parents will be proud of the people we become. I know she'll be proud of you.

[ He turns his head to tuck her close, hand rubbing between her shoulderblades. ]

It's the only time you'll ever get to ask.

[pastdoesntdefine]

That would be nice.

[ At least then one of her parents might be. She squeezes her arms around him in thanks, before pulling back - not by much, just enough so that she can look up at him. ]

Have you encountered anyone else yet?

[goddamngrenades]

South, Sigma, Omega, Florida, oddly enough, and Me.

[ He drops an arm around her waist and gives a little tug, nodding to the table at the far end of the room. ]

[pastdoesntdefine]

[she appreciates that he doesn't press on it; he doesn't need to say more, and for the moment, she's not going to think about her mother. Focus instead on the others here as he leads her to the table and couch. She frowns at Sigma; no shock, meaning she's met him too, but Omega gets a blink. As does--]

Flowers? I didn't see him.

Wait, South? [brows knit in confusion] but, she can't be a clone. She's an Immune. Isn't she?

[goddamngrenades]

Apparently that's not enough to keep them from doing this to us.

[pastdoesntdefine]

...shit.

[ Because it wasn't like she needed more reasons to hate Bifrons.]

[goddamngrenades]

...yeah. If I ever go missing and show up here as a clone- just put me out of my misery.

[pastdoesntdefine]

Don't. [sharply, as her hand moves, catching his arm. Pulling him to stop as she stares up at him. glares up at him] Don't say that. Don't think like that.

We're going to figure out how they're doing this, and find a way to stop it. [now? no. they simply don't know enough, don't have the resources - even now, months later. But Carolina is perfectly willing and able to prepare for the long term]

[goddamngrenades]

...Someone has to. [ It may as well be him. ] Can't always count on the happy ending, Clair.

[ No matter how much he'd want to. Worst case scenarios are all he really plays out anymore. All he plans for. ]

[pastdoesntdefine]

You think I don't know that. [there's a flatness to her tone as she stares, glares, up at him.] But I'm not going to focus on something that hasn't happened yet. [something she wont LET happen]

Besides, you're here now. [she lets go of his arm, and glances around the room] So is this..?

[goddamngrenades]

The bunker.

[ He nods to the course all retracted on one side, the turrets, the racks for weaponry and armor, the tech station for Delta. ]

Kinda needed a project to get my head straight so...yeah.

[pastdoesntdefine]

[There's a sidelong glance, before Carolina nods.]

I can understand that. What've you got installed and running so far?

[goddamngrenades]

Practice course, shooting range, repair and armory, security station. The basics, really. I gotta talk to d about getting a dumb ai to help keep track of everything.

[pastdoesntdefine]

[ All of that, in here? She's impressed. Even if her expression doesn't change a hair. ]

Would you be wanting him to design an AI from the ground up for this, or repurpose existing tech here in Proles?

[goddamngrenades]

Call me sentimental but I sorta want something similar to Filiss. I miss her, what can I say?

[ There'd been days where it felt like the AI was the only one happy to see him get back, usually because everyone else was out on their own ops. ]

[pastdoesntdefine]

[ she's quiet for a minute.]

She didn't start out like that. That occurred over time, tinkering with subroutines. Part of the AI research that stayed from the beginning. [hence her occasionally creepy perpetual cheer and sassy mouth] But Delta can likely find a way to build one similar.

[ he's a very smart man, after all. ]

[goddamngrenades]

That's what made her special. She had as much personality as any other AI I ever met.

[ One he liked a hell of a lot more than Sigma's. ]

[pastdoesntdefine]

Almost. [fondly] She was certainly unique in that respect.

She survived the crash, at least. [she won't mention that she deleted herself after they found and left the Director, however]

So, dumb AI. Anything else this place still need?

[goddamngrenades]

A full crew but- North's in the Militia, South's gone, Tex is also in the militia, Maine's in the militia, You're- well let's just say that big dumb idea about regrouping was a big dumb idea and this is more a 'if the dome falls and we need somewhere to hide' kind of place.

It's just a dumb project I did instead of sleeping or coping with a lot of shit. That's all. Doesn't really need to be anything. I mean- some people paint, right?

[pastdoesntdefine]

It's not dumb. [quiet, firm] Neither idea was dumb.

[she slides one hand against her forehead, dragging her hair back out of her eyes before glancing sidelongways at him] No way to have predicted things would have fallen as they did. Let alone that people would willingly sign up to the militia.

A time may yet come when a place like this will find use, whether we want it to or not. [you could never be too prepared - they'd both learned that through hard experience.] It's was productive 'way of coping', so don't sell yourself short.

[goddamngrenades]

I hoped- I don't know what I hoped. To have some of what little had been good back. The camradarie- the support. Part of me misses having a unit. [ As strange as being a part of the project had been, the sense of purpose was gratifying. He shakes his head at himself- it didn't matter here. They were a group of individuals and that, while unpredictable, was safer than the alternative.

Maybe he could rent the space out as a gym. Who the hell knows? ]

HOw've you been? Coping, that is. This is rough for a lot of people but for you...

[pastdoesntdefine]

...When it was good, it was good, wasn't it. [They could still work together, but Carolina isn't about to expect everyone to fall back in, fall into line. Even she isn't certain she could do that, go all the way -- and she hadn't helped with her reveal during that one team workout either.] We can still have some of those things. But not everything.

[coping?] Heh. Coping? Adapting. Even with unpleasant surprise after unpleasant surprise.

[she's quiet for a moment, before her gaze drops to the floor] It'd be harder, if I was the only one here. I'm not sure it'd be working out as well under other circumstances.

[goddamngrenades]

I think if it could be less like it was and more like a real unit...

[ He shakes it off. That would mean joining the militia, the army, and he's...not going to do that again. one squad dead in an ambush and one that cannibalized itself- yeah. He's too burned to really try again.

Either way this is a good place to practice for all of them. ]

You know I'm here for you- right? Whenever you need?

[pastdoesntdefine]

[ There's no verbal response to that. Just a long look, measured and understanding. He doesn't need to say more, not to Carolina. Some things take time, and while it's been easier for some more so than others to fall in with the newly established PFA (even in its militia reboot infancy), not so for these two.

But you can never have too many safe locations for putting in practice. ]

Yeah. I know. [she nudges his elbow lightly with a fist] And you don't need to hold yourself alone either.

[goddamngrenades]

I'm- yeah. I'm getting that. And getting out of my own ass. Seriously, how do you guys stand me when I'm this much of a jackass?

[ It baffles, is what it does. All the way to the coffee table and now cold coffee, he remains baffled. ]