IC Contact: thisavrou

[notglitching]

ACE Messages:

There's no greeting voice when your call goes to message—only a short period of static. Or is it whirring? Either way, it might not be the device causing the sound.


[[Open for ACE calls, IC mail, or other spammy things!]]

Comments

01/05; text;

[notglitching]

[There's no reply—not until the next day. Then,]

Functional.

[keelahselai]

[Tali's reply comes a few minutes later.]

Good to hear it.

Are you safe where you are?

[notglitching]

[Brief pause. Less avoidance this time... and more blank staring at the MID and wondering how he's supposed to have the slightest idea at this point.]

Unknown.

[keelahselai]

[Maybe it was a bit of a stupid question, come to think. At this point, none of them have any idea what's going to happen next - who's going to decide next that vigilante justice is the best kind.]

Not many people go down to engineering, if it helps. I don't think anybody would look there if they wanted to find someone. There's a lot of nooks and crannies even the engineers don't look into much.

[Not that Tali's the Moira's Annual Hide and Seek Champion or anything, but she helps how she can. A moment later, another text.]

I don't think this helps much, but I'm sorry this happened to you. I'm sorry they did that.

[notglitching]

[Staring continues, if for slightly different reasons. Engineer is her ship-function, isn't it? Her domain. It's an offer of shelter without requesting any trust.

Rinzler appreciates that. He's not sure he can spare any right now.]

Not involved.

[Text makes it impossible to read the intonations in the words, but it's not the question it could be. There's maybe a distant, empty flicker of relief. He doesn't know this user, not really. But as much work as she'd put in to trying to convince him he could change things if he acted differently...

...he's glad the lie was accidental. That's all.]

[keelahselai]

[Trust isn't something she's going to request from Rinzler. Not if she can't even give it, and especially not right now, when not many people on board are giving him a reason to.

She's not sure, at first, how to respond. She wasn't involved, no. But she wanted to help, and a few people were so determined to either take control of what they created - and that reminds Tali so vividly of among her own people it's painful - or be their own justice.]

I think we're all involved now, whether we want to be or not.

The offer's still open - I can make you non-lethal weaponry. [And quite possibly get into trouble for it, but what are they going to do? Put her in the hold? She's been punished with much worse than that.]

But now I don't know if I'd blame you for not taking me up on it.

[notglitching]

[The first line earns no answer. Nothing but a flare of bitterness, dismissal that doesn't even make it to nonverbals, let alone across the text. If this user doesn't understand yet how easy it is to stay uninvolved—to watch, to turn away, to leave—he doesn't expect it to take long. But there's no point in saying as much now, and when the time does come, she won't be listening.]

Not necessary.

[No purpose, he doesn't bother spelling out. She's already pre-empted the need.]

[keelahselai]

[Tali's used to living on small ships, small crews - she's used to knowing full well how easily one feud can take over a whole ship. And with no possibility of proper law enforcement and leadership nobody asked for, on a ship no one chose to be on - it's like a powder keg. Maybe she doesn't have to get specifically involved, but one way or another...]

No, but we might all be here a long time.

Something's necessary, but I have no idea what, you know?

[notglitching]

[Rinzler doesn't know either. Deletion or rectification are the only endings he knows, and this system will only permit the option Rinzler can least accept. He doesn't want to be rewritten. He doesn't want to lose himself again.

But certainly it doesn't feel less inevitable now.

The pause draws out, but there's no reply.]

[keelahselai]

[Only after a long while without a reply does she send one last message.]

Just remember what I said about Engineering, ok?

And I'm here if you need anything.

[She doesn't expect to be needed for anything big - and still doesn't expect to be trusted, but the offer's there.]

[notglitching]

Acknowledged.

[Trust is a very long way coming, and he doesn't plan on stopping by without clear need. But he'll remember.]