station72 | (CLOSED)

[ Ilde does not immediately know what she means, and while she does not know what to make of the damaged parts, she assumes none of it was done purposefully... ]

( Should we still proceed? )

[ She had said the descent would be difficult, this exceeds her anticipation however. ]

( Yes. I believe our worries may be unfounded. I don't believe this was merely meant to be a difficult climb. )

[It's a security measure that she'd understand, albeit not one in reality.]

[ Ilde joins her, closer to the wreckage of the lift, taking a closer look. ]

( Very well, how shall we approach this? )

( We can't expect to find no one inside. There may be some who have chosen to use this as a place to hide. )

[Read: caution. Though there are no immediate signs of life to greet them, it seems all the more important to proceed assuming that it may be there.

Lexa is quickly adjusting her expectations, though. Whoever might be here might be easier to surprise. Questions of killing aren't out of the question if they brush up against anyone, but she thinks it may be easier to avoid it. Whoever houses themselves here might want to survive more than anything.

And on this planet, this seems like a good enough place to hide.]

[ That is fair, but a few squatters was a much different threat than a full military operation. Still dangerous, but more easy to sneak around, to handle if needed. ]

( Agreed, a wanderer or two can be incapacitated. )

( Precisely. And if we handle them efficiently, there's no reason to believe that they will have backup. If they are housed here, they will have an efficient means of escape. We will have to prevent that. )

[It seems like a sufficient enough plan to carry out. They can find the information that they're seeking without letting themselves be stopped.]

[ Those housed here would not likely be aware of the troubles in the port, but should they go to report further mischief from the synchronously dressed visitors... Well, Prince might just yell at her again. ]

( Understood. Our time here should not be broadcast. )

[ She peers at the mangled lift, ]

( Our equipment is sufficient for this? )

[ The shared gear they had landed with contained spelunking gear... A good start to the process. ]

( It will be enough, especially with what else we've brought. )

[Some part of Lexa wonders if they were meant to visit a place such as this. Many of the sites did seem as if they might require this sort of action, but she had been trying to divide her time between obtaining goods and figuring out precisely how to trade those goods for "credits." Understanding money was an uphill struggle.]

( Given our usefulness, what they offered shouldn't be defective. )

[And she doubts they want to do away with the symbiotes in their bodies. That would also be a "waste."]

[ As much as she dislikes Prince, she agrees with that. He would not have them down here with defective equipment. ]

( I have done some climbing with rope before... )

[ Not frequently, the flat open planes were safer, but she has repelled down into a cavern in search of water and shade in her life. Caverns meant death, overflowing with shadows... It makes her skin prickle, but if there is one thing she knows, it is that those monsters have remained in her world with their master. She wonders if that association, and the search for water underground, is part of her utter phobia for the Station's pool.... ]

( Then we'll proceed as we did before. )

[There is a beat where she considers remarking upon Ilde's fear, but she thinks better of it. She recognizes it, but it's not her place to question it—and Lexa is poor at offering reassurances. Everything that comes from her is like a blunt object, and that's no different.

She knows it can seem as if she's uncaring, at least if Ilde is anything like Skaikru, but she can't bring herself to change that. It is better to be herself, than to reveal an aspect of herself in a moment where her stability may be just the thing to help move them both past that fear.]

[ Ilde is not know for her comforting or tactful nature herself, so Lexa's silence is acceptable to her. It lets her deal with her own uncertainty, something she is well-used to and growing ever more adept at as this new phase in her life continues to challenge her abilities to adapt... She shuts off her thoughts about the water and just focuses on the task at hand. Ropes tied off, preparing to fight their way first into the lift and then down into its belly.

Flashlight shining downward, it seems to go on a long ways... ]

( This must have been quite a secret, to bury it so far beneath the earth. )

( It may not be just that. They may have been protecting themselves, as well. Naturally, something happened to change that. )

[What she means is that the way in has proven, despite the difficulty, that they are likely no longer safe. If it were this easy to get into Mount Weather (and comparatively, it is), then the people there would have died long before Clarke managed to decimate them.]

( We may not be safe once we reach the inside. It may simply be a matter of ... there being hazards. Don't unhook yourself from your gear until we have a better idea. )

[ That was an idea that had not quite occurred to her, that they may have been hiding from something... Was that something they needed to worry about? Being found by their hunters? That seems a bit strange, that they would still be here... but it does agree with the idea that they may be stepping into something deathly. ]

( Understood. )

[ She goes quiet with that acknowledgement to focus on the climb downwards. She hears Lexa's feet hit the bottom before she truly realizes they've made it, torn between satisfaction and now new worries to contend with. ]

( What do you see? )

( Whatever made this ... inconvenient ... did not reach the door on the inside. [There's a sense of agitation as she strides forward, using her flashlight to see if there's any disturbance on the ground. The doors themselves don't look as if they've been opened for a long time, and she sees nothing that would get them to open.]

( How strong are you? ) [It feels important to ask before they unhook themselves to head inside. Brute strength will be required here.]

[ That is a good question. ]

( The symbiote has... changed things. I am not certain where my limit is. )

( Hence why I asked. It's much the same with me. I've trained to know my limits, but there are certain things that we can't test on the ship. ) [Endurance as a result of adrenaline, for instance. Lexa knows her physical limits from before, but she also knows she's hit them since.]

( This should be a worthwhile test. ) [Look, she's not about to turn back now. Might as well accidentally dislocate a shoulder along the way, right? It's ... science ... of an unscientific nature.]

( I will do my best. )

[ This is not polite response, she means such things. She comes to join Lexa at the pair of metal doors, they should be mechanized but with no source of power... They will have to pry them open. At least the gloves will protect their fingertips... ]

[Lexa's footing shifts before long. She knows the limits of her strength before, but she doesn't know them now. She's at least able to tell that there are physical limits, but again, she lacks the full breadth of knowledge she might have if she were at this longer. Still, she draws a knife, pressing it firmly into the place between the doors. That will give them some purchase to hold on to as they open the doors.

The elevators in Polis were like this, but not as ... well formed. Plus, she's never exactly been in the position to have to open them herself. There is that.

She looks over at Ilde, and after a nod, she begins to use her strength (increased because of being an Iota type) to drag it open.]

[ Ilde herself is no Iota, but the symbiote is not for nothing. She works harder for it, and gets less of the way there, but the opening they make is large enough for someone to slip through. She observes their results for a moment, listening for any signs of stirring on the far side. ]

( We can slip through and let this close behind us... That may make escape difficult. )

[ But what were they going to do to keep them open? Already the strain of holding this is beginning to burn in her hands and her shoulders. ]

[It's obvious that Ilde is straining herself more. Lexa holds open the door from her end. Pain shoots through her shoulders, but it sends adrenaline kicking through her veins. She doesn't want to be weak.]

( We may need to rest and attempt escape later. ) [It isn't the brightest of decisions, but she's beginning to sense that they have nothing to escape from.] ( Unless we can find something to keep it open on the other side. )

[ It doesn't seem so entirely stupid that they might find something on the inside of the door. That was how things worked, yes? It kept things out, but should be convenient from the inside. ]

( Yes. Let's try. )

[ She exerts as much more of herself as she can to edge it those few more inches, and then it is time for the pair of them to slip inside as the doors slide back into place, it is slow in their heaviness, but inevitable.

Breath strained but still under control, she shines her light down the tunnel, and it bounces back off the next set of doors... Disappointing, at first glance, but then... How many could there be? ]

[Now it's clear about why no one came down here. Her lips are tight with what lies ahead, as she quickly finds that they won't have much to utilize here. Inconvenient.]

Rest. [No one can hear them. She's certain of that much, and she would like to use her voice again.]

We'll start on that soon enough.

[Lexa wishes she knew what her ability was. It seems others have figured theirs out, but she's had little reason to. And heating things up won't help with the doors here—at least, not yet. Not at the level it'd be at. So, she won't be able to accidentally find it, either.]

[ She almost wants to argue, that they should just keep going, but... It will be to their disadvantage to exhaust themselves struggling their way inside. There was much more to be done. She forces herself to lean back against the wall of the tunnel and relax her back and her shoulders. ]

Your strength is greater than mine... You must be an Iota.

Body instead of mind, [she says, speaking what understanding she has of the matter. She moves to rest, finding a spot to sit cross-legged as she has many times before and will be found doing many times in the future. Both of her hands come to rest on opposite knees.]

It suits me. I've given every part of myself to my people.

[ Ilde is not quite so confident that her symbiote type suits her, she understands the way her power works better and better each time it activates but... Her life has always been very physical, very base. Why shouldn't Iota have suited her? She has no grasp of her own will, the force of an imagination that has had to cope with so much ugliness. ]

How did you... come to lead them?

[ That is most of what she has gathered of Lexa's situation so far, and she is curious how someone no older than herself came to have such responsibilities. ]

(CLOSED)

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)

(no subject)