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Post by hugodouglass on Oct 14, 2010 17:12:35 GMT -5
His eyes snapped open, the glaring lights that hovered over him blinding him to his surroundings. What had happened? It felt like a twenty million ton star destroyer had run over his brain. Sitting up slowly, he could feel his equilibrium restoring, his mind becoming more and more alert. He was half-naked, only a pair of sweatpants covering his lower body..he was in a cold sweat also. Swinging his legs onto the cold surface of the ship...
VENIA!
All of the events that had occurred over the past several days hit him like a ton of bricks, forcing Hugo to hang his head, bringing his hands over his face, his head now shaking back and forth.
The profiles.
The rifts.
The endless sleep.
It was all coming back to him.
"Daddy?" Hugo glanced over across the room and saw his eight year old daughter, Lisa, sitting on the floor, playing with her usual set of V.I. toys.
"L..Lisa? Wha..."
"I woke up before yooouuu did." She giggled to herself, then continued to play with her simulations, the V.I. complying with whatever creation she had conceived in her mind(she was making New Earth into a kingdom ruled by a fair king who of course made her queen).
Lisa was ok...which meant that the guys who doped them up on the memory trip must not have tried to collect collateral in case the mission foiled up. Hugo quickly rose, donning a t-shirt that proudly had the initials L.A.P.D on the back and sifting through his locker for...
Pulse pistol. Good.
"Lisa, baby, I'm going to step out for a few minutes. I'm going to lock the door behind you, ok?" She pouted, retorting:
"But I'm hungry, Daddy! I haven't eaten in like, five million billion billion years!" Hugo rolled his eyes, saying:
"I'll bring you back food."
"Mac and cheese, pleeeease."
"You're going to be eating your green beans with that meal, young lady." She pouted again, which caused Hugo to give her a parental glare.
She stopped pouting.
"I'll be back. Don't unlock this door until I tell you to, ok?"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOk." Hugo walked outside into the corridor, the door shutting behind him. He gripped his pistol tightly as he walked down the corridor.
If there were terrorists on board, he would find them.
Yes. Sir.
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Post by darcyneumann on Oct 14, 2010 17:20:09 GMT -5
Darcy's eyes flickered open, and she immediately closed them again, rolling over onto her front, burying her head into her pillow with a low moan. It had been at least a day since the whole diabocle with R4 and their dream manipulation attack, and her head was still throbbing. Her brain was not meant to be played with. For this reason, she'd fallen into bed and slept for what... almost twenty four hours?" She had to get up. Dosing herself with something strong, she felt the pressure on her mind lift. Good. She could now navigate her room, getting dressed, then she get on down to the Medical Bay in order to help deal with the aftermath. After all, she wouldn't be the only groggy one on board, and they would need all the help they could get in the medical bay today. Walking down the corridor, she began to piece together her memories from the complex, the time she had spent with no memories, living a boring, banal life with no real interaction. God. How could she had stood for that? Usually she would be buzzing round doing anything and everything to keep herself busy. Doing nothing for that long daunted her. So much in fact that she didn't notice someone coming the other way. "Oof!" she threw her arms up instinctively in the collision, tottering in her boots to regain her balance. Then she looked at who she'd bumped into. "Oh my God, Hugo!" |
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Post by hugodouglass on Oct 14, 2010 17:27:08 GMT -5
The corridors of the Venia were not teeming with the usual activity that Hugo was used to, causing the detective to be extremely on edge. What if the terrorists had already taken out the other members of the crew? Had they been kidnapped? Hugo scanned his surroundings cautiously, checking in individual rooms to make sure that there weren't any fun surprises waiting for them. The sleeping quarters were empty, the mess hall...everything seemed to be fine.
As he strode forward, pistol pointed forward, he heard a slight noise...like the pattering of footsteps. He turned around quickly, leveling his aim. Looking around, he could see nothing...but the footsteps were getting louder now...where were they coming fro...
He felt something bump into him, causing Hugo to roll forward, twisting around to get a clearer view of...
Darcy.
She was alive!
He grinned, apologetically telling her:
"Didn't mean to wave my gun at you." His grin began to disappear however, as he continued:
"You know where the rest of the crew is? And for that matter, where in the world is the Venia in space? I don't remember much after...well, you know."
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Post by darcyneumann on Oct 14, 2010 17:38:49 GMT -5
"Your gun, huh?" She knew what he meant, but she smirked anyway. "Don't worry about it, crazy people come into the ER all the time, I'm used to a certain amount of... well, being on edge." She was glad to see that he was okay. After she'd woken up, she'd sort of blearily stumbled out of medical with only one thing in mind, she hadn't stopped to see if everyone was okay. If Hugo was okay.
He enquired about the rest of the crew. "I remember hearing a lot of noise in the Mess Hall on the way past," she said, "I'd imagine they're all loading up on food after going a few days without it." Speaking of which. Her stomach rumbled.
Well, that's not embarrassing.
Rubbing her abdomen, she looked back at him.
"As for the ship, we're still near Earth I'd imagine. I doubt the Captain will want us to set off so soon after what happened."
"What can you remember about what happened?" she asked, genuinely curious. She'd been able to figure out most of what had happened, with them trying to escape, the memories they'd seen. She knew he'd seen his late wife die, and nearly got attacked by someone who he had been going to shoot. It was strange to know things about someone she hadn't actually met properly before.
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Post by hugodouglass on Oct 14, 2010 17:48:30 GMT -5
Well, at least the crew was alive...that was nice to know. Even if they were plowing through five months worth of food in five minutes. They all deserved some kind of gluttony after the stark agony of almost losing their minds. He heard her question about remembering, to which he nodded, then saying:
"I remember almost everything. We went through that hallway, relived a few...unpleasant experiences, jumped into a black hole..." He laughed slightly before continuing:
"A lot more action goes down on this ship in such a short amount of time. Reminds me of my time back in L.A. Fast and furious." Oh it was so nice to actually remember L.A. The sights, the pretty girls...
Lisa.
He shook the thoughts out of his mind by asking:
"You feeling ok? You look toasted."
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Post by darcyneumann on Oct 14, 2010 18:02:56 GMT -5
"I can imagine," Darcy said with a nod. She had never been to LA, or lived there, but working in a hospital brought a whole new meaning to word 'crazy' sometimes. There was a lot of stress, and you had to deal with it, no doubts in your mind, otherwise you weren't cut out to be there. Working with the police had the same principles.
Darcy chuckled. Toasted. Yeah, that was the word for it.
"I've had the worst headache ever since I woke up after diving into the black hole. It feels like I repeatedly smacked my head against a wall all night long." That was the best metaphor for her pain that she could come up with right now. "But I'll be fine."
She bit her lip, looking up at him. "This might seem random, but do you want to go somewhere and talk? I mean, we escaped a complex together and saw some crazy crap while doing so. I sort of feel like," she gestured with both hands between the two of them, trying to say what she meant to say out loud using her hands, "I want to know you for you, not some memories a computer forced us to relive. If that makes sense?"
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Post by hugodouglass on Oct 14, 2010 18:12:58 GMT -5
Talk? They just went through a mind shattering experience, haven't had food, and she wanted to talk?!?!
WOMEN.
Hugo couldn't help but laugh inwardly at his line of reasoning. It didn't make sense from a male perspective, but hey, she was right on one point: he hadn't really talked to her...or anyone on the crew since he joined. He knew his daughter had talked to EVERYONE on board multiple times, being the socialite she was. Maybe he needed to take a lesson from the mouth of a babe. He smiled, saying:
"You know, that sounds great. I don't get to fraternize with the rest of the crew most of the time. Locked away in solitary from you all." He said the last part sarcastically, although it was a half truth: his work space was on the second lowest deck, which essentially held nothing except computer banks and a few spare rooms for possible prisoners. It was a make-shift space.
"Common room sound good?" Just as he finished his question, he felt something tugging at his shirt. Hugo looked down to find his daughter, whose face was smothered in cheese sauce.
"I got tired a waiting, so I got food! And everyone was eating, and, and, and..."
"Child." Hugo knelt down to her level, stern faced as he continued:
"What did I tell you NOT to do?" Lisa pouted(a signature move) as she said apprehensively:
"Leave the room?"
"And what did you do?"
"BUT DAD!!!"
"Nope. Doesn't cut it."
"Don't make me do my homework!!! PLEEEAASE!! IT'S SOOOO BORING!"
"I don't care if it kills you, but you're going to do your homework. And I'm going to wipe that sauce off your face. Now follow us please." Lisa shot a pleading look at Darcy that screamed "HELP ME!"
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Post by darcyneumann on Oct 14, 2010 18:22:14 GMT -5
OH, wow. Darcy did not know that he had a daughter. And that she was on board, no less. Really, wow.
But then again, she'd never actually explained who Casey was either. She'd get round to that.
"I don't know about that homework," Darcy said, pulling a tissue out of her pocket, kneeling down, "but that cheese sauce makes you look like Santa Claus." With a soft chuckle, she wiped the girl's face, tapping her lightly on the nose. "All better."
"I'm Darcy," she said, introducing herself with an outstretched hand, "and who might you be?"
She knew what it was like to have a young girl around. True, Casey had been older when she had come to her, but still.
She hoped she wasn't encroaching on Hugo's authority, she wasn't ordering her to do anything after all, but she figured she could at least know the girl's name before she was dragged back to her room kicking and screaming.
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Post by hugodouglass on Oct 14, 2010 18:36:02 GMT -5
"I'm Lisa!" The girl said happily, not allowing her father's judgment to damper her spirits. Homework or not, she could still talk to people!
"Hiiii Darcy! Darcy...that's a funny name. Daaaaaarrccciiieee..." She giggled, Hugo looking down at his daughter with a quizzical expression. He would never understand his own daughter.
A sad state of affairs.
"Daddy, can I do homework with you?"
"If you don't talk to anyone and actually do it, yes."
"I PROMISE!" She solemnly put her free hand on her chest, causing Hugo to laugh slightly.
"Come on kiddo." He looked over at Darcy and said:
"Why don't you get some food and meet us in the common room? That way I can get this one started on her work."
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Post by darcyneumann on Oct 14, 2010 18:45:49 GMT -5
"Lisa, that's a pretty name," Darcy smiled. And the name of his wife. Huh.
If only she could have planted Lisa in front of her Dad and played that sentence that she'd said back to him. The undeniable logic of a child. Darcy was a funny name, and said more about an afinity for Jane Austen than actually thinking about what to call your daughter.
"Sure," she said, smiling at the two of them. Lisa was adorable. "I'll see you there in a few."
The round trip to the mess hall didn't take too long, she had a quick chat with the chef while she was there; the poor guy was absolutely swamped with orders. She would have offered to help if she didn't have somewhere else to be - and wasn't hungry herself. Then grabbed the food he already had made up, and made her way to the common room, taking her time. She knew getting Lisa to settle into work was going to take a little while, so had to balance giving them enough time with not letting the food get cold.
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Post by hugodouglass on Oct 14, 2010 18:54:22 GMT -5
"And he said, I don't want your food because it's...what's that word Dad?"
"Repugnant, Sweetheart. That means the food looks or smells really, really bad."
"Oh." Lisa resumed swinging her legs lazily from the overstuffed chair(vintage stuff) as she continued reading the book she was assigned by way of her distance education class. The book, if you could call it that, was really a miniature projection that could be handled like a book. So it was an imaginary object.
Gotta love the future.
Hugo leaned back in his own chair, which was near an artificial fireplace(they had class) and sipped the automated coffee that was dispensed out of the sometimes not-so-friendly Beverage Automation Machine. Everything was synthetic these days...everything.
"Darcy!" Lisa's announcement caused Hugo to get up, looking for the medical officer.
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Post by darcyneumann on Oct 14, 2010 19:08:12 GMT -5
Darcy stifled what she feared was a snort as Hugo got up when her presence was announced. She'd actually been standing outside the door for a minute or so, just listening. Trust Lisa to make a spectacle out of her arrival.
"Heyyyy," she said, walking over to the pair of them, putting the food down on the table, "how's your work going?"
The food was boxed away in synthetic tubs, but it was real food - now that the ship had a kitchen, all the food that came from there was the real stuff. It was great. Pulling the knives and forks out of her pocket, she handed a pair to Hugo then said, "we're allowed to feed her, right?" she smirked, waving the rounded ends of the knife and fork towards Lisa.
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Post by hugodouglass on Oct 14, 2010 19:15:13 GMT -5
"Good! I'm reading about food that's re...re.pog..re.."
"Repugnant, sweetheart."
"Yeah, that!" Lisa, after having uttered that very important factoid, delved back into her book.
"I'm telling you, she's worse than her mother and me put together. And that's saying something." Hugo chuckled as he took a tub, opening the lid to find a surprising array of mixed vegetables and a chicken sandwich.
"I have to thank Sam for this...or was he the one making all this stuff?" He only knew of Sam as the chef on board. Nice guy.
"She ate enough macaroni and cheese to probably kill an elephant. She'll be fine." Before dining, Hugo asked:
"You have any family back home? Husband? Kids?"
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Post by darcyneumann on Oct 14, 2010 19:23:39 GMT -5
Darcy shook her head a little. She had a feeling that Lisa was going to be a lot of fun to get to know.
"Yes, yeah, Sam was the culinary maestro behind this food," Darcy nodded, "he's overloaded, poor guy, the rest of the crew are eating us out of house and home."
Placing the spare knife and fork away, she opened another of the tubs, munching on a slice of green pepper before looking up at him again.
Well, he definitely got right down to the point there. "No husband, or man of any kind," she said, shrugging her shoulders slightly, "my Dad passed away a good few years ago now." His liver failed, big surprise there. "But there's Casey, you know, the girl in the hospital?" It was easier to refer back to the dream in that respect. "I adopted her. She's twenty now, and off studying at culinary school. Never know, someday she might end up here."
"I would ask the same of you, but I'm assuming you brought your family with you." She cast a glance at Lisa who practically had her nose pressed against the text.
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Post by hugodouglass on Oct 14, 2010 19:33:04 GMT -5
"Twenty years old huh? Boy that's a fun age to be around, especially when you're the one raising the kid. I've seen enough of em to know that when Lis hits twenty, I'm going to have my hands full." He had said fun in a bit of teasing tone, indicating his knowledge of how hard it was to raise an essentially grown child. Although, it really wasn't raising at that age: it's more of a guidance position.
"Sorry about your Dad." He didn't want to explore the issue any further, instead choosing to answer Darcy's question:
"Well, Lisa is my only child. Her mother died...as ah, as you already know." It still pained him to bring up Lisa, even though the death was so long ago. Why it hurt was not a mystery: they had never brought the man who did it to justice. They had never found him.
It still haunted him to this day.
"My parents are back home in L.A. doing their thing. Old people things, you know. Golf, timeshares, Sunshine resorts, the whole deal. L.A. is like that. Mellows you out."
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