ic contact;

[mathematician]

"I can't come to my communicator right now, I'm probably fixing something some idiot messed up, so leave a message and I'll get back to you when I'm done."

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Comments

[mathematician]

Of course she does. If I died, no one would be able to maintain the Transporter. I care about her too. We'd have to find someone else to run medical exams if she wasn't around.

[totallytrustworthy]

Oh sweetheart...I don't think you've got that theory properly worked out just yet.

[boughtabookstore]

It does. I was considering the possibility of a cross between parole and community service - if we can find people willing to look after them while they're here and ensure they're not getting up to trouble, as well as serve as a sort of guard.

I also don't think any of these people are incapable of defending themselves.

[ she pauses and watches him carefully. ]

Would something like that be something you were willing to publicly back?

[mathematician]

... No, I'm pretty sure I do.

[He'll concede on the humor thing, but come on, he can't be wrong about EVERYTHING.]

[mathematician]

Parole.

[Lowell repeats, chewing slowly. That'd be better than keeping them locked up in between jobs. Because he's sure if any of them really wanted to, they could escape easily. The Initiative, whoever picked any of these Transports, did it for their resourcefulness.]

I'll support that. Although be careful in who you're picking for the job. You've already had a few mishaps with trusting the wrong people.

[totallytrustworthy]

You can't possibly care for her based solely on her ability to pass out medical exams, can you? [Look even she sounds uncertain about that one. Come on, Lowell, you've clearly got a beating heart in there somewhere under all that tsun. ]

[boughtabookstore]

It would potentially solve the draining of resources problem.

[ Oh thank god. She sags a little in relief, almost, tries not to let it show. One vote of support is better than none. ]

Just the one. [ Her hand tightens a little in its grip on itself. ] We would be vetting any potential parole officers very carefully, not just asking the prisoners if they trust them.

[mathematician]

...

[...Can he?]

She's more annoying than anything.

[totallytrustworthy]

Oh for Christ's sake. [Think of it this way, Lowell: at least you've earned a smile with that head shake. ]

Hopeless. Absolutely hopeless.

[mathematician]

[Wow, rude.]

What am I not getting here?

[mathematician]

I'm sure you know that faster is better in this case, right? The longer they stay in there...

[Does he sound... concerned? Yes. He does. Whoops.]

[totallytrustworthy]

[Rude is her middle name, it's a terrible problem.]

I don't think she cares about you just because she wants to make sure your fingers stay pressed to they keys, Lowell.

[boughtabookstore]

The more likely someone is to decide justice isn't being served fast enough and try to take it into their own hands. Again.

[ She nods, tight lipped. ] I'm going to do this as quickly as possible. Having your backing will make that a lot easier.

[mathematician]

I'm sure there's other reasons, like the personal benefits of beating me in practically every game we both play, and the camaraderie of being a part of the same team, but I can't say there are any more than that.

[totallytrustworthy]

That you know of. [And here's a slight eyebrow waggle for you while she goes in for a spoonful of pudding. ]

[mathematician]

That I know of.

[He agrees... warily. Yeah. He doesn't know much about what motivates Trish. It is a mystery.]

[totallytrustworthy]

[Chloe's quiet after that for a few beats, busy as she is enjoying the taste of chocolate (real chocolate dear god) on her tongue. He's half asleep and she's half starving: it works out. ]

So the other transports, have they been treating you lads all right?

[mathematician]

Good. I'm fairly certain Vennett will back this as well, but you should check with him just in case.

[mathematician]

If "lack of any contact at all" equals "all right," then yes, peachy.

[totallytrustworthy]

...you're joking, right. [Pudding feasting: effectively stopped.]

[mathematician]

I've had a conversation with Small about 'punishment for the mutineers'-

[Munches on some more salad...]

... And that's about it. Besides you and Charlie, that is.

[totallytrustworthy]

[Chloe drops her hands, brow furrowed.] Un-bloody-believable. Those assholes charge in to kick our asses for locking up with you and then don't bother checking in?

[mathematician]

Are you really that surprised?

[He offers a half-shrug.]

A month ago, the Transports probably didn't even know we had names. During the mutiny, some were saying the Last Will recordings that were played on the Network "conveniently timed" rather than personal diary entries. I'm quite sure that the other Transports still don't think of us as real people.

[totallytrustworthy]

To be fair, darling, they were. It's like those late night commercials where they show something tragic and then ask for your money on a completely unrelated topic before topping it off with a nod to the first.

I'm not saying those entries weren't legitimate or important, but they damn well didn't deserve to be used as ammunition against us.

[And then Chloe was so easily derailed. No one's surprised.]

[mathematician]

Wasn't the point of this to prove that we're all really on the same side?

[Have you ever had a fork covered in lettuce pointed at you, Chloe? Because that's what's happening.]

I'm sorry that the Transports holding onto their messages waited until right then to broadcast them.