Terre Haute

[paradisamods]

[Today, our intrepid explorers have finally made it to Terre Haute. It’s mostly grassland, and on the outskirts small spotted lions, about the size of leopards prowl around. They seem to be more interested in the strange antelope running around than in any people, however. Towards the edge, lies a cliff face, looking out to sea, on occasion giant whales can be seen breaching the water.

Of the weird thing they came to look for, in the distance is a cylindrical shape, lying on its side. But between them and it is a strange village. One made up of excessively tall wooden huts, all of which have electric lights, turned on, though how they’re creating such power is a mystery, they are still very much inside the dead zone.

The residents of this off little village are wandering around, going about their buisess. The residents being a group of bemused looking giraffes. Perhaps you will even see some familiar non-giraffe faces milling about.

Welcome to Terre Haute]

[[GRASSLANDS AND CLIFFS | TOWN SQUARE | JUICE BAR | DANCE HALL | THE ESCALATOR | MIRROR CONTROL ROOM ]]

Comments

[dontpatr0nizeme]

[Wash saw that familiar face. And he damn well knew what that mark on her neck meant for her with regards to timeline. But he wasn't openly approaching her immediately. There were too many unknowns... Does she remember? Is she going to be hostile?

But it's Wash. He isn't perfect at stealth. She's probably noticed his stalking already.]

[youfallback]

[As Carolina moves around the village, she feels like she's being watched and pauses every now and then to glance around at her surroundings. On one of those occasions, she spots a familiar face of her own, one that she's actually not that upset to see.]

Wash. [What she remembers of him is a weird combination of home and the Castle. She remembers seeing him down in the infirmary when she woke up, hearing what had happened and being told that he had to have Epsilon removed from him. So, her tone isn't hostile, but it's not warm and friendly.]

[dontpatr0nizeme]

[Wash froze when he realized he'd been spotted, but he straightened up at the lack of outright hostility. He's still not sure what to say.] Boss?

[youfallback]

[She's not exactly excited to see him, but she's not nearly as openly hostile as she'd been toward York. Wash hadn't done anything wrong in her book. He hadn't been awake to choose sides when the Project split.]

You lose your observational skills? [She raises an eyebrow at him.]

[dontpatr0nizeme]

I didn't expect to see you out here... And last time I saw you, you didn't have that on your neck.

[youfallback]

[Carolina goes a little rigid as she narrows her eyes minutely.]

The Castle sent me home.

[dontpatr0nizeme]

Oh. [That actually got a flinch from Wash. And he knows the implantation slot is vacant.] You experienced it then.

[youfallback]

Yes. [She watches him with a note of suspicion, but still not open hostility.]

[dontpatr0nizeme]

Carolina, at the time that the Mother of Invention crashed, you know I was in no condition to get involved in any way shape or form.

I'm your team. [But he's not going to be happy when he hears about York either.] I just wish I'd been in the condition to save you. To help you.

[Because he assumes she died.]

[youfallback]

[It's odd hearing something like that from him. From what she remembers about him in the Castle, they'd been good friends, but never confidantes of sorts. She'd helped him as much as she could during her time. The mention of team doesn't go unnoticed.]

The team doesn't exist anymore.

[dontpatr0nizeme]

Carolina, I think we already had this discussion in the opposite. I gave in on the team thing eventually. Can we skip the arguing? I didn't betray you.

Even if you are upset with the ones that left? Don't push me away. No one can stand alone. We all need help sometimes.

Trust me, I tried.

[youfallback]

[Carolina's suspicion slowly begins to turn into the beginnings of hostility.]

Then don't give me a reason to. [Because she of course believes that she can handle everything herself, despite what she'd told Wash on multiple occasions.]

[dontpatr0nizeme]

Carolina, please. I'm not trying to pick a fight.

You damn well know I'm not always the best with words.

[youfallback]

Wasn't asking you to be. [After all, she'd been close with Maine and he'd never had any kind of eloquence, before or after---

She pales just thinking about Sidewinder, of the fact that she had given Sigma to him.]

[dontpatr0nizeme]

What's wrong?

[youfallback]

Nothing. [She snaps back, that amicable aire dying just a little. She's still a shade or two paler, but she's not about to talk about it.

So, she instead tries to force a change in subject.] How long have I been gone.

[dontpatr0nizeme]

Sorry. [Flinching as much as he used to when yelled at when he was younger without realizing it.]

Only a few months. You disappeared in January. It's late April now.

[youfallback]

[Carolina considers the information carefully, before she nods. She doesn't have an immediate reason to distrust Wash, after all.]

Sitrep on UNSC personnel.

[dontpatr0nizeme]

there's one Spartan at the castle.

I'm here, as you can see.

As for Freelancers that left the project, York is on the expedition here with Delta. North Dakota, Theta, and South Dakota are at the castle.

UNSC Project Freelancer AI Alpha is present at the castle, unable to enter the Dead Zone safely.

[youfallback]

[Carolina's gaze darkens immediately at the mention of York and North in quick succession. Two traitors. Ironically, two people she'd trusted with her back that she would no longer want to talk to. But the mention of an Alpha draws her attention back away from that anger.]

Alpha. I heard something about that when I was here last time.

[dontpatr0nizeme]

He's... Damaged to say the least. Still doesn't really know that he is an AI. He thinks he's a ghost of a human. There's a lot more to it that I know from Epsilon.

Easier to play along than try to tell him the truth, and I owe him for help lately. He pulled me out of hiding and feeling sorry for myself at the castle's latest prank.

[youfallback]

[She frowns a little, both at the mention of 'damaged' and the Castle's prank. She elects to continue along the topic of the Alpha for now.]

Is he like any of the other fragments?

[dontpatr0nizeme]

He's worse than a fragment in a way, Carolina.

He's what was left after the fragments were made. He was what they were broken from. Each fragment was one of his key aspects. Logic. Trust. Creativity. Even his memories.

[youfallback]

[She frowns further at him, not quite understanding what he's talking about at first.] Broken how.

[dontpatr0nizeme]

Torture. Scenario after scenario of failure. Of watching people he cared about get hurt and die because he failed them.

That's why Epsilon's implantation went badly... Because he was the memories of everything, including the breaking process. There was no chance of success.