paradisabeyond | Terre Haute

Entry tags:

!terre haute

Terre Haute

[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 ]]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

What's wrong?

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.

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.

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

Sitrep on UNSC personnel.

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.

[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.

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.

[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?

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.

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

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.

[Her stomach drops out as she listens and asks her next question,] Who was torturing him?

I think you already can guess.

No. [The thought of the Director, her father, torturing anyone makes her sick to her stomach immediately. She shakes her head at Wash, anger beginning to flare up in her gaze.] You're wrong. The Director wouldn't do that.

I remember it from Epsilon's memories. I have his memories. I still dream of it sometimes. I could have been wrong...

But the fact that the Director ordered my death when he found out that Epsilon was the memories is quiet damning.

[She remembers the conversation with Wash about the Director ordering his death, remembers hearing the Director's voice saying those words and she can't bring herself to believe it. Then, she'd had her memories obscured by the Castle, to believe that she'd been part of a family full of love.

Her complexion pales another shade or two as she shakes her head.] You're lying.

[But she's heard all of this before, from multiple people, and the story's never changed. Before, it had been tough to accept but now it's unfathomable. No, the Director wouldn't do that. Her father wouldn't torture and order the deaths of his agents.]

Carolina... I wouldn't lie to you about this.

[Carolina shakes her head at him, despite knowing rationally in the back of her mind that he really doesn't have a reason to lie to her.] Unless you're protecting York.

[She says the other agent's name with an extra helping of hate, as if she were speaking the name of a long-hated rival, rather than someone she had loved a mere three months ago.]

I'm not protecting anyone.

[Carolina crosses her arms firmly across her chest as she watches, unsure if she can believe that. She doesn't want to believe anything he's saying about the Director, can't without becoming unraveled at both ends.]

Then you're lying about the Director.

[That hurt in his eyes at that might be more than a little surprising. And he's not even bothering to hide how hard this is.] I'm only telling what I saw in the memories Epsilon gave me. And what happened to me.

I'm not lying to you about this. You deserved to know the truth when I told you before. Nothing has changed.

[Carolina shakes her head at him again, unable to accept that her father had tortured an AI to the point of fracturing. They all had to be lying, that's the only acceptable option.]

Everything's changed. [She snaps back defensively. Her team isn't her team anymore, she knew what they would eventually do down the line, and it's horrifying to take all back in again. The people she had trusted most would stab each other in the back (or shoot in some cases), steal, and altogether abandon each other.

Everyone except Texas and York and that by itself is enough to fuel her anger.]

No. You've just got a different perspective on it.

I'm the same Wash I was before you left the castle. I didn't change.

And you can still trust me. I want to help you.

I don't want your help. [She snaps again, an eerie repeat from her conversation with York. Everyone keeps offering and talking about how much she could trust them, how much they want to help her and she can't help but feel like she's being boxed in. She doesn't need help and she doesn't need a broken team. Still, it should be obvious that she's putting up walls between herself and Wash.]

Fine. But the offer still remains open.

Are you planning to come back to the castle?

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