broooo

steel argent. forty two. father. husband in a relationship. arker. factory station. pike's reign. system's engineer. play me a memory i'm not really sure how it goes. but it's sad and it's sweet and i knew it complete when I wore a younger man's clothes.

[systemsteel-blog]

-- bryan

Bryan couldn’t help but feel like he could trust Steel; after all he was Farm Station as well, and short of going to see Pike himself, Steel was the next person that he would trust when it came to things like this. It was almost like he saw him as another father figure, though it was more of a mix of father and big brother type. He knew that Steel was strong and smart, and anything that was important, he assumed he’d at least know of, right? He stayed quiet, watching and waiting for Steel’s answer, and taking in everything that the man told him.

“I understand, Sir,” He spoke softly then, “I mean… It still seems weird to me, I guess? Because I’ve been through what horror some grounders can cause, and they don’t seem to have? But considering Alpha was in a different situation than us, it’s understandable that they’d have different views when it comes to the grounders and the violence, I think?” He chewed on his lip, lost in thought for a long moment, as he just tried to process all of this.

“They scare me, even here in the camp, Sir, honestly,” He admitted, “I know that not all of them are bad or want to kill us, but not all of them are good either, and who knows what might happen? I trust Pike though, and I know that he’ll do what he has to, no matter what, to keep our people safe, and that we’ll be okay. It’s just…” He wrinkled his nose a little, thinking about the other kids, about how they seemed to have gone missing.

“I understand that if they don’t like the policies, they don’t have to stay… It just makes me a little disappointed that they’re not here. I missed them too. But… I’m sure that they’ll be okay, and if anything, I’ll do what I can to help everyone out, of course. They’re my friends, even if we don’t agree on things.” He took a deep breath then, squaring his shoulders and just trying to seem brave and sure of himself, “Should we get moving, to get the work done, Sir?”

         Bryan was... more open minded than most. That was Steel's new conclusion as the boy started talking about grounders. Even despite everything he'd been through he was saying that these people might maybe be trusted ( or was he hearing the kid wrong ? ). But of course Grounder's scared him. Steel didn't exactly like that some of them were allowed to roam camp, even if ex Chancellor Kane hane approved of them ( who'd even let Kane become Chancellor anyawy - the Marcus Kane he remembered would have started a war with these people and all of Alpha would be dead by now ). Farm Station was smart, preventative measures were taken, but not to the point of starting a war. They'd faught grounders but never overreached. They were careful, they'd been hunted, so they faught back it'd been that simple.

From the reports of the kids back before the aduts had fallen, they'd been in a similar situation, he found it strange that they seeemd to agree more with Kane's passive strategy rather than Pike's strength based policy. Whatever it was that had made the kid's leave, that was their business, he certainly didn't think they should be telling them how to live, but they'd also been here the longest. They might be kids, but down here they were valuable assets. He would have liked to keep them around. He found himself thinking about it for a little longer than he should and it was Bryan's comment about how they should probably start on the task that dragged him back to the present. Of course, that's what they were here for afterall ( he was being ridiclous ).

" Yes. We should. " the responce came a little late and with half a smile as he offered a small smile in the direction of the boy and looked down at the list of names in his hand, scanning over the first few which he knew and stopping on a new one, handing the list over to Bryan he shrugged once, " Do you know number five ? " he asked, " It'd be great if we could start there ? If not just skip to the first name y ou know so we can go check off those first. "

[systemsteel-blog]

-- lincoln

Knowledge on the ground was very much about survival. Stories existed for entertainment purposes, but at this point, most were passed on by word of mouth. Polis had books, and maybe a few lingered in some villages, but Lincoln had seen few during his lifetime. The stories he had heard as a youngster had been about surviving and overcoming hardships. There were no fantasies and happily-ever-afters in the stories his father had told him. His training had consisted of practice. Their warriors used formations that had been tested. There were no diagrams, no textbooks. Their generals relied upon experience, and when it failed them, they used their brains to adapt on the fly. As Steel spoke again, Lincoln was once again reminded by how much more the sky people had than the grounders. And he did not just mean material goods. Raven had already shown him her power when she shocked him. She and Monty had more smarts than anyone he had ever met. Clearly, they were not the only ones with knowledge. “United Nations…,” he repeated. “I take it that is like our coalition. The clans have an agreement with one another. Trade routes have been established, rules set up. Those that step out of line will have to deal with the armies of the other eleven clans.” His brow furrowed as the older warrior continued. Threats of war? Why did these nations not follow through and bring those out of line back in? He opened his mouth to retort that the coalition did not just seem strong, it was. But Steel took the words out of his mouth because the fact of the matter was they were young. The coalition had not been in place long. “We are not your United Nations,” he said after a moment. “While your leaders may have been hesitant, ours is not. The heda would not pause if one clan stepped out of line. She knows the coalition only holds as long as all parties are united. She does not threaten, she promises.”

          Grounders didn't understand how humans worked did they ? Their loyalty to their Queen ( or heda or whatever her name was ) was a little hilarious to him, it reminded him of those history lessons where the place that was being colonized thanked the oppressive monarchy for taking away it's rights. Of course, historically, that never happened because people liked their rights. But -- as far as he could tell anyway, these people didn't seem to mind that they had an oppressive ruler. To someone born in a semi-democratic system, the idea was barbarous, of course, he couldn't quite blame the soul. It was a different upbringing and it was as simple as that. They would never see eye to eye, and that's that. That. And the fact his people acted before thinking, shooting unarmed newcomers wasn't exactly something that made you like the people you ran into. " You called our leaders hesitant, and yet they were the ones that destroyed the world, I would watch your wording young man. Think of it... this way, clan A has declared war on clan B, the amount of casualties and possible damage from said affair results in twenty deaths on clan B's side and it being annexed into clan A. However if your Heda interferes, the conflict ends with five deaths per clan, which with your twelve clans, is a much higher death count. Not to mention clan A has promised to increase trade with the other eleven clans if they are allowed to keep clan B. Does your Heda interfere to save the treaty, or does she let it occur to save the people ? " Steel did his best to explain the conflict the best way he could remember it -- of course in this simplified version without the politics of history it sounded rather dumb even to him, but he hoped that the grounder could get what he was going for. " A treaty is a promise, but any promise can be broken. And where I'm from, and I don't mean our people, your Heda isn't exactly popular. " the man gave the grounder a look before taking a step back, " But this has been an interesting conversation young man. " the loyalty these people had to a single teenage monarch was amazing, " What's your name. I might have to ask them to keep you around as an... ambassador of sorts. "

[zen-bites]

It is unreasonable to wage a modern war, in which everybody loses. Neither side actually wants a war, and yet, because we live in a vicious circle, we start a war to prevent the other side from starting first. We arm ourselves knowing that if we do not, the other side will - which is quite true, because if we do not arm the other side will do so to gain its advantage without actually fighting. From this rational point of view we find ourselves in the dilemma of St. Paul - “To will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not.” But this is not, as St. Paul supposed, because the will or the “spirit” is reasonable and the flesh perverse. It is because “a house divided against itself cannot stand”. The whole organism is perverse because the brain is split from the belly and the head unconscious of its union with the tail.

Alan Watts, The Wisdom of Insecurity (via zen-bites)

[systemsteel-blog]

-- fox

She hadn’t been quick enough, and she heard him coming back, panicked at the sound of her name in that deep voice she didn’t recognize, and though she’d planned to run, she needed to know how he knew her name. 

She peeked out once more, then stepped out from around the corner warily, eye tracking every movement he made “Why did you call me that?” She asked. “Little Fox?” 

One of our own. And what if she told him she wasn’t one of his; she was one of Bellamy’s? She’d never say that to any of the adult’s faces, but she didn’t feel like one of theirs; they’d never done anything for her, not on the Ark, not on the ground, and she wasn’t about to start trusting them now. 

          Her question was surprising, and it took Steel a moment to process that she'd asked about the name he'd used rather than something ( USEFUL ) but he didn't complain, the man crossed his arms as she stepped out, giving her a reassuring smile ( and uncrossing his arms for just a moment to show he wasn't armed before recorssing them ). " Well it's not every day I see someone with the ability to be as quick and swift as one, and you are rather young, so little fox seemed to fit well."  the man explained, his voice slow, as if he were trying to teach something in a class of sorts ( which he was in a way ). Trying to get his message across without boring her and thus causing her to walk away was a step in that direction anyway wasn't it. " Come on, it's not safe out here with the GROUNDERS out and about -- " he paused, he hadn't seen her face before. Then again the girl was quick, he may have just ( missed it ). Then again... kids had started to go missing. They were all ( THEIR PEOPLE ) though, he didn't understand why some people were making distinctions between themselves. Pike was in charge now, they'd voted, ALPHA could either go along with it or leave like a few of the teenagers had and even if they left, he didn't have a doubt in his mind that PIKE would send help if GROUNDERs tried to harm them. They were ( THEIR ) people. Even if they didn't think the same way. The kids especially -- leaving them to fend for themselves wasn't ( HUMAN ). While ALPHA might have considered it just peachy to be sending their kids to the ground like that, Steel could personally swear to the fact that most of the parents that he'd talked to had ( NOT ) been in agreement with the idea of sending their kid to the ground to ( DIE ). With the exception maybe of a few who's kids had started a fire or something ridiculous like that which had ( obviously ) eaten up months worth of oxygen and gotten them into this mess ad probably floated when they turned 18. But everyone else ? No matter the kid's crime, had been against it. You couldn't ( EXPERIMENT ) with CHILDREN. Though now he was getting lost in his own thoughts, uncrossing his arms the man offered the girl a hand, " Let's get you back, where you living kid ? " she didn't ( LOOK ) hostile, might as well help -- not to mention if she answered he could cross her off the list on where she stood alliance wise when he gave the report to PIKe ( finding ALL the teens was a lot easier said than done ).

[systemsteel-blog]

-- bryan

Bryan was quiet, waiting for Steel to give the go-ahead for him to ask his question, and pondering exactly how to word it. He chewed on his lip for a moment, before taking a deep breath. “I… I only arrived a few days ago,” He stated softly, “And most of my time has been spent with Nate, and I don’t want to ask him about things, because I don’t want to upset him. But..” He went quiet for another moment, absently picking at his nails and trying not to look even more embarrassed than he felt. “I haven’t been paying attention, so I don’t know exactly what’s going on, and it seems like people are acting weird, or not themselves, or they’re missing, or…” He looked up at Steel then, worry clear on his face, “I don’t know what’s happening to everyone, and I feel like an idiot for not knowing things that I probably should.”

            Steel had almost forgotten that ( BRYAN ) had a boyfriend, let alone that he was spending time with him now that they were reunited ( though to be fair ) it wasn't like -- STEEL -- was the type to pay attention to that sort of thing he'd never considered it particularly important. No, rather it was the fact that Bryan was coming to him instead of the men that were from Alpha to ask questions that made the man feel a little proud of it all and he realized ( that's what he wanted ). Well what he wanted was for his son to come to HIM and HIS MOTHER to ask what was going on in the world. The fact that it seemed to him that Sterling trusted a twenty some year old kid and a teenager over his own parents in what was going on down here was a bit insulting. And Steel understood, that he hadn't been here, that he's technically been down here for less time. But FARM station didn't get the same treatment that ALPHA did, they didn't land here after the kids had already made a peace of sorts with the grounders for them, they'd had to survive by themselves, just like the kids --- he liked to think that they at least had the ( same ) understanding of the GROUNDER situation anyway. But it wasn't Sterling asking the question, Bryan was here in front of him, and he should be grateful for that, especially considering the fact that the boy had more than enough reason to take his trust elsewhere by now. The man gave a small sigh, " Where to start ? " he asked with a small smile. " Well, people aren't necessarily acting weird, it's understandable for people with different beliefs to disagree even when they used to get along splendidly in the past, Alpha doesn't understand the measures that we need to take in order to be safe, well not all of them anyway, Pike's taken charge -- not by force mind you -- and started to implement more security and some of Alpha is viewing it as an act of violence around grounders. Which I may add they haven't been fighting for the past six months, they got lucky -- their grounders don't want us dead right away for whatever reason -- but that doesn't mean we should trust ( ALL ) grounders and I don't think they understand that ? For whatever reason they prefer to take ( THE GROUNDER's ) side that all of them are good and won't kill us, over ( OUR OWN ) which has experience in grounders trying to kill us. " Steel sighed then, running a hand through his hair as he thought of how to explain the rest. " Other than that, the only other relevant information has been the fact that a few teenagers have started to go missing, in quite large numbers at a time -- it seemed to have stopped recently so we're not too worried, I'm assuming they also don't agree with what's going on with the new security and have just decided to go live elsewhere, where that is I don't know nor do I think we should care, as long as GROUNDER's don't attack the kids, I don't see any reason why we should get involved and take away their right to protest and decided to leave camp. Pike doesn't either. "

[systemsteel-blog]

-- lincoln

Though Lincoln’s first language was not English, he thought he had a fairly good grasp on it. Except, Steel seemed to be nitpicking word choice and the scout could not really see the difference. On the ground, everyone fought to survive. They needed to or there would be no hunters, no healers, no one to continue their villages and clans. How was fighting to stay alive each day despite the mountain and the dangers of the woods not having willpower? In Lincoln’s eyes, people were not simply born with the strength and knowledge to survive, they worked everyday to make themselves into survivors. But, he decided this was maybe something Steel would only come to know with time on the ground, that as of now, he did not know enough of the struggles of the clans to understand their fights. “And yet the territory lines have been in place for quite some time. Before me, at least,” he informed the other warrior. “With the commander negotiating for the coalition, the lines will stay in place. If one clan steps out of line, the other eleven have agreed to enforce the rules set forth. No matter how ruthless the Azkru may seem, they would be unable to best all the other clans together.”

         Ah yes, the problem of using poetic speech with these people is that the whole CONCEPT of the old world was ( LOST ) on them. They didn’t understand the rhetoric behind the human spirit in the same way that those from the ARK were accustomed too. Poor souls had never been told of the age old tales of their planet. Of course --- that just made it so that they had an ( ADVANTAGE ) if the grounders didn’t know history. Then they could start looking back and taking pointers from the greatest armies in history in order to fight against them. 100 YEARS was nothing when compared to the legacies left behind by armies for generation upon generation. Now if only a HISTORIAN had survived the fall and then they’d be all set because Steel had the sinking feeling that there wasn’t going to be any ( INTERNET ) down here even though they’d finally managed to make it to earth. “ Territory lines have little meaning when one side has greater power and believes that they can take it. In the past, the nations were united in something called the United Nations a peace accord of sorts that allowed countries to work together, and yet countries still invaded one another, despite being both in the league, and their was NO war. For the risk of the rest of the countries to strain war on their parties and enter into a political shithole was something that they all wished to avoid. Despite THREATS of war from the other countries, the country that invaded the other knew that the others would never act, so they went ahead and did it anyway. Your COALITION seems strong --- but it hasn’t been tested against a power like the Ice Nation yet has it ? From my understanding it’s a rather YOUNG coalition. You, son, can come lecture me about your strength after it’s been tested. ”

[systemsteel-blog]

( bryan )

Bryan quickly delivered the water to the man who’d needed it, frowning a little because the man didn’t even say thank you or anything, just grabbed the canteen and started drinking, even as the boy stood there awkwardly for a moment. He cleared his throat, then turned and quickly made his way back towards where Steel and the others had been. He was happy to get back to Steel, knowing the man was kind towards him, and he really did want to catch up with him, even if he didn’t want to talk about what had happened when he’d been separated from the group.

“Yes, Sir,” He chirped out when he arrived back by the man’s side, listening to him and chuckling softly. “I’ll do my best, Sir, I’m usually pretty good with faces and names.” He wondered who exactly they were going to see, but paused as he thought about something. “Can… I ask you about something, Sir?” He asked slowly, feeling a little nervous. He hadn’t asked Miller what was going on in the camp yet, just wanting to bask in having his boyfriend close to him again, so he figured other than going to Pike or someone, Steel was his next best bet to ask.

      Steel wasn’t quite sure where to start -- but the whole idea of BRYAN wanting to ask him a question was interesting and somewhat new. Though it wasn’t like it hadn’t happened before -- but with THAT tone it certainly was new. He wasn’t quite sure what to say so he just nodded a little before giving the boy a short, “ Yeah okay, go ahead. ” after all -- if there was anything he could help with he should probably try right. The kid was going to try to help them out. So he might as well try to do the same. Though with how he was acting he wasn’t exactly sure what BRYAN was expecting of him, he might be up in ( PIKE )’s top circle --  but even Steel didn’t know everything that happened in the operation. Everyone knew just what they needed to know nothing more and nothing less. That way things ran smoothly.

[systemsteel-blog]

( purity )

Sterling didn’t get much of a chance to take in the fact that his dad was standing right in front of him, alive, before he was pulled into a hug by said man — which caught Sterling off guard, as they had never been much for showing each other affection in the past. Yet once his brain caught up with what was going on, he hugged his father back, thankful to have his father back.

Once they parted, Sterling paused for a moment. “Mom’s alive too?”, he asked, hope evident in his voice yet he didn’t quite believe it. As his father almost showered him in questions if he was fine, Sterling couldn’t help a grin. “I’m fine”, he confirmed before he let the grin faint. “How about you? You and mom okay?”

            The boy was all grown up now. Sixteen years old. Which meant that for the past twelve years he and Metais hadn't so much as thought of sharing a room before. So even though he knew Sterling meant to ask if he and Metais were okay ( physically -- and maybe emotionally, making sure they didn't have anxiety or worse ) the first thought in his head was their relationship status, which Steel wasn't even sure of at the moment. So it took him a moment to gather himself but. " YEAH " came out with a soft sigh and a smile he gave his son a nod and shrugged, " You know that war you guys had ongoing with the grounders for the first few months, we've been fighting that for the past six. We lost a lot of good people --- I'm just glad that I'd gone to visit your mother that day and ended up with her, otherwise I would have been back in factory station and then I wouldn't have had a clue about either of you. " he paused, thinking for a moment, " Have you lot really no found anyone else, the grounders down here seem much more... " what was the word for ( non ) MURDEROUS. " ... lenient when it comes to explorations. "

At the confirmation that ( YES ) Sterling was  fine and Steel had nothing to worry about he relaxed ( if only slightly ). So his son was okay, he was safe and fine ( and apparently back to his old habits ). Steel gave a small curt nod as the boy's voice got a little more serious when asking about his mother. " Met- " he stopped himself, yes his girlfriend was just fine. But he hadn't used to following phrase in months and it was throwing him off -- " - Your mother is fine, she's alive and has been doing well you have absolutely nothing to worry about. " he concluded with a small smile in the direction of his son. It was true, she was doing well and while the pair was even sharing a room her in Arkadia due to lack of space and the fact they seemed to have gotten along perfectly for the past six months -- Steel wasn't sure how BOTH parents felt about this whole arrangement. It was strange to be living together again, something they hadn't done since-- well ever since Sterling was tiny.

[ellenripleys]

There is no door number four. This is the only way.

[systemsteel-blog]

( octavia )

    she’s be sitting outside arkadia, has been for the past hour just staring —- watching. she’s made sure she’s hidden from the guards vision, made sure she can’t be seen so they don’t aim their guns at her. she wasn’t a threat —- not yet anyway. the rustling of the leaves behind her however draws her attention away from the main gate, hazel brown eyes glance to the floor as her fingers press down into the dirt to feel the vibration of footsteps. she quickly turns, dark hair whipping across her face as she draws her sword, “ —– what do you want? “

            It took Steel about a SECOND to react to the sword. But it’s the GIRL that catches his attention a little more she’s younger than most of the kid’s he’s run into ( save maybe one ) -- probably about Sterling’s age -- but it’s the way she’s DRESSED and what she’s holding that he finds hilarious ( for all the wrong reasons ). Sure he’d HEARD that some of the kids were friendly with grounders but this was a little (MUCH ) if he did say so himself, Steel found himself swinging Hannah down from off his shoulder and holding it out at the girl when she doesn’t put away the sword. The baseball bat covered in barbed wire points itself at her face, before he draws it back. “ -- you’re a new face KID. ” the man speaks with a  half smile as he takes her in friend or foe is going through his head. And despite the girl being his son’s age -- if she’s gone grounder he wouldn’t hesitate to bash the bat through her head, NO GROUNDERS IN CAMP that weren’t on the list was the order. And he’d already MET all of those. “ Just makin’ sure you’re from around these parts before we let you get any closer to home you see. No need to JUMP you put that down and I won’t need to ask Hannah here for assistance. Trust me -- neither of us wants that. ” Cleaning grounder blood, fabric and hair out of the bat had been annoying enough when they’d been fighting Azkru here were there wasn’t a constant influx of snow every weekend i was going to make it even more annoying to clean.

[systemsteel-blog]

( fox )

She watched the man waltz around the camp, a dangerous looking baseball bat- which she’d seen closer earlier and realized that was in fact barbed wire around his weapon, as though to emphasize how dangerous he was. She couldn’t say exactly when Pike’s choice guards started to outnumber the former choice guards, but as of now the main source of protection- loosely using the word in Fox’s opinion- was Pike’s men and women. 

He turned in her direction, and she quickly ducked back behind the wall she was spying on him from, peeking out again after a second. 

            There was a RUSTLE of movement in the corner of his eye, and as Steel turned to catch it the last thing he saw was the flair of a light coat as the kid quickly sneaked behind a wall --- curiosity spiked Was THIS one of the names on his list ? OF course how was he supposed to know if they’d hidden themselves away like that ( it wasn’t like he was going to HURT kids ) --- though if he was being fair HANNAH might give the wrong impression ( but he liked Hannah, Hannah had saved his ass from fucking ice demons and cannibals ). “ LITTLE FOX. ” he called out, his voice gentle, as if he were soothing a small pet ( or so he assumed -- it wasn’t like they’d had PETS growing up on the Ark ). He took a moment to motion for his men to hang back a little as he approached the building alone, and slowly. “ I’m not going to play hide and seek --- ” he stopped mid sentence not sure if she’d HEARD him or if she was peaking out to check if the coast was clear but ( BINGO ) there she was. “ Hello kid, you want to come out and chat ? There ain’t no need for you to be hiding back there, we’re not going to hurt one of our own you’re alright. ”

[systemsteel-blog]

( lincoln )

Just like Trikru, the Azkru seemed to teach all of their people how to defend themselves. Farmers are virtually unnecessary due to their climate and most of their food comes from hunting, so most know how to use a weapon. It came as no surprise to Lincoln then as to why the guard seemed so cautious of the Ice Nation. If they had indeed happened upon some of their men and women, then they had seen an inkling of toughness that awaited them to the north. “That’s good. Others have and it did not end well.” As the older man went on, Lincoln could not help being confused. “Canada?” he muttered under his breath, never having heard the word before. Was that some phrase they were using for that other group of people? Like Grounders? “I’m not underestimating you,” Lincoln replied. “But your will to survive? They have it as well. If they see your being here as a threat to their lands or their safety, they will do everything they can to eliminate that threat.” A twitch in his jaw was all that showed his slight annoyance at the jab to his people. He had learned to pick and choose his battles within the sky camp and chose not to correct the man. “We are not dead because we are not their enemy. There are territory lines and we stick to them.” There were other reasons as well, mostly regarding trade, that kept the clans at peace with the Azgedakru, but he figured that would be less important to the guardsman than their fighting techniques.

            The grounder at least knew not to overstep his bounds which was more than MOST of them could vouch for so Steel had to give the young man that much. Though still the whole AZGEDA IS A DEATH SENTENCE thing from these people was getting a little old ( sure ) Steel understood that they didn’t exactly have HISTORY to give them hope but there were plenty of examples of the little guy  winning throughout history ( one just had to be willing to play a little dirty ) but then again when wasn’t mankind ready to play a little DIRTY ? He had to admit however, that the word CANADA on the grounder’s lips was rather amusing these people who thought so highly of themselves being confused by a mere word was amusing. Steel had learned long ago just to accept that he didn’t know anything ( then again, as a scientist or engineer -- that thought came rather easily -- and even more so if you were good at the job ). “ They don’t have WILL they have a history of being survivors, they don’t NEED to survive, they’ve already earned it and from what ( YOU )’re telling me, they earned that right long ago -- what you just said, is them being STRONG and DILIGENT and survivors but it has nothing to do with WILL. ” ( then again ) as far as Steel knew, they could be talking about very different things in regard to when it came to Will. Also the whole not their enemy had to be a lie -- simply from how well the young man spoke about knowing the clan. If his tribe had really NEVER even enemies with the ICE NATION he would only know legends of them ( and what he spoke of -- with the confidence he spoke it -- the ICE NATION were NOT LEGENDS to his people ). “ The ICE PEOPLE we met did not strike me as the type to CARE FOR territory lines -- ” which to Steel meant -- there was a much LARGER threat here than just the ice nation. This grounder was proving very useful afterall. No wonder they weren’t supposed to shoot him.

[systemsteel-blog]

( clare )

“They’ll get over themselves.” She dismissed the aggression they’d been met with by the Alpha station. She didn’t know what their problem was and, quite frankly, she didn’t care. They could either grow up and do something about it or keep their mouths shut. Either way didn’t concern Clare and she had no intentions of concerning herself with them.

She wanted to confirm it for him, the words were already on the tip of her tongue and it was pure luck that she didn’t just blurt out ‘oh that’s where they are’. But loyalty to Jasper- arguably the only emotion she let override her typical bluntness- stopped her, and she simply listened. And when he moved on the technicalities of the mountain, it was easier to resist blurting out the secret Jasper had reluctantly let slip. “I love how quickly you knew that. This is why you’re one of my very limited favorite people. Pike, true, he’s never much cared for my work but he’s never gotten in the way of it either.” She was somewhat reluctant to ask Pike about getting access, it would put the kids up there in danger if they were found out.

But still, the opportunity was so tempting.

“You don’t sound curious yourself, don’t you wonder what’s up there?” Only slightly less risky, asking if he was curious too, but Steel wouldn’t harm the kids. Worst case, he’d drag them back. But hopefully if they came back, Pike wouldn’t be too upset with them. They were just rebellious teenagers after all.

           The question wasn’t something that he cared for real. It didn’t matter if Steel was curious about the mountain SURE as a System Engineer ( which was basically just a fancy word for former Zero-G mechanics who hadn’t taken the engineering exams but were more than qualified to be engineers so they made them work on the less life threatening systems ) he should CARE about what was in the mountain. But as long as his son was safe ( and he was -- so what was holding him back now ) maybe it was the idea that if he went THERE he would get too distracted to want to come back -- and he needed to come back. He needed to have his SON and his GIRLFRIEND and he had a duty to these people from farm station to protect them. He could go getting distracted by the beautiful technology ( OR WHATEVER ) that was hidden in T`HE MOUNTAIN.

“ I’m CURIOUS just not enough to want to go up there without orders -- but a science mission on your behalf I wouldn’t turn down. ” he ended up answering after a bit of careful consideration. Because that seemed like a thing that he should say if he really was interested in doing anything with the MOUNTAIN. Was it bad that he didn’t want to touch it ? That he thought he would turn into a worse dad. 

[systemsteel-blog]

( bryan )

As soon as Steel asked if he wanted to be useful, Bryan quickly nodded. That was what he wanted most, to be able to help out and do what he could for their people, to make sure that everyone was okay. He was a little surprised, but clearly happy that Steel wanted him on his team; Bryan had done good at learning and defending himself when they were in Ice Nation, after all, and he was glad to be considered.

“Really, Sir?” He asked, “I would love that, of course. Anything I can do to help and make sure that everyone is safe.” He nodded then and stated, “Yes, Sir. I’ll run this to him and be right back, really fast.” He smiled softly, then moved to take off at a run towards the man who’d needed the water, wanting to get there and back fast to talk more with Steel.

            The were talking amongst themselves as the waited to see what was happening -- the best way to communicate to the few remaining kids ( NOT ) to run off to wherever it was that the other teenagers had disappeared to. Steel however -- didn’t quite care for that idea. He would much prefer to play the ROMAN and set a TROJAN HORSE in on the kids -- it was a brilliant strategy and one they couldn’t exactly use on GROUNDERS it’d be fun to see them try it with the kids. Of course they had no one they could trust enough for it -- there was Bryan and the few kids around his age. But Steel would rather go to hell before risking more FARM STATION lives. Those poor families had been through enough. Still he let his men discuss -- chiming in here and there with his own opinion and looking up only when he heard noise of a young man approaching. Swinging Hannah up so she was resting on his shoulder again he gave Bryan a small smile, “ Ready to go ? We’re starting on the outskirts and have gotta visit all the people on this list here -- maybe you can help us out, because apparently between us we only know like half the names. ”

[systemsteel-blog]

( hen )

Hen hadn’t paid much attention to the figure in their peripheral vision at first, but at the sound of his voice they blinked. Steel. The relief of seeing a familiar face was clear in the teenager’s responding smile. “Well,” they answered, haltingly but politely, turning to face the eldest Argent, “sort of? I know that if you follow that main path, there-” they pointed to a turning off to the right, “-you end up back outside again, but that’s about it. I can’t even find my own room. Everything is backwards when I don’t have Farm Station to orientate myself with.“ They fell quiet for a moment at the mention of their old home, but quickly shrugged it off and resumed their default mode of chattering away silences.  “It’s bizarre, huh? Seeing it all on Earth. I mean, I suppose it was made here, so it’s come full circle, but…”

            Well --- outside was a start. THe man followed where the girl was pointing and sighed a little. That was ( a pretty dark tunnel ). But if THAT was the way out -- then there wasn’t anything left to do. He just had to get out and then come all the way back in and find where he was going again. “ On the bright side you’re doing a better job of finding where you’re going than I am, at least you knew where things were with Farm Station. I had to learn Alpha faster than I thought possible just so I wouldn’t trip over my own feet. Well this part of EARTH certainly is NICER than the snow desert we landed in. ”

[systemsteel-blog]

( lincoln )

Every day he spent in or near Arkadia was looking more and more like a mistake. It was clear that his presence had others on edge. At least, that was the vibe he was getting when we spoke to them. While no actual threat had been made, there seemed to be an edge in Steel’s voice that had not been there moments before. While Lincoln kept his face neutral, other muscles in his body tensed, ready to run or defend if anything more should happen. “You have not seen the Azkru army,” he told the older man. The Skaikru seemed overconfident to him. While he was pleased they had courage, Lincoln worried they did not truly understand just how many others were out there. He wanted to correct the man, tell him that Azkru as a whole was not their enemy, but he did not want to nitpick and start an argument. He opted for basic information instead. “The area you landed in is on the outskirts of their territory. Their range is massive as are their numbers. The hope is that the warriors you met will cease their attack now that their territory is no longer being occupied.”

            There was a small problem with the word ARMY. Because they knew that it had been a large force. Just from the strategies used they knew there had to be THOUSANDS but an ( ARMY ) sounded much much more threatening. Steel didn’t like the idea of that. They were going to need a HELL of a lot more bullets ( or maybe they could just use that acid fog he’d heard about ). “ No you’re right, we haven’t seen any ARMY but we’ve seen their men and women I can assure you. We DON’T underestimate the Ice Nation. ” Steel spoke calmly -- the way he usually did when he was speaking to his men or trying to show Pike a BETTER strategy ( without outshining he man of course ). “ So... they’re like Canada ? ” the words left his mouth before he realized that there was ( no way ) that the Grounder would understand his reference to territory versus population. But he took everything the grounder said and put it in his picket. The more information one could collect on these bastards the better. “ But I think you’re underestimating the human will to survive after all -- they haven’t killed all of YOUR tribe -- or whatever you call yourselves -- yet. ”

[systemsteel-blog]

( bryan )

Bryan grinned as he stepped closer to Steel, grateful to see him, and hoping that the other was proud of him for having made it this far (it had been an awful time out there, after all). “Glad to be here in one piece, Sir,” He chuckled faintly, reaching out and taking the mans hand to shake it firmly. He took a deep breath and then quickly added, “Volunteering to do whatever i can to help our people. One of the guys needed some water, so I was taking it to him,” He idly held up the canteen in his hand, “I’m just trying to be useful now that I’m here and better.”

            There was a few things that were interesting, about the fact that Bryan was VOLUNTEERING instead of just working for them. Not that Steel was going to say something about it. Though he did want to mention that, “ You want to be useful kid ? I might have to invite you to my team, if I remember correctly you handle yourself well. ” TEAM was a bit of over exaggeration. But that’s what it all felt like now, with them not only having to fight against GROUNDERS but the inner tensions within ARKADIA were getting stronger and stronger the more teenagers that left. The more kids they could stay on their side the better -- but then again it wasn’t like Bryan was going anywhere. THe kid was smart and had a good heart. “ Glad to see you’re helping the troops kid, what do you say you deliver it and then come join us ? We could use a bit of energy on our rounds. ”