Captain, you are his Protection, his Scary Dog Privileges.
Hes Likes That.
Anyway,
Go on marki! You can have that talk now!
Go off on the people that tried to KILL YOUR BOYFRIEND WITH BAD ENGINEERING!
I... hmph. If you say so.
[The Captain shifts slightly, rolling their shoulders a little, and uncharacteristically, their cheeks go slightly pink. It's clear they've heard the term before. They let Mark cradle their cheek for a moment before they gently take his hand in their own and lowering it, huffing quietly as their voice softens.]
Go on then, love. I'm right behind you.
[Mark grins, relaxing slightly as the Captain does, squeezing their hand once before he steps in front of them and glares down Ava, Jack and David.]
Well, if you insist... I suppose, it- well, let me start with, it's not just bad engineering, it's downright blasphemous. Seriously, the whole "oh wah wah we're low on resources" schtick gets a little hard to believe when you're actively throwing away materials cause you can't be bothered to build things to last! Really, it's pathetic, and insulting to real engineers to boot.
[Made a side blog for anonymous rping- hehe! For ease of mark Going Off!
Ava
David
Jack]
"And how do you expect us to make things to last when we dont have matierials that can. Its not like the rapture gave us a fucking heads up."
Ava growls. "We couldnt plan for an extended space stay. All we have is what was on the ships when everything vanished. Which was never meant for this long of use."
"My wires hold as best as they can with matierals and time given. Im an electrician. Not a miracle worker." David rolls his eyes. "And its not easy when youre rushed."
"Why are we even here?" Jack asked.
You're here cause you suck and you tried to kill my boyfriend, and the Anons are weird and magic, so deal with it, I'm not done!
[Mark snaps, pointing an accusatory finger at Jack before it swings round to David.]
So you're the one that wired up the camera to the emergency power, huh? How's it feel having the blood of three people on your hands? Cause it sure as hell wasn't his fault! And you!
[Mark's finger swings to Ava now, and the Captain gives her a warning glare over his shoulder, one that's cold and dark and almost sparking with danger.]
You're the one who didn't even tell him anything, so it's on you too - not that I expect you to care, considering you tried to kill him and didn't give a damn! How's he supposed to know it was an x-ray! He barely got taught anything! That's the kind of thing you tell people before you give them access to it, that's basic safety training! And it's your fault your electrician didn't have time to wire it up properly too, I'm sure! And it wouldn't have even done anything if you'd put some goddamn shielding on it in the first place, like any sane person with an inkling of care for the people they lead would have done!
[He pauses there, panting slightly, and the Captain's mouth twitches, a proud smile wanting to pull at their lips. It's not often Mark gets angry, but damn, does he wear it well, they think.]
"I didnt make him press that button in the hanger and neither did david. That psycho eden fuck did that all himself. Of fucking course its an xray cam. How else would it see through blood. We added what sheilding we could but we dont have much to give. I dont expdct someone whos willingly in cahoots with the butcher to understand."
Ava snaps back. But doesn't physically lash out. Trying pointedly to not look at the caps stare.
David grimiced. "I know i wired it backwards. It was a rush job and i had ava and all of conteol breathing down my neck. If it were up to me hed of been told. But ava asured me the manuels were in the sub."
But he didn't know that! 'Cause you refused to tell him jack shit!! Not even a 'hey, so, careful with the button, it's radioactive!'
[He waves his hands demonstratively, putting on a mocking voice to imitate Ava before he looks back at David.]
And that- is... somewhat understandable. You're all assholes but! You specifically-
[He swings back to Ava yet again.]
You're an negligent asshole with power and that's worse! You sent him down there, you rushed the construction, and you didn't listen when he told you there was something down there! And what did it get you, huh? Another body to add to your count? You call him a psycho, but at least he feels bad, and he didn't even have a choice!
"None of us get a choice. What part of that dont you understand? And if he couldnt figure out you cant see through blood with a normal camera thats on him. He should know all about blood. And the manuels where in the sub."
Ava spat angery and cold. Shes doing rhe best she can. Shes lost too many to be warm.
Jack looks off to the side.
"David and i did out best with the time constraints given. Welds held as best as metal that worn can. After a point its more sodder than steel...well, or iron i should say."
There's always choices.
[The Captain growls quietly from behind Mark, but it's a well-worn argument on their part, and they won't start it up again - this is his moment, not theirs.]
Don't you dare say it's his fault, that's rule number one of teamwork is don't assume people have a clue what they're doing! For all you knew, he's a convict with no education! He could have been a- a- I dunno, a weaver, why would one of them know jack shit - pun intended, fuck you - about x-rays! Have none of you considered that if there's not enough material to make something safe, then maybe you shouldn't be wasting it on a hunk of junk you'll have to leave at the bottom of the ocean 'cause it exploded?! Even I'm not that stupid! You make it good, or you might as well not make it at all, 'cause it'll blow the hell up and whoop-dee-doo, now you have even less materials for other stuff!
[He's panting again, body one taut line of anger, until all of a sudden it seems to drain out of him at once, his shoulders slumping.]
Why do I bother, you're all too caught up in your own nonsense on your stupid high horses for me to change your minds anyway.
"Do you even know who youre defending?, youre defending a killer. A killer wifh the highest body count of anyone left in our entier universe. Hes killed more people than we have left alive. Hes snapped the necks of people begging him for even a modicum of mercy. And he didnt stop. Not untill he was apprehended."
Ava states.
David thought about chimjng in to say that simon had surrendered. But he didnt interupt his captain.
"Do you think i like doing that? Sending people down there?, there arent enough of us left to be throwing luves away. But we gave him all we had. And its a hell of a lot more than he deserved. So maybe it was a rush job. But its not my fault if the butcher cant read a fucking manual. Why are you even defending a fucking murderer?"
Jack looked at mark. Eyeing him up and down. He wanted to ask him something but it didnt feel right to do so after avas... speech.
[The Captain's eyes narrow slightly at Jack's once-over of Mark, and they slowly cross their arms, watching him carefully as Mark scoffs.]
Oh yeah, a big scary murderer, sure. Like you've never killed anyone! I wasn't kidding about the high horses thing, you've got your head shoved so far up your ass, it's no wonder all that comes out of your mouth is bullshit!
[Mark rolls his eyes, clearly displaying what he thinks of the whole 'Butcher' thing. He's being dramatic, mostly - he'd never usually treat the topic this flippantly, fully aware of the weight of the blood on Simon's hands, but hearing someone who actively, willingly sends people down in a blood ocean to be tortured and die talk about how bad murder is - it's almost laughable from where he sits, the blood of endless multiverses staining his own palms.]
The only thing I've ever seen Si butcher is the pronunciation of kimchi, and I'm pretty sure he does it on purpose to spite me! So maybe it's the situation, not the person, huh? But to accept that, you'd have to see past the big fat log in your own eye, and I doubt that's gonna happen any time soon.
"I have never choked the life out of someone. You clearly dont understand the weight of his crimes. With how fillipant you're being about it."
"What would you say shoulda been done then? Ith our materials?" Jack asked mark.
Willingly letting a man at the bottom of an ocean suffocate slowly under your orders, that doesn't count? Hands around his neck or not, if we hadn't taken him, he'd be dead, and it'd be your fault, simple as. A real captain takes that responsibility for their actions.
[The Captain interjects - they can't help it, their fists clenched so hard they shake. Mark gives them a concerned look out of the corner of his eye - he knows how they get, with this topic, and while he doesn't exactly mind their outburst, it does worry him a little. After a moment, though, they take a small step back, and gesture for Mark to answer Jack's question, their burning eyes firmly set on Ava once again.]
O-Okay, well- listen, I've seen that sub, I saw what you had to work with - you can't tell me you had the materials to build an x-ray camera and proximity sensors and an unmoored radio system, but you couldn't possibly send down an unmanned camera rover. Less space needed for a human operator, no worries about radiation poisoning - but no, instead, you build a huge, metal coffin. And for what? A couple pictures? A messy execution? Sure, maybe you could synthesise food out of the blood - not that you should, but I dunno, I'm an engineer, not a biologist - but you could skim some off the surface for that, you- ugh. It's just- it's a waste of materials!
"No. That doesnt. It doesnt mean i liked doing it. But i had no other option. And several times while he was down there we lost connection. We couldnt of triggered the camera remotely. There had do be an operator. And he fit that position. We were looking for signs it even could support life. If had to be a rover because we didnt have materials for free float." Ava states.
And you didn't think the giant eel he told you about wasn't signs of life enough??
[He snaps, throwing his hands up in exasperation. The Captain's glare ramps up a notch, but they keep their mouth firmly shut, and after a moment, Mark sighs.]
I just don't understand why you're so determined to kill off the rest of humanity, if there's so little people left...
"What eel?" Ava snaps. "I dont want humanity to die. Thats the whole fucking POINT to these missions."
The Eel he told you about!!
[Mark huffs, shaking his head.]
I've seen it, fuck, the Anons love their clips, I've seen him tell you and you just sent him back down! But you're so lost in what you think is best that you won't listen to a word I say, will you?! You're just like C-
[He almost chokes on his own words, forcibly cutting himself off, his eyes going wide as he realises what he was about to say. He turns away from Ava only to come face-to-face with the Captain, but their expression just softens, their crossed arms slowly dropping and turning outwards slightly in a silent invitation that he doesn't take.]
"He was a coward who would say anything to get out of doing even a monicum of good for the rest of humanity. We couldnt trust his word which is why we sent him for hard evidence. Pictures. Samples. Anything useful."
Jack sighed annoyed with ava but not saying anything...she..is still his boss.
Don't you dare call him a coward!
[Mark whirls, his guilt shoved abruptly back to the don't-touch box as he stalks back up to Ava, bristling like an angry dog. It's not overly intimidating, not in the way an angry Simon or Cap is, but there's still a dark glint in his eyes that says he would willingly fasten his hands around her neck himself if provoked enough.]
He went down into that hell not once but twice for "the good of humanity", he fought, he screamed, he suffered down there, and not once did he give up! That's not being a coward! The real coward is the one who sat all pretty up on her stupid ship and didn't do shit to help him!
"We gave him all the gear we could. He ran from his mission. Didnt even complete it. Came here apperently were people would baby him and left the rest of us to die in an empty void. How is that not cowardice?" She snaps.
He ran from the giant fucking eel-infested hellhole, not your stupid mission!
[Mark yells, frustrated, and man, Ava is really good at pushing buttons because he's really getting angry now. The kind of angry that makes his fingers twitch for a fire extinguisher.]
And maybe you fucking deserved it! Have you thought about that, huh? Maybe you brought it on yourself. Just maybe, you should stop whining about the fact that your choices have had deserved fucking consequences!
[He stops himself again, trying to just breathe, to rein himself in. Ava, he's talking to Ava. He's not back there, there's no blank visor staring at him, no white walls closing in. He needs to stop letting it get to him.]
"I do what i must for the sake of my crew. And if it comes down to Him or all of humanity?, then im choosing humanity. And if he were to die..maybe hes the one that fucking deserves it. Hes got thr highest body countnin thenpost rapture world. Hes the butcher for a reason. Do you think he even gave a single thought to people whos necks he snapped, who he strangled or stabbed? Did he give them even a modicum of mercy?"
I don't care! I don't give a rat's flying fucking ass how many people he killed, no-one deserves that! He didn't- he-
[Mark's voice cracks wetly, and his hands curl into fists, itching to either hit something or grab onto someone. His voice dips, like he's on the edge of tears, and the Captain shifts behind him, their arms crossing once more to hide the way their own hands twitch.]
I don't care what he did. I care about what he's doing. If he was such a monster, he would have hurt me by now. Fuck knows it'd be easy.
[He can practically envision those arms that can lift him like it's nothing wrapped around his neck, his shoulders, pinning him down for the edge of a knife or simply watching him suffocate - or even just letting bruises bloom under the skin before they let go. It wouldn't be difficult. He knows himself well enough to know that he probably wouldn't have even said anything about it, if he'd been threatened. But when he tries to attach Simon's face to that, even his vivid imagination can't do it, not without imaginary-Simon's face softening with worry, like it's something they agreed on instead of a murder attempt.]
But he hasn't. He- you- you just don't understand. And you won't, because you don't wanna try. B-Because- because if you see him as anything more than some, some murdering beast, then you have to accept that you sent a real, redeemable human being down into that hell, instead of j-just some violent convict.
"If he were such a reedemable person he wouldnt of blasted us all with radiation and run off to someone who would baby him."
Mark is right. If she accepts that she has to confront a lot of things. David however.
"Cap, we ..never told-"
"Not now david."
Ava interrupts.
