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Post by Cassandra Nida on Sept 30, 2009 23:02:54 GMT -6
Patrols had passed by a few times, and there had even been a knock at the door once. Cass had gone down into the basement, and Eloise had answered the door, managing to send them off without any problems.
Cass didn't really know how to feel about all of this. Mags had kept her word. Cass had been kept safe. She hadn't told the soldiers where to find her, but would she get Cass back onto the ship? That wasn't a sure thing.
At the moment, she was working on her right arm. Her equipment was set up on the table, fake-skin cooking up. She was going to need a lot, since she'd been forced to take off most the skin from her arm to get at the internals. She's thrown a couple of rods, a few servos had burnt out, and the sensors were malfunctioning. Cass was doing her best to sort out what was wrong, which was frustrating because she needed parts she didn't have and she would have preferred a better workspace, and another set of hands, all of which were completely out of her reach.
At least she had wonderful fresh milk to drink. She'd never had anything that good on Terra, and Cass was vaguely aware that had likely had better milk than most Terrans. Cass took a pause from her work to drink, leaving oily finger prints on the glass.
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 12, 2009 19:28:19 GMT -6
Sol had tried his best to explain to Caden on the way to the farm how he knew the couple who lived there. It wasn't so much of a "know", as a "we've met once", and therefore the night he'd spent at their farm hadn't meant much at the time besides a nice dinner and a bed, but it had become more significant now that Sol had run into Magdalen again.
He'd made sure to write out a "shopping list" of sorts. A list of things he knew he needed to retrieve from his place in the forest after the stop at the farm. It was a real list with real motive, but it also served as more proof of his intentions away from the space port in case anyone asked.
And now he and Caden had finally reached the farm, and more memories of the place finally flooded his mind. He'd had a vague memory of what it looked like, but it had been a few years since he'd been there. Suddenly he remembered it all. Almost right down to what he'd eaten that night. Almost.
"Alright, you ready?" he asked Caden, and then finally knocked on the door of the house.
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Post by The Denvers on Oct 12, 2009 20:56:05 GMT -6
Eloise was busy cleaning a few dishes while John remained upstairs, folding an extra set of clothes on the bed and setting an old DatPad on top of the small pile. It wasn’t anything spectacular – more accurately it was out of date – but still a reliable piece of technology he’d been sure Mags did not have at her disposal. At the sound of a knock on the door, both of their heads snapped up. John didn’t move, listening as his wife moved to the front hall.
Initially the sight of two rather gruff looking young men startled her, but she remained composed as she studied their faces. One looked surprisingly familiar.
In any case neither were sporting military uniforms, but she still had to be careful.
“May I help you gentlemen?”
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Post by Caden Breese on Oct 12, 2009 21:23:16 GMT -6
Caden had gathered Cassandra's parts he had hidden and followed Sol. He had no idea where this house was so the best he could do was just follow. He wasn't going to lie he ended up outright telling Solomon he had a hand gun with him. It was hidden, but it was there.
The Captains explanation of how he supposedly knew the people Cassandra was staying with didn't really seem like much. Merely acquaintances was all, but what ever worked was fine with him.
As they neared the house, Caden made a small smile. There weren't many homes on Terra like this. It reminded him of a toy house he'd seen a cousin playing with at one point. As Solomon asked if he was ready he simply nodded and waited as he knocked on the door.
When the home owners answered, Caden wasn't sure if he should say anything or just let Sol do the talking. Considering he knew them.
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 12, 2009 21:41:13 GMT -6
"Hello," Sol immediately offered his hand for a shake. "My name is Solomon. I don't know if you remember me, but I once spent the night here..." This was fairly awkward, he realized. Often in these situations, only one side would remember the previous interaction and end up embarrassing themselves when the other side didn't. He hoped it wasn't the case here.
"We're actually here to speak to Cassandra. She and Magdalen came in on my new ship," he did his best to try to explain. "Caden here has some parts that belong to her. We assume she needs them..."
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Post by The Denvers on Oct 12, 2009 21:49:40 GMT -6
The older woman looked between them, attempting to discern any hint of dishonesty or ill-intent in their neutral expressions. Once the names Solomon, Magdalen and Cassandra were brought up however her doubts were immediately lifted and she smiled warmly, giving his hand a gentle shake.
“Oh! That young man from a few years ago. You didn’t say much, but were still quite polite. Yes … I recall that night despite the state of my memory. It seems to be failing me more and more frequently these days.” Before she could step aside to allow them in however, John appeared with a far more stern expression.
“So you’re a Captain are ‘ya? I’m assuming Mags made it back to the spaceport safely then. Good. Come on.” And finally he waved them into the living room. “That girl – Cassandra – she’s in the basement.”
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Post by Cassandra Nida on Oct 12, 2009 22:26:29 GMT -6
Cass froze up when she heard the knock at the door. She carefully set her glass down on the table and stood very still, listening as best she could to decide if it was more soldiers. She would have to hide her arm if there were soldiers and they wanted to search the house.
Instead, the voice was vaguely familiar. It wasn't a woman, which ruled out Mags, but that deep gruff voice was likely Solomon's. Cass felt the pit of her stomach drop. She knew she had to talk to Solomon, but that didn't mean she was any less nervous about it.
Cass looked at the arm. Her first urge was to cover it up. But what was the point? Mags had told him. He would probably want to see. And it wasn't as if she could pop it back on, not when the skip was stripped off.
She just hoped they didn't stare too much at the arm, or her empty shoulder, and the metal cuff that held the arm in place. If she'd had a jacket, she would have put it on, but all she had was the undershirt Eloise had been kind enough to lend Cass. She put her shoulders back and did her best to calm her frayed nerves.
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 12, 2009 23:07:17 GMT -6
Sol was relieved to see that the old woman remembered. It would mean a lot less proving that they weren't here for anything malicious. "Yes, I'm sorry about that. I, uh... I suppose I'm not used to socializing much. But thank you again for your hospitality."
When John appeared and waved them in, Sol obeyed, motioning for Caden to follow. "Yes I've recently acquired a ship and we thought we'd return to Antheia for a few things. The trip has proved... well, a lot more complicated than expected. We were hoping to get some answers from Cassandra, and bring her her parts. Has she been any trouble for you here? I hope this isn't gaining you folks any unwanted attention from certain parties..."
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Post by The Denvers on Oct 13, 2009 14:57:21 GMT -6
Eloise had shuffled off to the side, wringing her hands anxiously while Solomon spoke with her husband. John himself seemed content with the young man’s story, recalling vaguely the night he’d spent in their spare room all those years ago. Motioning towards a short but sturdy staircase, the older gentleman stroked his neat silver beard and then shook his head.
“She hasn’t been two moments trouble. In fact she’s mostly kept to herself, accepting whatever Eloise brings down graciously enough. And don’t worry about troubling us. We’ve received one other visit but it was brief and we were able to get them on their way without much hassle.”
Idly he noted that Magdalen’s absence meant she likely wouldn’t be able to come back to say a proper goodbye. However he didn’t want to upset Eloise and so avoided bringing that observation up until she was out of earshot. “If you’d like to speak with her feel free to head downstairs. Aside from sheltering the girl, it’s no business of ours however. We’ll keep out of your hair until you’re ready to go.”
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 13, 2009 21:23:14 GMT -6
"Thank you," Sol nodded as he turned to head down to the basement. He paused, remembering his promise to Magdalen. "Oh, Magdalen wanted me to tell you she was sorry. I assume for... the situation. I have to agree with her. I hope we haven't put you in any danger by bringing this girl here. Also, if it's not a problem I'd like to bring back anything that Magdalen may have left behind when she left a few months ago. Any of her extra clothes or anything would be much appreciated in the cold ship."
With that, he headed down the stairs, hoping Caden would follow. He quickly spotted Cassandra sitting at a table. She must have heard him coming, as she seemed to be waiting for him. "Cassandra... I think we need to have a talk."
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Post by Cassandra Nida on Oct 13, 2009 21:29:22 GMT -6
Cass got to her feet. Normally she would have put her arms behind her back, or crossed them over her chest. But with only one arm, it wouldn't have worked very well. So she just left it to dangle by her side, and tried not to be so self-conscious.
"y-yeah." She agreed, doing her best to keep her voice level. "i'll answer whatever question you've got... and... i'm sorry. i didn't-" Cass cut herself off, knowing that apologizing wasn't going to do any good. If he was mad, then saying she didn't think they'd get dragged into anything wasn't going to make him un-mad.
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Post by Caden Breese on Oct 13, 2009 22:15:54 GMT -6
The whole time the Denvers were talking with Solomon, Caden just stood there carrying the parts and looking around. It was an interesting little home, there were so many things in it you wouldn't normally be able to find on Terra. Unless you were rich or just really lucky. He didn't really have anything to say and just sort of listened.
Once they said they could go down, he followed behind Solomon. 'Holy...' The sight of the girl with her arm off was a bit weird, but it instantly caught his attention in how much of her arm was actually mechanical. He wanted to see the limb up close, see how it worked, and it took a lot just to keep himself in one spot.
"Girl, these are some top notch parts. How'd you get money for all this?" He asked curiously and motioned to all the parts he had with him.
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Post by Cassandra Nida on Oct 13, 2009 22:32:32 GMT -6
Cass' eyes lit up when she saw he had her parts. She was still nervous, but seeing her parts made her feel better. She could finish her repairs now, or at least fix the worst of the damage on her legs and arms. More precise work could wait until later, when she knew if she was leaving the planet or staying longer.
"i got it from my daddy's emergency account. they locked down most of our assets when i left but i didn't think they knew about that one. daddy set it up under a false name and only he and i knew about it... at least i thought it was just us two." Cass looked at the both of them, "i think they were watching it, and after i took out money saturday morning, they knew where to look for me."
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Post by Solomon Taylor on Oct 13, 2009 22:44:33 GMT -6
Already Solomon was lost and further confused. He put up his hand to halt the conversation that was starting. "Alright alright hold up. We can talk mechanics soon. First, the main situation."
He headed over to the table and motioned for her to sit back down as he sat down on the other side. "I really should have asked this days ago when I saw your posted bounty, but I stupidly decided to play the ignorance card. Now I want to know it all, because your little issue has caused me a huge headache. I have soldiers crawling around my ship and it's making me a little uneasy. So, spill. I can't figure out what to do about us or you until I completely understand what you've gotten me and my crew into. Start from the beginning and don't leave anything out."
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Post by Cassandra Nida on Oct 13, 2009 23:04:01 GMT -6
Cass awkwardly sat back down. She really wanted to keep talking with Caden and avoid having to discuss her past, but she'd promised Mags she would tell the truth. And if she wanted anyone to help her, she would have to trust them, just like she'd trusted Mags and the Denvers so far.
She glanced down at the table, looking at her right arm as she spoke because she couldn't bring herself to look at Solomon's face without wanting to just break down. "my dad is micheal nida. he is-... was the found of cybernetic prosthetic replacement inc. i spent my whole childhood surrounded by prosthetics. there wasn't anything i wanted to learn about more than machines and circuits, and how to replace flesh and blood with someone better."
Cass rubbed a finger along the steel frame, still not able to look up. "when i was eleven, i... i didn't like my body anymore. i used to wish i'd get in an accident, that my legs and arms would get broken so badly that they'd be amputated. i'd look at myself in the mirror and... and i'd cry because it was flesh and blood looking back at me and i wanted to be something better. i tried to ignore it for months, but i couldn't. and when my daddy asked my why i was so sad, and i told him. and he took away everything. my books and my lab and my privileges all went away because he was so afraid about my thoughts. i begged him to give them back, but he wouldn't. he thought maybe i'd stop thinking about it if he took them away, but it just made it worse. i couldn't stop thinking about taking a knife and just..."
She paused. Cass hadn't ever told anyone about her suicide attempt. She hadn't had anybody to tell. It was hard enough trying to explain how she'd felt like a stranger in her own skin. But she had to tell the truth. Thought she didn't have to give any specifics. "i tried to kill myself. and when that didn't work, i tried it again. and my daddy gave in and he had a black market doctor remove my arm and install a socket." She stroked her fingers over the frame again. "and when i woke up after the surgery, and saw my new arm... i was so happy."
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