three, four, the corpse soldier

[breqintopieces]

who: Breq and OPEN
what: Various: Monster dive-bombing, Prijata gifts, Guardwork, and more.
when: June
where: Around the Quarantine.
warnings: M for Monster fighting, probably. Warnings will be added as necessary.



i. TDM prompt: death from above

[By all accounts, it's a normal, bustling day in the Quarantine. Nothing particularly daunting is looming, it's nowhere especially near the walls of the Quarantine, the street is full of pedestrians going about their business.

Maybe it's something about the shadows passing overhead that clues her in. Maybe she just happened to look up at the right time. Maybe the alert from the Perimeter Guard, that the migrating pterodactyl-like birds have been diving in and attempting to attack or carry off people.

Whatever the reason is, the moment one of the creatures gives out a cry and starts to dive, Breq is dashing forward.]

Get down!

[If the hapless person isn't fast enough about that, the tackle that Breq's going for might just do the trick.]

ii. Prijata gifting

[If Breq has talked to your character in any degree of depth since her arrival, there is a good chance she's coming around to see them. To a house, a job, a favored cafe, somewhere convenient and common for them to be found at. It's rude not to present a gift in person, after all.

As she approaches, she takes pains to be sure she's adopted a pleasant smile, and the box in her hands (decorated simply, tied shut with a ribbon) is held neatly in both hands. As soon as she comes into conversational range, she nods in greeting.]

Hello. [She lifts the box slightly.] Sorry to interrupt. Do you have a moment?

iii. Perimeter Guard/Surveyors general

[Now that she's recovered from the injuries that had her in the hospital, Breq has been making herself a regular sight in the Perimeter Guard barracks. She's not living there-- the trip to work may be longer this way but it gives her reasons to know the city-- but from the hours she spends here, the other Perimeter Guards might be forgiven for assuming that she might stay here after all. Whether she's writing up notes from her latest surveying trip, making her way to or from one of the missions, or simply taking the time to train her strength back up, it's easy to find Breq in the barracks.

Right now, she's sitting on a bench in the side of the training areas, her equipment laid out next to her, including a bag and water bottle. She's dressed in preparation for a match in light easy-to-move-in clothing, but although she looks up every so often toward the mats where people are pairing off, it's not the focus of her attention. Rather, her head is bent over the flove in her lap and the thread and needle she's using to deftly patch up a torn seam.]

iv. wildcard

[If there's something else you'd like to do with Breq, from Prijata or just in general, feel free to go for it! Or if you'd like to arrange for me to write up a starter, you can contact me via PM or at needslineface

Comments

[dancingmd]

We can and will fight if we have to...

[She drifts off for a moment, thinking of the war she knows is coming. Things will be different. Starfleet will be different. And no doubt she will be too.]

But that's not why I signed up.

[breqintopieces]

I can't imagine a doctor would.

[Breq pauses to blow lightly on her tea, cooling it, as she considers her next question.]

Do you disapprove of military vessels?

[dancingmd]

[An odd way to put it: not "do you disapprove of the military" but "military vessels." Hmm.]

I suppose it depends, on what exactly that vessel is being used for. There's a world of difference between using ships to defend your home than using it to conquer others.

[breqintopieces]

[It's a slip Breq would berate herself for, if she noticed. Instead, she continues on with the conversation, unbothered for the moment.]

A difference, yes. Depending what it's being defended from. Yet all of them result in injuries.

[dancingmd]

True enough. But while fighting should the choice of last resort, I am not naive enough to think that it is never necessary.

[breqintopieces]

['Fair enough,' Breq's gesture says, as she takes another sip at her drink.]

Regardless of being removed from your home-- is the kind of work you do here rewarding? [Beverly certainly seemed determined, when Breq found her on the street.]

[dancingmd]

It is.

[She takes a drink and looks out the window at the people walking down the street.]

They can't take that away from me, at least.

[breqintopieces]

[Breq lifts her cup in acknowledging solidarity.]

No, they cannot.

[dancingmd]

[Beverly offers her a soft smile and tips her cup in return before taking another sip.]

What about you? Are you finding some sort of... Fulfillment here?

[breqintopieces]

I have work to do, that puts my skills to use. So far, I've been protecting people more actively than I expected to.

[Going unspoken is that it's a change of pace, as far as she's concerned.]

It isn't what I intended to do with the rest of my life, but my mission has been accomplished in one way or another, in the moments before I was brought here.

[dancingmd]

Then... you're okay with staying here?

[breqintopieces]

[Her fingers tap once, twice, against the side of her mug, as Breq lowers it back to the table, her stare leading off into the middle distance. It's 1.5 seconds before she begins to talk, forming her words carefully.]

Given the choice, I might return, but it depends on a great many things. where it would leave me being the most important-- I would rather not be dropped into vacuum.

[Another brief tap.]

The universe has its way of throwing me into a life I never expected. I've learned to keep walking forward despite it.

[dancingmd]

[She studies Breq for a moment over the rim of her cup before taking another sip.]

What was your life like before here, if I may ask?

[If she had to guess, she'd say Breq was a soldier of some sort.]

[breqintopieces]

[Breq's gesture is a brief wave, as she looks away from Beverly's face and into the bustle of the rest of the cafe. There's no change in her expression, but something about her eyes looks tired, and older than the barely-lined set of her face could account for.]

I've spent twenty years doing work where I could find it, on some unfriendly planets, and trying to make my way back to the Imperial Radch to deliver a message. [The distant look, if anything, grows farther away.] I've done that now. In a sense.

[dancingmd]

[Beverly raises her eyebrows. Twenty years, hmm? Either Breq was sent out with this message when she was a child or she's much older than she appears. Her instinct tells her it's the latter.]

That's a long time to be travelling. But I'm glad you were able to complete your mission.

[breqintopieces]

[It's a good thing that she doesn't ask, because her response would probably be irritatingly vague, without a hint of apology. As it is, Breq gestures an acknowledgement as she takes another sip from her drink.]

It seems fitting to have ended up here after all that.

[dancingmd]

It seems so.

[She offers a small smile. Even if she is not planning on staying, she is glad others have found a place here.]

[breqintopieces]

[Breq nods, and takes a final sip before setting down her cup on the table, the drink finished. She nods to Beverly.]

Thank you for introducing me to this place. It might have taken me a while to find it on my own.

[dancingmd]

Of course. We should come again sometime!