Musebox

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for borntolove

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[OOC: …ohhhh dear… I was gonna go the headcanon route, but then this much more evil prompt occurred to me… let me know if this works!
IC:]


A flinch. A flash.

Others don't understand
(still-inexcisable nausea)

Shhh

It's not "what have I done". There's no such surprise at yourself. You know what you are and what you do.

It's all coming apart!
Shhh, calm down

It's the man
(who you signed on yourself)
you forced out of this dimension by creating—forcing—a body into his place

Calm down. We'll be all right

(putting your muzzle so gently against his heart through his back
with a hug)

It's: Him? How did he become "what I had to do" next?

—No time
Move
Recalibrate

Climb

Scale this wall
Build new walls while running

Get the intel back
Nothing else matters; not him, not me

They would have killed you, only slowly and painfully,
and destroyed what you serve and love when they were through
I did it to do the opposite of all of that
That's the truth even if I don't feel it either


Cassian Andor reset his teeth, stuck his blaster in his belt, tugged his jacket over, and turned on his heel to launch himself at the wall—

—only to nearly slam face-first into a new humanoid— who literally hadn't been there one millisecond ago.


[ooc: so I'm thinking the Doctor didn't actually see Cassian kill Tivik but he can probably figure it out—only hopefully not immediately so Cassian can drag the Doctor back to his ship, first, 'cause Stormtroopers are coming?]

[seenitbefore]

[ ❤🧡💛💚💙💜! ]

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[ Hallo!!!! How are you?? ]

[seenitbefore]

[ oh, just losing my mind, you know how it is~ you? ]

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[Definitely know. Sorry to hear it /HUGS/ Anything I can do?]

[seenitbefore]

[ Aw, it's okay. <3 Though I've been meaning to ask, do you Discord? ]

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[Inconsistently—though you've not given up on me through even MORE inconsistent activity here (THANK YOU FOR THAT) so it's worth a try! I'll PM you my info!]

Re: for borntolove

[borntolove]

The Doctor, of, course, couldn't help but run toward the noise, even if someone is puzzled about themself. No time for that right now.

"This way!"

There's a look of you, 'you can explain' while we run before someone takes off ahead. Try to keep up.

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The HEL—?!

Dammit, no time to properly analyze… Was the man shouting to him or to alert the 'troopers? How much had he seen? If Cassian's blaster were still in his hand, would he have to shoot him?

—That at least he can answer. His blaster isn't in his hand, he's not going to take the time to draw it again, and he does not want to kill (again) if he can help it. Strategically, logistically, or personally. This isn't clear and he won't unless it's clear.

Okay, guy seems to be addressing Cassian, not yelling past him; seems trying to be helpful but not in on the full picture… including Tivik… A sympathizer? Fine, start with that. Get clear of troopers then decide how much else to share, like: his ship.

"Troopers coming," Cassian barked, already half past him and grasping the first of the exposed zigzagging pipes. "They'll shoot you just for being here so shut up and climb." Which Cassian himself started to do.

[OOC: sorry, I wasn't totally sure which way he meant or was going… for Cas, it has to be climbing the wall 'cause it's why he had to kill Tivik (who couldn't climb 'cause of a broken arm)—I should've explained! It's from the film. If the Doctor means "this way" into the TARDIS, please do grab Cas by the nape of the neck and shove him into it instead of letting him up the wall, etc!]

[borntolove]

The Doctor makes a confused face at the word 'Trooper'and The Doctor is about to either grab the other to take to the Tardis or go up and join him. However, it's too late and The StormTroopers arrive and The Doctor puts his hands up.

When asked to identify himself, The Doctor takes out his psychic paper and they read that he's a commander and ask what are you doing out of uniform?

"Camoflaguing with the locals. Now! There's more important business to attend to back at the base. I'll take care of this and you get back, are we clear?"

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No loose ends.

Cassian made it up the wall. The plan was to keep running. But this new mystery element had him instead turn on his heel and flatten himself on the roof to look down and watch.

There were three bodies on the ground. The two troopers Cassian hadn't been able to talk out of leaving them alone, and so taken out necessitating the climb to escape; and Tivik who hadn't been able to climb. That should have made these new troopers shoot first. Instead, the newcomer got them to stop and… look at… at analog piece of flimsi. Which they did… and they heeded.

Who was this?

And why hadn't they arrived three minutes sooner, before the flash and Tivik—

The troopers left.

…Okay.

Cassian wasn't going to get back down into the blind alley with this guy. Neither could he leave them in the wind.

Cassian drew his blaster and turned on the laser sights.

Back on ground level, the Doctor suddenly had a red beam pointing right at his chest.

"Climb the wall to me." Cassian's voice was in a low enough register that, past the alley, it would blend with the ambience of the city; but loud enough in decibels for the Doctor to hear over that. "Try to leave, or draw a weapon, I'll shoot you."

(Of course, if he'd wanted to kill the Doctor straightaway, he wouldn't have turned on the laser at all, and the shot would be to the head. None of which was to say he wouldn't yet do it. See: again: three bodies on the ground.)

[borntolove]

The Doctor watches and waits to see what the troopers will do. The Doctor breathes for a moment in his mind and tucks the psychic paper back inside. He does notice the red beam pointed at his chest. Blimey, he just died, he really doesn't want to - again and is also sort of tired and frustrated with this setup but keeps it together. He gives a head nod in reply and begins to start climbing the wall. While, he starts, remarks, "Don't carry weapons, me."

Then - slips, and begins to slide back down, in a frustrated sound remarks to himself, "Need to get used to longer legs again."

Eventually, he does make it over and takes it slow with his hands up.

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They mustn't stay up here too long, but this bizarre stranger has bought them a bit of time. Alone together on the rooftop, Cassian switched off the red beam but kept the blaster pointed—now between the Doctor's eyes.

(This close, there were signs—old scars and callouses, expert angle of arms and steadiness of hands, aim never changing even as his eyes darted ceaselessly—that someone of the Doctor's deductive level could identify Cassian as a sharpshooter. At this range, he would not miss.)

For Cassian, so many questions, that observation alone hadn't helped. (Cassian's deductive abilities were far below the Doctor's, of course.) But okay. Information always has hierarchies. —In this case, there was also potential for—

"Show me what you just showed them," Cassian said. He'd seen the Doctor pocket the paper, so Cassian gestured slightly with the blaster, both in instruction and to reemphasize the threat. "Take it back out slowly."

[borntolove]

If anything, it does confirm some sort of war going on and the person holding the gun at The Doctor has been fighting the war for a very long time. There's sympathy in The Doctor's eyes and a clear reflection that someone else has been at war before. The Doctor, slowly, takes out the psychic paper and shows that to the other. The Doctor isn't afraid even if he can tell that someone is a good shooter. If anything, his face seems to be up the challenge of staring down the bottom of a barrel.

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[ooc: What does the psychic paper show him?]

[borntolove]

^{(You are welcome to come up with that yourself. :3)}

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Telepathy existed in the Galaxy. The purest kind was mostly considered extinct (or fictional) along with the Jedi, but the more you travel, the more difference you see between species, that one's 'Hello' seems to another like magic. Cassian's least favorite example: Falleen communication included the conscious control of pheromones. If talking to a Falleen while Human, you not only couldn't understand that level of discourse, you wouldn't even know it was happening, and could be affected by it almost to the level of mind control.

The idea of a handheld device that could identify facts about a person—emotional state via microexpression, allegiance via insignia, etc—and then advise how to interact with them was also not too far fetched. None existed yet that was more (or even as) reliable as a sentient operative—be it organic or droid—but they could work surprisingly well, especially if you knew in advance what species and other likeliest settings you'd be dealing with. (Not that you could get facial expression from a stormtrooper, but they emoted a surprising amount from body language. That armor stood in for many lapses of training. And didn't hold up to it.)

The idea that a device could be psychic… that would seem laughable to Cassian, but it was a big Galaxy, he'd seen more of it than most, and the more he saw of it, the fewer things he would rule out.

So, those were fine… the question was, what could the paper possibly show that Cassian would buy as convincing the Troopers to obey this man in civvies in those outrageous circumstances, yet also show enough cracks to convince Cassian to trust him, at least not to kill on sight? Cassian knew the intricacies of these systems so well, his nature and his job was to interrogate everything and look through the layers…

Whatever he saw (if he saw anything at all), Cassian's eyes flickered from the paper back to the Doctor. Nothing about his stance or expression changed at all. (Including blaster aim.)

"You said 'this way'," said Cassian. "How did you know who I am, where I'd be, and where would you take me?"

[borntolove]

The Doctor watches during the silence, trying to get more of a read on the other man but someone seems to be a trained soldier and usually, the job is to not express emotions. He does wonder what the other is seeing because sometimes the psychic paper doesn't work. Either The Doctor is lying too much and claiming to be 'responsible' or the other is too smart, like Shakespeare.

However, he's not dead - yet. So that means someone is still useful. The Doctor remarks calmly, "I don't know who you are. I saw you running and usually when you're the one running away, that means the other thing is chasing you and most likely trying to kill you... Yeeeeeeeeah, the thing is - I'm not exactly sure where my ship landed me."

AAAAH I'm so sorry for being so slow!!

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Cassian frowned so hard it hurt. Are you kidding me…?! —a thought that, if he believed in it, was probably aimed at the Force.

"I don't have time for this," said Cassian. "You're on the Ring of Kafrene. Get away from this alley and into the city. Whatever you need, you can probably find it. Just keep your wits about you to avoid being pickpocketed or scammed. And avoid troopers like those. I don't know what you showed them but don't push your luck. Does your ship still work?"


[ooc: however the Doctor responds, Cas won't actually leave him behind]

its fine <3

[borntolove]

The Ring of Kafrene? The Doctor focuses hard on his memory bank. Kafrene! Has he been to a Kafrene? During this time, The Doctor seems to be giving off a golden glow. Fourteen pulls his face, he can't pin-point a Kafrene.

"Yeah. Sorry, not ringing any bells and I'm a bit well-traveled. She needs to recharge. Bit of a crash landing. Should be find in about 12 hours."

The Doctor, on the other hand, doesn't look so well. If anything looks like he might throw up.

Re: its fine <3

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…Damn it.

But how rare that the small battles don't have to be sacrificed to the larger ones?

One more glance around, then Cassian groaned and took the Doctor by the elbow. "Come with me."

for Vi

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She's gonna think I'm a spy.
You are a spy.
Not against… Okay, fine. But if you're gonna say it, you have to really do it.
You mean…
I mean put on that breathing mask, Officer.

* * *

The smell throughout Stillwater was really living up to its name. You could especially tell the locals from the Wardens based on who had the easiest time breathing.

"Broken plumming!" Wardens unnecessarily shouted down the halls. Nice way to say shit everywhere. "Doubling up levels three and four. That means you'll be getting cellmates until situation repaired. No fighting unless you want your sentences extended."

For only the third time since she'd been incarcerated, Vi's cell door slid open, and for the first time, someone else was thrown in. Actually, kicked it: a boot square in the back. He failed to impress at catching himself, though he shot a fair enough glare as the door slid closed. And Vi was left with a stranger.

Male-presenting, coloring various shades of brown, not much taller than her and no broader, but the wiriness was deceptive. She could see from the relationship of his arms to his sides: his limbs didn't dangle, there was strength and deliberation.

He pushed himself upright and looked at her.

[faceblocks]

The silver lining about growing up in the undercity? You can breathe through just about anything, and yeah, shit's still shit, but one can filter it out a little more. That's a fucking edge. And if you don't think about it? Maybe you don't even smell it at all for a little while.

She almost can't remember life before this endless stretch of days, hundreds upon hundreds - stacked up atop each other they might be high enough to climb the fuck out of this shithole - but they crash down into a jumble of time, little fragments of what came before, a flash of blue braids, a flicker of light, something else that hurts too much to recall so she'll just shake it off, fists against the cell wall quicker than the thoughts can come, quicker than the images - a steady stream of hits until she stops, tensing as the door slides back, someone's unceremoniously kicked through (okay, sure, there's some kind of ceremony in it) and she's standing, fists raised.

"How do you extend forever, anyway? Got some kind of special math for that?"

Forever is what it feels like, and she's got to stay on the offense. (Everyone's a threat. Everyone here's an enemy, yeah?) But it's the wardens she tosses the words at, not the stranger. What he gets, finally, is:

"Who the fuck are you?"

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“Who the fuck are you?” he retorted. He leaned on the wall, rubbing his arm where they’d dragged him. “Show me the kind of answer you’re looking for.”

[faceblocks]

Still sizing him up, that's not exactly the reply she expected, and that's part of why she huffs a bit of a laugh - it's not good humour, not wholly, but it isn't particularly mean. She doesn't lower her fists, not yet - this could still be ...well, it'd be a hell of an elaborate trap, and sure, they're terrible, the Wardens, but they're not usually all that smart. Not a whole lot of long-game planning there, and maybe only a few braincells between them, she thinks.

"I'm looking for a lot of things, but a new roommate? Not on that list."

She'd tell him to get out, but just the idea of it is ridiculous. She doesn't quite let that laugh through, but she does clear her throat to cover it.