bakerstreet | Marooned!

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Marooned!

THE MAROONED MEME

When you’re stranded. When there’s no way out.

At least this you’re not alone.

WHERE ARE YOU STRANDED?
1: Island. Surrounded by the ocean, shipwrecked on an island. Far away from any civilization.
2: Planet. Is it an uninhabited wasteland? A teeming forest, crammed with alien life forms? Does it have enough oxygen? Storms? Predators?
3: Moon/Asteroid. Low atmosphere, low gravity. You better hope that you have a survival pod where there’s enough air and heat.
4: Adrift. A ship on the ocean; a power-dead space station; a skimmer floating through the levels of a gas giant.
5: Oasis. Not quite marooned in the same sense, but you’re surrounded by empty desert, too far to cross. You might as well be trapped by the water of the oasis.
6: Cave. Again, not quite in the same sense, but something has left you trapped underground. Did you slide down a chasm? Suffer a cave-in? Either way, you’re down here to stay, for the time being.
7: Other.

WHO’S WITH YOU?
1: A friend. You’re in this together.
2: An enemy. Maybe war brought you both here, and war left you stranded behind. Could be that you’re an enemy in a more mundane sense: school rivals, an assassin and her prey.
3: Strangers. You were both on that boat for vacation, and now you have to survive together.
4: A lover. Some honeymoon, huh?
5: Other. For any other variation.

WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
1: Food and water.
2: Shelter. There’s a storm coming. The nights are cold, here. Or do you just want a sense of security?
3: Communication. How can you get someone to come rescue you?
4: Predators. Something’s trying to kill you…
5: Escape. If you can just fix the ship…
6: Each other. One more hour and you might kill each other.
7: Injury/Disease. One of you needs medical attention. Hopefully the other can muddle through.
8: Other. Any other problem you can think up!

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Like I said. Doesn't count for much.

[ Because intentions could lead to so many things. So many paths, so many opportunities to make mistakes and get people hurt, and then where were your good intentions? Could they bring people back, repair what had been destroyed?

No. The answer, as far as he was concerned, was no. ]

This isn't the first wound I've had to dress in the field. I'm a soldier. That comes with the territory.

That may be.

[Ah, the sounds of a snarly male and a snarly male's pride.]

But I've been here longer than you have. I know what the...field...has to offer.

Besides, what if it's some place you can't reach?

[ Wash's hand drops and he eyes her steadily for a moment. Something tightens in his jaw, works in a circle, before he finally gives in with a heavy sigh. You know what? She wants to help that bad, fine. She can help. ]

Just...don't touch my neck. It's a long story.

[It's a long story she looks forward to hearing someday. Really, any story will do. It's just been...so long...

Shaking her head, she turns around again and marches back over to him, ripping off her other sleeve. If she even notices his neck, scars, or body in general, she doesn't show much sign of it. She just folds up the sleeve and wets it, crouching down beside him.

The scent of his blood is...strong. For the first time, she feels a nagging doubt. What if she doesn't have what it takes to keep him alive. What then?]

There are some cobwebs in the caverns beneath the falls. They might help the bleeding...

Cobwebs?

[ And there was that long-maintained skepticism raising its head again. Where did this girl get her medical licence? Hogwarts?

It's not like there are many options, but he still frowns as he peels back on the suit. Where it sticks to skin, it has to be tugged free, upsetting the wound further, but with her watching Wash doesn't do more but grit his teeth and swallow through it. ]

If I could find the ship, there's bound to be some medi-gel in there somewhere.

Medi-gel?

[It means nothing to her, but she doesn't dwell on the question.

No, she leans forward and immediately presses the fabric against his side, trying to stem the bleeding. Not quite as effective as a cobweb, but you learn to work with what you have.]

We're going to have to make sure there's nothing stuck in you...

It's a gel that...you push a little nozzle, and it turns into foam that expands in the wound. Sanitizes, seals, and medicates all in one go. Stings like Hell, though.

[ He wouldn't complain. But venturing out into the sands to look for the ship isn't an option right this five minutes and he knows it. Like it or not, he has to try and tend to himself with what he has and recuperate.

And this girl, like it or not, was his only ally in that.

The lines around his eyes tense as she presses, but he bites back the noise once again. Just breathe through it. It's fine. They're going to deal with it, and he's gonna live. ]

Don't suppose you were a medic as well as being a thief?

No.

[Ariadne shakes her head, offering him a slightly apologetic look. As if she's letting him down somehow.]

But I get hurt a lot. This isn't exactly an easy place to live. I kinda figured some stuff out as I went.

[Trial and error. Or maybe trial and success, considering the fact that she's still alive, after all of this time.]

And again, not a thief.

You took something that didn't belong to you and got exiled for it. What would you call it?

[ She's all kinds of not right, he figures. He doesn't exactly have steady footing to judge her from, himself. But there's some shred of pity for her, having been out here all this time with no one else around.

There's just not a whole lot he can do for her. He has his mission. One that will grant him his freedom. He can't lose sight of that, no matter how pretty she is or how sad her story. ]

To use your words? "A long story."

[With great care and concentration, she cleans away the excess, crusty blood. Human bodies are so frail. Then again, to look at her, one would think Alastrians can shatter like glass.

Not really. But appearances are deceiving.]

Good news. I think the wound is clear.

Good news, huh? That's a change of pace.

[ He looks down at the wound with a grimace. It's messy, but it's not as deep as he feared. Likely no permanent damage, just another scar. He's already got more than a few, a bullet wound in his chest, several slash marks that could be from blades or debris.

None as interesting as the strange, circuit-like network of scars that descend from the nape of his neck, disappearing into his hairline, but he's already made it clear that one is off limits. ]

That's the spirit, I guess.

[She hikes up the bottom of her skirt, ripping a long bandage from the hem.]

We'll wrap this around you, with the patch over the wound. It'll hold. At least for a little while. Long enough to figure out how to get you to the falls, anyway.

You don't have to do that.

[ Because he's been watching her shred her own clothing to pieces in an effort to bandage him up. Surely there's another way, something better they can do. God, what he wouldn't give for that medi-gel right about now.

As it is, the prospect of getting to his feet seems daunting. He'll do it, of course. He'll walk until he falls over flat on his face, because that's just how he is. ]

Of course I do. There's no one else here, Agent.

[It's matter-of-fact to her. Call it tragic, call it life-affirming. It's just the way that Ariadne thinks.

And she starts to carefully set the pad against his side, before carefully looping the longer bandage around his torso.]

Where are you from, anyway?

I meant your dress...thing. I mean it's not like there's an outlet mall nearby, I'm guessing.

[ Wow, way to date yourself there, Wash. He shakes his head, adjusting his posture to take a little pressure off of his side as she works. He's past the point of fighting it, just letting her wind the bandage around him with minimal fuss. ]

Originally? Earth. You know where that is?

[ He's starting to question, just a bit. ]

[Ariadne shakes her head a little. It's a mixed blessing. On the one hand, someone from home would have brought her comfort. And maybe information. But on the other hand, someone from a place she's never heard of means new stories. New ways of doing thing. New knowledge and skills.

New, new, new.

It's a gift that can't be taken for granted, in a place where precious little changes.]

No. But it was hard for me to get out of Valeria, near the end.

[She gives him a smile, finishing off a knot.]

I was born in Deleo. You're probably never heard of it. It was a very, very small kingdom.

Not a whole lot of kingdoms left where I'm from, so no. Everyone pretty much answers to the UNSC. Everyone human, anyway.

[ It's common knowledge, nothing he has to worry about. The details of his mission, where he was stationed, what he was sent out to do? That, she doesn't need to know. But this seems a relatively harmless exchange.

That could be the blood loss talking, of course. Got to keep an eye on that. ]

The end of the war, you mean?

[Why is it that half of the things he says makes her think she need to calibrate his language again? UNSC? What does that even mean?

Ariadne tilts her head, sitting back on her heels. Her fingers are sticky with his blood, but staining her dress is the last thing on her mind. She's not trying to fool anyone here.

What would be the point?]

There was a war. The Red Dragon's conquest. I don't know if it's ended or not. I've been here a long time.

Did news of the Dragon reach you in your king...well...in your land?

The Red Dragon? Sounds like a guild name for a LARP.

[ It could just be that she's crazy. That's a possibility. But he finds that he's too curious not to ask anyway. It's not like he's going anywhere at the moment.

So he stares at her, with that same squinting look like he's trying to read through her, though it's starting to look a little hazy around the edges. Rest might actually be a good idea, but Wash doesn't sleep so much as he passes out from exhaustion. There's time. ]

I'm talking about the war with the Covenant. The alliance of alien races that wanted to wipe humanity from the universe? Destroy entire planets? That war?

[She's attentive. But also completely bewildered. While the individual words make sense, strung together they're elusive and strange. They're...what's the term he used?

Alien.]

I'm afraid...I've never heard of any...Covenant. Not like that.

Your realm must be very far removed from mine, Agent.

[Or maybe he's lost too much blood.

Her eyes cut down to the grass behind him.]

Realm. Right...

[ His brow creases as he gives her a look that's almost pitying, before shaking his head. If she doesn't know about the war, maybe that's best. He'd like to forget it all if he could.

As if that was possible. ]

So where is this place, other than 'the middle of nowhere?' What system? What planet?

[Pity is a terrible thing, but Ariadne dismisses it as misplaced. He's hurt and lost and obviously doing everything in his power to feel in control. Everyone does that from time to time, not just snarly males.]

Well, I don't know what you mean by 'system' or 'planet' exactly. But my people have a name for it.

We call it Fae.

[Wait.]

Do you mean to tell me you were sent here without knowing it?

The ship I was on crashed. That's how I got here. I just don't know where here is. And 'Fae' doesn't really help. I've never heard of it.

[ Right, well. She's not going to be terribly helpful when it comes to finding his way back. That's fine. He can do this on his own, and likely for the best that he does.

One hand lifts to smooth over the affixed bandage. It's crude, but it'll do for the time being. At least he isn't leaking all over the place. ]

I don't suppose you have shelter nearby.

[How a ship can crash when there are no real shores is beyond her. But that's not what matters right now.

She shakes her head slightly, looking up at the sun's progress in the sky.]

I don't think we'll be able to make it back to my shelter before the sunset. We'll be safer trying to get to the falls. There are some caverns. The get very cold at night, but they're safe.

[Safer than here, anyway.]

But it's not going to be easy, Agent. You're going to have to let me help you.

[Or they're both in trouble. But she leaves that part unsaid.]

You've helped enough.

[ And with that, he's drawing to his feet. There's a wobble there that he tries to hide, before staring down at his armor.

Shit. Can't leave it here, not after everything he's done to get it back. ]

...although if you want to help me get this back on, I won't argue.

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