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[metalicarus]

JK002N

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(near the end of the hour rest he took)

[metalicarus]

[Jet doesn't have time for this and besides, the empathy part was rarely his bag, that's what Francoise, GB and Joe were for.]

Jesus Christ calm down. I'm working on it. Almost to him.
I'll let you know if we make it out, but do yourself a favor and stop being so pathetic. You made a mistake. You owned it. Learn and move on. If you don't hear from us, assume we died and do better.

woohoo!

[salamanca]

[ Damn, Jet! Ice cold. If that had been a real mental breakdown, Lalo's feelings would be hurt right now.

As it is, he's just impressed; he decides then and there that he definitely likes Jet. It's not like what Jet is saying is fundamentally bad advice anyway. It's solid, actually.

He lets several minutes pass before he responds. ]

ok

[metalicarus]

[It's a couple hours later when he texts back.]

Found the kid and I think that Martin guy who got captured. Can't open the doors without a password.
Any guess?

[Time to see if this guy actually wants to try and help or if he's going to wallow some more. He'd seemed competent enough during the last day he'd known Ben...but first impressions could be wrong and some people just didn't do well under too much pressure.]

[salamanca]

[ Lalo debates how helpful he wants to be, but decides that ultimately, seeming slightly pathetic is good for getting people to underestimate him; but seeming extremely pathetic might get him left out of the loop, which he doesn't want.

He waits a few minutes to respond, like he's trying to pull it together, then... ]

I don't. But I know who might.

You remember Sol, right? From Miss Shaw's message earlier? Callsign SU818C.

I'm going to message him now. See if he wants to help. Might not be such a bad idea for you to try too.

[metalicarus]

[Right....right that had been something he'd been pinged to directly. There'd been enough going on, it slipped his mind. Thankfully, it hadn't slipped Ben's. That was something.]

Right.
Thanks
I'll reach out, but in case they're slippery, let me know if they tell you anything useful for this just in case they decide not to be so forthcoming twice.
Besides, Martin's in bad shape. Attention's split.

[salamanca]

Copy that, amigo.

How bad? Gonna make it?

[metalicarus]

Honestly? Don't know yet.

[salamanca]

Check behind the monitor. Maybe there's a sticky note.

Any drawers? Maybe something in there? Binder?

Sorry. Don't know what the room looks like. Maybe I'm picturing it wrong.

[ Look at him going above and beyond right now. He's such a giver. All you dumbasses better be grateful. ]

[metalicarus]

[He's frustrated, but it's not a bad suggestion, at least.]

Found a USB cable, but that's about it.
I'll check the monitor, hopefully someone's that stupid.
Have you broken any of these drones yet? There's some here but shut off, Probably want to make that permanent.

[And that would be significantly mutually beneficial.]

1/2

[salamanca]

[ You'd be surprised, Jet! Lots of people are Big Dumb. Including secret cult leaders or whatever's going on here. ]

Martin said he was able to short one out with water. You could try that. Got a water source near you? Outside the cell? Sink?? Doesn't need to be clean. You're not gonna drink it.

Just don't fry yourself.

2/2

[salamanca]

Hey, wait. They're on docks, right? Sooooooo....

How heavy are they? Can you pull em off? If they're not on their docks, does that stop em from following their programming?

A couple hours later

[metalicarus]

It attacked when I touched it. It and the other one are both done.

Never figured out the password thing, but a shock from the drone opened the doors.
Martin needs more water, you’re the closest here and I can’t walk.
You wanna do better this time?

[salamanca]

[ Well, no. He does not want to! But he doesn't have a choice, does he? ]

On my way.

Sent Morning of Day 4 [cw: emeto mention]

[salamanca]

Hey, Jet! How's everybody holding up? I need to stop. Gonna hurl if I keep going...sorry, man. If you or the kid are in good enough shape to meet me halfway, I can tell you how to get here. If not, I'll come as soon as I can. Hang in there.

[ He'll spare you the gory details of what his projectile vomit looked like, and he'll spend the next several hours cursing himself and wondering how he got himself into this mess. He's never do anything for other people again. ]

[metalicarus]

[One guy still on the brink of dehydration, the kid with a messed up ankle, and him with a messed up knee and his legs and vision a little unreliable...he looks between the three of them and presses his lips tight as he responds.]

I'll head your way.
Gonna be slow going.
See you when I can, take care.

[salamanca]

[ Lalo's pretty sure at this point that he's delirious. His breathing is hard and his hands are shaking when he types out his response. He does text Jet the best instructions he can manage for how to find him. ]

Ay, be careful! You get hurt and it's gonna be all for nothing. [ Something else that occurs to him, important in his delirum. ] I want to see the computer. I want to know what's on it.

[metalicarus]

Yeah you and me both

[Which is about all he's got in him while Jet focuses on making his way to where Lalo is.]

[salamanca]

[ It's cool, Jet, he's just gonna drop his walkie on the ground and lie here miserably for a while, curled on his side as he sinks, half-willingly, into unconsciousness.

After two hours of sleep so sound he might as well be dead to the world, and another hour of desperately slurping water and making sure he can move without collapsing, Lalo will be on the move again. He'll text Jet to let him know, then start walking.

That's when Jet will meet him -- Lalo tugging the cooler behind him with one hand, the flickering orange glow of a torch to see by in the other. When his eyes lay on Jet, Lalo's face will light up and he'll give a jaunty, if hoarse and croaky, "Hey, Jet!"

It's dark out, but judging by the sound of his voice alone, Lalo's more than a little bit worse for wear, despite his seeming good spirits. ]

[metalicarus]

[He should be able to rely on his infrared or nightvision settings for his eyes...but instead, he's left to fumble in the dark no different than a normal human. Something he's forced to do slowly anyway with the hemp rope-wrapped injury to his knee and walking stick, at least. It's rough going...but more importantly: he could out-stubborn god on a bad day and it hasn't really been getting better. So on he goes.

The bob of fire through the foliage is both welcome and trips that little paranoid part of him that's still waiting for the other shoe to drop; for the evil scientists or cyborgs or government agency who're masterminding this whole thing. It leaves him hesitating, posture tense and fingers tight on the stick that split second before Ben's voice calls out to him. He relaxes that little bit again and waves his other hand.]

You sound pretty rough. You catch some island bug?

[Jet limps his way to meet him and offers his free hand in greeting.]

Sorry I couldn't come meet you sooner.

[salamanca]

[ It's a good thing for Jet that it's too dark for Lalo to see the tension in Jet's face, to register the relaxation a second later. If it was lighter out, it's the kind of thing Lalo would have certainly noticed and taken an interest in for all the wrong reasons. But as it is, it's too dark for Lalo to see any of that, and so the only thing he does is momentarily release his hold on the cooler's handle so he can accept Jet's one-handed greeting with a broad swing. Lalo's grip, and his pump, are firm. He grins when asked about the island bug. ]

Trust me, you don't want that story. But maybe try the fish jerky first before you let the kid have any. [ A soft "whoo!" ] Think I walked more'n a day straight, man! Shit was crazy.

[ He sounds so proud of himself! Lalo waves off Jet's apology. ] Don't worry about it! You came when you could. That's all that matters. Right?

[ He picks up the cooler handle again and starts to walk back with Jet. Even in the dark, he can tell Jet is limping, especially from the staggered sounds of each step. Well, that makes two of them. Lalo is limping a little too. He'll make some effort to let Jet lean against him, if that'll help at all, but then again, it... might not... ]

So... About this theory of yours...

[metalicarus]

[Even without Ben's limp notable to him for the regular irregularity, Jet focuses more on the aide the branch he's picked up can offer. Quietly, he's a little relieved help isn't offered either. He doesn't need that aggravation right now, not when there's more important things to focus on as they head back.]

Underground generator. Possibly water based. A friend of Sol's said something about the ground drinking the blood of the sky for power or something. The words don't make much sense, but if you ignore those specific, seems a good enough guess to work on.

Especially when that scientist guy said there's plugs in the building he and Randvi found but they go directly into the floor and are sealed. [He shrugs.] Might be off, but I don't got a better one tight now.

[salamanca]

[ Jet doesn't strike Lalo as the type to easily accept help. Lalo doesn't know Jet well, but Lalo's initial read is... friendly, relaxed, kind. Protective, at least of the kid. But walled off too, despite the mellowness. Why walled off? Who knows, could just be the way he was raised. There's something in Jet's demeanor that makes him seem older than he is, too; he looks like a kid in his early 20s but doesn't act like one at all. Too proactive, too thoughtful, too quick to act in a crisis. A kid would be spinning his wheels right now, or doing stupid reckless shit. Jet has been nothing but capable and steady, at least so far.

Capable, as in, not the kind of guy who wants to be babied. When Jet pointedly leans more on the stick, Lalo gets the message and withdraws most of his support, silently, without verbal acknowledgement. Just as well. He's limping too. Not the steadiest bullwark.

Lalo thinks about Jet's theory. It's a good one. The ground drinks the blood of the sky, huh? Well, shit. An underground water-based generator isn't a bad guess. He nods, bobbing his head up and down in response to Jet's theory. ] Underground water-powered generator would make sense. It's the rainforest, eh? Lots of rain.

But shit, man. "Blood of the sky?" Jesus. [ He shakes his head, the slight movement barely visible in the faint warm glow of the torch he's now trying to share. It's possible to see a red bandana around his neck, tucked into the neck of a gray-green shirt that's made of thicker material than normal, probably intended for weathering the outdoors.

Lalo chuckles a little, amused, only to immediately wince when he accidentally sets his injured leg down too hard. ] Sounds like Sol's friend wants to be a poet!

[ Something else occurs to him though, pondering Jet's mention of "the scientist guy"... ]

Hey. Scientist Guy said there were solar panels on the buildings where he was. What do you make of that? You think the sun could be "the blood of the sky?" You see any solar panels anywhere on the... [ facility? building? he'd gesture or snap his fingers if he weren't carrying the torch and cooler's handle ] ...prison...?

[metalicarus]

[At least he can take the hint and doesn't need telling twice, Jet can respect that more than most. He gives a small shrug when Ben laughs and a small smile turns the corner of his lips too. Yeah, some kind of poet maybe. Better than the 'doom and gloom hellfire' vibe he got off the words to start.]

I'm sure as hell not a poet, so maybe? I'd figure that'd be something like drinking light but who knows. Can't say I really looked or tried to climb up there with my knee messed up, but didn't seem to be any hanging over the edge. Not a ton of cords either...though I did find something like a USB cable. It either doesn't work or didn't work for what I was trying to do.

[Which...he needs to be a bit more specific on or there'll be questions he doesn't want to answer.]

I was hoping I could plug it in to try and break into whatever password crap was going on with the computer, but the technology doesn't seem to work for that.

[salamanca]

[ Lalo thinks about that for maybe half a second. He gets an idea. ]

Plug it in... to your phone? [ At least that's what Lalo imagines Jet must be referring to. What else could he mean? ]

May I see it? [ He means Jet's phone. ]

[metalicarus]

[Shit. He hadn't woken up with his phone. Nothing but the clothes on his back.]

I already ditched it. Battery died when I got shocked by the drone and I need the pocket space. It was a blackberry, if that matters. A Q10; it'd just come out too.

[There is some genuine note of loss there. Having his phone would actually be pretty useful, if only to cross reference when he first woke up.]

It just acted like it wasn't there.