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 Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 2:35 pm
Caecilius scratched his head a little at the commotion in the bathroom as the female did...who knows what, he couldn't really see her. Finally spotting her when she uncloaked, he frowned a bit when he saw her holding the rifle. In his bathroom. Okay, so she was a crazed ex-covert ops soldier that thought she was in a war zone. Calm down, she didn't shoot at you yet...
Sighing lightly, he ran a hand through his hair, still trying to process the scene before him. Looking over at the former-ghost, he watched her point to the shower and then herself, pretty much as he had guessed really. He still wasn't about to try and scale her barricade though, screw that. He nodded, but held up a finger before she started...well, with her need for privacy he couldn't imagine her shedding her armor or clothes with him there, but still. With the omnitool she could lock the door from the inside if she wanted as well, so he put down the towels on the cabinet and brought up the amber gauntlet, pointing at it, and then the black glove on top of the towels. From there he pointed to his own once more, then to the bathroom door, not really sure how to define 'locking', but hoping she'd figure it out.
That settled, he pointed to himself, behind himself to the main door, making the squared arch to clarify what it was he was referring to. Pointing to himself again, he made a circle in the air, pointed to the ground, and then tapped his wrist as if he had a watch. He finished with another 'OK' sign and a head tilt, though not entirely sure if she would understand all of that to begin with.
I'm leaving, but I'll be back in a little while, okay?
With that he turned and let the bathroom door slide closed behind him, deciding that leaving her be was probably the best option right now, and perhaps bringing her back some food might be in order...
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 5:48 pm
She tilted her head as he nodded but then signaled to give him a moment. Rising to her feet as he dropped his bundle, she leaned her head away in a cautious gesture as he pointed to his odd forearm thing. But why the sleeve? They reacted to each other maybe? Why the door? One of hear ears lowered until it was flat and to the side, obviously confused. His arm, the sleeve, the door. All related, but how?
He was already on to the next bit though, and she watched each motion carefully. This was... not much better than the first of it though. Rally back here at some point in time. But not now? He... door...rally to the door? Later? No. At least, she didn't think that's what he meant.
Though she never really got to 'ask' for him to clarify it. Not that it was likely that he could. She breathed slowly, backing up in her mind to look at the puzzle again.
Yes, he indicated she could use the shower. It seemed like the towels were for her. Maybe the sleeve thing too. The sleeve thing was.... linked to his gauntlet? And the door?
Ok. Sure.
No, this wasn't working. Standing up and climbing over her barricade, she reached out to touch the door, but it opened automatically and she peered out, looking for him.
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 6:18 pm
The shotgun he had taken from the merc was nice, a Firestorm from Devlon Industries, and it was in decent shape so that would be an easy sell. The one he has tossed and later picked up, an Avalanche from Armax Arsenal, wasn't in as good of shape though and would probably fetch a lower price, despite being a better stock weapon. Though on second thought, if the female was a covert-ops type, she might prefer something other than an assault rifle. Perhaps he should just skip taking the guns until he had given her pick of the loot?
The sound of the bathroom door opening roused him from his thoughts as he stood looking over the pile of weapons on the couch, and he turned to look behind him, resting a finger on his chin mid-thought. What was she doing? First she wanted to hold the bathroom like it was the last stronghold on the station, and now she was...what, trying to follow him again? Maybe he should have waited to make sure she understood first...
Turning the rest of the way, he walked over to the doorway, noticing the towels and omnitool untouched. All he could think to do was run a hand through his hair and pull it off to the side as he shrugged his shoulders, though this time he voiced the confused message as well.
"What?"
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Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 6:27 pm
Shrinking inwards to make herself appear smaller as he approached, she realized what she was doing and tried to stand up straight again. Amazing what a week of living like a hunted animal would do to a person. Huffing, shaking her head at herself, she looked up at him as he ran his hand through his hair again, tugging on it in frustration this time.
Her ears flicked back at that, knowing what his expression meant and not wanting to be trouble. She tilted her head at the word though, it didn't mean anything to her, obviously. Though, if it was aligned with his body language, she understood the general idea.
Ducking back into the bathroom, she gingerly picked up the sleeve and brought it back out to him, thrusting it towards his chest with a head tilt. This, what is it?
There was a lot more she wanted, and needed, to know... but this seemed as good a place to start as any.
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 5:13 am
Caecilius watched the female shove the tech glove towards him, though her gesture made it seem...like she didn't know what it was? But...where had she been for the past few decades? These things were commonplace. Maybe...as a cov-ops she's never seen a civilian model? It didn't really matter the why, she was asking for help, maybe she would catch on after a bit. Hopefully sooner than later.
He smacked his forehead as he realized something else; she would need the access codes for his apartment to operate the doors, which the freshly reset omnitool wouldn't have. He held up his hands in a Wait gesture, then held up his right arm. Undoing the fastenings that secured his gauntlet, he brought up the omnitool for a moment and pointed to it, before pulling the armor off and showing her the cuff. He pointed to the inside of the piece of armor, a similar black glove lining it, trying to indicate that the two were the same thing.
Sliding the red gauntlet back on, he pointed to her right hand, making a slow motion of grabbing the armor, and pulling it off. He wasn't sure exactly how her armor was held together, but if she understood what he was 'asking', she would do it herself. He wasn't about to try and fiddle with covert ops armor anyway, who knew what kind of safeguards or traps were built into it...
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 10:08 am
She startled a little when he hit himself in the head, not that she didn't understand the gesture, it was just sudden and unexpected. She reached up on tiptoes to pat the top of his head, gently. Trying to be reassuring. Backing up a bit as he signaled for her to give him a moment, Tayce watched as he removed his gauntlet.
Following his indications, she examined the sleeve and then his armor piece. Prodding the lining first, and then the black glove he had offered her in the bathroom, she noted they were the same texture. The same thing. Ok, so he was wearing a similar thing under his armor.
She waited while he replaced the armlet and tilted her head when he pointed to her right hand. He was asking... for her to remove her own gauntlet? Tayce took a step back as her body language shifted from curious to defensive. She took a deep drag of her air tube, the hiss of it just audible. A week ago she had taken off her helmet to show him, breathing problems or no; and he had handed her his visor...whatever the hell it was. It wasn't a trust thing so much as, well... she hadn't showered in a week.
Sighing, which without vocalization just sounded like a rush of air, Tayce undid the fastenings and slowly removed the piece, shaking her arm out with an apologetic look towards him. Not that he could see her face.
Under her plating was a thin, elastic material the color of dust. Thicker in places to support joints and to pad underneath the armor, the skintight under-suit was in a desperate need of a wash. Peeling off the fingerless glove that covered her hand and rolling up the sleeve, she looked up at him with her ears folded back, putting her gauntlet down but not offering it to him.
Bad enough that it probably reeked without her rubbing his nose in it.
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 11:52 am
Worry tugged at his face as her posture changed, his ears drooped slightly, did she still not trust him? When she finally removed the gauntlet he realized why she was being pensive, he should have known better of course, since he had guessed right earlier with the towels. He smiled, trying to reassure her a little, his own ears perking back up.
She hadn't held out her hand, but he wasn't sure if that was because she was timid about not showering, or if she just didn't understand how the omnitool went on. He held out a hand for hers, but thought better of it and just took the black glove and held that open, so she could slide her hand into it.
Just in case she still didn't understand, he pointed to her hand, and then the glove again.
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 12:04 pm
So he either had a poor sense of smell or was overly polite, either way, Tayce was grateful. Smiling in kind, hidden though it was, she started to shake her head when he held out his hand, but then he retracted it before it was really necessary.
He picked up the glove and offered it, holding it in place for her. Tayce rolled her eyes as he made another gesture of her hand to the glove, as if it wasn't already obvious. Still, she was a little apprehensive as she slipped her hand into the fabric, not sure what it would do.
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 2:15 pm
Caecilius let her hand rest in the palm of his, activating his own omnitool and passing it over hers, triggering the remote start. While her gauntlet powered up he slid his other hand from under hers, gliding it over the top of the main interface on his forearm, then turning his arm over and pointing at the input mechanisms. He pressed all of the holographic 'buttons', and spun the disc in the palm, as a bit of a demonstration.
By then her own had finished warming up, the projectors blinking each 'piece' of the gaunlet before bringing them all up. Since he had reset it to defaults, it started the setup program, and printed out a question on the display.
Name: _
Seeing the prompt, he looked up at her, smiling lightly as his ears perked up. He was a little curious to see what she would enter, since he didn't know what her name was, with her inability to speak and all. For now, he put away his own omnitool, so that she could focus on her 'new' one. He didn't want to embarrass himself by trying to do anything complex anyway, since he'd probably fail all over the place. Salvaging was one thing, since he did it on a fairly regular basis, beyond that he wasn't very good at the tech aspect.
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 2:50 pm
Her first instinct was to back away as his arm started to glow again, but it was the honey-gold warmth that opened doors, and he was already doing something to her own arm now with it. She pulled her arm back to her chest as soon as he let go and cradled it against her, questioning whether or not this was a good idea.
Leaning her head towards where he was indicating, she didn't want to step forward though, and settled for craning her neck. He poked and prodded the thing like he had the map earlier, though she had no idea why. Watching the disc spin, she didn't realize her own arm was starting to glow until she realized that the reflection in his visor...
Looking down, she visibly startled and flailed her arm, panicking at the odd sight. Looking back and forth between him and her arm, silently pleading for him to do something, it took her awhile to realize it didn't hurt. Ceasing her dance routine, her ears flicked back and forth as she held her arm aloft, eying the holo screen from afar.
Bringing it down slowly to her eye level, she tilted her head at the thing, not understanding the purpose or what it was doing. She looked over to him for answers, but he was just grinning at her, waiting expectantly.
Tayce raised her left hand and moved it back and forth, shaking her head as she did so. The military sign for I don't understand.
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 3:37 pm
He was worried for a moment when she acted as if her arm was on fire when the omnitool finished it's initial self-test, but shrugged it off as just shock. Something nagged at him about how she should have realized what he had been doing all along, and how she acted like the interface was completely foreign to her, but he pushed the thoughts aside.
At least until she looked up at him and made the "I don't get it" sign. His smile immediately faded, his ears tugging downwards as he stared at her blankly. There had to be a reason for this, right? She didn't seem like the type to joke around, but...what kind of military unit would train someone who couldn't read? Or give them an armor system that could cloak? Surely there was manuals and such for that sort of thing that had to be read, right? Everything else would fit though, it would explain if she was homeless, and would go along with why she couldn't speak, but...
Sighing, he brought up his omnitool again and spent a few moments trying to figure out how to override hers. Once he had managed to do it without self-destructing anything, he pointed to her display and then tried typing a message from his own.
My name is Caecilius, what's yours?
He looked up at her when he was finished, waiting for her reaction, trying to ignore the odd sensation that this was about to get much more complicated. And of course there was still the nagging about getting food and turning in the contract vying for his attention...
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 4:38 pm
Her ears folded back as his expression fell, realizing she'd disappointed him. Not by her choice, obviously, but still. Shifting uncomfortably as he fiddled with his own glowing holo, she rocked on her heels and looked around again, still not really comfortable or assured that this was a safe place.
By the time her head swung back his way he was pointing at her arm again, and she pulled up the screen that hovered above her right arm curiously. Odd shapes started to appear in a slow procession, and when they stopped and he just stared, she realized it was language; just not her own. Which, wasn't surprising given that every time he spoke she had no freaking idea what he just said.
She poked and prodded the screen in hopes that somehow a keypad or something would pop up in her own language, but obviously that wasn't about to happen. Shaking her head again, she reiterated the hand gesture from earlier.
Still don't get it.
So their language wasn't the same. Though he would have no idea what her own even was since she couldn't talk, or apparently even write it out for him.
Which gave her an idea.
Her ears shot up as she held up a finger to ask him to give her a moment, she reached up for her helmet and started detaching it from her suit. This was going to be very involved and not a little bit scary for her, but it seemed the chances of her getting shot no longer existed here. This was his... home, she was pretty sure, and it wasn't like anyone had come knocking to kill her yet. So maybe it wasn't her they were after originally, and just wanted her out of the warehouse.
But those ideas and thoughts would have to wait, as she slid her head out from the confines, her breath coming out in a wheeze as she let go of the tube that ran from her filter system to her mouth. Fighting the nausea and the instant urge to sit down, she held up a hand towards him as she coughed and hacked, hopping he'd give her a moment to adjust. She dug blindly into her helmet, eyes still closed as she struggled with just sucking in oxygen, but could scrape out the breathing apparatus and detaching it from the mouthpiece from muscle memory without sight to guide her. At least this way she would be able to breathe, ineffectively without the support of the helmet to hold everything in place, but still.
When all was said and done Tayce held the filter, battery and compressor, barely the size of two decks of cards back to back, and the short tube that looped through it. Tucking the thing one-handed into the neckband of her undersuit, she bit down on the tube which allowed air to flow again. She'd have to move it soon, breathing -through- the material of the undersuit was hard work, but for now she huffed and wheezed as tears started to run down her face from the effort. This, she hoped he couldn't see, leaning forward as she was with her short, dark, and currently greasy hair acting as an impromptu screen.
When she could finally stand straight again, she blinked a few times as her breathing adjusted, her eyes not unlike the color of an angry sea. She wasn't looking at him though, instead she was busy removing the faceplate of her helmet and lying it down so she could finally show him what all that effort was for.
Inside, against the back plate that would support her neck, was a bit of script. Apparently the higher ups and armor designers decided to stamp inside the helmet as it was generally the most easily lost piece of equipment.
Holding it out to him, she pointed at the worn lettering, wondering if he could read it.
SPARTAN CLASS UNSC MILITARY PROPERTY circa 2613
Beneath that, in an uneven and larger hand was a name, scratched out.
TAYCE FABRE HENDERSON RHODES
She tilted her head at him again, hoping the language looked familiar to him. In the meantime though, she removed the air filter from her neckband, not quite sure what to do with it since it was on such a short 'leash', but was extremely necessary.
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 5:59 pm
His worries pushed back into his thoughts when she stared at the question, and were validated when she looked up at him again and repeated the hand signal. She couldn't read.
Ears drooping further, one perked back up as she held up a finger, tilting his head a little to the side as she worked to take off her helmet. Was it just the helmet that prevented her from talking? Wouldn't she have said something the first time they met, or was she just too shy to talk? When she started hacking and having trouble breathing, he nearly grabbed her to try and help, though he didn't even know what he could do. She held up her hand just in time though, and he froze, still trying to think of how he could alleviate her suffering. Without putting a crater into the floor of his apartment, he'd never get the deposit back if he did.
Instead, he just watched her pull something out of the helmet...the breathing apparatus? Confused as to how that would be something she wanted to show him, he realized that wasn't the goal once she had tucked it into her collar, watching her focus on the helmet again. He also realized this was the first time he had seen her face; she wasn't that bad looking, though he was sure now that she needed a shower. Tilting his head the other way, his ears following the motion and flopping to the side, he still couldn't figure out what all of the fuss was about, until she finally pushed the headgear towards him and pointed at something in the back. It was...hell if he knew, scratches? Scribbles? Unless...could it be a manufacturer stamping? His visor was branded similarly with Conatix Industries Biotics Research Division, though he had long since ground it out of the frame. If that's what it was, he had no idea what language it was in, but it certainly explained why she couldn't read or understand what he said. Made a lot more sense that a mute cov-ops that couldn't read, for sure. He shrugged and repeated the sign she had used, since it didn't look like anything he had come across, even on Omega.
I don't understand?
He scratched one of his ears, maybe someone else would know? Bringing up his omnitool, he took a scan of the inside of her helmet, checking it over to make sure it came out alright. Looking up at her face, his expression sank again, remembering how pained she had sounded the first time as well. But what could he do? He didn't have anything to deal with...pain...?
Yes he did! His ears perked up as he quickly pulled up his omnitool, switching it to the medigel applicator, having to start over a few times as he messed up in his haste. He nearly slapping his hand against her in his rush, but caught himself, pulling his hand back. He held up a clenched fist, then slowly reached out with his right hand, placing it against the side of her neck before activating the medigel dose.
Hold still.
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Posted: Thu Sep 20, 2012 7:30 pm
her shoulders dropped, ears sinking low as he gestured that he didn't understand, couldn't read it. Well crap. She hung her head and took a drag of her filtered air again, though her lungs were definitely unhappy. Letting him handle her helmet, she sunk to the floor with a wheeze. So they had established that their only form of communication were some very outdated military hand gestures. She had no idea where she was, who he was, how to get home, what had happened, or what she was supposed to do now.
Now that she wasn't stuck in high gear set on survival mode, she felt completely drained. Deflated. So lost in her own unhappiness, Tayce didn't even notice his mad scramble with the odd glove thing. Suddenly he was reaching for her, and her hands pulled up defensively to block the attack... except it never came. He pulled back his hand at the last minute and she hacked at the sudden adrenaline spike.
What was his problem?! She turned her head as she eyed him quizzically, noting the 'hold' gesture with the slight dip of an ear, not liking where this was going. She watched anxiously as his hand reached out again, slower this time, and brushed against her neck. Gently leaning away from the touch, definitely not comfortable with this, her eyes grew wide as he touched something and Tayce felt something cold seep out against her skin.
There was no thought, just reaction. Grabbing his wrist with both hands, she rolled back and brought her feet up to take advantage of his already off-balance pose. Bracing her legs against his chest, she heaved his body over hers, flinging him behind her. The moment she let go of his wrist, she snapped around and was on her feet, hands up in fists and the air filter dangling loosely from the tube that was still clamped between her teeth.
Her eyes were wild as she stared at him, bringing up a hand to start wiping away whatever this stuff was.... only belatedly realizing that it was having a mild analgesic effect. She couldn't really feel her skin anymore... pressure? Yes, but the skin itself? Not so much. And now her hand was becoming the same way, which only terrified her further. Wheezing and hissing, Tayce readied for the follow-up, unsure what the hell was going on.
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Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 5:44 am
The instant her hands grabbed his arm, he realized that trying to apply medigel to a cov-ops that couldn't understand him was a mistake, and by the time he had gotten that far, he was already flat on his back. Craning his head back to look up at her, he was slightly surprised to see her in a fighting stance, something he might have to inquire about at a later time. But for now, don't give her medigel. Got it.
Rolling over and pushing himself to his feet, he put up his hands in a yielding gesture, not wanting to escalate this confusion any further if he could help it. His ears twitched with conflict as he mentally restrained himself, normally he would be more than willing to get into a brawl, even if it was his own fault. Right now just didn't seem like the right time or situation to be pushing his luck, especially with how easy she flipped him. Still, he'd love too see her try it again...
He lowered his hands a little, watching her react to the medigel, adding it to the list of "commonplace things that she doesn't seem to understand." He was starting to wonder if she was from some remote area, but with the discovery of the Mass Relay most of humanity had banded together, or at least groups that would be able to design armor with a cloaking ability. Still, she was definitely human, now that he had her without the helmet, so that ruled out Asari, Batarian, or Drell.
Taking a step back, he bumped into the barricade she had set up in the bathroom, realizing what had been going on before this latest trouble. It might just be best to leave her be for now and figure things out later, once they had both had a bit of downtime. The breathing apparatus would be problematic though, should he try attempting to help with that now? He didn't imagine that would result in another misunderstanding, but he hadn't thought the medigel would either...
Determined to test his luck, he held up a finger, and slid away from the door over to his bedroom, ducking in to search for something. The sound of things being overturned and tossed about went on for a minute, before he emerged from the room, a piece of cloth in his hand. Cautiously approaching the female, he offered his find to her, cupping his free hand over his mouth to try and indicate what it was for. What it was, was a souvenir bandana from Earth, printed with an image of the planet and the words "Humanity's Home". It was something his mother had sent him, but he didn't really care for it, or the stupid rock it came from. Might as well let it be of use though, right?
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