[PRP] One on One

[Tinnunculus]

Though the brig had been shielded from the explosion's effects, there were subtle signs of it as the two Galactic guards herded Xander and Tambrey down the hallway. The atmosphere was tense, off-kilter - the whole ship seemed to be waiting with bated breath. Somewhere, something had gone horribly wrong.

The red-haired Galactic stopped at the end of the hall and gestured towards an unmarked white door. "Both of you, inside."

It led to the same room Aulus had been in - stark, windowless, metallic. There were two chairs. One was a permanent fixture, bolted to the floor. The other was a lightweight folding affair, brought in from somewhere else.

A pale woman with ice blue hair was sitting in it, legs crossed and posture straight. She rose in a fluid motion as the Rockets were ushered inside.  

[Gwennythe]

Notice everything...
It was not advice that she had ever been personally given, just a quote from a TV show that rang into her mind as they were taken through the ship.
Her eyes, she realised as the scenery was (for the first time in a while) changed slightly, stung... but she -could- see. Perhaps not, now, as well as if she had her glasses, but enough to make mental note of each feature they saw on their way down the hall. That was the plan and it, she felt, would have been a useful one... If the hall had had... any really.
It was disappointing that there was so little to be noticed. No... clues to anything other than them being 'in the brig'.
Unmarked white door.
Hm. She wondered just how many of those the ship might actually have and decided it was probably lots.

The atmosphere was tense though, that was something to note; more confirmation, she supposed, to her earlier thought. -Something- had changed the situation. That probably wasn't good for them.
She cast a worried look at Xander at the thought but quickly broke it; that was a bad idea... They weren't supposed to be worrying each other.

The door was open and Tambrey hesitated on entering it. A slight burn- an itch of sorts- worried a certain scar on her left side while her skin tingled in subdued mimicry of the current she'd been subjected to in the cell.
There were going to be... trapped in this room with /her/.
She felt herself tense and, without thought, step slightly closer to Xander.  

[Natsuko-neko]

Like Tambrey, Xander was talking the walk as a chance to look around. While he figured the others who had already been taken had seen something similar, the recent damage might or might not have changed things.

When they walked into the room directed his eyes went first to the waiting Tethys then to the chairs then back to the woman. Now was when things were about to get tricky for them, of that he was certain. How he and Tam reacted to what Galactic had to throw at them was not though. With those types of thoughts in his head he missed his friends quick look but didn't miss when she moved closer.

He bit back the urge to shift in front of Tambrey and instead squeezed her hand again. He almost started things off by giving the blue haired woman a sarcastic 'You wanted to see us ma'am?' but held back. Better that he held his tongue this early in the 'game' otherwise it could have set the woman off faster.  

[Tinnunculus]

It was a good idea, but compared to the few other areas of the airship they'd seen the brig was practically featureless. Decorations were either considered wasted on prisoners or a liability. The Galactics were the best indicator, possessed of a new rigidity, a certain set of jaw and jerkiness of motion suggesting something weighed heavy on their minds.

The commander smiled faintly at the Rocket pair, eyes tilting a fraction at the corners. She gestured with a slim hand to the chairs beside her. "Sit."

The door shut firmly behind them.  

[Gwennythe]

Any notes she'd made of the body language had rather retreated to a safer corner somewhere in the dark of her mind now as Tambrey watched Tethys warily.
She felt Xander squeeze and was grateful for that, but the door was shutting and now the blue-haired Galactic was telling them to sit.

Don't say anything stupid.
"No thanks, you looked comfy there." She blurted a little too quickly.
Oh. Great. Thank you mouth, that was smooth.
Was the door locked? Well... of course it was, stupid thought question, pick another...
Where were the pokeballs? The gun?
Her eyes darted to try and catch sight of either.
She really didn't want to sit, but well, soon there probably wouldn't be a choice.  

[Natsuko-neko]

Xander tensed when the door shut behind them, it being highly likely it was locked. He eyed Tethys while fighting to keep his emotions off his face, not trusting her smile one bit. He shot Tambrey a glace when she started to talk then pulled her slightly behind him. "Hush T, it's just a seat and she asked nicely." Xander pitched his voice to soothing even as his eyes went back to Tethys.

He knew that would just give her more fuel against them but panicking girls, or guys, was not something he was going to ignore and it gave him something else to think of other then his own nervousness. He pulled her towards the chairs slightly, keeping her half hidden. Hopefully Tambrey would get the hint to take the chair farthest from the one Tethys had been sitting in, even if it wouldn't be by much more then an inch at most.  

[Galactic Commander Tethys]

It wasn't a trustworthy smile. It was dreamy, distant even by Tethys standards, and at the lack of immediate compliance something flickered under its filmy veneer. The commander moved her head in a birdlike motion and stepped back from the chairs, folding her arms behind her back as the two approached. Guns and Pokeballs weren't hard to find; she wore an arsenal at her belt - two holsters, six orbs, a baton hooked crosswise at the small of her back - as if they were part of her clothing.

"You are casualties of Loreven's capture," she spoke when they neared the chairs at last. Her voice was feminine, slightly husky, and its cool quietness lacked a personal focus. "Would you like to go home?"  

[Gwennythe]

Well... It wasn't like they could get back out...
Xander.. had a point- it was probably better to just sit in the chairs even if the verbal reasoning he gave didn't match the one she understood.

She did take the hint without even realising that she had; and sat in the chair that Xander had intended she take.

Tambrey wasn't sure if this... version of Tethys was more or less creepy than the last. -Something- was off. She sat, fidgeted with the chair as though it wasn't quite 'as comfortable' as she'd been expecting and warily watched the Galactic in front of them.

"Uh. Yes." She found herself answering carefully- and then not so carefully, still not at all pleased to be in the room. "We would all like that- 't was nice to meet you, when will we be landing?." These words were not what she'd meant to let escape at all. How had they followed her 'yes'? She knew, already, that they weren't going to be appreciated.  

[Natsuko-neko]

The longer Tethys smiled, the more the little hairs on the back of Xander's neck raised. It didn't help his tension as they moved to the seats though they didn't have much choice in the matter. He sat down on the other chair for them and casually crossed his legs so that the one of top was close to Tambrey like a sort of meager defense.

"Of course, we would love to go home ma'am." Drat a small bit of sarcasm leaked into his voice on the 'ma'am' part. Some how he doubted she would miss it even if it was just a hint. "But some how I doubt you are just going to let us walk out of here if we just ask nicely." He said while forcing his voice back to neutral.  

[Galactic Commander Tethys]

Another quick, light head-tilt; Tethys tipped her chin up, looking down at the two appraisingly. "Of course not," she replied, prompt and toneless. "This ship is airborne; you would die. The right words can grant you safe passage."

"All we need is to know where to go."  

[Gwennythe]

"..." Tambrey fought her brain.
The 'right words'... No. She was not going to say anymore stupid things here.
Telling the Galactics 'where to go'...
Her brain seemed to want to kill them both. She controlled it though, attempting to, at least, appear outwardly a little less panicked if not calm...

Right. Be normal. Well, normal and little obviously frightened would have to do.
"What.. sort of words?"

She was, probably, appreciative of Xander's attempt, but spoke up still; she wasn't going to let him start putting himself up and in the way to protect her all the time.
It wasn't right if he got hurt for her... and besides, what if Frost found out and blamed her if Xander was hurt... Well, if they ever did get out that was.  

[Natsuko-neko]

Tethys words repeated in Xander's mind as he sat there. No way was he going to tell her the 'right words'. A slight glint appeared in his eyes for a heart beat before vanishing. No way would get tell her the thought that came to mind for that. After all it would just get Tambrey and his self in more trouble by telling them exactly where they could 'go'. "The ground would be a good place to start, it would be far too much trouble for you to take us all the way home but thank you just the same."  

[Galactic Commander Tethys]

Tethys' brows lifted briefly, just before her hand swept from behind her back to an upraised position, snagging a Pokeball on the way. At some point she must have hit the release button, because red light bloomed into a ten-pointed shape that framed her head like a halo.

"Your team shows a distressing lack of respect," she commented while the light solidified into her Starmie, which bobbed up and down on psychic currents. "It's almost endemic."

Lightning lanced out at Tambrey, stronger than before. Tethys' eyes were on Xander.

"I made a request and an offer. Your response was unnecessary."  

[Gwennythe]

"Frak." Tambrey squeaked out as the Starmie appeared. She really didn't like that thing.
The grunt had been slightly emboldened for a moment by Xander requesting them to be taken to the ground but the moment she realised what had appeared she moved to grab his arm.
One of them was probably about to be shocked...
Suddenly realising, remembering from before, that -she- might be the one to get the shock again, the grunt halted her attempt and drew back... Just in time apparently.
Wait.
She'd had this happen. She'd felt that thing shock before... The grunt kept her eyes on it but listened to Tethys' words.
Maybe a different attempt but it was cut off before she could finish.
"Um. We're sorry but we don't know! We're not high en- Aaaaaagh!"
She'd been talking quickly as she could and hadn't been prepared for it after all.
The dark-haired grunt wanted to move from the current but all of her limbs seemed to lock- familiar and extremely unpleasant. More intense, though, than the last time. Somewhere, she knew that because the last time she could 'think' properly.
Right now, unable to move and feeling like her skin was going to burst or... burn away while her body refused to move, the grunt's mind was a little more like a slot machine- each thought randomly placed beside another and she wasn't getting three in a row. She slumped a little rigidly in the chair rather than tumbling out of it at least.  

[Natsuko-neko]

That Starmie was definitely up there with the exploding Shaymin. Xander had tensed the second the water pokemon had appeared but there wasn't much he could do about it. He kept his mouth shut while the ice queen had her pokemon attack Tambrey but the second it was over he was reaching over to grab the hand she had been holding out a second ago.

He bit back a response to her words just barely since it would probably just get Tambrey hurt again and instead glared at Tethys, not saying anything.