2nd. ( video. )

[reconnaissance]

( The problem here was, so far as Ellie could see it, was that there were people. Too many people, a claustrophobic press of Transports jammed in so that she felt like she suddenly had some idea what it was like for cattle to be run through the crush. Whether or not they were all destined for an abattoir was another matter entirely.
Not just that, but they weren't the right people. Some of them seemed decent enough, but they weren't her human safety blanket or the guy that kept them all going, or the one that she could always feel superior to. (To be honest, it was a relief none of them were Lee.)

This might be why she is addressing the network from one of the bombed out buildings rather than her place, which she hasnt visited for a few days. Ellie's just surrounded by debris, dirt and water damaged walls, though some of the prior are concealed by some pretty massive piles of paper. She's propping herself up on her elbows, not looking right at the device. )

I was wondering what there is around here in the way of record keeping. I mean, these things have got a lot on them, but something other than that. Pens, paper - the tangible stuff. In case the network fails, or something.

There's probably already something, but I haven't had time to figure all that out yet. And maybe if there isn't, we should make one. Record the people who have been here, what they know, experiences and stuff. Not just stuff that happens here, but before. Or, um, elsewhere, I guess. Wherever home is.

( Despite this being a video broadcast, and deliberately so, she has to yet glanced at the camera. She does now, very briefly, but there is a definite guilty expression to it. Ellie opens her mouth again, but thinks better of it. )

Comments

[text]

[reconnaissance]

You're probably right. I got this bad habit of biting off more than I can chew. Nothing wrong with a bit of a challenge though, hey?

[itsmagicallydelicious]

no
but nothing wrong with taking it easy either
especially if you want a group effort

[reconnaissance]

Ironic how more people will want to help with something easier, when having the extra hands could make tackling a bigger plan so much more doable, isn't it? Or maybe it's just weird.

Maybe I could treat this place like a holiday.

( if only sarcasm translated reliably via text )

[itsmagicallydelicious]

they want to know their efforts will amount to something
i guess

what would you do on a holiday?

Ugh phone tagging

[reconnaissance]

( that makes her smile, oddly enough. Fancy that.)

I have no idea. Holidays are a bit like unicorns, far as I'm concerned.

/pats!

[itsmagicallydelicious]

i always liked travel but
that would probably be frowned upon

[reconnaissance]

How come? Soldiers take leave and all, to help with battle fatigue. Tell them you got that and then bugger off to do whatever you like.

[itsmagicallydelicious]

there's not much else on the island i think
it's not much of a tourist destination

and unfortunately at the end of the day i can't take a holiday either

[reconnaissance]

Next time we get dragged off to another world without permission, we better make sure it's more like Hawaii.

Or is there... Some specific reason you can't go on holiday?

[itsmagicallydelicious]

considering our luck
the volcanoes would go off
but it would be a nice last trip

i need to finish this war and get home, that's all

[reconnaissance]

I hear volcanoes are pretty, at least.

I reckon just about everyone here feels the same way. ( she frowns as she types that. ) Tough it would be interesting to talk to anyone who wasn't eager to get back.

[itsmagicallydelicious]

it wouldn't be a bad way to go

there are those here who don't think returning urgent
or have no interest in fighting
and ones who wish to stay

[He doesn't give specific examples -- he feels that would be tactless in this case.]

[reconnaissance]

I can't imagine feeling that way.

( Or maybe she can, a little. She wants her world back to the way it used to be, but she doesn't really want to be home. She wants her friends to be safe, but she doesn't want to be back in a warzone where it was a struggle to get food or shelter and every moment you had to be on high alert. That makes her feel unbelievably guilty. )

We all have to go home.

[itsmagicallydelicious]

yes
whatever else this is
it's temporary

[His feelings about staying or going are all tangled up in a way that makes him wary of examining them at all, but his conviction that this is only a detour is part of what holds him upright.]

[reconnaissance]

( her reply takes a little while, if only because she has a tendency to get lost in her thoughts )

maybe if everyone you cared about could be here, it'd be different.

[itsmagicallydelicious]

i don't know about that
if it's only a reprieve
would it be worth it to you?

[The thing is -- the thing is, he knows all about how hope cuts both ways. It's part of what paralyzes him.]