backsassin (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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reefnet2023-06-05 10:16 am
backsassin) wrote in reefnet2023-06-05 10:16 am
KY321B; voice; night 007
[ It’s the dead of night when the broadcasts start—short, choppy bursts initially, static interspersed with the occasional snatches of a woman’s voice against the low susurrus of waves on sand. It’s several long moments before they resolve into an actual message. ]
—anyone there? Please, anyone—I don’t care who you are, just say something!
[ There’s a clear edge of desperation in her voice and it’s no wonder; Zam had woken up pressed against a sand dune in the pitch black night, her last memory being of her own untimely murder. She’d thought she was buried at first, then in hell—and then she’d noticed the radio clutched in her one remaining hand. Then came the struggle of trying to figure out what it was and how to operate it one-handed in the dark and—suffice to say, she is experiencing a lot of stress at the moment. ]
Does this thing even work? [ More static as Zam starts blindly pressing buttons in the dark. ] —anyone receiving?
—anyone there? Please, anyone—I don’t care who you are, just say something!
[ There’s a clear edge of desperation in her voice and it’s no wonder; Zam had woken up pressed against a sand dune in the pitch black night, her last memory being of her own untimely murder. She’d thought she was buried at first, then in hell—and then she’d noticed the radio clutched in her one remaining hand. Then came the struggle of trying to figure out what it was and how to operate it one-handed in the dark and—suffice to say, she is experiencing a lot of stress at the moment. ]
Does this thing even work? [ More static as Zam starts blindly pressing buttons in the dark. ] —anyone receiving?
no subject
Don't worry about it. I needed the laugh.
[ It was exactly the dumb sort of joke Zam would've made if their positions were reversed; she can't really get mad about it. ]
Yeah, I think so. They used a... a plasma weapon. [ She's not going to say 'lightsaber' when that could potentially invite questions as to how she'd pissed off a Jedi. ] Those cut and burn at the same time.
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And it means she has a sense of humor. He approves! And decides, at least for the time being, that he likes her. ]
Then it was my pleasure. I'm Ben, by the way. Ben De Guzman.
[ He would not know what a Jedi was, anyway! He doesn't even understand the concept of a plasma weapon, as evidenced by the obvious confusion in his voice. ] Plasma... weapon...? Ah...
no subject
And yeah, a plasma weapon. Convenient if you need someone alive, but not necessarily in one piece.
audio (cw: lalo being lalo)
[ Alive, but not in one peace, eh? Lalo briefly loses himself in a vivid and extremely fucked up daydream wherein he imagines how he could torture The Chicken Man with such a device. He gets so excited he almost goes into cardiac arrest. For a few seconds, there's nothing but silence, except for the sound of his footsteps on the ground as he walks.
He's careful to make sure he sounds calm when he actually speaks, though. Calm but befuddled. ]
I... see. I'm afraid we don't have anything like that where, uh, when, I'm from. I can't even picture it. I'm sorry to hear such a thing was used against you. It sounds horrible.
Do you possess one of these "plasma weapons" yourself?
no subject
[ Zam doesn’t mind flattery, but she’s also used it too many times before to be particularly trustful of it. Even Jango knew how to use it in a pinch. All it tells her is that there’s likely something that Ben wants—
A suspicion that seems confirmed by his next question. ]
No. [ Maybe he’s just trying to figure out how dangerous she might be, or maybe he’s asking because he’d like such a weapon for himself. In the end, it hardly matters since Zam is telling the truth. She doesn’t even have her blaster anymore. ] Why? What kind of threats are we dealing with on this island?
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But, there's a part of him that treats it as simple instinct to compliment a woman, even if the only thing he can compliment is her name, because that's all he knows.
His disappointment when she says she doesn't have a "plasma weapon" is crushing! He had hoped to see one for himself. Who knows, maybe she would have been so kind as to let him borrow it? ]
Mi bella, be lucky you missed the drones! They were terrifying. I... [ He swallows. ] Ah, nevermind. They were these electric flying things that kidnapped people and locked them up in cells.
Someone else says she had guys in trees firing crossbows at her, too. Guys she couldn't see. [ And that is all he is going to say about that where Shaw can see it. ]
no subject
no subject
We could hear the saying we were "unauthorized transport".
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[ Which feels a bit like adding insult to injury since none of them had asked to be here either. Zam sighs. ]
Okay, well, thanks for the intel. I don't know how much I'll be able to do if they show up again, but... I'll try to keep my head down.
no subject
[ A heavy, airy sigh. ]
No, no, no, no problem. [ Imagine a tired smile here. ] I'm happy to do what I can to help our newcomers. I have some questions of my own in exchange, though - if you wouldn't mind, of course. I'd hate to inconvenience here you when you just got here.
no subject
[ After all, just because he asks doesn't mean she has to answer—or to answer honestly, at that. ]