KY321B; voice; night 007

[backsassin]

[ 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?

Comments

audio (cw: lalo being lalo)

[salamanca]

My pleasure, Miss Zam. That's a pretty name! Very unique.

[ 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?

[backsassin]

[ Deadpan: ] Thanks, I picked it myself.

[ 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?

[salamanca]

[ There's a delighted "Ha HA!" on the other end of the walkie. He appreciates a good dry sense of humor! Anyway, her assessment isn't totally off-base, in that Lalo is always playing an angle all the time. He's always trying to figure out what he can get from people all the time.

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. ]

[backsassin]

Wait, wait, there were drones kidnapping people? [ Zam was expecting to hear about predatory wildlife, not machines chasing people down and locking them up. Fierfek, no wonder he'd wanted to know if she has a lightsaber. ] Are they still on the island? And what happened to the people they kidnapped?

[salamanca]

They stopped working a day ago, thank goodness! Looks like they ran outta power. The people they kidnapped are safe now, but we can't be sure they're never going to come back... or what else could be out there like them.

We could hear the saying we were "unauthorized transport".

[backsassin]

Sounds like someone doesn't want us here.

[ 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.

[salamanca]

Maybe. Maybe not. Could've been set up for somebody way before us.

[ 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.

[backsassin]

Well, right now, everyone's just telling me to stay put and try not to die again, so I've got no plans. Ask away.

[ After all, just because he asks doesn't mean she has to answer—or to answer honestly, at that. ]