littlebattles | IC contact for lastvoyages

[His item leads him to the library, which seems to be fairly quiet today - there are the usual workers, a couple browsers, and then Zoe Smith, curled up in an armchair with a book. She's the one that his item will persistently point to.]

[That's... definitely not what he would have expected. Not least of all because the name the Admiral had given isn't the one she'd given. And sure, it's not like pseudonyms aren't a thing, but still. It's a little odd.

On the other hand, his item is pointing to her, and there's not enough people in the library for it to be pointing to someone else in the same vicinity, so he makes his way on over.]

You wouldn't happen to know a June Harris, would you?

[What. Do items function as some kind of locator? How had she missed that?

Regardless, when she looks up, her face is perfectly nonchalant. She thinks for a moment, frowning a little, then shakes her head.]

No, I don't. The name sounds a little familiar, but that's all. Why?

[They sure do! But Tesla is at least willing to extend the benefit of the doubt for now, if nothing else.]

Because unless the Admiral managed to get something wrong, she should be right around here.

[Huh! She looks over her shoulder. Nope, nobody there.]

How accurate are the items?

[She's taking a chance here, guessing that it's the item that's doing it, but it seems to her that it's by far the most likely possibility. It could also be that warden communicators have an extra function, but she's betting not.]

I haven't had a chance to try mine out yet. No inmate this month.

I haven't seen them be wrong so far?

[And given that he's been on the Barge for several years, he's pretty sure that it's one of the few things the Admiral actually gets right. Which is saying something, given his general disdain for a lot of what the Admiral does.]

I mean, I could ask him if they've ever been wrong before? But you'd think more people would be talking about it, in that case.

And we're not due for a flood...

[Her brow furrows. Wow! This is so perplexing! If a flood isn't making his item go haywire, what else could it be?]

You seem like a smart guy. I'm guessing you have some theories about what's going wrong here.

A couple actually. Assuming the problem isn't with the item itself - and given I've been here for years and haven't heard of them misfiring like that, I doubt that's the problem - then either someone here has some kind of ability that can interfere with them, it's a serious case of mistaken identity, or you've been using a pseudonym for whatever reason.

[There's no judgment if it's the last. He's gone by his fair share of those, over the years. Hard to go by your actual name if you're supposed to be dead, after all.]

And pretending to be a warden.

[She says, raising her eyebrows - because surely that's a bigger issue than a pseudonym, right? She pulls an ID access card out of her pocket, showing him the front; it does indeed read "Dr Z. Smith", for whatever that might be worth.]

My name, and my item.

[Wrong and wrong, but she's curious to see how he reacts. If she needs to reveal herself now, she feels as ready as she'll ever be for it, but if she can buy herself a little more time, she'll take it.]

And pretending to be a warden, yes. But it’s not like there’s any oversight on that?

[Probably because it isn’t sustainable. Not without becoming incredibly obvious, sooner or later. Still, he does take a look at the ID card she presents to him - while he still has his doubts he has to admit that it at least looks plausible as a warden item.]

And honestly, I'm almost surprised more people don't try it?

[Or maybe just don't think to try it, although that works out to about the same thing in the end.]

Edited 2020-06-10 05:17 (UTC)

I haven't met a single inmate here who would feel the need to.

[She says, tucking the ID card away.]

So what do you say? Do I pass muster? Would you like me to help you look for the real June Harris?

It's not about the inmates here. It's about the reasons someone might.

[And those? Those he can definitely think of.]

But I suppose I wouldn't object to a bit of help?

[If nothing else, it'll help confirm his suspicions.]

[Awesome. She smiles and stands, setting her book aside.]

I guess first we have to figure out the range of that thing. Maybe she's somewhere else in the library?

It's worth a look, at least.

[He is, admittedly, pretty sure he already knows what kind of a range the items have. But he's curious to see what she'll make of it, and there isn't really much of anything else he needs to do right at the moment either.]

[Off into the stacks they go! And the item is, of course, happy to point out that his inmate for the month is walking right there alongside him.

She gives the item a pointed look, then looks back up at Tesla, eyebrows raised.]

[There's a moment of silence, once she turns to Tesla, and then he sighs.]

Alright, look. I don't really care why you're trying this whole... pretending to be a warden thing. But in the long run? It's not going to get you where you think it is.

[She heaves a sigh of her own, running a hand through her hair and offering up a grim little smile.]

Well. A month and a half of peace wasn't bad.

I'm pretty sure there would have been other ways to manage that, if it had been all you'd wanted?

[There's no judgment in his voice though. Sure, pretending to be a warden is more than most inmates might try to do. But it's not like it's actually hurt anything, either, except perhaps people's opinions of her.]

It's a long story. Do you really care about all the details?

Not particularly.

[He won't stop June from explaining if she wants to, mind. But he doesn't particularly care about the details either.]

[She looks away with a quiet sigh, nodding.]

I don't blame you. If I were in your place, I probably wouldn't be that interested in my sob stories either.

I'm not going to make the month hard for you, if that's what you're worried about.

I wasn't. And even if you were it wouldn't be the first time?

[Pause.]

Also 'sob story' or not, it's still your decision. I'm not going to... make you explain if you don't want to?

And I'm not going to make you listen to the long version if you don't care.

[But she can Cliff Notes it. It's a story she's been crafting for a while, after all; she knows it as well as she would if it were actually the truth.]

I was confused and scared, I didn't know if anyone from home had access to this place, and advertising my real name and the fact that I'm a prisoner felt a little too much like throwing myself onto the chopping block. By the time I realized that a lot of my fears were unfounded--

[She gives a little shrug.]

How do you tell people that you've grown to like and respect that you've been lying to them?

[Well that's. Sure a question he has some experience with.]

It's not easy? But it's going to get worse the longer you don't.

[This is, notably, not a how. But if she's going to actually speak up about it, it's most likely better that she do so in her own words.]

Pushing off things that are unpleasant and inevitable is a talent of mine. I'm sure my real warden is going to have a lot to say about that eventually.

IC contact for lastvoyages

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