Space Boy

𝐓𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐅𝐔𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐊 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐒 migrated to the right, propping one into a high arch over an obsidian eye. the rest of his expression followed suit. anger that simmered under the skin like a cold rain dwindled to a drip. its icy sharpness lost its grip on his facial muscles, tuning them visibly downward through his mask. hard to remain wrathful when a grown man spoke like a child testing the boundaries of words beyond intelligible meaning.

"Oh, my bad; my pompous asshole's a lil rusty, but lemme see if I can translate."

He steps forward without hesitation or trepidation, stopping just in front of Rain as he locks eyes. His next words lack their signature even keel, and instead carry an uncharacteristic gravity.

"To this moment, your supposed power and superiority over me have been naught but words flimsy as clouds with a drizzle of unearned and untested hubris behind them. Unless you are prepared to test your assumptions of my worthiness or lack thereof in kombat immediately, you would be better off retaining the moisture so as not to further vex me with your pointless prattling."

He held his gaze for a few beats before letting the hardness fall away from his face and resuming his usual demeanor.

𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒. every word that crawled out of the interloper’s mouth would condemn another to a cell for their pitiable mind would rot away, alone and forgotten. yet this churl had the audacity to stride beside liu kang as an equal, whispering into the fire god’s ear. even more unsettling, liu kang not only entertained the fool, he sniffed along with him. the pair of them like simpering children barely able to contain a shiny new secret.

                        ❝ well said, earthrealmer. ❞

Intelligence doesn't have the privilege of slowing down or taking a break despite the lack of equipment. What they haven't yet managed to gather, they improvise through sheer ingenuity and defiance.

The move to Ajan Kloss has been a literal breath of fresh air after their temporary camp on the despicable environment of Anoat. Eron definitely won't be missing the garbage planet anytime soon and he'll gladly volunteer for more overtime if it means he gets to be surrounded by greenery that seems to stretch on without end. While there are some issues that come with a jungle moon, such as condensation build-up and insects, those are manageable by his standards. Suffice to say, he is completely in his element.

And as for the rest of him, well, being second-in-command of the entire department isn't exactly a walk in the park, but it's a responsibility, a faith General Ematt has in him that he doesn't intend to discard. He accepts a datapad from an eager junior officer, asking for his input before dismissing themselves. Replacing the officer is a new face, one Eron recalls having joined not too long ago. The spymaster side of him has been curious... suspicious, even, ever since. No records to speak of and no history available anywhere he knows to look. But he isn't foolish as to take any drastic measures until something turns up.

Aaron recognizes the roundabout 'at ease', and though his stance doesn't loosen much, he allows himself the beginnings of a smile and the chance to forgo formality.

"Definitely a step up from the last couple stops. Whatever passes for mosquitos around here seem to love me, but other than that, no complaints for me. Glad for this chance to stretch my legs, some, though."

"What's left of it." And wasn't that just him caught with his pants down on that front, having very little idea of what the rest of the world looked like, if it wasn't between Boston and New York. He felt like there was a time he'd have been embarrassed by that, by that lack of knowledge, in the past; current Tony had too much to do in the immediate vicinity to get too worked up over it.

He'd get around to seeing if any of his satellites were still in orbit, still working, at some point. It just wouldn't be today. Tomorrow didn't look great, either. Especially since he'd been brow-beaten by Steve into promising about looking into some more water purifiers for the Castle.

Tony didn't think he'd have gone so far to say fascination. At least...Not in a complementary way, no. He supposed they could be thankful this wasn't another little green men incident like he'd heard from the horse's mouth (Zetta, and then had had the audacity to not let him take a peek at the blaster she'd recovered) over near Oberland. (He hadn't seen the crash happen, no, but he'd helped her later to pick over the wreckage for salvage.) That, as he understood it, had ended badly for the guy who'd carved the mother of all skidmarks in the foothills.

So...Lucky for this guy, then, that despite having kicked around the Commonwealth long enough to know the score, he was a little slower, really, to shoot first, ask questions never than the average wastelander.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Things tend to get kinda dicey when I... drop in, and I take walkin' away from the 'landing' as a win. I'm a little too strapped for cash to replace anything right now, but I'll help out however I can while I'm around."

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