Exsilium - IC Contact

[bodilesswarrior]

Line 1:

This is Barbara. Leave a message and I'll get back to you.

Line 2:

Oracle speaking.

Comments

[bodilesswarrior]

Mine. [The room isn't nearly as intimate as her bases back home, and she'd rather be in her own space. And it's lonely in here.]

[5055034455]

When's a good time for you?

[bodilesswarrior]

You free now?

→ action;

[5055034455]

Sure am. I'll be there in a few.

["A few" later, there he is, as promised, knock-knock-knocking on Barbara's door and calling her name in singsong.]

[bodilesswarrior]

[Barbara's got the coffee going when she answers the door. She's smiling, but it's worn and weary.]

Hey.

[5055034455]

Hey, Barbara.

[Her smile is worn and weary; Saul's everything is the same, from his tie-less getup to his slightly slouched posture to the dark circles under his eyes.

At least he hasn't given up on shaving...?

Mostly. Gesturing inside:] May I?

[bodilesswarrior]

[Her chair wheels back as she gestures inside.]

You look about as bad as I feel. [She cocks her head.] No, probably worse.

[5055034455]

Heh. Thanks.

[It's a good thing he can laugh it off, and he does, with a low chuckle.]

First the mutiny, then the Jesse thing, now all this talk of...

[Stepping inside, he waves a hand. He doesn't know what to call it. It's not quite democracy. Organization? Conduct? Whatever.]

Add to that everything Steph's been dealing with, and yeah. Sleep hasn't really been a thing. We're trying.

[bodilesswarrior]

How is she? [Her voice is softer, suddenly, as she pushes the door closed. She hasn't interacted with much of anybody, really - barely, even, over the network. Just watching. Analysing. Planning, for all the good it will do her.]

[5055034455]

Not great.

[Saul shrugs a shoulder, glancing off to the side.]

You should talk to her. It's not my place to — you know.

[Steph's business is her own, even if it's also Saul's. Even though there's a lot he'd like to ask Babs for advice with, right now isn't the best time.]

Anyway, the past few weeks have really taken a toll on us. And I don't just mean Steph and me.

[bodilesswarrior]

[Barbara nods; she's reluctant, but that doesn't mean he's wrong. She just - she needs some distance. No use getting her issues all over Stephanie's.]

No. [She turns, then, towards her makeshift kitchen. (It's a coffee maker on a dresser.)] Everyone's reeling. Mostly in different directions.

[5055034455]

Yeah.

[His voice sounds distant. She's right, of course; the chaos has died down and left more in its wake, and Saul's never had to deal with something this serious.]

So — you saw Ashraf's post, I assume.

[bodilesswarrior]

I did. [She has to reach up to get the coffee, the twinge of annoyance there and gone as she retrieves two little mugs. She turns, offers one.]

There are some solid ideas there. The problem will be implementing them.

[5055034455]

[He takes it with a grateful smile, then glances toward her bed and nods in a silent May I?]

One of many problems, yeah.

[bodilesswarrior]

[Barbara gestures with her free hand; go ahead.]

We should have had more structure from the start.

[5055034455]

[A quick, dismissive wave of his free hand, and he sits.]

Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Didn't happen. C'mon, you're the one with political experience — what now?

[bodilesswarrior]

[Her chair wheels closer as she cradles the mug in her hands.]

I have political experience in an existing, functioning government. This is something else. [She sounds wearier than she ought to; less certain, less confident.] It's easy to say we need negotiation, and compromise, and representation. But first we need a solid foundation to build off.

[5055034455]

You can say that again.

[That this is something else.

He sighs quietly, resting both hands on his own mug. The warmth is nice.]

Okay, here's my experience with government: some local councilman needed my help after he knocked up the wrong prostitute. I've also got an MA in Political Science, but like you said — that's experience with an established system. I mean, shit, are we looking at the need to draw up a Constitution, or...?

[bodilesswarrior]

[She's not in a laughing mood, but it does draw a smirk, if a fleeting one.] And then there's whatever systems the city might have in place, once we get back.

[5055034455]

And then there's that, yeah.

[So...]

So.