video; open

[babylieutenant]

[ Hello, the Rig. There's a young woman with the most shockingly lilac colored eyes ever to be seen peering into the camera on her communication device. She looks awkward and a little uncomfortable in the issue jumpsuit. She smiles, though. It's a very bright, winning smile, too. ]

Er, hello honoreds. My name is Lieutenant Tisarwat, of the Radch.

I'm not sure how i came to be here, but now that I am I'll be doing my best to fit in and pitch in where I can, and I hope that we'll be able to work together in the future!

[ For all her discomfort she manages to come across pretty genuine. ]

I do have a small request, however. Does anyone know where I can get some...

[ AHEM. ]

Some gloves?

Comments

video;

[breq]

[ There's a pause. A flicker of surprise behind her eyes. ]

Fleet Captain? I think you have me mistaken for someone else.

Re: video;

[babylieutenant]

No, no I don't think I have--it'd be impossible, sir. At least I think it would be impossible to mistake anyone else for you, sir.

[ Not after you held her while she CRIED, Fleet Captain. ]

[breq]

I've never served in the Radchaai military.

[ Technically the truth, as far as she knows. ]

My name is Breq; I do not have an officer's rank. Nor do I think I would want one. And... I am sorry to say I do not recall ever meeting you.

[babylieutenant]

But--But sir!

[ Genuine distress has entered Tisarwat's voice now. Was this the same woman who had held her? Told her it was going to be alright as she tried to put the pieces of her mind back in place? ]

It's me! Lieutenant Tisarwat, of Bo decade!

[ It sounds like she might cry. ]

[breq]

I'm sorry.

[ And she genuinely does sound sorry. She doesn't know why this lieutenant knows her face or knows her as a fleet captain. ]

I... don't remember a Lieutenant Tisarwat.

[babylieutenant]

[ This is a joke. Or some kind of ploy to throw off their captors, because Fleet Captain Breq doesn't joke. ]

Do you remember Lieutenant Ekalu, then? Or Lieutenant Sievardan? Mercy of Kalr? The Tyrant?

[breq]

[ There's that first flicker of familiarity. ]

I... know a Seivarden, but she hasn't been a lieutenant for a very long time. And the Mercy of Kalr is known to me.

[ Her eyes flash a moment later. ]

The Tyrant. You mean Anaander. But why would you call her a tyrant?

[ She is struck with the idea that this lieutenant is much more than she seems. ]

[babylieutenant]

I have my reasons.

[ More guarded now. Something a little cannier and wiser lurking behind that wide-eyed gaze. ]

Seivarden was your senior lieutenant when I came aboard Mercy of Kalr.

[breq]

[ That does sound like something the Tyrant would do, honestly. Give her a ship and a rank to try and keep her under control and use her. ]

That would be news to me and to her. We are both... well. She is a private citizen, at any rate.

[babylieutenant]

Not when I was assigned to Mercy of Kalr, she wasn't.

[breq]

I... see.

[ Breq remains nonplussed. ]

I'm afraid that I still don't remember any of this.

[babylieutenant]

Do you remember Omaugh Palace, sir?

[breq]

I remember the battle there, yes.

[ She frowns. ]

Why?

[babylieutenant]

I don't know, sir. I was just afraid you'd forgotten everything.

[ There's hurt in her voice, though. An unspoken grief. You've forgotten me, Fleet Captain. ]

[breq]

[ She can hear the hurt, but she doesn't know what she's meant to do about it. She cannot change the reality that she knows. ]

Would you like to speak in person?

[babylieutenant]

Can we? I'm still learning my way around. It's rather like being on a station or ship in some ways. Except someone's turned the temperature all the way up.

[breq]

No helpful Station, either. There's a mess hall here. Why don't you meet me there, Lieutenant?

[babylieutenant]

Certainly, though I doubt the tea here is any good.

[ UGH bad tea. :( She'll make her way to the mess hall though, giving a strained smile so that she can get inside. ]

[breq]

[ Breq is waiting for her. She already has two mugs of (not great) tea set out for them. Why they use mugs and not bowls is strange to her, but she doesn't question it. Instead she slides it toward Tisarwat as she approaches. ]

Have a drink, lieutenant. I'm afraid it isn't all that good, but... it will have to do.

[babylieutenant]

[ Ah. Not bowls. How strange. Tisarwat sits and reaches out for the mug. It's strange, seeing the Fleet Captain out of uniform. But she's also not quite the fleet captain, is she? There's something different about her, subtly. ]

Thank you, Fleet Captain.

[ A pause. ]

Should I call you citizen instead? Would that be better?

[breq]

If you would like, you may call me Fleet Captain.

[ She doesn't know how much this lieutenant actually knows. ]

I will need some time to get used to the idea, of course.

[babylieutenant]

Of course.

[ She sips at the tea as a way of distracting herself and winces. ]

Aatr's tits, that's the worst tea I've ever had.

[ Someone has picked something up from Seivarden. ]

...So you remember the battle at Omaugh Palace, but nothing about what happened at Athoek Station?

[breq]

It's not the worst I've ever had, but it's certainly close.

[ She takes a sip anyway. ]

I haven't been to Athoek Station. I know it exists, but I've never been there.

[babylieutenant]

...If I talk to you here about what's happened, will others know about it? Is it safe?

[ She takes another sip of the awful tea. UGH. ]

[breq]

Jorgmund will probably know. I'll know. And that will likely be all.