Players: Janie, Johnny, Aladriel
Synopsis: A brief discussion during a workout.
Date: March 16th, 2070
{Note to self, ask Johnny for missing part of log due to crash}
He doesn't glance over at her, as he starts to fulcrum his body in to a swing. "Whats that mean?" he asks, getting himself up and around, to pause at the very top, his body a knife held in the air by the power of his fingertips.
"I've been spendin' th'past few weeks usin' a disguise and an alternate identity," Janie replies, heading over to her sports bag and stooping to pull out a towel and a water bottle. "Tryin' t'establish th'ID as legit an' basically lie low as Janet while 'Miriam deVries' could walk around unhindered…"
She chuckles. "I hadn't intended t'have th'new identity run afoul o'th'MSD's shenanigans quite so quickly, but fate had other plans, it seems…"
He swings around now, tossing himself through the air to the other bar, catching and twirling once, then twice, then coming from the bottom to the top, releasing the bar. He twists twice in the air, then comes to land with absolute precision on the bar itself, his feet in the enpointe position. "Everyone wants to be a hero janie. You need to learn to pick your damn battles."
Janie shrugs, then takes a long sip of water. "Ahh. I never intended t'play th'hero," she replies. "I'd gone to th'rally because I wanted t'get a better feel on public opinion in th'Ute sector. Then when I saw th'kid with th'gun, I figured a simple deflection spell'd do th'trick without havin' t'show my hand…"
She shrugs again. "I admit th'sniper came as a surprise t'me; I was too busy keepin' an eye on th'two Minstry shamans over in th'stands when th'shot hit…"
"And thats why it was a surprise to you." He says simply, stepping forward to twist, and spin on one foot point on the narrow bar… "Because you fell for the obvious. Assassination is Slight of Hand more tan anything, Janie. Watch my right hand while my left stabs."
Aladriel enters from the hallway.
Janie is standing by her sports bag, looking all sweaty and flushed from a long exercise while sipping on a water bottle and talking to Johnny, who is currently doing a balance act on the uneven bars. "He had some protection o'his own. Between that an'th' deflection spell runnin' th'shot wasn't quite lethal enough f'r him t'be past healin'…"
She shrugs. "I was there; I did what I felt was th'right thing t'do."
Johnny eyes Janie for a moment before he moves, doing a forward summersault off the top bar, about 15 feet up, to land in a perfect stance on the mat below… "You make your choices, Janie." he says simply, eyeing her. "What was that man to you? What was his cause, to your identity, to your life? We are not heroes for every cause to come along; we are the very best, and we must choose where we apply our talents, because I assure you." he pauses then, to eye ally for a moment, but not hostilly… "We are impossible to replace, and hard to repair once damaged. Always, always measure your risk with your reward."
Sensing immediately that she's come in on a conversation that few would describe as casual… Aladriel doesn't immediately get on with greetings or the like. She looks from Janie to Johnny and back again to hear the response, though after a moment her eyes wander to search for something in the gym.
Another shrug, definitely unapologetic. "I'd never met him before; doubt I'll meet him again. I didn't even know his name until I read th'news th'next day. All I knew at th'time was that he was someone speakin' out against genocide an'tyranny an' who wasn't afraid o'th'consequences."
She tilts her head at Johnny. "Am I impossible t'replace?" she asks then. "Possibly. At th'risk o'soundin' arrogant, even probably. But if I'd walked away, turned my back on an wounded man it was within my power t'save from th'enemies that tried t'murder him in front o'me, placed savin' my own skin over that o'an innocent…"
"…I'd've been th'lesser f'r it," she finishes.
He raises an eyebrow. "Innocent?" He asks then, a sly smile coming to his lips. "You think that man was -innocent-? That man was -purposefully- inciting that crowd to violence. Are you that blind? He played them, to do EXACTLY what happened, to cause an international incident. The sniper, he may not have planned for, but you lost YOUR identity for that mans politics. He -wanted- an incident!"
He shrugs then, turning to Ally. "Heya ally. Wassup?"
A double-blink as Ally finds and starts pulling out a target dummy who she starts sizing up. It takes her a moment to realize that she was spoken to. Looking over she flashes a big smile. "Didn't want to interupt you two, it was reminding me that I need to pay more attention to the news! Cause then I might have an idea what you were talking about. But I don't cause I've been pretty busy."
"An' he was prepared t'die - t'lay down his own life rather'n th'lives o'others - in order t'make his 'political point'," Janie replies. "He might've been prepared f'r th'single gunman, but if he planned th'incident like ye claim he had t'have /known/ th'MSD might very well succeed in shuttin' him up."
She pauses, looking thoughtful for a moment as she ponders scenarios, then nods again. "They've been goin' after pretty much everyone who talks too loudly; all he did was give them an opportunity t'shoot themselves in th'foot by attemptin' t'eliminate him in front o'too many witnesses t'control. Put himself in front o'th'crosshairs an'dared them t'take th'shot. Th'world'd be a better place if more people had that kind o'courage. Compared t'that, a fake identity's easily replaced."
Johnny raises an eyebrow as he nods to Janie. "Your life, kiddo."
Janie nods. "My choice. No regrets." She then turns to Ally. "Hey, Ally. Long story short, someone was speakin' out against th'Ute government at a rally in th'Ute sector, th'MSD took a couple o'shots at him, I wound up compromisin' one o'my fake identities while makin' sure they missed."
Johnny pauses, then says… "I have a call I need to take."
Ally ooohs quietly at hearing what all the hubub was about. "Well that's certainly a bother. Least you can get another one and that you've got more than one…all the small blessings, right?" Her eyes turn to Johnny. "Oh, go take it! Find me later tho cause I need to ask you about if I can do something." A sweet smile.
Janie smiles at Ally. "I've a few spares, thanks t'y'r wife," she replies with a grin. "I'll need t'spend some time fleshin' th'next one out beyond th'name, though…"
"She's good like that, isn't she?" Ally asks, obvious pride in her voice as she finishes setting her practice dummy. "Well, just use-use-use it. I'm sure it'll be a bit of a chore, but it'll be worth it, I'm sure you'll find!"
Janie nods. "It was… Interestin', bein' Miriam," she replies. "Anyway, I'm off t'soak f'r a bit, get rid o'th'sweaty smell. Take care."
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