Not sure yet. Had some other issues to deal with...
[And by "other issues", Rey really means getting herself pretty banged up as well.]
Got him functional for the time being, but he won't be running any marathons anytime soon. Plan to keep an eye on him, fix whatever can be fixed. Hope was able to provide synthetic parts the last time, so he may be our only shot at producing what we need in terms of potential replacements... [A fact that Rey is all too loathed to admit.]
I don't want to leave her alone here. We've been through a lot, and she's about as close to family as someone like me can get.
[He means his synthetic nature. He has other reasons for wanting to stay, at least for a time -- memories he can't access, cases that need solving -- but his roommate is undeniably the primary cause for his hesitation when it comes to the discussion of going home. Is it weakness to let someone be so close? Does having someone he'd risk anything for cloud his judgment?
He pushes a sigh through him, not sure he wants to know the answers to those questions.]
Have already seen someone. [Or, rather, Muscovy already dropped by without anyone asking him to. Who knew that something positive would come from the kid's stalking her?] It's nothing serious, asides from some fractured ribs. Those should heal within a day or so.
[It's the one good thing she inherited from her father: His freak genetics. Broken bones tend to take only a little extra time than it would a human.]
All Hope asked for back then was to take out the remaining giant bats or inspire "hope" into a couple people. Chose the former option. [For obvious reasons.]
[Maketh nods, a somber expression on her face. The people here matter in ways she never could have anticipated. It's kept her going, but it's also changed her in ways that she doubts can be undone.] I have family here too.
[Or at least some inkling of it. He hopes those Maketh cares for aren't as potentially volatile as Rey.]
That's one reason this place needs to be better than it is. There are some folks who can't go back. Either it's not an option, or it's worse than things are here, even with the gods and the monsters.
Oh, I see. [Maketh's voice softens slightly. Such injuries can be healed that quickly with a bacta injection and, it seems, with Rey's particular set of gifts.] Be careful, then.
[Sometimes it scares her, how completely she needs these people. It would break her to lose them. And he's right about one thing. Not everyone can go back. Not everyone would wish to, either.]
We could make a home here. We have allies and enough skills to...well. Maybe it's only a dream now. But we could try.
It might just be a dream for now, but at least it's something to hold onto. Something to keep us moving.
[And in his case with Rey, literally. He's not sure anyone else in the city has the technical know-how to put him back together again, should something happen to him.]
I think we need that. Or at least I do, sometimes.
[Motivation to keep on going after each disaster. And maker, there have been so many. Maketh sighs, drinking her coffee.] Making this place livable won't be easy.
Well, am not going to try and get up close and personal with another deathclaw, if that's what you're worried about. Not while Nick is in his condition, anyway.
[Nick just looks into his mug for the moment, mulling things over in his mind.]
Where I come from isn't perfect, but Rey can't go back. Not to what's waiting for her. I've got to do what I can to make this place home not just for everyone, but for her.
I don't think so, but it's not like we have much of a choice in whether or not we go back. Not yet. The Door took her back once already. Who's to say it won't do it again. Or take you, or me, or someone else who'll be missed.
My thoughts exactly. The trick is figuring out how to do that without letting the gods know we're sniffing around. They say they have no control over it, but I'm betting the minute someone gets too close, they'll end up 'going home.' Keep the trouble-makers to a minimum.
Of course. [It's only logical. Maketh rubs her forehead briefly.] Or one of them will challenge Fear. He how to active it at the very least, perhaps even control it. But they'll keep us weak as long as they can.
[Their war must be quieter, as a result. Maketh exhales.]
I would suggest playing them against each other, but I fear we would only become pawns in that game - one more violent than what we already face.
Yeah. Whatever war they had before took out both them and the previous tenants of this place. We've got both an advantage and disadvantage in that they aren't familiar with how most of us work, human or not. That girl and her powers showed us that much.
[Maketh hums in agreement.] I think we ought to know our neighbors better. That was the Empire's mistake, back home. Assuming that because a group appeared weaker that they could not be clever. And I think we can be clever, Nick.
[There's a spark of something there that heartens her, despite the tenor of their conversation. Maketh nods, sipping her coffee.] Yes. I can organize soldiers, but it's become clear to me that this...whatever we make of this place, it will never be an army. Not as I understood it. Do you...know how to organize people?
[It's asked hesitantly. Maketh understands how the Empire would have done things, but her knowledge is incomplete. She's afraid to make worse mistakes.]
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