ic inbox

[marineris]

"This is Bobbie Draper. I'll get back to you."

Comments

[donkeyballs]

Well, maybe. [ He murmured, thinking about her and the martian marines.

Defecting, again, partly for his sake.

He let out a breath. ]

... I've got a lot to catch you up on. If you want to be caught up.

[marineris]

[It sounds like a mess, from the very little she's gathered.]

Yeah, I do. If you're up for it.

[donkeyballs]

[ He pulled back from the hug, though he left his hands on her shoulders, before he glanced back at the plate she'd abandoned. ]

... Please tell me that food can be involved, too? I'm hungry enough to eat a horse.

[marineris]

[Her lips quirk up a little.]

Take it. It's all yours.

[donkeyballs]

[ He offers her a grin, giving her shoulders a squeeze before moving to go grab the tray. ]

Alrigh' - so what's the last thing you remember, anyway?

[marineris]

We dealt with those ensigns trying to take over the ship, and then we were headed to Io. We hadn't gotten there yet.

[donkeyballs]

[ Oh right. The ones that beat the shit out of him. He made a bit of a face, but it was mild. ]

Christ, alright. There's a lot to go over. [ As he just - starts eating the food with his fingers right off the tray. He's hungry. ]

Maybe we should go somewhere a little more comfortable, 'cause this is gonna be a long story.

[marineris]

[Bobbie can't help but grin when he starts eating. Ridiculous.]

Alright. Do you want to finish cramming that food in your mouth first?

[donkeyballs]

I can eat on the way.

[ Which he proves, by shoving some of it in his mouth as he heads out into the hallway. ]

Well, first good news is that we found Mei. And stopped the war. And saved Mars from a hybrid launch.

And I wish I could say that was the most eventful part of this story.

[marineris]

Jesus.

[This is going to be a lot, she can already tell.]

What hybrid launch? How did that happen?

[donkeyballs]

From Io.

Turned out that one of the Earth Admirals got the launch codes for - hell, must've been nearly two dozen pods - and during a battle above Io, launched 'em all for Mars. I got a few with PDC rounds, but we ended up havin' to go to the Agatha King and get the launch codes. Naomi and me, I mean. We -

No, I'm tellin' this story all wrong, I'm gonna jump the hell around, like this. Okay.

We let the kids go back to the Martian Navy with a message from Chrisjen, then we headed for Io...

[ And he proceeded to tell the story of the first half of the third Season of the Expanse while they walked. ]

[marineris]

[Bobbie just listens, and when he finishes, she's quiet for a long moment, processing.]

...The MMC took me back?

[donkeyballs]

They'd've been idiots not to. [ He managed to finish the story just as they reached the sixth floor, and he frowned for a second as he tried to remember where he was supposed to be - and then headed for 6.25. ]

It was an illegal war, Gunny, and you and Chrisjen basically saved the whole damn system. She ended up UN Secretary General - the least they could do was let you be a Marine again.

Us - uh - we didn't get as warm a reception. Ended up gettin' sued by Mars over the ownership of the Roci.

[marineris]

[That's certainly mood whiplash. Bobbie lets out a breath. It makes sense, though—fair or not, she wouldn't have expected Mars to do anything else.]

What did you do?

[donkeyballs]

Stayed the hell away from Mars. Which suited us fine. Well - most of us. Obviously it meant I couldn't go home, but. [ He gave an awkward shrug as he hit the console pad for the room and the door slid open. ]

You did, though. It was really kind of you, actually. You checked in on 'em, for me. Told me Melas was a cute kid. [ He smiled, a little, before walking over to one of the matresses on theother side of the room and sliding down the wall with the nearly-empty food tray on his lap.]

Then you got shipped out to the Ring, right about the same time a journalist ended up chartering us to take her out there, too. Did a documentary on us and the Roci, and in return paid the legal fees for the fight with Mars.

[marineris]

Wait, I met your family?

[She can't imagine meeting Talissa as anything other than horrifically awkward.]

And what the hell is the Ring?

[donkeyballs]

[ Sorry Bobbie, he's getting ahead of himself again. ]

Yeah. You went on my behalf, since I couldn't. It meant a lot. Didn't change anythin' regarding divorce procedures, though, but I think Melas appreciated it.

[marineris]

[She sighs, scrubbing a hand over her face.]

I wish I remembered that.

[donkeyballs]

[ He offered her a sympathetic smile. ]

Hey, not remembering that's at least better than you not rememberin' me at all.

[marineris]

You remember me now, right? The rest doesn't matter.

[donkeyballs]

Yeah. [ The smile softened, as he set the tray aside and patted the mattress next to him. ]

I'd be hard pressed not to. Though I almost thought I lost you, twice, but- come on, lemme finish the rest of the story.

[marineris]

[Bobbie takes the invitation and sits down beside him, leaning her shoulder into his.]

Lost me how?

[contorta]

he shows up every couple hours normally

[ maybe not that often, but it feels frequently to prax who loses count of the hours over his work but is always glad to see amos. ]

[donkeyballs]

I'll get there, but that's skippin' to the end a bit, and I gotta figure out how the hell to even tell the beginning.

[ He paused, leaning his head back against the wall with a hum. ]

So, we were headin' back to Ganymede, with you and Chrisjen and all the kids when it happened. The protoshit, on Venus, had been workin' away that whole damn time, and like a damn Krakken from the deeps, it rose outta the cloud bank like a giant ship.

Swore I nearly had a heart attack, when I saw the news feed.

[marineris]

A ship. It made a ship.