Wear a necklace of rope, Side by side with me.

[etcircenses]

Who| All those on the breakout mission and all those being made to fight against them.
What| The liberation of District 4.
Where| District 4.
When| This week.
Warnings/Notes| War, violence, death. Please warn for more in headers.

The ocean is a calm clear beauty only for a short while. Storm clouds loom on the horizon, dark and massive beasts prowl quickly forward and growing size. The waves grow higher and higher over time, crashing violent upon rock, dock, and shore alike. One wrong slip, and the ocean may very will claim you for its own, war be damned.

The once bright and friendly tourist city and pier is on total lockdown. The businesses (curios shops, restaurants, and even games and rides) have closed their doors and barred them with wood. One of the hotels has been turned into the Capitol-soldier boarding and war room, a refuge for Peacekeepers in the new uprising.

Said Peacekeepers are struggling here, quicker to react due to the nature of the District's people. There is an overwhelming amount of rebels here, perhaps even the entirety of the District. Many of them, as comes from being a former career District, know how to fight, make traps, and generally outlast their opponents. Capitol soldiers will be stretched thin trying to help the Peacekeepers settle this District's ire. The people of District four want vengeance.

Everywhere beyond the tourist's city is rebel territory. Propoganda is rampant here. It's greatest control is the weather washing it away. Yet still words can be seen such as in the face of adversity; stand together! and TO BRAVERY! and Time's up, Capitol.

The war continues, and in the back of everyone's mind is a familiar phrase; may the odds be ever in your favor.

Comments

[didnothing]

Luna stumbles when the boat rocks sharply, and she's able to recover herself there but when Albert reveals his intention that's harder for her to bounce back on. Get you back over? "You can't mean..." Her eyes dart from him to the rest of the ship, and then out at the ocean in lieu of being able to stare at District Thirteen itself.

Maybe she ought to be glad. District Thirteen isn't home to her any more than the Capitol is, but if her behavioral monitors weren't an issue she'd feel a little more comfortable working for them than for the Capitol. They are most definitely an issue, though, and so the most prevalent emotion swirling around in her mind is panic rather than relief. "I--I can't," she stammers. "I'm not permitted to attempt escape, or aid rebels. I can't--I can't do anything." And she really can't, in her own mind. She can't do what matters, anyway.

[silberfuchs]

Thirteen's hardly across the ocean, but he can see her thoughts in her movements regardless. Fear, uncertainty, wanting something you're not sure you can have because of the implications. It's almost jarring how alike her mind works to how his used to, back when he'd first been remodeled. Either that, or he's entirely projecting, but they don't have the time to figure it out.

"You must, and I'm not giving you a choice," he pronounces, mouth pressed in a thin line. "I'll stuff you in a barrel if I have to, but I'm not letting you stay here where they can toy with your mind - your programming any longer."

[didnothing]

She has to admit that it's appealing. Luna's been living with her behavior restricted from within for months, and it weighs on her constantly. Even just thinking about the possibility of being away from the Capitol brings her anxieties back crashing down on her full-force. She's tired of living in fear of harming others, of knowing she can't trust herself. She's tired of the constant reminder that she's nothing more than a tool. She's afraid to believe that it's possible to change all that, though, not so quickly.

Her next words are chosen carefully. "If you try to send me to the rebels, I have to resist. And even if I were to end up over there, the modifications to my programming will remain." It's a warning and a plea in one. They both know that Albert could overpower her if needed, Luna having neither the disposition nor the experience to put up much of a fight, and in the end maybe that could be a good thing. But it's not going to be as easy as a simple "Yes." It's not that easy, as much as she wishes it were.

[silberfuchs]

"There are people there who can help." He dismisses the warning part of it out of hand; she's not one for combat, but he was built for it. He expects she could try her hardest and he wouldn't even receive a dent. "But as I said, I am not giving you a choice in that matter."

It's clear that he'll have to knock her out, by her own admission even, and it makes sense. She's programmed for Capitol loyalty even if her heart's not in it. There's just one last matter to touch on, and then he'll do what he has to. "Is there anything I can take care of for you, after you've gone?"

[didnothing]

Things to take care of. Not much comes to mind; Luna's been trying to mind her own business since the Capitol reprogrammed her, thinking that the less she knows the better when she doesn't have full control of herself. Most of the people she knows will be glad to hear she's gone, with two exceptions.

"My friend, Sansa. And my creator...Sigma Klim. The Gamemaker." Luna casts a nervous glance away for a second before giving Albert a pleading look. "Sansa would worry if I were to be taken, and I'd want her to know I was safe. And Sigma - he's a Gamemaker, but believe me when I say..." She hesitates for a second, because as far as she knows Albert has no reason to care for Sigma and anything like he's a good person would have to be qualified. "If the Capitol blames him or gets angry, he doesn't deserve what they'd do to him. His friend, too, from our world - that would be Phi."

Is it too much to ask that Albert look after them? Maybe it is, but the word hostage still echoes in her mind, as does a mental conversation conducted at the end of a long and exhausting day, and Luna knows that she has to try.

[silberfuchs]

"I know about Sigma. We've met." As far as she might know, they hate each other, but there's far more to it than that which he unfortunately can't divulge. "I'll do what I can regarding Sansa. You have my word."

Sadly what he can do is very little, especially with this action that will likely keep him under Capitol suspicion for awhile longer. If they ever won't suspect him. Probably not. Honestly he'll probably get hauled off and questioned about Luna's disappearance and if he speaks to Sansa about it it might put her under suspicion too. Best that he doesn't, but he doesn't have time to explain that all to Luna now, not with the ship starting to bob wildly.

"We don't have much more time, Luna." It's your last chance to get in the barrel without him deactivating you...

[didnothing]

Luna does indeed assume that Albert isn't too fond of Sigma, and the fact that he promises to talk to Sansa but not Sigma concerns her a little. But she figures pushing it would be too much; she isn't the type to force others into anything, and she wouldn't have said a thing to Albert to begin with if she didn't trust him not to harm Sigma based on her information. So things will still be fine...maybe. She hopes.

When Albert brings her attention to the ticking clock, Luna freezes up. She's been very careful in how she discusses their situation, speaking in hypotheticals and focusing on her uncertainty to skim by her censors on the barest possible technicalities. Now isn't a time for hypotheticals, though; getting her to the rebellion requires real action, and action beyond what she's permitted to do. She gets as far as looking at the emptied canister of poison, but that's it. Every possible action from there that could get her inside gets vetoed by the Capitol's monitors, from stepping towards the barrel to just leaning forward. "I can't," she says finally, feeling shame at her own lack of power. "I just...can't. I'm sorry."

She's pretty sure that what's about to happen won't be much fun for either of them.

[silberfuchs]

He nods, not showing disappointment so much as resignation. He's not usually very worried about appearances when it comes to others understandings of his actions as there are only a few people who's opinions he cares for - generally he only hides things and displays good manners because it's easier in the long run to avoid trouble - but in this case he sincerely wishes it could be gone about some other way. He's not an inherently violent man, no matter how his legacy as a soldier tries to undermine that.

There's still one modicum of hope though, as awkward as it may be to ask.

"Do you have a... Erm. Is there a sort of...?"

Off switch?

[didnothing]

It takes Luna to catch on to Albert's meaning, and when she does she looks away in embarrassment. "There is, on the back of my head. But it's hidden underneath, um...it's not visible."

She shakes her head, apologetic and just a little mortified. Being a thing of metal and plastic, the only way to get at it directly would be to get past the artificial tissue and in contact with her core skeleton underneath. And while it's not exactly the same as nudity, given Luna's self-consciousness about her true nature peeling away her skin is still a level of exposure that she hadn't prepared herself for until now. Not the ideal option, clearly. She tries to fish for something else. "It might be accessible with enough applied force..."

Which comes back to violence, in some form. For once Luna's starting to regret the similarities between her original body and her current one.

[silberfuchs]

Underneath the skin, he assumes is what she means. From a technical standpoint that makes sense foremost because it would be hooked into her core systems and secondly that it would remove the illusion of humanity to have a large and obvious button visible at the base of her skull. Even if it makes sense, however, he's not too keen on the answer considering what it means.

"Then I owe you another apology for what I'm about to do."

Which he does in short order as they're on even shorter time. Albert steps around Luna and swiftly brings his elbow down sharply at the back of her neck. He's fairly sure he would be able to accomplish his task even without his augmentations, but with his metal arms it's almost impossible that he could even miss the button, let alone not apply enough force.

[didnothing]

If Luna had time she might try and respond, but Albert is faster than she is and within a few seconds of his blow Luna's powered down. She's still standing, but the force of the impact has left her hunched forward awkwardly and there's a looseness to her body that wasn't there before.

Later on Luna can be turned on again, whether by direct input or by being disturbed enough to trigger a wake-up. For now, her strings have been cut.