Pheligian Falcon: Prison Break

She narrowed her eyes slightly as she stared into his, trying to read every fragment of his expression. He was serious. That meant he was either a complete and utter fool or that he knew something she didn't. "And what makes you so sure of any of that?"

"You've heard the rumors, but I've heard it from the warden himself," Sy whispered. "His fatal flaw is his desire to boast: he will get out of this hellhole, and so will every other sentient being on this ship that isn't a prisoner. They're not just replacing guards with automated hunks of metal. They're automating the prison remotely and are discontinuing any travel in and out of the storm because within a few weeks' time, it will become not just treacherous to fly through, but impossible."

He paused, tilting his head to the side, back against the bookshelf.

"They can't fly the Pheligian out, and they won't ship out hundreds and hundreds of prisoners. So this is their best option: leave the prisoners stranded, to die, in an endless, torrential storm of space crystals with AI guards who are programmed to know no mercy and can be controlled remotely as desired from planets far off by desk-bound mouth-breathers who think its a game."

His sharp-toothed smile turned teasing.

"Our window is small," he said. "And if we don't seize it before they wisen up and implement things faster, there won't be any ships left to fly out on."

He offered her the book, where he slipped his paper creation between the pages.

"If you have your doubts," he said, holding his smile and her eyes. "Do some reading."

She accepted the book with slight hesitance as remembering his previous display and despite her having a pretty good immune system now thanks to Helrock, she still didn't have much of a desire to allow herself any chance at getting sick. She however simply wrinkled her nose slightly and was very careful not to touch where he had.

"I've heard the rumors. But who's to say my "plan" as you are so determined that I apparently have, won't succeed without you?"

“Do you know a pilot who can fly you out without crashing into rapidly moving massive shards of crystal?” Sy asked with a raised brow. “And how quickly can you scramble something together? By all means, reject the invitation. But if you don’t take this one, I won’t insult you by asking again.”

The term of pilot seemed to quickly catch Eclipse's attention and her expression involuntarily showed her interest. "and I presume you do know a pilot?"

Sybyl didn’t let his smile grow.

Hook, line, and sinker.

“I do,” he said, just as the timer for their recreation time struck zero.

A blaring alarm began to pulsate over the speakers, summoning prisoners to file back to their cells.

Sy tapped the book he gave to Eclipse in her hands.

“Take a look, why don’t you?” he said before he parted.

Kazimir felt tired. He wasn't sure what it was, but by the time the second meal rolled around, he just wanted to lie down and sleep. The problem was that there was so much time between meals. He'd get a second wind after recreation time, work out on his own in the cell to burn off the energy, and then be completely spent before eating.

Refueling helped, but it always helped too slowly. He tried to eat faster, but inhaling the thick, rubbery burger-like meat and the gummy bread took so much work with chewing that he got exhausted just from munching.

Kazimir slumped slightly over his plate, nudging the "burger" bun with his finger.

He was losing his touch. He hated this place. Seven long years were just the beginnings of eternity, and he knew when he felt like this it was a weakness to stay in it -- the dread could never end. There was a limitless well to drink from if he let himself.

Days and days spent alone in white-walled rooms flashed before him. Hours turned to minutes, minutes turned to weeks, and contemplations turned to droning silence, carried by the sound of his own breathing.

"I think I need another..." he murmured to Marius, not finding the right way to say it.

He was getting restless again. Antsy. His temperament felt twitchy, aching for a fight. He'd fought this beast many times over, but still, it reared its head.

He took a deep breath and pushed it down.

A plunk at the other side of the table raised his eyes, and he looked up at Sy, the aquatic freak from earlier, who now watched them with bright eyes and his tray on the table.

"Mind if I sit?" Sy asked.

Kazimir did not reply.

"Cool, thanks!" Sy said anyway, sitting down with a hop.

Marius had been listening to Kazimir, and was just about to prompt him to finish whatever he was saying, when the leapfrog movement at his side startled him. He blinked, watching Sy seat himself without further invitation. That was fine. It wasn't like they owned the table, or as if they actively tried to drive others away at mealtime. In fact, Marius was happy to see people were approaching Kazimir at all.

Still... for the time frame this was happening in, it felt like a bit much.

"Hi," Marius decided to greet. "How's it been?"

Never mind that it had hardly been any time.

By the time Meal 2 came around, Rhea had to keep herself from wriggling with excitement. Ace and the young pirates seemed friendly enough during the Uno game. If she could just push them together... Rhea mulled this over as she waited in line for food with the other inmates.

Helrock as always, sat hunched on his own with no care for other inmates. He ate the food without complaint, as he preferred it to what he ate as a gladiator. Chewy beef, or whatever it was made of, was better than grain and beans.

Sy flashed Marius a wide smile.

"Quite pleasant," he said. "You know, they really skimp on the food for those in solitary. Have either of you been?"

Kazimir took a pointed bite of food, not looking at either of them.

"That's a shame," Marius said, deciding it was best to overlook the question or any mention of solitary entirely. "I guess you aren't missing out on very much, though. It's not exactly fine dining."

Ace suddenly slammed their tray on the table, sitting down next to Kazimir. They took the spork from their mouth and stabbed it into the suspicious looking "burger" on their tray.

Ace looked up at the Shah across the table, narrowing their eyes in curiosity. "Who's this guy?"

Kazimir jolted, and then looked at the kid, immediately deflating. It was just the child.

"Him?" Kazimir said, pointing at Sy with a straight face. "Paparazzi."

Sy laughed.

"I'm Sy," he answered. "Who are you?"

Rhea's gaze caught on the group forming at Kazimir's table and grinned. She walked over and plunked her tray down next to Ace, casually sliding three extra sporks their way. She gave a grin to Kazimir, Marius, and Ace and a small, friendly wave to the Shah. Not wanting to interrupt anything, she just stayed quiet, digging into her burger and watching the interactions between the different people, masking her reactions so she didn't react or look too eager.