[ TLV | Video/Spam ] 013 - A whole different Claudia

[reactivates]

[Oh look, Claudia's back on the network. She looks pissed. There is no vibrant color streak in her hair. If one were to look closely enough there may, in fact, be tear-stains on her cheeks. Obviously this visit home went very not-as-planned.]

I'm back. Willow, we need to talk. I gave you an assignment before I left. Did you do it?

Tim, thanks for watching.... [She looks down. Swallows. Like this is hard to say.] Jinks.. for me. You can drop him back at my cabin whenever...

[Private to Admiral]

I'm changing my deal. I'm bringing Steve back.

[SPAM for around the Barge]

[One might see Claudia around, yes. Though she's a very angry whirlwind right now, hurrying from place to place without so much as a friendly smile to anyone. The snarky fun girl has turned into all-business plus a side of rage girl.

Even at the dining table, she practically inhales her meal in order to leave and go somewhere else.

Most often, she's found in the library doing research or running laps in the gym (it helps blow off steam, okay?). Catch her if you can!]

Comments

[ Spam : Gym ]

[reactivates]

[She shifts uncomfortably, but politely turns her iPod off and takes one of the earbuds out when he speaks.]

...Yeah. Hi... Did you need something?

[Her voice isn't unkind, actually it's practically devoid of any emotion at all, except perhaps a touch of sadness. Now that he's closer he may also notice she's got an SD card on a string around her neck. If he even would recognize what that is. She'd never worn it prior to her recent absence.]

[ Spam : Gym ]

[warisart]

[He does and he doesn't; he's seen them before, he doesn't really know what they're used for, and his observations hadn't been able to go that far. He knows it's not jewelry but in the world he comes from, he's also not surprised that someone might choose to keep their valuables on them at all times, and that data could very well be the most valuable of all.

Ben hesitates, because the short answer is no but the truth is he does want something. That's not something he's used to acting on, though, not lightly. Up for debate whether he'd notice or particularly care if she were unkind to him - that, too, he is accustomed to.]

I'm sorry to bother you, ma'am, but I've seen you here and in the library. Both activities seem to stem from distress and duty rather than enjoyment.

[ Spam : Gym ]

[reactivates]

[Whelp. That observation of his earns him an eyebrow-raise from Claudia. She looks down at the iPod in her hands, fidgeting with it as she speaks.]

Yeah, well... I'm not really here to have fun. I'm here to help my inmate.

[Said quite matter-of-factually. She glances back up at him though, with a touch of curiosity.]

...I don't think I've seen you around? You new-ish or am I just unobservant?

[Being so unobservant right now wouldn't really surprise her. She's been rather distracted.]

[ Spam : Gym ]

[warisart]

[Not that it comes anywhere near the surface, but that answer actually garners a bit of approval from Ben; his unwavering fixation on duty and discipline, at least for the time being, agrees - it's just that everyone else keeps telling him things about want and fun. He waits, and when she asks her question, his expression doesn't change.]

I'm recently assigned, ma'am. My designation is X5-493. [He hesitates, thinks about adding that she's only not seen him around because of her level of distraction, but ends up cutting off there.]

[ Spam : Gym ]

[reactivates]

[Good god he's so military. It's weird to see someone so similar-looking to Dean being... very, very not Dean. And the "ma'am" is just downright annoying. She shakes her head a little, frowning.]

Okay, first off, there's really no need to call me "ma'am". It's just Claudia, thanks. And second... I have absolutely no idea what X5-493 is supposed to mean. [She's really hoping it's not his name. Because if it is she may be required to give him a nickname and in the mood she's in it's not likely to be a particularly friendly one.]

[ Spam : Gym ]

[warisart]

[Ben stands, stoic-faced, through the chastisement over the honorary; she's not the first, she won't be the last, this won't even be the ony time she tells him that. It's habit as much as intentional, preferring to show respect to someone who turns it down than to not show it to someone who would demand it; he knows better than to do that, at least. Nor is the confusion over his designation unusual, he's learned - it's with something ilke patience that he does, indeed, go about acting as though it's his name. It's not, but it may as well be for all anyone outside his unit has ever cared before here.]

It's my designation, m-...iss Claudia. I'm number 331845739493 - 493 for convenience purposes - of the X5 series.