MSNPC Adon Kent - Played His Hand
Jamie LeBlanc
((SS Belladonna, Maintenance))
Leaning against the wall of the lift, Adon Kent sucked in a raspy breath and dug his fingers into the top of his scalp, applying pressure until the nails were digging into his flesh.
Slowly, very slowly, he dragged his fingers down, as if he could peel away the mask he wore.
Mask.
He was a murder-puppet wearing the flesh suit of a dead man. A false face. He may as well have peeled the skin off Melvin Lowell’s corpse and worn it like a costume. That would have been more authentic to what he felt.
Kent: =/\= I am wearing the face of a dead man who was cut into pieces and fed into a recycler!=/\= ::he screamed in the turbolift, completely hysterical:: =/\=There is no way to make that any better. I could lie to myself and try to become him, but we all know that’s a horrible ending for everyone. =/\=
There was a chirp and the line suddenly cut.
They were coming for him. He knew it.
Did that change anything? He already knew they were coming for him when that Human woman asked him who he really was. Another breath, he stopped raking his nails down his face and tried to see what deck he was one.
Was there an escape? Could he possibly leave? Should he run?
Trovek: =/\= Look I…. I am not good at lying. So I’ll be honest. You are not in a great situation. We both know that, but… You can still turn around. ::she paused:: If you keep doing what you are doing right now, that’s it. The summary of your life. =/\=
He jumped, staring at the disembodied voice, panting slightly. She was still there. The alien.
The one he liked better. Even though she was an alien. Why.
WHY?
Why were these aliens so… relatable?
He hated that. He hated getting to know them, understanding them. It was so much easier blaming them for all the unfairness in the galaxy. Blaming them for taking his spot in Starfleet Academy. Blaming them for losing his job.
Because when you blame someone else, you exonerate yourself.
The irony was, the longer he was with Terra Prime, the more Adon started to understand where he had gone wrong. It came in waves of pain and dissonance. There had been times in his life where an alien individual did him wrong, and treated him unfairly. His Kresstian chief on the Freighter Poloniam was an asshole who threw engineers under the bus. And there were times when it was all his own damn fault. He could have shored up the places he was criticized on in his Starfleet application and reapplied a second time. He could have improved and would have almost certainly be accepted. Most cadets apply two or three times.
But it was easier to lump all those things together. To put the blame on the ‘other.’
To find succor in the promises and acceptance of Terra Prime.
Until Terra Prime killed his fiancée and turned him into a murdering puppet wearing another man’s face.
Kent: =/\= Why do you care? =/\=
The tone was hot and fast, borderline accusatory.
Alien. Why. Why do you care? What’s your manipulative angle?
Alien. Why. Why are you relatable? Why do I want to care about you?
When I don’t even care about myself?
Because I have nothing left.
Nothing.
Trovek: =/\= Well, I’m on your side. Don’t get me wrong, I also really don’t want to die. I want to go home to my little girl and the person I want to marry. But I can not want to die and still be on your side. =/\=
Not want to die.
He kind of did want to die.
Kind of.
His hands shook, and as he stared at them, punching the controls of the lift to slow it down, he realized they had lost most of their color. Blood was drained away and fear was poured into its place.
He wanted to give up, but he was too afraid of death to commit.
Kent: =/\= What makes you think I don’t want to die? =/\=
Maybe that was a rhetorical question.
Maybe he was thinking out loud.
Maybe he needed to hear her answer.
Trovek: =/\= I’ve been on the Rahuba when it was boarded by Terra Prime members. I was there. They entered sickbay and believe me, they really didn’t want to fight. They were scared. ::she let the words echo through the room before she followed up:: They weren’t dying for a glorious cause. They were just dying. =/\=
Just. Dying.
What a horrible thought. A meaningless death.
Just a void in the universe. Nobody cared. You were just gone.
Kent: =/\= Maybe that’s all we deserve. =/\=
Trovek: =/\= Deep down, do you believe that, Adon? Do you look at hybrid kids and decide they don’t deserve to be alive? =/\=
He clenched his teeth, feeling an acid sickness well in his throat.
He never really thought about it.
Malefic preached it. Swelling sermons about poisoned blood and the horrors of hybrids and aliens taking over what was rightfully human.
But in the end all he had followed was a sense of belonging. Camaraderie. Acceptance.
And he had done horrible things for that acceptance.
Horrible.
Kent: =/\= … ::A strangled gasp of air.:: … no. Gods no. =/\=
But had he helped kill them?
Yes.
Trovek: =/\= ?
Kent: =/\= Because they made us belong! They made us feel accepted! Wanted! Loved! =/\=
Which was a hilariously cruel way to see the monstrosity of Terra Prime.
Trovek: =/\= ?
Kent: =/\= Oh yes, I am aware! I am aware of how many have died! How many have been murdered! Pain begets pain begets pain! =/\=
Trovek: =/\= ?
The turbolift finally came to a halt and the doors screamed open, vomiting out their staggering passenger as he grasped the bulkhead for support.
Kent: =/\= There is no way out of this! =/\=
He yelled again, not even checking to see if anyone was around to overhear him.
Trovek: =/\= ?
That’s when the impulse overload hit, and the Belladonna lurched.
Despite his grip on the wall, Adon Kent was flung violently to the floor, seeing bursts of white stars as the scratches on his cheek impacted with the bulkhead.
And without thinking he scrambled to his feet, moving towards Engineering.
Kent: =/\= I didn’t do that! =/\=
He emphasized, his tone focused on the problem.
Shit. He didn’t even realize he had played his hand. He wanted to live. Even if it meant betraying Terra Prime.
Trovek: =/\= ?
~*~
tags/tbc
~*~
MSNPC Adon Kent
aka Engineer Melvin Lowell
~Julian Beck
E239010ST0