angelo and the hickster's post-belle arctic adventures

[spotsalone]

MUTINEERS

SOLOMON TOZER

MARINE (T)

GEORGE HODGSON

LIEUTENANT (T)

CHARLES F. DES VOEUX

MATE (E)

MAGNUS MANSON

AB (T)

JOHN LANE

BOATSWAIN (T)

JOHN DIGGLE

COOK (T)

WILLIAM PILKINGTON

MARINE (E)

JAMES RIGDEN

COXSWAIN (E)

JOHN SULLIVAN

CAPT. OF MAINTOP (E)

ROBERT FERRIER

AB (T)

ROBERT THOMAS

MATE (T)

John Diggle

COOK

John Diggle

COOK

mutineers:

• Sgt. Solomon Tozer, marine (T)
  
• Magnus Manson, AB (T)
  
• Lt. George Hodgson, lieutenant (T)
  
• Charles Des Voeux, mate (E)
  
• Pvt. William Pilkington, marine (E)
  
• John Diggle, cook (T) - lung damage from inhaling goodsir's evil cloud
  
• THE STUPID FOX
  
• Pvt. James Daly, marine (T) - mauled by the Tuunbaq
  
• Edmund Hoar, captain's steward (E) - throw into the water by the Tuunbaq
  
• "Pvt." Thomas Armitage, gunroom steward (T) - mauled by the Tuunbaq
  
• Harry Goodsir, surgeon (E) - rescued by Silna after the Tuunbaq attack
  

boat boys:

• John Lane, boatswain (T)
  
• James Rigden, coxswain (E)
  
• John Sullivan, captain of the maintop (E)
  
• Robert Ferrier, AB (T)
  
• Robert Thomas, mate (T) - actively dying of scurvy for the crime of having two first names
  
• and perhaps eventually lt. little depending on how much of our minds we lose along the way
  
• Thomas Terry, boatswain (E) - died from scurvy before the mutineers showed up
  
• Thomas Work, AB (T) - died from scurvy before the mutineers showed up

angelo cr chart
mutineers cr chart...

timeline:

• arrival; late july, mutineers' hill
  
• tent chats; early august, temporary camp
  
• spotting the ships; late august, terror camp
  
• tuunbaq attack; sept 1, ice floe camp
  
• boarding terror; fellas it's gay; early sept, hms terror
  
• dog to dog communication; early sept, forecastle
  
• bark bark bark; early sept, on deck
  
• coat! and post-tozer debrief; early sept, angelo's cabin

Comments

[royalmarine]

[ Truthfully? No. Of course that sounds like horse shit to him, but— ]

We've spent more than a year squaring up against a creature that consumes souls. There is no earthly explanation for your sudden appearance, nor for Hickey's...

[ Hickey's what? Tozer can't even put words to the strange aura that surrounds him since Angelo arrived. He thinks better of trying to complete that thought. ]

Say we make it back to London and start telling stories about what's happened here. We'd sound mad, but it wouldn't make the stories any less true.

[cleansheets]

[ It's a solid argument on its face, but Angelo believes none of it. Even if Tozer were able to square away the bear and not just start rationalizing it the moment he gets the chance, there's a world of difference between accepting a foreign god and a man from the distance future.

And Hickey... His brows furrow a little when Tozer trails off. Hickey surely must seem otherworldly to everyone here, after the miracle he's pulled off. There might not be anything to this. Yet this hint towards suspicion is something they will have to keep in mind. Hickey's immortality is a great weapon and a dangerous secret. In its own way it makes him vulnerable. A cigarette case is quick to disappear in the endless oceans of earth.

This conversation is really giving him a headache, and he's not getting any sewing work done either like this. What a bust this evening is. But Tozer isn't leaving yet, and Hickey did tell him to play nice. So here goes nothing. ]

Fine.

[ He has no mind to breathe a word of what transpired in Chateau Ambregris, but his own recent past is less of a danger to share. There's nothing anybody could do with that information. ]

Until recently I served Captain Full Frontal of Neo Zeon, a man fighting for the liberation of the space colonies. For the past three years, I've been the head of his royal guard and his right hand man, both in combat and in administration. That's been my cause, and one I would have gladly died for, but the path towards that is closed to me now. Does that help? Do you trust me more for that information?

[ He sounds so spiteful... ]

[royalmarine]

[ Oh what the fuck. ]

It's a start.

[ And it is, regardless of how ridiculous it all sounds. Neo Zeon means nothing to him. Space colonies? The hell kind of name is Full Frontal? And in what world would someone so young be made head of any royal guard?

But there's no explanation that wouldn't set Tozer's mind spinning, and enough dots do connect to let him accept this as the truth. He's never heard an accent like Angelo's, never seen a uniform like his, never seen a man with purple eyes. This story may as well be true. ]

It does explain your level head when the creature attacked.

[ And his penchant for barking orders. And his lack of hesitation in rifling through Tommy's corpse. Tozer grits his teeth.

It does not explain much else, though. ]

But you don't trust any of us, do you? Save for Cornelius.

[ It feels odd to use his given name with a near stranger, but it underlines his point. ]

[cleansheets]

[ I trust him least of all, Angelo thinks, but it has the aftertaste of a lie. His reasoning may be telling him that this something with Hickey will end in nothing but blood and pain for him, but his mind is set on seeing it through to the bitter conclusion anyway. That's not trust, but it may just be functionally indistinguishable. He really has fallen quite low.

But none of this has to concern Tozer. Instead... ]

Trust is a fool's errand.

[ It's true, this is a thought that he's held onto his entire life. If you do not trust, you cannot be betrayed. If you do not want, you cannot get hurt. As long as you empty yourself, you can keep on living. ]

But I know we share a common goal and can't reach it without each other. I'm not a fool, Sergeant. You need me alive and healthy, and vice versa.

[royalmarine]

[ A fool's errand, huh? Tozer isn't sure what to make of that, but he's unhappy to hear it. Why, he's not sure. The rest of Angelo's answer is enough to satisfy him for the time being. Angelo's larger opinion on trust does not matter to him. ]

Maybe so, but we need the men to trust us. Hickey especially if he's going to hold rank. He's closer to losing them than he realizes.

[ Probably, anyway. He can't claim to know Hickey's thoughts anymore. He does know how their crew operates, though. He can sense the uncertainty as they all begin to realize the impossible odds still stacked against them, the relief of making it to the ship wearing off. There's some stability for the moment, but it won't last on faith alone.

Tozer leans in again, voice lowering. ]

You'll need some help, keeping all those secrets. The men are noticing. Even Manson is letting his mind wander.

[ There's a pointed look at the mention of Manson. It's not a card Tozer is eager to play, but he's found his inroad. ]

[cleansheets]

[ 'We', 'us'. Instinctively, Angelo bristles at the way Tozer is trying to insert himself into the way Hickey and he stand apart, but... Better Tozer try and put himself back in the in-group than work against them, isn't it? That's the argument Angelo had been making, anyway, before Hickey had to go and make it personal instead.

And speaking of personal... Tozer appears to be willing to use blackmail to get where he wants to be. It's lowly, but it's a kind of low that Angelo is familiar with. It's only the mention of Manson that makes him tense up before he can think to stifle his reaction.

Here he'd begun to hope they'd have gotten away with... well, with which part? Hickey's injures are the likely conclusion and the biggest issue, but something about that phrasing is... suggestive. And Hickey had mentioned that that would be a problem in its own right.

Angelo leans in as well, his eyes a glare. ]

Is he now. And just where do you think that mind of his is going? Surely you're man enough to say it plainly.

[royalmarine]

[ Well, since he asked. ]

Cornelius healed up quick, didn't he?

[ He's nervous, saying it outright, though his soldier's composure hides his nerves well. He may be overplaying his hand. If he's wrong, this will go poorly. Manson is too earnest to lie about something like this, but how much does Tozer trust Manson's judgment? Manson, who believes in ghosts and trembles at the thought of their crewmates down in the hold.

Tozer trusts his own eyes, though. He hopes that's enough. ]

[cleansheets]

[ !!

Angelo is not known for his pokerface, and unfortunately his expression contorts instantly at this. The saving grace is that shock and anger are related emotions to him and his face reacts to them in similar ways - his brows furrow, his nose scrunches up, the line of his mouth tightens. ]

He's lucky to still be alive, yes. I'd know, I re-do his bandages twice a day.

[ In truth it had just been the two of them sitting in the room for a bit, much closer than before. Angelo updates Hickey about his efforts with the clean-up, Hickey runs his hands over Angelo's shoulder. A strange new dynamic that doesn't seem to fit right just yet, when they're no longer delirious with exhaustion. ]

[royalmarine]

[ Tozer grins. Credit where it's due: Angelo recovers quickly, and his story would likely convince most of the crew, or at least get them to stop asking questions.

But if there's nothing to hide, then why give a story at all? He ought to be confused by the assertion. ]

Understood, lieutenant. I'll be sure to relay that to the men.

[ His tone is lighter now. Conspiratorial. He's found a need to fill, a role to slot himself into that neither Hickey nor Angelo could manage themselves. Someone needs to keep the crew level. He'll keep their bloody secrets, even from himself, if that's what it takes. ]

[cleansheets]

[ Angelo likes neither that tone nor that smile. Tozer looks like he's won and Angelo just let him. The injury to his pride is already considerable, and the actual tangible danger is even greater. The way Tozer is flaunting the sway he holds (that Angelo doesn't hold) makes more than clear that he could relay all kinds of things to the men, and they would listen.

It's hard to imagine that he'd actually do it - undermining Hickey's leadership would just weaken them all and risk the lives of the whole group. But it's a threat nevertheless, made with profit in mind. Tozer wants more from them than they are currently giving. Angelo needs to talk to Hickey about this, and quickly, but first he has something else he needs to ask. ]

Why come to me about all this? I'd think you'd trust Cornelius more than anything that comes out of my mouth, even when the subject is my person.

[royalmarine]

[ Tozer's grin sours at the question. Even this small triumph is fleeting. He understands why Angelo would wonder, but there's no answer that doesn't betray more than Tozer is willing to give.

He doesn't trust Angelo, but the lack of trust is due to the lack of familiarity. In reality, he suspects he has more in common with Angelo than with Hickey. They are both soldiers, and they've both fallen off of that path with no way to return. That's a waywardness that Hickey is unlikely to understand. Tozer doubts he's ever felt that dedication for something larger than himself. Angelo may even understand the torment of having failed his men, watching them all die one by one, most right in front of him.

He and Angelo may never be friends, but they don't need to like each other to find trust in that commonality—or their shared goal.

Tozer does not trust Hickey. Or, rather, he knows he should not, and yet he finds himself unable to resist the spell. If Hickey decides Tozer is of better use to him dead than alive, he won't need to stab from behind like he did with Gibson. ]

Because this problem is between the two of us and we don't need him to solve it.

[ If Hickey had any serious interest in forcing them to get along, he would've moved on it by now.

There's a beat. He could leave it at that. He should leave it at that, but the sliver of sympathy he has for Angelo shakes loose and makes another decision. ]

Anyway, I take you for a man who'd appreciate the chance to tell his own story. If you're lying to me, he would too.

[ He has no hope of stopping Angelo from becoming trapped in the same whirlpool of Hickey's influence. Everything word out of Tozer's mouth will be relayed back to Hickey, especially any direct warnings against him.

But maybe Angelo can read between the lines here. If that backfires, Tozer can play it off as a testament to Hickey's unwillingness to share secrets that aren't his to give—and then he'll know Angelo's fate is sealed, too. ]

[cleansheets]

[ Angelo goes quieter at that. It's a convenient excuse, but Tozer doesn't have Hickey's penchant for simply finding the words Angelo wants to hear and throwing them out at every opportunity. If this is a bid for sympathy, it's a damn lucky guess. ]

Of course he would.

[ Because if he didn't lie (or stayed silent altogether) this whole thing would come apart. Out of the three conditions Angelo gave before coming to the arctic, this is the most important one. If Hickey betrays him on that front, he'll die for it. It's not something even Hickey would risk so thoughtlessly.

Angelo presses his lips together into a thin line. Tozer is more dangerous than he'd given him credit for, but... With a small huff, Angelo picks his needle and thread back up. ]

We'll be stuck here for months. You'll learn more about me whether you want it or not.

[ He doesn't intend to be forthcoming, and some secrets will remain secrets forever, but proximity does breed familiarity. It's difficult to deny, even when you try to isolate yourself as much as possible. ]

[royalmarine]

[ It's not much, but it's more than Tozer expected to walk out of this conversation with. The worst of the tension has been contained, at least for now, and he even got some answers out of Angelo. Quite the win, all things considered.

He raps his knuckles against the tabletop and stands. ]

Good enough for me, lieutenant.

[ Angelo gets a tight nod, and then Tozer heads aft to leave him to his work. He will need to speak with Hickey about all this, but he'll do it tomorrow. No doubt Angelo will run to tattle at first opportunity. Let him.

Instead, he heads up the ladderway to find Manson. He ought to be relieved to hear that what he saw the other night was just a trick of the light. ]