[ His jaw sets. Ashford is right, and Hickey knows it. He should be eager to celebrate this victory, as well as his place in it. If he wants to climb the ladder, this is the best place to do it. The Belt's future lies within this ship.
Still. He wishes that vision was more evident in the reality.
He holds up his hands, conceding. ]
I'll celebrate when we plant our flag on that ring, keya? Then it's a new life.
[ Their warship isn't worth much if it can't earn them a seat at the table. ]
Since when do the Inners respect a rightful claim?
[ Obviously the ring should belong to the Belt, but "should" means very little in this life.
But he laughs too. Ashford is not wrong. Hickey follows him into the elevator. ]
Could say the same about Harrari. What's his history with Nagata?
[ He knows they crossed paths during that whole mess with Cortazar, but not the details. Then again, maybe there's nothing more to that story. Diogo is a pain in the ass even when he's an ally. ]
[Hickey's disdain for Diogo amuses Ashford. In part because Ashford doesn't appreciate being used as a babysitter for one of Dawes' Ceres strays and letting him take up food and fuel meant for his own handpicked crew. In other part because he knows how much Harari simply getting escorted right on to the Tynan and now the Behemoth with no qualifications or experience to show for it must prick at Hickey each day he has to see him.]
As far as I know they were both at Thoth Station.
[Though the details of what went down there have been vague at best.]
Then Dawes found him. A convenient distraction for taking Cortazar.
[But now Dawes has little to no use for Diogo, untrained and untempered as he is, but he also can't risk him being set loose.]
Another street kid from Ceres with too much balls and no brains.
[ He huffs out a dismissive laugh from his nose. ]
Of course he's from Ceres.
[ On that station, even a street kid is privileged in Hickey's mind. No wonder Dawes moved him right up the chain and sent him along now. Stupidity is fertile ground for blind obedience, in the right hands. When Hickey looks at Harari, he sees the man he would've needed to reduce himself to if he had stayed on that path. It reaffirms that he made the right decision—he prefers Ashford and the Tynan, anyway—but he's sharply aware that he deserves what Diogo's been so casually handed. With that comes jealousy. ]
I'd like to hear Nagata's side of that story. Whatever that was just now sounded personal.
[ He wonders if Ashford meant everything he said about her when he intervened, but he knows better to ask here. In the elevator, they're likely being recorded. ]
[Ashford's voice is steady, low. He too is a product of Ceres. A byproduct of its poverty, its crowding, its violence.]
Ceres [He breathes out slowly] is like a liver. It filters out the sick and the toxic. The waste. But just like anything of the flesh, it is fallible. Some things manage to get through.
[Diogo.]
Nagata and Diogo have a lot in common. They seem to find themselves on a lot of different teams.
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spotsalone) wrote2025-05-29 12:34 am
no subject
Still. He wishes that vision was more evident in the reality.
He holds up his hands, conceding. ]
I'll celebrate when we plant our flag on that ring, keya? Then it's a new life.
[ Their warship isn't worth much if it can't earn them a seat at the table. ]
no subject
[He makes a gesture like crushing a clump of dirt in his palm.]
Xiya. Out here. This is ours.
[Coming to one of the elevators, Ashford laughs to himself]
Inners out here are like a kid discovering his cock for the first time.
no subject
[ Obviously the ring should belong to the Belt, but "should" means very little in this life.
But he laughs too. Ashford is not wrong. Hickey follows him into the elevator. ]
Could say the same about Harrari. What's his history with Nagata?
[ He knows they crossed paths during that whole mess with Cortazar, but not the details. Then again, maybe there's nothing more to that story. Diogo is a pain in the ass even when he's an ally. ]
no subject
As far as I know they were both at Thoth Station.
[Though the details of what went down there have been vague at best.]
Then Dawes found him. A convenient distraction for taking Cortazar.
[But now Dawes has little to no use for Diogo, untrained and untempered as he is, but he also can't risk him being set loose.]
Another street kid from Ceres with too much balls and no brains.
no subject
Of course he's from Ceres.
[ On that station, even a street kid is privileged in Hickey's mind. No wonder Dawes moved him right up the chain and sent him along now. Stupidity is fertile ground for blind obedience, in the right hands. When Hickey looks at Harari, he sees the man he would've needed to reduce himself to if he had stayed on that path. It reaffirms that he made the right decision—he prefers Ashford and the Tynan, anyway—but he's sharply aware that he deserves what Diogo's been so casually handed. With that comes jealousy. ]
I'd like to hear Nagata's side of that story. Whatever that was just now sounded personal.
[ He wonders if Ashford meant everything he said about her when he intervened, but he knows better to ask here. In the elevator, they're likely being recorded. ]
no subject
[Ashford's voice is steady, low. He too is a product of Ceres. A byproduct of its poverty, its crowding, its violence.]
Ceres [He breathes out slowly] is like a liver. It filters out the sick and the toxic. The waste. But just like anything of the flesh, it is fallible. Some things manage to get through.
[Diogo.]
Nagata and Diogo have a lot in common. They seem to find themselves on a lot of different teams.