paradisa | Mission 017 ~ [Dictated; Forward-dated to morning]

[Well, York had mentioned Jorge was here, and she'd seen the statue herself (even if, at the time, it hadn't made as much of an impact as hearing his voice now). Still, too many things go through her mind for her to reply for several long moment, remembering her last correspondence with him, working on the slips-space bomb, and then the stretch of time in Paradisa previously without any word from team whatsoever. When she finally speaks, amid the sounds of birdsong and a gentle shifting of water, her tone is searching more then anything.]

Jorge.

[And there it was. That familiar voice... He was reading through the journal, saw the entry... But it was different to actually hearing her.]

Kat? So it's really you, then?

It's really me. [And it's really him.] How long have you been here?

Close to seven months.

[He remembers what Six told him. About what happened to Kat after he died.]

Where are you?

Seven months.[She repeats it, doing some small math in her head. She'd just missed him. At least now, now that she's back, he's still here.]

I'm at Osen -- the Hot Springs? Don't ask why. I'm not even sure myself. [She'd meant to check out the hangar, to get into her routine, to get going, but instead had felt compelled to sleep in until eight and then visit the hot springs. She's still trying to figure it out.]

[Jorge had never been there himself, so he actually has to check the location on the map before responding.]

Probably something to do with the castle. I'll be there in a few minutes.

Affirmative.

[She sinks slightly deeper into the water. It'd been so long for her, the year at the castle previously and the months out in the world thinking she was a demigod. She was apprehensive, happy that he was here and alive, but nervous about facing him after so long, after the death that she might have been able to prevent.]

[Either way, it takes Jorge about ten minutes to get himself down to the hotsprings from his room. So, have a 7'8" hulking SPARTAN-II wandering in through the steam. No, he hasn't taken his armour off. Not yet.]

Kat?

[Kat's sitting in the hot springs, and about as unarmored as she can get aside from a swimsuit (and of course the prosthetic). Still, having grown up in a mixed-team environment from a very young age, it's not the expanse of skin she's showing that has her looking at Jorge with wide eyes.]

[She could hear his voice a thousand times and still not entirely believe it, but here he was, flesh and bone and so much titanium alloy. She rises out of the hot springs to draw closer for greeting, but still crossing her arms for a bit of distance, slipping into a more professional stance out of habit. Everything's hitting her at once and it's difficult to deal with all of it together.]

Noble Five. It's good to see you again. [She hadn't thought she ever would, again.]

[And there she is. Armourless, oddly relaxed, but still...]

Noble Two... Kat. [And this is Jorge reaching up to remove his helmet. He's smiling, at least.]

I thought I'd never see you again.

You too. I remember ... [--I'm getting nothing from Jorge-- --he didn't make it--"] I remember losing you, on Reach. [Memories were still fishing their way back, but there was a familiar small stab of guilt there she couldn't ignore.]

I've heard about that.

[He heard all about it. Even if he didn't need to. He knew what had happened without being told. It was obvious, really.]

Heard that I took a lot of the bastards out with me. That bomb you made packed a punch, apparently.

Well, it wasn't without fault. [She focuses on his chest-piece for a moment, mentally running back through her schematics again and wondering if - how - she could have improved the remote firing mechanism. Should have improved it.]

But you're here now. [Still a little stuck on this part.]

[And there it is.]

Yeah. As if by magic, huh?

[And there's a pause, before Jorge steps forward, putting a hand on her shoulder.]

It wasn't your fault, Kat.

I'm sure you've learned by now that is this place's preferred mode of operation.

[Feeling the very real weight of his hand on her shoulder just drives home the fact that he's real beyond any shred of doubt, and when she glances back up at him it's with thankful wonder and without thought to heir current conversaion. But, she recalls that soon enough and sighs.]

I could have done better.

We all could have. Six and I could have guarded the bomb better. Could have killed the covvies faster.

[He tightens his grip slightly on her shoulder.]

Trading what-ifs isn't going to change anything.

[None of her psych evals could shake her guilt over Thom, nothing was going to help how she felt about Jorge's situation. Her jaw tightens at his words and she bottles down her argument.]

At least you took some of the ugly bastards with you. [From what Six had told her, Kat wasn't so lucky in that regard.]

[Jorge notices that tightness, and the slightest flicker of concern flashes in Jorge's eyes, before it's gone.]

From what I hear, I'm still the only one who took out a Super Carrier. And you helped. I say we share the kill count.

In that case we're going to have to share with Six, too. She was actually here for it.

She gets the smaller share since she had to go before the big finale.

[At least they weren't talking about how she supposedly failed. Or died. Or anything depressing. Jorge smiles easily.]

We'll work on sharing it out when we're all together. She know you're back yet?

[Kat looks at him a little blankly for a moment. Yes she should be getting on that, reconnecting with everyone, catching up. Instead, she turns and lowers herself back into he hotsprings.]

I was going to, but then I ended up here. [Confused Spartan is confused.]

...And you have no idea why?

[Suspicious SPARTAN is suspicious. This just screams "Paradisa". The Kat he knew wouldn't take downtime until everything was sorted out. An even then, it wasn't entirely common.]

Well, I have some idea. It starts with a 'C', ends with an 'E', and has 'ass' in the middle. [She gives a hopeless little shrug. It was rather an annoyance, but she had to admit -- if only to herself -- that the downtime had given her a chance to think about her return.]

[Something she would not have done normally, as yes, her general idea of what to do during downtime the vast majority of other people still considered work. York had been at her forages during her previous stay to relax and stop eating MREs. Maybe the Castle agreed with him?]

Yeah, that was my thought, too. Still, at least it's not that bad. Some people would love the ability to be able to just lose track and find themselves in a hotsprings.

[Joking about it, because Jorge doesn't know about the other losses Kat has... Yet.]

If I could, I would trade in a heartbeat. This just means when it ends I have that much more work to do.

[Leave it to Kat to find relaxation stressful, although lounging in the warmth of the hotsprings is makig it difficult to put any conviction to her words.]

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Action

Action Forever

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