epidemiology | [open] i would give it all

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[open] i would give it all

CHARACTERS: Keith + anyone willing to help
DATE: From the opening of the upper levels to the end of the mission (with caveats that conditions will change depending on overall game plot parameters)
WARNINGS: None.
SUMMARY: A purple bounty! Keith has decided to rename himself Robin Hood. Or, more accurately, he's stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. (mood music)

[All his life, Keith had always preferred action over words. Associating with other people can be difficult. In fact, it can almost be impossible when the going gets tough. Becoming a Voltron paladin had been an answer for him. He could help people. He could fight. He wouldn't have to think too hard about it all, because he could follow Shiro.

And then ... things changed. Things changed back home and things changed here, most recently as a member of Hathaway. There's a lot of baggage associated with that change, so Keith has been keeping his eye on a single prize. He doesn't know how to set up a new government or do diplomacy, but he does know about providing goods to those who need it and helping them out of a bad situation. He knows what to do to survive. Not everyone has that strength or the ability to have someone help them. Simply put: not everyone has a Shiro to help guide them toward the right path.

He's not going to fool himself into believing that he can be "a Shiro"—that's the problem with being him, right? But he knows he can do good. So, he hatches his plan, and calls in for assistance from his guildmates. It's a three prong plan, with different actions needed.

To find out that Keith is doing this, there are two ways. One, he spoke about it on the magitek network. And two, he's doing some set up in the hotel, and is probably stealing some stuff from there, too. The robots won't miss it. Probably.]

a: theft of goods

[Keith plans on overseeing all of the thefts, in part because he doesn't want any of his teammates to be caught unexpectedly.

He shows up at every point of theft in full Marmora gear: a black suit with purple lights, as well as a mask that conceals his face and gives him a voice that sounds like Keith, but comes out through a slightly robotic filter. It also has a helpful hood, because of course it does. Would it look cool otherwise? Probably not.

His targets are specific when it comes to theft: food. Clothing and other goods can be gained through other means, and probably should be. But food? Food is something that he can see that the upper levels aren't doing without.]

Try not to hurt anyone. Take the food and bring it to the agreed upon location. And keep your masks on. We can't risk being fugitives.

[Of course, there are also other versions of theft. Not all of them are as scheduled or efficient.]

b: trafficking of stolen goods

[When it comes to "trafficking," the parameters remain the same. Keep on a mask. Make sure no one gets hurt so there's less of an excuse to follow someone. Get everything from the upper levels to the lower levels quickly, and use designated locations that have been picked out along the way. Avoid surveillance at all costs.

The "trafficking" involves a lot of backpacks and hoods, so that people can hide that they have a bunch of food on them that's being carted down. Anything that's perishable is frozen before it's brought down. Keith figures that "freshness" isn't measured by whether it was frozen first. Or, well, he hopes not. He's not exactly the guy who cares if something's been marked as "previously frozen."

There's a final designation just before the depths of the lowest levels. That's where other goods, like blankets or boots or jackets, are kept waiting. They don't need to be snuck down as carefully, because there's no chance of them going bad. Plus, they were probably mostly acquired "legally."

Emphasis on those quotation marks.]

c. delivery of stolen goods

[Charity is far from a common thing for the people of the lower levels. Charity that could seem suspicious and involves stolen goods is even more difficult. How to get things out there? How to offer help? This is going to be the most difficult task: convincing people to take goods, convincing people that they deserve it, and most importantly, asking what else they might need.]

Take note of anything else they might want. We'll come back later with it. Or, uh, someone will.

[ooc: this is a purple bounty, and the different prompts are loose parameters. I am looking for a thread of at least ten comments so I can meet my bounty, but I figured this would be a fun thing for people to do!]

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[That moment makes him tense and uneasy. Keith wants to complete the mission, but she's the one that drove them onto this path. His lips twitch downward, unhappy with her. Unhappy with all of this. She wants to talk about going home, about this connection that she has with Ben, and she wants things to be normal—and yet there's everything else. There's the increased paranoia, there's the fact that he now has a greater idea about how Kylo Ren got her to see things from a different light. There's everything.

He's not angry or spiteful. Rather, he's tense and resigned.]

I know you don't want to talk about it. After we gave up on the trust exercise, I knew that we'd never trust each other the same way again. That's fine. We're still friends. But you weren't thinking when you ran to him out there. And you weren't thinking when you told Loki that I tried to force you to use the sword. Again.

[And even with all that, he still wants to help her, to be her friend, but it feels like it keeps piling up. Keith doesn't know how to handle someone hurting him this way.]

I'm not bringing it up to stop what we're doing here. But if you're gonna talk about your connection and going home and all of that, don't expect me to just listen and accept what you say. Not anymore.

[ It's a wonder she can hear him over the sound of blood rushing in her ears. It's as cold as it always is in the heavy rain like this, but Rey feels hot in her jacket. It's not the weather. This conversation is stifling.

That Keith and Loki know so much drives home what she had already concluded long before: that she's the weak link here that keeps giving things away by acting impulsively. And Keith paints it for her.

The fact that she doesn't know how to be anything but honest and earnest makes her a truly awful liar. She focuses instead on what she does know how to handle, which is the piece that's really between her and Keith. ]

I didn't want to use Gram because I didn't like that you asked me to talk and showed up with a weapon. [ Rey says this in no uncertain terms because she'd thought that much would have been apparent. ] I was scared and hurt. I know that losing your trust was my fault, but I didn't expect that. And when I saw what it could do, the way it hurt Ben, I only felt worse.

I understand now what you were trying to do. [ She reiterates this because maybe he thinks she didn't mean it in the hotel. ] And I'm glad that Poe and I were able to talk about things on the Headquarters because of it. But at the time ... [ That wasn't true at all. She shakes her head. ] Refusing to touch it had nothing to do with Ben. It was because I was hurt. You may have never intended to attack me with it, but I felt like I was being punished.

[ Maybe she deserved punishment. Maybe admitting her mistake hadn't been enough, but that's never been Rey's way. Punishing people who were apologizing, who knew they'd done wrong, seemed cruel, and Keith wasn't cruel. Still, coming out with that sword without even talking to her for the days between the roof and that moment, when she'd offered nothing but apologies and willingness to meet him on his level, left her feeling like he saw her as something truly awful.

And now, seeing that this still lingers beneath the surface, she's not entirely sure if that was off the mark. Maybe he does still see her that way. She doesn't want to think that's true, though. Like he said — they're still friends. Surely, if he saw her the way she feels like he sees her in this moment, and when he'd brought Gram, then that wouldn't be true. ]

No, you didn't want to use Gram because you didn't trust me. It's fine. I don't need you to explain yourself. [A punishment. She thought that Keith was trying to punish her. Should Keith not take the things she said to Loki seriously? He has his doubts, and he has very little interest in playing the "he said, she said" game. If she thought it was a punishment, it was because she didn't trust him, plain and simple.

He doesn't need to talk it out again.]

But I know about the connection. I think I know all of it now. So, let's get moving.

[There's a lot unspoken here. There's a lot that isn't said, but he thinks he's made enough of a point. Or ... he hopes. He doesn't know. Maybe she doesn't get why he's upset. Or why he won't trust her perspective on Ben. Or any of it. But if she's going to tell him what she plans to do and then think he won't ask, or say his piece, or any of it—

Well. She wants his piece. It's not that. But there's still the strain in telling him stuff, and then expecting him to not ... understand, or say he doesn't understand, because he doesn't get the Force. She hasn't even tried to explain the connection. Whatever it is. And it's fine, but it is what it is.]

We can move, right? You brought up your plans right before we headed out. So.

[ She sighs, feeling a little trapped. He says that he doesn't want her to give up, but then he tries to slip out of talking about it like this. Says that he already understands, that she doesn't need to explain, but then ignores what she's saying and talks over it. Surely it's not supposed to be this hard. But … they have a lot that need salvaging.

That takes time. She knows that better than most. So she just nods. ]

Yeah. Yeah, we can move.

[ And she strikes out with him.

There is, however, one last thing she feels like she needs to say on the subject. ]

Please don't tell anyone. [ Probably she should qualify that. But she's also qualified plenty already, and he didn't want to hear that. He'll either listen or he won't, and she knows she'll be his friend no matter which he does because she loves him and he's only going to do it if he really believes it's for the best. That's hard to fault him for. But ... she hopes he won't, all the same. She hopes her request is enough on its own. ]

I didn't plan on it. [It sucks to be in this situation. He knows about her world and her politics, and he can't have a say. He knows about his world and his politics, and he can't have a say. Keith is told to trust Allura's judgment, but he hasn't experienced it. Everything Kylo Ren's said and done makes it difficult for Keith to see why Rey's putting her trust in him. What is he supposed to do when his experience tells him one thing, and someone's words say another?]

What happened when you got caught before out here?

I used the Force. They let me pass.

[ Rey looks up to glance at his face, as though trying to read his reaction. To this day she still feels like she can't predict whether someone's going to try to lay the moral hammer down on that one in any given circumstance. And, like, she gets it. It's muddy. But she knows it's muddy and has to make those decisions anyway. ]

I'm not sure what they would have done if I hadn't. But they stopped me and asked for my papers while I was running an errand for Rost just because I had my hood up. I couldn't risk it. [ Especially since Keith knows better than most what a shitshow it'd be if Rey tried to make her cover story work up on these higher levels. She's ... honestly a mess ... for undercover work. ]

[There is no response. Partly because he thinks that's fine, and partly because that wasn't the question he was asking. But if she used the Force, then there was no need to find out what he needed to know now: what had grabbed their attention in the first place.]

I guess—I wanted to know why they stopped you. It's raining all the time here. Haven't they heard of raincoats? [Then again, it's not like the Vakdir need much of an excuse to throw their weight around. Rey could have tripped and they might have stopped her. That's the one good thing about this: down in the lower levels, it might take a while for their exploits to reach the top. By then, hopefully people would be in better shape.

It's an idealistic notion.]

If that starts being a problem, we'll make sure that everyone splashes water on them. Make it look like they need a jacket. [Impractical, but an idea on the fly. It could work. Maybe.]

I got stopped in the middle levels too.

[ Rey looks at her outfit. She'd hoped dressing like the upper class people would help, but apparently, she still didn't carry herself like one. Ben had tried to tell her as much. ]

I guess I don't look enough like one of them.

[ She looks over at Keith. ]

If that's the case, I think splashing would have the opposite effect. I was soaked by that time when I got stopped with Ben. Just make sure you find runners who are better than I am at acting like they belong here.

I'll make sure of that. [Though Keith has his doubts that it's anything about "looking like one of them." There must have been something that was said or done or whatever. But then, he's not exactly the most socially aware person. Maybe by keeping to himself, he's been lucky.

(And his stealth suit helps. A lot.)

Of course, it's probably also not helpful to point out that Ben, with his glaring and his ... everything, could have easily been the culprit. No, for whatever reason, she seemed to make his mistakes hers.]

Or maybe we'll have some decoys if we start to attract attention.

I can switch to decoy duty if need be.

[ It'd be easy, after all, for her to slip out of a situation like that. Easier than some others.

The fear she'd felt when the Vakdir had stopped her that day comes back, but she pushes it down. Decoys wouldn't have something so important on them to be caught with, so she'd just be staring down a prison sentence or something. And she'd been confined in the First Order before. This couldn't be much worse.

They walk past a couple of Vakdir keeping eyes on a shopping complex nearby. They wave back at some of the shoppers who pass them, smiling. The whole thing disgusts Rey, of course, but that's neither here nor there. ]

Wherever you think I'll be more useful. [ He's the leader, after all. ]

I think it's better to keep someone with your abilities running goods. We don't have a whole lot of people like you around. I'd like to keep you in the best place I can. [There's a switch that his tone makes there, and it's a switch she's probably never heard before. For all of Keith's different moods, and for how Rey is very aware of them, she's never seen him slip into leadership like this. There's a surprisingly affable quality about him when she says exactly the thing to draw it out of him.]

Well ... running and tricking people into handing over their money for a better cause. If you don't mind keeping up the double duty, I'm gonna keep you on this.

[For all the tenseness of the previous conversation, he does muster up a smile, too. It's probably strange, but this is where the Leaderly Keith has been hiding all along. Typically, he keeps it concealed under a self-conscious worry that he won't do well. Even when he lead people against Zymandis to save the taraxan hosts, he had been worried about how he might be perceived, and he had been on edge because he was forcing himself there.

Here, it's clear that he's at least fully into what he's doing.]

I don't mind.

[ Honestly, she's glad he organized it because it's going to create a much bigger impact than just a few of them grabbing and passing along what they could spare or swipe. This is the stuff that, in Rey's opinion, makes the difference to the people who need it the most.

That ease and unity of purpose seems to melt away most of the tension from before. They don't have to think too hard to be in sync on this, and Rey's happy to follow his lead because she trusts implicitly that on stuff like this, he has the sort of head on his shoulders to make the right call. ]

Where's the drop point?

A couple more flights, and then—we turn right. I planned on separating them into kits. If you don't mind helping me. I know the places that need it the most. [Aside from going online and seeing if there were any task forces like what existed in his universe (Voltron, but like ... outside of Drakstaden and on this planet), he also got a feel for what this world was like. He grasped the extent of the cybernetics and still wondered about them, but he'll figure that out more from another source.]

I don't really know the people we're delivering to. I think they understand why I don't stick around, you know?

[ She nods her head like of course she doesn't mind helping that's what she's here for. It's a foregone conclusion, as far as Rey is concerned. ]

I've spent some time down there, talking with them. [ She looks over at Keith. ] Odinson tells stories.

Oh. [He speaks almost like he's a little ashamed of his unwillingness to really talk to them. It's not that. He just ... doesn't know what to say. "Here's your stuff. Enjoy. Oh. Right. You're welcome. Bye." Because that's been the conversation.]

Well ... good for you guys. I didn't know Odinson liked to tell stories.

He's very good.

[ Rey smiles at that. It seems to make her steps lighter, and honestly, it's probably for the best. She looks much more natural and less suspicious, distracted by recounting this. ]

It reminded me of Jakku. Not the bad parts. [ She clarifies that quickly. ] But I was like them, then. I'd trade portions that I'd earned for stories of the Rebellion. Of Leia and Luke and … [ She looks over at Keith. ] People like Voltron. Like Rost. They gave me hope. That's as important as a full belly.

Well ... maybe you can tell them stories for Odinson, or help him out a bit. It sounds like you may be able to come up with something. It's just too bad there isn't a lot on this planet to give them hope.

[Or in this particular universe, for that matter. Keith has his doubts that there is any intergalactic travel in this particular universe. It would give them more to work off of at this time, at least in terms of "passing off stories as real there" if they wanted.]

You could too.

[ Rey says this now to contextualize what she's getting at. ]

Voltron may sound like a fairytale to them, but so did Luke Skywalker when I was growing up on Jakku. It doesn't have to be real to be inspiring.

I don't want to tell them stories. [It's really as simple as that. Keith knows it would be a way of relating to them, but he doesn't really need that. He can see they're in need. That someone is going out of their way to help them—that's a story in and of itself.

Right?]

It's better that it comes from someone who wants to do it.

I wasn't trying to make you feel obligated.

[ She feels weird about suggesting it now, or giving him an avenue. She just thought maybe it was his general antisocial tendencies, and that it'd be a good thing for him to learn. Leader skills? But maybe that was presumptuous on her part too.

In part, though, she recognizes that some of her sheepish retreat from the suggestion is born from the fact that pointing it out was also opening up about how she'd felt when she was like that. It's become a more sensitive topic than usual, following the acknowledgment that she'd been lying to herself about just how bad it was. ]

You're not. It's just—I really think it's better if it comes from you. I'm not very good at telling people who know what's going on what's ... going on. You know? [Plus there are other factors. Keith never had glimmers of hope, little lights in the dark that would guide his way. He had his own convictions, but he didn't fully recognize them until he joined Voltron. Up to that point, everything was just about ... doing what felt right.

And nothing more.]

[ She nods. ]

Yeah. I know.

[ He's not the world's biggest people person, even now that he's a little more comfortable in himself. She gets that. It should go without saying by now that she's had her issues adapting to people too, even if the discrete interactions are often more natural for her. ]

It was just a thought.

[ Practice makes perfect ??? Or something. ]

Well. Thanks for that. I guess. [The thought, even if he can't take it and implement it. Keith is likely to ruminate over it and try to figure out if he can apply that behavior (though it's unlikely—Keith isn't even very good at explaining the nuances of past missions).]

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[open] i would give it all

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