Snippet #2666481

Ren was on autopilot from the moment she set foot onto the shuttle until they landed, absentmindedly fidgeting with the buttons on her jacket as she lost herself in thought.

'Three days to make a few phone calls. I can't deal with this not knowing bullshit and in my intrinsic need to not get floated into space I've had no fucking time to do that since the cuffs came off. I volunteered for the landing party because, stupid me, thought I was going to help negotiate the deal and be inside most of the time. But, no, already made the deal, just got to make the trade off... Does no one appreciate haggling anymore? Whatever, I still need to get a hold of Felix first chance I get and see what the word is about-' Ren thought, snapping out of her daze when the Captain said that she and Alexander, Mr. Anonymous himself, would be on guard duty outside while she and Klaus went inside.

Her fists clenched as she reminded herself about how she was just a random bitch now, a dumb one at that if she thought she'd get to play at her old life again. She was getting tired of unlearning things... having to remind herself that she couldn't do this anymore, had to bite her tongue about that, couldn't speak her mind unless she filled out twenty different forms and performed no less than three sexual favors for members of the Admiralty board. She was out of prison, but she wasn't going to be free until she died. The thought prompted her to lightly touch the soft lining on the collar of her jacket, her brother's face flashing in her mind.

She gently shook her head and crossed her arms, trying not to have a complete emotional breakdown on the shuttle.

The colony of Albion hadn't changed since the last time Ren had set foot on its coarse and gravely terrain, though she couldn't decide if this was a good or bad thing. Granted they were still in the port area of the colony and not the commercial district, but she did remember why she rarely hung out outside of said commercial district.

She was surprised to see how well the Captain navigated, speaking up before Ren could about where they needed to go. Admittedly she hadn't been paying as much attention as she probably should have, but she didn't remember the Captain saying anything about having been a former resident. The thought caused her to frown, remembering the dressing down she'd gotten about the gun she was denied.

'Like she had to ask why she'd want one on Albion,' Ren thought, scowling at Ophelia for just a moment but quickly shook off the resentment. She had to remember that Ophelia had commended her, and the order hadn't been her own, but it was hard to overcome how naked she felt right now. Fortunately the parts shop wasn't too awfully far from where they landed, an old junker's paradise that Ren could have spent a few hours in if she had the money and wasn't a slave to the military. That cannon must be older than Ren thought if they had to come here for parts, not that the speculation would get her anywhere. She wasn't even allowed to go in.

Klaus and the Captain walked in to take care of business, leaving Ren alone with Alexander to stand guard, but without looking like military folk.

Ren stuck her hands in her pockets and leaned against the gate, looking out at the horizon.

"You ever been to Albion before?" Ren asked Alexander, trying to make conversation while they waited. If Ophelia had been to Albion before and knew it well enough to navigate, chances are she also knew how to buy shit without other people knowing your business. Chances were that no one was going to storm the warehouse to mug them or anything, leaving the two soldiers with just time to kill.

Not long after the words came out of Ren's mouth, she noticed one of the random people wandering about across the street stop and look at her just a little too long before pressing on, the act making her muscles tense up. She really, really wanted to have a gun right now.