[15] - [Voice]

[sharpememory]

[Filtered to the wardens (minus Prefect)]

Look, guys. I don't know how your system works. I'm not sure if that's deliberate or not. But I want you all to know, those things that I did because of that flood? There was no way Prefect could of done anything about that. The guy can't see the future. He doesn't have a little window into my brain. I just want to make clear that that was all firmly my bad and not his. I'd be seriously concerned if any of you guys were holding that against him or questing whether he should be here. He's doing the best job he can.

[Private - Loki]

Sorry about the whole lying thing, man. Inmate. It's what we do.

[Private - Prefect]

So, I started another new journal. Just FYI.

[Filtered to Beatty and O'Brien]

I imagine that if you two stay away from me and my warden we won't have any problems in future. We can all just be the best of friends. From a distance.

Comments

Private

[sharpememory.livejournal.com]

She basically interrogated me on my journal. It was pretty horrible.

Yeah, but would you have been able to tell? You can't be responsible for everything. Sometimes bad things just happen.

Private

[buywithme.livejournal.com]

Show me, Comrade?

I'm not responsible for everything, I'm responsible for you. I knew what had happened during the flood, I should have... I should have realized that making you use your powers like that would have a knock on effect afterward that could lead to something like this.

[Ngh, Prefect doesn't like this conversation. :C]

There's nothing I can do about it now though. Do you want to come to my cabin, or should I come to yours?

Private - Spam? :D

[sharpememory.livejournal.com]

I will, when we meet up. It was mainly her poor choice of timing.

You can't control everything, though. You just can't.

Yours, I think. I need to talk to you about some other stuff too.

SPAMTASTIC

[buywithme.livejournal.com]

All right, Comrade. I'll see you shortly.

[It had occurred to Prefect, briefly, that giving Barron alcohol when they were trying to improve his memory might not have been the best plan, but... well, he kind of had a system in place. So he poured out two glasses of Gin, and waited for Barron to arrive.]

SPAMTASTIC

[sharpememory.livejournal.com]

[Barron arrived reasonably quickly, although he paused outside the door to record the directions to Prefect's room and its number on the notepad he was currently carrying with him. Then he knocked, because it seemed polite considering the circumstances.]

SPAMTASTIC

[buywithme.livejournal.com]

[Prefect opened the door quickly, and smiled at the sight of his inmate.] Comrade! Welcome! [He stepped back, allowing Barron admittance into the room.]

SPAMTASTIC

[sharpememory.livejournal.com]

[Barron stepped inside, quickly writing down a description of Prefect's room.] Hi. I'm just getting some things together. For the future and that.

[He paused, looking at the table and at the gin.] A man after my own heart.

[Clearly it was time to put away the notepad, sit down and pick up the drink.]

Re: SPAMTASTIC

[buywithme.livejournal.com]

That's all right, hopefully you'll never need them, but if you do, it's better to take precautions.

[Prefect smiled, and took a seat beside his desk, facing Barron.]

Do you want to start with whatever it was you wanted to talk to me about?

SPAMTASTIC

[sharpememory.livejournal.com]

[Barron took a sip from his gin, then shook his head. It was a very serious issue.]

I don't even know where to start. It's just that O'Brien is a bit weird about you, you know?

SPAMTASTIC

[buywithme.livejournal.com]

...Ah, right, yes.

[Prefect shifted, slightly, looking down at his gin with some interest.]

I know, but he can't really help it. He's just from a very strange place, and there aren't a lot of people here who he is able to relate too.

SPAMTASTIC

[sharpememory.livejournal.com]

[Barron looked at Prefect for a second, before asking a question with deadly seriousness.]

Do you think he wants to ask you out? Because that's the vibe I'm getting.

SPAMTASTIC

[buywithme.livejournal.com]

[Prefect laughed at that, it was a surprised little noise that he hadn't really been expecting to make.]

Ah, ask me out? Comrade, I don't think that O'Brien is interested in anyone in that way. In the culture he comes from, being attracted to other people like that is considered... well, it's strongly discouraged.

SPAMTASTIC

[sharpememory.livejournal.com]

[Barron covered his disappointment quickly under a laugh. It hadn't been the reaction he had been expecting.]

That doesn't surprise me, I guess. He just seemed a bit overly interested.

SPAMTASTIC

[buywithme.livejournal.com]

[Prefect nodded, frowning slightly. He felt sort of obligated to explain this to Barron.]

He is a bit overinvested, Comrade. The thing is... [He paused, searching for the right words.] ...he and I both come from places where... you are raised to worship your government, and you do terrible things in the service of it. I graduated, a little under a year ago, and I recognize that the things I believed in, and... the things that O'Brien still believes in, are evil, Comrade.

[He shrugs, a little helplessly.]

It's not an easy road though, Comrade, and it can make you very isolated from people, so, because we're both from similar backgrounds, I've tried to be someone who he could rely on here, and... he is a little bit over invested.

SPAMTASTIC

[sharpememory.livejournal.com]

[Barron sips at his drink while he listens to Prefect's explanation about O'Brien. He fakes a bit of a face at the mentioning of worshiping a government.]

Yeah, well. [Barron said once Prefect had finished.] It's not all about O'Brien, is it? He has his own warden to handle that.

SPAMTASTIC

[buywithme.livejournal.com]

[Prefect smiled and shook his head] Of course not, Comrade. You know you're the most important person on this ship to me. [He gives a helpless little shrug,] I just don't want you to worry about why he's like that with me.

SPAMTASTIC

[sharpememory.livejournal.com]

But I am worried. [Barron said, shaking his head. He didn't show how much the compliment had pleased him. It meant that he was winning at the warden inmate game.] You're just going to end up getting hurt again.

SPAMTASTIC

[buywithme.livejournal.com]

[Now it was Prefect's turn to shake his head] Comrade, the possibility of getting hurt is one of the general consequences of staying here, and I don't think that O'Brien would hurt me.

SPAMTASTIC

[sharpememory.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but he could hurt me. Beatty too.

[Barron crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair.] Unless you want something like that to happen. I mean, I would get it. I did kill them and all.

SPAMTASTIC

[buywithme.livejournal.com]

He won't. [Prefect... basically could not sound more certain of anything than he does of this.] I've talked to him about this, if he does anything to hurt you, or to mess with you, then he knows I'm done with him. For good. [Then he frowns, because what the hell, Barron?] Of course I don't want something like that to happen to you!

SPAMTASTIC

[sharpememory.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I wonder, Prefect. [Barron says, managing to look hurt.] I mean, you know there's a risk that O'Brien could do something like that if you had to warn him like that. But you still keep on being friends with him.

SPAMTASTIC

[buywithme.livejournal.com]

I didn't tell him that because I thought he would physically hurt you, Barron, I told him it because he let you mess up my memories, and by extension, your memories, just so he could have the satisfaction of turning you in. [Prefect looks quite serious.] I don't think he would physically hurt you, I don't think he'd even try to get revenge for you trying to kill him, but I think he would let you hurt yourself so that he could feel in control, just like Anton and Philip did.

SPAMTASTIC

[sharpememory.livejournal.com]

[That got a long, long pause out of Barron. After a second he shrugged, smiled.] Man, you have no idea what you're talking about. We were a team.

SPAMTASTIC

[buywithme.livejournal.com]

Who? You, Anton and Philip? [Prefect folds his arms and frowns.] What did you actually get out of killing Zacharov that you couldn't have gotten by just continuing to do exactly as you were? You clearly got paid enough for just making people disappear.

SPAMTASTIC

[sharpememory.livejournal.com]

[Barron pauses, trying to think of a reason. Because guess what has leaked out of his head.] It was more than that. It was about getting into the family.

[He thinks. That seems logical, doesn't it?]