nexus_crossings | A Runaway Space Marine

A Runaway Space Marine

Ade’s first assumption, of course, had been that he was dreaming.

It would explain how he got here. It would also explain the shifting of the place itself, how he walks between forest and farmland and cityscape in the space of a few minutes. It’s a little odd that he knows he’s dreaming, but stranger things have happened—and happen to him specifically with frankly inconvenient frequency.

It isn’t until he’s been there for hours and thumbed through a few pamphlets that it starts to sink in that this may just be real.

“Convenient,” he mutters under his breath, “Bloody convenient.” He’d wanted to disappear—to remove himself from Shan and Aras’s lives as quickly and cleanly as possible. He couldn’t have asked for a more perfect escape route. Except…

Except the part about him being a walking biohazard. The Anti-Violence Field advertised in the pamphlet should prevent any blood-to-blood transmission and Ade’s not stupid enough to shag anyone while he’s here, but he feels a gnawing anxiety all the same. He hadn’t been so worried about c’nataat on F’nar, where the wess’har had treated the parasite with a caution approaching dread, but here?...

C’nataat had been enough of a terror when it was just an interplanetary threat. He doesn’t even want to think about it as an interdimensional one.

The pamphlet had said people here welcome questions. So, feeling more than a little awkward, Ade will approach the first unoccupied person he sees, hands shoved in the pockets of his arctic camo fatigues.

“Right,” he starts, managing a nervous smile. “Hullo. If you don’t mind, I, uh, have a question.” A small gesture towards the pamphlet in his hand, smile growing apologetic. Don't blame him, he's new. “Do people get sick here?” He figures it’s best to ask as bluntly as possible. Makes it harder for people to read into it that way. “Pamphlet said everyone’s from a different universe so doesn’t seem too likely we’re all up to date on each other’s vaccines.”

There has to be some sort of mechanism in place, right? Does the Anti-Violence Field extend to a microbial level? Does c’nataat’s genetic re-landscaping even count as violence?

Whoever Ade is talking to might notice the sharp scent of citrus hanging around him like faint perfume. Fortunately, wess’har pheromones don’t hold any meaning for humans.

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Despite the antiviolence field here, Jack still walks around with a sniper's rifle slung across his back. He can't bear to be without one because nowhere feels truly safe, even when it is. He has a white greyhound trotting along beside him playfully as he walks across the plaza.

The fatigues give him pause and even visibly unnerve Jack. The part of his face around the patch twitching as do the fingers on the right side. The trauma response to his imprisonment by the Ministry isn't something he can control even as he offers a small smile to the question.

"I suppose they do like everywhere." Jack hadn't seen anyone sick but then his sister had overdosed here and people who were sick usually stayed in. It was hard to say. "I'm not sure everyone is susceptible to the same diseases."

His mind slips to the angels, immortals, and medically advanced who might not even notice an illness or be effected by it. "I've vaccinated some here for diseases in my world."

Plague, it was a plague that ravaged anyone not immune but he didn't mention that part for fear of causing panic or worse. Jack can pick up on the citrus but assumes it is cologne or cleaner.

That's not quite the answer Ade was hoping for and his brow creases as he considers it. People get sick here, but not everyone is susceptible to the same diseases. Not that Ade is about to take that chance with c'nataat—better to treat it like the threat it is in his own universe.

His own universe, where he'd been safely contained as a prisoner of war light-years from Earth. Suddenly, staying here indefinitely just to avoid Shan and Aras is no longer looking like such a great plan.

"Well," Ade says, doing his best to keep his tone one of just mild concern. "Guess we better hope nobody here has the new Black Death."

Speaking of death... Ade eyes the sniper rifle on the man's back. He hadn't missed the wary look upon his approach either.

"And the Anti-Violence Field?" he asks. "It really stops anyone from harming anyone else?"

His response gets a feminine chuckle from Jack. It really can't be stopped. "My city is plagued with something worse than Black Death. We're immune but none of us have brought it here. An unvaccinated person visiting from here would die horrifically."

The question about the field has Jack glancing toward the closest area of forest, probably beyond line of sight with the buildings but the glance is instinct. "In the inhabited areas it is universal. Far out in the wilds though I hear it fades and that there are beings that have a reputation for mass killings."

Jack had enough death at home without going to look for it here. He rarely ventured far away from civilized areas.

So much for keeping things light. Ade makes a mental note to be very, very careful about what door to take should he ever decide to return to his own universe.

And to be very careful about what routes he takes while he's here.

"Christ. Hell of a place to make an inter-dimensional hub." He would've thought that a civilization advanced enough to link different universes together and install such a thing as an Anti-Violence Field would be able to eliminate such threats, but then, maybe they're like the wess'har. Maybe they accept that even predators have a right to exist and a role to play in their ecosystem.

"Is that why you carry that rifle?" Ade says, nodding to the sniper rifle slung across his back. "Or is it just for show?"

Jack isn't sure there is anything wrong with this place but then he comes from an apocalyptic and violent version of Earth. Even the dangers in the wild are not particularly noteworthy except to avoid them and that was something he did in his own world when it came to certain cities or areas.

"It's as good as any. I think the dangerous things in the wilds migrated here like the rest of us." At least that was what he got out of the bits and pieces he's heard from others.

"No." Jack sighs heavily. "On my Earth I need to be able to protect myself going to and leaving from the door. It's hidden from the evil elements of my world because if the plague but they've other ways to attack me. I can't afford to be caught without a weapon."

Ade supposes that makes sense. If anyone—or anything—can come here, then there's bound to be the occasional menace that slips through. And, naturally, the first thing it'd want to do would be to escape the reach of the Anti-Violence Field.

Sounds like this man's version of Earth has plenty such menaces to share.

"What exactly happened to your Earth?" Ade asks. "If you don't mind me asking."

From what Ade has heard so far, it sounds like it's been ravaged by some sort of plague. It's exactly the scenario he's trying to avoid in his own universe.

"A war of some kind but history has been rewritten so many times I'm not sure there's anything left describing it."

Jack shrugs, torn between disappointed and not caring about the lack of history. "The government that took over demanded uniformity and released a plague where things were illegal. Some of us are naturally immune and developed a vaccine for others but the government doesn't have it."

Oh, a new person and this guy looked like a soldier. Maybe it was the camo fatigues or the way the guy held himself, Tony knew this guy had seen war. Many of his friends were soldiers and he'd seen similar looks before. The question got a frown from the engineer who approached the stranger, dressed in a black track suit and trainers since Tony had been out for a jog. The health thing.

"I guess that depends on what you mean by sick. Are we talking the common cold or some sort of toxic lethal virus? I mean I've never seen anyone get really sick, including myself, so I'm guessing this might be to do with the Nexus' anti-violence field. That stops people from hurting and killing each other, so maybe it stops viruses and germs from making us sick."

It was a reasonable assumption because Tony hadn't really looked into the whole issue much since coming here. He'd gotten sick back on his own world but modern medicine had helped with that. He'd nearly died too but that was a long story.

Now that's a good question. What does Ade mean by 'sick?' C'nataat is neither common cold nor lethal virus—quite the opposite actually.

Not that Ade is about to admit that he's infected with a potentially contagious case of immortality.

He shrugs, doing his best to act as if this disease he's talking about is merely hypothetical. "Guess I'm just worried about bringing back any bugs with me, is all. Or giving someone else one of mine." Certainly that's a normal thing to worry about, right? Inter-dimensional hub and all that. "Any recorded cases of something like that happening?"

"I'm assuming that this place sorts all of that sort of thing for you because I've never got sick here and none of the people I know have either. Must be the protection this place offer."

Tony shrugged since he didn't know the ins and outs of the Nexus regarding such precautions. Could someone get sick and die in the Nexus? He had no idea and didn't really want to find out. As for newcomers bringing in diseases and bugs from their own worlds? Highly doubtful.

"I doubt it, pal. Otherwise we'd all get sick from bugs from other worlds. We're a healthy bunch here in the Nexus. Most of us are anyway."

"Depends on what kinda sick you're talkin' about." There's a scruffy-looking man with eighties hair and a grimy denim jacket, arms folded. "If it's a cold, people get those. If you're talkin' about things a bit more serious...I've never seen anyone get a disease that killed them."

Palmer understands "weird alien infections" a bit better than some people. One of the last things he saw before coming here was that nightmarish dog that wasn't a dog, and he understands the same would have happened to him if he'd been taken over like the dog was.

He lowers his voice. "If you're talkin' about stuff like, ah...it's hard for me to explain, but there's this thing in Antarctica I saw that goes a bit beyond a sickness. Its kind of sickness involves killin' people, in nasty ways at that. I don't think people could be infected here. We've got one of those things livin' here, and it hasn't hurt anyone. I get the feelin' you're talkin' about something worse than the flu."

Edited 2021-06-06 14:30 (UTC)

No one here catches diseases that can kill them—and there's the rub. C'nataat won't kill them. It will, in fact, do everything in its power not to. Ade has a bad feeling that means it won't be subject to whatever mechanism this place uses to contain potentially dangerous pathogens.

But before Ade can ask more, the man is telling him about something 'a bit beyond sickness' and his attention immediately sharpens. It quickly becomes clear that the man isn't talking about c'nataat, but if it's some other category-defying infection, then it's still the closest thing to a lead Ade has.

"What do you mean 'one of those things?'"

"It's an alien from space. We called it the Thing. I don't know how much of a chance our resident biologists will get to study it, but it infects people and turns them into things, too." It's at times like this that Palmer wishes Blair or Fuchs were here, since they were always better at this kind of thing. "A Thing lives here, in the form of a dog. It's a little different from the one that attacked me. It's promised that it won't harm anyone and has kept its word."

Palmer wonders if Bob might be able to help this man. He consciously avoids the Thing, but he's aware it's here and that it has a human "keeper".

"Things can kill people...but they'll take your body and your memories so they can pass themselves off as you. Better to fool people and get more victims that way. You can't fool one with questions. Perfect copy."

"Christ," Ade says, blanching. "That's horrible."

And here he thought he'd take the prize for strangest alien infection. He should've figured there'd be worse in a place like this. He's suddenly conscious that, as preoccupied as he is with not exposing anyone else to his universe's contagion, he should be equally cautious not to take anything back.

"It can't hurt anyone while it's here, though, can it? Doesn't sound like the type to keep promises."

"Tell me about it," says Palmer. "But I don't think it could hurt people here. The one that lives here calls itself Bob, but that's a name it was given. As far as anything else, you're right, ever since that one winter I haven't seen anyone get seriously sick - and that was cold and hunger much as anything else."

It's a little strange, but Palmer's hardly complaining. He needs all the protection he can get.

"If there's anything you want to know 'bout Things, I'll tell you what I can. My name's Palmer. Former assistant mechanic of US Outpost 31."

Ade supposes that's reassuring. Of course, if what the man has said is true, it sounds like it might be awfully difficult to know for certain whether or not 'Bob' is truly keeping to itself. He supposes they don't have much choice but to trust the Anti-Violence Field.

"Palmer," he repeats. "I'm Ade. Former sergeant of Her Majesty's Royal Marines." He offers a wry smile to cover the sting that still comes with saying former. It's not exactly hard to notice if one knows what to look for: namely, the bare patches on his uniform where his sergeant's stripes and medals have been conspicuously torn off.

"How do you fight them?" Ade asks. "Once you've figured out what they are, I mean."

"The anti-violence field would probably keep a Thing from doing what Things do, seeing as it involves killing people. The Field's gone down in the past, though, so I wouldn't trust it too much. And there's stuff in the Wilds you really don't want to play around with. You sound like a sensible guy, so I can give you tips on what to stay away from."

Palmer's not really the Wilds kind of guy. Honestly, he prefers to stay out of the way of things that could eat him, but he's had his share of close shaves.

"Fire does the trick. Acid might. You've got to destroy a Thing, down to the last cell, or it'll just come back." Palmer scratches the back of his neck. "Gotta add a warning. They don't really like being busted. Tends to get nasty when it feels trapped."

Harley and Poison Ivy were shopping today. It is not hard to notice the approach of the two women. Harley was dressed in bright pinks and yellows, neon colors that yelled for attention. And she had a hyena walking by her side. Ivy was a tall, beautiful green-skinned woman, who appeared to only be covered by plants and flowers that mimicked clothing.

It is the wess'har pheromones that make Ivy stop and take notice. She has her own pheromones -- an ability that make most men fall easily for her. Luckily she is able to suppress their powers when she visits the Nexus.

"I have seen people get sick. We had a very bad, very nasty winter. Food supplies were cut off. And people caught colds. I have even seen people have troubles with allergies," Harley responds to the first question.

"Some of us don't get sick. Nor do we need vaccinations for most things," Ivy responds, tilting her head in interest.

When Ade had first approached the pair, he had taken them for two eccentrically-dressed women walking their dog. It isn't until they turn towards him and begin to respond that he realizes that there's a lot more strange here than he'd first assumed. For one thing, one of the women has green skin; Ade accepts that in stride easily enough. He's met his fair share of aliens over the last few months. But then there's also the fact, belatedly-realized, that she isn't actually wearing clothes—just layers of leaves and flowers covering her body.

Ade does his best to subtly avert his gaze, face reddening slightly. Fortunately, there's the other woman and her dog to shift his attention to—

Wait. Not a dog.

"Er... right. Allergies," Ade says, eying what he's increasingly sure is actually a hyena. Adopting the most neutral expression he can manage, he forces his eyes back to the colorfully dressed woman in the center. "What about people bringing infections back to their homes? Has that ever happened?"

The hyena is surprisingly calm right now, staying by the heels of the more brightly dressed woman, who has bleach white hair and equally pale skin.

"Well, we can come here with infections. I haven't heard of a Nexus-related infection..." Harley places a stick of bubblegum in her mouth, so she can chew on it while she thinks. "But knowing the Nexus... I would not be surprised if it happened. Weird shit comes here all the time. Ever here about LOLs?"

Fortunately, Ade isn't particularly well-versed in internet slang, or he'd probably take the question much less seriously.

"Can't say I have. What are they?"

"Laugh Out Louds. Basically the Nexus will do weird shit. And you are not sure what to do about it. Or how to change it. And just have to adapt."

When the average foot traffic skews so far toward human (or at least human in appearance), obvious xenos such as the shockingly blue and rather thin Andorian tend to stick out. Kav's not terribly dissimilar to humans. Bipedal, same general proportions, limbs, and all that. The antennae? Not so much.

"...Won't pretend it's not on my mind every time I pop over trying to get some fresh tea or a decent lunch." The Starfleet officer hasn't ever heard of anyone getting sick from the Nexus specifically, but it's definitely a concern. "Anyone from my ship with clearance to use the Nexus has to undergo additional screenings in order to maintain their status."

"Scary, isn't it?"

Ade's never seen a being like the one before him now, but he's met enough aliens in his own universe that he's not fazed. If anything, he's relieved by just how human this one sounds when he speaks. Nothing against the wess'har or the ussissi, but sometimes speaking with them can leave Ade feeling even more primitive than usual.

"Yeah. Scary." He supposes it's a good thing that at least some of the people here are being screened upon their return home, but if he did infect someone, he doubts they'd be able to do anything about it. The wess'har, for all their ingenious technology, didn't have a way to remove c'nataat. What chance did anyone else have?

"They ever catch anything on the return screenings?"

"Once or twice." The Andorian pulls his arms closer around himself; makes no attempt to get any closer to the apparently human asking his questions to the Plaza. It's not just Ade, either. The Starfleet officer is doing his best to keep a distance from anyone else around him. Has been since before they started talking.

"Captain managed to find a pollen he was allergic to once and had a bad reaction to it. I'm pretty sure our civilian pharmacologist caught something here once before too and ended up putting a few of us he'd been in contact with into quarantine for a good couple weeks until it cleared his system and our screenings." He sighs. Makes him shudder just thinking about it.

"But that's all I can think of, and I know the captain's at least been using the Nexus for well over half a decade. Best we can do is decon after trips and be careful unless we're writing off the Nexus and it's potential altogether."

Ade is perfectly fine with the alien keeping his distance. C'nataat can't spread through proximity alone, but the space is reassuring all the same.

"Sounds like a good system," Ade says, though his expression is rueful. Why'd he have to be the first person to stumble upon this place? He doubts anyone back on F'nar or Earth even knows it exists, much less has decon procedures for return trips. How could he justify staying here with Hell-On-Earth running through his veins?

"To tell the truth," Ade says wearily. "I really needed a place to disappear. But I'm starting to think staying here isn't worth the risk."

"This place is also strictly classified on our world. Too easy for those in power to abuse it. Was our reasoning, at least. There have been abuses of the Nexus in the past or so I've been told." But then, not every world treats the multiverse with such care. Not everyone knows to, and some peoples don't really have much choice in the matter.

It doesn't change the fact that it makes the Nexus incredibly risky despite all its advantages.

"Well..." The Andorian's face twists into a worried grimace. "Some people certainly choose to. Or have to owing to circumstances on their world." He shakes his head.

"I wouldn't, though."

"Aha!" It might not be the person he meant to address, but the robot points at him before looking up from his datapad at the man. "Someone who asks the important questions!"

Ulysses might make an odd sight, dressed in pale green-blue robes that are cut more like a trenchcoat, from the back of which sprout a number of pale, glimmering tendrils that curl ribbon-like in the air. There's a shotgun of some sort clipped at his back, though only the butt is visible from this angle. Another bot floats in the air beside him, metallic green and small enough to fit in a palm. Her single blue optic fixes on Ade curiously as her companion keeps talking, the inside of his mouth lighting up green each time he does.

"Now, cross-contamination should be a serious concern for anyone here - from pathogens or otherwise. And yet there don't seem to be outbreaks of any significance on record... except once, when the Anti-Violence Field was down for an entire winter. I think that's pretty odd, considering in winter the Nexus seems to have just as many humans with 'the sniffles' as our City. Why would they be able to catch a mild cold here, but not a dangerous foreign fever?"

The stranger indeed does make an odd sight. Ade has seen his fair share of aliens in his own universe, from the seahorse-faced wess'har to the otter-like ussissi, but he's never actually met a sentient robot before. He stares for a moment, fascinated by the moving segments of its face and the glow emanating from its mouth, wondering who—or what—could have created such a thing.

Then, he realizes he's staring and blinks, embarrassed. He's missed the first half of what the robot was saying, but at least catches that last question.

"Stands to reason that someone who could make an Anti-Violence Field could also make an anti-illness one, too," Ade muses, his gaze drifting to the little hovering shape beside the larger robot. It looks like a little eye. Ade is reminded of Eddie's bee-cam.

"Suppose I'm just wondering what the limitations are. Not all illnesses are so... straightforward." He tears his eyes away from the little robot. Is he saying too much? "What about you?" he says, hoping to redirect a little. "I'm going to guess you don't have to worry about getting sick."

Ulysses nods fervently at his observation, disregarding any staring. There are contagions out there far more complicated - and dangerous - than the likes of cholera or flu. It's a worry he has his own reasons to share in.

"You'd be right about that," he answers with a chuckle. If not for the slight edge to his voice - a hint of reverb, perhaps, a subtle overlay like it's relayed through a comm - it might be indistinguishable from a human's.

"The perks of being an Exo- or a Ghost," he adds with a nod to his little friend; she dips her points as if in a bow. "We aren't affected by organic infections - but as you said, not everything is that simple, is it? There are things in our universe that can't be allowed to escape here, and things from other universes we can't risk following us home. None of us should blindly trust in the Nexus's powers - or its intent."

"I'm Penny, by the way," chips in the smaller bot. Better to make some friendly introductions before her partner goes off on his pet tangent. Her voice is more electronic, but more than expressive enough to convey her amusement. "My slightly paranoid Guardian here is Ulysses-10."

The terms 'Exo,' 'Ghost,' and 'Guardian' aren't familiar to Ade. Mentally, he translates them as 'Big Robot,' 'Small Robot,' and 'Friend.'

"I'm Ade," he says, smiling at the little robot on instinct. He can't help but be a little charmed to hear it speak; maybe it's not so much like the bee-cam after all.

"To tell the truth, I'm trying to decide if I should just turn around and pretend I never saw this place. Bit above my pay grade, really." Hell, everything has been above his pay grade for the last few months, but at least he only had to worry about his own universe before. The consequences of mucking things up here would be exponentially more disastrous. "How long have you two been here?"

"It's nice to meet you," Penny says cheerfully, prompting the bigger bot to nod agreement.

"We've been coming here for- oh, it's two years, now. Both for research and on patrols," Ulysses explains. "Our people try to keep a small presence here, in case of incidents. Besides- even with the risks, even I have to admit the opportunities are too great to ignore."

"That, and..." the points of Penny's shell droop slightly for a moment, trying to convey ruefulness, "we've learned the hard way that if one person from our universe can find a door here, so can others. It's better to be forewarned if that happens."

Having been in the Nexus for a little while now, Zack is far less likely to indulge in any behaviour that's going to get him in trouble. This doesn't rule it out completely, but.

Usually, he avoids eye contact with people he doesn't know, which is not the way to make friends, he's aware, and Dean has told him several times that it'll do him good. If someone approaches Zack though, he'll try hard not to glare or snarl at them. Or indeed scuttle to the nearest corner to regard them with feral eyes, however luminous a blue they are.

He eyes the stranger a little warily though, taking in the mortal's appearance. Zack doesn't have the higher senses of some of the immortal beings in the multiverse, but he can spot a mortal - whatever species it is. And nothing about the man seems to have a supernatural feel. That said, the Nexus does screw with Zack's powers. So. His sense of smell is that of an ordinary mortal too, but he does detect that slight hint of citrus.

He's only learning how to read, and still struggles, so the pamphlet is glanced at - and at once ignored. Instead, Zack considers the spoken question. He carries disease, uses it as a tool of destruction; but only when he's in full apocalyptic mode. And again the Nexus seems to stop him lashing out with his abilities. A sort of safeguard, in case Zack goes off on one and people get hit by the shrapnel.

“Some do. Some don't. Depends if they're mortal or not. Got a lot of angels wandering around. And gods. And I don't think vampires get sick,” He scratches his head a bit over that one. “D'you need medical attention?”

The mention of angels, gods, and vampires gets a lightly furrowed brow from Ade. Is the man joking...? The way Ade sees it, it's either that or a case of mistaken identity. Honestly, given wess'har technology, Ade wouldn't blame anyone for mistaking them for gods or angels. Maybe something similar is happening here.

In any case, it's enough to know that some people here don't get sick. Ade supposes that's good news.

"No, I'm fine," Ade says, a bit too quickly. Then, changing the subject: "So, these gods... Are they the ones in charge here?"

As yet, Mister Blunt here has no conception of the idea of breaking something gently. It's fortunate that some people can reason out such things - such as the mistaken identity theory - or they'd go into meltdown the minute he opened his mouth.

He nods, about to turn away, when the second questions comes. It's one that he hasn't any certain answers to. "I don't know if anyone's really in charge of the Nexus. There's a few species of alien god, and giant mechanoids, and then there's the Fallen. Nobody seems to be in charge of anyone else. It's good. S'why I like it here."

He's about to rest on that, pleased with his interaction, but then he remembers Dean's advice. Show an interest. Find some way to relate. ...Or words to that effect, put in words unique to Dean.

"Are you fleeing a plague?" At least he knows something about that sort of thing.

Alien gods. Okay, good. Ade's back on familiar ground again. He's just going to tuck the mentions of "mechanoids" and "the Fallen" away for another time.

The question about fleeing a plague gets a startled blink. "I... suppose I am," Ade says after a moment. A plague. Talking about it that way should be safe enough. He's just gotta make it sound like the dangerous little bugger it is and not an asset for extraction. "There's a... parasite, where I come from. It doesn't spread easily, but it can happen. It'd be bad enough if it made it to other planets." He lifts his eyes to their surroundings, the 'Nexus,' as it's called. "Other universes... Rather not think about that."

Finally the penny drops that the newcomer is indeed that, very new to the Nexus. It explains the thing called a pamphlet. People were kind to Zack when he got here. Despite his thieving and snarling and generally unfortunate start. Maybe this is a good chance to be kind to someone else.

"That'd be bad," Zack agrees. "But not as bad as it could be. Outside forces don't come under my jurisdiction." So those other worlds would have a better chance. Maybe. Unless sending trouble into other worlds from the Nexus counts as a self-inflicted disaster. It makes his head hurt.

"There's this thing called the anti-violence field. Might work on some aggressive bacteria. Fucks my powers right up the arse too. Bit hit-and-miss really, but I think if disease was an issue, most of the mortals who live here would be dead or dying."

If there was anyone to ask that sort of question to, it would be the guy wearing medical scrubs. While he wasn't a doctor, he did work as an orderly at the Nexus' hospital - which, considering that it existed and he had a job...

"Yeah, people get sick here." he confirmed. "Not often, really. Not like the world I came from for sure. But people do still get sick from time to time. And hurt too. The folks at the hospital are really good, though!"

Ade is indeed hoping that he's dealing with some sort of medical professional here. It'll mean he might potentially need to be more cautious with what he shares, but if this place has doctors, they'll be the most knowledgeable about contagious... things.

"Is that where you work?" Ade asks. And then, with a slight smile. "Bit of a hypochondriac myself, really."

“Yup. I’m an orderly there.” He smiled back in kind, taking the admission at face value. He had no reason not to, and as he freely admitted, “No need to be embarrassed. You’d be surprised how common health anxiety can be.”

It likely stemmed from many of the things Ade had already observed - multiple species from multiple worlds converging in a single place. Combine that with individual experiences and traumatic events too. Not that Minoru was flustered by any of it. Part of the job description was talking people down and helping them feel a bit more at ease.

“I’m Minoru. Pleased to meet you.”

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A Runaway Space Marine

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