[hr][h1][center][color=009496]Tahlia Spade[/color] / [color=9e0b0f]Ailbeart Rend[/color][/center][/h1][hr]

Tahlia waited patiently for the others to filter into the kitchen after herself and Benji.  She found a corner near the pathway leading back to the cockpit and propped herself against it, crossing her arms.  Slowly the others filtered in, one by one.  Her eyes met each of theirs in turn as they entered.  Echo, Yazmin, and then the old man.  The one she didn't recognize, aside from the occasional glance at the TV.

Her expression hardened as she began to try to reason why he was here.  She recalled that she originally simply wrote it off as Cryonautics making some last-minute decision, but she now had reasoned that was a simple, stupid, and lazy explanation.  Furthermore, the man that they were expecting to come on the trip with them, Andrew, was nowhere to be found; seemingly replaced by this man.  But was he simply replaced?  Her instincts told her no; that something was very awry; that [i]someone[/i] would have mentioned something, or arranged to make it known somehow that there was a change of plans.

She mentally chastised herself for not taking such discrepancies more seriously when she first noticed them.  This was beyond coincidence.  Cryonautics had lied about one thing, sure, but Tahlia could see why they would want to withhold such information.  This was different.  The best case scenario was that this was simply sloppy planning, but the more Tahlia thought about it, the less likely that seemed.  It seemed far more likely that somehow this man had pulled some strings, or otherwise smuggled himself onto this mission.  She was about to begin interrogating him herself when Owen entered the room and made his presence known.

Predictably, Owen began tearing into Rend; saying all sorts of things about him that, to be honest, Tahlia never even really knew.  Was this really the sort of man that Ailbert Rend really was?  She knew he was rich, and powerful, but beyond that she had no idea what sort of a man he was.  Owen's tone became increasingly confrontational and hostile, until he reached a point that he had to stop himself.  She glanced back to Rend, seeing him grow increasingly anxious, having been challenged.  No, actually, anxiety wasn't right.  Anxiety is what it should have been.  This was more annoyance; possibly even contempt.

Tahlia instinctively uncrossed her arms and shifted her posture.  [color=009496]"Owen, knock it off!"[/color] she said, hoping to try to deescalate the situation.  [color=009496]"It's clear that he isn't supposed to be here, but that doesn't mean he doesn't get an opportunity to defend himself."[/color]  Not that she wasn't equally as suspicious, if not more so, of Rend's intentions, but she was more interested in ensuring that he didn't do anything rash.  She slowly, and as nonchalantly as possible, closed the gap between herself and Rend.  [color=009496]"So?  Anything to say for yourself?"[/color]

Rend seemed pleased with this turn of events.  [color=9e0b0f]"Well, it would seem I have some explaining to do,"[/color] he said, his voice dripping with condescension.  [color=9e0b0f]"If I'm being honest, I thought it would be fitting for me to see how man would progress."[/color]  He shot a look at Owen.  [color=9e0b0f]"And I'll tell you what's not fair.  The fact that I built an empire and had to fight just to be here!  I have more than earned the right to see how Earth and man alike have evolved!  And I must say, I'm not too impressed so far."[/color]  He looked around the room, taking in all of the electronic and mechanical crutches of modern society.  [color=9e0b0f]"All of this... machinery.  What ever happened to doing things yourself?  We've become lazy.  Well, that's coming to a stop."[/color]

Tahlia scoffed.  [color=009496]"Well, you're pretentious, I'll give you that.  You remind me of a couple Lieutenants I had the displeasure of serving with."[/color]

[color=9e0b0f]"You're not in the army anymore, lass, but your place in the world hasn't changed.  You're here for security, yeah?  That doesn't make you a leader, so stand down."[/color]

[color=009496]"Holy shit, do you see where you are?"[/color]  She was about to continue when she realized that he may not really know, but just when she was about to make the grand reveal, as it were, he continued on his rant.  [color=9e0b0f]"I spent decades of hard work to get where I am, and I did it all without the help of these crutches, and..."[/color]  He turned to glance at Yazmin, a look of disgust spreading across his face as his eyes took in her arm.  [color=9e0b0f]"That.  God, what a monstrosity."[/color]

As much as Tahlia was trying to maintain her cool, that struck a nerve with her.  [color=009496]"Are you seriously going to try to demand respect from us like this!?  Earth is dead!  There are no empires anymore you old fuck!  What is wrong with you!?"[/color] she yelled, taking a few anger-driven steps towards Rend.

Acting before thinking, and quite frankly tired of the woman's nagging, Rend decided to try to assert his authority for good.  He pulled his Walther P-5 from his waistband and brought it around to Tahlia's head.  Tahlia was faster though, and blocked his arm.  The gun fired just a couple inches to the left of Tahlia's head.  [color=009496]"GUN!"[/color] she yelled, making a grab for Rend's arm.  He pulled it away and took a step back, trying to re-acquire his target.  Tahlia jumped on him and finally got a hold of his arm, slamming it on the metal floor a couple of times in an effort to get his grip to release.  The gun fired again at one point, but he never let go.  Using her other arm, Tahlia ruthlessly punched him once in the throat and again in the face.  She felt his nose break, and at that his grip on the pistol finally released.

Wasting no time, Tahlia grabbed the pistol and took several steps back, training the weapon on Rend the entire time.  Her expression was stone cold, and her eyes fiery, a rage she had subdued for years returning to her.  She was more than ready to kill this man right then and there.  He had already done enough to endanger the mission, and as Owen had said a moment earlier, he had no use being here.  He was as much a danger as he was dead weight.  Keeping him alive was detrimental to the crew's best interest in every conceivable way.  Tahlia wasn't going to have any of it.  They had come too far already to have the mission be sabotaged by some batshit crazy old man who had no place on the ship.  She squeezed the trigger.

[i]*click*[/i]

The hammer dropped, but the gun didn't fire.  Perplexed, Tahlia ejected the magazine.  Empty.  Really?  Either Rend was incredibly incompetent, or he had used the gun prior to entering the cryo tanks.  Even more reason not to keep him alive.  He had killed before, he could do it again.  She was still going to finish the job.  She threw the pistol at Rend, hitting him square in the face, before walking over to him and pressing her elbow on his throat, fully intending to crush his trachea.