[hr][h1][center][color=009496]Tahlia Spade[/color] & [color=4dff4d]Benji Baker[/color][/center][/h1][hr]

Tahlia sat cross-legged in her bed in a relaxed pose; one that any observer could interpret as being meditative.  She had been trying to clear her head and focus her thoughts for the last hour or so.  So much had happened in so little time.  She was still trying to catch up with it all in many ways.  The aliens, the Velbenan queen, all of the politics involved with the Principality and who-the-fuck-knows what else.  But most importantly, she was trying to piece together Benji's sudden change in personality and behavior, and furthermore his motivations for doing what he was planning on doing.  Protecting the crew?  That was most likely, for sure, but she wondered if the aliens hadn't done something to him while he was in captivity; some sort of indoctrination.  All of the sudden he now knew their language, and was evidently pretty familiar with their society already, after only a few weeks.

One thing was for certain; she resented the Principality for everything that they seemed to stand for.  Their high-and-mighty bullshit didn't sit well with her at all; especially the way they had treated that queen for wanting to help a rapidly collapsing civilization.  Maybe it was just Tahlia's rebellious side showing through, but her motivations were still simple.  Were it not for her, they wouldn't even be here right now; they owed her.  Tahlia was steadfast in her purpose for going with Benji; she was going to try to stop him from murdering her and try to negotiate something.  Even if it meant being intergalactic criminals or some shit.  Fuck the principality.

The suddenness of the door opening jarred Tahlia from her thoughts and prompted her to look towards the hallway.  Benji passed by her room, shouting something about going to the kitchen.  She thought she saw him wielding a sword, but she figured that must have been a trick of the eyes.  Regardless, this must have been important, but something in Benji's voice made her apprehensive.  Something was not right at all.

Things became somewhat clearer when she entered the hallway, wearing a white tank top and green cargos.  Before she herself could interject, Owen confronted Benji of his own accord.  The conversation became background noise to her as she noticed that not only was Benji actually wielding a sword, but he was also flanked by two of the really big aliens, but not in a "we're keeping you from trying anything" way, more like a "we're here if you need assistance," as if Benji was the one in charge.  That's not to say that he wasn't the most knowledgeable of the crew, but... in charge of the aliens, almost.

[color=009496]"What the fu-"[/color] Tahlia was interrupted when Benji went off on Owen about what had happened between Rend and Tahlia earlier, which then segued into him mentioning Rend having escaped.  That thought sent a chill down her spine.  If he had, in fact, escaped, then there was no way he was planning anything good.  But for some reason, Tahlia wasn't as worried about that at the moment as she was about Benji and his newfound authoritarian attitude.  She couldn't tell if Benji had snapped or what, but he was stepping out of line at this point.

[color=009496]"Benji-"[/color] she tried once more to interject, but was again shut down when the argument flared back up.  This was getting out of hand.  She wanted to physically step in, but the sight of Benji's sword coupled with his attitude kept her at bay.  She wasn't about to try to stop him when her martial arts classes never covered fighting against an unstable man with a fucking sword.  And even with his newfound confidence and apparent clarity of thought, she wasn't about to test his mental state.

She was barely even paying attention to what was actually being said until the argument finally reached a point where Owen began trying to talk Benji down.  Benji, of course, had to be staring at the floor.  In a situation like this, there was no way there were good thoughts pervading his mind.  She actually braced herself and prepared to counter whatever Benji might have thrown at Owen, but what he actually did was far more dramatic than Tahlia had expected.  He actually turned his two fuck-buddies on Owen and had them brute force him out of the hallway.  What the fuck was he thinking?  Was this really happening?  Did Benji really just talk to the aliens and have them carry Owen off like that?  Was he in charge of them now?  Who did he think he was?  Whose side was he even on at this point?

[color=4dff4d]"Tahlia-"[/color]

[color=009496]"What the fuck was that?!  Since when are you all buddy-buddy with those fish-faced fucks?"[/color]

It wasn't unlikely that Benji tried to get something out, but Tahlia interrupted him with increased fury.  [color=009496]"You know what, do I even want to know?!  I don't know who couldn't have noticed how you've been different ever since we got captured, but this is un-fucking-believable!  I don't know what they told you, but I can't help but wonder whose side you're on now!  You're, like, their fucking favorite for some reason, and you're playing this shit up!  You know they'll give you special privileges in exchange for keeping us in line!  Is that what this shit is?  Is it?!?"[/color]

She stood there, arms crossed and staring daggers at Benji.  The hallway had never sounded more silent.  The Britheans still hadn't returned from escorting Owen, so there was no one there to intervene.  Still, every party present must have understood there would be hell to pay if one of them were to suddenly be dead.  Tahlia closed her eyes and lowered her head while letting out a defeated sigh.  She had almost forgotten when they were brought to the ship, but this served as another reminder that they were practically entirely under the aliens' control.  And now it wasn't just them they had to worry about.

She tilted her head up a little bit, a much different look on her face.  A particularly distant look.  Her voice was much calmer, but it also carried an uncharacteristic undertone of despair.  [color=009496]"First Rend, then Echo, and now you.  Jesus Christ, law of averages I guess, right?  I couldn't trust half the human race on Earth, and now I can't trust half of what's left of it."[/color]  She unfolded her arms and let out another sigh.  [color=009496]"Fuckin' people,"[/color] she muttered, turning around and storming off into the kitchen.

There was clearly a lot of what Tahlia said that Benji had a problem with. But that did not matter to him right now, speaking to Echo did. Although even with all of the chaos that had unraveled, he was still aware that there remained one other person in that hallway with them, Yaz. At this point, he would not be surprised if she left him also, yet Benji was going to give her the chance to dispel the confusion, if she was willing to of course. 

[color=#4dff4d]"None of this makes any sense to any of you...,"[/color] Benji spoke so low, it almost sounded as if he were whispering to himself, but it was audible enough at Yaz's distance. [color=#4dff4d]"I am to blame for that. I should have explained myself, but even if I did Owen would be all over me, assuming I was running mad with mental issues because of my night terrors and hallucinations--"[/color] Benji ended that sentence abruptly, even when it sounded as if he had much more to say. Yet now it made sense to him, how essential Owen was to the crew. It was beyond what Benji could imagine.

[color=#4dff4d]"But it is not what you might think. I'm not crazy. I'm not insane..."[/color] He began walking towards Echo's door. [color=#4dff4d]"Yaz, I can't promise this, but things might make much more sense if you walk with me past this door"[/color]