hadriel | 001 ❗ video

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[ It's not as if Miller's pleased that half of Hadriel's captives have apparently been buried alive, but this also grants him an opportunity he'd been craving. It places him back into a position that he's come to miss and yearn for since his arrival here. He can't fight the monsters who come with the newcomers, he can't convince the gods to send them home when they don't even know how the process works, but he can organize people. And this situation, with Hope's set of coordinates? This is his bread and butter.

The broadcast comes from a desk in the main living area of Kaz's apartment. He's propped his phone and adjusted it so that it shows him from the shoulders up. A number of people here already know about his disabilities, but anyone who doesn't should stay that way for now. They might see his missing limbs and his need for a crutch as a weakness, which will make them less likely to listen to him. ]

Fear's really done a number on us this time, hasn't he?

[ He shakes his head, dismayed but not defeated. He assumes it's Fear, anyway. Who else would be behind this? Sitting with his back straight and his beret set in place, Miller takes on the air of command. ]

This we can do something about, though, unlike the blizzard. Anyone who's above ground and willing to help dig someone up, report in. I'll assign you a set of coordinates. Then, report back with whether or not you were successful in digging someone up -- and if so, who it was.

[ That's all simple enough, but Kaz can guess that both those who've been buried and those who haven't are in a panic, and a good leader needs to address something like that. ]

I'm sure that many of you have friends who are in need of your help. [ His brow knits, a quiet show of empathy. ] But right now, we need to focus on getting each and every person dug up, so even if you end up rescuing a stranger, just keep in mind that I'll have probably sent someone else to free your loved one. The important thing is that we make sure each plot is covered so that no one is overlooked.

[ Someone just made a helpful announcement about how awful it would be to suffocate in one of those coffins, after all. ]

For those who are curious, my name is Kazuhira Miller, and I have experience with organizing an army. Getting a few people dug up should be a cakewalk if everyone keeps their calm -- and if enough people want to help.

[ Maybe he's guilting people a little with that last point. It might have to do with the fact that he's self-conscious that he can't contribute to any of the physical requirements of this particular crisis. Then again, that had been the case with taking down Cipher too, and they'd still pulled it off. ]

And if anyone who's trapped is watching this... hang in there. We're on our way.

[ With a firm nod, he ends the feed. ]

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[ So it's like that, huh? Kaz has been around enough women who didn't want anything to do with him (Cecile, in particular) that he doesn't take her brusque nature too personally. At one point he might have been dramatic about it, but there isn't time for that now. ]

Kerrigan. All right, then.

[ He may be curious about her and her subordinate, but that will have to wait for when they're not in crisis mode. ]

Keep in touch, and thanks for your help.

I'll keep you updated, and no thanks are needed.

[Kerrigan sounds angry when she reports in.]

Miller. I have a casualty to report at [coordinates].

His name is Jack. The one with an eye patch, if there's more than one Jack here.

[ It's been a few days now, days spent in constant coordination, scratching off coordinate after coordinate as more and more people were dug up. Kaz had actually been wondering if they might manage to get through this mess without any casualties.

Then Kerrigan's call comes in.

The name Jack alone might not have tipped him off, but someone calling himself Jack whose got an eye patch? Well, that answers the question of how Snake's been introducing himself here, but...

It almost doesn't feel real. Kaz likes to think he hadn't fallen for Big Boss' charms the same as some other people, and yet the thought of him actually dying is almost impossible to imagine.

He doesn't know how to feel. Should he be glad that the man he'd cursed got what he deserved? Except that he hadn't played any kind of part in it. In fact, he'd indirectly been trying to save Snake, and he'd failed at that too.

There's a long pause over the line, punctuated only by his rough breathing.

Then: ] I've heard that people can be brought back here. Do you know if that's true?

[ Even as he asks the question, he wants to kick himself. Why should he care? ]

[Kerrigan realizes very quickly she's erred, here, telling Miller like this. She remembers hearing news of Jim's execution, delivered as part of a news feed, and how much that hurt.

But she listens silently until he speaks.]

They've already done things I would have thought impossible.

[A pause, and then.]

I'm sorry.

[And from the sound of her voice she really means it. She knows what it's like to lose someone you care about, even for people surrounded by death who know that it's a possibility, it hurts.]

[ There's no way that Kerrigan could have known. Neither Miller nor Snake had gone out of their way to make their history common knowledge, and for the most part Kaz had been avoiding him.

Maybe that's why he's been so blindsided by this, along with the flood of mixed emotions that's come with it, crashing into him when he's already unsteady.

He can't even decide if this is something Kerrigan should feel the need to apologize for. Another long pause, and he sighs into the receiver. ]

It's fine. You didn't know.

We... need to do something with the body. If people really do come back here, does that mean it'll just reanimate? Sorry, just thinking out loud. The point is, we shouldn't just leave it out there.

[ Not that he's in any position to be moving dead weight around. ]

No, I didn't know, but I know that doesn't make it hurt any less to hear about it like this.

[She's staring down at the body, considering his words.]

I was going to take anything useful he had on him and cover him back up. There are predators in these caves.

[Kerrigan doesn't feel guilty admitting that. It's a practical thing to do, and she expects Miller, and Jack, from what little she knows of them, would understand.]

If you know a place with enough cold storage, I can take him there.

[ Kaz considers whether or not he should try to explain how complicated the situation really is, how she doesn't need to feel so bad because he isn't supposed to give a damn about Big Boss anyway.

But that's too much to get into right now. ]

If he's supposed to come back, then we probably need the body to stay in one piece. I don't know of any morgue-like places around here, though. If it's too much trouble to move him, then just cover him up.

[ If there's enough dirt put over him, maybe those predators won't be able to sniff him out. ]

If we need to be in one piece that begs the question of what would happen if we were killed by one of the creatures in this place.

It might be easier to make a new body, but 'll put him back in the ground. Do you want his weapons?

Make a new body? You make it sound like that's no big deal.

[ Quiet's body had been restructured through the use of parasites, and that had involved plenty of downsides. Kaz finds it hard to believe that if Hope simply wishes hard enough, he can remake someone from scratch. ]

Yeah, I'll take whatever he had on him. And...

[ Begrudgingly, he switches over to a video feed. His expression has been schooled into something neutral. ]

Can I see the body, before you re-bury him?

[ It's not that he doubts Kerrigan, but he still needs solid proof of what she's found. ]

Making a new body is the easy part. Transferring the memories and consciousness, and even moreso, preserving them while the body is dead, would be the hard parts.

[She's reminded of the Cerebrates ability to be reborn, and Amon's apparent, or impending, rebirth.

Kerrigan doesn't think it's the best idea, but she understands the need to see it, so she points the camera towards the body she used here telekinesis to lift out and set beside the hole once she realized he was dead. He's dirty and crushed. She doesn't think it was a fast crushing death either.]

He was dead when I started digging, I think, but I'm more familiar with killing than investigating deaths.

Sounds like you've got some experience with the subject.

[ Should Kaz even be that surprised? She's obviously not human, which means she's probably from some strange world where revival isn't so unheard of.

As soon as the call switches to video, Kaz lifts up his phone, bringing it close to his face and actually lifting up his glasses so that he can get a proper look. His eyes look strangely cloudy, but he can obviously see, given the way that he's scrutinizing the screen.

The dirt's covered up most of Big Boss' features and the impact of being crushed by it has obviously done some damage, but Kaz can still tell that it's him. He's seen plenty of corpses over his lifetime, but it's still eerie to see someone he knows so well looking so lifeless.

After a long pause, he asks: ] What state was the coffin in?

I'm Zerg.

[She says it as if that explains everything. Then remembers that while it would explain everything to a large number of people, he has no context for it.]

We're masters of bio-engineering.

It wasn't the most durable wood I've encountered. More of a box than a coffin, the lid collapsed mostly down a single line. He had his knife out, so he may have been trying to get out.

[surely he knew better. Unless he'd thought he was going to die anyway.]

[ The term doesn't mean a thing to him, and her clarification doesn't necessarily add a lot of detail either. Kaz could have questioned her further, but he's quickly distracted by her evaluation of what happened.

Would Snake really have tried to cut himself free? That seemed idiotic no matter what way you looked at it. He should have known that the pressure of the dirt would crush and then suffocate him.

Kaz frowns to himself as he juggles with the thought that it had been purposeful. But why...? ]

... Thank you, for reporting in. I guess now all we can do is wait and see how far Hope's power really goes.

[Kerrigan makes a noise of acknowledgement and is silent for a moment.]

I'll update you on my progress at the next set of coordinates.

[And then she shuts off the video feed.]

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