[Her smirk brings a smile to his face, genuine and broad, for he had been so close to breaking. He's done it more than once, smaller degrees, but to have been near capitulation and persevered, he can take a measure of pride in it now, even if he'd felt weak for his faltering. Speaking of Jim keeps the smile there.]
Not for one moment. The last I spoke with him, he'd been involved in an... another...
[It gives way to twitching again, but he forces the words out, wincing.]
Plot with t-those... of similar mi... minds.
[Exhaling slowly, the names comes easier as he shoves the central thought away with much effort.]
Cassian Andor and Max Guevara. They're both still here. Jim, he left without ever backing down. If he returns, whether he remembers or not, I'm certain he'd join us once again.
[He nods at that sentiment, even without him here, Jim's drive remains something to admire and remember, to recall in times of despair.]
I don't know them well myself. I've spoken to Cassian more often.
[As he speaks, a more casual tone, he moves to take up the loose floorboard by the pipe in the back, pulling out a lockbox that now again holds his assembled notes and other materials on small storage cards. He sets it on the folding table, and opens it, a stack of handwritten observations, labels on the supplemental material.]
This is all I have at present, and I'd recently taken a look through all of the old publicly accessible network posts. Information varies, but I think I've organised it well enough.
[She moves to look immediately, reaching in to take a stack gently in her hands. Nebula will make sure it keeps whatever organization D'Artagnan's devised. Her eyes scan each page. It's a substantial amount of information. An impressive amount. Nebula had known how much he'd wanted to fight this place, but hadn't understood the full extent of what he'd undertaken, clearly.]
You've done more than well enough. [How impressed she is crystal clear in her voice. It's a start difference to how she'd spoken to him and Jim on their first missions together. Not a singly 'idiot' is about to be spoken.] It's good that it's written down too...
[Something a cyborg would not usually say, but.]
Harder to confiscate or track. Although you should make duplicates, just in case. If you haven't already. I'd researched the network posts the last time, and nearly everything I remember in my memory core is here.
[A crooked smile pulls at the edge of his mouth, an awkward pride in it, for Nebula isn't often so blatant in her praise, not that he recalls. He'd expected perhaps a bit of affectionate malignment on his organisation or chiding for all the unnecessary secrecy, but this is genuine, and D'Artagnan's small hum of a noise sounds rather smug in response, but there's a warmth in his dark eyes over her acknowledgement. On the matter of duplicates, he snorts to himself, though, having mentioned that to the last person he'd showed the notes to.]
I've not. I thought it... somehow ill-advised. I suppose it's not though, is it?
[As she speaks of her memory core, he chews at his lip, for it's only now he understands just how much Nebula might hold in her... circuitry, a strange notion to compare her at all to the computers and other devices that are... machinery.]
Good. I've been thorough then. I thought we might find something to build... build on with more c-caution than... destruct...
[He can't finish it, fingers pressing hard into the table, but the gist of his comment has been made.]
Copies may increase the chance of them being found, but you also don't want to risk losing it all if your only copies are discovered.
[There are risks and benefits to both strategies. But she still thinks copies are the better of the options.]
I understand... our original plan with Jim was one ultimately only based in revenge and destruction. Biding our time, learning as much as we can, it's better. [Nebula sets the papers back, closing the box for now. She'll no doubt look through them all more later.] I am not always good with having patience.
[There's too much rage in her sometimes to allow herself to wait. It's been a flaw of hers for a long time.]
I appreciate you bringing me here, telling me, and showing me this. [Having that kind of trust in her felt good. Sure, they'd worked together before, but time had passed. It meant something to her.] Being here again, I felt somewhat untethered.
[This gave her a goal. A meaning. Something other than rage. Although that is fueling her too.]
[It's quiet and quick, a nod as if he'd perhaps not ever considered keeping it from her, or not wishing her involvement. Rebels themselves aren't so rare, but those willing to actually do something and not resort to simply talking about it every so often amidst their swath of parties as if it an afterthought, those people are hard to come by. Those who will risk everything. D'Artagnan had almost fallen into the beginnings of that trap, but he'd escaped the cage of acceptance and he'll not look back.]
I've felt untethered for a long time now, I need this too.
[He'd told Malcolm the same thing when he'd asked to take over the Smoking Wand again, for what is he without a purpose?]
We may not prevail, not for years, but we'll not back down.
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no subject
Not for one moment. The last I spoke with him, he'd been involved in an... another...
[It gives way to twitching again, but he forces the words out, wincing.]
Plot with t-those... of similar mi... minds.
[Exhaling slowly, the names comes easier as he shoves the central thought away with much effort.]
Cassian Andor and Max Guevara. They're both still here. Jim, he left without ever backing down. If he returns, whether he remembers or not, I'm certain he'd join us once again.
no subject
Good. [If he had broken, Nebula would have never forgiven herself for not being here. Not that she'd had much of a choice in leaving.] That's good.
I think I have seen their names on the network, but I don't know them. I'll have to start.
no subject
I don't know them well myself. I've spoken to Cassian more often.
[As he speaks, a more casual tone, he moves to take up the loose floorboard by the pipe in the back, pulling out a lockbox that now again holds his assembled notes and other materials on small storage cards. He sets it on the folding table, and opens it, a stack of handwritten observations, labels on the supplemental material.]
This is all I have at present, and I'd recently taken a look through all of the old publicly accessible network posts. Information varies, but I think I've organised it well enough.
no subject
You've done more than well enough. [How impressed she is crystal clear in her voice. It's a start difference to how she'd spoken to him and Jim on their first missions together. Not a singly 'idiot' is about to be spoken.] It's good that it's written down too...
[Something a cyborg would not usually say, but.]
Harder to confiscate or track. Although you should make duplicates, just in case. If you haven't already. I'd researched the network posts the last time, and nearly everything I remember in my memory core is here.
no subject
I've not. I thought it... somehow ill-advised. I suppose it's not though, is it?
[As she speaks of her memory core, he chews at his lip, for it's only now he understands just how much Nebula might hold in her... circuitry, a strange notion to compare her at all to the computers and other devices that are... machinery.]
Good. I've been thorough then. I thought we might find something to build... build on with more c-caution than... destruct...
[He can't finish it, fingers pressing hard into the table, but the gist of his comment has been made.]
no subject
[There are risks and benefits to both strategies. But she still thinks copies are the better of the options.]
I understand... our original plan with Jim was one ultimately only based in revenge and destruction. Biding our time, learning as much as we can, it's better. [Nebula sets the papers back, closing the box for now. She'll no doubt look through them all more later.] I am not always good with having patience.
[There's too much rage in her sometimes to allow herself to wait. It's been a flaw of hers for a long time.]
no subject
[He might certainly commiserate on that. D'Artagnan takes the box, but he doesn't place it back in the floorboards.]
I'll make a copy or two, for now, keep one in another location for myself. Leave the other with someone trustworthy who'll otherwise not be involved.
[When he finds such a person.]
no subject
I appreciate you bringing me here, telling me, and showing me this. [Having that kind of trust in her felt good. Sure, they'd worked together before, but time had passed. It meant something to her.] Being here again, I felt somewhat untethered.
[This gave her a goal. A meaning. Something other than rage. Although that is fueling her too.]
no subject
[It's quiet and quick, a nod as if he'd perhaps not ever considered keeping it from her, or not wishing her involvement. Rebels themselves aren't so rare, but those willing to actually do something and not resort to simply talking about it every so often amidst their swath of parties as if it an afterthought, those people are hard to come by. Those who will risk everything. D'Artagnan had almost fallen into the beginnings of that trap, but he'd escaped the cage of acceptance and he'll not look back.]
I've felt untethered for a long time now, I need this too.
[He'd told Malcolm the same thing when he'd asked to take over the Smoking Wand again, for what is he without a purpose?]
We may not prevail, not for years, but we'll not back down.