[Cooper tried to come up with something eloquent. Honest. For ten whole minutes.]

I'm leaving.

[That was all he got. He even kills the feed. But a little while later, it clicks back on.] Some of you have reasons to stay, and some of you can't leave, I get that. Most of you use excuses, to stay or go. Mine's the people I care about. Things are starting to look ugly here, and I realized: I don't have to buckle down and live through it.

I did my time. And now I'm going back home to kiss my wife and hug my children.

[Private to Kay]

Thanks.

[And added a few moments later:] I'm letting Heero know he can come visit, when he graduates. Don't let the Admiral forget. All this shit that's going on lately...[Which is his way of saying stay safe.]

[Private to Heero]

There's a guest bedroom, in my house. When you graduate, if you want, tell the Admiral you want to come visit. Anytime you want - any time you can, I guess. No one else uses it.

[Private to Una]

I hope you see your kids again soon.

[Private to t he Admiral]

When Heero graduates, you let him come visit me. Whenever he wants.

...Kay too.

I almost missed it here. And I really mean that almost, there's nothing like being home after a long time away. Sleeping in the same bed as my wife, hugging my kids. I drove Jake to school yesterday. I never get to do that when I haven't died and gone to Barge purgatory.

That's done, though. All I really needed was proof that my handler was corrupt. Shooting someone never felt so justified. I feel like that old timer who fucked up the Saddam mission would have if he hadn't fucked up.

My kids are safe. Hell, they're not even scared anymore. My son was being bullied by some asshole in school, but apparently having a CIA helicopter almost land on top of him was a hell of a story to hold over said asshole's head. I would have broken his fucking nose, but Michelle wasn't too pleased when I suggested that, and I don't really want to sleep on the couch after all this time away.

I did miss people here. I didn't expect to. Not all of you, I don't like most of you. Some of you are okay, though. I was hoping Hayley would be back, but she's still gone. I miss her. She's the one who needed to be here. She needed help. Kid was screwed up. All the kids here need help, it's psychotic that there are children on board. I don't like that at all.

And now I'm back. I don't know how long that'll last.

[Private to Kay]

I want to thank you but it feels sappy and sentimental and we're both better a just shooting.

[Private to Heero]

Hey kid. I want to apologize for leaving without saying anything, but I don't want to make it uncomfortable. Anytime you want to visit me at home, you're free to.

[Private to Sveta]

I thought about apologizing to you for pulling the trigger, but I'm not sorry. I'm sorry I didn't think there was a better way, but I did what I thought I had to. I'm sorry you're afraid of me, now. I don't like that at all. I don't like being frightening to people I don't want to be frightened of me. Sometimes my kids get scared of me. My wife says they're just intimidated because I can be away a lot, but it still hurts. I know you have every reason to be scared of me, too, but I don't like it.

[Private to Kirk]

I never really hated you, I just used you as a kind of scapegoat. You stopped me from getting home, when we first met, so I wanted to hate you for that. But you're a decent kid. When you're not an asshole.

[Private to Kay]

I'm ready to talk.

Travelers make for customers, I always say. I'm called Will, and I'm the cooper here in town. Barrels, wheels - I'm a bit handy at a bit of everything, really. If it needs mending and its not clothes, I'm the house on the south end of High Street. There's a sign an everything, you can't miss it.

[Private to Sveta]

Have you gone to market, wife? We need tomatoes. [Just a normal day in the town village. MUST HAVE TOMATOES because tomatoes grow everywhere in fairy tales, right.]

[Private to Heero]

You haven't been exploring too far, have you son?

Motherfucker.

[Cooper has been awake in the infirmary for maybe an hour now. He hates everything everyone stands for.]

Did someone short circuit the robot bitch? Fuck.

I'm not staying here all week. Someone check me out in an hour. I'm sleeping till then.


((OOC: SO Cooper was killed by T-X, I'm assuming Kay revived him, if that's all right Binky? So have some grouch grouch grouch.))

[Cooper was going to post something deep. Something thoughtful. Something redeeming, because he is so Godamned close. But then there was a flood. And all deepness is gone.]

Now I know how Moses must feel. Christ, Kay, does your back hurt like this? Marquis, you're old. Weigh in. And someone get me some fucking aspirin.

[Cooper is standing in a garden in the greenhouse. His gun is just out of sight as he's holstering it, and he's glancing at something on the ground.]

I need a med team...or whoever you send to take care of bodies, here. Sveta's dead. It should be over.

[He clicks off the video, but a few minutes later clicks it back on.]

I could use some medical attention, too. [No way is he proclaiming to the barge at large that he shot himself in the foot, but...he did just that. Off goes the video again.]


((OOC: Directly following this. Cooper shot himself in the foot, wrapped it up with duct tape, then went up to shoot Sveta and repress some guilt, whee))

Like the bars weren't fucking loud enough already. If you're going to clutter the station, at least buy a round for the regulars. I'll take a few, if you've got the pockets.

((OOC: This is Will Cooper, former space marine of awesomeness and deserter. He's got the classic, I gave everything to the cause and lost everything for it and now I'm going to drink away my sorrows thing going for him. He's good at it. :|))

[Cooper doesn't talk about shit that is actually important to him. So instead of raging about the danger his family is in, or the fact that he still doesn't have his gun back, or any of ten thousand other things, he is holding the mic of his device up to his wall, through which there is very audible, if slightly muffled barking.]

Kirk, if you don't shut your dog the fuck up right now, you are going to wake up with it's head on your sheets.

[Which is really just extremely inadvertent code for I-am-reaching-breaking-point, thus the lack of filter. Also seriously Aristotle shut the fuck up.]

[Private]

Frank Moses. Cynthia Wilkes. The whole fucking CIA if I--

[No, fuck it, he doesn't like this diary shit.]

[Filtered to inmates]

How many of you have kids at home?

[Added ten minutes later] Who has weapons?

[Private to Kay]

I want a new warden. [Actually he just wants his gun. But Kay doesn't have to know that the Admiral hasn't been CC'd here. :|]

[Private to Hayley and Heero, separately, viewable to Kay]

I'm fine. You all right?

[The feed cuts in abruptly, out of nowhere and mid-sentence.]

--ease...please don't hurt my fam--

[And just like that Cooper cuts himself off, silent for one long moment. Then there's just jostling, and a solid thump; Cooper may or may not have thrown his communicator across the room. Everything after that is muted for a moment - then there's sounds of movement, and the video function turns on.

Cooper is furious. Really, livid, like he might just start shooting. He even has his gun in hand, though it's out of sight.]

Send me back now!

God damn - [There's some muttered, not entirely intelligible cursing; when he starts up again, Cooper sounds really, really pissed.]

Bastards tried to rob the train, few miles outside'a town. Scared 'em off afore they could take much, but no one got a good look at anyone's face. Trouble didn't come this way, did it?

[Yeah he's only worried about a handful of people, but he will definitely hunt these dicks down if he has to. :|]

[Cooper sounds brisk, like he's a man who lives by a schedule. And he likes his schedule.] Train's leaving for Kansas City in four hours, folks. Don't miss it, we won't be holding the line for you. Next one heading that way won't be till tomorrow.

Henry, you keep your nose outta trouble, understand?

[Private to Una]

If there's anything I can do for you before I head out, you'll let me know. Won't you? [Sob. :c]

[There's a pause before Cooper starts, just a second or two of silence.]

Why is there a coffee maker in my room?

[Private to Hayley]

You doing all right?

[Someone sounds groggy. And grouchy.] Have there been any fucking medical breakthroughs on unexpected comas yet?

[A beat] What the fuck happened this time?

I'm used to busy days. Not physically, really; there was always a lot of paper work, but it was work. It was research, and learning, and getting shit done. [And he's starting to get lazy here. He doesn't want to know everything about everybody because they aren't important.]

Can't exactly do much of that here. The only remotely interesting thing to pop up was a pregnant inmate. [There is the quietest of snorts.] I wouldn't put that bit of cruelty past the Admiral, but I think I'll wait to see the results of the pregnancy test before getting up in arms.

So after Paddy's follow up on Snape's great speech about rehabilitation and redemption, I'm really thinking of turning over a new leaf. You've moved me. Why kill for my country when I can let noted threats walk away and stir the shit later? I'd much rather be guilt free. Isn't that why we're here? To learn to feel guilty over the shit we've done?

[Another, less quiet snort.] I'm not guilty. I don't see any reason to be. [His voice gets a little louder, like he's leaning closer.] I'm mad.

[Private to Kay]

You didn't mention you fathered a Persephone-look-alike. [He read the Guatemala file. And he's pissed that Kay's right. He wants Cynthia's file.]

All we're missing is Jerry Springer.

Now how the fuck are they accessing our network? [Because he senses a way out with this. :|] Is this the Admiral just fucking with us?

...Again?

That was fun. Next time we do it, I vote we throw someone over board.

[Private to Kay]

My room's gutted. I'm assuming it was you.

[Private to Hayley]

What the hell was our last talk about?

[Private to Persephone]

You'll be the first one to go over.

Maybe Clapet should make all the alcohol on board. We'd never have to worry about anyone getting wasted on the network.

On second thought, what else would we do with all this spare time? [Guess who hates being idle.]

[Filtered to wardens-who-were-inmates]

Why the hell are you still here?

[Private to Dick, added later]

So you made the mistake of talking to both of them too.