Night's Embrace (CW: Potential for violence and injury.)
(She'd stayed late at work on the night of the 16th, and she was still there when the power went out.
Not one to be afraid of the dark, Cortana swore at the inconvenience and inevitable loss of unsaved progress on her task, then began to grope around for something to use as a light source. There had to be a flashlight around here, right? What about her phone?
She didn't notice that she wasn't alone until she heard the sound of footsteps.)
Hello? (Figuring it was probably another late working coworker, equally lost, she began to move towards where she thought the sound was coming from.) Who's there?
(It's not until the shadow woman launches her attack that Cortana begins to scream.)
Illuminating
(She's at the meeting, though she remains fairly quiet for much of it, listening to and considering the plan. She's not much of a fighter, and she's not sure how good she'd be as bait... but she knows technology well enough that she'd probably be able to help with installation.)
I can help set up generators and lights, if need be.
Waking Hell (CW: Thoughts of death, questioning reality)
(It happens without warning: one moment, she is heading back to ADI headquarters after helping with the delivery and setup of some lights, the next, she's in the darkness, alone.
It's almost like the Forward Unto Dawn, she thinks, and then to her horror, realizes she's beginning to float away from the Earth. With a sudden desperation she reaches out for the nearest thing to grab onto, straining desperately but not quite reaching it.)
Hello?! I could use some help here!
(She can't be alone, there were just people here! She was just in town, heading back to headquarters...
Was it just the rampancy? Did she just imagine everything that'd happened since she and Chief had left that ship? The thought was almost a relief, that she hadn't betrayed him, she hadn't killed those people. That it was all just the dying dream of a broken AI.
Even now, the feeling of floating away could just be conjured by her mind. She'd seen enough people die in space...
She probably looked kind of ridiculous to anyone not currently trapped in her nightmare.)
no subject
(She'd stayed late at work on the night of the 16th, and she was still there when the power went out.
Not one to be afraid of the dark, Cortana swore at the inconvenience and inevitable loss of unsaved progress on her task, then began to grope around for something to use as a light source. There had to be a flashlight around here, right? What about her phone?
She didn't notice that she wasn't alone until she heard the sound of footsteps.)
Hello? (Figuring it was probably another late working coworker, equally lost, she began to move towards where she thought the sound was coming from.) Who's there?
(It's not until the shadow woman launches her attack that Cortana begins to scream.)
Illuminating
(She's at the meeting, though she remains fairly quiet for much of it, listening to and considering the plan. She's not much of a fighter, and she's not sure how good she'd be as bait... but she knows technology well enough that she'd probably be able to help with installation.)
I can help set up generators and lights, if need be.
Waking Hell (CW: Thoughts of death, questioning reality)
(It happens without warning: one moment, she is heading back to ADI headquarters after helping with the delivery and setup of some lights, the next, she's in the darkness, alone.
It's almost like the Forward Unto Dawn, she thinks, and then to her horror, realizes she's beginning to float away from the Earth. With a sudden desperation she reaches out for the nearest thing to grab onto, straining desperately but not quite reaching it.)
Hello?! I could use some help here!
(She can't be alone, there were just people here! She was just in town, heading back to headquarters...
Was it just the rampancy? Did she just imagine everything that'd happened since she and Chief had left that ship? The thought was almost a relief, that she hadn't betrayed him, she hadn't killed those people. That it was all just the dying dream of a broken AI.
Even now, the feeling of floating away could just be conjured by her mind. She'd seen enough people die in space...
She probably looked kind of ridiculous to anyone not currently trapped in her nightmare.)