Small talk over, now time for business. Good. The sooner Edward can make his stance clear, the better.
"No. But then, I'm sure I haven't met half the people on the ship yet." Edward turns the beer bottle in his fingers slightly. "I was out for a walk, turned a corner, and that's when we saw each other. It wasn't hard to tell I spooked her. Hell, I was expecting something like this to happen when I agreed to take this job. It's why I announced myself the way I did." And boy, did that get attention. Just... not enough, not where it was needed, apparently.
"Better than I expected." A beat. "Much better than I expected." Curiousity at best, a lack of comment entirely at neutral. An insensitive but not malicious comment at lukewarm. And then there was... "Only about one guy took offense. But he was an asshole, not hostile. I didn't feel threatened."
So... he let his guard down. He really should have known better. He normally does know better.
"Obviously, I don't know anything about her experiences. But she insisted I had to be infected, so I'm guessing I can connect that dot." Edward spreads his free hand. "I said I'm not taking it personally, and I mean it. She was working off of what she knew, was trying to protect herself. Maybe others on the ship, too. The biggest concern is that she shot even after I put my hands up, but I can think of half a dozen valid reasons to do that."
He shrugs and takes a drink. "If it'd set her mind at ease, I'm willing to sit through whatever tests medical might have to prove that it's radiation damage, not an infection."
He runs his fingers through his beard and thinks about that. "I don't know. I think it ain't - rational. It might help, but I don't know that anything would do it."
He takes a sip of his beer, and tries to get some of the point across: "Where she's from, the whole damn world got sick. People who get sick, they look like you, but they're sentient corpses. All they want is to infect other people. I think - she saw you, and she couldn't just think he ain't acting like one of the infected. You wanna survive, your instincts kick in."
Edward nods. "I understand. It's why I don't see any reason in making a fuss about it. Nothing about this was malicious." Just... unfortunate. But survival is survival. "All things considered, I think it was generous of her. And smart. Shooting to disable, and trying to get information."
When he imagined this scenario beforehand, it wasn't his knee he thought would get shot.
"But even if medical tests aren't enough to help, we'll be able to say we did what we could. And I'd rather take what steps are available to try and prevent this from happening again. Not just for my sake, either. I told her I don't think we can keep this a secret, and it's true. If asked about it, I don't intend to lie and say it didn't happen, even if I'm not gonna name names. I don't want to cause her any trouble over this. But if something like it were to happen again, we might not get so lucky with the chance to keep it under control."
He takes a deep breath, puts his beer down on the table, and nods. This is all very sensible. Honestly, if Tess could look at Edward without seeing infection she'd probably like him. Not someone to make a fuss, someone practical.
"You got a good head on your shoulders," he comments. You know, considering. "I'm gonna talk to her. Act as a go-between for the time bein'. She'll appreciate all'a this once she gets back to herself."
Edward nods. "Thank you." And that isn't meant entirely for the compliment (even though if the tables were turned, Edward would insist he didn't need thanks, since he's doing his job).
"I'll let you know when I get the medical testing done. I'll probably do it tomorrow. It's a good idea, anyway, so they have the information just in case."
Edward accepts the handshake. His skin is dry and warm, covered with the texture of thick, uneven scars, and calloused in the usual places a working hand would be.
"That's good to hear, thank you. And for coming to speak with me, too."
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no subject
"Best to keep this kinda memory, I suppose. Lost splendor and all that."
He takes a sip and lets the requisite pause between a sip of beer and the next conversation sit there.
"...you ever talk to Tess before today?"
no subject
"No. But then, I'm sure I haven't met half the people on the ship yet." Edward turns the beer bottle in his fingers slightly. "I was out for a walk, turned a corner, and that's when we saw each other. It wasn't hard to tell I spooked her. Hell, I was expecting something like this to happen when I agreed to take this job. It's why I announced myself the way I did." And boy, did that get attention. Just... not enough, not where it was needed, apparently.
no subject
"She normally sees everything on the network before I ever do. I was surprised she didn't see it before."
He takes a deep breath and shakes his head.
"Though honestly, fella, I don't know if it woulda made all the difference. Maybe not enough to stay her hand. How'd other people react?"
no subject
So... he let his guard down. He really should have known better. He normally does know better.
"Obviously, I don't know anything about her experiences. But she insisted I had to be infected, so I'm guessing I can connect that dot." Edward spreads his free hand. "I said I'm not taking it personally, and I mean it. She was working off of what she knew, was trying to protect herself. Maybe others on the ship, too. The biggest concern is that she shot even after I put my hands up, but I can think of half a dozen valid reasons to do that."
He shrugs and takes a drink. "If it'd set her mind at ease, I'm willing to sit through whatever tests medical might have to prove that it's radiation damage, not an infection."
no subject
He runs his fingers through his beard and thinks about that. "I don't know. I think it ain't - rational. It might help, but I don't know that anything would do it."
He takes a sip of his beer, and tries to get some of the point across: "Where she's from, the whole damn world got sick. People who get sick, they look like you, but they're sentient corpses. All they want is to infect other people. I think - she saw you, and she couldn't just think he ain't acting like one of the infected. You wanna survive, your instincts kick in."
And her instincts are survive, survive, survive.
no subject
When he imagined this scenario beforehand, it wasn't his knee he thought would get shot.
"But even if medical tests aren't enough to help, we'll be able to say we did what we could. And I'd rather take what steps are available to try and prevent this from happening again. Not just for my sake, either. I told her I don't think we can keep this a secret, and it's true. If asked about it, I don't intend to lie and say it didn't happen, even if I'm not gonna name names. I don't want to cause her any trouble over this. But if something like it were to happen again, we might not get so lucky with the chance to keep it under control."
no subject
He takes a deep breath, puts his beer down on the table, and nods. This is all very sensible. Honestly, if Tess could look at Edward without seeing infection she'd probably like him. Not someone to make a fuss, someone practical.
"You got a good head on your shoulders," he comments. You know, considering. "I'm gonna talk to her. Act as a go-between for the time bein'. She'll appreciate all'a this once she gets back to herself."
no subject
"I'll let you know when I get the medical testing done. I'll probably do it tomorrow. It's a good idea, anyway, so they have the information just in case."
no subject
"Go through me before anythin' and we'll be fine. I appreciate it."
He (somewhat cautiously) sticks out his hand for a handshake. "With this attitude you're gonna fit in pretty well."
no subject
"That's good to hear, thank you. And for coming to speak with me, too."