[ Barracks | Open | Multiple threads welcome! ] Wait for that wisest of all counselors, Time.

[ocampan]

It had been nearly a month since Kes had woken up in the woods, which for an Ocampan was a considerable amount of time. Voyager's journey would have taken decades to make it back to the Alpha Quadrant - generations of her people could have flourished in that time. Kes herself knew she would have never seen Earth beyond the simulations on the

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[sarkraticmethod]

It was a dangerous journey from the castle to the barracks and Sark had narrowly missed being attacked by several creatures on his way and with only his knife as a weapon and no experience with hunting, he was lucky to have avoided becoming someone's dinner. One of the princess's cats had guided him to the location, showed him places to hide, but was noticeably recalcitrant when he demanded it explain what was happening.

And so here he was, with no real purpose other than the hope that he could find something here he didn't have access to in the castle in great abundance- brains he could pick, people who might have more information than him, possibly someone who had a tool set or a functional computer on their person when they arrived here. It was a fool's errand and he visibly tensed at the idea of asking for help, but he consoled himself with the knowledge that he had no intentions of asking. If he found something useful, he would just take it.

The library proved even more fruitless than the princess's own, but as he circled around, he caught sight of a familiar face- ah yes, the woman from the communicator who had been inquiring about the journals.

"Well. This is a pleasant surprise. As it turns out, you were just the woman I was looking for," he drawled. Not a complete lie- she had mentioned she had a device she was trying to link up to her communicator.

[ocampan]

Kes looked away from the tree and up at the sound of a voice - it was not entirely unfamiliar, which was unusual, since she hadn't met more than half a dozen people so far during this enforced visit to the wood.

She remembered him from her tentative use of the communications device she had found. He had provided her with some answers, and not all of them she had liked very much. But they were, at least, answers.

She nodded in greeting, offering a tentative smile. "Why were you looking for me?" she inquired, but she could guess that it had something to do with what they had discussed about the communicators. She still wore her Starfleet badge pinned to her chest, although it was useless - force of habit, as well as a vague hope that someday, she might hear Captain Janeway or Commander Chakotay's voice coming from it, made her keep it with her.

[sarkraticmethod]

"You mentioned having a device you were attempting to sync with the communicators," he says, tone completely matter-of-fact, as he steps closer, his physicality betraying nothing but casual interest, like someone approaching an old friend they haven't seen in a long time and aren't certain that they'll recognize them.

"I thought I might be of some assistance. I have some skill with electronic devices." Simple enough lie, anyway, and with truth in it, as well. He was skilled with technology, although the communicators were giving him some trouble- perhaps she'd have something more to his pay grade.

[ocampan]

"I...I was thinking about it," Kes confessed. "But I'm not entirely sure how to go about it." The Captain would be, she was sure, or even the Doctor - but while she knew a medical tricorder like the back of her hand, commbadges were somewhat out of her technical league. She wasn't even sure what would be the best way to open it to get at the circuitry inside, although she knew it was possible.

She found herself reluctant even to unpin it from her chest, as if that would be admitting defeat somehow. She sighed. "I wonder if there's any point," she said, half to herself. "Everyone I've spoken to - everyone I've met - they all say there's no way to leave, or even to communicate with the outside world."

Kes had never liked cages, no matter what form they came in.

[sarkraticmethod]

"As far as I can tell, they have neither the equipment, nor the mental fortitude to take up such a task." Sark didn't accept defeat at all. He would be getting out of this, as someone who also didn't like cages.

She didn't seem likely to hand him the device, so he stepped closer. "Perhaps you could show me how it works." He tilted his head her. "I'm curious about the technology."

Which also wasn't a lie. He was deeply curious.

[ocampan]

"It's a little difficult to show you how it works if it's not working," Kes pointed out, smiling slightly as she looked up at him. But then she stood, and with a hand that hesitated only once or twice, plucked the badge from her chest, holding it out towards him gingerly.

"It's a a crystalline composite of gold, microfilament, silicon, beryllium and carbon-70. It activates when tapped. But it hasn't made a sound since I got here."

[sarkraticmethod]

"Then nothing of value will be lost if I take it apart," Sark replied as soon as he took it from her hand. "Not that I have the tools to do it." He turned the device over in his head, pursing his lips at her list of components. Complicated and not very helpful. He handed it back to her. It certainly didn't tear itself open easily, unlike, say, a cell phone. "Have you noticed anyone else with communication devices? They're useless here, as you've said, but we might as well put them to good use. With the right materials, we may be able to contact someone."