[ It occurs to Venom as an afterthought that what Isha's just described aren't routine occurrences to some people (most people). The terms of their contract are a familiar grind for Venom, so there's a momentary disconnect where his placidity conveys all there is to know about 'Venom Snake': that he hasn't even thought to be too indignant on his own behalf.
But this is about her, and he understands that people aren't meant to be peddled for loyalty and services. This isn't what any of them officially signed on for, and he can understand that her life, her purpose, isn't meant for this.
He watches her, and finishes cleaning up the last of the more offensive wounds to settle one palm on his bent knee. ]
What they're not doing is protecting us.
[ That's the reality of it, and he offers it simply. ] To them, we're collateral damage. They won't remember our names when we're gone.
[She gives him a look, scathing in every form, where the bark, for once, could be backed up with a bite.]
No, I happen to be the suicidal sort. Of course I want to fucking live. What do you think, I'm going to let these bastards take me on the sheer basis of their incompetence?
[Clearly she's pissed, and a side of her starts to come through that she constantly keeps down and in check: the street rat, the teenager, the young woman that could spit and string together curses and blow smoke at someone's face and quite possibly bite in the middle of a fight.]
If these idiots knew anything and gave a real shit about their mission they'd use all of us to their advantage and put us to the best use. Instead they use us like canon fodder, willing little soldiers in a war we never enlisted in. If they knew anything, they'd be putting me and my sort into better operations than all of this.
[She'd been careful to keep her words to herself, to lay low and not to make herself an open target. What did it matter anymore? They were stranded on a planet, with no clear means of getting off this rock just yet, and no real leadership. They should expect bitter hearts and bitter words.
And if they don't? They're even more incompetent than they're letting on.]
[ He knows where that bile is coming from, and he digests it. Analyzes. Understands. ]
You're not wrong.
[ If she expected him to talk her down from her anger... well, he doesn't. The truth of the matter is that she didn't sign her life away for whatever bullshit this is (even Venom acknowledges it), and her resentment isn't unfounded. ]
Which is why you're going to have to find other ways to keep going. I've already offered.
[She doesn't want to, though. She's got blood on her hands, and no matter how many times they tell her it's not her fault, it's all on her.
At least forty were found dead to her name. What of those never found? What of those disappeared without a trace? How many more bodies would surface at the hands of the man who pretended to be her?]
I don't want to kill, Ahab. I can kill. I know how to kill. I know where it hurts, where it bleeds. But murder is one thing I hadn't intended on crossing.
[It wasn't even a moral high ground. She truly believes she isn't prepared for that weight. She left a person bleeding and if they died, it was their own damn fault for not moving fast enough. But outright kill?]
You, Nathan, Arno. You should have left me back there. I'm of no use to anyone here outside of dead weight.
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no subject
But this is about her, and he understands that people aren't meant to be peddled for loyalty and services. This isn't what any of them officially signed on for, and he can understand that her life, her purpose, isn't meant for this.
He watches her, and finishes cleaning up the last of the more offensive wounds to settle one palm on his bent knee. ]
What they're not doing is protecting us.
[ That's the reality of it, and he offers it simply. ] To them, we're collateral damage. They won't remember our names when we're gone.
Do you want to live?
no subject
No, I happen to be the suicidal sort. Of course I want to fucking live. What do you think, I'm going to let these bastards take me on the sheer basis of their incompetence?
[Clearly she's pissed, and a side of her starts to come through that she constantly keeps down and in check: the street rat, the teenager, the young woman that could spit and string together curses and blow smoke at someone's face and quite possibly bite in the middle of a fight.]
If these idiots knew anything and gave a real shit about their mission they'd use all of us to their advantage and put us to the best use. Instead they use us like canon fodder, willing little soldiers in a war we never enlisted in. If they knew anything, they'd be putting me and my sort into better operations than all of this.
[She'd been careful to keep her words to herself, to lay low and not to make herself an open target. What did it matter anymore? They were stranded on a planet, with no clear means of getting off this rock just yet, and no real leadership. They should expect bitter hearts and bitter words.
And if they don't? They're even more incompetent than they're letting on.]
no subject
You're not wrong.
[ If she expected him to talk her down from her anger... well, he doesn't. The truth of the matter is that she didn't sign her life away for whatever bullshit this is (even Venom acknowledges it), and her resentment isn't unfounded. ]
Which is why you're going to have to find other ways to keep going. I've already offered.
no subject
At least forty were found dead to her name. What of those never found? What of those disappeared without a trace? How many more bodies would surface at the hands of the man who pretended to be her?]
I don't want to kill, Ahab. I can kill. I know how to kill. I know where it hurts, where it bleeds. But murder is one thing I hadn't intended on crossing.
[It wasn't even a moral high ground. She truly believes she isn't prepared for that weight. She left a person bleeding and if they died, it was their own damn fault for not moving fast enough. But outright kill?]
You, Nathan, Arno. You should have left me back there. I'm of no use to anyone here outside of dead weight.