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This white-sanded beach on the sticky coast of Florida is quiet, except for the hollars of birds, and the gentle rushing of the surf--

FLASH! BANG!

--and the suddenly-appearing man, who stumbles in shock, his mouth open but no words reaching his tongue.

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"Shouldn't be too hard."

The words are there, but the expression of face and tone? Not so much. Steve is coming off a little as an unskilled actor reading his lines off a script.

Adam doesn't know Steve Bell from... well, Adam. So for all he knows, this kind of behaviour could be perfectly normal for the guy.

All the same, a little concern does creep into his expression.

"How fast can you build it? I need it pretty quickly, or... well, it's not good if I don't have it."

Steve glances up and behind him, taking in the looming expanse of the robot.

"I'll see if I can budge it to the top of my to-do list."

Back down at Adam, as a thought strikes him.

"It's a food source, eh? Want it to be portable?"

"If you can do that," says Adam, as surprised as he is pleased, "that would be fantastic."

He hopes that Steve isn't overestimating his own ability, but that's a thought he chooses not to voice.

"'Course I can," says Steve, with a shade of his old enthusiasm.

"And I'll give you a hand, obviously. I'm a mechanic myself."

You know, in the same way that Josef Mengele was a doctor. Adam does his best to sabotage that kind of test, of course.

"This place seems to attract them."

Wait, how long has Neil been standing there?

Steve has no idea! But hey, you know what else this universe used to attract? A high number of whom ended up on the farm? Extremely few of whom are left there?

Oh, mental associations, you wacky things.

Steve opens his mouth to greet Neil, but hesitates and instead mutters: "I'll be back in a minute." His voice cracks a little. Then he's off towards the bunker, face lowered.

...

To Neil: "Is he all right?"

Dammit.

"No."

He runs a hand through his hair, a distracted, angry motion. Don't worry, Adam: it's himself he's angry at.

"He... lost someone recently."

Val would tell you who and how and when and why (and threaten to kick your ass should you fail to treat the matter with the proper gravity), but this isn't Val.

It's okay, Adam doesn't need to be reminded to treat a death as serious. His mouth sets into a grim horizontal line, and he glances after Steve's retreating back.

"I'm sorry." Since Steve is out of earshot, he'll say it to Neil for now.

Neil just nods.

Soft: "Yeah."

A beat passes. Two.

"I'm Neil, by the way."

He offers a hand.

"Adam Weaver." He shakes Neil's hand, doing his best to appear friendly. First impressions, after all.

Orlit, who has lapsed into a brooding silence, takes this opportunity to strike out furiously again. Adam's hand twitches a little in Neil's, and his jaw tightens for a split second as he flattens the Yeerk back into submission.

He doesn't respond, verbally or otherwise, to the slip.

That doesn't mean he doesn't notice.

"I brought pineapple, guys."

...

No Steve.

She shoots Neil a what did you do? look, but doesn't comment further.

"Muscle complaint," he tells Neil, by way of explanation. He keeps the anger he feels towards the Yeerk and its sabotage attempts out of his voice.

And then there is a Val!

"Welcome back," he calls, wondering uncomfortably how to explain to her the lack of Steve.

"Have some pineapple," she says, offering him a bowl. Neil gets one too.

She takes hers bunkerward without further comment.

Well, um.

This is awkward.

Adam almost starts to follow, but he stops himself. It's not his business to go barging in on what's probably a very private scene of distress.

Neil is watching him.

Adam's hiding something. Which wouldn't be any of Neil's business, but if Steve's going to be doing work for this guy... well.

He glances away, towards Val's retreating back, and then takes a bite of pineapple to forestall having to continue the conversation.

"I shouldn't interfere," he mutters to himself.

Well, not exactly to himself. It's partly for Neil's benefit (if the man doesn't entirely trust him, then he'll deal with that by making sure his motivations are clear), and partly in response to Orlit's continued taunts and insults. Have we established that man and Yeerk do not rub along in total harmony, here?

Raising his voice to a normal level, he asks Neil: "Do you know somebody here called Rachel?"

Chew. Swallow.

Easily: "Sure, I've met her. Why?"

"Val said I should speak to her," explains Adam. "I think that I can help them to bring down one of the villains of this world."

It doesn't occur to him that his dialogue is a little overwrought. Oh well.

Slight smile.

"So Val told you about the flesh castle."

"In unpleasant detail, yes."

Well, with that sort of thing, any detail is unpleasant.

"She does that."

Neil glances up at Dynames' angular profile.

"I'm planning to join on that mission myself, if my mobile suit is repaired by then."