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From:

abrightboy

[There it is. The thing he's been holding back.]

It might help you be less afraid of that happening again if we work on processing that trauma. But... we'd have to talk about it.

From:

inthebiblicalsense

[The way he says that is off putting in Abel's mind, they'd been having a conversation, he'd just started to get angry again, sitting there and asking questions.

He'd been so reluctant to say any of that aloud. He was fine. He'd always been fine. Except when he wasn't and he'd had Cain there to talk him through the panic, using his hands as blinders to block out everything else so all he could see was him. Abel might have practically killed himself to get them out, but Cain had been the catalyst that allowed them to leave.

Malcolm's method doesn't really leave him wanting to talk about it more, but he knows he should. He has to or else it's just going to continue to crop up, weigh him down, and these things are secrets that anyone could use against him, and he's not ready to hear someone else who doesn't know anything about him use any of this as a knife.

He sucks in a deep breath, elbows on the counter, head in his hands as he nods.] I'm not familiar with the process, but I want to be.

From:

abrightboy

Well, to start with, this is a safe space. Nothing you say here will be discussed with anyone else, ever. Secondly, you never have to answer a question. If you're not ready, we can set that aside and come back to it later, when you're in a better place to explore those feelings. Thirdly, we're going to talk about how you feel about things and why, more than the events themselves. Does that sound... like something you're ready for?

From:

inthebiblicalsense

[Abel isn't sure that he's ready for it at all, but when did being ready for anything actually matter? It didn't change the fact that it had happened or would happen.

He lifts his head, chin on his closed fists instead just so he can actually see Malcolm when he talks.]

It's something I need to do, so I'll do it. I don't think anyone's ever been truly ready for anything before they actually start it.

From:

abrightboy

That's probably a healthy perspective.

So why don't you tell me what you mean by 'sexually manipulated'?

From:

inthebiblicalsense

[He knows he touched on it before, but starting from scratch is probably better anyway. It's just difficult, and instead of looking at Malcolm, he stares into the enclosure, taking in little details of what he can see from the off-angle view he has.]

The mission goal was to get me to create a bond with my co-pilot. The method suggested was sexual coercion, and it was very effective because I...I wanted something I'd never had. No one could have known that, but I think I surprised Cain when I told him that I wasn't so sure I wanted to. He wasn't all that patient with me and I never told him no, so it happened, and then it kept happening.

Thinking back on it, I know there were times where I probably would have noticed something was wrong, or off, but I was very easily distracted if it meant sleeping with him again.

From:

abrightboy

How did they trust your copilot to be in on that plot?

From:

inthebiblicalsense

He was pulled from prison and offered a clean sheet if he completed the mission.

[Abel is not entirely familiar with New Volga correctional facility, but from the way Cain had desperately spoken about it, he didn't believe it was a place anyone would want to be.]

If he didn't complete his task, he would have been sent back to mars.

From:

abrightboy

He confessed this all to you.

From:

inthebiblicalsense

I didn't hear it from him first, but once I'd gotten the files presented to me, I asked him directly and he didn't hesitate.

Everything he said was accurate, if with a bit more feeling. I didn't want to listen to him at the time, but he tried to tell me that it changed somewhere in there.

[He sighs heavily and finally looks at Malcolm.] I told him we were over then, but...The more I think about it, the more I believe him.

From:

abrightboy

Did they not consider that a risk when they set it up? That he might fall for you for real?

From:

inthebiblicalsense

[The phrasing is wrong, not quite right and he feels the need to correct him.]

I think maybe...we were friends. I doubt he 'fell', but when you look at both our files, it's clear to me that we weren't being looked as people but tools.

As soon as I knew I was supposed to be terminated, so I suppose it was a risk they were willing to take. My father's position on earth also makes me a poor choice if you're thinking of risk, but it didn't stop them from pushing my candidacy forward either.

From:

abrightboy

In retrospect, what do you think they stood to gain that made the risk seem worthwhile?

From:

inthebiblicalsense

I knew the moment I found out about the project, it was entirely clear.

The Tech that was being tested on my ship resonates with strong emotions. In the Colterons it's their faith, they are a religious hivemind with directed purpose, which makes it easier for them to use it.

With humans, it's harder, and the only thing that has been proven to resonate with it successfully, is a strong will to protect. If activated, it can be used to instantly teleport. There was a pair that had used the tech before to great success for the original project before Thebes, but one of the pilots died. Thebes was created to artificially replicate their bond, so that the Alliance could have their secret weapon back.

If I had known any of this, I would have volunteered myself rather than be kept in the dark about it. I couldn't tell you why they thought It was better I didn't know, but it was ultimately what made it fail, so it was a flaw.

From:

abrightboy

So they wanted him to fall for you, even if that's not exactly what happened. They needed you to have the bond.

From:

inthebiblicalsense

[Abel shakes his head.] No...I'm positive that he wasn't supposed to. It compromised the whole project, and...When I'd had a moment to just sit with Cain once, I learned something about him that he hadn't wanted me to, and he looked terrified. I thought he was just upset because it was personal, and it was said on accident, but...it probably was because he was afraid I would find out more, about what he was doing.

So, It just had to be me, because I was the one steering the ship. They needed me to have that bond, while also being able to control Cain to guide me where they needed their secret weapon to be.

And it worked too, I've used the Jump drive twice, so they did find success, just...not for long.

From:

abrightboy

Because you stole it and ran away.

From:

inthebiblicalsense

[His expression sours, just a little at that.] I would say it was a tactical desertion. Running away implies that I had a chance of survival and didn't want to take the risk.

I'd like to think once the trial is over I'll have been exonerated rather than dishonorably discharged for providing key testimony.

From:

abrightboy

That doesn't sound like anything to be ashamed of. So why do you carry so much shame about... all this?

From:

inthebiblicalsense

[He'd like to think it wasn't, but looking back on all of it, there was so much of it just laying there, waiting to be pushed aside when he thought about any of it.]

I spent my whole life making sure I would be good enough to apply to join the academy...I was told no by my father, I did it anyways. Because I wanted to make a difference. I didn't see anyone, or do anything that wasn't pointed towards that goal, and...when I got there? I lost focus because some guy I barely knew told me we were going to fuck, like it wasn't even a question, and I let him.

That sounds like, to me, something to be ashamed of.

From:

abrightboy

Which part is the shameful part? You were still doing your mission to protect your world. You were just protecting it from internal corruption. So he didn't steer you off of your chosen course. Which aspect of this are you really ashamed of?

From:

inthebiblicalsense

[There is a silence there that lingers as Abel attempts to figure out what he wants to say. Years of internalized homophobia and fear of scandal, ruining his father's career and his own is just bubbling at the surface, and he doesn't like talking about it. He doesn't want to admit that one of the biggest reasons this all hit so hard, is that all of it will have to be said out loud at the trial, and whether he was seated in the stands or a part of the court martial, his father would be there to hear all of it.

It was why he'd added that the trial be won as an addition to his deal in winning the war, so he never had to be there to see it happen. The disgust and the shame on his face, the backlash that would follow. All of it pointedly his fault, the son who returned a useless, used up whore, fighting in a terf war for low class colonists.] All of it? I...I don't know what you want me to say Malcolm.

From:

abrightboy

I want you to be honest with yourself. And then, maybe, if you want to, with me. But you have to start with letting yourself admit to yourself what the source of your shame is. We can’t work past it until you identify it.

From:

inthebiblicalsense

I can be honest with myself.

[He knows what's holding him back, practically has it mentally filed in order of each transgression, neat and organized and controlled unlike how he felt in life.] I just...I don't say it out loud. When I do, it makes it more real, and I can't afford to fall apart here. I've had little moments here and there where I've tried, and I panic, have to try and get a hold of myself, and I'm afraid of what's going to happen if I can't regain some kind of control.

From:

abrightboy

It doesn't sound like you did anything actually wrong. Morally. But if you can't confront the shame, which is usually someone else's instrument of control, then you can't examine its validity and then, when you have time to look at it rationally and see that it's made of smoke and someone else's expectations, set it aside.