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[moon_in_her_hair]

[She's still trying to determine whether this is wise, but the offer had been a saving grace for her. She wanted anything that could remove her from the mountains and the horrors of war. This may not be what her father intended for her with her life, but this life was her choice.

That at least would comfort at night.]

My name is Alice Munro and I am new to this ship. [Ship. That in itself would take time to grow used to. It wasn't like the ship that brought her to the colonies at all.]

Those that are wardens, if you would be so kind to offer me advice perhaps on those here assembled? I know why I am here, but I would like to be made aware of what I am in store for. I do not want to be caught unawares. Not again.

[She hesitates before addressing the inmates.]

Those that are imprisoned, if you also have any information about the ship itself, I should be grateful.

Comments

[withtheoldbreed]

Since November, ma'am. Not that long compared to some of the other people here.

[moon_in_her_hair]

Maybe it isn't about the length, but what you do with the time? [She's feeling a bit more on even ground just talking to someone.] Do you like it here?

[withtheoldbreed]

It's better than where I was. [But, well, that's not hard to accomplish.] I do a lot of reading, and try to help out my inmate.

[moon_in_her_hair]

[She can relate to that and finds herself nodding.]

It is already better than where I was too. Where are you from?

[withtheoldbreed]

Mobile, Alabama. But I was with the 1st Marine Division on Peleliu before I got here.

[... He's assuming most of that doesn't mean much to you, given what you've said to Cambridge.]

It's an island in the Pacific.

[moon_in_her_hair]

[All of the words are foreign and strange to her, but she nods and tries to remember them, if only for later conversations.]

You are a soldier? [That's familiar territory.] My father was stationed at Fort William Henry.

[withtheoldbreed]

Sort of. I'm a marine. [It's a more gentle correction than it would be if you were a modern person, Gene obviously knows the Marine Corps hasn't been founded yet.

Or the United States of America either, but.]

Where's that?

[moon_in_her_hair]

New York. It was in the Appalachian Mountains.

[withtheoldbreed]

Was?

[moon_in_her_hair]

[Did she use past tense? It was hard to remember that everything was still there, even if she wasn't.]

Is. The fort fell into French hands. I think it is still standing.

[withtheoldbreed]

I'm sorry. [He his. His favorite thing to study might be the Civil War, but he knows enough about how things were during the French and Indian War to know that can't have been pretty.]

Do you need anything, ma'am?

[moon_in_her_hair]

No, but thank you. It's kind of you to offer.

[She smiles, feeling a bit more relaxed now.]

I just want to acclimate myself to these surroundings.

[withtheoldbreed]

It's a lot to wrap your mind around.

[moon_in_her_hair]

It is. This ship is so large and intimidating. I have never seen anything like it before.

[withtheoldbreed]

I don't think any of us've seen something like this before.

[moon_in_her_hair]

Tell me more about the world you came from. Your accent is quite unlike anything I have heard before.

[withtheoldbreed]

Alabama's south of Virginia. [Like, way down south, but he figures that at least might be a familiar landmark for her.] I'm about two hundred years ahead of you. A lot of stuff's different.

[He's not even really sure what he should tell her, considering how he feels about hearing about the future, but... to him, stuff like the Revolution or industrialization isn't exactly a bad thing.]

The American colonies break off from England in a couple years. They got the territory for Alabama from Spain, I think. I grew up in a city called Mobile, it's on the water. My best friend's sister and I used to watch them launching new Liberty ships into the harbor before I joined the Marines.

[moon_in_her_hair]

[She listens, a few of the words surprising her, others not quite as much. With the wildness of the Americas and the coarseness of several of the colonists, it wasn't a shock that they had disobeyed their King.

But she hadn't expected that the colonies had expanded so far. How large was the land they found themselves in?]

So it inspired you to join the Marines? Watching these ships?

[withtheoldbreed]

No, miss. We were at war, most guys my age were enlisting in somethin'.

[He's still smiling, but there's something kind of sad about it now. Not quite wistful, but not bitter, either.]

I wanted to join the Marines because they're the best there is.

[Which he believes. But he was a dumb kid.]

[moon_in_her_hair]

Which countries were at war? [It was interesting to see another who was facing the same type of conflicts that she was.] Was it England and France again?

[It seemed they were always fighting. Or Spain and England.]

[withtheoldbreed]

Yeah, but they were on the same side. [Which... might seem weird for you.]

Germany, Japan and Italy were at war with England, France and the United States. Russia changed sides after Germany attacked them, too, and Italy surrendered a year ago.

[moon_in_her_hair]

I've never heard of Germany. [It was Prussia in her time, but she is starting to figure everything out.] So many countries at war. What started it all? Do you know?

[For France and England to be allies is mind boggling.]

[withtheoldbreed]

Prussia. Sorry. [Gene likes history, but it's sort of strange, editing yourself to try and explain all of it to someone who doesn't have the same context that you do.

He wonders if this is how other people feel, talking to him.

And he does know, but, wow. This is gonna be hard to explain.]

It's complicated. [He lets out a breath, trying to figure out where, exactly, to start.] There was another year about thirty years ago, where Germany lost. A lotta people were upset about how it ended and decided they wanted to make Germany a world power again, so this guy Hitler convinced everyone to put him in charge, and he basically tried to take over Europe. Parts of Africa, too, and he would've gone farther if people hadn't tried to stop him.

Japan wanted more or less the same thing, but in the Pacific.

[moon_in_her_hair]

[That's quite a bit to take in. Thinking that Prussia would try to take over or that they think they can, it's shocking. Only recently did England even beat France.]

So all of these nations banded together to stop Pr..Germany and Japan? A war of the worlds then?

[withtheoldbreed]

That's what they're calling it.